The leader stood at the heart of the storm—air currents surging, dust swirling—yet his gaze was colder and calmer than ever before.

  Two consecutive spatial magic interferences had directly altered the course of life and death, forcing him to reassess the battlefield.

  In the next instant, a thunderous shockwave rippled from deep within his soul—

  [Transcendent Radar]—Activated!

  This wasn’t perception based on the five senses, it was a composite radar system formed by the fusion of over a dozen skills—

  Using signals from spirit, soul, internal energy, and killing intent, it scanned the entire battlefield comprehensively!

  In an instant, he "saw."

  The positions, states, and spiritual fluctuations of everyone except the BOSS;

  Even the faint traces of their intentions and strategic tendencies were woven together in his mind into a living tactical grid.

  What drew his focus most sharply were the two mages—

  In poor condition, frequent spiritual tremors, chaotic magical fluctuations,

  Each round of casting was a desperate struggle on the brink of soul tearing.

  And yet—even so—they were still maintaining the long-range support link with unwavering precision, not a beat missed.

  —Overloaded.

  That was his first conclusion.

  But immediately after, came the more crucial second judgment:

  —The soul has not yet been ignited.

  —There is still enough remaining strength.

  What does this mean?

  It means—those two magicians will continue to interfere with him.

  If it were Elo, he would probably have started gritting his teeth and cursing by now;

  But the leader had no emotional fluctuations whatsoever, not even a hint of "irritation."

  His response was so calm, it was almost mechanical, even cold enough to seem like he was calibrating a parameter.

  At this level of interference, to him, it wasn’t “disruption,” but—perfectly natural.

  In fact, he already had an unspoken standard in his mind:

  —If they can’t even reach this level of intensity, then these two magicians are not qualified to stand on this battlefield.

  Meanwhile, he sensed another surge of murderous intent rising sharply—coming from Xianzi.Lin.

  It wasn’t the usual fluctuation of energy released during a skill,

  but rather—the sign of a trump card being played!

  She continued to pluck the strings calmly, her finger movements unchanged, the melody flowing as usual.

  her expression as tranquil as water, with no emotional fluctuation.

  But—that didn’t fool the leader.

  The extreme, suppressed murderous intent was quietly surging on the mental plane,

  like a dragon submerged in the deep, calm on the surface, yet once noticed—it pricks the spine like a sharp thorn!

  And since she couldn’t deceive the leader, she naturally couldn’t deceive the BOSS either.

  At this moment, hidden at the edge of the battlefield, his gaze had quietly focused.

  [Transcendent Intuition] kept warning:

  —This woman is very dangerous.

  Not the ordinary kind of "danger,"

  but the kind—where one mistake in judgment will lead directly to death!

  But he wasn’t surprised.

  People of the Daoist sects—who among them doesn't carry hidden trump cards and wield a multitude of techniques?

  In the BOSS’s mind, it was even expected:

  —If you don’t have at least one secret treasure up your sleeve,

  how can you call yourself a member of the Daoist sects?

  After sensing the surge of killing intent, the leader precisely infused his internal energy into the melody, delivering a clear message:

  —Stay calm. It’s not time yet.

  The strings of Xianzi.Lin’s zither trembled slightly; her fingers paused for an instant.

  Then, she withdrew her killing intent and responded:

  —…Understood.

  From the text alone, it might seem as though the battlefield had fallen into a long stalemate, locked in tense stillness—

  But in truth, all of this had unfolded in less than 0.15 seconds.

  In that fleeting instant, the skills previously unleashed by the black-haired and blond-haired knights had finally reached the center of the battlefield!

  Sixteen energy blades surged in from all directions, converging on the target’s heart, howling through the air with thunderous force.

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  Three [Explosive Impact Spear] dropped from the sky, infused with vibrating magic, plummeting like meteors and tearing open the night with blazing trails.

  And at the very center of it all—

  The leader stood motionless.

  He didn’t even lift his gaze.

  As if the storm of energy and incoming spears meant nothing to him.

  His eyes had remained fixed on a single target from beginning to end:

  —the red-haired knight.

  That gaze, sharp and burning, was still searching for a clean, decisive kill.

  He didn’t strike.

  Not out of hesitation—

  But out of a chilling clarity:

  If he was going to kill the red-haired knight, it had to be a one-hit kill.

  A blow that bypassed the lurking BOSS's "eyes," that landed in the perfect instant, and left no room for resistance.

  —And right now, that moment had not yet arrived.

  In that instant—

  San Niang’s fingertips gave the slightest tremble.

  “Zheng—!!”

  A sound blade shot out from her strings, slicing through the air—

  and struck one of the airborne [Explosive Impact Spear] dead-on.

  “BOOM—!!”

  The sky shattered, fire erupted, and the explosion rang out like thunder splitting the heavens.

  The entire battlefield trembled in the crimson flames, as if set ablaze!

  Elo suddenly looked up at the exploding fireball, his face full of confusion.

  (O_o)??

  The next moment, an absurd thought involuntarily surfaced in his mind:

  —Wait, could San Niang be an undercover agent for the enemy?

  Triggering the [Explosive Impact Spear] at this moment—

  was an extremely wrong decision, regardless of the tactical rhythm, the enemy's position, or the effect it would have!

  The enemy placed this thing not for an effective strike, but to make it explode at the right moment.

  And right now—was one of those moments!

  —And you went ahead and triggered it for them?!

  While Elo was mentally flooded with tactical question marks,

  he suddenly picked up on the faintest ripple of emotion from the leader—

  barely perceptible, but real.

  A quiet sigh… from the soul.

  It wasn’t anger.

  It wasn’t sarcasm.

  It was a kind of helplessness,

  bone-deep and long-standing.

  Like staring at a knot in a thread that’s been tangled for years—

  Too tight to undo. Too entangled to cut clean.

  IIt was not a tactical mistake, nor a misjudgment.

  —Because there was no such thing as tactics or judgment at all!

  It was simply—she was worried about him.

  It was that simple, so simple that there was no tactical intention to speak of.

  Elo, noticing that subtle emotional fluctuation, instantly brightened his eyes, his pupils dilating, sparkling with little gossip stars.

  (?ω?)

  A ridiculous yet incredibly firm thought suddenly popped into his mind:

  —These two must be having an affair!!

  As the flames obscured everything, the remaining two [Explosive Impact Spears]—

  silently and from different angles, arrived at the center of the battlefield in advance!

  These two spears, during their flight, had been imbued with a special concealment spell by the mage;

  refracting light, suppressing fluctuations, they did everything they could to avoid detection by the transcendent radar!

  For most transcendent beings—they were invisible threats.

  As for the leader? Of course, he "saw" them.

  He could sense their presence, but still—he did not evade.

  It was not carelessness, but judgment—these things were not worthy of making him move.

  "Boom!!!—Boom!!!"

  Flames surged, blazing light shot into the sky, and the entire battlefield trembled like a falling meteor!

  The two [Explosive Impact Spears] detonated almost simultaneously, with the explosion points precisely landing in front of and behind the leader!

  One before, one behind, creating an instantaneous blast shockwave!

  The shockwave tore the battlefield apart in an instant, the air billowing, and the sound of the explosion deafening!

  —The earth, completely shattered!

  The epicenter of the explosion was blasted into a massive crater with a 1.5-meter radius and nearly 1 meter deep!

  Rocks flew, shockwaves rumbled like thunder, and searing energy boiled, with even the air twisted and charred;

  Fire pillars shot up several meters high, and the mixture of dust and flames formed a sky-covering hellstorm!

  Under such power, even heavy battle armor would melt, and transcendent beings would be torn to pieces.

  However—at the very heart of this inferno, the leader remained motionless.

  His shirt was completely burned away in the explosion, turning to ash and blowing away with the wind;

  His bare upper body bathed in the sea of flames, muscles like iron streams, tough to the point of suffocation!

  Not a single scorch mark was left on his skin, not even a single hair was blown off!

  At that moment, he was not enduring the explosion, he was simply unaffected by any substantial impact!

  The flames swirled and roared around him, energy erupting and spraying at his feet;

  But he stood there like a golden statue on the altar of a god, unyielding, unmoving, and unshaken!

  And the [ring-pommel saber] at his waist—

  remained firmly "suspended" at his side, not moving an inch.

  This was not a conventional physical restraint, but—an anchoring of internal energy!

  The blade trembled slightly, as if emitting a dull, suppressed roar;

  it wanted to unsheathe, but was not permitted!

  The aura forged from battle intent, like an invisible gravity, held it in place!

  It was as though—

  this was not a saber, but a divine beast, suppressed and crouching, unable to move!

  Its master had yet to issue a command; it must... continue to wait!

  The leader did not retreat, not even a single step.

  Instead—he took a step forward.

  “Boom—!”

  This foot landed on the scorched earth at the epicenter of the explosion, the sound was not deafening;

  but a heavy strike—that slammed into the soul!

  It was not an ordinary footstep, but a declaration of oppression to the extreme—

  —I am still here!

  The fire had not yet dissipated, and he took another step.

  “Boom—!”

  The sound rumbled like a war drum, heavy, low, as if coming from the abyss of purgatory!

  “Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!”

  Sixteen energy blades pierced the air, cutting through the fiery storm, falling like meteorites!

  Each blade over a meter long, with edges as sharp as a rainbow, their trajectories so sharp they seemed to cut through space itself!

  “Clang clang clang clang clang—!!!”

  The strikes landed on his skin, like a thousand swords ringing in unison!

  The flames exploded, sparks flying!

  But it was not just skin, it was a transcendent body, infused with battle intent and internal energy—

  It was the [Vajra Indestructible Divine Art], far beyond the limits of common sense!

  Where the energy blades struck, a circle of bright metal shockwaves erupted,

  sparks shooting out, heat waves tearing through the air, as if they had struck a refined, multi-forged alloy rock wall!

  And yet—he did not move a muscle!

  In fact—he didn’t even raise an eyelid!

  Those energy blades seemed less like deadly strikes, and more like mere winds cutting through the air.

  No—not even winds!

  His gaze remained calm, still fixed ahead...

  Not on those skills, but—on the two figures exuding intense killing intent!

  They were the black-haired and golden-haired knights—

  They had already vanished into the flames, silently closing in;

  At this moment, they were less than three steps away from the leader!

  With the activation of [Soul Burn], they shot forward like twin stars falling from the sky!

  The black-haired knight charged from the left, his flaming sword already ignited, battle intent transforming into deep red flames wrapping around the blade.

  He raised his heavy sword high, his feet stomping down hard, his body leaning forward as he swung it down in an instant—

  A scorching diagonal line sliced through the air, from the upper left to the lower right!

  On the right, the golden-haired knight followed closely!

  He crouched low, his back muscles taut, suddenly accelerating like a cheetah!

  The lightning knight sword in his hand hummed, vibrating with power, lightning flowing, like stars flickering!

  He held the sword high and thrust it upward, the tip of the blade flashing like thunder, stabbing straight for the leader's vital organs!

  The two knights moved in sync—as fast as the wind, as fierce as lightning and fire!

  They hesitated not for a moment, nor did they falter, every ounce of their strength pushed to the extreme!

  [Soul Burn] scorched their minds, but it also ignited the limits of their will!

  Buffs stacked uncontrollably, boosting defense, speed, strength, and reaction to an overwhelming level!

  Their souls forcibly elevated their physical capabilities to the point of self-destruction—

  Not even the tearing pain mattered!

  This was not a charge, this was—a desperate fight!

  It felt as though:

  —Even if I have only one breath left, even if I have only one tooth left, I will bite you to death!

  They had only one goal:

  —To make sure this strike truly lands on the enemy’s body!

  That enemy,

  was the man at the heart of the storm.

  —He was the one and only target they had to strike!