After Damian Voss defeated Aurelian Lareth, the final petitive stage entered a long and relentless rhythm.
The shock of the Divine Son’s defeat had not fully faded, but Angelina Valerius did not allow the arena to remain frozen in that moment. The laws of the Eternal Hourglass continued rotating the names above the central stage, and battles fell one after another like rain.
Some were fierce enough to make the spectators focus, while others ended so quickly that the result appeared before the crowd could even finish discussing the previous match.
Damian Voss continued to advance with terrifying steadiness.
After defeating Aurelian, he met several participants below the top monster level and won without revealing Sword Sovereign Heaven again.
Against a flame halberd genius, he used "Silent Sword Art, Fourth Cut, Withered Flame" and severed the heart of the flame technique before the halberd could descend.
Against a storm-winged woman, he used "Falling Peak Sword" to cut through her speed route and stopped his blade at her throat.
Against a defensive earth cultivator, he used only one vertical slash and split all nine layers of stone armor apart. His battle count climbed quickly, and his win count remained perfect.
Aurelian also continued fighting, but after losing to Damian, the air around him had changed. His victories were still clean. His Heavenly Luminance Divine Dominion still suppressed most opponents before they could resist properly.
He defeated Hadeon Granite with "Luminance Decree," defeated Yelric Flamehorn with "Sacred Sun Judgment," and defeated a hidden spear genius with "Crownless Divine King, Radiant Execution Step."
Yet every time he returned to his pillar, his face remained cold and unpleasant. No matter how many weaker opponents he defeated, the wound Damian left behind could not be erased from his pride.
Orion Starfall recovered slowly under the laws of the Eternal Hourglass and returned to battle with a smile on his face, though his aura was clearly not as full as before. Even so, anyone below the true peak could not withstand him.
He defeated a thunder-winged woman with "Hundred Star Descent," defeated a beast-blooded warrior with "Second Star Step" and "Fourth Star Knee," and forced a soul-path participant to surrender with "Nine Star Court, Celestial Pressure Field."
Every victory reminded the Divine Realm that although Orion had lost to Revona, he had only lost after pushing her to the edge.
Revona, on the other hand, fought less aggressively after her exhausting battle with Orion, but that did not make her any easier to face. Her Void Origin Eyes remained terrifying. She defeated two opponents without using Void Origin Realm, simply erasing their strongest attacks until they understood the gap and surrendered.
Against a poison mist cultivator, she only opened her eyes once, and the entire poison field vanished as if it had never existed. Her battle count climbed steadily, and her record remained spotless.
Rakan Thorne also recovered his momentum. After his loss to Max, the War God Palace disciples had been quiet for a while, but Rakan quickly reminded everyone why he was the first Warlord.
He crushed one opponent with the First Limit of the War God Body, defeated another with the Second Limit, and did not need the Third Limit again unless the opponent truly had enough strength to withstand a few exchanges.
His loss to Max remained shocking, but no one dared to use that loss to underestimate him, because every participant who faced him afterward was beaten down with overwhelming physical force.
Kaiden Voidmere continued to win with quiet efficiency. He folded space, erased movement paths, and made techniques collapse before their full power could erupt.
Morgana Starveil also gathered several wins with her curse arts, though she sometimes took longer because her opponents had begun defending against her curses more carefully.
Fin Arclight remained dangerous with Pale Eclipse Burial, while Seren Frostveil recovered from her early loss and won several battles using Frozen World Stillness.
The records above the arena changed constantly.
[Battle Record Updated.]
[Damian Voss]
[Total Battles Fought: 12]
[Total Wins: 12]
[Battle Record Updated.]
[Revona]
[Total Battles Fought: 11]
[Total Wins: 11]
[Battle Record Updated.]
[Max Morgan]
[Total Battles Fought: 10]
[Total Wins: 10]
[Battle Record Updated.]
[Rakan Thorne]
[Total Battles Fought: 13]
[Total Wins: 12]
[Battle Record Updated.]
[Aurelian Lareth]
[Total Battles Fought: 12]
[Total Wins: 11]
The battles kept moving.
Max also received several easier opponents during this stretch.
One of them was a blood-armor cultivator who tried to trap Max with a crimson prison. Max walked through it and shattered the prison with one punch. Another was a wind-attribute swordsman who relied on speed, but Max caught the blade between two fingers and forced him to surrender before the second exchange.
A third was a soul-path participant who tried to attack Max’s consciousness, only for the attack to vanish into the Dimension of Soul without causing even the slightest ripple.
Against those opponents, Max did not use Dragonheart, did not reveal Emotion Severing Path, did not open the Seven Divine Veins, and did not use Draconic Essences. His base strength alone was already enough.
Slowly, everyone’s battle count passed ten.
Then twelve.
Then fourteen.
Finally, the records of almost every remaining participant crossed fifteen battles.
At this point, the final petitive stage became even heavier. The weak had already collected many losses. The mid-level geniuses were struggling to preserve decent records.
The top monsters were beginning to look toward one another more often, because most of the easier matches had already passed. Every remaining major pairing would affect the final rankings.
Then Angelina Valerius raised her hand once again.
The giant screen spun.
The names rotated through the air in bright lines.
Max Morgan.
Selene Vaeloria.
Aurelian Lareth.
Kaiden Voidmere.
Ervin.
Rosaline Lunara.
Morgana Starveil.
Rakan Thorne.
Damian Voss.
Revona.
The light slowed.
The first name appeared.
[Max Morgan]
The arena immediately became alert.
Then the second name stopped.
[Selene Vaeloria]
The screen enlarged both names.
[Max Morgan vs Selene Vaeloria]
A strange silence fell over the arena.
This pairing carried a different meaning.
Max and Selene had already fought near the Witch God Tree. Everyone who had watched the earlier events remembered that battle. Selene had used her Heavenly Luminance Genesis and Spear of First Dawn, yet Max had still defeated her.
Since then, Max had revealed even more terrifying strength. He had defeated Rosaline’s Dawn Sovereign Sanctuary, crushed Rakan in a pure body battle, and continued winning without exposing his full power.
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