Chapter 423: Clash of Prodigies

“So it’s you after all!”

Song Chi’s icy voice echoed through the Eighteenth Underground Level.

Neither replied, but to the surrounding dignitaries, that silence was answer enough.

Their gazes locked, sparks of tension crackling between them.

Everyone on the Eighteenth Underground Level understood that even a simple stare could ignite this powder keg into outright conflict.

An official member of Yaoguang Star Tower.

A direct successor of the powerful Changsun Family.

Those extraordinary credentials alone had everyone buzzing with anticipation.

…

Whispers of arcane energy flickered through the Eighteenth Level, hinting at an imminent clash.

But just as tension peaked, one of the contestants, Song Chi, suddenly spoke, shattering the silence.

“This arena’s betting pool looks pretty solid. How about we add our own stakes?”

With that, he withdrew two jade boxes from his person.

“These are two portions of sixth‑rank Moon Springs. Is pricing them at two silver components too much?”

Changsun Wu was taken aback, but he quickly suppressed his surprise.

For face and the allure of sixth‑rank Moon Springs, he didn’t hesitate and nodded in agreement.

“Perfectly to my liking!”

Saying this, Changsun Wu produced a silver‑glinting artifact from his robes.

脉冲星能量护盾 lv0

Quality: Silver

…

Song Chi was about to remind him that there was one more…

When suddenly Changsun Wu grit his teeth and produced a hefty chunk of material.

Super‑strategic resource “Hunyuan Copper” 10kg

Song Chi nodded slightly; that was easily worth a silver component.

But another dilemma emerged: who should hold onto it?

Better each keep our own. He feared the other might renege later—unlikely, but not a gamble he wanted to take.

Beneath them lay Chilong Floating Isle, the Changsun Family stronghold. If Wu backed out later, he’d have no leverage.

At that moment, the calm figure seated beside them stood up.

“I lack talent, but if you two trust me, I am willing to serve as witness!”

Before Song Chi could reply, Changsun Wu nodded first.

“Having the Second Prince oversee the notarization couldn’t be more appropriate.”

Song Chi raised an eyebrow.

He’d previously used Dual Pupils to scan him and knew he was no ordinary figure, but he never expected him to be the Second Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

For a Changsun Family successor to address him as Second Prince, he had to be the contemporary Second Royal Son of the Li Family in the Tang Dynasty.

Naturally, he had no objections.

Li Chengxuan, Second Prince of the Tang Dynasty, was certainly qualified to serve as guarantor.

…

Chilong Floating Isle: the Heavenly Thunder Plaza before the Heavenly Thunder Tower.

A crowd had gathered, and Cui Yulong greeted representatives of various powerful factions who had arrived early on Chilong, her face alight with smiles.

Suddenly voices rose in the crowd. Looking up, they saw a massive holographic screen appear overhead, big enough for everyone in the plaza to see clearly.

The hologram displayed two Zhulu‑class Cruisers streaking at high speed across the sky above the isle.

“That black ship must be Changsun Wu’s flagship!”

“The one behind is unfamiliar—does anyone know it?”

“I know that one. I think Yulong’s junior sibling brought it from Yaoguang Star Tower…”

At this remark from a direct descendant of the Changsun Family’s right branch, most eyes in the plaza turned to Cui Yulong.

Cui Yulong felt a jolt—she knew the right branch had set this up, thrusting her unexpectedly into the spotlight, yet she grew even calmer.

Smiling without losing her composure, she said softly:

“Indeed. But exactly how it clashed with Wu, I can’t say…”

Her response was masterful; she said nothing about the right branch’s schemes.

Every person here represented powerful factions—none were idiots.

From that hologram and knowing the origins of the two Cruisers, everyone basically pieced together the backstory.

But no one spoke further; they all settled in to watch the show.

The two protagonists on that screen were far from ordinary—they were the favored prodigies of humanity, worthy of the Torch title.

That only heightened everyone’s interest.

As they spoke, the two Cruisers had already broken free of Chilong and burst into the open starry sky.

Then without another word, beams of energy coalesced at each ship’s prow. The battle had begun.

Swish, swish!

Cannons roared, and searing beams struck the outer shields of both warships.

[Warning: Under external attack. Energy shield integrity reduced by 500 million. Current: 89.3 billion / 89.8 billion. “Yin‑Yang Regeneration” activated.]

As “Yin‑Yang Regeneration” triggered, the once‑fading Yin‑Yang Counter‑Phase Annihilation Shield replenished fully within a second.

Immediately the Sky‑Domain AI began its analysis.

[Final damage: 500 million. Considering “Two‑Modes Damage Reduction,” “True Shield,” and “Yang·Tongxin Pendant” defense bonuses, it’s estimated the enemy’s super‑cannon deals about 3.5–4.0 billion per normal shot. Likely a Silver Super‑Cannon enhanced to lv69.]

After the AI’s report, Song Chi had a rough understanding of Changsun Wu’s offensive capabilities.

Even with its attack mode, an lv69 Silver Super‑Cannon could at most shave off 10–15 billion from the Yin‑Yang Counter‑Phase Annihilation Shield’s near‑90‑billion integrity. Hardly a threat.

Unless the enemy had something like “Black Hole Collapse” to further empower the cannon—which even then couldn’t sextuple its output.

Satisfied, Song Chi held no reservations. With a thought, Heavenly Ruin charged straight toward Changsun Wu’s ship without evasive maneuvers.

Unlike Heavenly Ruin’s nearly intact shield, Changsun Wu’s ship showed damage: a normal shot from the Myriad‑Spirit Annihilation Bow, coupled with “Twin Orb Arrow” and the pendant’s bonuses, dimmed his lv69 Silver Energy Shield by one‑fifth.

That shield boasted 60 billion integrity at lv69.

That hit stripped over ten billion from it.

Normally no problem: the Energy Shield self‑recharges, so unless overloaded, it would recover in time.

The key: this was a basic attack. With the attack mode engaged, consequences would be far more serious.

Changsun Wu’s face darkened as he stared gravely at the oncoming Heavenly Ruin, his earlier confidence gone.

As Song Chi closed the distance, both main cannons on his ship charged in succession.

He activated their attack modes.

Soul‑Annihilating Iris Beams and True Immortal Quantum Blade streams converged.

Though just main guns, with their modes on, their damage would dwarf a Super‑Cannon’s normal shot by several times. Once fully charged, they’d threaten Wu’s ship severely.

And that’s not all: he’d have to trigger his repair modules, maybe even his hull‑armor defenses.

As a true heir of the Changsun Family, Changsun Wu wasn’t spoiled. After a moment of shock at Song Chi’s firepower, he regained his composure swiftly.

Whirr…

A faint spatial ripple passed, and in the next instant the 3,000‑meter vessel vanished from Song Chi’s sight.

Only when a tremor brushed Heavenly Ruin’s flank did Song Chi spot the jet‑black warship reappear.

“Interesting. I thought he’d use it to widen the gap, but he went the opposite direction…”

Song Chi’s lips curved upward.

Obviously he calculated Heavenly Ruin’s firepower and opted for a close‑quarters approach to neutralize the gap.

But what he really wanted to say was that Heavenly Ruin’s advantage wasn’t limited to ranged firepower.

From the pendant’s hull‑reinforcement to the Black Hole Evolution Layer’s dual armor, the lv6 Silver Neutron‑Star Core Armor, and the Black‑Gold Ramming Spike, Heavenly Ruin boasted devastating close‑combat power.

But none of that was Song Chi’s first choice now. His gaze shifted to the gold Pusa Zen Seal as he prepared to activate “Zen Seal: External Time Stop,” then combine his cannons with “Black Hole Collapse” to finish the fight quickly.

But before he could activate it, a ring of peculiar energy sprang from Changsun Wu’s black flagship, soon forming a unique domain around it.

Song Chi was still speculating on its nature when his charging cannons dimmed abruptly, and he realized at once.

“A magic‑suppressing domain…he really wants to brawl up close?”

A faint smile crept across Song Chi’s face, but the chill in his eyes was unmistakable.

If he wanted close quarters, he’d crush him in his own domain.

With that thought, metallic grinding sounded from Heavenly Ruin’s prow as a super‑cannon bay transformed into a gleaming, razor‑sharp ram.

Simultaneously, “Black‑Gold Charge” and “High Overload Burst” activated, turning Heavenly Ruin into a blur as it charged toward the black warship.

In the command center, Changsun Wu’s lips curved into a smile—so far, everything was unfolding as he’d planned.

That magic‑suppressing domain had been triggered by the third Silver Legendary Component on his ship. It affected Heavenly Ruin, preventing any external energy attacks, but his ship remained unaffected.

He only needed to wait for his pre‑buffered Super‑Cannon to charge its attack mode, then he’d deal massive damage. Now he just had to keep Heavenly Ruin from interrupting his charge.

With those modes, Heavenly Ruin’s speed was indeed staggering, but facing his own ship equipped with two Blink components, Changsun Wu remained unphased.

The next second, a beam of light shot toward him, freezing the smile on his face.

“Impossible…that domain was generated by a Lv6 Silver component. Even a same‑rank Silver one couldn’t break it, unless it’s Gold…”

Before he could think more, his mind froze completely.

Meanwhile, the charging Heavenly Ruin was already upon him.

Boom!

The two warships slammed together.

With a single collision, Changsun Wu’s hull was gouged with a massive crater.

Alarms blared inside his ship.

…

Below, at the Heavenly Thunder Plaza on Chilong Floating Isle.

The once‑bustling plaza fell silent as all the bigwigs fixated on the holographic screen.

The moment Heavenly Ruin unleashed that faint glow and Changsun Wu’s ship froze in place, a keen‑eyed Sixth‑Rank Torch Captain gleaned the truth.

“If I’m right, the domain Changsun Wu triggered comes from a Silver‑Quality Magic‑Suppressing Domain component. To muster that glow and apply it to an enemy warship means the youngster from Yaoguang Star Tower must have at least one Gold component on his own flagship.”

Those words sent a chill through everyone in the plaza.

A Gold Sanctum Domain component: that grade of shipborne module wasn’t something every high‑end warship possessed.

Before anyone could ponder further, the hologram shifted again.

It appeared Changsun Wu’s ship also had a high‑grade temporal component granting significant time‑resistance, so Heavenly Ruin’s “Zen Seal: External Time Stop” didn’t work as expected.

As Changsun Wu emerged slowly from the time‑stasis and heard his alarms, he instinctively activated his Lv6 Red Hull‑Armor defense mode.

On Heavenly Ruin, Song Chi saw the black warship morph into a strange black‑star form, and he no longer held back.

Clank, clank, clank!

Several alloy chains shot from Heavenly Ruin, binding the black star form of Changsun Wu’s ship in an unbreakable grip.

He’d hesitated, worrying his next move might sink the ship outright, but now he had no reservations.

Over the past two years, several fifth‑rank Silver Apples had matured. His Bind‑God Chains‑Pseudo had been upgraded to Orange quality and enhanced to lv50.

Though Changsun Wu immediately tried to break free of the black star form, it took time—and that gap was Song Chi’s perfect opening.