After killing the monsters with a single strike of the Saint Origin Sword Art, Max had barely lowered his sword when a series of notifications suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[+10 Killing Points]

[+10 Killing Points]

[+10 Killing Points]

[+10 Killing Points]

.....

The notifications continued appearing one after another at astonishing speed, filling his vision continuously until all twenty seven kills had been accounted for.

Max blinked slightly as he looked at the messages floating before him.

"So killing monsters here grants points?" he muttered with visible surprise.

His gaze swept across the notifications again as he quickly calculated the total.

"Ten points from each monster..." he said thoughtfully. "Which means a peak tenth level Law Refinement Realm monster is worth ten killing points."

The moment that thought crossed his mind, another change suddenly occurred.

A small translucent screen appeared directly within his field of vision.

It floated quietly before him, simple in appearance yet extremely clear.

[Name: Max Morgan]

[Killing Points: 270]

[Rank: 6]

Max narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the information displayed before him.

"A ranking system?" he murmured.

His expression turned thoughtful almost immediately.

"Is this updating in real time based on accumulated killing points?"

Until now, he had assumed the Survival Trial would simply be a chaotic battle royale where participants fought to remain among the last survivors. However, the appearance of this ranking system made him realize the trial was far more structured than he initially thought.

The Soul Sealing Painting was not merely a battlefield.

It was an entire self-regulating world with its own laws and systems.

The deeper Max observed it, the more shocked he became by the sophistication behind it all. Everything had been carefully arranged to imitate the Cosmic Ascension Conference as closely as possible.

Just as he was contemplating the depth of this artificial world, his Dimensional Sovereign Body suddenly detected movement nearby.

Rustling sounds echoed from all directions.

Without warning, another group of monsters emerged from the forest and surrounded him once more.

Max raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Another horde already?" he said, sounding genuinely surprised this time. "This really is a survival trial."

The monsters before him were no weaker than the previous group. Large beast-like creatures with vicious claws and bloodshot eyes slowly circled him while releasing low threatening growls. Their auras clearly indicated that every single one of them stood at the peak of the Law Refinement Realm.

However, Max showed no intention of wasting time.

The moment the monsters lunged toward him, his sword moved again.

A cold flash of sword light swept through the forest.

The Saint Origin Sword Art erupted silently once more.

For a brief instant, the monsters continued charging as though nothing had happened.

Then their bodies split apart simultaneously.

Blood sprayed across the forest as corpses crashed heavily onto the ground one after another.

Once again, the terrifying precision of the Saint Origin Sword Art revealed itself completely. There were no massive shockwaves or destructive explosions. The sword strike was so refined that only the targets themselves were destroyed.

Moments later, the familiar notifications began appearing rapidly before Max’s eyes again.

[+10 Killing Points]

[+10 Killing Points]

[+10 Killing Points] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[+10 Killing Points]

....

The notifications stacked continuously until the entire group had been accounted for.

Soon, the screen before him updated once again.

[Name: Max Morgan]

[Killing Points: 500]

[Rank: 5]

"Rank five..." Max muttered quietly as he looked at the updated ranking.

However, he did not pay too much attention to it.

With his current strength, climbing the rankings was not difficult. What truly interested him was something else entirely.

A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

He already understood that if someone died within the Soul Sealing Painting, their soul would simply be expelled and returned to their original body outside. In other words, elimination here did not mean true death.

But another question quickly surfaced in his mind.

"What happens if a participant kills another participant?" Max wondered inwardly.

His eyes flickered faintly.

"Do their killing points disappear..."

"Or are they transferred to the killer?"

The more he thought about it, the more likely the second possibility seemed.

And if that was true—

Then the real danger of this Survival Trial was not the monsters.

It was the participants themselves.

"I need to find other participants," Max muttered quietly as he looked into the depths of the endless forest before him.

The moment those words left his mouth, seven colored lightning suddenly burst out around his body.

Boom!

The ground beneath Max instantly shattered apart as his figure shot forward at astonishing speed.

His body transformed into a streak of seven colored light that tore through the forest like a meteor. Massive trees blurred past him one after another while violent winds exploded outward in his wake.

As he moved, his Dimensional Sovereign Body continuously spread through the surroundings, scanning everything within range.

Since killing monsters granted killing points, Max was almost certain that participants themselves were the true source of points within this trial. After all, a survival trial designed to imitate the Cosmic Ascension Conference would never remain a simple monster hunt.

The real danger had always been the other geniuses.

And just as Max expected, it did not take long before he sensed powerful energy fluctuations erupting somewhere ahead.

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed through the forest.

The sounds of weapon clashes followed immediately after, mixed with angry shouts and bursts of spiritual energy.

Max’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Without slowing down, he immediately changed direction and rushed toward the source.

Soon, he arrived above a large clearing hidden deep within the forest.

The scene below him was chaotic.

More than a dozen disciples were fighting fiercely against one another while several monster corpses lay scattered across the battlefield. Trees had already been uprooted while deep craters covered the ground from the intensity of the battle.

A young man wielding a massive spear roared furiously as he forced another participant backward.

"Hand over your points and eliminate yourself!" he shouted. "You already lost!"

The disciple being pressured spat out blood before glaring fiercely.

"You think you can scare me?" he roared back angrily. "If you want my points, then come and take them yourself!"

Nearby, another participant suddenly sneered coldly while wiping blood from the corner of his lips.

"Stop pretending like any of us are here to cooperate," he said mockingly. "Everyone already understands the rules. The monsters are just bait. The fastest way to gain points is by hunting other participants."

Several people nearby remained silent, but the greed within their eyes made it clear they agreed completely.

Nobody trusted anyone.

Nobody wanted to form alliances.

After all, only fifty participants could survive.

That meant everyone else had to fall.

Just then, one of the participants suddenly sensed movement above the clearing.

His expression changed immediately as he looked toward the sky.

"Wait..." he said abruptly before pointing upward. "Someone’s there!"

The fierce battle below instantly slowed as every participant turned their attention upward.

Then they saw him.