Chapter 366

The restrictions here had originally been meant for protection.

Ding—

In an instant, the entire island’s color shifted dramatically.

[Grand Array — Flesh-Peeling Separation]

Within this restriction, skin and flesh would uncontrollably separate. The discarded skin would gain autonomous consciousness—and carry away most of its owner’s abilities.

An utterly sinister, extreme killing-type restriction. Even an ordinary Level 7 advanced class user entering this field would be flayed, left with nothing but exposed flesh.

And here—

Four Level 8 Skin Reavers stood guard.

Naturally, this grand formation had been designed to contend with enemies of the same level.

Yet before they could even react—

Splurt!

The four distant figures suddenly trembled violently!

Their skin began to quiver uncontrollably!

For ordinary people, this array forcibly peeled their skin.

But for those whose very class was built around skin-stealing—

...it forcibly stripped their "skins" away from them.

And a Skin Reaver without a skin—

Even at Level 8, their combat strength would likely fall below that of a normal Level 7 advanced class user.

Ding!

Amid the trembling skin—

A rune flickered to life!

[Eighth-Tier Arcane Magic — Boundary]

Whoosh!

Centered on the rune-covered mage, a faint barrier formed.

Kanzaki Rei could feel it—

That space had completely separated from the outside world.

The restriction’s domain failed to encompass it.

It had formed a world of its own.

Come to think of it—

When he detonated that attack powered by a hundred billion souls earlier...

This must have been how the mage avoided it.

Magic really is something else.

Still—

Kanzaki Rei gazed in that direction, raising a hand—

Shua shua shua shua shua—

The sky lit up with even more intricate patterns!

Countless restriction arrays manifested—

Every single restriction on the island was activated!

The warrior who had been charging forward—

Slammed to a halt as if crashing into an invisible wall.

His body locked mid-stride.

He grabbed himself tightly with both hands—

His skin rapidly wrinkled, bloating and sagging, folds piling grotesquely across his body.

[Restriction — Unbound Skin Seal]

These formations had originally been offensive arrays meant to kill intruders.

But now, turned against the Skin Reavers themselves—

Their effect was devastating.

Or rather—

Because they shared the same origin, their effectiveness was amplified to an extreme.

Skin and flesh began to separate.

At this moment, every restriction on the island—

Whether lethal, illusory, binding, or weakening—

Displayed terrifying effectiveness when applied to these individuals.

If only one or two had been activated, they could have resisted or suppressed them through sheer level advantage.

But now—

Dozens of arrays designed specifically to counter Level 8 advanced class users—

were all activated on them simultaneously.

Complex, chained effects cascaded through their bodies.

Their skin continuously disintegrated!

They were forced to devote their full strength just to resist the restrictions.

The warrior clutched his body tightly, forcibly pressing his skin back into place through sheer strength, roaring:

"What did that bastard do?!"

"Why are the restrictions granted to us by Lady Eltima attacking us?!"

"Did he... seize control of our formations?!"

Inside the barrier, the rune-covered mage replied calmly:

"How could that be? These were personally bestowed by Lady Eltima!"

"Only her incarnate vessel can activate them!"

"In this world, the only beings capable of breaking them... are the legendary Level 9 formation masters."

On the ground, the assassin writhed and twisted in agony.

In the distance, the Disciple of Ansu—leaning on a staff like a cane—was now completely enveloped in dense layers of soul energy, his true body no longer visible.

"Unless..."

"...he is Lady Eltima’s incarnate vessel."

They all stared toward Kanzaki Rei’s drifting, indistinct figure in the distance.

That figure—

Hovered above them, exuding a supreme, untouchable presence.

His eyes were calm as still water.

When he looked at them—

...it was as though he were looking at trash.

Could it be...

Lady Eltima is testing us?

—

Oh—

Looks like the effect is quite remarkable.

Those four lofty enemies...

Reduced to wriggling maggots under the pressure of the restrictions.

Good thing I naturally counter all restrictions.

Otherwise, just thinking about these being used against me—

...is enough to send chills down my spine.

Just breaking these alone would probably take an absurd amount of time.

If this were a normal fight...

When I traded blows with that warrior earlier, I already realized—

My current speed is far inferior to his.

And in terms of damage...

Even if I could hurt him, it would likely be negligible.

Killing him would take an extremely long time.

If forced into a prolonged battle, the best strategy would be to stall—

Stack enough of the Transcendent Ascension State.

This little test gave me a rough idea of Level 8 strength.

Level 7 and Level 8...

The gap is really that big.

When I killed Lomar before, most of the damage came from my divine weapon.

After obtaining the [Sword of Pureflame Judgment], everything I cut was cleaved in two, with permanent holy flame burn on top.

It made combat feel effortless.

Now, without that weapon—

Facing Level 8 opponents again...

...it’s actually this damn hard?

Yelia... I really shouldn’t have let you go.

The further I get from that weapon, the more I miss it...

Forget it.

Once I pass the trial, I should be able to lean on Lottie.

She’s a god aiming to ascend as a Lunar Sovereign—there’s no way she doesn’t have a few divine weapons, right?

Zhuya could grant Yelia a divine weapon to carry around.

As Lottie’s first disciple, and far stronger than Yelia by several tiers—

Getting two or three divine weapons shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?

Of course—

Whether I actually work for Lottie depends on what she offers.

After all, this is just a simulated rehearsal.

Kanzaki Rei had no reservations.

He’d agree to anything for now—

And if things went south later, he could just turn on her.

Lottie wouldn’t even know any of this had happened.

Worst case, he just wouldn’t come to the Deep Lands to find her.

Watching Kanzaki Rei conceal his Core once again—

Hiding all traces of its aura like a discarded stone in some remote corner of the island—

Lottie’s expression shifted slightly in the sky.

Bang!

In the next instant—

Kanzaki Rei appeared directly behind the assassin!

Lottie’s pupils contracted slightly.

She realized—

She hadn’t seen how he moved at all.

It was pure instantaneous displacement.

No—

Not just movement.

He had launched his attack in that same instant!

Splurt!

The writhing assassin’s body—

Was suddenly covered in wounds invisible to the naked eye—

[Firmament Flow — Ninth Form: Scar]

Since advancing to a Level 5 warrior, some time had passed.

During that period, Kanzaki Rei had been continuously developing his ninth combat technique.

Now—

It was finally complete.

Scars covered the assassin’s entire body!

Kanzaki Rei stepped forward slowly after revealing himself—

And in that single step—

All the accumulated wounds on the assassin’s body exploded simultaneously!