※Blade’s recent display—an entire contingent of Quasi-Master, plus four High-Grade Apes, wiped out instantly—showed an overwhelming dominance usually only seen in the hands of true Masters.

Under normal circumstances, the spells cast by one Quasi-Master held very little threat to another; thus, battles between Quasi-Masters largely relied on light sabers, with spells serving only auxiliary roles. This dynamic became even more pronounced in contests between lower-ranked combatants.

However, the sorcery Blade deployed completely upended the Nian-Neng wielders’ understanding of spellcraft. Both the lightning bolts shot from his hands and the deep crimson area-of-effect immobilization spell seemed far more potent than typical Quasi-Master level magic. Connecting this to the fact that the Ape Master, Kordemi, had also fallen to the combined efforts of Yang Ying and Blade, a genuine, well-earned respect bloomed in their hearts.

If they hadn't been en route to Fortress Assault One, they might have easily mistaken Blade for a true Master, given his current performance, even though they could still perceive that his cultivation remained at the Quasi-Master level.

While invisible, Blade flashed behind one of the immobilized High-Grade Apes, activated his silver light saber, and pierced its heart directly. In the next instant, he vanished again, lunging toward another High-Grade Ape.

That Ape managed to parry a few strikes. The surrounding Apes immediately rushed to its aid, forcing Blade to retreat, simultaneously deactivating his saber blade to engage in guerilla tactics.

The Apes could only see a silver light saber flickering in and out of existence, weaving across the battlefield—a quick jab here, two thrusts there. Several Apes, caught off guard, were struck on the arms or legs, leaving behind painful wounds, some even punched clean through with gaping holes.

Blade's cloaking ability was also Master-grade. The Apes who had not reached Master could only dodge based on the fleeting sense of danger just before an attack struck. Though they tried their utmost to locate Blade actively, they found him utterly beyond reach.

Blade’s targets for ambush weren't limited to the Apes he was currently engaging; those facing the Nian-Neng wielders were also fair game. After all, deception was key on the battlefield; outnumbering, sneaking up on, and ambushing opponents were commonplace. High-Grade Apes already held a numerical superiority of more than fifty percent over the Nian-Neng wielders, and insisting on one-on-one combat in such a scenario would be utterly obtuse.

The dozen or so Apes chasing the invisible foe pursued him for several minutes to no avail, while the casualties among the High-Grade Apes under Blade’s hand had already climbed into the double digits. Some High-Grade Apes, deeply engaged with a Nian-Neng wielder, were suddenly run through by a sword thrust from behind, or wounded, allowing the Nian-Neng wielder to deliver the finishing blow.

“We cannot continue like this! Follow me, we will—”

An Ape Quasi-Master shouted mentally via telepathy, broadcasting his plan to the assembled Apes.

Soon, consensus was reached. They abandoned the pursuit of Blade, instead charging toward a group of Nian-Neng wielders, clearly intending to use their numerical advantage to overwhelm them.

Blade knew this was a tactic to force him out of concealment. With nearly ten High-Grade Apes already neutralized by his stealth attacks, taking down a single High-Grade Nian-Neng wielder would be simple for them.

“Contract! Form the array!” a Quasi-Master Nian-Neng wielder roared.

The Nian-Neng wielders immediately tightened their formation. The Ancient Legion’s High-Grade Apes vastly outnumbered the Nian-Neng wielders; fighting groups in the minority was a frequent occurrence, so the Nian-Neng wielders possessed mature countermeasures: forming arrays to counteract attacks, using mutually supporting formations to conceal weaknesses, ensuring at least a stalemate.

Of course, the disparity in numbers could not be erased, and array defense was not foolproof. Just like earlier, because there were too many High-Grade Apes, after the explosion in the narrow corridor scattered the Nian-Neng wielders—preventing immediate regrouping—they were swamped by the Apes and could not form their array, putting them at a disadvantage.

Now, with Blade drawing away a large contingent of the Apes, the Nian-Neng wielders were mostly fighting one-on-one, or even two-on-one situations. Consequently, condensing their formation and gathering became significantly easier.

Blade intercepted a few incoming strikes aimed at the besieged Nian-Neng wielder, then used the Consul’s lightning to strike several High-Grade Apes, repelling them with telekinesis. The electrical spheres formed when the Consul’s lightning struck an enemy had a splash effect, making it useful in group combat.

Soon, the Nian-Neng battle array was established. The thirty wielders divided into inner and outer rings. The injured and less powerful were kept in the interior, tasked with supporting their comrades in the outer circle with spells.

Outside the circle, the High-Grade Apes completely encircled the formation, relentlessly bombarding it with sword strikes and spells, resembling a tsunami crashing against the reefs, kicking up monstrous waves.

Within those waves, an invisible figure occasionally materialized with a silver light saber, paring down the assault layer by layer. With the Nian-Neng battle array tying down the Apes’ attention, Blade found greater scope for his actions, leading to a higher rate of successful ambushes.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the battle between the two Master-level combatants raged. Though only two figures were visible, the intensity rivaled anything seen on the field.

In contests at the Master level, spells had undergone a fundamental transformation, becoming offensive tools equal in significance to swordsmanship. Emperor Gang possessed considerable skill in both ice and fire magic, but here, near the magma river, cryomancy was severely handicapped by the environment, making thermomancy far more effective.

Thus, in addition to swinging his sword, Gang would periodically unleash balls of intense flame with his telekinesis toward Master Yan Shouyi. As these fireballs approached Yan Shouyi, they would detonate violently, generating temperatures in the thousands of degrees, effective in a radius of about five meters. If Yan Shouyi gained too much distance, Gang would summon a vast sea of fire that engulfed the area, often melting the rock ground beneath into flowing magma.

Master Yan Shouyi’s monk robes were scorched with several large holes, revealing signs of burns on his flesh beneath, yet his movements remained agile, precise like a master craftsman. As his silver light saber swept, faint, almost imperceptible sharp glints would slice the surrounding rock strata, leaving hundreds of gashes.

Gang’s robes were also shredded into ribbons, and he bore a few bloody cuts, but these minor injuries seemed to ignite a ferocity within him. His eyes glowed like rubies as he whipped his light staff, weaving torrents of flame toward Master Yan Shouyi. Wherever they clashed, the ground trembled from the impact of firestorms and flying debris, and substantial chunks of rock fell from the ceiling above.

Back where Blade was fighting, the High-Grade Apes were slowly adapting to the disadvantage of fighting an invisible opponent. Blade’s ambush success rate began to drop, and as his Nian energy depleted, maintaining invisibility while executing high-speed attacks became increasingly difficult.

Suddenly, the sound of rhythmic, scraping footsteps echoed down the corridor leading to the Nian-Neng wielders—the sound of a large contingent of Ancient Beasts advancing. Clearly, Blade’s massive vortex spell had failed, or the blocked path had been reopened.

Everyone turned their attention toward the corridor entrance. Soon, they saw a horde of creatures—Fire Lizards, giant Centipedes, and the like—charging into the fray.

The High-Grade Apes were overjoyed. They immediately cleared a space and channeled their mental power to connect with the beasts, guiding them toward the Nian-Neng battle array.

Upon seeing the group, the Centipedes began spewing venom from their mouthparts, and the Fire Lizards opened their jaws lined with sharp teeth to blast streams of toxic fire toward the Nian-Neng formation.

The Nian-Neng wielders immediately unleashed a barrage of spells at the monster horde, slaying many. The Centipedes’ acidic blood poured out, forming an acid rain that showered down on them. Where it landed, the very stone ground was corroded away in layers.

However, the acid rain affected both sides equally; if too much splashed onto one’s own ranks, someone would inevitably redirect it toward the enemy formation.

Under the pervasive assault of the acid rain, maintaining invisibility became unsustainable for Blade; he soon revealed his form.

Three Ape Quasi-Masters charged forward immediately, wielding their light sabers while simultaneously weaving a telekinetic shield to ward off the corrosive droplets.

Blade frowned, drawing his sword to meet them. Simultaneously, he cast a Mind Storm toward the passage through which the beasts were pouring. Brilliant lightning instantly engulfed the narrow opening. The Lizards and Centipedes shrieked and thrashed under the searing electricity; those that lingered too long were reduced to ash.

The alloy walls surrounding the exit melted into glowing droplets that dripped onto the ground.

A Nian-Neng Quasi-Master noticed this development. An idea struck him; consulting with a few other Quasi-Masters, they each used their telekinesis to lift the fragments of the previously destroyed narrow passage and press them tightly against the entrance. Simultaneously, they shouted to the assembled wielders: “Use fire magic to melt the alloy walls and seal the passage!”

The Nian-Neng wielders’ magic was not weak. Some pulled back their hands to blast great plumes of fire at the entrance. Soon, the entire opening was choked with the molten alloy. The wielders then directed low-temperature spells onto the molten mass, sealing the passage shut.

In this manner, the battle entered a stalemate lasting another twenty minutes or so. The passage was opened several times by the High-Grade Apes, only to be resealed by the Nian-Neng wielders, resulting in a grinding war of attrition that began to induce fatigue on both sides.

Blade did nothing particularly noteworthy during this period. After the passage was sealed, he re-entered invisibility, escaping the pursuit of the three Ape Quasi-Masters, and remained idle, using no techniques at all, until this moment.

Seeing that the Nian-Neng wielders and the High-Grade Apes were beginning to show signs of weariness, Blade was spurred to action. He finally coalesced the Nian energy he had been accumulating into a massive Vortex spell, unleashing it directly beneath the Nian-Neng formation and the High-Grade Apes.

Since the Great Vortex was indiscriminate, the Nian-Neng wielders and the High-Grade Apes were instantly immobilized, friend and foe alike.