Battle Continent.
A world forged by fighting spirit.
This side of the world has no fancy magic.
Here, only fighting spirit reigns—tempered to its peak.
At this moment, all living beings of the Battle Continent had been annihilated.
The earth lay scorched and blackened, blazing flames surged into the sky, staining the clouds a fiery red.
Mountains and rivers had collapsed. Rivers ran dry. The ground cracked open as black fire blazed across the skies and earth alike.
A middle-aged man dressed in black walked this ruined land, hands calmly folded behind his back.
With him as the center, black flame serpents coiled and burst from his body, devouring the souls of all things.
Wherever he walked, his footprints left trails of scorching fire etched into the ground.
Behind him, several figures clad in black followed with sinister smiles, watching silently as countless souls were consumed by the unholy flames.
Each of these black-clad warriors was extraordinarily powerful. With every gesture, they could shatter landscapes and rupture space itself.
"Master Xutian Shenhuo, ahead lies the Minor World of the Spirit Race," one of them reported respectfully.
The black-robed man leading them nodded wordlessly.
His name was Xutian Shenhuo.
Born of Void Flame, he had emerged from the nothingness. He could not be tracked, predicted, or restrained.
He was a terrifying anomaly—known as the Devourer of Heaven and Earth.
He possessed the unique ability to consume all things and wielded incomparably destructive strength.
After only a few steps more, Xutian Shenhuo and his black-robed entourage arrived at a ruined ancient realm.
There, in the heart of devastation, a towering and unyielding figure stood silently awaiting their arrival.
As the Void Flame approached, the figure bellowed with righteous fury:
"Xutian Shenhuo! You may be an innate being, but you aid evil and collude with Soul Castle. You will suffer the backlash of karma!"
"Xutian Shenhuo! You slaughter innocents, showing no mercy to the living! The Heavenly Dao will not let you go unpunished!"
"The once-proud Void Flame is now nothing but a lackey to Soul Castle—slaughtering billions for them, devouring souls to fatten their cause. Is this the honor you cling to?"
Figures in the shattered Minor World roared and cursed, even as despair burned within them.
"Hmph. If your Spirit Race had submitted to Soul Castle, you might have survived. But now, resisting us is just asking for death," a man in black sneered coldly.
Then, he turned respectfully toward the black-robed leader with awe.
"Master Xutian Shenhuo, we leave it to you."
Xutian Shenhuo nodded calmly, his eyes flickering with black flames.
He raised his head and gazed upon the Spirit Race's Minor World.
"Hahaha! Void Flame? So much for its legendary might—nothing more than the hound of the Dark Heavenly Emperor!"
The Spirit Race Patriarch laughed scornfully.
"Courting death."
Xutian Shenhuo's expression turned icy. He stepped forward and punched out without hesitation.
Boom!
Instantly, black flame exploded from his fist like molten lava, crashing into the Spirit Race's protective barrier.
This ancient defense, which had protected the Spirit Race for millennia, groaned under the onslaught of devouring flame.
The barrier cracked, twisted, and disintegrated—shattered by the power of the Void Flame.
The black fire raged into the Spirit Race's world.
In an instant, heart-wrenching screams rang out across the land.
Children of the Spirit Race howled as they watched their parents burn alive.
"Father! Mother!"
Elsewhere, a woman from the Spirit Race screamed as her child was consumed by the flames, his body reduced to a pile of bones in seconds.
Though women are often gentle, mothers become fierce when their children are threatened.
The grieving woman tore the wooden hairpin from her hair.
Bleeding from the eyes, she charged toward the Void Flame.
But before she could even exit the Minor World—
Puff!
A black fire serpent pierced her chest like a spear, searing her organs. Her body was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.
The smell of scorched flesh lingered in the air.
Countless spirits were drawn toward Xutian Shenhuo, vanishing into the folds of his black robes.
The Spirit Race Patriarch stood firm within the raging fire, his gaze blazing with hatred.
"Void Flame! Murderers shall not escape death forever!"
"You aid tyrants and slaughter the innocent for Soul Castle. Mark my words—your retribution will come! Someday, someone stronger than you will repay you for this cruelty tenfold!"
"I'll be watching you from the Nine Hells! I will see how you die! Hahahaha!"
Before he could finish his declaration, a column of black flame engulfed him completely.
"You're dying and yet you still waste words," Xutian Shenhuo said coldly, standing above the Spirit Race's devastated world with hands folded behind his back.
Will someone stronger than him ever appear?
Xutian Shenhuo sneered inwardly. Pride surged in his chest.
On this Battle Continent, he was supreme.
Only the Dark Heavenly Emperor could contend with him—barely.
Who else in this world could threaten him?
Soon, the screams within the Minor World fell silent.
"Go in and investigate."
Xutian Shenhuo waved his hand casually as he floated in the void.
"Yes, sir."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
In an instant, the black-robed men behind him surged into the shattered world of the Spirit Race.