A thunderous, explosive sound made the entire arena subtly tremble.

A thick cloud of dust rose up, blocking the audience's view and leaving everyone stunned. The power of those young Fighters shouldn't have been strong enough to damage the martial stage, which was made of top-tier materials brought from other universes.

Everything happened so fast, catching everyone off guard. First, an extremely powerful elemental force burst out from one side of the stage—then, it exploded violently.

This arena was also used for high-level battles. That's why the entire platform was covered by a defensive array, built to protect the crowd in the stands from any power unleashed by the Fighters.

However, that system wasn't meant to stop people from entering. Obviously, anyone trying to cross over would be blocked by the military officers. No one would be dumb enough to try it—the punishment for breaking the rules was very, very severe. Not even a military officer from another empire would walk away freely, let alone an ordinary High Human.

But this attack... didn't come from the stands.

*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*

Metallic echoes rang out, shocking everyone even more.

"HOW DARE YOU!!"

With that deep roar, a white pillar pierced through the dust curtain, shooting toward the sky.

The sheer force of it blew the fog away, allowing the crowd to see the center of the martial stage...

Everything was engulfed in that terrifying white power. It was the power of the ring from one of the most powerful figures on Earth — and everyone swallowed hard.

The other four young members from the Solar Federation Empire were at the edge of the martial platform, all frozen and trembling because of what had just happened.

Thomas floated just a few meters above the center of the stage. He radiated power, staring down at someone below.

His eyes were locked onto a single young man staring right back at him — with glowing red eyes and a cold, sarcastic aura.

Darian held a dagger in each hand, both gleaming with a shining mark at their center. A few meters behind him, lying on the ground, was Nayara — gasping for air, her face pale.

The supposedly indestructible martial platform now showed a massive blade-shaped mark of destruction right in the center.

Vanh stood a little ahead of Darian, on the other side of the mark. He was gripping his sword tightly. A mocking grin was plastered across his face… but his whole face was dripping with sweat, like someone who had just used every last drop of skill and reflex to not die. He looked like a guy who had slipped off a cliff and barely managed to grab the edge in time.

Darian scoffed. That white power was pressing down on his body and sealing his movements. So, he turned to glare at the old man above.

Thomas roared, "You insolent brat! How dare you attack and interfere in a tournament match?! You think you can just do whatever the hell you want?!"

"Fuck off, bastard. Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I can or can't do?" Darian spat coldly.

Everyone in the arena forgot to breathe. Was he insane? That was an unprecedented crime. No matter how pissed off someone might get, no one would ever dare to act against the rules laid down by the Solar Federation Empire.

Thomas's expression darkened, but deep down, a twisted satisfaction and dark glee sparkled in his eyes.

"Hahahaha... excellent, excellent, cousin. This is the closest we've ever been. Who would've thought you'd be this reckless—I won't even get the chance to take you down officially… what a shame." Vanh mocked, clearly enjoying it.

The entire arena held their breath. Vanh had just confirmed what everyone suspected: his last name was Wube, same as Darian's.

No one thought it was weird—after all, the greatest empire on Earth had deep ties to that family. Sending one of its heirs to gain experience in another empire before taking over the clan wasn't strange at all.

Darian calmly turned to him. His lips curled into a wicked grin.

"You think you're getting off the hook? ...Don't worry, I'll get my turn to deal with you. For now, I just came to smash that smug face of yours as a warm-up."

"Hahahaha?" Vanh laughed wildly.

But… he tightened his grip on his sword and stayed fully on guard. Deep inside, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

People in the arena also found that threat laughable. A Spiritual Guardian with eight rings had already stepped in and captured Darian. The guy would be lucky to get away with just a severe punishment. And touching the heir of the Wube clan? Now that was insane.

Thomas scoffed. His power surged even stronger, pressing down on Darian's body even harder. But slowly...

Darian's face turned to him again.

"I'm not letting you off the hook either. Don't be in a rush. First, I came to greet that bastard."

Thomas's face twisted. Was this idiot really that clueless about his situation?

And then...

The rings on Darian's fists lit up to full power.

Thomas never imagined Darian stood any chance against him — so he only used the raw power of his ring, carelessly, without any technique or real intent.

But with the power of those two rings, Darian could forcefully take control of any energy. If Thomas had even used the slightest bit of real intent, it would've been impossible. But... he underestimated him — and that gave Darian a window, even if it was just for two or three seconds.

In that instant, Thomas's eyes widened. He felt his power slip out of control. And before he could try to reinforce it—

*Whoosh!*

Everyone in the arena saw a black shadow burst out at terrifying speed. It rushed straight at Vanh from behind.

No one noticed that the little dragon that always stayed with Darian... was gone.

"Take this!"

A beautiful Dragoness, covered in black scales, roared, bringing with her a terrifying wave of power. Her fists shot forward violently.

Vanh's eyes went wide as he spun around in a rush. His whole body pulsed, and several defensive artifacts automatically activated. These weren't just ordinary artifacts — they were ones bound to his body, reacting on their own, even if he couldn't.

It was a method from his family to ensure his safety. Even if someone insanely powerful ambushed him, they wouldn't be able to kill him by surprise, or even head-on, for a few seconds. Just enough time for him to react and escape.

All of this happened in less than a second, and Thomas didn't even have time to react. But since he knew about those insane artifacts, he wasn't too worried.

Darian moved nearly at the same time as Niara, catching everyone off guard.

*BANG!*

Her punch landed square on Vanh's chest, with a sound like a hammer hitting a steel wall. The impact was heavy, but obviously didn't do the slightest bit of damage.

It was just a distraction.

Darian charged in with his daggers — precise, glowing with a deadly light.

Artifacts against a god's rune seal? What a joke.

**CRACK!!**

A sharp, piercing sound echoed out — like glass shattering.

The ultra-high-grade defensive artifacts Vanh wore were completely broken. That caused a serious backlash in his body, since he was linked to them. His mind and body went into chaos, making it impossible for him to react.

At that moment, Darian and Niara both smiled.

"STOP!" Thomas finally reacted, panicking. He wasn't too slow — everything had happened so fast that he only hesitated for a second before unleashing his power.

But... Darian's blades were already just centimeters from Vanh's throat.

So Thomas activated his power and focused it entirely on the daggers, stopping them from moving. He didn't know how Darian had broken free earlier, so it was a reflex — protect Vanh.

That smile from the duo was because they were already counting on that.

Darian let go of the daggers — and just punched.

*BANG!*

A direct hit to the face. The sickening sound of bones cracking rang out.

Vanh was sent flying from the ground. Niara, right behind, didn't miss her chance.

*BANG!*

She slammed into his ribs, smashing them and launching him forward again.

Darian grinned, and punched once more.

*BANG!*

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