Chapter 347: A Stunning Debut (Part 2)

After two matches, the results before everyone were like a dream, leaving them in disbelief.
Now, there was no noise or chaos in the arena—only silence, an eerie silence that made it hard to breathe.
All eyes were fixed on Rod and the group of mysterious people behind him.
If the first match was due to Kulok’s lack of experience, allowing his opponent to take the lead, everyone still had some reason to comfort themselves. After all, everyone knew Kulok was considered the greatest genius in their clan—though now, because of Lucy, he could only be called the second greatest.
But this “second greatest” was no ordinary person. At such a young age, he had reached the divine level and quickly advanced to the middle stage of that level. He was only twenty-two years old. Such achievements were rare even throughout the Dark Source.
In fact, for a time, the Black Phoenix clan saw him and Miss Lucy as the two key forces to revitalize the clan! And indeed, his progress brought comfort to everyone.
So naturally, he and the miss were always treated with utmost care, nurtured as if they were precious treasures. As a result, they focused solely on cultivation and never ventured out for real battles, aside from some internal clan competitions.
But what were those competitions anyway? After all, they weren’t battles of life and death. So it was understandable if they lost to an experienced opponent in a moment of panic. Everyone made excuses for themselves and for Kulok.
But the second match was different. Lonnie was one of the strongest members of the clan, with years of experience from battles both within and outside the clan. Yet even he lost.
And he lost to a young guy just at the beginning of the divine level—this was hard to accept. Suddenly, the group behind Rod became the focus, hiding many secrets.
Especially Nightingale, who fought alongside Viski and Thayer. Who was this woman standing at the front? What kind of strength did she possess?
In this era of strict hierarchy, one’s position could reveal a lot—at least it showed their status within the group. Indeed, Viski, Thayer, and Nightingale were stronger than those behind them, as everyone could feel.

“Is there anyone else who wants to challenge?” After a long silence, even Doron seemed surprised. His gaze toward Rod carried a hint of depth—truly a man who hid his true abilities well. During his time at the Source of Darkness, he had experienced many things, with danger never ceasing. But why hadn’t he used such a team before? Now that he has, could there be some plan behind it? Probably not. Then there’s only one possibility: this team has just finished training. This makes things even more puzzling. Is ending training at this moment really just to confront the main battle faction?

“I’ll do it!” Just when everyone thought no one else would volunteer to take such a risky challenge, another middle-aged man stepped forward, possessing peak mid-level divine strength. His eyes held a sense of weight as he looked at Rod.

“Can you handle it?” With a slight smile, Rod turned to Nightingale.

“No problem!” Nightingale’s reply was equally decisive.

“Then go!” With a sigh, Rod appeared unusually relaxed. It turned out that having comrades by one’s side made things so much easier. He trusted Nightingale fully, as well as all the comrades behind him. Even if members like Kambi, who were at the sacred level, stepped forward claiming confidence, Rod would let them fight too. This was trust forged in life and death, a bond developed after relying on them to fight their way through battles.

“Nightingale, a member of the Reaper Scythe Squad!” Upon arriving in the open area, Nightingale gave a brief introduction. Perhaps his assassin background had made him develop this habit—always liking to tell his targets their name and code before they died, leaving them with regret. He had maintained this habit to this day.

Hearing this, Rod recalled several years ago, in the forest outside the imperial capital, when he was on the brink of death. Hadn’t that person introduced themselves in the same way? A faint, bitter smile appeared on his lips—such memories always stirred deep emotions.

“Rup!” The man who stepped forward to challenge was slightly stunned after hearing Nightingale’s brief introduction before responding.

The crowd began to buzz. Rup, a key member of the Black Phoenix clan and reportedly one of the future elders! No one expected him to take action! And his opponent was the woman who had been by Rod’s side, someone everyone was looking forward to seeing fight.

With just a beginner-level divine power, did she really think she could defeat Rup with that? It seemed almost unbelievable—after all, Rup was the chosen candidate by the Elders Council, a position not attainable by ordinary people, but only by those with great strength, extensive experience, and outstanding achievements and contributions.

It was said that within less than a year of reaching the intermediate level of divinity, Rup was ambushed during a mission and killed three beginner-level divine warriors and one intermediate-level divine warrior in one strike, thus firmly establishing his status within the clan.

With him in the fight, did that woman still have any chance? Some who disliked Rod looked at him with a sense of schadenfreude, as if saying, “If you lose this match, how will you still be able to use the Netherhell Fire?”

Rod paid no attention to this at all, seemingly oblivious to those gazes, and smiled at Nightingale with full confidence.

As the battle began, true to his status as an elite of the Black Phoenix Clan, he was incredibly powerful. Under his fierce attacks, Nightingale was forced to retreat step by step, facing constant danger. His powerful techniques left Nightingale struggling to defend herself, with no energy left for any counterattacks.

Frowning slightly, Rod knew that Nightingale might be facing the toughest battle of her life. Yet, if she could win, she might be able to use this battle as momentum to reach the peak of beginner-level divinity and even advance to the intermediate level. So this match was crucial.

Seeing Rup gain a huge advantage in an instant, the crowd below erupted into excitement and noise, with cheers rising one after another, creating an overwhelmingly one-sided atmosphere. They saw hope for victory, and their feelings of frustration from the previous two matches burst forth at that moment, making the atmosphere extremely lively.

“See? I knew it! Just a beginner-level divine warrior trying to challenge Boss Rup—nothing but seeking death!”

“Yeah, exactly. Don’t they even realize where they are? As one of the Four Great Clans, if we can’t even handle them, how can we continue to exist in the Source of Darkness?”

“Exactly! The Elders haven’t even stepped in yet! If they did, would these people still have any chance of winning?”

There was much discussion, but it seemed everyone had forgotten one crucial point: the main figure in this battle seemed to be Rod. If he stepped forward, were those so-called elders confident they could handle him? Rod paid no attention to these remarks, and Viski and Thayer, who were staring intently at the stage, also ignored them. For them, this battle offered many opportunities to learn—fights between strong opponents aren’t something they see often. If they did get to witness such a fight, it could bring them unimaginable benefits and save them from taking many detours.

But Kambi, Sambik, Skora, and the others were not happy. Their own people had been humiliated like this—how could they accept it? Each of them was full of pride and domineering, and none would tolerate such remarks. They glared with murderous intent, releasing killing aura, causing the temperature around them to drop as biting cold spread, making those who were cheering feel as if an invisible hand was squeezing their throats, making it hard to breathe.

The killing aura emitted by dozens of people was unimaginable, especially since each of them had suffered injuries covered in blood—thousands of drops! It was extremely intense.

“Enough!” Feeling the gazes of Dolon and Merk on him, Rod gave a light shout. Clearly, they had also noticed the situation.

“Hmph, these bastards! I’ll give them a proper lesson when I have time!” Sambik said unhappily, not realizing who would actually be the one to be taught—a Saint-level strength seemed to be only average in the Netherworld Villa.

The situation on the stage was precarious. Although Nightingale was in constant danger and retreating repeatedly, Rod wasn’t nervous at all. On the contrary, Merk and Dolon furrowed their brows.

Even Rup in the arena was secretly complaining. His full-force attacks seemed fierce, but he couldn’t even touch the opponent’s body. The opponent moved like a loach, always skillfully dodging his attacks! Though it seemed awkward, it gave him a very unpleasant feeling.

Merk, Dolon, and Rod could see all this too. Although Nightingale was retreating step by step, her steps were steady, without any signs of panic. In fact, upon closer observation, there were some mysteries hidden in her movements! After watching for a while, Rod smiled slightly and murmured to himself, “I’ll win this battle!”

“Head, really? What’s going on?” Hearing his words, Viski and Thayer behind him asked in disbelief. Even though they both thought Nightingale would likely lose this match, why was Head so firm in his statement?
“Look at Nightingale’s retreat route and the conditions along the way!” Rod said slowly.
Following Rod’s gaze, indeed, not long after, Viski and Thayer both breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile appearing on their faces. If nothing went wrong, Nightingale had already won this match! They also secretly admired Nightingale—truly the strongest among them all.