Chapter 218: Limit-Breaking Round 3

Those lower-level contestants who had hoped for good luck and only a few weaker demonic beasts instead found themselves facing four or five beasts around level 1400.

They fought desperately, trying to hold a defensive position with everything they had... but it was useless.

In mere moments, they were torn apart.

The audience watched the scene with a mixture of horror and excitement. What made it even more intense was that every contestant could clearly see into the neighboring lanes.

Watching others being ripped apart caused panic to spread. Some instinctively ran backward, only to slam into the sealed entrances behind them.

The demonic beasts pounced without mercy, tearing into their bodies. Although the formation prevented true death, the pain and the brutal sight were more than enough to make many in the audience shudder.

Nova charged forward with his sword in hand. With a single clean swing, he sliced a low-level demonic beast cleanly in two — it was only level 1100. As expected, however, his lane was already filled with more than eighty demonic beasts.

Glancing to the sides, he saw that his bad luck had affected the neighboring lanes as well. Those contestants were now facing anywhere from ten to twenty demonic beasts and fighting desperately for their lives as they tried to push forward.

What most contestants had hoped for never happened. Not a single person received zero beasts. Every lane contained at least two or three demonic beasts.

Rieka faced a total of fifteen. Asia had twenty. Bai Chen encountered four, while Tank beside him had three.

Many of the other elites who had stood out besides Nova, Asia, and Rieka were now struggling badly — they had made the mistake of choosing lanes near Nova.

One of them was Liam Everhart, currently considered the most powerful contestant after Nova based on the abilities shown so far.

A member of the Imperial Family and a true royal of the Human Emperor’s lineage, his strength had clearly set him apart.

Unfortunately, he had chosen a lane right beside Nova... and was now facing more than thirty demonic beasts at once.

The audience roared with a mixture of excitement and horror. The Colosseum was filled with cheers and gasps as contestants were torn apart by the demonic beasts, the brutality of the round only growing more intense as the numbers continued to climb.

"That boy’s luck is truly terrible. He received the most beasts out of everyone," Vaorak said as he watched Nova.

"Liam isn’t much better either. He has more than thirty... the second highest," Draeven added.

Although some of the weaker contestants had also received unexpectedly high numbers — ten or eleven beasts — it was done intentionally to maintain the appearance of a luck-based trial.

In truth, the strongest participants were already facing far more than the rest. Many in the audience simply believed it was bad luck, while those who understood the real mechanism remained silent.

The disparity had been carefully arranged. The tournament only needed the very best... and those best had to prove themselves under pressure.

Nova, however, was an exception. Even with the controlling mechanism in place, his monstrous bad luck still forced him to face far more beasts than anyone else. He had already expected as much.

In the VIP section, Jenna watched with clear worry as Nova cut down the demonic beasts one after another.

"Will he be alright?"

Velena kept her eyes fixed on the platform and answered calmly.

"Lord Nova will be fine. Hell, I’d say he’s doing well by holding back this much. It would only take him a few seconds if he truly went all out."

"Yes, Mother. Don’t worry," Nyxara added, gently reassuring her mother-in-law.

It was always rather amusing to see a woman over a thousand years old addressing another woman in her late thirties as "Mother."

Edward, on the other hand, watched the battles with intense focus. His eyes never left his son as Nova killed the demonic beasts with effortless precision.

In Lane 75, Asia advanced steadily, cutting down her fifth demonic beast. Glancing to the side, she noticed a beautiful young woman in the neighboring lane.

Though not on the same level as Asia, the girl was still quite striking.

Asia did not know her name, but the other contestant had a similar number of beasts and was already killing her seventh. Asia recalled what her husband had told her before the second round began.

There were several elites in this tournament who should not be underestimated. He had advised her not to hold back — finish as quickly as possible and secure a place on the platforms.

Seeing the other girl moving ahead of her, Asia’s eyes suddenly shone with a cold blue radiance. She muttered under her breath,

"Let me show all of you what I’m capable of."

Boom!

"Ohh...?"

Lyra and the other powerful figures — including Nyxara, Velena, Darius, and the kings of the various kingdoms — immediately turned their attention toward Asia as they felt her aura rapidly rising.

In the next moment, Asia’s aura surged to its peak. The temperature inside her lane plummeted sharply. Even the demonic beasts that had been about to attack instinctively stepped back for a brief second.

Nova also sensed the change. A wide smile spread across his face.

{Heh... she’s going to use it.}

Liya’s voice echoed in his mind just as Asia softly uttered two words.

"Ice Domain."

Instantly, the ground beneath her feet began freezing over at a terrifying speed. A layer of ice rapidly formed even over the formation barriers. The frost did not stop there.

As Asia continued moving forward, the ice expanded outward, completely freezing every demonic beast within her lane several hundred meters.

After breaking through to the King Realm, the range of her Domain had increased dramatically.

"Is that a Domain?!" Draeven exclaimed in surprise.

"No... not exactly," Aurora said calmly as she continued.

"Although it looks and functions on the same principle as a Domain, it is still different. Look carefully — she is only using it in a straight line, and its effect is limited to the area of her own lane."

"A true Domain is far more violent. It spreads in every direction and is extremely difficult to control. That said... this skill of hers is still quite powerful. The beasts are completely frozen in place."

"Lady Aurora is right," Lyra added. "The fact that she can use such a technique at all is already impressive. She must possess a special bloodline and physique."

Draeven and Aurora both continued staring at the blue-haired girl with clear interest.

Below them, Darius and Maria’s eyes widened. Even after hearing Aurora’s explanation, it was still extremely rare to see someone at the King Realm imitate a Domain so effectively.

Velena and Nyxara, on the other hand, were not particularly shocked. They had already spent time training together with Asia inside the system training space and knew what she was capable of.

Jenna clapped her hands together in happiness as she watched her daughter-in-law perform so well.

In the noble section, Theodore was being bombarded with compliments and all sorts of questions. However, he could not reveal anything about Asia’s bloodline — he was well aware of the consequences that would follow if he did.

On the arena, Asia looked at the frozen demonic beasts ahead of her. Without hesitation, she coated her sword with a sharp layer of ice.

She knew that while her ice could easily hold the lower-level beasts in place, those above level 1400 would soon break free. Before that could happen, she needed to make her move.

She closed her eyes. As she opened them, her sword disappeared into her ring. She brought her fist forward and closed it as she looked at the frozen figures, then muttered and clenched her hand tightly—

"Absolute Shatter."

CRAK!! CRACK!!

Just as she muttered those words, the frozen figures shattered into large chunks of ice.

She still wasn’t strong enough to reduce them into fine particles... yet the display alone was enough to leave everyone in the Colosseum shocked.

**

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[A/N]

Guys, I’d really appreciate some more Golden Tickets. Show your book some love! 😘❤️

Thanks for reading...