Chapter 752: Effective light energy

The Third Elder sneered, one corner of his lip lifting in disdain. "Breaking the rules? Are we? No, we’d merely be assisting in killing the ordinary Nulls, as we’re permitted to do," he said, his tone dripping with calculated indifference. "As for how the Ascendant ends up dead... well, that wouldn’t technically be our doing, would it?" His eyes glittered with cunning amusement as he tilted his head, as though daring the Second Elder to refute his logic.

"Regardless," the Third Elder added, his voice turning contemplative as he turned his gaze back down to the battlefield, "I feel the white-haired kid hasn’t shown his full strength yet. Let’s see if he can rise to the opportunity and manage to kill an Ascendant or not." A faint smile curled across his lips, sharp as a blade.

All this while, the Fourth Elder, a wiry man with hair the color of storm clouds and eyes so dark they seemed almost bottomless, had remained silent, his hands clasped behind his back as he observed Max with inscrutable calm.

But now, he finally spoke, his voice as soft as drifting ash yet carrying an eerie weight. "If he does kill the Ascendant," he murmured, his tone measured, "then he would become the only figure in the Master Rank to have ever slain a Champion Rank Ascendant. That would be... unprecedented." His words trailed off into silence, leaving an echo of possibility hanging in the charged air.

"Alright, enough out of you lot," Elder Liam interjected firmly, slicing through the brewing debate with the authority of one accustomed to command. His gaze remained locked on Max, unwavering and thoughtful. "Let’s watch the performance of this kid before we decide whether it’s worth intervening or not."

The five elders fell silent, their collective gaze focused like a row of celestial judges upon the battlefield below, where Max now stood poised, sword in hand, facing down the towering shadow of the Ascendant as the fate of the first circle—and perhaps far more—hung trembling in the balance.

Using the precious moment while the Ascendant was still reeling from the golden sword strike, staggering backward as its monstrous limbs scrambled for balance, Max’s figure erupted in a blur of blinding blue lightning. In an instant, he vanished from his previous position, reappearing right in front of the towering creature, so close that he could see the faint void patterns crawling like black veins beneath its chitinous skin.

As he materialized, Max’s entire form transformed in a dazzling spectacle of power: his flesh vanished beneath an armor of black scales that rippled like liquid obsidian, each scale edged in faint, luminous lines of gentle golden light. It was the full manifestation of his Dragon Scales Transformation, his draconic bloodline surging to its peak as he unlocked the full power of his six hundred Draconic Essences.

His physique swelled with raw, unbridled strength, his muscles corded and trembling with tightly coiled force, and golden arcs of energy danced along his scaled arms like serpents of divine radiance.

Max clenched his fist, feeling power coursing from his core to his fingertips like molten fire. In that critical instant, he summoned forth his Heavenly Luminance energy, infusing it into his gathered force.

Golden light spiraled outward from his knuckles, swirling into a brilliant gauntlet of condensed luminance that wrapped around his clenched fist, crackling and flaring as if forged from the very essence of sunlight. His eyes, glowing with draconic light and steely determination, locked onto the Ascendant’s exposed chest as he thrust his arm forward with explosive speed.

Bang!

Max’s fist crashed into the Ascendant’s torso like a meteor striking the earth, the golden energy detonating outward in a radiant shockwave that tore through the air with a thunderous roar.

BOOM!

The Ascendant, caught entirely off-guard, let out a guttural roar as its towering body was flung backward through sheer, overwhelming force. Black blood sprayed from its maw in dark, oily ribbons, spattering across the churned battlefield like a burst of ink.

The monstrous figure hurtled through the air, limbs flailing, before smashing into the ground with earth-shaking impact, stone and dust erupting in a geyser around its sprawling form. Deep trenches were gouged into the soil as the creature skidded backward for dozens of meters, claws digging into the ground in a desperate attempt to slow its momentum.

’My light energy is indeed effective against him.’ The realization glinted in Max’s eyes as he lowered his arm, his scaled fist still glowing faintly with golden light.

Seeing the Ascendant bleed from a few rapid, decisive strikes made confidence swell within him, sparking a fierce resolve that he could stand against even this towering foe.

"How dare you, puny human, sneak attack me!" the Ascendant roared, its voice booming like a demonic bell as it finally gathered itself, staggering upright amidst the rubble and carnage. Its chest was marred by a massive, fist-shaped crater, black void energy flickering around the edges of the wound as it struggled to knit its flesh back together. Its expression twisted into an ugly snarl, crimson eyes blazing with both fury and wariness.

"A light elemental user," the Ascendant snarled, its voice edged with reluctant respect as well as venom. "Your attacks strike deeper than others—but your strength is still only that of a First Level Master Rank. Forget about killing me." A sinister grin spread across its monstrous face as it spoke, void tendrils swirling around its massive frame like shadows preparing to strike.

Without another word, its form blurred, vanishing in a ripple of distorted space as it lunged toward Max with terrifying speed, a dark fist the size of a boulder screaming through the air to crush him.

Max closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, exhaling slowly as memories flashed through his mind like shards of golden glass—the image of Noah, a genius of the Bright Buddha Palace. He recalled the sensation of Noah’s strikes, the way his power was like gentle ripples hiding lethal force beneath calm waves.

As the Ascendant bore down on him, Max shifted his stance, his scaled feet sliding across the blood-slick earth as he mirrored the posture he’d once seen in Noah. His entire body shimmered with golden light, radiant energy flowing around him like a halo.

Moving with a deliberate slowness that belied the explosive power behind it, Max extended his right arm forward, palm open, as though gently pressing the air away. And then the palm turned into a golden palm just as he had seen on Noah.

At that precise instant, the Ascendant arrived before him, its monstrous fist hurtling down in a killing strike meant to shatter Max into bloody fragments.

Max’s eyes remained serenely closed as his right palm, blazing with a luminous golden glow, met the descending blow of the ascendant.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay