Crack!
As Tendo slowly applied pressure, a crisp sound of cracking bone echoed from Liu Ma's forearm.
His skin, which had been hardened by the Golden Magic Bull's power, was slowly cracking under the slightly forceful grip of Tendo's hand.
A thick, dark red blood oozed from the cracks, dripping through the gaps between Tendo's fingers and splattering onto the ground, forming tiny blossoms of blood.
But even though his body was trembling and his face was Ember from the pain, Liu Ma stared fixedly at Tendo without so much as a grunt. He was full of backbone.
It must be said that in terms of sheer defiance, this guy, No. 35, was definitely tougher than that dead last, Chen Kong, No. 36.
But to defeat him, simple defiance was nowhere near enough.
Tendo calmly increased the pressure of his grip and spoke in a steady voice. "Challenging a god is certainly a form of courage, but it's also a display of foolishness."
The moment his voice fell, Tendo's right hand suddenly thrust forward, giving a light 'push.'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With three muffled thuds, Liu Ma was hit as if by a high-speed steam train. His body flew in a parabola, smashing heavily into a distant wall made of reinforced bronze and concrete, sending up a shower of metal fragments and dust.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
After a violent bout of coughing, a blood-soaked golden arm reached out from the rubble.
Liu Ma propped himself up, getting back to his feet like an unkillable cockroach.
But his condition was clearly not good.
Not only was his right arm twisted at a strange angle and his shoulder dislocated, but his mouth was also seeping bright red blood, a clear sign of internal damage.
Liu Ma didn't pay any mind to his injuries. He used his left hand to wipe the blood from his lips and stared at Tendo, his voice hoarse. "Why do you also have the Feather Force?"
Hearing this, Tendo controlled Vivian, who was still struggling beside him, and said with a smile, "You mean that stacking technique?"
Liu Ma didn't respond, only looking at Tendo with a solemn expression. He clearly wanted an answer.
Unlike his own rough and clumsy application of the 'Feather Force,' Tendo's execution was not only effortless but also felt more natural and fluid.
It was as if he had practiced this technique thousands of times.
Looking at Liu Ma's serious expression, Tendo thought for a moment before raising his right hand.
The Star Energy on his forearm suddenly rippled with black waves, stacking one on top of the other.
This was none other than the 'Feather Force' Liu Ma had spoken of!
"Isn't stacking just something you learn by seeing it?"
Tendo's tone was calm, as if he were stating the obvious.
But this genuine sense of 'of course' made everyone feel a palpable, terrifying pressure.
Is the 'Feather Force' really that simple? For Tendo, it was.
Because the essence of the 'Feather Force' is to gather all the powers of a Star Emissary—including but not limited to Star Source, Star Energy, body, and spirit—in one place.
And the more 'forces' that are stacked, the more difficult this concentration becomes.
This so-called 'concentration' is especially hard for those with disproportionate abilities, who have not developed their physical attributes evenly.
But none of this was a problem for Tendo.
He was the only monster among all the characters that had appeared in Prequel of the Stars: Glimmer who had developed all of his attributes to their 'absolute limit.'
Concentration?
Tendo's 'Feather Force' wasn't limited to simple 'stacking' and 'concentration.'
To better showcase his powerful villainous aura to the cross-dimensional viewers, Tendo decided to give Liu Ma a live lesson.
He drew Star Slicer from his waist and slowly raised it.
"I don't know how much you've mastered this technique, but I do know you haven't discovered its true purpose yet."
To Liu Ma's shock, the 'stacked force' on Tendo's arm spread to his weapon, creating similar ripples of Star Energy on the blade in a very short time.
Could it be?!
Liu Ma's eyes widened. He inhaled sharply, a hissing sound escaping his throat.
"The so-called stacking is never limited to the body alone. A weapon... can also be a part of the body."
With that, Tendo brought the Star Slicer down.
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a crescent-shaped sword slash as black as ink that tore through the air and sped toward Liu Ma.
Facing this attack, Liu Ma instantly felt a strong sense of impending death.
"Mooo!!!"
He roared, forcefully mobilizing all the Star Energy in his body, making the golden patterns on his arms even more solid and instantly hardening his skin to a dark gold color.
Boom!
The black sword slash and Liu Ma's raised arms collided, producing a dull explosion.
Liu Ma slid along the ground as if he were being pushed by a mountain, kicking up a shower of rubble.
At the same time, the golden patterns on his body began to dim at a visible rate.
The intense pain from his arms and the mental exhaustion caused Liu Ma's vision to blur and his consciousness to become hazy.
Is this the end?
Just as Liu Ma was thinking this, a figure suddenly shot out from his side.
"Void Pattern Return to Dust!"
Chen Kong's voice was filled with a rapid gasp. He moved past Liu Ma's shoulder and pressed his palm against the side of Tendo's black sword slash.
The invisible Void Pattern intertwined with Liu Ma's remaining golden Star Energy, and together they were just barely able to stop the black sword slash.
Finally, with their combined efforts, Tendo's casual attack dissipated.
Plop!
After his close call with death, Liu Ma immediately fell to his knees.
His arms hung limply at his sides. The wounds on his forearms were deep enough to expose bone, and the red flesh was turned inside out. He had clearly lost all ability to fight.
Chen Kong stood beside him, blood still on his forehead. He looked at Tendo with a complex expression and said, "Brother Tendo, why are you doing this?"
"Oh? Have you finally figured it out?"
Hearing Chen Kong correctly state his identity, Tendo was not surprised.
His recent actions had all but spelled out his full name: Tendo Simei.
And with his true identity exposed, his alias 'Ink Painting' was at its end.
As Chen Kong and the others watched with complicated expressions and the cross-dimensional viewers looked on with excitement, Tendo floated into the air with Vivian beside him.
The deep black eyes he had worn were now his signature pale blue!
And these were the eyes that Chen Kong and Liu Ma remembered. The eyes of the being they once looked up to, who stood above all others.
That monster, who had once stood at the pinnacle, had now reappeared before them as an enemy!
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