The Summit wasn't all tea and cryptic quotes. On the second day, the "Youth Exchange" began. In the Divine Realm, "Exchange" is a polite word for "Hitting each other until someone’s cultivation breaks."

  The arena was a floating platform above the Heaven-Steady Sovereign's private lake. I was sitting in the Lu Empire's VIP area, trying to blend into the furniture, when a boy from the Bloodfang Empire (Rank 8, Abyssal Continent) stepped into the center.

  His name was Huo Tuo. He was twelve, twice my age, and he smelled like iron and old meat. His aura was at the Peak of the Golden Core, fueled by a "Berserker Blood" technique.

  "I don't care about 'Neon Pink' light shows!" Huo Tuo roared, pointing his jagged bone-saber at me. "I heard the Lu Seventh Prince is a 'Monster.' But to me, he looks like a pampered doll. If you’re a man, Lu Xian, come down here and show me how a 'Shark' fights when the water is red!"

  The hall went silent. My siblings all reached for their weapons simultaneously. Tianhao’s hand was already on his sword hilt, his eyes turning purple with a "Brother-Protection" rage.

  "Wait," I said, putting a hand on Tianhao’s arm.

  I didn't want to fight. I really, really didn't. But I saw the way Huo Tuo was looking at my mother and the Consorts—with a sneer of "weakness." In my past life, if a competitor insulted my team, I didn't just beat them; I made sure they could never work in the industry again.

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  "He wants a 'Shark'?" I whispered. "Fine. I’ll show him that a Shark doesn't bark. It just eats."

  I didn't jump into the arena. I simply stood up and took a step forward.

  My Space Root hummed.

  One step. I was still in the VIP box.

  Two steps. I was standing ten feet in front of Huo Tuo.

  I hadn't moved through the air; I had simply "deleted" the distance between us.

  Huo Tuo’s eyes widened. He swung his bone-saber with enough force to split a mountain. "DIE!"

  I didn't block. I didn't dodge. I just reached out and grabbed the blade with two fingers.

  The sound of shattering bone echoed through the arena. The True Immortal Grade saber exploded into dust. Huo Tuo’s arm snapped back from the kinetic recoil, and before he could even scream, I tapped him on the forehead with a single finger.

  "Total Liquidation," I whispered.

  I didn't kill him. I just used my Origin Dao to "reset" his meridians to zero for exactly one hour. His Golden Core went dark. His aura vanished. He fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, unable to even lift his head.

  "The shark has eaten," I said, looking around the arena. "Is there anyone else who wants to skip lunch?"

  The Abyssal Continent princes looked at me with pure, unadulterated hatred. I had just made a permanent enemy of the Bloodfang Empire. But as I looked at the Tian Crown Prince, I saw him nodding.

  "Efficient," Xuanye said.

  I had my first enemy. And surprisingly, I had just gained the respect of a "Friend" I never wanted.