Death… And Me

Chapter 1022 - First True Challenge

There were no skills in the battles whatsoever. Everything was resolved through pure speed, strength, and fighting style. The elders also made sure that no Divine Energy or Soul Power was used during the fights. Because of that, the show of lights and explosions that would normally happen couldnʼt be seen in the arenas.

In any case, it still served to show who could still hold on their own without the support of the skills they were so used to using. One of them was obviously Rean. After all, Roan made sure to prepare him for all possible situations, including ones where he didnʼt have access to his Divine Soul Power abilities.

ʼDeath Style, First Form, Stellar Piercer!ʼ

Reanʼs body shot forward like an arrow, piercing through the defense of his opponent. Although Roanʼs Death Style used Divine Soul Power and Elements, that didnʼt mean they couldnʼt be used without them.

*Bang!*

Reanʼs first opponent, after the first phase, raised the shaft of his spear, wanting to block Reanʼs attack. Unfortunately, the fusion of speed and strength sent him flying like a cannonball. His body then hit the protection formation of the arena, breaking a few of the manʼs bones in the process.

”I give up...”

That was everything he could say before he passed out. Well, Rean wouldnʼt attack him anymore anyway.

”Winner, Rean Larks!”

Rean nodded before coming down from the arena. ʼI was lucky in this second fight. To think I would fight a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator.ʼ

Rean could have destroyed the guyʼs spear, but he chose not to do so since he knew how hard it was for disciples of small powers to get them. It wasnʼt like he took pleasure breaking things, let alone killing.

He then looked around and could see many participants giving up or being defeated. However...

*Arrrgh!*

He could also see some who died. Everyone was desperate to advance in the competition, so it wasnʼt hard to see both sides pushing too hard in battles where their strengths were similar. Neither one wanted to lose, so even though a victor was most likely decided at some point, they still continued until one side killed the other. ʼThereʼs only one Divine Vein. Is it really worth dying for it?ʼ If it was Rean who was in danger of dying, he would definitely give up without even thinking twice.

Once all battles were over, the 8192 cultivators had reduced to 4096. As promised, Ravio gave everyone thirty minutes of rest after the last battle was over. However, it was easy to see that many cultivators wouldnʼt be able to recover with so little time.

Ravio couldnʼt care less, though. As soon as the thirty minutes were over, he started the next round of matches. ”Alright, everyone has five minutes to enter the arenas. Those who arenʼt inside until then will be disqualified.”

Rean was still fine, so he went straight to his arena. He quickly jumped on it, just to see that his opponent was there already. However, he also found out with his Divine Sense that his opponent this time wouldnʼt be easy. ʼInitial Stage Saint Realm!ʼ

Reanʼs opponent wasnʼt surprised, though. After all, he did check the brackets... which Rean didnʼt. ”Youʼre one of the famous twins, right? You can call me Galer. Iʼm sorry, but I have no intention of letting you take more Divine Veins.”

Rean smiled in response as he said, ”Well, thatʼll depend on whether youʼre stronger than me or not.”

Of course, the judge didnʼt wait for their trash talk to continue. ”Ready...start!”

ʼDeath Style, First Form, Stellar Piercer!ʼ

Rean reacted swiftly, aiming to end the battle as fast as possible, like always.

However, his opponent wasnʼt a weakling. He took out his saber and quickly brandished it exactly against the tip of Reanʼs Black Star.

ʼOverwhelming Push!ʼ

*Clang!*

Both sword and saber hit each other, forcing Rean and Galer back from the sheer strength of their attacks. However, Galer was truly surprised by Reanʼs strength. After all, not only was his cultivation higher, he was part of the Truik Race, one of the races with innately higher strength.

Naturally, Rean was also surprised. However, not because of his opponentʼs strength, but because of his saber. ʼSilver Peak-level! My Black Star is still at Silver Middle-level, so it could only match that saberʼs power. It couldnʼt damage it. Also...ʼ Rean looked at the muscles of his opponent. ʼDefinitely quick reaction time for someone with a body like that.ʼ

Rean knew that his advantage wasnʼt in raw strength. Instead, it was the combination of both strength and speed. With that being said, staying still was the worst thing he could do.

ʼDeath Style, First Movement Form, Shadow Steps!ʼ

ʼLife Fire, Flame Emperor Slash!ʼ

ʼDeath Style, Second Form, Crescent Moon!ʼ

Once again, Rean used his skills, but without the support of Divine Energy nor Soul Power. Only the movement and the raw force behind the skills were present. Nevertheless, he launched attacks nonstop from everywhere.

His opponent wasnʼt as fast as Rean, but he was used to his own shortcomings. He knew that speed wasnʼt the thing he excelled in the most, so he formed a very good self-defense form.

ʼOverbearing Field!ʼ

His saber moved around his body, seemingly covering every corner that Rean could attack from. Galerʼs eyes also followed Reanʼs movements closely, making sure that the direction from where he defended would be correct.

Sure enough, without Divine Energy and Soul Power, it was much easier to follow the opponentʼs movements. That was very true for both sides.

The other battles in the surroundings quickly settled down as one would usually find stronger opponents against weaker ones. Thatʼs how the random selection of opponents worked. Because of that, Rean and Galerʼs battle quickly gathered quite a small audience.

Obviously, the illusory formation showing the happening of the test eventually settled on Reanʼs fight as well.

ʼLife Fire, Third Form, Flaming Blade Arc!ʼ

Once again, another attack without Divine Energy, Soul Power, or Elements was sent.

ʼGotcha!ʼ

However, Galer saw an opening in Reanʼs attack pattern and used it to counterattack the moment Rean arrived!

ʼTrue Charge!ʼ

Galerʼs Truik Raceʼs leg muscles exploded with strength for a moment before he shot against Reanʼs attack like a mad bull. Reanʼs Flaming Blade Arc scratched Galerʼs shoulder, but that was all that happened. Meanwhile, Galerʼs sudden charge brought him and his saber right in front of Reanʼs face!

”Die!”