As Adrian and Zector spoke, more and more monsters swarmed in, overwhelming the besieged warriors."What do we do now, Sameer?" one of the young warriors asked desperately.Despite their efforts to fend off the monsters, their resistance was futile against the sheer numbers. Although they managed to take down a few, the monsters kept coming in relentless waves.An older warrior scanned their surroundings and replied, "Hold on a bit longer. Once reinforcements for the faction arrive, we'll be saved."The attire of these warriors matched those of their fallen comrades outside—they were all apprentices from the same faction. Unaware of their companions' fate, they clung to hope for rescue.Boom! Boom! Boom!Suddenly, a series of powerful tremors shook the area. In the distance, a colossal figure resembling a small mountain slowly emerged. It was an enormous beast, likely the leader of the monsters, and as soon as this gigantic creature appeared, all the other monsters retreated one
As the enormous beast charged toward him, Adrian remained fearless. With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Hah!”A potent attack was unleashed. Witnesses watched in awe as a massive formation swiftly materialized on the ground, ensnaring the beast. In an instant, it was trapped."He captured the beast so quickly? And with such calm control!""Incredible!"The warriors marveled at Adrian's power. In their eyes, he was simply extraordinary. Though the beast struggled within the formation, it was clear it could not escape.Frantically, the beast crashed against the boundaries of the formation, desperate to break free from Adrian's grasp. But Adrian had set the trap in accordance with the unique terrain, ensuring there was no hope of escape. Under his command, the beast could only submit.“Time to end this," Adrian declared, his sword poised with determination.His clothes fluttered as if touched by divine presence. The beast's struggles intensified, but it was trapped, unable to res
"Valor Supreme..." Adrian had heard of them before; it wasn't a major faction.Sameer continued, "As you can see, our faction isn't large and our strength isn't comparable to yours, but we have our reasons for being here.""Oh?" Adrian was intrigued.Sameer explained, "Our leader came here three months ago searching for an ancient treasure. However, once he got here, he disappeared without a trace. So, our purpose in coming here is to hopefully find him. Of course, if we can't, we'll have to give up.""In that case, let's travel together for a while. It so happens that we’re also here searching for something," Adrian suggested.Sameer was slightly surprised and looked cautious.Adrian quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in the treasures here. What I'm looking for is something else.""That's good to hear." Sameer sighed in relief.Adrian found these warriors quite interesting. Clearly, their strength was insufficient, yet they were still so proud and competit
Sameer and the others didn't seem concerned. "That's fine. Even if Dragoria declines, its heritage isn’t something we can compare to. But these are all future matters; everything depends on finding our leader first.""That's true. After all, such decisions should be made by the leader," Adrian agreed as they continued walking deeper into the ruins.After about fifteen kilometers, they spotted a large shadow up ahead. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an ancient palace.Observing the palace, Zector whispered, "I never expected such a place to exist here. It's of a very ancient style.""After all, the battle between humans and demons happened a long time ago. It's reasonable for there to be an ancient palace here," Adrian replied.As they spoke, they entered the palace. Earlier, because of the dim light outside, they hadn’t been able to see the interior clearly. Now that they were inside, they saw several extremely large statues before them. Upon closer inspection, these f
"You may fool others, but you aren’t fooling me. Besides, we’re close friends. Whatever it is, I won't tell." Adrian patted his chest.Zector chuckled dryly. "Mr. Adrian, it's not that I'm unwilling to tell you but it's not the right time yet. Don’t worry, you'll know the truth soon." He teased Adrian with a hint of mystery.Adrian felt speechless and could only shake his head helplessly. Zector was really good at keeping secrets. No matter how he asked, Adrian couldn't get a straight answer out of him. But since Zector said they would understand soon, Adrian did not press the matter.They then arrived at a vast network of halls. There were outer halls, inner halls, and plenty of side halls. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the inner hall. Inside lay a single towering demonic deity statue, enormous and majestic. Everyone inhaled sharply, the statue giving them an overwhelming sense of oppression."Who is this deity? And this statue is enormous!" Everyone ma
Sameer and the others were scared witless, their faces pale as they trembled uncontrollably, thinking, ‘The…The statue is alive?!’Meanwhile, Adrian remained remarkably composed. He watched the statue before him, his eyes narrowed.Swish...After a moment, a faint golden light emanated from the eyes of the statue. In front of everyone, it slowly formed into a human-sized, humanoid figure. A long, white-haired man clad in dark golden armor and exuding an extraordinary aura appeared, and Adrian observed him closely. He sensed that this man's aura was unlike that of most warriors. He recognized it as the aura of a demon, not a human warrior. But despite being a demon, the man looked very much like a human.Before this man, Zector appeared extremely humble. He said politely, "Father."With just one word, everyone present was shocked. Even Adrian could not help exclaiming, "Oh my, so he's your father!"The originally solemn atmosphere in the hall was instantly disrupted by Adrian's wo
Sameer suddenly shouted aggressively, "Mr. Adrian, why waste words with him?! He’s a demon! Let's just kill him!"However, the man shot Sameer a fierce gaze, instantly rendering Sameer’s group witless. The Valor Supremes dared not meet the man’s gaze, but the man did not move against them either. His presence alone was enough to intimidate them into silence.At this tense moment, Zector addressed the man, "Father, now that you have awakened, please return to the demon realm. There should be a spatial rift here. With your abilities, it should be easy for you to go back.""Oh? Are you that eager for me to be gone?" The man raised an eyebrow. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Zector.Zector replied calmly, "The Golden Creed cannot be without a king."The man paused, considering Zector's words. "Hmm, you shall come back with me then. You've spent enough time wandering in this mortal realm. It's time to return and fulfill your duty."With a wave of his hand, the
The man frowned and looked toward Adrian. Despite his scrutiny, Adrian appeared unremarkable to him, and he couldn't comprehend how Adrian had demonstrated such formidable combat prowess."Are you defending him?" the man asked.Adrian chuckled and replied, "Absolutely. Attacking someone who can't fight back proves nothing. It only makes you look small.""In all my years ruling the universe, I, the Gilded Tyrant, have never been called small. You're quite interesting, kid! Since you're so confident, let's change the terms.” Gilded Tyrant sneered."Go on," Adrian said calmly."We’ll settle this with a fight. If you can withstand three of my attacks, I won't take Zector away. If you fail, no one interferes," declared the Gilded Tyrant.Zector hurried to Adrian’s side and whispered, "Sir, this is between my father and me. You shouldn't interfere.""No, I wouldn't have intervened if not for earlier. Now, I want to see how strong this Demon Lord is," Adrian replied."My strength far
The Daemon Emperor was startled."What is happening? This power..."Formless energy was surging forward, pressuring his nerves and senses.Below, Andy and the others trembled uncontrollably."Who is it?" Finnian stared into the crimson mist.Even Andy was horrified, his gaze locked on the unfolding scene in disbelief, and asked, "What is this? What exactly is happening?" At this moment, Adrian abruptly opened his eyes.Apparently, the Daemon Emperor had once conspired with Adrian's subordinates to ambush him.However, Adrian had managed to annihilate the traitors and sealed this Daemon Emperor. Now, fate had brought them together again."If I killed you once, I can kill you again." Adrian stood tall, his white robes fluttering in the air.The Daemon Emperor was stunned into silence."This is impossible! You're not that mortal boy!""Is that so? In this life, your end has come, and so has the era of the daemons." Adrian's voice was calm yet resolute. He stretched out his han
Adrian's face hardened at the words. He despised threats above all else. While he understood what the mysterious entity desired, he couldn't yet fully comprehend its implications or find a way to counter it. His only choice was to focus on growing stronger.Within the hot spring, waves of raw, terrifying power surged and crashed violently against Adrian's body.The force, though beneficial, was brutal and overwhelming. Adrian's body struggled to endure, cracking as though it were disintegrating."Arghhh!"A heart-wrenching scream echoed as Adrian's flesh was torn apart and his aura gradually dimmed."Ahhh!"His agonized cries echoed once more. He could no longer withstand the pain.In the distance, a towering figure appeared and sneered. "What's this? Can't take it anymore? Pathetic. Humans are truly the epitome of stupidity."Suddenly, Adrian erupted with an explosive surge of energy, and in that instant, he broke through to the pinnacle of the Void Stage."Hmm? He actually b
At that moment, the crowd was speechless.Adrian had ascended as if it were the easiest thing in the world.Faced with such a sight, no one could say much beyond admiration. Even if the Holy Son claimed Adrian had cheated, many secretly wished they could cheat the same way.Lacking Adrian's means, all they could do was envy him.Finnian chuckled. "Haha! You really caught us all by surprise, kid. Still, I'll count this as you repaying me a favor."For Finnian, the outcome couldn't have been better. With a broad smile, he seemed to have achieved his desired result. Adrian's successful climb was all that mattered to him.Once Adrian had vanished, the focus shifted to the rest of the group and their trials.When Adrian opened his eyes again, his entire body ached, but an oddly comforting sensation flowed through him. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was now in a pond."Where am I?" he asked.Though uncertain about the place, Adrian knew he had cleared the trial and arriv
The onlookers stared in bewilderment, their faces etched with confusion as they struggled to grasp the unfolding events.Meanwhile, Adrian seethed with barely contained rage. This wasn't his first encounter with such torment. Every few steps he ascended, another trial awaited.To Adrian, the relentless punishments felt suffocating. Yet he pressed on—this was the final stretch of the climb. "Adrian, hang in there!" Andy shouted, urging him to conquer the last step. To Andy, reaching that final step symbolized Adrian's growth. He had witnessed Adrian's remarkable resilience countless times and held unwavering faith in his potential. In Andy's eyes, Adrian was destined for greatness. Adrian's expression turned cold as he locked his gaze on the steps ahead. Determination flickered in his eyes. "If reaching the top guarantees a reward, it doesn't have to be me up there. As long as someone makes it, that's enough." With that, he shifted his focus to the void above and formed
Adrian felt as if every nerve in his body was beyond his control. A deep sense of grievance filled his heart as the divine thunder from the void relentlessly crashed down.Rage surged within him, but under the onslaught of endless forces, he felt weak and constrained.Still, he had no choice but to press forward. He knew victory was within reach if he could endure a little longer—giving up now would mean death.If he fell, the shame and humiliation would crush him.Below, the Holy Son and others waited, eager to see him fail and mock him. This left Adrian no option but to push forward, striving toward the void above and his ultimate goal.The violent forces continued to bombard him from the sky.With every step, the thunder's impact intensified tenfold. His soul, already battered from a fierce battle with a horde of beasts, now felt as though it was dragging his exhausted body forward.Anyone else would likely have succumbed to despair. After all, under such immense pressure, ev
The oppressive forces descending from the void seemed determined to halt Adrian’s ascent up the staircase.Yet he refused to yield. To him, these overwhelming challenges were merely obstacles to conquer.He pressed forward with relentless determination.Thunderbolts continued to rain down, but the ominous red light from before did not return—a relief, as he never wished to endure its crushing weight again.The memory of that light still haunted him, leaving a lingering sense of helplessness. Its suffocating pressure had drained his strength, reducing him to a gasping, powerless state.Despite the toll on his body and mind, Adrian remained singularly focused on reaching the final step. His burning desire for greater power drove him forward, unwavering and resolute.Step by step, he ascended, reaching the 95th step in what felt like an instant.Only five steps remained. His gaze locked onto the summit, and a wild glint lit his eyes. A daring idea sparked within him, consuming his
Adrian pondered his situation, his cold gaze reflecting simmering frustration. Yet deep down, he recognized that whoever had designed the staircase was far from ordinary.Creating such a formidable trial required unimaginable power.Even a pinnacle Void Stage expert—or perhaps someone of the Multiply Stage—might bow in reverence before the ladder's creator."He won't last much longer. The divine lightning in this void is utterly destructive. In moments, he'll be reduced to ashes," sneered the Holy Son, his sharp eyes gleaming with malice.To the Holy Son, Adrian's demise was inevitable. Adrian had dared to offend him, and he was certain such audacity could only lead to death.Adrian caught the Holy Son's words and cast him a frosty glare. His intent to kill was unmistakable, though now wasn't the time.The staircase was no place for personal vendettas—eliminating him here would require careful planning.He also knew the Holy Son carried seals of immense power. A reckless move co
Finnian's sharp gaze reflected a hint of admiration. "Kid, you owe me a big favor this time. You'd better treasure this opportunity."Adrian remained silent, unsure how to respond. His cold eyes revealed no emotion, though he fully grasped the challenges ahead.Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford—he'd come too far to back down now.Suddenly, a streak of red light surged from the void, hurtling toward Adrian with terrifying speed. His eyes widened in shock as the crimson beam struck him, slamming him against the staircase.Caught off guard, Adrian collapsed, sprawled helplessly on the steps.The crowd below watched in astonishment. No one had expected his seemingly indestructible body to be overwhelmed so easily.The Holy Son sneered. "Haha! It seems he's triggered some kind of taboo. Let's see how arrogant he is now!"His voice dripped with schadenfreude, his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction as he relished Adrian's struggle.Despite the crushing force, Adrian refused
"What exactly is up there pulling me so strongly?" Adrian's expression hardened as he pondered the mysterious force drawing him upward.A surge of violent energy erupted across the sky, crashing down like a raging storm.Adrian advanced cautiously, each step deliberate and precise.Gone were the reckless strides of before—now he moved with steely determination, fully aware of the lurking dangers.He'd learned that the void's formidable forces seemed to target him directly, compelling him to proceed step by step. Any attempt to bypass its unseen barriers would provoke a devastating strike."Ridiculous," Adrian muttered. "If I've chosen to climb, nothing will stop me."The void's relentless power intensified.Bolts of thunder hammered down mercilessly, battering Adrian's body. Yet fear never crossed his mind.What was there to be afraid of?To him, the divine thunder wasn't an obstacle—it was a crucible, a tool to temper his body and strengthen his resolve.Despite the storm, A