The Penniless Battle Sovereigns, Youming City

The moment Xuemie finished speaking, streaks of pitch-black sword light erupted without warning, their savage killing intent raging unchecked through the black mist.

Xuemie and the other Battle Sovereign-rank powerhouses reacted instantly — Spirit Power surging as they dodged or deflected, weathering the assault. But the three remaining Battle King warriors on the other side were not so fortunate.

The sword light's power far outstripped anything they had imagined. Inside the black mist, their perception had been drastically suppressed. By the time the faintest sense of wrongness reached them, the sword light had already passed through their bodies — and an instant later, their consciousness faded to nothing.

The six surviving Battle Sovereigns glanced at the fallen Battle Kings. Every face went hard. Moving as one, they pressed together in a tight cluster. The Guardian Type Battle Sovereign in battle armor let out a roar — gray light erupted across his entire body and expanded outward, forming a massive defensive dome that enclosed all of them within.

The remaining Battle Sovereigns channeled their Spirit Power in kind, scanning the darkness with taut vigilance.

Then the black mist stirred. A dark silhouette materialized without warning — looming just beyond the gray dome, watching the gnoll powerhouses in silence.

At the sight of this apparition, every gnoll's expression darkened. Xuemie spoke quickly.

"Friend, if we've offended you in some way, we're willing to apologize. Let's talk this out!"

His words earned no response — only the continued churning of the black mist. Then, one by one, more dark silhouettes emerged, surrounding the dome in a dense encircling ring. Dozens of them. They stood motionless and utterly silent, watching the six gnoll Battle Sovereigns with hollow, empty stares.

Ice shot from every gnoll's heels straight to the crown of their heads. Cold sweat broke down their backs. Their throats went dry.

"...What in the hell *are* these things?!"

The Guardian Type Battle Sovereign at the front tightened his grip on his heavy shield, his voice gone hoarse.

None of the others answered. They didn't know either.

Xuemie was about to speak again — but before he could get a word out, every silhouette simultaneously raised its black longsword and brought it down on the dome.

Dozens of black sword streaks, each carrying Battle Sovereign-level force.

**BOOM.** A thunderous concussive roar. The gray dome shuddered — then shattered apart.

The Guardian Type Battle Sovereign's expression convulsed. He bellowed and flooded his body with gray radiance, swelling an entire size larger, his flesh hardening to something like stone.

The other gnolls roared in turn, unleashing torrents of powerful Combat Techniques that crashed into the surrounding silhouettes from every direction.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

The detonations were relentless. Some silhouettes were knocked back — but more surged in to replace them.

One-on-one, the gnoll Battle Sovereigns were no weaklings. Their individual strength was a rough match for the silhouettes.

But the silhouettes outnumbered them by nearly ten to one. That gap was insurmountable.

Almost in an instant, the gnoll Battle Sovereigns were swallowed by the tide, their final roars saturated with desperate fury.

With the deaths of the six Battle Sovereign Gnolls, the black mist gradually dissipated, giving way once again to the vast forest. Only a scattering of gnoll corpses remained — along with the items they had dropped.

Space rippled. Lu Yuan materialized.

He glanced at the bodies on the ground and allowed himself a small smile.

*Shadow Dominion really is something.*

He hadn't even needed to act personally. A handful of Battle Sovereign-rank gnolls, eliminated without him lifting a finger.

*They probably died without ever knowing what hit them.*

He watched the gnolls' bodies dissolve into white light, then crouched to collect the drops. After a quick inventory:

Over 100,000 Fourth-tier Spirit Crystals. More than 30,000 Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals. Over 4,000 Sixth-tier Spirit Crystals. Beyond those, roughly 1,000 Fourth-tier crafting materials, several hundred Fifth-tier materials, and a few dozen varieties of Sixth-tier materials.

There were also four Fourth-rank Lord Grade Gene Armaments, one Fifth-rank Lord Grade Gene Armament, and one Sixth-rank King Grade Gene Armament — plus two Talismans.

No Transcendent Genes.

The smile froze on Lu Yuan's face. The whole haul, all of it combined, was probably worth no more than a few hundred thousand Sixth-tier Spirit Crystals.

*Absolutely broke.*

He couldn't help but mutter it under his breath.

Six Battle Sovereign-rank powerhouses. Four Battle King-rank warriors. And this was all they had to show for it? Was that not a little pathetic?

He shook his head. Well — every little bit counted. He'd evolve the Gene Armaments before selling them; that would squeeze out a decent price.

Blood Bone Star.

Inside a castle in Blood Bone City, white light flashed and Xuemie's form appeared.

His face was still ashen, his breathing ragged and uneven.

Death in the Land of Origin was no pleasant experience. The physical agony was the obvious part — but the deep mental exhaustion that followed was equally brutal.

Even so, the discomfort did nothing to smother the terror and rage churning inside him.

"Damn it — damn it — *damn it!* What the hell was that?! Who did this?! Why are the Blood Bone Gnolls being targeted?!"

He snarled, his Spirit Power hemorrhaging beyond his control. The furniture in the room was reduced to ash in seconds. Even the maids, manservants, and guards throughout the castle felt a crushing pressure settle over their chests — the weakest among them crumpled to the floor in agony.

A moment later, the door swung open. A Battle King warrior stepped inside, his expression stricken.

"My Lord Xuemie — what happened to you?"

Xuemie caught himself. He drew a slow breath, forcibly reining in his emotions. His expression remained grim.

"It's nothing. I need to step out."

Without another word — and without sparing a glance for the Battle King's bewildered stare — he left the room and shot into the sky.

He came down before another castle not far away and pressed the intercom.

The door opened shortly after, revealing a gnoll dressed in blood-red robes. At the sight of Xuemie, he bowed respectfully.

"My Lord Xuemie."

"Yes. Is My Lord Dushan in? I have something to report."

The gnoll paused, glancing at him. "The master is home."

Xuemie nodded and stepped inside.

Back in the Land of Origin. Twenty more days passed.

Lu Yuan was deep in cultivation when he paused, reaching for his Communication Crystal.

Yeye's face appeared inside it.

"A'Yuan," she said, "the trial is scheduled for two days from now. Can you come?"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "That soon? I'll head over now, then. Youming City, right?"

"Yes. I'll meet you at the transfer hall."

"Got it."

He smiled and nodded.

He ended his cultivation session and rose from the Gravity Room.

Roughly forty days of training. Each day he had absorbed 24,000 Seventh-tier Spirit Crystals — totaling close to one million over the full period. Combined with the tempering he had already accumulated beforehand, Starfield Roaming now sat at approximately 50% tempered.

As his most powerful Transcendent Gene, the benefits Starfield Roaming provided were immense. The improvements to his spatial abilities went without saying — but even setting those aside, the raw attribute gains from increased tempering had pushed every aspect of his stats up by over thirty percent.

For Lu Yuan, thirty percent was already a dramatic difference.

His overall combat power had more than doubled compared to where he started.

There was no direct teleportation array from Red Maple City to Youming City, so he transferred first to White Cloud City, then onward from there.

As the most important city of the Cat-kin, Youming City's transfer hall was populated almost entirely by Cat-kin. Other races were present, but in small numbers.

Lu Yuan had built up a considerable reputation, and the moment he stepped out of the transfer formation, every Cat-kin in the hall turned to look — eyes bright with curiosity.

It wasn't quite like what would happen in human territory, where someone would invariably rush up asking for an autograph. Cat-kin seemed more reserved about that sort of thing.

Or perhaps it was simply that he wasn't one of them.

Under the collective gaze of the hall, Lu Yuan walked toward the exit.

The moment he passed through the doors, the hall erupted in hushed whispers.

"Was that Lu Yuan just now? What's he doing here?"

"Use your head. The royal trial is about to begin. You can't possibly not know about Lu Yuan and our Princess Yeye — he's obviously here to support her."

"Ah, right. That makes sense. Princess Yeye, Prince Ye Jing, and Prince Ye Heng all broke through to Battle King Rank around this same period — of course the royal trial would be starting now."

"Three royals entering at once — this should be interesting."

"I wonder which one will come out on top?"

"Does it even need asking? Princess Yeye broke through to Battle King Rank while already ranked seventh on the Prodigy Rankings. She's in a completely different league from Prince Ye Jing or Prince Ye Heng. And with Lu Yuan backing her — who's going to doubt his strength? Any way you look at it, Princess Yeye has the advantage."

"That's not necessarily true. I'd agree Yeye is the strongest of the three contestants themselves, but the support allies don't have to be the current generation's top talent. Lu Yuan is extraordinarily gifted and powerful — but he's only just broken through to Battle King Rank. Prince Ye Jing and Prince Ye Heng both have wide circles of connections. If they've brought in top-ranked prodigies from previous generations, those warriors might not be any weaker than Lu Yuan. They could even be stronger."

"That's a fair point. Lu Yuan's talent probably ranks among the elite across any generation of the Prodigy Rankings — but in the end, he still lacks the time the others have had to grow."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure. Remember when Lu Yuan crushed Aimen? That was completely one-sided. Now that he's at Battle King Rank, even with a shorter history behind him, he might not be any seasoned warrior's inferior. Add Princess Yeye to the equation, and their odds are still very strong."

The crowd debated on. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already stepped out into the open.

Beyond the transfer hall, he spotted Yeye and Small White almost at once.

The Night Sky Fiend was crouched beside them.

Nearby Cat-kin bowed their heads as Yeye passed, their expressions reverent.

Yeye and Small White noticed him and walked over.

"A'Yuan."

"Young Master Lu Yuan."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Looks like Yeye is quite well-loved around here."

Yeye blinked, then gave a small nod. The usual blankness of her expression gained a faint edge of quiet pride. "The Night Clan are the guardians of the Cat-kin. I will be too, one day."

"I have no doubt," Lu Yuan said. "With Yeye's strength, you'll carry that legacy better than any who came before you."

Yeye pressed her lips together and gave a slight nod, something resolute settling behind her eyes.

Small White spoke up. "Your Highness, we should return to Youming Palace."

Yeye came back to herself. She waved a hand at the Night Sky Fiend. "Xiaoxiao. Come."

The Night Sky Fiend let out an irritable low growl and shot Lu Yuan a glare before padding over with all the urgency of someone who had nowhere to be.

Lu Yuan stifled a laugh. *This creature has been ridden this many times and it's still this uppity?*

"Oh, right — I spent some time in the Demon Dragon Mountain Range recently and picked up some Demon Dragon meat. It should be pretty good grilled."

Yeye's eyes lit up. She gave a firm, enthusiastic nod. "Yes!"

Beside her, the Night Sky Fiend's mouth fell open, a thin thread of drool threatening to escape.

Lu Yuan gave it a sideways glance. *This thing spends every day with Yeye. They've clearly developed the same priorities.*

The three of them mounted the Night Sky Fiend's back. It launched skyward, burning through the air like a shooting star toward Youming Palace.

Youming City dwarfed both Red Maple City and Tianrao City by a considerable margin. Even next to White Cloud City it fell somewhat short — but it was still among the largest cities Lu Yuan had ever laid eyes on.

*Small wonder. A city built by a Battle Saint.*

He gazed out over the endless urban sprawl below him and felt a quiet awe settle in.

The Night Sky Fiend was fast. Before long they arrived at Youming City's central district.

At the heart of it was a city within the city — roughly ten kilometers across — filled with pavilions, ornamental gardens, and architecture entirely unlike anything of human design.

As they drew close, a Cat-kin patrol unit flew out to intercept them.

Lu Yuan swept his gaze across the squad and felt a subtle shift in his attention. The warrior leading it was a Battle Sovereign. Even the ordinary members were all at Battle King Rank.

*A power that counts a Battle Saint among its own — of course it looks like this.*

He was genuinely impressed.

The Cat-kin Battle Sovereign spotted Yeye and gave a slight bow.

"Ah — Her Highness Yeye."

He cast a brief, unobtrusive glance toward Lu Yuan, then looked away.

Yeye gave a short nod and guided the Night Sky Fiend into the inner city, heading toward a private residence in the northern quarter.

The Battle Sovereign watched them go, and surprise flickered across his face.

"Her Highness... allowed Lu Yuan directly into her personal quarters? That's..."

The Battle King warriors around him were equally taken aback.

After a moment of silence, the Battle Sovereign shook his head and glanced at the others.

"We saw nothing."

"Yes, sir!" the warriors replied in unison.

The Night Sky Fiend landed. Lu Yuan looked around. The courtyard was spacious — roughly three hundred meters to a side — and along one edge stood an elegant three-story pavilion.

Yeye spoke.

"These are my personal quarters. The trial is still a few days away, so you'll be staying here."

Beside them, Small White opened her mouth. Then, quietly, she closed it and remained where she was.

Lu Yuan had no particular feelings about the arrangement. He nodded. "Works for me."

Then Yeye produced a pile of barbecue equipment and arranged it across an open stretch of ground. She turned to look at Lu Yuan with an expression of undisguised anticipation.

The corner of Lu Yuan's mouth twitched. Without a word, he reached into his spatial storage and drew out a colossal Demon Dragon carcass.

Even in death, the creature radiated an imposing aura.

Yeye's eyes went slightly wide. Small White's face drained of color.

"Is that... Beast Sovereign rank?!"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. "I had a few Beast King-rank carcasses as well, but I figured Beast Sovereign would taste better."

At the word *taste*, Yeye gave a solemn, decisive nod.

Small White had nothing left to say.