Chapter 508: Geniuses from Ten Thousand Years ago

Max stood silently on the white-colored tiles of the arena floor, his gaze fixed ahead as the air shimmered a hundred feet before him.

From the rippling space, a crimson haze began to take form, swirling with flickers of fire and shadow. Slowly, it condensed into the shape of a man—his aura ancient, his presence commanding.

‘Past geniuses of the Black Lotus Guild?’ Max thought, his eyes narrowing. He hadn’t expected to face them like this—not as echoes or projections, but as reconstructed beings of power and pride, brought back through time by the tower’s mystical memory.

Without hesitation, Max activated his 300 Draconic Essences, and in an instant, raw strength surged through every inch of his body. His veins pulsed with draconic might, his muscles coiling with energy as his heart pounded—not from fear, but from excitement.

His fighting spirit ignited like wildfire, blazing in his chest with an intensity that made the very air around him shudder.

‘From what time are these geniuses?’ he wondered. ‘Ten thousand years ago?’

That would make sense. Only in that golden age, when the world stood at its peak and the Lower Domain had not yet fallen into decline, did geniuses with Source Bloodlines exist in numbers.

According to the parrot spirit, only those with Source Bloodlines had ever been eligible for the True Inheritance trial. And ten thousand years ago, the Black Dragon Palace wasn’t just a powerful force—it was the greatest power in the Lower Domain, a place where legends were born.

If these warriors were from that era, then this wouldn’t be just a test of strength—it would be a battle against the best of a bygone age.

Max’s blood stirred at the thought. He would discover just how powerful those ancient geniuses truly were. He would measure himself against the legacy of a thousand centuries.

Before him, the red phantom continued to solidify, becoming clearer with every passing breath. The haze receded, revealing a tall man clad in a dark red robe lined with dragon patterns.

In his hands was a long, blood-colored spear that exuded murderous intent. His features were striking—sharp brows, noble bone structure, eyes that seemed to burn with battle lust. He stood like a war god descending from flame.

And then, a voice echoed from the sky above the arena, flat and commanding. “First opponent of the True Inheritance Trial Qualification Test—Black Dragon Palace, Ken Family, Fourth Cousin of the Sixth Crown Prince, General of the Firecloud Battalion, Arthur Ken!”

‘Ken Family? Firecloud Battalion General?’ Max’s eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to the announcement, piecing together fragments of forgotten history.

It became increasingly clear that the Black Dragon Palace, during its peak ten thousand years ago, wasn’t a singular monolithic force but a vast empire of its own, composed of many powerful bloodline families, each with their own hierarchy and specialties.

The Ken Family was only one such faction, yet it had produced a warrior who had once held the prestigious title of General within the Firecloud Battalion—a name that carried weight even after centuries of silence.

And it made Max curious about the hierarchy of power back in the ten thousand years ago.

‘I wonder how strong would they be?’ Dozens of questions raced through Max’s mind, forming a web of curiosity, but he quickly suppressed them.

Now wasn’t the time to be distracted by the grandeur of a past era. His gaze focused sharply on the figure standing across from him—Arthur Ken. His aura burned steadily like a controlled inferno, powerful yet precise, the kind of flame that didn’t just consume, but conquered.

Max’s eyes scanned him, and he quickly noted the difference in realm. “Level 1 of Expert Rank,” he muttered under his breath, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. ‘So it really does tailor the opponents based on the quality of one’s bloodline…’ he thought.

This trial wasn’t just a standard test—it was adaptive, scaling not only to the challenger’s cultivation level but also the potential their bloodline carried. The higher the bloodline purity, the stronger the opponent.

And given how the parrot spirit had claimed Max’s bloodline was beyond even a standard Source Bloodline, it made sense. Max inhaled slowly, grounding his soul and body, the anticipation growing heavy in the silence before the storm.

Without a single word or warning, Arthur Ken lunged forward, thrusting his long, blood-red spear straight at Max with blinding precision.

The moment the weapon moved, the entire atmosphere trembled. Concept of Flames surged from every direction, drawn as if by instinct to the weapon’s call. In an instant, it gathered and twisted around the spear’s tip, forming a colossal black dragon phantom, its wings wide and its eyes burning with fury.

The phantom beast roared silently, flapping its wings once before hurtling toward Max with unstoppable momentum. The dragon hadn’t even reached him yet, but the oppressive heat wave that followed it struck Max like a wall of molten air, making the very tiles beneath his feet hiss and shimmer.

Yet Max’s eyes didn’t flinch—instead, they burned with a sharp, savage gleam. His fighting spirit ignited in an instant, answering fire with fire. “Come on!” he roared, and in the same breath, his fist slammed forward with unstoppable force.

The air cracked as his punch collided head-on with the charging dragon phantom, and in the blink of an eye, the entire flaming construct shattered, bursting into pieces of molten light that scattered across the sky like burning petals.

Before the embers could fade, Max’s figure vanished from where he stood. A split second later, he reappeared directly in front of Arthur Ken, his aura exploding with intensity. “Show me your full strength!” he bellowed, launching another devastating punch aimed directly at the ancient warrior’s chest.

But Arthur Ken wasn’t slow to react—his eyes sharpened, and with seamless grace, he stabbed his spear forward to meet Max’s fist.

The moment the tip of his weapon surged forth, black flames whirled violently around it, forming a howling tornado of fire at the spear’s edge.

BOOM!

The two forces collided midair in a thunderous explosion that shattered the space around them. Energy rippled outward like tidal waves crashing against the walls of the arena.

And then, amidst the fading shockwave, a single figure was blasted backward, spinning through the air. It was Arthur Ken. His body, unable to withstand the sheer power of the impact, began to disintegrate, pieces of his form scattering into glowing fragments.

Before he could even crash against the far end of the battlefield, his entire being flickered once—and vanished, erased from existence like a dying flame. The battle was over in one strike. Max stood tall, his fist still clenched, his body humming with unleashed force.

‘I need to hold back a little to see their full strength,’ Max thought wryly, lowering his clenched fist as the last traces of Arthur Ken’s energy faded into the air.

The battle had ended far too quickly—too easily. Even though the strength of these ancient geniuses had clearly been elevated to the Expert Rank, adapted by the Inheritance Tower to match the caliber of his bloodline, they still weren’t enough.

His current strength was far beyond any early levels Expert Rank warriors could handle. And yet, these were supposed to be the finest geniuses of the Black Dragon Palace from ten thousand years ago—the most brilliant prodigies of an era when the Lower Domain was at its peak.

Max didn’t want to crush them in a single exchange; he wanted to learn from them, to witness the techniques and domains that had once dominated a golden age.

Only if he gave them room—only if he eased the pressure—would he be able to observe whether they had truly comprehended their domains, if they had reached the pinnacle of Concepts or Laws, or if their fighting styles held secrets worth uncovering.

If he continued to overpower them with brute force, these battles would become meaningless.

What he sought wasn’t just victory, but understanding—the depth of legacy the Black Dragon Palace once held, and how far he’d truly come in comparison.

From here on, he would restrain himself… just enough to let the storm rise before he put it down.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay