Chapter 456: The Battle of the Pinnacle

The Battle of the Pinnacle

Mike immediately turned around.

His voice became sharp.

"All of you, retreat."

The students and elders did not hesitate.

They immediately began withdrawing from the battlefield.

Nobody dared to remain close.

A battle between pinnacle experts was no longer something ordinary cultivators could observe from a distance.

One stray wave of power could kill them.

As the others retreated, Mike slowly raised his hand.

His expression became solemn.

There was no longer any trace of hesitation in his eyes.

The time for words had passed.

The time for restraint had passed.

He had already lost Shera once.

He had watched his fellow disciples fall.

And now Gareth had chosen to unleash everything.

Mike would not retreat.

He slowly took out a seven-colored divine stone.

The stone appeared ancient.

Seven brilliant colors flowed across its surface like living streams of light.

The moment it appeared, the surrounding Mana began to tremble.

Mike held it carefully in his palm.

Then he placed it within the holy light.

The seven-colored divine stone immediately released an overwhelming radiance.

The battlefield became brighter.

The darkness above seemed to retreat beneath that sacred glow.

Mike’s expression remained cold.

"Celestis Restoration Technique!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire battlefield fell into stunned silence.

The elders of Celestis Academy immediately recognized the technique.

Their expressions changed.

"The Celestis Restoration Art..."

"He’s using it again?"

"But this time..."

One of the elders stared at the Celestis Divine Stone in Mike’s hand.

His voice became tense.

"He’s using the Divine Stone as a catalyst."

Everyone who understood what that meant felt their hearts sink.

Previously, Mike had relied entirely on his own profound cultivation and understanding to unleash the power of the Celestis Restoration Art.

That alone had been terrifying.

But now, the situation was completely different.

With the Celestis Divine Stone acting as a catalyst, the technique was no longer limited to Mike’s own power.

The seven-colored holy light suddenly exploded.

Boom!

A brilliant radiance swept across the battlefield.

It spread outward like an enormous divine ocean.

Everywhere the light passed, the darkness was pushed back.

The pressure in the surrounding space rose at an alarming rate.

What had already been an immense force suddenly surged several hundred times higher.

The battlefield trembled.

The ground cracked beneath the terrifying pressure.

Even the air seemed to become heavy.

Some of the weaker cultivators immediately dropped to one knee.

Others struggled just to remain standing.

Guardian Elder Smith, who had been observing the battle from the side, was visibly shaken.

His eyes narrowed.

He instinctively released more Mana to protect himself.

Even then, he could feel the pressure pressing down on his body.

It had doubled in an instant.

Smith stared at Mike.

For the first time, the old guardian truly understood.

This was Mike’s strength when he stopped holding back.

The strongest experts of both sides were finally going all out.

The real battle had begun.

"Everyone, retreat!"

The shout came from somewhere in the crowd.

Nobody needed to be told twice.

The students hurried backward.

Some stumbled over the broken ground.

Others released their Mana and used it to stabilize their bodies.

A few nearly fell when another wave of pressure swept across the battlefield.

No one dared to stay close.

Even those who wanted to witness the battle understood the danger.

One careless moment was enough to cost them their lives.

The sky had already become a terrifying sight.

Lightning tore through the dark clouds.

Thunder rolled across the heavens.

The ground shook beneath everyone’s feet.

Above the Academy Premises, sacred light and destructive darkness continued to collide.

Every collision sent shockwaves through the surroundings.

The two forces were completely different.

One represented restoration and divine purity.

The other carried destruction and endless hunger.

Yet neither side was willing to give an inch.

Mike stood directly in front of that overwhelming darkness.

His robes whipped violently around him.

His long sleeves snapped in the storm.

His hair was tossed backward by the pressure.

But his feet never moved.

Not even half a step.

His golden light continued to burn around him.

His eyes remained cold.

There was no fear in them.

No hesitation.

No uncertainty.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Even if Shera had survived, the conflict between the two Powerful Sects had already gone far beyond the point where words could solve anything.

Too much blood had been spilled.

Too many people had died.

Too much hatred had accumulated between the two sides.

The dead could not simply be brought back.

The wounds left behind could not be erased with a few apologies.

Neither side could simply lower their weapons and pretend that nothing had happened.

This battle had already become something much larger than a personal grudge.

It had become a conflict between two forces that had crossed a line neither could easily uncross.

"Roar!"

A terrifying roar suddenly shook the heavens.

Gareth unleashed his full strength.

Dark Mana erupted from his body.

It surged violently into the Gluttony Wolf.

The enormous beast trembled.

Its muscles tightened.

Its claws dug into the ground.

Then its savage aura exploded.

Boom!

The pressure spread outward like a tidal wave.

Gareth poured every ounce of his power into the beast.

He was no longer holding anything back.

He completely stimulated the terrifying power sleeping within the Gluttony Wolf.

The beast slowly raised its enormous head.

Its eyes were filled with primal hunger.

Then it opened its mouth.

Wider.

And wider.

Until its enormous jaws seemed capable of swallowing the heavens themselves.

"Roar!"

The roar shook the entire battlefield.

The clouds above were torn apart.

The surrounding space distorted.

Then the true power of Gluttony erupted.

A terrifying devouring force spread across the sky and earth.

It was as if an invisible abyss had suddenly opened.

Darkness began swallowing everything around it.

The light in the surrounding area twisted.

Streams of Mana were ripped from the air and dragged toward the enormous maw.

Even the radiant holy light surrounding Mike began to tremble.

The students who had already retreated suddenly felt something strange.

Their bodies became light.

Too light.

Their feet slowly left the ground.

"What is happening?"

A student looked down in panic.

His expression immediately turned pale.

He was being pulled backward.

"No!"

He desperately released his Mana.

It did nothing.

The devouring force had already locked onto him.

His body continued drifting toward the Gluttony Wolf.

Another student grabbed a broken pillar.

His fingers dug into the stone.

"Help me!"

The pillar cracked.

The student’s eyes widened.

Then he was dragged several meters across the ground.

More students began losing their footing.

One after another, their bodies were pulled toward the enormous mouth.

"Resist!"

"Use your Mana!"

"Don’t let it pull you in!"

Panic spread through the crowd.

Everyone tried to fight against the force.

But it was far too powerful.

Even the surrounding Mana was being devoured.

The very air seemed to collapse toward the Gluttony Wolf.

Breathing became difficult.

The pressure around them grew heavier with every passing second.

Some students screamed.

Others desperately reached for their companions.

A few were already crying.

Nobody had expected Gareth to possess such terrifying power.

This was no longer merely a battle between two powerful cultivators.

It felt like an abyss had descended upon the Academy.

The enormous mouth of the Gluttony Wolf seemed to become larger with every passing moment.

Everything was being dragged toward it.

Dust.

Rocks.

Broken weapons.

Mana.

Light.

Even the shadows seemed to be swallowed.

The students could feel death approaching.

It wasn’t distant anymore.

It was right in front of them.

Cold.

Silent.

Absolute.

For a fleeting moment, many of them believed they were going to die.

They couldn’t stop their bodies.

They couldn’t escape.

They could only watch as they were dragged toward that monstrous maw.

Then—

Mike snorted coldly.

The sound wasn’t loud.

Yet somehow, it cut through the chaos.

His eyes flashed with divine authority.

The seven-colored radiance around his body surged violently.

The ground beneath his feet cracked.

His robes continued to whip in the storm.

But his posture remained perfectly steady.

He looked directly at the approaching darkness.

There was no panic on his face.

Only cold determination.

Then Mike raised his hand.

His voice rang across the battlefield.

"Suppress!"