In the vast ceremony area, a colossal golden statue could be seen from afar, towering into the skies. It depicted the queen with her wings spread open, floating among the clouds. Standing dozens of meters tall, it exuded a presence that softly tinged the morning sky with golden hues.
At the center of it all lay a battle arena constructed with plates of black metals, the rarest and most resilient metal known in that universe. This was due to the fact that all cultivators always fought fully equipped. Once a battle commenced, there was mass devastation. If the arena wasn’t robust enough, it would be too easy to affect the surrounding area.
A battle arena made of such materials wasn’t easy to break and, moreover, was relatively simple to repair. However, such materials were extremely expensive and produced only in limited quantities.
Although the battle arena seemed to be only a few meters wide, thanks to the spatial formation supporting it, its true size extended for dozens of kilometers.
At this moment, there was already a sea of people around the arena. With the exception of a few cultivators taking turns guarding the city, virtually everyone had come to watch.
The runes of the grand formations flickered on and off, testing the formation’s conditions, checking if any rune had been damaged.
The emperor stood at the center of it all, just below the statue of the Golden Goddess in the skies. He had made extensive preparations; even the city’s formation had been modified to provide support, even from a considerable distance. Only a dozen of his trusted cultivators were selected, and the emperor even bestowed upon them the empire’s highest sacred equipment.
When the clan of the dwarves arrived, numerous eyes focused on them. However, most of these gazes were filled with mockery. Particularly as they looked at Ximo, their expressions were laden with murderous intent, as if they wanted to attack and eliminate him immediately.
However, those looks quickly turned into shock. Suddenly, they realized that a group of eighteen dwarves stood out among all the cultivators... their faces emitted a peculiar glow. The Qi around them seemed to bend slightly, as if they were towering mountains.
The clan of dwarves positioned themselves in the middle of the crowd, alongside Zaimo. Then Ximo stepped forward with light steps towards the center of it all. The emperor waved, and as Ximo reached the center of the battle arena, two other cultivators scrutinized him from head to toe.
One was a human with alert eyes; the other, a divine beast widely known to Ximo. Beside Ximo, these were the three hero candidates for that ceremony.
Minutes passed, and almost the entire population of the imperial city waited in silence for the crucial moment. It was then that, in the skies, the colossal statue of the queen pulsed, emitting a dense golden power that enveloped the world.
The emperor rose into the air. "The ceremony will begin now!"
"PRAISE THE GOLDEN GODDESS!!!!!"
Everyone roared in unison as all the energy around the battle arena vibrated. Zaimo shouted equally, while Alm and Bruno struggled to contain their killing intent.
Three golden pillars of Qi descended like lightning upon the three candidates. All around, people cheered excitedly.
"The candidates have been accepted!" declared the emperor solemnly from above. "Now, the three candidates must battle each other in combat. The winner will be the hero! The defeated will be the hero’s companions!"
"PRAISE THE GOLDEN GODDESS!!! PRAISE THE HERO!!"
Everyone in the ceremony shouted, and then the emperor waved. Runes lit up all over the battle arena, sealing the place completely. At the same time, a wave of Qi swept through the surroundings.
Without hesitation, the human donned a complete silver armor, bristling with pipes and blades scattered across it. Meanwhile, the divine beast assumed its true form, transforming into a towering Green Deer, emitting a natural aura. Its body was covered in metal plates, like scales, and various robotic contraptions emerged, encasing it.
’That’s... a futuristic cyberpunk robotic beast... how crazy!’ Bruno genuinely admired.
The divine beast snorted as it looked at Ximo, who was unequipped. "Are you scared, you bastard dwarf!?"
As people watched the Green Deer closely, the human stepped forward to attack. However, Ximo, keeping a cold gaze on the beast, simply turned... and punched.
CRACK!
The full helmet, made of a silver metal not much inferior to that of the arena, exploded. A sound of bones breaking echoed through the air. As a result, the human’s body contorted intensely in the air, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out, flying and spitting blood, with metal plates falling through the air. Then, he crashed into the formation and fell... unable to make another sound.
Everyone was stunned... that dwarf simply attacked without using any armor or equipment.
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Ximo simply turned to the divine beast and smiled lightly. "Keep acting arrogant. Keep acting wild. I won’t spare any companion; what I want is your head!"
"Enough nonsense! Summon your battle armor! Let’s decide life and death!" roared the beast, and its entire body lit up.
It immediately attacked, without hesitation, clearly sensing death’s presence looming over its head. Countless blades whistled through the air towards the dwarf like lightning.
Ximo’s eyes gleamed as a silver saber materialized in his hand. He cut decisively, and his entire Qi circulated mystically; it was the incomplete Dao he had received. Even before his saber reached its target, it caused a powerful gust of wind that made the space tremble.
BOOM!
A metallic sound echoed, and a whirlwind blew around Ximo. The astral winds shook the formation, causing it to tremble slightly.
People then witnessed a startling scene. The divine beast was still in its attacking stance, while the dwarf held only a saber and blocked the attack. For a moment, everyone fell completely silent. Countless metal fragments were scattered around. The powerful attack of that divine beast was easily contained by Ximo.
The winds made the formation shake violently, and no one doubted the immense strength of the divine beast’s attack. However, it was unable to even slightly shake Ximo.
The dwarf held his silver saber, which was larger than his own size, with a single hand. At that moment, unlimited power ran through his body. No matter how much the power of the divine beast tried to press him, he remained firm as a rock, unmoving. Ximo’s eyes were filled with a wild heat.
They separated and then collided again. A loud crash echoed, and sparks flew. The two continued to vie in terms of power.
Everyone watched the tranquil Ximo, who seemed completely relaxed. How strong was he? Even without summoning his equipment, he could fight.
"So, what if you have that armor? At most, it can increase your power. Do you think a little of that power is enough to defeat me? If I strip away your armor, what’s left? Nothing but trash," Ximo spat. Suddenly, he swung his saber forward.
The divine beast instantly felt an immense force hitting him. He couldn’t help but recoil. Two long grooves appeared on the ground beneath his feet as he was pushed back to the edge of the barrier before stabilizing.
Suddenly, all the Qi in a vast area stirred. Everyone looked at the dwarf in the center of the arena and then saw his full armor being equipped. Shortly after, his already terrifying power multiplied... The space seemed to tremble just with his presence.
"A trash doesn’t deserve my time, just die," Ximo said with a chilling voice. After that, numerous scales of his armor lit up. The bloodline of the dwarves was triggered to the limit as a majestic roar of the laws echoed through the sky and the earth.
The entire battle arena beneath Ximo’s feet collapsed, and the void exploded. Ximo seemed to have become a divine being... no, a hero! Everyone widened their eyes at this realization.
The divine beast was horrified. Even before the attack fell, that terrifying aura completely trapped it. The sky and the earth froze around it. At that moment, there was nowhere for it to go. If it wanted to live, it could only face this with all its power.
Ximo focused all his power into a strike of his saber. Clearly, this attack would truly decide victory or defeat, life or death. This was a blow that didn’t care about anything else, only killing.
CRACK!
The two strikes collided before countless eyes. The overwhelming explosion of the collision made the spectators feel as if a sun had exploded in the middle of the martial stage. The blinding light painfully hurt their eyes.
Terrifying astral winds unraveled, causing the spectators to step back several paces, feeling as fragile as paper before these terrible astral winds.
When the astral winds weakened and the divine light disappeared, people saw that the martial stage had been destroyed, no longer retaining its original form. Even the defensive formation over it disappeared without a trace.
People then looked at Ximo. The runes on his armor vanished. This attack had drained all his power.
Not far ahead of the dwarf, there was a massive fissure in the earth, and the divine beast was spitting blood. Its battle armor vanished, and half of its body was destroyed. It felt its life draining away and looked ahead in shock.
It had none of its former arrogance left. Its whole body was trembling, and blood continued to pour from it.
"He won!" The female dwarf spoke, clenching her fists and shedding tears. People couldn’t believe what they saw... it was in a single move using his equipment.
After that, a solitary saber advanced slowly... it pierced through the chest of the divine beast and emerged from its back. Then everything exploded into a bloody mist.
The creature was gigantic initially, so a red cloud spread out in all directions. At the same time, recognizing the victory, a golden bolt descended from the skies and struck Ximo, who remained still.
A golden rune pulsed and lit up on his forehead. Suddenly, his whole body turned golden, and everyone forgot to breathe. The new hero emerged!
Slash!!!!!!
In the same second, everyone widened their eyes in shock. They just saw a thin blade piercing through Ximo’s chest.
Cough... Cough... he coughed up a lot of golden blood in the same instant.
Only then did everyone see a figure appear on his back. It was a completely outfitted figure with a robotic gear covering her body. It was very different from battle armor; it seemed to be stuck to her skin... or even seemed to be part of her body. A mask covered her face, but her feminine curves could still be noticed along with the pointed ears of an elf.
"A DIVINE FAIRY!"