Chapter 1177: Runic Confrontation
The witch of dreams wasn't particularly strong as far as the halls of chaos went, and against Zhang Lie, who was stronger than even the members of Team Zenith, she had no chance at victory.
If they really were to fight, the witch of dreams was certain that she would have lost with just that one blow. If it had struck her... the witch of dreams didn't want to think about what would have happened.
She would have died, her corpse obliterated.
Although the king of chaos would surely be able to revive her, the fear of death was intrinsic to life.
The witch of dreams wiped at the sweat on her forehead. "Alright. If you have a better option, Zhang Lie, I won't hold you back any longer. If there's ever an opportunity, I'll come back for you myself. You'd better wait for me, Zhang Lie!"
The witch of dreams retreated from the arena with trembling legs.
The king of chaos ignored this drama.
"Whom do you intend to choose as your opponent?" he asked.
"I'd like to fight against Ubbo, the Null Source."
Zhang Lie pointed at the gelatinous-like body surrounded by the Keys of the Elder Gods.
The guests all turned to each other in surprise, none of them having thought that Zhang Lie would choose the Null Source as an opponent.
"The Null Source is the most ancient existence in the third realm apart from the king of chaos himself..."
"Allegedly, even before the three thousand worlds were created, the two of them were already around."
"To have chosen the Null Source... it's the most mysterious existence among us all!"
The guests of the halls of chaos were all murmuring about Zhang Lie's unusual choice with each other.
The witch of dreams' pale face flushed. She was so angry that she stomped around and cried out, "To have discarded me for the Null Source...!"
Sun Mengmeng corrected her, "Our captain didn't discard you, but instead chose the Null Source as his opponent."
Li Feng was more concerned about another matter entirely.
"How strong is this so-called Null Source?"
The witch of dreams shook her head. "I don't know about that. The Null Source has never made a move during all my time here. It might as well be an existence incapable of thought, at this point."
Nightdemon chuckled. "If you consider the Null Source to be incapable of thought—well, you're really underestimating it."
The witch of dreams seemed surprised. "The Null Source can still think?"
Everyone looked toward the Null Source—the members of Team Zenith and the guests of the halls of chaos alike.
If anyone could be said to know the Null Source best among this group of people, it would have to be none other than the king of chaos—and Nightdemon, his clone, standing right beside them.
Nightdemon rolled his eyes. "If the Null Source really were incapable of thought, would it come to the night banquets every time?"
The witch of dreams murmured, "So it's been coming on its own? We've always thought that the leader or one of his clones brought him over each time..."
Nightdemon sighed. "If the Null Source really were unable to think, it would have unleashed a slaughter during the night banquets the last few times. It's simply been occupied thinking of high-dimensional problems, so its body only has the basest of instincts. Its intellect is perhaps on the level of a baby or a child."
Li Feng asked, "Is the Null Source strong?"
Nightdemon raised his head. "Wait and see."
The king of chaos asked, "Null Source, are you willing to participate in the night banquet this time around?"
The Null Source slowly squirmed onto the arena as the guests watched on in shock.
The king of chaos couldn't help but laugh. "To think that even you've developed some interest in our proceedings... it looks like you're curious about our Mr. Zhang Lie, too."
The Null Source didn't speak. It squirmed until it was right before Zhang Lie.
"Please make your move." Zhang Lie bowed to his opponent.
The Null Source neither made a move nor spoke. It remained still and silent, right before Zhang Lie.
"If you won't, then I'll have the first strike. [The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!"
Zhang Lie extended his pointer finger like a sword, and water-attuned genetic energy gathered around it. As he waved his finger, sword energy erupted like a wave, accompanied by a giant shark.
The sword flew toward the Null Source as Zhang Lie probed his opponent's strength.
The sword energy landed on one of the tablets of the Keys of the Elder Gods, causing the tablet to shake. Like a self-defense mechanism, huge quantities of slime-like bugs swam toward Zhang Lie in the manner of tadpoles.
They seemed like fanatics who were swarming to take down an apostate like Zhang Lie, who dared hurt the Keys of the Elder Gods.
"[Ninecarp Transformation: Fourth Form]!"
The image of a dragonturtle manifested behind Zhang Lie, and his water-attuned genetic energy turned heavy, sluggish, and a dark yellow color. Ripples of genetic energy spread out all around him like mud. The slimy bugs ended up stuck in the mud, and their actions turned sluggish, almost stalled.
Zhang Lie's genetic energy was imbued with the power of gravity, and the slimy bugs were particularly susceptible to being trapped in localized gravitational wells.
"[Rune: Gravity]!" Zhang Lie raised a hand high into the air as the image of a dragonturtle appeared before him. The black tablets hovered above Null Source's head. Runes of unknown provenance appeared from the tablets, then floated down and surrounded Null Source.
Everyone in the hall of chaos felt a stifling weight pressing down on their bodies, as though they were mired in a swamp. Every action took dozens, hundreds of times more effort than normal, and even moving a finger was difficult. It was as though a mountain were pressing down on their bodies, one so heavy they could barely breathe, slowing down all their bodily processes.
Even the air turned sticky and resilient to motion. The eighteenth layer of space began to solidify.
The guests present were shocked by the breadth and depth of the attack. They were standing by the periphery, and yet the attack had rendered them almost immobile. How frightening would the gravitational pull be at the center of the arena?
Even a superior king might be pressed into a solid ball within moments.
The witch of dreams found it hard to imagine just what would be the outcome of a battle between her and Zhang Lie. If Zhang Lie had used this technique from the beginning, the witch of dreams would have been pressed onto the ground, frozen stiff, and Zhang Lie would have been able to do anything he wanted to her. The thought was... provocative...
The witch of dreams couldn't help but lick her lips.
Unlike what the guests were thinking, however, the Null Source wasn't suppressed by Zhang Lie's technique at all.
Light refracted over the Null Source's body, rendering it immune to Zhang Lie's attack.
As Zhang Lie infused more genetic energy into the attack, the floor began to cave downwards from the enhanced gravity.
Even so, either because of Null Source's own strength or the effects of the Keys of the Elder Gods' protection, or perhaps even both, the gravity had no effect on Null Source.
Zhang Lie's tablets trembled, as did the Keys of the Elder Gods.
"Useless, is it? I'll try it again, then!"
Zhang Lie raised an arm high into the air once more, and the image of a dragonturtle manifested behind him.
This time, two runic tablets appeared.
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