Once Max entered the sword gate, the scenery around him changed instantly.
The grand square of the Violet Star Palace disappeared as if it had never existed. The sounds of thousands of people, the pressure of gathered geniuses, and the towering gates all dissolved into nothingness.
A violent current of spatial energy swept past him, making the world blur for a brief moment before everything stabilized again.
When Max opened his eyes fully, he found himself standing alone in a vast arena.
It was an enormous circular battlefield, so wide that even large-scale wars could have been fought within it. The ground beneath his feet was forged from dark metallic stone covered in countless intersecting sword marks.
Some were shallow scratches, while others were deep clefts that radiated lingering sharpness. Each scar on the arena floor seemed to tell the story of battles fought long ago.
