Silas's Last Shot
A deafening roar of applause and cheers, like tangible waves, surged through every corner of the central square. People were flushed with excitement, waving their arms, some even with tears welling in their eyes. They were witnessing not just a unique demonstration, but the sudden opening of a completely new worldview—an infinite possibility that redefined power, rules, and life itself!
Long live Eastern metaphysics!
"Ms. Ling Yao! Please accept my deepest respect!"
"The academy must offer courses in Eastern metaphysics! Now! Immediately! Right now!"
"My mom asked me why I was kneeling while watching the demonstration..."
A cacophony of excited shouts and enthusiastic discussions erupted, creating a deafening roar that nearly shook the clouds from the sky. Finn, in the audience, excitedly huddled with several other students, jumping and leaping like bears who had just stolen honey. Professor Eleanor was already in tears, constantly wiping her glasses with a handkerchief—tears of joy and awe. The old Dean, Maurice, clapped his hands vigorously, his smile smoothing out the wrinkles on his face, making him appear ten years younger in an instant.
At this moment, all glory and brilliance belonged to the girl in plain clothes in the center of the square.
However, amidst this almost unanimously fervent atmosphere, there exists an extremely discordant and cold corner—the area of the trial court.
Silas the Inquisitor sat there stiffly, like an ice sculpture abandoned in the sunlight, completely out of place with the vibrant surroundings. The muscles in his face twitched slightly uncontrollably, and his icy blue eyes no longer held their usual coldness and majesty, but were filled with chaos, struggle, and a sense of bewilderment and... madness that came from having his foundation of faith utterly shattered.
Everything he believed in throughout his life, the order upon which he depended for survival, and his absolute standard for judging right and wrong, were crushed into dust by the other party in the most upright and irrefutable way in just over an hour!
Elixirs can save lives, talismans can connect, formations can change the world, and even swords, which represent slaughter, can be used to perform exquisite and unparalleled redemption techniques!
The effects are real, the power is controllable, and the impact is positive and far-reaching... All of this is completely contrary to the dogma he was instilled with that "either holy light or evil" and "heretical power will inevitably bring chaos and destruction"!
His brain was screaming madly, "This is heresy! This is a disguise!" But his eyes, his senses, and even the primal power of the Holy Light within him were clearly telling him that the power displayed by the other party was pure, vast, and full of a higher level of order and wisdom. It not only lacked any sense of evil or chaos, but was even more... inclusive and profound than the Holy Light he believed in.
This immense sense of cognitive dissonance almost tore his soul in two!
"No...it can't be...it's fake! It's all fake!" Silas shook his head violently, trying to shake off those "rebellious" thoughts, his nails digging deep into his palms, drawing blood without him even noticing. "It's bewitching! It's a deeper level of evil illusion! It's to deceive everyone's senses! Yes! It must be!"
He abruptly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the figure in the center of the square, like a dying beast spotting its last prey. Yes! As long as this illusion is shattered! As long as she is forced to reveal her true "evil" power! As long as it is proven that all of this is a lie!
A crazy and resolute thought grew wildly in his heart like a poisonous vine—to use the ultimate means! To unleash the "Holy Shock," a forbidden technique that requires a huge price to pay! To forcefully shatter all illusions with the purest and most extreme power of holy light, forcing out the "evil" hidden in the deepest recesses!
Even if... even if it affects the innocent people around them! Necessary sacrifices are acceptable in order to "purify" such a terrible heresy! The admonitions of the Vatican echoed in his mind, like the whispers of the devil, overwhelming the last shred of reason.
Just as the applause subsided and Ling Yao seemed to be preparing to give her final concluding remarks—
"heresy!!!"
A hoarse, distorted roar, filled with despair and madness, like the mournful cry of a wounded beast, suddenly tore through the fervent atmosphere and drowned out all other sounds!
Silas the Inquisitor suddenly sprang from his seat! He ripped off the silver badge that symbolized his status as an Inquisitor from his chest and crushed it with all his might!
puff!
The instant the holy emblem shattered, an unimaginable, pure, and violent power of holy light surged forth from the broken emblem like a burst dam, frantically pouring into his body!
"Ughhhhhh—!" Silas roared in pain and madness. His body trembled violently as he could not withstand the immense power. Countless tiny cracks appeared on his skin, from which golden blood and holy light gushed out, making him look like a humanoid of light about to shatter!
But he ignored it all, gripping the spiked mace engraved with holy runes tightly with both hands, pouring his extremely violent holy light energy into it without reservation!
"With my blood! With my soul! Burn away all falsehood! Purify the evil of the world! Divine Impact!!!"
Like a madman, he unleashed his ultimate attack—a beam of pure white light, over a meter in diameter, containing both the will of destruction and purification—that was a culmination of most of his life force and soul power, mixed with the faith of past judges stored within the shattered holy emblem. This beam hurtled towards Ling Yao in the center of the plaza, and the large group of spectators behind her who had no time to dodge!
The power of this attack far surpassed the "Holy Light Judgment" in the Black Forest! Wherever the beam of light passed, space itself was violently distorted, emitting a hum that seemed unable to bear the strain! The terrifying energy pressure caused those nearby to instantly collapse to the ground, their faces deathly pale!
"madman!!"
"Run!!"
"He's gone mad! He's even attacking his own people!"
Screams and cries erupted instantly! No one expected that Silas would be so ruthless as to launch such an indiscriminate and self-destructive attack in full view of everyone!
The old dean and Eleanor's expressions changed drastically; they tried to stop it, but it was too late! The people at the courthouse were also stunned; they hadn't expected their commander to suddenly unleash such a terrifying forbidden technique!
The destructive beam of light was about to engulf Ling Yao and a large area behind her—
Ling Yao, who was at the very heart of the attack, didn't even flinch.
She even had time to sigh softly, as if she were regretting something.
Then, she merely raised her eyelids, glanced at the roaring, blinding pillar of white light, powerful enough to level a small hill, and softly uttered two words:
"Let's call it a day."
There was no earth-shattering confrontation, no dazzling clash of spells.
The moment she finished speaking, the complex array that had been hovering above the square, slowly rotating and emitting a gentle light, suddenly lit up slightly!
The speed at which the array's light flowed increased a thousandfold in an instant! Countless profound runes flickered in and out of the light screen, forming an enormous, slowly rotating yin-yang phantom that blocked the path of the divine impact!
The violent and blazing torrent of holy light crashed headlong into the seemingly gentle and slow Tai Chi phantom!
What happened next was something that everyone will never forget!
The holy light, powerful enough to destroy everything, struck the Tai Chi diagram like a raging river flowing into a boundless ocean, or like a red-hot iron being thrown into eternal ice.
There was no explosion, no impact, and no rampant energy!
That immense holy light energy was inexplicably and easily "swallowed" by the slowly rotating Taiji diagram! Then, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea!
No! It hasn't completely disappeared!
After absorbing such a massive amount of energy, the Tai Chi diagram became even brighter and more solid, and its rotation seemed to become more fluid and harmonious. Then, the array's light rippled slightly, and a purer, gentler energy wave, carrying an all-encompassing aura, flowed out like a silent spring rain, gently caressing the entire plaza!
Those who had been paralyzed on the ground by Silas's terrifying pressure felt a warm current flow into their bodies, instantly dispelling all discomfort and even making them feel more energetic than before!
In the Tribunal area, which was heavily "focused" on by the formation, the holy light of the judges, which had been somewhat weakened by Silas's draining of power, actually recovered considerably under the nourishment of this gentle energy, and even became more condensed!
As for Silas himself, who launched the suicidal attack, the moment the energy was completely absorbed, he collapsed to the ground as if all his bones had been removed, his face ashen, barely breathing, only exhaling and not inhaling. His forbidden technique, the price he paid with his life and soul, ultimately became nourishment for the opponent's formation, incidentally restoring his teammates' mana...
The entire room fell silent.
If the previous demonstrations were mind-blowing, then what we're seeing now is simply... an insult to our intelligence!
The ultimate forbidden technique, unleashed with all its might, not only failed to even touch the hem of the opponent's clothes, but was instead absorbed as a tonic? And incidentally, it also gave the entire field a buff?
This isn't just a defeat; it's a complete and utter mockery! It's a humiliating defeat of a higher dimension!
All eyes were once again focused on Ling Yao.
She remained standing there, her hair perfectly styled. She looked at Silas, collapsed on the ground, barely breathing, and shook her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of the helplessness a teacher feels when their dumbest student finally gets themselves into trouble:
"Force should not be used in this way."
"Steel cannot last long, and softness cannot be maintained."
"Your holy light is too intense, but too inclusive; it has lost its essence and is merely a form."
She raised her hand, a wisp of light flowing from her fingertips—a trace of pure energy that had just been absorbed and transformed by the formation.
"It should be known that all things carry yin and embrace yang, and achieve harmony through the interaction of these two forces."
"Destruction and creation are not opposites."
With a slight twitch of her fingertips, the wisp of energy gently drifted toward a small, still somewhat wilted blade of grass that had just been sprouted by the energy of the array.
As the energy flowed in, the grass visibly turned lush and vibrant, even sprouting an inconspicuous little white flower at its tip.
Ling Yao's gaze returned to Silas, and she delivered her final verdict:
"There is no harmony in your heart."
Therefore, destruction is the only way out.
"How tragic, how lamentable."
After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at the judge, whose faith had collapsed, whose power had been exhausted, and who was on the verge of death, as if he were just an inconspicuous pebble on the roadside.
The entire venue remained silent.
But this silence was unlike any before.
It was a complex silence mixed with awe, shock, and a touch of pity for the losers.
Silas's final blow not only failed to salvage the situation, but instead served as a tragic example, highlighting the power and profundity of Ling Yao and Eastern metaphysics even more vividly and undeniably.
Light does not come in only one form.
Power is not expressed in only one way.
Ling Yao perfectly illustrated this point with four demonstrations and a silent resolution.
The dust has settled.
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