The sky over the City of Iron and Bone didn't just darken; it screamed.
Grand Elder Feng didn't descend like a man; he arrived like a collapsing star. A Level 61 Dao Seed master was a being who had begun to touch the fundamental laws of the universe. To Feng, the distance from the Heavenly Pavilion was a mere afternoon stroll, and the city below was nothing more than a stubborn weed to be plucked.
"Void Sovereign!" Feng's voice boomed, vibrating the very marrow in the citizens' bones. "The Heavenly Pavilion has decreed your extinction. Come forth and accept your sentence, or I shall turn this city into a crater of ash!"
Feng hovered a thousand feet in the air, his golden robes billowing in a wind generated by his own mana. He raised a hand, and a massive palm of solidified light—the [Judgment of the Solar King]—began to form. It was large enough to cover four city blocks.
Inside the Obsidian Spire, Cain's eyes snapped open. They were no longer violet; they were a terrifying, swirling abyss of black and silver.
[Skill Activated: Soul Fusion (Target: Malakor)]
[Warning: Physical body is under extreme stress. Duration: 180 Seconds.]
[Effective Level: 46 (Temporary)]
"Elena is safe. The bait is set," Cain whispered, his voice echoing with the dual tones of his own soul and Malakor's ancient rasp. "Now, let's see if a 'God' can bleed."
Cain didn't fly up to meet him. Instead, he slammed his fist into the control altar of the Spire.
"Maw of the Void-City: ACTIVATE!"
The trap sprung. The jagged obsidian spires surrounding the city suddenly pulsed with a light that didn't shine—it devoured. The "Maw" formation Cain had synthesized earlier began to rotate. The air above the city didn't just thin; it was sucked into a localized black hole.
Grand Elder Feng's golden palm, a strike that should have leveled the district, was suddenly dragged off-course. The golden light was stripped away in long, glowing ribbons, pulled into the obsidian towers like silk into a loom.
"What?!" Feng's calm mask shattered. "An Array that can siphon Dao-level mana? Impudent!"
Feng dived, his body becoming a streak of solar fire. He aimed directly for the Obsidian Spire, intending to crush the "brain" of the city. He moved at speeds the human eye couldn't track—but Cain wasn't using human eyes. He was using [Sovereign's Gaze] amplified by the city's sensors.
"Seven Steps of the Sovereign: Step 3 — Void-Tide."
Cain appeared on the balcony just as Feng arrived. But he didn't dodge. He stood his ground, his right hand crackling with the [Sovereign's Void-Crush], now supercharged by the city's siphoned golden mana.
"You speak of judgment, old man," Cain said, his voice a low thunder. "But you forgot to check who owns the courtroom."
Cain met the Grand Elder's solar strike with a punch of pure annihilation.
BOOM!
The shockwave blew out every window in the Spire. The balcony beneath Cain's feet disintegrated, leaving him hovering in the air through sheer mana density.
[Warning: HP 40%. Internal hemorrhaging detected.]
[Absorption Success: 15,000 Golden Mana points siphoned!]
Feng was blown back a hundred feet, his golden robes scorched. His eyes were wide with a mixture of fury and genuine fear. A Level 33 boy had just traded blows with him and survived.
"You... you are a parasite!" Feng roared, his fingers weaving a complex Dao-seal. "Sun-God's Spear: World-Piercer!"
A spear of white-hot plasma manifested in Feng's hand. The heat was so intense that the stone buildings below began to melt into lava. This was a Level 60 finishing move.
"Malakor! NOW!" Cain commanded.
From the shadow of the Spire, the Soul General Malakor manifested. Using the city's hidden veins, he triggered the [Sovereign's Stillness]. The air around Feng didn't just freeze; it became a solid block of absolute stasis.
For one second—one precious second—the Grand Elder was a statue.
That was all Cain needed.
"Sovereign's Void-Crush: Star-Eater Variant!"
Cain didn't just strike. He threw his entire existence into the blow. He appeared directly in front of Feng, his hand plunging into the Grand Elder's chest, bypassing the solar armor through the "Ignore Defense" property of his S-Rank skill.
[Critical Hit!]
[Gluttony's Touch: VOID EVOLUTION!]
The world went silent. The golden light of the Grand Elder began to pour into Cain's arm, but it wasn't just EXP anymore. The System was screaming.
[Detecting 'Dao Seed' Essence...]
[Initiating 'Primordial Feast'...]
"No... impossible... a mortal cannot... consume... a Dao!" Feng gasped, his body rapidly turning into a translucent husk. His Level 61 cultivation, built over three centuries of meditation, was being unmade in seconds.
[Massive EXP Gained: +120,000!]
[Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! ...]
[Current Level: 40]
[Evolution Triggered: Stage 3 — Primordial Harbinger.]
Cain kicked the empty shell of the Grand Elder away. The body didn't even hit the ground; it disintegrated into stardust before it fell halfway.
Cain hovered in the air, his body wreathed in a terrifying mixture of golden and violet flames. He felt his heart beat with the power of a mountain. His skin was now etched with permanent silver runes that hummed with the power of the Dao he had just stolen.
[Soul Fusion Ended.]
[New Soul Shadow Acquired: 'Feng, the Solar-Wraith' (Rank: General).]
Cain looked down at the city. The Bone-Guards were silent. The citizens were trembling. He looked up at the Eye of the Heavens, which was now flickering, as if the gods themselves were blinking in disbelief.
"Level 40," Cain whispered, his voice carrying the weight of a thousand souls. "I think it's time I stopped defending."
He looked toward the direction of the Heavenly Pavilion—the sect that had sent the hunter.
"System, calculate the distance to the Heavenly Pavilion Main Gate."
[Distance: 2,500 Miles.]
[Warning: Host's current power is sufficient to cause a Sect-Level Extinction Event.]
"Good," Cain said, a cold, beautiful smile appearing on his face. "I'm still hungry."