Outside the Domain, at the Point Competition Monitoring Center.
The image on the giant main screen switched just at that moment, locking onto the stone hall where The two sisters were located.
The intense battle was presented in high-definition quality before all the examiners.
The next second, a brilliant brownish-gold light erupted from the priest Damselette without warning.
Intricate and majestic ancient imperial attire instantly replaced the simple priest robe.
A shout, suppressed with trembling and shame yet still clearly audible, spread throughout the entire center via the collection equipment.
"Solidify!"
The entire monitoring center was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
All staff members, including the veteran examiners who had seen many big scenes, were frozen in place.
On the screen, that "ancient empress" whose style was completely out of place in the entire Domain was maintaining a majestic standing posture with a look of utter hopelessness.
The details of the attire she wore were breathtakingly exquisite, yet it did not belong to any recorded civilization.
And the vaguely audible, archaic, heavy background music with the sound of gold and stone made everyone perk up their ears.
The dead silence only lasted for three seconds.
"Pfft—"
A young inspector couldn't hold it in and sprayed a mouthful of nutrient solution directly onto the console in front of him.
This was like lighting a fuse.
The entire monitoring center was instantly drowned in laughter that rose and fell, forcibly suppressed but impossible to contain.
"Is... is that Celeste? Her Heroic Spirit Summoning? Again?"
"What is it this time? An ancient emperor? This attire... there is no match in the database! Technical team! Zoom in on all the details for me!"
"The aura is top-notch, but this expression... hahahaha! Is she about to cry? Sorry, I really can't help it!"
"The music! Quickly record this BGM! This melody is amazing, it has a feeling of looking down upon the ages! Must analyze it!"
The chief examiner's expression was distorted with seriousness, but his wildly upturned mouth betrayed him.
He pounded the table and issued an order.
"Recorder! Record it immediately! New form! Ability identification: Super-spec barrier-level shield, with an additional wide-range all-attribute reduction aura! Effect level... judged as extremely high!"
At the same time, Sim City Central Square.
The clamor in front of the public broadcast light screen appeared to have an eerie stagnation after the screen switched.
Immediately, a tidal wave of cheers erupted!
"Holy crap! Look! It's that priest Damselette who can change outfits!"
"She changed again! My god! Is this an empress?! This outfit is too cool!"
"What the hell is this shield? Those Slime exploded like fireworks and didn't even break it!"
"What did she shout?'Solidify'? How did she shout such a domineering line with that expression like she was about to faint the next second, hahaha!"
"Celeste! From today on, you are my internet dad! So funny! I'm a fan!"
The live broadcast camera faithfully recorded everything, and it was foreseeable that a new hot search was already booked.
"Shock! Ancient Empress Appears in Martial Exam Domain, Holding pink staff and Shielding Against Ten Thousand Armies!"
"On the Ultimate Form of Support: From Socially Dead Damselette to Mysterious Geo Archon Princess
...
Inside the stone hall.
The last Rock-Shell Slime shattered with a bang under Selene's full-powered [Crusader Strike].
The crisis was resolved.
Selene wanted to cheer, but she realized her sister hadn't removed that "imperial war robe" that made her feel so uneasy.
Celeste, also known as "Geo Archon Princess (Social Death Edition)," turned around slowly, maintaining that majestic yet hopeless expression.
Her gaze was cast toward the deep rift from which the Slime were pouring out.
In the rift, unstable spatial fluctuations and element turbulence were still churning.
Treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
"Sister?" Selene was a bit confused.
The Earth Spirit and the troglodytes also looked at her with awe, not daring to make a sound.
Under the gaze of everyone (and the live broadcast of the entire network), Celeste stepped forward, walking with dragon-like strides (Inner thought: Damn, I'm walking with the same hand and foot) toward the rift.
She was expressionless, but in her heart, she was screaming wildly: Please! Let me finish the job in one go, and then get off work immediately! Wearing this outfit for even one more second is a torture to my spirit!
She walked to the edge of the rift and looked down.
Below, a purple spatial rift the size of a fist, constantly twisting and rotating, was the culprit.
Celeste took a deep breath, resisting the urge to bury her face in the ground, and slowly raised one hand.
A super cool, super domineering, super world-destroying move name flashed through her mind.
Accompanied by the majestic BGM rising again, she chanted in a deep, sorrowful tone as if reciting a eulogy:
"Planet Befall!"
As the words fell, above her palm, brownish-gold Geo element energy highly condensed, not forming a giant rock spear that blocked out the sky, but... condensing into a rock sphere the size of a basketball, covered with archaic patterns on the surface, exquisite like a figure.
This "mini meteorite" trailed a gorgeous light tail and, with a terrifying momentum completely inconsistent with its size, accurately fell into the depths of the rift!
"Boom!"
A muffled sound came from underground, and the entire stone hall shook slightly.
The spatial fluctuations and element turbulence raging in that rift instantly subsided.
The source was physically blocked.
After doing all this, Celeste seemed to have had all her energy drained.
The brownish-gold light suddenly receded, and the Emperor's attire that made her sit on pins and needles disappeared without a trace.
She turned back into Celeste in her ordinary priest robe.
It was just that her face was flushed, her eyes hollow, full of "Destroy, this world."
Her first action was to look down at her wrist.
The exam bracelet screen was lit, and the points were jumping wildly.
Everything seemed... normal?
But she had a bad premonition.
"Sister! You are too strong!"
Selene rushed over excitedly, hugging her arm, her eyes full of admiring little stars.
"That 'Imperial Heroic Spirit' just now was simply invincible! The shield was ridiculously thick, and it could even make the monsters brittle! It's just... the style is a bit... too retro and grand?"
She weighed her words, fearing she would stimulate her sister who was about to petrify.
Celeste looked at her sister expressionlessly, her voice dry: "The bracelet... has a recording function, right?"
Selene was stunned and raised her wrist:
"Yes, hasn't it always had one? Recording combat data and some images, used for scoring and... playback analysis?"
As she spoke, her voice gradually faded.
She saw it.
She saw the light in her sister's eyes completely extinguished, leaving only two pitch-black, hollow voids leading to despair.
She also reacted.
The sisters' bracelets were on the whole time!
In other words, the whole process of Celeste transforming into the "Ancient Empress," shouting "Solidify," and "Planet Befall"...
All of it was clearly recorded!
Celeste's eyes went dark.
She felt that after this Domain competition ended, she might really need to consider... moving to another planet.
[Ding! Successfully triggered a high-spec social death scene (Female version of the Emperor + Bracelet recording + Suspected livestream), created a grand joy value across dimensions, joy value + 666!]
[Special reminder: The gaze intensity of the Aeon 'Aha' has increased.]
The system's prompt tone sounded like a demon's whisper at this moment.
Celeste silently looked up at the cold stone ceiling of the stone hall, with only one thought in her mind:
"Aha, I praise your grandfather..."
...
The remains of the Slime turned into light particles and dissipated, and the air was filled with the smell of element embers, as well as that stubborn, strange fragrance mixed with strawberry and jasmine.
The Earth Spirit craftsmen began to clean the battlefield in silence, and the troglodytes also poked their heads out from the shacks, making squeaking sounds of surviving a disaster.
Stone Beard Earth Spirit walked with heavy steps to The two sisters.
Its rock-formed face showed no expression, but in those deep eyes, gratitude and solemnity were almost overflowing.
It nodded slightly, its voice echoing in the empty stone hall like grinding stones.
"Stranger warriors, thank you for your help."
"If not for you, especially this... priest who can summon the power of the 'Geo Archon', the 'Cornerstone Hall' would have suffered severe damage."
"We Earth Spirits, we keep our word."
Its gaze swept across the pink staff in Celeste's hand, and then landed on the dull-lustered kite shield and ordinary standard sword of Selene.
"We are good at forging and masonry. Please tell us, what kind of weapons or armor do you need? We will use the best materials to tailor-make them for you."
Hearing this, Selene's eyes lit up like stars, and she almost immediately hugged her shield and sword, looking at Celeste excitedly.
"Sister! We can customize gear! My shield and sword are standard equipment; I've wanted to change them for a long time!"
Celeste looked at her sister's expectant eyes that were almost Burning, and forcibly pulled a trace of reason from the abyss of social death.
Her own black tassel spear was a system product, with practical characteristics, and she was already used to the feel.
The favonius greatsword was still lying in the system space, and it could be used if necessary.
Plus, the system gacha might bring another... unknown type of weapon at any time.
She didn't lack weapons for now.
But as the team's main tank, the improvement of her sister's equipment was directly related to the survival of the entire team.
"We want a shield and a sword."
Celeste said to the Stone Beard Earth Spirit, her tone serious, "Suitable for my sister's Paladin profession, preferably sturdy and durable, and it would be better if it could carry some effects that enhance defense or Holy Light Power affinity."
Selene nodded vigorously on the side, adding loudly: "The shield must be big and thick enough! The sword must be sharp and capable of armor penetration!"
Stone Beard Earth Spirit carefully examined Selene's figure and existing equipment, and slowly nodded.
"Understood. Shield of Protection and Sword of Breaking Enemies. The material library contains 'Obsidian Iron Core' and 'White English Stone' that have been nourished by the ley lines, which are stable and mysterious, and also have good resonate with Holy Light Power. We will do our best to craft them."
"And you, priest? Your staff... seems quite peculiar."
Its gaze paused for a moment on the pink staff in Celeste's hand, and the two eyebrows made of rock seemed to twitch very slightly.
"I don't need it for now." Celeste shook her head, "My equipment is quite special."
Stone Beard Earth Spirit didn't ask further, just nodded.
"In that case, we will focus on crafting the shield and sword. It will take some time, please wait here, or you can rest in the safe area outside the hall."