The massive spear trembled in the air, and its pressure descended before the attack itself moved. The ground beneath Max sank instantly, the broken stones around him were crushed into dust, and black-red mist coiled around his legs like countless hands trying to hold him in place.

The Abyssal Grave of the Fallen was not simply strengthening Karo’s attack. It was also suppressing Max’s movement, his aura, his vitality, and even the flow of power within his body, as if the entire domain wanted to pin him down and make him receive the spear like a condemned prisoner waiting for execution.

Outside the arena, many participants felt their faces turn pale.

Even the demons who supported Karo instinctively quieted down, because they could feel that this was no ordinary move. This was a killing attack born from his Pseudo Cosmic Path, a strike that had likely been prepared to destroy other peak geniuses during the later stages of the Cosmic Ascension Conference.

Yet now, because of Max’s arrogance and overwhelming defense, Karo had brought it out during this tenth battle.

The golden-haired elven prince stared at the massive Abyssal Burial Spear without blinking.

The silver-haired elven woman beside him tightened her grip, and a trace of lingering fear appeared in her eyes, because even from outside the barrier, she could sense that if this attack had been aimed at her, her Death Wind Burial Sword would have been shattered before the spear even fully descended.

Nick’s expression became extremely tense.

He had already seen Max perform impossible feats again and again, but the pressure coming from Karo’s attack was different from everything before it. It was heavy, sinister, and suffocating, and even though Nick believed in Max, his instincts still screamed that this spear was dangerous.

Karo looked at Max and sneered.

"Where is your Pseudo Cosmic Path, human?" he asked. "You claimed to be the strongest individual in the Combat Tower. You said I should use my full strength. Now I have shown you my path, so show me yours."

Max raised his head and looked at the massive spear gathering above Karo.

For a moment, he did not speak.

Then he smiled lightly.

"You want to see my Pseudo Cosmic Path?"

Karo’s eyes narrowed. "If you have one."

Max’s smile widened slightly, but his gaze became colder.

"You are not worthy."

The entire Combat Hall seemed to fall silent.

Karo’s expression froze.

Max continued, his voice calm and direct, as if he was not insulting Karo but merely stating something obvious.

"You are not strong enough to see it."

Those words struck Karo harder than any attack could have.

The black-red mist around him erupted violently, and the Abyssal Burial Spear above his head released a terrifying scream as more and more resentment poured into it. His crimson eyes became icy with killing intent, and the faint grin on his face disappeared completely. Until now, he had been angry and irritated, but this was the first time Max had truly enraged him.

"You will regret those words," Karo said, his voice low and murderous.

Max did not bother answering him.

Instead, he slowly clenched both fists.

The next instant, the power inside Max’s body changed.

Until now, even though Max had used Dragon Scales Transformation and even released the strength of one thousand Draconic Essences earlier, he had still been suppressing the true depth of his physical power.

The strength slumbering inside him had not been fully awakened. The draconic essence within his body had only been partially stirred. But now, as Karo’s Abyssal Burial Spear prepared to descend, Max finally loosened the restraint he had placed upon himself.

Boom!

The full might of five thousand Draconic Essences erupted inside his body.

It was not a simple increase in strength.

It was an explosion of pure draconic force so overwhelming that the entire arena seemed to shake under the weight of his existence. Max’s blood roared like a thousand rivers of molten thunder, his bones released deep cracking sounds like ancient gates being forced open, and the black dragon scales covering his body began to shine with a darker and more terrifying light.

Each scale seemed to awaken completely, and the chaotic patterns moving across them became brighter, deeper, and more alive, as if countless black dragons were swimming beneath the surface of his skin.

The air around Max collapsed outward.

The black-red mist trying to coil around his body was torn apart instantly.

The suppressive force of the Abyssal Grave of the Fallen, which had been trying to bury him beneath its pressure, was violently pushed back by the sheer brutality of his physical aura.

The tombstone fragments floating in the air began trembling, the fallen silhouettes around Karo flickered wildly, and even the massive Abyssal Burial Spear above him shook as if it had suddenly sensed an existence far more ferocious than itself awakening below.

The Combat Hall trembled.

The barrier around Arena Seven rippled again and again, and faint cracks of light began spreading across its surface as if the protection itself was struggling to contain the monstrous pressure erupting from Max’s body.

The participants outside the arena instinctively stepped back. Some weaker humans felt their legs soften. Several demons who had been laughing moments ago turned silent with stiff faces. Even the elves, who usually maintained their composure, looked shaken as the invisible weight of Max’s unleashed draconic power pressed against their senses.

This was no longer the aura of a genius.

This was the aura of a calamity.

Max stood at the center of the destroyed arena, covered in black dragon scales, with five thousand Draconic Essences raging through his body like five thousand furious dragons roaring in unison. The ground beneath his feet could no longer bear the pressure and collapsed downward, forming a deeper crater around him.

Every breath he took caused the surrounding air to tremble, and every slight movement of his fingers released a faint shockwave that scattered the deathly mist nearby.

Karo’s eyes widened despite himself.

For the first time since entering the arena, his confidence wavered.

He had expected Max to be strong.

He had expected Max to have hidden power.

But he had not expected this.

The raw physical strength now erupting from Max was so monstrous that it made his Abyssal Grave of the Fallen feel pressured, and that was something Karo had never imagined happening against a human who had not even revealed his Pseudo Cosmic Path.