"The second match, Hugh against Veronica."

"It's my turn so soon." Hugh stood up and looked at the woman in the red dress opposite him, smiling and saying, "Be gentle with me, beauty."

Hugh blew a kiss towards Veronica, leaving her speechless.

"What era is this? Still playing this game?" Veronica glanced at Hugh disdainfully. She had long heard of Hugh's reputation as a playboy, so she was not surprised.

"Darling, don't be so stingy!" Hugh blew another kiss towards Veronica and said with a smile, "As an outstanding man like me, shouldn't I be welcomed by you?"

The temperature dropped instantly, and an icy force filled the air.

"I only like men who are stronger than me. Weaklings are never qualified to be welcomed by me." Veronica shut down Hugh's attempt to continue speaking with a single sentence.

"Then let me show you how I conquer your heart." A wicked smile appeared on Hugh's face as countless shadows emerged from him. These shadows were all substantial and enveloped Veronica, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Veronica waved her hand, and the power of ice condensed in her palm.

"Annihilate! Winter's Wrath!" As Veronica's voice fell, endless ice shards appeared beneath her feet.

Crack!

The ice shards beneath Veronica's feet exploded, turning into a sky full of ice fragments that flew towards the shadows. These ice fragments pierced through the shadows, making their bodies become ethereal.

"I should take this seriously now." A serious expression appeared on Hugh's face as he stretched out his hands. In front of him, the shadows began to spread throughout the arena.

"Dominate! Night's Embrace!" With a low shout from Hugh, the black shadows swept towards Veronica like dark clouds. Within these shadows, there were eerie howls that sounded like ghosts and wolves, sending chills down everyone's spines.

"As we all know, Night's Embrace reduces all Elemental Magic except for light and enhances shadow magic. Veronica, you should surrender. It's more dignified to lose this way." Hugh's mouth curled into a smile.

"Is that so? Then you should be careful." Veronica's face turned serious as she raised her right hand, and a dazzling white pillar of light burst forth from her hand.

"Stargate! Open!" As Veronica's voice fell, a horse emerged from the stargate. It was a nightmare beast, completely black with eyes that flickered with fiery red flames. Its mane was also made of fiery red flames, and red flames emanated from its hooves.

"Roar!" The nightmare beast let out a low roar and charged towards Hugh, its terrifying aura seeming to shake the heavens.

The nightmare beast possessed not only a powerful physique but also strong abilities in fire, darkness, and illusion. Anyone who looked into its eyes would immediately fall into a nightmare, and in battle, a momentary loss of focus would only lead to death.

Hugh found it very difficult to deal with. The nightmare beast was one of the best among dark creatures, and its combat power was significantly enhanced within Night's Embrace.

He immediately canceled Night's Embrace and quickly spread his wings of wind, flying away from the spot to avoid the nightmare beast's attack.

"Annihilate! Dance of the Frost Shadows!" Seeing this, Veronica quickly activated her Frost Aura Blade, turning the frost aura into giant snakes that coiled around Hugh.

The frost snakes moved at an incredible speed and almost instantly reached Hugh's back, coiling around him.

Hugh felt a sharp pain on his back, which quickly spread from his spine to his brain, making him dizzy and his scalp tingle.

"Power of the Ghost Your Majesty, activate!" Hugh immediately activated the power of the Ghost Your Majesty within him, dispersing the frost aura.

A huge black shadow appeared behind him, a ferocious monster with black mist-like crystals on its body, emitting a strange light.

"The power of the Ghost Your Majesty... Could it have swallowed the shadow of the Dark Shadow System Consciousness Space?" Seeing Hugh using the power of the Ghost Your Majesty, the spectators couldn't help but gasp. They couldn't understand how Hugh could swallow the shadow of the Dark Shadow System.

On the field, the Nightmare Beast let out a piercing scream as it spewed thick ghostly flames from its mouth. These flames spread rapidly, instantly surrounding Hugh Genick.

"Chaotic Ghost Killing Formation!" Hugh Genick shouted, and countless ghostly shadows surged from under his feet. Among these infinite ghostly shadows, a huge figure appeared. It was a gigantic devil covered in scales, with a body that was hundreds of meters long and a single palm that could cover a city.

This enormous monster was none other than Ghost Your Majesty.

"I surrender!" Veronica quickly commanded the Nightmare Beast to return to the Star Gate. She didn't dare to fight against Hugh Genick, who possessed the power of Ghost Your Majesty.

"I'm strong, right?" Hugh Genick looked proudly at Veronica.

"Tch!" Veronica gave Hugh Genick a disdainful look and left the arena.

"Hugh Genick wins!" Victor announced as he saw Veronica surrender.

Iris, who was watching from afar, looked pleased. "The quality of the martial examination is quite good. The future of the Shuowang Empire will surely be a brilliant and glorious nation."

...

"The third match, Ateris versus Ian!"

Ateris and Ian entered the arena, and they exchanged a glance filled with fighting spirit.

Hugh Genick narrowed his eyes as he stared at Ian for a while, then grinned and said, "Ateris's mentality might explode."

"Why do you say that?" Marlen asked.

"This guy is a chatterbox. He likes to trash talk while fighting. We're all young people, easily provoked and prone to attacking recklessly. Ian will seize the opportunity, deliver a fatal blow, that's his fighting style," Hugh Genick explained.

On the field, Ian's gaze fell on Ateris. "Oh, isn't this Ateris? I never expected you to participate in the martial examination...surprising."

Before Ian could finish speaking, Ateris immediately began casting magic. "Undead Summoning!"

Undead creatures emerged from the ground and attacked Ian, flooding the entire arena.

But Ian disappeared in an instant and reappeared in front of Ateris.

"These trash creatures think they can hurt me? Are you out of your mind? Hurry up and bury these undead in a graveyard so they don't waste the air here," Ian mocked, while casting magic to attack Ateris.

"Space Rupture!"

Ian unleashed a powerful Space Rupture skill, and with a loud crack, a several-meter-wide spatial rift appeared under Ateris's feet. The slash landed on Ateris's leg, leaving a bloody wound.

"Ah..." Ateris screamed in pain. He looked at Ian with an extremely ugly expression, but there was nothing he could do.

His strength was indeed too weak, he was no match for Ian at all. He was destined to lose this battle.

He then surrendered.

Ian saw this scene and a bright smile appeared on his face. "Heh heh heh, what a weakling."

"The third round, Ian wins."

The following matches were all won by overpowering opponents with cultivation, without any noteworthy highlights.

At this moment, Iris flew slowly from a distance, and everyone's gaze focused on her. Iris was dressed in a black dress, with long silver hair casually flowing behind her.

"Your Majesty, you've arrived!" Victor stood up and respectfully bowed to Iris.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," the others also bowed to Iris.

"No need for formalities." Iris nodded and sat in the chair next to the podium.

She glanced at the crowd and finally looked at Verlitt. "You don't need to continue with the assessment, come with me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Verlitt respectfully replied.

After Iris finished speaking, she left the martial examination arena.

As they watched Iris's figure disappear, the crowd began to discuss. "Your Majesty is so beautiful."

"Yes, Your Majesty is a beautiful woman, but a bit cold in temperament."

"She is the ruler of a nation, how can she be as carefree as us."

"That's true!"

...

After Iris left with Verlitt, Verlitt remained silent throughout the journey, not saying a word, just quietly following behind Iris.

"You did well in the martial arts exam this time," Iris said, looking ahead.

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty," Violet replied respectfully.

Iris turned her head and looked at Violet. "How long are you going to pretend in front of me, Violet?"

Violet's expression changed slightly. "I don't know what Your Majesty is talking about."

"Heh," Iris sneered. "If you keep pretending, I won't be polite."

"I don't know what Your Majesty is talking about," Violet's voice remained calm.

"Don't force me to get rough!" Iris's tone turned icy, her gaze sharp as if trying to pierce Violet's heart.

Violet looked at Iris and wondered, "How does she know my identity?"

"Your Majesty, I am just an ordinary magician, not the Violet you mentioned," Violet insisted.

Iris didn't waste any more words and directly waved her hand, pulling Violet into her arms.

"What are you doing, Your Majesty?" Violet struggled to say.

"What am I doing? Of course, punishing a lying friend!" Iris looked at Violet with a sinister gaze.

Violet's heart skipped a beat, thinking to herself, "A friend? Could it be..."

Before Violet could think further, Iris reached behind and pinched Violet's waist. Violet let out a scream and collapsed in Iris's arms.

"So, you are indeed Violet. Only she has such a sensitive waist," Iris chuckled lightly. She held Violet and flew towards her palace, quickly disappearing into the sky.

...

"How long do you plan to stay in my embrace?" Iris lowered her head and looked at Violet.

Violet blushed, raised her head, and met Iris's deep and cold eyes.

"Are you Iris?" Violet widened her eyes and looked at Iris.

"That's right!" Iris nodded. "Surprised?"

Violet didn't reply, thinking to herself that she had actually grown up? Three years had passed, and she had grown so much. This was something she could never have imagined.

"Weren't you missing? Why are you here? And your appearance has changed so much," Violet asked curiously.

"I was thrown into the abyss by Poqi, but luckily, I was saved by a master and managed to survive," Iris said casually. "What about you? What are you doing among the martial arts exam participants?"

"Now that you are the Empress of the Shuo Wang Empire, I won't hide it from you. I want to kill a shadow guard named Karis. He killed my grandfather," Violet gritted her teeth, expressing her extreme hatred towards Karis.

"Karis and Poqi are the same person. I have already killed him. When he reincarnates, I will let you know where he is so you can seek revenge," Iris said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, Violet felt a slight regret in her heart and felt a bit lost.

Iris seemed to sense her thoughts and said, "I have already placed a mark on his soul. When he reincarnates, you can kill him then."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Violet expressed her gratitude.

"No need for thanks," Iris waved her hand. "Violet, I hope you will stay in the Shuo Wang Empire and be loyal to me. I don't want to see anyone threatening the rule of the empire."

Violet immediately knelt before Iris and said, "I am willing to follow Your Majesty."

Iris smiled satisfactorily and helped Violet up. "You are my dear friend. There's no need for so much formality in the future."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Violet stood up and said.

"I have a question for you. How many dragons are still alive, and where are they? Do you know?" Iris asked.

Violet frowned and said, "My master is a dragon in exile, so I don't have much information about the dragon race. Besides, my master is seriously ill and has already passed away."

"I see," Iris nodded, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes. "It's getting late. Rest early."

With that, Iris turned and left.

...