Of course, that was not to say there was anything wrong with what Blaine had copied just now. But Blaine had done it on purpose.
He had only just stolen someone else's skill, and now he was using it right in front of her. Let's not even talk about whether this counted as showing off a broadsword before Guan Yu; at the very least, he had to give the Ancient One some face. If the Ancient One discovered that Blaine's sparring was fake and stealing her technique was the real goal, perhaps there would be no follow-up "seven-nine-zero."
Fortunately, even an ordinary magical shield, with the addition of an energy barrier, could be considered enough to resist the blow that the Ancient One had reflected back.
After that exchange, Blaine seemed to realize that although it was his own residual energy, after being tossed around by the Ancient One like that, its power had become no weaker than before—perhaps even stronger.
When the magical shield Blaine had summoned finally exploded because it could not withstand the last pear blossom in the rainstorm, Blaine's body suddenly changed.
That's right. It was not his gestures changing, nor the ceiling or the floor shifting. It was Blaine's body. As for this skill, needless to say, it was naturally the random transformation of his cosmic-level skill.
In that instant, Blaine's body grew to a height of about ten zhang. That was roughly as tall as four or five floors. With a body that huge, even the energy barrier dissipated on its own because it could no longer completely cover him.
Seeing the bounty hunter's body suddenly enlarge, the Ancient One was also slightly stunned, as if she were seeing this kind of magic for the first time. In the past, the Ancient One had only known of such magic, but had never witnessed it personally. Even the other universe-level bosses she had seen were originally that tall and massive; they had no need to transform at will.
As for why Blaine had only enlarged his body to about ten zhang, it was actually because this was the most suitable size Blaine had discovered for himself when facing an enemy.
One had to know that the arbitrary transformation of this cosmic-level skill not only had a limited number of uses per day, but, like other skills of the same level, it also continuously consumed Emperor Energy after activation. Ten zhang was the body size that consumed the least mental power after being manifested.
Not only that, there was another important factor. Ten zhang was also the most suitable body size for Blaine to use in battle.
With the lesson learned from Ant-Man, Scott Lang, along with the experience he had gained after helping little Spider-Man complete his mission last time, Blaine had come to understand something. Although the cosmic-level skill Arbitrary Transformation had no maximum or minimum limit, whether he became larger or smaller, it would undeniably have a certain impact on his own strength.
According to the settings of Arbitrary Transformation when the cosmic-level skill was purchased, no matter how the host changed, the mass remained the same.
Starting from this point, Blaine had also tested it according to his own characteristics. When his body became larger than ten zhang, his own speed would inevitably be weakened—and weakened greatly.
For example, during the Civil War, Scott had become taller than a building, and his movements had slowed down accordingly, almost to half his normal speed. In any case, from where Blaine had watched at the time, Scott's enlarged body did not move beyond a radius of a hundred meters. He had even only moved his upper body while his lower body stayed in place.
There was also the time when Blaine had grown larger to hold up a cruise ship. Because it was his first time using the ability, he had suddenly become far too large, and with even the slightest carelessness, he had nearly fallen straight backward into the sea.
At this point, some people might say that if this skill was so weak—becoming larger only limited his abilities—then why had he bought it in the first place? Of course, that did not mean the cosmic-level skill Arbitrary Transformation was useless.
After all, it was a universe-level skill, so naturally, it had its shining points. In any case, Scott had not used this ability very well. What's more, Blaine's cosmic-level Arbitrary Transformation was not an artificial imitation. It was an out-and-out universe-level special skill.
All in all, after Blaine's continuous attempts, a size of ten zhang could not only greatly increase his attack power, but also prevent his speed from being weakened too much. It was the most suitable body type for combat.
Without saying much more, Blaine looked down at the Ancient One, whose size now seemed no larger than that of a pet dog, and punched her without the slightest hesitation.
It sounded like a long process, but in fact, everything happened in an instant. The magical shield shattered, Blaine used his cosmic-level skill to transform freely, his body grew larger, and then he threw a punch. These movements were all connected, completed in one smooth sequence without the slightest delay. It was so fluid that it felt as if it had happened in a single moment.
With this punch, Blaine still did not hold back. It was a true full-force blow. If, before, Blaine's full-powered strike could pierce through a planet—a planet smaller than the Moon—then after being enlarged, this blow could basically smash half the Moon apart.
Feeling the howling wind from his fist and the compressed air in front of Blaine's punch, the Ancient One finally had to take this seriously.
Before the fist even arrived, the compressed air cannon in front of it had already attacked the Ancient One.
"Fake?"
"An afterimage?"
Just when Blaine thought the Ancient One had been careless and that his blow had struck her, his real, casserole-sized fist pierced straight through the Ancient One's body.
Because Blaine had used all his strength in this punch, he had assumed that the Ancient One would use an even stronger defense, and he was already prepared to copy it. He had not expected his punch to hit nothing but air. As a result, the enormous inertia made Blaine's body unable to stop itself from staggering forward several steps.
Although it was only inertia, Blaine quickly adjusted his position. But when he looked up at the Ancient One again, he was stunned.
One, two, ten, one hundred...
As soon as Blaine raised his head, he saw that in front of him, in the sky, on the ground, and in midair, the Ancient One's figures were everywhere. Moreover, this time, they were not afterimages created by the Ancient One's extreme speed, but actual duplicates of the Ancient One.
Blaine was still familiar with this move. Therefore, when he saw that the Ancient One had actually used this technique, the copy-eyes in Blaine's eyes spun even faster.
Copying was one thing, but Blaine did not stop moving. Aiming at the Ancient One closest to him, Blaine directly swung another punch.
This time, Blaine changed tactics. Although it was still a fist attack, this time, he swept it horizontally. Since she had transformed into so many duplicates, presumably, the Ancient One did not intend to dodge. She must have been trying to use ants to kill an elephant, relying on numbers to suppress Blaine's enormous size.
Therefore, facing this tactic, Blaine directly used his size advantage to sweep across a large area and catch her off guard.
However, in the next second, the Ancient One's response still exceeded Blaine's expectations.
He saw many duplicates of the Ancient One, including the true Ancient One mixed among them.
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