Chapter 122: The Prince Who Challenged the Dragon (Part 2)
The Prince Who Challenged the Dragon (Part 2)
Victor calmly looked toward Adrian instead.
"So..."
"What exactly is the purpose of your visit today, City Lord Adrian?"
Even while speaking...
Victor didn’t spare the Fifth Prince another glance.
It was as though the furious royal standing before him simply didn’t exist.
That indifference...
Only poured oil onto the prince’s burning rage.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
The Fifth Prince laughed loudly.
The laughter, however, contained nothing but humiliation and fury.
"Such arrogance!"
"You think reaching the Stellar Sovereign Realm makes you invincible?"
"You actually dare ignore me?"
His eyes turned icy.
"You don’t understand the situation you’re in."
"The Dawn Empire is already standing at the edge of destruction."
"The moment our Azure Sovereign Empire claims your Empire Title..."
"Your so-called Salvatore Family will be the first to disappear from this world."
He slowly pointed toward Victor.
"But..."
"I am merciful."
"Kneel."
"Swear eternal loyalty to the Imperial Family of the Azure Sovereign Empire."
"Offer your family, your resources, and your inheritance."
"If you do..."
"I may spare your insignificant life."
Silence answered him.
Victor finally turned his head.
Their eyes met.
One pair burned with anger.
The other remained calm as an endless sea.
Victor spoke only one sentence.
"Do all of your royals lack brains?"
The words were calm.
Almost gentle.
Yet they struck harder than any slap.
The Fifth Prince’s face instantly flushed purple.
His lips trembled violently.
"YOU...!"
Never in his entire life...
Had anyone dared speak to him like that.
Not even the rulers of neighboring empires.
His killing intent exploded without restraint.
"COURTING DEATH!!"
BOOM!!
Violet-red lightning erupted from his entire body.
Countless bolts crackled around him like furious dragons.
The pressure released by his cultivation caused the surrounding air to distort.
Even the ground beneath his feet shattered into countless cracks.
His Stellar Sovereign Realm cultivation surged without reservation.
Behind him...
Dozens of brilliant stars materialized in the sky.
One after another.
Until more than fifty stars illuminated the heavens.
Each one burned with violent crimson lightning.
He was...
A Stellar Sovereign Realm Fifth Layer expert.
The Fifth Prince slowly raised one hand.
Lightning gathered above his palm before condensing into a gigantic eagle formed entirely of violet thunder.
The enormous creature spread its wings across the sky, releasing deafening cries that shook the surrounding mountains.
Its presence alone was enough to make ordinary cultivators collapse in despair.
The prince smiled proudly.
"YOUR LIFE IS MINE!!"
Like a bolt of heavenly lightning...
He shot toward Victor at astonishing speed.
The distance between them vanished in the blink of an eye.
The gigantic thunder eagle descended together with him.
"Repent for your arrogance!"
"Even within the Stellar Sovereign Realm..."
"There are differences as vast as heaven and earth!"
"You..."
"And I..."
"...are as different as clouds and mud!"
He laughed triumphantly.
"Next life..."
"Learn some manners!!"
He expected fear.
He expected panic.
He expected Victor to desperately struggle for survival.
Instead...
Victor smiled.
A calm...
Deeply mocking...
Almost pitying smile.
The sight instantly made the Fifth Prince’s heart skip a beat.
The Fifth Prince’s pupils contracted.
For the first time...
A trace of unease surfaced in his heart.
Why...
Why was this man smiling?
Before he could understand—
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion echoed across Sovereign Blessed Land.
Victor moved.
There was no dazzling battle art.
No eruption of True Spiritual Power.
No spectacular divine phenomenon.
He simply took one step forward.
Then...
He raised one leg.
CRAAAAACK!!
The terrifying power of his awakened Emperor’s Bloodline surged through every muscle in his body.
His physical strength erupted like an ancient beast breaking free of its chains.
The thunder eagle descending from the sky...
The Earth-rank battle art the Fifth Prince was so proud of...
Before Victor’s overwhelming physical power...
It was no stronger than a candle standing before a hurricane.
BOOM!!
Victor’s foot pierced straight through the thunder eagle.
The enormous construct shattered instantly.
Countless bolts of lightning scattered in every direction before vanishing into nothingness.
The Fifth Prince’s eyes widened in horror.
"My battle art...!"
He had no time to react.
Victor’s foot had already reached him.
BANG!!
The kick landed directly on his stomach.
The impact sounded like a mountain colliding with another mountain.
His protective spiritual power collapsed instantly.
His defensive treasures shattered one after another.
His ribs broke with horrifying cracks.
The Fifth Prince’s body shot downward like a falling meteor.
BOOOOM!!
The ground exploded.
Dust rose into the sky.
A gigantic crater appeared before everyone present.
At its center...
Victor stood calmly with one foot pressing against the Fifth Prince’s abdomen.
The once-proud prince was buried deep within the shattered earth.
His luxurious purple robes were stained with blood and dirt.
His face had turned deathly pale.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"T-This..."
"Impossible..."
He struggled desperately.
His Stellar Sovereign Realm Fifth Layer cultivation erupted once again.
Dozens of stars blazed behind him.
Lightning roared wildly.
He poured every ounce of his strength into pushing Victor’s foot away.
Nothing happened.
It didn’t move.
Not even a single centimeter.
Victor’s foot felt less like a human limb...
And more like an ancient divine mountain suppressing all creation.
The Fifth Prince’s breathing became ragged.
His voice trembled.
"You’re..."
"Stellar Sovereign Realm Great Perfection!"
"No..."
His expression gradually transformed from disbelief into pure terror.
"Even a Stellar Sovereign Realm Great Perfection cultivator..."
"...couldn’t possess such monstrous physical strength!"
He immediately spread his spiritual sense toward Victor.
He wanted to discover Victor’s true cultivation.
However...
The moment his spiritual sense touched Victor...
It disappeared into endless primordial chaos.
There was no cultivation realm.
No spiritual fluctuations.
No limit.
Only infinite darkness stretching beyond imagination.
The Fifth Prince’s face became devoid of all color.
"What..."
"What are you?"
His voice had become hoarse.
Fear now overwhelmed every other emotion.
Behind Victor, the morning breeze gently stirred his shoulder-length black hair.
His black robe embroidered with golden dragons fluttered softly.
His golden eyes looked down at the prince beneath his foot with complete indifference.
The Fifth Prince summoned every remaining ounce of strength.
His Star Phenomenon descended.
Lightning exploded.
His bloodline burned.
His muscles swelled.
Yet despite all of it...
He couldn’t even lift Victor’s foot by a fraction.
Instead...
The pressure slowly increased.
His bones groaned.
His organs trembled.
Every breath became agony.
Victor looked down at him calmly.
"You said we were as different..."
"...as clouds and mud."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"That description isn’t entirely wrong."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But you misunderstand one thing."
His golden eyes carried neither hatred nor anger.
Only absolute confidence.
"You are not the clouds."
"And I am not the mud."
Victor’s voice became colder than winter itself.
"You..."
"...are nothing more than an ant."
"A weed growing beside the road."
"Someone I could erase without even remembering your name."
The Fifth Prince’s entire body trembled.
For the first time since his birth...
He truly understood what despair felt like.