CHAPTER 294: IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE

The planet Blue Pole was about the same size as Earth, but it was a world where vast deep-blue polar caps — maybe because of some unique mineral makeup or an atmospheric phenomenon — dominated the landscape.

It was the 51st planet of the universe, and it was also under human rule. That day, countless human visitors from different parts of the universe were arriving.

The capital had an old-fashioned feel to it, with tall, imposing buildings. After landing in a designated area, everyone headed toward the city gates. The place was obviously packed with humans coming and going, looking like ants moving through the streets.

Their flying ship stopped, and the moment they stepped off, countless eyes turned instantly toward them — or rather, toward Irana. After all, she was the most important young woman among humans in the entire universe.

A moment later, the stares shifted to Darian, now filled with provocation and jealousy. It was obvious he wasn’t from the same planet as Irana. Who the hell was he to be walking next to her?

Those hostile looks left the other young people in the group breathless. It was their first time leaving their home planet for something this big. Most had only one or two rings and were pretty inexperienced. But they were the smartest and most well-studied people Irana knew, which was why she’d chosen them to come.

Irana and her group got in line for the entrance. Darian scanned the crowd: the newcomers here had anywhere from one to six rings, and their ages went up to fifty. Power didn’t matter in this tournament, so everyone was technically on equal footing.

"You’re Darian?!" a loud voice suddenly rang out not long after they’d joined the line.

Darian turned and saw a tall man with sharp green eyes staring at him. "And if I am?" he replied.

"You’re the bastard the demons are hunting? Hahaha, pretty gutsy of you to show up here."

The man practically shouted it, as if he wanted the whole place to hear.

Irana snorted coldly. "Get lost, clown. The bounty the demons put on him was officially put on hold more than three days ago. Are you clueless, or are you deliberately looking for trouble?"

It was true. Before, the demons had put up a generous bounty for capturing Darian while they figured out a better way to hunt him. But now they’d officially announced the bounty was paused.

"Who cares about that? Besides the demons, everyone knows the Wube family wants his head too," the man shot back, making everyone in line swallow hard.

Irana’s irritation flared. He was clearly trying to paint a target on Darian’s back. Still, on this planet, no one would dare do anything — otherwise the tournament organizers would get dragged into it. If something that serious happened, they could even lose the Supreme Artifact.

The place fell silent, but the stares aimed at Darian didn’t let up. After almost an hour, they reached the gate and gave their names and home planets.

When Darian said "Earth" to the guard, Niara instantly noticed something change in him, even though his face and his energy stayed exactly the same.

"Where are the Blue Pole planet organizers? I need to speak to them about this tournament," Irana said seriously, clearly planning to request extra security for Darian.

The guard shook his head. "The organizers of this tournament aren’t from Blue Pole. You know that originally, this tournament wasn’t supposed to happen for another five years, right? It was pushed forward because a sponsor recently made a deal and poured in a ton of resources. That’s how the Supreme Artifact was completed early, and the tournament could be held sooner."

"What sponsor?" Irana asked, surprised and serious.

The guard stayed silent.

"...Wube family, right?" Darian said flatly.

The guard turned to him with a serious look. He didn’t answer, but his expression shifted just enough to confirm it.

They were the sponsor, but they’d made the deal with this planet long before the issues with Darian started. It was probably planned to benefit their heir as much as possible.

The fact that Darian had been taken to planet Aethel wasn’t a secret. And the chance that he’d be brought to this tournament wouldn’t have been hard for the Wube family to guess...

Irana let out a heavy sigh, unsure of what to do. Without meaning to, she’d brought Darian into a dangerous place. But when she looked into his eyes, all she saw was calm and indifference — as if nothing in the world was a problem — and maybe even a hint of excitement that hadn’t been there before.

"Let’s go," he said calmly, and Irana nodded.

They entered the busy city without a fuss, making their way through the streets to a central building where everyone would receive their tournament registration mark.

On the way, Irana explained everything in detail: the tournament would have two phases and would last only a single day. The first phase would have thousands competing at the same time, but it would last no more than an hour and take place in an open courtyard.

It would be a direct elimination, where the Supreme Artifact would give a random challenge. The first hundred to complete it would move on.

The second phase would take place in the arena, focused on individual knowledge contests, where competitors would debate and challenge each other. It wouldn’t be a test from the artifact itself, but the artifact would act as the "judge."

Overall, it wasn’t a long or flashy tournament, but the competition was fierce. The rewards and the level of technique granted would be greater the higher one placed.

Irana, who had been to this city before, took everyone around to check out some restaurants and kill time. She used showing Niara around as an excuse, but the truth was that the two of them liked to eat and got along well.

...

The day flew by. Around midnight, their marks vibrated, letting them know the registrations were closed and the tournament would be starting soon.

They headed to the city center, where a teleportation array had been built just for the tournament. Once they showed their marks, they were instantly transported to the site of the first stage.

When they arrived, they found themselves in the middle of a huge crowd of humans gathered in a vast open green plain.

Up above, a circular object shone with a silvery light, like a full moon lighting the night sky back on Earth.

That, however, was the Supreme Artifact, already active and linked to everyone carrying a mark.

People waited patiently as more and more participants arrived every second, packing the place even tighter.

Until, after about an hour... suddenly, Darian and Niara both turned in the same direction. Irana noticed the movement, puzzled, and when she followed their gaze, she saw in the distance a pair of red eyes that had just shown up.

"Vanh Wube," she murmured, taking a deep breath. But... something was off. Very off.

He was staring at Darian from afar, but in his eyes there was this strange confusion — like he didn’t know who Darian was and was trying to figure it out. Suddenly, Irana’s eyes widened as she realized.

’After being defeated and humiliated like that at the Earth rookie tournament, he formed a heart demon!’ she sent Darian a mental message.

’The Wube family must’ve been forced to deal with it, or he’d never be able to advance again. Erasing recent memories isn’t impossible with high-level artifacts; that way, the heart demon slowly heals over time.’

Darian gave a small nod, but a cruel smile crept across his lips.

Irana swallowed hard when she saw that. She knew Darian wasn’t the type to be cruel without reason, so she turned her attention back to Vanh’s distant gaze... and soon picked up on something else.

’He...’

’Yeah,’ Darian replied before she could finish, ’he doesn’t have the memories, but instinctively, the moment he got here, he turned straight toward me like I was shining and impossible to ignore. Now, he doesn’t know why, but he feels an endless hatred for me. And knowing his twisted mind, he’s gonna do everything he can to mess with me, even without a reason.’

"Hehehe... this is gonna be fun," Niara said, clearly excited.