Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

"I..."

Ethan looked up at the sky above, bewildered by what these people were saying.

They had made him doubt himself. But in the next moment, Ethan's gaze sharpened.

"If you want to die... I'll help you on your way!"

"Now..."

Hum… Ding... ding... ding...

Countless tiny stars began to light up in the sky, one by one. Each star, upon igniting, emitted a faint beam of light.

Each beam locked onto someone in Arena Three—everyone except Ethan and his companions. Dozens of dim beams converged on Iris.

"Another cheap trick!" Iris scoffed with contempt.

"Is that so?"

"Descent..."

Ethan's skyward-pointing hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

Then he pulled it downward.

Boom...

The sky trembled in response.

Above, the countless stars flared brighter—then, one by one, they detached from the sky.

They plummeted toward the earth.

Everyone caught in the light beams felt as though an immense weight had pinned them in place.

"This is bad... I'm locked on!"

"Help! This isn't an illusion..."

"I was wrong! I want to leave the arena!"

"Iris, you damn bitch! You tricked us..."

On the arena floor, panic erupted. People suddenly realized they couldn't move. Agonized screams rang out from every direction.

Instant death wasn't what terrified them.

What shattered them was the helplessness—the sight of those monstrous celestial orbs descending upon them while they stood frozen in place, powerless to resist.

Slice, slice, slice...

As the stars fell, those without sufficient strength were obliterated into clouds of bloody mist.

Even Iris couldn't move. That crushing pressure—there was no way it was fake.

Seeing those around her reduced to gore and vapor… In that moment, she was filled with infinite regret for her arrogance.

Her Substitute Art Technique was unusable. Even if it weren't, her fingers wouldn't budge to activate it.

"... Daddy!"

Iris collapsed to her knees.

Ethan blinked in surprise. Did she just cry out for her father?

"...."

What was going on? She was kneeling... and facing his direction. For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he had a daughter that old.

Whoosh...

A streak of motion tore through the air. A figure appeared in front of Iris. With a wave of his hand, an Arcane Scroll materialized.

Bang! A creature depicted on the scroll shimmered—and burst forth. A strange being materialized before the man.

Croak...

The creature opened its massive maw like a world-devouring beast. It intercepted the falling stars mid-descent.

Boom, boom, boom...

Thunderous explosions echoed from deep inside the creature's gaping mouth.

Only after the final orb exploded did Ethan finally see what the creature was—an enormous salamander. But now, blood dripped from its mouth, and its bloodshot eyes locked on Ethan.

That stare made Ethan's skin crawl. It was the first time he'd ever felt such fear in the real world.

What kind of monster was this? And what kind of man could control it?

There was only one answer. This man had to be the head of the Hargrove family. Could a family patriarch really be this powerful?

In that moment, Iris was saved—along with all the remaining people.

Above, the moon vanished, the darkened sky gradually returned to their original brightness.

"Iris... do you understand your mistake?" the man asked, his head lowered.

"... Daddy! Kill him, quickly!" Iris sobbed, grabbing the man's leg and pointing at Ethan.

"Hmph..."

Gregory Hargrove, head of the Hargrove family, frowned. He shook his leg free from her grip and said coldly, "Iris, you're arrogant and incorrigible.

It's my fault for spoiling you. This is the last time I'll save you. You're on your own from now on."

Then he turned to Ethan and gave a respectful bow.

"Young Master Ethan—"

Before he could finish, Ethan waved his hand. "Mr. Hargrove, please... just take her away."

"Thank you."

Gregory bowed again, then turned to the elevated platform where the Noble Eight families sat and announced, "The Hargrove family withdraws from this competition."

With a wave of his hand, his Arcane Scroll flashed once more. It reclaimed the giant salamander, along with Iris, who was still kneeling.

Then his figure blurred and vanished—not to reappear on the elevated platform. No one knew where he'd gone.

Ethan stared at the spot where Gregory had stood. 'That's how a father should be…'

For his daughter's sake, Gregory had broken the tournament rules and intervened.

He'd even given up the Hargrove family's chance at winning the Energy Core.

Then Ethan's expression darkened.

What about Lyla's father?

What had he ever done for his daughter?

Setting those thoughts aside, Ethan scanned the arena. At this point, apart from Markham and the other six, no one else remained.

A slight smile appeared on his face as he walked toward them. But instead of the warm welcome he expected, he found everyone gathered around Ryan with solemn expressions.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

"Ethan... something's not right," Ryan said weakly, looking up.

Ethan tensed. His questioning gaze swept across the group.

Markham furrowed his brow. "There's... not a single trace of blood on the arena."

Ethan whirled around. Markham was right.

Many had died on this battlefield—yet not a single drop of blood remained. Even the fallen bodies had completely vanished.

This...

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"It's a formation... a blood-absorbing formation."

Ryan, crouched on the ground, had at some point cut his finger. When he touched the arena floor, they saw his blood flow out rapidly.

In mere seconds, that finger turned pale white.

This was what happened when all the blood was drained away.

Everyone was stunned by the discovery.

Bobby and Ryan—both highly knowledgeable in magical formations—exchanged glances. Each saw the same shock mirrored in the other's eyes.

"In previous tournaments... were they always this brutal?" Ethan asked suddenly.

The members of the Noble Eight families all shook their heads.

Markham said, "I've heard that in the past, only disciples of the Noble Eight families competed, and they were required to stop short of serious injury."

But this time...

Everyone had the same thought: Was the new 'life and death are inconsequential' rule related to the formation beneath their feet?

What was the Silverwood family plotting?

Just then, Ethan remembered his encounter with LongerThanLuffy —Emery in Ethereal. Emery had mentioned that Liam Silverwood was secretly purchasing vast quantities of formation materials.

Ethan lowered his voice.

"I found out the Silverwood family has been buying up a lot of formation materials—specifically..."

After listing them all, he turned to Bobby and Ryan.

"Can you tell what kind of formation they're trying to build?"

Both shook their heads.

"These materials are fairly common," Ryan said. "They could be used in hundreds—thousands—of different formations."

The group fell silent, they were out of leads.