At this moment, all the bronze shes that had been shot towards Luca werepletely blocked by the ice shield.


    "Now it''s my turn." A smile appeared on Luca''s face, and with a wave of his hand, endless cold air surged. The weather itself seemed to be affected, with the winds shifting, clouds swirling, the icy wind howling, and the sea beginning to freeze.


    In the sky above, dazzling icences, as if suspended swords from the heavens, began to form, hanging high in the air. They pointed downward, aiming at the Furious Green-eyed Sharks below, resembling an inverted forest of frost suspended in the sky!


    Superss Ice Ability—Hell of Frost!


    Everyone who looked up at the sky felt a shiver run down their spine!


    So this was their Lord of Hain County! The hero of the Empire! Luca!


    In the next moment, the sky seemed to rain down icences like a shower!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!


    The icences tore through the air with a loud, cutting sound, and instantly fell upon the Furious Green-eyed Sharks.


    Not a single one missed!


    In nearly an instant, the sea turned a deep crimson, stained with the blood of the monsters.


    At the same time, a series of game notifications appeared in front of Luca.


    [Ding! You have killed a level 64 Furious Sea Shark, gaining 330,000 experience!]


    [Ding! You have killed a level 68 Furious Shark Warrior, gaining 1,250,000 experience!]


    [Ding! You have killed a level 70 Furious Shark Commander, gaining 2,060,000 experience!]


    ...


    When the ice forest in the sky finally disappeared.


    The blood-red sea below.


    Revealed the bodies of the Furious Green-eyed Sharks, now riddled with holes.


    In just a few breaths'' time.


    Golden lights began to shine from Luca''s body.


    [Ding! Your level has reached level 49, gaining 60 free attribute points!]


    [Ding! Your level has reached level 50, gaining 120 free attribute points!]


    [Congrattions! You have reached level 50. The Awakening Trial is now open!]


    [You can proceed with the trial at any time!]


    [Warning: You will not gain any experience until youplete the Awakening Trial!]


    "Finally, the Awakening Trial can begin," Luca said, his face showing a hint of anticipation as he looked at the notifications.


    The Awakening Trial is a test based on the yer''s true strength.


    The stronger the yer''s abilities, the harder the test, and the better the rewards uponpletion.


    As a result, after the Awakening, a yer''s strength usually undergoes a huge leap forward.


    Some skills also get enhanced, bing incredibly powerful.


    Luca was curious about what kind of trial he would face during his Awakening.


    And what kind of rewards he would gain after passing it.


    Meanwhile, on the Seaway City fleet, out on the sea:


    Watching the area almostpletely clear in the blink of an eye, countless soldiers were left dumbfounded with their mouths agape.


    The high-tier monsters that had once seemed unbeatable in their eyes.


    Now appeared as if they were nothing more than ants to be casually wiped out in the hands of this lord.


    They were utterly helpless before his overwhelming power!


    "This... this..." Tark''s beard trembled, and he was so shocked that he could hardly form words.


    Nichs and Dacey were also standing rooted to the spot,pletely stunned.


    Having one Superss monster under Luca''smand was already enough to amaze them.


    But now they realized, that was only the tip of the iceberg.


    The true extent of this lord''s strength was even more terrifying!


    "No wonder he dared to bring so few people to wipe out the ck Raven Bandit Group," Seven muttered to himself. He had originally thought that the new lord was overly arrogant.


    It was only now that he understood. He had been like a frog in a well, looking at the moon in the sky. His vision had been narrow and unaware that the true god was standing before him!


    Even the four kings of the Western Sea were merely Superss-level in power.


    Yet Luca, on his own, was worth two of them!


    In the entire Western Sea, there were only a handful of people who could stop his advance!


    Isaac, however, wasn''t surprised. His gaze toward Luca was filled with even more respect and admiration.


    If he recalled correctly, back in Dawn City, this lord''s strength hadn''t been nearly as formidable.


    How long had it been? In such a short time, he had be the brightest star in all of Clinton!


    Under his light, even the most dazzling talents would fade into obscurity.


    Sophia, as Luca returned, had an incrediblyplex look in her eyes.


    The recent encounters had led her to believe that she had a clear understanding of her junior''s true strength.


    But today, Luca''s casual disy had made her realize just howughable her previous thoughts had been.


    The true strength she had seen may have been nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.


    And she had already exhausted herself, unable to keep up.


    What else did he hide beneath the sea?


    Sophia even found herself unwilling to imagine it.


    A rare feeling of defeat began to well up inside her.


    A genius? Who could still im to be a genius in front of him?


    Who was truly worthy of being called a genius?


    Perhaps "genius" was nothing more than a threshold to be crossed before reaching his level.


    A self-deprecating smile flickered in her eyes.


    "Senior, what are you thinking about?" At this moment, Luca''s voice broke through Sophia''s thoughts as he returned.


    "It''s nothing." Sophia turned her head away and changed the subject. "Congrattions, Junior. You should be going for your Awakening Trial now, right? I wish you sess."


    With that, she headed towards her room.


    Watching her leave in a daze, Luca''s gaze grew a bit moreplex.


    Luca could guess some of the thoughts running through Sophia''s mind. He wanted to go over andfort her, but reason told him that offering words offort now would likely have the opposite effect.


    Sophia''s pride andpetitive nature had never been hidden. She didn''t even bother to disguise it. For someone like her, who was inherently proud, being defeated wasn''t the terrifying part. What was truly frightening was seeing no chance of victory at all.


    If her opponent had been anyone else, it would have been fine. Even if it had been the geniuses from her past life, with her talent, she could dominate the entire Eternal Continent. Crushing those prodigies was just a matter of time.


    But the person she had chosen to face was him.


    A reborn underdog.


    Luca suddenly felt a twinge of mncholy.


    It turned out that having great talent wasn''t always a blessing—it came with its own troubles.


    Life was indeed lonely, like snow.


    He shook his head.


    Luca discarded the self-pitying thoughts in his mind.


    Turning to Tark, he said, "Send someone to deal with the bodies and equipment of those Furious Sea Sharks. Bring back anything valuable."


    Though he was no longer in need of money or equipment, being frugal was a good habit, and Luca disliked waste.


    "Don''t worry, Lord. I''ll take care of everything," Tark responded, his tone now much more respectful than before.


    Now, when it came to this young lord before him, Tark had nothing more to say. If he encountered such a lord, his only option was to pledge loyalty to him—forever.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Luca nodded slightly, then asked, "How much longer until we reach Snake Ind?"


    He intended to use this time toplete his Awakening Trial.


    It was too ufortable not being able to level up.


    Tark estimated, then replied, "About three or four hours."


    Luca felt relieved. If hepleted the Awakening Trial quickly enough, he should be able to finish it before the ship reached Snake Ind.


    However, just to be cautious, Luca ordered them to set up camp about 30 nautical miles from the ind. That way, if anything unexpected happened, they would have enough time to respond.


    Once everything was arranged, Luca returned to his room.


    "Begin the Awakening Trial," he muttered to himself, and immediately a prompt window appeared before him.


    [yer "Luca", are you sure you want to begin the Awakening Trial now?]


    Luca didn''t hesitate and selected "Confirm."


    A sh of silver light quickly vanished.


    A silver door, intricately carved with patterns, slowly materialized in the air.


    A profound, ancient aura struck Luca as soon as he stepped forward.


    This was the very door to the Awakening Trial, one Luca had seen in his previous life.


    At the same time, a series of game prompts appeared in front of him.


    [Evaluating yer''s trial level, please wait...]


    [Ding! yer''s trial level evaluation sessful!]


    [Your trial level is "SSS-level"!]


    [Awakening Instance: "Death Volcano (Unique)"]


    [Quest Requirement: Kill the Four Great Guardians!]


    [Quest Reward: Random Divine-level ss scroll!]


    Upon seeing the game prompts and instance notification, Luca didn''t feel much at first.


    However, when he saw the reward—his eyes immediately lit up.


    A Divine-level ss scroll?!


    Luca only had one Divine-level ss up until now.


    It was the "zing Sunwalker" granted to him by the Lord of the Sun. This ss was tied to the Sr Divine Rank, and it was a path that would eventually allow him to ascend all the way to Divine-level.


    The power of the Sr Divine me was indisputable. However, Luca rarely used it in ordinary battles, as he had no need for it, and he hadn''t been crafting potions recently, so it was seldom employed.


    If he could obtain another Divine-level ss, Luca''s strength would experience another explosive growth.


    In addition to the power boost from the Awakening, while he couldn''t im that he would be able to defeat Transcendent-level foes right after the trial, at least he wouldn''t be as defenseless as he once was.


    Luca suppressed the excitement in his chest and didn''t hesitate.


    He pushed open the silver door and entered the Awakening Trial instance directly.


    [Ding! Wee yer "Luca" to the Awakening Trial instance: "Death Volcano"]


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the adjacent room.


    Just as Luca stepped through the trial door, Sophia, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them.


    She nced toward Luca''s room and murmured, "Has the Awakening Trial begun?"


    "How does it feel to be surpassed bit by bit? Doesn''t it leave you feeling frustrated?" A violet mist swirled into the form of Zenobia, appearing beside Sophia.


    She gently stroked Sophia''s cheek, her eyes gleaming with an eerie light, as she chuckled softly. "Watching someone you like pull away from you, step by step... doesn''t that hurt?"


    "You''ve worked so hard, yet you can''t even withstand one of his casual strikes. You have Divine-level talent and heritage, yet you still fall to defeat in his presence."


    "You appear indifferent, yet you''re so fragile. You seem bright and captivating, but no one loves you. You seem detached, but you are deeply emotional. You seem powerful, yet you''re always filled with doubt. Behind your seeming strength lies a cowardly heart."


    "Cassiel, look at what you''ve be now. How pitiful, howmentable. The dignity of a god, tossed aside carelessly by you, and now you''re too scared to even speak a word."


    "And in the end, you can only watch as he walks away with someone else..."