Chapter 166: Caught Your Eye in the Crowd
"The old man who previously claimed to be from the Tianxuan Continent—their cultivation method can also be seen as cultivating only a single energy core as a power source, with all actual output being replaced by spirit arts."
"Such cultivation could, to the greatest extent, reduce reliance on spirit energy organs, thereby broadening the base of cultivators, instead of the current situation where fewer than sixty million Ability Users exist among six billion people, not even one percent."
"Perhaps, in his eyes, we are merely innate spirit beasts with innate divine abilities (Spirit Hubs)? Just coincidentally, we look similar to them." Bai Mo suddenly linked to this thought.
"It's a pity that the cultivation manual he eventually provided only went as far as their so-called Foundation Establishment stage. According to its records, in terms of combat power, it still wouldn't surpass mine. However, the ideas for artifact refining, talisman drawing, and pill concocting, all pertaining to auxiliary production, can be fully referenced. But all of this can only be considered after deducing a similar energy core cultivation method."
At ten o'clock the next morning, the competition's awards ceremony officially commenced at the arena. All contestants ranked in the top twenty, except for the withdrawn Ying, were already seated in the first row below the stage, awaiting their turn to receive their awards.
"First, we extend a warm welcome to our distinguished guests attending today, who are..." The host once again launched into the customary, lengthy introduction.
Bai Mo, as usual, sat in the very last row on the stage. The recent smear campaign had no effect on him whatsoever.
In an era saturated with information, people are quick to forget, especially when it comes to someone who isn't even a public figure. Though his actual impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens was, to a great extent, far greater than that of all celebrities combined.
However, as long as the media didn't report it, it was almost impossible for ordinary people to discover this truth.
He paid no heed to the surrounding din, occupying himself in the last row, slowly deducing various problems within his mind.
...
"Now, we invite our second-place contestant, Black Crow, to the stage to receive his reward, and at the same time, we invite Mr. Hua Taishan to present the award." Time flew by amidst Bai Mo's contemplations, and in the blink of an eye, the awards ceremony was already in its final stages.
"That vast, undisguised Spirit Energy, it's that person..." After stepping onto the stage, Black Crow spotted Bai Mo's figure in the far corner of the last row on the podium. However, constrained by the current environment, he could only distractedly accept the trophy and award certificate handed to him by Hua Taishan.
Hua Taishan, who was exceptionally sensitive to aura, quickly followed Black Crow's gaze and noticed him staring at Bai Mo in the last row. He said nothing, tentatively attributing it to the keen awareness strong individuals held for others of their kind.
"Get ready, it's your turn. But I really didn't expect that person I told you about yesterday to actually be on the podium, sitting in the last row." After descending from the stage, Black Crow exchanged a few words with Luo Yi beside him.
"Oh." Luo Yi had initially paid attention when he heard that Black Crow's opponent was on the podium, but after learning he was in the last row, he, like yesterday, couldn't be bothered to pay attention. According to Huaxia custom, seating arrangements were generally tied to status, and his current focus was solely on those seated in the first row.
"Finally, let's invite the champion of this competition, Luo Yi, to the stage to receive his award!..." This single sentence from the host brought the entire awards ceremony to its climax.
Most of the audience present were Luo Yi's fans, and their purpose for coming was to witness their idol ascend to the top.
As he slowly walked onto the stage, he felt as though he was the center of the entire world; everything revolved around him, and everyone noticed him. This unprecedented feeling made him feel as if he were floating in the heavens.
He paid no attention whatsoever to Hua Taishan's words, merely airily taking the items from his hand and thoroughly enjoying every moment of being the center of attention on stage.
Just as he was about to complete the ceremony and prepare to descend from the stage, he was inexplicably reminded of Black Crow's words from earlier. He cast a glance with the corner of his eye towards the last row, and his gaze met Bai Mo's, who had just looked up.
The instant their gazes met, a lock in Luo Yi's mind seemed to "click" open, and an endless torrent of information surged forth, causing his brain to instantly crash.
An incomparably profound and vast aura began to emanate from his body. Luo Yi's true form gradually transformed into photons, continuously expanding outwards, and swiftly extended into a towering light figure thousands of meters tall.
The light radiating from the light figure was indescribable by any single color; it seemed to encompass everything, yet left one utterly speechless.
The invisible fluctuation generated by the appearance of this entity propagated across the entire world at the speed of light, reaching everywhere within one-eighth of a second. Every living creature on Earth perceived its presence within that fleeting moment, turning their gazes towards the source of the fluctuation.
The immense chasm in life-form hierarchy caused everyone in the awards ceremony hall, save for Bai Mo, to lose their ability to think.
"Emergency alert! A massive energy source has appeared in northern Tianqing, requesting immediate emergency measures!" The Tianqing National Security Bureau swiftly dispatched a report to the government.
"Alert! An extremely terrifying life-form has appeared in Huaxia, and all existing detection devices are unable to read its information!" The American intelligence department responsible for overseas monitoring also quickly sent a report to the President.
"Is that an angel descending upon Huaxia?" President Joseph Lee felt as though every cell in his body was still trembling, even though the entity was thousands of miles away. Nevertheless, he forced himself to crack a joke with his aides, regardless of whether they could even comprehend his words at that moment.
"Don't panic, everyone!" Located beneath the sea, the Sea Race fell into disquiet and commotion after sensing this wave of oppression that originated entirely from a higher life-form. A group of relatively less affected Sea Race high-ranking officials could only exert their utmost efforts to soothe their subordinates with mental waves, despite being utterly terrified themselves.
"For the Sea Race, who have barely managed to escape primitive society, facing an existence akin to a deity, it's incredibly difficult to maintain composure, even just by sensing its aura." Although Seres's body was also trembling involuntarily, it still managed to maintain its proper rationality and think.
"Such an existence is already on the same level as the Overlord in my memories; it could crush me with a single finger right now." In the face of life and death, it instead calmed down, for anything it did would be powerless against a single thought from the other party.
"Has our God descended into the mortal world?" At this moment, regardless of whether they were followers of the One-Wheel Cult or the Luminous Holy Church, all stopped what they were doing and quietly prayed towards the East.
In that moment, even those from the two warring factions, as long as they were devout believers, adopted postures of pilgrimage towards that direction, and countless streams of Faith Power surged towards it.
However, if someone could see the actual situation, all the Faith Power was incinerated and utterly consumed at the periphery of the light figure, transforming into scattered specks that drifted into every corner of this world, not a single trace entering its true form.
And the only ones harmed, naturally, were Ramdo and his subordinates, who deeply relied on Faith Power. These two existences, on completely different scales of power, were utterly beaten back to their original forms before they even had a chance to explain anything to their followers.
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