Elder Han's uncertainty lasted only a moment.
But in a battle between Golden Core existences—
a single moment was enough to decide everything.
The storm-serpent roared across the heavens, dark blue lightning crashing endlessly against the descending Heaven-Sealing Divine Palm. Every collision tore the air apart, unleashing violent rings of destruction that rippled across the battlefield.
BOOOOOOM—!
The two manifestations ground against one another like opposing natural disasters.
Silver-gold spiritual force.
Ancient storm authority.
Cultivator against bloodline.
Technique against instinct.
Below them, the ruined forest no longer resembled a battlefield.
It looked like the aftermath of heavenly punishment.
Entire sections of land had collapsed inward. Rivers of molten stone glowed beneath fractured earth, while burning spiritual residue drifted through the air like luminous ash.
And at the center of it all—
the white lizard hovered calmly beneath the storm.
Watching.
Waiting.
Golden eyes fixed upon Elder Han.
The elder noticed it immediately.
He isn't straining.
The realization tightened something deep within his chest.
The storm-serpent's pressure was overwhelming, yet the creature itself remained unnaturally composed—as though this level of destruction demanded little effort from it.
Meanwhile, Elder Han could already feel his spiritual expenditure rising rapidly.
Maintaining a Dharma Form was costly.
Maintaining a full-powered clash between sect arts was even worse.
And yet the beast still looked less like it was fighting—
and more like it was observing.
Testing.
Again.
The thought unsettled him deeply.
---
The white lizard hovered silently beneath the storm-filled heavens.
Dark blue lightning crawled across his scales while the colossal storm-serpent continued battling Elder Han's Heaven-Sealing Divine Palm above.
BOOOOOOM—!
The sky fractured with every collision.
But the lizard's attention had shifted inward.
Calmly.
Carefully.
Because something felt different.
The storm-serpent…
It had formed too easily.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Before reaching Golden Core, controlling spiritual power had always required deliberate effort—precision, suppression, forceful direction.
Now—
the energy moved almost on its own.
Not wild.
Not unstable.
Responsive.
Fluid.
Like water naturally flowing with thought.
The storm clouds obeyed instinctively.
Lightning answered intention before commands were even fully formed.
Even maintaining the enormous serpent above barely strained him.
Interesting.
The realization settled quietly within his mind.
Golden Core truly is different.
The thought had barely formed—
when flames erupted from his body.
FWOOOOOSH—!
Blue fire exploded outward around the lizard without warning.
Not ordinary flame.
Spiritual flame.
Dense.
Violent.
The surrounding air distorted instantly as terrifying heat spread across the battlefield.
Below, shattered stone began to melt.
Residual spiritual energy lingering throughout the ruined forest ignited spontaneously.
Even the storm clouds above reflected a deep sapphire glow from the flames spiraling around the lizard's tiny form.
Elder Han's eyes widened.
Shock crossed his face openly for the second time.
"…Another innate ability?!"
The surviving disciples stared upward in horror.
Because the flames did not consume the lizard.
They worshipped him.
Blue fire spiraled outward in expanding rings before rapidly condensing in midair.
Long.
Coiling.
Massive.
The flames twisted together like rivers of living sapphire light.
And then—
the shape emerged.
A second serpent.
But unlike the storm-serpent above—
this one was formed entirely from blue spiritual flame.
Its enormous body stretched across the ruined battlefield, scales forged from condensed fire while burning embers drifted from its jaws like falling stars.
The heat became unbearable instantly.
CRACK—!
The earth split apart beneath its mere presence.
Trees already shattered by the earlier battle finally ignited completely.
Even Elder Han's silver-gold spiritual barrier rippled beneath the rising temperature.
The flame-serpent slowly detached itself from the lizard's body and coiled through the sky beside the storm-serpent above.
Two colossal manifestations now towered over the battlefield.
Storm.
And flame.
Lightning illuminated the blue inferno without pause while thunder rolled endlessly across the heavens.
The contrast was terrifying.
The white lizard remained suspended calmly between them.
Small beneath their immense forms.
Yet unmistakably their source.
Their center.
His golden eyes reflected both lightning and fire as he observed Elder Han in silence.
And for the first time—
the elder felt genuine danger.
Not uncertainty.
Not caution.
Danger.
Because he finally understood something horrifying.
The beast was still discovering its own abilities.
The flame-serpent slowly opened its jaws.
Blue fire gathered within them in spiraling compression.
The surrounding temperature rose violently.
The surviving disciples retreated instinctively in terror.
One nearly collapsed as he whispered hoarsely,
"…How can one beast possess two manifestations…"
Another stared upward with trembling eyes.
"That isn't a beast anymore…"
Elder Han's expression darkened heavily.
His spiritual instincts screamed warnings now.
Storm manipulation.
Gravity control.
Perfect concealment.
And now—
spiritual flame manifestation.
No ordinary Golden Core beast should possess this many innate authorities simultaneously.
Impossible.
Unless—
Bloodline mutation?
An ancient lineage awakening?
Or something worse.
Above the battlefield, the storm-serpent suddenly moved.
At the same instant—
the flame-serpent moved as well.
One descended from the heavens wrapped in dark lightning.
The other surged forward as an ocean of blue fire.
Twin serpents.
Twin catastrophes.
Both converging upon Elder Han simultaneously.
And for the first time since becoming a Golden Core elder—
Elder Han felt the instinctive urge to retreat.
---
Twin serpents descended from the heavens.
Storm and flame intertwined across the shattered battlefield like divine punishment made manifest.
BOOOOOOM—!
Dark blue lightning slammed against Elder Han's silver-gold spiritual barrier while oceans of sapphire fire consumed the surrounding air. The enormous Dharma Form behind the elder trembled violently beneath the pressure.
And for the first time—
Elder Han understood clearly.
This battle could not be won here.
Not alone.
His expression hardened instantly as centuries of experience suppressed the instinctive shock threatening his judgment.
Retreat.
The word surfaced coldly within his thoughts.
Not cowardice.
Necessity.
A beast possessing multiple innate authorities, concealment beyond ordinary spiritual detection, overwhelming bloodline pressure, and intelligence rivaling veteran cultivators—
this was no longer a sect-cleanup mission.
This was calamity-level information.
The sect needed to know.
Immediately.
Above him, the storm-serpent roared once more as lightning split the heavens apart.
The flame-serpent's jaws opened wider.
The next combined strike would be even worse.
Elder Han made his decision instantly.
His spiritual sense surged outward through voice transmission directly into the minds of the surviving disciples.
"RETREAT."
The command exploded through their consciousness.
"Return to the sect immediately."
No hesitation remained in his tone now.
No pride.
No concern for appearances.
Only urgency.
One disciple's face turned pale.
"…E-Elder?"
Elder Han's voice continued coldly within their minds while his eyes never left the white lizard suspended between storm and flame.
"This information must reach the sect."
"If I fall here, you are to report everything exactly as you witnessed it."
The disciples trembled.
Because those words carried horrifying implications.
Their elder—
a Golden Core cultivator—
was speaking as though death had become a genuine possibility.
Above the battlefield, the white lizard watched silently.
Golden eyes calm.
He noticed the subtle shift in Elder Han's intentions almost immediately.
Retreat.
Interesting.
The lizard remained motionless.
He did not interrupt.
Did not recklessly charge forward.
Instead, he simply observed the elder carefully.
Measuring him once again.
Meanwhile, Elder Han swept a hand into his sleeve.
A pulse of spiritual light flashed.
Then—
something emerged.
A long silver spear appeared in his grasp.
The instant it manifested, the surrounding spiritual energy distorted violently around it.
The weapon hummed with dense spiritual resonance. Its shaft was engraved with flowing cloud patterns, while the spearhead emitted razor-thin streams of silver light sharp enough to slice through the air itself.
An Early-Tier Spirit-Grade weapon.
The surviving disciples' eyes widened instantly.
"The Cloud-Piercing Spirit Spear…"
Their fear deepened further.
Because Elder Han rarely wielded that weapon unless facing an enemy worthy of full combat.
Silver-gold energy surged into the spear immediately.
The weapon answered with a piercing cry that echoed across the battlefield.
SHIIIIING—!
The atmosphere itself sharpened.
Clouds split apart beneath the weapon's aura alone.
Elder Han exhaled slowly.
His thoughts stabilized completely.
Delay it.
Create an opening.
Ensure the disciples escape.
Return with reinforcements.
That was the objective now.
Not victory.
Across from him, the white lizard tilted his head slightly.
Golden eyes resting briefly upon the spirit spear.
Then—
faintly—
the corners of his maw curved upward.
Not mockery.
Interest.
Finally.
The elder had stopped treating this as a hunt.
Storm clouds churned violently above.
Blue fire illuminated the shattered earth below.
And between those collapsing heavens—
the true battle was only beginning.