The Royal Battle had already devoured the arena.

  What was once polished stone and sacred formation lines was now a battlefield of fractured earth, burning sigils, frozen craters, and rivers of lingering qi. The sky above shimmered beneath layered barriers, each one reinforcing the stadium as stray attacks thundered against it like artillery from gods.

  Explosions bloomed in every direction.

  Golden core experts clashed midair like living comets. Poison mists swallowed entire sections of the arena before being blasted apart by star-infused beams. Martial artists shattered the ground with their fists. Illusionists twisted perception until enemies struck at shadows.

  And at the center of it all—

  Kaelaric Ashborne stood.

  The Demon of Execution.

  His black-and-crimson coat fluttered in the chaos, untouched by dust or blood. His long blade rested lazily over one shoulder, its edge gleaming like a silent promise. Around him lay three unconscious cultivators—each one eliminated with surgical precision.

  He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

  High in the stands, Elder Wu narrowed his eyes. “He hasn’t moved from that spot for ten minutes.”

  Lysandra leaned forward, smiling faintly. “He doesn’t need to.”

  Across the arena, another presence stirred.

  The ground cracked—not from an explosion, but from pressure.

  A young man stepped forward from the smoke of a collapsed section of the arena. He wore white martial robes trimmed in gold, torn at the sleeves from earlier combat. His physique was lean but coiled with contained power, veins faintly glowing beneath his skin like threads of molten light.

  His eyes burned with intensity.

  Metiso Alucard had fallen earlier in the tournament, but this—

  This was someone else.

  A murmur rippled through the crowd.

  “That’s him…”

  “The Heavenbreaker Physique…”

  “A direct disciple of the Heavenly Martial Sect’s Grand Elder…”

  Elder Wu’s expression sharpened.

  Lysandra whispered softly, “So they sent him after all.”

  The young man stopped thirty meters from Kaelaric.

  Their gazes met.

  The air between them tightened.

  “I am Ardent Vale,” the martial cultivator said, voice calm yet resonant. “Bearer of the Heavenbreaker Physique.”

  Kaelaric tilted his head slightly.

  “…Kaelaric Ashborne.”

  Ardent’s eyes narrowed faintly. “I know who you are.”

  A pulse of golden light radiated from Ardent’s body.

  The Heavenbreaker Physique awakened.

  His bones glowed like forged steel. His muscles hummed with divine resonance. Each breath distorted the air as if gravity bent subtly around him.

  “This physique,” Ardent continued, stepping forward, cracking the arena floor beneath his heel, “was born to shatter restraints. To break suppression. To transcend limitations.”

  He pointed at Kaelaric.

  “And you.”

  Kaelaric’s red eyes glimmered faintly.

  “You reek of execution.”

  Silence fell around them.

  Then—

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  They moved.

  —

  The collision was instantaneous.

  Ardent vanished in a blur of golden force.

  Kaelaric’s blade came down just as Ardent’s fist struck upward.

  Steel met bone.

  A shockwave detonated.

  The arena cratered beneath them as golden and crimson qi exploded outward in a violent spiral. Nearby combatants were blown back like leaves in a storm.

  Ardent pressed forward, teeth clenched. His fist didn’t break.

  Instead—

  The blade trembled.

  Kaelaric’s brows lifted slightly.

  “Oh?”

  Ardent roared and unleashed a flurry of strikes.

  Fist.

  Elbow.

  Knee.

  Palm.

  Each blow carried heaven-breaking force, shattering space with concussive cracks. The Heavenbreaker Physique allowed his body to ignore recoil; every strike grew stronger as it met resistance.

  Kaelaric retreated three steps, parrying with precise blade arcs.

  Clang.

  Boom.

  Crack.

  Each collision carved trenches across the battlefield.

  “You’re holding back!” Ardent shouted, slamming his heel downward.

  The ground split open like a canyon.

  Kaelaric leapt upward, coat fluttering.

  From above, he finally smiled faintly.

  “Very well.”

  His aura shifted.

  The air grew heavier.

  His blade rotated slowly in his grip as a crimson sigil burned along its edge.

  “Blade of Execution.”

  The words weren’t loud.

  But they echoed.

  The sky dimmed slightly.

  Ardent’s pupils constricted.

  Kaelaric swung once.

  The slash didn’t travel like ordinary qi.

  It erased.

  A crescent of crimson-black force tore through the air—not cutting space, but severing existence along its path.

  Ardent roared, crossing his arms.

  Golden sigils erupted across his body.

  “Heavenbreaker Stance: Divine Bastion!”

  The crimson arc collided.

  BOOOOOOM—

  The arena imploded.

  Dust engulfed everything.

  When it cleared—

  Ardent stood, sliding backward across molten stone, boots carving two glowing trenches.

  Blood trickled from his mouth.

  But he was smiling.

  “You finally used something interesting.”

  Kaelaric landed softly.

  His eyes gleamed brighter.

  “You survived.”

  Ardent cracked his neck.

  “Break suppression. Break fate. Break death.”

  Golden veins pulsed violently.

  His aura skyrocketed.

  The Heavenbreaker Physique evolved mid-battle.

  High above, even sect leaders leaned forward.

  Elder Wu muttered, “He’s forcing a breakthrough under pressure…”

  Lysandra’s eyes flicked to Jin briefly before returning to the arena.

  —

  Ardent vanished again—

  But this time faster.

  Kaelaric barely turned his head before Ardent appeared behind him, fist already descending.

  BOOM—

  Kaelaric blocked, but the force drove him into the ground.

  The crater deepened.

  Ardent followed, unleashing a barrage of martial techniques.

  “Heavenbreaker Fist!”

  Each strike detonated like artillery.

  Kaelaric’s coat tore at the shoulder.

  A thin line of blood appeared across his cheek.

  The crowd gasped.

  The Demon of Execution had been marked.

  Ardent saw it.

  His grin widened.

  “You bleed.”

  Kaelaric slowly raised his hand to his cheek.

  Looked at the blood.

  Then chuckled softly.

  “…Good.”

  The temperature dropped.

  Not physically.

  Conceptually.

  Something oppressive unfolded from Kaelaric’s presence.

  A faint ring of execution light formed behind him like a phantom halo of judgment.

  His voice lowered.

  “Execution’s Touch.”

  He stepped forward.

  Not fast.

  Just—

  Inevitable.

  Ardent struck.

  Kaelaric didn’t block.

  Instead, his fingers brushed Ardent’s wrist.

  Instantly—

  A black mark appeared where contact was made.

  Ardent’s expression flickered.

  His arm felt heavy.

  No—

  Not heavy.

  Condemned.

  Kaelaric moved again, grazing Ardent’s shoulder.

  Another mark.

  Ardent’s movements slowed.

  The Heavenbreaker Physique resisted, golden energy flaring violently, trying to shatter the foreign influence.

  But this wasn’t suppression.

  It was designation.

  Execution’s Touch marked targets for inevitable severance.

  The more marks—

  The closer the sentence.

  Ardent roared, slamming his fist into his own marked shoulder.

  Golden energy exploded outward, attempting to purge it.

  The mark flickered—

  But remained.

  Kaelaric stepped back.

  “Break death,” he repeated softly.

  “Let’s test that.”

  Ardent charged again, aura blazing brighter than before. The very sky shimmered as he condensed every ounce of his physique into one final, decisive blow.

  “Heavenbreaker—”

  He appeared in front of Kaelaric.

  “—Ascension Strike!”

  The punch descended like divine judgment.

  Kaelaric’s blade rose.

  Their eyes locked.

  Crimson and gold collided.

  Time seemed to freeze.

  Then—

  Kaelaric whispered.

  “Sentence carried out.”

  All the marks ignited simultaneously.

  Ardent’s golden aura fractured.

  Cracks of black light spread across his glowing veins.

  His Heavenbreaker Physique trembled violently as invisible execution lines sliced through the weak points marked earlier.

  The collision detonated.

  When the dust cleared—

  Both stood still.

  Ardent’s fist rested inches from Kaelaric’s face.

  Kaelaric’s blade rested against Ardent’s chest.

  Silence.

  Then—

  Ardent coughed.

  Blood spilled from his lips.

  He staggered back three steps.

  The golden glow faded.

  The marks pulsed once—

  Then vanished.

  Ardent dropped to one knee.

  “…So this… is execution…”

  Kaelaric lowered his blade.

  “Yes.”

  Ardent laughed weakly.

  “You’re terrifying.”

  He fell forward.

  Unconscious.

  The arena erupted in stunned silence before exploding into deafening noise.

  Even those still fighting paused momentarily.

  The Demon of Execution had been forced to exert effort.

  And he had delivered judgment.

  Kaelaric exhaled slowly.

  A thin line of blood still trailed down his cheek.

  He wiped it away.

  Then turned—

  Because the Royal Battle was not over.

  Explosions still rang across the arena.

  Poison clouds clashed with starfire.

  Illusions shattered against martial roars.

  Above it all, Jin watched from his elevated seat, Esdeath resting comfortably in his lap.

  A faint smile curved his lips.

  Now this—

  This was entertainment.

  Below, Kaelaric rolled his shoulders once.

  His aura stabilized.

  His blade gleamed.

  And in his red eyes burned something unmistakable—

  Excitement.

  The Royal Battle would not end easily.

  And neither would he.