Chapter 36: The Battle

"Ah, now that's more like it," Tian Dao said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he watched Coral Knight finally sharpen his focus. "The murderous intent in your eyes—much more entertaining than your earlier 'playtime' antics."

"Then I suppose I’ll step up my game too."

With those words, Tian Dao stretched languidly, then placed his left hand on his left knee and his right on his extended right leg. In full view of the tens of millions watching on the Dimensional Screen, he began warming up—right there, in the middle of the arena.

The gesture was unmistakable: everything before had merely been a prelude.

Now… the real meal began.

"Alright, old man, come at me," Tian Dao said, beckoning with a casual flick of his fingers, his tone light and relaxed. After all, as the one being challenged, he wouldn’t be the one to strike first.

But Coral Knight’s expression was anything but calm. His eyes burned with a storm of conflicting emotions.

He had held back his Awakening ability—Stellar Source · Sea Thorn Coral—not out of weakness, but out of caution. The toxic spines it unleashed could easily pierce armor, even flesh. He’d feared they might do irreversible harm to Tian Dao.

Yet now, he realized… he’d been wrong.

As Tian Dao had said, he was the true challenger—Second-Rank Stellar Envoy, the one under test. If Coral Knight didn’t rise to the occasion, this entire trial would mean nothing.

Inwardly, he exhaled a breath of awe.

Tian Dao Siming… you really are exactly as Lady Yun described. A monster. No—calling you a monster doesn’t even begin to capture the sheer terror you inspire in me now. You’re a King. The King among countless monsters. And to face you with hesitation… that’s not mercy. That’s blasphemy.

So let me, this humble knight, witness… the true might of the ‘King of Stars.’

With that resolve, Coral Knight no longer held back.

His left hand clenched violently—thick, pulsing purple coral erupted from his forearm, driving deep into the pre-cut recesses of his armored shell shield.

A sharp clang echoed through the arena as the massive shell split apart, reassembling in a flash into a jagged, armored gauntlet—covering his entire left arm.

Simultaneously, the cross-shaped hook spear in his right hand was engulfed by a surge of coral. Spikes sank into the grooves along its shaft, transforming it into a brutal, spike-laden bracer that wrapped around his right arm.

Left: Fist Armor.

Right: Spear Armor.

Full-body heavy plating.

And towering at two meters twenty, his frame now resembled a living, breathing amalgamation of metal and coral—a monstrous, terrifying war machine.

The sheer pressure radiating from him made even the audience beyond the Dimensional Screen sit upright in their seats.

This wasn’t the same man from moments ago.

"Whoa… this is what a serious Second-Rank Stellar Envoy looks like? The pressure is insane."

"Wait… is this guy actually gonna win? He’s not gonna get wrecked, is he?"

"Wait—hold on, he’s a powered armor warrior? And he transforms?!"

While the challenger remained calm, the viewers were on edge.

No time for hesitation.

With a roar, Coral Knight surged forward—fully committed, now in full offensive mode.

Deep Blue Flow · Fang Thrust!

His foot slammed down, cracking the ground beneath him like shattered glass. The two-meter-tall titan blurred into a streak of violet light, closing the distance in an instant, his armored fist aimed straight at Tian Dao’s face.

The force of the blow was so immense, the air itself screamed as it was torn apart.

Even before impact, the wind from the punch whipped up Tian Dao’s silver hair.

CRACK—!!

Tian Dao didn’t dodge.

He met the strike head-on.

The moment his palm collided with the poisoned claw-gauntlet, a visible shockwave exploded outward from the two of them in a perfect ring.

Within ten meters, the concrete shattered like brittle biscuit, chunks flying out in all directions—shattering parked cars, tearing through the parking lot.

But the real shock wasn’t the destruction.

It was what happened next.

Coral Knight’s fist—laced with venomous spikes capable of piercing armored vehicles—had been stopped.

Not just blocked. Stopped.

Every single spike hovered mere millimeters from Tian Dao’s skin.

As if an invisible barrier had wrapped around him, shielding him completely.

Tian Dao smiled.

"Know what’s most fascinating about Vector Control, old man?"

He spoke softly, his fingers slowly tightening.

With each increment, the metal fist armor groaned under the strain. The spikes bent visibly, warping.

CRACK!

The gauntlet twisted—spikes snapping off one by one.

Before Coral Knight could react, a sudden, brutal force ripped through his right arm.

The next instant, his body was flung into the air like a ragdoll.

And before he could even blink, Tian Dao was already above him—ghost-like, silent.

The sentence he’d left unfinished finally came out.

"The most fascinating thing about Vector Control?

It lets you return your enemy’s power—tenfold."

Tian Dao raised his right arm and drove a brutal elbow strike into Coral Knight’s chest.

BOOM!

Coral Knight’s body rocketed through the air, then slammed into the ground with the force of a falling star. The impact carved a massive, spiderweb-like crater—nearly eight meters across.

"Cough!"

From within the pit, Coral Knight spat blood, clearly wounded.

But before he could recover, his peripheral vision caught a shadow descending from above.

Tian Dao was diving down—right leg extended like a war axe, aiming to cleave him in two.

No hesitation.

Coral Knight instinctively raised both arms to protect his head.

His coral spines erupted in a frenzy, rapidly growing, weaving together into a thick, spiked shell—hard as rock.

Deep Blue Flow · Coral Armor!

THUD!

The axe-leg strike landed—but failed to break through.

Still, the force drove Coral Knight another meter deep into the earth.

Using the rebound, Tian Dao twisted mid-air, flipping gracefully to land on his feet. His shoes screeched against the ground, sending sparks flying, skidding ten meters before coming to a complete stop.

The battle paused—briefly.

But in those split seconds, the world held its breath.

The lightning-fast exchange had left everyone stunned.

Even the once-thick stream of live chat went silent—just for a moment.

Tian Dao… was beyond anything anyone had imagined.

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end