"Cultivation isn't fair," Aria replied. "Now—your badges. Hand them over, or I force you out like the others."

Kieran looked at his remaining allies. Jin nodded slightly. Lyssa grimaced but nodded too.

"We surrender," Kieran said, removing his badge. "You win."

They all tossed their point badges to Aria. She caught them, noting the totals:

Kieran: 1,247 points Lyssa: 1,089 points Jin: 1,334 points Others: 800-900 points each

Total gained: approximately 6,500 points.

Her badge updated: 7,000 points. And she'd only been in the dimension for an hour.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Aria said genuinely. "You're all skilled. But today wasn't your day."

"Clearly," Kieran muttered. Then, surprisingly, he smiled. "You were holding back in the application test, weren't you?"

"I showed what was necessary," Aria confirmed. "Nothing more."

"And this is you not holding back." Lyssa shook her head. "We're so outclassed it's almost funny."

"You'll get stronger," Aria assured them. "Everyone does, with proper training."

Jin gave her an appraising look. "This academy year is going to be interesting with you here."

"I hope so," Aria said. Then she turned and walked away, leaving the three standing there stunned.

Lumie chirped smugly from her shoulder. Told you. Dominate.

The next eleven hours were a blur of absolute domination.

Aria hunted Master-level beasts solo, defeating them with such overwhelming force that some died before they could even roar. Her Infinite Recursion Strike became her signature—one attack that erased targets from existence.

She encountered more student groups. Some surrendered immediately upon recognizing her. Others tried to fight and were effortlessly defeated. None lasted more than thirty seconds against her.

Word spread through the dimension fast: "Aria Vance is hunting. If you see her, surrender your points or get forced out."

Many chose to surrender. Smart move.

She accumulated points at a staggering rate:

Hour 2: 15,000 points Hour 4: 28,000 points Hour 6: 45,000 points

Then she found something interesting.

A senior academy student was "guarding" a valuable resource zone. He was a high-level Adept, probably at 65-70% Infinity Law comprehension. His point badge showed 5,000 points—the senior student bonus.

He noticed Aria approaching and smirked. "First-year candidate? Sorry, but this zone is off-limits. Unless you want to try stealing my badge?"

"Yes," Aria said simply.

His smirk faded. "You're serious? Kid, I'm a third-year. I've been training here for—"

Aria moved.

The senior didn't even see the strike coming. One moment he was talking, the next he was on the ground, badge in Aria's hand.

"How—" he gasped.

"Thank you for the points," Aria said politely, walking past him.

She found two more senior students in the next few hours. Both ended the same way—completely outclassed, their badges taken without real combat.

By hour 10, Aria had accumulated over 60,000 points. The next highest student was probably around 8,000-10,000 at best.

She'd effectively won the trial six hours ago.

In the observation area, the atmosphere was electric.

"She's at 62,000 points," an instructor breathed. "That's... that's more than the last fifty top students combined."

"She's defeated three senior students," another added. "Those are high-level Adepts! She shouldn't be able to—"

"She's not a normal Adept," Vice Dean Yara said calmly. "She has 50% Infinity Law comprehension and Sovereign-level training. She's effectively operating at low Master-level combat ability despite her cultivation base."

Sarah watched with pride. "That's what eighteen years with Elias will do. She learned from the best."

Kaelen was crying happy tears again. "Look at her go. Just completely dominating everyone."

Elias observed quietly, but there was satisfaction in his expression. "She's applying everything I taught her. Perfect technique execution. No wasted movement. Optimal strategy."

"She's making it look easy," Sarah noted. "Like she's just taking a casual walk through the dimension while everyone else is fighting for their lives."

"Because for her, it is easy," Elias said. "The gap between 50% and 30% comprehension is significant. Add in her training, and she's simply operating at a different level."

The final two hours, Aria spent hunting the most dangerous beasts in the dimension—the ones even senior students avoided. Master-level creatures worth 1,000 points each.

She found five of them.

All five lasted less than a minute against her Infinite Recursion Strike.

When the twelve hours finally expired, Aria stood alone in a clearing, Lumie on her shoulder, surrounded by cores and badges she hadn't even bothered to collect.

Her point badge displayed: 68,347 points.

The dimension began to destabilize—signal that time was up. Aria let the automatic teleportation carry her back to the gathering area.

She materialized to absolute silence.

Thousands of students stared at her. The ranking display showed her score towering above everyone else:

POINT BATTLE RANKINGS:

Aria Vance - 68,347 points Jin Silversky - 8,234 points Celeste Voidwalker - 7,891 points Marcus Lightblade - 7,556 points Kieran Voidstrider - 6,892 points

The gap was absurd. Incomprehensible.

Vice Dean Yara materialized, staring at the display with an expression of disbelief. "68,347 points. That's... that's the highest score in the trial's entire history. The previous record was 15,000."

She turned to Aria. "You defeated three senior students, killed numerous Master-level beasts solo, and dominated every student you encountered. All in twelve hours."

"Yes, Vice Dean," Aria said simply.

"And you did this while showing restraint," the Vice Dean added. "I could tell. You were holding back so you didn't accidentally kill anyone."

"Father taught me to use appropriate force," Aria confirmed. "Excessive destruction is inefficient."

More shocked silence.

"She calls 68,000 points 'restrained,'" someone muttered.

Vice Dean Yara shook her head slowly. "Aria Vance. Three trials. Three perfect performances. You have achieved what no student in our fifty-million-year history has accomplished—perfect scores in all categories."

She paused, then smiled. "Welcome to the Epochal Ascendance Academy. You are officially accepted with highest honors."

The gathered students erupted into applause—not resentful, but genuinely awed. They'd witnessed something legendary. Someone who didn't just pass the trials, but redefined what "excellence" meant.

Mira was jumping up and down, cheering. "That's my friend! That's ARIA!"

Torin was shaking his head with a smile. "We made the right call going solo. I got 4,500 points and ranked 47th. Respectable. If I'd stuck with her, nobody would remember my score."

Kieran approached Aria cautiously. "I just want to say—no hard feelings about earlier? You were completely justified in taking our points."

"No hard feelings," Aria agreed. "You all fought well. You'll be great cultivators someday."

"Someday," Kieran laughed. "You're already great. We're just trying to catch up."

More students came to congratulate her or simply stare in awe. Aria handled it gracefully but felt overwhelmed.

Then she spotted her family in the observation area. Mother was crying, Father had that almost-smile he got when he was proud, and Sarah was laughing with joy.

Aria waved up at them.

They waved back.

Three trials completed. Three perfect scores achieved. History made.

But more importantly—she'd made her family proud.

And really, that was all that mattered.

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