I Reborn as a God Within a Statue, And You Ask Me to Enslave All Gods?-Chapter 175 --Lawrence’s Shock

Lawrence’s confidence wasn’t baseless. He had already ascended to the rank of a 2-star Ancient God, and during his territorial expansion, he had encountered many fortuitous opportunities that greatly enhanced his understanding of god skills.

His comprehension of god skills far surpassed others at the same Godhood rank.

And yet, in the eyes of Lassal and the others, Lawrence’s confidence was akin to that of a clown putting on a farce.

"I just hope he’ll still be able to speak after he’s lying flat on the ground," Lassal muttered.

The other four gods around him—Devorah, Harrington, and Jennie included—all shook their heads slightly and observed a moment of silent mourning for Lawrence.

Their reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Several gods nearby raised their brows in surprise and looked over in confusion.

"What’s with you guys? You don’t believe in Lawrence? He ranked eighth in the last grand tournament!"

Lassal gave a subtle shake of his head but didn’t speak.

Devorah and the others also remained silent, though faint sneers had curled onto their lips.

Just like Lawrence, these questioning gods hadn’t truly witnessed Owen’s strength firsthand. No amount of explanation would convince them otherwise.

In that case, let the facts speak for themselves.

Lassal and the others were almost impatient now. They couldn’t wait for Owen to make his move—to watch Lawrence’s inevitable, crushing defeat.

What sort of expressions would those smug Lawrence supporters wear when they saw the brutal reality unfold?

...

"To rank eighth in the previous tournament... no wonder Lawrence is so confident. If I were him, I’d take a shot at first place too."

"I’ve heard his combat strength is terrifying. In this one-on-one format, it plays completely to his advantage!"

"He’s a serious contender for first place. We should keep an eye on him!"

The conversations among the surrounding gods gradually shifted toward Lawrence. His imposing presence radiated an intense pressure, and it was clear that his strength was worthy of the confidence he carried.

If he won this round, he would undoubtedly become their strongest rival.

Naturally, everyone began watching closely, hoping to discern the true extent of his power and skill.

On the Rainbow Bridge, Owen calmly observed Lawrence, whose growing arrogance seemed to be intensifying with each passing moment.

A faint, disdainful smile crept onto Owen’s lips.

"You want to fight me for first place?" he murmured. "Then let’s see if you can even withstand one of my attacks."

He slowly raised a hand. Instantly, an inferno ignited in his palm—an orb of flame condensed to its absolute limit.

The moment the fireball appeared, the surrounding temperature spiked dramatically. Every god nearby felt as though they had been thrown into a blazing furnace, the heat so suffocating that it seemed to melt the very air.

Yet, Lawrence’s reaction was anything but cautious.

As he sensed the heat radiating from the fireball, his mocking sneer only deepened.

"Heh... and here I thought you were something special. You’re still using a basic fireball? If you’ve got nothing better, do us all a favor and get off the stage before you embarrass yourself."

Even though Owen’s fireball clearly looked extraordinary, a fireball was still a fireball—how powerful could it really be?

"My god skills have evolved through multiple transformations! Even against a true 2-star Peak Ancient God, I can still fight on equal footing! And you think your trash-tier fireball can even scratch me? I’ll call you ’Grandfather’ if it does!"

As he taunted, divine light burst from his body, coalescing into a circular shield of radiant energy that enveloped him completely.

From a distance, it looked like he had been sealed inside a translucent crystal sphere, the outer surface pulsing with an aura of impenetrable durability.

This was the Light Shield god skill he had obtained after ascending to 2-star Ancient God. Following multiple evolutions, it had become even more resilient. Even three other gods of the same level attacking him simultaneously would struggle to break through it.

With his defense secured, Lawrence summoned a roaring gale. Blades of divine wind formed around him, each one glinting with cold, lethal light. They tore through the air and shot toward Owen with terrifying speed, like a storm of silver lightning.

Though he outwardly mocked Owen, Lawrence fought with complete seriousness. After all, who among the gods here was truly weak?

In strategy, he could afford contempt—but not in execution. His goal was simple: defeat Owen in a single strike and solidify his dominance, striking fear into any other contenders aiming for first place.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Owen’s fireball—compressed to the extreme—soared forward. It collided with the dense barrage of wind blades.

A deafening explosion echoed through the sky as space itself cracked under the pressure.

Then, something astonishing happened.

The gods watching widened their eyes in horror.

Each wind blade, deadly and refined, had ignited the moment they neared the fireball. The searing heat from Owen’s spell set the storm ablaze.

The wind blades didn’t resist or rebound. They evaporated into motes of elemental light, scattering like ashes in the wind.

That moment silenced the entire battlefield.

These wind blades radiated such a sharp aura that even the watching gods wouldn’t dare face them carelessly.

Yet Owen’s fireball had incinerated them like fragile paper decorations. It wasn’t even a contest—it didn’t look like the same level of power at all!

But the fireball didn’t stop there.

With a flick of Owen’s finger, the blazing orb accelerated, streaking across the sky like a miniature sun trailing a comet’s tail of flame.

It crashed straight into Lawrence’s Light Shield.

At that moment, Lawrence was still stunned, still processing how his powerful wind blades had been wiped out with such ease.

He couldn’t accept what he had just seen.

His wind blades weren’t normal—they were empowered beyond recognition through countless transformations.

And yet... they had been completely obliterated.

It was as if his attack had been nothing but a flashy, ineffectual showpiece.

"How is this possible?"

"My god skills have evolved multiple times! At this rank, no one’s god skills should surpass mine!"

"This... this is impossible!"

Lawrence’s voice rose in panicked disbelief.

But just as he spoke, the fireball—barely the size of a fist—had already pierced his shield.

The supposedly unbreakable Light Shield burned away like parchment.

Before he could even react, the fireball crashed into his chest.

He didn’t feel pain. Not at first.

Only a sudden, overwhelming sense of weakness.

The fireball had punched clean through him, and in that instant, his consciousness wavered.

All he could see was his own body engulfed in flames, as if it had been set alight from within.

His last vision was one of blinding light, roaring fire, and a world dyed in crimson.

Lawrence—ranked eighth among the gods—had been slain in a single strike.

Gasp—!

All around the battlefield, the watching gods involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.

Even their Divine Vessels began to tremble.

Their Divine Vessels were like alloys of unbreakable divinity, usually impervious to harm.

Yet in front of Owen, they felt fragile. Insignificant. Worthless.

In the next moment, Lawrence’s body reappeared outside the Rainbow Bridge.

He stood there like a man frozen in a blizzard, his limbs shivering uncontrollably.

The sensation of death had been too real. Too vivid.

He never wanted to feel it again.

He lifted his head and stared back at Owen with a face full of terror and disbelief.

A single fireball.

And yet, it had rendered him completely helpless.

It had annihilated him—effortlessly.

That young god standing proudly atop the Rainbow Bridge... just how terrifying was his true combat power?

If Owen could produce such overwhelming strength with just a basic god skill like Fireball...

Then what would happen if he used a real one?

A fused one?

Lawrence finally understood.

Why Owen had been so confident.

Just the power level of his god skill alone was far beyond anything Lawrence could hope to catch up with.

And that wasn’t all.

There had been something else, too—something terrifying hidden within the fireball.

Divine pressure.

From the depths of his soul, Lawrence had felt a wave of divine dominance pressing down on him.

"You... You’re not a regular 2-star Ancient God," Lawrence muttered, pale as a ghost. "You’ve already broken through to... a 2-star Peak Ancient God?"

He already knew the answer.

But he needed to hear it aloud.

For gods across the multiverse, ascending from 2-star Ancient God to 2-star Peak was an immense challenge.

Even the top-tier gods of every realm had poured vast resources and time into it—and still failed.

How had Owen succeeded?

To ascend in Godhood rank required not only a colossal amount of divine points, but also special conditions and comprehension.

It was one of the hardest thresholds to cross.

But it also provided one of the greatest boosts to overall strength.

For this reason, it was nearly impossible for lower-ranked gods to defeat those above them.

So how had he, Lawrence, a mere 2-star Ancient God, dared to challenge a 2-star Peak Ancient God?

What right had he?

The realization hit him like a collapsing mountain.

He was... nothing.