Chapter 358: Absolute Chaos

CRASH-KABOOM!

Dust and rusted metal exploded outward as the bone lady smashed through the remnants of a collapsed factory. The civilians below screamed in blind panic, scattering like roaches as debris rained down on the slums.

Cough! The bone lady pushed a massive steel beam off her chest, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Her bone mask, once pristine and intimidating, was completely shattered, falling away to reveal a pale, scarred face twisted in fury.

"You... you insignificant brat!" she snarled, wiping the blood from her lips.

She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a sinister, pulsing artifact. It was a fist-sized sphere radiating a sickly, toxic green aura.

BZZZZT!

"Die," she hissed.

WHOOSH!

A terrifying, invisible wave exploded from the artifact, sweeping across the city.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Within a two-kilometer radius, every living thing simply dropped. The fleeing civilians, the mutated rats in the sewers, and even the heavily armored Mana Heart city guards who had rushed to contain the explosion—all of them collapsed. Their skin turned grey, their eyes rolling back as their blood essence and life force were violently ripped from their bodies, funneling into the green artifact.

The bone lady licked a drop of blood from her lips, a sadistic, delighted smile spreading across her ruined face. "Ah... such delicious despair."

Whoosh!

Kael landed on a jagged piece of rubble, his dual intents still blazing around him. He looked at the sea of withered corpses surrounding them, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.

"What have you done?" Kael asked, his voice dangerously low.

The bone lady smirked. "Just a little offering."

Suddenly, the green artifact pulsed. CRACK! Spatial energy warped and tore open, forming a massive, swirling rift in the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five figures stepped out of the rift. Three of them radiated the dense, heavy auras of Late Spirit Soul cultivators. The other two, however, were on a completely different level. Their auras pressed down on the ruined city like a mountain—Peak Spirit Soul.

"How do you like the gift, Vorn?" the bone lady mocked, her confidence returning.

One of the Peak Spirit Soul cultivators, a tall man with silver hair and a golden staff, stepped forward. He glanced at Kael’s Rank 6 aura and scoffed, turning to the bone lady.

"Lady Bone," he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "Is this the emergency? A mere Rank 6 brat? You used our spatial anchor, drained a city, and for what? To take care of a child? Have you finally lost your edge?"

The other Peak Spirit Soul, a woman clad in frost-covered armor, let out a cold laugh. "Truly pathetic, Lady Bone. To think the great Bone Widow of the Crimson Court was reduced to a bloody, panting mess by a boy. Perhaps it is time you retired."

"Idiots!" Lady Bone shouted, her face flushing with anger. "Don’t underestimate him! Not only is he a Vorn, but this kid has high-grade techniques, a terrifying physique, and..." She hesitated for a fraction of a second, swallowing hard. "...he also possesses the Demonic Asura Lotus Flame."

The mocking smiles vanished instantly. The two Peak Spirit Souls exchanged a sharp glance, their eyes widening in shock.

One of the Late Spirit Soul cultivators, a Rank 7 man wielding a pair of curved daggers, stepped forward arrogantly. "So what? He’s still just a Spirit Soul Rank 6. He can’t possibly use a Heavenly Flame to its full potential. I’ll cut him down myself."

"Enough," Grey, the Peak Spirit Soul with the golden staff, commanded. He looked at Lady Bone. "Where is the asset? The boy, Sebastian."

Lady Bone’s eyes widened. In her greed and anger, she had completely forgotten their primary mission. She quickly spun around, pointing toward the distant smog. "He fled that way! You, go after him!"

The Rank 7 dagger-wielder nodded and turned to dash away.

Crackle!

He hadn’t taken two steps before a flash of blue lightning intercepted him. Kael appeared directly in his path, his shadowy mask somehow making his cold expression even more terrifying.

BZZT!

A terrifying orb of energy formed in Kael’s hand. It was pitch-black, resembling a compressed star with glowing silver cracks running across its surface. The sheer gravitational density of the Pulsar distorted the air around them.

"Now," Kael said, his voice an icy whisper. "Where do you think you’re going?"

BOOM!

He thrust the Pulsar forward. The Rank 7 cultivator didn’t even have time to scream. The compressed star slammed into his chest, instantly vaporizing his armor and blasting a massive, gaping hole straight through his torso. SPLURT! Blood and gore sprayed outward as his lifeless body was sent crashing into a nearby building.

The four remaining cultivators froze, their eyes wide with shock. He’s fast, they all thought simultaneously.

Kael turned to face them, a sadistic smirk playing on his lips. "Come on."

SCHING!

He reached into the void, pulling out the Shadow Slayer blades. The Blood-Iron Alloy hummed with a dark, thirsty resonance, eager to spill more blood.

Kael didn’t wait. He launched himself at the two Rank 8 cultivators.

CLANG!

Grey appeared in a blur of lightning speed, his golden staff blocking Kael’s right blade. The Rank 8 Wind and Ice cultivators immediately capitalized on the opening, attacking from both sides.

WHOOSH! A razor-sharp crescent of compressed wind screamed toward Kael’s neck.

CRACKLE! A barrage of jagged ice spears erupted from the ground, aiming to impale him from below.

Kael’s eyes flashed. Orbital Deflection.

BZZT!

A microscopic, sub-atomic layer of gravitational rotation formed around his body. As the wind crescent and the ice spears struck his gravitational field, their trajectories were subtly bent. The wind blade curved harmlessly around Kael’s shoulder, slicing into the ground behind him. The ice spears twisted mid-air, shattering against a rusted crane instead of his flesh.

"Tch," Grey clicked his tongue, pushing Kael back with his staff.

At that moment, Lady Bone and the Frost Armor woman saw their chance.

"Bone Hell: Executioner’s Spears!" Lady Bone screamed.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH!

Dozens of massive, spiraling bone spears, each the size of a small tree, manifested in the sky and rained down upon Kael like divine punishment.

"Glacial World: Absolute Zero!" the Frost Armor woman roared.

FZZZZT!

A terrifying wave of white-blue frost erupted from her hands. It didn’t just freeze the air; it froze the very mana particles within it, creating a vacuum of absolute cold that threatened to shatter Kael’s soul.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. He planted his feet firmly on the rusted metal ground.

FWOOSH!

The Demonic Asura Lotus Flame erupted from his body as he channeled his dual intents—Wrath and Slaughter—directly into the Shadow Slayer blades.

The blades turned a terrifying crimson-black, vibrating with the screams of a million dead souls.

"Sky Rending Technique, Fourth Form: Void Split."

Kael swung both blades forward simultaneously.

CRACK-KABOOM!

A colossal, cross-shaped wave of dark, crimson energy erupted from the blades. The attack was a fusion of pure physical aura, soul power, gravitational force, heavenly flame and dual intents.

The Void Split collided with the Executioner’s Spears and the Absolute Zero wave.

BOOOOOOM!

The resulting explosion was apocalyptic. A massive shockwave expanded outward, leveling the entire district. Buildings were vaporized. The rusted metal streets were torn to shreds. The remaining survivors who had somehow avoided the green artifact’s life drain were instantly incinerated by the sheer heat and pressure of the collision.

CRASH!

Kael was pushed back, his boots digging deep trenches into the metal ground as he stabilized himself.

Across the battlefield, Lady Bone, Grey, and the Frost Armor woman were also skidding backward, their clothes torn and their hair disheveled from the shockwave.

Kael stood up straight, his Shadow Slayer blades humming. He looked at the three Peak Spirit Souls, a dark, terrifying smile spreading across his hidden face.