A Card In Hand

Chapter 36: Phantom Light Orb

The new spectators were at a loss for words.

Was Li Ao arrogant?

He actually had the strength to back it up!

Upon reflection, if Prince Jinxi hadn’t repeatedly provoked him and intentionally tried to beat him to death, Li Ao certainly wouldn’t have publicly humiliated him like this.

From the current situation, Li Ao had been very tolerant towards Prince Jinxi, at least he had held back on the martial combat platform.

If Li Ao had been serious then, it would be uncertain whether Prince Jinxi could even participate in today’s Unlimited Challenge!

Prince Jinxi being beaten up by Li Ao was really a case of him reaping what he sowed.

Li Ao was very low-key, he even referred to that chubby one as the boss!

But Prince Jinxi insisted on pressing him.

How could he endure that?

Did you think just because you are a prince everyone has to yield to you?

If someone is stronger and more talented than you, sparing you once doesn’t mean they will spare you a second time!

Not to mention the newbies, who were secretly taking pleasure in Prince Jinxi’s misfortune, even the assistant referees in the preparation area weren’t siding with Prince Jinxi.

Li Ao had no intention of vying for the top newcomer, so why did you have to compete against him?

In the end, you really asked for it!

Supervisor Lei Bao’s expression was extremely ugly.

However.

Under the watchful eyes of all.

He could not intervene to stop the match.

Li Ao had no intention of killing Prince Jinxi; his actions were more about humiliation.

The rules of Unlimited Challenge didn’t prevent a contestant from verbally humiliating another.

Moreover, Prince Jinxi’s main combat beast was still present, and he hadn’t lost all his fighting capacity, so Lei Bao couldn’t use this as an excuse to halt the match.

Screech~!

The Light-Feathered Golden Eagle transformed angrily into a sun-like blazing orb.

It carried an unstoppable shockwave and violently smashed towards Li Ao.

Li Ao waved his hand.

The colossal stone arm, spanning more than ten meters, materialized once again.

With a single swing, it smacked the sun-like Light-Feathered Golden Eagle away, perfectly angling its flight to crash into the newly re-webbed Nightmare Spider descending from the sky.

Boom…

The little sun burst apart.

The intense light instantly turned the Nightmare Spider’s invisible and eerie web into flying ashes.

A piercing shockwave swept through the entire microcosm.

Millions of brilliant lights.

Dazzling beyond measure.

The newcomers momentarily lost their sight.

Even the strong figures like Cang Yue, Tie Zheng, Huo Mei, Ling Long, and Yue Sha couldn’t use their eyes to face the blazing brilliance on the platform.

Apart from a few like the elders in temple robes and Lei Bao, even supervisors Dou Guang and Chang Chi couldn’t glimpse the changing situation on the platform amidst the intense light.

Among the cloaked family elders, a figure in a purple cloak with slightly transparent skin on the hands quietly snapped their fingers.

This soundless snap.

Prompted the dazed Nightmare Spider, bombarded by the Light-Feathered Golden Eagle’s radiant energy, to react instantly, spraying countless fine threads from its tail.

These threads, moving on their own without wind, intertwined with each other, endlessly extending like a giant net.

At that moment.

Prince Jinxi, severely wounded, unknowingly sprouted a pair of light wings on his back.

They flapped autonomously, not requiring his will to operate, and took advantage of the sweeping shockwave to stealthily escape from Li Ao’s vicinity with their still bleeding master…

The light wings seemed sentient; as soon as the Nightmare Spider released its endless threads, they immediately carried Prince Jinxi towards the massive web formed by the threads.

“So clever!”

Li Ao knew all this was part of the Light-Feathered Golden Eagle’s escape plan.

It had transformed into a solar orb to strike.

Though it seemed to act in a fit of rage.

Its true intention was to shield its own clone, secretly reaching its master to transform into light wings.

Li Ao waved his hand, and the black chains that were wrapped around Prince Jinxi’s body obediently withdrew.

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart?”

“Then let’s play a bit longer!”

Stone Hand’s arms turned into fine sand and fell back onto the platform, the black chains swiftly retracting into Li Ao’s wrist.

At their end was a belt.

Wide-edged.

Exquisitely gorgeous.

At the center of the belt was a large red gem embedded.

This strongman’s belt was a birthday gift from Prince Jinxi’s father when he was ten years old.

Although its quality was not comparable to the Dragon Scale Armor or the Cotton Smoke Combat Suit, it was still a decent palace treasure.

Unlike the Dragon Scale Armor and the Cotton Smoke Combat Suit, the strongman’s belt did not require a contract to recognize its master and did not occupy the limit of the master’s contract energy capacity.

Simply worn around the waist, it could automatically enhance the wearer’s strength to that of a hill giant.

Li Ao was not interested in the strongman’s belt.

It seemed nice.

It could significantly increase strength.

But it had no potential for upgrades.

In Li Ao’s eyes, an item without upgrade potential was nothing but junk, devoid of any collectible value.

Snap! He dug out the large red gem from the center of the strongman’s belt and casually tossed the belt behind him.

On the platform.

The light gradually dissipated.

The newcomers could finally see clearly again.

They were slightly shocked to find that Prince Jinxi had already escaped from Li Ao’s attack range, hanging in a faintly transparent, huge spider web, placed under the dual protection of the Nightmare Spider and the Light-Feathered Golden Eagle.

Looking back at Li Ao.

His black chain slowly transformed, miraculously turning into a pair of ancient and atmospheric metal gauntlets.

Li Ao did not look at Prince Jinxi; he gripped the Shadow Halberd that the phantom metal gauntlets had morphed into and clutched the large red gem, squeezing it hard!

Bang!

A crisp sound of shattering echoed.

The massive ruby shell cracked open, revealing a smooth orb emitting a faint white glow from within.

This was the Phantom Light Orb that Prince Jinxi used for his instant Blade Kick Wave.

It could provide its wearer with ten thousand degrees of light energy.

With it, Prince Jinxi was as if he had a Light-Feathered Golden Eagle with a combat power of ten thousand constantly supplying him with light energy… Without the aid of this Phantom Light Orb, Prince Jinxi would not only be unable to instantly unleash the Blade Kick Wave, but the power of his Mammoth’s Rage attacks would also be halved.

If the Phantom Light Orb were taken to the Celestial Realm.

It could become a currency.

Although not every divine lineage would accept it, as long as it was not one of the opposing attributes such as darkness, annihilation, or void, other lineages generally would not refuse its equivalent exchange.

Holding the Phantom Light Orb.

Li Ao slowly drew pure light energy from within.

Initially, only his hands glowed, but gradually, the areas assimilated by the pure light energy increased, and Li Ao was enveloped in a soft glow all over his body…

“What is that?”

Cang Yue, with sharp eyes, noticed a change in Li Ao’s feet—the light energy was highly condensed, almost tangible.

“?”

Tie Zheng also noticed the change in Li Ao, but he did not know what it represented.

“Blade Kick Wave!”

Huo Mei blurted out.

“Right!”

Ling Long nodded in affirmation.

“Isn’t this Blade Kick Wave a bit too big?”

Cang Yue couldn’t help but exclaim, for he saw that the Blade Kick Wave Li Ao kicked upwards into the sky after a flip was ten meters large.

“My goodness!”

Fuxi truly feared that Li Ao’s kick would punch a hole in the dome of their small world.

The ten-meter-large Blade Kick Wave, with highly condensed light energy.

It rampaged through the sky, slicing through space.

Along its path.

It left behind a terrifying trail of spatial rifts, buzzing madly.

The Light-Feathered Golden Eagle grabbed Prince Jinxi and fled towards the dome of the small world at high speed.

If this terrifyingly powerful Blade Kick Wave were to hit Prince Jinxi, even with the Cotton Smoke Combat Suit providing the last line of protection, he would inevitably be split in two.

This Blade Kick Wave was indeed too massive!

Forget about flesh and blood bodies.

Even the sky.

Was slashed open by it, leaving behind a long, twisted, and terrifying rift in its wake…

The Nightmare Spider enveloped the Blade Kick Wave with its transparent and invisible web.

In the moment it slashed and burnt through the web, it dragged the Blade Kick Wave into its Nightmare Space.

Squeak!

Having swallowed the Blade Kick Wave using the Nightmare Space, it seemed outwardly uneventful, but the Nightmare Spider was not at ease.

Its energy fluctuations rapidly decreased as if it had endured a strenuous battle, and its massive body trembled uncontrollably.

Suddenly.

It seemed to lose its ability to hover, falling uncontrollably.

In full view of everyone, it finally crashed heavily onto the Obsidian Platform with a loud bang.