Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3043: Physique Test

Emery forced himself upright, his body trembling from the aftermath of a single Supreme-level blow.

No one in the chamber looked particularly surprised. The result was exactly what everyone had expected. Grendel gave a short, almost approving grunt, at least willing to acknowledge that Emery had remained conscious after taking the first strike head-on.

"Not bad... not bad at all."

Then the second strike came.

BAMMM!!!

Another display of overwhelming physical force tore across the chamber. Emery raised both arms to block, but the moment the attack connected, the difference in strength became painfully clear. His body was hurled backward once again, crashing into the domain’s barrier with enough force to make the surrounding mist-wall ripple violently, the impact cracking through it like ice breaking beneath tremendous pressure.

Grendel chuckled when he saw Emery crumple against the barrier.

He wasn’t the only one reacting. Sympathy was visible on several faces around the chamber, Warwick’s most of all. The old wolf leaned forward and quietly urged Emery to stop there, insisting that the Wolf clan would be more than satisfied with their existing three-percent share if Emery simply withdrew while he could still walk away on his own.

Only two expressions remained difficult to read.

Ronan’s.

And the Nine Heaven Supreme .

Both Supremes watched with faint, almost private amusement, as though they were seeing something that everyone else in the chamber had completely missed.

Emery pushed himself back onto his feet, blood staining the corner of his mouth. His arms still throbbed from the previous impacts, and his entire body trembled as he fought to steady himself.

For several seconds, he simply stood there, forcing his battered body to regain its balance before finally raising his head.

"I’m ready."

Grendel gave him an approving thumbs-up, his grin widening.

"You’re asking for it now, boy. Don’t worry. If this one crushes you completely, I’ll cover the cost of a replacement clone myself."

Then the third strike came.

A heartbeat before the impact, Emery moved.

Ice and flame erupted across both arms as he opened his Khaos Gates to their full extent. The two opposing forces surged through his body before converging around his fists, and Emery met Grendel’s charge head-on with a level of power far beyond what he had shown during the first two exchanges.

[Dao of Ice and Fire]

[Frostfire Rend]

Black flames and freezing energy intertwined around his fists, twisting together into a roaring column of opposing forces. The collision with Grendel’s attack produced an explosive shockwave that swept across the battlefield.

Yet unlike the first two strikes, Emery was not sent flying.

His feet slid backward only a few steps, carving twin furrows through the domain’s illusory ground as he fought to absorb the tremendous force.

Blood escaped between his teeth.

Emery spat it aside and finally planted his feet firmly against the ground, forcing himself to remain standing.

The chamber fell silent with disbelief.

Only now did everyone understand what had happened. Emery had deliberately held back during the first two strikes, conserving his strength and saving everything he had for the third.

Grendel’s physical strength as a Supreme was undeniably overwhelming, but to Emery, it was not entirely unfamiliar. He had already experienced a similar level of pressure while sparring with the Qilin Cloud Supreme. More importantly, his body had been tempered by the Stellar body refinement, pushing his physical foundation to a level close to a supreme body.

The real danger had always been Grendel’s techniques.

If the War Hog Supreme had unleashed one of his true Supreme-level abilities, Emery doubted he could have endured nearly as easily.

Fortunately, Grendel had never considered him enough of a threat to do so.

Grendel stared at Emery, completely dumbfounded.

"You tricked me."

Emery inclined his head, maintaining a perfectly respectful expression despite the blood still staining his lips.

"Thank you for going easy on me, Senior. I’ve endured all three of your strikes. I trust you’ll honor your word."

The bluff had worked exactly as intended.

Even so, the fact that Emery had endured three direct strikes from a Supreme and remained standing at the end of it left the entire chamber visibly stunned.

Several Grand Magus exchanged glances. The disbelief in their eyes had begun to fade, replaced by something else.

Reassessment.

"Bold, for someone so young."

Ferrin finally rose from his seat and stepped forward. His small, sharp-featured body seemed almost childlike compared to the other Supremes, yet the pressure surrounding him left no doubt about the power hidden within that frame.

"My turn, I suppose." His narrow eyes settled on Emery. "Do you need a moment to recover first?"

Emery drew a slow breath.

He used the brief pause to gather what strength remained, circulating his energy through his battered body while rapidly closing the worst of his wounds. It wasn’t enough to restore him completely, but it was better than nothing.

Then he straightened.

"It would be rude to keep a Senior waiting."

"Good. Good."

The child-sized Supreme’s orange fur caught the light along the exposed parts of his skin as he offered Emery a thin smile.

"I’d rather not add to your injuries and have people whisper that two elders ganged up on a junior." His smile sharpened slightly. "I hear you have some talent with spiritual attacks as well. Let’s test that instead."

Something inside Emery tightened at the suggestion.

His seventh-tier pagoda was formidable by most standards, but formidable was not the same as comparable to a Supreme. Ferrin’s reputation for mental and spiritual attacks was well deserved, and Emery couldn’t decide whether to curse the man’s shamelessness or admire it. Somehow, the Rat Supreme had found a way to keep bullying a junior while still making himself appear perfectly gracious.

"I hope Senior will be just as gracious and go easy on this junior."

The words had barely left Emery’s mouth when Ferrin chuckled.

"Of course. If you can hold out for ten minutes, you may consider yourself to have passed."

The two of them settled into stillness at almost the same moment.

Then Ferrin’s attack arrived.

It did not strike Emery’s body.

Instead, it pierced directly into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

The world around him dissolved.

The chamber vanished first, followed by the surrounding domain and every trace of the physical world. What replaced them was not a place in any conventional sense, but a vast, starless darkness stretching endlessly in every direction. Fragments of drifting light floated through the void like scattered memories, appearing and disappearing without any discernible pattern.

This was Emery’s own spiritual sea, laid completely bare and transformed into a battlefield.

Then something moved within the darkness.

A faint scratching sound echoed from every direction.

Dozens pair of eyes appeared.

Then a dozen more.

Then hundreds.

Thousands.

Tens of thousands

The darkness began to stir.

Rats poured from the void in an endless tide, crawling over one another as they surged toward Emery from every direction. Their bodies were grotesquely enlarged, their claws scraping against the invisible surface of his consciousness while their crimson eyes burned with unnatural hunger.

It wasn’t merely an army.

It was a plague given form.

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