Chapter 659 357: The Might of "King's Shadow

"What pure and innocent heart? He's just naturally missing a few screws." Zhou Lingtian waved his hand repeatedly, glaring fiercely downward.

The Bronze Ancient King fell silent for a moment before replying, "You could interpret it that way as well."

Liu Zhengyang nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Ancient King."

"Grandstanding." Luo Yao's eyes were filled with disdain. This "King's Shadow" was obviously meant to test them and see how they performed under pressure. How could it possibly be defeated? Yet this person had to ask such a question, clearly just trying to please the crowd.

Seeing that the Bronze Ancient King would even answer this kind of question, more people began to ask, focusing primarily on the aspect of life-and-death crises. Following the Bronze Ancient King's explanations, the expressions of the crowd eased considerably. Although there wasn't a protection system that could detect fatal danger and automatically disperse attacks, they could forfeit on their own.

Towards the end, the Bronze Ancient King emphasized again, "This King's Shadow will not absolutely crush everyone. Even the weakest among you will have the chance to say the word 'forfeit.' But if you lack self-awareness and insist on pushing your limits, your life and death will be your own responsibility."

Hearing this, the crowd's recently eased emotions grew tense once more.

Shortly after, the Bronze Ancient King roughly added a few minor rules. For example, weapons were allowed, and there were no restrictions on the quantity. If someone could wield multiple weapons simultaneously without being hindered, that was their own skill. However, weapons with external Energy storage were prohibited, and so on.

"Does anyone still have questions?" Having answered almost everything, the Bronze Ancient King asked one more time. After a long wait, no one spoke up again.

"In that case, enter the tower." As his voice faded, the King's Shadow suspended above the tower slowly sank into it.

Everyone had their own thoughts; some took deep breaths to adjust, while others hurried out to fetch their preferred weapons. Han Xingliu's expression was heavy and focused. Competing only for the position of Star Leader, he had immense confidence in himself and strode proudly into the tower.

Wei Zhenghong followed closely behind. Sheng Huaixu and the other Star Seeds also entered. Su Chen mingled in the crowd, following everyone as they walked in one after another.

The tournament format was entirely new, and their opponent was the Power of Six Kings' Condensation. Everyone felt a sense of solemnity and apprehension. Moreover, since they were no longer fighting each other, they couldn't be bothered to trash-talk to mess with their opponents' mindsets. Each person picked an empty room, pushed the door open, and walked in.

Outside, the Bronze Ancient King returned to his seat and flicked his finger. A streak of data Flowing Light shot into the tower. Soon after, virtual screens gradually unfolded outside the tower, converging in mid-air. They displayed the scenes within the challenge rooms. The King's Shadow was already standing in the rooms, waiting for its targets to arrive.

Rather remarkably, no matter which direction one was facing, all the screens could be seen with perfect clarity, drawing quite a few gasps of amazement.

"They're broadcasting it live just like that?" someone muttered from below. "Aren't there still some people who haven't entered yet? If someone intentionally stalls to first see what abilities the King's Shadow has and comes up with a countermeasure, wouldn't they have an advantage?"

A person beside him shook his head. "If you can think of that, do you really think the Ancient Kings wouldn't have? Countermeasures? This is the Power of Six Kings' Condensation. It has no weaknesses or flaws. Coming up with countermeasures is useless."

"Holy shit, someone's coughing up blood!" someone exclaimed, prompting everyone to look over.

In the brief moment they had been speaking, someone had already entered a challenge room to confront the King's Shadow. He was not tall, only about 1.6 meters, and lean as a monkey. The instant the system's 'Start' echoed, his figure seemed to be torn apart by a gale, abruptly transforming into nine afterimages. Each one was incredibly lifelike as they howled and shot off in all directions. Clearly, this person had made up his mind to strictly stall using his speed.

However, faced with this scene, the solemn figure's eyes burned like torches, piercing through the layers of phantoms. Although it took but a single step, it instantly crossed the void and appeared right in front of one of the figures. It raised its hand and delivered a slap. Without the slightest bit of flashiness, it struck straight down—the wind howled, and the muffled thud of flesh and bone colliding was clearly audible.

The short figure reacted like a dry branch smashed by a massive hammer; his back arched, and he was violently launched backward.

BANG!

With a muffled crash, he slammed into the wall of the challenge room. A mouthful of blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, staining the front of his shirt. His throat bobbed a few times, but he couldn't make a sound. As for the other eight afterimages, they were like kites torn apart by a strong wind, abruptly collapsing and disintegrating.

Everyone present was a Professional, and the virtual screens weren't far away. Just by reading his lips, they could tell that the skinny monkey sprawled on the floor had wailed the word 'Forfeit!' before the King's Shadow could make another move. Immediately after, a few numbers surfaced on the virtual screen—"2.694".

The crowd was in an uproar. He lost just like that?

Soon, a staggering figure walked out. He looked up, his expression dazed. "Not even three seconds... Is this really Tier Seven?" To be able to squeeze into the top hundred of the preliminaries meant he was considered an elite among Tier Seven Professionals, yet now he hadn't even managed to hold out for three seconds.

***

BANG!

Like a clap of muffled thunder, the majestic figure pressed in like a phantom right before his eyes.

Han Xingliu's pupils shrank. The opponent had no flashy opening moves; with just a raise of its hand, a deep, black dragon-shaped shadow burst from its arm. Enveloped in scorching waves of heat, it blasted straight toward his face. Wielding a long metal halberd, he only had time to raise it in a horizontal block as a faint, Brass-colored phantom surfaced over his body.

CLANG!

Like striking a giant bronze bell, Han Xingliu's expression tightened slightly. As he forcefully took the brunt of this first strike, the muscles between his ribs instantly snapped taut like bowstrings. The King's Shadow didn't retract its fist. Instead, its force pressed down in rapid succession, muffled thunder constantly erupting. Han Xingliu let out a muffled grunt and used the momentum to retreat three steps, his heels kicking up fine dust.

Dropping his shoulders, he used the halberd's shaft as a fulcrum and executed a sudden horizontal sweep!

It was as fast as a silver thunderbolt, tearing through the air with faint sonic booms. The King's Shadow paused slightly and raised an arm to block. A deep, muffled hum exploded like thunder, and rolling shockwaves swept out.

The impact left the webbing between Han Xingliu's thumbs and forefingers numb. Using the reaction force, he instantly widened the gap between them, dripping with cold sweat. He thought, "This King's Shadow doesn't have a Holy Profession, but rather an even more powerful force acting upon Tier Seven. It faintly carries my father's imposing aura. It's an absolute crush. I can only do my best to endure it."

A flash of blood-red darted through Han Xingliu's eyes. Like winding little snakes slithering beneath his skin, his muscles swelled. A type of crimson Scale Armor surfaced on his skin, and even a pair of horns began to sprout from his forehead.

***

"Han Xingliu truly is a hot favorite to seize the Star Leader position. His Holy Profession, 'Blood Wyrm Physique', seems to be paired with 'Bell Bearer' and 'Artifact Master'..." The Morning Stars swept their gazes around, commenting from time to time.

"Sheng Huaixu isn't bad either. He uses the 'Artifact Spirit Hall' very proficiently." Li Qingyi looked toward a particular virtual screen. The figure on it was wrapped in bizarre Flowing Light, pulsing beneath his skin like molten metal. Suddenly, it condensed into heavy Golden Armor, wrapping every inch of his muscles air-tight. Then, the armor receded like the tide, transforming into an eighteen-foot-long spear. The spear tip carved a fierce white line through the void. Even though he was still being beaten back repeatedly, he was managing to hold his ground relatively steadily.

Their eyes were mainly focused on a few of the most outstanding individuals. Every match was nothing short of spectacular.

"If only we had the time, I'd really like to watch these slowly." Zhou Lingtian couldn't help but feel it was a bit of a pity. Every battle concentrated the essence of a Sect and a faction, yet now they could only skim through them so hastily.

***

As time passed, dazzling flashes of Energy erupted across the virtual screens. Screens were winking out at every moment.

"Ha, I'm actually not at the absolute bottom!" The monkey-thin guy's face lit up with joy; he had just spotted someone who only lasted 1.96 seconds.

***

The fingers of the King's Shadow curled like hooks and grabbed forcefully—the air abruptly froze as an emerald-green stream of data light suddenly exploded in its palm. In the blink of an eye, a giant, blood-red axe with blinding silver electrical arcs flowing along its edge materialized out of thin air. Fine sparks of lightning crackled and popped along the axe blade.

Without a word of nonsense, it dropped its wrist, and the axe's shadow crashed down like a lightning bolt tearing apart the heavens and the earth.

Su Chen's pupils constricted, a stray lock of black hair on his forehead blown straight up by the airflow. Acting on pure instinct, he raised his arms, muscles bulging with power, and locked his ten fingers tightly onto the descending axe blade. The giant axe did not halt. The silver lightning erupted into blinding arcs on the blade, and the violent chopping force pressed down on him like a collapsing mountain.

Su Chen violently jerked backward. Relying on his modest speed boost, he widened the distance, his palms burning with intense pain.