Chapter 3739   - 813 - Black Flame and Garuda“Is this Garuda’s trademark move, Myriad Fists?”

“What a powerful phantom. It’s more than twice as big as it was in the last championship. Its aura is also nearly as strong as a bona fide Ancient Saint.”

“Wait, this can’t be Garuda’s self-developed Myriad Fists! Shouldn’t it only be at the Gold Holy Art standard? This phantom’s aura can already rival that of Ancient Saints. It should be at the Advanced Gold Holy Art standard at the very least.”

Many spectators who had watched Garuda in the last Continental Championship were shocked when they saw the 1,000-meter-tall phantom. It was especially so for those from the Holy Race. This was because the phantom Garuda summoned last time didn’t even reach 500 meters. They hadn’t expected Garuda to improve so much since the last championship.

There was a huge disparity between Basic and Advanced Gold Holy Arts. Among the Holy Race’s royal powers, players who could grasp Basic Gold Holy Arts would only be treated as a chosen one and nothing more. However, for players who could grasp Advanced Gold Holy Arts, the various royal powers would treat them as future Guild Leaders.

As for players who could develop their own Advanced Gold Holy Art, not even the Holy Race’s royal powers would dare to think of having any such players.

Learning someone else’s technique and developing one’s own technique might ultimately lead to one learning a technique, but there was a qualitative difference between the two processes. When one learned another person’s technique, one could, at most, execute it normally. However, when executing a self-developed technique, in addition to being able to execute it normally, one could also reduce one’s Stamina and Concentration expenditure to a great extent.

Given an expert who could only use an Advanced Gold Holy Art two or three times and an expert who could use it over a dozen times, the result of a clash between the two was obvious. In fact, it wouldn’t even be strange if an expert who managed to develop their own Advanced Gold Holy Art could simultaneously fight two or three experts who had only learned another person’s Advanced Gold Holy Art.

…

While the other spectators were shocked by Garuda’s self-developed Advanced Gold Holy Art, Phoenix Flame looked at Elise in astonishment.

“Your Highness, did you say he is a Half-step Mortal God?” When Phoenix Flame overheard Elise’s mutterings, she couldn’t help but doubt her ears.

“Yes. He has indeed reachedstep already,” Elise said solemnly.

“He’s actually reached it ahead of you? Could he have acquired a Legacy superior to the Sixth Goddess Tablet?” Phoenix Flame couldn’t help but turn to look at Garuda’s figure on the screen in shock.

As Elise’s close confidant and student, Phoenix Flame knew what it meant to be a Half-step Mortal God.

It was a term used to refer to players close to becoming a sixth-floor expert, also known as a Mortal God. To be considered a Half-step Mortal God, players would need to fulfill two requirements: develop their own Advanced Gold-ranked technique and raise their Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard.

In reality, once players reached the standard of a Half-step Mortal God, their ascension into a Mortal God was virtually guaranteed. All they needed to do was have their Concentration undergo metamorphosis to be able to apply Manifold Execution.magic

However, unlike Ink Crystal, whose background was shrouded in mystery, Garuda had participated in the previous Continental Championship. Hence, there was detailed information available on him.

In the last championship, Garuda’s Concentration standard was the same as Elise’s; both were at the Tier 6 Advanced standard. Even the Holy Art he developed barely reached the Gold standard and was nowhere near the Advanced Gold standard.

Although Elise managed to advance her Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard before the current Continental Championship, she only managed it because of the Sixth Goddess Tablet. Phoenix Flame found it hard to imagine Garuda could achieve such rapid growth in his Concentration without the Sixth Goddess Tablet. She also doubted he could get his hands on a Legacy similar to the Sixth Goddess Tablet. After all, the Goddess of Space was a first-class existence, even among Primordial Gods. Obtaining the Legacy of such an existence would not be an easy task.

Not to mention, Garuda had improved his self-developed Holy Art to the Advanced Gold standard in such a short period. Compared to his Concentration development, this was an even more incredible accomplishment.

“It’s not out of the question. Don’t forget that he got to enter the Crucible’s central area as the former champion,” Elise said calmly.

Phoenix Flame agreed with Elise’s explanation. Across the entire Eternal Realm, the Crucible of the Ancients was currently the only known location that could potentially have Primordial God Legacies. So, it was entirely plausible for Garuda to acquire a Legacy surpassing that of the Goddess of Space in the Crucible’s central area.

…

While Phoenix Flame was feeling upset that she wouldn’t get to access the Legacies in the Crucible’s central area once again, Gentle Snow’s group of five suddenly appeared outside the ring. Evidently, all five of them were killed by Garuda. Moreover, they didn’t even manage to waste Garuda’s Concentration and Stamina, let alone buy time for Shi Feng to meet up with them.

When Verdant Rainbow saw Garuda’s calm expression on the screen, she couldn’t help but feel vexed.

After sensing the presence of Garuda’s giant, Shi Feng swiftly moved to regroup with them and was currently already within 1,000 yards of their location. They could have fought Garuda as a full party had they managed to buy themselves even a few seconds. Yet, despite having a five-on-one advantage, they failed to survive even one move against Garuda.

In only an instant, Garuda’s phantom had thrown a hundred punches, each stronger than the third strike of Gentle Snow’s Fleeting Thunderclap. As a result, Gentle Snow only managed to block three punches before she died, while everyone else turned into ashes without blocking a single punch…

When Extreme Feather saw the ugly expressions on Verdant Rainbow’s group, her depressed mood vanished. Her beautiful eyes even started to sparkle when she saw Shi Feng stepping into the same hall as Garuda.

A Half-step Mortal God!

This was the Divine Fist Party’s greatest trump card to win the Continental Championship this time. Garuda’s strength had already reached a realm the average chosen one could not hope to reach.

…

Inside the maze…

“You are the only one left. You are quite strong, seeing as you managed to eliminate Extreme Feather and the others,” Garuda said calmly as he watched Shi Feng enter the hall from an entrance different from Verdant Rainbow’s group. “But this is as far as your party can advance.”

After saying so, Garuda materialized his phantom once more and bombarded Shi Feng with a hundred punches.

Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the phantom attacking him. However, his instincts kicked in, and he promptly cast his Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection before executing Sword’s Orbit.

…