The poison clung to everything like living oil.

Elder Han raised his own Qi barrier, but he knew it would only hold if he continuously spent his Qi. He could endure for hours, but the younger ones could not.

Kyrian, however, was completely calm inside the dome formed by the blood treasure.

None of the poison could pass through. Nothing even scratched the surface.

From the outside, the purple mist seemed to crash against an impenetrable steel wall.

Elder Han watched it with genuine surprise and relief.

"The protection of this… is truly absurd," Shen Yu murmured.

In his memories, such a treasure was always used as a weapon of destruction.

During the battle of the two powers, such a treasure was one of the reasons its former owner, Xueran, had such immense destructive power.

But the time for observation ended quickly.

Because the figures outside began to move again.

The dust also finally began to settle. And now, everyone could see through it.

Six elders surrounded the area of the debris.

The purple poison is swirling around the dome.

Mei Ran and Long Xue, trapped between two elders likely as strong as Mei Ran.

Closer to Kyrian and the others, one of the elders of the Scarlet Sun Sect stepped forward.

"Come out," he ordered suddenly, his voice amplified by his Qi.

"Hand over what you received from the inheritance. And then, we may consider sparing your lives."

Another elder, this time from the Six Poisons Sect, laughed.

"That's right. Don't make things worse. Don't make us waste our time here."

Tianhai clenched his teeth while holding what was left of his arm.

"They really intend to kill us here."

Kyrian looked around and saw that all the elders gazed at them with great hostility. Truly, it seemed impossible to leave that place without fighting.

Elder Han analyzed every second, every posture of the enemies.

But he couldn't think of a way out of such a situation.

Kyrian kept his expression neutral. But he also couldn't think of anything. They were at a clear disadvantage.

Even though Kyrian trusted Elder Han's strength, he couldn't see him fighting all of them at once. Much less while protecting everyone.

His red eyes moved around the whole place, searching for some form, searching for something he could do. Kyrian had never faced someone from the Core Formation realm, so he didn't know exactly the strength of the elders.

He could probably defend himself for a moment, but defeating them didn't seem possible. The others were injured, and Shen Yu, despite having received the inheritance, had not yet gained any significant increase in strength.

It was at that moment, while he was thinking of a way to survive and escape, that a voice took over the place.

The voice was heard by everyone present, even those far away just watching the event. As if the voice had invaded their minds.

"Heh. This is definitely interesting."

The sentence was simple, spoken with a hint of disdain and arrogance. The voice came from above.

Instinctively, everyone looked up at the same time. Expecting to perhaps find a flying beast.

But, in fact…

"HE… HE'S FLYING!" someone shouted suddenly.

Which made everyone pay even more attention.

Kyrian looked toward the sky like everyone else and could see it.

Right above him, a man suddenly appeared. Without anyone noticing when or how.

And he was flying. Completely alone. Kyrian immediately realized it. That man was strong.

So strong that everyone present was nothing more than ants to him. So strong that the feeling he had upon seeing Feng Yuan after breaking into the Spiritual Awakening realm was nothing compared to this.

The man remained still in the sky as he looked down without releasing any sign of Qi. He simply observed them like small ants.

Kyrian observed him back. The man was tall, wearing a completely red cloak that covered most of his body. On both his shoulders there was a symbol.

The man's presence in the sky was suffocating.

His mere existence seemed to shake the air around him, and the blood of everyone present began to pump faster without him saying another word.

Suddenly, the man vanished from the sky, appearing a few meters in front of Kyrian and the others.

None of the elders dared move a muscle. Even the purple poison, which before danced like living oil over the debris, seemed to hesitate.

Kyrian kept his gaze fixed on the symbol written on both of the man's shoulders.

It was the same symbol, the same calligraphy on the back of Wei Feng's pendant.

The Blood Court.

Kyrian didn't know the details, but those elders with long lives did.

It was one of the most feared names among the domains.

One of the most dangerous names.

Elder Han reacted first. Instinctively, he placed himself between Kyrian and the man, his body rigid, as if his spine were about to snap from the pressure.

He clasped his hands and made a careful bow.

"Senior… I am Elder Han of the Verdant Sword Sect of the Verdant Sword domain. Is there something we may assist you with?"

The elder of the Six Poisons Sect, who previously laughed and threatened, was now pale as ashes.

The elders of the Scarlet Sun Sect kept their eyes fixed on the man but avoided even breathing too loudly.

The Blood Court was not a force they could even negotiate with.

The man did not answer Han. He didn't even look at him.

His sharp gaze remained locked on Kyrian.

His voice was calm, yet carried an authority that crushed the mind.

"Boy. What is your name?" he asked.

Kyrian did not avert his eyes. He continued looking straight at the man.

"Kyrian."

The man tilted his head slightly.

"Oh, right. A strange name. Exotic."

"It is what I would expect from a mortal."

The way he pronounced 'mortal' carried no contempt, and many understood it incorrectly. But Kyrian did not, he understood what the man meant.

He could see that Kyrian was mortal-born.

It was a fact.

Kyrian blinked slowly while the man continued.

"Kyrian, you now have two options."

Tianhai, Shen Yu, and the others swallowed hard at the same time, barely able to breathe. The pressure the man exerted on them was heavier than anything they had ever felt in their lives.

"First." The man's voice became even firmer.

"Leave the Verdant Sword Sect and join the Blood Court."

The sound echoed like a silent thunder.

"Or second." He said while raising one finger.

"Remain here and die along with all your companions."

Mo Xia held her breath.

Wu Jian widened his eyes.

Tianhai held the stump of his missing arm, as if instinct reminded him that dying there would be the end of everything.

Shen Yu only looked at Kyrian.

Elder Han pressed his lips together but did not dare say anything. He knew his place.

He knew that going against someone like that meant disappearing from this world.

Kyrian, however, did not take the man's words literally as the others did. First, Kyrian did not feel hostility.

So he did not hesitate even for a second.

It was the first escape route that appeared after they had been thrown into a slightly desperate situation.

And it was, honestly, the only one at that moment.

"I accept joining the Blood Court, sir," Kyrian responded immediately.

"Good. Good." The man opened a small smile.

Kyrian took a deep breath.

"But before that," Kyrian began speaking, trying to ask for something.

"I believe you can see what is happening here. Could you—"

Kyrian never finished.

Because at that moment, the man's aura expanded suddenly.

Not like an explosion. Not like a storm.

But like an absolute will imposing itself around him.

The air vibrated. The debris trembled.

The purple poison… evaporated instantly as if it had been burned away by the air.

And then…

Nine bodies exploded at the same time.

No hand movements.

No visible Qi.

No chant. No gesture. No technique.

Just his will.

The elders of the two sects, those who were the greatest threat earlier, were reduced to a puddle of blood and flesh instantly.

Their blood rose from the ground like liquid serpents and flew into the sky, being absorbed into the sleeve of the red cloak.

Shen Yu paled.

Mo Xia took a step back involuntarily. And Wu Jian opened his mouth without managing to speak.

Even Elder Han looked as if he were about to collapse to his knees from the pressure of that gesture. Even though it wasn't directed at him.

Long Xue, in the distance, trembled. Mei Ran kept her face firm, but there was no courage in her eyes.

Kyrian watched. There was no fear.

There was only one certainty.

The man before him, much like Wei Feng, cultivated the path of blood.

Except at an absolutely superior level.

The man then spoke casually.

"Done. I believe that resolves it. Now, let's go."

Kyrian had no time to ask anything.

The dome around him vanished automatically after the danger ended. And before he could breathe again.

The world disappeared.

His stomach twisted. The ground vanished. Sounds warped.

And in a blink, Kyrian was in the sky.

He looked down and saw the earth pulling away at an absurd speed, the clouds approaching like white cloths torn by the wind.

Kyrian realized he was being held below the elbow by the man, as if he were a bag light enough to be carried by a single finger.

They flew at such speed that the sound of the air seemed to explode in his ear, but not fast enough to harm him.

Kyrian closed his eyes for an instant. Until he adapted. He was being protected by the man's Qi.

When he opened his eyes again, the ruins of the tower were already a distant blur.

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