The Skyvault Consortium now had John and his companions, as well as Kaine.
As a result, Aldric’s value to the faction had fallen to an extremely low level. Naturally, the Sovereign-rank powerhouses no longer cared much whether he lived or died.
When Sovereign Aslov saw the scene unfolding on the arena, he could not help but sigh.
"Alas. It seems I am about to lose my disciple."
He turned his head away, unable to bear watching what came next.
The Astral Sovereign also sighed with emotion.
"Alvin... what a ruthless Alvin."
"With this level of strength, he is fully qualified to rank within the top ten."
The inheritance of cursecraft had reappeared after countless ages.
No one had expected it to emerge from the Eternal Summit.
Inside the top-thirty tournament realm, Alvin was still chanting beneath his breath.
"Calamity of the severed soul."
"Calamity of absolute extinction."
"When the needle descends, the soul shall perish."
"Let all causality be erased here."
He released a low shout.
In the next instant, the demonic needle plunged directly into the head of the Aldric-shaped doll.
A streak of black light immediately erupted from within it.
At the same time, Alvin’s jet-black hair turned completely white.
He had burned away the lifespan of countless epochs to activate this killing technique.
Meanwhile, Aldric’s agonized screams abruptly ceased.
His hands fell limply to his sides.
His eyes had become dull and lifeless.
His body stiffened like a wooden board before falling straight backward.
Every trace of vitality within him had disappeared.
The Life Origin imprint Aldric had entrusted to the deepest reaches of the universe had been completely erased.
The voice of the will of the universe rang out immediately afterward.
[Arena No. 1: Alvin of the Eternal Summit is victorious.]
[Arena No. 1: Aldric of the Skyvault Consortium has died.]
As the announcement ended, Alvin’s figure reappeared upon his original stone platform.
Many of the other participants immediately cast wary gazes toward him.
They silently began considering the same question.
What could they possibly do if Alvin used this technique against them?
Only John had already shifted his attention elsewhere.
On Arena No. 2, Lashir and Gurok were locked in battle.
Their confrontation had also reached the point where victory and defeat were about to be decided.
Lashir had mastered the Law of Creation, the Void Law, and the Law of Causality.
He was famous for his intricate and unfathomable Divine Abilities.
Gurok, meanwhile, had mastered three innate laws—the Law of Destiny, the Law of Creation, and the Law of Reincarnation.
Cold sweat covered Lashir’s body.
A vicious expression appeared on his face as he repeatedly transformed his Divine Abilities, unleashing one illusion after another.
In Gurok’s vision, the arena sometimes transformed into the enormous maw of a Primordial Desolate Beast.
Its jaws opened wide as it attempted to swallow him whole.
At other times, the illusion transformed into the people closest to Gurok.
Then it became a manifestation of the Great Dao of the universe, welcoming Gurok as he prepared to ascend into the Grand Sovereign rank and tempting him to surrender himself to the vision.
Yet every illusion proved completely ineffective against him.
Gurok calmed his mind and quietly spoke a single word.
"Break."
The word echoed repeatedly throughout the arena.
Translucent ripples of Law power spread outward from his mouth and shattered every illusion before him.
As the illusory scenes gradually faded, many of the watching participants could not help but feel pity for Lashir.
With Lashir’s mastery of illusion-based Divine Abilities, he could have firmly suppressed nearly any ordinary participant.
Unfortunately, his opponent was Gurok.
Gurok happened to be one of the powerhouses best suited to countering illusions.
Cedric, who also belonged to the Eternal Divine Palace, shook his head.
"Gurok is the natural enemy of methods like these."
"His mind-mantra Divine Ability is the technique he is most proficient in."
"When he speaks a single word, the laws follow."
"It can shatter countless techniques."
"Lashir was simply unlucky."
Leon also spoke.
"Gurok’s cultivation of his state of mind is comparable to Kaine of the Skyvault Consortium."
"Even without using any Law-based Divine Abilities, these illusions would never be able to affect him."
"Lashir is certain to lose."
Leon understood that a powerful state of mind could not directly increase one’s combat strength.
However, it was the perfect counter to unorthodox methods such as illusion arts.
At this moment, Lashir was drenched in sweat.
He felt both physically and mentally exhausted.
Gurok seemed like his natural nemesis, effortlessly breaking every illusion he created.
The scene before him filled Lashir with terror.
Regardless of what technique he used or what form his attacks took, Gurok neutralized them with ease.
More frighteningly, Gurok had yet to launch even a single counterattack.
It was precisely because Gurok had not fought back that Lashir felt such overwhelming pressure.
He feared Gurok’s true strength.
He feared that the moment Gurok finally attacked, he would have no ability to resist.
Gurok merely stood across from him.
Yet that alone had nearly caused Lashir’s Dao Heart to collapse.
Lashir had completely lost all hope of victory.
"I surrender."
The moment he spoke those words, an unprecedented sense of defeat rose within him.
The simple declaration shattered what remained of his Dao Heart.
Lashir’s face turned deathly pale.
He stared deeply at Gurok, who had not taken a single step throughout the entire confrontation.
Even the corner of Gurok’s robe had never moved.
Lashir gave a miserable smile.
"You win."
Gurok responded with a faint smile but said nothing.
The will of the universe announced the result.
[Arena No. 2: Gurok of the Eternal Divine Palace is victorious.]
[Arena No. 2: Lashir of the Treasure-Rich Mountains has been eliminated.]
[His final ranking is twenty-eighth.]
As the announcement sounded, Gurok returned to his stone platform, while Lashir was transported out of the secret realm.
Cedric suddenly spoke from nearby.
"You did well, Gurok."
"It is only a pity that you failed to take Lashir’s head."
Gurok answered calmly.
"I will never commit the sin of killing."
"I joined the Eternal Divine Palace halfway through my cultivation journey."
"Although the Eternal Divine Palace is renowned for slaughter, I have never killed a single living being in my entire life."
"This is my Dao."
"No matter who stands before me, I will never truly give rise to killing intent."
Cedric had known Gurok for an extremely long time and understood his personality very well.
He merely smiled and said nothing more.
Meanwhile, Kaine looked toward Arena No. 3 and murmured,
"It seems that battle is about to reach its conclusion as well."
On that arena, Kaine of the Skyvault Consortium was currently fighting Morris of the Demon King Council.
Their battle was nearing its end.
All the participants who had yet to fight had turned their attention toward this final confrontation.
Aldric, one of the Skyvault Consortium’s recognized supreme prodigies, had already died at Alvin’s hands.
Kaine was now the only one of the faction’s original supreme prodigies remaining.
If something happened to him as well, both of the Skyvault Consortium’s most heavily nurtured prodigies would be eliminated.
Quite a few powerhouses secretly hoped that Kaine would lose.
The sudden rise of John and his companions had already made the other factions extremely wary of the Skyvault Consortium.
However, on Arena No. 3, Kaine held an overwhelming advantage.
From John’s perspective, Kaine was effortlessly toying with Morris, keeping the Demon King Council powerhouse completely within the palm of his hand.