The roar of the Ice Eyed Bear shook the white landscape. Hot spittle and breath billowing through the air.

This time, the silver furred bear was far larger. From the two and a half meters Cayden had faced, it now towered over Ryu T almost four meters tall. Its sharp claws protruded more obviously, shimmering like polished knives even as its deathly blue pupils stared daggers through Ryu's body.

Yaana's grip on her grandfather's arm tightened uncontrollably. She had begged and pleaded for the old General to send Ryu some help, but she had been rejected. Maybe subconsciously, she was using her grip as a way of pay the poor old man back for his nonchalance.

No one knew exactly how to feel. They thought it was alright if Ryu cleared the first and second tier steps alone, but fighting a Third Order beast alone as a fifteen year old youth was unheard of.

As one's cultivation progressed, the difference between single realms becomes akin to Heaven and Earth. The gap between a Lower Qi Refinement expert and a Middle was equal to the gap between a Lower Pulse Opening Realm expert and a Peak! However, this wasn't a mere Lower Third Order beast, it was a Higher Third Order beast, the equivalent of a Higher Qi Refinement expert!

For perspective, this was the cultivation realm that Ryu's so-called father was in currently – a realm he had been stuck at for a very long time. Even the Death Guard Bhishak was only one tier above this level. Just what was Ryu thinking? They couldn't understand it.

King Tor's thoughts hardly needed to be explained. Even he would have to run when facing this beast, how could he even think of a possibility where the son he tossed away could defeat such a beast? If Ryu could kill this Ice Eyed Bear, didn't that mean he could kill him as well? Ridiculous.

However, it was at this point that many began to realize that something was wrong. Half a minute had passed, yet the Ice Eyed Bear had yet to attack. Since when did this violent creature have such patience? Normally, if one entered its territory, the enraged bear would chase this person to the ends of the earth.

After another moment, Ryu sighed, allowing the wooden arm of a glaive to appear in his hand. The crude weapon was displayed before everyone. In fact, it was a weapon many of them recognized, after all, it was mass produced. Many army corps gave their foot soldiers this very weapon.

Yet, something seemed different. The usually bright wood, that was indicative of a younger more fragile breed, was darkened considerably. It even emitted a slight red hue that filled the air with the stench of blood. Those around found it hard to connect what they were seeing with their memories.

'Your senses are quite sharp.' Ryu silently brandished his glaive. In the snowy peaks of the Natural Order Sect's territory, the one beast Ryu had never fought was the Ice Eyed Bear. It wasn't because he had never run into them, but rather because they turned tail and fled whenever they saw him!

This wasn't an inexplicable matter. The Ice Eyed Bear were birthed with an inferior set of Ice Pupils, it couldn't compare to the true ninth ranked Ice Pupils. Because of this, they had one more weakness that those of this Plane had no idea about… They didn't dare to face any opponent was True Heavenly Pupils!

Ryu's stance shifted slightly. Wanting to end this quickly, he immediately used the strongest stance of the glaive… Sweep. He only used one arm, and from beginning to end, the Ice Eyed Bear didn't move. It was as though it accepted its Fate for trying to defy the Heavens. This was the true curse of its bloodline.

A horizontal line seemed to cut the landscape in half. Suddenly, the projected image blurred. By the time it cleared once more, the head of the Ice Eyed Bear had fallen…

Silence pervaded the arena. Even the seemingly all-knowing Headmaster Leopold was at a loss for words. None of them could understand just what happened. In fact, even Ryu himself needed to sink deep into his thoughts to understand just why Ice Eyed Bears never retaliated against him. How could the experts here ever guess what the truth was?

One strike. Barely an ounce of effort. And yet a Higher Third Order beast fell just like that. The contrast between what happened before and now was simply too drastic. Those spectating could hardly wrap their heads around it.

Under this pressure, Amory had no choice but to step forward and continue, trying his best to ignore Ryu's display. To his credit, he maintained a level mind, his commanding abilities didn't falter at all. He smoothly stepped onto his sixth step and allowed Prince Kalmin his turn.

Having been pushed back to his second step by Cayden, Prince Kalmin could only diligently work his way back up. Somehow, Ryu's display took loads of pressure off his shoulders. Even he didn't understand why he was so relaxed. After all, if Ryu won these Coronation Games, it was his Opes family that would suffer.

This calm came as a blessing in disguise for Kalmin. His actions became clearer and more concise as he made it to his fifth step with relative ease. With this, it was Cayden's turn once more.

Unexpectedly, Cayden simply continued to climb his own steps, completing his last action to stand on his fourth step. But, to Ryu, this move was obvious. Cayden was likely saving his strength for another attack. Amory wouldn't be able to spare much help for Cayden, but, obviously, Cayden couldn't defeat a Third Order beast alone. The culmination of these two facts meant that Cayden would both receive little help and have to bring the lion's share of battle prowess. So, he needed to be well rested before he attacked Kalmin once more. Plus, according to the rules, he could only attack the same person every other round anyway. It wasn't worth wasting an action on Prince Kwan.

Jedrek's turn took place directly after Cayden. His display was just as grand, once more using a full cast of Pulse Opening Realm experts to plow his way through his steps. Not long after, he stood on the sixth.

The performances of Prince Atticus and Prince Silas took a turn this time around. Prince Atticus directly attacked Amory's seventh step. This move made the crowd wonder if Ryu had just been spewing nonsense. It was one thing to use the loophole in the attack action during the first and second tier, but doing so for the third tier was too risky! If your hidden ally ran into a Peak Third Order beast, there was no way anyone here would challenge a Lower Fourth Order beast. It wasn't worth it.

Ryu remained silent under the whispers of the crowd. If they could be so easily swayed every which way, there was no point in wasting his energy. He had accomplished his goal already. As long as no one attacked him here, he would win. His remaining three actions were enough to conquer the tenth and final step.

But, who would have expected Prince Silas' lazy visage to enter Ryu's vicinity? After Prince Atticus finished helping Amory take his seventh step, Silas landed before Ryu with a lazy gaze of interest.

"I wonder… Just what are the odds of a Peak Third Order beast appearing?

" He said amusedly.