The serpents fell like meteors, whizzing down and striking Xing You's attack.

As lightning clashed against Zhang Lie's netherworlds erpents, a few mountains beneath them melted like ice.

The overwhelming power Fang Yi had displayed caused many of the spectators to step back subconsciously. What manner of strength was this?

The virtual realm shook and distorted, as though it were under heavy pressure that would cause it to explode.

The light dissipated as Xing You's scattered hair fell back down to his shoulders. His gaze was ice-cold as he stared before him. One of his hands were bleeding, the one which Zhang Lie had caused to bleed in the initial clash.

After this attack, that wound began bleeding again, unable to be healed. Crimson light emerged from it; the Stargods' blood seemed to have a sinister power.

An unknown race whose identity was unfamiliar even to the supreme forces of the universe—for Fang Yi to have come from this race was incredible enough, let alone someone like Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie was even stronger than Fang Yi, who had taken down the foremost Stargod of his generation.

If he hadn't witnessed the fighting—participated in the fighting!—for himself, Xing You would never have believed that another cultivator could be so strong.

"Enough. Let's end it here!" Xing You shouted. His aura rose to a tremendous degree as the ground below him cracked open. The mountains shifted; the heavens distorted.

His aura grew stronger than it had ever been. It felt as though a slumbering beast had just awoken and was about to bring calamity to the realm.

Everyone was frightened; their souls quivered.

However, in a moment, that frightening aura vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

At the same time, Xing You completely vanished from sight.Suddenly, ripples of energy burst forth from the void. Zhang Lie felt his eyes burn in pain—runes seemed to have been applied to his body.

"[Judgment of Stars—Seize the Light]!"

Xing You's voice came from far away, cold and emotionless, as he passed down judgment.

The pain in Zhang Lie's eyes deepened. Darkness surged at the edges of his vision. "Do you really think I'll fall prey to this technique? I already saw your clan's Xing Yu use it before during the qualifiers."

"[The Boundless Blade: the River Lethe]!"

The genetic energy looked as though it had come from the abyss, or perhaps from the expanding, limitless universe. Starlight struck the genetic energy in a flash of surprising beauty.

The night sky morphed into a raging sea. Waves surged forward, sounding like peals of thunder, like stampeding hooves. The universe itself seemed to shake, as though the stars were shifting positions.

The surface of the stellar sea frothed with waves, layering and texturing it. Auroras hung in the air, veiling the night sky.

From afar, stellar dragons seemed to roar. The pitch-black dragons were like the night sky made manifest. Thunder and lightning crackled in the air.

Dragons unfurled their wings amidst a storm of lightning. The auroras stretched on for thousands of miles, so beautiful they captivated the gathered hunters.

Zhang Lie struck. An underworld river hurtled into existence, roaring into the sea. The sword energy roiled like black waves, like a meteor shower, causing the very stars to shake.

The entire night sky shifted as a thousand stellar dragons descended, as though a crack had broken in firmament. A flood that could destroy the world itself rained down on the lava.

The sea had morphed into a boundless battlefield. The sea breeze was as a horn to action, and the serpents, thousands of courageous soldiers heeding its call.

The curtains of darkness that Xing You had propped up with spatial force were pierced right through. Light returned to Zhang Lie's vision. Compared to Xing Yu's understanding and advancement of spatial force, Xing You was far inferior. Unexpectedly, however, he nonetheless caught Zhang Lie by surprise. By the time Zhang Lie freed himself, Xing You was a tiny dot by the horizon.

Zhang Lie:...

Zhang Lie had expected that Xing You was about to attack just like Xing Yu had, but he had been mistaken.

If Xing Yu were to learn that Xing You had used the same technique he did in order to escape from a fight, Xing Yu would likely grow so incensed that he spat out blood.Zhang Lie had to admit, however, that this Stargod technique was an incredible trick for running away. He hadn't sensed Xing You's intent at all.

Even Yang Ze, watching the match unfold, nodded in approval.

After fighting with Zhang Lie, Xing You was certain that he was no match for him.

Against Xing Yu, the top Stargod of his generation, Xing You could put up a decent fight, and he didn't think he would lose to Xing Yu while Xing Yu wasn't in the Starlit Legend status.

The reason that Xing Yu had been able to become the top Stargod of his generation wasn't because of his combat strength;

Xing Yu was only above average with regards to combat ability under ordinary circumstances, without invoking the Starlit Legend. Xing You was the stronger fighter otherwise.

This was why Xing Yu hadn't participated in the official tournament and why the Stargods had decided to make Xing You the leader of the Stargod cultivators in the tournament.

However, Xing Yu was simply too compatible with the stone of starlit fate, and was able to perfectly integrate with it. No matter how upset Xing You was, there was nothing he could do about it.

Even against Xing Yu in the Starlit Legend state, Xing You felt he had a chance—but against Zhang Lie, all he felt was despair.

Zhang Lie was like the starry sky, the abyss itself. His strength was beyond compare; Xing You didn't even know how to judge it. As Zhang Lie drew his sword, Xing You was suddenly beset by the realization that he would never be able to win against this cultivator, no matter how much time he spent, what tricks he tried—Zhang Lie was an unassailable existence.

Upon recognizing this truth, Xing You fled.

"Don't forget about me!" Fang Yi shouted, soaring up into the air, his recovery complete. Wreathed in wind and storm, he transformed into a bolt of lightning that illuminated the heavens.

Xing You cursed as he vanished completely from sight.

Fang Yi launched his spear, crackling with wind and lightning, with incredible force.It sent wind howling and lightning flashing through the sky.

With his spear, he invoked chaotic energy in the form of lightning and raging wind. The spear left a dozen afterimages in its wake.

Xing You made his move. Ripples of energy burst forth from the void. Fang Yi felt his eyes burn in pain—runes seemed to have been applied to his body.

A shard of natural law resonated with the virtual realm.

Fang Yi found that all sound had vanished. He was in a dome of dead silence. He temporarily lost his sense of direction.