The double-tick illusion hit the air, a phantom beat designed to sabotage timing. Qin Ye's Echo-Break protection was gone. His lead foot hung over the stone, the boundary rope singing beside it. There was no external guide to trust. Only the steady, silent pulse in his palm.
He denied the entrainment. He did not jerk his foot to the false second tick. He planted it precisely on the next internal beat of the Pulse Counter, his weight settling inside the line by a millimeter. The bait was refused. No judge reset was called.
---
As he stabilized, his shoulder brushed the final rope cleat.
[Daily Sign-In available.]
[Location: Final Rope Cleat.]
[Sign-In? Yes / No]
Yes.
[Ding! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: Vector Thread (Lv.1, 20 breaths — convert lateral pressure into forward advance on chosen line) + Reset Guard Tag (1 use — if a reset is called without a logged cause, flag audit before motion halts).]
---
Echo Pressure II — Rope Maze.
The Echo Step duo intensified their assault. Layered cadence feints and legal shoulder angles created a complex rope maze, herding Qin Ye and Lin Xiu into a corner designed to force a reset.
Qin Ye's pre-registered parity check held. He activated the Vector Thread. As the lateral pressure came, a single Quiet Pivot converted the shoving force into a forward glide along the legal line. His toes never crossed the boundary. A slight pressure at Lin Xiu's sleeve seam kept her in perfect sync. The Device Witness hummed, logging no apparatus contact.
---
Procedural Wedge & Reset Guard.
"Reset!" the lead Echo Step disciple called out. "Unsafe proximity! Loss of cadence integrity!"
The Reset Guard Tag flared. A soft chime sounded from the clerk's desk. "Audit before halt," the log announced.
The head clerk checked the readings. "Neutral Bell consistent. Device Witness shows no cause. Reset denied." The bout continued without pause. The Optional Objective—zero resets—remained alive.
---
Mid-Final Reversal.
Frustrated, the duo filed another "echo-claim," alleging prearranged codes.
The clerk tapped the placard. "Tactile cues are permitted. No unlogged signal detected." The appeal was dismissed with a sharp stamp.
Momentum was now fully with Qin Ye. A single, non-damaging Blade Nudge created a clean angle. Their duet crossed the center seam of the lane, their rhythm unbroken.
---
Rhythm Surge.
For twenty breaths, the Vector Thread defined their movement. Every lateral pressure from their opponents became forward momentum. Silent Steps erased sound. Quiet Pivots trimmed wasted motion. Their center held firm. They moved to the rhythm of the palm pulse, a silent symphony against the arena's noise. One near-stumble from Lin Xiu became a graceful glide as the thread converted the misstep into advance.
---
Finish Sequence.
The Echo Step duo unleashed a final, brutal cadence fake near the boundary, a last desperate attempt to break them.
Qin Ye ignored the sound. He planted his foot on the internal pulse. Lin Xiu mirrored the movement, guided by the sleeve cue. They held the center by a finger's width, then executed the final baton transfer in one knife-clean motion.
The neutral bell rang, signaling the end.
---
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Break the Echo."]
[Reward: +400,000 Spirit Stones; Tempo Sense +5% (situational).]
[Ding! Optional Objective completed: Win the Final with zero judge resets.]
[Reward: Technique Cache (advanced, unlocked).]
[Ding! Paired Application — Champion.]
[Reward: Coordination Technique Selection (choose 1): "Shadow Duet Step" (pair movement sync) / "Twin Vector Turn" (paired angle conversion) / "Silent Baton Index" (precision transfer mastery).]
He selected Shadow Duet Step. The knowledge of perfectly mirrored, silent movement flowed into him.
---
Aftermath.
The proctors logged the result: "Victory confirmed. Zero resets. Device Witness clear." A brief note was made regarding disciplinary action for the identified handler.
Liu Shan wrote on his slate: "Echo denied; vector line held."
---
Ending Hook.
The main board updated. Next Phase: Integration Trial — Service Corridor Audit Run. Timeline: 4 days. A murmur went through the crowd.
[Ding! Main Quest updated — Inner Gate Trial: 4 days.]
As the officials cleared the arena, Qin Ye's eyes found a new Sign-In glyph, faintly pulsing on a stone marker at the entrance to a Service Corridor leading deeper into the Inner Gate.
The corridor light clicked once, and the glyph waited like a held breath.