The night went by in a flash. As soon as the first rays of sunlight hit the ground, a wave of excitement swept through Earth's capital.

The day of the grand final had finally arrived.

There was a clear difference in the atmosphere of this tournament compared to all the ones before. It felt like this day was meant to be recorded in the history books.

Early in the morning, the stadium was already surrounded by a sea of people. More and more kept arriving by the minute, but there was a limit to how many spatial artifacts could be used. Some clans even ended up fighting each other just to get a spot in the arena.

Inside the arena, the martial stage had been rebuilt once again—this time, it had been reinforced and was twice as sturdy. As everyone got seated, glowing blue and gold words appeared floating in the air, right at the center of the stadium:

*Grand Rookie Tournament, Final Match: Darian Wube vs Vanh Wube.*

Everyone stared at it in surprise. Wasn't this supposed to be a battle between two empires? Why were only those two names showing?

That just made everyone even more hyped. This fight was definitely going to be the peak of it all—something people would remember for a long, long time.

As the time got closer, the atmosphere in the stadium kept heating up.

When the sun reached its peak in the sky, the judge finally stepped onto the martial stage, drawing all attention to herself.

"After three days of intense battles, today we reach the final match. We'll finally find out which empire will take the championship!"

Her voice hit like a thunderclap, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Of course, most of the excitement was for the fight itself… but not only that. The ten young from the two finalist empires were going to receive an insane reward—the blessing of Heaven's Will.

The last time that happened was during the previous generation of Earth's emperors. Right now, there wasn't a single living person on the planet who had that blessing. As for those who got it in the past, all ten had become legends whose names were carved into the universe.

Anyone blessed like that gained special status among the Spiritual Guardians. Across every planet—even the strongest ones—there were very few of them, and they all belonged to the same exclusive group. They even received special missions, meant only for that elite circle.

In other words, these ten young people were about to become big names throughout the universe.

The people from the New Arcadia Empire had been fired up for a while now… After being mocked and looked down on by the lower empires for so long, they could finally hold their heads high. They were in the finals, and their chances of winning first place weren't impossible!

"Before anything else, I'll explain a change that will happen in this final," the judge said calmly.

"As most of you noticed, the leader of the Solar Federation Empire group chose, on his own, to give up the advantage of fighting with all five members. This final battle will be between the two leaders only."

The crowd reacted with satisfaction. Yeah, five against one didn't make sense. Everyone had seen the brief fight between Darian and Vanh earlier. The humiliation that young heir suffered was impossible to swallow. If he didn't fight alone and redeem himself, he'd never be able to lift his head again.

But… no one was dumb. Last time, Vanh had been caught off guard in the middle of a fight. After that, Darian's moves were even more sneaky and precise, leaving no room to counterattack.

Of course, that was Darian's skill. But those terrifying daggers that broke through Vanh's defensive artifacts had triggered an internal backlash that stopped him from striking back. Anyone in his shoes would've gone down the same way.

This time, though, Vanh was way more prepared. He wasn't going to get caught off guard again. This was going to be a real fight.

"Let the Grand Final begin! Fighters, please step onto the Martial Stage!"

Even that high-ranking military officer with eight rings used the words "please." That was because these finalists were already destined to be above regular High Humans. That's how you treated the strong.

Right after she spoke, from opposite ends of the arena, the two young men stepped forward slowly. Every single gaze in the stadium locked onto them.

Darian looked weak on the outside—skinny, and honestly, he seemed like just a bland support-type… but behind that look, everyone knew there was a deep, unstoppable power. Perched on his head, Niara kept her eyes on the entire stadium, filled with a fierce urge to fight.

Vanh, on the other hand, looked imposing as hell. As majestic as a volcano about to erupt. There was no trace of the wounds from the day before—he'd been treated with the best and most expensive care possible.

Standing several meters apart, Vanh stared daggers at Darian. But Darian… didn't even bother looking back. He just kept his calm, indifferent expression.

*Whooosh!!*

Even before the judge could declare the start, Vanh raised his arms, and a ball of black flames burned in the center of his palm. Staring at Darian, he smirked coldly and said:

"Feeling pretty confident, huh? Think you can actually do something without your dirty tricks? You're about to find out just how ridiculous that confidence really is."

He spat the words through his teeth, like he was holding back an unprecedented fury. And it was understandable — after that earlier humiliation, people could only feel sorry for him.

"You and the ones you beat before are on completely different levels. You and I, though... we're on the same level. But even between two people on the same level, the difference between us is like heaven and earth. A bastard who grew up alone in some mediocre empire? The biggest gap between real power and so-called 'talent' is resources and backing."

After he finished speaking, Darian locked eyes with him... his indifference remained unshaken.

"Who cares... I already beat the crap out of you once. I'll do it again. But this time, try to last a little, or I'm gonna be real disappointed."

The roar of the crowd echoed, making Vanh's expression twist even more.

Still, he didn't talk back. His pride and honor were on the line. He had to prove, with strength, that he really was everything he claimed to be.

"Begin!"

The judge's voice boomed like thunder, making everyone's hearts race.

In the very next instant, Darian and Vanh unleashed the full power of their rings at the same time.

One side lit up in orange — two rings. The other flared with intense yellow — three rings.

Vanh's long hair stood on end as the space around him warped. Black flames flared up like a demonic aura of pure violence. In his right hand, he held a sword glowing pure white. In his left, a dark, sinister battle axe.

Even before Vanh moved, just his posture and the air around him sent shivers down the spines of the weaker ones in the audience.

He radiated a threatening aura. Surrounded by black flames and spatial power, he looked like a warlord at the peak of mastery. A sense of inferiority settled in and started growing in the hearts of everyone who looked at him.

Niara snorted mentally. 'The Solar Federation Empire did way more than just heal this bastard. I can sense a subtle medicinal aura coming from him — definitely power-boosting pills. But the fluctuations are hidden from the public.'

*Whoosh!!*

Vanh made his move. With the help of spatial power, his speed was unreal. His sword and axe left two glowing trails in the air, like brilliant scars. They were terrifying — like the claws of a cruel demon that could wipe out all life.

"DIE!!"

Everyone watching was shocked. Vanh really was going all in from the start with a vicious, devastating attack.

The power he displayed already far surpassed anything he had shown in previous fights... In front of Darian, he wasn't holding anything back.

All eyes turned to Darian. Could he handle that attack?

At that exact moment, Darian moved. His eyes flashed in seven colors for a moment, and his calm body erupted with a crushing aura.

But... he didn't pull out any weapon.

He simply covered his fists in a dark power — and punched.

**BOOOOM!**

With a violent explosion, everyone was stunned... the entire martial stage was torn up, covered in cracks and scars, with chunks flying everywhere.

Throughout history, the martial stage had been destroyed many times — but this was the first time it was ruined in a single opening clash. And this... even after being reinforced.

From the start, there were no taunts, no trash talk or angry glares. Both of them just came in swinging with overwhelming force.

The martial stage was battered by wild, dense energy... both sides were using a strange dark power... and it made everyone feel an odd connection between the two of them.

They clashed in a fierce, hand-to-hand brawl. Their speeds were insane — each exchange echoed through the air like thunder roaring.

Vanh attacked relentlessly, abusing his speed. Darian dodged everything like he could see the future. Every now and then he'd feint a counterattack... and Vanh would instantly back off.

In just three seconds, the center of the stage was a complete wreck. Every part of the space around them was warped and scarred.

The whole crowd held their breath. They'd expected an exciting, eventful fight — but no one imagined it would be this intense right from the start.

"Holy crap... Darian... he's not even using a weapon..."

Someone said it out loud, and only then did everyone remember — their dazed eyes snapped back to the battle.

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