The Doctor was right; defeating the Grade 2 Star Beast Earth Dragon Lizard, or rather, winning this final assessment in his own way—this was what Tiandao had decided from the very beginning.
As for whether this violated the original assessment rules, Tiandao didn't care at all.
After all, so-called rules are merely shackles prepared for the weak.
He, Tiandao Siming, only follows the laws of his own heart!
"Tiandao!"
In the arena, Tiandao heard Caroline's voice behind him and suddenly smiled.
He knew very well that Caroline's sudden words were to remind him that she had done what Tiandao asked.
Now, it was Tiandao's turn to perform.
Bang!
Tiandao unleashed his Flash Step with full power, for the first time completely widening the distance between himself and the Earth Dragon Lizard, briefly retreating to a relatively safe position.
"Liuli!"
"I-I got it!"
Receiving Tiandao's signal, Liuli, who had been lingering on the edge of the battlefield, immediately flew over to take his place.
"Dream... Dream Contamination!"
Liuli swooped down on her pillow, her fluttering coat accidentally revealing her pajamas adorned with bear patterns.
In an instant, countless dream butterflies surged from her sleeves, briefly covering the Earth Dragon Lizard's eyes.
The sudden blindness caused the Earth Dragon Lizard's movements to pause briefly.
More importantly, the dream butterflies surrounding its eyes seemed to carry a special kind of star energy, making the Earth Dragon Lizard suddenly feel an inexplicable drowsiness, wanting very much to lie down and sleep.
Meanwhile, Tiandao watched the Earth Dragon Lizard, whose movements had briefly paused, and immediately seized the moment to close his eyes, rapidly receiving critical data transmitted from Caroline.
[Left front knee, old injury, there's a 0.03-second gap in star energy flow.]
Moments later, Tiandao's eyes snapped open. His gaze was fixed on the Earth Dragon Lizard's left front knee, or rather, on a subtle hidden injury there, imperceptible to outsiders.
Tiandao raised his hand, and a tiny, rapidly rotating star energy orb slowly gathered between his fingers.
The star energy orb at his fingertip spun intensely, its azure light reflecting on his defiant profile.
Sensing the appearance of this orb, the distant Earth Dragon Lizard suddenly grew agitated.
The drowsiness in its heart vanished abruptly, as its beastly instincts made it sense the clear threat contained within the orb.
"Roar!"
The Earth Dragon Lizard roared furiously, then swatted away the dream butterflies covering its eyes and head-butted Liuli, who was blocking its path, charging straight towards Tiandao.
Gazing at the fiercely approaching Earth Dragon Lizard, Tiandao spoke calmly.
"Star Energy Art – Azure!"
As the words fell, the rapidly spinning azure orb at Tiandao's fingertip shot out from his hand at an astonishing speed.
The whistling orb traced a brilliant trajectory in the air, accurately hitting a dark gray scale on the Earth Dragon Lizard's left knee joint.
Bang!
Accompanied by a crisp 'crack' of shattering, the lizard's proud rock armor cracked like a biscuit.
The orb that struck its left knee, like a continuously spinning and roaring drill, completely broke through its rock scales and embedded itself into its flesh.
"Roar!"
Feeling the intense pain from its left knee, the Earth Dragon Lizard immediately let out a painful roar of agony.
Its rapidly charging body, due to this sudden turn of events, stumbled and abruptly toppled to the ground.
Boom!
The Earth Dragon Lizard's body crashed onto the arena floor, causing the entire arena to noticeably shake.
Outside the arena, silence reigned. Everyone stared with wide eyes at this incredible scene.
"No way..." Chen Kong's jaw almost dropped to the ground. "That's a Grade 2 Star Beast..."
Chen Kong had never imagined that in just a few breaths, the Earth Dragon Lizard, which he had considered invincible, would now be kneeling before Tiandao after a somersault.
And he wasn't the only one shocked by this sight; Chen Xing beside him, and even the important figures in the VIP room, were all awestruck by Tiandao's astonishing feat.
Clink—
Ms. Canary's champagne glass fell to the ground, the wine staining her expensive gown, worth millions of star coins.
But she paid no heed, her beautiful eyes fixed on Tiandao in the arena, unconsciously murmuring, "Incredible, truly incredible."
"Three half-stars, not even Grade 1... actually wounded a Grade 2 Star Beast..."
"Talent, courage, strategy, and the composure to face danger. These youngsters—no, it should be said that this guy, Tiandao, is truly a born leader."
"If he hadn't voluntarily taken on the vast majority of the danger, then even if the plan was perfect, they couldn't have guaranteed everything would proceed as planned in the face of an absolute disparity in strength."
"Because if even one step had gone wrong, their plan would not only have been completely ruined, but Tiandao, who bore most of the plan's risks, would have faced a fatal crisis."
"Tiandao Siming, are you so certain you won't make a mistake? Are you truly so unafraid of making mistakes?"
Ms. Canary looked at Tiandao standing in the arena, her eyes filled with surprise and admiration.
Even having seen the outcome, she still couldn't understand Tiandao's reason for doing so.
In her opinion, Tiandao's move was not only extremely risky, but the benefits were also negligible, making it very irrational.
They merely needed to follow the assessment rules step-by-step and prolong the battle with the Earth Dragon Lizard as much as possible.
Then Tiandao, Caroline, and the others would definitely pass the assessment.
But they, or rather, Tiandao, disregarding the objections of Caroline and Liuli, resolutely chose a path that no one had anticipated.
What he wanted was never delay, nor was it to pass the assessment routinely.
He wanted to counterattack, to break everyone's preconceived notions, and to show them the existence of miracles.
And now, this miracle, which only existed in theory, was truly presented before everyone.
Tiandao Siming, in your eyes, are there truly no such things as rules?
"Roar!"
In the arena, the Earth Dragon Lizard rose furiously, its beastly eyes no longer holding the initial ease and playfulness.
Instead, there was a heart-stopping ferocity.
Clearly, though Tiandao's attack wounded it, this minor injury was nothing to it.
Instead, it ignited the ferocity in its heart and made it determined to get serious and properly teach those three who offended it a lesson.
But when the Earth Dragon Lizard saw where Tiandao and the others were, a touch of human-like bewilderment immediately appeared in its bloodshot beast eyes.
Tiandao was now standing outside the arena, having put on his small sunglasses, which oozed with taunt, and was smilingly waving at it.
Not only that, Tiandao even said something deeply provocative: "Yo, big guy, still sulking over there? The assessment's already over!"
"Roar!!!"
Hearing this, the Earth Dragon Lizard in the arena immediately roared furiously towards the sky.
Its roar shook the barrier, making it hum.
This feeling of wanting revenge but being powerless to act meant it could only vent its full fury on the empty arena, repeatedly slamming the ground.
As if only by doing so could it erase the humiliation Tiandao had inflicted upon it.
Seeing its reaction, Tiandao immediately pointed at it and cheekily said to the people around him: "He's mad, this guy's mad. For a Grade 2 Star Beast, how can it get so easily agitated?"
Caroline's cat ears twitched, and she said calmly, "Tiandao, you're going to get the later examinees killed."
Hearing this, Tiandao shrugged indifferently: "What's it to me? My assessment's over anyway."
At Tiandao's words, the faces of the other Children of the Stars around turned pale.
They looked at the Earth Dragon Lizard in the arena, whose eyes were cold, and cowardly chickened out.
After all, only an idiot would go out at this moment to face the monster's wrath.
But at this moment, Chen Xing unexpectedly walked towards the arena, a clear fighting intent pulsing in her crimson eyes.
Seeing Chen Xing voluntarily approach the arena, Chen Kong immediately rushed forward anxiously and firmly tugged at her sleeve.
"Sis, don't go yet, it's still furious..."
Facing Chen Kong's good intentions, Chen Xing said without turning her head: "Let go."
If it were usually, Chen Kong would obediently let go.
But looking at the Earth Dragon Lizard in the arena, with its cold eyes and white smoke steaming from its nostrils, Chen Kong ultimately chose to defy Chen Xing's words.
He walked in front of Chen Xing and spread his arms, blocking her.
"Sis, wait a bit, just wait a bit longer, now..."
Clang!
Before Chen Kong could finish, Chen Xing drew a crimson demonic blade, its cold edge resting against Chen Kong's throat.
This sudden scene not only surprised Chen Kong but also everyone else.
Looking at Chen Kong, whose body had instantly stiffened, Chen Xing said calmly, "Kong, do you know why I've always looked down on you?"
Chen Xing's words were cold, but her gaze was even colder.
Faced with Chen Xing's assertiveness, the timid Chen Kong, predictably, cowered once again.
He slowly lowered his hands, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Seeing this, Chen Xing's gaze towards him became even more disappointed.
She retracted the demonic blade from his neck and, with a tone of utter despair, revealed the true reason why she had always targeted Chen Kong.
"Hide, Kong, just try to hide for your entire life."
"Your weakness and timidity will, sooner or later, make you lose everything you cherish."
"But you can hide; I cannot, because if even I hide, then where else can a weakling like you hide?"
"Therefore, even if I know the next step is the abyss, I must walk into it without hesitation, for who else is there in front of me?"
"So, get lost, coward, don't block the way."
With that, Chen Xing no longer paid attention to the crestfallen Chen Kong and walked straight towards the arena.
But just as she was about to pass through the star energy barrier guarding the arena, a voice called out to her.
"Hey, Chen Xing!"
A candy traced a parabola, which Chen Xing subconsciously caught. She looked at the candy in her hand, her pupils constricting slightly.
"What do you mean 'no one in front of you'? Aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?"
"Remember, you are only second, and I am the apex of the stars."
Tiandao adjusted his sunglasses, the lenses reflecting a provocative gleam.
Looking at Tiandao at this moment, Chen Xing's red lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something.
But ultimately, her proud self still chose to respond to Tiandao's claim of being the apex with a cold snort.
Then, she stepped onto the arena without hesitation, directly facing the now serious Earth Dragon Lizard.
Feeling the immense pressure from the Earth Dragon Lizard, Chen Xing took a deep breath, then unwrapped the candy in her hand and fiercely bit it apart.
The force she used made it seem as if she wasn't biting a candy at all, but Tiandao himself.
'But... this candy is quite sweet.'
Meanwhile, Tiandao outside the arena wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.
"Phew, that was close, almost let this guy steal the show. 'No one in front of me'... No, Hakiji Star, how did you even come up with such cool and pretentious words? If I didn't do something, once this episode airs, wouldn't all my previous efforts be for naught? Luckily, I'm clever; I not only immediately 'acted cool' in return, but then naturally displayed the 'light' in my human nature. Otherwise, you would have completely stolen all the thunder. But..."
Tiandao looked at the valiant and striking crimson figure in the arena and suddenly smiled.
"Your words just now were indeed quite cool."
(End of this chapter)
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