Chen Du did not continue to study the stone tablet. The rules were clear: advancement depended solely on the Heart of the Starry Sky.
He has already grasped the rudiments of a law; trying to do more would only delay his main task.
There were only two or three hundred people left on the field, each of whom was an outstanding member of the Ninth Tier.
If these people keep hiding, it will indeed be difficult to find them.
If things drag on until the very end and the Heart of the Starry Sky is completely taken away, even if he is incredibly powerful, he will still be eliminated.
If you go too far, it won't be funny anymore.
He closed his eyes and unleashed his Spiritual Power.
With his current level of cultivation, he can perceive even the slightest movement within a radius of hundreds of miles.
He quickly locked onto the nearest Ninth Tier aura.
That aura was moving rapidly, as if deliberately avoiding others.
Chen Du leaped forward and gave chase.
The other party clearly sensed his approach, its speed suddenly slowed, and it stopped in a dry river valley.
Chen Du landed on the opposite side of the valley, and across the gravel beach, which was dozens of feet wide, he could clearly see the person's appearance.
He was a tall, slender young man with silver hair tied in a high ponytail, a stern face, and a thin, old scar on his left cheek.
He wore a close-fitting silver-gray battle suit, with a fist-sized orb of light embedded in his chest, from which a faint blue starlight slowly flowed. The Heart of the Starry Sky was set in his breastplate.
His aura was calm and refined, his power of law restrained as an abyss, which was the fluctuation of Lower Second-Level Law.
The silver-haired youth glanced at Chen Du, but neither ran away nor said a word.
He raised his hand and pressed it against the Heart of the Starry Sky on his chest, saying calmly, "Want this? Then let's fight."
Chen Du nodded. He hadn't underestimated his opponent Lower Second-Level Law was comparable to the level of laws he currently possessed, and his opponent had probably been immersed in the path of laws for much longer than he had.
The two moved almost simultaneously. The silver-haired youth struck first, his power of law transforming into countless silver threads that poured down on Chen Du like a torrential rain.
Each silver thread was as thin as a hair, yet incomparably sharp, silently cutting through the air wherever it passed.
Chen Du used the Cangming Abyss to defend himself. The dark blue vortex swallowed up a large portion of the silver threads, but dozens still managed to bypass it from the sides and pierce his vital points.
He dodged to the side, his sleeve brushed by a silver thread and instantly turned to dust.
The Heavenly Master Position Rank then unfolded, and the power of suppressing the Dao pressed down, crushing those silver threads inch by inch.
The silver-haired youth remained calm. He retreated rapidly, clasped his hands together, and all the silver threads suddenly converged, transforming into a giant silver sword that slashed down at Chen Du.
Chen Du raised his hand to meet the attack head-on, simultaneously activating his [Cangming Abyss] and [Celestial Master] Divine Status. The two laws overlapped, blocking the giant silver sword in mid-air.
The giant sword trembled, and the silver-haired youth's forehead veins bulged as he pressed down with all his might.
The two remained locked in a stalemate in the valley. The aftershocks of their collision overturned the surrounding hundreds of feet of rubble, and the dried-up riverbed was torn into a network of deep trenches.
All the major forces watching the battle were now focused on this area, and the Spirit Realm's analysis system was running at full speed, trying to capture the details of every fluctuation in the laws of the two.
The stalemate lasted for several breaths before Chen Du suddenly withdrew the Cangming Abyss, allowing the giant silver sword to strike down.
The silver-haired youth's face lit up with joy, but the next moment, his smile froze.
Chen Du, with his [Celestial Master] Divine Status, withstood the giant sword's strike, while simultaneously extending his right hand and striking the silver-haired youth in the chest.
The palm strike pierced through the protective aura, shattering the breastplate. The Heart of the Starry Sky sprang out from the broken armor, tracing a dark blue arc in mid-air.
Chen Du reached out and scooped up the Heart of the Starry Sky, taking it into his palm.
The silver-haired youth coughed up blood and flew backward, crashing into a pile of rubble dozens of feet away.
He struggled to get up, but the sharp pain in his chest made it difficult for him to even breathe.
Chen Du did not continue his attack. He merely glanced down at the Heart of the Starry Sky in his palm, then at the silver-haired youth lying among the rubble. "Not bad."
He uttered two words softly, then turned and sped toward his next target.
Behind him, the silver-haired youth clutched his chest, watching the departing figure, gritting his teeth and remaining silent.
The scene of Chen Du slapping the silver-haired youth away caused a sensation in the Spirit Realm.
In the council hall of the Xuan Yao Pavilion, a major power in the universe, an elder in charge of evaluating the talents for this genius battle suddenly sat up straight.
His assistant beside him quickly pulled up the data, his voice trembling. "After Luo Chen, he defeated Chu Yunhe. Chu Yunhe, Ninth Tier level five, Lower Second-Level Law, should be able to rank in the top 30 in this 23-arena competition..."
The assistant paused, swallowed hard, and said, "He was defeated with a single palm strike. Lin Du only used three moves in the entire process."
The elder was silent for a moment, then unconsciously tapped his fingers twice on the table. "Three moves."
He repeated, "He defeated Chu Yunhe in three moves. Moreover, those three moves he made incorporated at least three laws. Each of those three laws was condensed to the lower level two, while he was only at the Ninth Tier level two."
The council hall fell silent for a moment. To have mastered Lower Second-Level Law to this extent at the early stage of the Ninth Tier was beyond their expectations.
What they care about even more is time.
Three days ago, when he defeated his first Ninth Tier, his application of the laws was still somewhat clumsy.
Three days later, when he defeated Chu Yunhe, the combination of the three laws was already as smooth as flowing water, and there was almost no flaw in the transition between offense and defense.
Within three days, his understanding and application of the principles showed visible progress.
This isn't a matter of talent anymore; this is monster.
On the other side of the Martial Ancestor Hall, the elder who had been so nonchalant earlier also put away his casual expression.
He pulled up the video of Chen Du studying the stone tablet again, watched it several times, and muttered to himself, "The law he comprehended from that stone tablet has been integrated into his combat system within three days. In other words, he not only comprehended it quickly, but he also applied it even faster."
He paused, then a genuine interest finally surfaced in his eyes. "This kid is getting interesting."
The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion reacted the quietest.
A sharp-eyed man's finger paused on Chen Du's line of text, his gaze sweeping over the annotations such as "Simultaneously registered for the junior group," "From an unnamed edge planet," and "Suddenly rose to prominence seven days ago," and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
"Keep watching."
She only said one sentence.
Amidst the discussions among countless small factions, independent cultivators, and even ordinary viewers, one topic quickly rose to the top of the Spirit Realm's trending list: Lin Du!
Of course, while Lin Du is a hot topic, it's commensurate with his abilities.
In other words, there are many people who are more popular than him.
There are still many geniuses more dazzling than him.
Those who are truly dazzling can generate unprecedented buzz within their own star system and planet.
With each match they advance, the level of attention increases exponentially!
The news of Chen Du winning the Heart of the Starry Sky spread rapidly throughout the Spirit Realm, and within the arena, the situation instantly changed.
Now there are only two hundred people left on the field, one hundred of whom have the Heart of the Starry Sky, while the other hundred or so have nothing.