"Die!"
The enemy's cold voice rang out like a death sentence. The sky trembled as he struck with his full strength. For Ling Xing Yue, Ning Waner, and Xiao Linger, who were already on the brink of collapse, this attack marked the end. Whatever little hope they'd clung to began to flicker, nearly snuffed out by despair.
A piercing sound split the air. Blade Qi sliced through space itself and arrived in an instant.
'Am I going to die here?' All three of them shared the same hopeless thought. The attack was too fast, too powerful. Their weakened bodies couldn't move, couldn't dodge.
Yet, deep in their hearts, a single fragile thread of belief remained—a belief in him. Lestes. They had seen him survive the impossible. Maybe he couldn't save them alone, but perhaps he had a hidden card, a treasure from the immortal world... a miracle.
BOOM—!
A terrifying explosion of dark Qi ripped through the battlefield. Heaven and earth trembled violently. Dust surged like a sandstorm, and the skies were cast in a shadow of doom. The trees withered, and the land around them—more than two miles—was reduced to scorched wasteland.
A sinister laugh echoed through the chaos.
"Hahaha…" the enemy leader chuckled in triumph, his voice sweeping through the silent, dust-choked forest.
"Hahaha…" But his laughter abruptly ceased.
As the dust began to settle, his eyes widened.
There—amidst the ruined earth and turbulent winds—stood four figures. Alive.
Protected by a glowing shield of Qi, they had survived. Lestes stood at the front, his robes fluttering in the aftermath of the explosion. Above his head hovered a majestic sword shadow, crackling with divine energy. That sword had blocked the attack.
This was one of Lestes' life-saving treasures—an ancient sword that even this world could not contain. What manifested here was merely a projection cast by the sword's spirit, yet it had neutralized an attack capable of levelling mountains.
The enemy leader's face twisted with shock… and then greed.
"What a treasure…" he muttered, unable to hide his desire.
His sharp eyes tried to evaluate Lestes' cultivation and the sword's power, but the more he looked, the more uncertain he felt.
The sword projection faded and returned to Lestes' forehead, merging between his brows as if nothing had happened.
Lestes didn't spare the enemy another glance. He turned to his companions.
"Are you all right?" he asked gently.
Without a word, Ning Waner rushed into his arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her body trembled.
"I was so scared…" she whispered between sobs.
Lestes held her softly. "It's okay. I'm here now. Whoever made you cry… will die."
His calm yet resolute voice filled her heart with warmth. Ning Waner slowly pulled away, wiping her tears. She felt safe.
He turned to Ling Xing Yue and Xiao Linger, who nodded to him silently. They were shaken, but unharmed.
Then, a cold voice interrupted them.
"You dare ignore me? You're courting death!" the enemy leader roared.
Lestes finally turned to face him, a faint smile curling on his lips.
"Want the sword?" he said coolly. "Then come take it—if you've got the strength."
"Arrogant insect!" the enemy leader sneered. "Do you think a mere ant like you can provoke a dragon and survive? You'll be crushed under my breath!"
Indeed, on the surface, the gap in strength was despairing. Lestes was at the eighth stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, while the enemy leader was at the peak of the Mid Foundation Realm. That was not a small difference—it was the difference between a pond and the ocean.
Even with powerful artefacts, Lestes shouldn't be able to bridge that gap. After all, using treasures required sufficient strength. And with his current cultivation, he could likely only use them once.
But something about Lestes made the enemy hesitant. That sword projection… it hadn't seemed to draw upon Lestes' strength at all.
Still, he remained cautious.
Lestes turned to the three girls and calmly said, "Go back into the formation. Leave him to me."
Ling Xing Yue hesitated, worry flickering in her eyes. But then she met Lestes' gaze—those eyes, filled with unwavering confidence—and she nodded. Without another word, the three of them retreated into the formation barrier.
Lestes turned back.
Then… he stepped forward.
Boom—!
A shockwave burst from within his body.
To the enemy leader's astonishment, Lestes began breaking through.
From the eighth stage, his aura surged to the ninth. But it didn't stop there.
Mid-ninth stage.
Late-ninth stage.
Peak of the Qi Condensation Realm.
Still rising.
The enemy leader's confident smirk faded. His face twitched with unease.
'No... this is wrong,' he thought, a cold sweat forming on his back. 'He's about to break through to the Foundation Realm?'
This wasn't good.
He knew that Lestes and his companions were not ordinary cultivators. They were all monsters capable of fighting across realms. If Lestes reached the Foundation Realm, he might not be able to win.
Lestes took another step.
BOOM—!!
A deafening thunder roared from within him. A Qi storm erupted, swirling across the battlefield like a cyclone. Lestes stood calmly at the eye of the storm, his body absorbing the wild energies like a bottomless pit.
The enemy leader could no longer stay calm.
"So what if you break through! You're still just an ant!" he shouted, more to convince himself than anyone else.
He gritted his teeth.
He couldn't let Lestes complete his breakthrough. Judging from the Qi storm's scope, even if Lestes only officially reached the early Foundation Realm, his real combat power would easily rival mid to late Foundation cultivators.
And Lestes wasn't alone.
Inside the formation stood Ling Xing Yue, Ning Waner, and Xiao Linger. Although wounded and drained, they were now recovering rapidly. If given time, they could return to combat strength.
'I can't wait for death, I have to do something, ' he thought, racing. He couldn't keep his calm anymore.
"Since you want to die, I will grant your wish,, He roared.
"Heaven devouring dragon art."