The moment Levi absorbed the celestial mark from the Tiger Demon, a surge of power flooded through his meridians like molten metal. His body trembled as the slaughter pattern etched itself deeper into his soul, reinforcing the first mark he'd already acquired.

[Ding! Celestial Slaughter Mark acquired: 5/10]

[Physical Strength increased by 4%]

[Soul Strength increased by 4%]

[Killing Aura enhanced]

The rush of power was intoxicating, but Levi didn't allow himself to be distracted. He needed to find a safe location to consume the Blood Refining Fruit. The treasure glowed a crimson color in Luna's embrace as she perched on his shoulder, her tail swishing curled around the precious item.

Levi turned to leave the battlefield, searching for a place he could quickly consume the treasure without being disturbed.

"Stop right there."

A cold voice rang out.

Levi's steps halted. He turned slowly, his expression cold as he turned to face the speaker.

A young man stood behind him, approximately nineteen years old with sharp features and confident posture.

He wore the Elite Class uniform, and his cultivation base radiated the pressure of a Peak Level 9 Genetic Soldier, just one step away from breaking through to the Fiend Warrior realm.

The youth's eyes swept over Levi, recognition flashing across his face. "I know you. You're Levi Borne, the first-place student from the trial examination." His tone was indifferent, almost bored. "Drop the fruit."

Levi's eyebrow raised slightly. "And if I refuse?"

The youth's lips curved into a condescending smile. "Then I'll take it from you. You're already exhausted from your previous battles. You can barely stand. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

For a moment, silence stretched between them.

Then Levi spoke, his voice calm and measured. "If I could deal with a Tiger Demon at the Fiend Warrior realm and kill it, what makes you think I can't easily kill you?"

The youth's confident expression faltered. His eyes widened slightly as he processed Levi's words. "You… you killed a Fiend Warrior realm demon?"

"See for yourself."

Levi gestured casually toward the massive corpse of the Tiger Demon lying in the ruins nearby. The creature's bisected body was still smoking, its blood pooling across the shattered stone. The wound was clean, a devastating strike that had cleaved through flesh, bone, and demonic energy with absolute finality.

The youth's face paled as he recognized the corpse. That was one of the four guardian statues that had come to life. He'd watched it rampage across the battlefield, killing multiple students before Levi had… defeated it?

"Impossible," the youth muttered. "You're only Level 3—"

"BOOM!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a figure descended from the sky and landed beside the youth with enough force to Crack the ground beneath his feet.

This new arrival was another top ten student, ranked eighth. He was a muscular young man with bronze skin and a massive greatsword strapped to his back. His aura was similar to the first youth's, Peak Level 9 Genetic Soldier, on the verge of breakthrough.

The newcomer's eyes swept from Levi to the Tiger Demon's corpse, then back to Levi. A faint smile played at his lips.

"Impressive," the eighth-ranked student said, his voice carrying genuine admiration. "To kill one of the guardian avatars alone… you're stronger than your cultivation suggests." He paused, then his expression hardened. "But I'm afraid we can't let you leave with that fruit."

The first youth seemed to regain his confidence with backup arriving. "That's right. The Blood Refining Fruit is too valuable to waste on someone with an F-rank talent."

Levi's expression didn't change. His voice the same as he spoke.. "So you guys want to gang up on me? "

"It still wouldn't make a difference." He replied expressionlessly.

The confidence in Levi's tone made both students frown. Levi sounded too confident and, way too confident for their liking.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a third figure descended from the sky, landing gracefully between Levi and the two male students.

She appeared to be about eighteen years old, with long black hair tied in a high ponytail that swayed as she moved. Her eyes were incredibly sharp and her aura was noticeably stronger than the others.

Levi's danger sense tingled slightly as he analyzed her cultivation base. Half-step Fiend Warrior. She'd already touched the threshold of the next realm and was consolidating her foundation before breaking through.

She was actually the third-ranked student in the Elite Class.

The female student's gaze swept over Levi coldly. When she spoke, her voice was extremely chilling. "Levi Borne. You've already killed a fellow academy student. That's a serious violation that warrants either expulsion or death." Her lips curved into a slight smile.

"Therefore, we could easily kill you right now without any repercussions. Drop the fruit, and we might let you live long enough to face the academy."

Levi's expression changed slightly. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the three students.

Three opponents. All stronger than him individually. One of them already half-stepped into the Fiend Warrior realm. He was exhausted from multiple battles, his body still healing from countless wounds.

The smart move would be to surrender the fruit.

But Levi had never been one to make the smart move when it conflicted with what he wanted.

His hand moved to rest on the handle of his Severing Abyss saber.

"Even if I were to die," Levi said slowly, his voice carrying an edge of steel, "I have confidence in killing one, crippling another, and severely injuring the third. The academy might kill me anyway do I much as well deal with you guys.."

The three students' faces immediately darkened.

The threat wasn't empty, they could all sense extreme danger reverberating through Levi. Moreover, he had nothing left to lose. And if he truly could kill Fiend Warrior realm demons, then taking one of them down before dying was entirely plausible.

The question was: which one of them would it be?

None of them wanted to risk being that unlucky person.

The silence stretched as they gritted their teeth as stared at him.

Levi chuckled coldly. Without another word, he turned his back to them and began walking away.

The three students watched him leave, their expressions gloomy.

They'd been outmaneuvered by a Level 3 Genetic Soldier.

-----

Levi had just moved twenty steps when his entire body froze as his spine tingled like an air raid siren!

His expression changed drastically.

At the exact same moment, the expressions of all three students behind him also transformed from frustration to shock and horror.

"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!"

A massive aura erupted throughout the entire secret realm!

The pressure was so intense that weaker students across the battlefield were forced to their knees. The air itself seemed to thicken, becoming difficult to breathe. Dark energy rolled across the sky like storm clouds, blocking out the sun and casting everything in a massive shadow.

Levi's head snapped upwards and his face scrunched up.

The severed body of the Tiger Demon he'd killed, suddenly began to dissolve. Its flesh liquefied, turning into streams of black blood that rose into the air like gravity had been reversed.

But it wasn't just the Tiger Demon.

Across the battlefield, the corpses of the other three demon guardian statues that had been killed by the top ten students were also dissolving.

The Minotaur's massive body turned to blood. The Serpent's body also liquefied. Even the dual-headed humanoid's corpse broke down into dark crimson streams.

All four blood-streams shot through the air like missiles, converging on a single point in the sky.

That point was where Aldric Frostborne, the number-one ranked Elite Class student, had just finished his battle.

Aldric stood in mid-air, his silver hair whipping in the wind, his ice-blue combat suit stained with blood and torn in several places. Before him floated the bisected corpse of the fourth and strongest guardian statue, the dual-headed humanoid with blade-wings.

He'd just delivered the killing blow moments ago, a devastating technique that formed a hundred-meter-long blade of concentrated ice that cut through space itself.

"Frozen Sovereign's Decree: Glacial Palace Execution!"

The massive ice blade had cleaved the demon in half from head to groin, the two pieces now falling toward the platform below.

"BOOM!"

The four streams of demon blood converged on the falling corpse pieces with explosive force!

The black blood merged into the corpse. The two halves of the body slammed together with a wet 'squelch,' sound as the the severed flesh knitting back together as if the fatal wound had never existed.

Then the body began to change.

"What the? " Aldric's eyes opened as he frowned.

The humanoid demon's body started to expand, growing larger as it expanded. It's muscles bulge, swelling to three times their previous size. Its skin darkened from pale gray to pitch black, and Cracks of crimson light spread across its surface like lava veins.

Then the heads appeared.

From the demon's neck, three additional heads erupted like tumors breaking through skin.

The Tiger Demon's head emerged on the left.

The Minotaur's bull-headed form burst out on the right, steam billowing from its nostrils, as horns expended from its head.

The Serpent's head grew from the back of the neck, its forked tongue flickering as it tasted the air.

And in the center remained the original dual-headed form, the male face frozen in manic laughter, the female face screaming in pain.

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