Chapter 189: The Opening Stage

Nova himself had only just started rising into the world of the strong. He turned toward Nyxara and spoke honestly."I didn’t know you were this amazing, Nyxara."

Nyxara snorted lightly, though a faint hint of pride flickered in her eyes.

"Hmph... you better believe it."

Nova smiled at Nyxara’s reaction and shook his head when he noticed her cheeks turning red. She really was the cutest when she got flustered.

Then he answered calmly,

"In that case, you’ll be in a more difficult situation than me if they find you. I have a unique S-rank skill that allows me to completely conceal everything... and even manipulate what others perceive."

Nyxara and Velena’s eyes widened at the same time.

They already knew he possessed a few powerful skills, but another S-rank ability still shocked them. S-rank skills were extremely rare — so rare that most people never encountered even one in their lifetime. The fact that Nova already had several of them left them momentarily speechless.

Nyxara quickly narrowed her eyes, however.

"Wasn’t I able to see through your concealment skill? What makes you think others can’t do the same when they are multiple times stronger than me?"

Nova shook his head.

"You only saw through it because I allowed you to. At that time, I deliberately used my aura and demonic energy to gain your help. I wasn’t activating the skill at full strength."

In the next instant, Nova activated Origin Concealment.

The powerful Emperor-level aura he had been releasing vanished completely. In its place, only the presence of a Grandmaster remained.

Nyxara’s eyes widened once more. Velena’s expression was equally stunned.Nova smiled, and even Liya’s soft chuckle echoed in his mind.

"Now," he asked, "can you tell how strong I really am? Can you sense that I’m actually a mid-level King Realm expert? Do you feel even the slightest trace of demonic or dragonic aura from me?"

Both Nyxara and Velena shook their heads in unison.

It was true. Origin Concealment was an extremely powerful skill. Now that Nova had reached the mid-King Realm, his control over it had become even more refined.

"See? Now we have a solution," Nova continued. "I’ll only display the strength of an initial King Realm expert — around level 1300. Since Asia is already participating, I’ll have Rieka join as well now that she’s also reached the King Realm."

The moment he mentioned his other wives, Nyxara’s expression shifted slightly.

Although she had already accepted the situation, hearing him speak so casually about the other women still felt strange.

Nova noticed her reaction immediately.

"Oh, right... you still haven’t met them." He smiled gently. "Why don’t we all have dinner together? You can meet them properly, and we can discuss the rest of the matters there."

Nyxara remained silent for a moment before finally answering in a quiet voice.

"...Alright."

Nova smiled.

The three of them then left the system training space and flew toward the capital instead of using a portal.

....

Far from the royal capital of the Aureth Kingdom, in a place unknown to the outside world, a dim light flickered deep within a cave.

From the outside, the cave looked dark and eerie, its narrow entrance seeming almost insignificant. But the deeper one ventured inside, the more the passage widened, eventually opening into a vast underground chamber illuminated by countless dim lamps.

The scene within resembled something straight out of a nightmare.

The corpses of little children and infants from various races lay scattered across the cold stone floor. Some were still alive, their weak voices barely audible as they desperately cried for help.

Men dressed in white cloaks and black masks stood nearby, operating strange metal instruments as they dissected the children’s bodies and conducted horrific experiments upon them.

The enormous chamber was filled with such scenes.

White-cloaked figures stood guard at every corner, while several more guarded the entrance, ensuring that no one could enter or escape unnoticed.

A short distance away from the main chamber were several large rooms connected by narrow corridors.

Inside one of them sat a single figure.

He, too, wore a white cloak, but unlike the others, his sleeves were adorned with red borders. A golden mask concealed his face.

An oppressive aura radiated from his body, clearly revealing that he was a powerful individual.

Sitting behind a wooden desk, he carefully marked something on a piece of paper.

Failed ✓

Passed ✓

The number of failures far exceeded the number of successes.

Suddenly—

KNOCK! KNOCK!

A knock echoed from the wooden door. The man stopped writing.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a man wearing the same white cloak and black mask hurried inside.

"C-Commander..." His voice trembled. "Captain Kiro is dead, and the other agents were killed as well. We... we couldn’t bring the subjects back from the Aureth Kingdom."

The commander slowly stopped his pen.

Crack!

The pen snapped between his fingers. The junior member froze. He could feel the commander’s anger radiating through the room, the oppressive aura growing heavier with every passing second.

"Where did he die?"The man’s voice was calm. Far too calm.

"Near Vaunis, the capital."

The commander remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do we know the identity of the person who killed my little brother?"

His voice was dreadful, carrying a chilling killing intent that made the junior member’s legs tremble.

"N-No, Commander..." he stammered. "We’re still investigating. We haven’t been able to identify the culprit yet."

The commander’s aura intensified.

The junior member felt as though he might collapse under the pressure. Then, from behind the golden mask, a cold voice echoed through the chamber.

"When is the tournament starting?"

The junior member struggled to stay on his feet, his voice choking under the pressure.

"I-In... three weeks."

The commander’s voice remained cold, still laced with barely restrained anger.

"Send a message to all the other Commanders. Tell them to gather at the main base next week. Inform them that the Supreme Commander will also be present."

He paused, then continued in a lower, heavier tone.

"We are ready to show the world the true might of the Eclipse Order."

"The Grand Youth Tournament of the Aureth Kingdom will be our opening stage. We have remained quiet for many years... and in that time, our strength has grown by leaps and bounds."

"Go now and begin the preparations. We don’t have much time. Set the plan in motion."

"Y-Yes, Commander!"

The junior member hurriedly left the chamber.

Once he was alone, the man in the golden mask slowly stood up. A fragment of his aura leaked out, and cracks instantly spread across the walls of the chamber.

His voice was low and filled with killing intent. "You killed the wrong person... whoever you are."

"Soon, I will find out exactly who you are."

"And when I do... I will give you the most painful death with my own hands."

Suddenly, the man’s communication stone buzzed. A familiar voice came through.

Communication stones had two functions — one allowed only voice transmission, while the other could also project the figure of the person on the other end.

This time, only the voice came through.

"Hey, you crazy bastard! How are you doing?!"

The expression beneath the golden mask twisted in disgust. Already in a foul mood, the commander replied coldly,

"What do you want, you demon fucker?"

The voice on the other side laughed lightly.

"Come on now... are you really going to talk to me like that? I recently heard some very interesting news about your little group’s crazy plan."

"You bastards are finally starting to move after so many years of silence. My lord is quite interested... and wants to work together."

The commander’s aura suddenly exploded.

"What did you just say, you motherfucker?!"

The entire chamber trembled violently under the force of his killing intent.

**

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