“It’s impossible!” Sword Demon exclaimed, denying the idea. “I can’t sense any World-in-Hand from this human, nor any The Heaven power of laws.”
Great Bear smiled faintly, offering no further explanation. He simply said, “Just keep watching, and you’ll understand.”
At that moment, on the arena, John was completely on the back foot, struggling to fend off Lowler’s spear attacks. The situation was growing more dangerous by the second, and it seemed like John was barely managing to hold his ground.
This development made Sword Demon breathe a sigh of relief.
He still didn’t believe that John could stand a chance against Lowler.
“Heaven and Earth Transformation!” With a roar, a fierce gust of wind surged, and an overwhelming aura spread across the arena.
John’s form suddenly grew to a towering height, transforming into a colossal giant, his power boosted by two hundred times.
Boom!
With a mighty slash, John’s sword struck, causing the arena to tremble, and Lowler was sent flying through the air.
“Hmm, such a powerful skill!” Great Bear observed the towering John, his expression turning serious.
“But with just this level of power, you still won’t be able to defeat me,” Lowler sneered coldly, summoning his own avatar. A massive figure appeared behind him, and the two engaged in battle once again.
“John actually has such a trump card!” Thunderstrike, watching the fight, was also taken aback.
He had suspected that John was hiding his strength, but he hadn’t expected it to be this formidable.
Had John still had his World-in-Hand, there was a real possibility that he could have defeated Lowler.
“What a pity,” Thunderstrike sighed, a sense of guilt creeping into his heart.
Meanwhile, the battle in the arena had reached a critical point.
John’s transformation into a giant granted him a massive power boost, but even with this, defeating Lowler wasn’t going to be easy.
Unless he used his World-in-Hand or the The Heaven laws.
However, he was reluctant to reveal those two abilities just yet.
“Human, I really underestimated you,” Lowler said, his voice laced with a hint of anxiety. The two were evenly matched, and neither could gain the upper hand in such a short amount of time.
“Human, don’t blame me for bullying you,” he sneered coldly, his body emanating Spatial Power. He had decided to pull John into his World-in-Hand and finish him off.
Buzz!
In an instant, both figures disappeared from the arena.
John made no move to resist. He was still debating whether or not to reveal his identity as an Overseer or a The Heaven enforcer. He hadn’t expected Lowler to make such a mistake by revealing his own weakness.
John could now easily destroy Lowler’s World-in-Hand.
“My lord, it looks like you’re about to lose,” Sword Demon said with a smug grin. “Even if this John is an Overseer, once he’s in Lowler’s World-in-Hand, it’s certain death!”
Great Bear only smiled, saying nothing. He still believed in his judgment.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the space around the arena trembled. Cracks appeared in the air, and terrifying energy surged, destroying everything in its wake.
The two figures reappeared.
This time, Lowler was half-kneeling on the ground, spitting blood, his face ashen. His eyes were fixed on John, fury radiating from him.
The crowd watching was stunned, speechless.
“Lowler’s World-in-Hand… it seems to have been destroyed. What just happened?”
“Is this human still hiding his strength?”
Someone exclaimed in disbelief, staring at the giant form of John, feeling a chill run down their spine.
Sword Demon, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but swallow nervously. He quickly asked, “My lord, can I back out now?”
With Lowler’s World-in-Hand destroyed, he was suffering from a backlash. His soul had been severely injured, and defeat was inevitable.
“No!” Great Bear decisively rejected, his smile widening even more.
He was increasingly impressed by John. If John weren’t aligned with Thunderstrike, Great Bear would have certainly wanted him in his city.
“You human, you actually destroyed my World-in-Hand!” Lowler roared, coughing up more blood. His eyes burned with fury as he glared at John, wishing he could tear him apart limb by limb.
“Hmph, it’s over.” His expression turned cold, and he showed no mercy. With a massive longsword in hand, he slashed through the air, creating a huge blade of energy that tore through the sky.
Nine Heavens Sword!
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed as cracks appeared in the arena, which had been reinforced by Great Bear’s power of laws. The platform itself almost collapsed under the force.
As for Lowler, he was obliterated instantly, his body reduced to nothing, leaving only a pile of magic cores and a Heart of the Continent.
John waved his hand, collecting everything.
With Lowler dead, the Plunder talent activated, granting John a small boost in attributes.
He paid no mind to the astonished gazes of the onlookers as he slowly descended from the arena.
“It looks like I found a treasure!” Thunderstrike’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
The strength John had shown left even him feeling a hint of fear.
Yet, this powerhouse was fully under his control.
If John’s World-in-Hand were restored, his power would definitely rival Thunderstrike’s.
And then there was Sini, The Heaven enforcer.
If he could take Forest City and replace Great Bear’s position, he might even be able to challenge the Four Emperors.
The crowd stared at John, filled with fear and disbelief.
Sini’s identity as The Heaven enforcer had already been shocking enough.
But to their surprise, John’s strength was even more overwhelming. He had actually killed Lowler.
Lowler, an eight-star Awakened One and a The Overseer, had even used his World-in-Hand ability in the fight.
“This human has hidden his strength so deeply!” someone couldn’t help but exclaim.
They couldn’t investigate what had happened inside Lowler’s World-in-Hand, but they were sure that John was still hiding even more power.
The challenges continued.
At this moment, another person stepped up to the arena. His gaze naturally fell upon John and the others.
Cand-Dragon’s face was filled with excitement as he said, “It’s my turn now, right?”
He, too, had mastered Heaven and Earth Transformation, and his strength was not to be underestimated. He may not have been a match for Lowler, but killing this guy would be easy.
The man, seeing Cand-Dragon’s excitement, turned pale with fear. He quickly turned his head and pointed at someone else, shouting, ” Highlite, I challenge you!”
John and the others’ behavior was so strange that Thunderstrike began to seriously suspect that Cand-Dragon was also hiding his true strength.
With Lageland dead and Lowler killed, he didn’t want to become the third unlucky one.
“Damn, they didn’t pick me,” Cand-Dragon said, looking disappointed when he heard the other person’s words.
John rolled his eyes and said, “You’re too flamboyant. After this, I’m afraid no one will challenge us again.”
“Really?” Cand-Dragon responded, a bit disappointed but also secretly relieved.
His strength wasn’t weak, but it definitely wasn’t enough to place him in the top ten.
Among the ranks from 11th to 50th on the scoreboard, there were several people whose strength was comparable to Lowler’s. He was no match for any of them.
The matches continued, and John’s guess was correct—no one else challenged the three of them.
The top ten spots for the advanced cities were almost settled, and the three of them had all secured their places.
“Congratulations, Lord Thunderstrike. I didn’t expect all three of you from your city to make it. You’ve really been hiding your strength well,” one person said, looking at Thunderstrike with a mocking smile.
“Haha, it was just good luck,” Thunderstrike replied with a hearty laugh. This outcome was something he had never anticipated.
This time, he had truly struck gold.
“It’s not certain yet. Lord Sword Demon still hasn’t challenged anyone,” someone else spoke up, as Sword Demon had already stepped onto the arena.
The crowd immediately fell silent, and even the top ten competitors looked nervous.
Sword Demon was at the peak of the eight-star realm, and his power was even comparable to that of nine-star experts. They were no match for him.
“John, that guy seems like he’s going to challenge us,” Cand-Dragon whispered.
Sword Demon climbed onto the arena, his eyes fixed on John, his battle intent rising.
He had been eager to fight John for a while now. Before, in the forest, he had been stopped by Great Bear.
Now, John had hidden his strength, and as a result, Sword Demon had lost a complete Heart of the Continent—something that frustrated him deeply.
John met his gaze without fear. If he revealed his identity as The Heaven enforcer and The Overseer, he wouldn’t be without the ability to fight back.
“Hmph!” Sword Demon sneered, briefly glancing at John before looking in another direction and coldly saying, “Lord Thunderstrike, I challenge you!”
His words immediately caused a stir.
“Challenging the city lord? I almost forgot about that rule.”
“Lord Thunderstrike is only at the eight-star level. He probably isn’t a match for Sword Demon.”
“Obviously, those three have been hiding their strength, and now Sword Demon is annoyed.”
The crowd murmured, glancing at Thunderstrike with a playful look.
Thunderstrike, upon hearing Sword Demon’s words, was momentarily stunned.
He turned to look at the calm and composed Great Bear, feeling a sense of wariness.
It seemed that the guy had already sensed something.
Thunderstrike frowned. Normally, facing Sword Demon, he would be no match.
But now, it seemed that the guy had already taken the bait.
He maintained a calm expression, his confidence unshaken. Slowly, he walked up to the arena and spoke, “Lord Sword Demon, are you sure you want to challenge me?”
“Hmph, stop talking nonsense! We fight to the death!” Sword Demon’s anger flared up as he drew his long sword and launched the first strike.
Without any mercy, he went straight for his most powerful attack.
Boom!
A massive blade of energy slammed down, creating a huge crack in the arena that rapidly spread toward John’s position.
John was a bit speechless. It was obvious that Sword Demon was intentionally targeting him.
Crack… Crack…
The fissures in the ground stopped abruptly right beneath his feet.
On the arena, Thunderstrike’s face became serious. He didn’t dare to be careless and immediately engaged Sword Demon in battle.
“John, who do you think is stronger between these two?” Sini asked, watching the intense battle on the arena with curiosity.
John let out a soft sigh and replied, “Normally, Sword Demon would be stronger. But this guy has already been affected by Thunderstrike’s parasitic worm.”
John had a somewhat favorable impression of Sword Demon. Though he was a bit arrogant, he was at least better than that treacherous Thunderstrike.
Ice Talker also seemed a bit regretful and said, “Sword Demon’s challenge to Thunderstrike was likely done under the Forest King’s instructions. It seems like they’ve already sensed something.”
John nodded.
Many people from Forest City, as well as powerful individuals from various advanced cities, had fallen victim to the parasitic worm, but with only these people, it was unlikely they could pose a real threat to the Forest King.
John suspected Thunderstrike had a backup plan.
Boom!
With a loud crash, Thunderstrike was sent flying off the arena, spitting out blood and clearly injured.
“Die!” Sword Demon coldly shouted, giving Thunderstrike no time to react as he quickly charged forward.
“Sword Demon, you’re indeed powerful. But unfortunately, you’re still not my match!” Thunderstrike got to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stared calmly at the approaching Sword Demon.
He slightly closed his eyes, his mind connecting with the parasitic worm inside Sword Demon’s body, preparing to make his move.