Defeat! (Thanks to Youzhong Bao Geng A for the recommendation votes and monthly votes!)

However, Huan Cong was not a Golden-Winged Thunder Roc.

He actually forced himself to change direction in midair!

The snake body twisted impossibly through the air. Its enormous mouth, originally aimed directly at the sword tip, shifted slightly and met the sword with the side of its jaws.

"Pfft—"

The sword pierced through Huan Cong's left cheek and emerged from the other side, spraying dark purple blood. But for a giant snake nearly a thousand meters long, this sword strike was merely a bloody hole, nowhere near fatal.

For Silver Horn, however, the real trouble had only just begun.

His entire right arm had already plunged into Huan Cong's mouth. Four venom fangs were closing in, their tips less than three inches from his shoulder. He tried to pull back his sword, only to find its blade clamped tightly by Huan Cong's muscles. The sword seemed embedded in steel, utterly immovable.

Abandon the sword? Too late.

The image of four venom fangs biting down fiercely was reflected in Silver Horn's pupils.

"Crack!"

Heat flared through his arm. His bones shattered, and then he lost all feeling in it. The venom spread up his arm at a terrifying speed. Veins bulged around his shoulder joint, and faint blue venom could be seen surging through the blood vessels beneath his skin.

Silver Horn did not even frown. He drew the dagger at his waist with his left hand, and a cold flash swept out as his entire right arm was severed at the shoulder!

The severed arm spun twice through the air. Before it could hit the ground, it had already turned bluish-purple, its flesh riddled with holes from the venom's corrosion.

Silver Horn retreated dozens of yards. Origin energy churned frantically within him, sealing his blood vessels and stopping the bleeding. Though he would not truly die in the virtual space, the pain feedback was 100% real. The pain of losing an arm was enough to shatter an ordinary person's mind.

But he did not.

He merely stared coldly at Huan Cong, gripping the dagger in his left hand even tighter.

Huan Cong spat out the sword in his mouth, along with a mouthful of bloody foam. The bloody hole in his cheek was slowly healing. The Reincarnation Jade-Eyed Snake Race's regenerative ability might not compare to that of the Golden Horned Beast, but it far surpassed that of ordinary Demon Races.

Huan Cong's tone was no longer flippant, carrying a trace of seriousness instead. "Kid, you've got some skill. You actually managed to hurt me. But this is as far as you go."

The snake body slithered again. This time, he gave Silver Horn no chance to catch his breath and crushed straight toward him.

Silver Horn had lost an arm, greatly weakening his use of the Space Law. But he neither surrendered nor retreated.

He still had one final chance.

Since I can't beat you head-on, I'll force you to reveal a second opening. Silver Horn silently calculated the distance and angle.

He abruptly teleported to the other side of the arena, moving away from Huan Cong as though he were trying to flee.

Huan Cong took the bait as expected. His snake body shot forward in pursuit.

The instant Huan Cong stretched out and his abdomen left the ground, Silver Horn teleported again!

This time, he appeared directly beneath Huan Cong. Looking up, he saw that soft area without scale protection exposed right before him, less than three feet from his dagger.

Silver Horn gripped the dagger in reverse and drove it down fiercely!

"Courting death!"

Huan Cong flew into a rage. Scarlet light flashed through his six compound eyes as his snake body twisted through the air at an impossible angle. His thick tail swept toward Silver Horn like a steel whip, carrying the full force of the Water Domain!

"Bang—!"

Silver Horn only felt a mountain-crushing force slam into his waist. He was sent flying out of the arena like a meteor had struck him.

"Silver Horn, defeated." A cold mechanical prompt sounded in his mind.

The arena vanished, and Silver Horn's consciousness was sent back to the plaza. His right arm had been restored, and the agonizing pain in his waist was gone as well. The virtual space had automatically healed all his injuries. Yet every detail of that battle still echoed in his mind.

The plaza fell silent.

Then, earthshaking discussion erupted.

"That was terrifying! He almost won! If that dagger had gone in..."

"Impossible. Huan Cong's tail was faster than his dagger. Even if he had landed the blow, Huan Cong wouldn't have died, while Silver Horn would definitely have been whipped to death."

"Even so, for a newcomer who had just entered the Earth level to push the hundredth-ranked Heaven-level contender this far, he had every reason to be proud."

At the World Lord seats high above, Demon Snail World Lord let out a long breath, his expression unreadable. Tian Hua World Lord nodded slightly and said softly, "His combat instincts are not bad."

Silver Horn raised his head and looked at Huan Cong's name on the rankings. There was no discouragement in his eyes, only even fiercer fighting spirit.

"At the next Ranking Tournament, you won't be my target anymore."

Silver Horn did not issue another challenge. He sat cross-legged at the edge of the plaza, closed his eyes, and replayed every detail of his battle with Huan Cong over and over in his mind.

That sword had missed by three inches. If his teleportation angle had been trickier, if his strike had been just an instant faster... Countless "ifs" intertwined in his mind, but they all ultimately pointed to the same conclusion: he was not strong enough.

His Space Law had already reached the sixth layer, yet he had still been completely suppressed by Huan Cong, whose Water Law stood at the peak of the sixth layer. It was not merely a matter of Law layers, but an all-around gap in depth of understanding and precision of application.

There was also an enormous gap in physical strength, combat secret techniques, and other aspects.

Silver Horn opened his eyes. There was no dejection in his vertical pupils, only calmness. "My opponent has honed himself in the Heaven level for who knows how many years, while I've only just entered the Earth level. This loss was not unjustified. But next time, I won't lose again."

Challenges on the other arenas continued. Some challengers succeeded with a single strike and soared through the rankings, drawing waves of astonished cries. More challengers returned in defeat, their rankings utterly unchanged.

Whenever someone succeeded in a challenge, the entire plaza erupted into heated discussion. That name would be remembered by countless Demon Race members, at least until the next decade.

Time passed second by second amid the tense atmosphere.

"The Ranking Tournament will end in one hour."

Chang Jiu World Lord's voice rang out again. Neither loud nor soft, it entered everyone's ears clearly. She hovered above the plaza, her dark-golden robe glinting coldly beneath the virtual starlight. Her tone was as calm as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.

As soon as her words fell, the plaza stirred. The Demon Race geniuses who had still been hesitating gritted their teeth and opened the challenge interface. It was their final chance; letting it go unused would be a waste. Those ranked high feared being overtaken, while those ranked low wanted one last gamble. For a time, challenges continued without pause across the arenas, and the thunderous roars of energy collisions rose and fell.

An hour quickly passed.

Silver Horn looked up at his name on the rankings: 825th place.

He had fallen another two places. During the time he had spent reflecting, two people had succeeded in their challenges and pushed him down by two ranks. But Silver Horn did not care. Eight hundred twenty-third and eight hundred twenty-fifth were both Earth level; there was no essential difference.

"Time is up."

Chang Jiu World Lord's voice rang out again. Above the plaza, the enormous rankings blazed brightly. Every position froze in place and no longer changed. Some cheered, some fell silent, some clenched their fists, and others lowered their heads in disappointment.

Chang Jiu stepped slowly out of the void and stopped before the rankings. Her gaze swept across the tens of thousands of geniuses in the plaza, and every Demon Race member touched by her gaze unconsciously straightened their backs.

"The Ranking Tournament ends here." Her voice was not loud, yet it carried unquestionable authority. "Some have improved, some have declined, and some have remained where they were. This is only a ranking, not your endpoint. In ten years, you will battle again. Work hard—the future of the Demon Race depends on you!"

"Someone will coordinate the specific arrangements for the adjusted genius tiers after the tournament. Dismiss yourselves."

Before her words had even faded, her figure had vanished into the void, as though she had never appeared at all.

The geniuses in the plaza exited the virtual space one after another, their consciousnesses returning to their physical bodies.