When Mike shared his suspicion with Shadow Nine, Shadow Nine fell silent.
After a while, he slowly spoke, “It’s not out of the question.”
Shadow Nine seemed somewhat skeptical of Mike’s guess.
He had his own theories about that kid’s identity, but he didn’t plan to share them with Mike.
Mike pretended to be nonchalant and changed the subject, asking, “Shadow Nine, what’s going on with Calderon? Has he gone insane?”
Shadow Nine then briefly explained Calderon’s situation to Mike.
His talent was [Near-Death Power Up]. He had been sealed in a coffin, but for his escape plan, he split into nine. Seven were captured, but two were still missing.
Mike pondered for a moment and then spoke again, “So, there are nine Calderons in total. The two missing ones are teaming up and targeting me?”
Shadow Nine nodded. “More or less.”
“Shadow Nine, let’s be clear. No matter how much you pay, I won’t take on the task of dueling Calderon!”
Mike declared righteously, “He’s the second-ranked Ultimate Lord of humanity! Didn’t you see how he beat Shadow Two to a pulp?”
Clearly, the scene of Calderon beating Bad Woman had left a deep impression on Mike.
The most terrifying part was that through the Eye of Truth, Mike saw a crucial detail. Calderon, who claimed to be fighting at level 200, had indeed suppressed his level to 200!
The reason the fight was so one-sided, with Calderon beating Shadow Two, was that while his level was restricted, his talent development was not!
Second Awakening, countless near-death experiences with the talent [Near-Death Power Up]! At his peak, Calderon could even defeat weaker demon gods!
Demon gods generally had levels above 995.
For example, the weakest, the Thirteenth demon god, was at level 995.
Aside from the Supreme Demon God, the Archdemon was the only known demon god to break through to level 1000!
The Second demon god’s official level was 999.
From their battle records, his strength was on par with Shadow Nine.
In other words, even without the Supreme Being intervening, the top Ultimate Lords could face demon gods head-on and even have a chance to kill them!
For instance, in the battle where the Sixth demon god fell, Shadow Nine and the Thirteenth demon god both attacked. When the Sixth demon god’s strength was sufficiently weakened, Shadow Nine stopped, allowing the Thirteenth demon god to deliver the final blow.
If the Thirteenth demon god were replaced with Calderon, Shadow Nine and Calderon together could also have a chance to kill the Sixth demon god!
The premise was… Shadow Nine and Calderon didn’t turn on each other.
Ultimately, the balance between humanity and the demon race was maintained by the top combatants on both sides.
Humanity’s Supreme Being were clearly stronger than the demon gods but had to face the Supreme Demon God.
Every time the Supreme Demon God awakened, he was beaten back.
Because of the Supreme Demon God’s existence, humanity’s Supreme Being generally didn’t attack demon gods.
In exchange, demon gods didn’t attack humanity’s nine-tier Lords.
The real opponents of demon gods were Ultimate Lords!
The more Ultimate Lords humanity had, the greater the pressure on demon gods, and the smaller their living space.
This was why Apollo had told Mike that Maxen was important.
Maxen, stuck at level 989, once he crossed the threshold and became an Ultimate Lord, would undoubtedly become humanity’s top Ultimate Lord.
Of course, these matters were still far off for Mike.
He had to worry about being targeted by a 200-level Calderon with a Second Awakening talent!
At this moment, Mike was immensely grateful for his well-maintained secret identity.
If Mike’s identity were exposed now, Calderon’s punches would genuinely hurt! “Near-Death Power Up, combined with years of life-and-death battles, countless times of growing stronger, is already terrifyingly powerful…”
Mike spread his hands, “And this guy tortured himself to madness to become stronger, then was sealed in a coffin for so many years…”
Everyone thought Calderon was severely injured and would disappear after a brief moment of brilliance if he fought.
Only Shadow Nine knew that the Calderon who walked out of the black coffin was the most terrifying existence!
Years of severe injuries, near-death states, had continuously stacked Calderon’s combat power, making him stronger and stronger.
With the commotion caused by “Thor,” the morning training ended.
In the afternoon and evening, corresponding classes were scheduled.
In the classroom, Mike silently waited for midnight, the opening time of the Tower of Truth.
Before heading to the Abyss, Mike had just passed the nineteenth floor and completed his
class change.
The next floor was the twentieth, where he could achieve an SSSSS rating!
It had been a while since he returned to the Tower of Truth, and he missed his SSSSS rating!
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mike, a heated discussion erupted in the Guardian Shadow’s internal chat group.
Stunning Woman (Shadow One): Shadow Ten, were you the one who accompanied Thor to the
Abyss?
Amari (Shadow Ten): Yes
Stunning Woman (Shadow One): I have one question, does Thor have the potential to become
a Supreme Being?
Amari (Shadow Ten): Yes
Stunning Woman (Shadow One): Shadow Nine, does Thor have a chance to become a Supreme
Being within ten years?
Shadow Nine didn’t want to answer this question.
But he had made a pact with Shadow One years ago, and this was a question he had to answer.
Admin (Shadow Nine): Yes
Supreme Being (Apollo): It will only take a year
Supreme Being (Apollo)’s message was deleted by Admin (Shadow Nine)
Supreme Being (Apollo) was kicked out of the group by Admin (Shadow Nine)
Admin (Shadow Nine): For those who saw that message, I have something to discuss with you. I’ve recently developed a Memory Seal technique that seems to work even on Lords… No one paid attention to Shadow Nine’s subsequent words.
In this group, the weakest members were Lords!
As Amari had previously explained to Mike, the Guardian Shadow consisted of two types.
The first type was [Shadow element] powerhouses who joined the Guardian Shadow for
various reasons.
Saying they joined was more like saying they were taken in.
Only under Shadow Nine’s protection could they survive.
Shadow One, Shadow Two, and Shadow Three were in this category.
The second type was human powerhouses like Terraon and Darian, who were saved by Shadow
Nine using secret techniques when they were gravely injured.
Due to soul defects and other negative effects, they felt more comfortable in the Guardian
Shadow.
Helping the Lone Wolf protector was voluntary.
In fact, more Guardian Shadows chose to sleep or live the life they wanted.
They even had their own city-Shadow Fortress.
“It will only take a year”
Apollo’s simple words drove countless Guardian Shadows mad in front of their
communication crystals!
Thor would become a Supreme Being within a year!
If anyone else had said this, no one would believe it.
But it was Apollo, the most unlikely to lie and the strongest existence!
Apollo’s character was somewhat known to all Lord-level powerhouses.
Lying?
With Apollo’s character, he wouldn’t even bother!
The entire chat group fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone was excited and thrilled, but no one spoke at that moment.
Each had their own thoughts.
The rise of a new Supreme Being was an opportunity for many in the Guardian Shadow!
It could even be… a chance for complete resurrection!
About a minute later, new messages started appearing.
Shadow Bamboo (Shadow Five): We are facing an era of intense competition
This statement resonated with everyone.
This time’s supreme power era would be crazier than ever!
Thor becoming a Supreme Being within a year meant everyone had only a year!
To gain the most from the supreme power era, one had to become a trusted subordinate of the
Supreme Being!
The top powerhouses had the chance to advance further!
They… needed stronger power!
To face the upcoming era, to welcome the supreme power!
All Lord-tier Guardian Shadows went mad at that moment, driven to become stronger.
Even Shadow Seven, who harbored “hostility” towards Thor, was shocked.
“Thor becoming a Supreme Being in a year?”
Shadow Seven touched the short blade at her waist, her eyes flashing with cold light,
“I must become stronger. I can’t delay any longer. Tonight, I’ll challenge Shadow Five!”
She belonged to the second type of Guardian Shadow, able to grow stronger by challenging higher-ranked members and swapping ranks upon victory!
Moreover, these challenges would be witnessed by Shadow Nine, with both parties at equal levels, and the outcome depended entirely on skill!
Shadow Seven felt she had a 60% chance of defeating Shadow Five!
In this brutal system, combined with the desire for power among all Guardian Shadows, it
created an obvious situation, one even Shadow Seven with her limited intelligence could
foresee:
“The weakest Guardian Shadow will be challenged by everyone!”
“I wonder which poor soul will drop in ranking, how tragic!”
Slackers could get by in normal times, holding a decent rank, but faced with the allure of
supreme power era, all Guardian Shadows were now driven.
Every rank would be fiercely contested.
There was no room for slackers! Apollo’s single sentence had turned all Guardian Shadows into overachievers!
Just as Shadow Seven thought this, her communication crystal vibrated slightly.
“Shadow Ten has issued a cross-tier challenge to you, scheduled for 15 minutes later. Please
prepare in advance!”
Shadow Seven was stunned. Amari challenging her?
Wasn’t he her defeated opponent?
“Well, maybe Amari has some trump card he didn’t use last time. Makes sense.”
Shadow Seven found excuses for herself.
She told herself not to panic; she definitely wasn’t a slacker!
Absolutely not!
Before Shadow Seven could recover, her communication crystal vibrated again.
“Shadow Eleven has issued a cross-tier challenge to you…”
“Shadow Twelve has issued a cross-tier challenge to you…”
|| ||
Countless messages flooded in, and the communication crystal slipped from Shadow Seven’s
hand, rolling on the ground.
The side with the text faced up, clearly displaying:
“Current unread notifications 99+”