Chapter 1742: Martial prowess beyond the Soul Realm

Cain’s smile stretched wide, his entire presence radiating overwhelming strength and divine confidence. Yet beneath the surface, hidden behind the golden glow in his eyes and the calm aura he exuded, exhaustion simmered. The dramatic entrance had taken its toll.

It would have been far easier to use the Demon King Castle to traverse across the ocean. But Cain had chosen a different approach. Morale was crucial. The dragons and saintesses hadn’t seen him in years, and for a moment of such magnitude, he had to appear as more than a legend—he had to become myth.

So he deployed the full might of his cultivation, flashing through the First Realm, crossing countless kilometers in days, and crashing into the landmass with the raw momentum of his journey. The impact alone was enough to shake the Bloodmar Continent to its roots.

Of course, such a feat consumed colossal amounts of energy. But energy was not something Cain lacked.

He took a deep breath, and under the stunned gaze of every vampire and werewolf in the fortress, he opened his mouth wide. The massive storm that had heralded his arrival—the very tempest that had blackened the sky—began to spiral toward him.

And then, Cain devoured it.

The sky churned violently as black clouds and purple lightning funneled downward like a cosmic whirlpool. In under three seconds, he had swallowed the entirety of the storm—and he wasn’t done. He kept going, drawing in more and more ambient energy, as if he intended to consume the very sky itself.

A wave of primal dread swept through the hearts of those watching. They felt it—the sheer, horrifying truth. This man wasn’t just strong. He held dominion over the fundamental laws of the universe that no one in the Bloodmar Continent could compare.

And they weren’t wrong.

Cain was likely the only being in the First Realm with an Oniric Truth comprehension at 50%. While that alone wasn’t enough to evolve his Black Hole to the next level, it allowed him to bend reality itself in ways that Peak Void Eclipse powerhouses would struggle to understand.

Tania and Hercule stood frozen as Cain casually absorbed every iota of energy in a radius of more than fifty thousand kilometers.

Then—

“BOOOOOOM!”

As he closed his mouth, a wave of red flames and purple plasma exploded from his body, generating a pillar of power that soared into the sky like a divine signal to the heavens.

Bathed in that energy, Cain turned his golden gaze upon the vampire and werewolf champions. His voice came soft, almost gentle, yet heavy with inevitable authority.

“Let’s begin.”

Tania and Hercule clenched their jaws. Behind those golden eyes, they felt exposed—naked, like children before a god. But there was no turning back now.

The Blood Princess summoned her twin blades—a crimson blood rapier and a gleaming scarlet greatsword, pulsing with ancient blood magic. Beside her, the Wolf Titan raised his massive double-headed war axe, its surface engraved with moonlight runes that radiated raw lunar energy.

“BOOM.”

Twin explosions erupted as they unleashed their full power, launching themselves toward Cain with incredible speed. Tania came first, her rapier slicing toward Cain’s neck while her greatsword cleaved for his chest. Simultaneously, Hercule delivered a sweeping upward strike aimed at Cain’s waist and legs.

The attack pattern was flawless—an intricate, well-coordinated assault that left no gaps. If Cain dodged Tania’s blades, Hercule’s axe would strike. If he avoided the axe, he’d be impaled by Tania’s thrusts.

And yet… Cain’s smile never faltered.

Instead of retreating or defending, he stepped forward.

His body moved with supernatural grace and precision, every motion smooth as water and sharp as lightning. With his left hand, he gently touched the flat of Tania’s greatsword—redirecting its force sideways without so much as a scratch on his skin. At the same time, he struck Hercule’s axe with his foot, deflecting it to the left with perfect control.

The blow didn’t just push their weapons away—it sent both warriors staggering backward, their grips firm, but their momentum stolen.

It took them less than a second to regain their balance, but their hearts were already shaken.

Still, they gritted their teeth and charged again.

Cain didn’t counterattack. He didn’t strike. He simply extended his hands and intercepted their weapons once more with divine control. Each time, the outcome was the same: redirection, not resistance. The vampire and werewolf were sent flying again.

Tania and Hercule’s frustration mounted. Again and again, they closed the distance. Again and again, they failed even to touch him.

It was as if Cain knew every movement before they made it—as if he were dancing through a future only he could see. And in truth, he was. His mind and body moved with instinct honed by countless battles—against beings far beyond anything the First Realm had to offer.

His martial prowess had transcended the Soul Realm long ago.

For Cain, their attacks felt like a child’s game. While his current Neo-Demon Body was not as powerful as his Primordial Body from the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe, his experience was the same.

There, he had fought against Prima Deities, battled through divine wars, and even defeated the Omega Clone of an Arch-Deity. His reflexes, his precision, his mastery—they had reached a level so high that the Soul Realm warriors’ battle skills before him were like flickering candles before a supernova.

To Cain, fighting Tania and Hercule was like facing two Peak Divine Transcendence Masters—impressive by local standards, but ultimately no threat.

Still, the duo refused to yield.

Gritting their teeth, they broke off from close combat and repositioned—Tania to his left, Hercule to his right. Energy surged through their weapons, and in an instant, they unleashed massive arcs of destructive power. A crimson crescent of blood magic tore through the air from Tania, while a beam of silver moonlight surged from Hercule’s axe.

If their physical strikes couldn’t reach him, then they would rely on raw power—energy that no martial skill could intercept.

But Cain’s golden eyes gleamed brighter.

He raised his arms as the attacks closed in.

A pulse of purple plasma erupted from him, racing toward the twin beams with blinding speed. The energies collided midair—

And Cain took control.

The crimson arc was wrenched from Tania’s command. The moonlight beam was redirected with a flick of his palm. Like a conductor orchestrating a cosmic symphony, he reversed the streams, sending the blood magic hurtling toward Hercule and the lunar blast toward Tania.