The Realms tried to recover as much of their strength as they could, having received temporary relief from the continuous battles.

With the faction of the Heavenly Emperor and that of the Lord of Shadows weighed in their next course of action, a premature Broken World was suffering from the brunt of a spar.

Vesta was obsessed with Ozul.

Their fight was etched in her heart. It had lasted for a short while, but every moment of it had reignited in her the fire that had dimmed to a flickering candle after years of slumber.

And as she entered the new Realm following him, she fought, from that day, not to survive but to be strong enough to face him on equal footing again. She wanted nothing more than to see him biting the ground under her feet.

After becoming the Empyrean, a stage that allowed her to regain her bestial form, she knew normal Empyreans weren’t even her match. Unlike before, she had nine tails, and each one brimmed with power beyond what she could imagine in that Broken World.

’I was supposed to win this time...’ Vesta thought, confused.

The sky was below and the earth above.

She was on the ground with her head stretching back, and the world spun around her. She breathed heavily as blood marred her human form.

All around, there was devastation.

The trio floated above in the sky as they watched with masked surprise.

This premature Broken World was chosen as the battleground between Vesta and Ozul.

The day she saw Ozul again, she had only restrained herself for an hour or so before launching at him, claws aimed at his throat, and so Raven had no choice but to send them to this place.

It was a place with no Humans nor any Beastkin. The little unintelligent life that the Broken World was able to foster until now perished under the overbearing destruction.

Near Vesta, Ozul approached.

"Are you satisfied?"

His voice was as steady as an old tree. It didn’t feel like someone who had easily defeated an Empyrean Beastkin and also destroyed a Broken World in the process.

Vesta smiled bitterly. This was not how she had imagined things to go.

Living with the ’lower’ beings, she had even heard about the concept of love and entertained the possibility that maybe she had such a feeling for this man.

But the moment she saw him, she wanted nothing more than to crush him and have him admit her stronger.

As she now bled profusely through a thousand cuts on her body, she could only mutter with clenched fists, "You are a beast..."

. . .

Back in the Realm of Abezan, the hall fell silent.

All the upper echelons had witnessed the scene of the Empyreans moving through the Spatial Rift for a fight.

What frightened everyone was the bloodied state of Vesta and the unblemished visage of Ozul.

’Did all four of them gang up against her?’ The thought crossed their mind for a few fleeting seconds before they denied the possibility.

Vesta, the Nine-Tailed Fox of the legends, was unusually quiet and subdued. If it had been an unfair fight, she would have been very loud about it.

Suddenly, the way everyone saw Ozul changed from curiosity to respect. Someone who could defeat an Empyrean without a scratch to speak of was to be feared.

"What is the situation now?" Ozul began.

When asked about the situation before, Raven had gathered that there was only a single battle taking place in all of the Realms. It involved one of the Heavenly Virtues.

"They are still at it. From the looks of it, things will not calm down anytime soon," Raven reported. She had eyes everywhere now with her organization spread even to distant Realms.

Ozul wanted a Heavenly Virtue alone, and this was an opportunity.

Nodding, he asked, "Tell me that Virtue is with the Emperor?"

At this point, he would rather not do anything to make an enemy out of the Lord of Shadows. Since his target was the Emperor, there was no better ally than him.

Even if Old Gu, who had sealed him, was also aligned with the Lord of Shadows currently. That could be put aside for now.

The target is the Heavenly Emperor.

If Ozul had spoken that out aloud, even the trio would have tried to stop him. As such, he didn’t reveal anything yet.

Raven nodded, "It’s Jidu, the Heavenly Virtue of Humility."

"And why are they fighting?"

"It’s the Celestial Dragon. He was, for some reason, enraged by Jidu’s presence on his Realm and wouldn’t let him leave even when he tried to retreat."

Ozul hummed, thinking that there must be some animosity between that man Jidu and the Dragons species. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’Since even Ember was robbed of her cultivation by him...’

"Even though the Celestial Dragon is furious, he wasn’t able to achieve much because Jidu has multiple Empyreans supporting him," Raven added.

Because the Dragon was attacking on his own, the Empyreans sent by the Lord of Shadows weren’t with him.

Both sides were currently preserving their strength. This conflict wasn’t in their calculations.

Ozul couldn’t let go of this opportunity. An isolated Heavenly Virtue is just what he needed at this moment.

Thinking of the conflict between Ember and Jidu, he made a thoughtful face.

Stunned, the trio blinked to confirm their sight. The three of them quickly realized that the odd feeling from Ozul was his ease in behavior. He was definitely more expressive than before.

"We are going to Phoenix City," Ozul stated and stood up.

The upper echelon of the City of Refuge, mostly Sage cultivators, all exchanged glances.

"Choosing a side at this critical moment will-" one of them spoke up with much courage. Even if they weren’t going for an alliance, it could still be mistaken as such.

But a single glare from Raven and Blaze was enough to shut them up.

Ozul sighed and decided to address these subordinates of the trio.

"These three," he pointed toward the trio and continued, "will be joining me in actively participating in this war for my agenda. If you do not wish to follow them, leave now."

Before others could digest his words, Vesta grinned and spoke up, "And what agenda is that?"

Turning to her, he replied, "You can find out if you follow me. Careful of what you decide, it may spell certain death."

His last words only served to irk Vesta. She grinned through her bloody teeth and replied, "I am coming with. I was bored anyway."

Meanwhile, the upper echelon could only smile bitterly. If all four of their leaders were going to follow this man, it left them no other choice.

Ozul wasn’t surprised, but still pleased with acquiring another Empyrean.

’But 6 Empyreans are still better than 4...’ he thought as he walked out of the hall, and then opened a Spatial Rift with a single thought.

’Weren’t we just going to Phoenix City?’

That thought echoed in everyone’s mind, but they still quietly followed him.

No one knew that, unlike others, he could open as many Spatial Rifts as he wanted without a strain on his mind.

. . .

Shortly after they had left the destroyed Broken World, an Empyrean appeared there.

The Lord of Shadows had a power that reached beyond the Realms, just like that of the Heavenly Emperor.

When Ozul and Vesta were fighting, the wild Spiritual waves were caught by both the Emperors.

But only the Lord of Shadows was interested in why a Broken World was destroyed, especially because it was not his subordinates who had done this.

Another rift opened beside the Empyrean and Old Gu made his entrance.

"They are not here anymore," he said as quickly as he arrived.

. . .

In Phoenix City, the Spatial rift opened right in the middle of Ember’s estate.

The phenomenon alerted all the Sages nearby. The three Empyreans in the estate also appeared there in the blink of an eye.

Anyone who could open a Spatial rift could not be left unchecked.

Ozul stepped out, followed by 4 Empyreans.

Ember’s aura flared. For a second, she thought maybe Ozul had changed his mind and wanted some sort of revenge.

"I am here with an offer," he said, spreading his hands slightly.

Behind Ember, Rai stood with his guards up. If this was the day he died, he would take at least one of them down with him.

Meanwhile, the Empyrean sent by the Lord of Shadows was clueless about the identity of Ozul. He stayed quiet, observing the situation.

"Explain," Ember replied.

"Join me." That was it.

The confidence in Ozul’s voice made others confused.

The outsider Empyrean scoffed. Knowing full well that the Lord of Shadows had showered his subordinates with all kinds of resources. No one in their right mind would choose to leave.

"Why should I?" She asked calmly.

"Your revenge," he answered as her eyes widened. He continued, "We are going there after this. I thought you would want to join."

Although she wanted nothing more than revenge, she hadn’t lost her mind yet.

"Are you confident in victory?"

There was hope in her tone.

The Lord of Shadows would not change his plans for the revenge of a mere Empyrean under him.

He nodded, "I will kill him. Regardless of whether you join me or not."

The outsider Empyrean scoffed. He wasn’t aware of this revenge they were talking about. Even though he couldn’t sense any Spiritual Essence from the man speaking, he was still not afraid since it was the territory of the Celestial Phoenix.

To his astonishment, Ember did not share the same sentiments as him. After centuries, this was her only hope for revenge.

"If you can get me his head, I will follow you into the fire."

With resolute eyes, she stepped forward.

Rai followed behind. It didn’t matter if they were both Empyreans now, she was still his Lord. Wherever she went, he would follow.

The battle-hungry smirk on his face, however, betrayed his exact reasons for following her.

Turning toward the outsider Empyrean, Ember declared, "Tell the Phoenix that I’m leaving."

And so, she stepped into the Spatial rift, disappearing along with others.

"Huh...?"