Chapter 521: The First Wave of the Heavenly Demon Horde

Wearing the charm made from ninety-nine frost crystals, Aiden gradually felt the burning heat inside his body calm down.

Cheryl’s cool, beautiful face was close to his. A light breeze moved through the passage, stirring the edges of their clothes and bringing a brief moment of peace before the battle.

But before that quiet moment could last, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded above Celestial Imperial City.

Wooooo!!!

The harsh alarm was like a heavy hammer, instantly shattering the city’s calm.

"Damn it. What happened?!"

Cheryl’s expression changed at once. She quickly turned toward the hall entrance.

Aiden’s double-pupiled eyes narrowed. His body flashed, and he vanished in a streak of lightning.

Outside Celestial Imperial City, the clear sky had turned into something like a dark-red cloth torn apart by brute force.

A massive crack opened across the sky. Thick black smoke poured down like a waterfall, carrying the sharp smell of sulfur.

Deep underground, the silent Abyss seal began to shake violently.

It was the Pillar of Wrath!

It had not fully awakened yet, but its true body, separated by endless dimensions, had sensed the threat from Earth’s Laws moving in one direction.

Before the reformation of All Things Return to Their Source could begin, it wanted to destroy Aiden completely.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From the crack in the sky, huge, terrifying beasts fell like rain. Their bodies burned with dark-red demonic fire.

"Those are... Level 6 Demon Lords!"

On the city walls, countless defenders turned pale and drew in sharp breaths.

There were a full thousand Heavenly Demon vanguards at the level of Level 6 Demon Lords!

Their target was clear. The moment they arrived, they charged straight at Celestial Imperial City, filled with overwhelming killing intent.

"They came two full months earlier than expected!"

Luke had reached the city wall. His face was dark, and his grip on his staff was so tight that it creaked.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Atlas’s roar echoed across the walls.

Just then, a stunning figure in ice-blue flew into the sky.

Bella!

Her long ice-blue hair whipped wildly in the wind, and her face was as cold as frost.

"Rise!"

Bella raised one hand. Endless Light Law and Frost Law gathered in the sky, forming a golden barrier that covered the heavens.

The global Law barrier had been activated!

Rumble!

A thousand Demon Lord-level Heavenly Demons crashed into the golden barrier. The impact sent out waves of power strong enough to destroy everything around them.

The Light Law naturally suppressed the Heavenly Demons. The moment many of them touched the golden barrier, holy flames burned them into ash.

But there were simply too many of them.

The golden barrier shook violently. Cracks spread across it like a spiderweb.

Bella let out a muffled groan, and a thin line of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

"Roar!"

Just as the defense line was about to collapse, a young but incredibly powerful dragon roar shook the sky.

Faye revealed her true form: the Heaven-Devouring Mystic Dragon. Her enormous body covered the sky, and the pressure of her Mythic bloodline made countless Heavenly Demons tremble on instinct.

"Dragon Clan rapid-response force, follow me! Attack!"

Faye roared.

Dozens of pure-blooded dragons followed her into battle. Breathing fire powerful enough to destroy everything in their path, they crashed into the Heavenly Demon army.

Claws and teeth. Dragon breath. Laws colliding.

Blood fell from the sky like heavy rain. Dark-red demon blood mixed with golden dragon blood, creating a terrible scene.

With the Dragon Clan joining the fight, the battlefield instantly became a massive killing ground.

Aiden stood on the city wall, his double-pupiled eyes locked on the battle. His right hand rested on the sword at his waist.

But he could not move.

All Things Return to Their Source had just completed its second stage. He had to keep the restless system inside his body under control.

The brutal battle continued for two full hours.

When Faye swallowed the last Demon Lord-level Heavenly Demon, the sky finally became quiet again.

All one thousand Demon Lord-level Heavenly Demon vanguards had been destroyed.

But Celestial Imperial City had paid a heavy price as well.

Bella fell from the sky. Her face was as pale as paper, and her body shook slightly.

"I used too much Law power..."

Bella wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her voice was weak.

"I need at least four hours to rebuild the defense line."

The losses on the Dragon Clan’s side made everyone’s hearts sink even further.

Aiden stepped forward and walked toward the Dragon Clan’s temporary camp.

The air was thick with the smell of blood.

Twelve dragons lay weakly on the ground. Their scales were shattered, and white bone could be seen beneath the wounds.

One smaller dragon had both wings torn apart. Its dragon crystal had lost its light, and the life inside its body was fading fast.

It had completely lost the ability to fight.

Faye stood beside the wounded dragons. Her small body shook slightly.

Her eyes were red. She bit her lip hard, refusing to let a single tear fall.

She was the Dragon Clan’s queen. She could not cry.

Aiden walked to her side. Looking at the dragons who had been badly wounded while protecting Earth, pain flashed through his double-pupiled eyes.

He said nothing. He simply placed a hand gently on Faye’s shoulder.

Buzz.

Aiden opened his palm, and a crystal floated above it. It gave off wild, burning waves of power.

The Blazing Wrath Crystal.

"All Things Return to Their Source, activate!"

Aiden spoke in his mind. The wheel of All Things Return to Their Source briefly appeared behind him.

He forcefully drew out the violent energy inside the Blazing Wrath Crystal and turned it into pure life force and willpower.

Streams of dark-red, burning light fell over the wounded dragons like a light rain.

This was not healing magic.

It used extreme rage and fighting spirit to awaken the Dragon Clan’s natural healing power, strengthening their will to fight and recover.

"Roar..."

The dragons that had been near death suddenly felt their fighting spirit return as soon as the energy touched them.

New flesh quickly began to grow over their shattered wounds.

Faye watched the scene, and her shoulders finally relaxed.

For the first time, the proud queen of the Abyss Dragon Clan lowered her head before Aiden.

"Aiden, you do not owe the Dragon Clan anything."

Her voice was low, rough, and shaking slightly.

"It is the Dragon Clan that owes you... a world where we can survive."

Aiden looked at her, took a deep breath, and lowered his hand.

"We will all survive."

His voice was calm, but it carried unquestionable strength.

He turned and walked toward the central square of Celestial Imperial City.

By then, countless warriors and Reclassers from the Great Shaw Empire had gathered there.

Every face was filled with fear and despair.

This had only been the first wave.

The Pillar of Wrath had released only part of its power, yet Celestial Imperial City had almost fallen.

If the Heavenly Demons launched a full attack eight months later, with armies numbering in the tens of thousands, how could they stop them?

Aiden stood on the raised platform, his double-pupiled eyes sweeping across the crowd.

Enhanced by the power of the Laws, his voice reached every person in the square clearly.

"We won the first wave."

The square fell silent. Everyone looked at him.

"I know what you are afraid of."

Aiden’s voice suddenly rose like thunder.

"Every wave after this will be ten times, even a hundred times harder than this one!"

"But I, Aiden, promise you..."

Aiden’s double-pupiled eyes shone brightly as the pressure of All Things Return to Their Source burst outward.

"I will never let any of you stand here and die for nothing!"

...

Aiden stepped down from the platform and went straight back to the deepest sealed chamber.

The effects of the second stage of All Things Return to Their Source had not yet faded when the third stage began with full force.

This time, his goal was to force his Vessel Level from 62% to 85% and raise his understanding of the Laws to above 83%.

But time passed quickly in silence and tension, while the changes outside grew more and more serious.

In the sixth month, visible waves of Law energy began to appear across Earth’s surface.

The ground pulsed silently, as if some huge creature were sleeping and breathing deep beneath the earth.

Every night, bright golden auroras appeared over Celestial Imperial City.

They were particles of light released during the violent reorganization of the Laws.

Beautiful, but deadly.

It meant that Earth’s core energy was collapsing toward the center of the planet at a nearly self-destructive speed.

Because of this, the Abyss watched Earth more often, and its attention grew more violent.

"Aiden, you need to come out once every seven days."

Atlas’s voice came through the sealed barriers around the chamber. It carried helplessness and exhaustion.

"The first wave of Heavenly Demons has retreated, but the Law seals on the Golden Great Wall are extremely unstable. We need your All Things Return to Their Source to stabilize them."

Aiden opened his double-pupiled eyes. Lightning and holy light mixed in his deep gaze.

"Alright."

He did not refuse.

He understood one thing clearly: if the defense line collapsed now, then reaching 100% in seclusion would mean nothing.

But forcefully stopping his training every seven days came at a heavy cost.

Every time he left the chamber, it felt like throwing a bucket of ice water onto an engine running at full speed.

His training speed began to drop sharply.

At the end of the sixth month, Aiden slowly let out a breath and examined himself.

Law Understanding: 79% -> 81%.

Vessel Level: 62% -> 70%.

"My progress has slowed by at least ten percent."

Aiden frowned deeply. A serious look flashed in his double-pupiled eyes.

At this rate, he would never finish charging his Vessel before the Heavenly Demons launched their full attack.

At the start of the seventh month, Aiden made a reckless decision.

"If I cannot remain completely still, then I will train while moving."

He took a deep breath and forced the mysterious pattern in his mind to activate. Then he created a new method: the Interval Law Echo Resonance Method.

Whenever he left the chamber to inspect the defenses and walk along the Golden Great Wall, he no longer suppressed the Laws inside his body.

Buzz.

The wheel of All Things Return to Their Source appeared faintly behind him.

Using himself as a channel, he drew in the scattered echoes of the Laws from the air and made them resonate with his Vessel.

Walking became training.

Breathing became training.

Even talking with the soldiers became training.

This unusual rhythm kept pushing his progress forward, even through constant interruptions.