The barrier of the martial stage shattered, terrifying all the cultivators in the stands. Not even the leaders of the greatest sects, at the absolute peak of Celestial cultivation, could do that in a single move.
Only a few managed to see a multicolored light colliding like a flash, and then everything broke.
If they were hit by that… would they have any chance of surviving?
The explosion was so violent that the shockwaves would've definitely killed the weaker ones off guard. But fortunately, runic currents appeared around the martial stage, like a dome. Those runes weren't purely defensive, meant to block; their purpose was to absorb energy in emergency situations, dispersing everything outside the arena.
No one ever imagined something like that would be used one day, but it ended up saving many lives. In the end, everyone only felt a heavy impact, and some spat a bit of blood.
Even so, everyone was still frozen in shock. In front of them, at the center of everything… they saw Darian holding Sauru by the neck, with a dark expression.
The power of peak chaos erupted from Sauru's body. However, no matter what he did, Darian's hand continued to firmly suppress him.
Vymara was at the edge of the martial stage, lying on the ground and staring ahead in shock. Her eyes trembled, feeling like her life had just been given back to her.
Everything happened very fast. Veins pulsed along Darian's arms as his power rose, while Sauru's body trembled. Strange sounds came from him, as if he were about to be torn apart.
"DARIAN!! HOW DARE YOU!!" A thunderous roar echoed from the VIP room.
All the leaders of the organizations stood up with cold expressions. No matter the reason, Darian had gone too far now. They had taken a moment to react because it was impossible for a disciple like him to have destroyed the barrier and invaded.
The only one calm was, of course, Remira. No matter what Darian did—even if he was now someone else and didn't remember her—she would trust him first and protect him.
But…
"AAAAAH!"
A piercing scream of pain echoed from Sauru.
Darian quickly moved his other hand to Sauru's chest and pulled, ripping something out with a horrifying sound.
*BUZZ*
At that moment, all the leaders froze in place, stunned.
Space began to hum, and a pulsing gray light, along with a terrifying chaos power, emerged from the void at the center of the martial stage.
Everyone in the arena felt their hearts beat out of rhythm, their souls trembling. An infinite, irresistible power erupted, striking them like a hammer.
"What… that's the power of the *Infinite Chaos Seal*!" Purina recognized it instantly.
Everyone's gaze locked onto Darian's hand. From inside Sauru, he had pulled out a single gray rune. And that was the epicenter of everything.
That was a power that made even the most powerful figures in the universe feel fear. It was the absolute force of an entity above the immortal level.
The Infinite Chaos Seal was the supreme treasure of the Chaos Elementals Sect, left behind by its creator, the first Chaos Heavenly Elemental Spirit, Mihkriel. Purina and many others had already visited that sect and felt the pure and terrifying power coming from that Seal.
But what was in Darian's hand was just a rune…
"THAT'S ONE OF THE 12 CORE RUNES!" Purina, who was highly knowledgeable in inscriptions and ancient inheritances of the universe, understood the Infinite Chaos Seal more deeply than most.
"That core rune is permanently connected to the Infinite Chaos Seal. It can transfer external energy into the seal, but it can also channel the purest accumulated power of the seal outward through it. Bastards! That kid is cheating, using immortal-level power!"
Remira and the others were immediately shocked.
They had felt something slightly off when Sauru created a bit of chaos power in his hands earlier. It looked simple, but he managed to hold Vymara's divine technique with his bare hands. That was already far beyond external power—it was outright cheating.
The reason they hadn't realized it was supreme immortal power was because chaos power was naturally abnormal and strange. Its fluctuations resembled many things and, at the same time, nothing. Since none of them had deep knowledge of it, they couldn't understand what was happening.
But… Darian saw exactly what was going on. That's why he wouldn't let Vymara die like that.
All of this happened in two seconds. At that moment, Remira's aura of fury flared to its peak.
Everyone in the VIP room felt their souls tremble… or almost everyone.
"NOW!"
*Wooooooosh!*
Suddenly, another massive tremor shook the arena, along with a surge of energy.
Darian slowly lifted his gaze toward the VIP room. He let out a dry snort, already expecting something like this.
Everyone inside the VIP room suddenly found themselves falling into a gray world. Everything around them vanished, and a terrifying pressure came from all directions, crushing them.
Before, inside that room were all the leaders of the ten greatest organizations, along with at least ten of their most trusted Elders. They were the absolute elite of the universe, having reached the maximum power Celestial cultivation could offer.
All of them reacted instantly, activating all their strength, but…
"!"
They quickly felt the power in their bodies destabilize. The leaders felt all their celestial power being suppressed, unable to leave their bodies. The weaker Elders started coughing up blood uncontrollably.
**BUZZ!**
"BASTARD!!"
A hate-filled roar echoed, along with a hum that made space-time crack.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. They couldn't see or sense properly, but they knew Remira was there.
"You unhinged bitch. Scream all you want; now that you've fallen into the trap, you'll die slowly, writhing like a rat… just like you deserve."
A dry voice echoed, and everyone there changed expression.
"Seymuh! How dare you trap us!" Purina roared.
A light laugh echoed in response.
At that moment, the leader of the Chaos Elementals Sect was floating above the arena. Below him, it was as if a completely gray sphere, several meters wide, existed at the top of the arena.
Around the sphere, his ten Elders were connected in a formation, eyes closed and completely focused.
Purina was absolutely right about where Sauru's power came from. This was their sect's secret weapon, something they had only recently managed to achieve after, by chance, finding a very ancient inheritance… its creator was known as the Heavenly Spirit God.
This was an extremely ancient entity, one Darian knew a bit about. In short, that inheritance taught the Heavenly Elemental Spirits how to create something new and anomalous within themselves. After many trials, the people of this generation in the sect managed to fuse the 12 core runes of the Infinite Chaos Seal.
Obviously, it was something absurdly complex, requiring unmatched talent and control. The ten main Elders of the sect and their leader managed to do it and carried that power within their bodies. As for Sauru, he was the only one of the younger generation to achieve it.
Because of that, the Chaos Elementals Sect was completely confident they would win the Celestial Tournament. No one would ever be able to notice what was happening if Sauru only used a small portion of that extra power. Not even that Demoness could. But…
Against all expectations, that young man clearly noticed. Even so, technically, what could he do?
Darian not only figured it out but also attacked, destroyed the barrier, and then revealed the truth to everyone.
So, Seymuh, the leader of the Chaos Elementals Sect, had to use his emergency trump card.
He took advantage of the moment of shock in the VIP room, and their confidence that nothing could happen to them. Then he made all ten Elders activate their core runes, connecting to the Infinite Chaos Seal and channeling its power.
Those ten were using 100% of what they had, even burning their own lives to maintain it.
*BOOOM!*
A violent, muffled sound echoed from inside. But there were no extra ripples.
The only one who could be attacking was, precisely, Remira.
90% of all the power was being used to completely seal her. With just the remaining 10%, it was already enough to seal the others.
Remira, in truth, had only been allowed to return to this universe and wait for Darian because she wasn't an immortal yet. Her power was at the absolute peak of the cultivation here, the same as everyone else. But thanks to her bloodline from two figures above the immortal level, she already possessed incomparable power.
Unfortunately…
*BOOOM! BOOOM!! BOOOOM!!!*
She attacked with everything, holding nothing back. But nothing changed.
The power coming from the Infinite Chaos Seal was a pure essence from someone far above her. It was created to generate chaos power infinitely, and thus give life to thousands of new Chaos Heavenly Elemental Spirits each generation.
So, the level of power contained within it to make that possible was undeniably beyond comparison.
At that moment, Seymuh turned toward the martial stage.
Everything happened very, very fast. In an instant, Darian attacked. Two seconds after everything stabilized, he exposed what was hidden, and mere seconds later, this entire scene unfolded.
"Today will be the day the entire universe will remember for eternity." Seymuh's voice thundered.
"Finally, my Chaos Elementals Sect has reached a level above the entire universe. I declare that: we are now the number one, the hegemonic power of the universe. Any organization that dares oppose our strength will be eliminated."
Everyone in the stands heard that and felt a primitive fear paralyze them. The tone of his voice and his aura were completely different from what they knew. It was as if he had been wearing a mask before, and had finally taken it off.
And it wasn't just there. Numerous artifacts in the arena were transmitting everything live across the universe. Countless cultivators watched with wide eyes.
The meaning behind his words… was nearly despair-inducing. He had just declared that all the peace and order in the universe would be completely overturned. He wanted to be the sole hegemon and control everything?
That could only mean total chaos and a lot of bloodshed until things stabilized.
"That said, I'll give everyone a demonstration! The nine leaders of the former supreme powers of the universe, along with all their strongest Elders, and also… that cursed Demoness…
All of them will be executed!"
His voice was filled with malice, striking every living being in the universe like a bolt of lightning.
He let out a dry laugh. "Of course, if the nine leaders choose to kneel peacefully and hand over everything their powers possess to me, I might reconsider. If not… it doesn't matter, I'll take everything myself."
Seymuh hadn't planned to do all this now. His plan to reveal himself, perfectly and without flaws, would still take a few more centuries to execute. That was because, at the center of the universe, in the most dangerous place, there were some terrifying and problematic figures who could cause him trouble.
Before, he preferred not to take that unnecessary risk. But now, after defeating the leaders and main cultivators of the universe all at once, he could plunder all organizations and close himself off quickly. That way, nothing could stop him. In fact, this Celestial Tournament had become a huge early gift.
The chances of any of those figures returning now and destroying everything were almost zero, as long as he acted fast.
"I'll give the nine leaders exactly 5 minutes to think it through. Not a second more." Seymuh's voice turned heavy, then…
…his eyes shifted down to the ground, at the center of that grand arena.
"In the meantime… I'll get rid of a troublesome mosquito."
On the martial stage, Darian was still holding Sauru by the neck, calmly listening to and sensing everything happening.
At that moment, Darian slowly raised his gaze.
His eyes met that figure radiating malice.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Just you?"
His voice sounded slow and lazy.
"Hahaha… you think someone's going to save you, brat? Let go of my son now, and I promise you a quick death. Or… I'll make you feel—"
*BOOM!*
Before he could finish, a violent explosion echoed brutally.
Sauru didn't even have time to beg for his life. Darian simply tightened his grip, and his entire metamorphosed body exploded… along with his true body, which was a small chaos rune.
**BUZZ!**
At that moment, the sky changed color; everything was covered in darkness.
Everyone in the stands turned pale in horror. The only thing that existed was that figure in the sky, radiating boundless dark power.
"HOW DARE YOU!! I'LL DESTROY YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW!"
That leader's voice sounded like a demon straight from the gates of hell. But…
"So noisy… well, I was already tired of playing around, fighting these kids." Darian's voice was completely emotionless. His eyes began to shine, emitting a multicolored light like a star.
At that moment, Seymuh felt a strange disturbance in his soul. He stared at Darian coldly, unable to understand what he was feeling.
"Looks like you've got big ambitions, thinking you're all-powerful, using someone else's borrowed toy. But my time is valuable. Come…" Darian said, casually gesturing with his hand.
"I'll give you 5 minutes. That's all the time you'll have to struggle a bit before you die. Your son is waiting for you… and don't worry, soon I'll send everyone in your sect to join you."
