Chapter 573 — The First Upset

Before long, battle room No. 2022 opened.

A flash of light swept across the screen, revealing a rocky arena, and upon it, the figures of both combatants slowly emerged.

On the left stood Kahn—over two meters tall, clad in red, with black wings and the head of a raven atop a human body.

On the other side was Eleven—just over a meter tall, wearing nothing at all, a "Sure Victory" headband tied around its head.

"So strong." Many people, having entered the second battlefield through their virtual glasses as if personally present, could feel Kahn's deep, unfathomable, robust power.

"I can feel it—it's improved again. Its strength rises a little almost every year." The human who had once won 101 consecutive championships, together with his contracted partner, watched Kahn with solemn eyes.

His name was Ming Gu, universally acknowledged as the strongest beneath Kahn.

For the past several dozen tournaments, his goal had long since shifted from completing the championship challenge to defeating Kahn, and he followed Kahn's every move with the closest attention.

Whoosh!

Countless people poured into the live room—Kong Di, Lin Feng, the Dragon God, the Gem Cat, Zi Lan, the Phoenix Man, Director Sen, Fan Ba of the Star-Refining Clan, the green dragon Gor'ka, the Ice Qilin Bobo...

"As you can all see, contestant Kahn and contestant Eleven have already logged into the arena."

Under the gaze of countless people, a virtual sprite appeared in everyone's view, and the crowd followed its perspective to watch the scene unfold.

This was a battle sprite—a virtual mechanical intelligent life form. When a live room's attention reached a certain threshold, they would appear, acting like commentators to explain the battle and boost the hype. Of course, if one didn't wish to see it, one could choose to block it and immerse oneself fully in the fight.

But after all, they were watching from a separate space, and even a god-level being could not guarantee they would catch every detail of the battle. Having the battle sprite provide commentary would clear up no small amount of confusion.

Only... for this fight, everyone felt the battle sprite was more or less superfluous, because however you looked at it, it seemed a matter of a single move. The only ones who might give Karn a bit of trouble were probably those few monsters in the top five.

"Contestant Karn has already won first place in the Apotheosis War for seventy-nine consecutive editions, so surely its goal this time is the same as always. As for its opponent, Eleven, this appears to be its first time participating in the Apotheosis War. Who knows what kind of sparks their battle will strike."

"Please... look forward to it." With that, the battle sprite drifted aside, the view zoomed in, and Karn and Eleven had already locked eyes.

Karn stood indifferently in place, its gaze betraying not the slightest regard for this opponent, Eleven.

It did not take Eleven seriously at all.

The moment it entered the arena, a formidable mental deterrence began to radiate from Karn's body...

Boom!

A terrifying mental deterrence... swept toward Eleven like a tsunami.

The earth split.

The heavens split.

Wherever the deterrence swept, time and space seemed to freeze!

Across from it, Eleven watched Karn with perfect calm—unnaturally calm.

It could sense Karn's powerful aura as well, and could not help feeling a joy rise from the depths of its heart.

Yes, this was exactly how it should be. First place in the Apotheosis War—the name was well deserved; the opponent was strong, and Eleven was satisfied. But the opponent's contemptuous attitude—that, Eleven did not like at all.

Today... it would teach this overgrown crow how to be a crow!

"Here it comes!"

"Until it meets an opponent truly worth striking, Contestant Karn has always used its own deterrence to instantly kill the other side!"

"If one's strength is not great enough, one will fall before Contestant Karn in an instant!!" the battle sprite declared.

It's over...

As Karn unleashed its incomparable deterrence, many spectators were certain the match had already ended.

Yet...

Rumble!

The next moment, the wave of deterrence swept over every inch of Eleven's body, yet Eleven stood unmoved in place, while at the same time its frame erupted with a thunderous resonance.

"Wait, it took it?"

The spectators, who had assumed this unknown black-and-white bear would be instantly annihilated by the deterrence, were all stunned to see Eleven standing utterly composed beneath that terrifying force.

Across from it, Karn's gaze flickered—and then it suddenly froze.

Because it realized its opponent... had taken the deterrence without employing any protective measures whatsoever!

Beneath its watchful eyes, Eleven then slid its right foot back, its right fist drawing back into a stance to gather power for a punch!!

"What is this..."

The battle sprite spoke. "Contestant Eleven has taken Karn's deterrence with nothing but the power of its flesh... and then... it has chosen to strike straight into the air!"

Eleven, relying purely on physical strength, drove a punch straight through the empty air.

Hum!!

The air compressed, space warped. Eleven's punch, born of nothing but bodily force, struck the air and formed a storm-like counterattack in an instant, scattering the entire deterrence. With a crack, the deterrence shattered into fragments, and the fist wind, trailing a terrifying shockwave, tore the already-cracked rocky ground right open at the speed of light, sweeping up a sky full of rubble!!

"What skill is that!" Countless spectators, feeling as though they were right there on the field, cried out in shock.

The battle sprite said, "A punch that strikes the air on the strength of the body alone—this... is no skill at all!"

Boom!!!

As the little sprite's voice rang out, the fist wind caught Karn and in an instant blew it from where it stood. It shielded its body with both wings, retreating dozens of meters, its whole body feeling as though it had been carved by a thousand blades—even the wind-blade domain of the Wind Rules, it felt, had never carried such fearsome power—

The battle arena rumbled.

Karn carved deep furrows in the ground before it finally came to a stop.

As the storm dispersed, dense, countless wounds had appeared across Karn's body, its wings trembling all over. At that same moment, the sky for ten thousand li was utterly free of clouds, and the entire arena was stunned by the sight.

"This Eleven—who is it, what species, where does it come from!"

Eleven enduring Karn's deterrence had not yet shocked the audience, but seeing Eleven, relying solely on physical strength and without even making contact with Karn, blast Karn away with a punch through the air—that had already exceeded the bounds of everyone's understanding.

"Th-this power, how is it possible? Its physique... has grown even more terrifying." Fanba of the Star Refining Clan, Bobo the Ice Qilin—these beings who had fought Eleven before—all shrank their pupils at the sight.

From proficient to mastered to plus eleven—these thirteen stat allocations had brought Eleven a physical enhancement that was nothing short of a qualitative leap!

At the same time, the energy boost brought by maxing out multiple top-tier quasi-divine skills had, owing to the nature of the Battle God Physique, likewise been converted into a strengthening of the body itself.

That was already a physique of utterly outrageous caliber.

Even for a cosmic behemoth, it was no more than this.

Yet most people merely raised an eyebrow, not sensing that the scales of victory would tip because of it.

Because Kahn the Void Crow had not even used a tenth of his strength; countless spectators could only think that perhaps this first-round opponent of Kahn's was not as weak as they had imagined.