After the winner was decided, several figures from the organization took the victor, Pyreus, to a region on the mountain. The Demonic Elder didn't waste any time and immediately carried out the draw for the next match.
...
When Pyreus returned, the second fight had already ended, and the third was about to begin. The ones who had fought earlier were from the top 20 of the universe, and it was a quick clash where the stronger one was obvious from the very start.
The third fight was practically the same.
It was when that fight ended, in the next draw, that two names finally appeared:
*Darian, from the Golden Crow Sect, versus Animoch, from the Chaos Elementals Sect*
Everyone in the stands stood up excitedly. Darian was definitely the absolute center of their attention, because no one could see the limit of his power.
A faint smile appeared on Darian's face. It seemed fate… no, he was sure his father, under his mother's pressure, was moving some of the pieces a little. After all, he was Heaven's Will. Something small like this, which should be random, wouldn't cause any major problem for him.
That sect had been created by one of his father's old allies. On top of that, he was the one who created the Chaos Heavenly Elemental Spirits. So the sinister actions of that sect hadn't gone unnoticed by them, and they were more than happy to cooperate with Darian in wiping them all out.
The two competitors took their positions at the center of the martial stage.
Animoch was using metamorphosis and looked like a handsome elf, with long golden hair carefully tied into a braid.
The green light appeared above them. But neither of them made any movement.
Darian was calm and serene; the other had an amused look on his face.
In the audience, everyone from the Chaos Elementals Sect was also watching with amused expressions. After all, no matter how strange Darian's power was, there was no way someone like him could compare to disciples from the top 5 of the universe.
All of those organizations had existed in the universe since time immemorial and possessed more than one inheritance gathered over time, as well as vast knowledge and resources. All of their elite disciples were unmatched figures, who had possibly even survived a Celestial Annihilation like Darian had before.
Animoch's eyes were half-closed as he looked Darian up and down. There was a vague smile on his face, as if he were evaluating an interesting toy.
"Not bad. The Golden Crow Sect never managed to stand out much, even though it's a sect even older than mine."
Animoch's words left the audience somewhat shocked; that kind of knowledge was quite limited to the ancient powers. Few people knew which sects were the oldest. People always imagined that the older a place was, the more powerful it was. But now this fact broke that conviction.
Darian nodded lightly. He knew that because of that book. Indeed, the Golden Crow Sect had existed since the time when his father and mother were still cultivating. But back then, that sect specialized only in Alchemists, not true cultivation.
They had once been one of the greatest in the universe. But they were forced to completely abandon that path because of the creation of the Hellfire Pill Sect. There was simply no way to compete with them.
So they had to change completely, building a new legacy of cultivators from scratch. Until now, that new path still hadn't borne fruit.
Looking at Darian's calm and indifferent expression, Animoch could only feel fury burning in his chest.
"Well, that sect has finally recovered a bit of its questionable ancient prestige. You've done very well so far. But… it seems you forgot to teach respect to your disciples, even with mediocrity still soaked into your bones. You must be thinking you're no longer trash, right? Feeling all-powerful after crushing a few ants before, and now you don't even put me in your eyes, correct? hahaha"
Darian remained silent, with his arms behind his back. But his expression subtly changed… now there was clear mockery on his face.
Animoch calmly extended a finger toward Darian. "Mediocre boy, I've always been a kind-hearted person, so I'll give you a warning out of courtesy. My power is somewhat… difficult to control when I go all out. So it's very likely I might overdo it. If you end up dead because of a moment of carelessness on my part, it would be a huge loss for your sect. Right when they're finally rising, tsc, tsc, that would be pretty pathetic, wouldn't it?"
"Therefore, I'll grant you an opportunity out of kindness," Animoch said, raising five fingers with a smile. "I'll give you five seconds. Surrender voluntarily, disappear from this place forever, and keep being king among the mediocre frogs where you came from. That way you'll still keep a bit of pride, and I'll avoid dirtying my hands with trash like you."
Gildor and everyone from the lesser powers of the universe had dark expressions. Animoch made malicious and mocking comments without the slightest consideration for someone like him should have. He was clearly despising all the medium sects, calling them mediocre frogs.
But…
Darian replied with a smile. "You keep using the word 'mediocre' to refer to me…"
"How could I not? How many times have people from your sect surrendered without fighting before? You think you're great just because you fight those you can kill, right? But when real mortal danger approaches, you give up like cowards."
Animoch spoke coldly, referring to the battles of the top 1000. He obviously wanted everyone to have fought against those allied organizations of his, so they would be killed.
Darian smiled. "Looks like you really despise the act of yielding or surrendering, don't you?"
"Hahaha," Animoch laughed with extreme contempt. "Real cultivators fight until the very last moment, even if that means dying. Only mediocre trash would beg to live, surrendering like an insect. However, seeing disgusting trash like you begging… heh, that's also a kind of pleasure. So I'm giving you this opportunity… let's end this, you have five seconds to surrender!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
Animoch folded his five fingers one by one, but Darian remained motionless.
Darian didn't show the slightest sign of nervousness or fear on his face, nor any expression of anger or humiliation. This greatly reduced the sense of pleasure Animoch expected, and his gaze gradually became sinister.
"1!"
Folding the last finger, Animoch smiled. "I gave you this opportunity to avoid any unexpected problems. Heh… you won't have the chance to regret it anymore!"
Animoch was known in his sect for his arrogance and domineering attitude. Seeing the other side feel anger and humiliation but not daring to resist gave him a perverse sense of pleasure.
But today, he couldn't see the satisfying effect of his words and actions on Darian, which instead stirred anger in his heart.
The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly acted. As he raised and extended his right arm, a whirlpool of Chaos power appeared in his palm and then shot toward Darian's heart.
The other disciples from the top 5 narrowed their eyes; Animoch was truly shameless.
Despite having an 'absolute superiority', he not only made the first move, but his attack was incomparably ruthless and cruel. If that attack hit its target, even a disciple from the top 5 would be severely injured in an instant.
"Darian!!" Everyone from the Golden Crow Sect watching turned pale with fear.
Darian didn't move even a single centimeter. Everyone imagined the reason; it should be difficult to move even a finger under the suppression coming from the Chaos power of that enemy.
*BOOOOM!!*
Animoch's attack created a tyrannical wave of energy that struck Darian first. Time and space became chaotic, making it difficult to see the martial stage.
At the center of it all, a faint malicious smile appeared at the corner of Animoch's mouth as his killing attack was about to hit Darian, but…
His smile vanished completely as the attack simply passed through the air.
The only thing he saw was an afterimage dissolving into space.
Animoch was surprised and suddenly turned around…
Darian was still in the same posture as before, with his arms behind his back. He remained calmly standing there, and the distance between them was less than ten steps.
"He used something with Chaos power!" some disciples from the Chaos Elementals Sect exclaimed in surprise. Everyone from that sect clearly felt, even if only faintly, the power of Darian's movement technique.
They couldn't believe their senses. Controlling Chaos power was something impossible for ordinary cultivators. Only they, who were born from that power, could do it easily.
Someone stronger from the Chaos Elementals Sect snorted. "He must have discovered a new inheritance. That explains how his sect has been doing so well. But no matter how powerful his movement ability is, it can only help him temporarily avoid defeat. He still has no chance of winning."
Everyone in the stands nodded in understanding.
At the center of it all.
"Wow, not bad, I must say." Animoch turned around, narrowing his eyes.
Animoch didn't seem to make any movement, but an explosion of power suddenly erupted from him. Dozens of bolts created from Chaos power were released in an instant, turning into a huge net of distorted claws that suddenly swept toward Darian.
Dozens of Chaos bolts struck Darian simultaneously, but only produced a faint sound as his residual image dissipated.
"!"
Animoch turned around in shock when Darian's aura reappeared behind him.
Animoch's expression had now become gloomy. His attacks had missed the target twice in a row. After saying all those things, this was the same as being slapped in the face. Without a doubt, it was a huge embarrassment for such a thing to happen in front of everyone.
He slowly turned around with a dark smile. "Hah, you actually have some skill at running away. In that case… let's see if you try to run again!!"
The Chaos power in Animoch's body suddenly surged, releasing nearly seventy percent of his strength at once and locking firmly onto Darian… all that power froze even space itself, preventing any movement technique from being used properly.
At that moment, Animoch flew toward Darian and threw a punch.
"You disgusting worm… get out of here!!"
Facing Animoch's fierce attack, Darian didn't choose to dodge this time. Instead, he remained still, the corner of his mouth forming a faint and icy smile.
**KBOOOM!**
Animoch's destructive attack struck Darian squarely in the chest, producing an explosion of energy that shook everyone…
"AAHHHH!"
After the sound of the explosion, a figure was mercilessly sent flying away. Its painful and incomparably miserable scream echoed through the entire arena like thunder.
