The power of this attack was terrifying.

The claw light made the space tremble, sharp enough to split mountains. In that instant, even the surrounding void let out a faint, unbearable whine.

"Ethan, be careful!" Elara exclaimed instinctively.

Yet—

What happened next defied all expectations.

The gray blade light slashed cleanly through Ethan's body.

Space bent. Air screamed.

But there was no blood.

No flesh.

Ethan vanished.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

Then—

"Afterimage! That was an afterimage!" Risa shouted, her eyes lighting up despite her injuries.

Her voice trembled, not from fear, but from shock and excitement.

"This… what kind of speed is this? How did he do it?"

Risa had not missed a single exchange.

Even in her injured state, she had forced herself to watch every movement, every shift of aura.

Yet she hadn't seen it.

She hadn't sensed it.

Ethan's speed had surpassed perception itself.

He had deceived Zeph.

Deceived the two elders.

Deceived everyone present.

This was no longer a normal battle.

Risa felt her scalp tingle.

At this moment, all doubts she had harbored toward Ethan shattered completely.

This man… was far stronger than the rumors.

Zeph's strike missed.

His expression stiffened instantly.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet up his spine, making the fur on his body stand on end. His brown-green pupils shrank sharply.

He realized it.

That wasn't flesh.

It was an afterimage.

His head snapped around violently, but it had only turned thirty degrees when—

A cold, blood-red light entered his vision.

Instinct screamed.

Zeph crossed his arms in front of his neck without hesitation.

One Word Severing Technique!

"Shock."

Ethan's voice was calm, almost indifferent.

He pressed his hands together at his chest.

At his fingertips, a sphere of blood-red light condensed instantly.

The murderous aura—compressed to an extreme—detonated.

Boom!

Invisible ripples of killing intent exploded outward.

When Zeph's crossed arms met the blood-red shockwave, a thin line of blood appeared—

Then widened.

Then split.

His claws slid apart.

A sharp, bone-deep pain surged into Zeph's mind, but his consciousness went blank before the pain could fully register.

For several breaths, he stood frozen.

When his senses returned, his pupils trembled violently.

His arms—

Were gone.

Blood spurted wildly from the cleanly severed wounds, splashing onto the ground like a crimson rain.

"Impossible!"

Zeph roared, his voice hoarse and feral.

"How did you avoid my attack just now?!"

"How can you still unleash such power?!"

"The rules of the secret realm suppress everything—speed like that is impossible!"

"Tell me! What secret technique did you use?!"

His roar echoed through the valley, half rage, half hysteria.

He staggered backward dozens of steps, blood pouring from the neatly severed arm stumps.

Ethan looked at him calmly.

"That's because your vision is too low."

"You look at me like a frog at the bottom of a well gazing at the moon."

"There are people in this secret realm I wouldn't dare claim superiority over."

"And yet you dare call yourself invincible?"

His tone was flat, almost bored.

"Huh… huh…"

Zeph panted heavily.

The pain from losing his arms was nothing compared to what came next.

The murderous aura poured into his body through the wounds, invading his muscles, bones, and meridians like venomous insects burrowing into flesh.

No matter how he circulated demonic energy, he couldn't expel it.

The killing intent gnawed at him relentlessly.

It was driving him mad.

"Young Patriarch!"

Elder Finn and Elder Evan reacted instantly, appearing beside Zeph in a flash.

"Are you alright?"

Zeph clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

"Ethan is strange… I'm no match for him!"

Evan's expression darkened.

"Old Finn, protect the young patriarch!"

"Leave this arrogant human to me!"

He tore off his black robe.

The next second, a terrifying wave of demonic energy erupted from his body, surging skyward like a storm.

Ethan looked at Evan quietly.

"All of you should come together."

"Otherwise, there's only one outcome."

"Death."

Evan laughed coldly.

"Arrogant fool. I can kill you in three moves!"

Ethan didn't respond.

His figure blurred—

Then disappeared.

Evan's expression changed drastically.

He didn't see it.

Didn't sense it.

Didn't even feel the spatial fluctuation.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He spread his perception in all directions, every nerve stretched tight, as if facing a peerless assassin.

Then—

"One Word Severing Technique."

"Final move."

"Kill."

Ethan's voice sounded from behind.

Behind Finn.

Behind Zeph.

"Retreat!" Evan roared.

Too late.

Ethan moved.

To the naked eye, his movements seemed slow.

But what everyone saw were only afterimages.

In reality, his fingers had already swept across.

The murderous aura surged violently, condensing into a razor-thin blood-red line.

It flashed—

Like a painter drawing a single decisive stroke.

The blood-colored line cut across Finn and Zeph.

Ethan landed lightly and stepped back twice.

He frowned slightly.

"…Interesting."

"At the critical moment, space shifted."

His eyes narrowed.

He saw it clearly.

That attack should have severed Zeph completely.

But at the last instant, Finn had activated a spatial secret technique, forcibly distorting the surrounding space.

The trajectory shifted.

The final form of the One Word Severing Technique was deflected.

Instead of a clean horizontal cut, it became a diagonal slash—

Zeph lived.

Finn did not escape unscathed.

The blood-red blade severed Finn's left arm and sliced off one ear.

A layer of flesh was shaved from his face and shoulder.

Bone was exposed.

Blood poured down relentlessly.

Half his face was mangled, the wound horrifying to behold.

"Pff—!"

Finn spat out a mouthful of thick blood.

He sealed the severed arm stump, his body trembling violently.

Sweat poured down his forehead.

The pain wracking his body did not come solely from the wound.

It was the murderous aura.

That killing intent was tearing through his body, rampaging without restraint.

"Elder Finn… are you alright?"

Zeph's voice shook.

He stood there, dazed, as if he had just awakened from a nightmare.

Only now did he truly understand—

He had just brushed past death.

Slowly, clarity returned to his eyes.

He clenched his jaw.

I see.

Thinking about it, it was Mr. Finn who activated his ultimate trump card.

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

...

Thanks for the Magic Castle: @Chuckalotapus

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.