While Rai and the trio briefed Ember on what they had done, Ozul calmly absorbed the last drop of Spiritual Essence.

As the walls of the Purity came down, Alden and Rameel saw him staring into empty air.

They tried to ignore him, but he stood straight, unmoving. It felt like something had gone wrong.

Rameel was just about to check up on him when he moved, albeit slowly, and walked toward his usual place under the tree shade.

’It’s unbearable...’ He thought, trying to contain himself.

Despite all this time, he could not get used to the sudden increase in his sensitivity to emotions and all of his other senses.

The body of a Sage gave him such a boost that he was now confidently strong enough to defeat Rai in battle!

That Sword Sage wouldn’t last long in front of him either.

His special condition, swift attacks, and almost untraceable presence were so significant that he could easily take on multiple Sages!

If he had the strength to cut down a cultivator, that meant he had the ability to kill many of the same caliber at the same time!

’If only I knew about this ability before, those two corpses wouldn’t have gone to waste...’ he silently lamented as he covered his eyes with the Purity to block off the light.

When he had stolen the two Mind’s Eyes from those Sages, he had given one to Ember for her to restore her strength, while he himself had absorbed the other. Regrettably, the two corpses he had left in that dimension were more valuable than that.

Alden frowned at him from afar but tried to distract herself with her cultivation. She didn’t want to get in trouble with her idol again.

But however hard she tried, Ozul was bound to feel the prick on his consciousness.

At this point, he felt he could even feel the emotions of someone at the other corner of Phoenix City if he were to concentrate.

Meanwhile, Ember was ecstatic in her office. However, she maintained a relatively calm appearance outwardly.

"Ahem. No need to shout," she berated Rai who was continuously boasting about thrashing the Sword Sage.

Rai continued grinning.

"I remember him saying that he needed a Sage to rise to that level," Ember also smirked, knowing that if she were to trust his words, they had surely gained another Sage as well.

If only she took into account that Ozul was always unconventional. His rise to that level was equivalent to Phoenix City’s gaining multiple Sage cultivators!

"Call a meeting. Gather everyone. I have something else to share as well," she ordered, shooing Rai out of the room.

He already knew all the people she meant when she said ’everyone’, so he swiftly contacted them, stating that it was urgent.

Soon, the five Sages and a few other people were all gathered in Ember’s room. Despite his efforts though, Rai couldn’t convince Ozul to participate in the meeting.

"First of all, as you already know, the Sword Sage was killed by Rai and Ozul," she mentioned, earning only a few gasps. The other Sages already knew and only nodded approvingly.

Although everyone hated Rai’s smug face, they knew that one less Sage in the war was a blessing incomparable to all of their efforts until now.

"We have to be careful now," Jaka, the old man, gave his opinion.

The Immortal Sect wouldn’t sit still after one of their Elders was murdered. At the very least, they would be twice as aggressive in their next wave of attacks.

"And that brings me to another piece of news," Ember nodded, getting their attention, "Make thorough preparations. Things are changing."

Confused, the Sages glanced at each other.

"Both Virtues recently visited the Celestial Phoenix and have not disclosed the details," Ember explained with frustration. It was humiliating to admit that she was left in the dark, but she needed them to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Whatever is going to happen, I want all of you to be prepared for it."

The meeting continued for a while before everyone left one by one.

Soon, Phoenix City felt the changes. The number of soldiers roaming the streets increased and entry into the city was temporarily banned for merchants.

Those outside the city on menial tasks were called back; the city was truly preparing for the worst!

. . .

On an unknown continent, Old Gu sighed tiredly.

"That old Phoenix refuses to comply," he lamented. Fighting her meant that he wouldn’t be able to do what he was supposed to.

The Lord of Shadows had sent both Qingyu and Baoshi to convince the Celestial Phoenix, but the latter refused to budge. She was explicit in her stance that she wouldn’t let anyone inside her territory do as they pleased.

Old Gu was informed of this without much shame. The Lord of Shadows had already told him he wouldn’t make any promises.

Still, in an unexpected display of generosity, the Lord of Shadows told him that he, at the very least, wouldn’t send Baoshi and Qingyu either.

"Don’t you hate the prince, master?" Minho asked, suggesting, "Should I go there alone?"

But Old Gu clicked his tongue, "No need." He wouldn’t give that spoiled brat Kami a chance to gloat.

However, he needed Kami’s help to keep the Phoenix occupied during his visit to Phoenix City.

At this time, he just needed a single Heavenly Virtue, but they were either aligned with the Lord of Shadows or Kami. Since the former couldn’t allow the Virtues to stand against the Celestial Phoenix, his only option was his old friends aligned with Kami.

Still, he wouldn’t give that annoying brat the satisfaction.

"Spread rumors to him that I will be attacking Phoenix City," he ordered Minho.

"It is too obvious, master. What if he doesn’t do anything?"

Old Gu shook his head, "If he doesn’t bite, it is his loss, for giving up on such an opportunity."

Minho wanted to say that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his goals either, but stopped himself just in time. It was obvious that his master’s distaste for the Prince was greater than he had initially assumed.

After all, he was even willing to take such a risk.

. . .

The coming days in the Realm of Abezan were the most oppressive.

Even the distant kingdoms of the continent could feel the tensions spreading in the land.

While the Immortal Sect mourned the death of their Elder, the Wilderness called back their own as well.

Losing an Elder was not a small matter. This loss was comparable to the time when the Wilderness had lost hundreds of their people and the Sect had lost their ancestral home.

The enmity had finally reached a point where the Sect could not hold back anymore. Despite not receiving any orders from the Heavenly Virtues, they had prepared a force.

The Sect Leader, Kai, even convinced Hakuja to gather the Wilderness in response to this humiliation.

Kai and Hakuja both knew that losing an Elder was a slap to their faces and if they sat quietly after that, their subjects would soon lose their morale and spirit.

’Was it bad luck or did they know Sword Sage’s location,’ Kai thought quietly.

The Elders were working discreetly to set up a defensive array for the Immortal Sect. Taking inspiration from Phoenix City and not wanting to repeat their history with the Celestial Phoenix, they had decided that the Sect needed such a dome of shield as well.

While the Sword Sage was outside working alone toward that goal, he must have been caught off-guard.

Such was the conclusion they had reached.

"I can’t hold them back any longer," Kai muttered, eyeing Hakuja sitting across from him.

"You can’t or you don’t want to," Hakuja sipped his cup. There was no way that an Empyrean couldn’t control his subjects.

Silence reigned around them.

Tomorrow would be the day they paid Ember back for all the wounds up until now.

Kai had simply informed the Heavenly Virtue of his decision.

. . .

The next day, as if learning of the fate of this day, clouds had gathered above the continent.

Phoenix City calmly awaited the arrival of those wanting to tear it apart. A single city had earned the ire of the whole Realm of Abezan.

In the dim light of the day, winds whistled and soon the pressure dropped. The presence of thousands of cultivators was enough to change the weather. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Answer for your crimes!"

A scream echoed everywhere as two figures were seen speeding toward the barrier of the city.

Lightning flashed around their darkened figures, and Spiritual Essence concentrated to the point that it would destroy a small kingdom!

But they didn’t make contact with the dome when two different figures emerged from inside.

Salar and Remal, the two Sages sent by the Lord of Shadows found it no trouble to block the two Elders from the Immortal Sect.

The shockwave from that attack seemed to shake the earth, but the cultivators on the ground remained steadfast.

Soon hundreds of cultivators had approached the dome, hacking away at the energy barrier.

From inside the dome, Ember observed the number of cultivators attacking the city from all directions.

It was her 6 Sages against 16 of theirs this time. Unlike at other times, they were not holding back at all.

’They are really sparing no efforts...’ She clicked her tongue, ’The Heavenly Virtues have to help!’

She sent them the signal, but instead of receiving a response, there was complete silence from the other side.

*Roar!*

The cries of the Celestial Phoenix drowned those of the puny cultivators as she rose to the sky, passing through the dome.

’What is happening...’ confused, Ember too sped outside to join the fray.