Steadfast — The Surprising Yeye

In the silence that blanketed the plaza, Hong Liao's body dissolved into a blaze of white light and vanished. Lu Yuan likewise disappeared from the arena and reappeared at Yeye's side.

The arena and its projected image slowly faded back into the void.

Only then did the crowd regain their senses, erupting into hushed whispers. Every pair of eyes that turned toward Lu Yuan carried unmistakable shock.

After all — Hong Liao was the eighth-ranked prodigy on the Prodigy Rankings. That position had been earned through battle after bloody battle; his strength was beyond question.

And yet Hong Liao had been effortlessly cut down by Lu Yuan. Didn't that mean Lu Yuan's power far exceeded his?

To reach that level… surely only the top three prodigies, those who had engraved Emperor Grade genes, could manage something like that?

The whispers spreading through the crowd did nothing to affect Lu Yuan.

When he returned, Yeye blinked slowly beside him. Her usually flat voice carried a rare flicker of excitement.

"Ah Yuan, you're incredible."

It was worth noting — when Lu Yuan had first started climbing the Rankings, her own rank was already 22. Now she had only climbed to 14, and Lu Yuan was already eighth.

He was moving far faster than her.

Of course, Yeye also knew his true strength hadn't even been tested yet.

"Are you going to keep going? There are so many people here today. Aimen might be among them."

Her calm voice drifted over.

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. "Of course."

Just as he brought his Gene Battle Mark toward the stone tablet to register his next challenge, a burst of laughter rang out from above:

"Ha ha ha! Lu Yuan — come fight me!"

A powerful aura pressed down from the sky like a descending storm. Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly as he looked up.

A massive Kaman warrior was walking down from the heavens, step by deliberate step, as though invisible stairs had been carved into the open air.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the Kaman's feet with mild surprise.

With his Emperor Grade spatial gene, he could sense it immediately — the space beneath the man's feet had been compressed solid, invisible platforms materializing with each step. That was how he was walking down from the sky.

*That's... a pretty impressive entrance.*

He thought about it for a moment and realized he could probably manage the same thing himself.

After all, it only required localized spatial compression — nothing that demanded particularly refined control. His current Emperor Grade gene was more than sufficient.

Below the Battle King Rank, flight was impossible. Walking through open air at the Battle Venerable level — it looked genuinely imposing.

Practical, and stylish.

An aura this formidable, at this level — Lu Yuan didn't even need to think. This had to be Aimen, ranked third on the Prodigy Rankings.

Yeye's expression shifted slightly. She studied the descending figure, her brow furrowing just a little.

"Ah Yuan, that's Aimen."

Confirmation received. Lu Yuan gave a small nod. "Mn."

The moment Aimen appeared, a wave of energy surged through the plaza. The crowd erupted.

"It's Aimen! I can't believe Aimen is here too!"

"From the sound of it, he's going to fight Lu Yuan right now?! Who do you think wins??"

"Aimen, obviously! He's engraved Emperor Grade genes! And he has spatial Combat Techniques!"

"Aimen for sure!"

"Agreed. Aimen is Kaman — their physiques are naturally superior. Both of these fighters are physically-focused warriors, but humans are constitutionally weaker than the Kaman. I give it to Aimen."

"That's not necessarily true! Lu Yuan must have engraved Emperor Grade genes as well — and doesn't he also have spatial Combat Techniques? There's no clear winner here. And up until now, Lu Yuan has one-shotted every single opponent!"

"Hah… that's just the advantage of spatial movement. If Aimen had the same techniques, couldn't he do exactly the same thing?"

The debate raged.

Most people favored Aimen. His strength had been proven through challenge after challenge on the Prodigy Rankings, each victory earned in blood.

Especially since Aimen had once fought Anastasia — the power he'd unleashed at full force had been genuinely terrifying.

Lu Yuan, by comparison, had fewer recorded battles. He hadn't displayed his full strength. Against the deeply established impression of Aimen's might, he clearly lacked supporters.

That said, Lu Yuan's streak of one-shot victories had given a portion of the plaza's stronger spectators a certain confidence. They didn't believe he was inferior to Aimen at all — he might even be stronger.

Up on the great red bird, Anastasia watched the two figures with keen interest, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"The two of them are really going to clash? Aimen is no pushover… Good. Let me see just how strong this human actually is."

Even suppressing Aimen would cost Anastasia real effort. She was confident that if Aimen fought seriously, he could at least sound out the true depths of Lu Yuan's power.

Honestly, Lu Yuan's mysterious strength had piqued her curiosity.

"Princess Anastasia, who do you think will win?"

Xia Zhi asked, her voice carrying a note of curiosity.

"Hard to say," Anastasia replied, lifting an eyebrow as she glanced at Lu Yuan. "But… I favor this human."

A ripple of surprise moved through the assembled Nightshade women.

They exchanged glances.

"Is Lu Yuan really that strong?"

"This Lu Yuan gives me a feeling of unfathomable depth," Anastasia said evenly. "That is something even Aimen has never given me."

The Nightshade women fell quiet.

Then one of them muttered under her breath:

"…Actually, being one of this human's partners doesn't sound that bad."

The others rolled their eyes.

"Where's your resolve, Nina!"

"You're the sixty-fifth ranked prodigy on the Prodigy Rankings! You're the pride of the Nightshade Race — how can you have so few principles!"

The group turned on her in mock indignation.

Nina gave a small cough and pressed on:

"The thing is, this human is extremely handsome. Look at him — more handsome than quite a few Elf princes, honestly. Am I wrong?"

"Uh…"

The Nightshade women went quiet.

Anastasia cleared her throat. She swept the group with a gaze that carried unmistakable authority, and the chatter died at once.

"You are prodigies of the Nightshade Race. Do not let your standards slip."

The group bowed their heads, visibly deflated — particularly Nina and Xia Zhi, who both wore expressions of open disappointment.

Sure, Lu Yuan came with rather a lot of female companions. But he was handsome, gifted beyond measure, and honestly quite appealing to look at.

Like Anastasia and the rest of the Nightshade delegation, many other prodigies in the plaza were watching with avid anticipation, debating among themselves who held the edge.

Unlike most of the general crowd, these elites considered it more or less a coin toss.

Because the level of strength Lu Yuan had displayed was not something an ordinary Innate King Grade could achieve.

That overwhelming pressure he radiated — it was even slightly greater than Aimen's.

If not for Aimen's long and illustrious track record, they might actually lean toward Lu Yuan.

Just as Anastasia did.

None of the crowd's heated debate, nor the prodigies' intense scrutiny, touched Lu Yuan or Aimen.

Lu Yuan looked up at Aimen, still looming above him, and broke into a grin.

"Perfect timing, then. This saves me the trouble of hunting you down myself."

The challenge was registered. High above the plaza, the arena took shape once more.

This time it was larger than before, and the Battle Roar accompanying its manifestation was louder — Lu Yuan felt the vibration rattling his ears, an uncomfortable pressure behind his skull.

He hadn't expected the will of the Land of Origin to moonlight as a DJ.

Lu Yuan and Aimen appeared on the arena.

The crowd below erupted.

"Aimen!"

"Lu Yuan!"

Rival supporters roared their chosen prodigy's name, each side trying to drown out the other.

Lu Yuan's supporters were clearly outnumbered — their voices swallowed up almost immediately.

Down at the stone tablet, Yeye listened to the chanting, tilted her head in thought, then channeled Spirit Power and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Ah Yuan! Do your best!"

That single cry crashed over everything — completely swallowing Aimen's supporters.

Beside her, Small White's eyes went wide. She stared at Yeye with an expression that could only be described as seeing a ghost. Even her normally gently-swaying white tail had gone bolt upright.

*That is NOT my princess — the one who never cares about anything and is perpetually in her own adorably oblivious little world!!*

*Where did my actual princess go?! Say something!!*

Yeye's voice had been so loud that even nearby Gene Warriors turned to look at her with odd expressions.

Among the Nightshade group, both Xia Zhi and the one called Nina were now watching Yeye, whispering something that sounded distinctly like "rival" or "competition."

Anastasia, for her part, regarded Yeye with genuine interest — the woman who had shouted exactly once and then returned to perfect stillness.

"An interesting woman," she said softly.

Yeye, as a rule, paid no attention to the gazes of strangers. In her inner world, most other people were roughly equivalent to turnips or potatoes — background scenery.

But Small White's wide-eyed stare was something she couldn't quite ignore. A faint flush crept across her usually impassive face. She turned, channeling every ounce of princess-level dignity she possessed, and fixed Small White with a glare.

"Small White. Why are you staring at me like that?"

Small White, having received the glare she frankly deserved, felt oddly satisfied. She straightened at once, schooling her face into a properly solemn expression.

"Your Highness — forgive my lapse. There is absolutely nothing to report!"

Yeye gave a small nod, said nothing further, and turned her gaze back up to the aerial projection.

On the arena, Lu Yuan had also caught Yeye's words. He paused, genuinely startled, and glanced out toward where she was standing below.

Then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He had known Yeye for nearly two years in the real world — and in Land of Origin time, it amounted to roughly ten years.

He thought he understood her fairly well.

Aside from food, she seemed to barely care about anything. He hadn't expected her to cheer for him like that.

Watching the smile cross Lu Yuan's face, Aimen bared his teeth. His right hand tightened around his heavy sword; his left fist slowly clenched.

"Is she your woman? She's actually cheering you on." He paused. "Too bad — she's going to be disappointed."

A violent aura surged from him, roaring like a hurricane across the arena surface.

Lu Yuan's dark hair swept in the gale. He smiled.

"Disappointed? She won't be. You're not my match."

"Oh?" Aimen narrowed his eyes, then broke into a sudden grin. "Is that so? I don't believe you."

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

The next instant, preparation time ended. Lu Yuan moved to spatial teleport — and was immediately surprised to find the space around Aimen was unusually rigid. Breaking through it to teleport directly to him was possible with his Emperor Grade gene, but it would cost him extra effort.

A sealing-type spatial Combat Technique?

Noticing Lu Yuan's brief hesitation, Aimen smiled.

"Spatial-type techniques don't belong to you alone…"

As he spoke, he stamped the ground.

**BOOM.**

The arena shuddered like an earthquake, the surface cratering and splintering beneath his feet — and then Aimen was gone.

An instant later, he materialized at Lu Yuan's side.

Purple streamers of light rippled across Aimen's body, shot through with tiny crystalline silver-white sparks. He brought his heavy sword swinging in a clean arc toward Lu Yuan's neck.

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed. A faint thread of pale gold light flickered deep in his dark irises. His aura surged.

He raised his own greatsword and drove it up to meet the blow — blade against blade, Aimen's pale sword blazing with purple light.

**CLANG.**

The ring of steel split the air. A ferocious pressure wave carrying razor-edged sword intent blasted outward in all directions, slamming into the Prodigy Arena's barrier at the edges of the platform.

**BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.**

The barrier flashed and flickered. Hairline cracks spider-webbed across its surface — then vanished, mended at impossible speed.

The crowd below had their eyes locked on the arena, stunned.

"Lu Yuan is incredible — he blocked Aimen's Starlight Purple Flow Sword that easily?! Is this real?!"

"Look at the barrier! That's a barrier rated to withstand Battle King Rank attacks, and the shockwave from their exchange almost shattered it — how could any of that be fake?!"

"So Lu Yuan actually has a shot at beating Aimen?!"

"Bullshit! Aimen is still stronger!"

Aimen's supporters refused to let a single exchange shake their convictions.

On the arena itself, after that one collision, both fighters had been driven back.

Lu Yuan retreated only a short distance. Aimen was pushed back farther.

Lu Yuan was genuinely surprised. Aimen's strength was greater than he'd anticipated.

Even with Earth Spirit Body active, he had barely managed to shove Aimen back a few steps.

And from the look of it, Aimen hadn't pushed himself to his limit either.

"You really are strong! Ha ha ha ha! You've got me excited!"

Aimen laughed, his eyes blazing with battle-hunger, that feverish gaze nailed to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan stared back. "…"

An involuntary chill ran through him. He gave a dry chuckle.

"Please — for the love of everything — do not get excited over me."

"HA HA HA HA HA!"

Aimen was clearly no longer interested in conversation. He had thrown himself entirely into the fight — wild laughter mingling with battle-lust, his fierce aura carrying him straight at Lu Yuan with overwhelming force.

Lu Yuan smiled, tightened his grip on the greatsword, and charged to meet him.

Both figures vanished from sight on the arena floor. In their wake — storms of displaced air, purple starlight sword-intent clashing against white light threaded with faint gold, the collision of forces neither eye could fully track.

Craters punched into the arena surface without warning. Deep sword gashes tore through the floor, jagged and sudden.

The stronger Gene Warriors in the crowd stared at the arena with wide eyes, shaken by the sheer scale of what they were witnessing.

The weaker ones couldn't even locate the fighters — only the periodic crashes reached them, the howling wind, the flashes of light, and the arena floor growing more savaged by the second.

They stood there with blank faces, wearing the unmistakable expression of people who had absolutely no idea where they were or what they were supposed to be watching.