Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding void seemed to freeze.

Yan Shan stood still, the earthen-yellow power of the rules slowly flowing around him, without rushing to make a move.

He simply stared at Lin Xiao, his gaze profound and unfathomable.

"Five minutes," he said slowly, "starting from the moment I begin my attack on you."

"If you can hold on until the time runs out, the crystal is yours."

"If you give up halfway, you can only blame your own lack of ability."

Lin Xiao nodded without saying anything.

The omniscient rules are operating at full capacity, capturing all information around them.

The way Yan Shan stood, the flow of the power of rules around him, the distribution of those gravity threads, the structure of the entire wreckage...

All the information was clearly presented in his consciousness.

Then he began to prepare.

Seven-colored light surged from his body, condensing into layers of defense around him.

The first layer is the barrier of rules.

The light gathered three inches away from the body, forming a transparent barrier as thin as a cicada's wing.

This barrier is strong enough to withstand a full-force attack from a seventh-tier expert, but for an eighth-tier expert, it can probably only delay them for a moment.

The second layer is the armor of rules.

The light continued to gather, forming a suit of armor that clung tightly to the skin.

The armor was entirely multicolored, with densely packed regular runes flowing across its surface. Each rune trembled slightly and emitted a low hum.

This layer of armor can disperse the impact force, distributing the power of the attack evenly throughout the body and reducing localized damage.

The third layer is the rule shield.

The light gathered in front of him, transforming into a huge shield.

The shield was incredibly thick, its surface also shrouded in regular runes, exuding an aura of indestructibility.

This shield is his strongest defense, enough to withstand a normal attack from an eighth-tier opponent... roughly...

Three layers of defense, stacked one on top of the other.

"Unfortunately, my Eternal Domain has become part of the divine kingdom; otherwise, I could have projected hundreds of thousands of Demon-Devouring Shields in one go and stalled them!"

Lin Xiao sighed inwardly, but continued to project Demon-Devouring Shields one after another.

As Iwayama watched all that he had done, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

"Not bad defense," he said softly. "Looks like you've seen quite a few battles."

Lin Xiao smiled slightly: "Thank you for the compliment."

Yanshan shook his head: "But I must remind you—"

"The power of an eighth-order being far beyond your imagination."

"These defenses, I'm afraid, won't last ten breaths against me."

Lin Xiao did not speak.

He knew that Yanshan was telling the truth.

But he had to hold on for five minutes.

No matter what method you use.

Iwayama took a deep breath and raised his right hand.

The earthen-yellow power of the rules condensed in his palm, transforming into a huge sphere of light.

The sphere of light was entirely earthy yellow, radiating terrifying fluctuations of power.

On the surface of the sphere of light, countless fine runes flowed, each flow signifying a reorganization of the rules.

"Are you ready?" Iwayama asked.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, gripped the shield in front of him with one hand, and continued to create the Demon-Devouring Shield with the other.

"bring it on."

Yan Shan's lips curled up slightly.

Then, his figure disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, he was already in front of Lin Xiao.

The ball of light in his hand slammed down towards Lin Xiao's shield.

boom--!

Intense fluctuations in the rules erupted in the void, spreading in all directions.

The fluctuations were so strong that even the barrier covering the wreckage trembled violently.

Lin Xiao felt a terrifying force coming from the shield, and he and the shield were blasted backward.

He tumbled dozens of times in the void before he could barely steady himself.

Looking down, I saw countless fine cracks on the surface of the shield.

The cracks were spreading rapidly, radiating outwards from the center.

Three breaths later, the shield shattered with a crash, turning into countless seven-colored light spots that dissipated into the void.

First layer of defense, breached.

"Tsk, the Demon-Slaying Shield didn't even hold up?"

"But that makes sense. Who says that if you raise a shield, you have to smash it down? Can't I just go around it?"

Lin Xiao silently complained to himself while rubbing his chest.

There, the healing crystals are at work.

The rocky mountain remained suspended in place, and did not pursue.

He simply watched Lin Xiao quietly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Three breaths," he said softly. "A little better than I expected."

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood and qi.

The omniscient rules were operating at full capacity, capturing every detail of that attack.

Strength, speed, fluctuations in rules, attack trajectory...

Everything was clearly presented in his consciousness.

Then, a glint flashed in his eyes.

He sensed it.

Although the rocky mountain's attack was powerful, it was not insurmountable.

The key lies in—

Find the pattern.

The rocky mountain stirred again.

In Lin Xiao's eyes, his speed was still extremely fast, so fast that even the rules couldn't react in time.

Even Lin Xiao's omniscient rules could barely find a trace of it.

There it is!

Lin Xiao swayed slightly, narrowly avoiding Yan Shan's second attack.

The ball of light grazed past him, landing in the distant void and exploding into a massive shockwave.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yanshan's eyes.

"He actually dodged it?" he said softly. "That's interesting."

Lin Xiao did not answer.

He knew this was just the beginning.

Yan Shan took a deep breath, and the earth-yellow power of the rules surrounding him surged once again.

This time, he didn't hold back.

Countless threads of gravity surged from all directions, firmly locking Lin Xiao in place.

The silk threads, as if alive, spread upwards along Lin Xiao's body, attempting to bind him.

Lin Xiao frowned slightly.

Seven-colored light surged from within, fighting against the threads.

The threads intertwined with the light, emitting a piercing hissing sound.

But there were so many threads that even the seven-colored light could not completely block them.

Soon, Lin Xiao's legs were entangled by the silk threads.

Then comes the waist, the chest, and the arms.

The silk threads were wrapped tighter and tighter, deeper and deeper.

Lin Xiao felt that her movements were getting slower and slower.

That's the effect of the laws of gravity.

Ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times.

Gravity was rapidly increasing, soon exceeding five thousand times its previous value.

Lin Xiao's body trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

But he remained standing.

It still hasn't fallen.

Yanshan looked at him, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

"Seventh rank, able to withstand five thousand times the force of gravity and still remain conscious."

He said softly.

"You're definitely not simple! Perhaps..."

Lin Xiao did not answer.

He was struggling against the gravity threads with all his might and didn't have the strength to speak.

Iwayama took a deep breath and raised his right hand.

An earthy yellow light condensed in his palm, transforming into a giant battle axe.

The battle axe was a hundred feet long, its entire body was earthen yellow, and it exuded a suffocating aura.

The axe blade was covered with densely packed runes, each one spinning wildly and drawing power from everything around it.

This strike will contain 80% of his power.

Yanshan looked at Lin Xiao and spoke slowly.

"If you can withstand this axe blow, half of the five minutes will have passed."

"If you can't handle it—"

He paused.

"Then you can only blame your bad luck."

As soon as he finished speaking, the battle axe crashed down.

Wherever the axe light passed, a pitch-black crack was torn open in the void, with earthen-yellow flames burning at the edge of the crack.

Lin Xiao looked up at the approaching axe light.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Only peace.

as well as--

A barely perceptible smile appeared.

come on.

Let me see just how powerful the power of the eighth rank really is.