The city trembles again—
not a shiver, but a convulsion, as if the earth itself is recoiling in terror.
Doha watches through the shattered window as, far in the distance,
an entire row of high-rises buckles,
cracks,
and then collapses into dust.
And then the dust… moves.
A sound rises from inside the cloud—
low at first, then swelling into a chorus of hatred.
ROOOOAAAR.
Another roar.
A third.
The dust parts like a curtain.
Three colossal dragon heads push through, each coated in black scale-plates that ripple with Fear energy, each jaw lined with sickle-shaped teeth dripping smoke.
Doha's eyes widen—
Three heads… land-backed structure… fear aura like molten lead…
His mind clicks.
A Holy-Grade Fear Demon.
His face turns grim—instantly, uncontrollably—
as alarm sirens explode through the entire city.
And then—
The ground beneath the collapsing district bursts open.
A second roar erupts, louder, deeper, older—
the cry of something that has slept beneath the world since the Cataclysm.
A Holy-Grade Fear Demon emerges, dragging its enormous reptilian bulk from the ruptured earth.
The pressure of its aura slams outward in a wave.
Behind him, Merilyn freezes.
Her pupils dilate, then roll back white.
Doha lunges—
catches her before she collapses,
and cradles her unconscious body against his chest as the fear tries to claw into her soul.
Then the city's emergency broadcast blares from every surviving speaker:
"All Master-Rank Magicians—report immediately to the Holy-Grade Fear Demon's emergence point!"
"Repeat—Master-Rank Magicians, mobilise at once!"
The dust finally settles.
And Doha sees it clearly.
A monstrous form, five stories tall—
a land-bound, three-headed dragon, muscles coiled with black tendons, spines jutting from its back like spears.
Fear energy pours from it in waves, distorting the air.
The left head snarls.
The right head hisses.
The central head draws in breath—materialises
—and fires a beam of annihilating darkness straight across the city.
One of the beams swings—
Doha presses his fingertip to his thumb—
a sharp sting, a bead of crimson.
He lifts his hand to the air outside the shattered window
and draws.
Blood becomes ink.
Energy becomes a line.
The empty air becomes canvas.
A glowing construct takes shape—
a massive, cartoon-like cannon of pure moonlight and spirit force.
The moment the sketch completes,
it materializes,
hum-shaped lines forging themselves into reality.
Doha snaps his fingers.
The cannon fires.
A lance of silver-white light erupts from the floating construct and meets the dragon's beam mid-air.
BOOOOOM—!
A shockwave tears across the skyline, shattering windows, bending street lamps, and knocking chunks of debris from nearby buildings.
But the explosion halts the dragon's attack for a heartbeat—
—long enough for a swarm of Master Magicians to unleash their spells.
Ice storms.
Thunder-lances.
Light arrows.
Stone pillars.
They slam into the three-headed monstrosity, forcing its massive frame back half a step—
But only half.
The dragon's central head recoils, then all three heads roar in unison, enraged and uninjured except for faint lines of scorched skin.
The roar alone breaks several Master Magicians' spells.
The beam attack stops—
But the threat rises.
Doha dissolves the cannon with a thought.
The glowing lines twist and reshape into a giant luminous bird, wings broad as a street.
He steps onto the window frame, scoops Merilyn carefully onto the bed, and leaps.
The painted bird swoops under him.
He lands on its back, stabilises himself, then accelerates toward the battlefield in the distance.
He does not reveal his true strength.
Not now.
A Master Magic Painter is already equal to a Master Magician, and he can hide behind that excuse.
Below, dozens of Master Magicians bombard the dragon, but their spells barely scorch its scales.
One man cries out between attacks,
"ALCROFT! Anyone coming? We can't handle this!"
Another Master Magician, breathing hard, shouts back,
"The call went out! Someone—someone must be coming!"
"Must isn't enough!" the first snaps.
"We need a Holy Magician to survive—!"
Doha hangs back above them, circling on the glowing bird's back.
He watches the dragon's movements, the rhythm of its breathing, the way its aura flares—
If I use my full strength, I can kill it… but not yet.
This is not the moment to reveal what he truly is. Not until it is necessary.
Direct attacks won't work.
Not at this level.
Even a Master-ranked painter's power barely scratches it.
So instead…
Trap it.
Seal it.
Bind its movement.
The idea forms the moment the first ray of sunlight creeps above the horizon.
The sun glints off the dragon's scales—
And Doha's eyes sharpen.
He pricks another finger.
Blood wells.
He lifts his hand.
And in the air before him, he begins to draw, his fingers moving as if guided by an invisible rhythm.
Fear Demon's power stands in direct opposition to moon energy, so he paints a vast night sky filled with countless stars and a luminous moon.
He pours every fragment of his understanding into it, layering his insights into fear energy with the serenity of moonlight.
He ignores the fighting around him, letting his focus sink entirely into the evolving canvas suspended in the air.
With each passing heartbeat, the painting refines itself, its details sharpening and its presence becoming heavier.
An hour later, he finally completes it, the image now pulsing like a real sky.
As he channels his energy into it, the night painting rises slowly and expands, climbing higher until it shrouds the sky.
The morning dimming into darkness feels natural, and moonlight once again washes over the earth.
Moon energy pours down and collides violently with the aura surrounding the three-headed dragon.
The dragon roars, furious, and each of its three mouths launches a beam of destructive energy toward the painting.
The painted sky trembles under the impact but refuses to shatter, its resilience holding firm.
Because of the fear law he imprints into the artwork, the painting greedily absorbs the scattered remnants of the beams and uses them to heal its wounds.
Then, from the painted stars, radiant chains fall like celestial spears and coil tightly around the Fear Demon's massive body.
Alcroft sees this and shouts with relief and excitement, "Well done, Master Doha."
He turns to the rest of the group and commands, "Everyone, Master Doha has locked the demon; now unleash your full strength."
Doha quickly shouts, "Wait."
They halt and look at him, and Doha says, "Your attacks will break the chains."
He glances at the three-headed dragon, whose violent struggle sends ripples through the bindings, making the chains creak as if they are seconds from snapping.
Yet the chains continue to absorb the demon's overflowing fear energy, constantly repairing themselves even as they are strained to their limit.
But as the struggle intensifies, Doha understands that the demon will break free sooner rather than later.
He says, "I cannot restrain it for long, and our combined attacks are not enough to kill it, so sealing is our only path—pour your energy into my night painting."
They obey without hesitation, sending their energies surging toward the painting.
Doha closes his eyes, his expression calm yet tense as he stabilises the chaotic collision of so many different energies merging in one place.
The stars and moon in the painting burn brighter, and the entire sky-image swells and flickers dangerously as if on the verge of exploding.
The Fear Demon's resistance intensifies, and some chains burst apart into shining fragments.
Doha immediately forms new chains from the starry light to bind the demon again, but the fierce struggle makes it feel as though the creature could escape at any moment.
He continues reconciling the turbulent energies within the painting, and with each successful reconciliation, the artwork grows stronger, and his understanding of the Painting Law deepens.
Then, just before the Fear Demon tears through the last of the chains, the night painting's power suddenly erupts upward in a tremendous surge.
The chains thicken and tighten with unstoppable force.
Doha's aura breaks past its threshold and steps into the realm of the Holy Magician, and the painting expands outward until it covers more than half of the entire Southern Moon Federation.
The painting's power rises sharply, and new chains burst out from the star-filled canvas, shooting across the sky and binding every nearby Fear Demon.
The three-headed dragon is drained completely, its massive body falling limp as the painting strips away every last drop of its fear energy.
A few days later, a Holy Magician arrives to meet Doha.
The Holy Magician asks if he wishes to join the core of the magician organisation.
Doha makes several inquiries, receives the answers he needs, and finally agrees.
The Holy Magician then invites him to Sician Island, the sacred land of magicians.
There, he learns he must take an oath.
He is surprised when the oath is taken before a massive white crystal.
Doha speaks the oath and immediately establishes a connection with the crystal.
A wave of clarity fills him—he feels more connected to the world itself, and the laws of existence become easier to sense.
Intrigued by the crystal's nature, he asks around for its origin and meaning but finds no answers.
He returns to Mouel City and continues comprehending the Law of Painting.
Although he reaches only the initial stage of the third realm, his goal remains to push it to the peak.
He keeps cultivating, lending parts of his consciousness to deduce the stage beyond the World Heart stage.
At the same time, the concept of immortality within him slowly stabilises.
A couple of years later, Lin Yu pushes the Weird Law to the peak of the third stage, while his Life Clone reaches micro-life and particle comprehension, and the Shadow Clone reaches the peak of the light and dark law.
With all three reaching this height, the next realm for Lin Yu is the World Heart stage.
Knowing the danger of space storms yet having no other shortcut, he ventures across one and returns seriously injured to the Extraordinary Heart World.
The instant he enters the world, both his Life Clone and Shadow Clone merge back into his body.
His nine spiritual hearts resonate and connect deeply with the concept of immortality.
Lin Yu's cultivation rises again, returning to the Demigod Realm, known in the Immortal Demon Body Technique as the World Heart stage.
His immortal concept strengthens further, advancing to stage five, and his cultivation rises once more, pushing him back into the God stage.
The chains thicken and tighten with unstoppable force.
Doha's aura breaks past its threshold and steps into the realm of the Holy Magician, and the painting expands outward until it covers more than half of the entire Southern Moon Federation.
The painting's power rises sharply, and new chains burst out from the star-filled canvas, shooting across the sky and binding every nearby Fear Demon.
The three-headed dragon is drained completely, its massive body falling limp as the painting strips away every last drop of its fear energy.
A few days later, a Holy Magician arrives to meet Doha.
The Holy Magician asks if he wishes to join the core of the magician organisation.
Doha makes several inquiries, receives the answers he needs, and finally agrees.
The Holy Magician then invites him to Sician Island, the sacred land of magicians.
There, he learns he must take an oath.
He is surprised when the oath is taken before a massive white crystal.
Doha speaks the oath and immediately establishes a connection with the crystal.
A wave of clarity fills him—he feels more connected to the world itself, and the laws of existence become easier to sense.
Intrigued by the crystal's nature, he asks around for its origin and meaning but finds no answers.
He returns to Mouel City and continues comprehending the Law of Painting.
Although he reaches only the initial stage of the third realm, his goal remains to push it to the peak.
He keeps cultivating, lending parts of his consciousness to deduce the stage beyond the World Heart stage.
At the same time, the concept of immortality within him slowly stabilises.
A couple of years later, Lin Yu pushes the Weird Law to the peak of the third stage, while his Life Clone reaches micro-life and particle comprehension, and the Shadow Clone reaches the peak of the light and dark law.
With all three reaching this height, the next realm for Lin Yu is the World Heart stage.
Knowing the danger of space storms yet having no other shortcut, he ventures across one and returns seriously injured to the Extraordinary Heart World.
The instant he enters the world, both his Life Clone and Shadow Clone merge back into his body.
His nine spiritual hearts resonate and connect deeply with the concept of immortality.
Lin Yu's cultivation rises again, returning to the Demigod Realm, known in the Immortal Demon Body Technique as the World Heart stage.
His immortal concept strengthens further, advancing to stage five, and his cultivation rises once more, pushing him back into the God stage.
Without wasting a moment, Lin Yu summons his previous thunder power, but the sudden return of that force destabilises his immortal concept.
Jingxuan and Lin Yu immediately enter deep cultivation to stabilise the fragile immortal concept.
After three years have passed, the Fear Demon God breaks free from its seal, an event so violent that it shakes the foundation of the world itself.
At that moment, Doha's cultivation drops back to the Demigod stage, and he forcefully restrains himself from advancing to the God stage.
If he advances now, the memories and instincts of his past life will surge uncontrollably, shattering his immortal concept even further.
So, when the Fear Demon God emerges and tears apart half the world, Doha can stabilise only a quarter of it with his power.
Doha looks up at the colossal dragon form of the Fear Demon God, a grotesque creature so massive it dwarfs the world itself.
When its gaze falls on him for a single instant, Doha's mind goes completely blank beneath the overwhelming fear.
When he regains consciousness moments later, the Fear Demon God has disappeared.
This disappearance makes Doha understand: the Fear Demon God is not merely a Weird, but something far beyond that classification.
He stops focusing on the Fear Demon God because the collapsing world demands his full attention.
Almost every part of the world is shattered into drifting fragments except for the quarter he stabilises with his own law power.
Destruction aura floods the world, and the violent turbulence of the world's laws rages without restraint.
Doha forces himself to calm down and begins reconciling the chaotic laws of the world.
He feels the Water Law fading while the Fire Law surges as magma bursts from the planet's crust.
Wind Law spirals into violent hurricanes, and Earth Law quakes as mountains collapse.
Clouds gather in thick layers, a torrential downpour begins, the Water Law strengthens again, and the Fire Law weakens in response.
The massive loss of life triggers a plague that sweeps through the surviving regions and disrupts the delicate balance between Life and Death Laws.
Death rises rapidly, twisting into a zombie outbreak that further destabilises the already crumbling world.
Doha struggles to reconcile the swirling laws, and for the first time, he seriously considers whether he should break through to the God stage or escape the world with Merilyn.
For survival, escape is the safest option, and he prepares himself for it.
But then, he feels immense faith power pouring into his body, the prayers of the remaining living beings calling to him with desperate hope.
Moved by their faith, he resolves to try again.
He examines the chaotic laws and senses they need an anchor, a single point of convergence they can align around.
His immortal concept surfaces in his mind, and he releases it outward, letting it flow through the shattered world.
Slowly, his immortal concept connects with the laws of the world, and the full weight of those laws settles into his mind like a mountain.
For years, he endures this pressure, reconciling the laws and gradually merging them into his immortal concept.
In the fifth stage, laws are divided into twelve levels, and through this process, his immortal concept rises from the first level to the second.
Yet the immortal concept still refuses to stabilise.
The issue is not his shadow thunder law—already at the third level—but the main body's thunder law, which has reached the fifth.
From the third to the fourth level, the law's strength increases drastically, so without raising his immortal concept to the fourth level, it cannot be stabilised, no matter how long he cultivates.
But now Jingxuan and Lin Yu can move freely, because Doha bears almost all the pressure of the collapsing world.
Jingxuan steps out from his retreat room and immediately senses a divine battle erupting above the skies.
From the clouds, a mocking voice echoes, "You three surrender, and be fortunate that I will take you as my slaves."
Jingxuan soars upward and enters the battlefield, where he sees the Li family ancestor, the Ji family ancestor, and Wenrui besieged by five God-stage cultivators while a sixth stands in a chariot watching the fight.
He realises Ji family ancestor and Wenrui have broken through to the God stage, and he wonders who their enemies could be.
Without further thought, Jingxuan charges into the battle.
He unleashes thunder—black and white lightning blooming in every direction, shaking the battlefield with each strike.
One after another, the assailants are struck down by his thunder.
The sixth expert in the chariot shouts furiously, "Who are you? How dare you interfere in the affairs of the Soul Clan?"
From Lin Yu's memories, Jingxuan instantly understands the name: the Soul Clan, a race from another continent, powerful and feared, led by the Soul Emperor—a fifth-stage Extraordinary.
His expression darkens at the revelation, but his attacks do not slow; in fact, they grow even fiercer.
A few days later, Kratos joins the battle, and with Jingxuan's strength tipping the balance, the tide begins to shift dramatically.
The Soul Clan threaten them repeatedly, but, realising they cannot win, they ultimately flee.
A few days later, after communicating with the others and Li Niyue, Jingxuan entered closed-door cultivation again.
The battle strengthens Jingxuan's immortal concept, raising it to the third level of stage five.
Meanwhile, in the Extraordinary Heart World, Lin Yu launches an attack on the sealed Void Demon before it can unseal.
After months of battle that shatter the Dark Continent, he successfully suppresses the Void Demon.
He then cuts away another emotion—Arrogance—and transforms the Void Demon into his Arrogance clone.
Lin Yu and his new Arrogance clone return to the Blood Lake.
There, the Arrogance clone descends into the Soul Well and sacrifices its body, allowing its true spirit to enter the Soul Well to reincarnate.
With this done, Lin Yu enters deep retreat again.