A deathly silence gripped the arena.
All eyes were glued to the dark sky where the chilling figure of Shen Yuan hovered mid-air. Light rippled beneath his feet as though the air itself bent to serve him as ground. A cold, suffocating aura surged outward like tidal waves, rippling across the spectators and contestants alike.
Even among the Elysian cultivators, some flinched. The early-stage ones felt their heart tremble, as though a slumbering demon had just awoken before them.
Then, he vanished.
To most Nirvana cultivators, he had simply disappeared. Only those in the Elysian Realm and above could track the flicker of movement, the streak of spiritual energy that cleaved through space in a blink.
The next heartbeat, Shen Yuan stood between Dong Chen and the battered Yun Lan. A shockwave spread throughout the colosseum just as his feets touched the ground.
His eyes scanned the devastated arena, then settled on Dong Chen. He placed a hand gently on his junior's shoulder.
"You did well," Shen Yuan said softly. "Now rest."
Relief spread across Dong Chen's face. He nodded, bloodied and bruised, and limped off the stage, leaving behind the arena he'd nearly died defending and returned to Twin Soul Sects resting area.
Then, Shen Yuan's gaze fell upon Yun Lan.
Her entire body tensed. She struggled to stand, broken and battered, and with trembling arms cupped her hands toward him.
"Greeting…. to senior Shen."
Shen Yuan smiled, faint and cold.
"No need to bootlick me," he said. "For what you tried to do... here's my answer."
His aura burst outward.
Invisible pressure slammed Yun Lan into the shattered arena beneath her. The ground cracked anew, half of the arena gone in an instant. A geyser of blood burst from her mouth, her body trembling under the weight of the sheer killing intent that pressed her down like a mountain.
With a flick of his fingers, an invisible grip of qi coiled around her neck. In the blink of an eye, she was lifted into the air like a puppet, limbs dangling, gasping for breath as the grip around her neck tightened.
Then—crack! The grip tightened even more, breaking all the bones in her body and then she was hurled toward the Heaven Beast Clan's side like a broken doll. She landed hard, smashing face-first into the ground, limbs twitching. Blood smeared the stone tiles.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"That's….. that's the formless grip technique of an elysian cultivator"
"Don't forget how he was walking on air… only an elysian realm cultivator can do that!"
"So…. he… actually… reached the elysian realm?!"
Not a whisper passed among the cultivators watching.
Even the most hardened elders felt their blood chill.
This wasn't just punishment—it was Shen Yuan testing his new power.
High above, where the sect leaders and the World Lord were seated, Beast Chief Wen Tu rose, his fury blazing.
"Fools!" He stood up and barked. "Use your divine sense! He hasn't even entered the Elysian Realm! He's a Quasi-Elysian, not a true Elysian cultivator!"
He sat down again, jaws tight, somewhat appeased. The World Lord offered no reaction. Most sect masters only exchanged glances, unmoved.
Immediately, those in the Elysian Realm extended their divine sense toward Shen Yuan. What they saw shocked them.
Indeed, he hadn't reached the Elysian realm completely, nor completed the transformation of his dantian into a vessel of law.
But still... the pressure he exuded was no less than an early-stage Elysian cultivator's.
Whispers rippled through the audience.
"A Quasi-Elysian with power like that?"
"How is that possible…?"
Back in the Twin Soul Sect's resting area, Xiang Xiaoli blinked and whispered to the others, "What's a Quasi-Elysian, exactly?"
Tang Jiyan replied quietly, "It's a transitional stage... between the Ninth Layer of Nirvana and Early Elysian. They don't have true domains, only pseudo-domains that need specific conditions to be used. And their elysian core… still acts as a dantian, unlike real Elysian cultivators who store strands of law power in it."
Xiang Xiaoli nodded, eyes wide.
Back in the arena, Shen Yuan turned, smirking as his gaze flicked toward Beast Chief Wen Tu. That slight, knowing curl of his lips was like a blade digging into the Beast Chief's pride.
Wen Tu's jaw clenched so tight it could break stones.
Shen Yuan walked away calmly to his sect's seating area. His presence was strangely subdued—not arrogant, not cold, simply calm.
When he passed by his teammates that calm unnerved them more than his anger ever could.
He sat on a nearby stone seat.
After a few minutes of silence, Guo Bohai, unable to suppress the weight in his chest, approached.
"You… feel different, Shen Yuan. Not scary, just... distant. Calm. What happened?"
Shen Yuan looked ahead, then spoke softly.
"While comprehending my domain… I gained insight."
He paused, then added. "I chased cultivation for power. For revenge. So no one could ever control me. I was afraid to confront my own emotions and choices. But in choosing karma… it made me see myself. It made me look back—not at others, but at myself. Every choice I made came back, not as punishment, but as reflection. And I saw… how narrow my vision truly was. I didn't gain strength in seclusion—I lost something. I lost the version of me that only wanted power… and in return, I found a path that feels real."
Silence.
His teammates didn't know what to say. Not in pity, not in awe. Just a shared, solemn understanding that Shen Yuan had truly stepped into a new realm—not just of power, but of understanding.
Each of them returned to their seats, quietly changed by the presence of the man beside them.
Meanwhile, the arena buzzed with low murmurs as elders and repair teams quickly got to work. Half the platform had been ruined by Shen Yuan's earlier act. Within the hour, reinforced by Elysian level spells, it looked pristine once more—shining and strong.
Soon, Steward Yan appeared again.
His calm voice echoed through the crowd.
"Now that the arena has been repaired, we shall continue with the Heaven Beast Clan versus the Twin Soul Sect."
But then, to his lack of surprise, all the disciples of the Heaven Beast Clan raised their hands at once.
Steward Yan nodded inwardly.
He already knew what was coming.
The eldest among the team stepped forward. "We surrender."
The crowd didn't gasp this time.
They understood.
No one wanted to be the next Yun Lan.
Steward Yan raised his voice. "The Heaven Beast Clan has forfeited. The Twin Soul Sect is victorious in this round!"
Applause was sparse. Not out of scorn—but because fear, awe, and silence held tighter sway.
How could one man's presence turn the tide of power? This was the one question that everyone thought of at that moment.
Even the boldest cultivators now looked at the Twin Soul Sect with new eyes.
Later that afternoon, the next match began—Mist Soul Sect vs Thunder Mirror Sect.
A flurry of lightning and mist began to clash in the arena, each side showing remarkable strength and cohesion.
But Shen Yuan didn't watch the mist techniques or any other ones.
His gaze was fixed on one figure.
A tall man from the Thunder Mirror Sect, clad in deep purple robes.
His cultivation didn't stand out, he too was only a 9th layer Nirvana cultivator.
But the stench of death around him was suffocating. Especially because he killed two mist soul sect disciples who were only some average early stage of the elysian realm. Logically, it's not impossible to kill an early stage elysian cultivator even while being in the Nirvana realm, it was just too tough… and could only be done.. by secret arts that specializes in targeting the soul.
Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Something about that man… felt wrong.