Five-lined battle force might not allow one to dominate the Tournament of the Strongest, but it was still considered very strong within the Limiteer realm. Tian Hou had thought that he could easily defeat Grandini, but he had underestimated her battle force.
"Don't underestimate the Mavis family," Grandini growled. With a bang, she charged towards Tian Hou and raised a hand. Five-lined battle force burst forth and swept through the void in an attempt to seal Tian Hou in the air and prevent him from fusing with the void.
Tian Hou did not disappear this time. Instead, he gently raised a hand that was wrapped in his black robes and forcefully received Grandini's punch.
In front of everyone's eyes, the violent shockwave crushed the ground, overturning the entire battlefield. In the void, a huge spatial crack smashed down from the top, tearing the ground apart once again, letting out a deafening sound that made people's ears ring.
Lu Yin and the others narrowed their eyes and stared at the sky in shock. Impossible! Grandini's five-lined battle force and Thirteen Stacks had actually been blocked, and Tian Hou had not even taken a single step back.
This scene not only shocked Lu Yin, but also everyone else, including Yun, who had always looked down on everyone else.
This attack had been too shocking. Five-lined battle force, Thirteen Stacks, and the Mavis family's monstrous strength. This punch had already surpassed the peak attack that Lu Yin had used to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing. It could be said without hesitation that this punch would have been enough to take first place in any of the Astral Combat Tournaments. However, such a powerful punch had been easily blocked by Tian Hou, and not even his clothes had moved.
Grandini's eyes flickered. "Impossible, you-" But before she could finish, Tian Hou's hand that had grabbed Grandini's right fist twisted. A black light flickered as an intense pain swept through her body. Grandini's expression changed, and she suddenly waved her left hand, tearing off her right arm. She quickly retreated, and in the next instant, her right arm disappeared into the void.
The spectating students were all shocked, and Lulu could not believe it. Grandini had been suppressed to the point that she could not even retaliate. She was a Mavis family member!
Tian Hou lowered his hand, and a trace of admiration flashed through his eyes beneath his black robes. "Not bad battle awareness. If you had been just a little bit slower, you would have lost."
Grandini panted heavily as blood flowed from her right arm, dripping onto the ruined ground. She stared at Tian Hou in shock. "What is your true form?
If you can easily block my punch, then you must be at least in the top five of the Heavenly Beast List. "
"I'm not on the Heavenly Beast List," Tian Hou replied.
Grandini's eyes narrowed. "A rare race?"
"You still want to continue?
The Mavis Clan is very strong, but it's a pity that your innate talent hasn't been developed yet, "said Xu.
Grandini frowned. "You know about the Mavis clan's innate gift?"
"I am Skymender's disciple."
Grandini took a deep breath. She had been suppressed from start to finish in this battle, and she had been unable to catch her breath. Even her right arm had been destroyed, but she was still unwilling to give up. Just as Lu Yin had said, the Mavis family was born with monstrous strength, and they loved to fight. Since they had already fought to this point, she had to give it her all.
The air swirled around Grandini and swept upwards. A verdant green light flashed through her eyes, just like when she had faced the Explorer in the Shenwu Continent's imperial palace. It was not obvious, but to Tian Hou, who had been observing her all this time, it was like a firefly in the night sky. "You want to forcefully use your innate gift?
It's useless. Even if you can use it normally, it's useless against me. "
"The Mavis Clan is invincible!" Grandini shouted. Her eyes widened as she stared into Tian Hou's eyes. At the same time, she charged forward and pressed down on Tian Hou's head. She raised her left hand, and five-lined battle force flowed along her body and gathered onto her left palm. "Seventeen Stacks."
In the sky, a palm covered in a dark golden radiance pressed down with Seventeen Stacks, causing the void to tremble and almost tear the sky apart. Countless people who saw this scene were aghast.
Tian Hou slowly raised his head, but he did not move, allowing the palm to strike his head.
In that instant, even the participants from the Astral Beast Domain felt their scalps go numb. This palm had shocked them, and if they had been in Tian Hou's place, they would have definitely died.
The participants from the Technocracy also stared at the palm. This palm was very powerful, and it contained Seventeen Stacks and five-lined battle force.
Lu Yin, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Liu Shaoqiu, Zi Jun, and the rest all watched on solemnly. This palm strike would determine victory and defeat.
Grandini's palm landed on Tian Hou's head, and his black robes were instantly torn apart. Shockwaves surged out and distorted the void as a boundless and terrifying force rippled outwards. It even affected the screens that the mentors had set up.
"What, what is that?" Some students stared blankly at the sky, as if they had seen something inconceivable.
High up in the sky, beneath Grandini's left palm, there was a black humanoid creature quietly standing there. It was like a human-shaped vortex that had no flesh or skin, but it had eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, as well as arms and legs.
Everyone stared blankly. What was this thing?
Lu Yin was confused. What was this?
Starsibyl suddenly took a step forward, her expression solemn. So it was this creature. No wonder it was so terrifyingly strong.
In the Technocracy, Yun was shocked that such a creature had been born again.
The participants from the Astral Beast Domain were also shocked, as this was the first time they had seen Tian Hou's true form.
Countless people were shocked and confused, but at the same time, many people seemed to have thought of something, and their faces paled.
"The Astral Beast Domain has given birth to another creature. Immediately request for destruction," one of the mentors from the Astral Combat Academy said.
"It's useless. The higher-ups have already reached a consensus. If this creature dares to appear, then it must have some confidence.. No wonder it's called Tian Hou.."
…
In front of their screens, many seniors from various powers who had hidden themselves were shocked. "The Astral Beast Domain actually dared to bring such a creature here. It looks like this ceasefire is inevitable, and the humans don't have the initiative."
In the Sword Sect, the sect leader stared at his screen with a deep chill in his eyes. This creature had once brought an unerasable humiliation to the Sword Sect, as one of their previous sect leaders had been devoured by such a creature.
At the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Shui Chuanxiao sneered when he saw Tian Hou appear. "It looks like those old fogeys have reached a consensus. My era is over."
"Monkey, what's that thing?" Lu Yin asked.
The monkey was shocked. "It actually appeared again. No wonder it's called a Tian Hou. Why didn't I think of it before?"
"Hurry up and tell me what it is."
Lu Yin was curious, as he had seen Starsibyl's shocked expression. This was the first time he had seen such an expression in her eyes.
"A Tian Hou is a strange creature. You can think of it as a creature born from a celestial phenomenon. It appeared tens of thousands of years ago and once devoured the Sword Sect's sect leader." The monkey did not speak much, but when he mentioned that it had devoured the Sword Sect's sect leader, Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine.
"Is it very powerful?" Lu Yin asked.
"It's not just powerful; it's extremely powerful. This thing can cultivate, and it has intelligence. It can do anything that normal creatures can do, and within the same realm, very few attacks can reach the upper limit of what this thing can withstand. Do you still remember the Daynight Restoration Technique? You can think of it as a strengthened version of the Daynight Restoration Technique, because there's almost no attack that can break through its upper limit!" the monkey exclaimed.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed as he stared at the sky in shock. Grandini had used all of her strength, but the Tian Hou had not changed at all. Grandini had used Seventeen Stacks of five-lined battle force, but it had not even been able to make the Tian Hou take a single step back. This was a Tian Hou.
"Seventh Bro, I have to say that you're really unlucky. Any one of you would have been the strongest before the universe changed, but ever since the universe changed, formcast models were developed, and monsters like the Ten Arbiters were born. You've all become ordinary, and there are more and more monsters like Tian Hou. I pity you," the monkey gloated.
Lu Yin did not reply and just stared at the sky.
Everyone stared at the sky.
The Tian Hou looked up. Aside from having eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, there was only a black vortex on its face. However, its eyes were intelligent. "I told you, it's useless. Even if you forcefully used your innate gift to lock me down, you still can't hurt me."
Grandini retracted her left palm, and her expression turned bitter. "It's actually a Tian Hou. No one should be your match in the Tournament of the Strongest. I've lost."
The Tian Hou slowly raised a hand and pressed it against Grandini's forehead. A black vortex appeared on its palm, distorting the void and banishing Grandini.
"Second round, first match, Tian Hou wins."
No one spoke as they all stared at Tian Hou in shock. This battle had been too stifling. Grandini had used all of her strength from the very beginning, but in the end, she had only managed to remove Tian Hou's black robes. She had not even been able to harm him.
Before Tian Hou left the battlefield, he glanced at Starsibyl and Yun before slowly leaving.
"Seventh Bro, it ignored you!" the monkey cried out.
Lu Yin muttered to himself. The pressure of the Tournament of the Strongest was increasing, and he had no idea what the bottom line of a strange lifeform like the Tian Hou was. It seemed that his preparations had not been enough, and he needed to raise his strength. But how?
The first thing that came to mind was the strengthening fruit, but unfortunately, he did not have any money. Should he borrow some?
As he thought about it, he looked around. Was there anyone who could lend him some money?
"Brother Lu, it's a good thing that you got a blank lot. Otherwise, you would have been the one to win this battle," Han Chong said with a smile.
Lu Yin sized up Han Chong; did this guy have money?
Han Chong felt uncomfortable under Lu Yin's gaze. "What's wrong, Brother Lu?"
"Nothing," Lu Yin replied indifferently as he turned around.
Han Chong felt strange, but he did not ask any further questions.
At that moment, the second match was about to begin. This match was even more interesting than the previous, as one of the participants was Liu Shaoqiu. The Sword Sect's Thirteen Swords had always been the most interesting, especially since Liu Shaoqiu had completely comprehended the Fourth Sword. Everyone wanted to know just how powerful the Fourth Sword was, and his opponent was Yun.
The familiar disdain appeared once again as Yun faced Liu Shaoqiu with her usual disdain and arrogance.
In front of their screens, many people were furious, especially the disciples of the Sword Sect, who wanted nothing more than to insta-kill Yun with the Thirteen Swords.
Liu Shaoqiu did not dare to be careless against Yun. His star energy transformed into an iron sword that flickered as the space around it distorted before it even moved.
Yun was astonished. "Not a bad sword technique. What's it called?"
"The Sword Sect's Thirteen Swords," Liu Shaoqiu replied indifferently.
Yun suddenly understood. "So that's the Thirteen Swords. How many swords can you use?"
"Let's see how many you can take." Liu Shaoqiu slowly raised his sword.
Yun sneered. "Ignorant. I heard that your Sword Sect proclaims itself to be the emperor of the sword. Let's see if you can use a sword technique that can defeat me." She pointed at Liu Shaoqiu with a single finger. It was just a single finger, but it was like a sudden clap of thunder as an extremely sharp force pierced through the void and shot towards Liu Shaoqiu.