Lin Ran's demonic energy surged, conjuring the phantoms of two golden dragons.
The golden dragon phantoms intertwined, soaring high into the sky.
Su Chen lowered his gaze, unleashing an upward slash from below with his sword, unhesitatingly striking at the dragon phantoms in the air.
Countless vengeful souls also flew from the demonic sword in his hand, named Sky Devourer.
However, what he never expected was that these two dragon phantoms dissipated on their own before he even touched them.
The powerful shockwave that erupted, accompanied by a high-pitched dragon's roar, instantly engulfed the entire arena.
"Waaah..."
Su Chen's face contorted in pain.
This overwhelming life force that assailed him was his greatest torment.
Bathed in the golden, radiant light, Su Chen felt as though he was being purified.
Even stranger, the demonic sword Sky Devourer, which was connected to his very being, not only trembled with a resonant hum but also inexplicably withdrew all its aura and energy, disobeying his command.
It looked as though it was about to surrender!
How could this be?!
Su Chen's heart was shaken.
Since the day he acquired Sky Devourer, whenever it unleashed its might, it could always suppress the opponent's weapon to the point of utter uselessness.
But today, the situation had reversed; Sky Devourer was utterly suppressed by the opponent!
His confidence in challenging Lin Ran and achieving fame in one battle stemmed almost entirely from his trust in the demonic sword Sky Devourer.
Now that Sky Devourer was failing him, wouldn't he be doomed to defeat?
The thought of the terrifying consequences of failure sent an involuntary shiver down Su Chen's spine.
He had to win this battle, no matter what!
"Roar!"
Seeing Lin Ran's Golden Sacred Dragon Burst approaching, Su Chen suddenly let out a desperate roar.
Through his exceptional pupil power and keen perception of energy, Lin Ran could clearly discern a peculiar change occurring at the hilt of Sky Devourer.
Without any apparent source of power, a significant surge of energy materialized out of thin air.
Infused with this energy, Sky Devourer temporarily forgot its fear of the Golden Dragon Spear.
A beam of ink-black light erupted, forming a semicircular barrier that blocked the initial impact of Lin Ran's Golden Sacred Dragon Burst.
Damn it! This guy can create energy from nothing!
Such an ingenious method of conjuring demonic energy from thin air could only be rivaled by my own Soul Ring! It's like he's cheating!
Lin Ran, with the dragon spear held behind him, adopted a slightly more serious expression.
This fellow seemed to have intentionally sought him out. He indeed possessed some unique abilities.
Fundamentally, energy could not be created out of nothing.
No matter what, Su Chen must have paid some price.
Even the monstrous Soul Ring required life force as a sacrifice.
Though minimal, it was still a cost.
Lin Ran believed that, apart from the Soul Ring, an artifact from another world...
In this world, there certainly wasn't such a cost-effective exchange.
To gain this power, Su Chen must have paid a considerable price.
So, what was the price...
From outward appearances, Su Chen seemed completely unchanged from before...
Lin Ran, it must be said, was quite intrigued by the mysterious demonic sword Sky Devourer in Su Chen's possession.
His interest in it even surpassed his interest in the battle itself.
Seeing Lin Ran halt his assault and remain stationary, Su Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His aura was unstable, and he was in a state of energy depletion.
If Lin Ran didn't slow his pace, he would be severely outmatched.
Fortunately, Lin Ran's overconfidence had given him a sliver of opportunity to win!
"Sky Devourer Devours the Earth!!!"
Su Chen poured all his remaining strength into raising Sky Devourer high above his head.
The phenomenon of creating energy from nothing reappeared.
And this time, it was even more violent and continuous.
Wave after wave after wave...
Lin Ran silently observed Su Chen's relentless creation of energy, channeling it into Sky Devourer.
The malevolent energy summoned into the sky had already begun to form a terrifying vortex, generating an awe-inspiring momentum.
The energy within this vortex alone far surpassed Su Chen's own capacity, and it showed signs of further expansion.
This guy is truly insane...
Lin Ran's eyes didn't even blink. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan within his pupils spun ceaselessly, continuously analyzing Su Chen.
Meanwhile, the audience seats were filled with gasps and shouts.
"What the hell is this?! Holy crap! Su Chen is trying to defy the heavens!"
"This is utterly absurd... Isn't the Freshman Challenge a tournament where the average participant level is three? How did such a formidable individual appear?"
"Holy cow! Is this a Tier 3 awakened being? If you told me he was Tier 5... no, Tier 6!"
"I'd believe you if you said this was the full-power strike of a Tier 6 awakened being!"
"Is this Su Chen's ultimate trump card? It's terrifying. Lin Ran seems to be in danger!"
"Yeah! Lin Ran wants to reserve the 250th rank for Xiang Chu's captain..."
"Don't let it backfire and end up keeping it for himself, that would be hilarious!"
"He's going for the big move! Lin Ran must be preparing his counter as well!"
"..."
Everyone watched Lin Ran with fervent anticipation, hoping he would unleash something earth-shattering.
However, Lin Ran did not.
He merely stood there, watching Su Chen charge up his attack with unrestrained power.
Many of Lin Ran's supporters, upon witnessing this scene, instinctively showed signs of anxiety.
"Big brother! He's charging up a super move, even if you're not planning to trade blows, you should at least try to interrupt him!"
What's the point of just standing there? Aren't you handing over a favorable situation on a silver platter?!
Despite their growing anxiety, they were utterly unable to transmit their thoughts to Lin Ran on the arena.
Lin Ran maintained his motionless posture.
The only change was the black tomoe within his eyes.
"Heh, you don't even consider a skill like this worthy, do you?"
Su Chen, as if completely drained, murmured weakly.
"In that case... then accept my... DIE!!!"
Su Chen used the last ounce of his body's strength, slashing the energy vortex in the sky towards Lin Ran.
Accompanying this slash was his furious roar.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The energy vortex moved with incredible speed, striking Lin Ran's head almost instantaneously, churning up dust and explosions.
The vengeful souls and torment hidden within the malevolent energy tore at space, seeming intent on ripping Lin Ran to shreds.
Yikes! Well, I've been hit!