In the training arena, O’Neil stood upright at the center.

  He picked up the core supernatural potion, the “Primordial Sea of Essence,” and swallowed it without hesitation.

  It felt like drinking a mouthful of boiling water.

  Heat filled his mouth, then flowed down into his throat and esophagus.

  He felt blazing flames ignite within his body, and his skin seemed as if it were burning.

  The warrior clad in leather armor shouted, “Go! Either begin the path of transcendence—or die beneath the demonic beast!”

  O’Neil now had a new idea regarding the entire Barbaros Clan.

  At first, he had intended to leave this race—one to which he felt no true sense of belonging—and separate from them with his family as soon as he possessed sufficient strength.

  But he had changed his mind.

  He wanted to control this powerful race and turn it into a sharp sword in his hands!

  Astrith’s future talent would become the sharpest blade; the exceptionally gifted younger generation and the other Barbaros warriors would form the body of the sword, while he himself would grasp the hilt!

  He would wield this sharpest sword—whether to expand his territory, cut down corruption, or ascend to the highest position himself.

  This sword would achieve its supreme purpose!

  Therefore, he had to subdue his clansmen.

  And the method to subdue the Barbaros Clan was extremely simple.

  Power.

  The Barbaros Clan, whose beliefs were deeply rooted in survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle, would grant you the right to wield that sharp sword—if you could earn their respect through absolute strength and become their leader.

  However, accomplishing this would not be easy.

  O’Neil knew he could not yet possess such strength, considering that the Barbaros survived by hunting demonic beasts.

  Those who lived off hunting demonic beasts could not possibly be weak in either strength or combat skill.

  He understood that eliminating the Barbaros Clan outright would require overwhelming numbers and numerical superiority—or perhaps the combined force of a well-organized army.

  Although he was not yet mature enough to defeat all members of his tribe, O’Neil was determined to gradually establish the concept of “O’Neil = Invincible” among his people!

  From now on, he would rely on his growth and power to execute all his plans.

  Thus, at this grand gathering of the entire tribe today, O’Neil had to do something that would shock every single clansman!

  As he had told Astrith before, he would bear all the risks of today as a means to strengthen his future influence over the tribe.

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  What could be more shocking than a nine-year-old child single-handedly eliminating dozens of demonic beasts?

  Of course, O’Neil was not a fool.

  It would be impossible for him alone to handle dozens of demonic beasts, even if they were only First-Level Apprentice rank.

  His plan was to eliminate them one by one.

  O’Neil took a deep breath.

  At this moment, only he and the Second-Level Apprentice demonic beast remained in the center of the arena.

  The beast crouched low, yet its massive body still seemed like a dwarf before O’Neil.

  Although the demonic beast lacked intelligence and was driven purely by predatory instinct, its hunting instincts made it sense the immense danger emanating from the human before it.

  The overwhelming aura O’Neil emitted was not particularly noticeable to humans—but to this instinct-driven beast, it was terrifying.

  That was the true reason why, even though it had been freed from its restraints and now faced nothing more than a nine-year-old child barely over a meter tall, it did not dare act rashly.

  It was afraid.

  It felt as though a ferocious monster was hidden within that small body before it.

  A monster capable of killing it with ease.

  A small reflection of O’Neil appeared in the beast’s vertical brown pupils. Yet in that instant, it dared not move, concentrating all its energy on him, prepared to defend against any attack at any moment.

  For a moment, no one moved—not even the Second-Level Apprentice demonic beast.

  The two stared at each other in silence.

  To outsiders, however, it looked more like a child facing a kitten than a child confronting a terrifying demonic beast.

  Where O’Neil had previously stood beside Astrith, there now stood a seven-year-old girl—his younger sister, two years his junior, who shared a good relationship with Astrith.

  When the short-haired girl with white hair and sky-blue eyes saw this strange scene, she asked curiously, “Why isn’t that demonic beast moving?”

  “...” Astrith did not answer. She stared coldly at the boy in the arena—the boy who was not even as tall as she was.

  “It’s afraid. A dangerous species is afraid of a human child…”

  Clan Patriarch Nick, standing some distance away, suddenly spoke in response to O’Neil’s sister’s question—though Astrith and Anastasia did not hear him.

  This is truly remarkable… I’m becoming more and more convinced that my previous idea about the engagement was correct!

  ……

  That was right.

  This demonic beast resembled a hybrid between a wild cat and a lion. It possessed three eyes and a horn on its head. It was known as the Three-Eyed Lion.

  The current Apprentice-level demonic beast made people feel as though it were a trembling kitten before a giant tiger—terrified to attack.

  But even the calmest cat, when its spirit is crushed under pressure, will lash out with its claws in fury—even if those claws are weak and frail.

  That is the nature of all cats—a nature etched into their bones and genes—just as the Barbaros tribe upheld the rule of the strong over the weak.

  Unlike dogs, cats rarely prefer submission.

  That is the difference between cats and dogs.

  Although this was a demonic beast from another world, its temperament was not much different from that of ordinary cats.

  Thus, under O’Neil’s immense pressure, its fear transformed into natural fury.

  It roared violently at O’Neil, the sound unusually loud in the silent arena.

  The Barbaros youths who had not yet taken their turn felt a wave of fear and wondered how they themselves would face such a beast.

  After brief reflection, they realized they could not remain as composed as O’Neil.

  As every member of the Barbaros Clan watching this grand event harbored different thoughts and beliefs, the Second-Level Apprentice demonic beast finally moved.

  Extreme speed, savage attacks, and lightning-fast reflexes were the survival skills of this Apprentice-rank demonic beast, which lacked special abilities.

  The horn on its head functioned similarly to a snake’s forked tongue, allowing it to sense prey.

  The eye in the center of its forehead was not decorative—it granted it a field of vision close to 200 degrees, far wider than that of a human.

  When it moved, its speed nearly surpassed that of a cheetah, the fastest land animal on Earth.

  It felt as though only a single instant had passed—from crouching on the ground, to roaring, to its blood-red maw appearing before O’Neil.

  ‘At this speed, it would be difficult for a child his age to adapt, wouldn’t it? Will he choose to dodge?’

  ‘Or does he have other methods? Though it is only Apprentice rank, it excels in speed!’

  Clan Leader Nick thought to himself as he observed the battle between man and beast.

  Meanwhile, Rebus—whose son had been defeated by O’Neil and barred from participating in the selection trial—had long held a grudge.

  He had even secretly arranged for O’Neil to face one of the strongest Apprentice-level demonic beasts.

  His goal was simple: to kill this child who had humiliated him and prevented his son, Jobes Steve, from marrying the Clan Leader’s daughter.

  “Die! Die, you miserable brat! Your father oppressed me for years—how could I let my son be oppressed by his son!”

  Rebus ground his teeth in fury, hoping O’Neil would die at the claws of this Apprentice-level beast.

  Although he had felt O’Neil’s imposing aura earlier, he did not believe O’Neil could defeat such a dangerous creature at this moment.

  Even his own son, Jobes—who had been nourished on demonic beast blood—was only at the Apprentice level to awaken the Primordial Sea of Essence!

  An Apprentice-level demonic beast could at least fight three unarmed adults. A child like O’Neil, even from the Barbaros Clan, would fare no better!

  A short distance away, among the Barbaros youths awaiting their trials, Astrith’s blue eyes remained fixed on O’Neil, revealing a mixture of satisfaction and doubt.

  “How will he face it? Though his aura was overwhelming earlier, the Three-Eyed Lion is not easy to handle.”

  “Even I would need to exert some effort.”

  “Oh my God! They actually used a Second-Level Apprentice beast from the very start! And it even has special traits!” Ulric, O’Neil’s father in this life, grew tense.

  He had already decided that if O’Neil could not handle this dangerous creature, he would intervene immediately. He could not be as cold-blooded as the other Barbaros and watch his son die.

  Even if it meant O’Neil would never become a true Barbaros warrior, he would not allow his son to perish!

  This Barbaros warrior had made every necessary preparation.

  Though these internal thoughts seemed lengthy and complex when written out, in reality they flashed through their minds in a fleeting instant.

  Thus, in the very next second—while they were still thinking—the attack had already reached O’Neil.

  Yet O’Neil maintained that smile, gentle in appearance but cold-blooded in truth.

  Then—

  He moved.