Graham didn’t know either, let alone the onlooking Yaksha people. After a moment, the Yaksha erupted in cheers—clearly, Mason Carter had won. There was no helping it; to reach the Spirit Guidance Realm at such a young age was something no peer could possibly contend with—the gap was simply too great. Without a doubt, Mason Carter had just set a new record as the youngest to enter the Spirit Guidance Realm.

　　The voices praising genius were endless. No one cared who the opponent was; Mason Carter had become so powerful that all eyes were fixed solely on him!

　　The Yaksha didn’t care what kind of battle it was. As long as their prince displayed his might, it was a festival for these martial people.

　　Heavenly Demon Divine Art, peerless under the heavens!

　　Graham was also suspicious. The Mahoraga prince slowly pushed open the door. As his hand gently touched it, the door drifted apart like cotton, leaving only one person in the courtyard.

　　The Yaksha prince Mason Carter, the most outstanding genius in a hundred years, a prodigy with the hope of surpassing Yemo Tian.

　　Graham sighed. They were all young people brimming with fighting spirit, but Mason Carter was like a mountain pressing down on the heads of all the young warriors of the Bala clan. He truly wished someone could break this blockade, even if only to give them a bit of confidence.

　　But… strength can extinguish all miracles.

　　Spirit Guidance Realm, while he himself was only at the early stage of Spirit Burst. This gap—when would he ever catch up? He had always prided himself as the Mahoraga genius, destined to surpass the Yaksha in this generation and become the number one warrior clan among the Eight Divisions. But now, it seemed there was no hope at all.

　　In that instant, Graham’s mood plummeted. The strength of an opponent can stimulate one’s fighting spirit, but when the opponent is so strong that there’s no hope, it can lead to utter despair.

　　Even the Mahoraga prince, famed for his persistence, was no exception.

　　Graham was about to say hello and leave. He had lost, but he couldn’t disgrace the Mahoraga. Today, he finally realized there’s always someone better out there. But when his gaze met Mason Carter’s, he found that Mason Carter was… staring blankly!

　　This was not the expression of a victor!

　　It wasn’t confusion, nor joy, nor calm, nor was it a sense of entitlement—it was bewilderment!

　　Could it be?

　　Mason Carter stood motionless, like a stone statue.

　　“Father, why won’t you let me compete with others?”

　　“For your peers, you are too strong. That’s not a good thing for them.”

　　“Father, isn’t the gap what motivates us to practice martial arts?”

　　“Heh, when your opponent is so strong that there’s no hope at all, people will fall into despair. I don’t want the excellent foundation of the Eight Divisions to disappear.”

　　Mason Carter half understood, half didn’t—until one opponent became utterly dejected, and then he understood. So he had always restrained himself.

　　But what was this? That person just now was clearly even younger than him, yet he himself had lost. The Night Demon Heavenly Wolf Sword had been completely seen through. Even if he didn’t trust himself, he had never doubted the invincibility of the Night Demon Heavenly Wolf Sword—yet the opponent had dodged it with ease!

　　The look in his opponent’s eyes was deeply etched into his soul. In those eyes, there seemed to be a trace of… pity. It was a gaze from above, just like how he had looked at his own opponents in the past.

　　And the move that defeated him was actually the Yaksha Wind-Cutting Sword, a basic sword technique that even Yaksha children on the street could perform… the simplest of sword foundations.

　　Graham’s fighting spirit, which had nearly hit rock bottom, was now burning fiercely. Mason Carter’s body was trembling, his hand clenched tightly—yet it wasn’t confidence, but confusion!

　　He had lost!

　　The number one young expert of the Bala Continent’s new generation had actually lost, and he didn’t even understand how!

　　That’s right, that’s right—there is no one truly invincible in this world. Since he isn’t unbeatable, then there’s hope for me too. The reason I’m not strong enough is because I haven’t worked hard enough. As the Mahoraga prince, how could I shamefully run away?

　　Graham left. He didn’t need to ask; he already knew the result.

　　A shocking piece of news exploded from the Yaksha royal city, shaking the entire Bala world: in a single day, the Mahoraga prince Graham and the Yaksha prince Mason Carter were both defeated by a mysterious young man!

　　“Is that for real? You’ve got to be kidding. Graham, that kid, sure, he just entered Spirit Burst and goes around picking fights. But Mason Carter, that monster, is a Spirit Guidance expert, and with the Heavenly Demon Art, he has no rivals among the younger generation!”

　　“Must be a rumor. Beating a Spirit Guidance expert without using spiritual power? What, did one of the Eight Great Kings show up?”

　　The story grew more and more fantastical. Some said it was the disciple of the Lonely War God coming into the world to train, some said it was a master cultivated by the combined efforts of the Eight Great Kings, and others claimed this person wasn’t even human, but a terrifying demon…

　　But after this battle, Mason Carter disappeared, and the most troublemaking of the Eight Divisions, Graham, shut himself away…

　　A grand caravan was heading to the Kinnara tribe to attend the annual Song and Dance Carnival. The Kinnara and Gandharva carnivals were the Bala people’s favorites—there were the most beautiful girls, the most enchanting music, fine wine and fresh flowers, it was simply paradise. At the same time, the ten-day-long festival attracted merchants from all over the Bala Continent.

　　Emily Owen took all the money he’d earned over the past two years to pay for the journey, but it still wasn’t enough. The caravan, seeing this child looking malnourished, decided to bring him along anyway.