Become the Strongest in the Audience's Eyes

The audience was not actually surprised by Chen Kong's sudden transformation.

After all, if Chen Kong had continued performing as he had in the previous episodes,

they truly could not imagine why he was qualified to be the protagonist.

What genuinely surprised the audience was that, even in this shining moment belonging to Chen Kong, the shadow of Tiandao still appeared.

In the audience's eyes, Tiandao's words accounted for at least fifty percent of the reason Chen Kong had been able to "awaken" at that moment.

'Damn, Tiandao is one hundred percent joining the party here.'

'False Protagonist: Chen Kong. True Protagonist: Tiandao. I suggest renaming this to "Stellaris: The Legend of Tiandao."'

'Caroline, Chen Xing, Yun Meng, Jing Liuli—aside from Yagami Rin, who just appeared, Tiandao is basically connected to everyone else so far. Tiandao really is the true protagonist.'

Amid the barrage of comments, Chen Kong not only awakened his own bloodline ability,

but also revealed what made him special.

Compared to ordinary Starborn, he possessed one additional ability.

It was equivalent to having two Star Cores.

The moment this information appeared, the comments could not help but start speculating.

'Holy crap, everyone else only has one Star Core, but you have two? No wonder you can be the protagonist!'

'After four episodes, this protagonist is finally starting to look a little like a protagonist.'

'Honestly, even if this guy has two Star Cores, that ordinary trait of his still feels like foreshadowing planted by the production team. He's probably another weak protagonist who clearly has a cheat, but might as well not have one when he uses it.'

Just as Chen Kong on the arena platform awakened his Mark of the Void,

the scene suddenly shifted to Tiandao at the edge of the arena.

"Oh? Has it finally disappeared?"

"Disappeared? What disappeared?"

"Why, the disappearance of a certain weakest one, of course."

"After all, if the weak want to survive in this cruel world, they must make good use of the strong's contempt, mustn't they?"

"???"

Caroline did not understand what Tiandao meant as she watched him with that unfathomable expression, but the audience, with their God's Perspective, immediately understood the meaning Tiandao was conveying.

And that discovery made them feel as though they had discovered a new continent.

'Huh? Does Tiandao mean he actually guessed Chen Kong's ability a long time ago?'

'The comment above, there's been foreshadowing for all of this. I remember Tiandao saying before that Chen Kong's Star Core was special. He even made a bet with Chen Xing over it. That proves Tiandao saw through everything long ago.'

'Was it because of Tiandao's special azure-blue eyes? Otherwise, why could Tiandao see what no one else could?'

'He's been laying the groundwork since episode one? This man is terrifying.'

'I suggest checking whether Tiandao is a transmigrator.'

'False Protagonist: awakening with difficulty. True Protagonist: elegantly watching the show.'

The audience had reacted so strongly because of what Tiandao said at that moment, as well as the confident bearing he displayed when he said it, as though everything was under his control.

It was as if he and Starborn like Chen Kong had never existed in the same dimension from the very beginning.

He was looking down upon those around him from a perspective that was almost God's Perspective.

And that strength of mentality and strategy

instantly raised goosebumps all over the audience. It gave them the sense that his laughing and joking with those around him was merely a disguise.

In truth, he simply regarded everyone around him as adorable little animals that posed no threat whatsoever.

That detached mentality, coupled with the series of hints Tiandao had laid down earlier,

immediately made everyone naturally believe that Tiandao was the "strongest" in Stellaris Prequel: Embers.

After all, anime was different from reality.

The audience could not predict how reality would unfold, but they could predict where an anime was heading and vaguely understand what the production team wanted to convey.

This meant that even if Tiandao was not currently the power ceiling of the show,

every one of them firmly believed that Tiandao would eventually grow into the show's power ceiling.

Because Tiandao's series of performances, as well as the role he currently displayed in the story, were undoubtedly all developing in the direction of "power ceiling."

And so long as this notion was established in the audience's minds, Tiandao's objective would be achieved.

After all, he had never forgotten from the very beginning that he was in an anime world.

Nor had he forgotten what his greatest goal was.

It was to seize the one and only position of "character power ceiling" in the hearts of Stellaris's audience.

Thus, all his prior designs and arrangements had merely served this single goal.

In the cafeteria, Tiandao watched the comments flood the screen with '?' after he finished saying those words.

He understood that the plan he had painstakingly laid out over two years had been completely achieved.

Yes, Tiandao had never needed to become the strongest in any literal sense.

He only needed to become the strongest in the audience's eyes.

"Caroline, I'm done eating. Take your time, I'll head back first."

"Oh, okay."

Tiandao picked up the after-meal dessert on the table, then turned and walked toward his dormitory.

During this process, he directly closed the Popularity System's Virtual Screen and stopped paying attention to the later events of episode four of Stellaris Prequel: Embers.

Because he understood that when the production team chose to release those words he had said to Chen Kong during Chen Kong's awakening scene,

then no matter what astonishing feats Chen Kong or the other Stellaris characters performed afterward, none of it could affect his position in the audience's minds.

Simply because audiences were capable of filling in the blanks themselves.

And filling in the blanks was the most domineering and unreasonable thing in the world.

That much could be seen from the comments right now.

'Although the protagonist's dual-Star Core ability is insanely buggy, I feel like Tiandao definitely has a special ability of his own. After all, he was the only one who saw through the protagonist's talent long ago.'

'The comment above is right. Chen Kong's current changes are certainly surprising, but Tiandao, who already knew all of this, feels even more terrifying. I'm even wondering whether, if Tiandao doesn't become a villain, the protagonist's side is a little too overpowered. I truly can't imagine what kind of enemy could possibly put a character like Tiandao in danger.'

'Holy crap, I suddenly have a bad feeling. Tiandao is obviously a little too overpowered in the current version. Do you think the production team might force a Plot Kill on Tiandao later to balance things out? Tiandao's popularity has clearly completely surpassed Chen Kong, the protagonist. With him around, how is the protagonist supposed to get his moment in the spotlight?'

'Comment above, stop saying that. If the production team really dares to do that, I'll personally send blades to those people!'

'Relax. What kind of idiot would kill off their own most popular character? I don't believe anyone like that exists.'

Tiandao, who had already closed the Dimensional Screen, knew nothing of the discussion in the comments.

Because his attention had long since shifted away from the Final Assessment's storyline.

Tiandao returned to his room and lowered his head to look at the Death-Replacing Bracelet hanging from his wrist.

"A Rank 2 Star Envoy and several Rank 1 Star Envoys. Since I know their weaknesses and traits, as long as I make good use of this half-year window, I still have a good chance of taking them down with me."

"But if I want these fireworks to reach my expectations, I need to further increase my strength."

"Ah, borrowing new debts to repay old ones... when will I ever pay off this Popularity Points debt?"

Tiandao raised his head and began scrolling through the system's Popularity Mall with his fingers.

He was preparing to purchase that special item that could greatly increase his strength once he had accumulated enough Popularity Points.

As long as he had that special item, along with the Star Source called Vector Control that he could obtain tomorrow,

Tiandao was confident he could raise his strength by several levels in just half a year.

By then, at the end of Season 1 of Stellaris Prequel: Embers,

he could offer everyone a dazzling and tragic display of brilliant fireworks.

PS: In the end, I still couldn't manage it, huh. My promise of three updates has been delayed yet again. Tomorrow... perhaps I can make it happen.

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