When Zhou Yuan swallowed the rune-ball, countless eyes were filled with shocked disbelief. No one thought Zhou Yuan would be so crazy.

Even if he wants to die, he doesn’t need to do it this way!

On the Tianyuan Region’s side, Qin Lian was even more ashen. Trembling all over, she murmured, “Zhou Yuan, you lunatic!”

From her perspective, Zhou Yuan’s action of swallowing the rune-ball in one gulp was too extreme and seemed to be a desperate final counterattack.

Is there a need for you to do that?!

With your talent, you will still have a chance to turn things around even if the Tianyuan Region is destroyed. There is no need to sacrifice your life!

She stared dumbly at the black iron tower, her mind blank.

Yi Qiushui clapped her hand over her mouth, and her legs felt like jelly. If Ye Bingling hadn’t tightly held onto her, she would have likely collapsed on the ground. Even so, her eyes were red, and she let out muffled sobs.

She had previously witnessed the rune-ball’s tremendous power, which even the iron tower that supreme sovereign Cang Yuan created failed to withstand. What could Zhou Yuan, an initial Heavenly Sun expert, do under that terrifying power?

Although Zhou Yuan had created miracles time and time again, they were all at a level similar to him, but the rune-ball clearly contained power that far exceeded the level that a Heavenly Sun expert could achieve. Therefore, the situation didn’t look too good for Zhou Yuan.

Chi Jing stared expressionless at the scene, her short burgundy hair fluttering in the wind, a monstrous killing intent surging in her bright eyes. "Little junior brother, if you fall here, I will make sure one of the enemy’s Law Domain experts is buried with you,” she whispered.

Sect master Xuan Kun and the others wore expressions as cold as water. They knew that Chi Jing appeared calm but was probably on the verge of erupting.

"Hey, why didn't it explode?"

Suddenly, sect master Xuan Kun felt something was wrong.

Even Chi Jing was stunned for a moment when she heard him, and a trace of puzzlement flashed past her eyes. Yes, why didn’t the rune-ball explode?

After a few breaths, the other parties also noticed the bizarre situation. Looks of astonishment crossed their originally shocked faces as they whispered to one another.

"What's the matter? Why didn't the rune-ball explode?"

“Could there be a problem?"

“Could Zhou Yuan have dissolved the sphere’s power?"

"How is that possible!? Even Nascent Source experts couldn’t block the rune-ball’s power, so how could he, an initial Heavenly Sun expert, dissolve its power?!”

“Then, why didn’t it explode?”

“That—”

Bewilderment came to everyone’s face. They couldn’t understand why the rune-ball suddenly failed.

Hong Jiuyuan and the other Law Domain experts watched this scene with furrowed brows. The previous rune-balls all achieved their results successfully. Why did it fail this time? What did Zhou Yuan do?

On the jade battle arena.

Lu Qing’s roaring laughter stopped, and he looked at Zhou Yuan with a surprised expression.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan closed his eyes tight and stood quietly.

However, the rune-ball that Zhou Yuan swallowed was like a misfired cannonball.

"What's the matter?" Lu Qing said puzzledly, but he didn't dare approach Zhou Yuan. If the rune-ball’s explosion was only delayed, he would be impacted if he got too close to Zhou Yuan.

Even at this time, he still didn’t think Zhou Yuan would be able to withstand the rune-ball’s explosion, and he believed the explosion’s delay was due to other reasons.

"Zhou Yuan, no matter how you struggle, you can't change the ending!" Lu Qing's eyes were sinister.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuan slowly opened his closed eyes. His gaze met Lu Qing’s, and the two were deadlocked for a moment. No matter whether it was inside or outside the tower, the air seemed to have frozen.

All eyes were staring blankly at Zhou Yuan

Even the Law Domain experts couldn’t maintain their calm, and their eyes were wide with disbelief.

They had finally confirmed that Zhou Yuan had dissolved the power of the rune-ball that supreme sovereign Wan Zu had created. This fact had an indescribable impact on them. After all, the rune-ball was a supreme sovereign’s creation!

They really couldn’t understand how Zhou Yuan had achieved this.

“This—”

Sect master Xuan Kun, clan leader Mu Ni and the others all stared wide-eyed and speechless in amazement. The sudden reversal made the Law Domain experts’ hearts palpitate.

Chi Jing was also dumbstruck for a good while. Then, she noticed sect master Xuan Kun’s and the others’ investigative gazes and said after a little hesitation, “My master might have left Zhou Yuan with some protective means that could dissolve the rune-ball.”

This reason was plausible. Everyone could tell that the ability to dissolve the rune-ball’s power didn’t come from Zhou Yuan. Any means that could counter a supreme sovereign must come from a supreme sovereign of the same level.

Therefore, sect master Xuan Kun and the others nodded suddenly as though a weight lifted off their minds.

Earth-shaking cheers erupted on the Tianyuan Region’s side.

The transition from despair to hope was full of ups and downs.

Qin Lian, Mu Youlan and the others stared speechless at one another. If the change hadn't happened in front of them, they would have found it difficult to believe.

"Sister Qin Lian, luckily you strongly supported Zhou Yuan to participate in the war," Mu Youlan said joyfully as she patted her chest.

Bai Yu's expression twisted unnaturally as he said, "It's only because our supreme sovereign left him a means of protection.”

Bian Buji shook his head, saying, "No matter what means he has kept hidden, it's already impressive that he has the courage to swallow the rune-ball into his body.”

He shot a glance at Bai Yu and said, “If it were you, would you dare to swallow it?”

Bai Yu’s countenance changed drastically, but he couldn't answer. They had all witnessed the rune-ball’s power. No matter what means they each had, the rune-ball was a massive bomb that they had to swallow within their bodies. The slightest carelessness could turn them to ashes.

Given Bai Yu’s cautious character, even if he had the means, he wouldn’t dare do so.

He was silent for a moment before he answered, "But even if Zhou Yuan has dissolved the rune-ball’s power, he might not be able to deal with Lu Qing's foundation of 1.6 billion Genesis Qi stars. Zhou Yuan only possessed a foundation of 1.5 billion after borrowing power from foreign objects. There’s no guarantee that he will win.”

Qin Lian, Mu Youlan and Bian Buji frowned slightly. Although Bai Yu's words were unpleasant to the ear, they were indeed true.

Even if Zhou Yuan had countered the rune-ball, Lu Qing was still a dangerous enemy.

An earth-shaking clamor burst from the outside world as the atmosphere on the jade battle arena froze.

The corners of Lu Qing's mouth constantly twitched. The sight of the rune-ball’s failure had evidently impacted him greatly. He couldn't imagine how Zhou Yuan had withstood his attack.

"It seems that what your supreme sovereign prepared for you doesn’t have a 100% chance of succeeding.” Zhou Yuan twisted his neck lightly, grinning at Lu Qing.

Lu Qing's face turned livid, but in the end, he drew a deep breath to calm his shocked emotions.

“No wonder you are a supreme sovereign’s disciple. You indeed have a lot of means on you. But it doesn't matter—the result will still be the same.”

Monstrous Genesis Qi surged behind him, and three Heavenly Suns vaguely emerged, filling the sky with mighty pressure.

Although the situation had spiraled a bit out of control, Lu Qing didn’t panic because he was a true advanced Heavenly Sun expert with a foundation of 1.6 billion stars. In contrast, Zhou Yuan had just barely reached 1.5 billion with the help of foreign objects.

If they were to only fight with their own ability, Lu Qing believed he had an absolute certainty of winning!