"How could you be this strong?" the third demon king muttered, his voice trembling with disbelief as he watched the first demon king fall in pieces. His expression twisted with confusion and fear, emotions he had not felt in countless years.

The second demon king, however, registered his shock in a different form. His face contorted with wrath, and without hesitation he unleashed the full intensity of the fifth level concept of speed. His body blurred into a streak of light, and in the next instant he appeared directly before Max.

His fist shot forward, followed by another, and another, until the air around Max erupted with motion. Within a single second, the second demon king delivered nearly a thousand punches, each carrying devastating force and speed beyond ordinary perception.

For anyone else, this barrage would have been death. Even a peak Divine Rank cultivator would be torn apart before understanding what had happened. But Max possessed the Three Dimensional Body, an ability that allowed him to see motion from all angles and perceive trajectories with perfect clarity.

The attacks were fast, incredibly fast, yet nowhere near fast enough to escape his expanded perception. Every punch, every shift in movement, every burst of speed appeared to him as if slowed down. There was no panic, no confusion, only a calm understanding of the pattern unfolding before him.

White mist began to seep from Max's body, swirling around him like a ghostly veil. The temperature inside the dome plummeted instantly. Frost formed across the shattered ground, and the entire atmosphere dimmed beneath an overwhelming cold.

It was an unnatural chill, something that did not belong to the mortal world. The power emanating from Max was the essence of the White Essence Ice Lotus, a force capable of freezing even divine entities if given the opportunity.

The second demon king continued throwing punches, unaware that his surroundings were shifting. But as the chill intensified, his movements slowed. The momentum behind his fists weakened. His skin cracked under the encroaching cold. Then, almost instantly, his entire body froze solid.

The demon king who had been attacking Max in a storm of motion now stood immobilized, his arms suspended mid-punch as ice enveloped him completely. Even for beings of immense durability, the White Essence Ice Lotus was a terrifying force. The freeze lasted only a second, but to Max, that single second was more than enough.

Max's sword rose calmly as his eyes sharpened. A faint glow rippled across the blade. He swung once.

One Sword: All Conquered.

The strike cut through the air with a silent certainty. The frozen body of the second demon king did not even resist. The sword touched the crystallized demon, and the ice shattered instantly. The demon king fragmented into thousands of glimmering pieces, each shard reflecting the white light within the dome before scattering across the ground like broken glass. There was no scream, no final roar, only the quiet sound of ice falling apart.

Max lowered his sword as the fragments melted into nothingness. Another demon king had fallen.

"If my ice concept were at the fifth level, I could have frozen both of them for more than a second," Max murmured to himself as he examined the shattered remnants of the second demon king.

That brief moment of immobilization had allowed him to end the battle cleanly, but in a confrontation where every heartbeat determined victory or death, one second felt painfully short. He made a mental note to deepen his understanding of the ice concept later.

There was still tremendous room for growth, and battles like this reminded him of the importance of refining every aspect of his power.

He turned his gaze toward the last remaining demon king. The third demon king had retreated several steps, trembling uncontrollably as he watched his companions fall one after another. The fear in his eyes was raw and undeniable.

For countless years, he had believed himself to be superior to anything in the mortal world. Yet this human stood before him, slaughtering the demon kings as though they were nothing more than obstacles on a path he refused to stop walking.

Max smiled faintly as he walked toward him, sword in hand. "You are the last one," he said with a calmness that struck the demon king harder than any blade could. His footsteps echoed through the dome, each one tightening the demon king's fear.

The demon king's body trembled violently. He had never imagined that a mortal could overpower them so effortlessly. His entire worldview shattered before his eyes. "T-Tell me," Max said, stopping a short distance away. "How do you want to die?" His voice was soft but carried a chilling authority that froze the demon king's willpower.

"D-Don't kill me," the demon king stammered, gritting his teeth in desperation. "I can be more useful to you alive than dead." His pride evaporated completely. Survival was the only thing that mattered now.

Max raised an eyebrow. He had not expected such a proposal. The demon king's fear was genuine, but usefulness was another matter entirely. Before he could respond, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"Max, what the demon king is saying is true. Keep him alive for now. He will be useful in the future." Blob's tone was unusually serious, which made Max pause. If Blob was insisting, there had to be a reason.

Max frowned slightly. Keeping a demon king alive carried enormous risk. They were cunning, ruthless, and experts at deception. Allowing one to survive might lead to betrayal at a critical moment. That possibility alone made Max hesitate. Blob seemed to sense his doubt and spoke again.

"I know what you are worried about," Blob said. "But I have a soul technique called Soul Seal. With it, you can enslave any being who agrees to the process. Once the seal is placed, disobedience becomes impossible. He will not be able to betray you."

Max's eyes widened in surprise. "There is such a soul technique?" he asked within his mind. "Why did you never mention something so important before?"

Blob's response was immediate. "Because it does not work on humans. It affects demons, beasts, and other non-human entities, but humans cannot be bound by it. Their souls were simply too weak for it to work. Since it had no use in the Lower Domain or Middle Domain battles, I never had a reason to bring it up."

Max exhaled slowly. That explanation made sense. If the technique could not affect humans, it would have had no relevance in most situations. "Very well," Max said. "Transfer the technique to me."

"As you wish," Blob replied.

A moment later, a stream of information entered Max's mind. The structure of the technique unfolded within his consciousness, revealing its steps, requirements, and limitations. The Soul Seal was intricate, profound, and dangerous if used incorrectly. Yet it was also absolute. Once placed, it forged a permanent bond that ensured loyalty.

Max absorbed the knowledge in silence while the trembling demon king watched him with a mixture of fear and hope. The path forward had shifted. The battle inside the dome was almost over, but the consequences of sparing this demon king might shape events far beyond this moment.

The choice was his.

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