"Boom!"
The air trembled, and the entire space seemed on the verge of shattering.
In truth, the artificially created space was nearly shattered by the sheer force of the impact. Perhaps raw power alone wouldn't have been enough, but a punch imbued with the Cognition of Authority carried absolute weight.
Bell had only recently ascended and had profound control over the fundamentals of power, but his mastery over himself was still limited. He had spent so long restraining the eruption of his strength that both his raw power and his command of his Authority were suppressed to an extremely low level. This had resulted in his explosive potential being notably weak.
But now, Bell had completely let go.
He no longer restrained his power or the principles he wielded but released them with effortless naturalness.
With a single strike, the two-hundred-meter-tall Goliath, as solid as iron, had lost an arm.
Flesh and blood were exposed at the stump, but there were no signs of rapid regeneration. Instead, the bleeding had simply been temporarily stopped.
Bell looked at his right fist with mild surprise.
"So that's it. By completely disintegrating the atoms that compose it, I've eliminated the possibility of regeneration on a microscopic level."
"Did a mere casual punch cause this much damage?"
The power of that punch was continuously analyzed within Bell's cognition, ultimately leading to this conclusion.
"A strike similar to tectonic plate movement?"
Of course, a casual strike wasn't full power. If it had been full power, it wouldn't have been a casual strike.
"Purely in terms of force, about thirty percent."
"A full-power strike could shatter a planet. But the possibility of shattering this planet is slim—unless Mother doesn't care about it at all."
Bell was now almost certain of his own limits.
His raw power alone had reached the level capable of shattering a star. Yet he was still puzzled as to why his ascension had brought him to such a level.
Could a four-digit power really reach the point of shattering stars?
No, not all four-digit powers possessed such destructive capability. Just as there are differences between individuals, there's a vast chasm between one four-digit power and another.
Only gods with destructive powers have the potential to shatter stars. Those whose authority leans away from destructive force lack the ability to do so.
Even Bell's situation fits into these two categories.
"Order," "Chaos," "Learning," "Cognition," "Secrecy," and "Adaptability"—none of these six authorities seemed inherently destructive.
Yet Bell's case required considering another, unobserved power: the Simulated Star Map.
The reason Bell possessed this extraordinary power beyond the ordinary was because the Simulated Star Map he controlled embodies extreme and contradictory forces, and he, as its balancing point, naturally held this incredible strength.
Even without directly activating the Simulated Star Map, as its possessor, Bell still manifested fragments of its power.
Thus, after accepting the Simulated Star Map and successfully completing his own ascension, Bell's fundamental abilities became an embodiment of "extremism."
Just as now, even without utilizing any specific Authority, Bell could effortlessly exert strength far beyond the typical four-digit level.
"I see."
Through his cognition, Bell slowly understood the reason behind his transformation.
"The upper limit of my power has been clearly defined."
Through this cognition, Bell now had a clear understanding of where his own power's ceiling lay. No excessive, unnecessary testing was required; a simple attempt was enough to make a judgment.
"Ah, this doesn't mean you're useless."
Bell had no intention of sparing the Goliath before him. His earlier punch had revealed a unique form of destruction—one that could even strip Goliath of its regenerative abilities.
"That unrestrained strike earlier, unleashed without power control, seems to have unlocked other possibilities. Until I fully understand them, your usefulness won't end here."
In simpler terms: "Until I figure this out, becoming my punching bag is your job."
What followed for Goliath was pure torment, yet for Bell, it was an exploration of the unknown…
Of course, Bell gave Goliath a chance to resist, so he had no intention of killing him immediately. Not until he understood why his casual strike had stripped Goliath of its regenerative power.
While Bell continued his investigation, the gods within the Denatus were all in stunned silence.
They had just witnessed the power that youth displayed moments ago.
That power truly surpassed that of the gods themselves.
"Pure strength capable of shattering planets... aside from the War Gods, there's hardly any god who could match this child."
Zeus couldn't help but marvel.
The powers of the War Gods were typically offensive, which is why they could shatter stars.
However, War Gods who possessed such destructive power remained rare. Most gods lacked the ability to destroy planets.
Of course, divine authorities came in all shapes and forms. While many gods couldn't reach the level of destroying planets, the powers they wielded could accomplish feats far more extraordinary than planetary destruction.
Zeus knew that pure destructive force wasn't everything. But he never believed that Bell was limited to just destructive power.
The nature of the godly powers this boy wielded was still unknown, as was his true direction.
But even without knowing the direction of his power, the destructive force alone was enough to place him among the top-tier of gods.
"Old man, your assessment is too low."
Hera was the first to counter.
"War Gods? Most couldn't do what this kid did so easily."
"Even if many War Gods could destroy stars, ask them—could they do it without using their Authority, with sheer strength alone?"
"You saw the power behind that one strike. Old man, why don't you have those War Gods evaluate this kid's level?"
Though some gods still felt dissatisfied, recalling the overwhelming force unleashed in that instant, they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spine.
That was a level of power beyond the reach of ordinary War Gods.