SWNOVELXO Chapter 54 - I'm Hungry!
Chapter 54: I’m Hungry!
Fuxi remained completely oblivious.
He continued to throw punches at Li Ao.
Tie Zheng, however, rushed down and forcibly dragged Fuxi back.
“Let me go!”
Fuxi struggled desperately, completely lost in his emotions and not noticing the anomaly on Li Ao’s body.
“Danger!”
Just as Tie Zheng dragged Fuxi back to the edge of the pit, he turned around to see cracks forming on the icy exterior of Li Ao, with fragments of ice clattering down.
Soon, flames began to seep out from the cracks in the ice, blazing fiercely…
The newcomers on the Stone Isles watched in dumbfounded silence.
What was happening?
Li Ao couldn’t possibly still be alive, could he?
Had he resurrected? Did this great demon revive on his own?
Flames erupted from the pit, roaring upwards and shooting a pillar of fire towards the sky, a hundred meters high.
Seeing the danger, Tie Zheng quickly grabbed Fuxi and started to sprint away.
Boom!
There was a loud explosion.
Li Ao’s body exploded, sending millions of ice fragments scattering across the sky.
Suddenly, a column of ice shot upwards through the flames, growing tens of meters in less than ten seconds.
The small world of the Unlimited Challenge split into two realms.
On the left was a world of drifting frost and ice.
On the right.
It was as hot as a branding iron from hell.
Were it not for the energy shield still protecting the newcomers, erected by the three elders of the Pantheon of Myriad Realms, they might have suffocated amidst these two destructive energies.
The incompatible energies of fire and ice gradually formed a devouring energy vortex.
It spun faster and faster.
When the energy vortex reached its maximum speed.
A layer of light flickered within it, unseen by the newcomers who only saw intense flashes; however, Lei Bao and the three elders saw everything clearly, their faces showing an expression of utter astonishment.
Rumble…
Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the vortex straight into the sky.
It soared directly into the sky, unstoppable, piercing a black hole in the small world and then disappearing into the endless void.
This scene was very familiar!
Before the battle began.
When Li Ao declared his challenge to all the newcomers, hadn’t everyone seen a similar pillar of energy rise into the sky?
The energy vortex completely collapsed, transforming into a terrifying source energy storm that began to spread, howling and roaring, sweeping through every corner of the small world, recreating a scene of apocalyptic destruction.
Once the chaotic storm of source energy dissipated and the dust settled.
People looked again, their eyes popping out in shock.
Because they saw that Li Ao, the great demon, not only had not died but seemed even more spirited.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Li Ao opened his eyes, slowly moved his stiff body, twisted his neck, rotated his wrists, and flexed his fingers, making a series of bone-cracking sounds.
He had revived…
The newcomers were almost scared to pee.
Li Ao, the great demon, had not died.
What now?
Continue fighting? But everyone couldn’t even stand properly, fighting him would be like delivering themselves to him on a platter.
Li Ao lightly leapt from the bottom of the pit to the battered and uneven arena below, which could hardly be called an arena anymore.
“Li Ao!” Fuxi exclaimed with overwhelming excitement, scrambling towards Li Ao.
Even as he hugged Li Ao tightly, Fuxi still doubted it was all a dream.
He let go and looked carefully.
Looked and looked again.
It was indeed his young cousin, Li Ao, who was undoubtedly alive and well. His vitality surged within him, showing no signs of death, and upon realizing this, Fuxi burst into tears, crying out, “Li Ao, you’re not dead?”
“Shouldn’t be!” Li Ao was quite certain about being alive.
“You scared me to death!”
Fuxi’s heart finally settled down.
“Hmm, what just happened?”
Li Ao asked, puzzled.
“Just now…”
Fuxi began to sob to Li Ao, but then quickly remembered his status as Li Ao’s senior, swiftly wiped away his tears, and shook his head vigorously, “Nothing happened! Didn’t I just come up here because I saw you fighting so intensely, to remind you to be careful? Yes, that’s it, I’m going back down now. You keep fighting, and don’t mind me. You know I’m fully supporting you!”
“What’s there to fight? I’m hungry!”
Li Ao decided to stop fighting.
The competition was important, but it shouldn’t delay eating.
“Not fighting anymore?”
Fuxi was taken aback.
“What time is it? Is it mealtime yet?”
Li Ao’s shirt had long since turned to ash, and his pants, transformed from the Shadow Halberd, were the only thing saving him from nudity.
The dry food, like snow cakes, had been annihilated by various energy attacks.
Li Ao, touching his stomach, decided eating was more important.
“It’s almost mealtime… Are you hungry? Then let’s go eat?”
Fuxi felt relieved at the thought of not continuing the fight.
“Big brother, do you have money?”
Li Ao had become utterly broke from the fighting.
“I do!”
Fuxi patted his chest, “You can eat as much as you want!”
“Then let’s go!”
Li Ao turned and walked away.
Before leaving, he casually recalled the Transparent Chain bound to Youjin, transforming it into an ancient armguard.
Beneath the Obsidian Platform, a Demonic Rock Giant slowly surfaced, and Li Ao, with a casual flick, turned it into a card.
Only then did everyone realize what Li Ao’s war beast looked like.
Or not.
Li Ao also had a deceptive Stone Bear.
Many had been fooled by it, initially believing that Li Ao’s Stone Body Protection came from it, not realizing that Li Ao’s first war beast was the Demonic Rock Giant!
Seeing his master forgetting him again, the Stone Bear hurried down from the Stone Isles, struggled to find a floating rock to land on, and finally managed to reach the ground.
By the time it sprinted to catch up, Li Ao was already nearing the space passage.
The newcomers were stunned.
Li Ao was leaving just like that?
Really not fighting anymore?
So, did everyone win this battle, or did Li Ao win?
There was no clear result.
Lei Bao’s expression of shock only just returned to normal, but his inner turmoil was far from settled.
How terrifying could Li Ao’s talent possibly be?
It was incredible!
He had managed to advance twice during a single battle!
First, after declaring his youthful determination, he inexplicably advanced, and then, as Shuanghan and Huo Mei nearly finished him off, he not only remained unscathed but used the opportunity to advance again… and the range of his combat power during the second advancement was much more significant than the first, the energy pillar was larger and more potent than before!
If this terrifying rate of progression continued.
Li Ao might easily reach beyond the legend or even higher in the future.
Thinking of this.
Lei Bao’s heart filled with envy.
Li Ao was only fifteen years old this year, destined to become a legend at such a young age.
What about himself?
After so many years of effort and so much given, a legendary status was still out of reach.
Was that fair?
For a moment, Lei Bao felt the urge to strangle Li Ao then and there.
To kill him before he could grow.
However.
Lei Bao’s murderous intent subsided the moment he crushed the stone armrest of the supervisor’s chair in his hand.
He couldn’t do that!
As a supervisor, he dared to make a move on a newcomer.
Regardless of the reason, the Pantheon of Myriad Realms would judge him with the highest penalty.
Beheading might be the lightest outcome; more likely, his soul would be stripped and sent to the hellfire to burn for a hundred years… Moreover, there were three elder ghosts present.
The weakest among them possessed strength comparable to his own, and the strongest was a half-step legend, so making a move on Li Ao was simply impossible now!
Lei Bao took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress his jealousy and restore his absolutely neutral stance.
The three old men from the Pantheon of Myriad Realms were whispering among themselves.
They spoke in secret language.
No one knew exactly what they were discussing.
However, from their cheerful expressions, one could tell they were in a very good mood.
Suddenly, Shuanghan made a move.
He unsummoned the Ice Dragon and started walking towards the spatial passage where Li Ao and Fuxi had left.
“Hey Shuanghan, wait up, you’re not fighting anymore?”
Lie Feng quickly called out to him.
“Li Ao is the New King, and I’m number one on the Challenge List, everything else is up to you guys,” Shuanghan coolly dropped this line.
“What about the ranking in Unlimited Challenge? The Challenge List is our own thing!”
Lie Feng was immediately perplexed; the Challenge List wasn’t an official ranking, after all.
Even if the Trial Temple recognized it, how would Li Ao be ranked? And what about the not-so-weak Prince Jinxi who hadn’t made it onto the list?
“I don’t care about that; you guys do whatever,” Shuanghan waved his hand nonchalantly and walked away.
“…” Lie Feng was utterly confused.
“Cough cough!” Qian Nian looked at Ling Long and Yue Sha, who showed no reaction, then turned to Huo Mei: “How about you take second place then?”
“Pfft! I want first place. What you say doesn’t count; I need Li Ao himself to admit I’m the top. Second place is meaningless to me, it’s all yours!”
Huo Mei, holding a golden comb, continued combing her flaming long hair in front of the Mysterious Mirror, completely indifferent.
“Alright then, I’m second on the Challenge List, the rest of you can sort it out yourselves!”
Qian Nian spread his hands: “Anyone who disagrees can come fight me!”
There you have it!
You’re awesome, and no one’s arguing with that!
Qiqu shared the same attitude: “If Huo Mei doesn’t want second place, since Qian Nian is second, then I’m third. Cang Yue, if you have any objections, we can have a match.”
Cang Yue scoffed: “The graduation performance three months from now will settle our standings based on everyone’s abilities. What does it matter if you guys are ahead now? Huo Mei is fourth, I’m fifth, the rest of you can figure out your own order. I’m not wasting words with you, I’m hungry!”
Lie Feng, seeing that Ling Long and Yue Sha were silent, boldly suggested: “Why don’t we just go by Li Ao’s Challenge List rankings? After all, he’s the most accurate!”
Ling Long and Yue Sha had no objections; they truly lacked the competitive spirit to fight for a ranking.
Who could actually make it into the top three was still uncertain.
The prodigies of the Challenge List gradually left.
Those who remained looked at each other.
What now?
Are we still fighting?
If not, how do we arrange everyone’s rankings?
The toad-like man, Chi Ming, snorted coldly: “What’s the point of these rankings? You guys go ahead and rank by combat power. I want the Challenge List!”
While ranking by combat power didn’t necessarily reflect absolute strength, it was still better than complete chaos.
So, let’s go with that!
Since the prodigies had no objections, his being a weakling meant his objections were useless too!
Wait, if the Unlimited Challenge wasn’t happening, then everyone could easily record a graduation keepsake and throw a wild party next?
After filming the graduation souvenir, the main event would be the Summoner’s Life Card contract promotion ceremony and the opening of the Newcomers’ Fate Boxes.
Once the Fate Boxes were opened, whether one became lucky or doomed depended entirely on one’s accumulated virtue.
So nerve-wracking!
The painstakingly crafted plot ended up unappreciated, and the faithless Little Red-faced Great Devil was about to die…