There were no bells and whistles.

No fancy techniques.

Only raw, tyrannical physical strength.

Ethan's leg smashed into Luca's spear like a falling mountain.

A shrill metallic scream echoed through the cave.

The black spear—clearly a holy-grade spiritual weapon—bent into a horrifying arc, its shaft trembling violently as cracks spread along its surface like spiderwebs.

Luca's arms went numb in an instant.

The overwhelming force surged through the spear and into his body, violently disrupting his blood and essence. His figure shot backward like a broken kite.

Boom!

He slammed into the cave wall, stone exploding outward in all directions.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood burst from Luca's lips.

He barely managed to stabilize himself, forcibly halting his retreat with brute demonic energy. Even so, the backlash made his internal organs churn, and his blood boiled uncontrollably.

Luca wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring at Ethan with eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible…?"

"This is pure physical strength!"

"This spear is a holy-grade spiritual weapon! Even if it's only low-tier, it cannot be bent by brute force alone!"

His voice trembled—not with fear, but with disbelief so profound it shook his worldview.

This kind of physical power…

It wasn't something a cultivator should possess.

No.

It wasn't something a human should possess.

Luca's gaze sharpened as a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.

"You're not human," he said hoarsely.

"Who are you, really?"

Ethan answered calmly, as if stating a trivial fact.

"I said it before. Azure Origin Dao Sect. Ethan."

As his words fell, the bamboo hat atop his head lifted into the air and shattered into fragments. The fox ears and tail he had been using to conceal himself dissolved into motes of light.

In the blink of an eye, the fox demon vanished.

In his place stood a young man with sharp features, calm eyes, and a body that radiated restrained but terrifying power.

"A human?!" Luca's pupils shrank.

"Ethan… Ethan…"

He muttered the name repeatedly, his expression suddenly changing as a memory surfaced.

"I remember now!"

"You're the one who caused chaos in Noble Sun City in Skyreach Territory!"

"The one ranked first on the Heaven's Prodigy List of Skyreach Territory!"

His gaze snapped toward Kara.

"Kara!"

"As sect master of the Black Demon Sect, you actually colluded with a human from Skyreach Territory!"

"You traitor!"

But then—

His lips curled upward.

Instead of rage, excitement surged into his expression, twisted and feral.

"Even better!"

This made things far more interesting.

Kara laughed coldly, the sound clear and sharp.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, don't forget—I was human to begin with."

"Living in Blackspire Mountain doesn't change where I come from."

"My home was never here."

Luca snorted.

"The Black Demon Sect raised you to the Supreme Realm, and you still think about Skyreach Territory?"

"Ungrateful white-eyed wolf."

Kara's laughter grew louder, tinged with mockery.

"What a joke."

"Don't think I don't know what the Black Demon Sect wanted from me."

"I was nothing more than a sword."

"On the surface, the old sect master treated me like family and passed the position to me."

"But behind my back, his confidants monitored every breath I took."

"Train human geniuses. Use humans to kill humans."

"Isn't that the ending you wanted?"

Her eyes burned with suppressed fury.

"As sect master, I wasn't even allowed to touch the sect's true core."

"Even at the Demon Ancestor Altar, everyone was wary of me."

"Those not of your race must harbor different intentions, right?"

"I understand you very well."

Luca laughed.

"Seems you weren't completely stupid."

"In that case…"

His gaze shifted back to Ethan, killing intent thickening like tar.

"I'll defeat him today."

"And then cripple your cultivation."

"So that Ethan can watch—watch how the women of the human race become obedient dogs kneeling before me."

The air exploded.

Luca's aura surged once more.

Blood essence burned violently within his body, forcing his combat power to climb beyond its limits.

This was the absolute peak of what he could unleash on his own under realm suppression.

His demonic blood roared like a furious sea.

"Good," Ethan said lightly.

"Now this is getting interesting."

He tossed the Star of Great Stillness upward as casually as throwing a ball.

The condensed fire sphere spun in the air, blazing like a miniature sun.

Ethan rolled his shoulders, guiding the star with fluid movements of his arms, letting it rotate before him in perfect harmony.

Luca's expression turned grim.

That fireball—

From the moment it appeared, Ethan had never released it.

Luca's instincts screamed danger.

Too strong.

Too unstable.

He analyzed quickly.

It must be difficult to control.

Slow to deploy.

If he misses, he'll leave himself wide open.

That must be its weakness.

His breathing steadied.

"Hmph."

"Ethan," Luca sneered internally. "I see through your weakness now."

Ethan tilted his head slightly.

"Weakness?" he asked with a smile.

"What weakness?"

He suddenly flicked his wrist.

The Star of Great Stillness shot outward—not toward Luca, but around the cave itself.

It revolved at terrifying speed, tracing a blazing orbit that engulfed the entire space.

The temperature skyrocketed.

Pressure crushed downward like a collapsing sky.

Flames spilled outward, flooding every corner of the cave.

Morwen gasped sharply.

The heat steamed her blood, her breathing growing erratic as sweat poured from her body.

The cave trembled as if on the verge of collapse.

Then—

The star returned.

It flew back into Ethan's palm as obediently as a trained beast.

The temperature vanished.

The pressure dissipated.

The cave returned to silence.

Ethan casually bounced the star in his hand, smiling faintly.

"Well?"

"Have you found any weakness now, Your Highness the Holy Son?"

Silence.

Luca stood frozen.

His mind was in chaos.

Everything he had just concluded—wrong.

The star was not unstable.

Not slow.

Not difficult to control.

It was terrifyingly refined.

For the first time since entering the Training Trial Secret Realm—

Fear crept into Luca's heart.

But it lasted only an instant.

He crushed it.

He was Luca.

Holy Son of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

The peerless genius of Blackspire Mountain.

Since childhood, he had crushed every opponent of his generation.

He would never allow himself to retreat without a fight, nor retreat before a member of the human race.

To do so would be a shame, an insult to the direct bloodline of his demon ancestor.

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 1 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 2 Extra Chapters

Dragon - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

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