"I will not bow to fate."
Rowan's words were spoken calmly, yet carried an unshakable certainty.
The confident smile on his face made the declaration even more infectious.
For once, Babata did not retort with any of her usual sharp or nagging remarks. Instead, she sighed softly and patted Rowan on the shoulder.
"Fine. If you insist on stirring up trouble, then go ahead. After all, you are the most gifted disciple the Meteorite Ink lineage has ever produced."
Rowan chuckled.
In the end, Babata had still been convinced by his crooked reasoning.
"All right," Rowan said. "How do we enter the arena? What procedures are required?"
He turned toward Hawk.
Hawk immediately straightened and replied respectfully, "Master, entering the arena is very simple. You only need to register your name and the name of your beast. The system will scan and verify your identity, then you deposit the required funds. After that, the system will automatically match you for combat."
"One battle lasts thirty minutes. If neither side is defeated by the end, the system evaluates post-battle damage. The side with more severe damage is declared the loser."
"There are several possible outcomes," Hawk continued patiently.
"First, defeat the opponent and remain standing. That is a win."
"Second, kill the opponent. That is also a win."
"Third, force the opponent to surrender. Once surrender is declared, the winner must immediately cease all attacks. Violating this rule results in disqualification and confiscation of the deposit."
"Fourth, if both sides remain evenly matched, an additional twenty minutes is added. In most cases, that determines the outcome. If it still ends in a stalemate, both sides are declared winners."
Hawk was clearly an experienced participant. He explained every rule in detail.
Rowan listened with growing interest.
However, he did not rush to send the Eastern Sea Azure Dragon into the arena.
Instead, he decided to observe first.
He briefly swapped places with one of his shadow clones and returned moments later.
The main passageway was hundreds of kilometers wide, stretching beyond sight. Massive beasts moved alongside dense streams of people, forming a breathtaking and chaotic flow.
Rowan released the Eastern Sea Azure Dragon.
Despite its ten-kilometer length, it still appeared small within the immense passage.
"So lively, Master!"
The Azure Dragon sounded excited, looking around with bright curiosity, like a country youth stepping into a megacity for the first time.
Hawk also summoned the Devourer Beast.
The Azure Dragon immediately began communicating with it. The Devourer Beast possessed intelligence comparable to a human in their twenties.
The only issue was that it lacked a universal speech chip, making direct verbal communication impossible.
Fortunately, cosmic beasts could communicate through unique energy fluctuations.
Rowan asked Hawk why he had not installed a universal language chip.
Hawk replied helplessly, "I did. Unfortunately, my beast turned out to be a nonstop talker. It annoyed me so much that I couldn't even cultivate properly. I removed the chip just to regain some peace."
Rowan's lips twitched.
He forced a polite smile and continued forward.
Two Universe-level beasts were impossible to ignore. Wherever they passed, both people and beasts instinctively moved aside.
The strong advanced. The weak yielded.
It was an unspoken rule ingrained into survival instincts.
As Rowan and his group moved deeper into the arena complex, the noise grew overwhelming.
Roars, cheers, metallic impacts, and energy detonations blended into a thunderous symphony.
The sound alone was enough to make Rowan's blood surge.
To be honest, few men could resist the thrill stirred by such raw, violent excitement.
At the outer perimeter of the arena, towering gates rose skyward, stretching endlessly to both sides. Massive holographic panels displayed ongoing matches in rapid succession.
The smallest wagers started at tens of millions of Black Dragon Credits.
Some reached billions or even hundreds of billions.
Those were typically Planetary or Stellar-level matches.
Universe-level matches used Qianwu Credits almost exclusively.
As for Domain Lord-level battles, only two were currently listed.
One carried a wager of one hundred sixty billion Qianwu Credits.
The other, eighty billion.
On Dragon Star, Domain Lord battles were already considered the highest tier. Anything beyond that required travel to the Qianwu Universe itself.
Even so, the Domain Lord matches were packed to capacity.
The moment they entered the arena, a vast and staggering scene unfolded before them.
The arena was a colossal circular structure with a diameter spanning several thousand kilometers. Tier upon tier of spectator stands rose endlessly into the sky.
The audience came from every corner of the universe.
Some were small-bodied with massive heads.
Others glowed with strange luminescence.
Some even bore wings or other exotic features.
They waved glowing devices and shouted the names of beasts or competitors with frenzied enthusiasm.
The arena floor was forged from a mysterious blue-metal alloy etched with intricate runes. The material radiated faint energy and was clearly designed to withstand catastrophic impacts.
Directly ahead, a Planetary-level match was underway.
Both beasts were Planetary ninth tier.
One stood only a few dozen meters tall.
The other towered at over a thousand meters.
Despite the size difference, the smaller beast moved with terrifying agility, whipping the massive serpent-like creature into the arena walls.
The impact only caused the walls to tremble slightly.
No damage at all.
On Earth, such a collision would have flattened half a city.
Thousands of massive spherical screens floated above the arena, displaying every angle of every battlefield. No matter where one sat, nothing was missed.
Countless combat platforms filled the arena.
Some spanned over one hundred kilometers.
Smaller ones measured only five or six kilometers.
Each platform had floating seating around it.
Some venues held hundreds of spectators.
Others, thousands.
Some exceeded ten thousand.
Nearly every section was full.
People cheered wildly for whichever side they had bet on.
Around the arena walls, giant screens continuously broadcast upcoming matches, beast profiles, and highlights from previous battles.
Reward announcements were particularly eye-catching.
Low-tier matches offered energy crystals, rare beast enhancement drugs, and basic weaponry.
Higher-tier battles provided increasingly lavish rewards.
Beyond wager payouts, the organizers also offered substantial bonuses.
This only fueled the crowd's passion further.
In Universe-level matches, winners could earn enormous sums, rare evolution items, and even artifacts that enhanced mental strength.
Those who achieved long winning streaks were inducted into the Arena Hall of Honor, gaining access to even greater rewards.
None of that truly interested Rowan.
He was here for one purpose.
To help the Eastern Sea Azure Dragon grow.
The bloodline evolution agent had not fully dissipated yet.
Which meant the Azure Dragon would continue to strengthen over time.
Its newly evolved cells were starving.
They would devour energy relentlessly.
"Look! A Universe ninth-tier beast fighting a Universe eighth-tier one. The total wager has reached 3.9 billion Qianwu Credits!"
A massive holographic display suddenly lit up nearby, drawing countless gazes.
A three-dimensional projection revealed two colossal beasts.
One Universe eighth tier.
One Universe ninth tier.
Instantly, excitement surged through the crowd.
"High-grade bloodlines," Babata muttered. "This one is worth watching."
Rowan nodded.
He wanted to see just how far high-bloodline beasts stood from true apex bloodlines like Starry Sky Beasts.
He led Hawk toward the venue.
Entry required a thirty Black Dragon Credit fee.
Rowan casually tossed over a single Qianwu Credit and took a prime seat.
Thousands of spectators filled the area.
Over seventy percent were Planetary-level.
About twenty percent were Stellar-level.
The remainder were Universe-level.
Soon, a piercing horn sounded.
A colossal floating platform rose from below, stretching over one hundred kilometers wide.
Without real-time holographic projection, even Stellar-level eyesight would struggle to follow the battle.
As the match began, two beasts appeared.
One was a Universe ninth-tier Riftblade Sky Tiger.
The other was a Universe third-tier Thunder Radiance Tyrant Dragon.
The Riftblade Sky Tiger stretched fifteen kilometers long.
Its body was wrapped in dark, blade-like scales that gleamed coldly under the lights.
Its limbs were powerful, its claws razor-sharp.
A pair of massive wings sprouted from its back, their edges lined with cutting blades capable of slicing space itself.
Its triangular head bore blood-red eyes filled with ferocity.
The Thunder Radiance Tyrant Dragon was even larger, nearly twenty kilometers long.
Its body resembled a golden mountain, scales flashing with arcs of lightning.
Each step shook the arena.
Its thick tail bristled with bone spikes crackling with thunder.
A massive lightning crystal was embedded between its horns, feeding it endless energy.
With a sharp explosive signal, the battle began.
The Tyrant Dragon roared and unleashed a massive lightning beam.
The power alone was enough to terrify Universe seventh or eighth-tier experts.
The Sky Tiger reacted instantly, taking to the air and dodging with ghostlike speed.
It dove like a meteor, claws flashing.
Lightning shields flared.
Tails whipped.
Energy weapons deployed.
Laser cannons, plasma blades, thunder bursts.
The clash shook the arena.
Rowan watched in silence.
His eyes burned with focus.
This was the battlefield where the Eastern Sea Azure Dragon would soon walk.
And when it did, it would not merely survive.
It would dominate.