Max walked into one of the empty rooms in the living chamber and closed the heavy stone door behind him. The mont he looked around, his brows furrowed slightly. Calling this place a room felt generous.
Inside, there was nothing except a crude stone bed carved directly from the ground, cold and lifeless, with no bedding, no table, no chair, and not even a faint decoration on the walls. The dim light seeping in from the corridor outside barely illuminated the space, giving it a suffocating and oppressive feeling.
"The treatnt of a slave," Max muttered quietly as he sat down on the stone bed. The surface was rough and unforgiving, yet he did not react much to the discomfort. He took a slow breath and steadied his thoughts, forcing his mind into calmness.
Complaining about conditions would change nothing. Strength and status were the only things that mattered here, just like everywhere else he had been.
"If everything goes well, then Instructor Virelia should be here soon," Max thought as he leaned back slightly and closed his eyes. He began planning his next steps carefully. "In the anti, I should secure my freedom by defeating the Grim Gladiator."
He did not say it with arrogance, but with certainty. Remaining trapped in the Divine Colosseum would only slow him down, and he had no intention of wasting years fighting aningless battles for survival.
Freya's words echoed in his mind. There were many things she had told him to do after arriving in the Divine Realm, things that would allow him to build a solid foundation and gain influence beyond relying solely on the Black Dragon Palace. However, none of those plans could be executed without status.
In the Divine Realm, status decided everything, and within the Black Dragon Palace, status was dictated by power and affiliation.
"I recall that the Black Dragon Palace is ruled by seven great families," Max muttered softly, opening his eyes. "They stand at the very top of the palace." He frowned slightly as he thought deeper.
If he wanted to climb higher within the Black Dragon Palace and gain access to its true resources, then aligning himself with one of those seven families was unavoidable. Independent cultivators rarely reached the inner core of such forces, no matter how talented they were.
"I wonder which family Instructor Virelia belongs to," Max continued, his thoughts drifting back to the Obsidian Dragon City. That place had been his first real glimpse into the Divine Realm's structure, even before his ascension.
He still rembered his encounter with Lucia Grims, one of the descendants of the seven great families. Through her, he had gained a rough understanding of just how deep and terrifying the Black Dragon Palace truly was.
"Seven great families rule the Black Dragon Palace," Max thought silently. "They are its true lords." His eyes narrowed slightly. If he wanted to rise quickly, he would need the backing of one of them. Without that support, even a genius could be suppressed, sidelined, or erased without leaving a trace.
"Lucia already has an impression of ," Max thought, recalling her sharp gaze and calculating deanor. "And she belongs to the Grims family." A faint smile appeared on his face. "If luck is on my side, I might et her again and join the Grims family."
He lay back on the stone bed and stared at the ceiling, his expression calm yet resolute. The Divine Colosseum was rely the first obstacle in this new world. Once he stepped out of it as a free man, his true journey in the Divine Realm would finally begin.
Ti passed quietly as Max rested through the entire day and night, using the silence of the underground chambers to test the laws of the Divine Realm with his fifth level concepts. Every attempt confird the sa conclusion.
The laws here were deeper, denser, and far more absolute than anything he had experienced in Acaris. Even concepts he had mastered to perfection felt restrained, as if they were being asured and limited by sothing vast and unseen.
He did not rush or grow impatient. Instead, he observed, adapted, and morized every subtle reaction his power caused. By the ti the faint signal calling them out echoed through the underground corridors, Max had already adjusted his mindset to this new world.
All the ascenders were gathered inside a wide hall beneath the Divine Colosseum. The space was carved directly from dark stone and reinforced with runes that pulsed faintly with Divine Essence.
Veterans who had lived here for years stood casually with relaxed expressions, while the newcors, including Max, stood more alert and cautious. So carried nervous tension in their eyes, others hid it behind forced confidence.
Despite the difference in experience, everyone stood in silence, as if they were waiting for sothing inevitable to arrive.
It was then that a middle aged man stepped forward from the shadows. He had dark blue hair tied loosely behind his head and wore a calm smile that did not quite reach his eyes. His presence alone caused the murmurs in the hall to vanish completely.
"Most of you know ," he said with an easy smile, his voice carrying effortlessly through the hall. "I am Supervisor Dan of the Divine Colosseum. Everything that happens here passes through . This place moves because I allow it to move."
His gaze swept across the crowd before settling briefly on the new faces. "I see so fresh blood today. Good. Listen carefully, all of you who arrived recently. Every single day, you will fight three battles." His tone remained relaxed, yet the aning behind his words was heavy. "If you lose all three battles in a single day, then the next day you will fight with your life on the line. No exceptions. So make sure you win at least one battle each day."
Dan smiled slightly as he continued. "If you win two battles, you will live comfortably. If you win all three, then you will live like a king here. Resources, nourishnt, recovery chambers, and privileges that miners will never even hear about will be yours."
He paused for a mont, letting his words sink in. "That is all there is to the Divine Colosseum."
"What about freedom?" Max asked calmly, his voice cutting through the silence.
Dan turned his head toward him, clearly surprised that soone had spoken so directly. His eyes lingered on Max for a mont, scanning his aura, before a faint look of disdain surfaced. Seeing Max at only the sixth level of Divine Rank, Dan briefly wondered how soone so unimpressive had even managed to ascend.
"Freedom?" Dan repeated, then chuckled softly. "Of course, freedom exists." His smile sharpened as he continued. "You fight three battles each day. If you manage to win all your battles for three consecutive days, then on the fourth day, after winning your final match, you may challenge the Grim Gladiator at any ti you choose."
The hall fell silent once more. For the veterans, the words carried a familiar bitterness. For the newcors, they carried both hope and dread. For Max, they carried only clarity.
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