Ning’s eyes were wide and blank as he looked at the pillar that grew in front of him. Could he even call it a pillar anymore?

He looked up, but… he couldn’t see where the top ended.

The audiences were quiet as well as all of them had their heads pointed toward the sky to see what had just appeared on the stage.

The people inside the hall couldn’t even see anything, as only the stage was covered in what they saw. So, instead, they ran to the door to see what had happened.

The important figures that were in the tower acted like children as they all ran to the window to see it as well. Even from the tower, they had to look up as it was all too tall.

The young man that had been tossed into the air saw the curvature of the world. He saw the roundness of the planet, he saw the cloud hovering just a few hundred meters above him.

He saw birds that flew below him and then he saw the continent, so very tiny.

He could see the Black Mountain range from where he was and it looked so very close to his eyes. Then… he started falling.

The sudden realization that he was falling caught onto him when the weightlessness started again. He looked down and saw the messed up stage that had been pushed up. It was over to the side.

He was going to fall without landing on it.

The Emperor stood by the window and caught a glimpse of the young man falling. He turned to his son, the Crown prince, and gestured above.

“Go grab him before he dies,” he said.

“Yes, Father,” the crown prince nodded and stepped outside of the tower’s window. Then, the very next moment, Wind Essence gathered around him and he flew into the air, flying toward the young man that was falling down.

As he flew, he looked at what had formed.

A massive earth pillar that went as high as two kilometers. Even its diameter was so wide that most Earth Essence Soul realm experts would fail to create something of that width that would go up just 10 meters.

How in the hell had a young man created something like this?

Ning’s dizziness hadn’t faded away, but the shock sure as hell helped a lot. His mind felt clear, just as clear as it was confused.

The pillar he had created had needed to be wide. He had to finish the match as soon as he could, so he had decided to use a large area.

He had an inkling that his sword was made from a mountain from a very long time ago. So, he had thought it was time to test it. To test it, he had used as much Essence as he could in a short amount of time and poured it all into the sword.

The sword, surprisingly, had accepted it all and still wanted more. Ning didn’t give it more as that would take some time. Instead, he simply used the Essence he poured into it.

He created the pillar.

However, what had formed could not be considered a pillar at all. To be more accurate, it was a lone cliff that stood tall and strong. It reached the sky, going high up, something Ning hadn’t expected at all.

No one could have expected it at all.

The others were shocked, but Ning was shocked even more so. After all, he was the only one here that knew the sword could accept a lot more Essence if he took the time to pour it all.

Ning saw something green flash in the air and turned his head to the side. When he did, he saw a middle-aged man slowly drift down with his opponent.

When they landed, Ning saw his opponent had completely passed out from fear.

Multiple referees quickly came onto the stage —or rather what remained of it and took the young man from the man’s arms. In doing so, many of them bowed to him, calling him ‘your highness’ as they did so.

One referee came to Ning as well and grabbed him before heaving him up while he was focused on the royalty. He was being taken away quickly when the person spoke.

“Stop!” he commanded, stopping the referee in his track.

“Is something wrong, your Highness?” the referee asked.

“Don’t forget the young man’s sword,” the man said as he walked to the sword that was halfway into the ground and pulled on it.

He paused for a moment and pulled it even more. In the end, he used every bit of energy in his body to pull the sword, but it wouldn’t budge.

The man stopped and looked at the massive thing in front of him. “Well… I suppose that makes sense,” he said.

Ning moved away from the referee and went next to the man. He leaned and pulled out the sword easily, giving the man somewhat of a surprise.

“That’s quite the sword you have,” the man said.

Ning nodded. “I’m afraid it is not for sale though,” he said.

The man couldn’t help but laugh. “Would you refuse me if I asked to buy that sword?” he asked.

Ning frowned for a moment. “I do not know who you may be, sir, but I will definitely refuse,” he said.

“What if I told you I am Damien Black?” the man asked.

“Damien…” Ning paused for a second before his eyes narrowed. “Are you… the Crown prince?”

“That is me,” the man said.𝓞𝒱𝓵xt.𝒸𝒪𝚖

“I see. It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness,” Ning said. “But even if the Emperor were to ask to purchase this sword, I would still refuse.”

“Ohh… quite bodacious, aren’t you?” the crown prince chuckled. “Fine, go on. You need medical attention quickly.”

“Thank you,” Ning said and bowed, before turning around and walking away.

The Crown prince watched him get taken away and shook his head before flying back toward the tower.