The wind gushed past Shin’s face as he tore through the clouds with mind-bending speeds. His face was turning icy cold from the high altitude, and he could barely see what was in front of him, but the Prince didn’t care. Shin only wanted to rush back to the Lantis Republic, praying to whatever Immortal there was that his gut feeling was wrong. Even the members of his congregation, notably the Azure Dragon Lord and the Saint of Time, felt an uneasiness creep up their inner cores. They had heard of Shin’s hypothesis and found that it was quite sound... They just didn’t want it to be right.

Alas, life wasn’t all flowers and sunshine.

“W-What… What’s this?!” Shin paused in the sky. From the east, a billowing pillar of ash and smoke could be seen, one that could only be matched by a mega-eruption from an active volcano. Although the Lantis Archipelago was known to have many volcanoes, none were slated to erupt within the next few months. Not to mention, the direction that Shin and the rest were facing was one of the heartlands of the entire Lantis Republic.

“The Heigui Enclave! Something bad has happened!” Longyu Tian screamed, possibly the loudest that she had in a long time. “Tsk, Shin do you really think that-!”

“Aunt Tian… Given how fortified the Heigui Enclave is… There’s only one explanation for their rapid fall...” Shin clicked his tongue in frustration. “If Saint Heigui has really betrayed us, our current firepower isn’t sufficient. Master!”

The Prince turned to the blonde Divine Healer and pulled out the Kamaitachi that was nestled within his robes. Without any mercy, Shin threw Bingbing into Lady Seph’s hands, all while saying: “Master, take Bingbing and rush back to Celestial Island. Take over Saint Jingyu’s position as the children’s protector. We need as many Saint-Levelled beings as possible if we want to bring down the Black Masks.”

“Got it!” Lady Seph didn’t even pause for a single moment. Once she grabbed hold of the Kamaitachi, the Divine Healer turned into a ray of light, bolting straight towards Celestial Island, which wasn’t too far from their current location.

“Senior Zishen, Aunt Tian, Saint Atossa… We’ll need to be prepared for a fight. I hope that you’re ready.” Shin quickly turned to the three Saint-levelled beings that joined him in rushing towards the Lantis Republic.

“Mmmm, no problem.” Zishen took in a deep breath and reverted back to his original form. A fifty-metre long Azure Dragon Lord with hefty mana reserves and a towering aura that could choke the average Spirit Spectre.

“Already prepared,” Longyu Tian whipped out her Rod of Eternity, sending all kinds of Time-Elements flying around her.

“Don’t worry, Shin Iofiel. If the Lantis Republic falls, our Alliance would be affected. Furthermore, there’s no way that I’ll run from a fight with the Black Masks… This is personal for me too...” Saint Atossa, the only Spirit Saint with no allegiances to the Lantis Republic, reassured the Prince while flashing her deadly dagger.

“Okay, that’s good...” Shin smiled before closing his eyes. Holy particles of light gushed out of his pores with every subsequent breath, and his leather-like skin was quickly replaced with an armour of draconic scales. The Water-Elements spiked, even though they were right above a vast ocean that was literally filled with water. However, that wasn’t the only thing that Shin had done. Waving his arms, Shin turned the water vapour that surrounded him into pure water. From the water, he froze it down into a singular point, adding heaps of his own mana into the elongated spear.

A shining beacon of power and dominance… That was what Shin was summoning.

With his Spiritual Body Enhancement plus his commanding domain, Shin was no less powerful than the other Saint-levelled beings around him, and they could feel that quite clearly. Though he lacked the capabilities of sealing space as they could, if they were to ever get into a straight-up brawl, none of them could assertively say that they could pull a win against the Prince.

Air filled the lungs of Shin as he slowly calmed his beating heart. The energies within his body were stabilising and the pressure he was emitting, immense. At this point, Shin resembled a bloodied general that knew no defeat. Finally opening his eyes, the Prince pointed the Spear of Aiglos at the billowing smoke and commanded with a baritone voice:

“Let’s do this...”

❖❖❖

Meanwhile, at the Heigui Enclave...

“Little Shenxian… I just want to live.” Saint Heigui looked at the grey-haired woman, dropping a tear down his wrinkled face.

Jingyu Shenxian gaped, not knowing what to say. The Lantis Republic had always taught its citizens to put the survival of their country first. Yet, the highest-ranking member of the nation had just turned heel and burnt down his heritage within a blink of an eye. How could anyone feel elated by that?

“Live… Just because of your desire to live… You’re willing to sacrifice the Heigui Clan?” The Chancellor gritted her teeth. “HOW CAN YOU FACE YOUR ANCESTORS?!”

“The funny thing is… I won’t...” The elderly man snorted. “All of our ancestors, even the mythical Lady of Water… They never reached the Immortal Realm. None of our bloodlines had produced a Spirit Immortal, even though we’ve been in existence far longer than any one of them. Heck, even that bastard Himmel Empire had Saint Himmel.” Saint Heigui expressed disgust for his own clan.

“When I enter the Immortal Realm with the Allfather… I will be the first of our kind.” Saint Heigui started to fantasise. “History isn’t kind and forgiving. Civilisations such as ours will eventually fall, and our tale will be forgotten to time. However, only those that had escaped the cycle of life and death. Only those who have reached eternity will be remembered forevermore!”

“Look at you, already kissing the Allfather’s feet...” Jingyu Shenxian spat while glaring at the Spirit Saint she formerly respected. “You won’t be a true Immortal, just a servant to the greatest villain of all time. I hope you enjoy your eternal damnation!”

“...” Saint Heigui paused his impassioned speech. Turning his left hand towards the Chancellor, the Spirit Saint made use of his Spirit Saint powers to give her a telekinetic choke.

“A-ack!” Weakened, there was little Jingyu Shenxian could do about the force lifting her up. She flailed her legs about all while trying to free herself from the Spirit Saint’s grip. Alas, how could a battered Spirit Venerate contest against a spotless Spirit Saint?

“I’ll have you know this, Little Shenxian… The Allfather is the only one who has ties to Spirit Immortal Dream, a genius even among Spirit Saints.”

“Y-You! Be-betra-yer!”

“Well, it’s hard to deny that...” The elderly man chuckled. “But when it’s all done and dusted… My name will resonate among the trillions that will walk this earth. As the twenty-third Spirit Saint after the Allfather… HAHAHAHA!!! WHAT WILL YOU BE, LITTLE SHENXIAN?!”

Losing his mind, Saint Heigui increased his grip on the Chancellor. After destroying his home clan’s base and killing the majority of his beloved Xuanwus, the old fossil that had served the Lantis Republic faithfully had gallons of blood rushing to his head. He felt high with energy and needed an outlet to vent. Fortunately, the yelling Jingyu Shenxian proved to be the perfect target.

“Little Shenxian… Should I kill you now, or should I let you suffer the same fate that I was supposed to? To become a Spirit Saint and die from time, with everything just a centimetre away from your grasp?”

“Y-You… s-sh-all...”

“What’s that?”

“Y-You… sh-all… die...”

“Haha, quite a patriot, aren’t you?” Saint Heigui smiled. However, there was no tenderness in that happy expression. With a cold harrumph, the old man slammed the Chancellor down onto the burning ground, sinking her over ten metres underneath.

“Out of respect to your grandfather, I’ll spare your life this time… But I’ll tell you this, Little Shenxian… One day, you will understand my pains.” Saint Heigui snorted. Once he confirmed the Chancellor’s removal, the elderly man floated straight towards the oceans, where two hefty figures were waiting for his arrival.

“Saint… We’ve… been… expecting… you” Midori cupped his hands together to greet Saint Heigui.

“Rarara, good job old human! You really smoothened things for us! We destroyed the island in a matter of seconds!” Akai cheered as well. He may hate the Alliance, but there was no need to disrespect a Spirit Saint, particularly one that had defected over to their side.

“... You did well in destroying my home.”

“Rarara, you’re the one that gave us the order! Don’t be having second thoughts now.”

“...” The elderly man looked back at the burning flames and ashen ground. People weren’t even running away as most of them were scorched to the bone. It was pure destruction, one of a scale that the Heigui Enclave could never have anticipated. “Yeah… I am the sole person responsible for this...”

The Spirit Saint sighed heavily before changing the topic. “So, where’s the Mirror Deity? The one that was supposed to teleport us out of here?”

“Don’t… worry… he’s coming... soon!” Midori replied.

“Well, he better hurry...” Saint Heigui looked towards the western horizon, narrowing his eyes after one single glance. “Reinforcements are coming, and they aren’t weak...”

“Rarara, whoever they are, we’ll just pulverise them!” The Lion Chimaera declared. “You don’t worry about a thing, old human!”

“Don’t worry about a thing, huh?” Saint Heigui wanted to retort, but he shut his mouth. Although he had just turned, the Spirit Saint already knew much about the inner workings of the Black Masks. Arguing against Akai would be just a massive waste of time and effort.

‘Hah… The Prince with three Saint-levelled beings. Judging from their mana signatures, Lord Zishen, Little Tian and Atossa from the Mercenary Guild... Looks like I will have to prepare for a siege...’