The Gravest Threat

Real world. Blood Bone Star.

Inside a massive black castle, a flash of white light pulsed — and Heiming materialized.

His eyes still held traces of terror. He slumped against the bed, gasping.

Once his breathing steadied, his gaze sharpened and his expression twisted with fury.

"Damn it. Who was that human? Someone, get in here!"

The door swung open. A Gnoll strode in and bowed low.

"My Lord."

Heiming swept his gaze over the attendant.

"Send for Sir Banasi."

"At once, My Lord!"

Shortly after, another Gnoll entered and bowed.

"My Lord Heiming."

"The intelligence on human geniuses — how is the investigation progressing?"

"My Lord Heiming, we have gathered most of what there is to find."

"Show me."

Banasi produced a black device and handed it to Heiming.

Heiming activated it. A holographic display materialized in the air.

Profile after profile drifted past. Then his gaze stopped, locking onto a single page.

It showed Lu Yuan's photo alongside a general overview: his ranking on the Combat Rankings, his contributions in the Endless Mountain Range. The information was surface-level — but still fairly comprehensive.

Heiming studied the file, his eyes cold and flickering.

*Less than a year since his Awakening, and he's already at this level? The bastard... must have had extraordinary luck. Infuriating. He skipped the Combat Power Test for three months — three months in which his strength clearly grew enormously...*

Noticing Heiming's grim, unsettled expression, Banasi looked puzzled.

"My Lord Heiming? Is something wrong with this human?"

Heiming snapped back to the present and turned sharply toward Banasi.

"This file is woefully incomplete. His current combat power is likely on par with a Battle Venerable who has inscribed King Grade genes."

"What?!"

Shock flashed across Banasi's face, his eyes going wide. As the one who had assembled the intelligence, he knew every entry in that file intimately. Heiming's words left him speechless.

"My Lord Heiming, he's only Third-rank. Can he truly reach that level — actually stand against a Battle Venerable with King Grade genes?"

"Are you questioning me?"

Heiming fixed him with an icy stare.

Banasi flinched and immediately bowed his head. "I would not dare."

Heiming turned back to Lu Yuan's photo, his expression glacial.

*Less than a year since his Awakening, and already this powerful... The potential is extraordinary — this human even has a shot at the Prodigy Rankings. If he's this strong now, he will undoubtedly become the gravest threat to our Blood Bone Gnolls in the years ahead. I'll need to keep a very close eye on him.*

Banasi thought for a moment, then spoke.

"My Lord, if we're willing to pay the price, we can hire members of the Prodigy Rankings to move against him. It falls within the understood rules."

"Oh? That could be an option."

Heiming mulled it over in silence, then glanced at Banasi.

"Go for now. Notify the others — have everyone keep a closer eye on this human. The Third-rank fishing operation is cancelled."

"And the Fourth-rank operation?"

"Fourth-rank?" A cold laugh. "If that human dares to show up at that level, do you think we have any reason to fear him?"

He dismissed the thought — then something else occurred to him. His eyes narrowed, and a cruel smile crept across his face.

"If the Red Maple Empire has a genius hidden away like this, there's no telling what else they might have. Let's send someone to probe their hand. Since they want to drive us out of the Land of Origin, let's bring the genius competition forward — get it started early."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Banasi departed.

Alone in the room, Heiming reflected for a moment, then produced a communicator and placed a call. A holographic figure materialized above the device — a powerfully built Gnoll.

"Father..."

Heiming spoke, relaying Lu Yuan's information in full.

Red Maple City.

A stone-hewn arena platform had been erected in an open space.

A battle was already underway atop it.

On one side stood a Gnoll with black-and-white patched fur. He wielded two longswords, moving with exceptional agility; fierce sword-light flickered and danced along the blades.

His opponent was a young human, gripping a long spear. The young man's expression was set and grim, golden light flowing in ripples across his body.

All around the platform, a crowd of human Gene Warriors had gathered — strong and weak, old and young. Every face was drawn with tension.

On the Gnoll's side of the arena stood three more Gnolls. One of them, a young-looking warrior with red fur, swept a contemptuous gaze over the surrounding humans. Flanking him were two elders, both standing with their hands clasped behind their backs, calm smiles on their faces. Their auras were fathomless.

The white-furred elder chuckled softly.

"Bopo is about to win."

The brown-furred one laughed.

"Expected as much. Bopo may only be a Battle General, but he does have one King Grade gene inscribed. Among the young Battle Generals of our Blood Bone Tribe, he ranks in the top three. That human clearly has nothing beyond Lord Grade genes — there's simply no comparison."

As the two spoke, a vicious grin flashed across Bopo's face. His eyes gleamed with a cyan light, and violent gusts of wind began swirling along his blades. Then his swords vanished — and in the next instant, they erupted into twin tempests that swept toward the young human.

Those terrifying storms carried countless fine sword-edges within them. The air screamed.

The young human's face went rigid. He roared, tightening both hands on his spear, and a blaze of golden light burst from his body. Spear-light lanced out against the twin storms.

**Boom!!**

The twin tempests swallowed the spear-light whole — then swallowed the young human along with it. The storms turned crimson.

A collective gasp tore through the watching crowd.

At that moment, a surge of powerful spiritual pressure descended. The storms instantly dispersed, revealing the young human within — drenched in blood.

Bopo's grin faded. He clicked his tongue.

"Tch. Pathetic. Couldn't even kill him."

A stern-faced human man stepped onto the arena. He fixed Bopo with a cold look. Bopo grunted and took a single step back.

At the same moment, the white-furred elder Gnoll appeared on the platform as well, standing opposite the human man, wearing a composed smile.

"Ducan. What's this — would a Battle Sovereign really stoop to fighting a junior? Where's your dignity?"

Ducan returned the Gnoll's gaze with an impassive expression, a flicker of killing intent crossing his face.

"Well done. You've made quite an impression."

He waved his hand. Two human Gene Warriors mounted the platform and carried the injured young man down, while a healing-type Gene Warrior immediately began working on his wounds.

The white-furred Gnoll watched them go without interference, stroking his beard with a pleased smile.

"Is this really the best the Red Maple can muster? A little underwhelming. How do you expect to compete with us for Ice Vein Star? You might as well hand it over now — save your next generation from being wiped out to the last."

Ducan's expression cooled. His voice was flat.

"That's none of your concern. Worry about yourselves."

The white-furred Gnoll simply smiled.

"Anyone else? Our side hasn't quite had our fill yet."

Bopo laughed and added his voice.

"Exactly — that last one was way too easy. Completely unsatisfying." He swept his gaze over the assembled humans, baring his teeth. "Is this really all the Red Maple Empire has to offer?"

At that moment, a clear, cool voice rang out.

"I'll fight you."

Ducan turned. Standing just below the arena platform were Si Tingxue, Lu Yuan, and Rebecca.

It was Si Tingxue who had spoken. Her expression was icy as she looked up at the Gnolls on the platform without another word.

The three of them had just arrived — and immediately caught the Gnolls' disparagement of the Red Maple Empire. As an Imperial Princess, the Empire was her home in every sense of the word, and the bond she felt ran deeper than that of any ordinary citizen. Hearing someone speak of it this way did not sit well with her at all.

Ducan's eyes lit up. He knew full well how capable Si Tingxue was — and he'd been at a loss as to where he'd find a Third-rank fighter strong enough to face Bopo. That problem had resolved itself.

He smiled. "You wanted more, didn't you? Then by all means — continue." He stepped down from the platform and turned toward Si Tingxue. "Ninth Princess, it's yours."

Si Tingxue gave a cool nod and stepped up.

On the platform, Bopo sized her up and smiled cruelly. He'd come across her profile in the human genius intelligence briefings. She was supposedly formidable — but Bopo had absolute confidence in himself. Formidable? That title belonged to him.

"Then let's get started. Show me how much better you are than the last one."

Si Tingxue said nothing. Icy mist began curling around her, spreading outward at a rapid pace.

Bopo noticed the unsettling quality of the mist. *Ice fog? Against me?*

He unleashed powerful hurricanes along his twin blades. The howling gales swept every tendril of mist away from his body. Si Tingxue's brow furrowed slightly. Ice lances condensed in the air — and she launched her attack.

Bopo dodged the lances while pressing forward.

Down below, Rebecca watched the arena with a faint look of worry.

"A-Yuan, Xiaoxue isn't in any trouble, is she?"

Lu Yuan watched the fight and smiled.

"She's fine. Trust her."

Rebecca nodded.

They weren't alone in their unease — many of the spectators were watching with tight, anxious expressions.

Up on the platform, ice crystal shields materialized around Si Tingxue, deflecting Bopo's storm-infused sword energy. He kept pressing forward — but the swirling mist was taking its toll. His wind storms could clear the mist immediately around him, but his overall speed was being steadily sapped. As the mist grew denser, his visibility diminished and his perception dulled. Assault Type Gene Warriors were never known for their perception, and with it now suppressed further, closing the distance to Si Tingxue grew increasingly difficult with every passing second.

Inside the mist, Si Tingxue's perception was untouched. Without even using her eyes, she could pinpoint Bopo's position with ease. Ice lances streaked toward him in an unrelenting barrage.

Bopo could do nothing but deflect them one by one, then charge toward wherever they'd been fired from.

Every time, Si Tingxue had already moved.

He finally let out a furious roar.

"Damn human! If you have any guts, stop hiding and come out!"

Lu Yuan watched and couldn't hold back a laugh.

Rebecca glanced at him, puzzled.

"A-Yuan, what's so funny?"

Both of their perception far exceeded Bopo's, so reading the situation inside the mist was effortless. Rebecca genuinely couldn't figure out what Lu Yuan found so amusing.

He grinned.

"Look at that Gnoll — raging and flustered like that. Doesn't he look just like a dog being walked on a leash?"

Rebecca blinked — then burst out laughing.

"Pfft— A-Yuan, you're terrible!"

They weren't the only ones who could read it. Several nearby Gene Warriors with stronger perception were picking up on the same picture inside the mist.

The laughter spread.

Bopo had been insufferably arrogant — cutting down one talented young fighter after another who dared challenge him. More than a few spectators had been quietly swallowing their frustration. Now that they could see how desperate and flustered he'd become, the laughter came naturally.

At that moment, Lu Yuan felt a cold stare settle on him.

He turned — and found a red-furred Gnoll warrior staring directly at him, eyes frigid with barely restrained killing intent.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and gave the Gnoll a wide, easy grin.

On the Gnoll's side of the arena, the two elder Gnolls had also turned their attention from the fight. Neither was satisfied with Bopo's performance, and both wore furrowed brows — but their attention shifted quickly to Lu Yuan.

The white-furred elder studied him and said quietly:

"He must be the Lu Yuan that Prince Heiming mentioned."

The brown-furred elder looked as well.

"Hard to believe this human is really that powerful. I heard his speed already exceeds the speed of sound — and he's only a Battle General?"

The white-furred elder gave a slight shake of his head.

"Frankly, I find it difficult to believe too. But it comes from Prince Heiming. He has no reason to deceive us."

The brown-furred elder glanced at the red-furred Gnoll and smiled.

"Prince Feiba, when the time comes — would you mind giving that human a proper test? See what he's actually made of."

Feiba withdrew his gaze from Lu Yuan and replied flatly.

"I don't know what Heiming was thinking, troubling Father Emperor over something like this. I'll test him myself shortly."

The two elders chuckled.

Though Feiba was also a Battle General, he had already reached the pinnacle of that rank. And he was Innate Lord Grade — his first Transcendent Gene had been Lord Grade, his second as well. But his third gene was already King Grade, and his fourth was King Grade too. A peak Battle General with two King Grade genes and two Lord Grade genes, equipped with a full set of King Grade Gene Armaments — his combat power far exceeded Heiming's by any measure.

Lu Yuan might well be strong. But no matter how strong, neither of the elders believed for even a moment that he could be a match for Prince Feiba.