Chapter 311: The Viper
Meanwhile, above the Forge Twins’ Domain, the barrier around the hole was closing back as multiple cultivators were rushing towards it and some where able to get through. Meanwhile, the House of Crimson group were almost late as Cluade then gives Claudia a storage ring and throws her through the barrier as an understanding passed through them as Claudia went through the barrier before it closed completely.
Claude, the Clown, Draxos, Sebastian and Isabella stood at the barrier edge.
Draxos then says, "You sure she’s going to handle this?"
Claude then says with a cold voice, "If she can’t even do it properly, then she will die by my hands."
The Clown then laughs, "Oooh, Always so cold, Claude."
Sebastian looked down with a frown wondering, Am I going to be killed too if I eventually become useless?
𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Meanwhile, inside the domain,
Kael scanned the crowd with his Spirit Eyes.
The weakest mana cultivation here was his own. Mana Heart Rank 8. Everyone else was either at Peak Mana Heart or Spirit Soul. Most were Peak Mana Heart. Several were Spirit Soul Rank 1 to 3. And one IGF cadet—a tall man with a shaved head and military posture—was at Spirit Soul Rank 4.
Underdressed for the party, I guess.
Kael spotted familiar faces.
Valerius Kaine from Iron Nexus Academy. Peak Mana Heart. He stood with two other Iron Nexus students, their force manipulation auras steady and controlled. He noticed Kael and gave a curt nod.
Michael Weston. Empyrean Celestial. Spirit Soul Rank 1. His angel bloodline radiated that particular golden pressure Kael remembered from the tournament. He stood apart from the crowd, his expression calm, his Aegis Avatar mana signature pressing outward subtly.
And—Garrett De Vorn.
Garrett stood near the Azure Dragon Manor group, his arms crossed. His aura blazed—whuum—Spirit Soul Realm. He’d broken through since entering the Void Realm.
Their eyes met. Garrett grinned and walked over.
"Kael! You’re alive!" Garrett clapped his shoulder. Pat. "I figured you’d find your way to the flame."
"Garrett. You seem to have broken through."
"Two months ago. The Void Realm’s mana density is insane." Garrett’s grin widened. "You’re looking well. Mana Heart Rank 8 already? How the heck did you jump 4 realms?"
"I have my ways."
Garrett laughed. Haha. "I bet you do."
Then Kael saw them.
The Dravens.
Cassius Draven stood at the front of their group—Spirit Soul Rank 2. His gaunt face was sharper than ever, his hatred for Kael barely concealed beneath a mask of cold composure. Beside him stood Mira Draven—Spirit Soul Rank 1. Her grey eyes were cold and calculating.
Gorff Draven was there too—Mana Heart Rank 9, still recovering from the injuries Kael had inflicted at the pagoda. His shaved head was bandaged. His tribal tattoos seemed darker against his pale skin.
And beside Gorff—a woman. Red hair and sharp features. A Pyrebrand.
Cliff Pyrebrand’s twin sister.
She stared at Kael with naked murder in her eyes. Her aura—Mana Heart Rank 9—flared involuntarily. Whuum. Her hands trembled at her sides.
Cassius stepped forward. "Kael Vorn." His voice was cold. "I don’t know how you survived this long, but your luck ends here. You won’t leave this place alive."
Gorff cracked his knuckles. Pop-pop. "I’m going to tear you apart for what you did to me at the pagoda."
The Pyrebrand twin—her name was Kira Pyrebrand—spat on the ground. Ptoo. "You killed my brother. I’m going to burn you to ash."
Kael smirked.
"You’re welcome to try. All of you. At once, if you’d prefer." He paused. "Though I’d recommend bringing more people. Cassius, you specifically might want to reconsider—considering Gorff here barely escaped me with a teleportation talisman last time."
Cassius’s eye twitched.
Gorff’s face went red.
All their auras blazed simultaneously—WHUUUM—the combined pressure of Spirit Soul Rank 2, Spirit Soul Rank 1, and two Peak Mana Heart cultivators pressing against Kael’s space.
Garrett stepped beside Kael. His Spirit Soul aura activated—whuum. "If you’re fighting him, you’re fighting me."
Cassius looked at Garrett. "You’d side with him? Against us?"
"He’s family, you dumb Draven fuckers," Garrett said simply.
The tension thickened. Mana crackled in the air—fzzzt—as the two groups faced off. Other cultivators around the formation watched warily, hands moving to weapons.
Then Kael frowned.
His soul sense caught something. A powerful aura. Approaching fast from behind. From the direction of the fog zone.
This is—
WHUUUUUM.
A suffocating pressure descended on the cavern.
Spirit Soul Rank 8.
The entire crowd reacted. Cultivators stumbled—stumble—weaker ones dropping to their knees. Thud. The temperature seemed to drop from the sheer weight of the spiritual presence. Even Cassius—Spirit Soul Rank 2—flinched.
Claudia landed at the edge of the formation.
Her serpentine eyes swept the cavern with the unhurried confidence. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders. Her poison mana radiated outward—hiss—a subtle, sickly green aura that made the air taste metallic.
Her eyes locked onto the Heavenly Flame.
Thrum.
The Demonic Asura Lotus Flame pulsed—flicker—as if sensing her presence. The dark fire shifted—its purple-black flames leaning toward her, then away. Uncertain.
Kael’s Spirit Eyes analyzed her. Flicker.
Spirit Soul Rank 8. Poison manipulation. Serpentine bloodline. And...
His eyes narrowed.
A sickly green aura clung to her mana signature. The same green he’d seen on every House of Crimson operative. The same green that had coated Grellik, Vornin, and the operatives at Thornwick and Hevaria. The same green that permeated the Shadow Vatican’s corrupted mana.
She’s House of Crimson. Shadow Vatican.
Claudia approached the formation. She examined it briefly—her serpentine eyes tracing the runic pathways—then turned to the crowd.
"This formation requires combined effort," she said. Her voice was smooth. "I propose we work together. When the formation breaks, the flame will be available. We can... negotiate its ownership then."
Silence.
No one trusted her. The Spirit Soul Rank 4 IGF cadet stared at her with open suspicion. The Heavenly Sword Pavilion cultivators gripped their sword hilts. The Blood River Sect members exchanged glances—recognition flickering in their eyes.
But no one could break the formation alone. Kael’s Spirit Eyes had already confirmed that—the formation had multiple layers, each one requiring more mana than just a group of Spirit Soul cultivators could output.
Reluctant agreement spread through the crowd. Heads nodded. Weapons were lowered—slightly.
Multiple groups began channeling mana into the formation. The Frostspine Bear Clan. The Celestial Tempest Sect. The Azure Dragon Manor. The IGF cadets. Even the Dravens—Cassius pouring his Spirit Soul Rank 2 mana into the runic framework.
Crack. Crack.
The formation began to crack. Golden runes flickered—fzzzt—their light dimming under the combined assault. Layers shattered one by one—pop, pop—each breaking releasing a wave of heat that forced weaker cultivators backward.
Kael didn’t contribute. He stood at the edge of the crowd, arms crossed, watching.
She’s up to something.
The sickly green aura on her mana signature was unmistakable. She hadn’t come here to negotiate. She hadn’t come here to share.
She’d come here to take the flame.
And her cultivation—Spirit Soul Rank 8—was leagues above everyone here. The strongest cultivator besides her was the IGF cadet at Rank 4. The gap between Rank 4 and Rank 8 was insurmountable.
If she makes a move when the formation breaks, no one here can stop her.
Kael’s hand drifted to his system storage. The Nirvana Devouring Script was inside. The method to tame a Heavenly Flame. But taming required touching the flame—and if Claudia reached it first—
CRACK.
The formation’s final layer shattered.
BOOM!
The sub-realm trembled. Rumble. Light flooded everything—blinding, white-gold, absolute. Cultivators threw their arms over their eyes—stagger—temporarily blinded by the radiance.
Claudia moved.
WHOOSH.
Serpentine speed. Her body blurred—zip—crossing the hundred-meter distance to the flame in a fraction of a second. Her hand extended—reaching for the Demonic Asura Lotus Flame.
In her palm sat a Soul-Sealing Jar—a small, dark vessel inscribed with containment runes. The Shadow Vatican’s preparation. Designed specifically to hold a Heavenly Flame.