Chapter 157: The End!

Chapter 157: The End!

Li Wei raised his right hand high, a blazing fireball gathering in his palm—blinding, radiant, searing.

The sphere had swollen to half a meter in diameter.

Unbearably hot.

With the Flame Spirit Pearl, Li Wei had successfully unleashed his most powerful attack in the real world.

This fireball contained twice his normal magical power.

The concentration of fire element within it was terrifying!

The Lava Giant sensed the Flame Spirit Pearl, lifted its massive head toward Li Wei, and launched its assault.

Countless fiery raindrops shot upward into the sky, streaking toward him like spears.

Li Wei hurled down the colossal fireball clutched in his hand.

"It's over!"

If this ultimate fireball failed to kill the Lava Giant, then retreat would be his only option.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

On one side—rain of fire ascending against gravity.

On the other—a superheated orb roaring down like a falling star.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Li Wei was struck by the fire rain. Two layers of his invisible armor shattered.

The super fireball crashed onto the crown of the Lava Giant.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion shook the heavens.

For an instant, the light of detonation outshone even the erupting volcanic magma.

Rumble!

A mushroom cloud surged skyward.

A terrifying shockwave rippled outward, instantly clearing all smoke from the crater’s mouth, revealing the chasm beneath.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

High in midair, still a hundred meters from ground zero, Li Wei was flung backward by gales, his body tumbling through the storm.

As the initial blinding flash faded,

he forced his eyes open, straining to see into the heart of the blast.

He needed to know the outcome.

After a moment, gray-black smoke began rising again from within the crater.

Dust settled slowly, unveiling what lay below.

A chunk had been torn from the rim of the volcano.

Blown open by the fireball—a gaping hole nearly thirty meters wide.

Molten lava poured through the breach like a waterfall, cascading down the mountainside.

The lava flow washed over the remains of the Lava Giant.

Its corpse shifted, sliding with the current, rolling down the slope of the mountain.

Li Wei’s heart steadied. He exhaled deeply.

First place—secured!

Thick smoke from the eruption now swallowed the sky.

The invisible magical eyes scattered above could no longer see the battlefield.

Thus, the audience never witnessed Li Wei obliterating the Lava Giant with a single fireball.

All they saw was a sudden, massive spike in Kai’s score on the leaderboard.

Jumping to 1,150 points.

Silence gripped the arena.

For a breath, all was still—then the atmosphere erupted like boiling water.

"How is this possible? How did he do it?"

"This can't be real! Kai must have cheated!"

"What just happened?"

"Let the Mage Association explain—what is going on here?"

"Cheating! Cheating!"

"This is absurd! How could he possibly kill the Lava Giant?"

An elder mage standing upon the floating platform studied the scene, then declared solemnly:

"Contestant Kai has not cheated. His result is valid."

A roar rose from the crowd.

"We want to see the footage! Show us exactly what happened!"

"Yes! If the Mage Association says he's clean, then show us proof!"

"Words alone mean nothing—where is the evidence?"

After urgent consultation among the Mage Association’s highest ranks, they released a recording from a hidden surveillance crystal eye.

The image was hazy, distorted by volcanic ash. Yet the silhouette of the Lava Giant was visible.

Suddenly, a brilliant, enormous fireball entered the frame—and struck true.

At the moment of explosion, a flash so intense blinded countless viewers.

If Leina had been present, she would have felt a chilling sense of déjà vu.

She had once before been dazzled by the same blinding radiance of a super fireball.

Then, the next second—the recording jolted violently, and cut to black.

After several seconds, another angle appeared.

A different surveillance eye, hovering midair, gazing down at the earth.

Suddenly, the ground erupted in a searing glare—followed by the rise of a mushroom cloud.

A violent wind swept away the smoke, and for an instant, the crater stood exposed beneath clear skies.

When the dust finally settled, the audience saw the gaping wound in the volcano’s edge—lava pouring like a waterfall.

The entire hall fell silent.

"This is absurd! Utterly absurd!"

"If my eyes didn't deceive me, that was a Fireball spell, wasn't it?"

"Since when can a standard Fireball blow a third-tier high-rank Lava Giant to pieces?"

"Forget a Fireball; even a third-tier Flame Burst spell couldn't possibly kill a Lava Giant!"

"You have to understand, Lava Giants possess immense fire resistance. They can practically ignore attacks from ordinary third-tier fire spells."

"Yet, how do you explain what we just witnessed?"

"It defies explanation."

Among the entire audience, not a single person could find a rational explanation.

Had a spell from any other element slain the Lava Giant, the crowd wouldn't have been so thoroughly shaken.

But it just had to be a Fireball—the single most impossible spell for the job!

No sane person would ever use a fire spell to clash head-on with a fire-attribute monster.

Comas suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through the din. "The critical factor isn't fire resistance; it's the explosive force!"

"Explosive force deals physical damage. While a Lava Giant's fire resistance is exceptionally high, it isn't immune to physical damage like a Fire Elemental Spirit. If the explosive force is potent enough, it can absolutely blast a Lava Giant to death."

"Compared to its fire resistance, a Lava Giant's physical defense is somewhat weaker, though not by a massive margin."

"The blast from this fireball tore a gaping wound right into the volcanic crater. The explosive power was undeniably sufficient!"

Following Comas's thorough analysis, enlightenment washed over the crowd.

"So that's how it is."

Everyone had been so blinded by the concept of fire resistance that they completely failed to consider any other angles.

Still, someone voiced a doubt. "At best, Kai is only a second-tier mage. How could he unleash such monumental power?"

"I suspect he cheated by using a high-powered magic scroll!"

Comas continued his critique. "There are many possibilities. Perhaps this is tied to his extraordinary trait."

"Nick can cast second-tier spells instantaneously, yet why don't you suspect him of using a magic scroll?" Comas countered.

"That..." The man was left speechless.

Nick stood by with a speechless expression, wondering how he had suddenly been dragged into this.

He had been caught in the crossfire for absolutely no reason.

Regardless, an extraordinary trait could serve to explain away any anomaly.

Once these words were uttered, the crowd grew intensely curious about what exactly Kai's extraordinary trait could be.

To think it could allow him to transcend his tier and unleash such staggering power.

"The match has concluded ahead of schedule. They are about to emerge."

"Where is Kai!"

The onlookers eagerly anticipated the appearance of the champion.

After slaying the Lava Giant and gathering his spoils of war, Levi exited the secret realm.

Following the devastation he had wrought, the environment within the realm had become even more hostile.

It was no longer suitable for a prolonged stay.

Upon returning to the colosseum, Levi noticed Vex standing by the entrance.

Vex cast a fleeting glance at Levi, then turned to leave, his fingers flicking subtly a few times.

A nearly imperceptible ripple of mana rippled outward.

Standing right beside the teleportation portal, Levi failed to detect Vex's covert maneuver.

An invisible wind spirit silently wrapped itself around Levi's foot.

After Levi stepped out, he waited a short while before the portal to the secret realm finally closed.

The last one to emerge was Lilith.