At that moment, on the Starry Battlefield ahead.
Lu Chen's swordplay had no flourishes. It was nothing more than an ordinary vertical slash, yet it unleashed a sword light of blazing intensity!
"Boom!"
Countless layers of sword light wove a curtain across the cosmos, engulfing Arishem!
Terrifying scarlet waves radiated from Arishem's body, sweeping outward in successive rings and shattering the sword light pouring toward him!
At the same time, he counterattacked, thrusting his palm forward!
"Hum!"
An enormous blood-red palm projection formed, crushing the sword light filling the sky before bearing down on Lu Chen with undiminished force!
Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged as he slashed!
"Shhk!"
The slash cleaved the universe itself, annihilating the blood-red palm projection.
Lu Chen immediately followed with a flurry of strikes. His swordplay was simple-slashes, chops, rising cuts, and thrusts-but every strike carried terrifying power!
At first, Arishem could still defend himself and even counterattack, but Lu Chen's sword was too fast and too powerful. Each strike could sever a river of stars, and the relentless onslaught forced him back again and again.
Galaxy after galaxy collided with his enormous scarlet body, instantly shattering into fragments of starlight.
Arishem was in utter agony. Completely overwhelmed, he struggled desperately to defend himself.
"Is this all the judge of the Multi-Universe can do?"
Lu Chen's voice dripped with mockery.
As he spoke, he brought his sword down on the bracer around Arishem's wrist.
"Crack!"
The bracer split apart, and blood spurted out!
Agonizing pain flooded Arishem's mind, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
He reached his right hand toward a nearby galaxy and clenched it.
"Rumble!"
The entire galaxy was drawn in, spinning rapidly as it hurtled toward Lu Chen to tear him apart!
Arishem kept moving. Whether individual planets or entire galaxies, he compressed them into weapons and hurled them all at Lu Chen!
"Clang!"
Lu Chen unleashed a blazing sword light, tearing apart the countless planets and galaxies bearing down on him!
"Arishem, you've disappointed me. Are all the Celestials worthless like you?"
Lu Chen stood with his sword in hand, his bearing transcendent.
Arishem finally had a chance to catch his breath. Seeing Lu Chen's calm demeanor filled him with fury, and he roared, "You have no idea how powerful the Celestials are! All you've defeated is my Multi-Universe self. Above me are the judges of the Hyper-Multiverse and the megaverse, and beyond them, the Colored Celestials of the omniverse are waiting for you!"
The gods wore strange expressions.
Uh... what?
Had Arishem...
Completely lost it???
Arishem truly had broken down. The invincible image he had built over endless ages had utterly crumbled beneath Lu Chen's sword!
"I think you're the one who knows nothing about power."
Lu Chen shook his head. "Fine. I'll give you a glimpse of my power so you can face reality."
"Xingtian Armor, unite!"
"Rumble!"
In an instant, terrifying flames surged skyward, and unimaginably fearsome power shattered countless galaxies!
A suit of fiery-red armor descended, covering Lu Chen's body!
Crimson divine light flashed in Lu Chen's eyes, and divine power surged within him!
"Strike later, arrive first. Plan for the long term, adapt in the moment. Win every battle!"
As a voice steeped in the resonance of the Dao rang out, a terrifying sight unfolded.
A mysterious force shattered the barriers of the single universe and surged into the starry battlefield!
"What is that???"
"The barriers of the single universe have been breached... how is that possible?!"
The countless gods watching turned pale with shock. They had never witnessed anything like this.
An enormous fiery-red phantom descended with a thunderous crash, bearing endless pressure as it merged with Lu Chen.
"Crack! Crack!"
The barriers of the single universe could not withstand this power. Vast stretches shattered, even revealing scenes from other universes!
That single blow had punched through an unknown number of individual universes!
At the headquarters of the Multi-Universe Celestials.
Inside the council temple, the leader of the Multi-Universe Celestials abruptly rose. Dazzling divine light flashed in his eyes, piercing countless layers of universal barriers.
Soon, he saw something that left his mind blank. "Peak Multiverse-level... how could this be? How could a single universe give rise to a god of the Multi-Universe?"
Arishem was on the verge of madness. He had witnessed something terrifying!
Lu Chen's power had actually reached Multiverse-level, filling him with a sense of mortal danger!
"Die, you ant! Within a single universe, no one can match me!"
Arishem went completely berserk!
At that moment, the single universe trembled violently. All the energy in the universe gathered around Arishem's fist, erupting in blinding divine light!
"Kill!"
His murderous cry resounded!
Arishem threw a punch!
It was his most terrifying punch yet!
"Hum!"
Lu Chen raised his hand to block it.
"Boom!"
A terrifying torrent of energy swept outward. Countless galaxies flickered violently before exploding!
Yet to the gods' astonishment, Lu Chen effortlessly blocked Arishem's all-out punch!
Lu Chen swung the Fire Punishment Sword!
The sword light flooded the void like a boundless ocean, sweeping toward Arishem!
"Shhk!"
The sea of sword light swept past, instantly tearing Arishem's body apart as blood sprayed in torrents!
The gods were stunned!
Had Arishem been slain?!
"No, he hasn't been killed! Look!"
An early-stage Single-Universe-level god pointed at a planet countless light-years away.
The vast blood mist coalesced, and Arishem's body manifested once more.
But now his body was insubstantial, flickering constantly as though he might vanish from existence altogether.
"Hum!"
Just then, a terrifying presence descended.
The gods trembled.
The terror of this presence far exceeded what a single universe could withstand. Layer upon layer of universal barriers shattered, on the verge of collapsing completely and vanishing from the current timeline.
A golden figure appeared in the universe, facing Lu Chen.
"Lord of the Ming Realm."
The golden figure's voice rang throughout the universe, filled with overwhelming authority.
Lu Chen's gaze sharpened. "The leader of the Multi-Universe Celestials?"
The gods were shocked.
It was actually the supreme leader who ruled the Multi-Universe Celestials!
Rumor had it that he was an External Avatar of OAA, the One Above All, within the Multi-Universe.
They had never expected a being of this caliber to descend.
Would he clash with the Lord of the Ming Realm?
At that thought, the gods all shook their heads. A battle was unlikely.
If two peak Multiverse-level beings fought, they would surely shatter countless timelines across the Multi-Universe. At that point, the five creator gods of the Hyper-Multiverse, or even the Living Tribunal of the megaverse, would undoubtedly intervene.
The gods did not believe that the Lord of the Ming Realm and the leader of the Multi-Universe Celestials could surpass beings of the hypermultiversal level or higher.