162: Chapter 162 Reflection

Chen Mo looked up and saw an entity composed of countless twisted faces staring at him in horror in mid-air.

Countless arms extended from its body, which had been silently reaching toward his brow.

It was precisely Ji Nian.

Its greatest specialty was silently infiltrating mental defenses, weaving the most realistic illusions, and letting opponents sink into a gentle trap until their consciousness completely perished.

It had used this move to kill countless opponents stronger than itself through treachery.

But this member of the Human Race had clearly sunk into the deepest layer of the terminal illusion; how could he have broken free?

Moreover... his Willpower strength had actually directly achieved a Breakthrough to the fifth rank?!

"Thank you."

Chen Mo slowly rose into the air, looking at the panicked Ji Nian. His tone was calm; there was no anger, no mockery, only the indifference of someone who had seen through everything.

"If not for this encounter, my Willpower Breakthrough would have had to wait for some time."

"More importantly, you have given me a reminder—never underestimate any opponent."

That moment just now was truly perilous.

Having swept through everything along the way, he had indeed developed a bit of arrogance. He felt that with the Annihilation Domain in hand, he was invincible among those of the same rank.

But Ji Nian had taught him a lesson: there are many ways to attack, not necessarily just a direct frontal clash.

If not for the system panel, an anchor point independent of his consciousness, even if he had eventually managed to break free, it would never have been this easy.

"Monster... you monster!"

Ji Nian shrieked, driving all its Mental Power to transform into countless sharp needles, fiercely stabbing toward Chen Mo's mental sea.

It did not believe it!

It did not believe that anyone could break free from the depths of its illusion realm on their own, and even take the opportunity to achieve a Breakthrough!

But this time, as soon as its mental attack approached within three feet of Chen Mo, it was repelled by a force of Willpower that was even more condensed and domineering.

Fifth-rank Willpower, combined with the Annihilation Domain.

"Suppress."

Chen Mo calmly spat out one word.

Hum—!

The Inner World expanded with a roar, carrying the resolute Willpower of reaching the Peak, along with the Annihilation power that dissolved all things, pressing down like the heavens collapsing.

Ji Nian couldn't even form the thought of resisting.

Under the suppression of the five-fold fifth-rank power, its conscious entity couldn't even struggle, as if it had been frozen in the Void Realm.

"Five Extremes... you actually mastered the Five Extremes..."

Ji Nian's conscious entity trembled violently, its voice filled with extreme shock and despair.

In the Universe, being able to master three kinds of fifth-rank power at the fourth-rank stage was already considered a peerless Prodigy.

Perfection in the Five Extremes?

That was something that only appeared in legends.

Chen Mo did not say anything more.

He raised his hand and gently clenched the power of his Inner World.

Pfft—!

Ji Nian's conscious entity was instantly crushed, then completely dissolved by the Annihilation power, turning into nothingness.

[Combat ended. Source Power System, Chen Mo, wins.]

[Challenger ranking updated: current ranking, 9th place.]

The System notification sound faded, but Chen Mo did not immediately continue the challenge.

He sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, closing his eyes in contemplation for a long time.

He was reflecting.

The illusion just now had given him a harsh wake-up call.

He had been too smooth-sailing before.

Fighting all the way from 27th place to 10th place, the Annihilation Origin was invincible, almost never encountering any decent resistance.

Unknowingly, he had developed a sense of contempt, feeling that the fourth-rank leaderboard was nothing special.

Therefore, when facing Ji Nian, although he had raised his guard, he did not immediately defend with full force, which was why he was silently dragged into the illusion by his opponent.

In reality, Ji Nian's frontal combat power was not necessarily stronger than Tun Yu's.

But this kind of indefensible mental infiltration, once one fell for it, would have unimaginable consequences.

Today he had the system panel as an anchor point to help him break the situation, but what about next time?

What if he encountered an even stronger mental-type expert who could even block or tamper with the system panel?

Arrogance is the greatest enemy on the path of a powerhouse.

"There cannot be a next time."

Chen Mo whispered to himself, the restlessness and arrogance in his eyes fading away, leaving only the composure and clarity that came after deep reflection.

The greatest gain from this battle was never the rise in ranking by one place, nor was it the Willpower Breakthrough to the fifth rank.

It was shattering the pride born from his winning streak, making his Dao Heart more stable.

At the same time, he also found the best anchor point for dealing with mental illusions—the system panel.

This thing was independent of his consciousness and Mental Power, unaffected by any illusion realm or Mental Energy.

As long as he had doubts, he could summon the system panel to verify the information, and he would immediately know what was real and what was fake.

Having understood all this, Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes.

His aura was more condensed and heavy than before, like a deep abyss; calm and collected, yet unfathomable.

Chen Mo stood up, looked up, and his gaze pierced through the layers of space in the Trial Tower, landing on the name at the very top of the leaderboard.

Yuan.

The head of the fourth-rank leaderboard.

A legend who had occupied the number one spot for countless years.

The recognized invincible fourth-rank expert.

Although he had previously set his goal as number one, there had been a certain amount of testing in his heart.

But now, his Willpower had achieved a Breakthrough, his Five Extremes were at Perfection, and his Dao Heart was stable.

"Yuan..."

Chen Mo softly spoke the name, his Battle Intent rising in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, not rushing to challenge immediately.

His fifth-rank Willpower had just achieved a Breakthrough and needed some time to stabilize.

The power of the Five Extremes at Perfection also needed to be re-adjusted.

No rush.

When he adjusted his state to the Peak, that would be the time to reach the summit.

...

At this moment, the major Public Domains of the Spirit Energy Universe had already been stirred into a monstrous turmoil due to the change in ranking.

When the announcement that the tenth place had changed hands just popped up, the Spirit Energy Universe was already boiling.

Everyone knew that this dark horse of the Human Race had truly charged into the highest-level competition.

Before everyone could digest it, the refresh announcement for the ninth place smashed down again.

After a brief silence in the Public Domain, it completely exploded, with countless messages flooding in.

"Reaching the top! He really has the potential to reach the top!"

"We might be about to witness new history!"

The voices that had previously been mocking him, calling the "top three a pipe dream," instantly vanished.

Everyone's gaze was glued to that constantly rising name.

At the same time, the light screens in the major base cities of Blue Star synchronized and refreshed the rankings according to the information transmitted by Cang.

Cheers erupted like a mountain-shaking sea in the plaza; people waved the Federation flag, their faces full of pride.