Julian looked terrible. His perfect, handsome face was completely ruined. The left side of his face was covered in thick, white bandages where Kai had cut him. His nose was packed with cotton, broken by Lucien’s lazy slap. His chest was tightly wrapped in magical healing tape, his ribs bruised from the heavy kick that sent him flying into the wall. He was in terrible physical pain, but his mental pain was a million times worse. Julian was lying on his side, staring at a large, glowing blue magical screen floating on the wall. The screen was broadcasting a live view of the Grand Arena. Julian had watched the entire thing. He had watched the dirty beggar, Mo Yan, shatter the True Sun-Piercer. He had watched the Golden Sword Saint, his own personal teacher, the man who had raised him, get his head cut off. He had watched the crowd turn their weapons against the golden throne. And finally, he had watched his father, the almighty Emperor, swallow his pride and declare the beggar the w

"They were not confused!" the Patriarch snapped sharply. "They were inspired! For a thousand years, our clan has ruled this world through fear. We made them believe that our golden magic was invincible. We made them believe that if they fought us, they would die."The old man pointed a finger at the broken mirror on the wall. "But today, that dirty beggar showed them that we can bleed," the Patriarch explained. His voice was heavy with dark truth. "He showed them that our golden swords can be broken by rusty iron. The myth of the Saint-Aurelius Clan is dead, Julian. The fear is gone."Julian felt a cold chill run down his spine. "What are you saying, Grandfather?""I am saying that our mandate to rule is broken," the Patriarch stated grimly. "If Mo Yan lives to see the end of this tournament... if he walks out of the Survival Zone alive... the people will make him their leader. The other sects will join him. A massive, bloody rebellion will start. And within a decade, the Saint-Aurel

"What is that?" Julian whispered. He could not look away from the glowing golden liquid. It pulled at his mind. It promised infinite, absolute power. "That," the Patriarch said, his voice dropping into a heavy, dark whisper, "is the Tears of the Seraph."The Patriarch walked up to the altar. He did not touch the vial, but he leaned close to it. "It is the most forbidden, outlawed, illegal elixir in the history of our world," the Patriarch explained. "It was banned by our own ancestors five hundred years ago. It is a crime just to look at it.""Why?" Julian asked, stepping closer. The warm golden light reflected in his eyes. "Because of what it does," the Patriarch said firmly. He looked directly at Julian. "If a cultivator drinks this vial, the golden liquid will enter their heart. It will instantly, forcefully rip their magical mana pathways wide open."The Patriarch pointed at Julian’s chest. "If you drink this, Julian, you will not have to train for fifty years," the Patriarch p

The morning sun rose slowly over the Imperial Capital. The sky was a beautiful, clear, soft blue. Down in the muddy, smelly slums of the Lower Ring, the Cloud-Soaring Sect was awake. They were packing their bags. They did not have much to pack, just simple clothes, a few wooden bowls, and their sleeping mats. But their hearts were incredibly full. They had won. Yesterday, in front of millions of people, their mysterious teacher, Mo Yan, had completely shattered the Golden Sword Saint. The Emperor himself had been forced to stop the match. The Emperor had officially, legally declared Mo Yan the absolute victor of the Gauntlet of Sovereigns. Because of that victory, the Cloud-Soaring Sect had secured their sovereign status. They had proven their strength. Legally, the Empire could not touch their mountain anymore. The debt was cancelled. The tournament was over for them. They were finally going home. Kai, the brave seventeen-year-old boy, smiled brightly as he tied his bag. He wore

"Yesterday, you were tricked!" Julian roared. He bared his teeth, looking absolutely insane. "You cheered for a dirty beggar! You cheered for a man named Mo Yan!"Julian pointed a massive, holographic finger down at the street where Lucien was standing. "But he is not a hero!" Julian screamed, his voice cracking with psychotic rage. "He is a coward! He is a liar! He is a creature of absolute evil!"Julian leaned forward in the sky. The golden veins on his face pulsed rapidly, making his skin twitch. "The beggar did not win fairly!" Julian lied loudly to the entire world. "He used dark, illegal, forbidden poisons! He used demonic sorcery to trick the eyes of the judges! He used a cowardly curse to paralyze the Golden Sword Saint, and then he murdered an old, defenseless man while he was trapped!"Seraphina gasped in anger. "Liar!" she screamed at the sky. "He beat him fairly! Your Sword Saint exploded himself!"But Julian could not hear her. He was projecting his voice from the Golde