[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-solflare-the-painter-s-secret":3,"chapter-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-69":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Solflare: The Painter's Secret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1322897,1757,"Chapter 69: Tired Already?","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-69",69,"\u003Cp>Leon stepped onto the platform and sighed. The invisible but touchable barrier sealed behind him with a hum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd’s noise came like a wall, but he blocked it out as he narrowed his senses to the space before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The opposite gate remained dark. Then, in an instant, all the light in the arena and the trial hall died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roaring sounds of the crowd got choked into a unified gasp of surprise, then turned into an eerie silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon couldn’t even see his own hands when he moved them upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the thick darkness, the only light that seemed to flicker was the ghostly glow of the emergency exit signs far above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’What’s going—’ Leon dropped into a defensive stance, every nerve in him screaming for answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A whisper of air that seemed sharper and more controlled licked past his left cheek in a flash. He jerked his head back and moved a step backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another followed, from the right, grazing at both of his ears. Then a third from below moved like a concussive drift that made his boots skid on the stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept on dodging, ducking, and rolling whenever sharp air flew across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he saw no movement afterward, he could hear the crushing sound they created after landing on the barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He twisted, parried blindly with his forearms, relying on his instinct and the faint pressure changes in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shh – FFT!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heavy gust slammed into his stomach, causing the air in his lungs to burst out in a whoosh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The force lifted him and hurled him backward at great speed. He crashed into the shimmering barrier with his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact rattled through his teeth and sent a web of agonizing light crackling across the invisible barrier behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRUNCH\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon slid down the barrier and landed on his knees, gasping heavily while his vision swirled. He looked up, blinking away the dark and bloody spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At two feet away from him, he saw Azazel standing there, a grim grin dressing his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint, dissipating shimmer of distorted air rippled around his fingertips like electric currents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon exhaled sharply and slammed his fist hard on the platform. Spiderwebs of cracks dressed the ground beneath his boots as he pushed himself to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wiped the back of his left hand across his mouth, forgetting how much his body ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept his gaze on the blood and then shifted his gaze to Azazel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tired already?\" A short laugh escaped Azazel’s lips, having the sound of someone enjoying a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon didn’t laugh. Bone-cracking sounds erupted from around him as his fists clenched at his sides, the knuckles and the veins turning white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted his weight and settled into a basic, grounded boxing stance he remembered from his father’s lessons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squeezed his eyes and stared into Azazel’s amused eyes. Leon closed his eyes, turning his frantic breathing into a slow and steady movement, like that of swirling dust motes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He inhaled, held it, and exhaled. The chaotic noise of the crowd and the lingering pain in his stomach faded into a dull background hum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he cracked his eyes open, the arena light flickered violently and blazed back to life with a harsh, metallic hum, as if he had commanded it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faces contorted with scorn as mouths opened in mid-jeer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is your end, Storm! We’re tired of seeing you around!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Destroy him, Azazel! Don’t let a single bone remain unbroken!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We know what you can do! Finish him before he even knows he’s finished!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does he think we’re here for childish boxing? You’re no match! Just kneel and let him step on you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold smile touched Leon’s lips as he filtered out the noise and narrowed his focus on Azazel, who stood in the opposite direction, watching him with renewed amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five blade-like distortions of air materialized around Azazel’s fingertips and shot forward in a staggered volley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon watched their trajectories as lines of pressure in the air, which seemed visible to his heightened, focused senses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time seemed to slow down as they neared him. He shifted his head left, right, dipped his shoulder, sidestepped, and finally leaned back, letting his boots flow around with a movement that felt both foreign and instinctual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shh – CRACK! Shh – CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The concussive impacts struck the barrier behind him in rapid succession, sending visible ripples across its shimmering surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shock wave of gasps washed over the stands, cutting off the jeers abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon inhaled again, letting the scent of burnt dust fill his lungs. He took two deliberate steps forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He loosened his clenched right fist, raised his hand, and curled his fingers in a slow, come-here gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smile on his face seemed to extend with a grim invitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Azazel’s amused grin stiffened, then vanished. A flicker of irritation flashed in his sea-colored eyes. \"You want a closer look? Fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flung his arms out. A storm of thirty air blades erupted around him and surged toward Leon at screaming speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, Azazel charged forward, aiming to close the distance with Leon while he got distracted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon didn’t retreat. He moved his feet upward, his torso twisting, while his head weaved. A blade nicked his sleeve, shredding the black fabric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another grazed his calf, drawing a thin line of fire, but he ignored it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the last blade shrieked past his ear, he pulled his right arm back beside his jaw and extended his left arm forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhaled, letting a cool breeze flow out as he locked his gaze on the charging Azazel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Azazel’s steps slowed to a halt five feet away. The distorting air around his fingers dissipated like smoke in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked from Leon’s poised boxing stance to the faint scratches on Leon’s arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see,\" Azazel said in a voice that echoed in a low rasp. \"You want a fistfight.\" He rolled his shoulder. \"I’ll honor that wish. Before you die, at least.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He mirrored Leon’s posture and sank into a similar boxing stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>00:07:00\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A genuine smile broke across Leon’s face. ’Didn’t he say he’d end me in seconds?’ He let his white teeth show for a moment, then closed his eyes and shook his head once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Azazel dashed forward at great speed. His first punch landed on Leon’s left cheek. Leon’s forearm parried it with a solid thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A powerful right fist thrust at Leon’s jaw. Leon slipped it, the knuckles brushing his hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Azazel didn’t give up; he threw combinations of punches, hooks, and uppercuts, but each fist got blocked and drove through the air with a whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s arms moved, blocking and parrying the strikes. The impacts reverberated up his bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack. Thud. Smack.\u003C\u002Fp>",1130,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.583Z",1,"novelbin.me","5bf2a44159297902c3a1d077b3f63ec630e0ecfdf06a05f7223e7f677516bbe6","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-70","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-68",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]