First Glimpse of Sharpness

The Black Octopus thrashed its tentacles, madly lashing toward Guen.

But Guen turned into a blur, directly slipping past the tentacles and threading through them all. The Meteor Light Blade left its sheath as if a hundred blade shadows converged into one, and with a single slash, a bright blade light flared.

The Black Octopus sensed the threat and let out an unintelligible roar, its tentacles whipping faster, but Guen's blade was quicker still!

The blade cut into the hard shell on the Black Octopus's back, paused briefly, then sank entirely into its back. He withdrew the blade and left behind a massive wound that spewed torrents of stinking, bloody blood like a fountain.

Flame Slash, second form: Liaohuo!

Now that he was at the Planetary level, it finally showed its power.

The first form of Flame Slash, Huoguang, could unleash a powerful force wave. Flame Slash itself was a blade technique tailored to the Meteor Light Blade, and the force wave from this move was equally devastating. If Guen had fire-attributed Force, one could even see sparks flying and ignite the enemy's flesh.

But Guen was lightning-attributed, so he couldn't fully bring out all the traits of Flame Slash's first form.

The second form, Liaohuo.

To sum it up: speed. Stirring the flames without taking a scratch relied entirely on being fast.

But when speed reached a certain level, even a pebble could kill an enemy.

With this move, Guen could easily wound the Black Octopus.

But that was all—just a wound.

Beasts had always possessed stronger bodies than humans; their shells and hides were natural armor. The same injury that might be fatal to a human might not even count as a serious wound for a beast.

This was even truer for a Planetary-level Beast.

Aside from being a bit flustered, the Black Octopus was still vigorous and fierce. It pulled back from Guen while slamming its tentacles hard against the ground, cracking it with each blow.

"Killing a Planetary-level Beast really isn't easy," Guen frowned.

Half the Black Octopus's body was stained red with blood, but it showed no sign of being heavily injured.

So this was a Force Weapon.

On the other side, Cal stared intently at Guen. His blade technique was exquisite, but a major reason he could wound the Black Octopus in one strike was that his weapon was a Force Weapon.

With a Force Weapon, it was like an adult holding a sharp knife.

Without a Force Weapon, any weapon was just a toy. Cal carried several weapons on her back, all Diamond Level, but in battles against Planetary-level foes, they were easily damaged. Most Planetary-level warriors prepared a large stock of Diamond Level weapons as backups.

The craving for Force Weapons wasn't limited to Cal alone.

But no one dared to covet Guen's Force Weapon. No joke—historically, anyone who tried to seize a Trial Grounds participant's weapon, no matter how far away, had been blasted to dust from afar by the Trial Grounds.

Cal could only console herself that at least members of the Forest Goddess Temple had a reliable way to obtain Force Weapons, even if it was difficult. For other Factions, it was nearly impossible.

"Cal, come help me!"

Just then, an anxious cry for help came from the melee.

Cal looked over. A Planetary-level warrior from the Goddess Temple was in dire straits.

There were five Planetary-level Beasts in total. Counting Guen and Cal, that made eight people!

But eight against five didn't mean they had the upper hand. It took them a long, drawn-out fight just to wound the beasts, while the beasts' greater stamina and vitality meant they usually had the advantage in one-on-one combat. Two people against one beast was the most suitable arrangement, avoiding mortal danger.

But the one calling for help was a Planetary Level 2 fighting a beast alone, so naturally, he couldn't hold out.

Cal flew over immediately: "Guen, that beast is yours to handle."

Guen nodded, not bothering to check if Cal saw it, and flew straight toward the Black Octopus. The Black Octopus shrieked in alarm, its tentacles flailing, sending gusts howling through the air. Even stone walls and floors shattered into rubble and cracks at the slightest touch.

"No technique at all, and you think you can stop me?"

Guen sneered inwardly, turning into a blur that pierced through the tentacle defense, reaching the Black Octopus's side. He swung his blade—another Flame Slash, second form, Liaohuo.

The blade light flashed bright. A gleam passed by, and another wound appeared on the Black Octopus.

"Sss—"

The Black Octopus roared in frustration but could only retreat step by step.

"Where did that guy come from? He's incredible!"

The two Planetary-level fighters from the Imperial Council, who had been tailing them, stared wide-eyed.

Guen wasn't just fast with his blade; his speed was also astonishing. The moment he struck, he stunned the two of them.

They didn't dare try to take advantage just because Guen was a new face.

"Let's go, over there."

The two quickly spotted a beast being held off by a Goddess Temple warrior and rushed over: "Haha, Brother Roger, we're here to help you!"

Roger's face showed shock and anger. Help? They were clearly here to steal the beast. This was a merit—not only could it be exchanged for rewards within one's own Faction, but also for things in the Armory Camp that their Faction didn't have.

"Roger, you deal with that octopus. Leave this to me." A firm, confident voice rang out.

Roger looked over and saw it was Guen. He frowned, then glanced at the Black Octopus, which was already on its last legs, barely able to move. He quickly said, "Fine, Guen. I'll watch the corpse for you. This is yours."

"Don't worry, I won't forget your contribution," Guen replied, turning into a blur as he brushed past Roger and lunged straight at the two from the Imperial Council.

"You're asking for it!"

The two Imperial Council members, seeing Guen charge at them as if they were nothing, couldn't help but get angry.

Though they were wary of Guen, they were no pushovers either—one was a Planetary Level 2, the other Planetary Level 1. Even without Force weapons, they were still human.

Unlike beasts that had raw power but lacked technique, as humans, they believed they wouldn't be subdued as easily as those beasts by Guen's weapon advantage.

Guen swung his blade, sending a burst of energy flying toward them.

The two from the Imperial Council raised their weapons to block. A single energy burst was easily shattered, but they sensed something was off.

The strong recoil from the energy blast made them panic.

As Fighters, as warriors, the most obvious gap was in Force Multiplier.

At lower levels, a one-times difference in Force Multiplier could create a crushing advantage. At the Planetary level, a one- or two-times gap only determined who was stronger or weaker, not an outright stomp. But what shocked the two Imperial Council members was that Guen's Force Multiplier had already exceeded fifteen times. Theirs were only twelve and fourteen times respectively.

And Guen had a Force weapon—they didn't!

They had assumed that as a newcomer, his Force Multiplier would be lower than theirs, and that their years of honed technique would give them an edge. But now, that advantage was gone.

"Scram!"

Guen's blade flashed repeatedly, occasionally mixed with a lightning-fast Liaohuo strike that slipped through their defenses and sent them flying.

"Boom!"

The immense force was greatly weakened by the Flame God Armor, but they were still knocked back several strikes and crashed into the ground.

"Argh! How could he defeat us?!"

The two Imperial Council members were furious. They went on full alert, utterly focused, but deep down, a trace of suppressed terror lingered.

The highest realm present, the strongest, was Cal. Yet even Cal's attacks were reduced by ninety percent by the Flame God Armor. They couldn't beat her, but they weren't afraid of her either.

But Guen's strike was only reduced by seventy-five percent. One hit, and they were already injured.

If they kept fighting, Guen might kill them by vibrating through the Flame God Armor.

"Let's go!"

The two exchanged glances, immediately flew low to the ground, and fled in a panic.

But it was useless. Guen wasn't just fast with his blade—he was faster in pursuit. Blades flashed, and they were blasted away again and again. Each time they were knocked back, their injuries worsened.

"Don't get too cocky! Do you know who my uncle is? The former emperor of the Aoyu Empire, already at Planetary Level 5! Even with the Flame God Armor, he can kill you!"

"Don't push us too far, or you won't come out of this unscathed either!"

Guen sneered with disdain.

There was an agreement among the major Factions: unless interfering with another faction's operations, they were not to kill each other. Especially above Planetary Level 5, high-level Planetarys couldn't easily kill lower-level ones. This was to prevent high-level Planetarys from slaughtering the weak.

After all, the Flame God Armor was only an A5 Grade Battle Suit. Against attacks above Planetary Level 5, its protective effect dropped sharply.

But below Planetary Level 5, the Flame God Armor was a life-saving treasure. Even Cal, at Planetary Level 4, had ninety percent of her power nullified. Among lower-level Planetarys, there were fewer restrictions. As long as no high-level Planetarys were around, they dared to cause trouble. The Flame God Armor was their backbone.

But unfortunately, they ran into Guen!

The penetration of a Second-order Force Weapon couldn't be fully negated by the Flame God Armor either.

Guen had no goodwill toward the Imperial Council to begin with. The Starlight Forest incident—where they tried to kill Guen and the others without cause—and the matter with Setti had soured Guen's view of this so-called Royal Family and Imperial Council.

So Guen genuinely wanted to kill.

Killing a Planetary Level 1 human earned one hundred contribution points.

Planetary Level 2 was two hundred points.

Killing a Planetary-level Beast only gave three points. Even with material contributions, it was barely over ten.

The reason was the Flame God Armor. With it, humans might not defeat beasts, but they weren't as easy to kill either. Low-level Planetary attacks were often reduced by ninety-nine percent, making it hard to kill each other. High-levels couldn't act, hence the generous rewards.

But Guen saw a chance to kill them. One hundred contribution points meant killing several Planetary-level Beasts. There weren't that many beasts for him to hunt, so Guen was genuinely tempted.