Julius burst out laughing. "You're just some weaklings from Heavenly Realm. How dare you threaten us?" He could easily take them down himself, let alone what Felix could do. He wondered where these two men got the nerve to say such words. Surprisingly, the men didn't panic at all. Instead, they sneered and said, "We might be ordinary, but I was pretty clear earlier. The one who strung up this woman is the hotshot we're with, and he's one of the championship favorites. "Fine. If you want to die, just stick around." Without a word, Felix appeared right below Helen by just taking one stride forward. As Helen fell down, both Heavenly Realm masters backed up a few steps. Looking at Helen, who had passed out from severe injuries, Felix didn't feel particularly emotional. Anyone who entered the preliminaries had prepared themselves for death. Surviving this situation already counted as incredible luck. He could also tell Helen hadn't been violated. It looked more like someone had
Hendrix's Starmark had to be full already by now. He could leave anytime, which meant he probably wouldn't follow the fighter's code anymore. One of the Heavenly Realm masters was trying to score points, so he shouted at Felix without noticing the raging emotions in Hendrix's eyes, "Such nerve! How dare you speak to Mr. Freeman like that? Who do you think you are?" "Hmm?" As Hendrix tilted his head, the man who had just spoken exploded into pieces. At the same time, he said, "How dare you interrupt a chat between strong martial artists like us?" The other Heavenly Realm master had cold sweat pouring down his forehead, grateful he hadn't opened his mouth. Otherwise, he would be dead, too. "I know about you, Felix. You're also one of the championship favorites, and you fought your way up from a developing planet on your own strength. I'll respect the fighter's code. You can go." Felix nodded and left with Helen. To him, this outcome seemed reasonable. Only Julius was extremel
Felix sighed to himself. How did he end up running into Chelsea right before leaving? "Did you need something?" he asked.Though Chelsea was still cold as ever, he somehow sensed a hint of warmth in her eyes that hadn't been there before. "I've been following you for more than 20 days." Shocked, Felix's expression immediately turned guarded. Even with sensory perception limited to 160 feet in this place, any movement or the slightest sound shouldn't have escaped his notice. Yet, someone had tracked him for over 20 days without him detecting a thing. Chelsea was truly terrifying. Felix commented, "That's quite a hobby you've got." She raised her hand to point at something. She left him with one sentence before vanishing in a flash of light. "Next time we meet, I'll spare your life." Felix's face twitched in frustration. Who did she think she was? The scene changed. Felix found himself in a room surrounded by stone walls. Besides a bed, there was no other furniture—the des
Felix frowned. "Did he know ahead of time that there was an emerald bed here for healing? If not, why would he dare take such a risk?" If Felix could have ignored the physical consequences, he would have attracted seven or eight monsters to train with long ago instead of being so cautious. "No way. Nobody could know that in advance. In the Rank-Ascending Competition, only the elimination round format stays the same. But even that is unpredictable because the planets are chosen randomly. "Everything else changes with each competition." That was exactly what made Felix even more confused. "But because of the Orion family, you know some elite families have advantages that other competitors can't match, right? Nobody would risk getting injured before their Starmark is full because they still need to hunt monsters. "Though once it's full, the contestants from those elite families won't have to worry anymore. Even if Star Alliance doesn't provide healing, they can pull strings to
Neither Felix nor Julius dwelled on the issue any longer. After all, these were Star Alliance's rules. What was the point of racking their brains over it when nothing would change?…A week passed. When Felix woke up, Argent spoke, "Mr. Zeller, the preliminary round has officially ended. Both towers are now open. A total of 201 people survived the preliminaries." Felix couldn't help feeling moved. As expected, only about 200 people had passed—this competition really was brutal. Without wasting time, he headed toward the towers. He hadn't gone far when he ran into Helen, who clearly seemed to have made a full recovery. "Felix," she called out. She had a sincere smile on her face as she ran to his side. Felix said, "It seems like your luck held out." Without the emerald bed for healing, it would have been very difficult to deal with Helen's injuries. "Yeah. Now that the towers have appeared, surviving the preliminaries was definitely worth it. But I won't be participating
Hendrix and Yvian watched as Felix entered the Tower of Babel. "He really didn't choose the Tower of Divinity," Yvian murmured. Instantly, Hendrix replied defiantly, "So what? That doesn't prove he's reached Soul Overlord Realm." Yvian pursed her lips. "Right. I wonder who was the one who backed down and let Felix walk away with Helen." Bringing up this incident made Hendrix furious, but at that moment, he had genuinely feared Felix. Soul attacks could happen very quickly and were too unpredictable. There might not even be time for him to activate the Starmark before being killed. Of course, this was assuming Felix had reached Soul Overlord Realm. "Humph! With a year in the Tower of Divinity, I could reach Soul Overlord Realm, too. Just wait and see. By then, his advantage will be gone even if he's a Soul Overlord. "Clearly, martial arts is his weakness. He'll probably spend most of his time in the Tower of Babel." With that, Hendrix entered the Tower of Divinity withou
Scopulus looked irritated. Did Yusri really have to ask such a stupid question? He replied, "The towers, obviously. The Tower of Babel and Tower of Divinity." The answer was just as he expected. Yusri said with a smile, "No. It's the emerald bed in each contestant's room."Emerald bed? Scopulus frowned, thinking it over. "The towers are important, sure, but the beds are crucial! How can anyone go all-out in the towers without the beds for recovery? Don't you agree?" Scopulus' eyes lit up. That actually made sense. For contestants, both towers posed minimal danger since they could withdraw with a single thought if things got dicey. Doing so, however, meant they were injured. With only one precious year, injuries would prevent further tower attempts, which made healing essential. That was exactly what the emerald beds were for. These incredibly rare items that were exclusive to Star Alliance could heal not just physical wounds but soul injuries, too. "Are you suggesting
To Felix's surprise, the fake Felix also used Dragon Punches. There was no defense—just a perfect mirror of Felix's attacks, blow for blow in a total clash of offense. After several minutes, Felix was stunned. He'd exhausted his techniques, yet his opponent maintained perfect parity with him. Neither could gain any advantage. Both towers came with explanations and instructions. For example, when entering the Tower of Babel, soul cultivation techniques couldn't be used and would be restricted by some mysterious force. Similarly, in the Tower of Divinity, martial arts couldn't be utilized. Felix had tested this on the first floor. It was indeed true—his soul energy remained unaffected no matter how he tried to activate it. "You disappoint me." Getting mocked by the tower-created duplicate, Felix grew angry and activated Lone Paragon. Yet, his next punch left him completely shocked. The fake Felix's punch still matched his exactly, showing no difference from before. This was a
"Lord Tyrone, I—" Felix spoke but was quickly interrupted.Tyrone quickly said, "Don't rush! Once you make a choice, it's final. I hope you'll be able to think twice before you choose."Jerry motioned with his eyes, asking Felix to continue listening. "Let me tell you about Earth first. It has a level three technological development and a soul power of level two. To compare, the highest level is nine," Tyrone explained.Felix felt bitter at the explanation. No wonder they called Earth a barbarian planet. Their levels were so low. It wasn't even half."I'll recommend three planets. The first one is Morning Star. It's on level five technological development and level four soul power. There are three Royal Realm fighters and two Soul Overlord Realm fighters."If you choose it, the planet will be yours. All the citizens there will be under you. If they dared to disobey, Star Alliance would dispose of them immediately."Damn! Three Royal Realm fighters and two Soul Overlord Realm fi
That being said, Chelsea knew better. Felix now owed her a favor. Since he was from Earth, his way of thinking differed from those she knew. He wasn't someone who enjoyed killing.Otherwise, the battle wouldn't have ended up with them exchanging moves. In a way, this was already considered mercy. "Alright," Felix replied with a small nod. His mind finally settled. Although he had formed the Way of Mind and created his own techniques, he was always worried. After all, no one knew who would win the grand finals until the last moment. Now, Felix felt like he could finally breathe. Earth had hope…The aircraft holding the Orions had quickly left. The air inside was tense, and everyone felt horrible. They had no idea that this was how the grand finals would go. Felix was the champion! Everyone knew he would choose Earth as his protected planet.That way, the Orions had to find another opportunity to invade Earth, and they had no idea when that would come. The Orions' loss in this c
After countering Felix's attack, Chelsea's breathing turned rapid. She was no longer as steady as before. However, the glint in her eyes grew brighter, as if it were the first time she was forced into such a situation."How awesome…" she murmured in admiration. On the other hand, Felix was also full of admiration. Chelsea was definitely amazing. Despite being in a higher realm, she still hadn't formed the Way of Mind. Without the Way of Mind, she couldn't use her strength to its true extent.After merely two moves, Chelsea had countered both. Although she had been defensive all this time, it was still terrifying. Only those who formed the Way of Mind knew the true meaning of intent behind a casual attack.Since Chelsea didn't ask to stop the fight, Felix didn't hold back. This was his way of showing respect to a strong fighter.Felix raised his hand, seemingly throwing a casual punch. "Star-shattering Punch!"When he named this move, he had been harboring a lot of hatred. He ima
A few minutes later, the anticipated battle came. Felix and Chelsea stood across from each other, waiting for the start to be announced."Please don't hold back. I truly hope to gain your respect," Chelsea said.She knew that Felix had condensed the Way of Mind, yet she still dared to speak so boldly. It showed her confidence in her own strength."Alright, I won't hold back," Felix agreed. In terms of strength, Chelsea was definitely in the top tier. After all, she had reached the Nebular Realm and was entering the Royal Realm soon. It was pretty impressive for a fighter her age to reach the Royal Realm.Chelsea was still young, and her future would be incredibly limitless. On the other hand, Felix was still in the Nebular Realm, an entire realm below her.As soon as the start was announced, Chelsea's hair turned white as it danced in the wind. Felix went into his fighting stance and sent out a blast with one hand."Dragon Slayer Palm!"Felix had developed the technique himsel
The rule meant Hendrix had only one chance. If he won against the woman, he would take fifth place, and she would fall to sixth. Of course, he picked someone whom he was confident of beating.In fact, most of the audience knew that Hendrix was capable of being in the top five. The woman whom he picked sneered and rushed toward the island.The battle quickly finished.Hendrix's body went back to its normal size—he had won! He was now in fifth place, and from his expression, it was clear that he had no regrets about his choice. He knew his limits well.The remaining four in the winning group returned to the island as they had to draw numbers again. This time, Chelsea was the first one to draw. The card turned and showed the number one. It seemed like she had a special connection with the number.The next person who went up was Felix. The audience looked expectantly at him with widened eyes. They were all thinking the same thing—was Felix going to fight Chelsea immediately?Howeve
After missing the first blow, Hendrix didn't stop at all. He went straight for the throat, falling into close combat as if he were afraid that Felix would continue to attack him with soul techniques. However, Hendrix guessed wrong. Felix didn't dodge the second blow. Instead, he raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and pressed it against Hendrix's fist. "This is for when you allowed me to save Helen. If you continue to fight, I won't be too polite anymore," Felix said.Hendrix was stunned. He knew how strong his punch was; most people couldn't take it. However, Felix not only took it but also used only one finger, leaving Hendrix at a loss for words.Clearly, Felix was only a Nebular Realm fighter, but why was their strength gap so big? A bitter smile spread across Hendrix's face, and his throat closed up. Still, he said, "I surrender."His life was precious, and he didn't harbor any ill will toward Felix, so why would he continue to fight? After all, from what wa
As soon as Chelsea's finger touched a card, it turned and displayed the number one. Hendrix immediately heaved a sigh of relief. Although there were no longer any tricks at this point, it all depended on their strengths and luck.If anyone met Chelsea in the first round, then it would definitely affect the morale of the rest of the battles. After Chelsea, several people jumped out simultaneously, including Lachlan and Felix. When Felix touched a card, it revealed the number three.Hendrix quickly frowned and looked over. There was another person he didn't want to fight—Felix.During the two days of rest, he talked a lot with Yvian. Of course, he had learned some things, like the cooperation with Lyle and Felix. This made him feel unsettled, but he didn't expect that they would meet.Once everyone had drawn their numbers, Chelsea and another player who had drawn the same number stayed on the island. The rest temporarily left the island."Begin!"The fight between the two start
Holly was right—Felix could no longer question it. He smiled bitterly as he realized he had no choice in the matter. He thought for a while before suggesting, "What about this, if you're really part of their family, come back to Earth with me after the competition. Can you do that?"Holly agreed willingly. "Of course, I'm looking for family. That isn't an issue."Once Holly left, she contacted someone. A look of astonishment flashed in her eyes as she read Felix's information."Oh? I didn't expect this guy to be so well-known! Has Star Alliance already contacted him and offered a position as the Elder of External Affairs?"Given this information, it was evident just how powerful Holly's connections were. After all, not many people in Star Alliance knew of it.Since they were offering him the position of Elder of External Affairs, it seemed that Felix had already formed the Way of Mind. Holly didn't expect someone from such a barbaric planet to be so powerful."How interesting
Felix's expression fell immediately, and he tried to push the woman away. "Are you crazy? Get out!"However, as he closed the door, the woman stopped it from shutting. "You're a contestant in this year's Rank-Ascending Competition, right? I can sense that there's someone in Star Alliance protecting you."But there are some things you can't avoid," she said. "Either you take this chance to talk to me, or I'll ask myself. It shouldn't be difficult to find out where you're from."Felix realized the seriousness of her words as he gazed at the woman. She could sense the higher-ups secretly protecting him, but at least she couldn't figure out who he was—in other words, this woman was extremely powerful.No matter her purpose, if she really went to Earth, who could stop her? Since the Rank-Ascending Competition hadn't ended yet, and with Earth still a mess, who could stop the invasion?"Fine, come in," Felix relented.The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. "Hahaha! This is the at