Dimensional Descent

Derrion froze, his fist still hanging out in a punching position, but its momentum having already been stripped away. 

He looked down at his chest, his body quivering once before he fell to his knees. 

He coughed, blood flowing from his mouth like a waterfall as his radiant armor dimmed and lost its corporeal air. And then, it vanished entirely, his consciousness wavering under the intense pain. 

Shockingly enough, though, this pain didn't come from his wound. Leonel's Spear Force was so concentrated, so fast… so Swift, that it made it feel as though he was poked through by a needle. He probably wouldn't even notice the problem until several more seconds passed by. 

No, what was truly the intense pain was that he had lost in a single strike to someone who was three Tiers beneath him in strength. This wasn't something he could even fathom. 

He had always thought that the only reason the Cataclysm Generation could suppress him was because they were older and of higher Tiers than him. He thought that there was no one who could match him at the same level, even them. 

But today, that dream came crashing down, harshly. 

The worst part was that Leonel's steps still hadn't paused. He took Aina's hand, not sparing Derrion another glance as he crossed the second checkpoint, his spear having already disappeared as though he had regretted taking it out in the first place. 

Derrion could be considered a decent talent. However, he was still someone that Leonel felt that he could have defeated back when he was in Tier 9 of the Fifth Dimension so long as he went all out and used his Scarlet Star Force. At best, he was firmly within the standard of Higher Class Demon and wasn't nearly enough for the current Leonel to take with any sort of seriousness. 

The more he saw of these "geniuses" that could suppress the rest of the Void Palace, the more Leonel realized just how large the gap between the Human Domain and that Zone was. 

Leonel and Aina approached the third checkpoint, but by this point, no one dared to casually block their way, even the so-called guards didn't make a move, their eyes still locked onto the sorry state of Derrion. If Derrion couldn't last even a single move, what good were their numbers, exactly? They would just find themselves crushed. 

If someone was going to stop Leonel, it would have to be those VIP guests that had already entered the core region, or maybe even one of the participants for today's events. If they got injured, who was going to help them? Their Faction would help a bit, but it would still mostly rely on themselves. 

The most dangerous state any disciple could be in when within these mountains was injured. The Void Palace was a dog eat dog world, how could they put themselves at risk in a battle they knew for certain that they would lose. 

It was then that Leonel crossed the third checkpoint and the individuals of the core region who had heard the commotion finally came to make their presences known. It had been too long since anyone had dared to stir up a commotion in a region controlled by the Cataclysm Generation. Never had they expected that today of all days, something like this would actually occur. 

However, when they laid eyes on who it was, most tilted their heads in confusion. 

Who the hell was this? Tier 1 of the Sixth Dimension? Was this a newly admitted disciple? 

That wasn't impossible. The most recent recruitment selection wasn't too long ago and those freshmen should have just been allowed in. it wouldn't be unreasonable for one of them to have broken through into the Sixth Dimension in that time. Some of the older participants of the Selection often spent years suppressing themselves in wait for the God Path breakthrough method. 

They looked toward one another to see if there was any among them who had a definitive answer, but all they saw was mutual confusion. It seemed that none of them were aware. 

The crowd, though, was well aware of the faces of these individuals. 

Chrisdal Tarius of the Tarius family. He was in Tier 5 and he was an extremely talented individual of the Bow Constellation Alliance. If Nazag was considered to be in a tier all to his own in terms of archery talent, then Chrisdal shared the tier right below along with a few others. 

Quonor Pyius of the Pyius family. She was in Tier 6, and if Simona was considered to be in a tier all to her own, Quonor could also be considered to be a tier right below. 

Wymlan Taurus of the Taurus family. He was by far the tallest of them all and standing at a height that approached two and a half meters tall. His arms and legs were impossibly thick and he had an odd pair of shin guards that were actually a pair of radiant brass battle axes. 

… 

No matter who you looked at in this group, each one was more powerful and prestigious than the last, and though they weren't a part of the Cataclysm Generation, they weren't too far away. Although none of the generations following the Cataclysm Generation could match up to them, it was well known that the generations that came after were far more powerful on average than the usual batches of students the Void Palace received. 

This was in part due to Earth's rise, but it was also said that the Human Domain sensed the danger it was in and was reacting appropriately… Maybe very soon, there would be a generation which even the Cataclysm Generation couldn't hold a candle to. 

Among these individuals, though, there was one who didn't come after the Cataclysm Generation, but instead came before. 

Even though everyone was excited by what was fresh and new, this was only in regard to the holistic picture. There were still timeless experts of generations gone by that stood at the same peak at the Cataclysm Generation, and this individual was the only one among the entire group that recognized Leonel. 

He stood tall, his arms crossed about his chest, watching as Leonel approached with a cold indifference in his eye. 

This individual was none other than Valor Morales, Sixth Nova. 

"So you've returned," he said coldly.