“Lia!”
Yugia looked up at the sky at the sound.
Seeing his beloved sister unharmed—arriving on a cloud like an immortal—his joy shone unmistakably clear.
No words could capture that overwhelming feeling.
Yet beneath the joy, a trace of fear and confusion lingered in his heart…
“Shaya… No way… Why is Shaya…”
His little brother, long believed dead, was descending from the heavens alongside his sister.
A divine miracle? Or some kind of reanimation?
Flustered, Yugia barely registered Lia and Cang Xiaoxi landing beside him.
“Brother Yugia.”
The moment her feet touched the ground, Lia leaped from Cang Xiaoxi’s arms into Yugia’s, hugging her beloved older brother tightly. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks.
“Mm… Mm. I’m here.”
Yugia gently stroked his weeping sister.
Though countless questions swirled in his mind, he chose to cherish this reunion first.
The tearful embrace of long-lost siblings moved everyone present—even their enemy, Sadom, paused mid-motion.
Surely no one would interrupt…
No. Except one.
“Sorry to cut your tearful reunion short, but payment first? I’m in a hurry.”
*Payment? What is this kid talking about?*
The heartfelt moment shattered.
Confused, Yugia gently eased Lia away and turned toward Cang Xiaoxi—still mistaken for Shaya—with older-brotherly irritation.
“Shaya, what nonsense is this? Payment? More importantly—how are you alive? Weren’t you already…”
His tone blended relief with stern demand.
“Tch. Still mistaken? What a hassle.”
Cang Xiaoxi frowned, abandoned the fee, and turned to leave.
“Brother Yugia, you’re wrong! He’s not Brother Shaya!” Lia darted forward, clutching his arm lest he vanish. A blush dusted her cheeks as she shyly added, “…H-he’s my Prince Charming who saved me… Brother Xiao Xi.”
“Not Shaya…”
Yugia studied Cang Xiaoxi closely.
Indeed—though strikingly similar to his late brother, this black-haired youth was not Shaya.
Then who was he? And the black hair?
Questions flooded his mind. But worse: why was his sweet little sister acting like a lovestruck girl?
*Has my innocent sister… fallen for someone?*
*No! As her brother, I will never allow it!*
Prince Yugia had completely misread the scene. His hidden sister complex surfaced without disguise.
Ah, the fleeting thrill of a sister complex… the eternal bliss of embracing it.
In that moment, a sister-protecting warrior was born.
“Ahem. Sorry, I’ve got things to do.” Sensing trouble thickening, Cang Xiaoxi tried to shake Lia’s hand off his arm. *Must leave before this sticks.*
But wait—don’t forget who else was here. What was *really* happening?
“Since the little princess delivered herself… don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Sadom lunged toward the unsuspecting princess, Imitation Holy Sword gleaming—never intending to release her after claiming it.
“Damn it!” Yugia spun back. “You guard Lia! Sadom’s mine!”
No time for romance worries. Sword raised, he charged.
Steel met steel. Air trembled. A deadly dance began.
Then—Sadom vanished again.
No pause. Agonized cries erupted behind him.
Crimson splashed. Blinding as the sun.
The two soldiers shielding Lia and Cang Xiaoxi lay fallen the instant Yugia turned.
“Lia!”
He halted, rushing back.
*Never again. I will never lose her again.*
But cruel reality mocked him.
The moment Yugia turned, Sadom’s hand reached for the innocent girl—
“Tch. Annoying. Snatching people right in front of me?”
With a sharp click of his tongue, Cang Xiaoxi strode forward. Lia watched—not with relief, but starry-eyed awe.
His eyes held zero mercy.
“Pah… impossible… How did I not sense that…”
Sadom coughed blood, lungs wounded.
*Who is this kid? Looks like Prince Shaya… but that kick?*
Stunned, he pushed himself up. Peak of Transcendent Rank physique kept him standing.
He reevaluated the black-haired youth—*Moxili royal?*—wiping blood from his lip.
“Boy. State your name. To injure this Deputy Instructor… your name deserves remembrance.”
Cang Xiaoxi paused, eyes narrowing at Sadom’s unshaken arrogance. A scornful smirk surfaced.
“Hmph. You’ve got it backward. No—you’re not even worthy of *my* name.”
“What?!” Sadom’s brow twitched. He sighed through gritted teeth. “Thought I met a rival. Just a greenhorn.”
His cold gaze swept over Cang Xiaoxi like a blade.
*High Tier at most. Maybe sharp reflexes. How could a kid wet behind the ears land a hit on someone halfway to Divine Tier?*
Guard lowered. No need for spatial power against mere High Tier.
“I’ll teach you—overconfidence leads to a fall, kid.”
“Same answer: You’re not worthy.”
Words between the strong: short, sharp.
Sadom swung his sword and charged—
—and froze.
“Told you. You’re not worthy.”
*Thud.*
“Ugh… You…”
Grotesque face. A fist-sized bulge on his back. Drool leaked from slack lips.
No one saw it happen.
Only this truth: a being at the Peak of Transcendent Rank, felled in one punch by a boy who looked ten. Collapsed. Lifeless.
“Th-this… Am I dreaming? Sadom… taken down so easily?”
Yugia stood speechless.
*One punch to Peak of Transcendent Rank? Divine Tier?*
“No… impossible. Sixth Divine Tier can’t exist. The Goddess’s rule is absolute.”
He shook his head. Divine Tier wasn’t about skill—it was forbidden. Five. Always five.
Then… how?
“Brother Yugia, you saw! Brother Xiao Xi beat the bad guy instantly! Just like when he saved me—two moves and done!”
“R-right…”
Lia, now Cang Xiaoxi’s devoted fangirl, clutched Yugia’s arm. His expression cracked.
Watching his sister cheer for a stranger… Yugia wasn’t just annoyed. He was *seething*.
*…Why do I feel cheated on? Later. We’re having a talk.*
Silently drafting sister-protection protocols, he kept watching—
—and saw it.
The Imitation Holy Sword… rejecting Sadom.
