Chapter 630: Controversy
The slab began to slowly and arduously separate from the circular pedestal, with the enormous base cracking, debris flying, revealing the complex intertwined energy veins below.
The dark golden engravings at the bottom of the slab emitted dazzling flashes and explosions as the energy connections on the ground splintered.
With each inch of detachment, it seemed to be resisting the power of the entire ruins.
Sand flows violently churned around Duke, with a trickle of blood flowing from his nose, a sign of spiritual power exhaustion.
Magic power could be replenished through the Earth Spring, but spiritual power loss couldn’t be rapidly recovered in a short time.
...
Meanwhile, in the Seville Empire’s Anvil Castle, Void Echo - Quadrant Competition Execution Details central monitoring hall.
In this heavily guarded hall located in the city’s core area, dozens of massive screens made of pure crystals and complex rune arrays floated in mid-air, displaying real-time energy fluctuations in key areas of the competition venue, participant distribution, and critical node status.
In front of the screens, several Wizards donned in deep blue official robes of the Seville Empire, exuding an aura deep as the abyss, were intently watching.
They wore gear and star emblems, representing high-level authority, as the core personnel responsible for hosting, monitoring, and ensuring the smooth operation of this competition.
On one of the screens, the view inside the giant’s ruins core hall was displayed, focusing on Duke manipulating sand flows and gravity fields, attempting to shake the slab.
The image was clear enough to see Duke’s sweat beads and blood traces from his nose, along with the chaotic energy streams as the slab separated inch by inch from the base.
"This contestant’s real name is Duke, hailing from the West Coast’s Black Sail, identified as a breaker. Holder of Black Sail’s Level 1 honorary medal, also a Level 1 Arcanist," a middle-aged witch with a stern face and wearing a monocle swiftly pulled up the data, her voice like precise gear meshing, devoid of emotional fluctuation.
"Hmph, truly a reckless youth," a nearby elderly man with gray hair but sharp eyes like an eagle snorted, tapping his fingers on the console. "The slab’s purpose is for contestants entering the ruins to ponder; how much they gain depends entirely on personal comprehension, not for them to simply take away!
This deviates from the initial purpose of the resource point design. I suggest triggering the competition emergency mechanism, temporarily revoking his abilities due to outside-regulation reasons to stop him."
His proposal elicited slight nods from several colleagues.
After all, letting a Level 1 Mage take away such an important slab indeed seemed naive and might affect subsequent contestants’ exploration experience and competition balance.
They knew the slab’s value; if only the local prodigies took it, but letting a Wizard from the West Coast take it would be giving them an advantage.
This was an unspoken thought shared by many of them.
However, seated at the command position, silent and watching the screen, a middle-aged Warlock with meticulously combed hair, an elegant demeanor yet inherently authoritative, and the chief responsible for this Anvil Castle competition zone, Russell, gently shook his head.
"Carl, I understand your concerns," Russell’s voice was calm and magnetic, yet carried an undeniable weight. "But please reflect and consult Void Echo - Quadrant Competition Execution Details, Section Three, Clause Seven, regarding resource acquisition methods."
The screen before him promptly pulled up the relevant clause, cold text floating in the air.
"The clause is clear," Russell tapped the line of text with his fingertip, "Any method, no preset limitations, based on actual feedback and personal capabilities. This contestant Duke discovered the slab and attempted acquisition based on his abilities.
He hasn’t exploited loopholes nor violated competition rules. His actions, though beyond our expectations, are strictly speaking within the permissible framework."
Carl, the elderly man, furrowed his brow: "But, Russell, the slab’s value..."
"Value aside, as long as it exists within the quadrant, who can obtain it and how is the contestant’s own skill," Russell interrupted him, directing his gaze back to the screen at the wavering yet stubborn figure. "Our duty is to maintain fair competition operation, monitor anomalies, and prevent catastrophic events, not to act as guardians or difficulty adjusters for resources.
If today we intervene because he might take a precious item, then tomorrow must we limit every contestant who finds rare materials? How can we ensure the competition’s fairness and openness?"
He paused, a subtle inscrutable glint in his eyes: "Moreover... do you truly believe he can take it? Even if he’s cut off part of the earth vein connection, with his Level 1 Mage spiritual power and magic power, controlling such a huge object without placing it into a Space Ring, is he expected to take this slab through the rest of the competition?"
Russell chuckled lightly, his smile tinged with a sense of amusement at a junior’s bold attempt, alongside a judgment rooted in experience: "I bet he can’t. Even if he succeeds, it would be from exhausted strength, and whether he can keep his gain depends on those Wizards responding from outside. This, too, is part of the competition.
"So, you mean... leave him be?" The middle-aged witch adjusted her monocle.
"Wait and see." Russell gave the final decision: "Record all data, including his attempt to move the slab’s energy model, consumption data, and potential space fluctuations. It’s an exceptionally valuable research sample in itself. As for the outcome... let’s see what surprises this breaker can bring us, or if it results in a predictable failure."
The monitoring hall returned to silence, only the subtle hum of rune screens’ glowing flowed quietly.
The official personnel’s gazes concentrated on the solitary figure on the screen, creating miracles or facing imminent defeat.
...
The nearly hundred-meter-high, mountain-heavy slab, when forced to sever most of the connection with the earth veins of the ruins, finally lost its main anchoring force, suddenly soaring upward with the metallic yellow sand.
The gigantic trapezoidal slab at this moment resembled a giant awakened from deep slumber, slightly swaying, its base completely detached from the circular pedestal that had constrained it for countless ages, hovering several meters off the ground.
The shattered pedestal stones cascaded down like a waterfall, smashing into a newly formed pit below, dust billowing skyward.
And just as the slab entirely detached from the base, in its rootless state, Duke gritted his teeth against the spiritual power’s tearing pain, communicated with the Light God Court, and directly flung the slab into it.