"I sent three Supreme experts and even allowed them to take the incomplete Sky-Suppressing Turtle Shell," Lucas said calmly.

"I never imagined the entire force would be annihilated."

His tone was flat, as though he were merely commenting on the weather.

Arrie stood quietly at his side.

She had worked with the Pavilion Master for many years and knew him well enough to understand that this calm was not peace.

Lucas never showed anger openly.

His emotions were buried deep—so deep that most people mistook them for indifference.

But if one observed carefully, there was a faint shadow at the corner of his eyes.

A gloom that could not be concealed.

That meant only one thing.

The Pavilion Master was furious.

"Pavilion Master," Arrie said after a moment, choosing her words carefully, "I warned before that Ethan is not an ordinary enemy."

"He is backed by the Blood Tavern. If he truly encounters mortal danger, do you think the Blood Tavern will remain idle?"

"And Myriad Treasures Pavilion has always been on good terms with the Blood Tavern."

"They will not watch him die."

"Ethan himself possesses a Chaos artifact, and in Skyreach Territory, a mysterious female Supreme appeared wielding another high-grade artifact and was killed by Ethan."

"That means Ethan has at least two artifacts."

"Even if his realm limits how much power he can draw out, the Blood Marquis of the Blood Tavern is active in Skyreach Territory."

"That man fights across realms."

"With an artifact in his hands, even an Ultimate Supreme might not be able to suppress him."

Arrie paused, then added softly,

"Under those circumstances, defeat was never impossible."

Lucas listened without interruption.

"I know all of this," he said.

"But we were never targeting Ethan directly."

His voice turned colder.

"Skyreach Territory is surrounded by wolves."

"Every major force covets the artifact in his hands."

"The three Guardians secretly entered Skyreach Territory and joined forces with the Great Vernal Clan and others."

"They restrained the Blood Marquis and the talkers of Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Noble Sun City."

"Dame then led men to the Azure Origin Dao Sect in the south."

"That is Ethan's root."

"We used the entire sect as bait."

"When Ethan rushed back, he would have nowhere to escape."

Lucas snorted.

"A perfect net."

Arrie's eyes flickered.

The plan was flawless on paper.

So why had it collapsed so completely?

"What I didn't expect," Lucas continued slowly, "was that even such a plan would fail."

"Something happened in Skyreach Territory that we could not foresee."

After saying that, he fell silent.

His gaze remained fixed toward the west—the direction of Skyreach Territory.

Arrie noticed something subtle.

The hand Lucas kept behind his back was clenched.

"Could it be," Arrie asked carefully, "that even Senior Xalor could not deduce what happened?"

Lucas shook his head.

Senior Xalor was his master.

The strongest existence within the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

An Ultimate Supreme standing at the threshold of the Perfect Supreme realm.

If Senior Xalor stepped forward, the Pavilion's status within the Verdant Lantern Empire would skyrocket.

After all, below the Emperor Realm, Perfect Supreme was the absolute ceiling.

Lucas had asked his master more than once to deduce the situation in Skyreach Territory.

Every attempt failed.

Xalor's answer was always the same.

Ethan was a calamity with an abnormal destiny.

Anything involving him could not be fully deduced.

"He is too strange," Arrie murmured.

"Pavilion Master… if we stop now, it may still be possible to reconcile."

"Otherwise—"

"It's already too late," Lucas interrupted coldly.

"Would you reconcile with someone who once threatened the lives of your friends and relatives?"

"Our Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and Ethan are locked in a fight to the death."

"There is only one outcome."

"Kill him."

"Seize his artifact."

"His luck will belong to us."

Lucas turned slightly, killing intent finally surfacing on his face.

"If he lives, I will never sleep in peace."

Arrie's heart sank.

"But—"

"That's enough," Lucas snapped.

"You are too cautious."

"Your so-called benevolence only causes us to miss opportunities."

"From today onward, you are not to interfere in any matter related to Ethan."

"…Understood."

Arrie cupped her hands and did not argue further.

Just before leaving, she hesitated and asked one final question.

"Pavilion Master, Ethan is so abnormal… If you truly want to capture him, wouldn't it be safer for you to act personally?"

Lucas shook his head.

"My movements are watched by every major force."

"If I leave the imperial capital, the balance here will collapse."

He paused, then said quietly,

"We still have our hidden weapons."

"The ones we have nurtured for many years."

"Those two… are enough to take Ethan's life."

Arrie's pupils shrank.

"…I understand."

Lucas nodded.

"The imperial capital is unstable."

"The Emperor intends to abdicate."

"The royal family has already begun tearing itself apart."

"The battle for the throne will start soon."

"You must closely monitor the movements of the princes and the great families."

"Especially Princess Liora."

"Yes."

Arrie bowed and turned to leave.

As she closed the door, she paused briefly.

In that instant, a decisive thought settled in her heart.

.....

At the same time.

At the foot of Calm Mountain.

A small city nestled quietly among the peaks.

From an inn within the city, three figures in blue robes and bamboo hats walked out.

They moved steadily, avoiding attention.

Once outside the city, they stopped beneath an old tree.

"Young Master," one of them asked softly, "how much farther until we reach the destination?"

"It's close," the young man replied.

"According to the Map of Eight Wonders, the mountain range ahead should be the Royal Beast Sect."

As he spoke, a scroll appeared in his hand.

The moment it emerged, the surrounding spiritual energy rippled violently.

This dark red scroll was clearly no ordinary object.

He unrolled it slowly.

Eight bizarre beast patterns were engraved upon it, accompanied by obscure, ancient characters.

The Original Dao texts.

"Legend says the Map of Eight Wonders seals a beast comparable to—or even surpassing—a divine beast," the young man said lightly.

"But it requires the blood of ferocious beasts to activate."

"According to the records, wherever this map reacts, there exist the eight fierce beasts bloodlines."

He smiled faintly.

"If the rumors are true, even if only one of the eight strange and ferocious beasts is sealed in this Map of the Eight Wonders—let alone one that surpasses the divine beast—it would be enough for us to stand proudly on this continent!"

The young man smiled and put away the scroll.

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 1 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 2 Extra Chapters

Dragon - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.