In the center of the Divine Seven-Star Sect, there was a massive arena, and right now, it was already packed with people.
At its core stood a martial stage made of an earthly ore that wasn’t easy to break. On top of that, it was relatively simple to repair using the system’s Earth Law. The stage was several dozen ters wide and had a small defensive inscription protecting the spectators.
"There they are!"
A shout echoed when Darian, Remira, and the others arrived, and countless eyes turned to them.
But most of those eyes were cold and mocking. Especially when they landed on Darian, they were full of killing intent, like they wanted to strike him down on the spot. After all, Darian had shown up at the sect and killed people — sothing they couldn’t accept.
Darian didn’t care, since he knew not all of them were bad. They were just ignorant and didn’t know the ones he killed were traitors.
Soon after, the gazes of the stronger ones shifted to shock. They noticed all those soldiers seed different from before. Their faces were glowing, as if they were completely different people.
Suddenly, deafening shouts erupted. In the distance, General Lachlan and his soldiers arrived, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Compared to Remira and Darian’s arrival, Lachlan’s was like the difference between clouds and mud. He had powerful origins, being the son of a Dean, and on top of that, a great leader.
As for Remira, she really lacked leadership and charisma. But Darian felt she was trustworthy — as long as she was kept under control.
She did have plenty of admirers, since she was talented and also very beautiful. Still, everyone kept quiet, not wanting to get dragged into trouble.
The applause alone showed the gap between her and the two opponents. It wasn’t a matter of power. People just didn’t have faith in her as a leader.
The main reason was that she caused too many problems and seed not to care about anyone, not even her soldiers. She treated everyone like nobodies. But that was just a false impression, caused by her prideful and arrogant attitude.
In truth, she felt weak and insecure. She had lived her whole life relying on her Bloodline and other powers, and now that she had lost everything, she had to start over — and it would take ti for her to get used to it. Since she refused to bow to others, she kept everyone at a distance so they wouldn’t get implicated and punished along with her.
Quickly, both sides approached the martial stage.
At that mont, the Sect Leader, Murral, appeared, descending from the skies personally into the center of the arena.
Ever since Darian beca vice-leader, the whole sect seed ready to explode. Countless people begged to see the Leader, and the Deans even went as far as blocking the gates of his residence. But Murral had never given them any answer.
Now, finally, he appeared again before everyone.
"Sect Leader, you’ve hidden yourself away for seven whole days, refusing to see us. What are you planning?" one Dean shouted in a grave tone.
"It was just to stay away from pointless chatter. Even if I saw you, it wouldn’t change my decision. Besides, your boring comnts are irritating to listen to, so I decided to avoid them," Murral said with a smile, showing not the slightest anger at the Dean’s aggressive stance.
"What kind of morality or ability does this killer have to beco vice-leader?! Why didn’t you inform the Deans first? If you make decisions on your own, what’s the point of the twelve Deans existing?!" another yelled, his voice filled with passion.
Out of the twelve Deans, seven stood together, all wearing dark expressions. They looked ready to join forces and attack the Sect Leader.
Seeing this, everyone in the arena was stunned.
What was going on? These Deans were joining together... were they trying to force the Sect Leader to step down?!
Everyone knew the Deans held almost the sa authority as the Leader. They had been created out of fear that the Leader’s authority might beco excessive. Without them, if a foolish Leader made the wrong decisions, the entire sect could be destroyed.
But throughout history, even though there had been disagreents between the Deans and the Sect Leader, everything had been settled through votes and peaceful agreents. Sothing like this had never happened before.
But now... seven of them, making up the majority, were absolutely furious and openly speaking against the Leader in front of everyone.
"After today’s battle, you’ll understand. Just watch and wait a little," Murral said softly, before turning toward the two sides standing at the corners of the martial stage.
"The rules are simple: whoever declares defeat or is incapacitated loses. First, the soldiers of a full battalion will fight in one-on-one battles. In the end, the General and the Vice-leader will decide it."
Remira had already explained to Darian that, in the sect, a battalion ant at least eighty people. That was exactly the number of soldiers he had trained.
Each soldier’s win was worth one point. In the final fight, the victory would be worth forty points.
By the rules, he could form a battalion using soldiers from any General, so taking Remira’s people was within bounds. She wouldn’t fight, since the challenge was against Darian.
"Send your soldiers!" Murral finished, leaving the stage. All the Deans and he would act as judges.
The crowd roared in excitent.
Darian turned to that first beautiful woman he had "trained." She would be the first to fight.
She nodded, her eyes shining, and stepped in calmly. Everyone stared at her in admiration. Her expression was serene, a sword resting at her waist, only highlighting her striking beauty even more.
"My na is Zatrian!"
She roared and drew her sword. In that instant, her gaze turned sharp and murderous, and the atmosphere in the arena instantly grew cold.
Pointing her blade at a female figure among the enemy soldiers, she shouted:
"Nezitin! Co out and fight!"
It was an open challenge. Technically, the leaders were supposed to pick their fighters, but it looked like there was so personal grudge between them. It wasn’t sothing simple — Zatrian’s killing intent made that clear.
Soon, another figure stepped onto the martial stage. She was tall and thin, her eyes dripping with pure mockery.
"Since you want a beating so badly, I’ll give it to you."
Nezitin’s expression was dark. Not because she saw Zatrian as a serious opponent, but because she thought Remira and Darian were trying to humiliate her on purpose with that challenge.
To her, even if she won, it would still be shaful to fight soone as weak as that woman.
All three other Generals knew Zatrian, since she always stood out a little wherever she went. Years ago, when she first ca to the sect, she took the test to join their battalions. But... she was rejected for being too weak.
Back then, she had a lot of pride. Seeing that, the recruiters beat her down without rcy and failed her. Nezitin had been one of the ones who did it.
"A bitch who only knows how to wag her tail dares to challenge ? Did you already forget the beating I gave you before? I won’t stoop down to that killer’s level—killing sect mbers only harms everyone. But... if I leave you half-dead again, it won’t be a problem."
"If I lose, I don’t care about losing my life. But Boss Darian told to win. I can’t fail, or I’ll lose his trust. So, sorry to say, but I might be a little too rough with you. Be careful, I don’t want anyone blaming if I end up killing soone by accident." Zatrian spoke slowly, shifting her sword to the side as fierce winds rose around her.
Everyone swallowed hard when they felt that sharp aura. From the weakest to the strongest, everyone was shocked by her presence.
"How is this possible? That woman was trash, rejected by the three Generals. How can she suddenly have such a powerful aura?"
Even if it was just her opening stance, her movents, her gaze, and the firmness in how she held her sword made for an impressive transformation.
Then, all eyes turned to Darian, only to see him sitting calmly next to Remira, eyes closed, like the whole fight didn’t matter to him at all.
*BOOM!*
The battle began.
Gripping her sword with both hands, Zatrian swung at her opponent, blasting her backward.
Nezitin was stunned by Zatrian’s surprising power. Her style specialized in defense, mixing earth and ice, but she couldn’t block the strike and was forced to retreat.
Remira’s army erupted in excited cheers. That single strike gave them huge confidence.
Over the last seven days, they had gone through hellish training. Darian had beaten them without rcy, shattering all their confidence and rebuilding their hunger for power.
At that mont, Nezitin’s sword started to glow.
She raised it, unleashing ice thorns all around, controlling them at will. Everyone in the arena was impressed—that was a refined technique.
"She used her trump card!" People in the crowd who had seen her fight before shouted excitedly.
The attack ca from all directions, impossible to dodge.
But to everyone’s shock, instead of retreating in front of Nezitin’s powerful attack, Zatrian charged straight in, her sharp sword cutting forward.
*Slash!*
Suddenly, with just one clean strike...
An explosion of ice shook the arena. Everything shattered, and Nezitin was thrown back, smashing into the barrier before bouncing off and coughing blood.
"Impossible!"
Even Lachlan was shocked, unable to believe what he saw.
Remira, on the other hand, smiled in satisfaction.
That "refined technique" was nothing but an illusory trick. Zatrian had already fought shadows far stronger than her, and thanks to Darian’s training, she learned to sense real danger with her body. That made it easy to spot the flaw in the attack and cut the core, collapsing everything.
In the next instant, Zatrian’s sword was already hovering inches from Nezitin’s throat.
"You lost." Zatrian’s voice echoed through the arena.
One single move... in just one move, it was over.
Remira’s army erupted in thunderous cheers. Now they understood that not every enemy was as monstrous as Darian. Those who once looked invincible in their eyes... were really just average, at best.
"I won’t submit!" Nezitin roared furiously.
But her cry only drew mockery. To many, refusing to admit defeat was pathetic.
"Not gonna surrender? Fine. Then I’ll beat you until you do. Boss Darian taught how to hit a woman in the places that hurt the most... and also the ones where you learn the most." Zatrian said with a nostalgic glow on her face. Then she pulled her blade back.
"..."
At that mont, literally everyone in the arena locked their eyes on Darian... all with weird expressions.
Darian swallowed hard, not knowing where to put his face.
’What the fuck! I’m innocent! This woman’s insane!’ he thought in despair, but couldn’t say a word out loud.
Remira burst into loud laughter, amused by the situation, which only made Darian even more uncomfortable.
Many scoffed, looking away and shaking their heads in disapproval.
anwhile, the two clashed again.
*BOOM!*
An explosion shook the arena, wind and earth colliding violently. But...
On Zatrian’s chest, only a small tear appeared in her clothes, revealing a piece of white skin, without any sign of blood or wound.
Nezitin, on the other hand, lay far away, struggling to get up.
After a few failed attempts, she coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her body began to convulse violently.
Then, she completely passed out.
"Nezitin lost." the Sect Leader announced loudly.
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