A few seconds later, when the tournament demons had healed and taken away that poor assassin, an Elder moved toward Darian to take him back to the inscription. Darian followed him, excited.
...
Fifteen minutes later, when the inscription opened again, that entire cave was flooded with a pale green light. A terrifying wind-element aura spread out, leaving that demonic Elder stunned.
At the center of it all, Darian opened his eyes. In the very same second, everything vanished, as if it had never existed.
'Heavenly Elemental Body level 4,' Darian thought, excited. It was totally worth coming to this Tournament and taking advantage of that mountain. 'Now I've got the hang of it, next time I'll reach level 5.'
Without delay, Darian returned to the arena.
At that moment, another fight had already started. Darian looked at the martial stage and saw everything being engulfed in golden flames.
On one side was Pyreus; on the other… a shadow that soon disappeared. It was another demon assassin, from the Underworld Shadow Sect.
Darian watched the fight closely. Pyreus got pretty lucky and ended up facing an assassin a bit weaker than the one Darian had just fought. On top of that, now Pyreus and his allies weren't afraid of these assassins anymore.
Pyreus activated his flames all around, but didn't move. He held his sword with both hands, positioned in front of his body. His eyes were closed, and his senses pushed to the limit.
Suddenly, he moved to the right and slashed into the empty air.
*Clang*
A blade appeared there, clashing against his sword. At the same moment, he spun and slashed again.
"!"
He hit a shadow that vanished. Clearly, he missed, but that assassin had been there, and it was extremely close.
Darian nodded, satisfied. Pyreus used his flames and connected with them, amplifying his perception. At the same time, he used everything Darian had taught him, and now he was applying it.
Everyone in the stands watched with bated breath. They also understood this young man's movements, as he was repeating exactly what Darian had done before. But doing it this well on the first try required incredible ability and talent.
*SLAH!*
It didn't take long for Pyreus to slash again, and this time, blood flowed across the martial stage.
"Ahhh!"
That demon roared in pain, staggering backward. The sword struck his shoulder, cutting a few centimeters toward his chest. If he had been a bit shorter or slightly to the side, his head would be rolling right now.
"I lost."
That figure spoke directly, with an unwilling look. Continuing would only mean death, or even greater humiliation. Darian's fight had already been enough of an example.
Pyreus took a moment to react, frozen for a few seconds.
Then, when that demon left the martial stage, it finally hit him. His face trembled, unable to believe it.
"I… I really…"
He won, and now he was among the top 16 in the universe! Gildir and everyone from the Golden Crow Sect were ecstatic.
Pyreus was snapped out of it by the Elder, who took him to the inscription.
Meanwhile, Darian approached his group; everyone was smiling, genuinely happy for Pyreus's victory. He was lucky to face another assassin right away, but others in his place wouldn't have learned so quickly what Darian taught; so he had his own merit.
The next fights continued.
On the martial stage, Darian carefully observed a figure fighting. His name was Sauru, precisely the son of the Chaos Elementals Sect's leader and their greatest genius.
His opponent was a disciple from the Nine Star Tree Sect, the seventh strongest sect in the universe. Despite the big gap in power between them, it was truly a grand battle.
But…
'This Sauru… his control over chaos power isn't greater than Animoch's. His strength feels almost identical…'
Even though Sauru wasn't showing all his true power and kept the fight under control, his real mastery couldn't be hidden from Darian's eyes. He clearly noticed something strange. If this was the sect's greatest genius…
It meant he had something hidden, something very abnormal, that made him stand out so much.
The fight went on for nearly twenty minutes, until his opponent finally admitted defeat. Even using everything he had, he couldn't injure his enemy.
After that, more fights followed, without much brilliance.
Finally, Vymara's name appeared, leaving everyone from the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy anxious.
Her opponent was a Dragoness named Naxki, from the fourth strongest organization in the universe, the Dragon Ascent Sect.
Darian focused on that slender young woman covered in scales. Her feminine features were striking and eye-catching. Right away, he felt a strong similarity to Minril.
Both were Azure Dragons… but that wasn't all. Darian remembered when the people from the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy came to cause trouble in the sect. At one point, Minril told Darian she had a single cousin, from the same generation as him, who was also very similar to her.
Now the pieces fell into place; this seemed to be that very person. That cousin was truly an outstanding young woman.
Before the green light appeared, a wave of draconic power erupted.
With a powerful roar, a radiant Azure Dragon, several meters long, appeared. Naxki wasn't holding back and had already taken her true form, going all out from the start.
Vymara took a deep breath, drawing her dagger.
At that moment, the green light appeared.
*BOOOM!*
The two moved like lightning. In their very first clash, a violent explosion shook time and space.
Everyone in the stands watched the fight, completely glued to it. Those two women were like beasts in a frenzy, holding nothing back, filled with killing intent.
On one side, a Dragon radiating a tyrannical aura attacked. She used her long body and claws as weapons, moving through space itself. Her body was her deadliest weapon.
On the other hand, a much smaller human moved with agility. Around her, there was an intense blue light, with water runes constantly shifting. Sometimes they turned into ice to defend. Other times, mist to dodge and disappear. And other times, water attacks.
And on top of that...
Vymara's dagger emitted such a terrifying dark glow that just looking at it made people feel a chill run down their spine.
Whenever that dagger hit its target, that Dragoness let out a pained grunt, and black lines appeared across her body.
That was the power Darian had taught Vymara to use. The three young women had learned it, but Vymara was the most talented with it.
The two clashed again and again like blurs, in the most brutal and ferocious way possible. People started wondering if they were watching two demonic beasts fighting to the death.
Suddenly.
*ROAR!*
At that moment, the audience was certain—one side was a pure, terrifying Dragon.
When she felt cornered, her Bloodline reacted on its own, as if that situation was an unforgivable affront. A Dragon was meant to reign over everything and everyone, and nothing could suppress it. With that, all the black lines and wounds were healed.
Vymara and everyone from the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy were stunned. That Dragoness's strength wasn't decreasing… it was getting stronger and stronger! On top of that, she was healing from any damage! How was anyone supposed to beat something this broken?!
*BOOM! BOOOM!*
The two clashed again several times. Clearly, that Azure Dragon was becoming more and more brutal, and her energy wasn't dropping at all. Then…
*Aqua Doom!*
Vymara attacked with everything she had, ferociously, at the perfect moment. A violent wave of power shattered the martial stage along with space itself.
Naxki was caught off guard. She grunted as some of her scales cracked, then slammed violently against the barrier.
But… that was nothing.
When she looked forward, as space stabilized again…
"!"
Her entire body froze, and her eyes widened.
It wasn't just her; everyone in the stands stood up in shock.
At the center of it all, Vymara floated, surrounded by a sacred aura, as if she were a Goddess descended from the heavens. The laws of the universe resonated with her, and every cultivator could clearly feel it.
"A divinity candidate!"
The crowd roared, completely shaken. That's because… the only divinity candidate that young they knew was Purimary, from the strongest organization in the universe. Because of that, everyone was certain she would win the Celestial Tournament.
Even Purimary was already considered an extremely rare genius, something that had only appeared a few times in history. Normally, only those in the final realm of cultivation could become candidates, since those people had lived for a long time, studying and experimenting. For someone under ten thousand years old to create a Divine technique this early was terrifying.
**BUZZ**
The entire world trembled when Vymara waved her hand.
A shining spear made of pure energy appeared in front of her. But unlike when she used it against Darian, this time the spear was only two meters long, thin, and its power perfectly stable.
She extended her hand and grabbed it at the center. At that moment, her entire body changed, turning pitch black.
The air across the arena dried out, and a thin, dark, and malicious mist covered everything on the martial stage. That was the purest Yin many there had ever seen in their lives.
"This… this has the same aura as that inheritance from before! This is a technique from the Dead Goddess!"
A young woman shouted from the stands. She was one of the few who had also gained something from that trial inheritance that appeared years ago. Because of that, she recognized the overwhelming similarity.
Vymara now looked like an entity from hell, completely covered in darkness. In her hands, a bright blue spear created a striking contrast, making her unbelievably intimidating.
She moved her hands and pointed the spear at that Azure Dragon.
Naxki's eyes trembled. She felt an immense, deadly danger.
In the VIP room, all the sect leaders were stunned. That was because they clearly sensed something inconceivable. In fact, that young woman was using a complete Divine Technique, possibly from the Dead Goddess, together with her own incomplete divine technique.
"The offensive power of that…" Purina muttered, swallowing hard… even Purimary would be in serious danger if she faced that head-on.
As for that young Azure Dragon… she didn't stand a chance. If she didn't swallow her pride and give up, there was a real risk of dying or being severely injured.
The leader of the Dragon Ascent Sect in that room had a heavy expression. That was because he was certain no Dragon from his sect would ever do something like surrender; it was better to die than be dishonored like that.
On the martial stage, Vymara looked at her opponent calmly, with no intention of attacking.
Seeing her opponent's gaze turn into something suicidal, Vymara tensed up and thought quickly.
Fortunately, when she went to the Golden Celestial Lake to train, inside the Golden Crow Sect, she had a lot of contact with Minril. She even protected the disciples sometimes. Because of that, Vymara understood just how proud and explosive Dragons could be.
"Sorry for using this, I feel like it's a bit unfair. So this can't really be considered my victory. In the future, when you have the same, we'll settle this, how about it?"
Vymara spoke slowly, and the entire arena fell silent.
Unfair? Where? This was clearly her power; there was nothing wrong with using it. But…
Naxki's gaze and aura completely changed.
"Ok. I'll accept that I was caught off guard this time. We'll postpone our battle, and in the future, we'll settle this." Naxki's cold voice echoed; then she paused and snorted. "You win."
Everyone let out a breath. It was a wise choice to give up, but a Dragon's pride would never allow that. So Vymara gave her a more honorable way out, even if it was obviously just a flimsy excuse.
"HELL YEAH!!!"
Veyra's shout echoed through the arena. The three queens were completely euphoric; they had actually made it into the top 16 of the universe.
Vymara was taken away by the demonic Elder, amidst the crowd's cheers. Another divinity candidate who was young in the universe was something extremely shocking.
The next fight started being drawn.
...
An hour later, the round ended.
"The top 16 have finally emerged! All of them are the elite among elites, geniuses above geniuses of the universe!"
With the demonic Elder's words, the entire arena roared with excitement. Now the rounds would be much faster and with fewer fights, and every single one would be a close and incredible battle to watch.
"Let the draw begin!"
In the sky, the 16 names slowly moved.
Darian looked up calmly. He had already been first in a round more than once, so he was sure that…
*Darian, from the Golden Crow Sect!*
"..."
His name lit up immediately and separated from the others.
Then…
*Purimary, from the Yinblood Sect!*
At that moment, the arena almost collapsed. This was possibly the most anticipated final match. For everyone, they were the two biggest standouts of the generation, but now, by sheer bad luck, they would face each other this early.
