191: Chapter 192 Void Explosion

Just as the global audience erupted in a boil of disbelief and startled cries, Su Daji moved within the arena.

She didn't look at her infatuated opponents, nor did she care about the countless stunned gazes in the stands. Protecting the little grass spirit was merely a secondary instruction from her master; clearing the field was the primary task. As for whether those charmed opponents lived or died, she didn't care—her master hadn't said she couldn't kill them, anyway.

She didn't lower her raised hand; instead, her fair, slender fingers lightly made a stroke through the void.

There was no earth-shattering incantation, no complex or profound magic circle.

It was a simple movement, as if plucking an invisible harp string in the air.

Wooo—!

A shrill whistle of wind rang out without warning! Centered on Su Daji, the air within a radius of several hundred meters instantly became incredibly violent! Azure wind elements converged and swirled frantically, forming a giant tornado over fifty meters in diameter that connected heaven and earth in an instant! This tornado was not naturally formed; inside it, countless semi-transparent wind blades, as thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly sharp, rotated and sliced at speeds difficult for the naked eye to track. They emitted a tooth-aching 'chi-chi' sound, as if even space itself was being torn apart!

legendary-grade skill—[Wind Blade Vortex]! Under the massive boost of Su Daji's own terrifying attributes and her Demigod Level talent [Overthrowing Cities and Nations], along with the support of Lin Muyang's many legendary and mythic grade equipment and Aura skills, the power of this skill—which was originally just a large-scale area-of-effect damage-over-time ability—had soared to an inconceivable level!

The tornado roared as it expanded and moved, sweeping toward those defenseless summons still immersed in the charm like a massive, lethal meat grinder!

The first to suffer were a group of summons closer to Su Daji with relatively weak defenses.

A majestic Flame-Feathered Griffin, its body wreathed in blazing fire, was lightly brushed by the edge of a wind blade. The flame shield on its body, capable of blocking ordinary swords, shattered like paper. Immediately after, its tough feathers and flesh were easily sliced open. It couldn't even let out a cry of sorrow before its entire body was reduced to the finest elemental motes of light under the cutting of countless wind blades, dissipating into the air.

A Shadow Assassin lurking in the shadows, about to launch a sneak attack, was forcibly dragged out by the violent suction. Its body, tempered through a thousand trials and capable of withstanding heavy saber chops and axe strikes, was like butter meeting a hot knife before the Wind Blade Vortex, instantly dismembered and annihilated.

A four-meter-tall Rock Golem made of hard stone tried to protect its vitals with its thick arms, but the rotating wind blades were like the sharpest grinding wheels, peeling away and crushing its stone arms layer by layer. In just two short seconds, this summon, renowned for its defense, turned into a pile of rubble on the ground, which was then swallowed by the tornado, leaving not even a scrap behind.

An Iron Guardian, holding a giant shield and clad in heavy armor like a mobile fortress, pressed its thick tower shield firmly in front of it, the shield's surface glowing with a brilliant defensive light. However, under the continuous cutting of the endless, terrifyingly powerful wind blades, that legendary-quality giant shield lasted less than three seconds before it 'cracked,' covered in spiderweb-like fissures, and then exploded! The Iron Guardian behind it only had time to let out a short metallic wail before being submerged by the ensuing torrent of wind blades...

Slaughter!

A one-sided slaughter!

Under the unreasonable control of [Innate Charm], these summons, which were originally quite powerful and possessed unique traits, had now become the best sitting ducks. They couldn't move, couldn't defend, and couldn't release any skills; they could only watch helplessly as that all-destroying azure tornado swallowed and tore them apart.

One, two, five, ten...

White lights representing a summon's 'death' and forced teleportation out of the arena lit up one after another across the martial arts field, like fireworks suddenly blooming and rapidly extinguishing at a celebration.

Just three seconds!

In just three seconds!

The massive martial arts field, which had been crowded with thirty-two powerful summons, suddenly became much emptier. More than twenty-five summons, along with the hopes placed in them by their Summoners, were turned into void points under Su Daji's casual use of [Wind Blade Vortex], becoming cold numbers on Lin Muyang's record sheet.

The wild winds gradually subsided, and the azure tornado slowly dissipated, leaving behind terrifying crisscrossing cut marks several feet deep on the arena floor, silently speaking to the horrific power of the strike just now.

In the arena, those still standing—besides Su Daji and the little grass spirit Jiumi, who was safe behind her under the protection of the ice mountain and even poking its head out curiously—were only three summons—

The Landslide Titan Giant · Rock Fury, standing as still as a small mountain, though its stone surface was covered in white marks of varying depths.

The Heavy Hammer Demon, kneeling on the ground and gasping for breath, most of the nine black Nether Flames surrounding it extinguished, its armor heavily damaged, and dark red lava-like blood constantly dripping from it.

And the Thousand-Year Scorpion Spirit · Crimson Chain, whose body was enveloped in a strange, sickly purple light shield that rippled from the wind blade strikes, though the body itself seemed not to have sustained much damage.

These three were precisely the ace summons of Hao Qingshan, Wang Meng, and Zhao Man, the three people with the highest hopes of winning the championship this year! Only they, by virtue of their ultra-high base attributes, powerful talents, top-tier equipment, and the emergency defensive measures applied by their respective Summoners after they regained consciousness at the critical moment, managed to barely survive that devastating Wind Blade Vortex.

But even so, their current state could definitely not be called good. Except for the Landslide Titan Giant, which was relatively lightly injured due to its talent and defensive specialization, plus the [Thick Stone Skin] and [Adaptive Armor] buffs Wang Meng had applied in time, the Heavy Hammer Demon and the Thousand-Year Scorpion Spirit were both near the end of their ropes.

At the very moment the Wind Blade Vortex ceased, the seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts in the VIP seats were already beyond shocked!

A slight 'crack' sounded from Zhou Wenyuan's body as he suddenly stood up from his seat. His tiger-like eyes flashed with intense light as he stared fixedly at Su Daji in the arena, his face filled with unconcealed shock and horror! With his mental cultivation and resistance, he had actually been affected by a skill from a summon under Level 100? This was simply a fairy tale!

The elderly man in military uniform had a grim expression, and the veins on the back of his hand resting on the armrest bulged slightly, showing his internal unrest. He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his gaze sharp as a knife, as if trying to see through Su Daji completely.

Xu Ruohan was the last of the seven to wake up, not because she was the weakest, but because the 'impact' she received seemed to be the greatest. In those eyes as clear as autumn water, a rare trace of confusion and daze remained, as if she were still immersed in that breathtakingly beautiful image. But soon, the confusion dissipated, replaced by immense solemnity and deep thought.

She saw deeper than the others; this was by no means a simple mental charm. It contained a peculiar power that was almost like a law, pointing directly to the origin of 'beauty' and 'attraction'! This had already exceeded her cognitive range for conventional summon skills.

"Everyone, just now..." Zhou Wenyuan's voice was dry as he looked at the others.

"We were all controlled," the elderly man in uniform said in a deep voice, his tone more serious than ever before.

"To be able to affect us at this level, even if only for an instant, is indeed terrifying," another Nation-Guarding Level Expert added, his face looking troubled.

At the Nation-Guarding Level, let alone an instant, even a 0.1-second lapse in concentration was enough to decide life and death or turn the tide of a battle! And they, seven existences standing at the peak of the Xia Kingdom, had actually been collectively immobilized by a summon belonging to a young contestant in front of a national broadcast and hundreds of millions of viewers! If this news got out, it would be enough to cause a global sensation!

"Investigate! Immediately pull the energy fluctuation records and the on-site surveillance footage from just now! Top priority!" Zhou Wenyuan made a decisive call, growling at the staff behind him. He had to figure out the strength, range, and activation mechanism of this skill, and most importantly—whether it was replicable and could be popularized! This was no longer just a matter of winning or losing a match; it concerned a major impact on a strategic level!

As the seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts regained their senses, people inside and outside the arena who were relatively strong or possessed special mental resistance equipment and skills also began to break free from that infatuated state one after another.

"Uh... what just happened to me?"

"My head is so dizzy... did I have a dream?"

"It's that fox! It's her skill! We were all controlled!"

"Oh my god! My Iron-Clad Earth Dragon! It was... it was insta-killed?!"

"My Storm Eagle too..."

"My Shadow Leopard..."

A chorus of terrified, angry, and unbelievable wails and gasps erupted from the contestants' seats. Those contestants whose summons had been instantly killed now had faces as pale as ash and empty eyes, as if they couldn't accept this cruel reality. They hadn't even been able to let their summons put up any decent resistance before the field was cleared by a single skill at the very start? This blow was too great!

While Hao Qingshan, Zhao Man, and Wang Meng—the three top contestants—had surviving summons, their expressions were definitely not pleasant either. They were among the first group of contestants to break free from the charm, and it was at the moment of breaking free that they felt the horror of those devastating wind blades. In that hair-thin moment, relying on the deep connection and tacit understanding with their summons, they had almost instinctively and regardless of the cost used their trump cards to barely save their aces.

Cold sweat broke out on Wang Meng's forehead. The [Thick Stone Skin] and [Adaptive Armor] he had applied to the Landslide Titan were two precious group defense scrolls that could instantly and significantly increase defense and generate extremely high resistance to repeated damage types. It was by relying on this temporary boost in terrifying defense and the rapid adaptation to wind-type damage that Rock Fury survived that wave of wind blades.

Hao Qingshan was still feeling lingering fear. His Heavy Hammer Demon, Trixis, had automatically triggered the life-saving skill [Blood Drink] and the equipment effect [Nether Flame Protection] the moment the wind blades hit. At the cost of burning vitality and consuming Nether Flames, it gained a brief period of high damage absorption and rapid recovery, narrowly making it through, but it was now covered in wounds and in extremely poor condition.

Zhao Man's face was pale. The reason her Thousand-Year Scorpion Spirit, Crimson Chain, survived was entirely due to an extremely rare S-rank special skill [Toxin Source Conversion], which could convert a portion of spell damage received within a short time into its own toxin reserves while activating a [Toxin Source Shield] to absorb damage. But this process was a huge burden on Crimson Chain, and [Toxin Source Conversion] had a very long cooldown. She had originally planned to use this move to ambush Hao Qingshan's Heavy Hammer Demon, but she never expected to be forced to use it by Lin Muyang's summon right at the start!

Shame! Frustration! Lingering fear! And a trace of unspeakable terror surged into the hearts of the three simultaneously. They never thought they would be forced into such a pathetic state in a single exchange on the stage of the national finals! Their opponent hadn't even used that rumored magic immunity field; just one control followed by one area-of-effect attack had almost wiped them all out!

At this moment, only four summons remained standing in the arena. And Su Daji still looked as calm as a light breeze, as if that earth-shattering field clearing just now was merely brushing away a few fallen leaves.

She didn't even look at the three scarred survivors who were acting as if facing a great enemy; instead, she tilted her head slightly, seemingly listening to Lin Muyang's instructions. Then, those soul-hooking fox eyes finally fell upon them once more.

Her gaze first locked onto the Heavy Hammer Demon kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath, with its flames flickering in and out.

"Blood Drink for life? A decent life-saving skill." Su Daji's red lips parted slightly, her voice ethereal yet carrying a trace of cold evaluation. "Unfortunately, it treats the symptoms, not the cause."

She slowly raised the flowing, colorful legendary-grade staff in her hand—not the mythic grade weapon [heart of magic prohibition], whose effect was too overbearing and might cause a permanent skill seal. In Lin Muyang's view, this was just a competition, and there was no need to strike so heavily.

At the tip of the staff, a pure azure gemstone began to gather heart-palpitating energy fluctuations, causing the surrounding air to emit an overburdened hum.

"Try this."

She said softly, giving the staff a light tap in the direction of the Heavy Hammer Demon.

There was no grand momentum like the Wind Blade Vortex.

There was only a tiny, almost imperceptible 'pop' sound, as if space itself had been pricked with a small hole.

In the next second, centered on the Heavy Hammer Demon, the space within a ten-meter radius rippled violently with visible, transparent waves, like a stone thrown into water! Immediately following—

Boom!!!

An indescribable dull roar erupted! It wasn't an explosion; rather, it was as if the space in that area couldn't withstand the terrifying pressure suddenly released from within, collapsing inward by an infinitesimal amount before violently expanding and releasing!

mythic grade skill—[Void Burst]!

This was a pure space-type destruction skill that ignored the vast majority of physical and magical defenses, acting directly on the spatial structure where the target was located, causing true spatial tearing damage!