Chapter 1822: First Round - 4
Max looked at him for a few breaths.
Orion had used only one star mark, and even that had not revealed much. But the precision, speed, and pressure of that single beam were enough to show why he was considered one of the strongest geniuses of the Nine Star Court. His strength was not only destructive. It was controlled.
Then came Kaiden Voidmere.
[Battle Twenty-Nine]
[Kaiden Voidmere vs Liora Sunshard]
Kaiden’s opponent was a woman with radiant sunfire wings. She did not underestimate him. The moment the battle began, she rose into the air and released dozens of golden fire feathers, each one carrying enough heat to burn through divine metal.
Kaiden stood still.
The fire feathers reached him.
Then they vanished.
There was no explosion. No impact. No clash.
They simply disappeared into faint ripples of void.
Liora’s expression changed, and she immediately tried to retreat, but the space behind her quietly folded. Kaiden appeared there as if he had never moved, one finger already touching the back of her neck.
"You lose," he said calmly.
Liora’s face turned pale.
[Winner: Kaiden Voidmere.]
[Liora Sunshard Eliminated.]
Max narrowed his eyes slightly.
Kaiden’s use of void power was extremely clean. It was different from ordinary space manipulation. It felt deeper, quieter, and more absolute. Since Kaiden had already sensed the Void Genesis Art in him and called him junior brother in a roundabout way, Max had been paying closer attention to him.
Now, after seeing this battle, Max was even more certain that Kaiden was not simple.
’His void path is far ahead of mine,’ Max thought.
Not long after, Ervin’s name appeared.
[Battle Thirty-Two]
[Ervin vs Darius Stoneveil]
Darius Stoneveil was a defensive cultivator with an earthstone body. The moment he entered the stage, stone armor covered him from head to toe, and layers of heavy barriers rose around him. It was clear that he wanted to survive long enough to find an opening.
Ervin walked forward with his black spear in hand.
There was no violent aura at first.
Only a faint darkness gathered around the spear tip.
Darius roared and strengthened his barriers.
Ervin thrust once.
The black spear pierced through the first barrier, then the second, then the third, then the stone armor, stopping just before Darius’s chest. Every layer had been penetrated in a straight line, as if the spear had ignored the distance between them and gone directly to its target.
Darius froze.
Ervin withdrew his spear calmly.
[Winner: Ervin.]
[Darius Stoneveil Eliminated.]
Max’s expression became a little more focused.
He had fought Ervin in the Genesis Trial, so he already knew Ervin was dangerous. But outside the trial, Ervin’s abyssal spear still carried that same strange depth. It did not look overwhelming, but once it moved, it seemed to sink through all defenses until it reached the core.
’Still hiding most of his strength,’ Max thought.
Battle after battle continued.
More names were called. More participants were eliminated. Some battles lasted long enough to draw attention, while others ended in a few moves when the difference in strength was too large.
As the first main round progressed, it became clear that the strongest geniuses were being preserved for later clashes. Damian, Rakan, Rosaline, Orion, Kaiden, Ervin, and Max had all won without revealing their true trump cards.
On the pillars, the participants who had advanced watched the remaining battles with heavier expressions.
The weaker half of the final hundred was being removed.
The arena was becoming more dangerous with every victory.
Max stood quietly on his pillar, observing everything.
He had seen Damian’s refined sword, Rakan’s brutal fists, Rosaline’s radiant suppression, Orion’s star power, Kaiden’s void control, and Ervin’s abyssal spear. None of them had revealed their Pseudo Cosmic Paths or deepest foundations yet, but even the small glimpse they had shown was enough to prove one thing.
The final round would not be boring.
Max’s gaze swept across the pillars of the top geniuses, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
The first elimination stage was only the beginning.
The real battles were still waiting ahead.
The randomizer continued spinning after Ervin’s battle.
Several more names flashed across the light screen before finally slowing down again. This time, when the two names appeared, many participants instinctively turned their attention toward one particular pillar.
[Battle Thirty-Five]
[Revona vs Caelum Brightforge]
The moment Revona’s name appeared, Max’s eyes shifted toward her.
Revona stood silently on her pillar, her long hair moving slightly in the faint wind of the arena. Her expression was calm, almost indifferent, and her eyes were still closed. She had not shown much presence since the final round began, but Max had never underestimated her. He had fought her before, and he knew better than most people here how strange and dangerous her Void Origin Eyes could be.
Caelum Brightforge, on the other hand, was a tall young man wearing golden armor. A blazing hammer rested on his shoulder, and his aura carried the heat and weight of divine flame mixed with forging power.
From the whispers around the pillars, Max quickly learned that Caelum was a famous genius from an ancient blacksmith clan, someone who combined weapon refinement, fire control, and body tempering into one combat style.
Angelina Valerius looked at both of them calmly.
"Revona. Caelum Brightforge. Enter the stage."
Two beams of light descended.
Revona appeared on one side of the central arena, her eyes still closed, while Caelum appeared opposite her with his golden hammer in hand. The barrier around the arena brightened again, and the runes across the stage lit up beneath their feet.
Caelum looked at Revona seriously.
"I have heard of your eyes," he said. "I know they are dangerous."
Revona’s voice was calm. "Then you should attack with everything from the beginning."
Caelum’s expression became sharper. "That was my plan."
[Battle Thirty-Five Begins.]
Caelum moved first.
Flames erupted from his golden armor, and the hammer in his hand expanded in size as if it had awakened from a dormant state. He stomped on the ground and rushed forward, each step leaving behind a burning footprint on the arena floor. The temperature inside the barrier rose sharply, and a wave of golden fire surged behind him like a furnace being opened.
"Divine Forge Hammer, First Strike!"
His hammer descended with terrifying force.
The attack was powerful enough to make many participants narrow their eyes. It carried both brute strength and flame pressure, and as the hammer fell, the air itself seemed to be compressed into a burning wave.
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