Figures broke away from different sections of the crowd, some moving alone while others advanced in groups wearing matching robes or carrying weapons marked with the same insignia. Their speed immediately distinguished them from the practitioners who remained behind, and people hurried out of their way as they converged towards the tomb.Many were scarcely weaker than Rowan and the Zenith senior sisters. Others passed with such powerful spiritual energy surging around them that those nearby instinctively retreated.Mother weakly raised her head. “Rowan…”The name barely escaped her lips. Beneath her veil, her face had grown frighteningly pale, and the hand Iris held was becoming increasingly cold.“Mom…” Iris held her more tightly as she looked towards the practitioners. “They’re going to hurt Mr. Elijah.”The junior disciples froze, and even the four carriers turned towards her.Iris had said it so naturally that several of

For several seconds, no one spoke. The crashing of stone continued while the practitioners stared towards the broken mountain.Then one man felt something warm running down the side of his face.He touched his ear and brought his fingers before his eyes, staring at the blood on them. Others began doing the same, their expressions changing as they discovered that the sound of the collision had ruptured the eardrums of many standing below.“This…” The man looked from his stained fingers to Elijah. “What kind of protection is that?”Two Grandmasters had struck together, and both had been blasted away while Elijah remained untouched.“What the fvck…!” Grandmaster Garrick Dorne cursed as he leaned forward, spiritual energy beginning to surge around him.“Don’t be so quick to act, Garrick.” The elderly woman’s calm voice stopped him. He turned slightly towards her, finding that she had lost the composed expression she wore ea

Meanwhile, at a military base somewhere in East Sorevia...“Dismissed!”The command rang across the enormous training ground, and hundreds of uniformed soldiers raised their hands in salute almost simultaneously. Their backs remained straight and their heads held high as they faced the tall young woman standing before them.She wore the same military colours, with dark shades concealing much of her beautiful face, but no one would have mistaken her for an ordinary soldier.Her cold expression and the authority in her voice kept everyone before her rigid until the salutes dropped and the formations began to disperse.Units turned towards different parts of the compound, their boots striking the ground in an orderly rhythm. Only after the last of them had moved away did Tessa Mercer release a slow breath and turn to leave.She had barely taken a few steps when a middle-aged man in a neatly fitted dark suit and tie hurried

“That she defeated Grandmasters who were already famous before she climbed the height. That formidable families of the East never dared to offend the Dreadmoor bloodline simply because she was still alive.” His voice lowered as he spoke, though those nearest him leaned closer to hear.“Isadora Dreadmoor disappeared for so long that many younger practitioners believe the accounts of her were exaggerated,” another older man said.“That is because martial arts records hardly mention her anymore!”“Why?”The older practitioner hesitated before answering. “Because there was a time when too many famous men of the same realm stood beneath her.”Those around him fell quiet, only for another voice to come from within the crowd. “The Grandmaster of Grandmasters…”Several heads turned immediately.“What did you call her?”“You haven’t heard?” The practitioner stared towards Isadora. “Grandmaster Isadora Dreadmoor personall

Grandmaster Lucius stomped forward, his broad chest puffing out as his patience finally ran dry.“Do you really think this is some kind of negotiation?” His voice thundered across the basin. “If you want us to spare that child today, perhaps you should get down on your knees and beg instead.”His murderous gaze shifted from Mother to Isadora Dreadmoor. “Grandmaster Isadora, you heard her yourself. That arrogant child is with her, and she is still protecting him after everything he has done. Perhaps this entire thing was planned between them from the beginning.”Isadora finally turned her attention away from Mother. “What do you mean?”“What is the core belief of the Zenith Sisterhood again?” Lucius gestured towards the women gathered farther away. “Do they not preach that men have destroyed this world with power and will continue doing so as long as they remain at the top? They isolate themselves from men, reject marriage and children, and think s