Chapter 543 – Back Home, I'm Not Even in the Top Ten

Outside the treasure land brimming with countless rare treasures, winds gathered and clouds surged, with an aura of desolation and decay permeating the heavens and earth.

It felt as if hundreds and thousands of sword and saber edges were pricking the skin, causing the powerful legends lurking nearby to feel a faint, stinging pain.

“This can’t possibly be the Heaven-Earth Realm!”

“I feel like I’m facing a world-class powerhouse!”

Some legends trembled in fear, but the brief confrontation earlier had made them understand the gap between them.

They were already top-tier experts standing at the peak of the Heaven-Earth Realm, and this trip to the secret realm had brought them further gains to advance themselves. They originally thought they were among the strongest in the Heaven-Earth Realm, fearless against any opponent, never expecting there were skies beyond skies.

Even if they were the strongest among the younger generation in their great nations, it still seemed insufficient when looking at the entire world.

The great nations were indeed the rulers of the Eternal World, but beyond them, there were still some reclusive experts. Though their names were unknown, their power was extraordinary.

“But, as a prince wielding three epic divine skills and being a professional at the epic three-star tier, why couldn’t I withstand a single strike from that elephant-man in a direct confrontation?”

Their ability to briefly resist earlier was only due to their numerical advantage.

The Epic Mage Tower indeed possessed an invincible momentum in such an environment.

If it were one-on-one, the Divine Wood Dynasty prince was confident he would be defeated within three moves. This couldn’t help but remind him of that god of slaughter he encountered four years ago during the Dragon Court competition.

“Is the guidance of a legendary life truly this powerful?”

“The elephant-man called that young swordsman ‘Senior Brother.’ This youth must be an even stronger Heaven-Earth Realm expert… I’ve vaguely heard that the Radiant Prince of the Holy Griffin Empire suffered a great loss at the hands of a young swordsman.”

The Divine Wood Dynasty had friendly relations with legends. As a prince, he had personally paid respects to legendary lives and received guidance from them.

But how could he know the vast difference between casual guidance from a legend and a legend imparting all their knowledge?

Legends wield great power.

Their teachings aren’t limited to just techniques and knowledge; they contain great opportunities that can completely transform a person.

Moreover, there are differences even among legends.

…

Sophia understood this clearly. Wasn’t the gap between her and Deadbone enormous?

And even Deadbone and Dolai were merely young legends, their legendary power far from fully developed. She didn’t know what kind of power a true, fully matured legend possessed.

She only knew that a complete legend must be at the Saint Realm, and among saints, they would be absolute powerhouses. Figures trained by such existences would undoubtedly have no weaklings.

She herself only had confidence in defeating such strong enemies because of her slight advantage in life rank.

However, even though Sophia was confident she could steadily defeat two opponents alone, she couldn’t achieve a quick victory.

After all, she hadn’t mastered any powerful killing moves. Of course, her offensive methods weren’t limited to just ‘Nethercrow Storm.’ It had been some time since she stepped into the legendary rank. Even though the legendary power ‘Crow Lord’ didn’t have direct offensive capabilities, she had still developed a new killing technique based on it.

Otherwise, relying solely on Nethercrow Storm and numerous black crows, defeating such enemies wouldn’t be easy.

“Most importantly, there’s no time to waste now. Having Uta and Sickle Moon deal with the competitors while I take the opportunity to seize the treasures is the most correct choice.”

Sophia walked towards the treasure land but soon encountered resistance, unable to advance even half a step further.

This was the treasure land’s barrier!

Inside a world secret realm, the higher the grade of treasure or opportunity, the more power required to obtain it. If one could simply reach out and take the treasures, the legendary realm experts wouldn’t be idly watching from the sides; they would have long been desperately fighting for them, grabbing whatever they could.

“It’s the most basic repulsive force.”

Sophia touched the space before her and instantly made a judgment. “But this repulsive force is very advanced, as if it’s the exclusion force of an entire territory or secret realm, like vast territorial power rolling out to repel.”

“To cross this repulsive force zone and obtain the treasures, one must step forward steadily, one step at a time. If the impact is too violent, it will suffer an even stronger repulsive force impact. But even walking steadily forward requires sufficient strength, otherwise…”

One would be repelled and sent flying, inevitably injured.

She briefly simulated it and found she needed to take at least eighty-one steps, spending a minimum of one hundred seconds to cross this repulsive force zone.

During this period, she couldn’t be disturbed, or accidents could easily occur.

She glanced to the side.

She believed in Uta and Sickle Moon’s strength.

However,

「If we can easily achieve our goals within the rules, follow the rules. But if we can’t, then these rules are not worth keeping.」

The Lord had said so.

The rule of this treasure land was to move against the repulsive force.

But, “Repulsive force is also a form of power, energy. If that’s the case.”

Whoosh—

Black mist surged around her as hundreds and thousands of black crows flew out from the fog, instantly stirring up a Nethercrow Storm that swept across the heavens and earth.

The storm rolled forth, endless and boundless, directly crashing into this treasure land—which had remained completely undamaged despite being disturbed by countless energy remnants.

Boom!

Boom—!

The storm continuously collided, with black feathers shattering and dissipating within it. The storm seemed to shrink slightly, but the next moment, the Nethercrow Storm absorbed the shattered, scattered repulsive force power and the surrounding energy currents like torrents. The massive black storm immediately swelled and continued its assault on the treasure land.

At the same time,

The 2VS2 confrontation had already begun.

That mysterious woman in black robes was indeed strong, but in others’ eyes, the elephant-man remained terrifying, with an invincible momentum pressing down in all directions.

“Clang—”

Metallic sounds rippled out in circles. The fearsome elephant-man legend was sent flying tens of thousands of meters away, shattering countless mountains and rocks, leaving a long, narrow trail of air currents in the heavens and earth.

In his original position stood a burly man wearing form-fitting armor that outlined his coiled dragon-and-python muscle lines, maintaining a punching posture.

With just one punch.

The legendary realm experts secretly watching widened their eyes.

The next moment, the sent-flying elephant-man legend stepped through the air to return. A clear fist imprint was stamped on his chest, his face flushed red, raging flames soaring to the sky.

He roared, the brilliant golden light on his body surging once more, transforming into a dozens-of-meters-tall, majestic golden elephant dharma form.

The elephant-man dharma form stood firm on the earth, with heaven and earth Yuan power within a range of tens of thousands of meters violently converging into his palm. His giant golden palm swept forward, causing the entire space to crackle as it compressed inch by inch.

This strike was like carrying the entire heavens and earth forward, leaving no room for evasion or avoidance.

But in Uta’s dictionary, the word “dodge” never existed.

His eyes held only delight—the joy of encountering a rare opponent.

“Flesh Shackles first stage, second stage, sever!”

“Serious Punch.”

Blazing aura rose upward, making his short hair stand up like a spiky hedgehog. The scorching red aura resembled demon-god blood, gently converging as every muscle and cell in his body hummed.

He threw a punch, blood-colored flames roaring like a giant dragon opening its maw.

First, it pierced through the stagnant space, then struck the massive golden palm imprint.

A slight pause.

It halted for a thousandth of a second.

The next instant, the golden palm imprint cracked and shattered, collapsing completely, while the blood-flame fist force continued its momentum unabated.

“Screech—”

A sword gleam cut across the sky, colliding with the blood-flame fist force and canceling each other out.

Amid the violent residual power, the golden elephant-man was sent flying backward.

“You’re no match for this person.”

The sword-wielding youth said, “Let me face him.”

The golden elephant-man was unwilling but clearly understood his senior brother spoke the truth.

At the same realm, he had been forced back in a direct confrontation? This was simply…

How exhilarating!!

If it weren’t for the treasure competition, he would never yield such a formidable opponent. But now… he could only first crush that seemingly thin and weak human woman.

Hmph, so frail-looking, definitely a weakling.

Opponents exchanged.

Uta stared at the youth before him; his intuition told him this youth was extremely dangerous.

Based on combat preference, he preferred facing the elephant-man. This kind of fist-to-flesh collision excited his bloodline more.

But after all, this concerned the treasure competition.

Fist-to-flesh battles—he could experience them in daily sparring with Rakshasa and Lu Liu. But facing a sword master of divine skill was a first for him.

Uta grinned, his entire being excited, every muscle cell thrilled.

The youth raised his sword, and vast suppressing power enveloped the entire heavens and earth, causing the surrounding tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of meters to tremble.

Most legendary realm experts witnessing this didn’t understand what had happened. Only a very few with broad knowledge could recognize it.

There were such individuals present, and more than one.

“It’s… Perfect Domain Realm!”

“Perfect Domain retracted into formlessness, yet capable of truly controlling the entire heavens and earth. A single thought could make countless legendary realm experts kneel. Ordinary legends facing such powerhouses couldn’t withstand even a single glance. Even those with domains cultivated to 49,999 meters—supreme top-tier existences—would have their combat power greatly reduced under a Perfect Domain!”

Within this invisible domain, Uta’s entire body sank, as if the whole world despised him.

But the next moment,

“Flesh Shackles, third stage, sever!”

Blood-colored flames swept across the sky, rampant and clawing, like a demon-god shadow standing behind Uta.

Uta had already stepped forward and charged.

Serious Punch! Serious Punch! Serious Punch!

Blood-flame fist force and brilliant sword gleams continuously collided mid-air, like countless ten-thousand-zhang mountains crashing together.

Continuous collisions, continuous shattering!

Heaven and earth, elements, space—all wailed in sorrow, seemingly unable to withstand the impact of such power.

“Such power… Your Excellency must have also received a legendary life’s legacy!”

The Young Sword Saint grew even more delighted.

Uta remained silent.

What legendary legacy did he have? At most, he frequently sparred with legendary lives, and in a while, he would evolve into a legend himself.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves, still evenly matched.

No, perhaps Uta had the upper hand.

He only needed to avoid slashes containing conceptual power; for the remaining sword gleams and residual power, even if he occasionally took one or two hits, it was no big deal. He wore the Berserker Armor, allowing him to swim directly through various energy torrents.

In contrast, the Young Sword Saint had to constantly dodge Uta’s fist radiance and also slice apart some raging energy.

“Such power, such physique—among those at the same realm, I’ve never seen anyone stronger than you. I’m willing to call you the strongest!”

He felt a mutual admiration.

He originally thought Uta would also say, “You are also the strongest Heaven-Earth Realm expert I’ve ever seen. I equally deem you the strongest!”

But no.

Why wasn’t there? (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻!

But Uta was an honest man. The title of strongest in the Heaven-Earth Realm—however you ranked it—couldn’t possibly go to this youth, right?

At the same time, on the other side.

“So fast! So fast! So fast!”

A dozens-of-meters-tall golden body dharma form stood firm on the earth but could never catch up to that flash of silver light.

Occasionally, the silver light flashed, and this dharma form—which could withstand continuous assaults from Heaven-Earth Realm experts without any damage—was deeply slashed with a profound mark.

The elephant-man legend widened his eyes, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Facing the Epic Mage Tower, being unable to defeat it was understandable—after all, he was opposing a massive super war machine alone.

Facing a human legend of the same realm in direct confrontation and being immediately defeated made him somewhat doubt life.

And now,

“Another expert stronger than me?”

“Isn’t this secret realm currently only accessible to Heaven-Earth Realm? Wasn’t I invincible among all Heaven-Earth Realm experts except for my senior brother long ago?”

As a result,

He had completely become a target, feeling even more frustrated than before.

After all, earlier, he could at least enjoy the thrill of fist-to-flesh collision. Now? Taking hits, taking hits, still taking hits.

His forty-thousand-meter-level domain shook the heavens and earth as vast heaven and earth energy surged forth. A hundreds-of-meters-long giant golden palm imprint pressed down from above.

Space solidified, locking down all directions.

Everything would shatter, be crushed, and be annihilated under this killing move.

This was his tactic, a killing move he had kept hidden for long.

Sickle Moon wasn’t like Uta, possessing wild, unstoppable power.

Thus,

Her figure vanished.

The giant palm imprint struck the earth, but the Moon Coronet Giant Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

The vanished giant wolf leaped out the next moment from the bright moon hanging high in the sky.

The elephant-man, taught by a legendary life and broadly knowledgeable, certainly saw the wolf girl’s weakness lay in that moon. However, this was a conceptual moon. Destroying such a conceptual moon was something even ordinary Law Realm experts couldn’t accomplish, let alone him, merely a Heaven-Earth Realm expert capable of exerting a trace of conceptual power.

“You, very strong. Second only to my senior brother and that monster over there.”

The elephant-man acknowledged the wolf girl’s combat power, especially above his own.

“Aw, you’re also very strong.”

Sickle Moon also recognized this opponent.

The elephant-man legend said, “I originally thought that within the same realm, only my senior brother was stronger than me. Now it seems I can only temporarily rank fourth.”

He lamented but also ignited a drive to advance.

Otherwise, in daily life, being invincible except for his senior brother, he actually lacked much motivation.

But now? First, defeat this wolf girl, then defeat that monster over there.

He had a goal!

But after the elephant-man finished speaking, he noticed the wolf girl didn’t seem to agree with his statement.

He vaguely thought of something, couldn’t help but widen his eyes, “You’ve seen others even more invincible at the same realm?”

Sickle Moon honestly nodded, “Yes, aw.”

Invincible Elephant-man: “!!!”Clearly, he was taught by a legend, and all he saw and heard were world-class; he absolutely couldn’t be someone with a narrow view, right?”

He trembled slightly, “One more, or two more?”

Sickle Moon halted her offensive steps.

After all, this big guy was really tough, especially hard to chop—perhaps one-tenth as hard as General Lu Liu.

She couldn’t finish him off quickly. What Sister Sophia asked of her was merely to delay.

So she stopped and started counting on her fingers.

“Probably nine? Ten? Back home, I don’t even rank in the top ten, aw.”

She said honestly.

The elephant-man legend widened his eyes: This world is so vast?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

He didn’t believe it!

You don’t believe? Sickle Moon is going to get angry.

She wasn’t lying, aw.

Undead Marshal, Senior Dolai, Big Sister Isloria, General Lu Liu…

Their Tianyuan City had seven legendary lives. Then there was the invincible Lord, and Uta, whom she clearly couldn’t defeat. Plus, the Angel King Lapis, who had already exceeded standards and topped the Tianyuan Expert rankings… that made ten people already.

Others, like Mirena, Xie Yi, Red Robe, Xiliu, Sario—she had no sure chance of victory against them either.

Counting this way, she was far from making the top ten, aw.

This elephant-man truly has no insight, aw~!

Seeing the wolf girl’s disdainful look, the invincible elephant-man completely began to doubt life.

(End of Chapter)