The referee watched the scene unfold without any reaction.
At this moment, Sarra had merely fallen into an illusion.
She hadn’t been completely incapacitated, nor had Nina made any direct attacks or thrown her out of the ring.
Only when Sarra lost her combat ability entirely, or when Nina forced her out of the arena, would the referee announce the result.
For now, he simply waited silently for the outcome.
Meanwhile, Nina had vanished entirely.
A little girl being held in her mother’s arms looked around, her eyes filled with confusion.
Why was she here?
Was her mother… not dead?
Sarra remembered this day vividly. It was the day her talent as a bloodline warrior was discovered.
She had been branded a disaster.
Under pressure from the villagers, they had decided she must be executed.
Her father had remained silent, while her mother had comforted her, saying everything would be alright.
Then, the moment came.
The villagers broke down the door of her home and rushed inside.
Her parents stood in front of her, shielding her…
This was a memory Sarra could never forget and never wished to revisit.
It was on this very day…
However, what happened next was completely unexpected to Sarra.
Her talent had been exposed, catching the attention of a powerful figure from Dragonscale Bank who happened to be passing by.
That figure intended to take Sarra away from the village to train as a bloodline warrior.
Her parents were also invited to come along and take care of her.
When the villagers learned of this, they quickly changed their tune, flocking to her home with enthusiastic greetings.
They nearly broke down the door again, but this time it was out of eagerness to celebrate.
Sarra was now hailed as the hope of the village.
But Sarra, the very center of this unfolding drama, knew the truth.
It was all a lie.
None of this could be real.
In reality, her parents had been killed, and Sarra herself was about to be executed.
It was only then that the Dragonscale Bank figure had arrived in time to save her.
This was the reality she had lived through.
How could she forget?
And yet, even knowing this was an illusion, Sarra couldn’t bring herself to shatter it.
This kind of illusion offered a glimpse into a deeply buried hope within her heart.
Even knowing it wasn’t real, so what?
Had she never fantasized about such a scenario?
If only that person from Dragonscale Bank had come a little earlier… perhaps none of it would have happened.
Perhaps…
Sarra had lost all will to resist.
In the real world, Nina had approached Sarra.
With one hand, she grabbed Sarra and gently placed her outside the ring.
“I declare Nina the winner!” the referee announced.
Nina glanced down at Sarra, now lying outside the ring, and addressed the crowd:
“Let her rest. She deserves a good sleep.”
The trial ended.
Nina emerged as the first-place winner.
At this point, the Trial of Gods reached its conclusion.
The final phase was to summon Bear Prime, informing it that the trial at Westwind Pass had concluded, and requesting it to guide the champion to their ultimate destination.
As Cyre began the ritual, Daniel once again sensed a familiar presence.
It was the same powerful aura he had felt before—briefly appearing during Nina’s previous summoning of the yellow snowstorm.
Now, as Cyre’s ceremony unfolded, that presence returned.
This made Daniel highly alert.
Could their objective be the same as his?
Were they also after Bear Prime?
Daniel had no intention of giving up this opportunity.
No matter who it was, if they dared to make a move, Daniel would show no mercy.
However, as events progressed, Daniel’s expression grew increasingly strange.
Above the altar, an ethereal figure began to take shape.
It was the image of a giant bear.
“Great Bear Prime, the trial’s results have been decided!” Cyre declared reverently.
The enormous bear silhouette extended its paw toward the ground.
A massive white paw appeared in the arena, almost covering half the space.
From the paw emanated three circles of light.
“Now, the top three contestants of the trial, step into the circles to be guided into the god realm,” Cyre instructed.
Sarra, now fully awake, was the first to step forward.
Nina, however, remained motionless, glancing toward the audience where Daniel was seated, as if seeking his opinion.
Daniel’s expression was complex as he stared at the colossal bear figure above the arena.
It looked impressive enough—a towering figure, a massive paw—everything about it gave the illusion of a divine presence.
But Daniel, who had been meticulously scanning the surroundings with his mind power, knew better.
There was no powerful entity here.
Everything was an elaborate ruse crafted by the mysterious figure he had detected earlier.
That “mysterious figure,” in truth, was no more than a tier-master, a far cry from a tier-god.
What a show they had put on…
Daniel had originally assumed Bear Prime’s consciousness would at least carry the status of a tier-god.
Now it seemed… the farce could come to an end.
“Your Excellency, do you see? That is Bear Prime’s divine consciousness! Look at its towering form and massive paw…” Ronan eagerly explained from the side.
“Yes, I see,” Daniel replied nonchalantly, rising to his feet.
“By the way, Your Excellency, Bear Prime will escort your descendants to the god realm. You might want to—”
Before Ronan could finish his sentence, Daniel vanished.
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He reappeared in midair, his voice ringing out:
“Why bother with this charade? Show your true form.” ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The giant bear seemed enraged and retracted its paw as if preparing to strike Daniel.
“Your Excellency, you…” Ronan gasped in shock.
He could hardly believe it—Daniel’s target was Bear Prime itself!
While Daniel had not made any overt moves against Dragonscale Bank, this was different.
Bear Prime was the very faith of Winterrealm!
Was Daniel being too reckless?
The spectators, still in the arena to await the distribution of essence mist—a customary post-trial blessing—were equally stunned.
Someone was actually challenging Bear Prime?
Was this person tired of living?
That was Bear Prime, for heaven’s sake!
All eyes turned to the sky.
A lone figure stood defiantly against the massive bear projection.
And then… that figure attacked!
What?!
The bold challenger was actually making a move against Bear Prime?
What kind of lunatic was this?!
What happened next would be etched into their memories forever.
A massive paw descended from the sky, aiming to crush Daniel.
“Hmph, such theatrics!” Daniel sneered.
Mana surged around him, and a radiant beam of light shot forward, piercing through the descending paw and dissolving it.
“Now, are you ready to talk properly?” Daniel asked, his voice calm as he launched another strike.
In the blink of an eye, the bear projection vanished.
What replaced it was a small, clawing cub.
Before it could react, Daniel grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, rendering it utterly powerless.
Daniel was as surprised as anyone.
He had expected Bear Prime’s consciousness.
Instead, all this fuss had been over… a cub?
Holding the cub by its neck, Daniel disappeared from view.
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
What had just happened?
All they had seen was Bear Prime’s paw being countered by a beam of light.
Then both the mysterious figure and Bear Prime vanished.
Even the other top contestants destined for the god realm were left bewildered.
As for Nina…
She had made her escape the moment Daniel vanished.
For her, Daniel’s actions meant one thing: the goal was achieved.
Nina had never doubted Daniel’s strength.
Bear Prime? It was nothing he couldn’t handle.
Her curiosity now lay elsewhere—what exactly was Bear Prime?
She couldn’t wait to find out!