In the sky ahead, two massive birds were colliding with each other.
The sight made the ground beneath Rudra's feet feel as if it had slipped away.
Lightning flowed across the body of one of the birds. Its wings looked as if they were made of pure lightning.
The other bird was completely black. Its enormous body released black smoke from its wings, falling like drops of rain. Just its presence alone made the life-air in the surroundings feel thinner.
The black one was called Andhra Paksha.
The lightning bird was Vajrakokil.
Andhra Paksha attacked Vajrakokil with a sharp sweep of its wings. Black droplets burst from its feathers and pierced the ground itself.
A sharp, piercing sound exploded in the air, and waves of sound spread in every direction.
The two creatures kept colliding in the sky.
Destruction spread everywhere.
The earth trembled. Trees snapped. The ground cracked open. The entire forest looked torn apart.
Seeing this terrifying sight, Rudra froze.
He forced himself to move and quickly hid behind a tree. From there he watched the battle.
The energy released from their collisions created violent sound waves. The waves sliced through the leaves flying in the air.
Terrifying cries echoed.
The pressure in the air became so heavy that Rudra could barely breathe.
Vajrakokil suddenly opened its mouth. With a sharp scream, lightning burst out and struck Andhra Paksha in the distance.
The bird was blasted backward with a thunderous crash.
Andhra Paksha flapped its wings violently. Its eyes glowed with red light as it fell nearly a hundred feet away.
Filled with rage, it rushed back toward Vajrakokil.
A blinding flash appeared.
Both creatures were thrown away from each other.
At that moment, a pearl slipped from Vajrakokil's claws and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Andhra Paksha's eyes narrowed. It immediately dove toward the pearl.
But Vajrakokil also spread its wings and rushed after it.
Andhra Paksha reached first. It grabbed the pearl and, with a loud cry, shot upward toward the high skies.
Vajrakokil went mad with fury.
It spread its wings wide and chased after Andhra Paksha.
Meanwhile, inside the Blue Moon Sect, a girl was sitting inside a cave in the inner area of the sect, cultivating.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes looked like drops of dew. She wore white robes. Her lips were red. Her waist was slender, and her skin was pale and flawless.
She looked like a celestial fairy who had descended from heaven.
The girl waved her hand.
In the next moment, she vanished.
She reappeared in the sect courtyard, where the core disciples, elders, and masters were gathered.
One elder said in surprise,
"What was that sound? Is there a battle somewhere?"
The masters replied,
"We tried to observe with divine sight, but everything appears blurred."
The girl in white spoke calmly,
"It seems something is happening outside the sect's protection barrier. We should go and check."
The elders nodded.
"Avantika, take some disciples with you and investigate."
Avantika lowered her head in acknowledgment and left with several disciples.
Meanwhile, the outer disciples remained busy in their cultivation, completely unaware.
Arnav stepped out of his room.
He was extremely excited.
He had reached the first stage of Spirit Awakening, and he wanted to tell Rudra immediately.
So he went to the area of the assistant disciples to find him.
As Arnav walked, a young man watched him from a distance.
The boy wore green clothes. He had long hair and a handsome face.
Without saying anything, he quietly left.
Arnav searched everywhere but could not find Rudra.
"Where did Rudra go?" he muttered.
He had already searched the entire assistant disciple area.
Meanwhile, the boy in green arrived at a group of ten disciples.
They were talking among themselves.
As soon as he arrived, he began speaking.
"Did you hear? The new disciples who arrived a week ago…"
Another disciple replied,
"Yes. Most of them have very low cultivation potential. What about them?"
The boy in green said,
"One of them has already reached the first stage of Spirit Awakening."
Another disciple said in shock,
"That's impossible."
Ignoring their reactions, the boy continued,
"The interesting part is… I saw him entering the assistant disciple area."
A young man wearing red clothes spoke coldly.
His skin was delicate, and his long hair shone like silver.
"So he is trying to break the rules of our outer disciple division."
He smiled darkly.
"Then we'll have to teach him a lesson."
One of the disciples asked,
"But Young Master… how will we punish him?"
The red-clothed boy's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"If someone breaks the rules… do you think we will simply let him go?"
Meanwhile, the two birds were still fighting in the sky.
The shockwaves of their battle reached Rudra, who stood nearly two miles away.
Suddenly, the pearl slipped from Andhra Paksha's claws and began falling toward the ground.
Neither of the birds noticed.
They were too busy fighting.
The pearl fell directly near Rudra.
In front of him lay a glowing sphere.
It was black and golden. Its surface looked hollow and net-like, covered with ancient symbols and ruins carved across it.
Rudra picked it up.
It was much heavier than it looked.
Even though it appeared hollow, it clearly wasn't empty.
Rudra thought to himself,
"Maybe these divine birds are fighting for this pearl."
"I need to leave before they notice me."
Carefully hiding himself, Rudra began to move away.
Meanwhile, Vajrakokil had killed Andhra Paksha.
When it could not find the pearl anywhere, it screamed furiously.
Then its eyes fell on Rudra.
Rudra was trying to escape quietly.
With a loud cry, Vajrakokil rushed toward him.
Rudra gritted his teeth.
"No… if it catches me, I won't survive."
He started running.
His speed was already slow, so the bird quickly began closing the distance.
Rudra clenched the pearl tightly in his fist and ran through the forest, using the trees as cover.
Branches and trunks helped hide him.
Vajrakokil screamed and spread its wings.
Trees around it shook violently as it increased its speed.
While running, Rudra tripped over a stone and fell.
His hand was injured.
He quickly got up.
The bird was already close.
Running desperately, Rudra suddenly reached a mountain.
A cave stood in front of him.
Without hesitation, he rushed inside.
Because of its massive size, the bird could not enter the cave.
It screamed in rage and began circling the mountain.
Suddenly it sensed someone approaching.
Furious, the bird fired a bolt of lightning toward them.
High in the sky, Avantika and the disciples were flying toward the bird.
As soon as the lightning appeared, a protective barrier formed around them.
The bird rushed toward Avantika.
The disciples immediately retreated.
Seeing the enormous creature, they were completely terrified.
No one had the courage to step forward.
Avantika raised her hand.
A sword suddenly appeared in her grasp.
No one knew where it came from.
She swung the sword.
A beam of light shot out and struck Vajrakokil directly.
Vajrakokil blocked the attack with its wings.
But the force was so powerful that it was pushed back nearly a hundred feet.
Avantika floated in the air before it.
Vajrakokil shook its neck and flew toward her to attack.
Avantika lifted her sword.
A streak of light flashed.
The beam passed straight through Vajrakokil's body.
Inside the cave, Rudra stood quietly.
There were injuries on his arms.
He could hear everything outside, but he did not dare step out.
His heart pounded violently.
"I barely survived today…"
He looked at the pearl in his hand.
Its glow had completely disappeared.
Now it looked like nothing more than an ordinary stone.
Outside, Vajrakokil had been badly wounded.
Old and new wounds covered its body as blood poured out.
It opened its mouth and screamed.
Another bolt of lightning shot toward Avantika.
This attack was even stronger than before.
Avantika formed a hand seal.
A seven-layered shield appeared before her.
All the disciples watched the battle in shock.
The lightning crashed against the shield.
Avantika was pushed ten steps back.
She tightened her grip on the sword and swung it twice toward the bird.
Blinding light exploded.
Avantika had severely injured the bird.
To save its life, Vajrakokil turned and fled at incredible speed.
Avantika could not match its speed.
Within moments, the bird disappeared from their sight.