FAMILY ABOVE ALL: BATTLING AGAINST GODS

A magnificent scene played out within the secret realm.

All the young geniuses who had gathered from various worlds across the universe watched with mixed emotions, as the eastern dragon made from the interweaving of blue and white lightning and was a manifestation of heavenly tribulation collided with a figure who could almost be described as microscopic before its immense size. Yet the brilliance and grandiosity of this ant-like figure didn't seem to pale in comparison in any way, as his body covered in glittering scales brightened the world in an aurora of beautiful lights.

Rook watched with widened eyes as the lightning dragon released a lightning-breath attack that fell from the sky like a pillar trying to connect it with the earth. However, rather than focusing on this heaven-destroying attack, his eyes were fixed on the small figure that was suddenly surrounded by the image of a white dragon head, which seemed to resonate with his current appearance.

The white dragon opened its mouth at the same time that the little figure punched out.

In response, another breath-like attack appeared within his vision and seemingly wanting to defy the falling lightning breath, it rose into the sky as if to connect the earth with the sky.

In a split second, both breaths collided together.

Rook felt as if the world went still, but as his eyes filled with horror, he realized it was a misconception on his part

*Boooooooooooom!*

A loud explosion seemed to shake the whole realm, as the sky rumbled and the ground shook as if experiencing a severe earthquake.

A massive shockwave spread out in all directions, destroying all in its path.

Having no choice, Rook raised his hands in a cross to protect himself from the shockwave and gritted his teeth as he braced himself for the impact.

All the others were experiencing the same thing as him. Many were forcefully thrown off their feet while only a handful were able to remain standing as the air raged around them.

Removing his arms from his face, Rook ignored the crumbling pieces and huge boulders from the previously floating mountain, and the few small figures that fell with them.

Instead, his eyes were automatically glued on that small figure that floated high in the sky, with no sign of heavenly tribulation remaining.

'He did it.'

'He survived the heavenly tribulation...no!'

'It is more apt to say he destroyed the heavenly tribulation and with one punch at that.'

The heavens were not unreasonable. It would always leave a leeway for a person it had condemned to survive.

Taking a deep breath, Rook quickly took notice of the few figures that flashed a distance away from him.

At this moment, Arianne, Ella, Joe, and the others were very conspicuous as they were forcefully teleported from the fourth zone even before they could touch the ground. Now that they appeared within the group of geniuses who had only a handful still standing from the previous shockwave, they couldn't help but stand out.

'That is it.'

Rook took a deep breath as his eyes became fixed on Arianne and the others. A part of him now feared Arlo after seeing what the current him could do, but still, he couldn't allow him and his team to live. Not after they found out they were responsible for the werewolves and vampires' deaths. He didn't even want to imagine the repercussions of that information leaving the secret realm.

'I need to kill them quickly before he arrives and take one hostage to threaten him.'

With that thought in mind, Rook immediately sprung into action.

His body lunged forward as he closed the short distance to Arianne and the others, however before he could arrive before them, his expression changed, as a charming voice that could be mistaken for a Succubus' because of the charm it contained, drifted into his ears.

"Burst!"

This voice didn't only reach Rook's ears but rang beside the ears of every person currently within the area.

A bloody essence burst out from Arianne's two-meter-tall body, and immediately after, all the people around her except Ella, Joe, and her allies, felt their blood heat up.

Barely three breaths later, several bodies started swelling up, their faces aghast.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!**Bang!**Bang!**Bang!* *Bang!*

The almost fifty figures now crowded together were reduced by almost half.

Two of these people were from Rook's party. With an ugly expression, Rook forcefully suppressed his churning blood and gazed at the figure responsible for the sudden massacre.

Arianne's ruby eyes glittered strangely as she chuckled in embarrassment from the several looks directed at her, "Hehe!"

After passing through the last mind trial and fully accepting her original form, not only were her bloodline and abilities fully awakened, but even her personality seemed to have taken a strange turn.

"Die!" An angry voice dripping with murderous intent rang out pulling Rook's attention, and without any hesitation, he shielded his face at the same time that a greenish essence burst out of his body.

*BAM!*

Rook's body flew back like a ragdoll. He rolled on the ground miserably before coming to a stop. At the same time, the smell of burnt flesh permeated the area, as scorched marks appeared on his body, the greenish essence he had surrounded his body with seemingly not offering any form of defense.

His two cousins and his remaining five members quickly shielded him from the short purple-haired girl who was now standing at his previous location with purple lightning crackling around her.

"TBZZZZT!"

Raising his head, Rook uncontrollably coughed a mouthful of blood before looking at Ella with a shocked expression.

'What is going on? How are they all suddenly strong?' Not only was Arlo now a monster, but even Arianne and Ella seemed to have become immeasurably strong.

Stealing glances at Kai, Joe, and the others who were further back, he noticed the aura around them were entirely different. Of course, Rose didn't seem to have changed, but that didn't make any difference to him.

'This is getting out of hand.'

The average member of his team had a mid-level grandmaster realm cultivation, while he and his cousins were at the late level. And as supreme-level geniuses, he and his two cousins could jump two levels to fight, while the others could barely jump one.

However, even with all their top-notch strength among the geniuses in the secret realm, Rook doubted they could kill the current Ella, Arianne, and the others. At least, before that monster in the sky arrived.

He didn't know why Arlo was still wasting time in the sky, but what he did know was that he was almost out of time, considering that he had to kill them fast before they revealed any information and the situation escalated.

'Wait, that seductive bitch had killed many people, what if I use them...' Before that thought could fully form, Rook's expression turned ugly when he suddenly heard a painful scream.

Shifting his eyes to his side, he saw the male Asura explode the head of a human who was still alive. After obtaining information on who had the mana fruits, he tacitly ignored Eleanor and instead lunged at Theodore.

While the male Asura was shocked by Arlo's presence, he couldn't divert his attention as he had more pressing matters at hand. Unlike Eleanor, he volunteered to enter the secret realm to make a name for himself and also make some contributions.

Even though the Asuras didn't have any use for the mana fruits, he could still offer them up to the higher-ups.

Theodore who was shocked by Kai and Rose's presence had no choice but to defend against the Asura's attack. His team quickly helped him to fend against the male Asura, but they soon found themselves on the losing side.

The Male Asura could not be underestimated!

Taking advantage of the distraction, Ella attacked Rook and his team, and Arianne, Joe, Tina, and Miller quickly moved to support her. Kai stood behind to protect Rose.

Even with eight against five, Rook found himself and his team retreating.

With that, two battles erupted within the area.

Theodore and his team quickly asked for support from the few remaining humans they had joined with to cross the third zone, but unexpectedly they were deserted. After learning that Theodore was the one with the mana fruits, they decided to watch the fight and look for any opening to acquire the fruits themselves.

Theodore gritted his teeth from the unexpected betrayal. He didn't dare to use all his strength against the male Asura as he had to guide against the others. The greedy eyes of the humans watching him were proof. To do that, he had to remain at full strength. However, he couldn't allow the situation to continue any longer as the male Asura had already incapacitated six members of his team within this short period. Just when Theodore was contemplating what to do, several silvery lights with the shape of a crescent moon crisscrossing together to form a net appeared beside the male Asura.

Trying to defend against the surprise attack, the Male Asura punched out to his side quickly, causing a resounding boom to shake the area.

However, the silvery light seemed to cut through the air cannons generated by the male Asura's fist, before falling on his body.

Blood spurted out from the male Asura's body as several cuts that seemed to be made by countless sword slashes appeared on his body.

Turning to the direction the attack came from, Theodore's eyes widened, "Kai?"

.....

Arlo remained high in the sky as he waited for his summon to return.

That is right!

Just when his attack collided with the breath of the lightning dragon, he had sent his new summon out to quickly gather the remaining fruits on the floating mountains. Those fruits were treasures billions would kill for in the outside world and he would be stupid to lose them like that.

Thankfully, no one saw the black light that streaked out of his body due to the explosion and the terrifying shockwaves that soon followed.

Well, all but one person!

Looking down, Arlo ignored the two battles currently raging below him and instead focused his attention in a particular direction.

It didn't take long for his blue reptilian pupils resting within his silver eyes to lock with that of the red-skinned girl who was covered in scanty clothes.

Arlo could feel his heart beating wildly, but after a while, he quickly redrew his gaze.

Without a doubt, that was the presence his dragon sense had been warning him about. The one with the most fatal threat, one that couldn't be compared in the least to the heavenly tribulation he just overcame.

At this time, a black light streaked through the sky before returning to Arlo.

'Interesting. Not only is he a Ki cultivator but he even has two summons just like Mama!' Zara's eyes flashed with excitement as she gazed intently at Arlo like a thief would, to a treasure.

Steven who had remained at her side and had been looking at Tina and Miller who were clashing against Rook's party with surprised eyes finally spoke, pulling her from her thoughts and causing a light frown to appear on her face.

"Don't forget our agreement. You have to help me retrieve the fruits from that elf and vampire duo."

The frown didn't leave Zara's face, as a glint of displeasure flashed within her eyes. Now that she found what she was looking for, she didn't care about anything else. But it wasn't like she could go back on her word either. After some thought, she replied:

"You can take the beast with you. He should be more than enough to secure the fruits."

Steven glanced at Tron from the side of his eyes and after a brief moment, he nodded his head before lunging in Eleanor's direction, not before leaving his final words.

"If you kill him, not even your ancestor would be able to save you."