Chapter 450: Unequalled Status
Starsibyl did not say anything else. Although Zhang Dingtian’s performance was extraordinary, his opponent was Mu Rong, who was unequalled within the Limiteer realm. That designation had not been made by just one Arbiter, and even she had to acknowledge his power. Mu Rong’s power fundamentally exceeded the Limiteer realm.
Now that Zhang Dingtian’s long blade was supported by his battle force, he was able to withstand Mu Rong’s blow. The tip of the blade spun and sliced out in an instant, but Mu Rong leaped up to avoid the blade while his wooden flute tapped towards Zhang Dingtian’s skull. The swordsman raised a hand to grab the wooden flute, and with the support of his five-lined battle force, his strength surpa.s.sed the limits of what Mu Rong could bear. The blade in Zhang Dingtian’s right hand rose up as he firmly slashed out. He knew that Mu Rong had not used his full power yet, but that didn’t stop Zhang Dingtian from putting his all into this attack.
Now that Zhang Dingtian had grabbed the wooden flute, Mu Rong only had two options available. He could either abandon his flute and dodge the approaching sword, or he could attempt to forcibly withstand the attack.
In the end, he decided to take the second option. Mu Rong made no attempts to evade the sword.
Zhang Dingtian had survived countless battlefields. He had started off as a soldier on Earth, and he was not afraid of death or ma.s.sacres. His blade ruthlessly struck out, causing many to feel numb since it gave off an impression of being unblockable. Would Mu Rong die here at the Sea King"s Dome?
Whoosh!
Shockwaves rippled out in all directions, and the water beneath Mu Rong and Zhang Dingtian’s feet was repulsed by the sheer force. Zhang Dingtian’s blade stopped less than a centimeter from Mu Rong’s head, at which point it could not move any further. Additionally, the void in that area had gone deathly silent. A bizarre phenomenon had emerged; right beneath the two combatants’ feet, within one of the Skyfall Cascades, green gra.s.s appeared as the vague image of a farmer boy herding cattle appeared in the void.
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at this scene. What was this?
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. This was a forcefield, which could only be displayed after one comprehended their domain to a certain degree, and they were able to alter the natural environment. During the Tournament of the Strongest, a woman named Zi Jun, who was from the Cosmic Sea’s Longevity Brigade, had revealed a forcefield, one which allowed her to change the environment around her into a jade color. Liu Shaoqiu’s Fourth Sword was capable of a similar feat, but there were too few people who could reach such a stage. Lu Yin himself had made zero headway in this matter, but now, Mu Rong was displaying such an impressive ability.
Though both of them had comprehended forcefields, Mu Rong’s forcefield was clearly much stronger than Zi Jun’s. His forcefield even had a faint image of a farmer boy and cattle within a picturesque green landscape, and the image almost seemed alive. This was a level of a domain that Lu Yin could not understand.
It wasn’t only Lu Yin who was lost; Zhang Dingtian similarly could not understand this forcefield. His blade had just been blocked by an imperceptible strength.
Suddenly, the wooden flute shook, causing Zhang Dingtian to lose his grip and retreat several steps back. A crack sounded out from his long blade, and Mu Rong’s wooden flute was pressed up against his chest before he could react. “You’re very strong to be able to reach such a step.”
Zhang Dingtian still wanted to retaliate with his broken blade, but he discovered to his shock that he was completely suppressed within this s.p.a.ce.
“What’s your name?” Mu Rong looked at Zhang Dingtian seriously.
“Zhang Dingtian.”
Mu Rong had a solemn expression. “I’ll remember it.”
He then exerted some strength through the wooden flute and sent Zhang Dingtian rapidly flying away. He was flung towards the bank of the waterway, crash landing in a mountain before finally falling into a field.
Everyone in the Sea King"s Dome watched the scene unfold. They had a.s.sumed that Mu Rong was in a crisis, but the final outcome was very different from their expectations. Zhang Dingtian was exceptionally powerful, and he clearly surpa.s.sed Lan Yu, but he had still been powerless before Mu Rong. The more strength that Zhang Dingtian revealed, the stronger Mu Rong seemed to become.
Lu Yin’s face turned grave; Mu Rong would be a formidable opponent, the likes of whom he had not encountered before. Just like Tian Hou, Mu Rong was on another extreme level compared to his peers.
“Seventh Bro, I never thought that there could be another Limiteer who could still threaten you. This person is scary!” the monkey commented.
Lu Yin shifted his gaze and looked at Zhang Dingtian. Fortunately, even though his old comrade had suffered severe injuries, he was still conscious. He was looking at his broken blade and seemed to be considering his options.
In a hidden area of the Sea King"s Dome, Ling Que had a similarly grave face. A flare of compet.i.tiveness appeared in his eyes; he was not convinced of Mu Rong’s strength and truly wished to fight against him. Unfortunately, Ling Que had left the selection earlier than he had expected.
All eyes were currently focused on Mu Rong, as he was the most dazzling partic.i.p.ant up to this point. Even when Faceless, Qin Chen, Cheng Wu, or even Xun Jiong’s group were taken into consideration, everyone was overshadowed by the strength that Mu Rong had just revealed.
Even Hai Qiqi was stunned. “What a powerful farmer.”
The maid behind hesitated, “Sister Qi, he’s Mu Rong, not a farmer.”
Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. “He carries a flute and herds livestock. What is he if not a farmer?”
The maid had no comeback.
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
“Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you’re the best!”
…
At the middle section of the mountain, the cheerleaders became even more energetic. Although they could not climb up and get any closer to Mu Rong, they were even more dazzling right now. Things had developed to the point where some of the screens were even providing closeup shots of the cheerleaders.
The Skyfall Cascade returned to normal, and the water roared as it continued flowing down. Mu Rong stood above the water and looked at the screen, specifically at Qin Chen and Faceless. Then, he calmly turned around and headed towards the top of the mountain.
From start to end, he had never even spared a glance for Lu Yin. It appeared that he could not be bothered to acknowledge either Lu Yin or Ling Que.
Hai Dashao looked appreciatively at Mu Rong; once this person became an Explorer, he would immediately enter the very top of the Top 100 Rankings. Hai Dashao could not even guess what the limits of this person were , and he deserved his t.i.tle of an unequaled Limiteer.
If this person pulled out the Sea King"s Trident, then Hai Dashao would not oppose it. Could Starsibyl’s exception be this person?
Hai Dashao himself was not aware that even though he had repeatedly stated that he did not care about Starsibyl’s divinations, deep down, he truly cared about the so-called “unexpected outcome” would be, which was a sign of his increasing belief in Starsibyl’s abilities.
Mu Rong had beaten Zhang Dingtian. As a result, he was the only person left on the southwestern Skyfall Cascade.
At this point, on the five cascades, only the northwestern Skyfall Cascade still had two partic.i.p.ants remaining: Qin Chen and the man with the innate gift of frost. Everyone turned their attention towards the screens showing those two.
No one here was a fool. Since even Faceless was unable to open the sluice gate, the only possible explanation was that the conditions to open the gates had not been met yet. Those conditions should be for there to only be one person from each of the cascades at the top of the waterways.
“Who are you?” Qin Chen asked the cold-looking man in front of him. Even when he racked his brain about all the experts on the Top 100 Rankings, he couldn’t remember anyone who matched this person’s characteristics. This person was no weaker than Qin Chen himself, so if he was not a part of the Top 100 Rankings, it meant that he was a hidden powerhouse who had never made an appearance before.
The cold man replied, “Che Han.”
Qin Chen was flabbergasted as he had indeed never heard this name before; this person was a genuine hidden expert. The universe was too large, and the Top 100 Rankings did not include all the experts, so it was not too surprising that a hidden expert that could rival the Top 100 existed.
“Between you and me, only one of us can remain,” Qin Chen said in a low tone.
Che Han hefted his long spear. “I won’t lose.”
Qin Chen’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t, either.”
Then, his star energy morphed into an inescapable net that moved to envelop Che Han.
Che Han had a.s.sumed that his spear would be able to pierce through the net yet again, but Qin Chen had already come up with a response: a series of continuous nets. However, Che Han raised his spear upright and placed it beside him, causing a cold pulse of ice to suddenly burst forth from his body in the shape of flames. The ice engulfed everything around him and was much stronger than any power he had previously displayed.
Such a powerful frost energy stunned Qin Chen, and his net was frozen in an instant. The frost continued moving along the lines of star energy that connected the trap to Qin Chen’s body, forcing Qin Chen to immediately sever the star energy and retreat as fast as he could. Beneath him, the Skyfall Cascade’s water rapidly froze, while at the same time, Qin Chen’s face turned pale; the blood in his body had nearly froze over as well.
Che Han grabbed the spear and stabbed out once more as the five ringed pattern appeared at the speartip again. Qin Chen continued backing away, as he had carelessly a.s.sumed that Che Han’s innate gift would not be this powerful. His mistake had landed him in his current disadvantageous position. It would take him at least a minute to dispel the frost that had invaded his body, so he could only endure Che Han’s attacks for a minute.
Che Han had a deeper understanding of how frost affected bodies than most. When he saw Qin Chen’s expression, he knew that his opponent had been afflicted with severe frostbite, and that the frost was spreading at a much quicker rate than before. After making this judgement, Che Han’s spear lit up with a cold aura that took on the shape of flames. This visual struck fear in the audience’s hearts, and even Qin Chen knew that he would find it hard to go on.
Based on absolute power level, Qin Chen was actually weaker than Che Han, who was a peak Explorer who would break through to the Cruiser realm with just one more step. This was why Che Han was currently holding the advantage. Qin Chen’s net had also been countered by Che Han’s innate gift, and everyone felt that Qin Chen’s defeat was just a matter of time.
No one could have imagined that Qin Chen, who had been given the highest odds of success in the overall selection, would not even be able to pa.s.s the sluice gate.
No one in the Sea King"s Dome had thought that this would happen. Many people immediately tried to search for more information on Che Han’s background, but they all found nothing.
Northgate Lie stared at Che Han; he had originally wanted to defeat Qin Chen, but his target had suddenly changed. He now wanted to experience this person’s innate gift.
“Sister was right. There are many people who are not listed within the Top 100 Rankings yet are no weaker than those who are,” Mich.e.l.le muttered to herself as she looked at Che Han on the screen.
Little Pao nodded. “Mentor has said that the universe is too big. Even in just the Outerverse, there are hidden experts.”
He then looked over at Bo Junior in the distance, and hatred appeared in his eyes. That person was like a viper. He had locked onto the brothers the moment he had arrived at the Sea King’s Dome. However, there was a low probability that Bo Junior could actually capture them, as the Pao brothers had removed the tracker from their bodies a few days ago.
At the northwestern Skyfall Cascade, Qin Chen’s defense eventually fell apart under the onslaught of Che Han’s attack. The coldness with the appearance of flames filled the air, and the net froze the moment the strange cold aura appeared. The frost continued to invade Qin Chen’s body by traveling back through his star energy, which forced him to not use his Inescapable Net anymore. His most powerful battle technique had been sealed away, and Che Han was using his spear to beat Qin Chen silly. He was sent flying backwards by a single strike, and he spat out a mouthful of blood when he raised his head in shock.
Che Han lashed out with his spear once again, and the frost rose sharply as the rest of the Skyfall Cascade started to freeze. Qin Chen stared closely at the speartip, and his eyes suddenly went wide when the tip was only about a meter away from him. He clapped both of his hands together, causing an enormous net that covered both banks of the waterway and enveloped the entire area to appear. This was the true Inescapable Net.
The frost rose like smoke, but it was obstructed by the Inescapable Net this time. Although the net still started freezing over, it did not happen as quickly as before. Qin Chen had been hiding his strength all along.
This was the second time he was clashing against Che Han, and he was fully aware that he was at a disadvantage. He had laid out his Inescapable Net step by step, and as long as it completely contracted, it could entrap Che Han within it and display its most powerful strength.
However, there was one thing that Qin Chen had not considered—had Che Han used his full strength? This was answered when his Inescapable Net was broken by the frostflame, which even had a ceramic l.u.s.ter to it at this point. This was Firegla.s.s Frost, which was Che Han’s innate gift and also the manifestation of his power as the strongest member of the Royal Frost Continent’s younger generation.
The Firegla.s.s Frost directly smashed into Qin Chen’s Inescapable Net while the ice with the strange l.u.s.ter moved towards Qin Chen’s direction, whose eyes shrank as he leaped towards the sh.o.r.e, panting heavily.
Moving to the bank of the waterways was akin to admitting defeat. The Firegla.s.s Frost stopped and gradually dissipated before the Skyfall Cascade bubbled and started flowing once again.
There was only one person remaining on the northwestern Skyfall Cascade now: Che Han.
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