The Vector Light Blade was a powerful technique Tendo had developed after the secondary awakening of his Star Eclipse Sky Eye, which granted him 'Vector Blockade.'
Its principle wasn't complex: it was a special light blade formed by continuously stacking, accumulating, and locking down the 'Black Azure' similar to Truth-Seeking Balls. Its power was astonishing.
Furthermore, due to the massive enrichment, compression, and locking of the vector field, the light blade emitted a dazzling golden light.
It was like a golden light pillar slicing through the sky, firmly grasped in Tendo's hand.
Chh-lah!
There was no earth-shattering explosion. The moment Tendo's Vector Light Blade collided with Libra's vine-armor barrier, there was only the grating sound of a blade slicing through tough fibers.
The golden light blade penetrated the vine-armor like a hot knife through butter. The vector impact force attached to the blade spread along the vines, shattering all subsequent vines that shot out.
Libra's expression shifted slightly. He violently flapped the vine wings on his back, his body darting backward like an arrow shot from a bow. Simultaneously, pale purple Law energy condensed on his fingertips.
Equal Exchange—Life Overdraft!
The rose bushes in front of him suddenly withered frantically, their petals turning into purple motes of light that merged into his palm.
Immediately afterward, countless purple plant vines shot out from the surrounding void, covering Tendo, quickly enveloping him entirely to form a giant, constantly squirming spherical mass of vegetation.
Not only were these vines nimble as if they possessed their own consciousness, but their surfaces also emitted an inexplicable luster.
That was the Law's aura, signifying that every single vine contained the power of 'exchange.'
As soon as they entwined him, they would forcibly extract Star Energy to strengthen the vines themselves.
And this exchange was compulsory.
However, to initiate this compulsory exchange, a necessary condition had to be met: they had to make contact with Tendo.
"Vector... Reverse."
Not long after Libra's Law Vines completely submerged Tendo's figure, Tendo's calm voice emerged from within the vines.
The next second, the Law Vines surrounding him were first forcefully spread apart.
Then, the remaining Law Vines, instead of being controlled by Libra, all flew backward toward him.
"?!"
Seeing this, Libra's pupils dilated in shock. It was his Law, yet why was it being controlled by someone else now?
Without hesitation, Libra decisively detonated the 'Law Vines' that had gone out of control.
Boom!
A large mass of purple light exploded in front of him. The resulting airwave flung him backward. After sliding a short distance in mid-air, he landed steadily beneath the ancient tree in the center of the plaza.
The airflow from the explosion shook the leaves of the ancient tree, causing them to fall rustlingly, and the golden chrysanthemums and roses on the surrounding ground trembled.
After calming the surging Star Energy in his body, Libra looked at Tendo, who was not far away, and asked curiously, "Strange, how did you reverse my Law?"
Tendo did not hide the truth, stating the reason directly.
"It's simple. Because any attack requires a 'target,' and the trigger for Equal Exchange requires a clear 'giver' and 'receiver.' My Vector Control just happens to be able to tamper with that coordinate."
"You trade life force for power; this is essentially a type of directional energy flow. Therefore, I only need to reverse the 'flow direction' to redirect them to a new 'target.'"
Hearing this, Libra fully understood.
But even though Tendo spoke easily, Libra was fully aware that achieving this was far from simple.
The foremost requirement was for Tendo to possess the ability to see through the 'essence.'
And the Star Eclipse Sky Eye happened to have exactly this effect.
Why did Libra want Tendo's eyes?
It was naturally because the 'Star Eclipse Sky Eye' was, from the very beginning, not something a 'mortal' could possess.
For a long time, both the dimensional viewers and Tendo himself thought that the greatest function of the Star Eclipse Sky Eye was its ability to peer through the mists of time and see countless possible futures.
But as Tendo understood the eyes more deeply, he slowly realized he was wrong.
The greatest feature of the Star Eclipse Sky Eye was never 'what it saw,' but the fact that it was capable of 'seeing.'
Not seeing concrete objects, but seeing abstract Laws, energy flow, and even the trajectory of space-time.
The latter was the Star Eclipse Sky Eye's greatest 'wealth.'
For example, Tendo seeing the traces of Law now—it should be noted that not just anyone can see 'Law.'
Therefore, the act of 'seeing' itself was already a terrifying ability beyond ordinary comprehension.
However, Tendo was not the only person who possessed these eyes...
Gazing at Tendo, who was slowly walking toward him, Libra dropped the casual expression on his face.
The vine wings on his back fully unfurled, the cold light on the thorns becoming more intense.
"Mortal, I admit you are indeed far more special than I thought. There is certainly a reason those eyes chose you, but..."
Libra raised his head and pressed his hand against the trunk of the ancient tree.
The next second, the ancient tree suddenly shook violently. The clouds above the entire plaza began to churn, and golden and purple energy interwoven into a vortex.
"...the Law of Equal Exchange is not so easily broken."
Equal Exchange—Libra's Judgment!
A giant phantom of the Libra scale suddenly manifested in the clouds. Its golden pan, symbolizing 'Life,' and its purple pan, symbolizing 'Death,' slowly swayed together.
During this process, countless golden motes of light floated up from the surrounding monster corpses, gathering into the pan.
Meanwhile, the purple pan shot out a concentrated, massive 'Dark Purple Energy Orb.'
That orb was like an eye from the abyss. Even Chen Kong and the others on the periphery of the pyramid could feel the intense aura of death emanating from the top of the pyramid, sending shivers down their spines.
But Tendo was no ordinary person.
"Judgment symbolizing death, is it?"
Tendo sneered, and countless tiny vector fields emerged around his body.
Under Tendo's control, these fields formed a special structure similar to a 'matrix.'
This was the advanced version of Tendo's 'Vector Control: All Things Repelled and Reversed: Conquest.'
The next moment after Tendo released the 'All Things Repelled and Reversed: Conquest: Matrix,' the 'Death Judgment' from the Libra scale arrived as expected.
Boom!
The dark purple energy beam slammed into Tendo's vector matrix, immediately igniting a blinding light.
But what was utterly shocking was that Libra's death strike, which seemed capable of tearing the heavens, was firmly blocked by Tendo's vector matrix.
Simultaneously, a portion of the energy from the Death Judgment, deflected by Tendo's vector matrix, transformed into golden specks of Star Energy, all absorbed into Tendo's body.
Seeing this, Libra could no longer maintain his composure.
He could clearly feel that his summoned Death Judgment had not only failed to harm Tendo but had instead become an energy supplement for him.
What exactly is wrong with my Law?
"Because your 'exchange'... was imbalanced from the start."
In Libra's silence, Tendo, who saw through his thoughts, spoke suddenly.
Tendo's silver hair gleamed faintly gold amidst the interweaving of the two energies. His Star Energy was not depleted; on the contrary, it was more abundant than before.
He looked at Libra, smiling, "You use the lives of others as leverage to exchange for power to harm me. This unequal transaction fundamentally violates the essence of the scale, because it can hardly be called fair. After all—"
He suddenly accelerated, charging toward Libra. The Vector Light Blade transformed into a long spear in his hand.
"—true balance is never forced exchange, but—parity!"
Libra hastily formed a shield wall with vines, but this time, the moment his vines touched the light blade, they were instantly vaporized.
The light blade aimed directly at his chest, about to pierce his heart.
But at that moment, Tendo's movement—or rather, the space-time he occupied—paused!
Then, the ancient tree in the center of the plaza suddenly roared, its roots shooting out from the ground and wrapping around Tendo's ankles.
Tendo looked down at the roots entwining him, his brows furrowed.
This was because the root system was covered with pale golden Law runes, frantically absorbing his Star Energy.
At the same time, as the pyramid beneath his feet began to shake violently, Tendo could feel that while his time was paused, the time loop of the entire Long Life Island was beginning to accelerate.
And Libra, situated in this accelerated time, received an exaggerated boost not only in speed but also in his recovery ability.
Gazing at Tendo, who appeared to be frozen in motion due to the enormous disparity in relative time, Libra slowly spoke.
"Mortal, I admit you truly possess world-shattering talent and potential."
"But you are still too young."
"Let me teach you a lesson. The so-called Domain..."
As he spoke, Libra calmly walked past the light blade that had nearly plunged into his heart, slowly approaching Tendo.
"...is that as long as I stand within it, I am the sole 'God' in this space."
As his words fell, Libra had reached Tendo and slowly raised his hand.
The next moment, a large number of Law Vines reappeared, completely enveloping and submerging Tendo.
[Periphery of the Pyramid]
"What's going on? The Law fluctuations of the pyramid are completely chaotic!"
Mi Yao looked up at the nearby pyramid. The energy warning on the screen of his handheld game console had flashed red.
Chen Kong heard this and immediately looked up.
He saw that the sky above the pyramid's summit had been dyed a unique bicolor by a blend of golden and purple energy.
Concurrently, a colossal phantom of the scale suddenly manifested in the clouds, its every sway triggering tremors in the ground.
Before Chen Kong could understand what was happening, Vivian's anxious voice suddenly came through his communicator.
"Liu Ma's poison is starting to backfire! The accelerated time loop of Long Life Island is causing the poison's metabolic rate to become unstable!"
Without hesitation, Chen Kong rushed to Liu Ma's side.
He saw Liu Ma lying in the makeshift tent, his face turning green. The black toxins beneath his skin were spreading rapidly, and his previously stable vital signs began to plummet sharply.
Isabelle was using ice blades to freeze Liu Ma's blood vessels, attempting to slow the spread of the toxins, cold sweat plastering her forehead.
"My Absolute Zero can only temporarily suppress these toxins. But if this acceleration doesn't stop soon, Liu Ma's life force will quickly be corrupted by these toxins."
"Then what should we do?"
Facing Chen Kong's question, Vivian on the side said without hesitation, "Find a way to break this loop."
"But wouldn't that just bring us back to square one? We can't even get close to the pyramid."
As soon as Chen Kong spoke, everyone present fell into silence.
Because, just as he said, if they wanted to break this loop, they had to ascend to the top of the pyramid, find the culprit who induced this time acceleration, and make him stop.
But their strength was insufficient to support them getting close to the top of the pyramid.
It was an insoluble problem.
However, just as they were at their wits' end, an invisible tremor suddenly emanated from the top of the pyramid, sweeping outwards.
Soon, the accelerated space-time that Chen Kong and the others found unsettling suddenly returned to normal!
[Top of the Pyramid, Altar Plaza]
As the camera returned to Tendo, the situation for Tendo, who was currently wrapped in vines, became increasingly difficult.
The root vines released by the ancient tree clung to him like bloodsuckers, absorbing his Star Energy with every passing moment.
If this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.
At the same time, a unique sword of death composed of purple roses condensed in Libra's hand. He mimicked Tendo's earlier movement, preparing to plunge it directly into Tendo's chest.
Although Tendo had just said his 'Equal Exchange' was unfair, he didn't care.
Because his exchange had always been according to his will.
As long as he deemed the exchange stakes of both parties to be of equal value, regardless of the true thoughts of the person being transacted with, he could initiate the trade.
This was Libra's unique Equal Exchange, a dominant, almost absolute 'exchange.'
And now, being in this Domain, he continued that dominance.
He wanted Tendo's eyes to complete the metamorphosis and completeness of his own eyes.
But he didn't care whether Tendo was willing to exchange, nor did he care what Tendo might want to gain.
He simply wanted it himself, so he forcibly took it.
Even though Tendo had already refused the exchange request, he forcibly initiated the transaction, and it looked like the exchange was about to be completed.
But strangely, faced with such 'desperation,' not only did Tendo's eyes show no panic, but they grew even brighter, as if he were 'observing,' 'understanding,' and 'digesting' something.
Scratch!
Libra's Sword of Death slowly broke through the vector matrix around Tendo's body and pierced Tendo's flesh.
Bright red blood trailed down the tip of the sword, quickly staining Tendo's body.
But just as the Sword of Death penetrated a certain distance, a hand suddenly grabbed the blade of the Sword of Death.
Libra looked in front of him in disbelief.
Tendo, who should have been in a state of relative stasis due to being in a different time flow than himself, had suddenly regained his ability to move.
"So... this is the Domain."
"Indeed, only by experiencing it firsthand can one understand the essence of this power."