The Pinnacle of Stellaris

The Doctor had been right. Defeat the Rank 2 Star Beast, the Earth Dragon Lizard.

Or rather, win this Final Assessment in their own way.

That was what Tiandao had decided from the very beginning.

As for whether this violated the original assessment rules—

Tiandao did not care in the slightest.

After all, so-called rules had always been shackles prepared for the weak.

Tiandao Siming only followed the laws in his own heart!

"Tiandao!"

On the arena, Tiandao heard Caroline's voice behind him and suddenly smiled.

Because he knew perfectly well that Caroline's sudden call meant she had accomplished what Tiandao had asked of her.

Now, it was Tiandao's turn to perform.

Bang!

Tiandao unleashed Blink Step at full force, finally opening up a complete distance between himself and the Earth Dragon Lizard and retreating briefly to a relatively safe position.

"Liuli!"

"G-Got it!"

Receiving Tiandao's signal, Liuli, who had been hovering at the edge of the battlefield, immediately flew over to take his place.

"D-Dream Pollution!"

Riding her pillow, Liuli swooped down. Her fluttering coat inadvertently revealed pajamas printed with little bears.

In an instant, countless Dream Butterflies poured from her sleeves, briefly covering the Earth Dragon Lizard's eyes.

The sudden blindness caused the Earth Dragon Lizard's movements to halt for a moment.

More importantly, the Dream Butterflies around its eyes seemed to carry some special Star Energy, making the Earth Dragon Lizard suddenly feel an inexplicable drowsiness and an urge to lie down and sleep.

As Tiandao watched the Earth Dragon Lizard pause, he immediately seized the opportunity to close his eyes and rapidly receive the crucial data Caroline had sent him.

Left front knee. Old injury. A 0.03-second gap in Star Energy flow.

Moments later, Tiandao abruptly opened his eyes.

His gaze locked firmly onto the Earth Dragon Lizard's left front knee.

Or rather, onto a hidden internal injury there that outsiders could not detect.

Tiandao raised his hand, and a small, rapidly spinning ball of Star Energy slowly gathered at his fingertips.

The Star Energy sphere on his fingertip spun violently, its azure light illuminating his defiant profile.

Sensing the appearance of that sphere, the distant Earth Dragon Lizard suddenly grew agitated.

The drowsiness in its heart vanished at once, because its beastly instincts detected the unmistakable threat contained within that sphere of light.

"Roar!"

The Earth Dragon Lizard roared, swiping away the Dream Butterflies covering its eyes with one claw, then smashing through Jing Liuli, who stood in its path, and charging straight at Tiandao.

Facing the ferocious Earth Dragon Lizard rushing toward him, Tiandao spoke calmly.

"Star Energy Technique—Azure!"

As his words fell, the azure sphere spinning at Tiandao's fingertips shot forth at an astonishing speed.

The howling sphere traced a brilliant arc through the air, striking a patch of dark gray scales precisely on the Earth Dragon Lizard's left knee joint.

Bang!

With a crisp cracking sound, the lizard's prized rock armor shattered like a biscuit.

The sphere that struck its left knee was like a roaring, endlessly spinning drill, completely piercing through its rocky scales and burrowing into its flesh.

"Roar!"

Feeling the searing pain in its left knee, the Earth Dragon Lizard let out a pained roar.

Its body, which had been charging at high speed, suddenly stumbled and crashed to the ground due to the unexpected turn of events.

Boom!

The Earth Dragon Lizard's body slammed into the arena floor, making the entire arena tremble noticeably.

Dead silence fell outside the arena. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the unbelievable scene.

"No way..." Chen Kong's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "That's a Rank 2 Star Beast."

Chen Kong had never imagined that in just a few breaths—

The Earth Dragon Lizard, which had seemed invincible to him, would now be brought to its knees before Tiandao.

And he was not the only one shocked by this scene. Chen Xing beside him, and even the important figures in the VIP Room, were all stunned by Tiandao's astonishing feat.

Clatter—

Ms. Canary's champagne glass fell to the floor, its contents staining her million-Star Coin gown.

Yet she paid it no mind. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Tiandao in the arena as she unconsciously murmured, "Incredible. Truly incredible."

"Three Half-Stars who have not even reached Rank 1... actually managed to injure a Rank 2 Star Beast."

"Talent, courage, strategy, and composure in the face of danger. These children—no, Tiandao in particular—is truly a natural-born leader."

"If he had not taken on the vast majority of the danger himself, then no matter how perfect the plan was, faced with such an absolute gap in strength, they could never have ensured that everything would proceed according to plan."

"Because if even one link had gone wrong, not only would their plan have completely fallen apart, but Tiandao, who had borne most of the plan's risks, would also have faced a potentially fatal crisis."

"Tiandao Siming, were you really so certain you would not make a mistake? Were you truly that unafraid of making one?"

Ms. Canary looked at Tiandao standing in the arena, her eyes filled with astonishment and admiration.

Even after seeing the result, she still could not understand Tiandao's reasons for doing this.

In her view, Tiandao's actions were not only extremely risky, but the gains were also negligible. It was utterly irrational.

As long as they followed the assessment rules step by step and delayed the fight against the Earth Dragon Lizard as much as possible—

Then Tiandao, Caroline, and the others would certainly pass the assessment.

Yet they—or rather, Tiandao, despite Caroline and Liuli's objections—had resolutely chosen a path no one had expected.

What he wanted had never been delay, much less passing the assessment by following the rules.

He wanted to fight back, to shatter everyone's preconceptions, and to tell them that miracles existed.

And now, this miracle that had only existed in theory was truly laid before everyone's eyes.

Tiandao Siming, were there truly no such things as rules in your eyes?

"Roar!"

In the arena, the Earth Dragon Lizard rose furiously to its feet. The ease and amusement in its beastly eyes were gone.

In their place was a savage fury that made hearts tremble.

Clearly, Tiandao's strike had injured it, but such a minor wound meant nothing to it.

Instead, it had awakened the beast's inner brutality and made it decide to get serious and properly teach those three who had offended it a lesson.

But when the Earth Dragon Lizard saw where Tiandao and the others were, a human-like look of astonishment immediately appeared in its bloodshot eyes.

Tiandao was standing outside the arena, having put his mocking little sunglasses back on. With a smile, he waved at it.

Not only that, Tiandao cruelly added, "Yo, big guy, still sulking? The assessment's already over!"

"ROAR!!!"

Hearing this, the Earth Dragon Lizard immediately threw back its head and roared in fury.

Its roar made the barrier hum and tremble.

The feeling of wanting revenge but being powerless to take it left it with no choice but to vent all its rage on the empty arena, repeatedly slamming the ground with all its might.

As if only that could erase the humiliation Tiandao had inflicted upon it.

Seeing this, Tiandao immediately pointed at it and said smugly to the people beside him, "It's mad. This guy's mad."

"It's supposedly a Rank 2 Star Beast, so why does it lose its temper so easily?"

Caroline's cat ears twitched as she said calmly, "Tiandao, you're going to get the people taking the later assessments killed."

Tiandao shrugged indifferently. "What does that have to do with me? My assessment is over anyway."

Hearing Tiandao's words, the other Starborn nearby turned pale. Looking at the Earth Dragon Lizard's icy gaze in the arena, they cowardly shrank back.

After all, only an idiot would go out there now and face the full force of that monster's rage.

But at that moment, Chen Xing unexpectedly walked toward the arena, obvious fighting intent blazing in her crimson eyes.

Seeing Chen Xing take the initiative to approach the arena, Chen Kong immediately rushed over in concern and grabbed the corner of her clothes.

"Sis, don't go yet. It's still angry—"

Facing Chen Kong's concern, Chen Xing did not even turn around. "Let go."

Normally, Chen Kong would certainly have obediently released her.

But looking at the Earth Dragon Lizard in the arena, with its cold eyes and white vapor streaming from its nostrils, Chen Kong ultimately chose to disobey Chen Xing.

He stepped in front of Chen Xing and spread his arms to block her path.

"Sis, wait a little longer. Just wait a little longer, right now—"

Clang!

Before Chen Kong could finish, Chen Xing drew her crimson Demonic Blade, its icy edge pressed against Chen Kong's throat.

This sudden turn of events caught not only Chen Kong off guard, but everyone else as well.

Watching Chen Kong's body stiffen in an instant, Chen Xing said calmly, "Kong, do you know why I've always looked down on you?"

Chen Xing's words were cold, but her eyes were even colder.

Faced with Chen Xing's forcefulness, the timid Chen Kong predictably grew frightened once again.

He slowly lowered his hands, unable to say a single word for a long while.

Seeing this, Chen Xing's gaze became even more disappointed.

She sheathed the Demonic Blade that had been held against his neck and spoke in a tone of utter despair, revealing the true reason she had always targeted Chen Kong.

"Hide, Kong. Go on and find a way to hide for the rest of your life."

"Your weakness and cowardice will one day make you lose everything you cherish."

"But you can hide. I cannot, because if even I hide, then where can someone as weak as you hide?"

"So even if I know the next step is an abyss, I must still walk into it without hesitation. After all, there is no one standing before me."

"So move aside, coward. Don't block my way."

With that, Chen Xing ignored the dazed Chen Kong and walked straight toward the arena.

But just as she was about to pass through the Star Energy Barrier protecting the arena—

A voice called out to her.

"Hey, Chen Xing!"

A piece of candy traced an arc through the air, and Chen Xing caught it instinctively.

Looking at the candy in her palm, her pupils contracted slightly.

"What do you mean, there's no one standing before you? Aren't you looking down on me a little too much?"

"Remember, you're only second. I am the pinnacle of Stellaris."

Tiandao adjusted his sunglasses, their lenses reflecting an infuriating gleam.

Looking at Tiandao now, Chen Xing's red lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something.

But in the end, her pride made her respond to Tiandao's claim of being the pinnacle with a cold snort.

Then, without hesitation, she stepped onto the arena and faced the Earth Dragon Lizard, which had finally gotten serious.

Feeling the immense pressure radiating from the Earth Dragon Lizard, Chen Xing took a deep breath. Then she unwrapped the candy in her hand and viciously bit down, crushing it.

The forcefulness of the bite made it seem as though she was not crushing candy at all, but Tiandao.

Still... this candy is pretty sweet.

At the same time, outside the arena, Tiandao wiped away nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead.

Whew, that was close. I almost let her steal the spotlight.

There's no one standing before me... Seriously, Hax Xing, how did you even come up with something so cool and so pretentious?

If I hadn't done something, then once this episode aired, wouldn't all my earlier efforts have been for nothing?

Good thing I'm clever. Not only did I immediately strike a pose too, I also naturally showed off the "light" in my humanity afterward.

Otherwise, you would've stolen all the attention. Still...

Tiandao looked at the valiant crimson figure in the arena and suddenly smiled.

What you said just now really was cool, though.

PS: As always, please keep reading and send those monthly votes!