However, before the complaints could continue any further—

Boom!!!

A terrifying wave of sword intent exploded violently from Ray’s body.

The sharp pressure sweeping across the platform caused several participants’ expressions to change instantly.

Ray’s eyes turned incomparably icy cold.

"Anyone who interferes..."

His voice became chilling to the extreme.

"...will die first."

Silence immediately descended afterward.

No one doubted the seriousness hidden behind those words.

Ray Willer currently stood at Rank 2 within the Survival Trial.

And unlike ordinary participants from the lower layers, everyone standing upon the eighth layer clearly understood just how terrifying someone capable of reaching such a ranking truly was.

Jonathan suddenly burst into laughter from the side.

"Hahaha! Interesting!"

He casually rested his spear across his shoulder while looking back and forth between Max and Ray with obvious excitement.

"So you finally want to settle things openly?"

Julie also slowly stepped backward while brushing away the spiritual energy surrounding her body.

"This platform is already chaotic enough," she said calmly. "Watching the two of you fight might actually be more entertaining."

Several other top geniuses exchanged glances afterward.

Although some of them clearly appeared dissatisfied at being forced to stop competing over the cave, none of them truly wished to get caught between Max and Ray at this moment.

The killing intent radiating between the two had already become far too intense.

Soon afterward, one participant after another gradually stopped fighting before retreating toward the outer edges of the platform.

The center of the battlefield slowly became completely empty.

Only Max and Ray remained standing opposite one another.

Violent winds continuously swept across the eighth layer while both of their robes fluttered sharply in the air. Terrifying pressure spread constantly between the two as though the space around them itself had become unstable.

Ray’s sword intent grew sharper and sharper while he continued staring directly at Max.

Meanwhile, Max simply smiled faintly.

"So impatient?" Max asked calmly.

Ray’s eyes narrowed dangerously afterward.

"You should know by now," he replied coldly, "that I’ve been waiting for this moment since the trial began."

The killing intent within his voice no longer remained hidden in the slightest.

It erupted openly without restraint.

At that moment—

Everyone standing upon the platform clearly understood something.

This was no ordinary battle over a cave treasure.

This was a clash between two monsters standing at the very peak of the Survival Trial.

Max silently stared toward Ray with narrowed eyes while faint strands of seven-colored lightning flickered continuously around his body like restless dragons coiling through the air.

For some reason, Ray was giving him an unusually dangerous feeling.

It was not simply because of Ray’s strength, nor was it merely because of his terrifying ranking within the Survival Trial. Max had already faced many powerful geniuses before, including opponents whose combat ability far surpassed ordinary cultivators within the same realm. Throughout his journey, he had encountered countless monstrous talents and terrifying enemies.

Yet the feeling Ray gave him was completely different.

There was something hidden beneath the surface.

Something dangerous enough to make even Max instinctively cautious.

The memory of Ray’s earlier words gradually resurfaced within Max’s mind once more.

Hunter and prey.

Ray had openly declared from the very beginning that he intended to kill him inside the Survival Trial.

And the more Max thought about it, the more serious the situation gradually became in his mind.

Inside the Soul Sealing Painting, death was not supposed to be real.

Under normal circumstances, once a participant was defeated, their soul would simply be expelled from the painting before safely returning to their original body outside.

That was the fundamental rule governing the trial.

Yet despite knowing this clearly, Ray still spoke with absolute confidence about taking Max’s life.

"Does he truly possess some method capable of killing me inside this place?" Max wondered inwardly.

His expression gradually became more serious afterward.

Max had never underestimated the major powers of the Divine Realm.

Especially not a terrifying existence like the Sword God Palace.

That force stood at the absolute peak of sword cultivation within the entire Divine Realm. Their foundations were unimaginably deep while their methods and inheritances were so ancient and mysterious that ordinary people could never fully comprehend them.

And Ray Willer—

Clearly possessed connections with them.

That fact alone was already enough reason for Max to remain vigilant.

Even if Ray himself was not the true danger, the methods, treasures, and hidden cards connected to the Sword God Palace absolutely could be.

At that moment, Ray noticed that Max still had not attacked immediately.

A cold smile slowly appeared across his face afterward.

"What?" Ray asked mockingly. "Are you backing down already?"

His voice carried obvious ridicule and disdain.

The nearby participants immediately focused even more intensely upon the confrontation between the two monsters standing at the center of the platform.

Ray slowly lifted the sword in his hand while his gaze remained locked firmly upon Max.

"You know..." he said calmly, although the hatred hidden beneath his voice was becoming increasingly obvious with every passing second, "I have wanted to teach you a lesson for a very long time."

Sharp sword intent gradually spread outward from Ray’s body while violent spiritual energy continuously swirled around him like a gathering storm.

"I hated watching someone like you become famous overnight."

His tone became colder and colder with every word he spoke.

"You appeared out of nowhere, picked up the sword left behind by the Sword Sovereign, and suddenly the entire Divine Realm started talking about you."

The grip around Ray’s sword tightened faintly.

"And meanwhile..."

A dangerous look slowly surfaced within his eyes.

"I spent centuries fighting, cultivating, bleeding, and clawing my way upward."

His voice gradually rose as the emotions within him became increasingly unstable.

"I worked harder than countless people."

"I trained endlessly."

"I defeated genius after genius."

The sword intent erupting from his body gradually became sharper and more violent.

"But not once..."

The killing intent surrounding Ray intensified drastically.

"Not once did the world ever acknowledge me the same way they acknowledged you."

The surrounding atmosphere became increasingly tense as everyone silently listened to his words.

Even Jonathan Myres’ expression gradually turned thoughtful.

Meanwhile, Ray’s gaze toward Max grew colder and colder, almost as though years of resentment and frustration were finally exploding outward openly.

"To them, you are the rising genius of this generation."

"To them, you are the successor of the Sword Sovereign."

A sneer gradually appeared upon his face afterward.

"But to me..."

Boom!!!

His sword intent exploded violently across the entire platform.

"You are nothing more than a lucky thief who happened to take away a sword!"

Terrifying pressure erupted outward instantly as the stone beneath Ray’s feet shattered apart while sharp sword intent spread through the surroundings like invisible blades slicing across the air itself.

The nearby participants instinctively retreated even farther away after sensing the horrifying sharpness erupting from his body.

"And today..." Ray continued coldly while slowly pointing his sword directly toward Max, "I am going to expose the truth to everyone."

His eyes flashed with deadly killing intent.

"I will show the world exactly how weak you truly are."