Chapter 196: Battling Baltheus

“Huh? I finally managed to get third place, and now some backdoor entrant shows up, telling us to challenge him?”

“Exactly! We worked so hard to make it into the top ten. What right does he have to make us challenge him? Does he really think he’s that strong?”

“Hey, kid, you didn’t get in through connections, did you? If that’s the case, this game’s reputation is going to stink.”

The third-ranked contestant scrutinized Jiang Yan mockingly, unable to sense anything extraordinary about him.

Jiang Yan walked up to his opponent, smiling as he looked at the arrogant face before him.

“What are you staring at? Don’t like being called out? If you have what it takes, fight me and prove whether you’re even worthy of us challenging you!”

He taunted, his face filled with disdain and ridicule.

The others chimed in, agreeing that Jiang Yan was unworthy of their challenge.

Only the Crown Prince of Qiuyue remained solemn, silently taking a step back.

In his perception, the storm brewing in Jiang Yan’s mind was still raging.

“Damn it, what is he planning?”

The Crown Prince of Qiuyue gritted his teeth, his mind racing with suspicions about Jiang Yan’s act of splitting his Spiritual Power.

Finally, a terrifying thought occurred to him: Could he be planning to destroy this place?

The more unknown the threat, the greater the fear—especially when you alone are aware of the danger while others remain oblivious. This feeling placed immense pressure on his psyche.

In his line of sight, Jiang Yan slowly extended a single finger.

The third-ranked contestant looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

The live stream room and the on-site audience were equally confused, and even Miss Hua, who was commentating on the live stream, expressed her bewilderment.

“What is he trying to do?”

—

“One move.”

“Pfft—” “Hahaha, kid, don’t push your luck!”

“I am the third-ranked contender, after all!”

Boom!

His Domain erupted, countless ghostly hands enveloping Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan calmly observed these grotesque ghostly hands, shook his limbs slightly, and then, ignoring the ghostly hands, leaped toward the third-ranked contestant.

“Heh, you don’t even have a Domain. How terrifying ignorance can be. You don’t understand the gap in strength. You don’t even have a one-in-ten-thousand chance of winning… What!”

“He ignored the Ghost Domain!”

Boom!

Jiang Yan’s fist arrived as expected, shattering space inch by inch, friction with the air sparking scorching flames wherever it passed.

The world seemed to freeze, with only that unstoppable fist dominating everything.

The—Serious—Fist!

Boom!

The Domain was shattered by the force of the fist, an overwhelmingly terrifying power sent the malevolent spirits flying. The chest of the “third-ranked contestant” caved in, and a gruesome bloody hole instantly appeared on his back.

Thud—

The third-ranked contestant convulsed and collapsed to the ground.

Eight Doppelgangers, eightfold power, combined with Jiang Yan’s own strength—this alone was enough for him to defeat most Seventh Rank Transcendents.

He placed his foot on the head of the “third-ranked contestant,” ignoring the trembling body beneath him, and scanned his surroundings.

“Defeat me, and the championship is yours.”

The entire arena fell silent.

But soon, thunderous cheers erupted from the audience stands.

The strong have always been revered.

Arrogance is a fatal psychological flaw for the weak, but for the strong, it is a defining trait.

When people speak of the arrogance of the weak, they mockingly call it delusional.

When people speak of the pride of the strong, they see it as unconventional.

After Jiang Yan shattered the “third-ranked contestant” with a single punch, none of the subsequent Prodigies dared to challenge him again.

All the earlier doubts and criticisms vanished without a trace.

Without strength, it’s called relying on connections; with strength, it earns a beautiful title—

Direct admission!

The second-ranked girl scrutinized Jiang Yan with a grave expression.

“I can’t defeat that third-ranked fool in one move. He’s far stronger than me.”

Thus, she chose not to continue the challenge.

It was better to settle for third place honestly. Risking her life to challenge that monster simply wasn’t worth it.

But…

There was someone here who had a reason not to lose.

The Crown Prince of Qiuyue stepped forward, surrounded by a shimmering halo of five-colored light. The elements in the air danced around him like lively little sprites.

“My name is Balshus. I seek your guidance.”

“Jiang Yan.”

The battle erupted instantly.

“Five Extremes Desolation—Thunderfire, Windhowl, Vortex, Metalblade, Rolling Dragon—unleash!”

Countless calamities descended one after another. Within Balshus’s Domain, the elements of the universe coalesced into cataclysmic disasters from reality.

The elements collided and combined, forming myriad mysterious and unpredictable methods of attack.

At times, lightning flashed and thunder roared; at others, floods inundated the world or raging fires scorched the heavens…

Balshus stood tall in the sky, his every gesture capable of stirring vast and spectacular celestial phenomena.

Jiang Yan was enveloped by these phenomena, swaying like a small boat in a storm.

The heavens and earth transformed into a massive hand, intent on tearing Jiang Yan apart on the spot.

Even the audience behind the protective barrier felt their hearts clench for Jiang Yan, as if they were experiencing it firsthand.

“So he doesn’t just wield fire—he commands… all elements!”

“This is terrifying. With just fire alone, he fought his way to first place. When all elements combine to create natural disasters, wouldn’t that make him invincible?”

“This… this is the gap between Domains. A Domain represents the convergence of Transcendent abilities. The Crown Prince of Qiuyue must have an innate affinity for all attributes to manifest such a terrifying Domain.”

“I wonder if Jiang Yan can hold on amidst these disasters.”

Within the Domain.

Jiang Yan’s body endured the violent collisions of countless elemental combinations.

They coordinated seamlessly, attacking from all sides, determined to crush Jiang Yan here and now.

Yet, it seemed such terrifying force couldn’t inflict significant damage on Jiang Yan.

There was damage, but it was merely superficial—scratches at best.

However, his recovery rate far outpaced the damage, causing Jiang Yan’s skin to constantly renew itself.

His mind was continuously updated with System Log notifications.

Mentions of increased skin toughness and the like, but the howling winds were too loud, and Jiang Yan didn’t quite catch them clearly.

The result, however, was that gradually, even elemental attacks struggled to so much as scratch Jiang Yan’s skin.

Jiang Yan’s Physical Body had undergone countless “slight improvements”!

Balshus’s brows furrowed deeply, the barbs on his forehead sinking into his skin.

He had a premonition—his attacks had inflicted no damage whatsoever on Jiang Yan.

It was as if he were wielding a water gun, spraying at full power against a steel rod.

No matter how high-quality the water gun, the result would only be—

The rod becoming shinier and smoother.

“This—how is this possible!”

But then, a detached voice reached his ears.

“Chaotic Void Domain.”

The next moment, the disasters receded, the elements dimmed, and boundless darkness enveloped the battlefield.

The Starry Sky transformed into a cage, imprisoning Balshus within.

The only light in the cage—Jiang Yan—appeared, treading upon the stars.

Surrounding them was utter silence. The man who had been far away mere moments ago was now barely a hundred meters from him.

With one step forward, the distance was now less than ten meters.

A pitch-black saber appeared in his hand, but Balshus could not see it clearly.

It seemed as though he was holding a saber, yet it also felt as if he had lifted the entire pitch-black night.

Then he whispered.

“Yan Thunder—Annihilation Slash.”