The sound of explosions covered up all other noise. Violent, huge waves of power surged outwards from the stage.
It was as if the earth and heaven itself were being destroyed.
The giant waves of power surged incessantly, steadily increasing in power.
The highest stands were protected by An Lisha and barriers erected by other high level experts, so it remained relatively unaffected.
The other stands were originally already a distance away from the stage. With the protection of the barriers of the palace magicians, there were no deaths.
But the same could not be said for the stage.
The stage had collapsed earlier, but now, it looked even more terrifying. It was simply a large cavity, bare.
With nothing inside!
Only Hua Yilin stood standing at the center of the cavity, laughing uncontrollably.
The sinister, wild laughter echoed throughout the arena.
Claire was nowhere to be seen!
In an instant, Feng Yixuan felt his heart stop, his mind blank out. He felt his chest as it was torn to pieces and was submerged in pain.
A few others felt the same suffering.
Jean and the others stared blankly at the wide expanse, Hua Yilin's mad laughter ringing in their ears. They couldn't break, couldn't think. Leng Lingyu stared numbly, feeling as if his heart had been gouged out.
Li Yuewen stared at the empty stage, her eyes vacant.
Just as he was on the verge of breaking down, Feng Yixuan's hair was tugged on.
Shui Wenmo said with a strange tone of voice, "Are your eyes blind? Why don't you look up…"
Feng Yixuan whipped his head up and froze.
Floating in mid air with her long, golden hair flying gently with the breeze, her emerald green eyes overflowed with indifference. She was covered with multiple bloody wounds, dying her tattered clothes red, but her face was completely tranquil.
She didn't die! Claire was fine!
Feng Yixuan was immersed in joy.
Shui Wenmo shrugged offhandedly. Idiot Feng Yixuan had experienced his greatest and worst emotions within one day.
Cheering erupted!
The girl hadn't died even with such a terrifying attack!
Still alive, still alive!
On the high stand, the emperor's eyes slitted slightly.
Jean's knuckles were white with fright. His heart had almost been wrenched out of his body.
When Leng Lingyun came back to his senses, he relaxed his tense body and sat down. It was only now that he realized he had been tense. The previously empty cavity in his heart seemed to be full once more.
Walter sniffled, wiping his nose, all the while cursing internally. That little devil, she only knows how to make other people worried about her, f*ck! F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! She's basically inhuman! Right, she's a devil!
Summer and Qiao Chuxin were hugging each other, crying and smiling at the same time. Camille and Ben both leisurely leaned back in their chairs with slitted eyes. They hadn't been worried because they had sensed that Claire's aura hadn't disappeared! Only Dong Fenghou looked on blankly at Summer and Qiao Chuxin, not understand. Claire was alive, what were they crying about?
"Humph!" Hua Xiuning's expression turned extremely ugly, abnormally unsightly.
"With the next attack, I'll destroy you so much even your bones will turn to dust!" Hua Yilin laughed madly, his arms outstretched again.
"You think you can still attack me?" Claire's voice was very soft, very faint, but everybody heard it clearly.
She floated calmly in the air, a brilliant smile blossoming on her face. With a slight wave of her hand and a flick of her finger, numerous tiny golden lotus buds filled the entire stadium, surrounding Hua Yilin instantly.
Hua Yilin sneered coldly, eyes full of disdain. He reached out and attempted to grab a golden lotus bud, but his hand passed through it.
What was this?
Hua Yilin's expression finally changed slightly.
"Golden lotuses, bloom!" Claire's soft voice echoed across the stadium, her smile calm. Floating gently, she looked so holy, so divine.
As Claire finished speaking, all the golden lotus buds blossomed instantly, a vast expanse of brilliance.
Golden rays shot outwards, a dazzling sight.
The gorgeous scene was absolutely stunning.
The young girl covered in blood actually seemed so holy and pure as countless golden lotuses bloomed around her.
Hua Yilin laughed disdainfully. "What kind of show are you performing? Acrobatics?" Hua Yilin started summoning the water element again.
"Thousand… Terrors!" Claire tranquil voice echoed in everybody's ears.
The countless golden lotuses gradually started to spin, emitting magnificent golden light, stunning.
Suddenly, Hua Yilin stopped in his actions, standing dumbfoundedly in place.
Claire's gaze was icy. She just stared coldly at Hua Yilin below her.
Everything fell silent.
Hua Yilin remained where he stood, not moving an inch.
What was going on?
Slowly, they discovered what was wrong.
Hua Yilin's expression was slowly changing! First a frown, then an expression of pain, sinister, endless pain.
"Ah—!" Hua Yilin shrieked towards the sky, his scream bloodcurdling. Then his eyes became unfocused and he dropped to his knees, convulsing. He would never be able to stand again.
"No! It's not like that! No!" Hua Yilin knelt to the ground, convulsing painfully. He seemed to be hallucinating.
What was going on?
The stadium was shocked seeing this huge shift. They had no way of understanding what was happening.
"No—" Hua Yilin shook with more pain. Under everybody's shocked gazes, tears dropped from the corners of his eyes!!
Hua Xiunin was utterly dumbfounded seeing this unimaginable situation. She almost couldn't believe that her unruly younger brother was actually crying! Sobbing, even!
"What the f*ck is going on, that bastard is crying?! Yixuan, am I dreaming?!?" Shui Wenmo rubbed his eyes, trying to confirm what he was seeing was real.
Feng Yixuan stared fixedly at the Hua Yilin who was convulsing with tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His gaze was also filled with disbelief, but he didn't forget to give Shui Wenmo a hard punch in the face to tell him that he wasn't dreaming.
Shui Wenmo wiped his bloody nose subconsciously, then sniffled. "The actual f*ck? I'm actually not dreaming? That bastard is actually crying?"
"What is the current situation?" The emperor frowned, also confused.
"I am also unsure. It seems Hua Yilin is undergoing a painful event." An Lisha was also puzzled. She could only guess that Claire had used a type of spiritual attack.
Summer danced around happily and sang, "Haha, you uneducated dragon, do you agree acknowledge that you've lost?" Hua Yilin had lost his mind, so how could he fight Claire anymore?
Ben twitched his lip and didn't answer.
Jean let out a long breath. A complex emotion arose in his heart. Claire had already become so strong? Did he still have the qualifications to protect her?
Watching the holy looking Claire, Leng Lingyun suddenly understood why the Temple of Light wanted to recruit Claire a little. But, for some reason, Leng Lingyun felt his heart instinctively oppose this notion. Was it was really a good idea to have Claire join the Temple of Light?
Walter wiggled his shoulders excitedly. Won, the little devil won! That damn little devil, always making others worried!
"Yaaay, Claire won!" Qiao Chuxin waved a fist excitedly.
And so, Hua Yilin remained sprawled on the ground, never to be able to move again with endless anguish.
Everybody had weaknesses.
Claire looked down at Hua Yilin quietly. Even she was curious. What did Hua Yilin see?
As Thousand Terrors' name* suggests, one experiences thousands of terrors. It pulls out the darkest reaches of one's heart, the most painful regrets and resentments, then replays it over and over. Naturally, one will fall apart. Truthfully, put in more vulgar terms, one would be mindf*cked thousands of times.
*The actual thing means thousands of thousands of plunders/robbing/coercion/seize by force/calamity. I think it's more of the pulling darkest part that the name is supposed to imply but I think thousand robbings or something really doesn't sound right…
Hua Yilin had lost his ability to fight, his eyes empty. His mouth continuously repeated the word "no". He would never be able to stand again.
After finally returning to his senses, the referee yelled at the top of his lungs, "I declare Claire Hill as the winner!" This brought the rest of the people back to their senses.
Won!
Claire won!
Instantly, cheers erupted in the stadium, their voices reaching the skies.
The golden haired, green eyed girl had won.
Although it was only one of the preliminary mass elimination rounds, it was so marvelous, so rousing.
Many people stood up to applaud. The enthusiastic atmosphere moved everybody. This competition, the tables had turned many times and had finally ended. Many people's hearts had risen and dropped greatly, extremely high strung.
Many years later, people would still recount this day. The holy, beautiful girl, blossoming lotuses, completely astounding.
With a flick of her finger, the countless golden lotuses vanished.
Hua Yilin was carried down stage to be treated.
The emperor's eyes slitted as he watched Claire who was hovering in mid air, a cold glint in his eyes.
Seeing this from the corner of her eyes, An Lisha's heart sunk. She knew that the emperor had killing intent now! Claire was only fourteen, but she already had ungodly strength, destined for greater heights in the future! But the emperor seemed to have forgotten one point. Claire was not only someone from the Hill clan, but also a priest of the Temple of Light! And she had a very close relationship to the Li clan. No matter how you looked at it, making a move against her was unwise. An Lisha also understood that although the emperor had revealed such gaze, this was the normal response of a true ruler. Even though he had killing intent, the emperor would never be foolish enough to face the Temple of Light.
But amidst the cheering and applause, there was suddenly a strange development in the sky. The clear autumn sky was suddenly darkening.
Claire's expression changed. She speedily flew away, hurrying out of the city.