Chapter 2179: Rising Sun
Eighteen years later, Master Uma finally found herself at the altar of death, consumed by the wrath of Lord Virodhabhasa himself. Her final vision was that of the Antithesis glaring at her with boundless hatred, rage, and pain, clad in a divine armor of fire.
A God in human form.
"The universe bows to Lord Virodhabhasa," she whispered even as the flames ate her alive. "I bow to Lord Virodhabhasa."
BOOOOOM!!!!!
The hungry sun consumed her whole, leaving nothing behind.
Yet, it was not satisfied.
It expanded in an instant, consuming the entire battlefield.
Yet, it never stopped. It didn't slow down.
It only continued to accelerate.
It only continued to expand even further.
So much so that not even the evaluating Martial Masters were safe from its clutches. Their expressions grew grave as their Martial Hearts and Martial Minds blazed into power, protecting not just themselves but also seeking to contain the power that emerged from Rui.
Ordinarily, this was not something that they would be worried about.
Each Master-level chamber was designed to contain power greater than the limits of the Master Realm.
However...
RUMBLE!!!
For the first time in their careers as evaluators of the Panamic Martial Federation, they came to fear that a Master-level chamber might just not hold.
Their fears were not unjustified. They grew alarmed as they felt the powerful and vast infrastructure shaking under the weight of what felt like a calamity, sending shudders across the entire battlefield facility.
RUMBLE!!!!!
Much to their horror, the attack seemed to grow much stronger and stronger, as if fueled a second time. The more it expanded, the more the explosion wavefront seemed to grow greater and greater. It was terrifyingly counter-intuitive in ways that seemed to defy common sense.
None of them understood if this was part of the technique. It was difficult to imagine that this was part of it.
After all, why would Master Rui dare to use something this intense if he knew it was going to be this dangerous?
This was merely an evaluation. Most Martial Masters did not go all out in order to ensure that they didn't reveal their trump cards.
It was common sense.
After all, the Panamic Martial Federation existed for all Martial Artists, not any individual one. There was no point in trying to show all their secrets when this information could be used against any of them.
Yet, Master Rui seemed to be baring every ounce of power he had to the world.
And that power proved to be too much for them to handle.
RUMBLE!!!
Yet, as they struggled to hold back the ensuing explosion, they could not help but wonder whether such a result was possible even if a Martial Master went all out. Regardless, now wasn't the time to focus on that.
All five Martial Masters on the evaluation team went all out as they deployed their very best to contain the explosion as much as possible.
Fortunately, many of them were equipped to prevent a battle from going out of control so that there was very little chance of anything bad happening during these battles.
Now, however, they would come to learn that they were wrong.
RUMBLE!!!
Regardless, they applied their breathing techniques and other defensive techniques over as much of an area as possible, pushing themselves as far as they could. Martial Art over Martial Art. Technique over technique. The power of many Martial Masters supported the defensive line.
Yet, they weren't able to push it back.
RUMBLE!!!
Their fears grew more pronounced when the structures supporting the dome over the evaluation battlefield began creaking and rumbling, struggling to contain the devastating power that Rui had unleashed inadvertently.
Until it simply no longer could.
BOOOOOM!!!
"No!" Master Jenile's eyes widened as he saw the dome break, ultimately failing to contain the attack.
It broke free.
All hope was lost.
Or at least, it should have been.
"Enough."
Her voice was soft, yet it overpowered the roar of the infant Sun. Heaven and earth bent under the weight of her being as though the very force of her existence pushed down the fabric of the world. Yet, even this gentle gesture weighed down on the ball of pure destruction, halting its indomitable expansion.
The baby Sun fought with all its might against the grip of her breathing technique, yet it was to no avail.
Before the might of a Martial Sage, its power was but naught.
"Sage Larra." Master Jenile heaved a deep sigh of relief.
She was one of the few Martial Sages stationed at the headquarters of the Panamic Martial Federation who were tasked with security and stability. Her arrival brought a lot of reassurance to the Martial Masters who had exerted themselves to protect Rui's power from spilling over.
She exhaled softly.
WHOOSH
With a wave of her hand, the fiery ball of destruction was no longer.
With the slightest exertion of her true power, she erased it.
The turbulence immediately began to settle upon its disappearance. A significant amount of seismic radiation had spread across the entire tectonic plate, causing serious concerns that none of them could ignore. The authorities of the Panamic Martial Federation had already entered a state of emergency as word of the energy leak spread.
The most important issue was ensuring that the floating tectonic plate was stable. As long as it was, everything else could be handled after. The Martial Sages and Martial Masters across the entire tectonic plate began straining themselves to stabilize the land, gently absorbing the energy from the land as well as they could with earth-bending and channeling the seismic radiation into the atmosphere as sound. Only when the headquarters had been deemed to be entirely safe was the damage fully evaluated. Only when everything had finally settled down did they have the leeway to begin exploring the cause. Immediately, the authorities began poring over every detail relating to the inception of the attack.
"Now then..." Sage Larra's attention returned to the sparring battlefield facility. "Tell me..."
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the entire location.
"Where did that spark of materia prima emerge from?"