The entire crowd in the arena was stunned. That was, without a doubt, the most inconceivable and unbelievable scene they had ever witnessed in their lives. After all, everyone had seen Darian take a direct hit from the Black Sun and then get bombarded by a barrage of black spears...

That power was downright terrifying, something that came from his blessing being pushed to the limit. It could only come from a genius—a regular person with the same blessing wouldn't even come close; he truly was worthy of being the heir of that family. He could easily kill someone with four rings, maybe even someone with five if their defenses were weak...

…so how the hell was Darian completely unharmed?!

Even the high-ranking military officers, wearing many rings, showed clear flashes of shock on their faces. Calling Darian just a "freak" seemed like a joke now.

"…"

Vanh stayed silent with a dark expression, feeling the same shock as everyone else. Darian was still alive, and his energy fluctuations were exactly the same as before—as if he hadn't used up anything to heal himself.

Darian stared straight at Vanh and took a step forward... and that simple step made the stunned crowd's hearts pound wildly.

This time, Vanh was genuinely afraid. He was finally starting to realize just how badly he had underestimated Darian's strength. And at the same time, he was sure Darian was still hiding his real abilities.

"All you know how to do is talk big—can't you do anything else?"

Everyone heard the little dragon above Darian's head mock him.

Darian muttered as he walked forward slowly, "What a disappointment. I thought I'd at least get to fight seriously…"

The whole arena fell into a deathly silence. The two of them were now just fifteen meters apart, and the atmosphere was bone-chilling. Vanh frowned, his eyes wavering.

But at that moment, he took a deep breath, and his expression began to settle. He pressed his lips into a thin line… and revealed a sinister smile.

Niara had to hold herself back from laughing. That idiot never got tired of embarrassing himself?

"Very well…" Vanh spat, a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"The blood of my family is truly supreme. But… a bastard will always be a bastard. At this level, you've just barely earned the right to force me to use my full power. You can feel proud on your way to hell!"

He wasn't wrong. He really hadn't gone all out until now. Darian knew that perfectly well—that's why he'd been dragging things out.

As for Vanh… he had completely lost control. His mind was a mess. And those mocking words? Everyone could tell they were just a pathetic attempt to push away the fear and inferiority eating at him.

He was the heir of a family respected across the entire universe—he was also the strongest of Earth's younger generation. In the future, he'd become the hidden ruler of the planet and hold major influence across the universe. But now, in front of everyone, he'd already been humiliated and beaten once; and now, he was being forced to use the full power inherited from his family. Even if he won, that stain would follow him forever.

If only it were just a stain… he had to kill Darian, or he'd end up creating a demon in his heart. It would become a mental block, stopping him from having confidence—or even from growing stronger—ever again.

Knowing this, Empress Alexandra—and even the members of the Wube family, still silent in the stadium—simply watched.

He couldn't hold back anymore. He had to go all out without any restraint. If he didn't use the most savage method possible to tear Darian to pieces until nothing was left, he would never find peace again.

Darian stopped walking. Suddenly… Vanh, who had only 5% of his power left, changed.

The whole environment shifted.

A thin, dark haze spread over everything. As people breathed it in, their eyes widened—it felt like their lungs were getting sick, like they were inhaling something toxic.

At the center of what was left of the martial stage, a glowing mark appeared on Vanh's chest. It looked like a circle, but split: one half black, the other violet.

The more experienced folks in the stands swallowed hard. "He finally went all in… that's the Wube family's Immortal Technique…"

The younger ones nearby looked confused and started asking questions. But Darian already knew about it—thanks to Amara.

The Wube family wasn't powerful for nothing. They possessed a Spiritual Technique at the Immortal level. These techniques used the user's ring power and could be used by all Spiritual Guardians.

From weakest to strongest, the levels were: Sacred, Divine, and Immortal—and there were only thirty Immortal-level Spiritual Techniques in the entire universe.

That family wasn't officially part of Earth. After the empires were formed, they became a hidden shadow across the universe, with countless bases on various planets. Their role as a bridge between the empires and other planets was just a small favor to their homeworld.

That technique created by Anbon from the Red River Pact clan was also something similar — but only at the Divine level. On every planet in the universe, there were a few Divine-level ones. On Earth itself, counting his, there were four Divine-level Spiritual Techniques.

Back on the martial stage, Darian looked at Vanh, now radiating a sinister and chaotic power. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

That Immortal-level Spiritual Technique was called: Karmic Curse.

How they managed to create this technique wasn't exactly a secret to the truly powerful. According to Amara, even before the Spiritual Guardians officially existed in the universe, something very abnormal had already been happening inside the Wube family for a long time...

It was the family's former patriarch. He had been very ill and close to death in the early 21st century... then suddenly, he seemed to become a terrifying and immortal zombie.

The word "zombie" was used because there was no better adjective to describe him.

He simply wouldn't die, even with terminal cancer. And he kept agonizing and suffering in a disturbing way... and that had gone on for almost a hundred years! A normal human lasting that long and in that state was indescribable.

Every doctor and the best of science couldn't explain it. But when the Spiritual Guardians finally appeared and became organized, it was easy for the first High Humans to see the cause...

He was cursed. Not by something ordinary, but by two powers so inexplicably strong they were entangled with his soul.

So the first High Humans on Earth from that family began to study him. After many attempts, and with more Spiritual Guardians emerging, they managed to get blessings that let them try to replicate a part of it. Slowly, using that as a base, the technique was built up to what it is today.

As for the patriarch, inexplicably, after the technique became stable and was considered amazing across the universe... he just suddenly died.

That night, after hearing the whole story from Amara, Darian couldn't believe it... Because he knew exactly the cause, the reason, and how it all happened...

That book... it again...

Near the end of the story, when the protagonist returned to Earth after a long time, he reunited with his father, who was almost dying. That was the evil patriarch of the family.

He just looked at him and accepted it as karma and fate. Then turned around and walked away.

But... his wife and daughter, who were by his side, weren't the kind of women who forgave or let things go peacefully.

Yeah, half of the curse was placed by Meru, and the other half by his mother. It was made for the protagonist's father to suffer as much as possible, after all the atrocities he had committed. He wouldn't die for a long time. Then... he'd reincarnate and keep suffering endlessly from the curse.

Probably, Heaven's Will only found out about it later, and when it saw the Wube family had created a powerful technique, it killed the old man late.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Vanh started laughing uncontrollably. A terrifying power surged, the arena's defensive array was activated and protected the audience. Inside the martial stage, it felt like a small cursed and gloomy domain.

As for Darian...

He calmly felt that technique and quickly concluded: 'That's definitely an early version of Master's Shadow Rune.'

Meru's technique was only created much later. But the curse she placed on the old man was the beginning of her idea. Since Darian had the full version, at least half of that curse he could say he was an expert in. The other half, he had no clue. But that wasn't the real curse left by those two vengeful women — just a very weak and superficial imitation.

The whole arena focused on Darian, eager to see what he would do.

Until... he nodded with a faint smile.

"Excellent. Looks like I can finally go all out."

The audience swallowed hard, and Vanh felt a cold sweat.

"You think you're the only one with a powerful spiritual technique? You're using something someone else made, taking advantage of it without having any real skill. Well, whatever. I'll show the world the true power I created myself!"

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