Chapter 163: The Sour Loser

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Sour Loser

At first, Liam had assumed the two men were simply having a friendly spar. Perhaps the younger martial artist wanted to test himself against a stronger opponent.

But when he heard about the wager, that assumption immediately disappeared.

They were not here for a friendly exchange. Both sides had put valuable treasures on the line!

Liam couldn’t help looking at Major again.

Why would someone at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm willingly challenge a First Star Divine Power Realm expert?

Had the man lost his mind?

There was no other reasonable explanation. Nobody in their right mind would risk two seventh-grade pills and four sixth-grade pills in a battle they had little chance of winning. That was practically handing Mark a fortune.

However, Liam quickly reconsidered.

"No. That doesn’t make sense."

He shook his head slightly.

"Someone who is crazy couldn’t possibly have cultivated to the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm. And he certainly wouldn’t have made it into the Destiny Space."

His eyes narrowed as he studied Major.

"That means he must have something to rely on. Otherwise, why would someone at his cultivation level dare to challenge a First Star Divine Power Realm expert?"

Liam’s curiosity grew.

He wanted to find out what gave this mysterious martial artist, Major, the confidence to accept such an overwhelming challenge.

He wasn’t the only one thinking along these lines. Many of the spectators were equally interested in seeing what would happen.

All eyes were fixed on the two men standing inside the arena.

Once both fighters entered the battlefield, they were given thirty seconds to prepare. Neither side could launch an attack until the countdown ended.

The moment the preparation period was over, Mark moved.

He raised both hands, and blue-white flames burst from his body. The flames spread rapidly in every direction, covering the ground beneath his feet.

The arena wasn’t particularly large. At the rate they were expanding, the flames would swallow the entire battlefield in just two or three seconds.

"Mark isn’t holding back at all!"

A spectator who was familiar with Mark couldn’t help exclaiming.

"He knows his opponent is much weaker in terms of cultivation, yet he’s already using his full strength. He’s clearly trying to end this as quickly as possible."

Another spectator nodded in agreement.

"That’s only natural. Even a lion must use its full strength when hunting a rabbit. Since Major dared to accept this challenge, he must have some kind of trump card. Considering how much they’re betting, I would do exactly the same thing if I were Mark."

"I’ve fought Mark before," another man added from beside Liam. "Those flames are extremely destructive. Once they surround an opponent, escaping becomes very difficult. Let’s see how this Major intends to deal with them."

However, before anyone could see how Major would respond to the spreading flames, something unexpected happened.

Major suddenly rose into the air.

He had taken flight!

Hovering above the battlefield, he raised the Dragon-Slaying Sword. A dazzling flash of sword light burst from its blade as he swung it down toward Mark.

Whoosh!

A terrifying wave of sword energy tore through the air. It moved with astonishing speed, appearing above Mark almost instantly.

Mark’s expression changed.

He had never expected an opponent at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm to unleash such powerful sword energy. Caught off guard, he had no time to evade.

He immediately summoned an ice wall in front of himself.

The blue-white flames were the manifestation of the Law of Fire he had comprehended upon reaching the Divine Power Realm. The ice wall, on the other hand, was one of the special abilities he had awakened when he entered the Star Sea Realm.

Although the ice wall shattered under the force of Major’s attack, it managed to absorb the sword energy and protect Mark from the blow.

For a brief moment, Mark felt relieved.

But that relief didn’t last.

Through the broken sections of the ice wall, he caught sight of another wave of sword energy descending toward him.

His pupils contracted.

"Break through!"

Mark let out a furious roar.

Since there was no time to dodge, he could only strengthen his defenses.

His body suddenly expanded. In the blink of an eye, he had grown into a giant nearly three meters tall. A brilliant golden light spread across his skin, making him look like a towering golden statue.

"That’s the Wrathful Buddha’s Indestructible Divine Skill!"

Someone in the audience immediately recognized the technique.

"Isn’t that a seventh-grade martial skill? I didn’t expect Mark to have such a powerful technique. Judging by how well he’s using it, he must have reached at least the Minor Achievement stage!"

"You’re overlooking something," another spectator pointed out. "The Wrathful Buddha’s Indestructible Divine Skill increases his physical size and greatly strengthens his defense. But look at his skin. Can’t you see that bluish-gold metallic sheen?"

The man paused before explaining.

"That’s a clear sign of a metal-type special ability. He’s combining the defensive power of that ability with his seventh-grade martial skill!"

The spectators immediately understood.

"With those two defenses working together, Mark should be able to withstand Major’s sword energy."

However, their attention soon shifted to the other fighter.

"Still, I’m more interested in this Major. What kind of sword technique is he using? That level of sword energy is far beyond what an ordinary martial skill can produce."

"I can’t identify it either. I also practice swordsmanship, and I’ve already mastered the sixth-grade Thunder Strike technique at Great Perfection. But even my strongest attacks can’t compare to what he’s releasing."

"Could it be a seventh-grade martial skill? Or perhaps an eighth-grade sword technique? This Major clearly has an impressive background."

As the discussion continued, someone suddenly noticed something strange.

"Wait! He’s still attacking!"

The man’s eyes widened.

"How can he release sword energy so continuously? Doesn’t an attack of that power consume a huge amount of energy?"

Before anyone could answer, another spectator cried out.

"Look! Mark is losing!"

Inside the arena, Major showed no intention of slowing down.

He was using the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique, sending one powerful wave of sword energy after another toward Mark.

The attacks came so quickly that there was barely any gap between them. On average, four or five waves of sword energy struck Mark every second.

The relentless assault continued for a little over three seconds.

Then Mark’s feet began to move backward against his will.

His defenses were finally reaching their limit.

His face had turned deathly pale, and a thin line of blood had appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"How can this be?"

Mark’s mind was in turmoil.

He couldn’t believe what was happening.

The spectators might not understand how difficult it was to withstand Major’s attacks, but Mark knew better than anyone. He had already used everything available to strengthen his defense.

The Wrathful Buddha’s Indestructible Divine Skill was a seventh-grade martial skill. Combined with his metal-type special ability, it should have provided an extremely powerful defensive barrier.

Yet he had barely lasted three seconds!

Even worse, the repeated impacts had begun to shake his internal organs. If this continued, he would suffer serious internal injuries.

What frustrated him most was that Major’s attacks showed no sign of stopping.

The sword energy kept pouring down as though it cost Major nothing to release it. Mark couldn’t even find an opening to counterattack.

His greatest advantage, the Law of Fire, was also proving useless.

The flames had already spread across the entire battlefield. They rose four or five meters above the ground, turning the arena into a sea of blue-white fire.

But Major was high in the air, completely beyond their reach.

Mark had considered extending the flames upward to surround the entire sky. However, that would require time to build up their reach.

And time was the one thing he couldn’t afford to waste.

If he continued defending himself, Major would eventually wear him down. His only remaining option was to take a direct hit, endure the damage, and create an opening for a counterattack.

He might even lose his life if he miscalculated.

But if he did nothing, his defeat was only a matter of time.

"I can’t keep defending like this. I’ll be killed if I continue!"

Mark clenched his teeth.

"Fine! I’ll put everything into one attack!"

He made his decision and immediately abandoned his defensive stance. Instead of trying to block every incoming sword strike, he unleashed the full power of his Law of Fire.

Boom!

The blue-white flames erupted with tremendous force, shooting upward into the sky. In an instant, they reached a height of hundreds of meters.

This time, Mark’s response worked.

The arena had limits in every direction, including the sky. Major had been using a Wind-Controlling Runestone to remain airborne, but even that couldn’t take him beyond the battlefield’s boundaries.

He had only managed to rise to a height of one hundred meters before discovering that he could go no higher.

And now, Mark’s flames had reached him.

The blue-white fire surged around Major, swallowing his entire figure.

Down below, Mark coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His condition was terrible. Blood covered his body, and a deep wound stretched diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.

That injury was the price he had paid for abandoning his defenses.

He had deliberately allowed one of Major’s sword strikes to hit him directly. The force had sent him tumbling backward for dozens of meters, but that movement also caused the next wave of sword energy to miss.

It had been a dangerous gamble, but it had finally given him a chance to turn the situation around.

Mark raised his head and stared at the flames consuming the sky.

"That should be enough to finish him, right?"

He tried to steady his breathing as a faint sense of relief washed over him.

However, before he could recover, something appeared through the flames.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Another wave of sword energy was descending!

Mark’s flames were no ordinary attack.

Their destructive power was so great that even martial artists at the same cultivation level usually avoided getting caught in them. Once someone was surrounded, escaping without suffering serious injuries was extremely difficult.

Inside the flames, Major could clearly feel the terrifying heat pressing against his body. The temperature was easily several thousand degrees Celsius.

Fortunately, he possessed chaotic energy.

This supreme energy, born from the universe itself, spread across his body and formed a thick protective barrier. It covered him completely, leaving no exposed area for the flames to attack. From a distance, it looked like he was enclosed inside a giant eggshell.

However, maintaining that protection came at a cost.

Whenever the blue-white flames touched his chaotic energy, the two forces clashed and rapidly consumed each other. Major could feel the chaotic energy stored inside him disappearing at an alarming rate.

At the current rate, he was losing energy equivalent to three stars every minute.

And this was only because he was caught near the outer edge of the flames. If he had been trapped at the center, where the fire was most concentrated, his energy consumption would have increased several times over.

Major glanced at the surrounding flames.

"If an ordinary Third Star Star Sea Realm martial artist were caught in this, they probably wouldn’t survive for more than two or three seconds."

He shook his head.

"Unfortunately for you, you’ve chosen the wrong opponent."

Major activated his Perception Runestone and quickly determined Mark’s current position.

Without wasting another moment, he raised the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

A series of terrifying sword strikes burst from the blade and tore through the sea of flames.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Four brilliant waves of sword energy flashed across the battlefield.

In the next instant, the blue-white flames that had covered the entire arena vanished. The sword energy Major had released also disappeared, leaving the battlefield completely silent.

Mark had no chance to defend himself.

Already weakened by his earlier injuries, he was struck by all four attacks. His body was torn apart, and his life came to an abrupt end.

The battle was over.

In a fight between powerful martial artists, the outcome could be decided in a matter of seconds. A battle that dragged on for days or even nights usually meant both sides were evenly matched, with neither able to gain a decisive advantage.

That was clearly not the case here.

Against Major’s ninth-grade Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique, Mark had been completely overwhelmed.

"Is this all a First Star Divine Power Realm expert can do?"

Major shook his head as he slowly descended to the ground.

At the same time, a soft white light emerged beneath Mark’s shattered remains. It spread over his body, and under the authority of the Destiny Space, his corpse was restored and he was brought back to life.

...

The spectators were speechless.

Liam Shelby, along with everyone else watching, stood frozen as they tried to process what had just happened.

The battle had ended far too quickly.

"Did Major actually win?"

Someone finally broke the silence.

"Unbelievable! That man is terrifying!"

"How did he release sword energy that powerful? And how could he withstand those flames without getting burned?"

"How should I know? Ask someone else! He was only at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm, yet he killed a First Star Divine Power Realm martial artist in just a few seconds. Does that even make sense?"

"Mark really picked the wrong person to provoke. He thought he had found an easy target, but he ended up running into a monster! Now he’s not only been killed once, but he’s also lost his Regeneration Fruit and space-type Runestone!"

"Some of us noticed something strange from the beginning. There really was a huge difference in strength between the two fighters. We just got the stronger one wrong! It wasn’t Mark. It was Major, despite being at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm!"

"From now on, everyone in the Destiny Space will remember the name Major!"

"Are newcomers really this frightening these days?"

The crowd erupted into discussion.

Nobody had expected this result. Before the battle began, most people had assumed Mark would win without much difficulty. After all, the gap between the two cultivation realms was enormous.

But reality had given them a completely different answer.

They had witnessed something that challenged their understanding of martial arts.

As Major walked out of the arena and collected all the items he had won, the spectators watched him with different expressions. Some were amazed, others were still struggling to accept what they had seen, while a few were already thinking about approaching him.

Before the fight, none of them could have imagined such an outcome.

It was simply unbelievable.

However, while the spectators were still discussing the battle, Mark had already recovered from his death and returned to the arena area.

The moment he spotted Major, his expression twisted with anger.

"Give me back the Regeneration Fruit and the Runestone!"