The velvet world that had imprisoned the greedy cultivators collapsed the instant the last of their life signatures vanished.
Solanky turned toward the female officiator and smiled.
Although his appearance had changed, his life aura remained the same. That alone was enough for the female officiator to recognize him. Meeting her gaze, Solanky answered with a faint smirk before soaring into the distance toward the portal leading to the Thirty-First Zone.
The female officiator stood frozen in place, her mind completely blank. She did not even hear her name being called three times.
Only when the strongest Saint Emperor present, her eldest brother, tapped her shoulder did she finally return to her senses.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you know that mysterious man who just entered the portal to the Thirty-First Zone?"
She nodded slowly.
"That was the peak entity who severely injured me with a peak-turn technique. The corruption from his attack spread through both my physical body and spiritual body. I had no choice but to destroy the infected portions of myself. If not for the ancestor's intervention, I would never have recovered."
Her brother's expression immediately changed.
"You mean... he is the one who used the Finger of Terror? The technique the ancestor claimed originated from the forsaken god?"
She nodded again.
For the first time, the calm and composed man revealed a sinister smile.
"Judging by the strength he displayed, he should now possess somewhere between five and six billion times the strength of an Infinite Source God. If we attack together, we can overwhelm him and force him into the forbidden lands of the Thirty-First Zone."
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"But how could someone who was merely a peak entity less than a billion years ago rise to the level of a powerful Saint Emperor?"
The female officiator hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"The reason we pursued him back then... was because, even as a peak entity, he possessed a spear that belonged to a half-step peak-turn being."
Silence.
Every Saint present, including her brother and the hundred elite clansmen behind him, stared at her in disbelief.
"What... did you just say?"
"A half-step peak-turn attack-type treasure?"
"If he possessed such a weapon while still a peak entity..."
"...then if our assumptions are correct..."
"...he may even possess a true peak-turn treasure."
Greed instantly ignited in every pair of eyes.
Such a treasure alone was worth more than everything their ancestor could ever reward them with.
Without another word, the entire group surged through the portal after Solanky, determined to intercept him before he disappeared beyond their perception.
...
Meanwhile, Solanky calmly entered the Thirty-First Zone.
He knew a battle was inevitable.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of fear within him.
Instead, anticipation burned in his heart.
Ever since his strength had reached ten billion times that of an Infinite Source God, he had wanted to test the true power of his spear against worthy opponents.
Before entering the zone, he had completely mastered the Reflection Technique of the Devouring Heart Technique.
As long as he activated it, no being below the True Peak-Turn level could directly injure his physical body.
He stood atop a lonely mountain peak.
His gray robe fluttered violently beneath the endless winds.
The Thirty-First Zone was infamous as one of the windiest regions of the Beyond Realm.
When the officiator's group entered the zone and searched for nearly a thousand kilometers without finding him, they assumed he had already escaped.
Then one of the Saint Emperors, whose strength rivaled the female officiator at roughly two billion times that of an Infinite Source God, pointed toward a distant mountain.
"There."
Everyone immediately focused their senses.
Standing atop the mountain was Solanky.
The officiator's elder brother secretly transmitted an order.
"Set up the spatial and karma lockdown formation. Do not allow him any avenue of escape."
Fifty clansmen instantly dispersed.
They reappeared around the mountain range, rapidly establishing the enormous formation.
Solanky observed everything in silence.
He naturally understood that such a formation did not only trap him. It would also imprison everyone inside, including his enemies.
Without hesitation, he drew the spear from his internal world.
The weapon gleamed brilliantly as he settled into a battle stance.
Seeing this, the officiator's elder brother laughed loudly.
"So, we have a fighter."
"I thought this robbery would be boring."
"It seems I underestimated you."
He raised his weapon.
"My fellow clansmen!"
"Attack together!"
"Let his treasures become the spoils of our victory!"
With a thunderous roar, all fifty experts, including the female officiator and her elder brother, charged toward Solanky with weapons and divine treasures blazing.
Solanky remained completely composed.
Activating the Void Shadow Steps, he disappeared.
Rather than confronting the strongest enemies first, he rushed directly toward one of the weakest cultivators—a Venerable Saint.
Three silent steps.
That was all.
By the third step, Solanky stood before his target.
His hand shot forward.
He seized the Venerable Saint by the throat.
CRACK!
The neck snapped effortlessly.
Before the man could even cry for help, Solanky's overwhelming physical strength crushed his life force completely.
His body died.
His spiritual body followed immediately after.
Solanky casually tossed the corpse aside before charging toward his next target—the officiator's elder brother.
The veteran commander instantly recognized Solanky's intention.
After countless wars and battles, he understood exactly what Solanky was doing.
He was systematically eliminating the weaker experts before dealing with those whose strength exceeded two billion times that of an Infinite Source God.
The elder brother immediately intercepted Solanky's path.
The female officiator joined him.
Together, they unleashed a combined technique.
Their attacks fused into the gigantic phantom of a tiger's claw that ripped across space toward Solanky.
Solanky smiled.
He simply clenched his fist.
Using only eighty percent of his physical strength, he threw a single punch.
BOOM!
The enormous tiger claw exploded into countless fragments before it could even touch him.
Solanky merely slid back a few steps.
Completely unharmed.
Every expert present was horrified.
The combined attack of two Saint Emperors had exceeded seven billion times the strength of an Infinite Source God.
Yet Solanky had shattered it with nothing more than brute force.
He slowly turned toward the stunned pair.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Then he resumed his advance.
Moments later, he reached his original target.
His hand closed around the man's head.
CRACK!
The skull shattered instantly.
The Saint died on the spot.
Fear spread through the remaining experts.
Only now did they truly realize what kind of monster they were facing.
If Solanky could ignore a seven-billion-strength attack without injury, then his physical body had already surpassed ordinary Saint Emperors by an unimaginable margin.
Retreat was no longer possible.
Driven into desperation, every remaining clansman burned both their life essence and spiritual power in hopes of inflicting even a single serious wound upon him before dying.
Seeing their resolve, Solanky's expression finally became serious.
He released the aura of his lifeform.
In that instant, the heavens seemed to grow heavier.
An overwhelming pressure swept across the battlefield.
Every cultivator present, including the female officiator and her elder brother, felt an irresistible urge to kneel.
Not from fear alone.
But from instinct.
Their very existence compelled them to worship the superior lifeform before them.
The moment Solanky's aura washed over them, understanding dawned in every heart.
He possessed the power of a higher lifeform.
A being whose strength had reached ten billion times that of an Infinite Source God.
The female officiator stared at him in complete disbelief.
"Impossible..."
"How could you... become this powerful?"
Solanky smiled calmly.
"Because of your own greed."
"You pursued me once before."
"I spared your life."
"Yet you chose to return with your entire clan."
He slowly lifted the spear.
"You coveted this weapon from the very beginning."
"Very well."
"Today..."
"I'll let you experience its true power."
Without another word, Solanky hurled the spear toward the female officiator.
The attack arrived almost instantly.
Faced with certain death, she stood completely frozen.
Her mind had gone blank.
At that critical moment, her elder brother roared.
He spat out a golden bead that had been refined by their ancestor.
The bead collided directly with the incoming spear.
CLANG!
The collision shook heaven and earth.
The spear rebounded and returned to Solanky's hand.
The golden bead shot backward toward the elder brother, who had already rushed beside his sister.
He slapped her sharply across the face.
The impact finally snapped her out of her daze.
Looking at her brother's pale complexion and unstable aura, she immediately realized what had happened.
He had used the life-saving treasure bestowed upon him by their ancestor.
Without it, the combined strength of everyone present would never have survived a single strike from a half-step Peak-Turn attack-type treasure.
He forced a bitter smile.
"When we met the ancestor, he entrusted this bead to me as our final safeguard."
"You already knew that."
"But what you didn't know..."
"...is that every time I use it, it consumes my life essence."
He looked toward Solanky, whose expression remained unchanged.
"We are facing a monster."
"There is only one path left."
"I will sacrifice what remains of my life essence to awaken the bead."
"Then you must swallow it."
"The seals within the treasure will activate and temporarily grant you the strength of a half-step Peak-Turn being."
His breathing became increasingly ragged.
"I originally intended to sacrifice everyone else to activate it."
"But I have already suffered grave injuries."
"I can no longer use it myself."
He slowly placed the golden bead into his sister's trembling hand.
"Take it."
"Finish this battle."
"And avenge all of us... after we are gone."