The battle had turned decisively brutal.

Zephyr Kane was no longer the untouchable demon who had dominated the early moments of the fight. The Eternal Veil Syndicate representative had methodically worn him down, using numbers, coordination, and relentless pressure to exhaust the lone wanderer. The once-maniacal laughter had faded into ragged breaths. Zephyr’s movements had slowed. His powerful strides now carried visible strain. Blood flowed freely from multiple deep gashes across his chest, arms, and thighs. His left shoulder hung lower, damaged by a corrosive Qi strike that had eaten into muscle and meridian alike.

The representative floated with cold authority, dark Qi swirling around him like a storm. His ten black-clad subordinates (now seven after Zephyr’s earlier kills) moved like a well-oiled killing machine, pressing the attack from every angle. They no longer tried to match Zephyr’s raw power. Instead, they focused on attrition — chipping away at his stamina, forcing him to expend energy on defense, and landing precise, accumulating blows.

Zephyr roared and swung his pitch-black blade in a wide arc, trying to create breathing room. Black sword Qi erupted outward, devouring light and weaker attacks in its path. Two of the black-clad figures were too slow. The slash cut them in half mid-leap, their bodies falling in clean, bloody sections. A third tried to dodge but was caught by the edge of the wave — his arm and part of his torso were severed cleanly. He screamed once before collapsing.

Zephyr had killed three more.

But the cost was heavy.

He staggered backward, breathing hard, blood dripping from his mouth. His legs trembled as he dropped to one knee on the shattered rooftop, using his black blade to support himself. The sword’s void-like edge still drank in the surrounding light, but even it seemed slightly dimmer now, reflecting its wielder’s exhaustion. Sweat and blood mixed on his face. His silver eyes, once burning with madness, were now clouded with fatigue.

The representative smiled coldly from above.

“You fought well for a lone dog,” he said, voice carrying across the ruins. “But even you have limits.” 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The remaining seven black-clad figures and the representative closed in. The representative raised his hand, gathering a massive sphere of dark, corrosive Qi. The subordinates prepared their final coordinated assault.

Zephyr Kane looked up, bloodied and kneeling, yet a defiant smile slowly spread across his face. From his torn robe, he pulled out a sleek, crown-like device — the Mindweaver Crown, the very artifact that had caused the earlier bidding war. It shimmered with faint silver filaments, radiating an ancient and tempting aura.

“Do you still want this?” Zephyr asked, his voice hoarse but mocking. He held the crown up, letting it catch the light from distant fires.

The representative’s eyes narrowed, his expression shifting from triumph to a deep frown.

“I will kill you and take it from your corpse,” he snarled.

Zephyr Kane’s smile widened into something feral.

“Come and get it.”

The representative and all seven remaining black-clad figures rushed forward at once. They leaped toward him like predators closing in on wounded prey — dark Qi flaring, blades raised, killing intent thick in the air.

Zephyr Kane gripped his pitch-black blade with both hands. For the first time since the fight began, he poured his full remaining power into the sword. Dark energy surged through the weapon, making the blade glow with an even deeper, more terrifying void. The surrounding light bent and twisted violently around it.

He then swung his sword.

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

Keep it as reminders