The sound of footsteps drew nearer.

From the crowd emerged a youth clad in simple robes.

As he lowered his hood, his signature violet hair came into view.

He appeared young, with a sharp jawline, a straight nose, and sword-like brows framing eyes of dark gold—deep enough to pierce through all things.

Awe gripped the onlookers.

"Those dark-gold Abyssal Eyes... It’s Prince Salros... beyond doubt..."

"The prince was hiding among us just moments ago..."

Murmurs of astonishment and shock rippled through the crowd.

The Qixi royal family, who had been basking in their seven-star result moments earlier, now burned crimson with regret.

He shouldn’t have boasted so arrogantly before.

Before Prince Salros’s talent, he wasn’t even worth comparing to an insect.

"Prince Salros..."

High atop the tower, Wil’s pupils shrank as he watched the scene unfold in the square, instinctively speaking the eighth prince’s name.

"Is this what you wanted to see... Smoteg?" His voice trembled slightly.

Of course.

As royalty, Smoteg always learned such secrets first.

"More or less," the middle-aged man replied, his tone still flamboyant. He opened his eyes, fixing the square below with a fox-like, razor-sharp gaze. He, too, was curious about the eighth prince’s current abilities.

"But why?" Wil pressed.

The eighth prince was highly valued by the Emperor. The cultivation resources he could access in the imperial capital were unimaginable. Stellar Abyss Academy couldn’t possibly offer a single student so much.

Yet Salros had willingly left the capital’s privileges behind to come here. Wil couldn’t fathom it.

"Obviously... because of the Stellar Abyss Pillar," Smoteg answered. It was no secret. "The Pillar’s awakening will inevitably stir changes within the Star Devouring Demon Emperor’s relics hidden in the academy. For anyone, this is a monumental opportunity."

The eighth prince must hold some secret to have acted so decisively.

"It’s been nearly three years. The prince and His Majesty grow more alike by the day," Smoteg mused with a smile. "But how does his talent and bloodline purity compare to the Emperor’s back then?"

At the very least, claiming first place should be effortless.

...

Back in the square.

Ordinary demons quailed before Salros, but Louise locked her gaze onto his face, fists clenched until her nails bit into her palms.

*That face...*

The one that made her very soul burn with hatred. The one she longed to tear limb from limb.

So alike to her elder brother’s.

"Haa—"

She inhaled sharply, forcing calm.

Blood seeped through her fingers; the sting grounded her.

"Is this fate overlapping?" she whispered. "Years ago, my brother and I entered this academy too, competing in these very trials. Now, reborn, I stand here again while his prized prince steps onto this square. Back then, we tied. But this time..."

Her eyes hardened as she stared at the silhouette backlit before the crystal. "I’ll claim first place. I’ll shatter the royal family’s pride completely."

"P-Prince Salros, please proceed," the Hall Master said, suddenly standing respectfully aside. The instructor, too, bowed with deep reverence.

"Thank you," Salros replied politely, leaving both men flustered.

He walked toward the crystal, hand outstretched. Every heart in the square hammered against ribs.

Even before the result appeared, they already saw him as an unscalable mountain.

*Huuuum—*

Blinding light erupted. The first seven stars ignited instantly.

Then the eighth began to glow. A vast, ancient aura rippled from it across the entire square.

From the fifth to sixth star lay the gap between the merely excellent and true geniuses.

From the sixth to seventh separated geniuses from those destined to become Demon Sovereigns.

If the former was the distance from ocean depths to mountain peaks, the latter was the span between stargazers and the stars themselves.

As for the eighth—

Only those with the makings of an Emperor could light it.

*HUUUUM—*

When the eighth star blazed brighter than the rest, breaths caught in throats.

The Hall Master gasped. Wil dropped his book. Smoteg froze—*the prince’s bloodline is purer than before.*

Beyond the eighth star, the starry void flickered as Salros strained toward the ninth.

But he failed.

The ninth star remained distant.

Even so, his result surpassed all participants, shattering the academy’s century-old record.

As for that ancient record—

It belonged to two names tied for first: the current Emperor, and another sealed away as a traitor, erased from history.

"May I have my result announced, Hall Master?" Salros turned, smiling at the elder.

"Testee #2145: Eight stars illuminated. Bloodline purity: Supreme... Ranked first!" The old man snapped out of his daze, voice trembling with excitement.

*Truly Prince Salros.*

Effortlessly achieving what no other Abyssal Demon could.

He stood like a mountain blocking the sun, casting all others into shadow.

"Eight stars?" Louise murmured. "So he still falls short of my brother and me back then."

But now...

She was reborn, yet incomplete. She believed she could light eight stars too, but the ninth remained out of reach.

Still, she might try.

"Whether I succeed or not, when scores are calculated precisely, I’ll rank above the prince. This time, first place belongs to me—Louise. No doubt."

She was certain.

"Hah... hahaha..."

A lightness filled her. Her tone turned playful, almost flippant: "As expected. All small fry. Even *his* prince only managed this much~"

"What’s she muttering about?"

"Dunno, but seeing her smile makes my fists itch."

Whispers followed Louise as she grinned, lost in daydreams.

Salros returned to the sidelines. The crowd parted, clearing a three-meter radius around him.

He had no intention of leaving yet.

"Testee #2146: Luluie!"

The Hall Master resumed his seat. The instructor cleared his throat, calling the next name—but his voice held only detached routine.

Of course.

After witnessing the prince’s miracle, the rest was meaningless.

Like watching a censored version on some pink app after seeing the full release.

His heart felt numb.

The crowd, too, remained spellbound by Salros’s feat.

Amidst the silence, a golden-haired beauty stepped forward.

"Whoa! So gorgeous!"

"Hell yeah! Came for the prince, stayed for this angel. Gotta get her contact later."

"It’s Miss Luluie. Her talent’s decent, but no match for the prince’s impact."

Scattered voices rose across the square.

"She..." Salros looked up, momentarily stunned by Luyi’s beauty.

*The pretty sister from earlier.*

Louise glanced up. She liked Luyi, but doubted her talent—she’d sensed no demonic aura from the girl before.

*Probably too weak. Just a pretty small fry.*

She shook her head.

"Place your hand on the crystal’s surface. Follow its pull and release your power gently," the instructor said, his tone softening for Luyi.

She nodded gratefully. Under sparse attention, her delicate hand touched the crystal.

Carefully. Cautiously. Gently...

She released the power of the Demon Sovereign’s Mark.

*BOOOOM—*

Within the ancient star chart, an invisible tidal wave surged!

The first seven stars blazed to life instantly.

"WHA—?!"

Before the Hall Master could finish speaking, the roar of the *eighth* star igniting drowned out everything.

Faster than the prince’s.

Its ancient aura... far denser than Salros’s!

Heads snapped up.

They saw the starry void beyond the eighth star ignite without hesitation—the ninth star flared to life in one breath!

A deeper, older, lonelier power washed over the square.

All stars now blazed.

The Hall Master shot to his feet. The two men in the clock tower gaped, utterly dumbfounded.

"T-this...!"

Salros felt a wave of absurdity crash over him.

But it wasn’t over—

*CRACKLE-CRUNCH—*

The six-winged stone beast, forged in the Star Devouring Demon Emperor’s era and unmoved for millennia, *stirred*.

Stone shards rained down. Light blazed fiercer in its eyes.

Clumsily, reverently, it lowered its head before Luyi.