Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 243 A Strike That Shatters Space and Time, The Final Assessment of the Chosen Arena

From the very beginning, Hunzhen knew that defeating the Gladiator King was far more difficult than defeating a Gladiator.

Even now, he has almost no chance of winning.

If passing the seventh level of the test is already a legendary achievement on the Origin Continent, even among the top god-kings who have become rulers of their own territories, only a very few could achieve it in their youth.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Mountain-Sitting Guest, the eighth level of the test is a feat that no one can achieve.

Those who can pass the seventh level of the test are considered by the Mountain-Sitting Guest to be unparalleled geniuses who have surpassed his own hopes.

Of course, this is just a hope.

The God King of Jin himself was well aware that there were many peerless geniuses in the history of the Origin Continent who could rival the young God King in their time, but most of them perished along the way.

Perhaps such challengers are stronger than you were when you were young, but they may not be able to reach your level or become a god-king.

Such a genius was enough to make the God King of Jin show leniency.

Hunzhen had already witnessed from the simulation that even if a challenger chose to attempt the eighth level of the test and failed, the Celestial Arena would save the challenger at the last moment.

In fact, Hunzhen's limit in the simulation is passing the seventh level of the test, and he has never defeated the Gladiator King.

To truly give this assessment with all one's might in the real world is a challenge with little hope, even for Hunzhen!

Therefore, from the very beginning, Hunzhen did not intend to confront him directly.

The notion of winning unfairly is a luxury only the victor can afford.

Hunzhen's hope was to do everything in his power to defeat his opponent!

The key to victory that he glimpsed lay in a special mechanism within this eighth level of assessment…

The audience is back in the air!

Whether it was the God King of Jin's wicked sense of humor or something else, only when the eighth level of the trial was activated could the audience, who had been sealed by the sculpted body for countless years, be briefly freed to appreciate this unprecedented battle of the chosen ones.

In addition to the apparent restrictions, the Chosen Arena has additional limitations.

Using divine power to arrange the venue is prohibited before the assessment is activated.

But as Hunzhen infused his divine power into the central sculpture and the audience began to unseal it, the eighth trial had already begun.

The process of getting the audience back into the game and warming up the crowd is not something that can be completed overnight.

The process from the audience being unsealed one by one to the Gladiator King's entry takes a time that is neither short nor long.

This period of time naturally falls within the scope of the assessment and can be manipulated and arranged at will.

After confirming this through simulation, Hunzhen in reality summoned the Time-Sorrow Demon Blade and the Time-Space Shuttle simultaneously without hesitation.

The lingering echoes that had severely injured the Lord of Nine Dragons Island quickly converged within the arena, but the restrictions of the Chosen Arena were not activated as a result.

"Time and Space Strings: Echoes" is a technique for sealing and isolating. Its formal use is a technique for attacking large areas of the universe.

The former is a prerequisite for the latter.

The latter is a group attack move of the same type as the Gladiator's previous "full-screen attack", and is a secondary evolution of the former.

Area-of-effect attacks are used either to deal with extremely large enemies or to deal with large numbers of enemies.

Its advantages can only be maximized in these two situations.

Dealing with Hunzhen in the same way the gladiators did before would be an extremely wasteful and inefficient method, done out of necessity.

Even though Hunzhen previously used the method of aggregating numerous remnants into a single-target attack by amplifying the echoes in order to injure the Nine Dragons Island Master, it was not an efficient method, wasting 99.99% of the energy.

So much energy is wasted during the clustering process; only one ten-thousandth of it actually has any real effect.

Such usage can no longer be described as extravagant.

If the ancestors of the Eastern River could know this in the afterlife, they would surely curse this spendthrift son endlessly.

Therefore, Hunzhen was ashamed and did not give a name to this crude application that could not even be considered a move.

Hunzhen Ziran did consider making improvements.

However, the difficulty has always exceeded the scope of Hunzhen's current ability to apply the laws.

Until... his mastery of secret techniques, or rather his ability to apply the laws, reached the level of an eternal true god.

The level of mastery of secret techniques at the Eternal True God level is worlds apart from that at the Void True God level.

Many adventurers in the Cosmic Sea have read such descriptions in "ancient documents"—"That is a state of having comprehended a trace of the mysteries of the origin of the universe."

The secret technique left behind by Jie Fanzi, the famous old man who exploded with gold coins in the original novel Swallowed Star, is the pursuit of the mysterious "source of water and fire".

Hunzhen, who always takes the perception of time and space as his foundation, has reached the level of an eternal true god in the application of his laws. The mystery he comprehends is naturally the mystery of the "source of time and space".

However, this strike, which has not yet been named by Hunzhen, was ultimately too complex and difficult.

Its principle is not to deliver an attack that would normally require millions of separate outputs all at once.

Forcibly expanding the output limit by a million times on the existing basis is simply an impossible task.

Its essence is to stabilize the power of the laws, then to regulate it, and finally to launch a combined attack.

To achieve a perfect, energy-efficient output of "Echoing Million Layers" at 100% is as difficult as simultaneously multiplying one's mind a million times and making each thought fully exert its power.

Of course, this difficulty refers to the most foolish method.

The so-called secret method is to continuously optimize this technique, adjusting it towards the goal of reducing the difficulty by a million times until it can be used in actual combat.

With the previous mastery of the true power and the stability of the law, "Time-Space Strings: Echoes" was already nearly perfect. The law power would still gradually dissipate and dissipate over time, but it no longer affected its practical use in combat.

The regulation of the power of laws, which is the specialized application of "Time and Space Strings: Echoes", and the final combined attack, resulted in a total energy loss of ten thousand times.

That is to say, the difficulty has been reduced by a hundredfold.

This is still the result of Hunzhen's omniscient vision being fully opened.

The difficulty has been reduced by a million times, and reaching a state of perfection is something that Hunzhen dares not even dream of now.

As the layers of reverberation gradually increase, the concentrated power becomes increasingly violent. In other words, any further reduction in difficulty on this basis will result in an exponential increase in difficulty.

Even though he had already gained a preliminary understanding of the mysteries of space and time, he had only reduced energy consumption by five times, resulting in a final energy utilization rate of one in two thousand.

By using the Time Shuttle and Time Wound Blade together, you can consume twice the energy to achieve a theoretical energy utilization rate of one-thousandth!

However... such attacks are almost entirely out of Hunzhen's control, and coupled with the excessively long wind-up, they are completely unusable in actual combat.

Fortunately, such flaws and weaknesses can be mitigated in special circumstances.

"Now!"

With his foresight, he foresaw the timing of the Gladiator King's appearance. Hunzhen roared in his heart, immediately triggering an echo. Countless reverberations converged on the Time-Shattering Demon Blade and the Time-Space Shuttle!

"W-What is this!?"

All the spectators, including the four commanders, were shocked and astonished by the sudden and chaotic temporal storm.

Even with the barrier of the Chosen Arena separating them, these spectators, who all had their own special experiences, were aware of the terrifying power of the attack that was about to happen!

It was merely an aftershock, yet it sent shivers down the spines of even the weakest, yet still peak, true gods among the audience!

Even the burly commander, who possessed the strength of an eternal true god, had a solemn expression.

Right at this moment.

The moment a shadow was suddenly teleported out.

The combined power of the Time-Space Shuttle and the Time-Sorrow Demon Blade, which were positioned one in front and one behind, suddenly erupted!

A terrifying torrent of time and space swept across the land, causing cracks to appear in spacetime.

"This is—a strike that shatters space and time!"

The Time-Scarring Demon Blade and the Time-Space Shuttle simultaneously carry the energy of Hunzhen himself and the energy that will be fully drawn in the future.

This was a truly all-out attack with no way out!

"——"

Light, sound, time, space... everything seemed to vanish in a daze.

The gladiator king, who had not yet shown his face, had already turned to ashes before he could even utter the question, "What happened?"

"..."

The audience fell into a deathly silence.

They had never imagined that they could win with such authenticity.

The latest novel is first published here!

Unexpectedly, this gladiatorial contest, which they regarded as a celebration, ended even faster than the seventh level of the trial...

Immediately following, without a moment's mourning for the Gladiator King's tragic death, thunderous cheers resounded throughout the Chosen Arena.

Inside the silver palace next to Wu Qilou, the four commanders looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This kid... this, this is too much?" Even a commander's face flushed red, and he stammered.

"unbelievable!"

"Yes! That's incredible!"

"Would His Majesty the God-King have been able to do this when he was young?"

"Hey! You've got some nerve!"

"His Majesty the God-King cannot be insulted! Throw him out!"

Even the four commanders, who had experienced many hardships, were so shocked by the facts that they started to play and joke like children.

Just then, the Black Mist Commander breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Speaking of which, this kid exhausted all his divine power and only passed the eighth level of the test by luck not falling into a deep sleep. He shouldn't be overestimating himself by attempting the ninth level, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, all the commanders suddenly fell silent.

The Black Mist Leader looked completely bewildered: "What's wrong with you all?"

Even the extremely composed and burly commander's face darkened: "You jinx!"

At that moment, amidst the horrified gazes of the commanders, Hunzhen, having regained his divine power under the divine light of the sky and having chosen his reward, once again channeled his divine power into the central sculpture.

Unlike the panicked commanders, Hunzhen's face remained completely calm.

Based on the increasing difficulty of the first eight levels of assessment, it is absolutely impossible for Hunzhen to pass the ninth level of assessment at present.

If it weren't for the fact that within this era, Hunzhen's comprehension of the laws had made a slight breakthrough (referring to Luo Feng's breakthrough to the Eternal True God realm after comprehending the birth and death of the primordial universe at the end of a cycle of reincarnation), and that the Time-Sorrow Demon Blade had not reached the Eternal True God level, killing ordinary Void True God level gladiators would have been his limit.

This new limit is now likely to be difficult to break through even in a million or ten million epochs.

However, Hunzhen was perfectly clear on one point.

The ninth trial—does not exist.

When the divine power of the whole body was injected into the central sculpture, the traditional formula of the sculpture becoming the final boss did not appear.

An aged, ghostly figure appeared in the center of the Chosen Arena.

In an instant, feeling the old man's approachable and submissive aura and his transcendent temperament, the audience members who had been cheering and shouting all knelt down.

Even sinners and outcasts still hold reverence and respect for the God-King of Jin deep within the souls of all beings in the world of Jin.

True traitors don't get any temporary relief from restrictions.

"It's His Majesty the God-King! It's His Majesty the God-King!"

In the silver palace next to Wuqi Tower, all four commanders were moved to tears.

At this moment, the illusory figure of the God-King of Jin finally looked at Hunzhen, revealing a hint of helplessness: "Little fellow, your courage surpasses even mine in my youth! In terms of sheer audacity, I, the God-King of Jin, would gladly acknowledge you as the strongest! Since that's the case, taking the treasures I left behind is certainly a testament to your skill!"

This is different from the thought entity at the top of Wuqi Tower; it is merely a remnant image that will be automatically triggered after the challenger activates the ninth level of the test.

Hunzhen was certainly not the kind of audacious guy who left even the God King speechless and helpless.

He hadn't originally planned to challenge the ninth level of the test; he was merely curious about what kind of enemy he would encounter in the ninth level.

The seventh level is "Gladiator", the eighth level is "Gladiator King", and according to convention, the ninth level will probably be some kind of "Gladiator God", right?

Out of sheer curiosity, Hunzhen conducted a simulation.

Then, with a mixture of surprise and helplessness, the truth came to light—as long as one had experienced the difficulty of the eighth level and dared to continue challenging it, it would be considered a pass.

It's likely that in the mind of the God-King of Jin, the ability of someone who could pass the eighth level of the test was still within his imagination. He couldn't even fathom what kind of person dared to challenge the ninth level of the test.

Surely he's not some clueless idiot who just wants to see what the ninth level of the assessment looks like?

Unexpectedly, besides the extraordinary geniuses and the hotheads, there was also a cheat code.

And the final reward was incredibly pleasing.

It seems that they believe that those who can pass the ninth level of the test can easily break through to become Eternal True Gods, and the Chaos Ruler will definitely not be a challenge.

The God King of Jin directly opened up a Saint-level treasure vault that Hunzhen had never seen before, giving him 3 Saint Treasure Points, allowing Hunzhen to choose freely from it.

Given that there was one Saint-grade battle sword and one Saint-grade armor, Hunzhen naturally chose the two without hesitation.

Three Sacred Treasure Points can be used to select a Sacred-grade mechanical treasure personally crafted by the God-King... but such a thing is completely useless to Hunzhen unless it is in a world of the Origin Continent.

And when he is able to enter the Origin Continent, it will inevitably be after he breaks through to become an Eternal True God.

Given his ability to fight opponents of higher levels, he probably won't need to use it.

Therefore, Hunzhen naturally chose the battle sword and armor to greatly reduce the evolution pressure of the Time-Sorrow Demon Blade and the Void Ghost Armor.

"So, everyone, shall we continue our journey to the seal-out?"

Hunzhen waved to the kneeling audience, grinned, and then stepped into the teleportation array leading to the fifth floor.

At this moment, the ruler of the Silver Palace finally realized what was happening.

The burly commander, his face still streaked with tears, glanced in the direction where the God-King's video had disappeared, and his lips twitched: "This is truly something our God-King would do."

(End of this chapter)