'You do not belong to this era.'
The old man's words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
On the silent beach, the sea wind kicked up some waves that splashed against their faces.
But the coldness on their faces could not quell the shock in most people's hearts.
The opponent's power, which had so easily erased a life, and the unconcealed hostility in his words, completely shattered any lingering hope everyone held.
The bloodstain on the beach was still warm—the most direct warning.
This was not a training ground; it was a true battlefield of life and death!
Boom!
The instant the old man's words fell, a column of dark purple fire suddenly shot out from the crowd, carrying an exaggerated heatwave that slightly warped the air, and charged straight for the old man's face.
In the scene, a demonic blade, vastly enlarged after condensing a large amount of Starlight Energy, was trailing a long flaming tail as it descended, aiming to cleave the old man in half.
The blood-flame wrapped around the demonic blade was so hot that the surrounding sand was scorched, and the air was instantly filled with a strange 'sweet' scent mixed with rust and blood.
The ferocious unsheathing of the demonic blade caused its edge to produce a sharp screech as it tore through the air, causing some nearby students to instinctively duck, fearing they might be caught in its wake.
The one who launched this strike was Chen Xing, who hadn't appeared in the official version for a long time and whose activities were unknown.
She was clad in a black and red outfit, her brown hair reflecting red light from the blood-flame, her fingers white from gripping the hilt so tightly, and there was no hesitation in her eyes.
Under Chen Xing's control, the demonic blade in her hand had swelled to twenty meters long. The complex blood patterns on the blade seemed to come alive at this moment. With every flicker of the blood-flame, peculiar sparks would fly, landing on the grey-green sand and instantly igniting small clumps of strange fire.
Yet, surprisingly, in the face of Chen Xing's strike, which was powerful enough to split an ordinary Star Beast in two, the old man's eye beneath the monocle showed no ripple, only the tranquility of a still lake.
He watched the demonic blade descend towards his head and slowly raised the rosewood cane in his hand.
The next second, the white jade-carved cane accurately blocked the edge of the demonic blade.
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal collision pierced the battlefield, causing ear-numbing resonance.
At the same time, the clash between the demonic blade and the cane instantly sent dark purple sparks flying everywhere, and a scorching wave of air swept across the entire area.
When the aftermath dissipated, everyone immediately looked in the direction of the old man.
Upon seeing the old man's condition, everyone's faces turned solemn.
Although the old man's frail figure seemed incredibly minuscule, like a reed in a strong wind, before the twenty-meter-long demonic blade, it was Chen Xing, who seemingly held the advantage, who looked strained during this simple exchange.
This was because while Chen Xing was the attacker, her strike had failed to achieve anything significant.
In contrast, the old man's expression was calm, as if nothing had happened.
"The strength is good, but it's not enough."
As he spoke, the old man's right hand, which held the cane, suddenly exerted force. The white jade rose at the top of the cane abruptly bloomed with a dark glow.
The next moment, Chen Xing felt a massive force hard-press her demonic blade upwards.
Simultaneously, an inexplicable power clung to the demonic blade.
Seeing that strange, dark 'energy,' Chen Xing's battle instinct immediately screamed an alarm in her mind.
In Chen Xing's narrowed pupils, the blood-flame on her demonic blade seemed to have met its nemesis, beginning to disintegrate at a visible rate.
In the blink of an eye, the previously rampant flames surrounding the demonic blade turned into tiny, fragmented sparks, and even the blood patterns on the blade itself began to dim.
But what was even more terrifying was that while the strange 'dark energy' was destroying the blood-flame of the demonic blade, it was also climbing up along the blade's edge.
Wherever it passed, the Starlight Energy she had injected into the blade seemed to be frozen, completely losing its vitality.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xing immediately let go of the hilt and rapidly retreated before the strange power could spread to her body.
The demonic blade, deprived of Starlight Energy support, had its blood-flame completely extinguished, returning to its original appearance. It dropped from the air with a thud, sticking into the gray sand, the blade vibrating slightly.
Looking at the demonic blade ten meters away, Chen Xing frowned, her expression extremely serious.
For a moment, Chen Xing clearly felt the shadow of death.
If her reaction had been even half a second slower, what disintegrated would have been not just the blood-flame, but herself as well.
Based on these results, Chen Xing was convinced that the old man's strength was absolutely Calamity-level, and he was an extraordinary existence even within that rank.
Things were troublesome...
Although Chen Xing had anticipated that this trial would not be easy, she never expected to encounter such a terrifying crisis just as they landed on the island.
And at the very moment Chen Xing retreated, more people on the beach took action simultaneously.
Jing Liuli shed her usual languor, her eyes tightly closed, and faint purple butterfly patterns appeared at the corners of her eyes.
This was the special mark that only appeared when the 'Evernight Illusion Butterfly' was fully activated.
Clearly, Jing Liuli was also taking it seriously.
As one dream construct after another materialized out of thin air, they instantly enveloped the old man, acting like 'heroic spirits' unafraid of death.
Jeremiah knelt on one knee, placing both hands on the scorching sand.
Pale blue Starlight Energy seeped into the sand through his palms, spreading rapidly towards the old man. Wherever it passed, even the sand that had been scorched by the blood-flame condensed into thick layers of ice, and fine snowflakes began to drift in the air.
Just as the ice layer was about to reach the old man, it suddenly bulged upward, forming dozens of ice spikes that shot towards the motionless old man.
During this process, other students also made their moves.
Some shot Starlight arrows laced with paralyzing effects, the feathers on the arrow tails whistling as they brushed past the ice spikes.
Others summoned Mechanized Puppets, whose massive metal fists slammed towards the old man with a rushing sound.
Still others, students specializing in mental or illusionary Starlight sources, quietly unleashed their abilities, attempting to disrupt the old man's perception.
For a moment, ice and fire intertwined on the beach. Pale purple dream constructs, blue ice, and multicolored Starlight skills collided, erupting in deafening noises, even causing ripples in the distant ocean waves.
But amidst this chaotic storm of abilities, two figures remained notably calm.
Tendo stood on the beach expressionlessly, twirling a commemorative silver coin between his fingers, his pale blue eyes watching the old man's every move.
Caroline, meanwhile, looked down at her tactical tablet.
The screen of the tactical tablet displayed densely packed data. Everything from the old man's attack speed and power fluctuations to the energy frequency of that strange power was being accurately recorded.