Meanwhile, let's turn our attention back to the battlefield where Seven and the others were fighting.
Ace and Venerable Xinji were locked in a fierce battle.
Their figures darted across the battlefield, sometimes hovering in the void, sometimes alighting on planetary fragments they had shattered.
Seven and Venerable Qi Lian's battle, however, lacked all that flashy movement. The two simply stood motionless in space.
But at the soul level, invisible to the naked eye, they clashed tens of thousands of times every second.
As for the two Walkers, like Savage Elephant Venerable, they had expended a vast amount of their divine bodies. Their combat strength was now less than a tenth of its former level.
They were all using every spare second to replenish the energy they had expended.
"Venerable Qi Lian, give up! You're no match for me!"
Seven shouted, but the clash at the soul level only grew more intense.
Venerable Qi Lian gave no response. Just keeping up with Seven's soul attacks had left her utterly exhausted—how could she spare the attention to reply?
But Seven himself was also nearing his limit, despite having a much stronger soul than Venerable Qi Lian.
They were both powerful beings of the same level, and Venerable Qi Lian had existed for far longer than he had. Her combat experience made her a troublesome opponent.
At this point, it came down to who would lose their strength first. Judging by the situation, Seven still had a slight edge!
Meanwhile, Ace and Venerable Xinji were mostly fighting at close quarters.
Compared to the Human Race, the Machine Race had a far greater advantage in close combat.
Several of Ace's attacks had been dodged by Venerable Xinji, who anticipated them in advance.
"Venerable Xinji, if you've got the guts, stop running and let me land a solid hit!"
Ace shouted, watching Venerable Xinji use his superior movement techniques to evade one attack after another, his frustration mounting.
"Venerable Light Blade, there's no need for this. Let me go, and the Machine Race won't pursue a losing proposition!"
After taking a blow from Thunder Tiger Walker, Venerable Xinji had lost a huge portion of his divine body. Although he had replenished it with a source-type treasure, he was now at the end of his rope.
Evading with his movement techniques was a last resort. Otherwise, unleashing a sweeping assault with his Mechanical Flow tactics would have been his best option!
"Let you go? Heh. They say the Machine Race is good at scheming. What, now that things have taken a turn for the worse, you're just going to run away?
"You think you can get off that easily? Today, you either die here, or...
"Heh. The Virtual Universe could always use a few more processors! I'm sure the powerhouses of my race won't mind getting a few more Machine Race processors!"
Ace's words carried more than mockery—they were filled with fury.
What?
The three races had joined forces, sending three top-tier overlords to attack him, and now they thought they could just walk away?
Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Ace?
How could he ever show his face among the Human Race, or anywhere in the universe, after that?
With that thought, Ace's attacks grew even sharper.
Blades of light formed from the Law of Light, combined with Ace's understanding of the laws of space and time, swept toward Venerable Xinji with terrifying force.
But as a top-tier overlord of the Machine Race, Venerable Xinji was no pushover.
His strength was in no way inferior to Ace's.
Seeing that Ace was determined to keep him there, he stopped holding back.
In an instant, Venerable Xinji released hundreds of Mechanical Puppets, each at least as powerful as an Ordinary Heavy Treasure.
The Machine Race's signature Mechanical Flow tactics unfolded, and in the blink of an eye, Ace was surrounded.
"Venerable Light Blade! Can you withstand this attack?"
Before Venerable Xinji had even finished speaking, five Mechanical Puppets, each comparable to a High-grade Supreme Treasure, launched their attacks.
Ace's expression turned grave, but he was far from beaten.
The defensive High-grade Supreme Treasure responded to his command, flaring to life and blocking the incoming flames.
But when two treasures were both High-grade Supreme Treasures, neither could easily overpower the other.
The shield, which had seemed utterly solid, began to rapidly lose energy under the assault of the five Mechanical Puppets.
Ace's strength was being drained just as quickly.
"Ace!"
Seven had been keeping a close eye on Ace's battlefield. Seeing this, he couldn't help but grow worried.
"Now's my chance!"
Taking advantage of Seven's distraction, Venerable Qi Lian immediately increased the frequency of her soul attacks.
But Seven had only been distracted for a moment. Years of combat had made him exceptionally sensitive to danger.
His soul defenses surged at once!
At the same time, Ice Axe shot out from his hand, appearing before Venerable Qi Lian in an instant.
Sensing the threat, Venerable Qi Lian immediately eased off her soul attack and retreated a million kilometers.
"Ice Axe! You!"
Venerable Qi Lian snapped, but couldn't find anything more to say. This was a fight to the death—what was wrong with using a tactic like that?
"What, can't take it already? We can't decide this at the soul level, so let's settle it with a proper fight!"
Before Seven had finished speaking, he charged after Ice Axe, hurtling toward Venerable Qi Lian.
Venerable Qi Lian had no good way to deal with a physical threat.
She gritted her teeth and released a vast tide of bugs from her Mother Nest.
Tens of thousands of Immortal Level Green Mantises swarmed toward Seven like a nest of bees.
But against a powerhouse at the Universe Venerable level, this attack was practically a joke.
With a wave of his hand, Seven wiped out thousands upon thousands of Zerg Warriors.
Of course, Venerable Qi Lian hadn't expected these Zerg Warriors to actually hurt Seven.
All she needed was a little time!
"Come out, my children!"
As Venerable Qi Lian spoke, dozens of King Bug Warriors, each at the Venerable Level, emerged from the Mother Nest.
At the sight of Seven, their already hideous and terrifying faces twisted into even more savage expressions.
"Roar~!"
At Venerable Qi Lian's command, the Zerg Warriors—all at least Intermediate Venerable level—charged straight at Seven.
"Now that's more like it!"
Seeing this, Seven finally showed a hint of delight beneath his stern expression.
"Come out!"
Seven opened his World Ring, and several High Venerable Soul Slaves appeared before him.
"Attack!"
"Yes!"
The Soul Slaves sprang into action at his command.
The Zerg Warriors were certainly powerful, but even they struggled against Seven's army of slaves.
A High Venerable from the Nine Cloud Sparrow clan of the Monster Race swallowed a Zerg Warrior whole, digesting it in an instant.
Meanwhile, a Universe Venerable from the Bug Race summoned several Venerable Level Zerg Warriors from his own Mother Nest to serve as cannon fodder!
In an instant, the entire expanse of space became a battlefield of chaos.
Venerable Qi Lian's tide of bugs and Seven's Soul Slaves clashed fiercely, while the two of them used the lull to recover.
"Take this!"
Suddenly, a shout rang out. A streak of light flashed past and pierced Savage Elephant Venerable, who was recovering.
"What!"
Feeling Savage Elephant Venerable's aura suddenly plummet, Qilian and Xinji realized that another Human Race powerhouse had arrived!
Before you continue