The hall remained quiet even after Selene finished explaining the structure of the tournament.The glowing bracket still floated above the massive table in the center of the room, casting pale blue light across everyone’s faces while the initiates stared at the names displayed there as though trying to calculate their futures from a few lines of glowing text.Andrew leaned slightly against his chair, his eyes fixed on the left side of the bracket where Astral Vanguard’s name rested.Their first official battle.The thought alone carried a strange weight.Until now, every fight they had experienced felt temporary. Training sessions. Selection rounds. Evaluations. Tests created by instructors who already knew the outcome before the battle even started.This would be different.This time there would be an audience.Guilds.Leaders.Powerful cultivators.Failure would not remain hidden inside some training ground.Eli suddenly groaned beside him and slumped backward dramatically.“I miss

The deeper they went into Eclipse Dominion, the quieter the group gradually became.Even Eli, who usually found a way to complain about almost everything, had gone silent without realizing it.The guild was enormous.That was the only thought repeatedly entering Andrew’s mind as they continued walking through the vast pathways of the strongest guild in Aetherion.Every section they passed looked larger than the previous one.Training grounds stretched across entire courtyards filled with cultivators sparring under the supervision of instructors wearing dark-blue cloaks embroidered with Eclipse Dominion’s insignia. Massive towers stood in the distance like ancient monuments, connected by elevated pathways glowing faintly with Aether formations.The closer they moved toward the center of the guild, the denser the crowd became.Guild members.Servants.Officials.Merchants.Representatives from other regions.People moved in organized waves throughout the massive grounds as though Eclips

The excitement inside the Grand Venue did not disappear after the first battle ended.If anything, it only grew louder.The audience was still discussing the performance of Stonegrave Union and Verdant Claw when the arena workers quickly entered the battlefield to repair the damaged sections of the stone floor. Cracks caused by Aether attacks were sealed through glowing formations beneath the arena while several officials moved across the battlefield efficiently as though this process had been repeated countless times before.Andrew leaned slightly against his seat while observing the crowd around him.Thousands of people.Cultivators from every corner of Aetherion.Guild officials.Merchants.Observers.Veterans.Young initiates dreaming of becoming powerful one day.The atmosphere inside the venue no longer felt like a simple competition.It felt alive.Different conversations echoed around the massive arena continuously while guild members openly analyzed the previous battle and ma

The second day of the Guild Competition began with even greater excitement than the first.Word had already spread throughout the capital regarding the opening matches, especially the overwhelming performance displayed by Eclipse Dominion. Merchants, cultivators, adventurers, and ordinary citizens all gathered around the competition grounds, eager to witness what the remaining guilds would bring to the stage.For Astral Vanguard, however, there was little room for excitement.Today was their day.Today, they would step into the arena.Andrew sat quietly alongside the rest of the team while observing the battles taking place below. Unlike the previous day when everything felt new and overwhelming, he now found himself studying the competitors with far greater attention.The first match of the day had already concluded.A middle-tier guild known as Silver Thorn defeated a lower-ranked guild after a lengthy battle that surprised many spectators. Although Silver Thorn eventually won, the

The moment Andrew pointed toward Dren, a strange change swept across the battlefield.The spectators could not explain it.Neither could most of the initiates watching from the stands.Yet they all felt it.Something had shifted.The momentum that had belonged entirely to Hollow Crest moments ago suddenly seemed less certain.Andrew stood amidst the battlefield with a faint smile on his face while Void Aether flowed quietly through his body.Across from him, Dren's expression remained composed.Only his eyes had changed.The confidence was still there.The calmness remained.Yet caution had appeared.For the first time since the battle started, the Upper Initiate of Hollow Crest looked at Andrew as though he had become a genuine threat.That alone was enough to make several experienced spectators lean forward in their seats."Interesting."One of the guild representatives folded his arms."Very interesting."Beside him, another nodded."The Void user figured something out."Meanwhile,