That blaze was no ordinary fire; it was his lifetime of cultivation condensed, the Heaven-Burning Divine Flame. Dark-gold tongues seethed, hot enough to liquefy stars; even space warped and sagged. Wounded, he chose the most brutal answer: burn his own source and drag the enemy into the pyre.
“Whoever you are… Die with me! Heaven-Burn Annihilation!” He became a sphere of dark-gold fire wider than ten feet, rolling at Jared with world-ending weight. Everything it passed over—formations, tiles—vaporized; the Star-Gazing Platform floor slumped into magma.
Jared’s gaze sharpened. He had not expected such iron resolve, nor this suicidal backlash. He could not meet it head-on, and letting the blast leak outward would trumpet the fight to every corner.
Both hands carved frantic sigils. Gray chaotic force surged and layered shield after shield before him as he sprang away.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The dark-gold sphere slammed the chaotic barrier, thunder splitting the sky. Each shattering layer swallowed chunks of the divine fire before ripping apart. The shock punched through Jared’s chest, blood churning; he staggered back dozens of paces. He seized the breathing space, hauled fresh chaotic force, and triggered his spatial art once more.
“Chaos Cage!” Jared let out a low command.
Gray mist boiled off his sleeves, rushed outward, and filled the air. Within a heartbeat, the churning haze locked together, forming bars of solid-looking energy. A towering cage snapped shut around the dark-gold fireball that was Venerable Redflame. The inner wall of the cage quivered. Needle-thin cracks flicked open and closed by the thousands. Each crack ground against the divine fire the way millstones chew grain, shaving sparks away and swallowing them into mute grayness.
“Argh! Argh! Give this venerable a break!” The roar burst from the rolling fireball, raw and ragged. Enraged, Venerable Redflame hurled himself against the bars again and again. Each collision rang along the gray lattice and made the whole construct shiver. Yet this pocket of space belonged to Jared. The Chaos Cage refused to splinter; fresh chaotic force flowed from the surrounding void and welded every dent before it could widen.
Heartbeats passed. The dark-gold sphere shrank to nearly half its size, and its scalding pressure dulled like a forge cooling too fast. Sensing the ebb, a cold gleam flashed across Jared’s eyes. Fingers flew; seals knitted faster than thought. He thrust one forefinger toward the cage’s heart, every muscle tight with intent.
“Return to the Void! Devour the Heavens!” Jared’s voice cut through the roar of flames, steady and merciless.
At the point his finger marked, darkness curled. In an instant, it spiraled into a cavernous vortex—a mouth wide enough to swallow mountains, its pull savage and relentless.
“No!” The single word tore out of Redflame’s core, higher and sharper than anything he had shouted before. The remaining divine fire, alongside flesh and soul, ripped loose and rushed headlong into the vortex. Inside that spinning maw, the pieces ground together, shattered, and sifted into motes of pure fire power and scattered law fragments.
A few breaths later, the vortex winked out. Without its anchor, the Chaos Cage dissolved like fog under the noon sun. Heat still shimmered over the Star-Gazing Platform. On the cracked tiles lay a marble-sized clump of crimson divine power and several gleaming treasures, their metal casings still sizzling in the air.
Venerable Redflame was gone—body and spirit alike erased. Only the war-scarred silence acknowledged the fact. Color drained from Jared’s face; opening a pocket world and casting “Return to the Void” back-to-back had cost him dearly. He swept the spoils into his sleeve, then settled cross-legged, steadying his breath until the surge of chaotic force leveled out.
His lips moved in a whisper the scorched stones alone could hear. “Three more…”
The chill in his gaze deepened. Flesh and aura twisted; a heartbeat later, the figure of Venerable Glacier stood where Jared had rested. Without pause, he strode toward Greenwood Hall, the next name on his list.
The memory of Redflame’s last flare lingered, sharpening caution rather than feeding pride. Every silent step carried a vigilant edge, as though hidden eyes waited behind each pillar. Venerable Greenwood, master of wood law, was known for a gentle temper and maintained a cordial balance with Glacier. Wearing Glacier’s face, Jared spoke of Redflame’s erratic movements and rumored ties to outside rebels. The half-true tale lured Greenwood to a secluded bend behind the Divine Punishment Hall’s rear mountain.
The instant the last warding rune sealed the clearing, Jared struck—no preamble, no warning. Chaos-drenched fingers sliced out, aiming to end the meeting before a single polite word could form. Greenwood answered with instant vines and shimmering life aura, cords of emerald light looping to bind, repair, and defend. Yet each time bark thickened or shoots sprouted, the gray power brushed across them and the color bled away, leaving only brittle ash. The duel lasted moments more before the final emerald glow guttered out. Greenwood’s life force collapsed inward, body and soul dissolving together into silent dust.
Jared’s focus shifted to the next name: Venerable Terrabold. Terrabold’s command of earth law forged walls even star-splitting strikes could scarcely dent; patience and weight were his signatures. Still in Glacier’s guise, Jared proposed bolstering the hall’s defenses against potential siege. Terrabold followed him into a stone-lined chamber buried deep beneath the sanctuary floor. Down where light could not reach, Jared drew a thread of pressure from the Pentacarna Tower. That weight pinned Terrabold’s mountain-like armor while chaotic force seeped in, cracking bedrock flesh and shattering the soul inside.
Three swift eliminations honed his use of chaotic force; every kill tempered instinct into practiced technique. A cold, steady confidence settled behind Jared’s eyes. Although realm boundaries held firm, the sharp edge of his combat strength lengthened with alarming speed.
Now, only the strongest and most suspicious, Venerable Celestial Metal, still breathed. Master of gold law, his strikes were a smith’s final blow—decisive, flawless, nearly impossible to parry. Keen insight matched the steel in his will. With Glacier, he shared no friendship, only a silent calculation that kept swords sheathed. Jared knew such restraint would never bend to simple bait. So, he chose a frontal path: open doors, open words, with sharpened knives hidden beneath.
Wearing Glacier’s robes, he announced looming upheaval across the eastern region and summoned all Five Venerables to council. Then, he walked straight toward Celestial Metal Hall, his pace neither rushed nor slow. It was a plan meant to be seen—a daylight stratagem any wary mind could catch. Celestial Metal could doubt every syllable, yet with three fellow Venerables already “agreeing,” refusal would brand him guilty or afraid.
Celestial Metal Hall rose ahead, wrought from Starlight Silversteel, its surfaces pouring a cold silver glow that felt sharp enough to slice exposed skin. Inside, Venerable Celestial Metal sat upon the central throne, his posture straight, his presence like a drawn blade waiting to strike. Around thirty years of age, his face was cut from stone, sword-straight brows set above bright, steady eyes. He wore a suit of silver-white armor, and two sheathed longswords crossed behind his shoulders. Even standing still, the man felt like a peerless blade just drawn from its scabbard, every breath throwing off an edge that promised to pierce anything in its path.
Celestial Metal Venerable’s gaze flickered the moment he saw Glacier step through the door alone; the rest of his face remained carved from marble.
“Glacier, you sent word that the eastern region faces upheaval and the Five Venerables must meet. Where are Scarlet Flame, Greenwood, and Terrabold?” His voice never wavered.
Jared kept Glacier’s frosty mask in place; his eyes offered no warmth when he answered. “They will be here shortly. I came ahead because there is a matter I must verify with you alone.”
