"Not good! Everyone fall back! Retreat from the high ground!"
Zhuge Liang's eyes caught the faint glint of confidence and scheming in the Brain Fiend's smirk. It was unmistakable—this was someone who had everything fully under control.
A powerful sense of danger surged through his heart.
Zhuge Liang knew it clearly—if the Brain Fiend dared to guard the crystal alone, it meant he was confident enough to serve as the final gatekeeper. His strength had likely been acknowledged by the other Evernight geniuses as well.
Given that expression—without a doubt, this was a meticulously prepared trap.
"Trying to retreat now? It's already too late."
The Brain Fiend's voice was cold and detached.
"Mental... Storm!!"
Word by word, he uttered the name of the technique.
Suddenly, a layer of pitch-black demonic light burst from the center of his brow, erupting with unimaginable speed and savagery—an explosion not from the body, but from the mind.
Light!
Infinite light—every possible kind of light.
In that instant, all human elites saw it: rays of light streaming from the Brain Fiend's skull. But this was no ordinary light—this was the glow of pure spiritual power, the very brilliance of the soul.
His head became the origin point of this terrifying radiance. It exploded outward, filling the sky and earth. No words could describe its speed or the horror it unleashed.
Yi Tianxing and the others tried to retreat, but they couldn't outrun the blinding storm.
In the blink of an eye, the Mental Storm engulfed the battlefield.
"Chaotic Crystal!!"
The Brain Fiend roared.
From his forehead emerged a chaotic-colored crystal, radiating intense light that merged with the spiritual rays, instantly amplifying them. The entire high ground was swallowed.
🔥 [Chaotic Crystal] – A relic obtained from the fallen beast Chaos in the Battle Chess of Kings. It amplifies any divine power by a hundredfold, but only once. Even a simple Divine Aperture realm technique, when amplified, can crush a Divine Diagram realm technique.
The appearance of the Chaotic Crystal made one thing clear—Chaos had been slain by the Evernight forces, and even its treasure had been passed into the Brain Fiend's hands.
The Mental Storm, now boosted a hundredfold, became cataclysmic.
Blinding light surged like a tidal wave.
"Ahhh!!"
Wherever it touched flesh, it drilled straight into the mind. Screams erupted. Some held their heads, crying in agony, then—boom—their skulls exploded like overripe melons, bursting into blood mist. Their souls were shredded, completely annihilated.
Brutal. Unthinkably brutal.
Anyone without a strong enough soul or mental will was thrown into a hellish torment. Their very minds were ripped apart.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Heads exploded like landmines. No matter how powerful the human elites were—many capable of fighting across cultivation tiers—they were no match for this monstrous mental storm. Spirit and soul alike were obliterated.
This was a storm that bypassed all defenses. It directly targeted the soul, ripping it apart from within.
One after another, human elites fell, their bodies lifeless and broken.
Even Yao Yue and Lian Xing perished under the overwhelming power.
This hundredfold amplified Mental Storm was simply too terrifying.
Yet amidst the carnage, the true foundations of some heroes revealed themselves.
From within the storm:
Xiang Yu stood firm.The Overlord Cauldron within his body radiated divine light, suppressing his soul and clashing against the storm. Thunderous clangs rang out—he was barely holding on.
Lü Bu wielded his Sky Piercer Halberd, releasing a sharp martial will. Though it resisted the storm, it was visibly weakening. He was on the brink of collapse.
Li Yuanba countered with a terrifying surge of hatred—his martial intent burning. But like Lü Bu, he too was being pushed back relentlessly.
Zhuge Liang revealed an Imperial Palace Lantern within his body, its light sheltering his soul. The flame flickered, almost extinguished, yet remained stubbornly alight, casting a protective aura.
But most of the others had no such treasures. Even those with soul-protecting tools found them useless—this was an attack that bypassed all outer defense, burrowing directly into the spiritual core.
A hellish sight.
One by one, the human elites collapsed. The entire world became nothing but searing, radiant light.
No one knew how long it lasted.
Eventually, the light faded—the storm dissipated. In truth, it had all ended in mere seconds. The Mental Storm, being fueled by the Brain Fiend's spiritual power, naturally ceased when he had nothing left to give.
As the storm vanished...
The high ground was a graveyard. Corpses lay everywhere, heads burst open, the ground a bloody mess. Only a handful remained standing:
Xiang Yu. Lü Bu. Li Yuanba. Ah Qing. Green Emperor...
They were barely alive, staggering, spiritually drained. Not even a tenth of their strength remained.
Yi Tianxing's expression was grim—not from injury, but from the brutal truth: just as victory seemed in reach, the Brain Fiend had devastated the human side in a single blow. A fatal strike.
Had it not been for the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda guarding his soul, he too might have fallen.
"To think some of you survived, even after the amplification of the Chaotic Crystal... It seems fate has chosen for Evernight to lose this round. But next time... you won't be so lucky."
The Brain Fiend looked regretfully at the few who remained.
This Mental Storm + Chaotic Crystal combo had been his ultimate trump card, meant to reverse any hopeless situation. Now, his strength was fully drained—he was a candle burnt to the stub.
PUFF!
A halberd pierced through his skull—his head exploded in a bloody mist.
"Old scum!!" Lü Bu bellowed in rage.
"Break!!"
Yi Tianxing appeared beneath the crystal, the Gluttonous Jade Pendant on his chest glowing. Gripping his bronze spear, he struck the crystal below.
From the crystal, a blinding ray of energy counterattacked—it carried the power of a Divine Diagram realm full-force strike. But the Gluttonous Jade Pendant shimmered. A bizarre black hole emerged around Yi Tianxing, swallowing everything.
The ray vanished without harm.
His spear landed—CRACK!!
The red crystal shattered into thousands of fragments.
"Red team's high ground crystal has been destroyed. Red crystal destroyed.""Game over. Victory belongs to the blue team."
"All blue team members will regain their personal fate and be rewarded with red team's fate. Fate will condense into crystals and be distributed based on individual performance."
"All heroes will be returned from the King's Canyon in five seconds. Prepare to exit."
As the red crystal shattered, a clear voice echoed from the void.
It rang through the entire King's Canyon, into the ears of every genius—Evernight and Eternal alike.
Their expressions changed drastically.
The Evernight camp was in disbelief.
"Impossible! How could we lose? It was supposed to be the Eternal natives who lost! Didn't our main force go to sneak attack their crystal? How could ours be destroyed!?"
"Where's our main team? Did they run into the enemy's main force? Were they ambushed? Did the other side cheat!?"
"We lost. We really lost... And we lost to those Eternal natives. Unacceptable. All our fate—gone. Climbing back up will be incredibly hard now…"
Despair washed over the Evernight geniuses as realization set in.