Peter’s heart sank as he glanced around.
The space they floated in seemed unchanged, yet there was an undeniable shift in the air.
The void, once vast and boundless, now felt constricted.
“Do you really think your little tricks can hold me?” Peter sneered, though his voice lacked its usual confidence.
The black mist around him surged, forming spectral figures that hissed and wailed, their cries echoing in the enclosed void.
Brian chuckled, the sound devoid of humor.
“Hold you? Oh, Peter, you misunderstand. This isn’t a prison for you.” His eyes burned with an intensity that made Peter flinch. “This is your grave.”
The temperature plummeted as Brian’s aura exploded outward, the void trembling under the weight of his power.
Flames, bright and unyielding, erupted around him, painting the dark expanse in hues of sky blue and deep blue.
The embers danced with an eerie grace, their heat palpable even in the void.
Peter’s eyes widened. He can’t be serious…
“You can’t sustain the Eternal Embers for long,” Peter snapped, though his voice wavered. “It’ll kill you!”
Brian shrugged, his flames growing brighter. “Perhaps. But what makes you think I’ll be the only one dying here?”
Peter’s mind raced. He had known Brian to be reckless, but this was madness.
It really did fit his name ‘Mad Phoenix.’
“You’re willing to throw your life away for revenge?”
Brian’s expression darkened, and for the first time, Peter saw the raw pain hidden beneath the calm facade. “This isn’t just revenge, Peter. This is justice—for Isabella.”
The wailing shadows surged forward, but the Eternal Embers roared in response, consuming them before they could reach their target.
The two forces clashed violently, the void trembling under the strain of their battle.
Peter gritted his teeth, his confidence unraveling with each passing second. “You think you can kill me? You’re nothing more than a half-step King!”
“And yet here you are, running scared,” Brian shot back, his flames intensifying.
“Face it, Peter. You might have stolen her law, but you don’t have the strength to wield it properly. You’re nothing without her.”
Just as he finished speaking, Brian attacked directly with a law skill.
Laws were the embodiment of nature’s rules, the foundation upon which the world operated.
To supernaturals, they were the key to understanding the world and becoming one with it.
Law skills were techniques that demonstrated a supernatural’s mastery and comprehension of their law.
These skills could either be individually created or learned from the blueprint of another’s understanding.
“Blaze of Devoural.”
The concept behind this law skill was simple yet terrifying.
Fire not only burns—it consumes.
While this idea was common among fire laws, it was uniquely extreme when tied to Brian’s Law of Eternal Embers.
The fire summoned by Blaze of Devoural didn’t merely scorch; it sought out and consumed any form of energy or material it encountered.
Its principle revolved around the absorption of everything into the unyielding flame, leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake.
A ball of concentrated blue flames appeared above Brian’s hand, its heat so intense that the surrounding void seemed to ripple and twist.
Without hesitation, he hurled it toward Peter.
Peter, all too familiar with this devastating move, reacted instantly.
His Law of Wailing Shadow flared to life.
With a sharp motion, he invoked a skill tied to his law.
“Phantom Abyss.”
The shadows around him surged, forming a massive whirlpool that sucked in the surrounding energy, including the advancing flames.
The blue fire resisted fiercely, but the abyss grew deeper, darker, and more oppressive, dragging the flames into its depths.
Had they been on the same level, Brian would have undoubtedly emerged victorious. However, the harsh reality was that he was still only a Rank 4 cultivator.
While his Law of Eternal Embers granted him formidable advantages, his rank imposed significant limitations.
Peter’s Law of Wailing Shadows wasn’t inherently superior to Brian’s Law of Eternal Embers. However, Peter’s rank as a higher-level cultivator gave his law an undeniable edge.
For a moment, the void was silent and the two laws battled for supremacy.
Then came an explosion of light and darkness as the Blaze of Devoural met the heart of the Phantom Abyss.
The resulting shockwave sent both men flying, each forced to stabilize themselves as the void trembled under the clash of their powers.
Brian wiped the blood trickling from his lip, his eyes burning with determination.
“Again!”
Without hesitation, Brian launched another attack.
For the first time since that fateful day, he had managed to corner his enemy.
He was strong—Brian knew that—but he also knew his limitations.
By the end of this battle, he could very well be the one to die, and he had accepted that outcome the moment he stepped into this small city. He was ready to give his life.
Every day, he still dreamed of his late wife and daughter, their faces haunting him, their voices blaming him for failing to avenge his daughter’s deaths.
The reason he had sought godhood had been for his daughter, yet the closer he came to understanding nature, the more he realized how insignificant he truly was.
As blows were exchanged, Brian’s thoughts wandered to the boy he had met just days ago.
At first, he hadn’t cared much for the rude brat, but after selling those corpses to him, something changed.
When the boy returned, he carried an aura Brian was all too familiar with.
Death energy.
It gave Brian conflicted feelings, but he didn’t hate the boy.
Aside from demonic supernaturals and creatures like demons, those who came into contact with death energy were very rare.
Like his daughter.
Though the boy seemed greedy and carried a certain ruthlessness—perhaps driven by an urgent goal—Brian couldn’t help but be impressed by his rapid growth.
It reminded him of her.
Everything reminded him of her.
He wondered what might have been if she were still alive.
If she had managed to ascend to the rank of King Cultivator, what if she had Awakened?
What heights could she have reached?
The thought gnawed at him, even as he fought with all his strength.
