On the other side of the gathering area, the atmosphere surrounding the Safe Zone 7 delegation was entirely different.
Marcus Vane walked straight into the temporary resting room set up behind the registration area. Three representatives followed him in, with Adrian Cole being the last to enter.
The moment the door closed, Marcus turned to look at the three young Awakened.
"Have you all memorized that young man’s face?"
All three nodded in unison.
Two males, one female. All three were still very young, but their aura had already reached high-tier Silver. The strongest among them was even just one step away from touching Silver’s upper limit.
Marcus looked at each of them, his cold voice ringing out in the sealed room.
"If you encounter Ethan Ashford inside, kill him."
Cole immediately frowned. "Marcus."
Marcus didn’t look at him.
The young man standing in the middle hesitated briefly before speaking up: "General, the rules don’t prohibit killing within the trial, but Ethan Ashford is currently Silver Moon City’s representative. If we kill him, Xue Ji will certainly..."
"You don’t need to worry about the consequences."
Marcus coldly cut him off. He clasped both hands behind his back, his eyes showing not a single trace of wavering.
"He was once one of Zone 7’s people, then refused to return and openly sided with an outside faction. He knows too much about us, and his Partner possesses abnormal power. If we allow someone like that to continue growing, sooner or later he’ll become a threat."
Cole stepped forward, the tip of his cane tapping lightly against the stone floor.
"He didn’t betray us."
Marcus finally turned to look at him.
Cole didn’t shy away from that gaze. The wrinkles on his aged face deepened as he lowered his voice: "We were the ones who abandoned him first. You know that better than anyone in this room."
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The three representatives standing behind them all fell silent, none daring to intervene in the confrontation between the two men.
Marcus stared at Cole for a long time before finally speaking: "I’m protecting Safe Zone 7."
"By killing someone who’s never attacked us?"
"Wait until he has enough power to come back for revenge and it’ll be too late."
Cole gripped his cane tighter. "Marcus, it’s precisely this way of thinking that pushed everything to where it is now."
Marcus’s gaze turned ice-cold.
"Dean Cole." His voice wasn’t loud, but the three young Awakened behind him immediately straightened up. "I respect you for your contributions to Aurora Academy. However, this is not your school. The safety of all of Zone 7 cannot be decided by pity."
Cole was about to say more when Marcus pulled a small box from inside his coat and placed it on the table.
Clack.
The lid opened.
Inside were three deep crimson orbs, each no larger than a thumb tip. Tiny golden lines continuously ran across their surfaces. Every time they flashed, the surrounding energy trembled faintly.
The moment Cole saw the three orbs, his expression changed. "You’re planning to give those to them?"
Marcus ignored the question. He pushed the box toward the three representatives.
"One each."
The three exchanged glances. The woman standing on the right cautiously asked: "What are these...?"
"Level-burst items." Marcus explained calmly: "If you encounter a situation beyond your ability to handle, swallow it. For a short period, the energy in your bodies will be forcibly pushed to peak Gold."
All three widened their eyes simultaneously.
Peak Gold.
For Awakened who hadn’t even surpassed Silver, this was a leap almost beyond imagination.
BOOM!
Cole slammed his cane against the floor. The sudden sound made the three young people flinch.
"Absolutely not!" Cole stared at Marcus, his expression grim. "That thing forcibly breaks through the body’s limits. After the effects wear off, the mild consequence is foundation damage, and in severe cases it could cause cracks in the Celestial Gate. You’re willing to destroy three of Zone 7’s geniuses just to kill Ethan?"
Marcus replied indifferently: "I’m only asking them to use it when necessary."
"You know perfectly well that once they encounter Ethan, they’ll consider that a necessary situation."
"Then don’t let them fail."
Cole looked at Marcus as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He opened his mouth to speak, but for a long while no sound came out.
"Marcus..."
"Enough."
Marcus stepped forward until he was right in front of him. The distance between them was less than a meter.
"You’ve intervened too many times."
Cole stood frozen in place. His hand gripping the cane tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Marcus lowered his voice, every word clear and deliberate: "If you continue to influence the military’s decisions, after we return, I will propose that the Council review your qualifications as Dean of Aurora Academy."
The three young people behind them immediately lowered their eyes.
Cole understood Marcus wasn’t joking. If he lost his position as Dean, even his ability to protect the remaining students would vanish.
Marcus looked at him for one more second before turning back to the three representatives.
"Take them."
The three Awakened each reached out and took a deep crimson orb in turn. The moment the last person picked one up, Marcus closed the empty box’s lid and tucked it back into his coat.
Cole stood behind, watching it all. His aged face grew heavy, but this time, he had no way to stop it.
...
The moment the Trial Gate opened finally arrived.
A deep, low bell rang throughout the ruins. Layer after layer of protective barriers around the temple lit up simultaneously. The spatial lightning bolts that had been continuously shooting out from the diamond-shaped rift began to weaken, then completely withdrew inward.
Thanh Lien stood on the highest step. The scroll in her hand had been unrolled, and jade-green characters slowly rose from the surface of the paper one by one.
"The Trial Gate will remain open for a limited time. All qualified representatives and Partners who have formed bonds are permitted to enter. After passing through the gate, life and death are your own responsibility. The United Council will not intervene in any disputes that arise inside."
Thanh Lien didn’t need to raise her voice, yet every word still carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
Below the steps, the delegations began to move. The larger Safe Zones had three to five slots, while some independent cities had only one. Clans or organizations recognized by the Council also received their own allocations based on contributions and achievements from previous years.
Silver Moon City had only Ethan.
However, with Laira and Ruo Yan accompanying him, the three-person formation still attracted a great deal of attention.
Ethan stood near the front of the line, watching the diamond-shaped rift gradually stabilize. To his left, more than twenty meters away, stood the Safe Zone 7 delegation. Their three representatives were already in position.
The male leading the group turned his head to look over. His gaze met Ethan’s, then he slowly drew his thumb across his throat.
The woman beside him curled her lips slightly. The remaining one simply stared coldly at Ethan for a few seconds before looking away.
Laira immediately stepped forward. Her shoulders dropped, and her red eyes already showed a dangerous glint.
"Can I beat them up right now?"
Ethan reached out and held her wrist. "Not yet."
"He just provoked you."
"I saw."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"We wait until we’re inside, then we fight."
Laira thought about it for exactly one second, then nodded. "Fine."
Ruo Yan, standing on the other side, was still watching the three from Zone 7. Her fingers shifted subtly, and Soul Threads so fine they were nearly invisible glided across the back of her hand.
"They’re clearly targeting you. Is this Marcus Vane’s order?"
"Most likely."
Ethan didn’t even need to use the Eye of Truth to figure that out.
Right after yesterday’s confrontation, Zone 7’s three representatives had simultaneously displayed hostility toward him. There weren’t that many coincidences in this world.
Xue Ji walked over at that moment. She had also just witnessed the young man’s provocative gesture, and the smile on her face faded immediately.
"It seems General Vane truly has no intention of letting this go."
Ethan slightly curved his lips. "I already guessed as much."
"All three of them are high-tier Silver." Xue Ji lowered her voice, her gaze still fixed on the Zone 7 delegation. "The one in the middle is named Cassian, Silver tier ten. He deliberately held his level for nearly five months waiting for the Trial Gate to open. The other two are slightly weaker, but they’ve both reached tier nine."
Ethan glanced over at the three. "That’s it?"
Xue Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. "You sound disappointed."
"Not quite."
Xue Ji turned back to look at him. Her smile had vanished, replaced by a rare seriousness.
"I know your combat strength surpasses what your level suggests, but don’t underestimate people who’ve had an entire Safe Zone’s resources poured into their development. Inside the Trial Gate, there are no rules to protect you. If things feel wrong, get away from them first. The championship title matters, but it’s not worth trading your life for."
Ethan looked at her for a few seconds, then laughed. "You gave me a thousand Energy Crystals, and now you’re telling me to run?"
"I just don’t want my investment to die before it turns a profit."
"Relax." Ethan turned to look at Cassian, his expression still calm. "As long as we’re within the same level range, I don’t see myself losing."
Xue Ji watched him for a long moment. When she confirmed Ethan wasn’t speaking out of arrogance or trying to reassure her, she finally let a slow smile form.
"Good. Then don’t make me lose face."
"You just need to have storage space ready for the Resource Mystery Boxes."
"Big talk."
Laira immediately chimed in from behind: "He means it."
Ruo Yan also nodded calmly. "I think so too."
Xue Ji looked at the three of them and in the end could only shake her head.
"You really are all cut from the same cloth."
At that moment, Thanh Lien raised the scroll. The jade-green characters on its surface simultaneously shot straight into the diamond-shaped rift.
BOOM!
The barrier of light immediately expanded. The spatial lightning running along its edges quickly stabilized, revealing a white so deep that its end couldn’t be seen.
Thanh Lien closed the scroll.
"Begin."
The first representative in line immediately stepped forward. The moment his body touched the barrier of light, white radiance swallowed him whole.
The second quickly followed. Then the third group.
One delegation after another entered in succession. Some brought Partners along, others went alone. A few Partners whose physical forms were too large had to shrink down or return to their summoned state before they could pass through the gate.
When it was Safe Zone 7’s turn, Cassian paused right before the rift. He turned his head to look at Ethan one last time. The woman walking beside him also looked over, her smile carrying an undisguised provocative edge.
No words needed to be spoken. The meaning was already perfectly clear.
Then all three stepped in together.
White light swallowed their retreating silhouettes.
Ethan watched the scene, his expression unchanged.
’Definitely targeting me.’
Even so, he didn’t feel any pressure. If Marcus Vane truly believed three high-tier Silvers were enough to deal with him, Ethan actually felt a little disappointed.
"Your turn."
Xue Ji stepped forward and lightly patted his shoulder.
Ethan turned. She had already withdrawn her smile, her silver eyes revealing unmistakable seriousness.
"Be careful."
"Yeah."
Xue Ji seemed slightly surprised. Perhaps she hadn’t expected him to answer so straightforwardly.
Ethan saw her expression and smiled. "I’ll bring back what you want."
Xue Ji looked at him for a few seconds. The hand resting on Ethan’s shoulder tightened slightly before letting go.
"I’ll be waiting."
She stepped aside.
Ethan moved forward. Laira and Ruo Yan walked on either side of him.
As the three of them neared the gate, Ethan clearly felt the space around his body being stretched. The white light ahead gave off no heat, but with each step closer, the Primordial Armor on his left arm vibrated ever so faintly.
The Void Flame inside also reacted.
Very faint, but Ethan could still sense it.
He clenched his left fist, focusing on distinguishing the vibrations transmitting from the gate.
’Not the Void.’
The two types of power carried completely different sensations. What lay before him was simply extremely pure spatial energy, lacking the chilling cold and terrifying pressure of the Void Eye.
Laira leaned down to look at him. "Something wrong?"
"No. Let’s go."
Ethan continued forward.
Just before stepping in, he unconsciously turned his head to look back.
Thanh Lien still stood on the highest step. Amid the hundreds of people moving about, her gaze was aimed straight at him.
Their eyes met for just a moment.
Thanh Lien’s face revealed no emotion. Ethan didn’t have time to think about that gaze either.
A second later, white light swallowed all three of them.
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