Chapter 318: Gaze Of Contempt

“How can a robot enter the Lifeseek Realm? Isn’t it considered a foreign item?” Lu Yin asked, confused.

Beside him, Starsibyl replied, “The trial zones acknowledge anything that’s merged with a cultivator, which includes even the tamed beasts from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. All this means is that the Technocracy has already discovered how to merge machines into their own bodies.”

Lu Yin was surprised. Being able to combine robotics and a biological body so perfectly was a terrifying technique. The Ross Empire was the top empire in the Human Domain when it came to technological advancement, but they could not even attempt to do such a thing. Otherwise, such an expert from the Ross Empire would have already come to the trial zones.

Boom!

There was a huge rumble that sounded as if the heavens and the earth had collided and the ground had split asunder. A tremendous force surged into the sky and blew the clouds away. When the two competitors collided, a huge spatial crack spread out, scaring quite a few students to the point where they even turned pale. Thankfully, the barriers held firm.

Smoke filled the sky, and quite a few miniscule spatial cracks flickered in the arena. Grandini Mavis and Domi appeared once more before the audience’s eyes. The two punches had cancelled each other out, and with another huge boom, they simultaneously retreated.

Grandini’s right fist shook as blood dripped onto the ground. She had been injured.

Domi, on the other hand, looked the same as ever.

Lu Yin’s eyes widened as he stared intensely at Domi’s right fist. What a durable metal! The metallic hand looked completely fine.

A moment later, two strange rays of light shot out of Domi’s eyes and swept towards Grandini, which she hastily dodged even as the ground was completely pierced through. Those rays did not seem to be very powerful, but Grandini was obviously afraid to make contact with them. Domi then raised both hands and shot out two more rays, using a total of four rays of light to sweep through the battlefield, chasing after Grandini.

Quite a few students from the Astral Combat Academy nervously grit their teeth. Anyone could tell that Grandini was on the losing end of this exchange so far.

The Mavis family was well known for their strong bodies and monstrous strength. However, these two advantages barely mattered against Domi. His durable metal was not something that Grandini Mavis could destroy.

“Those rays don’t appear to be very strong, but they can penetrate through most materials without causing any spatial damage. This is an attacking method that many Limiteers from the Technocracy commonly use. Even still, there’s no way to contend against it other than running away, unless you have some special method,” Han Chong explained with a serious look on his face.

Lu Yin eyed Domi. With his domain, Lu Yin was able to clearly sense just how terrifying those rays were. In contrast to what Han Chong had just said, Domi’s rays were much more powerful than what regular Limiteers in the Technocracy used, or else Grandini would not have been forced to the pitiful state that she was currently in.

Perhaps it was because she had been driven into a corner, but Grandini’s battle force finally exploded forth. Her four-lined battle force wound around her body and she cocked her right fist back, her feet lightly tapping on the ground. In less than a moment, she had appeared in front of Domi and released a punch. Domi did not dodge, and just like before, received the attack head-on with a punch of his own. He was absolutely at ease in close-quarters combat.

Boom boom boom…

Thirteen explosions sounded out in succession. With Grandini’s four-lined battle force and Thirteen Stacks, she managed to pound Domi into the ground. When she had only used three-lined battle force, she had managed to defeat Liu Yin, and after she revealed four-lined battle force, Dao Bo had immediately admitted defeat. This meant that the students from the Astral Combat Academy actually had no idea how terrifying Grandini Mavis’s true power was. Now, they could finally bear witness to it.

The earth was shattered as terrifying spatial cracks spread out from the point of impact, causing even more spatial ripples to fill the arena, as if it were a lake’s surface during a storm. The two fighters continued to tear the void apart even further with every exchange, and the spatial tears spread out like raindrops, covering a larger and larger area until even the mentors’ barriers started shaking. Quite a few students stepped back from the battlefield in shock.

A figure leapt up from amidst the dust and then landed solidly on the ground after performing a flip. It was Grandini. She was panting hard and checking her fist while staring at the dust cloud. She had hit her target, but she had no idea what the results were.

Everyone eyed the area shrouded by dust.

Lu Yin, meanwhile, watched the people from the Technocracy. Their expressions did not change at all, and the woman called Yun still had an overbearing look of contempt in her eyes.

A light thud was heard from underground as a figure slowly walked out. With a wave of his hand, the dust was blown away. Domi appeared once more, causing everyone to suck in a breath of cold air. He looked completely fine. Even after taking Grandini’s full force attack that had been reinforced by her four-lined battle force head-on, he was still completely fine. This completely shocked all the Astral Combat Academy students.

That was a punch backed by four-lined battle force! During the Astral Combat Tournament, the most powerful battle force that they had seen was Lu Yin’s five-lined battle force during his battle against Nightqueen Yanqing, who had used four-lined battle force. The others had only ever used up to four-lined battle force, and in past interacademy tournaments, four-lined battle force was already considered the highest level one could reach. However, this peak strength turned out to be completely useless against this participant from the Technocracy.

Even the beings from the Astral Beast Domain were stirred by this sight.

“What a strong defense. It’s unbelievable!” Hua Yishou was shocked.

Feng Jiu looked glum. “The Technocracy is indeed a huge mystery.”

On the north side, Liu Shaoqiu narrowed his eyes as his gaze swept across the beings standing in the west, the individuals from the Technocracy. He had originally paid them no heed, but this sight had completely changed his mind. It was no wonder why the Technocracy had been able to hold the humans back for so many years.

Outside, Lulu looked glum; her Mavis family’s reputation was being challenged right now.

Chao Zhi and the others were also carefully observing Domi. If they were the ones on the battlefield, they would also have no chance of winning. This was the Tournament of the Strongest.

Of them all, Grandini was the one who was the most shocked. She stared at Domi, obviously unable to accept what she had just seen. She once again clenched her fists tightly, baffled that her attacks had had no effect on him.

Domi’s expression remained as placid as ever. He raised his arms, and four rays shot out once more, scouring the battlefield as they went straight for Grandini, like a cat chasing after a mouse.

Grandini slowly breathed out. As she saw the four rays approach towards her, she raised her arm, causing the four rays to suddenly disappear. Meanwhile, cold, dark lines appeared on her arm. This was the sign of five-lined battle force. At the same time, dark-gold rays surged into the sky. Grandini had finally entered her peak state.

Domi’s eyes shone; this was the first time his expression had changed so far in the battle.

The beings from the Technocracy were surprised, as they had not expected this human to be hiding her strength at the start of the battle.

Lu Yin wasn’t very surprised at all. He had never assumed that having five-lined battle force would be enough for someone to reign supreme in this tournament. While having five-lined battle force was powerful, it was something that others were capable of attaining as well.

After Lu Yin revealed his five-lined battle force during the Astral Combat Tournament, everyone had called him a Ten Arbiters’ candidate. Soon after, however, he had realized that it was merely flattery and not the truth. When the Ten Arbiters were Limiteers and still students of the Astral Combat Academy, they had also only managed to comprehend five-lined battle force, but that didn’t mean that a person could become a Ten Arbiter as long as they had five-lined battle force. The Rainmaster’s comment had forced Lu Yin to accept the harsh reality. The Ten Arbiter’s Divine Fist was a monster who had been able to use Thirty Stacks while still at the Limiteer realm. Five-lined battle force was nothing compared to that achievement. That feat was representative of how awe-inspiring the true might of the Ten Arbiters was back when they were Limiteers.

That amount of strength was something that nobody of the current younger generation had been able to replicate so far. Grandini’s five-lined battle force was the bare minimum requirement for her to reach the level of a Ten Arbiters’ candidate. But even so, many were still surprised by this reveal.

With a whoosh, Grandini charged towards Domi once more. This time, however, Domi did not stand around and wait for her attack to land. Instead, his eyes flashed red and he easily blocked her attack. He moved like a willow in the wind, allowing Grandini to attack as she liked while avoiding every single attack.

He wasn’t quick, and he seemed to barely dodge every one of Grandini’s attacks.Others might be surprised, but Lu Yin, Han Chong, and the other top students could see what was truly happening. This level of awareness and precision that Domi was displaying was similar to a domain, as Domi was not only dodging Grandini’s fists, but also the force from her punches and even the entire trajectory of her attacks. This was essentially another version of a domain.

“They have sensory systems that can enhance their five senses to a similar level as a domain’s,” Starsibyl said. Lu Yin was shocked by this information. Domi had given him quite a few surprises today, showing the true ability of the Technocracy.

The border warfront had been broken through, and war had descended upon the Endless Weave, forcing the humans to organize a tournament to boost morale. This was how terrifying the Technocracy was.

It was true that Domi was able to evade Grandini’s attacks. However, when Grandini started attacking in a wider area, he was no longer able to dodge every attack. There was a huge crash as Grandini used her five-lined battle force as well as Thirteen Stacks to strike the entire battlefield. The four barriers distorted as the barriers forcibly stopped the tremendous shockwaves, redirecting them into a square-shaped force that shot straight up into the sky. Numerous spatial tears spread out like a beast descending upon the field, causing quite a few students’ faces to turn ashen.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Wu Da gulped as he trembled. What a violent woman.

The attack had crushed the ground, and the inhuman strength behind it had distorted the sky. This time, nobody believed that Domi could be fine. If he was, then Grandini had already lost.

Everyone stared at the battlefield. The ground had caved it, leaving a huge pit behind. Domi lay inside of it, with half of his body cracked. He could not move at all; five-lined battle force was not something that he could take on.

“Round one. Victor: Grandini Mavis.”

Many students cheered. Fortunately, she had won. The disgusting defense displayed by the Technocracy participante was unfathomable, but thankfully, in front of five-lined battle force, any defense was trash.

“It seems that those robots’ defensive limit is five-lined battle force. We still have Lu Yin, and he comprehended five-lined battle force even earlier than Grandini. He’ll definitely be able to win his first battle. The humans are sure to win!” The spectating students excitedly predicted victory as the outcome of the tournament. Wu Da’s ears pricked up, and he listened very carefully; this was all important information that he could use.

“Nobody knows for sure. Look, that woman over there is clearly the leader of those monsters from the Technocracy. The moment she showed up, she’s been acting like she’s the boss, and her demeanor hasn’t changed even now. Damn.”

“Hey, did you notice that she’s basically been looking at the sky this whole time? She needs to be taught a lesson!”

“I saw that too. She’s crazy. She’s even more arrogant than Kuang Wang.”

In the distance, Kuang Wang felt awkward when he heard this.

Within the crowd, Lulu let out a light sigh of relief. Thankfully, that stupid woman had not let the family down. That would have been unacceptable.

At this moment, the barriers separating the viewers from the battlefield shifted back and pushed everyone away as the area of the battlefield expanded.

Before long, the battlefield was repaired, and the second round began. On one side was Han Chong, and the other, another participant from the Technocracy. It was the woman who had her nose perpetually stuck in the air: Yun.

Upon seeing Han Chong enter the battlefield, Lu Yin’s gaze turned cold. Back in the Shenwu Continent’s Tower of Resonating Light, he had witnessed for himself how powerful Han Chong was. That unfathomable and incomparable pressure had shocked him to the core back then. Of course, it wasn’t just because Han Chong had been more powerful than Lu Yin; their abilities were different as well. However, Han Chong’s strength could not be underestimated in any situation.

Quite a few students were disappointed when they saw that Han Chong’s opponent was Yun. The participants from the Technocracy all had the same standard fighting style that centered around powerful defenses. To most people, this would be a very boring match. Of course, there were still people cheering for Han Chong in hopes that he’d teach Yun a lesson. That arrogant expression of hers was simply disgusting; she was basically nakedly mocking everyone!