Lygus One-Shots the God of Pride!

As for Qian Renxue's question,

Phainon saw no need to hide anything, so he said:

"In the universe around Amphoreus, Paths are the domains of Aeons."

"When a person's will aligns with a Path, they may become a Pathstrider and gain extraordinary power!"

"Those who walk these Paths are called Pathstriders."

"The Path of Erudition might not sound suited to combat."

"But that's only relative."

"Lygus's true power goes far beyond this."

Wang Dong and the others were stunned. That still wasn't Lygus's true power?

Outside Phainon's Clothing Store, people across the other Douluo timelines were stunned too.

A Titled Douluo had been taken down with a single finger.

How absurd was that?

Could the gods of Douluo Star do the same?

No one held out any hope for Jing Hongchen, who was up next.

After all, Xuan Zi had failed. Jing Hongchen would probably fare even worse.

The Starry Sky Battlefield.

A second figure appeared!

It was Jing Hongchen, the Level 9 Soul Engineer from the world of Douluo II.

Jing Hongchen quickly adjusted to his surroundings.

Then he greeted Lygus.

"Greetings, Lord Lygus. I'm Jing Hongchen, a Level 9 Soul Engineer from Douluo Continent."

Jing Hongchen was more courteous than Xuan Zi, and his manner was more measured.

Lygus stroked his chin.

"You seem a little wiser than that brute before you."

At those words, Xuan Zi, still recovering from his injuries, nearly coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Jing Hongchen, meanwhile, agreed with Lygus.

He wouldn't claim to be anything extraordinary, but when it came to brains, didn't he leave Xuan Zi ten streets behind?

How could a brute like Xuan Zi compare with him?

Still, Jing Hongchen remained polite before this foremost genius.

After just one fight with Xuan Zi, Lygus seemed to understand their language completely.

Jing Hongchen knew how frightening that kind of learning ability was.

"In terms of strength, I'm not even a match for Xuan Zi."

"So rather than sparring, I'd prefer to discuss some theories with you."

Lygus grew interested.

"Oh?"

"What do you have that's worth discussing with me?"

Jing Hongchen then explained the circumstances behind the Sky Curtain's challenge.

The Sky Curtain had imposed no restrictions.

That meant he could do this.

After hearing him out,

Lygus burst out laughing.

"So my defeat was inevitable."

Lygus had thought he'd done well.

Yet across more than thirty million cycles, he had never sensed Aha's involvement.

He had completely underestimated Phainon!

His defeat was no injustice.

The Sky Curtain Jing Hongchen had described, along with the Starry Sky Battlefield, was definitely Aha's doing!

After learning the truth,

Lygus went on listening as Jing Hongchen explained Douluo Continent.

He had no interest in its low-level power system.

But he was happy to hear about an unknown planet Aha had visited.

Their discussion went on for quite some time.

To Lygus, Jing Hongchen's ideas were still far behind the advanced technology of the Honkai: Star Rail universe.

Lygus gave him a few pointers.

Feeling he had gained a great deal, Jing Hongchen joyfully conceded.

[Challenger: Jing Hongchen. Score: 3 stars (out of 12)]

[Reward: Soul Power increased by 1 level; Soul Tool expertise raised to Level 10]

[Assessment: Cosmic insect]

Across the many timelines, the people of Douluo Continent were dumbfounded.

That fucking worked?

Xuan Zi was far stronger than Jing Hongchen!

But Xuan Zi had been beaten in one move!

Yet Jing Hongchen had held out this long by discussing theories?

That counted as a challenge?

Wasn't that cheating?

Meanwhile, in the world of Douluo II,

morale soared at the Sun Moon Royal Academy.

Shrek's Xuan Zi had been beaten instantly, while their headmaster had gained a wealth of knowledge and even held a discussion with the foremost genius!

If that wasn't a gulf between them, what was?

Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were overjoyed at the sight.

"Grandpa actually broke through to Level 10 as a Soul Engineer, and he can become a Super Douluo too! This is wonderful!"

"When will another challenge from the Aeon Universe come along that we can take part in?"

Shrek Academy.

Under the strange looks Ma Xiaotao and the others gave him, Xuan Zi's face darkened!

That damned Sky Curtain.

Why was his score so low?

And why had Jing Hongchen received such a high assessment for cheating?

The world of Douluo I.

Sunset Forest.

Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned red at the sight.

"Discussing theories? That's my specialty!"

"Why won't the Sky Curtain let me go?"

"Is it afraid my wisdom would stun the universe and outshine Lygus?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo: "..."

He had seen thick-skinned people before, but never anyone whose skin was this thick!

Inside Phainon's Clothing Store,

Qian Renxue looked at Phainon, speechless.

"Jing Hongchen got away with that?"

Phainon answered as if it were obvious.

"To deal with a genius, you have to use something that interests him."

"If you try to beat him with force, just remember what happened to Xuan Zi."

Nearby, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong also grew thoughtful.

They understood now. If they wanted to challenge Phainon,

they couldn't face him in a contest of strength!

They had to lure him with something that caught his interest, like a yellow-and-purple color scheme or fishing.

If they could get a little yellow-and-purple fish, wouldn't Shopkeeper Phainon take the bait at once?

At the thought, Wang Dong covered her mouth and giggled.

Phainon looked at the giggling Wang Dong. "I feel like you're thinking something disrespectful."

Wang Dong said with a perfectly straight face, "I was just drawing inferences from what you said."

Phainon: "..."

And the third thing you've inferred wouldn't happen to be Tang San, would it?

At that moment, on the Starry Sky Battlefield,

a third figure appeared: the God of Pride.

During his preparations, Pride had been unable to see what happened outside.

So he had no idea what moves Lygus had used.

But as far as Pride was concerned, none of that mattered.

Jing Hongchen was only a Level 94 Titled Douluo. Even as a Level 9 Soul Engineer, he had lasted so long against Lygus!

Lygus couldn't be all that strong.

Lygus took some interest when he saw the God of Pride appear.

"You're a little stronger than the last two."

The God of Pride snorted inwardly. A little stronger? Big words!

He struck a pose and beckoned to Lygus.

"I am the God of Pride, a First-Level God. I'll let you make the first move."

"Otherwise, you won't get the chance!"

Lygus shook his head.

"You're a First-Level God?"

"Far too weak!"

His conversation with Jing Hongchen had taught him that gods existed on Douluo Continent.

But now that he had seen one, he lost interest.

Hopefully the last two would be more interesting.

The next second,

[Celestial Sphere Deviation Theory]

A golden sphere of light shot toward the God of Pride.

The God of Pride immediately tried to summon his divine artifact.

But in the next instant,

his body simply disintegrated, and he lost consciousness.

The God of Pride was bitterly unwilling to accept it. I hadn't even used my full strength!

The Sky Curtain then displayed its assessment.

[Challenger: God of Pride. Score: 0 stars (out of 12)]

[Reward: 7 days of cultivation]

[Assessment: Cosmic dust]