Lyra nodded, her expression turning serious. "You know about the Battle Realm, right?"
Max gave a short nod. "Yeah. It exists in the Lower Domain as well."
"That’s it, then," she said with a knowing smile. "In the Battle Realm, rankings don’t lie. If you want to beco a 2-star genius, all you have to do is win ten battles against current 2-star geniuses. If you can defeat them fair and square, your status will be updated automatically. No politics, no favoritism—just strength."
"It’s that easy?" Max asked curiously, his brows slightly raised as he walked beside Lyra through the dim stone tunnel leading them out of the cave. The walls were damp, the air still buzzing faintly with leftover mana, but his attention was now entirely on her words.
Lyra chuckled lightly, glancing at him with a look that was half amusent, half seriousness. "It’s easy for you, but not for everyone," she said plainly. "You have to understand, most so-called geniuses take months—so even years—to win just ten battles against 2-star geniuses. That’s because the opponents aren’t just from their own faction or empire. The Battle Realm pulls contenders from all the forces of the Middle Domain... including the Four God Nations."
Max’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh, so it’s like that," he muttered, the picture forming clearly in his mind now.
It wasn’t a closed test or limited trial—it was a gauntlet that required standing tall against a continent’s worth of elite geniuses. He nodded to himself as the implication sunk in. To be classified as a 2-star genius, you had to prove you weren’t just strong—you had to be dominant across borders. A true peak among peaks.
And what made it more terrifying was the general standard of 2-star geniuses themselves. From what he knew, a 2-star genius was soone who could fight and win against opponents two small levels above them.
In simple terms, a level 2 Champion Rank 2-star genius could defeat an average level 4 Champion Rank genius. That level of strength wasn’t sothing any ordinary genius could handle.
A mont later, Max and Lyra erged from the depths of the cave to the top of the hill. The winds here were cooler, fresher, brushing across Max’s face like whispers of the world waiting for him beyond.
Without wasting any ti, Lyra extended her hand and summoned her void shuttle—a sleek, obsidian vessel that shimred faintly with ethereal runes along its sides. The hatch opened with a soft hiss, and the two of them stepped aboard.
With a subtle pulse of mana, the shuttle lifted smoothly into the air, cutting through the sky with incredible speed as the land below turned to a blur.
---
Upon their return to the Great Ruler Empire, the grandeur of the city welcod them like a tide of light and life.
Max stepped out of the void shuttle and turned to Lyra. "Thank you," he said sincerely, his voice soft but heavy with aning.
"Inform when you are finally a 2-star genius." Lyra simply smiled and nodded, saying nothing more, and then flew away with her void shuttle.
Max nodded to her and stood there for a mont, watching her vanish into the distance before turning on his heel.
Without hesitation, he made his way through the city, his footsteps steady as he approached one of the most important places for any experts seeking to climb the ranks—the grounds that held the access to the battle realm.
The black cube that granted access to the mysterious battle realm was unlike anything else Max had ever encountered. It defied all conventional logic—no matter how powerful a spatial ring was, the cube simply couldn’t be stored inside it.
Because of this peculiarity, such cubes were always kept out in the open, placed in secure but accessible locations where qualified individuals could use them.
Curious about the one belonging to the Great Ruler Empire, Max pulled up the empire’s information on his holowatch and quickly found what he was looking for.
There was only a single black cube in the entire empire, and it was housed within a place known as the Battle Hall—a fortified structure said to be constantly under elite guard due to the value of what it contained.
However, not just anyone could stroll in and use it. According to the information listed, access was heavily restricted. Only star-ranked geniuses—those officially recognized as 1-star, 2-star, or higher—were allowed to enter the battle realm freely. The sa went for Heaven Grade geniuses, who were rare in themselves.
For all other talented geniuses hoping to prove their worth and obtain the coveted 1-star status, they needed to first gain the approval of a recognized elder of the empire.
Without such a recomndation, even the most skilled individuals would find the doors of the Battle Hall firmly closed to them. This rigid system, Max realized, was in place to maintain the prestige and discipline associated with those allowed to fight within the battle realm.
After asking a few geniuses along the way and getting so curious looks in return, Max finally stood before the fad Battle Hall.
The structure was massive—an imposing rectangular building crafted from a sleek, tallic stone that shimred faintly under the sunlight. Two towering statues guarded the entrance like ancient sentinels.
One was of a warrior with a fierce gaze, pointing a sword directly at his opponent. The other stood firm, calm, with one hand raised, summoning a translucent barrier to block the incoming strike. Beneath them, carved in thick, bold letters that glowed with a steady bluish light, were the words: "Battle Hall."
Max found his gaze locked onto those words. The mont his eyes fell upon them, he felt it—sothing intangible, yet unmistakably potent. An invisible pressure surged through the air, brushing against his skin and pricking at his instincts.
It was like a silent roar that echoed within his heart, an intent that seeped from the very building itself. A desire to fight. An unrelenting drive to clash, to struggle, to prove, to survive. It wasn’t bloodlust—it was purer than that. Sharper. Older.
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