Chapter Four: Ten Million in Counterfeit Applause

Inheritance would activate only after a fair one-on-one kill. Round one selected Glacier Bridge, the map that had made Han Xiao famous. Forty-seven seconds into the match, Han Xiao sealed the bridge with Seven-Star Reversal. The Crown repeatedly offered Dawn's Seven Stars. Lin Jin refused every prompt. He retreated to the broken edge and deliberately exposed his right side. Han Xiao thrust. Before the blade landed, Lin Jin shattered the thin ice beneath them. The current threw both players into the air. Han Xiao forced out his fourth reversal—but it was still one tenth of a second late. Lin Jin caught a chain, swung back, and sent Han Xiao into the abyss with an ordinary slash. [ROUND ONE: ASHES UNEXTINGUISHED.]