The void warped and trembled as Rayn and Dawinton descended from the chaotic airspace above, their bodies floating down like two tyrannical gods of death before they finally slammed into the icy, unforgiving ground of the cavern. The sheer force of their impact sent a massive shockwave echoing through the subterranean abyss. Spiderweb cracks instantly spidered out across the frozen earth, accompanied by the sharp, deafening CRACK of shattering frost.
They both stood up, the violent winds of their residual qi blowing their clothes back. The killing intent radiating from the two of them was thick enough to choke a normal man. They looked at each other and let out a manic, bloodthirsty laugh that echoed off the cold stone walls.
Rayn wiped a speck of frost from his cheek, his eyes glowing with a demonic, arrogant light. He pointed his frost-covered blade directly at the older man. "Dawinton, you old fuck! I have to admit, you aren't as weak as I thought you were, you ancient piece of shit. For a dying old man, you still have some teeth left to bite with!"
Dawinton didn't get angry; instead, a cold, mocking sneer crept across his wrinkled face. His eyes, sharp as a seasoned predator's, locked onto the young upstart. "I didn't think a little bastard like you would be this strong after awakening the Void Scribe. Tell me, junior, what kind of heaven-defying artifacts are you using to forcibly control those ice powers? Because let me tell you a harsh truth: even if you use external tools to punch above your weight, your qi reserves are fucking garbage. You're going to run out of power, and when you do, I'm going to peel your skin back and learn exactly how tough you really are."
Rayn threw his head back and laughed, the sound dripping with absolute disdain. "Okay, old dog! If you have a death wish and want to see me tear you apart using my absolute power, I'm more than glad to oblige! And let me make you a promise, you old bastard: after I slaughter you, I'm going to butcher your corpse, chop your meat into bloody little cubes, and feed your rotting flesh to my beasts! They've been starving for the taste of human meat, and an old monster like you will make a fine fucking appetizer!"
Hearing this blatant disrespect, Dawinton's eyes narrowed into terrifying slits. The old man finally understood that the arrogant youth standing before him wasn't just a reckless kid courting death. No, this motherfucker was a genuine monster—a ruthless, devouring demon who wanted to consume everything in his path to the apex.
They both smiled—a sinister, chilling smile.
Dawinton slowly closed his eyes. The ambient qi in the cavern violently shifted. He activated his supreme Merchant Dao power. Suddenly, the air grew unbearably heavy, stinking of copper and greed. From the void itself, a terrifying, massive tsunami of pure gold coins materialized. This wasn't just an attack; it was a supreme manifestation of wealth and heavy-attribute energy. Millions of solid gold coins, each carrying the weight of a fucking boulder, cascaded out, instantly covering the entire ceiling of the cavern and threatening to drown the world in a metallic flood.
Seeing the catastrophic golden tsunami roaring toward him, Rayn didn't even flinch. He just laughed again, his voice filled with battle-crazed excitement. "Fuck yes! That's exactly what I expect from a legendary old ghost who fought off legions of enemies and survived in this dark, miserable cave just to exact revenge against his own fucking son!"
Rayn purposely didn't dodge. He stood his ground like a towering mountain. He wanted to temper his body; he needed to experience the full, unadulterated strength of a true Town Leader. After all, he still had a death match pending against the Clock Maker in Sterling. To Rayn, this brutal deathmatch with Dawinton was just a side-quest—a bloody stepping stone to farm battle experience and understand how true apex predators utilized their domain powers.
The golden coins flowed like a raging, apocalyptic ocean. The deafening roar of grinding metal echoed as the sheer volume of the coins surged upwards, completely suffocating the small cavern. It was a torrential flood of heavy metal designed to crush a cultivator into unrecognizable meat paste. But deep down, Dawinton was holding back the absolute killing blow. The old man knew that if he outright slaughtered Rayn, Vespera would throw a fucking apocalyptic tantrum. That crazy bitch would obliterate him before he could even blink.
Because Rayn brazenly refused to dodge, the golden flood slammed into him with the kinetic force of a collapsing waterfall. The impact was devastating. One specific, qi-infused gold coin, spinning like a deadly circular saw, shot out from the wave and violently pierced straight through Rayn's right leg.
SHLUCK!
Blood exploded from the wound, painting the gold coins crimson. The agonizing pain shot up Rayn's nervous system as the coin tore through muscle, severed blood vessels, and scraped against his very bone.
Rayn cursed violently, dragging his injured, bleeding leg as he dove behind a massive stalagmite to catch his breath. Fuck! This old bastard is a complete fucking menace, Rayn thought, his breathing ragged as he gripped his profusely bleeding thigh. I have to be careful before going toe-to-toe with him in close combat. I can't activate my Conqueror power yet. If I use it now, my spiritual energy and stamina will completely drain. If I fail to kill him with it, I'll be reduced to a powerless sack of meat, left to die like a fucking disappointment!
Seeing Rayn retreat, Dawinton waved his hand, his expression filled with contempt. He immediately recalled the golden sea, the coins vanishing back into the void. The old man then let out a piercing, ear-shattering whistle that ripped through the cavern's acoustics.
The void tore open, and from the chaotic darkness, his contracted beast emerged.
It was a nightmare made flesh. The creature was a magnificent yet utterly demonic avian monstrosity, shrouded in swirling shadows and pitch-black, metallic feathers. It emanated a violent aura of purple and blue lightning. Instead of a normal face, the beast's head was a grotesque horror show—multiple glowing, sinister, blood-red eyes glared with pure malice from beneath a crown of jagged, obsidian horns. As it descended, a violent, localized supercell storm erupted inside the cavern. Jagged, apocalyptic bolts of purple and blue lightning rained down indiscriminately, detonating against the cave floor and obliterating the heavy rocks into fine dust.
Debris, shrapnel, and shattered stone flew in every fucking direction like bullets. Rayn, still hiding behind his boulder, was caught in the terrifying AoE assault. A stray, thick bolt of purple lightning whipped around the rock and violently lashed across his left arm.
"ARGH, FUCK!" Rayn roared as the lightning tore through his flesh. The air filled with the nauseating stench of searing skin and burning blood. His arm was brutally lacerated, the deep, charred cuts immediately weeping dark red blood that flowed down his wrist and dripped onto the icy floor. Gritting his teeth against the searing agony, Rayn viciously ripped a long strip of fabric from his ruined tunic. He wrapped it tightly around his mangled arm, pulling it taut with his teeth to stem the heavy bleeding.
Tilting his head just a fraction, Rayn peeked around the scorched stone. He saw Dawinton standing arrogantly atop the massive, lightning-wreathed demonic bird, scanning the ruins for him.
If I just sit here and hide like a frightened turtle, I'm going to fucking die, Rayn's mind raced, his combat instincts flaring. He decided to wait, forcing his breathing to slow, masking his gnosis signature as he waited for the old monster to close the distance.
Dawinton rode the demonic beast forward at a creeping, agonizingly slow pace. He looked like an apex predator leisurely hunting down a crippled prey.
"Hey! New leader of Ashburg!" Dawinton's mocking voice boomed, dripping with sarcasm and venom. "Are you pissing your pants, Rayn? Is the great young master too scared to fight an old man? Hiding behind a rock like a little bitch! I told you, that Void Scribe is nothing but a useless, trash-tier power! Just because some idiot managed to do the unthinkable and awaken more than two powers doesn't mean every piece of trash can do it! That Void Scribe is a weak-ass fucking joke, just like you! I don't know what kind of underhanded bullshit you used to defeat my fucking son, but I'm going to beat the truth into you today!"
Rayn's eyes turned into cold, dead pools of absolute zero. He waited. Ten meters. Five meters. Three meters.
NOW!
Rayn exploded from his cover like a compressed spring, launching himself directly into the air in front of Dawinton. In his right hand, his ice sword condensed, radiating a terrifying, absolute freezing qi.
But Dawinton didn't panic. The old monster just smiled—a cruel, knowing grin. "Do you really think I'm just a blind, senile old man, you stupid fuck? I knew you were waiting like a coward to ambush me!"
Before Rayn's sword could even descend, the demonic beast opened its horrific, multi-eyed maw. A devastating, ultra-compressed beam of pure, destructive purple plasma erupted from its throat, blasting point-blank into Rayn's airborne body.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion of energy and smoke completely engulfed the airspace. The shockwave rattled the cavern walls. For a moment, complete silence followed. The dense, choking smoke obscured everything. Dawinton sneered, trying to peer through the ash to see how badly he had mangled the arrogant brat.
As the smoke slowly began to dissipate, Dawinton's triumphant smile instantly vanished.
There was no body. There was no blood.
An illusion? A fucking ice clone?!
Before Dawinton's mind could fully process the deception, a chilling, murderous intent materialized directly behind the demonic bird. Rayn had bypassed the blast entirely, using the decoy to flank them.
"Die, you overgrown pigeon!" Rayn roared. With a brutal, merciless swing powered by his absolute maximum physical strength, Rayn's ice blade cleaved through the air.
SCHLICK! CRACK!
The blade bit deep into the beast's shoulders, severing muscle, shattering bone, and completely amputating both of its massive, shadow-feathered wings in one horrific, bloody strike.
The demonic bird let out a soul-tearing, agonizing shriek—a sound like a demon being dragged back to the lowest depths of hell. Deprived of its wings, the massive creature instantly plummeted forty feet out of the air, crashing into the frozen ground with a sickening THUD that cracked its ribs.
A massive geyser of thick, glowing blue blood erupted from the beast's severed wing stumps, painting the cavern walls, the ground, and both combatants in a sticky, luminescent gore.
Rayn landed smoothly next to the thrashing, screeching beast. His face and clothes were entirely plastered in the creature's glowing blue blood. Without breaking eye contact with the stunned Dawinton, Rayn slowly raised his hand to his mouth and dragged his tongue across his blood-soaked knuckles, licking the beast's gore.
"Hmmmmmmmm!" Rayn moaned mockingly, his eyes wide with feigned culinary delight. "Fuck! The taste of this beast's blood is absolutely god-tier! I'm going to rip this bird apart, throw its fat carcass on a grill, and eat it for fucking dinner!"
Dawinton's face contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. The veins on his forehead looked like they were about to burst. "You fucking bastard! You cut down my son!"
Rayn burst into hysterical, psychotic laughter. "What the actual fuck, man?! Are you mentally ill? You consider this ugly-ass mutant turkey your son? I'm seriously confused right now. Your friend Matthew told me you were supposed to be a fucking genius, but right now, you sound like a highly emotional, retarded old man who fucks animals!"
That was the breaking point. Dawinton's sanity snapped.
"I AM GOING TO EXTERMINATE YOUR ENTIRE BLOODLINE!" Dawinton roared, his aura exploding outwards and cracking the very fabric of space. He summoned his Merchant Sword, but this time, he burned his core essence. The blade instantly doubled in size, transforming into a colossal, heaven-cleaving golden broadsword. The gold coins swirling around him also expanded, turning into massive, heavy golden shields.
Rayn looked at the giant, ridiculous weapon and scoffed, wiping the blue blood from his chin. "Oh, fuck off. You couldn't beat me in a fair exchange, so you just summon a bigger, overcompensating sword? You really are a pathetic old ghost."
Rayn was still laughing, preparing to dash forward and shatter the old man's defenses.
But then, reality glitched.
There was no movement. There was no projectile. There was no dash.
SHHHHK!
A sickening, wet sound echoed loudly in Rayn's ears. The air was suddenly sucked from his lungs. Rayn looked down in absolute, frozen horror.
Protruding directly from the center of his chest was the massive, golden blade of Dawinton's giant sword.
Rayn's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. Blood immediately bubbled up in his throat, violently spilling out of his mouth and cascading down his chin. The sheer shock paralyzed his nervous system. He hadn't moved a single fucking inch. Dawinton hadn't stepped forward. Yet, somehow, Rayn was now impaled squarely upon the blade, suspended in mid-air.
As his vision began to blur, Rayn saw it. Over in the exact spatial coordinate where he had just been standing mere milliseconds ago, there now sat a massive, heavy mountain of pure diamonds and solid gold.
Dawinton, panting heavily, his eyes completely bloodshot, gripped the hilt of the sword that was now buried inside Rayn's chest. The old man twisted the blade ruthlessly, grinding the metal against Rayn's ribs and shredding his internal organs.
"Listen closely, you ignorant little shit," Dawinton whispered, his voice trembling with sheer murderous intent. "You didn't see this attack coming, did you? Because the Dao of the Merchant isn't just a parlor trick to appraise the value of trinkets. It is the absolute Law of Equivalent Exchange! As long as the mass and value are equal, I can instantly swap the spatial locations of any two things in existence!"
Rayn choked on his own clotting blood, his lungs filling with fluid. He looked at the mountain of gold that had replaced him in space, then looked back at Dawinton's twisted, victorious face.
A bloody, pained smile crept onto Rayn's lips. "Good... fucking... power... Dawinton..."
With those final words, the agonizing pain overwhelmed his system, his consciousness shattering into darkness as he slumped lifelessly against the massive golden blade.