While Zhao Feng was incapacitated, blinded and choking, Kai acted decisively. He tossed another small pellet onto the arena floor between himself and his flailing opponent.

  Activate Smoke Pellet (Disguised as Shadow Fog Talisman)! Cost: 10 Points. [Balance: 0]

  Instantly, thick, grey smoke billowed outwards, rapidly enveloping the center of the arena. It wasn't toxic, just visually impenetrable, further disorienting Zhao Feng and obscuring the situation from the shocked onlookers and frowning Elders.

  "What now? More tricks?" came the muffled voice of the supervising Elder from beyond the smoke.

  Inside the swirling grey fog, Kai moved with purpose. He still had the Lightning Wand in his dimension storage. It was risky, potentially revealing too much, but it was the surest way to end the fight quickly and non-lethally under the cover of smoke. He materialized it.

  Activate Lightning Spirit Wand!

  Guided by his own senses (the smoke was thick but not impossible to see through at close range) and Zhao Feng's continued coughing, Kai closed the distance. Zhao Feng, still rubbing his eyes and gasping for air, sensed movement nearby and lashed out blindly with a fist. Kai easily sidestepped and pressed the tip of the Taser firmly against Zhao Feng's back.

  ZZZZZZAAAAAPPPP!

  Even muffled by the smoke, the crackle of electricity was audible. Zhao Feng’s coughing turned into a strangled cry as his body seized up, overcome by the neuromuscular incapacitation effect. He collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut, landing in a heap on the packed earth floor, smoke swirling around his unconscious form.

  Kai immediately deactivated and stored the Lightning Wand. As the smoke began to dissipate, the scene was revealed: Zhao Feng unconscious on the ground, Kai standing over him, holding only his simple 'wooden' sword.

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  Silence descended upon the arena. The supervising Elder stepped onto the platform, his face grim. He checked Zhao Feng – unconscious, breathing raggedly from the pepper spray, but otherwise unharmed. He looked at Kai, then at the faint lingering acrid smell of the pepper spray and the dissipating smoke.

  "Disciple Kai," the Elder's voice was stern. "Explain the mist and the smoke."

  "Honorable Elder," Kai bowed calmly. "The mist was released from an 'Irritant Ejector' artifact, designed to temporarily disable an opponent's visual senses without causing lasting harm. The smoke was generated by a 'Shadow Fog Talisman', intended to create confusion and cover. Both are single-use, low-grade auxiliary artifacts procured for self-defense, well within the limits of permitted external aids, I believe." He presented the now-empty pepper spray canister and a spent smoke pellet casing he'd palmed. Both looked like simple metal tubes and spent talisman ashes, respectively, thanks to system cosmetic overlays. He carefully avoided mentioning the Lightning Wand.

  The Elder frowned, examining the mundane-looking items. The rules permitted limited external artifacts if they weren't excessively powerful or inherently lethal. Pepper spray and smoke bombs, while highly unconventional in cultivator duels, didn't technically break the rules as written. They weren't Qi-based weapons, nor did they seem capable of causing permanent injury on their own. Zhao Feng was defeated by incapacitation, not lethal force.

  "Highly unorthodox," the Elder finally declared after a moment of deliberation, clearly displeased but unable to find grounds for disqualification. "But not explicitly forbidden." He looked back at the silent crowd. "Victor: Kai! Advance to the Quarter-Finals!"

  A wave of murmurs, arguments, and shocked discussion swept through the onlookers. Kai had won. He had defeated Zhao Feng, a seeded Level 7 disciple. But his methods were controversial, relying on strange gadgets rather than pure cultivation prowess. Some saw it as cunning and resourceful, others as cheap tricks unbecoming of a cultivator.

  Kai ignored the whispers. He had won, conserved his Qi, kept his Taser secret, and advanced. That was all that mattered. As he walked off the platform, feeling the lingering adrenaline and the slight sting on his hip where Zhao Feng's blade had cut him, he felt a surge of Qi within his dantian, catalyzed by the intense battle and the successful application of his skills and tools under pressure.

  [Host Cultivation Detected: Qi Condensation Level 7 Achieved!]

  He had broken through again, right in the middle of the competition. Reaching Level 7 put him on par with Zhao Feng's initial level. His victory, controversial as it was, felt even more solid now. He allowed himself a small, internal smile. The Quarter-Finals awaited.