Up to this point, Eniel had fought in more battles than he could count.But today’s fight was unlike anything in his entire life. His own inner force was nearly drained, and Hudson had only just finished warming up.‘What kind of monster was this?’For the first time in years, real regret surged through Eniel.Not far away, Loie kept a calm expression, but his eyes were filled with unmistakable excitement.The other disciples couldn’t clearly make out the details of the battle because of the dust cloud covering the arena, but as a second-rank grandmaster, Loie’s vision and perception were unaffected.He had seen the entire exchange clearly.What shocked him most was Hudson’s defensive power.The armor-like protection hidden beneath Hudson’s skin was astonishing. Loie could hardly imagine what kind of cultivation method could produce something so terrifying.Because the armor remained hidden beneath the skin rather than being worn openly, Loie naturally assumed it was a body-tempering t

According to Loie’s explanation, the restricted zone guarded by the Quaten Sect was an ancient abyss battlefield.No one knew how deep the abyss truly went.Even after guarding it for hundreds of years, the Quaten Sect still hadn’t fully mapped it. Over the generations, the sect had sent countless powerful warriors into its depths to uncover its secrets.The losses had been staggering. More than thirty grandmasters had died there.Even three great grandmasters had never returned.The abyss itself resembled a massive underground hive, descending layer after layer into darkness.So far, the deepest level the sect had ever explored was the fourth layer.The reason was simple. The dangers waiting in the fifth layer were already comparable to a great grandmaster.Within the abyss battlefield roamed a strange existence known as war souls.These things couldn’t truly be killed.The deeper one descended, the stronger the war souls became.Even if they were destroyed in battle, they would resu

Hudson instinctively lifted a hand and slapped his own cheek, almost to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.Just a second ago, he had been ready to fight to the death against four Grandmaster-level war spirits. But reality had taken a sharp turn he never could have predicted.The moment the four war spirits closed in, they suddenly dropped to one knee before him.After confirming this wasn’t some illusion, Hudson finally understood that his earlier suspicion had been right all along. This had to be the old man’s true reason for guiding him into the Thousand Corners Sect, hidden deep in the mountains of Northern California, near the remote volcanic ridges beyond Mount Shasta.The fifth level of the Abyss Battlefield had never been a coincidence.The thought struck him because, even without looking down, he could already feel the dragon-shaped jade pendant against his chest giving off a faint crimson glow.He immediately understood.The four Grandmaster war spirits weren’t kneeling to