Star Bell's "Defense"

"Mr. Mad Lion's twentieth consecutive battle, fifth match, begin!"

Boom!

The moment the arena manager finished speaking, Mad Lion raised the longsword in his hand. Lightning flashed as he slashed a bolt of thunderous sword aura at Roy.

Clearly, Mad Lion wanted a swift victory.

After two consecutive fights that had not been weak, Mad Lion likely realized he had been overconfident. If he got dragged into several more drawn-out battles, let alone twenty consecutive fights, even ten would be difficult.

Moreover, Blood Battle Stage rules stated that once one chose consecutive battles, unless they completed the required number, even if they won nineteen times and lost the twentieth, no one would acknowledge them as a powerhouse with nineteen consecutive victories.

Buzz!

Facing the incoming sword aura, a phantom of a dark yellow great bell appeared before Roy.

Boom!

Crackle...

The thunderous sword aura struck the phantom of the Star Bell with a dull boom. Then, the sword aura was directly shattered by the Star Bell's rebounding force.

"A defensive Divine Artifact?"

Seeing this, Mad Lion frowned.

Most people forged defensive Divine Artifacts into armor. This was the first time he had seen someone forge a defensive Divine Artifact into a bell.

"Let's see how I break your Divine Artifact!"

Ordinary High-level Divine Artifacts could withstand attacks from Three-star Devils, while stronger ones could defend against Four-star Devil attacks.

Unlike offensive Divine Artifacts, which absorbed combat experience and the baleful aura of slain enemies through their master's battles to strengthen their "spirituality," much like how Deities comprehended Law Profound Mysteries, the stronger a Divine Artifact's spirituality, the greater its power.

Defensive Divine Artifacts, however, could at most defend against Five-star Devil attacks. Even that required the kind that had accompanied a Sovereign for hundreds of millions of years, with its master having experienced countless life-and-death battles.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

This was because attacks at the Six-star Devil level could already cause ripples in the space of God Planes and even Supreme Planes, or even tear space apart. No matter how strong a defensive Divine Artifact was, it could not withstand the tearing force of Space Shatter.

Seven-star Demon Level attacks could casually rip space apart. Aside from Sovereign Artifacts, no defensive Divine Artifact could withstand the turbulent currents left behind after Space Shatter.

Thus, above the Six-star Devil level, unless one possessed a Sovereign Artifact or was a divine beast whose body's defense had reached a certain level, everyone relied on defensive moves developed from Law Profound Mysteries in battle.

In such circumstances, if one's ultimate move could block the opponent's attack, then there was no problem.

If it could not, or could not fully block it, the result would be death in severe cases and grievous injuries in lighter ones.

Mad Thunder Slash!

Mad Lion roared as his body transformed into a streak of lightning. The destructive aura of thunder on his longsword surged, arcs of lightning coiling around its blade as he and his sword slashed down at Roy together.

Wherever the thunder blade passed, it drew a long black line through the space of the Blood Battle Stage.

The power of this slash had clearly reached the limit of a Six-star Devil, even cutting apart the Blood Battle Stage's space.

Boom!

Mad Lion's slash struck the Star Bell surrounding Roy, making its divine power tremble. Yet, to Mad Lion's surprise, neither the attack he had unleashed nor the Space Rift he had cut open could break through the Star Bell's defense.

The divine radiance around the Star Bell rippled outward. When the lightning and Space Rift encountered those ripples, they gradually weakened.

"How is that possible?"

"What kind of defensive Divine Artifact is this? Could it be a Sovereign Artifact?"

Mad Lion was greatly shocked. His strongest attack had actually failed to break this Divine Artifact's defense?

Mad Lion was mistaken.

Roy's Star Bell had originally been an offensive Divine Artifact.

However, when forging it, Roy had used a great deal of Soul Power, giving the Star Bell the ability to provide Soul Defense.

Roy had merely enlarged the Star Bell until it could envelop him, relying on the Divine Artifact's own hardness to defend against attacks.

The current Star Bell had reached the level of a High-level offensive Divine Artifact over a hundred thousand years ago. With Roy's current strength, the Star Bell could no longer enhance his power, but it could fully bear his Law Profound Mysteries and allow him to unleash his full strength.

Though Roy used the Star Bell as a defensive Divine Artifact, in essence, it was an offensive High-level Divine Artifact.

To destroy an offensive Divine Artifact, one needed at least Seven-star Demon Level strength.

And one had to attack it continuously.

To destroy a High-level offensive Divine Artifact in a single blow was simply impossible without the strength of a Cultivate Prefect.

Roy's Law Profound Mysteries surged as he casually slapped the Star Bell.

Buzz!

Roy's perfectly fused Earth Pulse, one of his Four Law Profound Mysteries, burst through the Star Bell in a powerful wave that instantly spread outward.

Boom!

Under that wave, Mad Lion had no ability to resist at all. The defensive Divine Artifact on his body shattered instantly. After coughing up a mouthful of blood, he was blasted away and fell onto the arena.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Before he had even fully landed, Mad Lion had already declared his surrender.

The gap in strength was simply too great.

If he had been even a moment slower, Mad Lion feared that he would have died.

Hiss...

"This Star is incredibly powerful."

Roy's attack thoroughly shocked everyone in the Blood Battle Stage.

From Mad Lion's previous three battles, everyone could tell that he possessed the strength of a Six-star Devil and was even considered a powerhouse among Six-star Devils.

Otherwise, Mad Lion would not have made such an arrogant declaration as "twenty consecutive battles."

Unfortunately, Mad Lion's luck was poor. After only three consecutive victories, he encountered the even more powerful Star.

"Seven-star. This Star is definitely a Seven-star Demon."

After Mad Lion rolled off the arena, the terror in his heart eased somewhat.

The defensive Divine Artifact on his body had been nurtured by him for more than a million years and could withstand attacks with the strength of a Four-star Devil. Yet beneath that ripple, it had shattered in an instant.

If his ultimate move had not offset part of that ripple's power, he would definitely have been blasted apart.

Even so, he had consumed more than half his divine power recovering from his injuries.

"Wow, congratulations to Mr. Star for defeating Mr. Mad Lion, who had won three consecutive matches. So, Mr. Star, would you like to continue challenging, or rest for a while first?"

Compared with how he had spoken to Mad Lion, the manager's attitude toward Roy was far more respectful.

What a joke—this was a Seven-star Demon.

"Let's continue."

"Oh, right. If I want to fight one hundred consecutive battles, what do I need to do?"

"O-one hundred consecutive battles?"

The arena manager was stunned. Although these powerful Seven-star Demons who came to the Blood Battle Stage of the Nine Nether Region would choose consecutive battles, they generally chose no more than ten or twenty.