“Bastard! Come let this Big Sister hit you!”

Flames danced wildly in the atmosphere as they rushed forth and seemed to chase a single man who was drifting around with a smile on his face.

“Ah! How can you bully a poor man like me? What am I supposed to do now?” Amused words left the man’s mouth. Although the flames that surged towards him seemed to have the intent to kill, he knew that wasn’t the case.

“You! You dare tease me?! Let me show you who’s boss around here!” A woman yelled towards the man who was dodging her blows without a care in the world. Her face was flushed from the anger that was evident in her words.

But all she was met with was light laughter from the man who her anger was directed at.

Damien smiled in amusement as he thought about how the situation ended up like this.

A few minutes ago, the crystals that decorated the area around him had shattered and the geniuses within them had left their confines.

Unlike Damien, they were somehow able to keep their clothes on their bodies when they left their crystals. Or maybe, they had put clothes on before breaking out. Either way, there weren’t any awkward situations that arose from such a problem.

Instead, once the geniuses regained their bearings, they gazed at each other warily, taking note of the people who had been able to survive the hellish trial they had just gone through.

And of the 100 people in the area, one was a strikingly beautiful girl with flaming red hair and eyes. She looked down upon the others like a proud swan, not caring about their various gazes.

That is…until she saw a certain man among them. That man, although they had only met twice, had taken advantage of her both times in different ways..

When she saw his face, her mind drifted back to the words her best friend and sister had told her before they entered this realm. The meaning of the term ‘little brother’ that the man in front of her had used at that time.

And when she remembered that meaning, her face became bright red. In the next instant, she attacked.

And that was how the current situation came about. One chasing and the other fleeing in what looked like a comedic skit due to Damien’s actions but was actually a somewhat fierce confrontation.

Or to be more accurate, a probe.

‘This man isn’t simple at all. Luna was correct as always.’ Feng Qing’er marveled inwardly as she watched the fleeting movements of the man named Damien.

Lunaria Snow had already told her that the man was a strong contender even for them, but she hadn’t been able to believe it. She was the Fire Phoenix Queen, ranked top 3 on the 3000 Beast Record. There was no way for her to easily accept that a random stranger was able to match her prowess.

But the scene in front of her forced her to see reality. She wasn’t going all out, she wasn’t even near the peak of her abilities, especially with the previous strengthening she had received. But still, even the level of strength she was currently using was enough to easily deal with anyone below the top 5 on the rankings.

That was the difference between them and the rest. That was the chasm that caused a reality where the top 5 positions rarely ever changed from the ones who occupied them.

Heaving a light sigh, she decided to stop her actions. There was no point in the ongoing situation anyway. The fierce reddish-orange flames that danced through the surroundings slowly withdrew back into Feng Qing’er’s body.

Damien stopped fleeing as well. From start to finish he hadn’t made a move to attack. He figured that the best way to deal with this probe was to not show anything at all, while also making it clear that he couldn’t be easily messed with.

Even if his teleportation was suppressed, he could still move freely within a 1-meter radius. And coupled with his lighting, speed wasn’t something just anyone could compete with him in.

‘This girl truly deserves her spot in the rankings.’

Although it was just a sea of flames like he had witnessed many times before, Damien wasn’t an ordinary person. He could see clearly the amount of fine control Feng Qing’er had over her mana, as well as the purity of the mana itself.

Her mana was as dense as a mountain. The sheer physical force of her flames was enough to crush some of the weaker geniuses who entered the Primordial Undying Realm with them, not to mention the heat.

And with her being a Fire Phoenix, her flames couldn’t be as simple as just that much. He knew how many cards she must’ve been hiding. That was also part of the reason he didn’t pay much attention to her attacks and chose to have fun with it instead.

Well, that was like 20% of the reason. As for the rest…

‘Teasing people with personalities like hers has always been oddly satisfying.’

Damien smiled lightly at the thought. He really couldn’t help himself. He knew that his actions could be considered flirting by others, but he didn’t care.

In a place like the 3000 Beast Mountain Range, he could act as he pleased. There was no such thing as making lasting relationships like love in this place, since he would be leaving at some point and the people here didn’t have that ability.

So, he teased and enjoyed to his heart’s content. Especially with a woman like Feng Qing’er, he knew he didn’t have to worry about any burdensome feelings. Her relationship with that Lunaria Snow seemed to be proof of that.

0)ᴠʟ ‘What am I thinking about at such a time?’

The suddenness of the situation ended up slightly lowering his sense of urgency, but he came back to his senses soon enough.

Ignoring the geniuses who were looking at him with a slight bit of fear now, he surveilled the surroundings.

‘Hmm, nothing seems to have changed on the surface, but space isn’t the same as it used to be.’

“Oi, rank 3, did you feel it?” Damien asked.

“Are you talking to me?” Feng Qing’er responded in displeasure.

“Duh, is there anyone else here that’s ranked 3rd?”

“Hmph! I don’t like your tone at all.”

“And do you think you have the ability to fix it?” Damien replied with a grin.

Feng Qing’er gritted her teeth. ‘If it wasn’t for mother’s suggestion, I would’ve burned you to ashes already!’

But outwardly, she just snorted once more. “I’ve felt it clearly. The flames that swirl through the underground have already cooled, and they seem to be flowing more naturally towards the west. If I’m not mistaken, the exit to this area should be there.”

Damien raised his brow. He had come to the same conclusion, but her method seemed to be much more interesting than his.

“Right. But with the way we’ve all been gathered here, I’m sure everyone needs to pass through for the next trial to start. So, rank 3, why don’t you rally up the small fry and bring them with us?”

“Hmph, you don’t have to tell me. I was already planning on doing that.”

Luckily, the other geniuses weren’t able to hear their conversation, as they were generally farther away. Otherwise, there might’ve been a commotion at Damien’s way of addressing them.

Soon enough, the crowd of 100 moved towards the west and arrived at the point of space Damien had noticed earlier.

Just like his previous assessment, space here was flexible. Unlike the solid space that had infested the rest of the area, the point in front of them was malleable, almost as if it was urging them to walk through it.

And walk through it they did. There was no hesitation in the steps of even the weakest among them.

The light of spatial fluctuations covered the group, and when they opened their eyes once more, they were in a completely new environment.

Gone was the barren wasteland and blistering heat of before. It was replaced by mountains and plains in an area that seemed far too large to fit inside the world tree.

“The Primordial Undying Tree is truly magnificent.”

A plethora of amazed gasps rang out. The area surrounding them spanned farther than the eye could see. And unlike the trick of perception that made the previous area seem endless, this one was truly so.

“It seems like this next trial will be something big,” Damien commented with a serious expression.

There was no way the trial would be simple if they were given so much space. Especially if they took the precious trial as precedent.

“Right. If the last trial was a test of will you weed out the ones who don’t even deserve to step foot into this realm, this will be the first true trial that we have to surpass.” Feng Qing’er added.

With such a large area, it was impossible for the trial to just begin without them being informed of its contents. But, the one administering the trials was a tree. How would it even inform them?

But they weren’t left guessing for long.

In front of each and every one of the geniuses, a light blue holographic window emerged from the air.

The Primordial Undying Tree is gazing at those who entered its realm.