His voice thundered with force, laced with the authority of a being who did not fear even a real god.
“And if you seek to conquer this world, then you’ll first have to go through me.”
That name struck something in Venthros. His smile froze for the first time.
“Quinlan… Elysiar?”
He blinked once. Then twice. Recognition flickered through his inhuman eyes.
“You’re the one who mocked the entire Necromancer Class… who usurped death’s dominion and made the Soul Records rewrite themselves in shame… You’re that anomaly that shook even the Supreme Ones…”
The god’s smile returned, but it was tighter, colder.
“Well, now you definitely can’t be allowed to leave.”
He snapped his fingers.
The corrupted disciples surged forward.
And the battle for Zhenwu began.
*BOOM!*
Just as the corrupted disciples shot forward, a low chant echoed from the rear flank.
Monks in ochre and brown rushed in from behind, the disciples of Sovereign Rongtai, silent as earth, resolute as mountains.
But before they could reach Venthros…
*THOOM!*
A shadow dropped between them.
The giant, the stone-skinned servant of Venthros, stepped forward, the crude pillar across his back falling into his hands like a weapon. His eyes were hollow, empty, the last of his soul long since buried beneath layers of corruption.
With a single swing, he shattered the ground, sending a ripple of earth-force out that forced the monks to brace themselves. Both dust and force exploded outward at once, and the monks were halted, locked into battle with the corrupted colossus.
*WHSSSSSH!*
High above them, a sharp gust cut the clouds, and a human figure streaked downward.
Zephyr had arrived.
Wind surged around him, coiling tighter with every rotation of his descent. His Spirit Tempering cultivation focused on speed and strike. With a sudden flicker, he vanished, blinking forward and appearing right above Venthros.
With a cry like a thunderclap, Zephyr launched his sneak attack, a condensed blade of wind sharper than any steel aimed straight at the god’s neck.
But Venthros didn’t even look.
His four arms rose into the sky.
Fire. Water. Wind. Earth.
All four elements exploded outward, not separately, but as one devastating funnel of destruction—a chaotic, roaring maelstrom shaped by corrupted divine will. The sheer pressure warped the very fabric of qi around it, forming a spiraling column of raw devastation.
The explosion vaporized the upper airspace, turning clouds into smoke and the sky into a glowing wound that bled light and shadow in violent pulses.
From a stone terrace overlooking the arena, Feng barely had a heartbeat to react.
Her eyes widened, and then she leapt back. The shockwave smashed into the terrace, destroying chunks of marble and nearly knocking her off her feet.
She caught herself against a shattered column, coughing against the scorched wind.
“Damn it…”
Feng gritted her teeth, her voice barely audible beneath the thunder of destruction.
She clenched her fists, struggling to suppress the reckless urge bubbling inside her to jump down, to throw herself into the chaos. But even she knew…
She’d only be in his way.
Quinlan didn’t need someone weak like her to shield him. Instead of helping, she’d be a liability he had to protect.
‘Think, Feng Jiai! If you’re a useless weakling who’s mediocre at cultivation, then you must be useful in another manner!’ she screamed at herself inwardly.
Her eyes flicked toward the ruins of the battlefield, then back toward the still-standing section of the compound behind her. An idea sparked.
Her breath caught.
“That might be of help to him…”
She spun on her heel and rushed off, sprinting through shattered corridors and cracked stone tiles toward their sleeping quarters. Her heart thundered, not in fear, but in desperate hope.
Because if she was right… There was still one thing she could do.
The arena, built to withstand Sovereign-level duels, collapsed under the force of the Invader’s release of overwhelming elemental qi. Stone turned to ash. Runes flickered and died. The sky cracked open in streaks of color and light. What had once been a grand coliseum now became a ruin of fire and shattered marble.
Zephyr was caught in the blast.
A scream of wind and pain left his lungs as he was launched away, crashing through several mountains before disappearing over the horizon like a shooting star.
Amid the smoking chaos, a new figure stepped forward from the side of the ruined battlefield.
Solemn. Steady.
Rongtai, Sovereign of Earth.
He walked slowly with hands behind his back, as if the world hadn’t just shattered around him.
His voice rumbled like distant thunder:
“The Avatar is not yet ready to face this monster… That duty falls to us.”
He planted one foot forward, and the ground solidified beneath him. Even Venthros’ corruptive presence struggled to unmake the earth where the Sovereign stood.
Venthos’ lips curled downward.
“How noble. And how… predictable.”
He raised his hand again, and three streaks of corrupted light surged forward.
His disciples moved.
The first: the charred fireman, dragging his smoking chain, burst into motion. His body was flame incarnate, and the air around him shimmered as he shot toward Serika, his chain cracking toward her throat like a flaming viper.
From the other side, the drowned woman, her blade weeping sludge and rot, struck in tandem with fluid grace. Water splashed beneath her steps as her swamp-like qi flared to drag Serika into suffocating stillness.
Two corrupted elements of Fire and Water lashed out at the Flame Sovereign together.
Serika met them head-on with her eyes blazing and a feral grin spreading across her face.
“Two-for-one? Perfect.”
But before the clash could be resolved, a whisper of wind turned into a howl.
The fourth servant descended with his limbs twitching in midair and his laughter broken and high-pitched as he twisted like a ribbon through the battlefield.
With a whip of his hand, wind blades slashed toward Nalai, aiming to entangle her in chaotic pressure.
The Water Sovereign’s eyes narrowed. One hand snapped open, and streams of elegant aqua gathered, ready to meet madness with precision.
And so, amid ruin and flame, the Sovereigns stepped into the battle, not just for Zhenwu’s future, but to stall the inevitable, to buy time for the only one who might stand a chance against the god.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter