Chapter 1452: What Kind of Monster Is This? Powerless Rage!

Just one self-detonation.

The originally full-strength squad of over thirty people was instantly reduced by more than two-thirds!

Those still standing in the field were only Blood Axe, five Star-rank Eighth-Stage warriors, and seven battered Star-rank Seventh-Stage warriors.

Everyone else was wrapped in emergency rescue shields and had already been eliminated!

"Ah——!! Damn it!"

A barely suppressed roar burst from Blood Axe's mouth.

He was practically about to explode with rage!

These squad members had all been carefully handpicked by him.

Elites he had prepared to show their prowess in the Monster Hunting Tournament, fighting for points and ranking on behalf of the God-Slaying Martial Hall!

Moreover, the points these people earned in the competition would ultimately affect his own ranking within the God-Slaying Martial Hall!

Now that the majority had been lost here, there was no way he could complete the points mission assigned by the Martial Hall.

One had to know that competition within the God-Slaying Martial Hall was extremely fierce!

Fall behind one step, and you fall behind every step after.

Missing this mission's reward would set his cultivation progress back by a huge margin!

"Who is it! Who the hell is he?!"

Blood Axe's eyes were blood-red.

At the instant of the opponent's self-detonation, he had already realized that what the opponent had used was absolutely not his true body, but something akin to a clone.

Although this kind of ability was rare, in the vast, boundless universe it wasn't entirely unheard of.

"It's Xu Jingming, the champion of this edition of the Cosmic Genius War."

Not far away, from within the halo of a shield, Shadowblade's complicated voice rang out.

She had still underestimated Xu Jingming.

She had assumed the opponent's identity would be scattered, but she hadn't expected Blood Axe to be completely unable to catch up to him!

And the self-detonation had inflicted such tremendous damage on them!

"Xu Jingming? The Genius War champion?"

Blood Axe repeated it in a low voice, then suddenly recalled something, his pupils contracting sharply:

"Wait! The previous Genius War ended just a little over two years ago, right?!"

A little over two years!

That point in time exploded in his mind like a thunderclap!

A youngster who had only won the championship at the Starlight Stage two years ago.

Was now already at Star-rank Sixth Stage?

And his strength... a single clone could toy with him, a single self-detonation could devastate the majority of his elite subordinates?!

Wasn't this growth speed a little too exaggerated?!

No, this could no longer be described as "exaggerated"—it simply defied common sense!

Even if the Eternal Star Alliance poured all its resources into nurturing him, even if he had some heaven-shaking fortuitous encounter, this was absurdly fast!

Behind Blood Axe, the few surviving Star-rank Eighth-Stage powerhouses also exchanged uncertain glances, their faces likewise written full of disbelief.

"What kind of monster is this Xu Jingming?"

"Too exaggerated—even taking a Supreme Sovereign as a master wouldn't be this outrageous."

Shock, doubt, and even a faint, hidden wariness spread through the hearts of the survivors.

The impression they had always held in contempt of the Eternal Star Alliance's "Academy Faction" had already begun to crack at this moment.

"Hmph! I don't care who he is!

Anyone who defeats our God-Slaying Martial Hall must pay the price!"

Blood Axe turned, looked at the few squad members remaining behind him, and immediately ordered:

"Those who can still move, immediately check your injuries and gather any equipment and supplies that weren't destroyed!

Those who were eliminated, wait for the rescue airship!

The rest, follow me!

Xu Jingming's true body must be nearby, he can't have gotten far!"

However, just as Blood Axe was preparing to lead his men in tracking Xu Jingming's true body's trail.

Crackle——!!!

A streak of dark-gold lightning, even more dazzling and solid than the previous demonic-clone, carrying an oppressive weight like the majestic might of heaven.

Like a bolt tearing the heavens apart, from the edge of the horizon ten kilometers away.

At a jaw-dropping speed, it shot violently toward this area!

Within the lightning, a tall, upright figure flickered in and out of view.

The thunder-wings spread behind him blotted out the sky; wherever he passed, clouds scattered and the air shrieked!

That undisguised, overwhelming aura, that familiar yet even more powerful fluctuation of Doushen Shenlei... was precisely Xu Jingming's true body!

He had really come!

And he had come so fast, so overwhelmingly!

"This aura... it's Xu Jingming!"

Blood Axe suddenly raised his head, his blood-red eyes locking dead-on onto that streaking lightning, savage fighting spirit once again surging across his face.

"Perfect timing!"

He let out a low roar, his blood-colored great axe abruptly raised, pointing toward the direction the lightning was coming from:

"All on alert! Prepare to fight! This time, attack together—crush him completely!"

Swish—swish—swish—

Including the Blood Axe, the few still able to move instantly leapt into the air!

But how could Xu Jingming give them a chance to close in?

He, already in the Purple Nightmare Demon Body, hovered in midair over three kilometers away, arms raised, palms facing each other.

Brilliant, ultimate dark-golden Lei Guang surged and compressed wildly between his palms!

Hum—!!!

The light of heaven and earth seemed sucked toward him.

Around Xu Jingming, a radius of several kilometers suddenly darkened.

Only the Lei Guang in his palms glowed like a miniature golden sun taking shape.

Emitting a destructive aura that made the stars tremble!

"No good! It's a long-range combat technique! Scatter! Quickly scatter!"

Blood Axe's pupils shrank sharply as he screamed in alarm.

But—

"Too late."

Xu Jingming's cold voice rang like a death sentence.

His right hand snapped forward!

"Boom—!!!"

The ultra-compressed dark-golden Lei Qiu erupted violently!

Not spreading out, but transforming into a beam over a hundred meters in diameter.

A solid, liquid-metal-like colossal Lei Guang Cannon, fired at speed beyond thought!

Lei Guang Annihilation Cannon!

A perfected T4 combat technique, revealing its true destructive power now!

Where the beam passed, space twisted and tore, leaving behind a black trail that lingered long.

"No!!"

"Can't dodge! Too fast!"

The first struck were the seven Star Seventh-Stage team members, already wounded and slower to move.

Their terror had barely surfaced when the annihilating Lei Guang Cannon struck them!

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum...

Blinding milky-white light erupted in chain reactions!

Seven emergency shielding barriers activated simultaneously, fully enclosing their figures.

One strike—seven Star Seventh-Stage members, all eliminated!

The remaining Star Eighth-Stage members barely held off the attack, but were left disheveled.

"Damn it!!"

Blood Axe's eyes bulged with rage.

As a martial cultivator, he possessed no combat technique capable of defending against such long-range bombardment.

He could only watch helplessly as his last core force was wiped out in an instant, with no time to rescue them.

"Xu Jingming! I'll kill you!!"

Blood Axe lost all control, his green-black dual laws boiling to their extreme.

He transformed into a green-black hurricane, charging recklessly toward Xu Jingming!

The other five Star Eighth-Stage members also went berserk, following close behind, each deploying their own techniques to encircle him.

Yet Xu Jingming, having landed his blow, had no intention of lingering.

"Hmph."

A cold smile curled his lips as his Heavenly Thunder Wings fluttered gently.

Ssshh—!!!

Dark-golden Lei Guang erupted again as his figure retreated like a phantom.

So fast that a series of clear sonic boom clouds trailed behind him!

"Blood Axe, this ends today. I'm taking your teammates' points."

Xu Jingming's voice carried through the thunderous roar, clear in every ear.

"Damn it! Have the guts to stand and fight me!"

Blood Axe chased frantically, swinging his great axe to unleash earth-shattering axe aura.

But he could only tear uselessly through Xu Jingming's afterimages and empty air.

The five Star Eighth-Stage members couldn't even touch his edge.

They could only watch helplessly as the Lei Guang vanished into the distant horizon at a despair-inducing speed.

"Ahh—!!"

Xu Jingming! I'll remember you!

The Beast Hunt Competition is far from over—we'll settle this later!!"

Blood Axe finally halted midair, staring at the direction Xu Jingming had vanished, eyes blood-red, unleashing helpless, furious roars.