Chapter 102: The Blood-Red Eye Descends

"Alright, thank you!"

Silent Lowell accepted the beast pouch, his hands trembling slightly with excitement. After carefully inspecting its contents and confirming that everything was in order, he secured it to his waist.

He had finally obtained the Tier 3 Black Flame Leopard he had coveted for so long. The mere thought of it put him in an excellent mood.

After thanking Ryan and Elena several more times, he hurried away, eager to return to his mansion.

He couldn’t wait to establish a Soul Blood Pact with his new Natal Beast.

For years, Silent Lowell had been searching for a suitable Black Flame Leopard. Whenever one appeared at an auction, something always seemed to go wrong. Either luck wasn’t on his side, or he simply didn’t have enough Low-Grade Origin Stones to compete with the other bidders.

This time, however, things had finally gone his way.

He had accumulated a considerable fortune over the past few months, and his successful bid had allowed him to acquire a fully grown Tier 3 Black Flame Leopard without having to spend years nurturing a weaker one.

Even though he had paid several hundred thousand Low-Grade Origin Stones, he considered the price an absolute bargain.

After all, even if he spent the same amount on cultivation resources, there was no guarantee he could successfully advance a Tier 2 Black Flame Leopard to Tier 3. A little bad luck could easily leave him with nothing to show for his investment.

Compared to that gamble, purchasing a ready-made Tier 3 Natal Beast was undoubtedly the smarter choice.

With his new acquisition secured, Silent Lowell disappeared into the bustling streets, already imagining the benefits his new companion would bring him.

"Miss Elena, thank you for your help today. You’ve really gone out of your way for me."

With the Origin Stones and Skill Stones he had earned finally in his possession, Ryan was in an exceptionally good mood. He was genuinely grateful for Elena’s assistance.

"Hehe, don’t mention it."

Elena covered her mouth with a smile, her eyes bright with amusement.

"It’s not as though I came away empty-handed. I made quite a bit of money myself."

After all, helping Ryan had also generated substantial profits for Winters Tower.

She had managed to assist a friend while bringing considerable business to the establishment. It was hard to imagine a better outcome.

"Haha, fair enough."

Ryan grinned at her.

"But shouldn’t you thank me for that?"

Elena stared at him for a moment before laughing in disbelief.

"Get lost! You made a fortune, and now you’re trying to take credit for mine?"

She raised her hand as though she intended to smack him.

"Alright, alright. I’m leaving!"

Ryan dodged her playful attack and darted away before she could catch him.

Elena watched his retreating figure, a faint smile lingering on her lips.

Somehow, their relationship seemed to have grown a little closer today.

And she was rather pleased about that.

...

Night had settled over Ashfall City.

The moon hung high above the skyline, while countless stars glittered across the dark expanse of the heavens. Silver moonlight spilled over the city, mingling with the glow of streetlamps and neon signs.

Even at this late hour, Ashfall City remained lively. Traffic flowed along the broad avenues, storefronts blazed with light, and crowds moved through the streets beneath the towering buildings.

It was a magnificent sight, a sprawling metropolis that seemed unwilling to sleep.

WHOOSH!

Ryan had already left Winters Tower and was sprinting through the streets with barely concealed excitement.

He had just come into possession of a staggering fortune, and the thought alone was enough to put a spring in his step.

"Heh!"

He let out a satisfied laugh.

"I should get back to the mansion and use the Boundless Creation Furnace to refine that Tier 2 Lightning-Attribute Beast Core. I wonder what kind of Bloodline Essence it’ll produce."

The prospect of another powerful treasure made him even more eager to return home.

He was just about to slow down and hail a Wind Wolf Express when—

BOOM!

An incomprehensibly powerful pressure crashed down from the sky.

It struck without warning, descending upon the city like a colossal tidal wave. The surrounding air seemed to grow heavy in an instant, and the force bearing down on Ryan was so immense that his knees nearly buckled.

His expression changed dramatically.

"What the hell?!"

His waist sank under the crushing pressure, and his body shuddered as he struggled to remain upright.

"Master! Give me 100,000 Low-Grade Origin Stones! Now!"

Mira’s frantic voice suddenly rang out from within his Origin Energy Sea.

Ryan froze.

Mira was usually composed, even when faced with unexpected situations. Hearing her shout in such a panicked voice sent a chill down his spine.

"What?!"

His first thought was that the three people who had left the auction earlier might have decided to ambush him.

He had deliberately lingered on the first floor of Winters Tower before leaving, hoping to avoid being followed.

Unfortunately, he was now carrying an enormous fortune.

A total of 1.67 million Low-Grade Origin Stones rested inside his spatial ring. Such wealth was enough to tempt even a cautious cultivator into taking a desperate risk.

Although Ashfall City had strict laws against fighting within its boundaries, there were always people willing to break the rules when the potential rewards were great enough.

But before Ryan could dwell on the possibility, Mira’s voice rang out again.

"Hurry! There’s no time!"

Her urgency was unmistakable.

Ryan immediately abandoned his questions.

"Fine!"

He gritted his teeth and summoned his Origin Energy, pulling a massive pile of Origin Stones from his spatial ring.

The moment the stones appeared, a powerful suction force erupted from his Origin Energy Sea.

SWISH!

The entire pile dissolved into countless sparkling fragments, which transformed into a thick stream of pale-white energy.

The energy surged into Ryan’s Origin Energy Sea and rushed straight toward the Boundless Creation Furnace.

BUZZ!

The furnace trembled violently.

A thunderous roar exploded inside Ryan’s mind, as though a bolt of lightning had struck directly beside his ears.

His vision blurred. Images overlapped before his eyes, while a piercing ringing filled his ears. Dizziness washed over him, and for a moment, he could barely distinguish what was happening around him.

The roar continued to reverberate through his consciousness.

Ryan’s face grew pale as the world seemed to spin around him.

Then, just as he was struggling to regain his bearings, a hazy circle of gray light spread outward from his body.

Within seconds, it enveloped everything within a meter of him.

The instant the gray light took shape, Ryan felt the crushing pressure ease.

It was as though he had suddenly stepped into an isolated world shrouded in gray mist. His body became noticeably lighter, and the force pressing down on him weakened considerably.

Ryan stared at the strange light surrounding him.

"What the hell is going on?"

He had barely finished speaking when something appeared above the city.

Several dozen meters long, a gigantic crack split open across the sky.

It was blood-red.

The sight was so unnatural that, for a moment, Ryan wondered whether the heavens themselves had been torn apart.

The enormous fissure widened with a deafening rumble.

Then, something emerged from within it.

A colossal eye.

Its blood-red iris alone was several dozen meters across, and its appearance blotted out the stars like a monstrous celestial body descending upon the world.

In the blink of an eye, the entire sky turned crimson.

The stars vanished behind the spreading red glow, and every sound across Ashfall City abruptly ceased.

Then the enormous eye began to shine.

Countless rays of blood-red light burst from its surface, illuminating the city below and bathing every street, building, vehicle, and tree in an eerie crimson radiance.

Ashfall City had been transformed into a blood-red world.

The skyscrapers, the mansions, the roads, and even the smallest objects were covered in the same unnatural hue, as though the entire metropolis had been submerged beneath a vast sea of blood.

Ryan stared upward, his heart pounding.

What the hell was that thing?

Before he could make sense of the terrifying spectacle, a narrow beam of crimson light shot from the gigantic eye.

Roughly a meter wide, the beam swept across the city.

The enormous pupil moved erratically, scanning the streets below as though searching for something.

Or someone.

The beam passed over rooftops, swept across avenues, and moved steadily through the city.

Then—

It landed on Ryan.

BOOM!

The oppressive force returned with terrifying intensity.

It crashed down upon his shoulders and back, nearly forcing him to his knees.

Ryan’s body shook violently.

The pressure was incomprehensible, as though thousands of tons of weight had suddenly been piled onto him. His blood seemed to surge backward through his veins, and even the slightest movement became an agonizing struggle.

His face drained of color.

He tried to straighten his back, but his muscles barely responded.

The gray light surrounding him flickered, absorbing part of the tremendous pressure. At the same time, his Overlord Body Bloodline activated instinctively, unleashing a surge of Rampaging Tyrant Strength throughout his body.

The two forces worked together, allowing him to remain standing.

Barely.

Without the gray formation and the protection of his bloodline, Ryan suspected he would already have been crushed to the ground.

Yet the pressure continued to increase.

It pressed against his head, forcing his chin downward as though an invisible giant were trying to make him kneel.

Ryan clenched his teeth, fighting with everything he had to keep his head raised.

Whatever that thing was, it possessed power far beyond anything he could comprehend.

And for some reason, it had singled him out.

But that wasn’t the only terrifying thing happening.

All around him, the streets of Ashfall City had fallen into an eerie stillness.

People stood frozen in place beneath the crimson light.

Not a single person moved.

Not a single voice could be heard.

Only Ryan, trapped beneath the unbearable pressure, retained any awareness of what was happening.

A short distance away, a young man stood beside a little girl, holding out a colorful sugar figurine for her to eat.

The girl’s small mouth was slightly open as she leaned toward the treat.

Yet she never took the bite.

Her lips remained parted, her eyes fixed on the figurine, and her body stayed perfectly still.

The young man didn’t move either. His hand remained suspended in midair, the sugar figurine held just inches from the girl’s mouth.

Neither of them blinked.

Neither breathed visibly.

They simply remained frozen in that position, as though someone had pressed a button and stopped them in the middle of an ordinary moment.

The same thing had happened to everyone else in the city.

Pedestrians, drivers, shopkeepers, and cultivators alike had been reduced to motionless statues beneath the crimson radiance.

It was as if time itself had stopped.

And beneath the watchful gaze of that enormous blood-red eye, the entire Ashfall City had become a silent, frozen world.