Supreme through a hundred battles, the Overgod's gaze

The news that Lin Yinuo had applied for his hundredth battle struck Zijing Main City like a massive rock hurled into a tranquil lake, stirring an unprecedented uproar. The eyes of countless factions and powerhouses, openly or secretly, all focused on the Asura Arena. A hundred consecutive victories was a milestone, a legend. It had been far too long since a new name had been carved onto the Hundred Victory Stele, that symbol of supreme glory.

The Asura Arena's officials took this extremely seriously, scheduling the final battle for three days later and releasing some information in advance. The entire city buzzed with discussion, and betting odds fluctuated wildly.

During those three days, Lin Yinuo did not relax, instead devoting himself to consolidating his strength in the recovery chamber. Though his battle with Golden Eyes had nearly killed him, he had gained enormously. His fusion of the Edicts of Destruction and the Laws of Space had become more seamless, and he needed to further familiarize himself with his newly created movement technique, Thunder Shadow Void Escape, and the Destruction Thunderblade. More importantly, he vaguely sensed that he had touched the barrier to becoming a Midgod. All he needed was an opportunity to break through.

The hundredth battle definitely won't be simple. My opponent probably won't be an ordinary peak Midgod. A Highgod might even intervene... I have to prepare for the worst.

He regulated his breathing, bringing himself to peak condition.

The three days passed in a flash.

When Lin Yinuo entered the familiar arena again, the atmosphere felt entirely different. Every seat in the stands was occupied, and the deafening clamor almost seemed to take physical form. A solemn frenzy filled the air, as though a historic moment was imminent. Inside the VIP boxes, obscure yet powerful consciousnesses intertwined, all belonging to the city's truly important figures.

He stepped onto the platform and waited quietly.

The announcement rang out with unprecedented solemnity:

"The final battle, the challenge for a hundred consecutive victories! The challenger, number 7741, Dragonblood Asura-Lin Yinuo!"

"His opponent is... the defending champion, number 'Zero,' titled-the 'Faceless One'!"

The Faceless One?

Puzzled discussion rose from the stands. No powerhouse with that number or title had ever appeared in the Asura Arena's records.

Under everyone's gaze, a figure slowly emerged from the passage on the opposite side of the platform.

He wore an ordinary gray robe, and his face seemed shrouded in mist, making his features impossible to discern. His build was unremarkable, and his aura... was as ordinary as that of the most commonplace Lowgod. He exuded neither a fierce presence nor any fluctuations of laws.

Yet Lin Yinuo's pupils abruptly contracted the instant he saw him!

He activated the Eye of Illusion-Breaking at full power, clear light almost spilling from his eyes! Within his "vision," this "Faceless One" was not a physical entity at all! An extremely well-concealed force of will, as vast as a sea of stars, enveloped him! It simulated a Lowgod's aura, but its essence far surpassed a Highgod's!

Willpower! And willpower hundreds or thousands of times greater than mine! This isn't a Midgod, or even an ordinary Highgod! Is this... a Prefect-level projection?! Or is it the work of a Highgod Messenger?!

He understood at once. This final match was not a conventional battle at all. It was the final test set by the forces behind the Asura Arena-or rather, by certain powerful figures in Zijing Main City! They were testing whether he truly qualified for the title of "Asura" and the glory of a hundred consecutive victories!

The Faceless One raised his blurred face, seemingly "looking" at Lin Yinuo. No sound came, but an icy thought entered Lin Yinuo's mind directly:

"Survive three moves from me, and victory is yours."

Before the words had faded, the Faceless One casually raised a finger and pointed lightly at Lin Yinuo.

There was no surge of divine power, no manifestation of laws. Yet Lin Yinuo felt the space around him freeze instantly, as though he had been plunged to the bottom of an icy sea billions of feet deep! An indescribable will of pure "oppression" bore down on him, as though heaven and earth themselves were squeezing inward, seeking to grind both him and his soul to dust!

This was direct suppression through willpower! Far beyond gravity, it was domination on the level of edicts!

"Argh!"

Lin Yinuo grunted. Every bone in his body groaned under the unbearable strain, and his soul trembled violently! He frantically circulated his own faint thread of willpower while unleashing his Edicts of Destruction and Laws of Space at full strength. A defensive layer formed over his body, continually annihilating and regenerating as it desperately resisted the omnipresent, terrifying pressure!

Crack, crack...

The black platform beneath his feet began cracking inch by inch, with him at its center!

The first move: pure domination through will!

The spectators in the stands did not understand what was happening. They only saw the Faceless One raise his hand, whereupon Lin Yinuo seemed to bear tremendous pressure, his entire body shaking as the platform cracked apart. They sensed a heart-pounding oppression, but could not perceive the danger within.

I can't resist it head-on! I have to break through this blockade of will!

A flash of resolve crossed his eyes. The Destruction Thunderblade abruptly appeared in his hand, and he poured all his strength into it without reservation, especially that thread of willpower deep within his soul!

"Destruction Thunderblade! Sever all illusion!"

He roared and swung his sword-not at the Faceless One, but at the invisible pressure of will surrounding him! Along its edge, the power of the laws and edicts of destruction, space, and lightning fused with his will, forming a purple-black fissure that seemed capable of slicing through edicts themselves!

Rip-!

A sound like tearing cloth rang out! His sword had actually cut a tiny gap in that omnipresent pressure of will!

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Lin Yinuo pushed Thunder Shadow Void Escape to its limit. Like a thunderbird escaping its cage, he flashed through the gap in an instant!

"Oh?"

The Faceless One seemed to give a barely audible murmur of surprise, somewhat taken aback that Lin Yinuo had broken through his first move. His blurred face turned toward Lin Yinuo, and the second move followed.

He raised his finger again, but this time a faint strand of gray energy curled around its tip, seemingly capable of freezing the soul.

The Ed of Death!

Though it was only a strand, its essence was extraordinarily lofty, far beyond any power Lin Yinuo had encountered before! The gray energy drifted silently toward him. Wherever it passed, even space seemed to lose the very concept of "life," falling utterly deathly still.

The second move: soul erosion imbued with the Ed of Death!

Lin Yinuo's scalp prickled. He sensed a genuine threat of death from that gray energy! Before the Ed of Death at this level, all his defenses seemed pale and powerless!

I can't block it! I can only dodge! Or...

An inspiration flashed through his mind, and he remembered the [Sovereign of Death's Gaze (mark)] deep within his soul! It was the mark left by the Sovereign of Death, containing the Netherworld's supreme Ed of Death!

I'll take the gamble!

He stopped evading and instead moved to meet the strand of gray energy, simultaneously rousing the icy mark deep within his soul with all his strength!

Just as the gray energy was about to touch his body, the icy mark seemed to be activated by a power of the same origin and glimmered faintly! A deeper, more majestic aura of death, seemingly holding dominion over the end of all things, flashed from the depths of Lin Yinuo's soul!

Hum!

The approaching strand of gray energy froze instantly, like a subject meeting its monarch. Then... it meekly flowed around Lin Yinuo and dissipated into the air.

The Faceless One's figure shuddered slightly. His blurred face seemed to become clear for an instant, revealing a pair of eyes filled with shock and disbelief! He stared fixedly at Lin Yinuo, as though trying to see through him inside and out!

The Sovereign of Death's aura?! This boy... how is that possible?! Who exactly is he?!

The spectators and distinguished guests grew even more puzzled. Had the second move ended just like that, without a sound? What was that gray energy? Why had it gone around Lin Yinuo?

Only a handful of the very strongest beings vaguely sensed that fleeting aura of the supreme Ed of Death, which made their souls tremble. Their expressions changed, and they looked at Lin Yinuo with uncertainty and solemnity.

The Faceless One remained silent for several breaths, seemingly calming his inner shock. Then he extended his third finger.

There was no flourish, no manifestation of laws, not even the pressure of will. He simply pointed a finger at Lin Yinuo's forehead.

Yet to Lin Yinuo's senses, this finger was more terrifying than the first two moves combined! It seemed to have locked onto his past, present, and future, onto the very essence of his soul! There was no evading it, no blocking it! This finger transcended technique and energy, striking directly at the origin of existence!

The third move... is testing my very "existence"?

Understanding dawned within Lin Yinuo. He no longer attempted to defend or dodge. Instead, he closed his eyes and sank his entire consciousness into himself. He looked back over his journey: his childhood in Wushan Town, his devoted training at the Ernst Institute, his trials in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the wars on the Yulan Continent, the opportunities in the Necropolis of the Gods, his campaigns in the Infernal Realm... All his insights, all his persistence, everything he protected and pursued condensed into an indomitable will at that moment!

I exist, therefore I fight!

I fight, therefore I am!

A pure, tenacious will of self, seemingly unscathed by countless tribulations, erupted from the deepest reaches of his soul! It was not powerful, but it was incomparably concentrated. Like a guttering candle in the wind, it burned stubbornly, proving its own existence!

The Faceless One's finger stopped about an inch from the point between Lin Yinuo's brows.

His blurred face became completely clear, revealing the ordinary features of a middle-aged man imbued with boundless majesty. He looked at Lin Yinuo, a trace of appreciation flashing in his eyes, then slowly withdrew his finger.

"When the will endures, the true self lives on. Good."

He nodded. His voice was no longer cold, carrying a hint of approval.

"The three moves are over. You have passed."

As his words fell, his figure slowly dissipated like mist upon the platform, as though he had never appeared.

The entire arena fell into a brief, deathly silence.

Then the referee's voice, trembling with excitement, rang throughout the arena:

"The winner of the final battle-Lin Yinuo! A hundred consecutive victories... achieved!!!"

Boom!!!

The long-pent-up cheers and cries exploded like thunder from the highest heavens, shaking all of Zijing Main City!

Light descended, enveloping Lin Yinuo at the center of the platform. A brand-new token, purple with golden patterns and engraved with the word "Asura" and a single star, slowly settled into his hand, along with a purple badge representing permanent residency in Zijing Main City.

At the same time, the long-dormant Hundred Victory Stele in the center of the arena blazed with light. A new name was slowly inscribed upon it by the power of laws-

Lin Yinuo (Dragonblood Asura)!

Supreme through a hundred battles, his name as an Asura would henceforth resound throughout the Infernal Realm!

Just as Lin Yinuo experienced this moment of glory, his heart surging, a purple gaze seemingly filled with endless life and majesty came from the deepest part of Zijing Main City on a level no one could perceive, lingering on him for an instant.

An interesting little fellow. A special soul, extraordinary encounters, and he has even drawn that Sovereign of Death's attention... Worth watching.

Meanwhile, far away in the Netherworld, at the heart of the Endless Nethersea, an incomparably beautiful woman whose splendor and majesty defied description slowly opened her eyes upon an icy black throne. The scene in the arena of Zijing Main City in the Infernal Realm was reflected in her eyes. Her lips curved ever so faintly, yet it was enough to enthrall all living beings.

Little fellow, you haven't disappointed me... The Netherworld Gate has opened a sliver for you.

Lin Yinuo was entirely unaware of this. Clutching the Asura Token and residency badge, he felt the mountainous, oceanic roar of the crowd, his heart brimming with soaring spirit.

A hundred consecutive victories, the title of Asura... This is only a new beginning! The stage of the High Planes-here I come!

His gaze had already turned toward the inner city of Zijing Main City, toward an even more magnificent and eventful future.