Chapter 2: Judgment (Part 1)

Ti Luoya had never seen such an arrogant professional before. She couldn’t help but snort and say, “Even if we don’t intervene, an eighth-tier altar professional would be too much for you to handle. Don’t be so overconfident—else you might get your tongue burned by the wind.”
Guo Shier knew that if he couldn’t intimidate these ninth-tier altar professionals, it would be difficult to obtain what he wanted. He smiled slightly and said, “Oh, then… shall we give it a try?”
Ti Luoya looked puzzled. Try it? How exactly?
Guo Shier didn’t say more and immediately flew out of the Soul Calming Cauldron. With a wave of his hand, colorful lights swirlled as he released over five hundred thousand Spirit Beasts at once. Even more terrifying was that these beasts formed various talisman arrays, their fierce aura reaching into the sky.
Before Ti Luoya could speak, she was stunned by the Spirit Beasts released by Guo Shier. Ri Guang’s gaze also froze as he murmured, “Damn… How is he able to control so many Spirit Beasts…” Then he made an even more astonishing discovery—most of these beasts were high-level Spirit Beasts, including many so-called top-tier ones, the spirits of abnormally evolved beasts at levels 15, 16, or even 17. This made his eyelids flutter and his heart race.
Hua Wulang and Yi Jumaru sucked in cold air, also terrified. Only then did they understand why Wang Tian was so polite to Guo Shier—apparently, he had seen Guo Shier’s tactics. With just this one move, Guo Shier’s strength was enough to fight against any of the three factions. Moreover, they had a super expert beyond the ninth-tier altar, so they weren’t afraid, whether in a one-on-one fight or a group battle.
Guo Shier watched everyone silently with a smile. Li Ran couldn’t help but mutter in mockery, “You brat, scaring people again.”
Ti Luoya forced a smile and said, “Fine, you win. You indeed have the ability.”
The agreement was quickly reached, and Guo Shier took back the Spirit Beasts. Releasing five hundred thousand of them required a significant amount of spiritual energy, so he only used it to intimidate them—he didn’t want to keep them released for long.
The ninth-tier altar experts from each faction became very polite to Guo Shier. Even though his own strength wasn’t enough to match an eighth-tier altar professional, as long as he released his Spirit Beasts, even those professionals would back down. By now, no one dared to underestimate him anymore.

Johann Tian and the other four did not leave but stayed in mid-air with Li Ran and the other three. The gambling fight also took place in mid-air, with all eight of them serving as judges and arbiters, naturally led by Li Ran. In other words, for a regular fight, five judges were sufficient; if there were disputes, Li Ran’s decision would prevail—whichever he said won, that was the winner.

Guo Shier was sitting on the altar happily. He was simply there to watch the excitement, and another reason was to see the battles of high-level professionals, gain some combat experience, and broaden his horizons—a rare opportunity.

Elder Shuai also appeared from the altar. Guo Shier asked curiously, “Elder Shuai, why did you come out? Is there something?”
Elder Shuai replied irritably, “Kid, if you can watch, why can’t I?”
Guo Shier was momentarily stunned before laughing and saying, “Of course you can. Do you like watching people fight too?”
Elder Shuai said, “Nonsense. If I don’t watch so many battles among experts, what else am I supposed to watch? Such opportunities are rare. How could an old man like me miss them? Stop talking; people are coming out from both sides.”
It were two professionals from the eighth-level altar, both at the peak of their level. It was clear that both sides took this gambling fight very seriously, as it affected their ultimate gains.
“Angu Family, eighth-level altar professional, Ando.”
“Yuanke Alliance, eighth-level altar professional, Iyas.” She was a young and beautiful woman with great presence. In Guo Shier’s eyes, she had the air of a queen.
Ando didn’t look too old, with round, small eyes that seemed lively, and slanted eyebrows that gave him a somewhat sleazy appearance. He sized Iyas up from head to toe and said with a smile, “Beauty, how about… we have a bet too?”
Iyas frowned and asked coldly, “What kind of bet?”
Ando chuckled and said, “If I lose, I’ll give you another piece of material. If you lose…”
Iyas asked, “What then?”
Ando replied, “Then you come with me. Hehe, I just need a wife.”
Iyas flew into a rage. She stood up from the altar and summoned two ritual treasures in quick succession—one ring-shaped and the other a silver staff-like object that glowed with lightning arcs. It was obvious she was an expert in controlling lightning.

Aundo’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected Iyas to be a profession with lightning attributes—it would be difficult to fight against. Generally, the sacrificial treasures of altar-level professionals mostly took the form of swords and blades, with some also appearing as axes, clubs, or mountain-shaped weapons. Of course, this depended on individual preferences; there were all sorts of strange shapes. Those with lightning attributes usually used staffs, and such professionals often possessed high lethality.

This was because professionals with lightning attributes could inflict damage on souls. As soon as Iyas’s staff appeared, it emitted a lightning bolt as thick as a bucket, striking Aundo head-on.

Aundo had originally intended to provoke Iyas to make her lose her temper so he could seize an opportunity, but he hadn’t expected her to be a lightning-type professional. He immediately became flustered.

He slapped the top of the altar, and 108 dark blue shields flew out from it, completely covering it. Before he could unleash his own sacrificial weapon, the lightning bolt had already struck.

The 108 shields emitted an intense chill as they spun rapidly around the altar. The lightning struck the shields, producing crackling arc sounds, which were quickly absorbed by the shields. However, Aundo suffered greatly—his hair stood on end before gradually returning to normal as the shields rotated.

Having blocked the attack, Aundo felt slightly relieved but also grew furious. The attack had humiliated him. He then summoned his sacrificial weapon—a long black sword. This form of sacrificial weapon was quite common; about half of altar-level professionals chose it. Even Guo Shieru initially picked a moonblade, which also originated from a long sword shape.

Aundo’s black sword was different. It was larger in size, resembling a door panel—rectangular with countless dark red runes circling it, appearing and disappearing intermittently, while emitting a strong scent of blood. At that moment, Iyas launched her second lightning strike.

Guo Shieru and the others watched from a distance. Experts like Li Ran weren’t very interested in such battles, but Guo Shieru was quite intrigued. Though he had considerable combat experience, he had seen few battles between high-level professionals, especially one-on-one fights, which offered him opportunities to learn.

The huge, door-panel-like black sword suddenly expanded and rushed toward the lightning strike. Aundo shouted, “Break it!”

Iyas sneered, “Break it? Ha!”

The vulgar curse made Guo Shier laugh out loud. It reminded him of Qi Wu Zhen—that woman was just as unrestrained. It seemed that female professionals in this world, once they reached the top level, had even more aggressive styles than men.

Ias sent several more lightning strikes in a row. Lightning attacks were the fastest, almost always hitting their target instantly, making it difficult for opponents to dodge.

The battles between professionals at the eighth-tier altar were less spectacular than those between experts at the sixth or seventh-tier altars. When experts at the eighth tier launched an attack, their restrained spiritual power was extremely strong but rarely unleashed. In contrast, those at the ninth tier had attacks that were truly earth-shattering, not to mention those beyond the ninth tier.

So the fight between the two wasn’t particularly exciting, but Guo Shier found it fascinating. Being just one step away from the eighth-tier altar, he could understand the true strength behind their combat and certainly didn’t underestimate them.

Ias seemed impatient. After several failed lightning strikes, she immediately changed tactics. Her staff suddenly glowed brightly, floating in front of her. She chanted thousands of spells and said softly, “Serial Thunder Strikes!” Countless fist-sized thunderballs surged from the staff. In an instant, tens of millions of thunderballs flew out, their blinding light forcing people to squint.

Aondo roared loudly as his black sword transformed into hundreds of phantom images that gradually solidified. Guo Shier laughed, “Damn, this guy is like tearing down all the door panels in his house and throwing them at his opponent… It’s spectacular!”

Hua Wulang chuckled and said, “What are you talking about? That’s a sacred artifact, not a door panel… Well, hearing you put it that way, it does seem like door panels. This… it’s too ugly…” Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, except Bai Guang, who unhappily said, “Aondo isn’t bad. His sacred artifact is famously powerful. It’s no door panel—it’s an axe! You have no taste.”

Guo Shier said, “An axe? It’s more like a door knife… That’s more accurate.”

Li Ran nodded and said, “Mm, it’s quite accurate. It really is like a door knife, very similar!”

Bai Guang was too angry to respond. He didn’t dare to argue recklessly with senior experts, and besides, arguing over this wasn’t worth it, especially after seeing Guo Shier’s astonishing strength. He also didn’t want to get into a conflict with them.

The thunderballs circled around the black door knife, hissing and flashing nonstop, slowing down its speed. Due to the intense electric current, Aondo’s hair stood on end as he sat on the altar. If not for his clothes, he would have looked like a hedgehog-like hairy man.

Ando roared loudly, struggling to control his sacred artifact, which was his life’s treasure. Iyas sneered and said, “Let’s see how arrogant you can be anymore. Go to hell!” Countless bolts of lightning struck him.
One hundred and eight shields spun frantically. Ten or twenty bolts of lightning might be manageable, but a hundred or a thousand bolts? Even with Ando’s great strength, he found it unbearable.
Ando was completely enveloped in blinding lightning, letting out roar after roar. Guo Shier said, “Has he already lost?”
Bai Guang and Ti Luoya couldn’t help but roll their eyes. Ti Luoya grumbled, “It’s not that easy to lose! This is just the beginning. Ando hasn’t even given it his all yet. Wait—the outcome is still uncertain.”
Guo Shier laughed dismissively and said, “Oh? But it seems Ando can’t even fight back… Hehe.”
Crack!
Two consecutive sounds echoed as two of Ando’s shields shattered. Then Ando roared, “You wretched woman! How dare you destroy my sacred artifact…”
Guo Shier said, “Huh, they’re broken…”
Ti Luoya snorted but said nothing. Bai Guang grew nervous and whispered, “What’s Ando doing? This won’t work if it continues like this!”
Snap… Snap… Snap-Snap…