"[Sunbeam]."
Soluna's attack was extremely fast to be unleashed. As soon as Soluna's gesture was done, the arena was swallowed by light, as if a Sun had descended, followed by a terrifying explosion.
The wall containing Soluna was obliterated into pieces, and the puppets that created it received heavy backlash, making their bodies crack in many places.
Yet, there was no respite for the puppets, no time to heal or recover, for Soluna was already hurtling towards their summoner like a comet, leaving in her wake a shimmering trail of silver and gold.
The puppet master's face was solemn, his heart speeding up as the Sun and Moon Empyrean spirit rushed forward with a cold and indifferent face. Feeling a threat, he hastily recalled all his puppets toward himself by spatial techniques, making them disappear and appear between Soluna and his body.
Soluna waved her other hand.
"[Moonbeam]."
WHOOM!
A silvery soft light with a terrifyingly low and reverberating sound rushed out from her, changing the landscape into a frozen hell.
One second, the surroundings were normal, in the following one, everything was frozen.
On the other side of the attack, the 12 puppets were quick to react, controlled by their master, and they used powerful skills one after another to fight off the attack.
Their weapons released deep and powerful energy that would effortlessly level a mountain.
BOOM!
An enormous collision occurred, and half of the puppets got blasted backward, flying by their summoner's side as their bodies hit the wall far behind him.
The rest withstood the attack, preparing to counterattack.
However, Soluna was already in front of them, and their bodies covered in frost greatly impeded their mobility. This was detrimental and forced them to go on the defensive again.
Soluna approached them, and instead of using a skill, she punched them.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing spectacular.
Soluna just threw a standard punch with relatively weak strength behind it.
The spectators who were looking for the first time were confused. The two previous attacks were enough to level mountain ranges, yet the current punch would have trouble dealing enough damage to a mountain to look significant.
The puppet she aimed at first was quick to react. While they were puppets, they had some degree of self-agency because of the cultivator's relatively high level. So, with surgical precision, the puppet used its spear and thrust forward toward Soluna's hand, intending to cripple her arm.
Then, Soluna's skin touched the tip of the spear.
Light.
Blinding light erupted everywhere.
The light released by [Sunbeam] was nothing but a firefly before the Sun compared to the current events.
When the spectators that were blinded looked over again, there was nothing in the arena.
Not only that but there was an enormous crater in the middle of the arena, where Soluna stood leisurely, her face as indifferent as it had been when the battle started.
Still, the cultivators with sharp eyes found out that Soluna's fist had disappeared.
Yasenia pondered. 'Has the harsh contact with the spear caused a reaction between the barely stable Sun and Moon energies, resulting in a pure conversion from mass to energy?' Yasenia then paused and thought of the first time she extended her hand to touch Soluna's head.
At that time, Soluna was looking at her with a strange face. Only now did Yasenia realize that it was pity. The dragoness's erupted in cold sweat. 'My constitution saved me from certain death. With her current strength, not even Mom could've saved me from such a close distance.'
Yasenia was not that knowledgeable about Valeria's and Mirrory's limits so that she couldn't say for sure. However, the fact that she almost died unknowingly was a fact.
In the arena, a person appeared and shouted. "Soluna, disqualified!"
Everyone blinked in surprise. Soluna looked over and frowned. "Why?"
The person who appeared looked at Soluna with a face that was clearly holding back anger. "Your attack killed the judge. You are disqualified."
Soluna paused and snorted. "That's his fault for being too close to the battle. It's not like they are there to intervene. They are just an announcer for the battle's start and for the winner."
The person who appeared snarled. "The rules are clear; even unintentional killing of the judge will disqualify you."
Soluna barked a laugh, her lips arching with derision. "Nonsensical rule. If someone places a mortal as a judge and they die, should I also lower my head and accept my defeat? If they were stronger, they wouldn't have died."
That person who appeared floating above Soluna shouted. "As if there is a single creature in this world that can resist that attack!? You were clearly malicious!"
Soluna looked at him, and her body flickered, appearing only a palm away from him. The memory of what happened now crossed the man's mind, and he released a muted scream as he rushed backward in fear. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? BACK OFF, MONSTER!
Soluna looked at him with pure and unadulterated contempt, her voice sounding like two people speaking at once, reaching far and wide. "Pathetic creature. Where are your guts now, huh? Since I'm disqualified either way, how about I kill you too?"
Soluna made a faint of rushing forward, and the man turned around and ran at his maximum speed.
After he left, Soluna looked around and asked. "Now, can the organizer come and speak? Or will you send another gutless creature with airs of grandeur?"
Lornerat appeared in the arena, looking at Soluna with a cold expression. "We clarified this rule since the beginning. There is nothing to talk about."
Soluna looked at him and squinted. "Are you really ok with disqualifying one of the strongest participants because of a clearly unintentional death?"
Lornerat said again. "That's the rules."
Soluna turned around, her golden and silvery hair shining beautifully. "What an asinine decision. It seems that Body Cultivators think with the heart instead of the brain. Such a beautifully complex organ you fleshy beings have, and it is completely wasted in you."
Then, she rushed upward toward Yasenia's platform.
Lornerat's face became black at the sudden insult. However, he couldn't do anything. So, he could only glare at Soluna's back as she left.
Then, he announced. "Winner, Nine Devil Puppet Sect!"
Meanwhile, above the arenas, Soluna rushed toward Yasenia and made a pouting face. "Yasenia, they bullied me!"
Yasenia's eyebrow twitched. 'I think it was you who bullied not only them but even their ancestors. You killed one of their people, and they almost had to apologize for it.'
Cecile, at the side, made a slight sound, failing to hold back her laughter.
The dragoness coughed and coaxed the Empyrean Spirit in her arms. "There, there. While I agree that you shouldn't be disqualified, as it was clearly the judge's fault, the rules are the rules, and as the organizer, they also have responsibilities."
Soluna snorted, making Yasenia and the rest laugh. The dragoness looked at her for a few seconds, making Soluna's face lit with some flames as she blushed. "W-What's wrong?"
Yasenia smirked. "You are really strong."
Soluna smiled bashfully. "Hehe, not as strong as you~."
Yasenia blinked and thought about it. 'Well, I do have an advantage in that I don't trigger her body's special response. However, is that good or bad?' While she pondered, she felt Soluna using her good hand to stealthily poke here and there around her body, making her blink. 'What is she doing?'
Meanwhile, Soluna was enchanted. 'So soft… Wow, my finger sinks, but it pops out because of the nice elasticity of her skin… Are all fleshy beings like her?'
Yasenia ignored the curious spirit and looked at the arenas. "Well, now, we just wait. Alaia, how is the situation back at home?"
Alaia commented. "We've received a message from Ghana telling us that everything is under control. There were a few attempts at breaking through the defensive formations of Astral Sky City and the Astral Sky Sect, but they all ended in failure. The miscommunications you were worried about happened because one of our message relay stations got compromised. However, Ghana has already retaken it. We are having small-scale battles on many fronts while the newly acquired sect in the ocean is already paying off."
Yasenia felt relaxed. "So, they haven't started attacking us yet. They are proving our response time and a few other things…"
Alaia agreed. "That seems to be the case."
Yasenia asked if there was a detailed report, and Alaia took out one. Giving it a read, Yasenia lifted her eyebrow. "Ghana is doing exceptionally well."
Alaia nodded. "It was worth it in the long run not getting rid of her when she didn't show total loyalty back then."
Yasenia titled her head. "You mean our first encounter with Tengliu?"
Alaia smiled. "I heard that you became quite angered."
Yasenia rolled her eyes and then said. "Speaking of which, I'm getting very close to finally being as strong or stronger than her."
Cecile said. "Finally."
The dragoness laughed. "Why, still resentful?"
Cecile nodded. "At least, I want some closure to feel relaxed in my mind. While I agree that she has been a great help and that things would've been much more complicated without her, I still think that some sort of punishment is due."
Yasenia agreed that it needed some sort of closure, as leaving it slip by felt a bit wrong. "Well, that's for the future. Let's focus on the present, though. What are our immediate plans?"
The girls pondered. Yasenia often asked them questions like these to train their thoughts and not allow them just to follow whatever she said. Yasenia didn't want them to be people who just nodded at her suggestions and followed like little tails. She wanted them to be able to think with her and reach conclusions.
Andrea commented. "We need to make sure our outside shops are secure, or at least, limit their activity."
Kali added. "We also need to change our information relay points. If one is compromised, others might be too."
Angel blinked. "We need to sort out the capable formation masters to move around in defended groups. They are the backbone of a defensive battle."
Evelyn suggested. "How about mobilizing that assassin squad you've been growing? Since we are starting a war state and we've managed to secure a top 64 in the summit, we can start killing with much less restraint."
Yasenia smiled, satisfied. "We'll implement all the ideas you've suggested. They are all really good. I just need to touch on a few details."
Evelyn looked at Cecile and smirked. "Why didn't you suggest anything?"
Cecile blinked. "I did."
Evelyn was confused. "How-Oh!" Then, she laughed after the realization sank in. "Typical of our quiet but not so quiet Phoenix~."
Cecile tilted her head. "Wanna hear it?"
Evelyn was curious, so she nodded. Cecile said. "We need to train combat-ready people with the formations Angel took from the Secret Realm."
Evelyn remembered. "Oh! The ones Angel copied before she went to meet with Yasenia? Those all ended up being formations to recreate the monoliths we found in Lost Town, right?"
Cecile nodded. "Moreover, with the books Angel bought there about formation making, she can recreate them to a point. Although, they don't feel nearly as realistic as the ones in Lost Town."
Angel pouted. "Those were made by someone stronger than Mommy Tatyana!"
Tatyana didn't deny it and laughed. "Well, that's probably true."
As they spoke about plans, etc, placing a sound-blocking formation around them, time went by, and the tournament finally came to an end.