Two figures erged from the woods near the glowing grove. They looked young, not much older than Max himself. For a mont, none of them moved. Then recognition flashed across one of their faces.
"Max?" one of the young n said in shock.
"Scott, Josh, I didn’t expect to see you two here. It’s really fate, isn’t it?" Max said with a calm smile, his tone casual, as if they were just old friends reuniting.
But the glint in his eyes was cold—ruthless. Standing in the heart of this burning volcanic world, Max looked anything but rciful.
The two young n—Scott from Mountain Gods Valley and Josh from Thunder Monarch Hall—froze the mont they heard his voice. For a heartbeat, they hesitated, their faces going pale as fear crept into their eyes.
Then, without a word, they turned and bolted in the opposite direction, leaping over molten cracks and scrambling down the volcanic slope like their lives depended on it. And they did. They had witnessed the impossible with their own eyes—Julio torn to pieces, June crushed and overwheld.
Both of them had been stronger than Max back then, and yet they had died so swiftly it had haunted Scott and Josh ever since. Now Max was even stronger, having ascended to the 9th level of Master Rank. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in their hearts—they were no match for him.
"Running away?" Max’s smirk deepened as he took a step forward. A sharp wind blew, ruffling his cloak, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
He had already marked them for death the mont he entered the secret domain. Mountain Gods Valley, Thunder Monarch Hall—both had stood against him, hunted him, mocked his low cultivation. And now, seeing these two delivered right into his hands, Max saw no reason to show rcy.
His speed was terrifying. Within seconds, he was already closing in. "You actually reached the 9th level of Master Rank..." Josh muttered, his voice trembling with disbelief and terror. Both of them were now shaking uncontrollably.
They were at the 2nd level of Legend Rank, but what use was that? June had been at the 5th, and she still died horribly. Against a monster like Max, they were as good as dead.
"Split up!" Scott shouted. The fear in his chest had reached its peak. Josh didn’t hesitate. Both darted off in different directions, hoping to force Max to pick one.
But Max only smiled as his fingers moved. "Magic Sword Excalibur." The skill responded imdiately, golden light blooming in the sky as a massive sword—radiant and divine—descended like judgnt from the heavens.
Scott looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the blade falling toward him. "No—!" he scread, but the sound was lost in the explosion of light and heat.
The golden sword slamd down. The ground cracked, the air trembled, and Scott vanished. No blood. No body. Not even a bone remained. Just molten rock and flickering embers where he once stood.
Josh’s face twisted in sheer terror as he watched Scott vanish under the divine weight of the golden sword. His legs moved faster than ever, instincts screaming at him to run, to escape no matter what.
But the shadow of death lood behind him, relentless and inevitable. He could feel it. Then, from behind, he heard the unmistakable hum of a blade—Max had drawn the Blue Dragon Sword.
The air cracked with a thunderous pulse as a wave of pure sword energy erupted from the weapon, carrying with it the overwhelming force of Max’s level 2 severing sword concept.
The sky itself seed to tremble. Sword light sliced across the land, illuminating the volcanic terrain in blinding radiance. Trees, rocks, even the solid ground were turned to dust beneath the destructive montum. The entire field vibrated with energy.
Josh glanced back, only to be t with that terrifying wall of sword light. His face turned deathly pale. "Max! If you kill , Senior Brother Arnold will never let you go!" he cried out desperately, clutching onto the only threat he could muster.
Max’s reply was cold, rciless. "Will he let live if I don’t kill you?"
And with that, Max vanished and reappeared like a phantom behind him. The Blue Dragon Sword slashed through the air again. Josh scrambled to defend himself, throwing up a mana-infused palm print in a panic, but Max was already channeling his Severing Flow Sword Art.
A dark gleam flashed in Max’s eyes, and he brought the sword down with the full force of his concept and body. The palm print shattered instantly with a deafening crack, torn in half like paper. Josh barely had ti to widen his eyes before—
"Puchi."
The blade tore through his body like it was cutting cloth. Blood sprayed in a massive arc as his body was split into two clean halves from head to toe.
The pieces slamd into the scorched ground, blood soaking into the red-hot volcanic soil, hissing into steam. The young man from Thunder Monarch Hall was no more.
Max didn’t spare him another glance. With a flick of his hand, he took Josh’s storage ring, and then casually walked back to the remains of Scott and did the sa. Within monts, both rings were in his possession. Max examined their contents as the heat of the volcano swirled around him.
As expected, Josh’s ring was impressive—over 200,000 Legend Rank cores, a collection of dicines, potions, and various resources. Thunder Monarch Hall truly did equip its people well. But despite the quantity, Max was underwheld.
To soone like him, these cores were little more than supplies now, useful but not particularly exciting.
He turned his attention to Scott’s ring. It, too, contained more than 200,000 legend rank cores, as well as a greater variety of dicines and herbs. Just as Max was about to dismiss the contents, sothing caught his attention.
A faint red-gold glimr peeked out from the corner of the ring’s space. He summoned it with a thought, and a spiritual herb the color of molten sun fell into his hand.
User Comments
0 comments from readers