Without the slightest hesitation, Li Wen moved.
"Time Ripple: Thousand Blades!"
He let out a low growl, and the silver longsword in his hand erupted with a brilliant silver light.
This time, he held nothing back.
The power of his early-stage Tier Two Star Lord Primordial Spirit surged forth, and the two Star Lord halos behind his head instantly lit up.
His vast Spiritual Power merged perfectly with the torrent of Time Law power surging within him.
Although his Time Law was only at the mid-stage of a Tier One Star Lord, under the command and amplification of his Primordial Spirit’s power, it unleashed a might far exceeding its level.
He hadn’t activated [Berserk], yet the power he now displayed already far surpassed that of an ordinary late-stage Tier Two Star Lord!
The light from his sword was no longer a single trajectory but transformed into ripples of silver that distorted time, spreading out in an instant.
The power of time clung to it, pushing his sword speed to the absolute limit. To his enemies, it was as if he were teleporting.
Simultaneously, the movements of enemies in certain areas abruptly slowed, as if they were trapped in a viscous bog of spacetime.
SSSSHK—!
Wherever the sword light passed, be it a tyrannical Exotic Beast, a bizarre energy being, or a heavily defended Rock Giant, fatal silver cracks would instantly appear on their bodies before they were completely torn apart and annihilated in the chaotic flow of time.
The few Mechanical Race warriors tried to withstand the attack with their energy shields.
But the sword light, imbued with the power of temporal decay, pierced straight through their defenses.
Their internal precision structures instantly aged and crumbled under the corrosion of accelerated time, turning them into piles of scrap metal.
Astonishingly efficient!
Li Wen’s figure was like a silver bolt of lightning darting through the enemy horde. Every flash was accompanied by swaths of enemies dissipating into white light.
In just a few minutes, the 5th Layer was cleared, leaving only faint ripples of residual energy.
[Li Wen (Alka Empire) Ranking: 10th!]
When this line of massive, golden text shot up the Virtual Cosmos’s overall leaderboard, the entire spectator area for the Alka Empire erupted!
"Tenth! Li Wen is tenth! Top ten in the cosmos!!"
"Heavens! Am I dreaming? A contestant from our Alka Empire made it into the top ten of the Cosmic Genius Tournament’s Killing Field!"
"A league of his own! Barton is still struggling back in the four-hundreds, and Li Wen has already broken into the top ten! That gap..."
"Li Wen! Li Wen! Li Wen!" Countless spectators from Alka, flushed with excitement, screamed his name and number until they were hoarse.
The massive wave of sound nearly overturned the virtual spectator space.
They had originally only hoped that Li Wen had a high ceiling and a promising future.
They had never imagined that on this Cosmic Level stage, in just over half a year, Li Wen would surpass their nation’s number one, Barton, at such a terrifying speed.
And in one fell swoop, he had charged into the top ten—a rank that symbolized the most monstrous geniuses in the entire cosmos!
"The top ten... The significance of this is just too immense!" a veteran powerhouse from Alka said, his voice trembling.
This wasn’t just Li Wen’s glory; it was a silent declaration of the Alka Empire’s status in the cosmos.
"There’s a chance! There’s really a chance for second place now!" An unprecedented, fervent hope ignited in the hearts of more spectators.
The results in the Killing Field basically represented the floor of one’s combat ability. For Li Wen to break into the top ten here meant his ranking in the second, more complex stage that tested comprehensive abilities would certainly not be low either.
Second place in the overall rankings—a position they had never dared to dream of—now seemed truly within reach.
...
The moment Li Wen was transported to the 6th Layer, the light at the very top of the leaderboard flared once more.
[Celestial Vault Divine Country, Ling Xuzi, has entered the 7th Layer of the Killing Field!]
This news was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly setting off a firestorm of attention across the entire cosmos.
"The 7th Layer! Lord Ling Xuzi has entered the 7th Layer!"
"Heavens! How many tournaments has it been? Someone has finally set foot on the 7th Layer again!"
"As expected of the number one favorite! A Tier Three Star Lord of Space Law—he truly deserves his reputation!"
"A complete stomp! An absolute stomp! There’s no suspense left for this tournament’s champion!"
The gasps of shock and cries of admiration instantly drowned out the discussion about Li Wen.
The 7th Layer—a domain that, according to legend, could only be reached by monsters who possessed the power to crush their peers and whose mastery of Law had reached an extremely high realm.
Once again, Ling Xuzi had indisputably locked everyone’s attention firmly on himself.
It showcased his absolute dominance as the uncrowned king of this tournament.
...
「At this time, in two other spaces on the 6th Layer of the Killing Field.」
Illusory of the Mimeng Dynasty was in a wretched state.
Her prized Illusion Skill Law was almost completely ineffective against the Mechanical Race army on the 6th Layer.
The cold metal constructs had no souls and no emotions; her Illusion Technique attacks vanished into them without a trace.
The other biological enemies that did have souls were protected or disrupted by the powerful Mechanical Race, making it difficult for her to focus her power.
"Damn it!" Illusory’s stunningly beautiful face was frosted with fury. Her magnificent Illusionary Gauze Clothing had been torn in multiple places by energy cannon fire.
She tried a direct assault, but the Mechanical Race’s energy shields linked together, and their web of firepower was suffocatingly dense.
PFFT! A searing high-energy ray pierced her defenses, leaving a charred hole in her shoulder blade.
The intense pain snapped Illusory back to her senses.
’I can’t let this go on!’ A vicious and unwilling glint flashed in her eyes.
Her gaze swept over several powerful biological enemies in the distance, heavily guarded by the Mechanical Race.
’Even if I’m eliminated, I’m taking you down with me!’ She completely abandoned her defenses.
She channeled all her remaining Illusion Skill Law power, mixed it with her own vast Spiritual Power, and formed it into an invisible cone of destruction.
It forcibly tore through the Mechanical Race’s defensive line and precisely pierced the cores of those few biological enemies.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cores of several powerful biological enemies detonated, turning them into white light.
But at the same time, an even greater volley of energy cannon fire mercilessly engulfed Illusory’s figure.
[Mimeng Dynasty, Illusory, eliminated! Final kill rate: 6th Layer, 65%. Overall ranking: 3rd!]
With a flash of light, Illusory appeared in the eliminated contestants’ rest area.
Her face was pale. The first thing she did was look up at the overall leaderboard.
Ling Xuzi was high up on the 7th Layer, in first place.
Time Shadow of the Sanctuary of Time and Light was still on the 6th Layer, ranked second.
And her name was fixed in third.
’Third...’ Illusory bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with defiance. ’If it weren’t for these damn tin cans! How could my true combat power be weaker than that Time Shadow? I even had a chance to charge for the 7th Layer!’
She believed that Time Shadow’s Time Law also gave him an advantage over her Illusion Technique when dealing with the Mechanical Race.
Almost the very next second after Illusory was eliminated...
「In the 6th Layer space where Time Shadow was located.」
At this moment, he no longer had the calm composure of a successor from the Sanctuary of Time and Light.
His white robes were stained with mottled patches of blood and energy burns, and his aura was fluctuating unsteadily.
He had just used time acceleration to dodge a fatal wave of concentrated fire, then used a time deceleration field to slow the enemies on another side, taking the opportunity to slay a few.
’The 7th Layer... Ling Xuzi is as fast as ever.’ He had also seen the announcement of Ling Xuzi’s advancement. His heart sank slightly; the gap was still immense.
"ROAR!" Several Molten Rock Giant Beasts, their auras comparable to late-stage Tier Two Star Lords, and energy hunters shimmering with a ghostly light, pounced at him again in coordination with the Mechanical Race.
Time Law was powerful, but maintaining a large-scale, high-intensity domain consumed a massive amount of energy, and the enemy’s attacks were relentless.
PSSSHK!
While he was dealing with the giant beast in front of him, a cunning energy blade tore through his shield and slashed a wound so deep his ribs were visible.
"Ngh!" Time Shadow grunted, his movements faltering for a moment.
This momentary opening was all it took for more attacks to follow in quick succession.
’It’s over...’ A trace of helplessness flashed in Time Shadow’s eyes, but he didn’t panic.
He mustered the last of his strength, condensing the Time Law in his hand into a beam of light from his finger that pierced through spacetime, aimed at the Mechanical Race leader with the strongest aura in the distance.
KABOOM!
The Mechanical Race leader’s core was pierced and exploded, taking a dozen or so nearby Mechanical Race members with it.
[Sanctuary of Time and Light, Time Shadow, eliminated! Final kill rate: 6th Layer, 80%. Overall ranking: 2nd!]
A flash of light, and Time Shadow appeared not far from Illusory.
He glanced at the leaderboard. He was second, Illusory was third. The sting of his own defeat lessened considerably.