Obviously, progression to the Nascent Soul realm would be very beneficial for me, but it would put the princess in a hard spot. I was only supposed to be fighting against youth, and while there are those my current age or young enough in that realm, they are not the type of geniuses who would show their face for just a simple battle over a particular resource.

  This meant the favor I owed the princess would have to be cut short.

  So, staying in the Core Formation realm right now, just for the sake of fulfilling my favor, worked better.

  And with that, I fought quite a few more battles with the supposed teenagers. Now obviously teenagers was a broad scope. They could have been thirteen years of age, and maybe they were seventeen. I do not know.

  The fact remains that for almost all of them, they had never been in a true life and death situation. Wars were not fought here, and if there were any sort of problems to be handled, it would not be them sent out for it. There were actual armies and multiple military forces always on standby for the empire. Most families or forces here would not have their little heirs participate in such things.

  I suppose that is why fighting all of them did not really pose too much of an issue for me.

  They were not battle tested. Simple as that.

  In total, I fought seven more battles before not only did requests for fights stop coming in, but any request the princess herself sent out was either swiftly denied or told to wait. And waiting between immortals could mean a decade to even a millennium, so that was apparently just some roundabout way of telling the princess to back off. Which meant the favor I owed the princess was now repaid.

  There was talk of a second favor, but apparently, I repaid that one as well just by being here, and I was to teach humility to her descendants. Especially the one who dared to raise his mouth at me when I had only just arrived.

  I am not sure what she told him about me, but her actions since I have been here sort of make sense now. She knew who I was, and she knew my temperament. And I knew that if she really did not want that boy to bother me, it would have been impossible for him to even make it to my estate.

  She allowed that to happen, and in a sense, I was used.

  But I was forgiven. She considered that her second favor, and all my debts were repaid, which meant I had somewhat of a decision to make. Would I continue to stay here for a while longer? It has not even been a year since I have been here. Or would I leave?

  The answer to that was easy. I would leave.

  I have made quite a few people angry with being here and defeating their little snobby brats, so staying here and wandering around might only invite more problems than I care to take on at the moment. Which of course then brought up another question. Leave and go where exactly?

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  And that answer came not from me, but from the princess. As a token of goodwill, she would be transporting me free of charge to another universe. One that was apparently bigger and far more volatile than the one we were currently in.

  Since it was not necessarily under the control of one power, there were multiple sects and clans and families and kingdoms and empires and all manner of other things in this new universe. And she made sure to warn me that I would be on my own there. There would not be someone waiting for me or gifting me an entire estate the size of a small village for my people and me to stay in.

  Anyone and everyone could very well be hostile to me.

  And honestly, that excited me even more.

  But things were not so simple. A couple days before what should have been my departure, the princess appeared before me. And honestly, this was the most serious I have ever seen her.

  "Lord Raizen, it appears word of your prowess has reached the ears of some truly important people of my empire. A descendant of the First High Prince is currently on his way to see you.

  "There is a good reason to believe that he will likely propose to fight you.

  "But this will not be simple. Nothing involving the upper echelon of our empire is ever simple. And when it comes to them, my words have no meaning and no power. I cannot make you fight them, nor can I deny them entry to the estate. Anything that happens between you will be up to you.

  “All I will say is that even if you happen to be stronger than this descendant, do not kill them. Even if you have the ability to survive a war with my empire, unfortunately my family will not be spared, since it was us who invited you here. So, I plead with you, do not kill the young man you are about to face."

  "I will not."

  I do not know if she wanted more words than that, but that was all she would get from me. I was not going to kill whoever this was. But I did not miss the subtle meaning behind what she said. If I happen to be stronger than him, does that not mean she believes I am not? And to take that step further, would that not mean that a good fight was waiting for me?

  How could I not get excited at the thought of it? I did not give a damn how important this person was to their empire. All I wanted was a good fight. So, I did not rush to leave, nor did I find a way to hide myself. I simply waited.

  And before the day was over, a massive ship appeared above the estates. It was black in color, pitch black even, and all I could really make out on the surface was the silhouette of it.

  Then without warning or any sort of preamble, a massive group descended into the courtyard where I still waited.

  Every single one of them gave off the feeling of strength and power. And even more interesting, they were all covered in pristine black scales.

  Honestly, as someone who also favors the color black, I could not deny their beauty.

  "So, you are the one who has been making all the noise as of late.

  "I do not have time for any colorful pretenses, nor do I care about the thoughts of others. I simply came here to find someone interesting. Ready yourself."

  Honestly, it bothered me that he ordered me to ready myself, but at the same time a grin made its way onto my face regardless. This was what I was looking for. No politics, no stupid discussions about honor or anything else. He wanted to fight, so he came here to fight. So, a fight he should get.

  Only he did not have a weapon in his hands.

  In a second, I brought my spear forward. He took off toward me in a mad dash, similar to how I would have likely started an attack if it was up to me.

  Fast.

  Faster than anything I have seen since I have been in this universe of theirs. He reached me in a flash, his fist seeming bigger than it actually was, bearing down on me like a boulder crashing into the earth.

  THIS WAS IT INDEED.