"What kind of joke is this?!"
The surrounding Stellar-level pirates were completely stunned.
With a single strike, Rowan had sent a massive cosmic beast flying.
A direct contest of strength between a human and a cosmic beast.
And the beast had lost.
"This is bad. That guy's individual combat power is terrifying. His psychic power was never exhausted. He was using us as practice targets!"
These were pirates who had survived in the universe for years. Their judgment was sharp. The moment they realized the enemy was far beyond their ability to handle, retreat became the only rational choice.
As soon as the words were spoken, panic spread.
The remaining pirates scattered like startled animals, fleeing in all directions.
But Rowan had no intention of letting them escape.
Even so, the strike he had just delivered left him inwardly shaken.
This was his first time fully activating the Shadow Clan's innate force amplification. Based on his original foundation of five billion tons of force, a single slash had erupted with nearly four hundred and ninety-five billion tons of power.
A Stellar-level ninth-tier beast could not withstand even one blow.
The power was terrifying.
Babata had once explained that below the World Lord level, a Stellar-level ninth-tier expert typically possessed around five billion tons of force.
A Universe-level ninth-tier being, however, could unleash nearly twenty trillion tons.
The average Universe-level first-tier force output was roughly ninety billion tons.
Yet Rowan, relying purely on innate talent, had produced a strike equivalent to a Universe-level third-tier powerhouse.
And this was without cultivating any additional force amplification techniques.
At present, Rowan was fully focused on comprehending the Law of Time. He had no spare energy to train other amplification methods.
If he did, a single slash could easily reach Universe-level ninth-tier strength.
It was absurd.
Terrifyingly so.
The Shadow Clan truly deserved its reputation as a monstrously powerful race within the universe.
Rowan felt a quiet satisfaction rise within him. Choosing the Shadow Clan back then had been the correct decision.
The Demonic Slayer race excelled at assassination.
The Shadow Clan, however, dominated frontal combat.
The drawback was clear. Their advantage lay in close-range combat. Against long-range specialists or powerful psychic attackers, things could become troublesome.
Rowan did not dwell on it.
His gaze locked onto the fleeing beasts and Stellar-level pirates. There was no mercy in his eyes.
Gripping his third-tier Origin Energy battle blade, Rowan surged forward like a phantom, targeting the nearest crab-like beast.
"Damn it! Psychic surge!"
A pirate riding atop the crab beast reacted instantly. He was also a Stellar-level ninth-tier psychic cultivator.
His eyes flashed blue as a beam of psychic energy shot toward Rowan.
The attack passed straight through Rowan's body.
"What?!"
The psychic cultivator froze in disbelief.
What greeted him next was Rowan's cold, feral smile.
Origin energy flooded the blade. As Rowan raised it, the strike transformed into a thousand-meter-long blade arc.
Compared to the seven-kilometer-long crab beast, the blade arc looked like a surgical scalpel.
Yet the moment it struck, the creature's armored shell exploded.
The Stellar-level pirate was pulverized into blood mist in a single blow.
The ninety-ninefold amplification sent destructive force rippling through the beast's entire body, shattering its internal organs.
The crab beast convulsed in the void, then fell lifeless.
A crimson glint flashed in Rowan's eyes as he turned toward his next target.
He had entered slaughter mode.
Each strike was absolute.
Beasts and their riders were erased effortlessly.
However, Rowan did not kill them all.
He deliberately spared several.
One was a centipede-like beast nearly ten kilometers long, equipped with heavy weaponry capable of annihilating Stellar-level opponents.
Another resembled a lion-tiger hybrid. Though only eight kilometers in size and lacking extensive technological enhancements, its hide was extraordinarily tough.
Earlier, when Rowan kicked the centipede beast aside, a beam weapon had struck the lion-tiger beast directly, yet caused almost no damage.
Rowan chose these two.
With a flick of his blade, he killed their controllers.
The remaining beasts held no value. Rowan dispatched them casually and collected their storage rings and beast-control collars.
Freed from their masters, the two remaining beasts trembled in terror.
They were fast, but not faster than Rowan. Escape was impossible.
Both were mid-bloodline cosmic beasts.
One was a Stellar-level ninth-tier centipede beast.
The other was a Stellar-level eighth-tier lion-tiger beast.
Equipped with advanced technology, each could rival multiple Stellar-level fighters.
More importantly, their equipment was intact and reusable.
They would make excellent guardians.
Their intelligence was high, and although they lacked language chips, Rowan already had replacements.
"You have two choices," Rowan said calmly. "Submit to me and guard Earth for ten thousand years, after which I will set you free. Or resist now and die."
To the beasts, Rowan was no larger than dust.
Yet both trembled uncontrollably.
This tiny human had slaughtered everyone else with ease.
They lowered their massive heads in submission.
Rowan nodded in satisfaction and implanted language chips into their brains.
Moments later, both beasts understood human and universal languages.
"Master."
"Master."
Rowan stored them inside a beast-control ring.
He did not place soul seals on them.
The soul imprint technique from the Meteorite Star inheritance could only bind nine slaves. Each slot was precious.
Under his intimidation alone, betrayal was unthinkable.
Later, Babata could replace their control chips entirely.
Rowan turned toward the other battlefield.
The Eastern Sea Azure Dragon and the octopus-like Devourer beast were locked in fierce combat.
The Azure Dragon's scales were visibly damaged. Laser cannons and particle weapons bombarded it relentlessly.
Relying on speed, it maneuvered constantly, yet still suffered disruptions to its flight path.
Its combat experience was lacking.
To Rowan's eye, its performance was no better than that of an apprentice by Earth standards.
Its movement technique had not yet reached the subtlety stage, placing it at a disadvantage.
The Devourer beast's advanced targeting systems predicted the Azure Dragon's movements and fired in advance.
This forced the Azure Dragon into a passive state.
Yet with its domain active, it blocked many attacks and restrained the pirate leader using fourth-tier psychic weapons.
Despite facing two opponents, it was not losing ground.
Its enemies were a Universe-level first-tier peak beast and a Universe-level second-tier peak human.
Under such circumstances, surviving this long was already remarkable.
Even Babata sighed. "This Earth beast is impressive. Its strength ranks high among cosmic beasts, but its combat experience is terrible."
Rowan folded his arms. "Relax. He is gaining experience right now. Do you think he's just taking hits?"
Babata stared. "You're saying he's learning?"
"Exactly. And do not forget he has not even used the Golden Horn Behemoth's innate technique, True Body of Heaven and Earth."
That reminder made Babata pause.
Compressing the body to triple density and power was no small thing.
"Look closely," Rowan continued. "His movements are sharper than before. Life-and-death pressure forces focus. Do not underestimate Earth or its beasts."
Babata rested her chin in her hands. "I never looked down on Earth. You produced geniuses like Rowan, Hong, and the Thunder God. That is absurd for a planet with so few people."
"I just do not want you wasting resources. This beast may reach Immortal level at best. It would be more efficient to cultivate a Devil Cloud Vine."
Rowan did not argue.
He had Infinity Stones.
That alone changed everything.
He watched as the Azure Dragon adapted.
Over seven hours, the battlefield shifted more than twenty light-years.
Uninhabited planets were devastated.
Each blast rivaled dozens of hydrogen bombs.
Eventually, the Azure Dragon deactivated its domain.
Using pure movement, it evaded attacks.
Its technique was approaching subtlety.
It even counterattacked with psychic axes.
Hawk, growing desperate, snarled.
"Why won't you go down?!"
He realized with horror that the beast was learning mid-battle.
And now, the tide was slowly turning.