The Nova Emperor did not waste a single second.

His heart was pounding against his ribs like a trapped bird.

The vision he had seen through the Third Prince, the way Noah's voice had hijacked a royal body from across the stars, haunted him.

He fled the Elder Hall and made his way toward the forbidden sector of the capital, where the air grew thin and the gravity felt ten times stronger.

He reached the Palace of the Ancestor, a structure made of ancient white jade that shimmered with a cold, ghostly light.

Without hesitation, the Emperor of the most powerful human empire in the universe dropped to his knees on the hard stone path.

"Ancestor! I beg for your guidance!" he cried out, his forehead touching the ground.

"Our race is on the brink of disaster!"

He was about to launch into a long explanation of the events in Aetherion, but a voice drifted out from the jade gates.

It was a voice that sounded like grinding stones, ancient and tired, yet filled with a terrifying clarity.

"I have seen what happened," the Ancestor said from within the darkness of the palace.

"I felt the vibration in the Laws."

"That aura... it was from the Half-Step Transcended realm."

"In this universe, such a thing should not be possible."

"Our limits are set by the heavens themselves."

The Emperor trembled.

"Then it was an artifact?"

"No," the Ancestor countered sharply.

"I am sure that being did not use any artifact to amplify his aura."

"It was pure."

"It was internal."

"He is probably not from this universe."

"Maybe a demon from the outer void?"

"Or something even worse."

The Emperor swallowed hard.

If even the Ancestor, who had lived for millions of years, was wary, the situation was dire.

"Then what should we do?"

"Should we establish a diplomatic relation with this Earth Empire?"

"Don't be a fool," the Ancestor snapped.

"Even if he is a Half-Step Transcended being, he is arrogant."

"Challenging all those ancient races at once, the Dragons, the Phoenixes, the Spirits, it will be his doom."

"Even a god cannot fight the entire universe alone."

"We do not want to take the burn when the Dragons decide to turn Aetherion into a charred husk."

The Ancestor's voice grew cold.

"Make our position clear to those empires."

"Tell them the Nova Empire has no part in this madness."

"We are loyal to the old order."

"Let Aetherion fall alone."

"As you wish," the Emperor replied.

He felt a sense of relief, but the image of Noah's calm eyes through his son's face still flickered in his mind.

He bowed one last time and left to send the messengers.

In Aetherion,

Noah stood on a floating platform, looking down at the massive arena being carved out of the earth.

He wasn't using workers.

He was using the Law of Earth and the Law of Space.

With a simple wave of his hand, mountains moved, and the ground hardened into a material stronger than diamond.

The current arenas couldn't handle the battle of the level he expected.

He wanted a place where his generals could go all out without accidentally vaporizing the entire planet.

He was also observing the progression of his twelve generals.

The Enlightenment Spirit Pills were doing their job.

He could feel their auras sharpening, shedding the shell of the Immortal King realm and reaching for something higher.

Noah had calculated his own growth as well.

In the remaining twenty-five days before the ceremony, he estimated he could comprehend five hundred more Laws.

The Cube in his soul was spinning faster than ever, processing the fundamental codes of the universe at a dizzying speed.

While the world prepared for war, the Chaos Temple, the most mysterious organization in the universe, was holding a silent meeting.

Nineteen Sages, beings who had lived since the dawn of time, sat in a circle of light.

"What should we do?" one Sage asked, his form flickering like a candle.

"The balance of the universe is being shifted by a single man."

"Should we kill that human, or let him do what he wants to do?"

"He possesses a power that shouldn't exist here," another whispered.

"If we interfere, we might trigger a collapse of the realm."

"Let us not be hasty," the Grand Sage said, his eyes closed.

"Let's enter the tournament."

"We will sit in the shadows and watch."

"We will know what he is capable of soon enough."

"If he is a threat to existence, we will erase him together."

Five days had passed since the announcement.

The planet of Aetherion was now surrounded by a shimmering, translucent barrier that Noah had personally casted.

It wasn't meant to keep people out, but to filter who could enter.

Noah was sitting in the Sorus estate, drinking a cup of tea, when he felt a ripple at the edge of the atmosphere.

He opened his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

Outside the barrier, a fleet of golden ships shaped like birds hovered in the void.

"We are the emissaries of the Phoenix Race!" a sharp female voice erupted, magnified by magic.

"Her Majesty, the Phoenix Queen, requests permission to enter the Earth Empire!"

One of the Phoenix guards, a tall woman with hair like flickering flames, leaned toward the Queen.

"Your Majesty, why do we have to be so polite with these lower-level trashes?"

"The Nova Empire even sent a messenger to tell us they aren't part of this madness."

"It just proves how pathetic the human race is."

"We should just fly through."

The Phoenix Queen, a woman of breathtaking beauty with eyes as clear as crystal, shook her head.

She looked at the barrier with a strange intensity.

"I have a feeling that something special is going to happen here."

"I don't want to be rude."

"What if this Noah Aldric turns out to be truly powerful?"

"My instincts are never wrong."

The guard went silent, but her eyes still held disdain.

She couldn't understand why her Queen, a being of the Ancestral True Phoenix bloodline, was being so cautious.

Inside the estate, Noah's voice traveled through the void, bypassing the guards and entering the Queen's head directly.

It was a manly, calm voice that felt like a warm breeze.

"Thank you for attending the tournament so early," Noah said.

The Queen flinched slightly.

To transmit a message so clearly through her own mental defenses was a feat she hadn't expected.

She smiled, her curiosity growing.

"I am just interested, that's all."

"But where would we stay?"

"Your city seems... under construction."

"Please stay anywhere you like," Noah replied.

"The capital is yours to explore."

"Everything is free for our guests."

The Phoenix Queen tilted her head mischievously.

Her bloodline was not from this universe, and she had always felt out of place here.

She had never found anyone who could match her energy, which was why she was still a virgin, guarding her ancestral blood for someone worthy.

Five days ago, when the announcement came, her heart had skipped a beat for the first time in tens of thousands of years.

She felt a pull.

A karmic connection.

"But would you allow us to live in your house?" she asked.

"I find the energy near you much more... comfortable."

Noah paused for a moment.

"No problem."

"Please come inside," Noah said.

Suddenly, a swirling portal of purple and gold light appeared directly in front of the Phoenix Queen's ship.

It was a direct path to the inner sanctum of the Sorus estate.

Because they were conversing mentally, the subordinates had no idea what had been said.

The captain of the guards looked at the portal with suspicion.

"Your Majesty, what is this?"

"Is it a trap?"

"It is the portal for our residence," the Queen said, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Come."

"Let's see what this new Emperor looks like up close."

As the Phoenix ship passed through the portal, the Queen felt the air change.

The spiritual energy here was five times denser than in her own palace.

She stepped off the ship and saw a young man standing in a simple garden, petting a small puppy on his shoulder.

He didn't look like a conqueror.

He didn't look like a god.

He looked... perfect.

The Queen stepped forward, her heart racing.

"I am Liara of the Phoenix Race."

"And you must be Noah."

Noah looked up, his eyes meeting hers.

"I am."

"Welcome to the Earth Empire, Liara."

"I hope you find the accommodations to your liking."

The guards behind her were ready to bark insults at the arrogant human, but the moment they looked at Noah, their tongues froze.

They couldn't explain it, but standing near him felt like standing at the edge of a cliff.

One wrong move, and they would fall into an abyss.

"You're different from the legends of humans," Liara whispered, walking closer than she should.

"Is that so?", Noah chuckled.

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