Chapter 169: End of the First Badge of the Tournament

Soul Reaver, which allowed him to pull any target’s living soul directly into his World of Mind without needing a physical mark. A gift from his system.

Yeah, he was shocked too.

Hellfire Chains, this was Nyx’s blessing, which allowed him to summon indestructible demon chains forged from pure Soul affinity that burned the target’s spirit directly, ignoring physical armor entirely.

Her Darkness and Void Affinities and Blessings he also got from her. Although he was sure she still had more terrifying affinities, he was satisfied with what he got.

Curious about the full extent of his demon partner’s true strength, Lynx immediately used 100,000 APS points to inspect Nyx’s full stats.

When the semi translucent system screen flashed in front of his eyes, Lynx almost froze in complete shock.

Nyx’s current physical stats showed her sitting right at the absolute peak of Transcendent Rank, an absolute monster in her current form.

But beneath her current stats, her hidden, original Eternal Blessed Rank stats were displayed in glowing crimson letters.

The numbers were so massive they defied all human logic. At full Eternal Rank, a Blessed being could literally destroy entire solar systems and planets with a single sneeze.

They possessed multiple Eternal ranked affinities and dozens of broken, reality warping blessings, existing as near-immortal gods walking through the cosmos.

Nyx was the true daughter of the demon overlord Lucifer, after all, who according to Lynx was a Divine Ranked Blessed. Also he is definitely not dead.

Right now, Lynx had managed to extract five of her core affinities, including Gravity and Soul, while the rest of her true affinities remained locked away at Eternal Rank until her body recovered its full power.

"Damn..." Lynx muttered internally, wrapping his arms tightly around Nyx’s soft, naked body as she rested her head against his chest, panting softly.

"I guess I better not piss off a full power Eternal Rank until I hit that level myself. Come to think of it, if that holy daughter was at Transcendent Rank although Early stage, what of the person higher than her? The Saintess. How strong will she be? The Headmistress too... I haven’t seen her, but even Rose is super wary of her. How strong will she also be?"

His system interface suddenly popped up in his mind with its usual annoying tone.

[Lynx, you must continue growing stronger at maximum speed. The human continent is merely a tiny stepping stone. Your true journey across the realms begins soon.]

"Chill out, dude," Lynx thought back lazily, stroking Nyx’s back. "I’m already breaking the scale."

With his Transcendent breakthrough complete, Lynx’s World of Mind underwent a massive expansion.

The already beautiful plains below the palace solidified into a much more realistic, massive mountain ranges, deep blue oceans, and vibrant forests. It was transforming into a true, self sustaining dimension.

During a quiet rest on the bed, Lynx looked around at his exhausted, glowing women and said, "You know, when we leave on my journey across the continent, you girls can just live inside my Mind World permanently. It’s totally safe, and I control everything here."

Ava immediately pouted, sitting up and pressing her heavy, bare breasts against his arm as she pulled on his shirt. "No way! I’m not staying locked up in here! I want to travel right beside you in the real world!"

Kira laughed softly, leaning back against the plush pillows with her arms behind her head. "She’s right, Lynx. We’re not hiding inside your head while you get to have all the real fun outside."

Lynx just chuckled, pulling Ava into his lap and kissing her cheek. "Alright, alright. We’ll figure it out when the time comes."

—-

By Day Nine and Day Ten, the first elimination tournament officially came to a dramatic close.

The massive arena remained packed to the brim with screaming fans, the mountain air reverberating with constant noise as the last remaining bracket matches played out on the stage below.

Lynx spent most of these final two days relaxing comfortably in the front row of the Aether Blessed Academy students and professors area, flanked by Ava, Kira, Lira, Ophelia, and Rose.

On several occasions, Queen Eleanor and her four personal enforcers walked over from their side of the area to hang out directly with Lynx’s squad.

Layla sat nearby on a leather bench, her fiery amber eyes occasionally drifting over to look at Lynx’s sharp jawline and broad chest.

Iris stood quietly beside Eleanor like a silent shadow, while Rhea and Nadia chatted with Ophelia about different defensive affinity compression techniques.

"You feel completely different today," Eleanor said softly, walking right up to Lynx’s chair.

Her long purple hair swayed in the cool mountain breeze, her golden royal uniform emphasizing her wide hips and full chest perfectly. She looked down at him with her deep purple eyes.

Lynx leaned back in his leather chair, looking up into her gorgeous face with a smooth, arrogant smirk. "I just hit a whole new level of strength. That’s all."

Eleanor’s lips curved into a rare, elegant smile. "I can feel it. The raw pressure radiating off your skin is getting ridiculous. Even my escorts can barely keep their eyes off you."

Nadia, who was sitting just a few feet away on the bench, immediately scoffed and turned her head toward the ring, though a deep, unmistakable blush was clearly visible on her dark cheeks.

Layla simply giggled behind her hand, while Iris gave a rare, subtle nod of agreement.

Across the area, "King" Julian and his crew watched Eleanor talking so intimately with Lynx.

"Look at them," Mars muttered in a bitter whisper, clenching his fists tightly. "He doesn’t even hold the official royal title yet, and everyone in the academy acts like he already owns the place."

"Keep your mouth shut," Julian said coldly, though his voice lacked any real authority or confidence. "When we return to the Aether Empire, everything will be settled properly. But right now... do not provoke him."

High above in the private VIP viewing suites, high ranking generals, elder statesmen, and royal representatives from the Void, Heather, and Beacon Empires sat together around long glass tables, staring down at Lynx.

"That boy... Lynx Azarion," a senior general from the Void Empire said, swirling a glass of dark wine in his hand. "He hasn’t even used five percent of his total mana in any of his five mandatory matches. He handles Year 4 student fighters like they’re toddlers."

"He is an absolute monster," a representative from Heather Empire agreed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Aether Academy hit the jackpot with him. If he keeps fighting at this level, the second round is going to be an absolute bloodbath for our students."

As the sun began its descent on Day Ten, casting a golden hue over the arena, the massive floating screen display flashed with the 50th and final match of the first phase.

MATCH 50: LIRA VEYNE - AETHER ACADEMY - YEAR 2 VS. KAELEN VANCE - VOID ACADEMY - YEAR 4.

The crowd buzzed with excitement. Lira stepped down from the delegation box onto the flagstone floor, her green hair tied back, her bright green eyes calm and relaxed.

Opposing her was Kaelen, a strong Year 4 senior from Void Academy built like an iron wall, channeling heavy, high tier Wind affinity around his boots and forearms.

"I really get it, all Aether Blessed Academy year 2 students are pretty strong. For the others though, not me." Kaelen laughed, wrapping his forearms in dense, compressed wind blades. "And don’t expect me to hold back just because you’re pretty!"

Lira didn’t take a heavy stance. She stood loose, letting the natural mountain air flow around her small, slender, extraordinarily curvy body.

"BEGIN!"

The refree cried out! Kaelen exploded forward like a hurricane, unleashing a barrage of razor sharp wind blades across the stage.

Lira didn’t panic. Silver light instantly bled from her ankles up to her knees as her Zephyr Step activated, erasing air resistance around her body.

Moving with weightless, fluid grace, she effortlessly glided between the wind blades, dodging by mere inches.

"Too slow," Lira whispered smoothly.

Kaelen overcorrected, swinging a massive wind drill straight at her chest, but Lira’s Zephyr Step allowed her to ride the edge of his momentum.

She twisted mid air, flipped effortlessly over his shoulders, and tapped his back, shifting her weight effortlessly.

Before Kaelen could turn around, Lira shifted into her stance, her eyes half lidded as the silver light flared around her feet. She vanished, she actually didn’t but, to his eyes she vanished.

The air popped as Lira executed a flawless double feint. Kaelen swung his wind drill wide, trying to catch her, but she slipped completely under his guard.

Stepping inside his range, Lira drove her open palm directly into his midsection.

"Gale Point!"

A precise, concentrated needle of compressed air smashed straight into Kaelen’s core, bypassing his wind armor entirely.

BOOM!

The impact lifted the Year 4 senior clean off his feet, cracking the flagstone stage beneath them as Kaelen slammed down face first, completely unconscious.

"WINNER: LIRA VEYNE - AETHER ACADEMY."

People in the stands shouted, praising the beautiful small lady. But it didn’t actually surprise anyone, they were even expecting it. Because non of Aether Year 2 students had lost.

Then the referee stepped into the center of the ring, raising a giant glowing crystal horn to his lips.

HOOOOOOOOORN!

The deep, booming tone echoed across the mountain valley, signaling the official end of the First Elimination Phase!

The entire Aether section of the crowd went completely wild, jumping to their feet, stomping their boots, and waving giant deep blue flags high in the air.

Aether Academy had secured double the qualified spots of almost every other empire, asserting total dominance over the first ten days of the tournament.