Caedlum crossed his arms, wincing as he felt his forearms crack under the impact.
His body flew backward, sliding across the arena floor. However, this was by design. The shortest distance for him to go in dodging was downward, so he made the decision as quickly as possible.
However, Uma only smirked.
Under the shocked gaze of everyone in attendance, the rod expanded its length by hundreds of meters in an instant!
How rare were weapons that changed form? So rare that even King Acacia himself had put that on the top list of abilities Dyon's Dragon King sword could do. And yet, here was yet another!
King Belmont narrowed his eyes. He had long since gotten intelligence reports about the shifting of power on not just Planet Nix, but also Planet Mino.
With the previous defeat of two Planet Nix warriors, thus kicking them out of the top ten, he had felt slightly relieved. It wasn't ideal for those spots to be taken by the Ragnor family, but, the Ragnors were at least a variable that the Belmonts could account for. The Nix and Mino planets were complete anomalies!
The World Tournament only took place every hundred years. But, that time was a drop in the bucket even for a Saint level expert. For the power structure of not just one, but two entire planets to be sent into complete upheaval in just that time was unprecedented. And yet, it had happened.
In fact, the first inklings of the new Jafari Royal God Clan of the Nix, or the new Shruti Royal God Clan of the Mino, only started popping less than two decades ago.
Even more interestingly, it was around the same time that the Kitsune locked on to this universe as a location they could find their Kawa in…
What event set them off? Even the culprit was unawares. But, just under two decades ago, there was in fact an event that shone a beacon on this universe. And it was that same beacon the sped the plans of the Daiyu forward.
Everyone was so focused on this World Tournament, but those privy to the right information, knew how little it really meant.
In an instant, Uma's rod had extended itself back under her arm. Now an expansive hundred meter long rod lay horizontally under her control… Hovering just above Caedlum's figure as it skipped along the stage tiles!
Uma grinned, her uproarious laughter filling the stadium. A vicious glint in her eye lit as she tilted forward, slamming the rod downward.
The sound was sickening, forcing most to look away. The loud boom was accompanied by a crunch that could only have been human bone grinding to dust.
A mist of blood erupted from Caedlum's position. His body cultivation technique heated his body up to such an extent that even when he bled, it came out in a gaseous form. However, that only made this worse, increasing his blood lost by manifold as his veins pumped vigorously.
Uma's ape form continued laughing. "Get up! I'm having too much fun! Get up!"
There was no doubt about it. Uma's body cultivation had reached such a frightening level already. But, with the boost of her beast form and her fur reddening technique, she had pushed her upper limits from essence gathering to the outer fringes of sainthood!
The problem with body cultivation techniques that amplified strength was that simple amplification didn't allow your body to reach saint levels unless it was by a ridiculous amount. Even if your body was at the peak Essence Gathering level, it didn't necessarily mean that any minute change could bring your body up to the saint level.
This was the same principle as will amplification. You could use manifestations and constitutions to boost your will to levels your comprehension didn't match, but you would always be weaker than a person who had truly reached that level.
The Demon Sage had understood this, this was why he created the Demon Emperor's Will amplification technique. Instead of relying solely on simple amplification, it also used aspects of comprehension. This was why Dyon needed to master intent level demonic will in order to breach the second act of the technique. This was the only way for his body to truly reach the level of a saint!
However, almost too shockingly, Uma's technique had nearly accomplished the same thing! Her body was already at the level of a pseudo saint, and was but a hair's breath away from truly reaching that level even as she lifted her rod to slam downward again!
Another gush of blood mist escaped from Caedlum as he coughed. He knew he couldn't afford to lose, but he was truly too young. He was the same age as Dyon, but he didn't have world breaking soul talent to make up for his short time cultivating.
The top ten was truly too strong…
Vidar had lucked into an opponent that his faith seed could directly counter. Thor had such mastery of his wills that he was able to take advantage before his opponent realized her mistake. But, Caedlum's opponent's strength was his strength… The only difference was that she had cultivated for much longer!
'Damn… I guess I have to use it…' Caedlum thought bitterly. The problem was that he knew good and well that if he did, he could forget about competing for a better spot in the top ten. He would forever be slotted into the tenth position. But, maybe he'd have to be happy with that. Because, quite frankly, if he was in such a sorry state, someone could very well challenge him and boot him out of the top ten entirely!
Suddenly, a dense red began to drip from Caedlum as Uma threatened to slam her rod down yet again. But, this time, its momentum was stopped entirely.
Uma frowned. Her arms flexed, but she couldn't move the pillar at all! It was stuck!
The rod began to slow move upwards, completely out of Uma's control. She tried to stand her ground, but she found herself nearly losing her footing entirely.
At the other end of the pillar, an astonishing sight graced the eyes of the silenced crowd.
A young man with skin as red as the blood coursing through his veins stood at ten meters tall. However, that wasn't the most shocking part.
His arms had multiplied from two to six!
He was like a demon risen from the dead.
