?"How dare you look down on me, a mere human!" Royal Guard Basar's countenance seethed with anger, incensed by Yuan's suggestion that he take a break.
Yuan shrugged and remarked, "Why do giants obsessively look down on humans? If I recall correctly, giants used to be humans."
"..."
The entire venue fell into an abrupt and eerie silence as if Yuan had uttered something he wasn't supposed to disclose.
After a moment of chilling silence, Royal Guard Basar erupted with extreme anger, roaring, "Blasphemy! The audacity to compare a giant's bloodline to that of a lowly human! I will not let this slide!"
Royal Guard Basar's eyes turned red, resembling that of a wild beast, and his aura gushed with immense killing intent.
However, no matter how angry he got, he was still below Yuan in strength, and after another hour of brawling, Royal Guard Basar exhausted his spiritual energy and mental strength.
Eventually, Royal Guard Basar succumbed, dropping to his knees with a broken arm that no longer recovered.
"Victor—Tian Yang!" The judge declared a few seconds later when he could not sense any will to fight in Royal Guard Basar's eyes.
Yuan took a deep breath before walking off the stage.
Despite winning the fight, he was not satisfied with the results, as it had taken him everything to defeat Royal Guard Basar. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
'I won't be able to win the future matches at this rate. I have to find a way to further strengthen myself before the next match begins!' He thought to himself.
Just as Yuan walked off the stage, Giant Emperor Kulas stood from his seat and spoke, "We will stop here for today and will resume in 48 hours."
'This is perfect!' Yuan smiled inwardly.
Seeing how he was given so much time, Yuan realized that the Stairway to Heaven already anticipated that he would lose the next match and gave him some time to prepare.
'The Stairway to Heaven expects me to grow during the trials. After all, this place is also a training ground for me.'
For most, the Stairway to Heaven is perceived merely as a bothersome wall one must climb to reach the upper heavens. Few pause to ponder its true purpose—a training ground, offering an opportunity to surpass one's limits.
"What are you waiting for?" Giant Emperor Kulas asked his daughter when he noticed that she wasn't following him back to the palace.
Princess Meiya replied with a smile, "I'm going to stay with my new friends for a little longer."
Giant Emperor Kulas looked at her gaze that was directed in Yuan's direction and laughed out loud, "Why don't you invite your friends to the palace?"
"Are you sure, father?"
"When have I ever doubted myself?" Giant Emperor Kulas said before disappearing from the scene.
A few moments later—
"Look! Princess Meiya is coming to the crowd!"
"I wonder what she's going to say?!"
"My heavens! I have never seen her this close before! I will remember this moment for the rest of my life!"
While under the audience's gaze, Princess Meiya leaped into the air and landed right behind Yuan and Huang Xiao Li.
"Hey, if you don't have any place to stay for the next 48 hours, why don't you come to the palace with me? I've already got my father's approval, so you just need to nod." Princess Meiya asked them with a beaming smile on her face.
"What?! The royal family has invited them to the palace?! But they're humans! No human has ever stepped foot inside the royal palace before!"
Yuan looked at Huang Xiao Li and her family and asked, "What do you guys think?"
"We are not foolish enough to reject the Princess' generosity. Naturally, we are willing to accompany the Princess to the palace," Huang Xiao Li declared.
"You heard them," Yuan said to her.
"Great! Then I will bring us to the palace immediately!"
Without any delay, Princess Meiya retrieved a device and poured her spiritual energy into it.
In the ensuing moment, Yuan and the others' bodies started emanating a radiant blue light before abruptly disappearing from their current location.
Upon reappearing, they found themselves within a vast and opulent building, and in comparison to the enormity of their surroundings, they were practically akin to ants.
"Wow… As expected of the royal family's home. This place is as large as an entire human city!" Huang Xiao Li was greatly awed by the spectacle before her eyes.
"This is just the lobby. The actual rooms are much bigger than this." Princess Meiya smiled.
"Come, let me show you your rooms."
Yuan followed Princess Meiya, but since the place was so huge, it didn't seem like they were moving even though they had been walking for several minutes already.
"Do you walk around like this all the time?" Huang Xiao Li asked her.
"No, I am usually in my giant form when I am at home. Want me to carry you guys?"
"I don't think that would be appropriate for a princess such as yourself…" Huang Chen said with a nervous expression on his face.
"Don't worry about it. I couldn't care less about such things."
After saying such words, Princess Meiya began growing in size, quickly reaching 50 meters tall.
As her growth ceased, she extended her open hand towards them, signaling for them to climb onto her palm.
Without hesitation, Yuan leaped onto her palm, and once everyone had settled on her palm, Princess Meiya resumed walking.
"Whoa! This is so fun!" Huang Xiao Li exclaimed as she spread her arms wide as if she wanted to embrace the wind.
Sometime later, they arrived before a massive door.
"This will be your room. Since it's large enough to fit a thousand humans with ease and for convenience's sake, you guys can share it. Of course, if you wish to have your own room, it won't be difficult to make such arrangements either." Princess Meiya said to them.
"I'm fine with sharing the room," Yuan said as he looked at the Huang Family, who also had no objections.
Princess Meiya nodded upon their approval and opened the massive door with a single hand.