Under the crushing urgency in his chest, he didn't dare to waste even a heartbeat.

But despite all of it…

He was still one breath too late.

The ancient city of Wind and Thunder—once a proud fortress—was completely surrounded by demons. The entire horizon boiled with abyssal figures. Three-eyed demons wielding grotesque, mountain-sized weapons hammered the city walls. Every strike sent violent shockwaves through the land, pulverizing stone and cracking ancient arrays that had stood for centuries.

Succubi drifted through the smoke like ghosts, their laughter sharp and cruel. Each gesture of their pale fingers turned Wind and Thunder soldiers into puppets with broken wills, forcing them into nightmare dances of slaughter. Soul devourers slithered through alleyways, invading the bodies of weak cultivators—twisting their spines, bending their limbs, leaving them as grotesque marionettes tearing through their own people.

In minutes—just minutes—the mighty city collapsed.

Blood didn't just stain the streets; it flowed through them, forming red rivers that steamed under the blackened skies. The rancid stench of split flesh, rotting entrails, and burnt blood spread for tens of kilometers, mixing with the ashes of the dead.

The cries…

The rage…

The despair…

They rose into the heavens like a final plea for mercy, only fueling the demons' frenzy. It strengthened their appetite, sharpened their madness, and shattered the courage of the last survivors.

Only one place still stood.

The city lord's residence—its ancient soul formation glowing faintly—was the sole fortress untouched by demon claws. The protective dome flickered like a dying flame, resisting the relentless bombardment of abyssal power.

Watching this scene from above, the Wind and Thunder Lord's heart twisted violently.

His pupils trembled.

Regret—deep, suffocating, bone-crushing regret—hit him harder than any demon attack ever could.

Why did I leave…?

Why did I waste time on something so pointless…?

His throat tightened painfully as he hovered above the carnage.

Not only had he failed to obtain any treasure—

His entire city had been annihilated.

And the screams that echoed in the distance…

He knew he would hear them for the rest of his life.

...

"Creature of fate…" Wang Chen muttered, his brows tightening. The words alone felt heavy, as if tugging at some distant memory he didn't have. If such beings existed, it meant there were other entities in this world that didn't obey normal laws of existence at all—creatures that could walk between heaven's decrees as if they were doors.

But he wasn't expecting to encounter something like this here.

Still, who else could it be?

His gaze drifted toward the blind girl standing behind his two disciples, her small frame tense, her fingers curled slightly as though sensing something unseen.

Zhao Yunfei shifted at the weight of his attention.

Li Mei also noticed her teacher's gaze, her own pupils flickering from him to the massive sword still cleaving apart the sky. A faint twitch pulled at her lips.

She wanted to say, Teacher… the fight is over. Could you please put the lake down?

Just a gentle look from her made Wang Chen's face redden. He coughed lightly, embarrassed. Right—he had completely forgotten the lake was still hovering above them like a heavenly judgment waiting to fall.

Lin Huang rubbed his chin, distracted by another matter entirely.

"Junior sister, now that you mention it… even when Teacher lifted the entire lake, the Nine-Petaled Soul Calming Flame didn't show up."

Li Mei froze. Her brows knitted together. Since he mentioned it, the issue became obvious. The flame should have appeared when the lake was raised to the heavens—yet nothing.

"Could it be… something already took it?" she whispered.

Immediately she shook her head. Impossible. She knew the timeline better than anyone. It should still be here. It must still be here.

Meanwhile, Wang Chen finally tapped on the system window to inspect it.

And what he saw almost made his soul fly out of his body.

[Name: Zhao Yunfei

Lifespan: 17/???

Race: Primordial Fateborne (Sealed)

Cultivation: Mortal (False Blindness State)

Talent: Infinite Fate Vessel, Calamity-Devouring Physique

Abilities: Fate Eater, Threads of Karmic Severance, Eye of the Twin Suns (Sealed), Destiny Distortion Field

Techniques: Veil of the Untouched Heaven, Devouring Mandate: Fortune Reversal

Potential: Cataclysmic. (If unsealed, the individual can ascend to a fate-ruling existence capable of bending destiny, absorbing providence, and altering karmic law itself.)]

"What in the name of heaven…" Wang Chen whispered, jaw nearly hitting the ground.

It wasn't an exaggeration.

He had seen absurd system screens before—Lin Huang's defying logic, his avatar's godlike entries—but nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the monstrous existence shown here. Every line was an ultimate-grade ability tied to the highest cosmic laws.

He had two of those.

This girl had five.

No wonder she could casually devour fate.

With this potential, calling her a "realm destroyer" might be too modest.

For a heartbeat, Wang Chen felt the dangerous urge to accept her as a disciple. A Primordial Fateborne? A Calamity-Devouring Physique? If she grew under him, he would gain a heaven-defying ally.

But the next heartbeat reminded him she could also drink his fate like morning tea.

His fortune was already small enough—a few more sips and he'd end up a wandering ghost.

Still, Wang Chen wasn't the type to surrender easily. Laziness aside, when it came to ensuring his future, he would fight like a feral dog.

Maybe… maybe if I can find a way to resist her devouring effect…

Just then, his attention returned to his disciples' conversation.

"Junior sister," Lin Huang asked, "do you have a way to search for the flame? We can't wander around blindly."

Li Mei smiled, confidence returning.

Of course she had a method.

She dug into her pocket, pulling out a handful of candies radiating faint flame qi, heat shimmering off their crystal surfaces.

"Nine-Petaled Soul Calming Flame… it's tiny at first, almost childlike. I refined these fire-attributed candies to help attract or resonate with it."

Lin Huang nodded, convinced.

Seeing them settled in their original mission, Wang Chen finally turned his attention to the people he actually needed to deal with.

Rong Lua felt that gaze drop upon him like a collapsing mountain.

Thud!

He instantly dropped to the ground, forehead smashing into the earth hard enough to shake the soil.

"Forgive me, senior! This envoy was slow to act and endangered lives! Please punish me!"

Song Po was already too traumatized to react. Rong Lua kneeling and smashing his head into the earth didn't surprise him anymore—everything today had surpassed logic anyway.

Following Rong Lua, Song Po also hesitated… then awkwardly knelt and struck his head against the ground.

Anything was better than offending this monstrous hidden expert.

The rhythmic thud, thud, thud of foreheads smashing soil filled the lakeside, forming a strange chorus of repentance.

Wang Chen looked at the two kowtowing cultivators and merely snorted.

If Rong Lua thought he could escape accountability by banging his head on the ground a few times…

He was sorely mistaken.

Some mistakes could not be forgiven so easily.

Some debts would be collected.

And Wang Chen was already calculating exactly how much interest he would charge.

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