None of them expected that someone else was listening to their conversation.
Hearing everything, Nyris grew even more curious about bloodlines. His excitement kept rising.
The children didn't know much. Only the young master with the fire bloodline possessed more detailed information.
"Even the royal family currently ruling the Kingdom of Silvonia only possesses the Fire Lion bloodline, which is just one tier above ours. The Space-Time bloodline is several levels higher than what the royal family has," said the young master.
The children couldn't hide their shock. Even Nyris was slightly surprised.
"Then why would such a high-level bloodline exist on this planet?" the skinny boy asked.
"I once had the chance to enter the forbidden section of the royal library. There was a book about bloodlines that I accidentally found. Even I don't know why a bloodline of that level exists on this planet," said the young master.
"But the book mentioned that species possessing the Space-Time bloodline often have upper limits reaching galactic, even trans-dimensional levels. They aren't that rare among such realms," he added.
"Galactic?… Trans-dimensional?… What levels are those?" the children asked.
"I only know that above the Star level is the Constellation level. Beyond that, I don't know anything. Even within my clan, only the clan leader is allowed to learn those things. It's strictly controlled," the young master replied.
Nyris silently absorbed all the information. The threshold even the royal family couldn't touch caught his attention.
Because of his excitement, a bit of his energy leaked out.
Alex, the young master who was meditating, immediately noticed it.
"Who's there? Come out!" he shouted, instantly entering a battle stance.
Moments later, the same voice echoed in all the children's ears.
"I really need to learn how to control my emotions. I was noticed by a bunch of brats," Nyris said with a sigh as he stepped out from a fold in space.
One of the children retorted, "Who are you calling a brat? Are you that old?"
Alex sensed danger the moment Nyris appeared. He shot the boy a look as if he were an idiot.
He couldn't even measure the strength of the person standing before him.
With cautious restraint, Alex asked, "Who are you? Why were you hiding in space? Why were you listening to us?"
"I was just passing by and noticed this tree. When I got closer, I overheard your conversation. Anyway, it's not important. That tree is useless to me—you can keep it. Instead, tell me everything about that hidden space. That interests me more," Nyris said.
Carefully, Alex replied, "I really don't know more than what I just said."
Nyris noticed Alex's caution. Smart kid. He must have sensed the threat from me. He's trying to bargain with information, he thought.
"Really? That's all? You expect me to believe that?" Nyris said as he released a fraction of his aura.
Instantly, the surrounding space distorted under Nyris's aura, and all of them began trembling uncontrollably.
After all, Nyris had already stepped onto the Dao. Even those at the Spark Stage, let alone the Radiance Stage, would feel overwhelming danger.
Alex felt the crushing pressure and fear rising within him, though he didn't show it on his face. "Wait, wait! I'll talk! But I truly don't know more. Not everyone can enter the royal family's forbidden library. That information was something I stumbled upon by chance. It mentioned that the area was at the very center—that's all. Even that book didn't say anything more," he blurted out in one breath, terrified of death.
Seeing the expression on the boy's face, Nyris believed he wasn't lying and withdrew his aura.
"If you'd said that from the start, we wouldn't have gone through this. Well then, enjoy yourselves. I'm leaving," Nyris said, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared.
The child who had spoken foolishly earlier asked fearfully, "Alex, do you know him? He was terrifying. I've never seen someone like that among the children of the great houses."
"I don't know him. But the rankings will be announced three hours before the exam ends. Then we'll find out who he is," Alex replied.
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Meanwhile, Nyris was running down the mountain.
"I didn't expect to learn about bloodlines here. What a surprise. I wonder what I need to do to enter that hidden space."
As soon as the thought formed, an idea surfaced. The trial area was divided according to the Five Elements: Water (Ice) – Fire – Wind (Wood) – Earth – Metal. If each region had a General-class beast, then perhaps the key was related to these mountains, he thought.
So far, the beasts in the Water and Fire regions had been killed. He quickly headed toward the nearest region. Six hours had passed since the exam began, and only six remained. He needed to move fast. He had no idea what awaited him in the hidden space.
Ten minutes later, he reached the Earth region. Thanks to his perception, he could sense auras across a wide area. After five minutes of searching, he realized the General of this region had already been slain.
Along the way, he killed two more Commander-level beasts. Hearing two people talking, he swiftly moved toward them.
Because he was concealed within space, no one could sense him. He soon arrived beside the speakers.
They were the young masters of one of the Three Great Houses, the Konst family, possessors of the Earth bloodline.
"Nois, we've killed the General of this region and most of the Commander-level beasts. We can move to another region now," said Guis.
"We need to hurry. The closest region from here is the Fire region. Let's head there," Nois replied.
When Nyris sensed their levels, he was surprised. Another at the Spark Stage and one at the peak of the Radiance Stage. These great families really have people everywhere, he thought.
He quickly continued on his way. Their conversation didn't interest him, and so far, no one seemed to be investigating the hidden area.
That surprised him even more. Had they given up after a brief search? Or was it simply too well hidden to find?
"Thinking about this now is pointless. I should move quickly to the Wind region," he muttered.
The Earth region consisted mostly of open grasslands, allowing him to move at great speed.
Soon, he arrived at the Wind region.
It was filled with dense, towering trees, the shortest at least eighteen to twenty meters tall.
Violent winds raged constantly, and occasionally massive tornadoes could be seen forming.
Keeping his perception and speed at their peak, Nyris moved through the Wind region.
After about ten minutes of searching, he saw five or six tornadoes colliding. As some were destroyed by the clash, new ones quickly formed in their place.
From the very center of these tornadoes, he sensed the aura of a General-level beast.
If he hadn't been fully focused, the beast's aura would have been concealed by the overwhelming winds.
"No wonder they couldn't find the hidden region. Even if they understood the mystery of the five mountains, it would mean nothing if they couldn't find the Wind General," he thought.
He moved swiftly toward the tornado zone.
"Up close, they're truly terrifying. The good thing about my space ability is that tornadoes at this level can't affect other layers of space."
"In short, this wall is meaningless to me."
In an instant, he teleported to the center.
The sight there was breathtaking.
A massive tree stood in the middle, and perched atop it was a radiant green bird.
All the tornadoes danced around them as if in worship.
"My combat strength still isn't enough to kill a General in one strike."
"Even if I have the advantage, I must be careful."
With a single teleport, he appeared at the top of the tree. The bird sensed something wrong and took a guarded stance.
That surprised Nyris. It was the first time a beast had sensed him, even faintly.
Without hesitation, he infused his dagger with space energy and teleported behind the bird's head.
Just before the blade touched its neck, a wind barrier formed around it.
The strike landed on the barrier. Though most of the damage was absorbed, a few of the bird's feathers were shredded.
A shrill cry echoed.
The bird was stunned. A mere human had pierced its feathers.
Instantly enraged, it began forming multiple tornadoes around itself.
With a mocking smile, Nyris slipped back into space and attacked again from beneath the bird.
Another slash.
The bird couldn't comprehend it. Not only could it barely sense the human, but that human could break through its defenses.
Nyris vanished into space again, and this continued for several minutes.
Just as he prepared to strike once more, a wind domain formed around him.
With a piercing screech, the entire area became a territory dominated by wind.
Nyris hadn't expected the bird to use a domain.
Then he smiled coldly.
"What made you think this tiny domain could stop me?"
He slipped into space once more, grabbed a tree branch from the ground, and infused it with space energy.
The branch had limits to how much power it could endure, but it would suffice.
He hurled it straight at the bird's eye and simultaneously teleported behind it.
As the bird blocked the branch, a chill ran down its neck.
With a massive explosion, a deep gash tore across the back of its head.
At the same instant, Nyris teleported again, infused his dagger with space power, and stabbed it into the bird's eye.
The space energy within the dagger went berserk.
With a thunderous blast, the bird's head exploded.
Its lifeless body fell to the ground.
Nyris stepped out of space and began searching for its core.
Before long, he found it—a palm-sized green gem resembling an emerald.
The only difference was that inside it, wind seemed to swirl endlessly.