The mana of the Primordial Undying Realm swirled and seemed to gather around a single point. At that place, two figures stood in the air opposite of each other.
The two men stared at each other with gazes filled with hostility. With every breath they took, mana raged and stormed.
The area surrounding the Primordial Undying Tree was wrapped in stillness. Those geniuses that had been furiously fighting only moments prior were all directing their gazes at the battle in the sky.
Just by feeling the mana emanating from those two figures, they were made painfully aware of the gap between them. Interfering in such a fight, or even being in the same area as it, would definitely cause their deaths.
Damien shook his hands as he watched Hun Fang. The force of their previous collision was no joke. If it wasn't for the Blood Runes from his demon form, he would've taken heavy damage from being in the same area.
And he was sure Hun Fang was the same. That form that gave him frightening physical strength was the only reason he could still stand there unharmed.
"Haa…" Damien took a deep breath. Now that they were in the sky, things would be different. The environmental constraints of combat within a large room would be gone, and the scale of their attacks would get bigger.
His gaze panned down to the purple fruit that was being protected by an array of branches.
'Neither of us has been able to reach the fruit yet because of the other's assault, but when we have this much breathing room, it might be different. Instead of prolonging the battle between us, I should try to keep him occupied while I snatch the fruit.'
It was the best thing to do since he couldn't win against Hun Fang easily. But his cards had mostly been put on the table already.
'I haven't found a suitable combat application for Void Essence yet besides the basics, but such meager use of it won't be of any help in this battle. There's really only one more thing I can do to increase my combat power. If even that doesn't work, then I have to resort to the Demon Dragon form again.'
Damien closed his eyes and concentrated. Ever since entering the secret realm, a portion of his abilities had been limited.
Of course, the most prominent was his teleportation range. That was something that hindered him from the Trial World all the way until this moment. But it was nowhere near the most restricted ability.
"Celestial Authority."
A formless aura filled with starlight surrounded Damien. It was the will of a Celestial, a ruler of stars.
Being a Celestial was amazing. It granted him many different ways to use his spatial abilities as well as an intrinsic connection to the universe that no other class could grant him.
But a class that had limitless potential like this one had a glaring weakness.
In isolated spaces like secret realms, there were no stars to draw power from. Even the sun and moon that hung in the sky were artificial.
A large portion of his power would be locked because of this. What was a Celestial without the stars under his command? He was just another spatial practitioner.
But he had realized something in the three months he spent diligently comprehending space and time.
What did it mean to have an intrinsic connection?
Because he couldn't "feel" the connection he had with the stars, did it disappear?
No. It didn't. Regardless of where he was, regardless of whether or not his connection with the stars was interrupted by outside forces, it would still be present within his body.
That was the true Celestial Authority. The authority to rule over stars, and the authority to draw that power regardless of any circumstances.
Starlight bathed Damien's body as he stood in the air. He looked like a human torch. Rays of starlight pierced through the boundaries of space and time to answer the call of their ruler.
It was a sensation of utmost bliss, but Damien didn't have time to concentrate on it. Hun Fang rapidly approached him as he welcomed the starlight. A fist wrapped in hundreds of souls charged towards his body.
An aura of resentment enveloped him. The cries of those tortured souls tried to break his mind. But in response, the sun in his spiritual world let off heated rays of light that burned any invading forces.
Damien pulled his arm back, utilizing vector control to enhance the momentum of his actions, and then punched forward at a speed that far surpassed his physical capabilities.
BOOOM!
Pure white and blue starlight collided with those grey resentful souls, creating an explosion of light in the sky. A shockwave spread from the point of impact, uprooting and destroying all the trees surrounding the clearing.
The geniuses on the ground were pushed back by the furious winds brought about by their fists. Only those within the Primordial Undying Tree's protection were safe from the blast.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But it wasn't over. Starlight scattered and purified the resentful souls, while the souls also attempted to eat away at the starlight. In the middle of the bright sun-like light that wrapped around the battle location, Damien and Hun Fang traded hundreds of blows.
Damien's fist grazed across Hun Fang's face, his starlight burning the matter's cheek. At the same time, Hun Fang turned his body and shot a kick at Damien's chest.
Damien twisted his body to dodge and teleported behind Hun Fang, charging starlight into his fist and throwing another punch.
Ziu!
A beam of light left his fist as he punched forward, reaching Hun Fang in an instant. Due to the short distance between them, it was nigh impossible to dodge.
The Behemoth summon didn't give Hun Fang any bonuses in speed and dexterity. In fact, it lessened those aspects. But in return, he was given an impenetrable defense and unstoppable attack.
So he didn't even try to dodge the starlight that was shooting towards him like a missile. He turned his body halfway, flinging his fist horizontally at where Damien was standing.
Spatial mana wrapped around Damien as he prepared to teleport, but a bullet of grey mana appeared in front of him and shattered that attempt. With no other option, Damien crossed his arms in front of his chest to block.
Bang! Ziu!
Hun Fang's fist impacted Damien's arms at the same time the starlight penetrated his body.
"Keuk!"
"Kah!"
Damien shot backward tens of meters due to the force. The bones in his arms had been directly shattered even with the defensive runes he was using.
And although Hun Fang wasn't pushed back, a small coin-sized hole had been opened in his sides. The starlight had penetrated his body underneath his armpit on the left and exited from the right, creating a clean wound.
"Tch!" Damien clicked his tongue. It was annoying to lose to someone else in physical strength. But he knew that he hadn't taken the most damage in this exchange.
'My bones should heal within a few seconds, and while I don't know his regenerative capabilities, he should've sustained internal injuries from that attack.'
Although his arms were currently out of commission, Damien didn't want Hun Fang to recover while he waited to heal. He flashed away, appearing in front of his opponent with starlight radiating from his legs.
Bang! Bang!
He twisted his body, sending a fierce double kick at Hun Fang's chest. When the latter raised his arms to block, Damien turned his head and opened his mouth wide.
There, a ball of volatile mana was waiting to be fired.
Roar!
There was no room to dodge. In that instant, while he was blocking the starlight that tried to invade his body, Hun Fang was swallowed in a torrent of dragon's breath.
