"What!? Roland?"

Everyone's gaze immediately turned to Roland. Even the usually composed and elegant Roland was visibly stunned by Bizarre's statement... utterly confused as to why Bizarre would thank her.

"Uh... Are you sure it's me?" Roland pointed at her own nose with an uncertain finger.

"Yes, it's you. If it weren't for your proposal back then, I wouldn't be who I am today. All of this, everything, is thanks to you."

"Roland! What did you do!" Sky Shadow's eyes widened in rage as he roared at Roland.

"This..." Roland shifted her gaze back to Bizarre, seeking an explanation.

"Do you remember a year ago, when Kexiao, Mengdie, and Sky Shadow planned to join forces with you to deal with me?"

"Of course, I remember."

"Logically speaking, based on my energy calculation at the time, I shouldn't have been a match for the four of you—especially for you, Roland."

"Me...?"

"Precisely. If the other three could barely manage to drain some of my energy, then your presence would have inevitably consumed half of my power." The three Bizarre referred to were undoubtedly Mengdie, Kexiao, and Sky Shadow.

Roland froze again and again, furrowing her brows deeply before shaking her head. "Hmm... Impossible!"

"Holy crap!" The crowd was shocked for a moment. Was 'impossible' suddenly a trend now? Even the ever-calm Roland seemed infected by everyone else's use of the word 'impossible.' Aside from the speechless Mengdie, the rest of them kept echoing that sentiment, as if the world itself had joined in declaring everything impossible, Roland included.

"Absolutely impossible!" Roland emphasized her tone even more as she spoke again. "If you're trying to sow discord, this is downright amateurish."

"What do you mean?"

Roland replied, "Given your energy field at the time, I did consider taking action. However, it would have been like a drop in the ocean, with very limited effect. Based on my calculations, even if the four of us joined forces, at most we'd only drain a small portion of your energy. It wouldn't fundamentally resolve the issue."

"And that's precisely where I owe you my gratitude. Isn't it thanks to your clever proposal that everyone crossed into the Parallel Dimension and gave me the time to grow?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's no longer necessary to keep this secret now. Back then, I couldn't maintain a solid physical form very well. The reason I took on a physical shape was solely due to the restrictive rules of this universe—forcing me into that transformation. At that time, my energy was incredibly weak, so weak that if I'd kept my physical form unchanged, the universe's rules would have erased me entirely as I couldn't maintain energy equilibrium and was continuously dissipating. Had you chosen to team up with everyone against me back then, even if you'd acted alone, though it might not have destroyed me outright, it would have made it practically impossible for me to sustain my physical existence. That's the nature of my energy core's fusion and presentation."

"What—this is how it happened..."

Roland was shocked, then sighed, then became utterly despondent, as if she wanted to bang her head against a wall. She stood there paralyzed, her mind numb... If it weren't for her earlier proposal suggesting that her intervention alone wouldn't be enough to eradicate it, things wouldn't have escalated to today's situation.

If they'd followed Kexiao's original plan or Sky Shadow's strategy, this cascade of events wouldn't have unfolded. Like the flap of a butterfly's wing rippling across the world, her choice had unleashed endless consequences.

The entire group was stunned, even the reborn Feng Yi found himself in a dilemma. But after all, Feng Yi back then was no longer alive—this blame couldn't very well be pinned on him.

"Of course, this matter can't entirely be placed on you—truth be told, you do deserve some thanks. If you'd followed Kexiao's suggestion to gather the world's elite warriors, my existence would have been under great threat. Or, had you aligned with Sky Shadow to directly confront me, well, things might have turned out differently. But fate played out with such flawless coincidence."

"I need to cool off." The ever-perfect Roland seemed deeply shaken, suddenly turning away in silence.

Sky Shadow, having grasped the potential consequences of their actions, finally eased his expression somewhat. He acknowledged Roland's minimal culpability in the matter, but refrained from saying much. With the situation as it stood, there wasn't much else to try except bearing down and probing further—or waiting a thousand years for humanity's technological advancements—or solving it in this era.

"Sky Shadow, weren't you eager to test my strength? You might as well launch your attack now."

Sky Shadow's forehead spontaneously broke into a cold sweat. Attacking rashly without understanding the enemy's depth was obviously foolish, as he couldn't discern Bizarre's strength. However, aside from himself, the only possible fallback was Roland. Feng Yi, with his million combat strength, was clearly unreliable for this battle. But with Roland backing him up, Sky Shadow could afford more leeway, using this opportunity for her to quietly observe.

"Alright, let's resume the battle we started earlier."

With these words, Sky Shadow took a step forward, quietly brewing his power. A flash of fierce light came and went, and his figure disappeared in an instant. In a heartbeat, accompanied by the roar of thunderbolts, his heavily charged fist crashed straight toward Bizarre's unsuspecting face.

Wait, no—technically, Sky Shadow's charged attack didn't land on Bizarre. As his fist approached mere centimeters from Bizarre's face, the entire force was effortlessly intercepted by Bizarre's raised hand, unable to penetrate further. Surrounding them, flashes of lightning appeared seemingly out of thin air, writhing wildly...

"Too weak. Is this the extent of your full strength?" Bizarre seemed to question Sky Shadow as he lowered his hand. "This time, I won't block you. Attack me with all your might."

How outrageous! There was no way Sky Shadow would swallow such an insult quietly. Yet, Bizarre appeared to be enjoying Sky Shadow's shifting expressions—white, then red, then purple, then green—as he casually folded his arms and shut his eyes, entirely ignoring him.

In that instant, Sky Shadow let go of his anger, his rage quickly cooling into composure. He resolved to channel this fury into power, unleashing it all in one unrelenting blow.

As Sky Shadow's aura surged higher and higher, his gaze became piercing... At the same time, Bizarre's surroundings began to transform, forming a black light barrier that enveloped him completely.

Evidently, inflicting maximum suffering on an enemy doesn't always mean killing them. The so-called "destroying the enemy's spirit" is what Bizarre sought—a deeper and crueler revenge. The arrogance and blow Sky Shadow had just delivered would be repaid in full measure. Such tactics were clearly far more devastating than outright death, at least to people of Sky Shadow's ilk.

Sky Shadow decided to put everything into this final strike. If this move failed, it would be pointless to continue—if he couldn't overpower the opponent, then so be it. But his true strength went far beyond what he'd shown earlier.

When one lives a life of danger, with their head metaphorically tied to their trousers' waistband, who doesn't have a trump card hidden up their sleeve?

As a burst-type warrior, standing in place and letting himself fight was never an option! While Sky Shadow lacked skills like Feng Yi's or Revenge Shadow Rider's Flame Dual Slash for instantaneous high damage, if given sufficient time to prepare, there was little he feared—not Feng Yi, not even Roland.

With this thought, Sky Shadow began to step back, all while keeping his unblinking gaze locked firmly on Bizarre.

One step, two steps, three steps... Sky Shadow steadily retreated several dozen meters, his fingers cracking with crisp popping noises that punctuated the air. In this instant, his entire aura seemed to transform dramatically.

One of his arms inexplicably grew noticeably thicker. His torso lowered, leaning forward like a predator ready to pounce, as his momentum surged upward. The surrounding space first pulsed outward before collapsing inwards.

Now, Sky Shadow's energy felt eerily calm—calm to the point that not even those present could sense it. His control of his aura was such that it was entirely untraceable, even surpassing Roland's degree of restraint—a testament that Sky Shadow's mastery of power had reached an advanced level.

Then, Sky Shadow slowly pulled back his fist and launched a sequence of powerful steps forward. His signature move—the Unparalleled Strike—was a technique of his own invention. It's an ultimate one-hit kill with an astonishing level of power, capable of dealing damage far exceeding his usual limits.

The weightless punch seemed to cut through the air without disturbance. No noise, no delay, it went forth with deceptive simplicity as it honed in straight at Bizarre...

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