Chapter 840: This Group of Players Is Truly Steadfast

A life for a life?

Caroline watched from the sidelines, instantly stunned. So this was the reason these people deliberately sent one of their own to be beaten to death? Indeed… it truly was.

"It feels like déjà vu," Caroline thought, "it was the same when they fought the Three Pillar Gods." Recalling a past scene, she commented helplessly, "But why aren't their gods dispatching for a mere Heavenly Emperor-level cosmic monster? Why do they keep sending out more Heavenly Emperor-level powerhouses instead?"

"You'll get used to it," Mengmei replied. Mengmei, finding the scene unbearable, felt these individuals had thoroughly embarrassed her in front of Caroline, leaving her with no dignity.

Mengmei cleared her throat. "It's an opening statement, their sense of ritual! While it might be unnecessary, shouting to get into character is still pretty cool. After all, looking good is a lifelong commitment." Despite being a self-proclaimed slacker, Mengmei understood these individuals' tendencies perfectly. "As for dispatching Heavenly Emperor-level powerhouses, they're simply probing further," Mengmei chuckled. "They're incredibly adept at concealing their true strength. If a problem can be solved by revealing Heavenly Emperor-level power, they'll absolutely avoid exposing a god's combat capabilities. Plus, it serves as good training." She added, "They call this... 'being cautious'."

"Cautious?" Caroline smiled, finding it rather amusing.

*Whoosh.*

The rhino-horned great octopus paused, slightly bewildered. Another ridiculously small Heavenly Emperor. How dared it provoke him so boldly? However, this one looked a bit different—a creature composed of light elements, appearing very mysterious. At the same time, it sensed that the opponent existed within a terrifying, extreme thought-space, with a time flow of... one hundred times the normal speed.

"Are you a pure-blooded descendant of a god? Naturally perfected in the 100-thought path?" The rhino-horned octopus's divine consciousness pulsed forth, conveying its surprise: "Such a noble bloodline is terrifying! It makes you practically invincible among Heavenly Emperors. Other Heavenly Emperors of the same realm would seem like motionless ants to you... The time dimension alone is enough to overwhelm them! Understand this: even I, hailed as the strongest race in the Heavenly Emperor realm and a descendant of a god, my bloodline isn't as terrifying as yours. I can only achieve a fifty-three-fold time flow, but..."

The rhino-horned great octopus roared, its divine consciousness exploding. "So what if you're twice as fast as me? My sheer size is enough to crush you! You pathetic cosmic insect!"

The two instantly clashed, fighting furiously, reaching the peak of their combat. All sorts of terrifying divine light flared. In mere minutes, due to the immense size disparity, the player was utterly crushed.

The very next second, another beam of light descended. A being descended, climbing down the immense white light beam.

"M78 Nebula, Warrior of the Land of Light, Taro! Was it you who killed my brother Dyna just moments ago? Damn you, I'll surely kill you!"

*Aargh!* He roared in fury, tears welling in his eyes. "I will avenge my brother!"

The rhino-horned great octopus paused, then erupted into wild laughter, incredibly domineering. "Avenge your brother? You're merely seeking your own demise!"

At the other end of the light beam, inside the eyeball, stood a teleportation array.

"Line up! Who wants to be next? Line up!" An Asura warrior guarded the light portal. "By descending via the light beam and transforming into an elemental being, you can engage in a combat training battle. It's a rare chance; these large, unsophisticated creatures are becoming quite scarce... However, it requires the gods in charge to manipulate magnifying glasses from behind, helping to warp the laws... So the fee is 100,000 'Sand Sculpture Coins' per session!"

"Are you robbing us? That's so expensive!"

"Count me in!"

"I'm the next one!"

Countless individuals lined up, orderly. Caroline was stunned once more, filled with a myriad of emotions. To think there was even such a fee-based system—they were truly masters of making money! This trip was indeed fascinating, revealing all sorts of intriguing things.

In the vast expanse of the cosmos, the rhino-horned great octopus had slaughtered numerous bodies, leaving them strewn across the ground. But it was perplexed. While the first corpse, once killed, had remained corporeal and allowed it to absorb immense energy—giving it a taste of success—all subsequent powerful individuals, upon defeat, simply vanished into specks of light, leaving no energy behind. No energy whatsoever remained. Was this a characteristic of this mysterious, unknown race?

"But to have so many pure-blooded eighth-level divine beings, capable of entering complete high-dimensional spacetime, is truly astonishing!" The rhino-horned great octopus mused inwardly: "It feels like I've stumbled upon an ant's nest, with each one frantically seeking revenge. It's quite possible this is a nomadic cosmic species passing through, and now they're all coming after me for retribution..." Such tribal patterns were not uncommon in its inherited memories. "These creatures are simply too foolish. All that hot-bloodedness, those tears, and passionate sentiments—coming one by one to avenge their comrades. They're truly a dull, idiotic race."

This 'Calabash Brothers rescuing Grandpa' approach, where they come one by one, roaring to avenge the one before, indeed made it mock them inwardly. Only if they attacked together could they pose a significant threat.

"Still, I can kill a few more," it mused with a smile.

The battle raged on for a very long time.

"Argh, why are there so many of you?!" the rhino-horned great octopus shrieked, feeling overwhelmed. Their sheer numbers were exhausting its stamina. The rhino-horned great octopus had lost count of how many Heavenly Emperors it had slain—thirty? Forty? It was as if their bodies were piled high into a mountain. Yet each one, upon death, transformed into light, leaving no trace of energy.

Another Ultraman descended. He roared, gazing at the wounded rhino-horned great octopus, brimming with fervor, his divine consciousness shaking the very heavens. "Damn you! I will avenge my kin! I'll stop at nothing, even if it costs me my life!"

"No, you'll die too," the rhino-horned great octopus cried out, filled with terror. "Let's call off this fight. There's no need for us both to suffer."

*Ugh, aargh!* The Ultraman roared fiercely, "My kin sacrificed their lives to push you to this state, covered in blood! How could I let their efforts be in vain? You inadvertently killed one of our people. After fighting this long, we are sworn enemies. My race is bound to kill you! The Asura Ultraman race never shies away from a fight!" he declared loudly.

The rhino-horned great octopus was both shocked and enraged. "You truly are lunatics! How can such madmen exist in the cosmos!?"

Yet, the octopus smirked to itself, thinking, "How foolish. So easily provoked. By feigning heavy injury, they swarm forward, endlessly rushing to their deaths. Now that I've killed enough and they're sufficiently drained, let them truly experience the despair of the universe."

A terrifying aura completely erupted. As if some terrifying being had descended, space ripped open, and a true cosmic god appeared out of thin air on the very land. This was a humanoid white creature, no larger than an ordinary person, with a slippery, elastic texture like tofu pudding.

"Now, feel despair." It turned, gazing at the Ultraman Geed before it, as if it could already envision the other's terror and despair. "Do you realize? The great octopus you just witnessed was, in fact, already slain by me. I, this god, was merely cultivating, hidden within its body. And you are truly a foolish race, utterly unaware of what you were up against..." It advanced, step by step, letting out a cold snort. "I used this octopus creature as a cover for my strength, gradually luring you to your deaths, enticing you to keep coming to kill me."

"Despicable!" The Ultraman opposite stared in disbelief. "You, a god, clearly capable of directly overwhelming us Heavenly Emperors, yet you chose to hide behind the scenes, deliberately tricking us into endlessly sacrificing ourselves? That's utterly shameless! You obviously possessed the power to intervene in your true form and simply suppress us!"

"In the vast universe, those who don't know how to conceal themselves will never survive to the end." The tofu-pudding-like being stood in the void with its hands clasped behind its back, levitating, stepping forward as if treading on an ethereal stairway.

"You!" Ultraman Geed gasped, utterly aghast.

"I was exploiting your gambling instinct," the white being stated calmly. "Once you saw me riddled with injuries, you became unwilling to retreat. Instead, you gambled your very lives, ceaselessly rushing to your deaths. You knew that if you withdrew midway, all your previously sacrificed kin would have died in vain. The more you invested, the more reluctant you became to stop, ultimately creating a death spiral that dragged you into the abyss."

Ultraman Geed roared furiously, "We will not lose!"

"You've already lost. For a single race to possess so many Heavenly Emperors is already extraordinary," the white being said, then gently clapped its hands. The creature, identifying itself as Ultraman, instantly perished.

This oddly-shaped god stood in the void and spoke indifferently: "These beings are extraordinarily minuscule—arguably the smallest I've ever encountered. Yet, despite their size, they possess such exaggerated combat power. This indicates that their genetic talents and cultivation techniques must have been developed to an incredibly mature degree... If I can steal their genes, if I can steal their civilization's cultivation methods, then I shall..."

It knew this was a significant opportunity. It was currently a three-gene being, preparing for a fourth bloodline, but what civilization's bloodline talent should it integrate? The choice would significantly impact its potential. As a god, it had visited several lower civilizations and was quite dissatisfied with their genes and immature cultivation methods. As for powerful, high-level civilization bloodlines, those were beyond its reach. However, it was extremely pleased with this current civilization.

"Their bloodline genes are exceptionally unique. Their bloodline cultivation techniques must have been refined to their absolute peak to grant such astonishing combat power. What's more, their techniques aren't limited to the current realm... It's highly probable they lead to the ultimate!" It had been highly dissatisfied with its previous three genes. Now, at last, here was a powerful gene along with its corresponding mature and potent cultivation techniques. Once integrated, its combat power would undoubtedly become astonishing, increasing dramatically!

But before it could even react, the white light beam flickered once more, and a being powerful enough to utterly overwhelm and threaten it descended. Another one had actually appeared.

"M78 Nebula, Cosmic Warrior of the Land of Light, Ultraman Tiga, the greatest and sole Pillar God of Light! Was it you who killed so many of my kin?"

The white, tofu-pudding-like being: "..."