Chapter 1447: Fake? One Hit, Instant Elimination!

"Flank left! I'll feint from the front—Third and Fifth, charge up the 'Star-Shatter Strike'!"

"Understood! Leave the charging to us!"

"Hah! This seventh-rank beast is still going down in our hands!"

"......"

At the edge of a swamp shrouded in dark red miasma.

Five figures moved like ghosts through mud and rotting wood.

Their movements were swift and precise; each dodge stirred faint air currents, yet skillfully suppressed their own qi to the bare minimum.

These five were a standard five-man squad of the God-Slaying Martial Temple.

Before them, in the mud pit, a monstrous beast over thirty meters long.

Its entire body was covered in ink-green scales, and a single horn protruded from its head—it had reared up, locked in combat with the five.

Putrid Poison Bog Dragon!

Spirit-Blood-grade beast!

Logically, a seventh-rank beast like this should easily annihilate a squad whose highest rank was only fourth-rank.

Yet these men belonged to the God-Slaying Martial Temple, one of the top forces among the Cosmic Human Race!

Thus, though they looked disheveled and their battle robes were stained with blood, none bore fatal wounds.

Meanwhile, the Putrid Poison Bog Dragon now bore several deep wounds, bone-visible.

Ink-green toxic blood seeped continuously, hissing as it corroded the surrounding mire.

Clearly, if this dragged on, it was certain death!

"It's nearly done! Final strike—take it down!"

Just as the five-man squad prepared to deliver the final kill.

Ssssshhhh—!!

A sound like a lightning arc suddenly rang out at the battlefield's edge.

Then, a towering figure wreathed in faint purple-gold demonic qi.

Appeared out of thin air atop a massive rotting log half-submerged in the swamp.

His thunder-wings slowly retracted; he stood there, perfectly still.

Black short hair, a cold, stern face, deep eyes calmly observing them.

It was Xu Jingming's demonic avatar!

"Who are you?!"

This sudden third party startled the God-Slaying Martial Temple team!

Driven by combat instinct, their attacks instinctively slowed half a beat as their gazes sharpened toward the figure.

When they saw the emblem on the left chest of his battle robe—the Eternal Star Alliance insignia, a sphere covered by the Cosmic Star-Spirit Network—

Their taut nerves instantly relaxed.

In its place rose a mix of shock, mockery, and even contempt.

"Huh?"

The slender woman wielding a dagger was the first to laugh.

She glanced sideways at Xu Jingming's avatar atop the log, twirling her dagger in a flourish, her tone dripping with sarcastic mockery:

"Eternal Star Alliance? You dare come alone?

Stroll into our God-Slaying Martial Temple's hunting ground?

Did I imagine things, or are you lost?"

The others' faces bore equally unhidden sneers.

Compared to the God-Slaying Martial Temple, the Eternal Star Alliance contestants were indeed flowers in a greenhouse.

They usually avoided them entirely.

The team leader, who had been bearing the toxic mist and restraining the bog dragon, bellowed in a gruff voice:

"Who cares where he's from! Kill the beast first!

A sixth-rank academy brat—what's he gonna do, flip the sky?"

The sixth-rank qi was clearly detectable on the demonic avatar.

Yet this did not instill any pressure in the God-Slaying Martial Temple team.

After all, even the bog dragon itself was seventh-rank.

And it was nearly dead under their assault—how much more so this mere sixth-rank?

"Wait..."

At this moment, the slender woman who had spoken first

suddenly narrowed her eyes, studying Xu Jingming's avatar's face closely.

Then, as if spotting a rare treasure, she lifted her lovely face in astonishment:

"You're... Xu Jingming?"

"Who? Is he famous?" asked a nearby teammate.

"The number-one genius of the Cosmic Human Race's Talent War! Don't you know that?!"

The slender woman teased exaggeratedly, then turned her beautiful eyes toward Xu Jingming:

"Tsk tsk—I thought you were handsome during the match, but in person you're even better.

How about we exchange contact info? Add each other after the tournament?"

Xu Jingming's appearance was already among the most outstanding.

At this moment, he was using a demonic qi clone; the faint aura of malevolence combined with his stern features gave him no small amount of charm.

"The Genius Tournament champion?"

The squad leader blinked, then asked in confusion: "Didn't this just end two years ago? Has he already broken through to Star Level Six?"

"Hah! This guy's clearly a fraud!"

One team member sneered, "Even our Martial Temple's top geniuses can only break from Star Radiance Peak to Star Level Two in two years."

Yet he jumps straight to Star Level Six! What else is he if not a fraud?"

"Tsk tsk, has the Eternal Star Alliance sunk so low that they're now forcibly pumping resources into producing such geniuses just to save face?"

"How fallen! Was this really the level of the top finisher in the old Genius Tournament?"

Lao Wu snorted, then laughed:

"With a fraud like this, you don't even need the boss— I can beat him senseless by myself!"

"Academy types are all show and no substance!"

As he spoke, he activated the live broadcast option.

"Let our Brothers of the Godslayer Martial Temple, and all the viewers watching outside, take a good look."

Let's see how the Eternal Star Alliance's champion this year gets crushed like an insect!"

Let those haughty academy types know that true strength isn't built by dumping resources!"

Saying this, Lao Wu grabbed his weapon and charged toward Xu Jingming.

The others made no move to stop him.

On one hand, the Marsh Dragon was barely alive— they didn't need Lao Wu.

On the other, a Star Level Six cultivator built purely on resources could easily be handled by Lao Wu alone.

"What a shame— he looked so fierce during the Genius Tournament, yet he's just a gilded spearhead."

The slender woman sighed and shook her head.

Yet in the next instant, the figure wreathed in purple-black demonic qi moved.

No warning, no roar, not even a noticeable surge of spiritual energy.

He simply took one step forward.

"Ssssshhhh—!!!"

A deep, violent, dark-golden Lei Guang, radiating a destruction so profound it made souls tremble.

It expanded suddenly in their pupils, as if teleporting!

Fast!

Unimaginably fast!

Faster than thought could react!

Lao Wu barely had time to instinctively swing his shoulder-held longblade forward.

The slender woman's dagger had just begun to rise.

The remaining three hadn't even turned from facing the Marsh Dragon...

The dark-golden Lei Guang swept across all five of them like a reaper's scythe— gentle, yet coldly merciless.

Crackling—!!!

A furious roar of lightning erupted instantly.

Then—

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

Five soft yet resilient milky-white energy shields.

They erupted from each of them at nearly the same instant!

The shields shimmered, firmly protecting them within.

These were the emergency badges issued for the Monster Hunting Competition— capable of withstanding Star Peak-level damage.

They activated automatically upon detecting a lethal strike!

The expressions on the four faces froze solid.

Mockery, scorn, excitement—all emotions drained away like tide.

Only boundless confusion and pale disbelief remained.

They instinctively looked down at the shields rising from their bodies.

Then slowly raised their heads, gazing at the purple-golden figure who had seemingly teleported beside them.

He still stood calmly there, his stern expression unchanged.

What just happened?

Had they... been eliminated?

In one glance? By a single bolt of Lei Guang? Instantly eliminated?