The One and Only Supreme Expert, Mercenary Tao

Mercenary Tao, the One and Only Supreme Expert

"This…"

"Something like this actually happened?!"

Zange clenched both fists, unconsciously transforming into his abomination form. Yet at this moment, he felt no anger whatsoever—only deep confusion and incomprehension.

Although Reincarnators varied in how quickly they grew stronger, the closer they got to the ranks of top-tier Reincarnators, the higher the rate at which their abilities converged.

Because humanity was, broadly speaking, that kind of species. No matter how high one rose, sheer numbers would always produce individuals with comparable qualities in every regard.

If you had talent, talented people would arise elsewhere as well;

If you excelled at combat, some primitive living in a rainforest tribe would possess fighting talent no weaker than yours;

If you excelled at analysis, some girl in a corner of the world would likewise possess intelligence rarely seen in the world.

In the end, even those one-in-ten-thousand, needle-in-a-haystack talents would always have comparable counterparts among humanity, a short-lived species that reproduced quickly and existed in vast numbers.

Thus, after enough deployments, these people would draw closer together, forming what were known as circles.

That was why the strength of top-tier Reincarnators became increasingly similar.

But now, a specimen that had broken free of that pattern had appeared!

Driven by a scholar’s instinct for research, Zange immediately realized that Mercenary Tao was an anomaly among Reincarnators.

Such an abnormal rate of growth. Such an abnormal ceiling for advancement.

In less than a single cycle, he had directly defeated the astonishingly talented crowned contenders of the previous cycle.

No, perhaps crushing them would have been a more fitting description.

Zange stared blankly as Mercenary Tao’s feat replayed over and over in his mind: amidst flying flesh and blood, he had killed three former [Supreme Experts], who had displayed unprecedented might, with a single punch.

The others reacted much the same way. The overwhelming fact that every candidate had been crushed into silence.

It was merely that, based on their individual personalities, they displayed it differently.

Yamata, the sole survivor of Japan’s once-strongest team, [Takamagahara], lowered his head, the shadow cast by his bangs covering his eyes.

As he looked at the terrifying Reincarnator below—the one who had in truth caused Japan’s destruction—he realized that he could not summon even the slightest anger or hatred.

He considered himself to have obtained the bloodline of a God Species. Strictly speaking, he was no longer human, and had nothing left that connected him to the ordinary people who had died in Japan’s cataclysmic sinking.

Besides, Mercenary Tao was strong. Unprecedentedly strong!

Yamata had faced that woman from the West District before. Though that had been several mission cycles ago, in his judgment, even that woman had not displayed such a tyrannical scene.

Clap clap clap clap!

Yamata was the first to applaud. He wished to offer cheers for the birth of a new king.

Next was the powerful berserker of the North District, [Grellum]. Having completed the special ritual [Twelve Labors (Degraded)], he too began clapping.

The frustration of having just been killed by a round of Shun Goku Satsu without any ability to resist finally dissipated. He realized that even if Mercenary Tao did not rely on that speed, his terrifying physical abilities alone were enough to slaughter his thrice-berserk self again and again.

His degraded [Twelve Labors] could not exempt him from attacks of that level. Or rather, in that transformed state, any casual strike from Mercenary Tao possessed destructive power beyond his exemption threshold.

After that, Salamander, the freelancer from the South District, and Colossus of the West District Brotherhood rose one after another and applauded.

Whatever Mercenary Tao intended to do, the contest for the Crown of Supremacy no longer had anything to do with them.

The battle between those four had made the gap in strength between top-tier Reincarnators and Reincarnators truly qualified to become [Supreme Experts] extremely clear.

Although they possessed [Fierce]-rank destructive power or survivability, they were far less well-rounded than those four.

Not to mention that all four possessed an overwhelmingly dominant edge in some aspect.

Among the crowd, only [Saint] frowned. He believed that, with his unique traits and powerful exemptions, he still had a certain chance of winning if he challenged that Feathered Serpent, Itzpapalotl.

Her flesh magic and sorcery curses happened to be countered by his holy power and [Martyr] constitution.

From the beginning, he had intended to target Itzpapalotl. That lord had also said that if he challenged Itzpapalotl, their strengths would be evenly matched, but due to compatibility, he had better odds of winning!

But Mercenary Tao was likely harboring some terrifying idea. He wanted to interfere with the formation of the Crown of Supremacy!

By now, everyone had come to their senses and understood why Mercenary Tao had rushed in earlier and swiftly killed the two candidates defending the arena.

He was forcing everyone’s arena-defense time down to an extremely low level. They had not even received much attention from the Gods before being defeated.

In that case, aside from Mercenary Tao, who had just swept the entire field, would anyone else truly receive the recognition of the Crown of Supremacy?!

[Your time occupying the White Jade Arena: 366S]

[Current ranking: First]

[You have gained the attention of the Gods]

[You have obtained the qualification to condense the Crown of Supremacy]

[Would you like to withdraw from the contest for the Crown of Supremacy now?]

Bai Cangshu had likewise returned to the spectator platform. A massive stream of information flooded into his body. After forcibly activating Limit Break Spiral and Eightfold Kaio-ken, then unleashing the near-strongest [Serious Punch], his Existential Damage had already begun to be healed by the Space.

To a certain extent, in a title-contest event like this, Bai Cangshu was absurdly powerful within a single round.

Naturally, he made his choice.

"No."

Then Bai Cangshu calmly sat down, propping his head up with one hand as he waited with a smile for the next arena defender to enter.

If he withdrew now, he would most likely be able to condense the most powerful [Crown of Supremacy] in the constitution field through the overwhelming advantage he had just displayed.

But… Bai Cangshu would never be satisfied with that!

The moment everyone saw Mercenary Tao’s posture, they understood that he truly intended to do exactly that.

"This guy really wants to suppress everyone’s arena-defense time to seven seconds?!"

Aiva was still somewhat unaccustomed to having her body turned back into flesh and blood. Her method of temporarily advancing to seventh-rank Authority was unstable, and becoming the Earth Mother Goddess was far from simple.

Yet in that instant, she had undeniably obtained a [Divine Body], or at least a special body possessing the characteristics of one.

The sensation of using her own existence to squeeze against the physical reality of the world remained vivid in her memory, and even now she wanted to recreate it once more.

She tapped against the white jade chair as she spoke, but did not take the initiative to enter the arena.

Aiva’s gaze drifted toward that person from the West District. Among everyone present, perhaps only he truly possessed the qualifications to fight Mercenary Tao head-on.

The others, even herself, would need a great deal of time after entering the arena to complete the fusion of their Authorities and activate a temporary Divine Body.

If she were defending the arena, she would most likely be struck directly by Mercenary Tao’s unavoidable [Normal Punch]. Then it would become a contest between her life divine power and his instant-death power—but Mercenary Tao had [Shun Goku Satsu]…

She could not win. She could not do it.

Aiva reached that conclusion in an instant. With her information already exposed, she would not even last seven seconds. Mercenary Tao would never give her the time.

Likewise, Itzpapalotl had no chance either.

That woman was better at group battles. The more flesh energy there was, the stronger she could evolve.

But if she entered the arena on her own to face Mercenary Tao, transforming into that large Feathered Serpent God bloodline form would be no different from becoming a living target.

Without Instant Death Resistance, Itzpapalotl would likely die even faster than Aiva.

Mist raised his head and looked at Mercenary Tao across the massive arena before speaking directly.

"Mercenary Tao, why are you going this far? With your rating, you should already know who the enemies we will face in the future Native World are, right?"

"Even the king of the West District would not refuse the birth of one more crowned contender. So why are you…"

Boom!

Mercenary Tao leaped from the white jade seat once again, activating Eightfold Kaio-ken in midair and directly killing Colossus, who had just been teleported into the arena to defend it.

The Reincarnator who had obtained the Steel Warrior bloodline turned into a stream of information and returned to the platform, his expression helpless.

He was indeed skilled at defense, but Mercenary Tao’s attacks had clearly reached another level. The only reason he had lasted seven seconds was because Mercenary Tao had been willing to let him last seven seconds.

"Give up. Aside from Mist, none of you have a chance…"

Colossus said this, then directly sat down.

Sure enough, two more people were teleported in afterward, but both were killed precisely at the time limit.

Seeing this, Mist also understood Mercenary Tao’s answer.

A person like this could not be persuaded with words alone.

For once, anger surfaced within him.

Mist was not someone with much attachment to countries or worlds, but he despised other worlds even more.

What he had experienced in that powerful world had made him deeply realize that being a Reincarnator was itself an inherent label, one that would naturally draw hostility from outside forces.

If Reincarnators were not strong enough, in the end, no one would escape a miserable fate.

Yet among Reincarnators today, lunatics and madmen made up the majority.

Mercenary Tao was undoubtedly one of them.

Mist took a step forward on his own initiative and descended into the arena.

He spread both hands, and a faint black radiance began to appear around his body.

He completely abandoned any thought of counterattacking. His sole intention was to devour and assimilate everything, preventing Mercenary Tao from defeating him within seven seconds.

"1!"

"2!"

Every Reincarnator counted silently in their hearts. Aiva’s eyes even shone with divine light as she stared unblinkingly at Mercenary Tao.

Yet Mercenary Tao still had not entered the arena. He still had not activated that special transformation.

Based on what he had shown in the previous battle, Mercenary Tao needed time to prepare that punch as well.

"3!"

Itzpapalotl remained silent, her breathing gradually slowing. She had activated Heart Light Pulse, and her grasp of human hearts was even more sensitive than Aiva’s.

Mercenary Tao was a madman, yes, but he was no fool. He could not possibly waste his own time.

There was only one explanation for this behavior: Mercenary Tao still had a hidden trump card!

A trump card capable of instantly defeating [Mist]!

"4!"

Mercenary Tao finally stood up. Below, Mist’s entire body had already been enveloped by that special black shadow. Even the natural light cast upon him had been absorbed.

In truth, Mist’s abilities possessed greater potential. He could accomplish far more and act with greater flexibility, but at this moment, he only wanted to block that strike.

"5!"

Wu Sang shouted unconsciously, only to discover that others had joined in. Clearly, even this group of top-tier Reincarnators wanted to witness the outcome of this event, which would most likely become the new king of discussion within the Infinite Dimensional Space.

Would the abnormally powerful former Supreme Expert, Mist, shatter Mercenary Tao’s ambition to sweep everything aside and seize a Crown of Supremacy?

Or had Mercenary Tao truly, like that woman from the West District, completely left the other Supreme Expert candidates behind, unprecedentedly compressing the Crown of Supremacy that could be born in the constitution field into a single crown?!

"6!"

Boom!

At that instant, Mercenary Tao shot into the sky, rising above even the Gods in a single moment.

The next moment, a terrifying colossal entity appeared. The sky was completely swallowed by darkness, and even the Gods had their vision obscured.

Mist looked up from below, his pupils shrinking as astonishment appeared on his face for the first time.

It was a colossal entity that, merely by standing in the sky, was enough to drown everything.

If the several-hundred-meter giant projected by Aiva’s Divine Body had already been tall enough, then what appeared in the sky now was a terrifying entity over ten thousand meters tall.

It was a creation that could no longer be measured from a human perspective. It should never have appeared in a so-called arena.

[Dharma Manifestation of Heaven and Earth], activated!

Bai Cangshu activated this forbidden spell in midair, immediately feeling an enormous hollowing sensation.

His entire body seemed as though it would wither away the next second, but he immediately activated Eightfold Kaio-ken once again!

Because all conditions would be restored after a round of the competition, Bai Cangshu could unleash terrifying bursts here that he normally could not.

Thus, within that terrifying ten-thousand-meter body, indescribable ki and power erupted together as if exploding.

Rumble!

The White Jade Arena collapsed in an instant. Silver-white streams of information continuously traced through the void, attempting to reconsolidate the space, but the candidates were still scattered away.

Everyone’s faces had gone pale.

Could Reincarnators at this stage truly obtain an ability like this?!

Even the Gods above were disturbed. Divine images filled the skies, and the radiance of Authorities began to shine one after another.

That silent pantheon of Gods, which had seemed as though it were merely a spatial projection, finally displayed its sense of presence.

Terrifying presence began to squeeze the space, and the folded space started to crack apart.

Mist could not see any of that now. All he saw was the brilliant ki in the sky and that explosively descending fist.

Boom!

The streams of information surged as if exploding. The base of the entire arena shook violently, and even the void trembled.

An indescribably pure force thoroughly shook the foundation anchored by the laws.

[Your time occupying the White Jade Arena: 7S]

[Current ranking: Second (multiple tied)]

Mist’s body reformed, but he instinctively shuddered. Looking at Mercenary Tao, whose body was likewise reforming from streams of information opposite him, he roughly guessed that the cost of using that transformation was also terrifyingly high.

This was perhaps essentially mutual destruction, but by the rules, he had indeed survived for seven seconds.

He had given it everything, yet could not even block a single strike from Mercenary Tao…

And if Mercenary Tao had not been trying to control the other candidates’ arena-defense times, he most likely would not have needed to use that trump card to defeat him.

He might not even have needed to unleash power at the level from the previous round.

Mist possessed outstanding calculating ability and quickly regained his composure. He knew very well that although his ability was powerful, he could not compare to Mercenary Tao in adaptability and versatility.

At the very least, Mercenary Tao could actively unleash power at that level, whereas he had to absorb Mercenary Tao’s attacks before he could rise to that tier.

In that regard, he and the two women of the South District were indeed far inferior to Mercenary Tao.

"I… lost."

Mist spoke, then directly chose to leave, turning into a beam of light and vanishing.

Bai Cangshu did not care. He merely stood in the void as the White Jade Arena was rebuilt, while the candidates chose to leave one after another.

Bai Cangshu watched this group depart with an unrestrained gaze. Finally, when the White Jade Arena had been rebuilt, he was the only candidate left.

At that moment, the Gods all rose from the spectator seats and raised their right hands. Streams of Authority gathered in the sky.

Brilliant light began to condense into the shape of a crown.

That was… the [Crown of Supremacy]!

The ultimate proof of power in the constitution field!

Bai Cangshu stood below as rays of light descended from the brilliance, and he immediately sensed countless traces of power.

Bai Cangshu instinctively wanted to activate Limit Break Spiral and [Unknown Law], but a sense of presence like the immense force of heaven and earth pressed down on him, rendering him unable to move.

[Special Reincarnator EX051, you have won the contest for the Crown of Supremacy]

[Please activate the Crown of Supremacy and condense your exclusive Supreme title]