A ragged, rasping laugh split the dusk. “Hahaha! Today marks the end of your precious Mystic Sky Sword Sect, Linden Cloudridge!”
Sheldon hovered behind a phalanx of wailing phantom serpents. Each writhing coil merged into a vast Soul-Devouring Demon Dragon that slammed its spectral skull against the faltering barrier.
“When this grand array breaks, I will butcher every last one of you! For the humiliation you dealt me before!”
Beside him, Garth bellowed, an axe the size of a wagon wheel cleaving down on the light barrier and sending ripples sky-high. “Don’t forget those working with Paxton and that d*mned Jared Chance. When this sword sect falls, they’ll be next. I‘ll mount their skulls above my sect’s hall!”
Linden’s expression sharpened to glass-edged calm.
“Disciples of Mystic Sky Sword! Hear me! Where the sword stands, we stand. If the sword falls, we fall. Hold the gate, fight to the death! Prepare the Seven-Star Doomblade!” he commanded.
“Yes! Fight to the death!” the entire sect roared, their voices rising like unsheathed steel.
They all understood the weight of that order. The Seven-Star Doomblade was their sect’s last gambit. Once triggered, the accumulated sword intent of seven peaks would erupt in a single cataclysm, obliterating foes while shattering the grand array itself. It was a promise of mutual destruction, the final vow of a cornered blade.
Soon, the battle descended into a red-stained nightmare.
With every breath, another disciple fell, spilling life across the stone steps. With every heartbeat, a Demon Sect disciple or Melded Beastkin warrior was shredded by blinding sword energy. And still, beneath that storm of death, the barrier’s glow continued to fade, its collapse now visible to the naked eye.
***
At that very moment, near the mouth of the Blazefire Secret Realm’s tunnel, heat-hazed air rippled.
Jared emerged before Clara and the waiting strike team, his cloak still smoking with ember-glow, his eyes reflecting the distant, dying light of the besieged sect.
The instant Jared stepped forward, the air inside the cavern seemed to kink around him.
Though he still kept his breath held tight, unfathomable depth and pressure leaked through the cracks. Even Reiner’s pupils contracted.
My goodness… It has only been a few days, and he has completely transformed… What on earth did he find inside that crystal tower?
“Mr. Chance!”
“Mr. Chance, over here!”
Clara rushed toward him as though grabbing at the last piece of daylight. Formalities forgotten, she thrust a vibrating communication charm into his palm, her shoulders trembling with barely caged panic.
“Mr. Chance, Mystic Sky Sword Sect has sent word that Infinite Soul Demon Sect has joined forces with Melded Beastkin Sacred Sect. They are storming the Sword Sect as we speak. Our defense formation is moments from collapse!”
“Father has already opened the preparatory stance of the Seven-Star Doomblade, which means he’s ready to perish together with the enemies. Please save them, Mr. Chance! We need you!”
Paxton and the others blanched. Color drained from every face in an instant.
If Mystic Sky Sword Sect fell, Myriad Beast Sect remnants would lose their final ally. The next spear of the Demon Sect would undoubtedly be thrust straight at them.
Jared closed his fingers around the communication charm and activated it with his spiritual sense.
Linden’s final message spilled across his consciousness in hurried fragments: battle dire, hope faint, one lonely request that Jared spare even a cinder of their sect’s heritage.
He read between the clipped phrases, and it was enough to know that Sheldon and Garth were working hand in hand to gut the very earth beneath their feet.
Silver light flashed across Jared’s eyes, cold as a winter star.
“Ms. Cloudridge, Mr. Riftclaw, stay and mend your wounds. This refuge will hold,” he said before turning to Reiner. “Flame-Sword Venerable, please guard them for me until I return.”
Reiner had already sensed the storm outside the mountain. Jaw set, he answered with a single grave nod. “With me here, the Blazefire Secret Realm remains untouched. You…”
Before Reiner could finish the sentence, Jared had already pivoted toward the exit, cloak snapping like a banner in a gale.
He inhaled deeply, and the full power of Top Level Human Immortal Realm Level Nine surged open—no veil, no restraint.
Chaotic celestial energy woke like a volcano under the midnight sea.
Scintillant gray-gold fire coiled around him, and behind his spine, the phantom of a Chaotic Fire Lotus unfurled, radiating sovereignty across every ember in the realm. Flames that filled Blazefire Secret Realm bent, trembled, and bowed toward their new sovereign.
“I’ll be back…”
Word barely spoken, his body blurred into a streak of prismatic chaos, shredding the air itself.
Moving several times faster than before, he ripped through the fiery membrane guarding the exit and shot toward Mystic Sky Sword Sect.
High above, clouds cleaved apart under the weight of his blazing intent and ultimate energy, leaving a scar of seething sky that refused to fade.
Clara kept her eyes on that dwindling streak, fists clenched, every heartbeat a mix of dread and desperate hope. Paxton and the rest lowered their heads in silent petition.
Reiner stared after the vanishing light and whispered, “Chaotic Flame Seed… Top Level Human Immortal Realm Level Nine… This lad will rattle the entire Level Ten. Perhaps Mystic Sky Sword Sect still owns a sliver of dawn…”
Back at Myriad Sword Mountains, battle had reached its blood-red crest.
The Big Dipper Demon-Suppressing Array flickered like a candle in the rain. Sheldon and Mordain melded their power while Garth howled, gathering one last, killing strike.
From afar, a shaft of chaos-lit fire—hot enough to boil seas, cold enough to shear bone—tore the firmament and sped toward the killing ground with impossible velocity.
