The mood of that tournament changed completely. Everyone in the stands went pale. If the emperors actually fought for real... the whole stadium — maybe even the entire capital — would be reduced to rubble. They'd have to run for their lives in total panic.

*Buzz*

The array that formed the defensive barrier around the martial stage buzzed. In the VIP room, Alexandra used a command artifact and deactivated it.

"You! How dare you do that without a vote!", Camille roared at Alexandra. Her voice echoed like thunder. Everyone in the arena trembled from head to toe.

She looked possessed, like a demon had taken over, her glowing red eyes filled with frenzy. But before she could strike, Nikolai reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

She snorted and turned away. She knew there was no point attacking Alexandra. The two of them needed to focus on protecting Darian together. Immediately, they sent mental messages to their top military officers: they were to protect the young people and run once it all kicked off.

"There's no reason to argue or vote on anything. This was supposed to be a friendly tournament between young people, but Darian clearly has malicious intent. He almost killed Vanh once — if it weren't for his Supreme Artifact, he'd be dead already," Alexandra said, her voice dry and loud.

"Everyone, arrest him. His crimes will be judged... WHAT?!"

She stopped mid-sentence as she felt a subtle fluctuation surrounding her. But it was already too late, and the space around her closed like she was trapped inside a glass box. Alexandra turned furiously toward a corner of the VIP room.

Irana's mother was staring at her without emotion — only her eyes shimmered with a subtle golden glow.

"Tayluar! Are you seriously going to interfere with our planet?"

"Interfere with your planet?", Irana's mother snorted calmly. "I'm just looking after Darian and making sure justice is served according to your tournament's rules."

"You! The Wube family won't forgive you!", Blaine shouted. He activated his power, right next to the emperor of the Aurora Coalition.

Tayluar gave them a cold stare, then looked away like it was all too ridiculous to even bother with. She floated out of the room and looked down at the ground.

By now, Darian had already stopped attacking and was casually holding Vanh by the neck. When he saw that little woman's gaze, he understood and waved his hand.

"Hey, dumbass, you giving up? Admitting you're a pathetic, mediocre bastard, and that's why you lost?"

Everyone in the arena focused on Vanh seriously.

His body was totally unrecognizable, but his eyes were wide open. His mouth moved... a muffled grunt came out.

It wasn't clear exactly what he said, but the tone sounded closer to a "Fuck you" or a "No", which shocked everyone. Clearly, no one could say he was being forced into surrender.

"Wow! I like this high-level punching bag!", Niara laughed loudly.

Up in the sky, Irana's mother — Tayluar — raised a hand and spoke calmly, "Then the fight must go on. Darian is protected by one of the Lords Keepers. And planet Aethel is his guardian too. If the Wube family wants to lay a finger on him, they'll have to get through me first."

Everyone went silent. The twelve members of that family narrowed their eyes and clenched their fists. That woman was on a whole other level compared to the emperors. She could easily seal their techniques and stop the curse.

"Look, I didn't come here to stir up trouble or start a fight. I came because my daughter wanted to watch her friend's match. Darian is acting within the rules you yourselves set. So I'm not going to let you suppress him just because you think you're above it all. If you want to take action, I'll only accept it if he actually breaks the rules."

Her voice echoed again, still calm.

"You hear that, dumbass? Let's keep having fun!", Niara's voice rang out, then she clenched her fists and started moving threateningly.

"STOP!"

Alexandra's voice boomed like thunder. Darian smiled and looked up.

"The Solar Federation Empire admits defeat. According to the rules, the ruler is allowed to do that."

Everyone took a deep breath.

"Oh? That is within the rules, actually. It was something made in the past, for when one side was clearly weaker — to avoid massive humiliation... but no one's ever used it," Camille's mocking voice rang out. "Who would've thought the mighty Empress would admit such overwhelming inferiority?"

Everyone in the arena — and everyone on Earth — watched in stunned silence.

At the same time, Darian casually let go of the poor bastard. He turned to Niara, who smiled brightly and activated her metamorphosis, returning to her normal form. The two of them started walking away.

"Young Heir!"

Suddenly, a group rushed in and carefully examined Vanh. After a moment, one of them turned to Darian with a cold look.

"The Leader and the Lady are away... but once they return... there won't be a single place in the world where you'll be safe!"

Darian waved his hand like he was shooing away a bug.

"Big fucking deal. Tell my aunt this for me: I warned her not to mess with my family. Now, I won't rest until I crush that pathetic family completely."

"Just you?! Just wait!", the man spat coldly. He didn't say anything else and took Vanh away as fast as he could.

He wasn't critically injured on the outside; he'd be fine in no time. But mentally... all his honor and image had been thrown in the trash, beyond repair.

Inside, Darian felt calm and satisfied. He was sure of one thing: that family would find a way to get Vanh back on his feet. And better yet… inside the stolen spiritual root, a dark, subtle power was still hidden.

Since it wasn't part of Vanh's body and was something external, there was no way for him to sense it. Sure, powerful people could discover it — but only if they already knew what to look for and dug really deep. So the chances were basically zero.

'My dad's spiritual root is something pretty unique. Feed it, nurture it properly. Do a great job making it as powerful as possible. Later, I'll come collect the harvest.'

Darian clearly wasn't going to rest until he got that thing back from his father. But why rush it now? Vanh was a spoiled young master with everything at his disposal.

That spiritual root had already been getting fed with absurdly expensive stuff — things that, even if Darian had all the money in the world, he still couldn't get easily. Only items with spatial power and extreme rarity worked. And to get them, you needed influence and connections with planets across the universe, so that when one showed up on a mission, you could pay and claim it.

So, from the beginning, his plan was to let Vanh live physically… but be destroyed in every other way. A seed left behind for a good friend to water; later, he'd rip the whole tree out and bring it home.

The whole stadium fell silent.

Darian turned to the judge, who was off in the corner, completely frozen and stunned. She jumped.

"T-The final battle… the Great Rookie Tournament is over… the winner is… the New Arcadia Empire..."

There were no cheers, not even surprise or excitement. Everyone was scared, shaken. What they'd just witnessed would definitely go down in history.

"GUAAAH!! VICTORY!!!"

Meanwhile, Niara — in her little dragon form — stood proudly on Darian's shoulder and growled, spreading her wings happily.

Darian looked up. The three empire leaders were staring at him calmly.

A deep voice rang in his mind: 'We'll have a talk later, kid.'

'Young Darian, you really do resemble her. See you at the celebration tonight!' Camille's voice chimed in too, and he gave a nod.

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