The whole arena went dead silent. Everyone was wide-eyed, gripped by a deep sense of dread.

Did Darian actually dare to kill the heir of that family during the tournament? He had to be tired of living.

Everyone had seen Niara, covered in blood, snort sharply. Then her body began to glow, evaporating all the blood. Calmly, she turned and walked back to Darian's side.

He, on the other hand, remained calm — just like the Empress and the members of that family watching from the stands. Because... a disgusting cockroach couldn't be killed that easily.

Not even two seconds had passed. Suddenly, a subtle fluctuation was felt by the strongest ones in the arena.

Out of nowhere, a distortion formed in the void, right where Vanh had been before being struck down. His headless body, still lying there, twitched... and then vanished.

"!"

The younger ones in the crowd looked like they'd just witnessed the most shocking thing in their lives. All of a sudden, Vanh reappeared in the same spot as the distortion. He was fully alive — and with his head intact… worse, he was radiating a fierce yellowish aura.

"No way… the ring's power… his wounds… everything's back?!"

A high-ranking military officer, just as stunned, took a deep breath and nodded: "I think... that's a Supreme Artifact called: Divine Return."

Others heard the name and looked thoughtful. That artifact was somewhat well-known, since it used time itself in unbelievable ways. It was a brutal, high-level way of manipulating time, which was why more than one version of it existed throughout the universe.

Still, the artifact didn't have unlimited power. It could only restore someone from any injury, returning them to the exact state they were in up to an hour earlier — as long as that condition was met. After being used, it would take months or even years before it could activate again.

Even so, Vanh had literally died a brutal death in front of everyone. How the hell did he manage to activate it? And how could it show a power so far beyond what had ever been recorded?

Darian watched everything without showing a single emotion. Amara had already told him Vanh possessed that artifact, which was exactly why he'd taken his time and been so calm up until now. His goal was to force him to burn that resource first, since it would take ages before he could use it again.

As for the reason the artifact seemed so much stronger than it should be… that was because of the stolen variant spiritual root in his body.

Darian was sure: his father, after undergoing some kind of ancestral awakening, had gained a unique power tied to space-time. Since he refused to become a Spiritual Guardian, that power remained dormant inside him.

Darius had made his choice: to live peacefully with his wife, without having his life constantly on the line… but he paid a heavy price for that decision.

Vanh stared at Darian at first without emotion. It took his brain three seconds to process what just happened. Then, his expression twisted immediately.

"Oh? So how was it — dying?" Niara mocked.

"I tried to make a beautiful and epic blood rain, so the great heir could at least die in style. But… not even the laws of the world wanted to take you away... Dan, should we just keep beating him till the heavens beg for mercy?"

The crowd took a deep breath in sync. Vanh, meanwhile, started sweating like crazy. He was back… fully healed, with the ring's energy and everything... but what the hell could he do?

Darian smiled: "Alright. This is getting boring and dragging on too long."

"Okay!" she replied with a bright smile, stepping forward. "Hey, dumbass! Don't give up till the end! Show us your pride!"

Silence fell again. Darian snorted, and the black power around him pulsed. The white power around Niara followed.

They moved together, like two bolts of lightning.

Vanh's eyes widened, and in desperation, he pulled out his battle axe.

Niara came from behind, Darian from the front.

*BANG!*

Blood splattered.

*CRACK!*

The sound of bones snapping echoed.

*BANG! BANG!*

"WARGHHHH…"

A ridiculously pathetic scream rang through the arena. Vanh was being viciously beaten without a shred of mercy. He looked like a ragdoll getting tossed back and forth nonstop.

He had 100% of the ring's power, his weapons — everything had been restored by time...

He tried to summon black flames for defense — he was a tank, after all. But Niara's strikes, charged with white power, landed on him… and that power seemed to crumble like it was being purified.

He tried to use spatial power to escape… but the truth was, he could only use it thanks to the resources his family had poured into that spiritual root, which made it easier to control.

The variant spiritual root wasn't fully bonded to his soul. It was connected, just like Darian's soul-space ring; something external hidden within. The Wube family had bought tons of spatial materials from other planets and had them absorbed into the root. That's how he could use the stolen root's power… but he couldn't even tap into 1% of its real potential.

Those were the resources Vanh had burned earlier for that devastating strike. And now, even fully restored, he was nothing more than a child playing around against Niara and Darian.

The audience wasn't even shocked anymore… they were numb after everything.

Now everything made sense. Darian could've beaten Vanh to a pulp in seconds from the very beginning if he wanted to. But this battle was deeply personal, and he had to make it hurt as much as possible for that family.

He had guts like no other. There wasn't a soul who didn't respect that. But after this tournament… he was going to have to deal with the fallout.

"Vanh!!!"

"Heir!!!"

Voices filled with rage echoed from one corner of the martial stage. Behind the barrier that protected the crowd, a dozen people with dark expressions stood. They were, without a doubt, members of the Wube family.

The crowd was staring at Vanh, who kept getting hit and thrown around like a ball… or a piece of meat soaked in blood.

His face and body were already completely mangled. But… for some reason, he wouldn't fall, much less give up.

"!" A young man in the audience widened his eyes.

An older person next to him sighed, "Yeah, Darian's still a healer. Looks like that white power from the... Dragoness... is being used to heal Vanh. They're literally toying with him, humiliating him as much as possible without letting him pass out."

"B-But why doesn't Vanh give up and end the fight?!"

The young man asked what everyone was thinking, but nobody had an answer. According to the rules, all he had to do was say he surrendered.

What no one knew was that, using the black power, Darian was invading Vanh's body with every punch.

First, he invaded his mental sea, completely distorting his mind. It was like Vanh couldn't think straight or react—he couldn't even form the thought to cry out his surrender.

Then… Darian started invading his variant spiritual root with the black power.

"Open this fucking thing! That bastard's gonna pay for his arrogance!"

A member of the Wube family roared, and then a blinding white power burst from his eight rings. He ordered the martial stage's barrier to be opened. If they didn't, he'd attack and destroy it himself.

Darian saw this and smiled.

Suddenly…

"FUCK OFF!"

A furious female voice echoed. Out of nowhere, a stunning woman with green hair and red eyes flew out of the VIP room window. She floated in the air like a goddess, staring down at the man on the ground with a piercing glare.

"Empress Camille…"

People from the Aeternum Atlantis Empire recognized their leader, confused. Including Darian. Why was that woman so furious and willing to help him?

"You dare stop me?!"

In response, a powerful golden aura burst from her. The sky above the arena turned golden, and everything focused on that man. If he dared to make a move… he knew she would strike him down without mercy.

Inside the VIP room, Alexandra clenched her fists, unsure of what to do. Just as she was about to say something, the man on the ground shouted:

"This is an order from my lady! I'll capture and punish that bastard! Six emperors! If you don't step in and put an end to this, the Wube family will cut ties and treat you all as traitors!"

The whole place fell into silence… almost. The only sound was that of a blood-soaked hunk of meat—barely human—being beaten.

The crowd sighed. The consequences for the emperors if they didn't help would be far too great. Just for a young and still weak kid like Darian? Better to end it now…

It didn't even take a second—an imposing man moved with a cold, equally furious expression. He stopped beside Camille and looked down. The man below swallowed hard.

"Father…"

Amara murmured. It was Nikolai Rorik, leader of the Polar Circle Empire.

Darian saw that man for the first time. His wife was the blood sister of Darian's mother. Nikolai, once a poor man born in that empire, married her and joined the family, taking on their name. Even so, as Amara's father, Darian understood—this was someone who would protect him.

But right behind him, surprisingly, another man with Asian features stepped forward calmly.

It was Tian Yu, from the Celestial Order Empire. He scoffed, staring down.

"This is a bit unfair. Darian's still following the rules. I won't let your family act like it's above everything and everyone."

Darian saw three emperors on his side and was left speechless. There used to be four. Blaine, from the New Arcadia Empire—the one Darian came from—didn't move. He clearly didn't want to go against the Wube family.

At that moment, the man from the Wube family scoffed. Then, all twelve members of that family unleashed the power of their eight rings. The emperors all had nine rings—on paper, those twelve didn't stand a chance. But…

A circular mark appeared on each of their chests. It was the Wube family's immortal-level technique. The emperors wanted a fight? Those twelve wanted to see how far they'd go.

At worst… both sides would die.

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