Chapter 658 - 357: The Might of "King’s Shadow

"Is it actually taking this form?" Su Chen wondered in astonishment, his gaze falling on the King’s Shadow, which looked almost completely solid.

Although he had known early on that the tournament format would be changed, neither he nor anyone else had any idea what the specific alterations would entail.

"Fighting the same enemy simultaneously without battling each other is indeed fast. Forget about a few days—the victor can be decided in just half a day," Su Chen estimated briefly, marveling even more at how impatient these Ancient Kings were.

He just didn’t know what that Residual Spirit was planning. He discreetly glanced at Qin Yun. But at this point, it was impossible for him to jump out in front of the Ancient Kings and explain the truth.

They had seen with their own eyes that the unknown powerhouse was inside the Sun Flame, and they were certain that a recognized individual had emerged. Coupled with the inherent allure of the Spirit of Sun, forget about him—even if the Sun himself said he wanted to quit halfway, those Ancient Kings probably wouldn’t allow it.

Swept up by the general trend, he had no choice unless he revealed his identity and completely blew his own cover. But he reckoned that even if he did, those Ancient Kings would definitely still go in to take a look. They wouldn’t give up until all hope was lost.

Below, it was dead silent. Whether it was the Star Seeds, the Divine Dawns, or the guys who had squeezed their way in through the preliminaries, everyone felt a flutter in their hearts. Some of them knew that this year’s Peak Star Conference was different from previous years, but they had thought today was just an opening ceremony. They never expected the competition to start directly, let alone that they had to fight against some King’s Shadow.

The numerous Professionals isolated on the outside had already broken into hushed, noisy murmurs. "Facing the power of an Ancient King, and an amalgamation of six Moonlight Tier experts at that? Is this something a human can fight?"

"There has to be some restrictive condition. Otherwise, we might as well just surrender. Wouldn’t we just be throwing our lives away one by one?"

The Bronze Ancient King gave the crowd some time to process this before speaking. "Any questions?"

After a moment of silence, Han Xingliu was the first to speak. He bowed first and asked respectfully, "May I ask, Ancient King, how strong is this King’s Shadow? Will the King’s Shadow faced by everyone be of the same strength, or will it show different levels of strength tailored to different people?"

As his voice faded, many people present subtly cast their gazes toward Su Chen. If the shadow displayed different strengths based on who it was facing, their advantages might not necessarily surpass this Star Seed of the Bronze Sect. Logically speaking, with all the Ancient Kings present, the Bronze Ancient King shouldn’t be able to secretly give him special treatment. But no one could say for sure.

"The Peak Star Conference has always strived for fairness. Naturally, it will be the same strength," the Bronze Ancient King said with an indifferent expression, having easily seen through everyone’s petty thoughts.

"Thank you for your guidance, Ancient King." Han Xingliu bowed again, unable to stop himself from musing that this didn’t seem very advantageous for Su Chen.

The explosive power and defense of his Holy Profession were indeed somewhat astonishing. Except for those with the Melting Holy Profession, probably no one could withstand it. But what they were competing on was endurance. That state of his carried too heavy a load, which would end up holding him back. Those who were weaker than him might look more pathetic facing the King’s Shadow, but they could actually last longer.

"Why am I thinking about him again?" Han Xingliu took a deep breath. His goal was the top rank. Whether this format was advantageous or not, Su Chen was not his obstacle.

"Vast Sea, is that your youngest son?" The Zhenwu Ancient King cast his gaze down, a hint of mockery in his tone. "He barely met the age requirement. A strong contender for the Star Seed, I see. It’s a pity his Talent isn’t quite enough. I’m afraid he won’t be recognized by the Spirit of Sun."

The Hanhai Emperor paid him no mind. His profound gaze turned to Qin Yun at his side. "Any reaction from the Spiritual hosted within your body?"

Hearing this, the hollow-eyed Qin Yun seemed to snap back to reality. Her voice was hoarse as she shook her head. "There is no reaction whatsoever."

"Hmm." The Hanhai Emperor retracted his gaze.

Down below, however, someone else spoke up. The person had a rather robust physique but appeared anxious and cautious. Imitating Han Xingliu, he bowed and asked in a muffled voice, "Ancient King, how will the specific rankings be measured?"

The Professionals who had qualified through the preliminaries immediately looked over. The goal of guys like Han Xingliu was the top spot. As long as it wasn’t first place, they didn’t care about their exact ranking. But for the others, every placement represented certain benefits. Naturally, they had to ask for clarification.

The Bronze Ancient King gave a simple explanation. "The method of measurement is very simple. It depends on how long you can last against the King’s Shadow. The longer you endure, the higher your ranking will naturally be."

"It only depends on endurance?"

For a moment, everyone had subtle shifts in thought. Some Professionals who excelled in speed already had joy showing on their faces, while those with sturdier physiques faintly showed expressions of bitterness.

Xiao Linfeng took in everyone’s changing expressions and shook his head secretly. "You don’t even have to think about it to know that this King’s Shadow, which amalgamates the power of six Moonlight Tier experts, definitely won’t have any shortcomings. Trying to kite it with speed will only result in a much more miserable death," he thought.

This kind of life-and-death combat was very effective at stimulating a person’s potential, and it could also fully reveal a person’s traits from all angles.

"These Ancient Kings being in such a hurry shows that this recognized individual is indeed very important," Xiao Linfeng mused, growing increasingly expectant and anxious.

"Ancient King!" suddenly rang out a voice with a thick accent. The speaker held his head high and asked straightforwardly, "If multiple people defeat this King’s Shadow, will the rankings be ordered based on how much time they took?"

As soon as he said this, countless gazes simultaneously swept over to him. Even the Ancient Kings cast sizing looks his way.

"Hahaha..." Below the Ancient Kings, Zhou Lingtian laughed awkwardly and hurriedly said, "Please excuse him, everyone. Please excuse him."

The one who asked this was none other than his student, Liu Zhengyang.

Chu Lingyuan grinned. "Brother Zhou, this student of yours is quite pure-hearted."