Chapter 26: Justice

Malikai opened his eyes.

He'd felt her warmth vanish a moment before she actually ran off, so when Iris bolted like her robe was on fire, he didn't even flinch. The only reaction he gave was a faint twitch of his lips—a ghost of a smile.

"…She's cute when she panics," he muttered to himself.

With a quiet sigh, he stood and stretched, bones cracking as he loosened up his joints. The sun was high now. Another day in Bloodforge.

"Guess it's time to challenge someone else," he said casually, flicking his wrist. A black jade slip slid into his palm.

He sank his consciousness into it.

Name: Malikai Doom

Rank: 900

Points: 0

Wins: 1

Losses: 0

"Tch… i need more points" he muttered. "Need more wins. Gotta keep the Battle Tower open to me for as long as possible."

He flicked through the rankings, eyes scanning names and auras linked to each profile.

Rank 800 – Qian Feihong

Late Nascent Soul Realm

From the Qian Clan, one of the human bloodline clans based in the Greater Domain Lands. The Qian specialized in spiritual sensitivity and long-range soul-based techniques. Though humans made up the majority of the population across the 8 Primes Plane, not all humans lived under the rule of the Sacrum Empire. Still, those who did—especially the ones raised within its core clans—tended to act like they were inherently superior to every other human clan. Arrogant bastards, the lot of them.

Rank 850 – Xavra Doom

Mid Nascent Soul Realm

One of Malikai's own—an Asura from the Doom Clan. She was known for being aggressive in combat, with a mutated bloodline that made her claws extend mid-battle and caused bursts of frenzied killing intent. Pretty, but psychotic. Malikai had seen her once during a family duel. She'd smiled the whole time she was tearing someone's ribs open.

Rank 860 – Seraphiel Dawnveil

Early Nascent Soul Realm

An angel cultivator. She'd broken through to Nascent Soul with a powerful Domain of Justice, a domain known for its suppression and overwhelming righteousness. Angels that wielded it were always obsessed with "cleansing evil," and the stronger their will, the more potent their domain became.Those who wielded it were always righteous zealots—constantly trying to "cleanse the wicked" to empower their domain. It was especially dangerous against demonic or chaotic beings… like Malikai.

He grinned.

"Justice, huh? Alright."

He pressed his finger to her name and issued the challenge.

Inside the Battle Tower's registration hall, the human woman with gray hair who registered Malkai for the battle tower sat behind the counter sipping tea, her spirit crystal tablet glowing faintly in front of her. The moment the request came in, the device chimed.

She looked down and blinked.

"Huh? Malikai Doom just used the Battle Tower for hours yesterday…"

From Nascent Soul Realm onward, everything changed.

Before that, it wasn't unusual for geniuses to fight above their realm—especially during the Qi Condensation and Core Formation stages. Power could come from techniques, bloodlines, battle intent, or raw cultivation base. It was a chaotic mess of talent, luck, and ferocity.

But once someone stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm, the battlefield shifted.

From then on, it was all about domains.

The type of domain you comprehended during your Nascent Soul breakthrough would determine your strength not just in that realm, but in every realm that followed. Those with weak domains would always find themselves outmatched by those with stronger ones—even if they advanced to higher stages. That imbalance could linger across realms, growing wider with every step.

There were rare cases where someone could refine or reshape their domain later on, turning a weak one into something terrifying… but that took absurd talent and luck, and usually came with high risk.

In most cases?

If your domain sucked, you were screwed.

The receptionist sent the challenge through.

Now, all that was left was to wait for a response.