Chapter 336 – Fifth-Stage

The aftermath of the clash between two powerful fourth-stage combatants instantly pulverized everything within a several-kilometer radius.

A massive white ball of light rapidly expanded, and ancient trees, thick enough to require several people to encircle them, were effortlessly uprooted and then torn into fingernail-sized fragments by the surging Strength.

The deep yellow composite gravitational energy field naturally dissipated, allowing those trapped within to regain their mobility. Their first reaction was to swiftly retreat.

As they retreated, expressions of deep trepidation and horror were evident on their faces.

The combat power of high-level fourth-stage fighters was truly terrifying. The mere shockwaves from their energy exchange meant that even third-stage combatants like themselves didn’t dare to come close. They feared that even a slight delay in their steps would result in their entire bodies being shredded by the overwhelming force.

“Damn it!”

Ling Yu, hovering mid-air, was the closest to the massive white ball of light.

His face turned grim, and he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Although he was also a fourth-stage combatant, the disparity in power between himself, Mattis, and the Earth Armament was now glaringly obvious.

At higher levels, even a small difference in stage represented an insurmountable gap.

He was only at the mid-level of the fourth stage, barely a match for the two. But once they unleashed their full combat power, he didn’t even qualify to join the battle group.

Of course.

Even if he were to join the battle group now, it would probably be too late.

“I wonder who will come out on top.”

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the massive white ball of light in front of them, occasionally glancing down to check the embers ranking.

A top-tier wondrous item like the Phoenix Feather, once successfully claimed, would undoubtedly bring about a major shift in the embers ranking.

“Idiots.”

Yin Muqing was one of the few who wasn’t entirely focused on the ownership of the Phoenix Feather.

A complex emotion flickered in her eyes as she recalled the figure, “dazed and confused,” standing still before being engulfed by the light.

It didn’t take much to guess that Lu Yuan, the young Flying Bear, had likely been torn to pieces by the rampant energy at the center of the battle group, a place even a mid-level fourth-stage combatant like Ling Yu couldn’t approach.

The chances of his survival were almost nil.

“With insufficient Strength, good luck is useless… In situations like this, lacking enough Strength means that good luck can turn into a deadly curse.”

Seeing an acquaintance, who had left a slight impression on her, die before her eyes, Yin Muqing couldn’t help but feel a ripple of emotion.

But it was just a ripple-soon it was smoothed out, and her expression returned to calm.

At this moment, the energy shockwaves from the clash between Mattis and the Earth Armament were rapidly subsiding, and the massive white ball of light in the center of the battlefield was also quickly shrinking.

All onlookers focused intently, their eyes locked on the center of the battle group.

“Prepare!”

Ling Yu’s cold voice rang in Yin Muqing’s ears, the seven brilliant light spots around him spinning swiftly, tracing dazzling paths in the air.

Yin Muqing took a deep breath and instinctively gripped her longblade tighter.

Both she and her companion beside her channeled their star acupoints to their peak performance, and many others in the crowd did the same.

Everyone was poised to seize the fleeting opportunity that might arise.

No one wanted to give up till the very last moment; after all, it was the legendary Phoenix Feather!

Finally, the white energy ball shrunk and disappeared completely.

“Buzz-“

At least twenty energy-gathering sounds echoed simultaneously in the field. Yin Muqing’s body tensed, her eyes sharp like a hawk’s, holding her longblade with both hands. Her tall, perfect figure was like a compressed spring, ready to launch at any moment.

However.

When the scene at the center of the battle group was fully revealed to the crowd.

All the accumulated momentum instantly leaked and became chaotic, with various mental power disturbances intertwining in the void.

Everyone’s expressions turned to astonishment, standing rooted in place as if witnessing something beyond belief, forgetting their initial intentions.

Yin Muqing was also stunned, her mouth slightly agape in surprise.

Ling Yu, suspended in mid-air, had the seven brilliant star points around him suddenly halt. His peak momentum deflated like a burst balloon.

Within a brief half-second, it was all completely dissipated.

“Uh…”

At the center of the stunned gazes, stood a towering figure, an awe-inspiring 30 meters high, with a body that seemed to be forged from platinum and glass.

This colossal being had three heads and six platinum arms, each thicker than ancient trees requiring several people to encircle them. These massive arms effortlessly held two figures in its grip like they were tiny chicks.

An intangible yet overwhelming aura slowly and heavily radiated from this figure, spreading around like a landslide or a tsunami.

The air seemed to be compressed into a solid by this pressure, emitting deep rumbling sounds akin to rolling boulders.

Beneath this three-headed, six-armed platinum figure, a tall, slender figure stood silently.

He was dressed in a black combat suit with a small Flying Bear emblem printed on the left chest, and on his shoulder, a Hoopoe with a golden feather in its beak hopped about.

His eyes were slightly lowered, with a faint golden glow on his forehead, and a red light emanated from his chest, vaguely outlining the shape of a flower.

His expression was calm, standing motionless, exuding an indescribably vast and majestic aura.

At first glance, he appeared as deep as an abyss; upon closer inspection, one could clearly feel the turbulent waves surging beneath that abyss.

At this moment, everyone felt as if their necks were gripped by invisible giant hands, their eyes wide and blank, unable to utter a single word.

Insane!

This was the thought running through almost everyone’s mind.

They had envisioned countless possible scenarios, but they never expected-

This jaw-dropping scene-

The Extreme Battle Saber Mattis, along with the Earth Armament of the Distant Star Federation, both high-level fourth-stage combatants.

When these two powerful figures had teamed up to attack one person, the result was them being held effortlessly in the grasp of that person, like tiny chicks.

And that person, oh, he was still wearing the simplest combat suit with the most ordinary Twin-winged Flying Bear emblem!

This scene was like two elephants attempting to snatch something from an ant.

But instead, the ant suddenly transformed into a Tyrannosaurus rex, stomping the two elephants into submission.

It was truly an ultimate, fantastical sight.

“This is…”

Yin Muqing stared blankly at the scene before her, overwhelmed by both shock and a nameless unease pounding within her chest.

She gazed at the 30-meter-tall figure, its body seemingly cast in platinum with three heads and six arms, and her mind replayed the nightmarish experiences from the elephant deity secret realm.

The terrifying new elephant man king from back then bore an uncanny resemblance to this platinum body, both in form and aura.

There must be some kind of connection between the two.

“Could it be…”

Yin Muqing looked at the figure beneath the three-headed, six-armed platinum body, a startling conjecture suddenly popping into her mind.

This thought, once born, spread like wildfire within her, making her countless chaotic speculations run rampant and throwing her thoughts and breath into disarray.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

As the crowd was still reeling from the shock, two massive energy bursts exploded in the center of the battle group.

The 30-meter-tall three-headed, six-armed platinum body’s hands burst open, and two figures broke free one after the other from its grasp.

“Interesting…”

Mattis, carrying a black battle saber on one shoulder and rubbing the spot on his neck where he had just been gripped, coldly examined the young figure with the Platinum Dharma Form overhead and said, “What kind of power technique is this?

Twin-winged bear?!

You’ve hidden yourself quite well. I never expected Xia State to have someone like you; I hadn’t even heard your name before.”

The blond man wielding the Earth Armament beside him similarly displayed a look of shock and curiosity, his eyes flickering rapidly as if he were searching for information on Lu Yuan.

In less than half a breath’s time, Mattis and the blond man, almost simultaneously, shot towards Lu Yuan below.

One, draped in starlight with nine brilliant light spots orbiting him, wielded a black battle saber that sliced the air like a waterfall.

Even before the blade descended, the air before it parted like waves, rippling towards the distant primordial forest, stirring up dark green waves among the trees.

The other seemed to transform into a dazzling white sun.

A several-feet-thick energy shield, just looking at it, made one feel a scalp-tingling terror.

Bursting from his arms were several-meter-long blazing swords of pure, high-intensity energy, resembling legendary battle angels.

They carved a graceful yet fierce trajectory in mid-air, diving down towards Lu Yuan.

Mattis and the blond man unleashed a combat power several times stronger than before, causing Ling Yu, who had just come to his senses and was about to join the fray, to halt abruptly, his face changing color.

He realized that he was at a significant disadvantage compared to Mattis in terms of the number of star acupoints activated, let alone in other domains.

The gap of ten places on the supernova ranking was simply too vast. In his current state, Mattis could probably defeat him with a single casual strike.

And the combat power of the Earth Armament was theoretically even more formidable!

Facing an actual coordinated attack from both sides, the young man who had been standing silent and motionless finally began to move.

“Hiss-“

He took a deep breath.

With that action, the 30-meter-tall three-headed, six-armed platinum body above him rapidly shrank.

In the blink of an eye, it had reduced to half its original size, yet its aura and solidity instantly doubled.

The terrifying three-headed, six-armed Dharma Form seemed to press down on the void, with every texture of its towering body clearly visible, even refracting the luster of superalloy.

“Whoosh-“

As the Dharma Form shrank, another force began to radiate outward.

Massive amounts of intangible, twisted energy emanated from the young man’s slim body, instantly blurring his silhouette and forming a domain around him.

Within this domain, it seemed as if countless light and shadow were intertwined, with invisible phantoms screaming, tearing, and writhing madly.

Mattis and the blond man charged headlong into this domain.

The moment they entered, their movements froze and became sluggish.

It was as if they had fallen into the composite gravity energy field of the Earth Armament.

At this moment, the young man moved decisively.

From his body erupted a splendid and intense platinum flame, his figure soaring into the sky like a majestic You Long.

He made a punching gesture towards the two men.

Behind him, the 15-meter tall platinum body synchronized its movements with his.

Then…

“Boom! Boom!”

Two explosive thunderclaps pierced the air.

Two figures were sent flying, as if they were kites with broken strings.

After being ejected from the domain, the terrifying aftershocks finally had room to dissipate fully.

In the vast arena, it seemed as though a storm had rampaged through. The two figures crashed into the primordial forest, obliterating everything in their path-stones, soil, trees-all were pulverized, leaving two long trenches that stretched far into the distance.

“Whoosh-“

A gentle breeze swept in, carrying away all turbulence and dust.

The handsome young Flying Bear descended gracefully from mid-air, hands naturally falling to his sides. His face remained as calm as a lake, and the platinum flame enveloping him gradually subsided.

His expression was serene, as though he had merely swatted away two insignificant flies, showing no trace of emotion in his eyes.

The arena fell into silence.

Everyone stood motionless, their faces stunned.

If earlier, the young man had subdued Mattis and the blond man’s attack by disguising his strength and catching them off guard, what about now?

He had genuinely faced both of them head-on and sent them flying.

Did his strength surpass that of Mattis and the blond man with the Earth Armament combined?!

A fifth-stage combat power?!

Who was he?

And what system did his techniques belong to?

How come no one had ever seen it before?

For a moment, countless questions surged from the depths of everyone’s minds, leaving their heads buzzing in shock.