Cosmic Professional Gladiator

680 Conflict

Test Planet 931.

Xu Jingming watched the human criminals slowly adapt to the environment.

“Day 19, the first death caused by maladjustment occurred on Test Planet 931.”

“Day 22, 15 deaths occurred on the same day.”

As an experienced and knowledgeable observer of the universe, Xu Jingming knew all too well the effects of the universe’s laws on low-dimensional lifeforms. The subtle effects were like a silent predator, always lurking and ready to pounce, causing illness and even complete physical collapse.

Huh? Suddenly, Xu Jingming sensed a disturbance in the air.

He turned his head to look and was met with an unbelievable sight. An enormous fire pillar appeared in the void, half a light-year away.

The flaming pillar descended, revealing a length of more than ten light-years. It swept over with an unimaginable might, causing spacetime to explode and boil.

A direct attack? Xu Jingming was alarmed.

He was an enthusiastic friend-maker, and in his experience experimenting in multiple universes, he had never encountered an attack. Until now.

It was obvious that there were thousands of high-dimensional lifeforms in the universe with different tempers. And now, Xu Jingming was facing one with a violent temper, attacking without a word.

“Friend, if my experiment on this planet affects you, I can immediately leave with my experimental subjects.” Xu Jingming sent his intentions, but the terrifying fire pillar didn’t stop.

Boom!

The sheer might of the fire pillar was enough to make anyone tremble in fear. Even from a distance, it was leaving a wake of destruction, causing the stars and planets to disintegrate and turning everything to ash.

Xu Jingming’s Clear Lotus clone was no match for this kind of destruction.

The entire experimental planet 931 was reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye, along with the millions of humans who were part of the survivability experiments. It was like watching a match ignite and turn into a raging inferno.

All matter in the vast expanse of space was annihilated, replaced by an endless surge of energy that crackled like sticky plasma.

Xu Jingming could feel the heat washing over him, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation.

Whoosh.

The might of the fire pillar was majestic, obliterating everything as it swept across Xu Jingming’s area.

Huh?

A huge furry hand appeared, clutching the fire pillar with ease. A massive figure, like an endless mountain, stepped out of the void and surveyed the area with his silver eyes. “Where did he escape to?”

Xu Jingming, who had vanished to avoid the strike, reappeared at that moment.

As he faced the strike, spacetime shattered around him, leaving him unable to save the human subjects from their terrifying fate. In a flash of thought, he entered the Heart Realm to evade the danger and reappeared once it was safe.

“He’s back?” The figure with black fur fixed their gaze on Xu Jingming.

“Asinus!” Xu Jingming’s eyes narrowed with a frosty intensity. “You’re a high-dimensional lifeform from the Abyss, and you rule over this small domain to nurture low-dimensional beings. I merely took an inhabited planet for my experiments. If my actions displease you, I can depart, but is it not excessive to attack me outright?”

“Excessive?” Asinus stared down Xu Jingming. “Would it be excessive to destroy only some of your experimental subjects?”

Asinus’s vicious attack shattered a swath of spacetime, causing a ruckus that rippled through the entire universe. Every race and faction could sense the disturbance.

Far off in the distance, high-dimensional lifeforms watched the chaos unfold.

“Asinus just attacked an unknown high-dimensional lifeform.”

“This unknown lifeform may only have occupied a single planet, but Asinus went straight for the kill.”

“This strike didn’t injure the other party, but the other party won’t take kindly to that.”

“Attacking an unknown high-dimensional lifeform is pure folly. He has made a grave mistake.”

The observing high-dimensional lifeforms criticized.

…

Xu Jingming and Asinus felt the weight of the eyes of the high-dimensional lifeforms observing them.

Asinus lifted the massive fire pillar and said calmly, “You hid in the Heart Realm, didn’t you? The Heart Realm lineage is excellent at hiding. I can’t kill you, but I’ll punish you by destroying some of your test subjects. Leave my territory now.”

Xu Jingming snickered. “You think you can let it rest after destroying my test subjects? Dream on.”

Asinus glared at him with his silver eyes. “You want to get nasty?”

Xu Jingming’s killing intent surged. Although he had intended to make friends during the survivability experiments, he was not willing to tolerate someone like Asinus attacking him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, thousands of Xu Jingmings appeared in the void, all staring at Asinus.

Using Heart Realm Force as raw material, Xu Jingming transformed the Cleansing Lotus Fire from one wisp to over 10,000 wisps.

“Interesting!” Asinus gazed at Xu Jingming, the ferocity in his eyes intensifying.

“How dare a consciousness carrier be so arrogant!” the collective voice of the Xu Jingmings boomed.

Asinus’s face contorted with displeasure.

He was in high-dimensional space, leaving behind a consciousness carrier he had painstakingly crafted that was on par with a peak Firstborn realm.

It possessed immense strength, and its weapons were fearsome. The Eternal Realm was within its reach.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The Xu Jingmings charged forward, undaunted.

Asinus drew his fiery weapon, shattering spacetime and blocking their path.

However, the Cleansing Lotus clones were not to be stopped. They traveled through the Heart Realm, avoiding his obstruction.

“The Heart Realm lineage is a force to be reckoned with,” Asinus muttered as the Xu Jingmings closed in on him. They were unstoppable.

Asinus stood still, allowing them to surround him.

The Nine-leaf Cleansing Lotus Fire engulfed him, its flames burning hot against his skin.

Asinus sneered. His body was covered in black fur, tainted with sin, but he was not afraid.

His blood boiled, and flames erupted from his body, turning the Lotus Fire a deep shade of red. He absorbed the flames, their energy fueling his power.

“Abyssal Blood Flame.”

The void was filled with multiple incarnations of Xu Jingming, each one frowning slightly. But he wasn’t worried—he could easily replenish these figures at any time.

In the Heart Realm, Xu Jingming’s true body that was overseeing this dominion had appeared nearby. He watched the universe with sharp eyes and examined Asinus’s consciousness carrier.

“Asinus had paid a steep price to cultivate this vessel, a consciousness carrier capable of producing the coveted Abyssal Blood Flames.”

He had a general understanding of high-dimensional space. He had consumed an abundance of Abyssal True Blood to obtain this power.

Having successfully fend off the Cleansing Lotus Fire with the Abyssal True Blood, Asinus breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing I used massive amounts of Abyssal True Blood to modify this body. Without it, the mental flames would have consumed me entirely.

Huh?

“What’s that!” Asinus’s eyes bulged with terror as his expression twisted into a grotesque face.

In the Heart Realm, Xu Jingming had pulled Asinus’s consciousness into the Intent Samsara World, an amalgamation of his insights from the 300 illusory realms in the toy maze, rendering it even more potent.

Only the Eight Directions Map’s Intent realm had the power to establish the Intent Samsara World. With the help of gains from the 300 illusory realms, Xu Jingming’s mind and consciousness at the peak of the Firstborn realm became immensely powerful, thanks to the makings of an invincible half-step third realm.

The weaker the mind and consciousness, the easier it was to be affected.

Asinus, a high-dimensional Eternal lifeform, fell victim to this. Although his consciousness carrier was at the peak of the Firstborn realm, the consciousness he sent into it was far inferior to his primary consciousness, making him an easy target.

As he tumbled into the Intent Samsara World, he froze like a deer in headlights, not even attempting to fight back.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

The wispy tendrils of Cleansing Lotus Fire wormed their way into his nose and mouth. The pitiful Asinus was powerless to muster the Abyssal Blood Flame in defense. His body was consumed and obliterated in an instant, reduced to a golden skeleton, three scales, and a single tender tendon.

Even the ferocity of the Cleansing Lotus Fire couldn’t destroy these remains.

This body isn’t half bad, Xu Jingming mused to himself, surveying the remnants. But the consciousness is too feeble.

Xu Jingming didn’t bother advancing any further, satisfied that his delivery of the Cleansing Lotus Fire had done the job.

For a high-dimensional Eternal life form, his mind is pitifully inferior to mine in terms of consciousness, Xu Jingming thought. He revels in the thrills of desire and emotion. The Heart Realm lineage is undoubtedly superior in this regard.

Looking around, Xu Jingming noted that the experimental planet was no more, the human criminals gone without a trace.

“I can’t conduct my experiments here,” he muttered, shaking his head as he collected the bones, scales, tender tendon, flaming stone pillar, and other spoils of war. With that, he vanished into thin air.

…

The clash was over before it had even begun.

Asinus’s consciousness carrier was utterly obliterated, and Xu Jingming revealed his Heart Realm means.

I pushed myself to the limit to take down the carrier. The gap between me and a real Eternal is still insurmountable. The battle left Xu Jingming reflecting on himself.

Even with his legion of clones, expertly hiding in the Heart Realm and isolating karma, he knew his true power was limited to bullying those at the Firstborn realm with direct and deadly force.

…

Asinus stood on the deck of a huge warship in high-dimensional space, seething with rage. If it were my true body, his illusory realm would crumble before me, unable to penetrate the barriers of my mind and consciousness. He has no hope of injuring me!

Those cursed high-dimensional lifeforms of the Heart Realm lineage, Asinus raged. He’s probably at the pinnacle of the Firstborn realm, and capable of wielding only a handful of potent techniques.

Asinus had fought many since his very birth and had amassed a wealth of experience in combating their kind.

Born from the Abyss, he was unburdened by any sense of restraint, able to act as he pleased without fear or hesitation.