Emperor's Reckoning

He let out a heavy breath as his eyes turned sharp. His footsteps were heard as he stepped on a twig.

"Oh? It seems like you guys are stealing my spoils?" asked Lyon as he crossed his arms.

"Huh? Oh, it's you," said one of the men. "No hard feelings outsiders, it's just the way it is."

The man laughed proudly before he said to his friend, "What should we do with him, brother?"

"Hey, outsider! If you have any more then you need to give it to us," said the other as he showed his sword by his waist.

The implication was clear but the act only made Lyon chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the men grimaced. "Let it be your blessing, outsider. After all, if you give us your remaining horns then we will not add anything after you got beat up by the two princes, hahahaha!"

"Beat up by the two princes? Hah, what makes you think they could beat me?" snorted Lyon with a smile.

"Outsider? Are you delusional? Do you think your mere Godhood cultivation level could content with a peak True God? Not to mention two? You are the weakest amongst us here! You don't even get to Ascending God yet!"

The man shook their head as their eyes shifted to that of a pity.

"I don't understand your reasoning at all outsider, you must be one of the dumbest mortal cultivators to ever participate in this tournament."

"True that."

The two men shook their heads in disappointment before Lyon said. "I'm starting to understand why Heaven is loathed by some."

"What?"

Lyon snorted as he crossed his arms, "Godhood is enough to kill you two, mere level five Ascending Gods."

"What?! You can sense our level?"

"Hey stupid, shut up!"

The two men were in disbelief as he looked against the youth before they regained their superiority. (Must be a flux!).

"You said, you want to kill us?"

"Heh, are you sure?" 

The two men smirked in arrogance as he looked at Lyon before one of them continued, "You know that we could kill you, right?"

"Killing you is akin to killing an ant, I did kill a peak Ascending God before, a pair of level five is nothing to me."

"You boast a lot outsider!" one of the men leaped forward.

"Show him Raklik! Hahaha!"

Raklik grinned as he saw Lyon standing without moving an inch (He must be afraid! Hahaha!), He pulled out his sword as he roared. "Should have handed us over the horns, die outsiders!"

"Heh," Lyon smirked as he looked down against the incoming attack. "Pathetic."

"WHAT?!"

Raklik saw a flash of golden glow through Lyon's eyes before the latter sunk his fist against his face. The skull immediately broke as the firm foundation of his meridians shattered in an instant.

Raklik's friend immediately froze as he saw his friend drop to the ground. His mouth gaped open and couldn't close. His eyes refused to blink as his pupils were only further sunken.

Lyon looked at the dying Raklik before he squatted down. He took the Returning Jade Stone out of Raklik's pocket before placing it on top of Raklik's palm. He made Raklik's finger hug the stone before Lyon stood up. 

Raklik's five senses were on the brink of breaking for good but he heard Lyon's cold tone as the latter said. "Keep the horns."

Lyon slammed his foot against his finger before breaking through the stone as well. The dying man couldn't even scream before he was encapsulated by the jade light and shot through the sky.

"Now then?" Lyon looked at the other one.

The last man shrieked before he quickly grabbed the Returning Jade Stone and crushed it. "Y-You You will pay for—"

The man had his eyes opened wide as Lyon pulled both of his fists beside his waist. The golden menacing glow on his eyes was the flag of his death.

*Rattle!

His fists moved at space-breaking point speed. The bones of the victim were shattered with each hit as they got heavier and heavier after each hit.

The man's meridian was cracking as the mana burst out of control inside his body. He puked blood before the rest of his orifices did the same.

The jade light soon traversed the sky.

---

Meanwhile in the arena...

"Hey, look! There is a jade light coming here!" one spectator shouted.

"What? Hey, you're right?"

"Are you kidding me? We just started not even two hours ago!"

The kings and the queens furrowed their eyebrows before they looked at the jade light crashing down the center of the arena.

The host immediately stepped forward before approaching the first participant. "Welcome back! I can't believe how fast you.... are..."

His words diminished as he lost his breath just like the rest in the arena. Afurnae was silent as they looked at the state the man was in.

"GhGhghG!" he could only splurt out blood before dying.

Hilde furrowed her eyebrows as she stood up along with the other worried spectators.

"Look another one!" shouted Hilde before she quickly leaped to the middle of the arena.

She looked at the pinpoint of the landing of the jade light before she stood right beside it.

Her eyes opened wide as she looked at the state the other one was in.

"What the hell?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Why are they dying?!"

The spectators were on the edge of their seats with worry hugging their faces.

Hilda crouched down before her eyebrows furrowed. All of the bones inside his body were broken except...

"The spine? This is clearly murder," muttered Hilda before she turned the corpse over.

Her eyes opened wide as she looked at the man's back.

'Heaven is beneath me, Lyon Torga.'

She couldn't believe her eyes. The writing in blood on the back of the corpse had revealed the identity of the perpetrator. It was the very same man that had lunch with her prior to the tournament.

She couldn't think straight before she quickly wiped out the writing and turned the body over as the others were approaching.