Chapter 531: Bloodline Suppression

Chapter 531: Bloodline Suppression

‘Lucia Grimes? One of the Seven Main Families of the Black Dragon Palace…’ Max thought to himself, brows slightly furrowed as he calmly observed the situation.

It puzzled him. Why would someone like her—a supposed top-tier genius of the Divine Realm—come down to the Mortal Realm, of all places, to comprehend Totem Stones that were inherently weaker than the ones available in her own realm?

The Divine Realm was home to the strongest inheritances, superior energies, and the most ancient legacies—Totem Stones there would naturally contain purer laws, deeper insights, and far more powerful resonances. It simply didn’t make sense for someone from her status to waste time down here.

Unless… she had a reason. A very specific, possibly arrogant reason.

‘I need to beat some sense into them,’ Max thought sharply, his expression hardening as he began walking toward the blockade with quiet, deliberate steps.

He had no intention of bowing to bloodline or realm. He had earned his right to be here, and no one—not even a Divine Realm heiress—would stop him from walking his path.

But just as he moved, a hand gently clasped his shoulder.

Max turned around calmly, only to see a young man with a long, angular face and neatly tied blue hair smiling at him in a friendly but cautious manner.

“Friend,” the stranger said with a soft chuckle, “I wouldn’t be so reckless if I were you.”

His tone was kind, but his eyes held the weight of someone who’d seen this kind of scene unfold before. “That group belongs to the Grimes Family. They’re known for their ferocity and pride. If you offend them, it won’t just be this trial you’ll have to worry about—misfortune will shadow your every step afterward.”

Max didn’t reply, just listened as the stranger continued.

“As for Lucia Grimes, well… she’s not just another pretty face from a noble bloodline. She’s the wild, untamed young mistress of the Grimes Family—one of the few direct-line descendants born with a Black Dragon Chaotic Bloodline,” he said, lowering his voice slightly. “It’s said she has already comprehended all the major Totem Stones in the Divine Realm to perfection. But she wasn’t satisfied. No, she came down to the Mortal Realm seeking even the lesser-known Totem Stones. To complete her understanding of flame from every possible origin.”

He paused for effect, his eyes narrowing.

“Rumor has it… her strength stands at the very peak of geniushood—even in the Divine Realm. The kind of genius that causes wars to be fought just for a chance to marry into their bloodline. So if I were you, I’d tread carefully and pick a different dome to comprehend. No shame in choosing survival over provocation.”

Max stayed quiet, his expression unreadable, but his thoughts were already stirring again—deeper, colder. He understood the warning.

He simply didn’t agree with it.

“I’m grateful for your words,” Max said politely to the blue-haired young man, nodding with genuine appreciation for the warning, “but I have to go.” His tone was calm, respectful—but firm, leaving no room for debate.

The blue-haired youth simply exhaled and shook his head slowly, watching Max’s back as he walked away. “Even the geniuses from the Divine Realm hesitate to provoke the Grimes Family,” he muttered with a tinge of helplessness. “They avoid their wrath at all costs knowing when they would return to the Divine Realm, they might face the terror of the Grimes. I just hope you’re still standing after this…” he added with a whisper of pity in his voice, already expecting a storm to come.

But Max didn’t look back.

By the time he reached the foot of the Flame Tyrant dome, a thick tension blanketed the air like a storm cloud. Six red-robed figures from the Grimes Family stood before the entrance, arms crossed, expressions proud and disdainful.

Their auras pulsed with the unmistakable force of high-level Expert Rank geniuses—arrogant, entitled, and fully assured of their own superiority.

And then one of them barked a laugh and jabbed a finger toward him.

“Look at this trash!” the young man jeered, loud enough for others to hear. “He’s at the eighth level of the Seeker Rank and actually dares to show his face in the True Inheritance Trial? And worse—he’s come to confront us? What a joke! Where does he get this kind of confidence?!”

“Hahaha!” The others burst out laughing, mocking him without reservation. “Maybe he thinks courage makes up for low strength!”

But Max didn’t flinch.

His eyes were calm. Serene, even. The kind of calm that no longer bothered to measure itself against meaningless arrogance. He had encountered too many so-called geniuses, seen too many collapse beneath the weight of their own inflated pride.

He stared at them for a heartbeat longer.

Then he opened his mouth and uttered one word, his voice low but sharp, rippling with command.

“Lie down.”

The moment the words left his lips, a wave of invisible pressure swept through the air like an unseen storm. It wasn’t just aura—it was bloodline. The pure, oppressive force of a superior dragon heritage, infused with the authority of something far deeper than mere strength.

Max’s bloodline pulsed outward like a silent roar, coiling around the six Grimes Family members like serpents made of will and fire.

Their bodies froze.

Their bloodlines trembled.

And before they could even understand what was happening, their knees buckled. One by one, they collapsed to the ground, as if their spines had turned to water.

Their strength wavered. Their breathing grew shallow. A crushing weight bore down on them, as though they were insects beneath the foot of a god.

The mocking laughter died instantly. Their faces turned pale, their eyes wide with horror as they looked up at Max—no longer with scorn, but with fear. Genuine, shaking fear.

Max simply smiled. Not wide. Not cruel.

Just calm.

“Good,” he murmured, stepping past their crumpled forms as if they didn’t exist. Without another word, he walked forward and entered the dome of the Flame Tyrant, leaving behind stunned silence and the shattered pride of one of the most feared families of the Divine Realm.

“What the—!” the blue-haired young man’s voice cracked out loud, his eyes wide as saucers, body frozen in place. He had been bracing himself to intervene if Max got in over his head—fully prepared to try and defuse the situation, or at the very least, drag Max out if the Grimes Family turned violent.

But what he had just witnessed left him rooted to the ground, mouth slightly agape, every muscle in his body frozen with disbelief. “He… he just made them collapse with a word…?”

The stunned silence that followed was deafening—until it was filled by scattered gasps and awed whispers from the crowd that had been watching from a distance.

“D-Did he just say ‘lie down’ and… and they actually did?” a young genius from the Mortal Realm stammered, voice trembling with shock.

“They didn’t just do it… they couldn’t resist it!” someone else from the back murmured, eyes darting between the fallen figures of the Grimes Family elites. “Did you see their faces? That wasn’t acting. That was fear. Terror in their eyes.”

A third voice, sharper and laced with disbelief, joined in from a Divine Realm genius standing off to the side. “That was bloodline suppression I believe. But what kind of bloodline suppression was that? That wasn’t just dominance… That was absolute subjugation.”

“No way,” a woman whispered. “Even if he has a Source Bloodline with 100% Blood Essence, there’s no way it should overpower the Grimes Family’s bloodline like that. It shouldn’t be possible!”

“Unless…” someone else chimed in hesitantly. “Unless his bloodline isn’t just a Source Bloodline. It’s something stronger. A Royal Grade bloodline?”

“But he’s from the Mortal Realm,” a Divine Realm genius scoffed, though the uncertainty in his tone betrayed his shaken confidence. “There’s no way a mortal could carry a bloodline that powerful…”

“Then explain what just happened!” a younger youth shot back. “You saw it with your own eyes!”

The blue-haired youth who had tried to warn Max earlier was still standing in place, his mouth slowly closing as the weight of what he saw finally sank in. His voice came out low, almost reverent. “I thought I was warning a fool walking into the lion’s den… Turns out, I was standing next to the dragon himself.”

Meanwhile, inside the Flame Tyrant dome, the doors slowly sealed shut behind Max, and the oppressive tension that had gripped the outer hall remained—unresolved, unnerving, and unforgettable.

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