Chapter 1953: A Pebble Falling into a Lake
Norman's eyes were splitting with rage!
"BOOM!"
As the glazed little sphere blossomed against Norman's chest, his body was violently slammed toward the ground!
The entire arena was blasted into a hundred-thousand-meter-deep crater, but this wasn't the end!
Within the blossoming realm, another glazed little sphere was hidden—the compressed Palm Realm!
"BOOM!"
It blossomed again, expanding the crater further!
A two-stage strike directly hit Norman!
By now, Norman was on the verge of death, feeling like he could disperse at any moment!
The shadow of death enveloped his entire being!
Yet Norman discovered in terror that within the two-stage blossoming realm, there was still another glazed little sphere!
There's still another one?!
This time, Norman finally understood what Triple Heaven Collapse meant!
"BOOM!"
It felt like the entire Tianze Arena was trembling; the memory alloy arena floor beneath was completely blasted through!
Jiangnan looked somewhat excited.
That Triple Heaven Collapse just now was a new move he'd developed!
It worked like a nesting doll—layering the compressed little spheres of Palm Realm one inside another!
When they bloomed, they released layer by layer, forming a continuous strike!
He'd only layered three for now, but the power seemed pretty good!
At this moment, the Tianze Arena was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Nine Bose Bodies lay scattered across the floor, all transparent to the point of being terrifying—every single one was reduced to critical health!
Clearly, Jiangnan hadn't been bluffing.
Even with all the Bose Bodies attacking together, and even temporarily combining their domains, they still couldn't change the outcome.
It just took a bit more effort.
Now Norman didn't even dare to move. He lay at the bottom of the crater, his body mutilated.
He frantically absorbed Bose particles to stabilize himself.
Just as he struggled to get up, Jiangnan's spatial blade was already pressed against his forehead.
Norman's figure froze instantly.
Jiangnan half-opened his eyes and said coldly:
(◕‾᷄⁻‾᷅) "So? Do you see the gap now? You and your underlings—nine Bose Bodies, going all out—didn't even scratch my skin. Oh, sorry, I'm not being precise—you didn't even manage to touch me once."
"Sequence number one? Bose Bodies? Nothing special."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in uproar. Even the Arbiter broke out in a cold sweat.
Thinking back on the match, not a single effective attack had landed on Jiangnan!
A flawless victory without injury? Was Carbon so tough these days?
Norman was grinding his teeth so hard they might shatter:
(ꐦಥ益ಥ) "What are you so cocky about? Give me time to grow, and I'll crush you! I'm still young, I—"
Jiangnan sneered: "Hah, saying that just proves how young you are."
"In the same amount of time, I'll outpace you to the point of explosion. The gap will only widen. You'll never catch up."
"Also, give you time to grow? Enemies never give you time. They won't wait for you to be ready to strike."
"I used to think the same way. But reality shattered that fantasy. That lesson? You taught me."
As he spoke, the spatial blade fell again, seeming ready to cut at any moment.
Norman clenched his fists, glaring at Jiangnan with stubborn defiance.
Jiangnan narrowed his eyes: "The only reason you're still alive is your powerful backing. That's it."
"A deal is a deal. I just need you to say those three words."
Norman opened his mouth. His subordinates looked equally grim.
Today's humiliation was complete—they'd lost face so badly their ancestors would blush.
The air was dead silent. Finally, Norman forced the words out through clenched teeth:
(︶益︶#) "I... I lost."
The Arbiter quickly announced:
(♪⋟口⋞) "Winner of this match: Jiangnan!"
No cheers followed. Only scattered whispers arose in the venue.
"That ruthless Jiang guy is seriously insane. A summoner this strong? One against nine, flawless victory? It's unbelievable!"
"Even with the Spirit Contract, I wonder if the Bose will come after him later. He slapped the Starry Sky Overlord in the face."
"I can already imagine the massive waves this match will stir in Thousand Stars City."
Though no one dared to openly disrespect the Bose, when they looked at the few Bose Bodies in the arena, the fear and reverence in their eyes seemed to have dimmed a little.
...
In the audience stands, Wen Ge let out a long breath and slumped to the ground.
(‧̣̥̇︶3︶) "Phew, scared me to death. We made it!"
Everyone stared at Wen Ge with sweat beading on their foreheads. Jiangnan was the one fighting—why was Wen Ge even more anxious than him?
Yue Li still couldn't believe Jiangnan had single-handedly crushed nine Bose Bodies.
But at least the problem was solved. With the Spirit Contract, Norman couldn't openly go after Jiangnan—for now.
Still, after something like this, the Bose clan would never let it slide.
Ai Jiang said excitedly:
ᥬ(๑͡°◡͡°)᭄ "Come on, let's go collect the money! We made a good haul this time!"
Ye Yuan exchanged glances with Mo Mo and a few others, then hurried off to exchange for Star Source Points.
Olivia's face was covered in black lines. Was this group completely unconcerned about Bose retaliation?
She still followed to collect the bounty.
Meanwhile, scattered across the audience, a dozen Mechanical Race individuals had recorded the entire battle.
All footage was transmitted as data.
(〃⊡‸⊡) "Lord Miu Ke, we've searched the Terminal Database for all information on the Abyss Race. No records or traces of Jiangnan were found."
"Checked all summoners recorded in the starry sky since the emergence of summoning abilities. None have been found who can use Spatial Spirit Techniques without summoning a contract beast."
"Judgment: Jiangnan is 96.39% not of the Abyss Race. His abilities come from another source. But he is confirmed as a Carbon-Based life form. His true race cannot be determined."
"Also discovered: His companion Ye Yuan has a 91% facial similarity to the Abyss-Race Star-Breaker-rank Night King."
"He is a summoner, confirmed dead. Died in a race war about 2,100 years ago. Average Abyss Race lifespan: 300 years."
Miu Ke's consciousness received all the transmitted information.
"Continue tracking Norman. Look for leverage for negotiations. I'll keep analyzing the battle data using the Terminal Database."
"Assign personnel to monitor Jiangnan's movements. He might serve as a breakthrough point. Report to me continuously and send data."
"Yes, Lord Miu Ke!"
The Mechanical Race individual had just stood up when, suddenly, from a nearby seat—
"Pwah!"
(: ꒪ͦཀ꒪ͦ ||」∠)
Someone spat out a mouthful of black blood, collapsed, and started frantically rolling their eyes and foaming at the mouth.
∑(°口°๑) "Whoa, bro! Bro, what's wrong? Why are you seizing up?"
It wasn't just him. More and more people in the audience began collapsing, convulsing, and coughing up blood.
They looked like they were about to die.
And the symptoms were identical to those of the poisoned Apocalypse warriors and the spectators earlier.
Someone clutched their head in terror:
୧(*ﾟ口ﾟ)୨ "Poisoned? This is poison?"
"I knew it! Jiangnan's melon is toxic! You can't just eat it! Can even watching a match get you poisoned?"
Σ(°△°|||) "Tsk, that's wicked! A... a toxic pumpkin?"
Someone struggled to their feet, eyes blazing with fury, resentment values refreshing wildly.
"Damn! It's that chicken soup! Son of a bitch, the chicken soup is poisonous! Pwah—"
"What kind of crap is he selling? You get what you pay for! Let's go! Find him and demand an explanation!"
A crowd of poisoned chicken soup victims staggered together to find Jiangnan.
...
Backstage at Tianze Arena.
Ai Jiang, Mo Mo, and the others collected the bounty and went to find Jiangnan.
Yue Li felt uneasy. She thought about suggesting Jiangnan forgo the bet. It would be a way to show Norman some respect and take the initiative to de-escalate.
That way, maybe the Bose clan wouldn't hold a grudge.
But the moment she entered the backstage area, Yue Li choked on her cigarette.
Jiangnan had stripped Norman completely naked.
Source Core bracelet, Source Quality Starlight Armor, Holy Judgment Blade—everything. Not a single thing left.
He was now holding Norman's head down, pressing a Small Fire Jar toward his forehead.
But Norman's subordinates were desperately blocking him.
(✡꒦ິ益꒦ີ) "Young master! You can't give him your horns! You black devil, don't push your luck! Touch what you shouldn't, and you'll lose your life!"
Jiangnan glared: (ꐦ͡⚆益͡⚆) "Pfft! A deal's a deal! Hand over the horns!"
"Block me again, and I'll ram you to death, I swear!"
Kunta was frantic: "Take my horns instead! Take mine!"
Norman cursed: "Get out of my way! Give them to him! They're just two horns—they'll grow back!"
"What's there to be afraid of? I'll remember this humiliation for life!"
Kunta broke out in a cold sweat: "You can't give them to him! If you do, how will you show your face outside?"
"If Lord Xing Luo sees this, he'll skin us alive!"
Jiangnan shoved them aside: "Move! Don't stop me from delivering humiliation!"
With everyone watching in terror, the Small Fire Jar landed directly on Norman's head.
It activated extraction mode. After more than a dozen tries, it finally pulled both of Norman's horns off.
They became part of Jiangnan's collection.
Norman, completely unaware his horns had permanently left him, shot Jiangnan a killing glare, covered his bald head, and ascended dimensionally—gone in an instant.
Jiangnan quickly called out:
(◕ﾟ口ﾟ)ﾂ "Hey! You haven't spat your parting threat yet! Gotta follow the procedure! So unprofessional!"
[From Norman: Resentment Value +1009!]
[From Norman: ...]
Seeing the young master had fled, the subordinates also retreated, not staying a moment longer.
Yue Li's face was pale:
↜(⃔っ꒪ᗜ꒪C)⃕ "You actually took his horns?"
She'd been about to suggest Jiangnan forgo the bet, but he'd taken everything without missing a single item!
Jiangnan grinned:
(◕¯ิ↼¯ิ) "I earned it. Why wouldn't I take it?"
Ye Yuan raised an eyebrow: (◕◔д◔ิ) "Just let him go like that? Not worried about him coming after you later?"
Jiangnan's lips curled into a sly arc. He was actually hoping Norman would come looking for trouble.
The son of Saint Star Lord—such a valuable bargaining chip—Jiangnan had no intention of letting go.
Just then, the crowd of people spitting blood and rolling their eyes surged into the backstage like old zombies, all roaring:
(꒪ัཀ꒪ั|||) "You swindler! What kind of chicken soup is this? I'm never buying your stuff again!"
(ꐦథ益థ)☛ "Refund! Dammit, give us a refund! How could you do this to us?"
"I'm never eating your toxic pumpkins again!"
Jiangnan twitched, then wrapped them all in Void Chains:
(●ớ₃ờ) "Uh, nothing to do with me. But as the miracle doctor Jiang Cuan Cuan, how can I bear to see you suffer like this?"
"I'll cure this poison for you! Bring your cash and come to Noah Estate!"
With that, he used Spatial Displacement and vanished with the crowd.
All that remained on the spot was a single blue rose flower.
Why did he run so fast?
Nothing else—just afraid of getting beaten up.