Tony stepped out of the Night Pool cave slowly while cold silver mist drifted behind him like ghost smoke.

The underground darkness gradually disappeared as he climbed the ancient stone stairs leading back toward the surface of Nine Lotus Academy.

His entire body felt strangely light.

Every movement carried a floating sensation now.

Even the sound of his footsteps became nearly nonexistent.

Tony stopped briefly midway and glanced toward the nearby cave wall.

Then—

SHOOOOOK!!!

His figure blurred instantly.

Five blurry afterimages flashed across the stone passage before disappearing.

Tony himself appeared nearly twenty meters ahead.

Not even dust moved behind him.

A grin slowly appeared on his face afterward.

"Heaven Rank really deserves its reputation..." he muttered softly.

This wasn’t simply speed.

The Heavenly Mirage Steps altered rhythm and perception itself.

If ordinary enemies fought him now, they wouldn’t even know which body was real.

Still...

Tony quickly calmed himself afterward.

The movement technique consumed terrifying amounts of energy.

Using it continuously inside real combat would drain him heavily.

Most importantly...

He still mastered only the first stage.

[Level 1: Phantom of Illusion]

Far from perfection.

Tony slowly walked out of the underground forbidden region afterward.

The moment he returned to the surface—

The atmosphere of Nine Lotus Academy immediately felt completely different.

The academy had transformed overnight.

Warships hovered in the sky continuously.

Luxury martial vehicles entered through the academy gates one after another.

Countless unfamiliar Peak Grandmaster auras filled the surroundings.

The academy no longer resembled a cultivation school.

It looked like the gathering ground of monsters.

Tony narrowed his eyes slightly afterward.

Several hidden experts were already observing everyone entering and leaving the academy.

Clearly...

The Octopus Organization had tightened security everywhere because of the Golden Heir Tournament.

Meanwhile...

The martial network continued exploding with discussions regarding the tournament rules.

Particularly one detail:

[Killing during combat permitted.]

That single line turned the entire martial world restless.

Many weaker participants immediately withdrew from registration after reading the rules.

Others became even more excited.

Videos titled:

"Top 100 Monsters of Golden Heir Tournament"

"Who Can Defeat Mark Smith?"

"Can Tony Clark Become Dark Horse?"

"Demonic Sea Tribe Princess Elsa Analysis"

began flooding every martial forum continuously.

Several underground betting organizations even opened massive gambling pools regarding the final rankings.

The number one predicted candidate remained Mark Smith.

Mostly because of his terrifying public record.

But strangely...

Tony’s popularity began rising rapidly too after the Academy Arena footage spread repeatedly.

Many analysts replayed his fight against the twelve disciples countless times trying to identify his martial technique.

Yet nobody succeeded.

That mystery itself made Tony more dangerous in public eyes.

Suddenly—

DING!!!

A system notification appeared before Tony’s eyes.

[Danger Detected]

Tony’s expression immediately changed slightly.

His instincts reacted instantly.

Without hesitation—

SHOOOOOOK!!!

His body blurred sideways using Heavenly Mirage Steps instinctively.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A giant crack exploded across the ground where Tony stood previously.

Dust and stone fragments scattered violently.

Tony instantly turned sharply afterward.

A masked man stood atop the academy cliff nearby silently.

Black robes.

Silver mask.

Peak Grandmaster aura.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"You attacked me without warning?"

The masked man calmly replied, "I wanted to test something."

His voice sounded emotionless.

Tony immediately became annoyed afterward.

"Then your parents forgot to teach manners."

The masked man didn’t react.

Instead—

SHOOOOOK!!!

His figure suddenly disappeared.

Tony’s eyes sharpened instantly.

Fast!

Before Tony could fully react—

A fist already approached his face.

Tony immediately activated Heavenly Mirage Steps again.

SHOOOOOOK!!!

Five afterimages exploded outward instantly.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The masked man’s punch shattered one illusionary body directly.

But Tony’s real body already appeared behind him.

Tony kicked instantly toward the masked man’s spine.

The masked man twisted unnaturally afterward and blocked casually.

BOOOOM!!!

Both separated rapidly.

Tony’s expression slowly became serious now.

The masked man wasn’t ordinary.

He adapted too quickly to the afterimages.

Meanwhile, the masked man also stared toward Tony silently afterward.

Then suddenly—

SHOOOOOOK!!!

The masked man vanished again.

This time, dozens of attacks exploded from different angles simultaneously.

Palm strikes.

Kicks.

Finger attacks.

Tony’s eyes immediately narrowed.

This fellow was testing him deliberately.

Without hesitation—

SHOOOOOOOK!!!

Tony’s body moved across the academy cliff like black lightning.

Five blurry shadows followed behind him continuously.

The masked man attacked repeatedly.

Yet every strike landed only on illusions.

BOOOOM!!!

BOOOOM!!!

BOOOOM!!!

The cliffside exploded repeatedly from missed attacks.

Tony himself calmly moved across walls and rocks without even touching the ground fully.

The Heavenly Mirage Steps displayed terrifying mobility now.

Finally—

The masked man suddenly stopped attacking altogether.

Silence returned briefly.

Then he calmly spoke.

"Interesting."

Tony remained alert.

The masked man slowly turned around afterward.

"You really are qualified."

Tony frowned immediately.

"Qualified for what?"

But the masked man ignored the question completely.

SHOOOOOK!!!

His figure vanished instantly afterward.

Tony immediately tried sensing him.

Nothing.

Completely gone.

Tony slowly exhaled afterward while staring toward the destroyed cliffside.

"That wasn’t random..." he muttered softly. "That bastard was measuring me. But who dare to mess up with me?!"

Tony’s thoughts moved onto Da Vinci... somehow, Tony felt Da Vinci’s hand in this testing.

"Hmmhh... I didn’t use my dragon fist... otherwise, that fellow could have died here."

***

Meanwhile...

Far away atop another academy building...

The masked man quietly stood beside a woman wearing similar silver-black robes.

The woman calmly asked, "How was he?"

The masked man remained silent briefly before answering.

"If my guess is not wrong, He mastered a Heaven Rank movement technique...!"

The woman’s eyes immediately narrowed.

"So he is really hiding it?!"

The masked man slowly looked toward Tony’s distant residence afterward.

"Master’s judgment may be correct... That Tony Clark is more dangerous than he appears."

Meanwhile...

Tony himself had no idea that multiple hidden monsters were already watching him from the shadows. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

And the Golden Heir Tournament hadn’t even begun yet.

Many small families began joining hands to protect their heirs. Some began using spar matches to kill opponents. Many began buying physical shields and strong armors.