As the Grandmaster's voice faded, the surface of the entire arena began to collapse.
Specks of starlight ignited in the void.
Immediately after, countless spheres appeared out of thin air.
These spheres exhibited various colors and textures.
Each possessed a complete atmosphere, distinct terrain, and was even rotating at high speeds.
Stars burned, gas giants churned, and asteroid belts circled these miniature Planets like fine, silvery ribbons.
This was a real miniature galaxy.
It retained all the physical properties of real celestial bodies in the Universe, though their size had been reduced.
An ordinary Planet here was only equivalent to the size of a basketball.
Yet, the environment here was just as lethal as the real Universe.
Absolute zero interwoven with stellar radiation acted like invisible blades, reaping all life.
Even more terrifying was the sudden drop in pressure caused by the vacuum environment; any creature below planetary-level constitution, if exposed without protection, would have their bodily fluids boil within seconds, their lungs would tear, and their vital signs would drop to zero in an extremely short amount of time.
But those standing in this arena were no ordinary individuals.
Ebony Maw floated in space, his hands still elegantly clasped behind his back.
There was not a trace of panic on his face, which resembled Squidward.
Before descending onto the battlefield, he had already used his peerless telekinesis to form a perfect, invisible protective film around his body.
This telekinetic film insulated him from extreme temperature differences, blocked lethal cosmic radiation, and locked in the air pressure around him.
It could be said that, barring any sudden, unexpected situations that caught him off guard, he feared no environment as long as he was prepared.
On the other side, the Ancient One's response was equally composed.
She stood quietly in the void, her expression as calm as water.
She gently traced her hands in front of her chest, drawing out brilliant golden sparks from her fingertips.
"Seven Rings of Raggadorr."
Seven golden magical rings emerged from her fingertips, forming a flickering energy shield that enveloped her entire being.
The golden rings rotated slowly, completely shielding her from the negative effects of the vacuum.
Immediately after, the Ancient One tapped her feet slightly downward.
"Boots of Valtorr."
Two golden magic circles condensed beneath her feet.
The once empty vacuum seemed to transform into solid ground beneath her.
The Ancient One took a step, golden ripples spreading out beneath her feet, and she walked through the void of space with her hands behind her back, as if she were strolling on flat ground.
These two top-tier powerhouses displayed completely different yet equally impeccable survival methods within the lethal cosmic environment.
"Astonishing technique."
Ebony Maw's voice resonated through the Universe via telekinesis.
"It seems that Earth's so-called mystic arts are not entirely worthless."
"But this is meaningless; survival is merely the final struggle you can manage in this contest."
The Ancient One stopped and responded calmly.
Her voice was transmitted through magic, falling just as clearly into Ebony Maw's ears.
"Your arrogance will be one of the reasons for your failure."
"Arrogance stems from power." Ebony Maw stopped wasting words.
He slightly raised his right hand and traced his index finger gently through the void.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three basketball-sized Planets broke away from their original orbits.
Accelerated by telekinesis, they hurtled toward the Ancient One in a triangular formation, carrying terrifying kinetic energy.
Although they were only the size of basketballs, the mass and gravity compressed within them were incredibly astonishing.
The Ancient One's expression did not change.
She clasped her hands together, intending to cast the Mirror Dimension to pull Ebony Maw directly into her home turf and end the battle quickly.
Space began to show dense cracks, like glass that had been struck hard.
The dimensional barrier of the Mirror Dimension was expanding outward, attempting to envelop Ebony Maw and all those incoming Planets.
Just then, red lights suddenly flashed above the arena.
This was the Spirit of the Contest issuing a warning.
"Warning 1: Contestant is attempting to leave the current contest space. Any form of dimensional jumping or spatial isolation that leaves the range of this arena will be immediately considered a forfeit."
The Ancient One's movements paused slightly.
She immediately dispelled the Mirror Dimension spell, and the cracked space instantly returned to its original state.
There was still no extra expression on her calm face.
Since the rules did not allow it, she would switch methods.
Facing the three high-energy Planets close at hand, the Ancient One spread her hands outward.
Two massive golden Shields of Seraphim immediately formed in front of her.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three miniature Planets slammed heavily into the Shields of Seraphim.
The terrifying mass and internal compressed storms erupted, turning into three violent energy clouds.
The golden shields flickered slightly but ultimately blocked the impact steadily.
Immediately after, the Ancient One turned her hands, and the shields transformed into a golden magical whip.
She flicked her wrist, and the whip lashed out like a viper, accurately wrapping around a floating miniature thermal-fusion star.
Then, with a forceful swing, the magma star, radiating astonishing heat, counterattacked toward Ebony Maw at extreme speed.
"Interesting use of energy." Ebony Maw smiled contemptuously.
He didn't even raise his hand, merely constructing an invisible force field in front of him using telekinesis.
The magma star struck the force field and shattered instantly.
Scalding magma and debris splashed all around, but could not touch Ebony Maw in the slightest.
"Is this all the means you have, Sorcerer?" Ebony Maw's tone was filled with disdain.
"Then how about trying this."
With that, Ebony Maw raised both hands, his ten fingers dancing rapidly in the void as if playing a piano.
In an instant, several nearby small galaxies began to boil.
Hundreds of miniature Planets of various shapes and forms broke away from their established orbits.
Some were gas giants made of pure poisonous gas.
Others were dark green Planets covered with oceans of strong acid.
There were even miniature neutron stars that were only the size of a baseball but possessed absurdly high mass.
Under Ebony Maw's telekinetic control, these Planets turned into a terrifying meteor shower of Planets, sealing off all of the Ancient One's retreat paths from all directions and whistling as they smashed toward her.
The scene was spectacular to the extreme, and the audience across the entire Universe held their breath.
"That's amazing! This is exactly what I wanted! Using Planets to smash people! Could there be anything crazier than this?!"
On the staging platform, Peter Parker was so nervous he couldn't sit still.
Homelander took a sip of hot milk and calmed him down in a steady tone: "Quiet, Peter. Keep your eyes open and learn well."
Facing the miniature Planets raining down from the sky, the Ancient One finally became a little more serious.
She quickly formed an incredibly complex magic seal with her hands.
"Images of Ikonn."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
In the void, the Ancient One's figure instantly split into two, then into four.
In just two seconds, hundreds of identical Ancient Ones appeared in the void.
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