The mountain trembled as the giant formation beneath the arena lit up, expanding in all directions like a lotus blooming from pure light. Platforms rose and fell. Fog curled up from cracks in the stone. Floating islands drifted into a wild, uneven battlefield, nothing orderly, everything meant for chaos.

Elder Jian lifted the jade plaque.

"By Sect Master's order… the Battle Royale begins."

The barrier shimmered. Three thousand geniuses stepped forward. Some confident, some sweating, some shaking so hard their beasts trembled with them.

Tian Lei didn't even bother standing. He just waved lazily.

"Call your beasts."

A wave of power rippled through the entire arena. It hit like thunder.

One youth's silver-striped tiger stepped out, its roar shaking dust from the air. Another dragged out a vine-dragon spirit that slithered around his shoulders. Crystal wolves padded across the battlefield, leaving frost behind them. Fire birds screamed flames. Thunder lions crackled. Moon rabbits pulsed with soft glowing light. Gale wolves howled. Void panthers flickered between shadows.

Thousands of auras rose at the same time—resonance shaking the sky.

Beasts stood beside their masters, their power merging perfectly. Bodies strengthened, reflexes sharpened, elements awakened. Every single genius became twice as dangerous the moment their beasts answered the call.

Tian Lei cracked his neck and nodded once.

"Good. At least they won't all die at the first punch."

Lei Hong slapped his bare chest and laughed so loudly that half the disciples winced. Qing Xue kicked him in the leg. Su Mingyue pretended she didn't see anything.

The barrier dropped.

And the battlefield exploded.

Lightning beasts charged forward, their masters riding on their backs like thunder made human. Fire cultivators launched themselves across platforms, flames leaving trails behind them. Stone apes punched the ground, cracking entire islands in half. Moon rabbits blinked through attacks, kicking people clean off the stage. Crystal wolves froze whole sections of the floor, then shattered it with their claws.

Three thousand fighters and three thousand beasts moved like a living storm.

Tian Lei chewed sunflower seeds and watched, bored.

"Maybe ten of them are worth teaching."

Elders nearly spit blood at his evaluation.

Still, some fighters quickly showed they were different.

A girl with a golden crane soared above the chaos, firing light arrows that never missed. A boy and his gale wolf dashed in perfect rhythm, spear thrusts slicing through flames and wind alike. A masked girl fused with her moon rabbit, her body turning faint and soft like moonlight—kicking opponents before they could even blink. A youth with a void panther slipped between shadows, dragging enemies into darkness and dropping them off the stage without a sound.

The elders whispered among themselves, pointing out likely survivors. Some were impressed, some doubtful, some excited to see their sect's disciples perform.

But then a reckless fire cultivator decided to blow up an entire section of fighters at once. His flame boar snorted, flames swelling beyond control.

The blast hit a formation line.

Cracks spread.

The ground shook.

Elder Jian paled. "Sect Master! The battlefield—!"

Tian Lei flicked his finger.

A tiny sound.

The entire arena instantly repaired.

Everyone froze.

Tian Lei squinted lazily.

"Break my arena, and you fight me instead."

All three thousand sucked in cold air. Even the beasts lowered their heads.

He waved his hand without interest.

"Continue."

And they did—harder than before.

The silver tiger youth clashed with the void panther genius, claws and shadows tearing up entire platforms. The Scarlet Flame girl summoned a miniature fire phoenix, blasting ten people off a cliff of floating stone. Ice Palace disciples turned stretches of the field into frozen lakes where other fighters slipped helplessly. Beast God Valley's twin brothers merged with their lightning hawks and struck from above like falling stars.

The elders talked rapidly, pointing at certain fighters who still stood, whispering who had enough stamina, which beasts had better synchronization, who would probably last until the end.

Time passed. Attacks grew fiercer. Platforms shattered. Spirit fog thickened. One by one, fighters fell. Some knocked out. Some crushed. Some tossed off the edge screaming like chickens.

Eventually, the chaos thinned.

Only twenty figures remained, standing with shaky breaths, their beasts panting beside them. Clothes torn, blood on their faces, but eyes still sharp—unwilling to fall even one more step.

The crowd went silent.

Tian Lei finally got up.

"Congratulations."

His aura pressed down lightly, just enough to test them. A few trembled, but all twenty stayed standing.

"You move to the next trial."

Cheers erupted from every direction—sect leaders nodding, disciples shouting, elders breathing sighs of relief.

Qing Xue crossed her arms. "Not bad. Some of these children are acceptable."

Lei Hong puffed up, screaming, "I WANT TO FIGHT THEM TOO—"

Qing Xue froze his mouth shut.

Su Mingyue looked up nervously at Tian Lei.

"Master… what is the second trial?"

Tian Lei smiled like he was about to throw three thousand more people off a cliff.

"Oh. That's simple."

"It will be one-on-one matches until only the top five remain. Then those five will fight to determine who will be senior brother, senior sister, or junior brother and sister."

The twenty surviving geniuses stiffened.

Lei Hong burst out laughing. "GOOD! BLOOD, BONES, AND BROTHERHOOD!"

Qing Xue elbowed him in the ribs without looking.

Tian Lei clapped his hands once.

Instantly, the arena shifted again. The broken platforms reformed into a vast ring surrounded by soaring pillars. Floating seats unfolded around the edges so the various sect masters could watch comfortably—though most of them leaned forward instead, too excited to sit.

The twenty selected fighters were pulled upward by strands of spiritual light, placed on twenty separate floating stones above the arena. Each stone glowed faintly, like choosing them was the arena's will.

Tian Lei pointed lazily.

"The first two—come down."

Two stones flared. A young man with a silver-tiger spirit dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. Opposite him, the masked girl with the moon-rabbit stepped lightly onto the ring, her presence barely noticeable until she looked up.

The crowd murmured instantly.

"That's the tiger brat—he crushed ten people alone!"

"The masked one's movements were strange… almost invisible."

"Both have beast resonance above ninety percent!"

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