RUMBLE!

​The Celestial Palace crumbled with a loud, thundering noise.

​The trial takers came back safely, though their numbers had been reduced greatly.

​Neo, Noir, and Zestia were at the very forefront. Myria and the others followed behind, overshadowed by Neo’s overwhelming performance at the trial.

​They had just received a Celestial Seed, but he had become the Celestial God’s Heir.

​Some of them felt jealous, but what could they do?

​Fight the monster and cause their own deaths?

​Hell no.

​The Celestial Fishing River was also beginning to disappear.

​All these signs proved the time for departure was here.

​However, just as everyone started heading their own way, a barely noticeable man suddenly stepped before Neo and his group, making them pause.

​The man was handsome and noble, with very unusually pale skin and a ghostly third eye embedded on his forehead.

​As the man just stood there, Neo’s heartbeat sped up unknowingly.

​He realized the man was very dangerous.

The pale man offered a polite, elegant bow

​"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lord Epos, the Dominator of the Spider Expanse."

​Hearing the name, the crowd went into a frenzy.

​"What! Epos? The Third Eye of Calamity?" a Beyonder gasped, stepping back in sheer fear.

​"He is ranked 500th on the Supreme Dominator Board! What does a monster like him want with that anomaly?"

​Neo stared back coldly, entirely unaffected by the man’s notorious reputation.

"Shh, Get to the point, Epos. I do not have time for empty pleasantries."

​Epos smiled, showing absolutely no offense.

"Your performance today was quite the spectacle, Neo Godson. So, I suggest you enjoy your new Celestial inheritance for the next seven days. Because precisely one week from today, my vanguard will descend upon your puny world and reduce it to absolute ash."

​Complete shock gripped the crowd. He had just issued a formal declaration of war right outside the trial grounds.

​"A week?" Zestia whisper, feeling uneasy.

​Noir bared her fangs, her ruby eyes glowing with killing intent.

"You dare threaten my darling to his face?"

​"You are quite a beauty, Noir. Why don’t you come to my side?"

Noir seemed shocked.

"How do you know my name?"

Epos revealed a mysterious smile. "Oh I know many things about you, Noir. I am giving a chance. Do not squander it because of some delusional guy."

Noir snorted angrily, hugging Neo’s arms even tighter between her boobs.

"Never. I would never leave my darling."

Epos sighed, looking very disappointed. "What a pity! You’ll die with him as well."

​A few kilometres away, Princess Myria watched the exchange closely. She knew Epos wiped out entire star systems just because he was bored.

So, in the eyes of the crowd, Neo was already a dead man.

After all, how can a newborn empire could survive the full might of the Spider Expanse?

​"Is that a promise, Epos?" Neo asked in a deadpan tone.

​"Yes. It is an absolute certainty. Prepare your forces, Inheritor. I look forward to harvesting that Celestial Seed and Dominator Core one day."

​Neo remained unafraid.

"Then make sure you bring your real body next time. I don’t like to waste my time crushing a clone."

Epos left with an arrogant smirk on his face, leaving Neo confused as to why the fiftieth rank was dead set on targeting him.

​"Shall we depart, Neo? We should not trust people like them. Who knows, he might already be attacking our domain right now," Zestia said, appearing slightly afraid.

​Her uncle was in Zenith, so it was reasonable for her to be worried. But another reason was that she had started seeing Zenith as her new home.

​"Yes, Darling. Little Zestia is right," Noir agreed as well.

​Neo finally decided to leave. He turned to look at Myria, who was actively avoiding eye contact.

​"Myria, if you ever feel you cannot hold out any longer, remember you still have a place to lean on," he said to her.

​"That will never happen." Myria could only release a cold snort. Her pride refused to surrender to her heart.

​"Why are you trying to woo her, Neo? Do you not have enough?" Zestia said angrily.

​She did not know the history between Moon and Neo, so she thought Neo was simply a lustful person.

​But Noir knew. That time they shared intimacy in bed, he had told her all about Moon and himself.

​He explained how they were almost together, but the strings of fate pulled them apart.

​She had felt nothing but sympathy for Neo at that time.

​"Settle down, Zestia. You still do not know anything about Darling’s past. I will tell you later."

​"Huh... What do you mean?"

​For now, Zestia could only stay confused.

​Neo, on the other hand, activated his [Journey of Void (S)] skill to make their first jump toward Zenith.

​However, just then, several men suddenly surrounded them.

The men who blocked their path were a group of rogue Beyonders. Their eyes were full of greed as they looked Neo and his companions, weapons already fully drawn

​"Going somewhere so soon, boy? Hand over the Celestial Seed and whatever else you looted from the trial. Do it quietly, and we might let the women live." the leader of hoodlums cackled.

​It was painfully obvious they had stayed at the far edge of the courtyard during the trial. They had not witnessed Neo shatter the ancient altar, nor did they understand why a powerhouse like Epos, the 50th ranked Dominator, would bother challenging him.

To these foolish scavengers, Neo was just a lucky novice who had somehow stumbled into a massive fortune.

​"Darling, it seems the trash of the cosmos does not know how to read the room," Noir mocked playfully.

"Trash? Did you call us trash? Guys, let’s f*ck this bitch!"

Hearing those foul words, Zestia felt pity for these fools.

​"Ignorance is such a terminal disease," Neo uttered with absolute coldness.

​Without another word, he raised his right hand in a sweeping position.

Then...

​[ Sunfire Judgment Blade (B) ]