[System Alert: Congratulations, Host! 500 million Exploits in the Lava-type Void Core successfully repaired. The Void Core has been upgraded to: Rank 9 [Infernal Dark Flame] Void Core! ([SSS-Rank])]

  [Rank 9 [Infernal Dark Flame] Void Core: Consumption will immediately awaken the [SSS-Rank Supernatural Trait]: [Infernal Dark Flame], which possesses the terrifying ability to incinerate all things. Legend states this is a powerful ability only awakened by the top powerhouses of the [Infernal Abyssals]. Consumption also provides a massive reserve of Soul energy!]

  The system notification rang in Lance’s mind, causing his pupils to contract slightly.

  "So the ability within this core is called [Infernal Dark Flame]... just the name alone tells me it’s anything but simple."

  Lance was thoroughly satisfied with this fusion. Although he hadn't directly seized the mysterious SS-Rank Aether Fire within the sun, he knew that such primordial fires rarely acknowledged a master easily.

  As for Selina, there was a ninety percent chance her mysterious backer was the reason she could survive it. Without that support, someone with her talent and strength would have been vaporized the moment they touched a flame of that caliber.

  Without hesitation, Lance tilted his head back and swallowed the [Void Core].

  Rumble!!!

  As the core went down, a boundless tide of black flames erupted from Lance’s body like a dam bursting. In an instant, the obsidian fire enveloped him completely.

  The flames surged into his limbs, circulating through his meridians and restructuring his physical form until his body was capable of effortlessly housing the [Infernal Dark Flame].

  Finally, the black fire swarmed toward his [Consciousness Hub].

  The flames poured into the space above his mental center, coalescing into a gargantuan sphere of darkness. Within seconds, the dark orb had expanded, surpassing even the size of the [Holy Light Power] sphere. As time passed, the massive [Infernal Dark Flame] sun stabilized in the center of his mind.

  Lance snapped his eyes open and made a gripping motion with his right hand.

  Buzz!

  Void-black flames flickered into existence, dancing over his palm.

  "Looks decent. I wonder how it performs in actual combat," Lance muttered, curious about its destructive power. He didn't linger on the thought, clenching his fist to extinguish the fire.

  He immediately opened his [User Status Panel].

  [User Status Panel]

  Name: Lance

  Reconstruction Quota: 1/4

  Martial Rank: [Gold Tier, Rank 10] (3rd Rotation, 49,000 / 100,000)

  Soul Rank: [Gold Tier, Rank 10] (Tier 3 Metamorphosis, 77,000 / 100,000)

  Constitution (CON): 10,000 (1 pt = 900kg of force)

  Soul: 10,000

  Skills: Spear Mastery (Peak Proficient, +400% dmg, 1000/7000)

  Traits: [Undying God-Body] (SSS-Rank), [Elemental Saint Body] (SS-Rank), [Solar Stellar Flame] (S-Rank), [Holy Light Power] (SS-Rank), [Infernal Dark Flame] (SSS-Rank).

  Techniques: [Titanium War Art] (Rank 4 Low), [Eternal Soul Protocol] (Immortal Grade, Rank 5 Broken, 32x), [Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art] (Rank 8).

  War Arts: [Titanium Collapse Fist] (Rank 4 Low), [Meteor Spear Art] (Rank 6 Mid), [Solar Flare Blast] (Rank 6 Peak), [Flame Dragon Flash] (Rank 7 Mid), [Star War Body] (Rank 7 Mid).

  Items: [Black Slayer Set] (Rank 7 Mid), [Black Flame Spear] (Rank 7 Mid), [Star-Thunder Wings] (Rank 8 Mid).

  Pet: [Infernal Cerberus-Dragon] (Noir) (SSS-Rank, Tier 4, 7-Star).

  Looking at his current attributes, Lance knew his strength was immense, but the true extent of it could only be verified through blood and battle.

  "My primary weakness is still my actual rank. I need to level up faster."

  He glanced toward the solar core. "Since Selina is here, I should probably leave. I don't know if her mysterious backer is hostile or not. Being discovered would only lead to unnecessary trouble."

  Lance turned and vanished into the white glare.

  A few minutes later, Lance touched down once more on the surface of Pyre-7. The [Star-Thunder Wings] retracted instantly, reverting into the watch-like device on his wrist.

  Over two hours had passed since the start of the exam. He checked the leaderboard.

  The top rank already had several thousand points. It seemed some candidates had been busy slaughtering Tier 3, 8-Star and 9-Star [Void Beasts].

  "I should at least boost my score to a level where I won't be disqualified," Lance mused. "It would be annoying if I forgot to kill something because of some emergency and got kicked out."

  He extended his Divine Sense. Instantly, a massive radius of ten thousand kilometers was mapped within his mind.

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  On [Ancient Earth], a ten-thousand-kilometer scan would have covered almost the entire planet. On Pyre-7, it barely scratched a small corner of the surface. Nevertheless, within this range, Lance detected several Tier 4 Cinder Demons—[Grandmaster] level threats.

  "Found you. You'll do."

  Lance’s lips quirked upward. He kicked off the ground.

  Boom!

  The earth cratered beneath him, sinking dozens of meters as Lance transformed into a streak of light, rocketing toward his target.

  Half a minute later, Lance hovered in the air above a vast, churning sea of magma.

  "Open the combat recorder," he commanded.

  He didn't bother landing. To kill a [Grandmaster], flight was a prerequisite. Since he intended to display [Grandmaster] level combat power anyway, there was no point in hiding his ability to fly.

  "Real-time recording enabled," his [Wrist Communicator] chirped.

  "Let’s draw this thing out first."

  Lance reached out into the void.

  Buzz!

  A spear condensed from golden fire appeared in his hand. To avoid being too conspicuous, he refrained from using the [Infernal Dark Flame]. He even throttled the output to the level of a [Grandmaster (Rank 1)].

  "Die!"

  With a violent swing of his arm, the spear of [Solar Stellar Flame] transformed into a streak of light, piercing into the magma sea with a dull, heavy thud.

  Splsh!!!

  The spear vanished into the molten depths.

  Lance’s lips curled into a faint smirk as he made a sudden, crushing motion with his right hand.

  BOOM! RUMBLE!!!

  A muffled detonation erupted from deep beneath the magma’s surface. The entire sea of molten rock buckled and surged violently.

  ROAR!!!!!

  A furious bellow tore through the crust of the earth. A Cinder Demon—roughly two hundred meters tall and radiating the power of a Tier 4, 1-Star beast—clawed its way out of the depths, its eyes instantly locking onto Lance.

  "Hu... Hu-man!!!"

  The demon had only recently ascended to the fourth tier, and its ability to speak the human tongue was still clumsy and fragmented. Nevertheless, it knew exactly what humans represented: intruders.

  "Consider this a greeting," Lance said with a chuckle. He gave a casual wave of his hand, and dozens of golden fire spears—each compressed to the energy level of a [Grandmaster (Rank 1)]—manifested in the air around him.

  With a flick of his wrist, the spears transformed into streaks of light, raining down upon the demon with pinpoint accuracy.

  The demon’s expression shifted from rage to pure terror. It tried to dive back into the magma, but the air around it had already been superheated into a localized vacuum, pinning it in place.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The spears struck like a coordinated artillery strike. Each impact pulverized the demon’s magmatic shell, detonating with enough force to shred its internal structure.

  "Wait... I didn't kill it that easily, did I?" Lance muttered, feeling a bit awkward.

  He had clearly overestimated the resilience of a Rank 1 demon. The final spear had punched clean through the beast's center, shattering its [Void Core] into a million glittering shards.

  "Well, so much for hiding my strength. This level of output is already equivalent to a mid-tier [Grandmaster]," Lance sighed. A Tier 4, 1-Star Cinder Demon was roughly equal to a human [Grandmaster (Rank 0)]. For Lance to one-shot it suggested his combat power was at least at [Grandmaster (Rank 5)].

  "Whatever. It is what it is. Intellect, upload the footage and shut down the real-time recording."

  Lance didn't have the patience to stage a "struggle" for the cameras. He had more important things to do.

  "Time to get to work. I need a stronger demon to help me farm my Constitution (CON) reserves."

  He scanned his mental map for a high-tier signature he had noted earlier and shot off toward the horizon.

  "Huff... finally. That peak Gold-tier demon was no joke!"

  At the edge of a massive caldera, Kaelen wiped a mixture of sweat and soot from his brow as he looked down at the pulverized remains of a peak Tier 3 [Void Beast]. The Cinder Demon had been on the verge of its second rotation—a transformation that would have turned it into a true [Grandmaster].

  Kaelen himself was only nearing his first rotation. If it hadn't been for his A-Rank [Berserker Body] trait allowing him to outlast the beast in a war of attrition, he might have been the one lying in the dirt.

  [System Alert: Congratulations! You have earned 512 points! Your rank has increased to: 3rd Place!]

  "Top three, finally. Though those two freaks at first and second are still over a thousand points ahead of me. I’m not catching up to them today," Kaelen sighed, though he couldn't hide his satisfaction.

  He was naturally optimistic. His grandfather had promised him a Tier 5 combat gauntlet if he finished the trials in the top three. To Kaelen, that gauntlet was practically already on his hand.

  [System Alert: Your rank has dropped to: 4th Place!!]

  Kaelen’s smile froze. He stared at the notification in utter disbelief.

  "What the hell? Who the f*ck just stole my third place!?"

  Fury bubbled up in his chest. If he finished fourth, the Tier 5 gauntlet was history. He scrambled to open the leaderboard, fully intending to find the name of the person who had leapfrogged him so he could hunt them down and give them a piece of his mind once they got to the Academy.

  However, the moment the top three names flickered onto his screen, Kaelen’s jaw hit the floor. He stared at the number next to the new first-place name, his eyes bulging.

  "Ten... hundred... thousand... ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND!?" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "Holy sh*t! Is that really a hundred thousand!? How is that even possible!?"

  He counted the zeros five times. It was no mistake. A hundred thousand points meant only one thing: someone had slain a [Grandmaster (Rank 1)] Cinder Demon.

  The difference between [Gold Tier, Rank 10] and [Grandmaster (Rank 1)] was an absolute chasm. If the leader had simply been a few thousand points ahead, Kaelen might have grit his teeth and tried to grind his way back up. But this? This was a different dimension.

  A [Grandmaster] was ten times stronger than a Gold-tier warrior. In fact, a [Grandmaster] could likely wipe out the entire top ten of the leaderboard in under ten seconds. If they were standing in a group, it wouldn't even take one.

  Furthermore, a [Grandmaster] Cinder Demon was a nightmare. They only reached that stage after a second rotation of Source Essence, and their innate flame affinity evolved into a B-Rank [Flame Power] trait. Their actual combat effectiveness was comparable to a human [Grandmaster (Rank 3)] or even [Rank 4].

  No amount of "genius" could bridge a sixty-fold gap in raw power.

  It wasn't just Kaelen. Every single person on the leaderboard received the same notification. Because Lance had started with zero points, his sudden jump to the top pushed everyone else down a slot.

  In a heartbeat, the name Lance became the focal point of every conversation on the planet. And that 100,000-point score left every other genius in a state of pure, hollow despair.

  "Hmm? Someone managed to kill a [Grandmaster] Cinder Demon this early? Did one of the geniuses break through in the middle of a fight?"

  High above the planet, inside the Tier 6 warship, The High Speaker raised an eyebrow as he watched the leaderboard shift.

  Such a feat was rare, but as a proctor, he didn't necessarily view it as a good thing. Often, it meant a peak Gold-tier genius had been backed into a corner and forced to break through to the [Grandmaster] stage prematurely to survive. By advancing, their power would jump ten-fold, allowing them to win, but it cost them their future potential.

  In this batch of a million candidates, there were several hundred S-Rank geniuses, and one in particular who had a thirty-percent chance of being classified as S+. That student had been holding the first-place spot until a few moments ago.

  At least four of the top ten candidates had already achieved one or more Source Essence rotations. They were purposefully delaying their advancement to [Grandmaster] to see if they could reach a third or even fourth rotation, ensuring a far more powerful foundation for their future cultivation.

  If this "Lance" had simply broken through to survive, he might have won the battle, but he had lost the war for supreme power.

  System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!

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