Chapter 1179: Separate and Finding I

Leo paused, his tone grave. "The Thirteenth’s awakened and there’s a huge chaos in Ruin Desolate Land."

He glanced toward the vast, star-filled void beyond the chamber’s transparent walls.

"The next barrier to fall will be the Demon’s Land. The barrier there still holds, though weakly. Once it breaks, the flood will come."

His words hung heavy, and the space around him quivered as though even the stars themselves understood the weight of his declaration.

"The Three Great Demon Emperors..."

"The Six Great Demon Kings..."

He leaned back, his gaze distant.

"Among them, only one stirs most actively is the Heavenly Demon Palace, under the reign of the Great Demon Emperor... Lucifer."

Silence filled the chamber, thick, tense, prophetic.

Then Leo’s voice dropped to a whisper, more thought than sound.

"The Thirteenth Sign will not remain hidden forever..."

"What should we do?" a voice asked from across the table, soft, edged with tension.

"Do as you always have," Leo replied, his tone untroubled as a resting star. "Do what you want."

The questioner’s laugh was dry. "And if I kill him?"

Leo’s eyes did not waver. "Then you will have killed a monster. It will not change our goal."

...

Across the world, countless forces reeled from the outcome of the battle.

Nations and sects launched extensive investigations to uncover the whereabouts of the Blood Lightning Monster, but every effort ended in vain. The Power of Infinity had reduced everything to nothingness—no trace, no essence, no remnant to pursue.

Some of the ancient beings regarded the event with indifference, while others watched in quiet anticipation, waiting for the ripples of chaos to unfold. There were even those who claimed the Blood Lightning Monster had perished... For the Cosmic Power was not something a mortal could wield without consequence.

And so, four months passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside a dimly lit pub, a man with short white hair sat alone, draped in a simple white cloth and a brown robe. He drank in silence, half-listening to the idle chatter that filled the room.

"Have you heard?" someone whispered nearby. "A terrifying dragon appeared in the Reijun Mountain..."

"Yeah," another replied. "They say it slaughtered hundreds of warriors in an instant."

The man’s eyes flickered with interest. Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the window.

The Reijun Mountain loomed on the distant horizon. The place was known for its vicious beasts and lawless bandits, a nest of danger few dared to approach.

"A dragon..." he murmured, a faint smile curving his lips.

He rose from his seat, set a few coins on the counter, and stepped outside.

Standing beneath the fading sunlight, he fixed his eyes upon the distant peaks.

Then, without a sound, he vanished.

No one noticed his departure.

No one had even sensed that he was ever there.

...

Black Name Ridge.

The man with white hair stood before the massive metallic gate. A heavy sense of oppression radiated from it, making it clear that a powerful expert had forged it.

"That’s the Gate of Leinar," a voice said from behind him. "It’s said that King Dusk himself built it to fend off the monster tide long ago."

The man turned his head toward the speaker, a woman dressed in a white and red robe.

She met his gaze and said, "I’m Sergine, a disciple of the Grand Life School."

The man extended his hand and replied, "You can call me Eztein."

Sergine appeared to be in her late twenties. Her black hair was tied neatly at the back of her head, and her fair skin seemed almost luminous. Her green eyes gleamed like polished emeralds.

"So, Miss Sergine," Eztein said with a faint smile, "what brings you to me?"

"I can tell from your presence that you’re no ordinary expert," Sergine replied, meeting his eyes. "I was hoping you might join our group for the journey ahead."

Eztein’s expression remained calm. "Hmm... and what benefits would that bring me?"

"We can watch each other’s backs," she said. "The path beyond the Gate of Leinar is treacherous with monsters and bandits lurk everywhere, waiting for a chance to strike."

"And where exactly is your destination?"

"Reijun Mountain."

"Oh?" Eztein raised an eyebrow, interest flickering in his eyes. It seemed they shared the same goal. He couldn’t help but wonder what business this woman had in such a perilous place.

"Fine. I’ll join your little group," he said.

"Thank you. Then, let me introduce you to the others." Sergine smiled beautifully.

Eztein followed her as she led him to the group. There were three carriages in total, and most of the people present were hired by a merchant named Halmun. Though their destinations differed, their paths overlapped for a time.

Maintaining a polite smile, Eztein greeted the others one by one. From their conversations, he learned that the Gate of Leinar only opened once each day, a brief moment when people could either enter or leave. More than a thousand individuals had gathered, both inside and outside the gate.

The entire place buzzed with life. Merchants shouted from every corner, hawking their wares. For a moment, it felt less like a fortress gate and more like a thriving town.

Later, as he sat quietly inside a carriage, Eztein closed his eyes and listened to the chatter of the experts gathered near the gate.

"Have you heard? The followers of Gluttony invaded this land."

"It’s getting dangerous out there. I heard they massacred an entire town as an offering to their god."

"Where can we even go? There’s no safe place left..."

Months had passed, yet the followers of Gluttony continued to plunder and kill. There seemed to be no end to the chaos. Worse still, the Ruler of Gluttony himself had launched an assault on Aaru, clashing with Ra, the God of Sun, Sky, and Kings, in a battle so fierce that millions perished.

The Land of Aaru had been bathed in blood before Ra finally managed to repel the Ruler of Gluttony. In the aftermath, Anubis and the other gods of Aaru pursued the fleeing ruler across the realms.

Because of the devastation wrought by Gluttony, most people’s attention had shifted away from the incident involving the Blood Lightning Monster. After all, during that event, few gods had try to intervene, it was a conflict fought mostly by mortals. Yet even so, the name Blood Lightning Monster remained carved into the hearts of all who had heard of it.

...

The Gate of Leinar opened.

People moved in and out of the gate, coming and going in steady streams. Eztein sat in the carriage as it rolled deeper into a dark jungle.

This place was called the Jungle of the Deep. Various monsters and bandits inhabited the area, turning this land into a lawless zone.

Eztein simply closed his eyes while the others kept a cautious watch on their surroundings. He listened to their chatter, which made the journey a little less boring.

"Is everything okay?"

Eztein slightly opened his eyes and saw the woman sitting beside him.

"Yep," he answered.

"Hmm... What made you take this journey?" Sergine asked, looking at him.

"Journey? Well, I guess it is one... I’m going to see a friend," Eztein replied.

Sergine didn’t know what else to say. She was curious about him. She could feel that he was different from others. There was a feeling he gave off, one that only someone strong could.

Eztein glanced at her again before closing his eyes. "What about you? Why are you heading to Reijun Mountain?"

"It’s a mission my teacher assigned to me. You see... there’s a dragon at the peak of Reijun Mountain. It appeared less than two months ago and quickly took over the entire mountain."

"I heard it killed everyone who sought it out. Aren’t you afraid it’ll kill you too?"

Sergine shook her head, a hint of contempt in her expression. "The experts who died were nobles from the Royal Capital. Those ignorant nobles think they can control everything. They’ve grown far too complacent since this land is barely affected by the ongoing war."

Disdain filled her voice. Those nobles had grown greedy the moment they learned the dragon was injured.

"I have come for a different purpose. I was sent here to inquire about the dragon’s intentions and to warn him about the nobles of the royal capital."

"So this place was barely affected by the war against the Gluttony Army?" Eztein asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Sergine nodded.

Eztein pondered the current situation of the nation. They had been barely touched by the war, yet hundreds of thousands of refugees passed through here, and some of them had settled in this land. A portion of those refugees eventually turned into bandits, preying on others.

It was chaotic, but compared to the nations caught in the center of the war against the Gluttony Army, this was nothing.

In his eyes, this was a small territory, only comparable to the Mine Valley. If the Gluttony Army ever chose to invade, it would fall in an instant.

Suddenly, Eztein and Sergine sensed ripples of energy in the air. A thick scent of blood hit their noses, causing them both to narrow their eyes.

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