Ethan stood in the center of the courtyard, his hands hanging loosely at his sides. To the onlookers, he seemed distracted, almost dazed, but internally, his mind was a whirlwind of tactical calculations.

"Crul," Ethan whispered in the silence of his mind. "Can I use the Void power here? Will these people recognize it?"

[Affirmative, Master. The Void energy has naturally encapsulated your true awakening; it acts as a cosmic shroud. This is why their sensors only detect a Half-step Spiritual Core. This match is a perfect tactical opportunity. Do not reveal your full strength immediately. Mid-way through the bout, simulate a breakthrough. It will reinforce the narrative that you are a combat-ascended genius without a formal technique.]

"And the nature of the energy itself?" Ethan asked.

[Users who manipulate Void elements are rare, but not unheard of in the higher realms. As long as you do not manifest the "Void Mutation"—the true devouring form—you are safe. You couldn't manifest it now even if you wanted to; currently, that power is like a developing embryo, dormant and protected within your core. It will not reach maturity until you touch the peak of the Golden Core Realm. For now, it is merely a high-density kinetic force.]

While Ethan was deep in consultation with his system, the recruit—a young man named Kael—felt a vein throb in his temple. To be ignored by a "primitive" from a lower world in front of the Princess was the ultimate insult.

"Is the scenery that interesting, outsider?!" Kael roared, his spiritual pressure exploding outward. "Show me what you're capable of, or I'll end this in a single breath!"

Ethan finally shifted his gaze back to the recruit. A thin, dangerous smile played on his lips. "I was just thinking about how to make this a fair fight. Let's see how tough the Unicorns really are."

Isabella leaned forward, her golden eyes fixed on Ethan. She didn't miss the subtle change in his aura; the air around him seemed to grow heavy, as if light itself were being pulled toward his skin.

"Begin!" the senior officer commanded.

Kael didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, his fist glowing with a brilliant white light. This was the Radiant Piercing Strike, a basic but lethal technique of the Unicorn Corps. It was designed to bypass physical armor and strike the spiritual core directly.

Ethan didn't move until the last millisecond.

"Focus 50% Void density to the right palm," Ethan directed.

[Calculation complete. Impact trajectory adjusted.]

Ethan raised a single hand. Instead of a clash of bone, there was a strange, muffled thud. The brilliant white light of Kael's fist seemed to be swallowed by Ethan's palm. The air rippled with a dark, translucent distortion, and Kael's momentum came to a dead, jarring halt.

The recruit's eyes widened. He felt as if he had punched a literal hole in the universe—a vacuum that was slowly sucking the strength from his arm.

"My turn," Ethan whispered.

Ethan pivoted with the fluidity of a shadow, launching a straight punch aimed directly at Kael's jaw. The recruit raised his guard, but Ethan's arm snapped back halfway—a brutal feint. Before Kael could recalibrate, Ethan drove his elbow upward.

A sickening crack echoed through the courtyard as the blow connected squarely with the recruit's nose. Blood sprayed across the white stone, and Kael was sent staggering backward, his vision swimming.

"If I'm being honest," Ethan said, wiping a stray drop of blood from his knuckle, "you don't seem very strong."

Incensed, Kael roared and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Each punch was backed by the weight of a Peak Spiritual Core, but Ethan moved as if the laws of physics were merely suggestions. He drifted around the strikes, his movements erratic and impossible to predict. When a blow did land, Ethan used the Void within his palms to swallow the kinetic energy, neutralizing the impact before it could reach his bones.

[Master, your synchro-rate with the Void-Embryo is reaching 12%. The exhilaration is increasing your spiritual flow. Maintain focus.]

Ethan felt a surge of pure euphoria. Back in the Dome, he was an undisputed god; there had been no one to push him, no one to test the limits of his dual-core formation with Crul. During the Crimson invasion, he hadn't been fighting—he had been slaughtering in a blind, desperate rage. Now, for the first time, he was warring.

Ethan stepped inside Kael's guard, his body low to the ground. He surged upward like a coiled spring, delivering a devastating vertical kick that caught the recruit right under the chin. Kael's teeth shattered, flying through the air as his body was launched three meters upward before slamming back down onto the marble, unconscious before he even hit the floor.

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence. The senior officer stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the lingering, dark distortion around Ethan's feet. "Void power," the leader muttered, his voice thick with newfound respect. "It seems we underestimated you, rookie."

Upon hearing those words, Isabella's eyes lit up with joy. To her untrained eye, it had simply been a one-sided thrashing, but the mention of the Void changed everything. In the higher realms, those capable of manipulating the vacuum were rare, valuable, and notoriously difficult to kill.

She looked at Ethan—her "pretty face"—and saw a weapon that could cut through the very fabric of the world.

"Well, well," Isabella whispered, her heart fluttering with a mix of political greed and personal interest. "It seems I found more than just a survivor. I found a monster."

-------------------

From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.

Body Refinement Realm 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??