Before the duel could continue, the merged devil snorted coldly.
"Humph, how arrogant of you to accept our challenge. Let us show you one of the signature moves of the Merged Devil Technique."
Four of the fourteen hands on its enormous body rapidly formed a series of seals.
In the next instant, the surrounding space changed completely.
The battlefield transformed into a barren, desolate world beneath blood-red skies. A massive crimson moon hung overhead, bathing everything in an eerie scarlet glow.
Tanko's voice echoed throughout the domain.
"Boy, you forced us to use the Desolation Evil Domain of the Devil Race. You should feel honored. Now watch carefully and understand why a merged devil is always so powerful."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire world began shrinking at an astonishing speed. Mountains, skies, land, and even the crimson moon compressed into a single sphere that landed in the merged devil's palm.
The merged devil raised the sphere and declared,
"Devil's World Refinement Technique."
The moment those words left his mouth, ten enormous mallets materialized in his hands.
A sinister smile appeared on the devil's face as he placed the sphere before him.
Solanky had no idea what kind of technique it was, so he remained where he stood.
The sect masters and elders observing the battle immediately changed expressions.
"Not good!"
The sect master hurriedly transmitted a message to Solanky.
"Move slightly from your current position."
Without hesitation, Solanky shifted a short distance away.
The instant the first mallet struck the sphere before the merged devil, the space where Solanky had been standing collapsed without warning. Everything within that portion of space was flattened by an invisible force. Even the flow of time inside that region was crushed into nothingness.
The merged devil chuckled.
"Oh? That was close. Let's try again."
He began striking the sphere repeatedly with two mallets.
Invisible smashing forces descended one after another, but Solanky calmly evaded every attack.
Then the merged devil began chanting in an unknown language.
The sphere started rotating.
At the same time, Solanky felt the entire world around him begin to spin as well, making it nearly impossible for anyone except the merged devils to predict where the next invisible strike would appear.
The merged devil laughed madly.
"Let's make this even more interesting."
The sphere rotated faster and faster.
The surrounding space spun in perfect resonance with it.
The merged devil raised all ten mallets before ruthlessly smashing the sphere again and again.
Instantly, countless flattened zones appeared throughout the space surrounding Solanky.
Just as Solanky prepared to move again, he suddenly felt as though his body had been struck by a meteorite seventy million square kilometers in size.
The terrifying pressure multiplied tenfold.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
At that instant, he noticed something unusual.
His blood had landed upon an invisible floor.
Without hesitation, Solanky formed a series of seals and merged his body with the invisible surface.
He immediately shifted positions to avoid an incoming smash.
Unfortunately, he stepped directly into another invisible strike that had already formed above his head.
Solanky instinctively raised his arm to block it.
"Endure it and switch positions immediately!"
The sect master's voice rang out inside his mind.
The sect master of the Sky Hybrid Sect then asked,
"I believe you've already discovered the core of this world. Do you require assistance?"
Solanky shook his head.
"Don't worry, Ancestor. I'll figure it out myself."
The sect master nodded before ending the transmission.
Immediately afterward, Solanky activated his Observation Eye Technique while simultaneously using the blood essence he had left inside the forbidden space.
He searched through the techniques left behind by the ancient devil-gods.
Now that he had become the master of the forbidden space, he could freely adjust its time acceleration.
He increased it until fifty years passed inside for every single day in the outside world.
Among the countless manuals, one immediately caught his attention.
The Dimensional Laws of the Great Spheres and Circles.
Solanky quickly began studying it.
Within moments, he comprehended its basic principles.
He slowly flew into the air and summoned his sword.
Closing his eyes, he began moving in a series of strange, flowing motions that resembled a graceful dance.
The merged devil burst into laughter.
"You still have the mood to dance? Very well, let me provide the rhythm."
Ignoring the ridicule, Solanky continued moving.
To everyone watching, he appeared to be dancing with his sword.
In reality, every movement perfectly applied the dimensional laws he had just comprehended.
This movement technique was known as the Great Circle Dance.
The ancient devil-gods had originally created it to disrupt the laws governing any spherical enclosure, regardless of who cast it or how powerful its creator was.
Most astonishingly, it required no energy whatsoever.
As Solanky continued dancing, his understanding deepened.
He soon realized that the sphere in the merged devil's hand was merely a false core.
The true core remained hidden inside the spherical world itself.
It was precisely the location where the very first mallet strike had landed.
A faint smile appeared on Solanky's face.
He formed another set of seals.
The blood he had previously spat onto the invisible floor suddenly transformed into two intersecting circles before vanishing.
Solanky slowly drew his sword.
Then he took a single step forward.
The moment his foot landed, two intersecting circles appeared beneath him.
With each subsequent step, additional circles spread outward.
He broke into a run.
The intersecting circles multiplied continuously, covering nearly the entire spherical world.
After circling the domain several times, Solanky finally discovered one empty void where no circles existed.
Without hesitation, he raised his sword.
"Heavy Attack Technique..."
"Collapsing Neutron Star."
His sword descended.
The attack struck the empty void.
Instantly, the entire spherical world shattered into countless fragments.
At the same time, the sphere held by the merged devil exploded into pieces.
Without giving the devil any time to react, Solanky dashed forward.
He combined the Great Circle Dance with the Void Shadow Steps, creating movements so mysterious and unpredictable that even the sect masters observing the battle could no longer follow his trajectory.
The next moment, Solanky appeared directly before the merged devil.
His sword flashed.
The Collapsing Neutron Star struck squarely across the devil's chest.
The merged devil was blasted into the distance.
After finally stabilizing its enormous body, it lowered its head to inspect the wound.
A deep slash stretched across its chest.
Fortunately, it was not life-threatening.
Nevertheless, for the first time, genuine fear appeared within the merged devils' hearts.
Whenever they looked at Solanky, all they could sense was death and absolute annihilation.
Without another word, Solanky vanished once more.
He gently smelled the blood staining his sword before activating the second volume of the Forbidden Bewitching Arts.
This second volume had served as the inspiration for the Great Bloodline Taboo.
Its sole purpose was to combine one's own blood with forbidden arts to create a terrifying poison capable of killing even mysterious and obviousness-level beings.
Solanky surged forward.
At the same time, he activated his bloodline energy and strengthened the arm holding his sword.
Before he even swung, the surrounding space shattered beneath the pressure alone.
In the blink of an eye, he teleported before the merged devil once again.
Because of the vast difference in size, Solanky possessed overwhelming speed and agility.
He swung his sword a second time.
This time, the merged devils truly felt death approaching.
They hurriedly erected countless defensive barriers.
However, how could those barriers possibly withstand Solanky's amplified strike?
The merged devil possessed strength equivalent to two million times that of an ordinary God of Gods.
Solanky, however, wielded the terrifying power of three million God of Gods.
The sword energy sliced through every defensive barrier as though cutting through paper.
It plunged directly into the previous wound.
The instant it entered the devil's body, the poison created by the Forbidden Bewitching Arts rapidly spread throughout the merged devil's power.
The remaining sword energy continued traveling deeper.
Eventually, it reached the wall protecting the merged devil's seven miniature universes.
The attack struck the wall.
It trembled slightly.
Although no visible damage appeared, the impact alone sent shockwaves through the merged devils' consciousness.
Inside their shared consciousness, one devil exclaimed,
"Who exactly is this monster? Even the strongest God of Gods cannot make our combined universes tremble. We were fortunate that our consciousness was guarding them."
Before anyone could respond, an agonizing pain suddenly spread throughout every one of the merged devils simultaneously.