Chapter 1025 - 448:

Beside the Titan Giant Mechanism, a group of strong figures seemed petrified, gazing at the distant space mirror.

On the other end of the mirror, the unmatched aura of the King of Bronze continuously surged through, causing their bodies to tremble even at a world’s distance.

This was a power of an entirely different dimension!

Among the crowd were those who had participated in the battle in Peng City, but even that Outer Realm Demon’s terrifying aura paled in comparison to the King of Bronze before them!

Of course, it might also be because the King was on its own planet, able to harness its full power.

Suddenly, a gigantic energy wave erupted in the cosmos above the Corpse Demon World!

The magnitude of that energy made even a million-ton nuclear bomb seem insignificant! Compared to the energy wave from the all-out clash between Zhang Zhengdao and Lilith, it was like comparing a creek to a mighty river!

Upon sensing the wave, the King of Bronze silently smiled, as dense fog swirled to conceal its enormous form, and then it disappeared as if swallowed entirely by a spatial rift.

Almost simultaneously, the figures moved rapidly, darting toward outer space.

Yet, as soon as they left the atmosphere, their expressions turned extremely grim!

The site of the earlier explosion was now left with nothing but engulfing, rolling storms of light and heat spreading outward, with nothing remaining at the center of the blast.

No one present was foolish; everyone clearly realized what had transpired.

"Did we fail to escape after all..." someone sighed softly.

"It would be bizarre if we did escape... This is the King of Bronze, the strongest existence humanity has ever faced, unreachable even by the Celestial Kings..."

"Indeed, since the opponent can launch an attack across millions of miles, how could it let you just run away like that?"

"Unless you enter Abyss Space, running any distance would be in vain, as the time to escape is enough for it to kill you ten or eight times."

"Still, we haven’t seen Chen Ce’s body... Maybe he managed to escape at the last moment?"

"It’s... not impossible."

In reality, everyone knew, if Chu Xiu were still alive, how could the King of Bronze have withdrawn?

With such a frightening explosion, it was obvious the two had faced off a strike, and surviving the King of Bronze’s personal attack would truly be miraculous.

Yet, even so, no one wanted to believe it.

The greatest genius in human history, who so decisively led, far ahead of other prodigies, had died just like that?

They felt a sense of sorrow for Chu Xiu’s death; he had appeared suddenly, single-handedly turning the tide, defeating powerful enemies, acquiring treasures... the perfect protagonist of a destiny-driven story.

But in the blink of an eye, he was just... gone?

Killed by a High Tier Life’s mere thought, just like that?

Chu Xiu, who clearly possessed power far beyond anyone present, was still utterly helpless, this sense of powerlessness deeply imprinted on everyone’s hearts, flooding them with grief far beyond the ordinary.

"Senior Zhang, please protect me while I investigate the explosion center!" Zhao Jie stood up, speaking urgently.

Hope flickered in their eyes, but it was soon extinguished.

Blood oozed from the eye on Zhao Jie’s forehead; he wore a sorrowful, pained smile.

"What did you find?" someone asked, unwilling to give up.

"The energy fluctuations are too intense; I couldn’t see clearly. But... Chen Ce was indeed hit."

At these words, any remaining hope in their hearts was entirely doused.

Facing a direct hit from the King of Bronze, while there might be a one in a million chance of surviving against its strike, getting hit directly was undoubtedly death.

"Foolish, if he had stayed, relying on the Civilization Domain and our combined effort, perhaps there was a chance to withstand this tribulation."

"Indeed, those thousands of meters of the Titan Giant Mechanism’s rock layers could have absorbed some of the attack’s force."

"Still too young... Escaping a High Tier Outer Realm Demon’s attack from millions of miles away was impossible; his understanding of space must be thousands of times greater than ours! Escaping in such a moment was undoubtedly the wrong choice..."

"Enough!"

As everyone sighed, Zhao Jie suddenly shouted.

They looked at him in astonishment as he stated solemnly, "Do you think he didn’t consider these things?"

"Let me tell you, though young, his mind is far more meticulous than you imagine. He managed to fool Wu and Lilith to return; his understanding of the Path of Space isn’t below yours, is it?"

"This..."

Zhao Jie’s words left them speechless.

Indeed, it made sense.

Was it really an error in judgment amidst panic?

But Chen Ce had faced danger countless times, never seemed to care for his own life, and a man who survived life-and-death situations wouldn’t be frightened into senselessness, would he?

Could it be...

They suddenly thought of a possibility.

And Zhao Jie spoke again, "His choice to flee afar was to avoid dragging us down."

"Think about it, if the explosion had occurred near the Titan Giant Mechanism, how many would have perished?"

"Moreover, even if this strike was withstood, would the King of Bronze have stopped there? Surely more attacks would follow!"

"Relying on the Civilization Domain to fight would only bring the whole civilization to ruin with him!"