The light concentrated, condensing into a radiant token counter above my head.
+100 Tokens. The number blazed for all to see. Silence followed—then outrage. Nara's teeth gnashed audibly. "He was inside the monster this whole time!? He stole everything!" Dimitri's psychic flames flared violently, his killing intent sweeping across the battlefield. Elyahna's icy breath came faster, frost gathering on her blade as she glared at the beacon, unwilling to accept what had just happened.
Yogrek Grimbark raised his hammer again, growling in frustration—he had only just entered the fray, and glory had been snatched away. Even the lesser prodigies, once relieved that the monster was slain, now stared at Ash with darkened eyes. One hundred tokens in an instant. That wasn't just victory—it made him a target to all.
The tension thickened like the calm before slaughter.
Killing intent surged, eyes locked onto my silhouette as I floated from the beast's sundered body, blood-slick but radiant with Profound qi.
And then—
"Flawless Victory. Superb."
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere, deep as eternity, resonating across the battlefield like the toll of a divine bell. Before anyone could move, every prodigy began to glow. A brilliant white light wrapped around our bodies, drowning killing intent in instant stillness. I had no time to resist—the radiance pulled all of us upward like falling stars in reverse. The battlefield dissolved. The valley fell away. The entire group was transported to the Central Mountain!
The world reformed around us at impossible speed. The prodigies now stood upon the island's central peak—yet it was no mountain anymore. Before their wide eyes, stone and mist folded away, revealing an etheric palace wrought from prismatic light. Pillars stretched into the clouds, walls carved with ancient runes, a vast golden gate yawning open before them. It had been there all along, hidden by a monumental Illusory Array.
My eyes narrowed as I steadied my breath. So that's it. This was never just an island. The palace has been watching us the entire time. The white glow faded from the prodigies' bodies. For the first time since the arrival, silence fell again—broken only by the low rumble of the palace gates beginning to creak open. The white brilliance faded, and the prodigies found themselves standing upon a colossal stone plaza.
My breath caught. The plaza stretched for miles, paved with jade and ruby tiles that glimmered faintly with sealed runes. Around its perimeter rose statues so massive they made even the Hill Monster seem small. Warriors clad in flowing robes stood shoulder to shoulder with armored titans gripping axes taller than mountains. Scholar-lords with brush and blade stood beside mermaids wreathed in tridents of pearl.
Towering above them all were demonic dragon-lords with eyes of stone fire, jaws open as though roaring eternally. Each radiated a crushing majesty, the aura of beings who once ruled the heavens and earth. These were emperors, kings, and sovereigns of ages past—their legacies poured into the plaza, waiting.
The sky itself rippled.
Clouds parted, and from them descended a vast silhouette: a figure of light and shadow so immense it seemed to press upon the world. It had no fixed form, yet every prodigy who looked upon it saw what their heart feared and revered most—some saw a monarch, others a beast, some a towering sage.
The voice that thundered from it was the same that had halted their battle: "Children of the Beast Vein Continent. You stand now upon the Inheritance Plaza." The words shook the statues. The runes beneath our feet glowed as though the continent itself breathed with the voice. Within these halls lie the eternal flames of those who came before—emperors, kings, sovereigns who forged the path of beasts and blood.
Their Inheritances will now open to those they deem worthy."A murmur swept through the prodigies. Eyes glittered with both greed and unease. The Will continued: But know this: an Inheritance accepts only as many as its master deems worthy. To enter is not granted freely. Each requires tokens—proof of conquest. The greater the Inheritance, the more tokens demanded. The lesser the inheritance, the fewer. The minimum… is five."
Cheers broke out instantly; Many Prodigies easily had the five tokens. Dozens of weaker prodigies glanced at their meager counters, faces visibly brightening. But if a Prodigy desired a powerful inheritance more tokens would be demanded.
Elyahna's frosted eyes narrowed. "So those lacking the tokens must fight for them…" Dimitri's lips curled into a cruel smile, psychic flames licking his shoulders. "Then the real tournament begins here." The plaza crackled with surging intent as realization set in; alliances would fracture, blades would be drawn.
To secure a chance at inheritance, battle was inevitable. Suddenly a great towering statue of a Mermaid began to glow gently. And then—the air tore open with a celestial roar. From beyond the clouds, starlit dragons descended, their scales like galaxies, their wings scattering motes of cosmic fire. Between their wings shimmered an inheritance!
An Inheritance revealed itself, seeking a student from among the 95 prodigies. The Will declared, "—the Dark Water Inheritance." The temple settled on the plaza floor, its gates shimmering like the surface of a black ocean. A deep, abyssal pressure poured out, heavy with water-qi and flowing currents. My eyes sharpened, but I did not move. The aura told me all he needed to know. This was a path suited to those born with Water-grade Spirit Bodies. I folded my arms, choosing silence. I was looking for a soul based inheritance.
Around me though, chaos already stirred. Clusters of prodigies gathered into fives and tens, their clouds of tokens glowing faintly above their heads. Groups scrambled, alliances formed on the spot, while others shoved and postured, unwilling to be left behind.
I simply observed. My instincts told me this was only the beginning. The plaza trembled as the Dark Water Inheritance settled fully, its obsidian gates lapping like a tide of liquid night. The abyssal pressure rolled out in waves, resonating with certain prodigies' water spirit bodies like a siren call. The price was twenty-five tokens, a strong inheritance.
Instantly, dozens surged forward. "Out of my way!" snarled a boy with scaled arms and gills flaring on his neck. A jet of pressurized water blasted from his palms, knocking back three competitors! Another, a woman whose body shimmered like living tide glass, raised her hands and conjured a writhing kraken of sea-Animus to block the gate!
"Only those of the ocean path will step inside. she cried, anyone else—can drown!" But the plaza cared nothing for her decree. More water spirit body prodigies leapt in, techniques colliding. The air rang with the crash of waves, serpentine whips, and crushing torrents. It was mayhem. The floor itself split as geysers tore upward, scattering weaker contenders like rag dolls! Screams filled the air as token counters burst from fallen prodigies, stolen instantly by those quick enough to snatch them.
Through it all, the true predators of the tournament stood still. Elyahna's crystalline gaze tracked the battlefield with frost-bitten disdain. "A shallow inheritance for shallow souls. I'll wait." Vaylan smirked, eyes half-shadowed in their endless twilight. "Let them bleed each other dry. The later trials will be richer." Nara's fingers twitched idly over her spirit-thread, but she didn't move.
Her puppet Setkhefre swayed behind her like a silent judge. "Hmph. Not worth the effort. I'll harvest my prey elsewhere." Dimitri's psychic fire burned faintly at his temples, his lips curling in something between a sneer and amusement. "Fools. They're branding themselves weak by scrambling for scraps."
And then came the echoing thoom of Yogrex Grimbark's laugh. His hammer rested on his shoulder, a mountain in waiting. "If that's all it takes to kill each other, none of 'em deserve inheritance anyway." I said nothing. My silence was enough to draw subtle glances—the others saw me refuse the Inheritance and followed suit. But the plaza itself was no calmer.
Prodigies fought tooth and nail, driven mad by desperation. Clans screamed across the battlefield, some desperately trying to form groups of ten while others tore them apart before they could solidify. The gates of the Dark Water Inheritance pulsed hungrily! The first five who broke through vanished in flashes of abyssal light. Seconds later, ten more were swallowed!
Hmph, "a lesser Inheritance allows a greater number of participants" I thought to myself. The temple rumbled—and then, as though slamming shut with finality, it sealed. Only fifteen had been accepted. The rest, sprawled across the plaza floor, groaned amid broken bones, shattered techniques, and stolen tokens. The statues looming overhead seemed to watch silently. Judging.
And then the Will's voice boomed once more: "The First Inheritance is claimed. The next shall descend soon. Steel yourselves."
The plaza shivered, anticipation thickening again.