Tan Guang refused to believe the hype. They were all in the Cocoon Stage, all top geniuses from their respective countries. What made Yarlin so much stronger than everyone else?

The key was that everyone had only heard about Yarlin’s power. Aside from Yarlin’s teammates from Ancient An Country, no one else had ever seen him in action.

What if it was all just talk?

What if his reputation was undeserved?

Tan Guang decided to test the goods for himself.

Tan Guang leaped onto the Golden Arena where Yarlin stood.

Then, just as quickly, he jumped back down.

Tan Guang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard... He had tested Yarlin’s strength. It was the real deal!

At that moment, the surrounding audience, and even the contestants and referees on the field, all drew in a sharp breath, staring at Yarlin in astonishment.

The handsome, blond-haired man had a cold expression. He carried a sword on his back, like a Swordsman from ancient times.

But what shocked everyone was the faint yellow evolutionary glow emanating from his body!

Yarlin, a Butterfly Stage lifeform who had evolved three times!

In an instant, everyone—whether they were present at the venue or watching the live broadcast on their screens—erupted into an uproar.

"How old is he?! He’s already at the Butterfly Stage?"

"According to his file, he’s only twenty-one, right? A twenty-one-year-old at the Butterfly Stage... I’ve really seen something today."

"He’s too strong!"

"What’s the point of fighting anymore? Just give him the championship already."

One had to remember, everyone participating in the Six-Nation Supreme Academy Exchange Tournament were all current students of the six great academies.

In all the years the tournament had been held, it had always been a clash between geniuses at the Cocoon Stage. A contestant at the Butterfly Stage had never appeared before.

It could only be said that this Yarlin’s talent was too immense, shattering a three-hundred-year-old tournament record.

In the stands, in the section where Mr. Jin of Island University was seated, sat many influential figures, almost all of whom were Saint-level Overlords.

Principal Zhou Wenshan of Dongli University was also sitting in this area.

However, the few people sitting in the center seats weren’t Saint-level Overlords, but merely Butterfly Stage evolvers. It was clear that Mr. Jin and the other Saint-level Overlords were quite polite to them.

These few people were not from the six nations, but were from the Ministry of Education, Lin Hua Country, the Sovereign Country.

Every time the Six-Nation Supreme Academy Exchange Tournament was held, they would attend in person to observe, taking note of promising new talents worthy of being nurtured by the Sovereign Country and reporting them back.

In the five hundred years since the end of the Evolution War, the six nations had produced quite a few talents. Many of them received invitations from the Sovereign Country after showing promise and ended up joining it.

Now, upon seeing Yarlin reveal his Butterfly Stage strength, these men began to whisper amongst themselves.

"A twenty-one-year-old at the Butterfly Stage would be considered a top-tier genius even in Lin Hua Country."

"Indeed. I didn’t expect to encounter such a promising talent this year. If we report this and he’s recruited into the Sovereign Country, it’ll be a great credit to us."

"Looks like we’ve already found the champion of this exchange tournament."

"So certain? What about that kid named Su Ze? Aren’t you going to watch him a bit more?"

"Su Ze? No matter how strong he is, he’s only at the Cocoon Stage. His only advantage is his young age, and his potential hasn’t fully emerged yet. He’s destined to be just a supporting character in this tournament. Let’s look forward to his performance in the next one, two years from now."

"Should we report Su Ze this time as well?"

"It depends on his performance. If he can take second place in the individual competition, we can report him along with Yarlin as a little extra."

As they spoke, the officials from the Ministry of Education, Lin Hua Country jotted down notes in their little notebooks. In just a few words, they had already designated Su Ze as a mere "add-on" to Yarlin.

The competition on the arenas continued.

Tan Guang had challenged Yarlin, only to be scared off by his yellow evolutionary glow. Now, he was meekly waiting for the ten-minute protection periods for Li Yongguan and Park Su-joo to end.

He had completely given up on challenging Yarlin. If he still wanted to compete for a top-three spot, his only option was to seize one of the other two Golden Arenas.

It wasn’t just him; after seeing the yellow evolutionary glow on Yarlin, the seeded contestants from the other countries also gave up any thought of challenging him.

In their minds, Yarlin had already secured a top-three position. He was even the preordained champion.

Su Ze, for his part, was also quite surprised.

’I didn’t expect Yarlin to actually be a Butterfly Stage expert.’

’If he were at the Cocoon Stage, I’m confident no one would be stronger than me. But the Butterfly Stage... that’s a different story.’

’This is a bit troublesome.’

Su Ze frowned. He was determined to win first place in the individual competition; it was his hope for obtaining a Tier Four S-Class extract.

But fighting above his level against a powerful Butterfly Stage opponent... he couldn’t say he was completely confident.

Su Ze did have the ability to fight opponents of a higher stage. The Tiger King General had also been at the Butterfly Stage, and Su Ze had killed him. Although Mr. Ya had helped set up a trap beforehand, Su Ze had been the one to deal all the damage.

Moreover, the Tiger King General wasn’t considered a weakling among those at the Butterfly Stage.

Furthermore, against someone at the Peak of Butterfly Transformation Stage like Mrs. Yun, Su Ze could now trade blows for a while, lasting at least a few minutes before being defeated.

’So, whether I can beat Yarlin depends on where his strength lies within the Butterfly Stage.’

’If he just entered the Butterfly Stage, I can still wipe the floor with him. But if he’s at the Peak of Butterfly Transformation, then I’ll be the one getting wiped.’

’No matter how much of a genius Yarlin is, it’s highly unlikely he’s reached the Peak of Butterfly Transformation Stage at his age... It’s still worth a try.’

Therefore, although he felt the pressure, Su Ze wasn’t panicking. ’Whether I can win or not... I’ll only know after we fight.’

’It’s not like I have no chance of winning.’

Soon, Su Ze’s ten-minute protection period ended, and others could challenge him again.

However, it seemed no one wanted to challenge him.

Su Ze was already prepared. Didn’t they have allies from the Great Desert Kingdom? He gestured to a contestant from the Great Desert Kingdom below, inviting his friendly neighbor to come up and challenge him.

As soon as his friendly neighbor stepped onto the arena, Su Ze conceded with crisp efficiency.

Then, he chose his next target.

In truth, there were only ten arenas in total. Without exception, all those with the strength to compete for the top ten were the seeded contestants from each country.

Su Ze suddenly realized he didn’t have many targets.

Of the seven silver arenas, Gu Yue’er held one, his allies from the Great Desert Kingdom held two (one of which Su Ze had just given up), Ancient An Country held two, and Mu Country and Peninsula Country each held one.

As for the contestants from Luofan Country, not a single one was to be seen.

After all, their number one and number two seeds had both been eliminated by Su Ze. The rest of them simply didn’t have the strength to compete for the top ten.

It was worth noting that although Mu Country only occupied one silver arena, their number one seed, Tan Guang, was still waiting to challenge for a Golden Arena.

"You’re next!" Su Ze targeted the number two seed from Muguo Royal Academy standing on a silver arena.

’Now that I’ve cleared out the little lizards from Luofan Country, isn’t it time to deal with the little trash from Mu Country?’

Su Ze flew onto the arena and challenged the contestant from Mu Country.

A few seconds later, the number two seed from Mu Country was sent flying off the arena, vomiting blood. It was a gruesome sight; he coughed up a mess of organ fragments—heart, lungs, and liver, as if regurgitating the ingredients for a classic offal dish.

"So strong!"

"Incredible!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The crowd glanced at Su Ze repeatedly, amazed at his strength. However, with Yarlin having already revealed his Butterfly Stage power, they weren’t quite as shocked by Su Ze’s display.

Down below, Tan Guang, who was still waiting out the clock, saw his country’s number two seed get crippled by Su Ze, and rage flared within him.

’This is going too far!’

’We’re both at the Cocoon Stage, don’t think I’m afraid of you!’

’I couldn’t handle Yarlin, but you think I can’t handle you?’

And so, Tan Guang fixed his gaze on Su Ze. He decided he wouldn’t rush to challenge for a Golden Arena. First, he would take care of Su Ze!

’Yarlin revealed he’s at the Butterfly Stage, so I, Tan Guang, accept that. I admit I don’t have the power to fight above my stage. But you, Su Ze, are just a Cocoon Stage fighter through and through. What makes you stronger than me?’

’I, Tan Guang, am not convinced!’

However, Tan Guang could only wait ten minutes for Su Ze’s protection period to end before he could challenge him.

Meanwhile, over at the Golden Arenas, as soon as the protection periods ended, challengers came for Park Su-joo and Li Yongguan.

A contestant from Ancient An Country challenged Li Yongguan. As it turned out, the cool and handsome Li Yongguan’s strength was quite reliable, and he successfully defended his arena.

The number one seed from the Great Desert Kingdom challenged Park Su-joo. But this time, Park Su-joo actually resorted to stalling tactics. She refused to clash head-on, simply wasting time and dodging.

From the looks of it, she intended to run out the full ten minutes.

Wasting more time was indeed a good choice. Stalling for ten minutes meant one less challenge to face, significantly reducing the pressure of defending the arena.

And so, while the fight on Park Su-joo’s side had yet to conclude, the protection period on Su Ze’s end was already over.

Tan Guang, the number one seed from Mu Country, immediately challenged Su Ze.

"We’re both at the Cocoon Stage! I’m not afraid of you!" Tan Guang roared, unleashing his trump card. A deafening BANG erupted from his rear, like a cannon blast. Amidst a cloud of thick smoke, a stream of corrosive liquid shot toward Su Ze.

"What the fuck, what kind of disgusting skill is this!" Su Ze cursed out loud.

Poisonous smoke and venom, both extremely corrosive. It had to be said, while the skill seemed a bit undignified, its power was immense.

It was the "Acid Cannon" skill of a Tier Three S-Class Cannon-Firing Armor!

Considering the venom and smoke were ejected from Tan Guang’s "rear," Su Ze wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

He immediately used his "Gravity Dust Sand" skill, coating his body with a layer of "Repulsive Force." Both the venom and the smoke had physical substance, so they could be affected by Gravity Dust Sand.

The venom and smoke were all stopped about a meter away from Su Ze, isolated and sent back in the opposite direction.

Faced with such a disgusting stink bug-like skill, Su Ze lost all interest in fighting Tan Guang any longer and decided to end it quickly.

Su Ze used his "Eye of Truth" skill. Perception Tentacles shot out from his eyes, condensing into two straight lines.

Then, he channeled his "Thunder God Body" and unleashed it at maximum power.

SWISH!

Two beams of electricity shot from Su Ze’s eyes, striking Tan Guang with pinpoint accuracy.

AH!

Tan Guang screamed as his body went limp, falling to the ground and twitching uncontrollably.

Su Ze zapped him for a full minute. Estimating that he was about eighty percent cooked, he finally withdrew his gaze and stopped the discharge.

With that, there were no longer any contestants from Luofan Academy or Muguo Royal Academy left on any of the ten arenas.