The attack titled Entwining Shadows held many similarities to Damien's Dance of the Void. When Luo Sheng's mana moved to execute the movement, his body turned into a flurry of afterimages as he went into a fierce offensive.
Hundreds of moves were exchanged every second. Space around the duo was being forced to the extremes as the duo passed through it, razing everything around them to the ground.
If they weren't tens of kilometers in the air at the moment, the battle of 3rd classes taking place below them would've turned into a graveyard.
The Twin Moons had already been returned to Damien's subspace. With the current range of combat, they wouldn't be able to show their full power. At this distance, it was Mirage's turn to shine.
But Damien actually didn't choose this option. Instead, his arms moved rapidly and parried every strike Luo Sheng put out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts weren't anything simple. Every time the pair of twin daggers clashed against Damien's forearms, he felt his entire skeleton vibrate. Obviously, his current method wasn't sustainable at all.
But he didn't choose this route without reason. The Ananta Matrix raced at full power, circulating and amplifying Damien's mana to its fullest potential. The built-up mana was directly transferred into his arms to increase their defense.
Voom!
Damien's body went through an immense change. His height grew, his skin paled, his hair turned white, his sclera turned black, and his irises were like glimmering red blood diamonds. Across his skin, mysterious runic tattoos surfaced and began to squirm.
'Strength!'
Damien didn't waste any time. He commanded the enhancement runes, causing them to swirl into specific patterns. Damien felt his striking power increase exponentially.
When Luo Sheng's daggers met his arms again, he no longer felt the pain of his bones rattling. His arm swept to the side with unknown vigor, forcing Luo Sheng's blades away. At the same time, his other arm swung at his opponent's head, aiming to cleave it off.
Luo Sheng's eyes widened in alarm. He forcibly canceled his momentum and pushed his mana to backpedal away. This way, he was able to avoid the harrowing claw of death that was hurling towards him.
Haa…haa…
The sound of rough breathing filled the sky. The two opponents occupying it found themselves in sync as they attempted to recuperate as much as they could before clashing.
Unknowingly, a crowd had formed below them to watch their battle. Both sides put down their arms to watch their commanders fight.
But this didn't cause many issues. After all, the scuffles of these small 3rd class characters wouldn't change the tide of the overall battle. Instead, it was the fierce life-or-death match in the air that would determine their fates.
Therefore, they ceased fighting in order to watch.
And currently, the overarching emotion coloring these disciples was awe. Awe and reverence for these powerful figures who they could only look up to. And more than that, awe and reverence towards Damien himself.
Luo Sheng's situation didn't need to be mentioned. He was many thousands of years old already but his power level was capped at the peak of early 4th class. This kind of character might've been rare in a world like Apeiron, but in Niflheim or even the Cloud Plane, Luo Sheng was just a single drop of water in a vast ocean.
But Damien was different. Although nothing could be said about his age since even someone of Luo Sheng's age still looked in his mid-30s, if his aura was any indication, he was still plenty young.
And not only that, but he was also a 3rd class fighter just like them. There were many among the disciples on the ground who had been stuck at the peak of 3rd class for tens or hundreds of years, but even with all the accumulation they did in that time, they couldn't even reach Damien's toes.
The main barrier to entry for 4th class was exactly comprehension. For many, even after reaching level 199 and filling their experience bar to the maximum, their lacking talent or ability made it so they could never receive their Baptism.
In the end, Baptisms were rituals bestowed by the universe. If it deemed someone unfit to even attempt to cross its trial, there was nothing else they could do.
If anything, they could bitterly struggle in order to obtain the universe's approval, but not many were willing to put in the necessary effort.
Damien's case was exactly opposite of the majority. His comprehension far surpassed the requirements, but he was intentionally suppressing his level to the peak of 3rd class.
Even when he received experience from his kills, he'd use the Devour ability to either redistribute this essence to his close ones or return it to the atmosphere.
Nevertheless, it was this very comprehension ability, his abnormal physical stats accumulated through Devour, and the fact that he continuously consolidated and firmed his power that he was able to achieve feats that these smaller practitioners could never imagine.
Naturally, those on the ground would never know these facts. They could only assume that the next era of geniuses was truly filled with those blessed by the heavens while they wallowed in mediocrity.
In the sky, Damien and Luo Sheng watched each other vigilantly as they fought a silent war. Instead of combat, this duel was more spiritual.
They were both taking time to heal. As people who had no good feelings towards each other, this chance naturally wasn't something they wished to allow each other.
But at the moment, it couldn't be helped. For Damien to fight effectively, he needed to heal the holes in his back and spine. As for Luo Sheng, even after combusting his blood essence, he wasn't able to match up to Damien.
The aftereffects of his sacrifice were slowly beginning to surface. His mana was rapidly being drained due to him spending it so wantonly. And this wasn't even mentioning his injuries.
If one had to decide who was warier at the moment, it was without a doubt Luo Sheng. He didn't have nearly enough time. Before he knew it, Damien would…
A figure appeared in front of him like a ghost, but to Luo Sheng, this figure was practically the devil. With Transcendent Regeneration, Damien finally reached a point where he could fight normally again. If so, he wouldn't waste this opening.
When his body appeared in front of Luo Sheng, there was no weapon in his hand, however, the mana coating his fist was a terror in itself.
Damien's fist sat alit like a shining moon. Surrounding it were seven stars created from volatile lightning and fire.
'Seven Stars Encircling the Moon!'
Luo Sheng only managed to move his body back a few inches before the fist reached him. Although he avoided a direct collision, his fate wasn't great regardless.
BOOOOOOM!
The seven stars crashed into each other and created a volatile chain reaction of mana. When this reaction multiplied to its peak and interacted with the moon around Damien's fist, a heaven-shaking explosion rang out.
Space shattered, giving way to the Chaotic Void. Reality twisted as stellar beams of light rained down upon the ground, turning many random plots of land and stray combatants into ash.
And from the center of this explosion, a charred body shot out at insane speeds. This was naturally the body of Luo Sheng.
Damien stood and placidly watched Luo Sheng as he was thrown away. For a second, he thought about letting out a sigh of relief and then leaving to observe Elder Trinity's battle.
But before he could even think about it. A thin, nearly two-dimensional, needle of shadow appeared directly in front of his forehead.
Damien's eyes widened alertly. Vector control was spurred into action, canceling the shadow needle's momentum and velocity, forcing it to halt mere millimeters before it pierced Damien's forehead.
Standing nearly ten kilometers away, his body charred and disgusting, was Luo Sheng.
His eyes burned in fury and hate. His mouth widened as he let out a guttural roar. His fingers traced his spatial ring, withdrawing a…
