[Inside Chen Kong's Soul Space]
After witnessing "Tendo" transform the soul space environment with a single thought and hearing him say, "This is my home turf now," the audience of the Dimensional Station 13 went wild.
The production team at Stars Studios had spared no expense to showcase the oppressive force of Tendo's [Cosmic Shift]. The star-filled sea behind Tendo was rendered with an extreme level of detail, and the color palette was elevated to the standard of a high-quality movie. The overall visuals had improved by several levels, giving every single frame a cinematic feel.
"Is this the Stars Studios' budget warrior? Every frame is a money shot, dude!"
"Tendo is Tendo. When he shows up, it's a guaranteed showstopper."
"Tendo: 'Underdog? Sorry, I only fight when the odds are in my favor!'"
" 'A Hundred Ways Tendo Can Be Badass' "
Tendo was clearly an outsider. Bai Kong and Chen Kong were the true owners of this soul space. Yet, for some reason, Tendo had managed to take over, turning the space that rightfully belonged to Bai Kong and Chen Kong into his own. It was utterly absurd!
"How… how can you, just a mere memory projection, possess such powerful soul energy?!"
Bai Kong looked at Tendo, who stood amidst the brilliant sea of stars. The arrogance and wildness he had shown moments ago had completely vanished, replaced by a trembling that came from his very soul.
In response, a faint, mocking smile touched Tendo's lips.
"Because that's what a Fantasist is—a special Stars Core that fills the soul with pure, naive fantasy."
With that, Tendo casually put his hands in his pockets and added in a light tone, "To be precise, I'm not the real Tendo Simei. But what can you do? Little Kong believed deep in his soul that I was."
"And under the influence of the Fantasist, this pure fantasy miraculously became a true reality."
At this, Bai Kong finally understood everything. He turned sharply to look at Chen Kong, who was standing behind Tendo. His eyes were cold, and his words were filled with undisguised disgust and contempt.
"A weakling is always a weakling. You want to rely on others from the bottom of your heart, and you even take pride in it."
"Sharing a body with a guy like you is the biggest insult to me. You have desecrated the title of 'King'!"
Before Chen Kong could reply, Tendo had already retorted on his behalf.
"There's no such thing as desecration. For the vast majority of weaklings in this world, relying on the strong is simply their way of life."
Tendo smiled at Bai Kong, his eyes filled with disdain for his childish notions. "Little Kong just did what most people would do. Besides…"
Tendo glanced at the gloomy-faced Bai Kong and a standard, villainous grin suddenly appeared on his face.
"…I've told you so much, why haven't you left obediently?"
"Looks like you've made a terrible mistake."
"Whether it's a mistake or not, a mere memory projection like you doesn't get to decide."
Bai Kong raised his hand, spread his fingers, and pressed them against his chest. In the next second, his palm plunged into his body, and he slowly pulled out a pitch-black long blade.
Looking at the black blade, sharp-eyed viewers quickly noticed that its style, save for its color, was 70 to 80 percent similar to Chen Xing's Cursed Blade, the Bloodflame. Chen Xing's blade was a dark, fiery red, while the "Blackstar" in Bai Kong's hand was a pure, absolute black without a single hint of another color.
Inside the soul space, with Blackstar in hand, Bai Kong's expression instantly became provocative as he looked at Tendo.
"Don't tell me you're just a memory projection. Even if the real Tendo Simei stood before me, he would have no right to tell me… what to do!"
Bai Kong tightened his grip on the blade, and Blackstar immediately let out a low hum. It was a taunt, a declaration of war against Tendo, the outsider.
But before Bai Kong could put on more airs, a figure appeared before him without any warning.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Staring at Tendo, who was now inches away with a smile on his face, Bai Kong's pupils suddenly constricted. Before he could speak or counter, Tendo placed a finger half an inch from Bai Kong's chest and said calmly, "Stars Arts: Black Azure."
The moment Tendo's words fell, Bai Kong felt an immense sense of danger. Without a moment's hesitation, he used his excellent combat instincts to hold the Blackstar horizontally in front of his chest.
Bang!
In a burst of black light, Bai Kong's body was sent sliding dozens of meters across the water, carving a long wake before he was finally able to steady himself.
Bai Kong looked down and saw a shallow mark in the center of the legendary blade, Blackstar. It was left by Tendo's "Black Azure" just moments ago.
"There it is, Tendo's signature technique!"
"Why does Tendo always seem so effortless when he attacks? Is this the absolute confidence of a born powerhouse?"
"I said so, I said so. When it comes to being a show-off, you're no match for the King of the Stars Universe!"
"Wait, did you guys notice? It looks like only Tendo is in his six-year-old form, while Chen Kong and Bai Kong are both grown up."
"Holy crap, you're right!"
"Whoa, could it be?"
What the dimensional viewers noticed, Bai Kong in the soul space naturally also saw. He looked at Tendo, who was only about 5'7" tall and had a slightly youthful appearance. The expression on his face slowly changed from arrogance to solemnity, and finally to pure frenzy!
"Hahaha! Interesting! This is what I call interesting!"
He raised Blackstar and pointed it at Tendo, his eyes burning with a maniacal battle-lust. "Tendo Simei, I'll admit you're one of the few beings in this world who can stand against me."
"What others spend their entire lives trying to achieve, you accomplished with ease six years ago, or even earlier."
"If I'm not mistaken, you must have discovered the fusion of Stars Cores and Stars Sources back then, right?"
"After all, your current memory projection is only at the level you were at six years ago."
Upon hearing this, Tendo cocked his head. "Huh? Does that need to be discovered?"
"What, does someone need to teach you how to use your own body?"
Tendo's tone was incredibly flat, as if this was as self-evident as "why people need to eat and drink." It was not a question worth discussing. This natural "of course" from Tendo made Chen Kong, who was standing nearby, fall completely silent.
He didn't even understand what "fusion" was, let alone six years ago; he didn't even understand it now! For a moment, Chen Kong felt like he and these two guys were not from the same world. He understood every word they said, but when they were put together, he couldn't comprehend what they were talking about at all.
But Chen Kong did understand one thing: the "reason" Tendo was here.
No one doesn't crave victory, but not everyone can keep winning forever. Tendo's appearance wasn't just because of his special Fantasist Stellar Source. It was also because of Chen Kong's deep-seated, unrealistic fantasy. He wanted to be like Tendo… to keep winning! And that was the pure, unrealistic fantasy that was ingrained in his soul.
But Tendo's existence had turned this fantasy into reality. Because Chen Kong knew very well that as long as he stood with Tendo, there would be no more enemies before them.