The Celestial Court arena for the Divine Selection was incredibly huge and overly flashy.

It was not just a simple stadium but an entire floating continent made of polished white marble and solid gold. It hung right over a sea of glowing and thick clouds.

Millions of Celestial Nobles filled the floating spectator stands.

Their expensive silk robes and arrogant chatter created a continuous buzz that

sounded like a massive hive of rich bees.

Arthur Sterling stood in the corridors beneath the arena floor.

His broad shoulders leaned against a pristine crystal wall.

He wore a simple black combat tunic. It looked entirely out of place compared to

the glittering and gem covered armor of the other competitors.

He did not care at all. He was a shark swimming in a pool of incredibly wealthy

goldfish.

’System.’ Arthur commanded in his mind while his dark eyes scanned the glowing

registration gates ahead.

’They are checking bone age and soul origins. I need to bypass the security. I do not need this entire dimension knowing a mortal from a lower realm just.walked through their front door.’

[System Shop]

↳ Purchasing: Fate Masking Veil

↳ Cost: 200,000 System Points

↳ Effect: Alters perceived age, soul origin, and cultivation lineage to match local dimensional parameters.

A faint cooling sensation washed over Arthur’s skin as the system deducted his

points.

It was an invisible cloak of code that completely rewrote his metaphysical

signature.

He stepped forward and joined the line of arrogant young Celestial scions waiting to register.

When it was finally his turn, the clerk pushed a glowing crystal slate toward him.

The clerk was a multi eyed and low ranking deity with an expression of permanent

boredom.

"Place your hand on the slate." The clerk droned on. "Name and faction."

Arthur pressed his bare palm against the crystal.

The magical artifact hummed and sent a scanning pulse right through his body.

The Fate Masking Veil effortlessly intercepted the probe and fed it perfectly

falsified data.

"Vaelen." Arthur spoke in a smooth and flat baritone voice. "Independent rogue cultivator."

The clerk’s multiple eyes blinked in unison as he stared at the readout.

"No faction? No noble house?"

He sneered and his boredom was instantly replaced by complete condescension.

"Bold of a stray dog to enter the Emperor’s tournament. Proceed to Block D. Try not to bleed on the marble."

Arthur did not flinch. He just offered a cold and dead smile. He took his registration token and walked away.

He loved playing the underdog. It made the eventual liquidation so much more satisfying.

He navigated toward the staging area but his gaze drifted up toward the lowest tier of the spectator stands.

Standing near a massive structural pillar were his Queens.

They were cloaked in drab and oversized grey servant robes.

Sylvia stood perfectly still. Her Arch Mage discipline made her an excellent infiltrator.

Lyra was practically vibrating with excitement. Her rogue instincts were taking

in all the unguarded wealth around them.

Aurelia stood with her arms crossed. Her face was a tight mask of conflicting emotions as she stared at the very society she had once sworn to protect.

And then there was Morwenna.

The Demon Empress was scowling fiercely. Her liquid gold eyes narrowed as she tugged at the itchy and coarse fabric of her servant disguise.

Arthur tapped the side of his neck and opened a localized telepathic link to them.

"Stop fidgeting with the uniform Morwenna." Arthur ordered as his voice echoed in their minds. "You are drawing attention."

"This fabric is an insult to my existence Emperor." Morwenna hissed back. Her

abyssal aura bristled beneath the surface.

"I am a Goddess of the True Abyss. I should be sitting on a throne of their skulls, not playing a handmaid to a bunch of overblown peacocks."

"Consider it corporate espionage." Arthur replied smoothly as he leaned against a pillar in the staging area.

"Play the part perfectly today, and I promise you a very thorough and private reward when we get back to the ship tonight."

Morwenna froze instantly.

Even from a hundred yards away, Arthur could see the deep and violent flush spread across her pale cheeks.

Her predatory scowl instantly melted into a compliant and eager smirk.

"I will hold you to that contract Emperor."

Arthur chuckled and cut the link.

His attention shifted inward as a sudden and pleasant hum vibrated right through his meridians.

[Notification]

↳ Employee Target ’Caden Cross’ has slain an Abyssal Remnant.

↳ Target is leading the Vanguard planetary defense.

↳ 10,000x ROI Multiplier Activated!

↳ Host is passively receiving cross dimensional combat EXP and pure Order

energy.

Even separated by the absolute barrier of the Celestial Court, his investments were paying off beautifully.

Caden Cross was the naive and hard working protagonist he had left in charge of

the lower realms. He was grinding away like a loyal workhorse.

The trickle of energy was not as explosive as it used to be since the dimensional barrier diluted the transfer heavily.

But it was still a steady and constant stream of passive income that kept his newly minted Celestial Knight core completely topped off.

"Competitor Vaelen! Block D!" A magically amplified voice boomed across the staging area.

Arthur cracked his neck. The sound was sharp in the tense air.

It was time to clock in.

He walked out of the shadowed tunnels and straight into the blinding light of the arena.

The sheer scale of the battlefield was staggering.

The arena floor was a mile wide. It was composed of enchanted bedrock designed

to withstand the blows of Gods.

Across from him, the massive iron gates of the beast pens groaned open.

The preliminary rounds were not duels. They were cullings.

Competitors had to prove their worth against the local wildlife.

"ROOOAAAR!"

A colossal and terrifying beast slithered out of the darkness.

It was a Celestial Hydra.

The monster towered fifty feet in the air. It possessed seven serpentine heads lined with razor sharp and starlight infused scales.

Its massive jaws dripped with highly corrosive acid that hissed and ate right

into the arena floor.

Up in the stands, the aristocratic crowd began to murmur. They pointed at Arthur’s lack of armor and utter lack of magical flare.

"Is that a mortal? He does not even have an aura!"

"A rogue cultivator? He is going to be digested in seconds!"

"Fifty divine crystals say the third head bites him in half!"

Arthur ignored the noise entirely.

He stared up at the towering monstrosity and analyzed its movements.

It was big. It was loud. And it was incredibly inefficient.

All seven heads reared back. Their jaws glowed with condensed elemental magic.

Fire, ice, lightning, and acid coalesced in their throats. They prepared to unleash a massive and unavoidable barrage of destruction.

Arthur did not draw the Ebonheart Sword. He did not even shift his footing.

He simply restricted his internal power. He intentionally clamped down on his

Grand Sovereign foundation.

He limited himself to exactly one percent of his physical strength.

Anything more would shatter the arena and blow his cover entirely.

"Let us speed this up." Arthur muttered.

He bent his knees.

"BOOM!"

Arthur did not just jump. He detonated the space beneath his feet.

The sonic boom of his launch shattered the sound barrier and cracked the enchanted bedrock.

To the eyes of the millions of spectators, the man in the black coat simply vanished.

Before the Hydra could even fire its breath attacks, Arthur materialized directly in front of the central and largest head. He hung suspended in mid air.

He pulled his right arm back.

His fist did not glow with flashy magic. There were no swirling runes or complex

incantations.

It was just a perfectly executed and ruthlessly efficient kinetic strike. It was backed by the sheer weight of his Dimensional Breaker Physique.

Arthur drove his fist directly into the space between the Hydra’s central eyes.

"CRACK!"

The impact sounded like a mountain splitting in half.

It bypassed the beast’s physical resistance entirely.

It rippled through its skull and violently traveled down its massive spine.

The seven headed monstrosity went entirely rigid.

Its jaws snapped shut and it ended up swallowing its own breath attacks.

For a fraction of a second, the massive beast just stood there completely paralyzed.

Then the kinetic shockwave caught up with biology.

"SQUELCH!"

The Hydra’s central head violently exploded into a shower of blue blood and shattered scales.

The remaining six heads instantly went limp. Their central nervous system was entirely pulverized by a single and brutal blow.

The colossal carcass collapsed to the arena floor. The impact shook the entire stadium.

[Notification]

↳ Target Celestial Hydra eliminated.

↳ Divine Looter Activated.

↳ Item Acquired: Celestial Hydra Core.

↳ +150,000 System Points.

Arthur landed softly on the blood soaked marble. He casually flicked a piece of brain matter off his knuckle.

He did not even look out of breath. He simply turned around and began walking back toward the competitor tunnel.

The arena was dead silent.

Millions of Celestial Nobles stared down at the lone figure in absolute and horrified disbelief.

In the Celestial Court, power was supposed to be beautiful.

It was supposed to be a majestic display of divine authority and complex magical arrays.

What they had just witnessed was the exact opposite.

It was ugly. It was brutal. It was pure and unfiltered violence.

"Disgusting." An aristocrat in the front row gagged while fanning his face. "A brute!

A mindless barbarian!"

"He fights like a beast himself! Where is the elegance?"

"No divine merit! Just filthy physical force!"

Arthur heard their complaints as he vanished into the shadows of the tunnel.

He let out a low and dark chuckle.

They wanted elegance. They wanted a show.

They had no idea that the real show had not even started yet.

He had just secured his place in the tournament brackets. He was officially on the board.

And now that he had his foot in the door, it was time to start bleeding the company dry.