Yang Ying surveyed the hall. Aside from Kalagunis and Feroe, there were two other Fourth-Level existences. One had entirely blue skin, four arms and four legs, resembling a centaur, clad in armor forged from ice, with slivers of ice crystal adorning his hair. The other was covered in white fur, sported a pair of radiant wings on its back, possessed the head of a bird and the body of a man, and stood suspended over the void.

From the data provided by Yafei, Yang Ying knew their names: the former was Bada, and the latter was Su. The master of the Tibuzi household, Tibuzi himself, was absent.

“Kalagunis, why aren’t you fleeing?” Yang Ying bypassed Feroe’s query and looked directly at Kalagunis.

“Hmph. Had I known only the two of you were coming, I never would have left Beihu Star.” Kalagunis, much like Yafei initially, had underestimated Yang Ying and Blade. He felt secure within the Tibuzi household, believing that even without Tibuzi present, the combined might of Feroe, Bada, and Su offered enough protection against any attacker—even the most lethal of them all, Luo Ya, the God of Slaughter, couldn't harm him here.

“Speak! Who is the entity behind you? Don't tell me it’s that slut Yafei; it can't be her. She doesn't give me this intense sense of danger. There must be a far more powerful entity aiding you! Tell me now!” Kalagunis roared.

“Kalagunis, you are Feroe’s friend, not mine. Out of respect for Feroe, we allowed you to shelter here. But I warn you, do not insult Yafei while you are under this roof.” Su, the one with the radiant wings, clearly held a higher regard for Yafei than for Kalagunis, and immediately reprimanded him for his insolence.

“Hmph.” Kalagunis snorted coldly, clearly unconcerned by Su’s rebuke. As a Fourth-Level entity, he was not one to bow easily. However, he refrained from speaking ill of Yafei further.

Yang Ying smiled, his tone casual, “Kalagunis, did you foresee your own downfall?”

“Silence! What arrogance! How many days has it been since you ascended to the Fourth Level? Yet you dare speak to me like this. Take this first strike of my Fierce Flame!” A sharp glint flashed in Kalagunis’s eyes, and a torrent of blood-red fire shot forth, engulfing Yang Ying and Blade. Bada and Su shouted in alarm, “Wait!” preparing to intervene.

Feroe frowned, feeling that Kalagunis was being unnecessarily heavy-handed; the newcomer had only recently reached the Fourth Level, whereas Kalagunis had been at that rank for over ten thousand years. However, he was also displeased by Yang Ying and Blade ignoring his presence and Kalagunis’s rude outburst. He raised a hand, stopping Bada and Su, and projected telepathically: “Let them taste Kalagunis’s Fierce Flame; perhaps then they will learn some restraint and realize that mere ascension to the Fourth Level does not grant carte blanche. We seniors are still here.”

But, to everyone’s astonishment, Yang Ying merely raised a hand lightly. The torrent of blood-red flame, like water pouring into the ocean, flowed directly into his palm.

“What!”

Feroe, Bada, and Su—all three Fourth-Level entities—gasped. How could someone who had only just achieved the Fourth Level so effortlessly absorb Kalagunis’s signature technique? It was impossible!

“Fierce Flame, the proud technique of the Kultar people. Much like Gu Yin’s status among the Star Singers, the Fierce Flame delivers a dual assault: super-high temperature and mental pressure. Once burned, not only is the body scorched, but the soul is plunged into maddening torment. How many Star Singer girls have shrieked themselves mute under this flame? And how many Kultar people have derived pleasure from hearing those screams? Such heinous cruelty has likely occurred countless times over the millennia! And now, take this back!”

Yang Ying flicked his wrist, and the ball of fire in his palm instantly transformed into a meter-thick pillar of flame, blasting towards Kalagunis.

“Aargh!” Kalagunis roared, unleashing a counter-blast of fire with an equally thick pillar, colliding head-on with the pillar Yang Ying hurled.

KRAK!

A deafening explosion ripped through the air where the two fire pillars met. Blood-red embers scattered outward, traveling hundreds of times faster than bullets.

“Oh no, this is bad! Kalagunis’s Fierce Flame cannot be extinguished; it automatically absorbs ambient energy from the universe—light, radiation, magnetism, heat, everything—to sustain its burn! If those embers escape, they will cause a catastrophe!” Feroe shouted.

“What! Watch my Absolute Zero! No matter what kind of fire it is, solidify!”

Bada, the blue-skinned, ice-armored entity, raised his hand and conjured an ice trident. With a violent swing, he unleashed a wave of deep-blue coldness. Wherever the chill swept, the Fierce Flame embers rapidly dissipated.

Su flapped his radiant wings, projecting two walls of light that enveloped the entire palace. The embers struck the light walls, burned briefly, and extinguished. Su bellowed, “Stop fighting here! Go fight in outer space! Are you trying to demolish the house or the entire planet?”

Kalagunis sucked the scattered Fierce Flames back into his body. Yang Ying and Blade each extended a hand, drawing in the remaining ambient sparks.

The entire process took less than a tenth of a second; the aftershock of the Fierce Flame was completely swept away, not a single spark escaping the hall.

Fire pillar against fire pillar: though Kalagunis had not been decisively defeated, his confidence was severely shaken. Yang Ying had understood his Fierce Flame after just one look, mastering its subtle variations perfectly. It was clear that Yang Ying had grasped the very essence of the technique.

“How is this possible?” Kalagunis roared, his voice a mixture of fury and disbelief. “How did you do that? How could you command the power of the Fierce Flame?”

The other three members of the Tibuzi household stared intently at Yang Ying and Blade, their gazes holding varied intensities of scrutiny.

“Trying to rely on your seniority? You’re behind the times,” Yang Ying told Kalagunis. “You still have much to learn... but I won’t give you the time.”

“Wait a moment. I understand now. It was Kalagunis who mentioned it—the person who wants his life, the one who made him feel a sense of urgency even greater than when he was hunted by the God of Slaughter.” Feroe moved to step in just as Yang Ying was about to engage. “Kalagunis came to the Tibuzi household seeking sanctuary, and we agreed to grant it. You cannot attack him in our presence.”

Feroe also sent his thoughts to Bada and Su: Hurry and assist! The opponent is not as weak as we imagined; they are immensely powerful entities, perhaps even stronger than Luo Ya’s God of Slaughter or Lord Tibuzi himself!

The situation had spun violently out of control. Feroe had never anticipated having to fight so soon, and against opponents he hadn't even considered before.

Kalagunis had arrived shortly before, claiming to feel a mortal danger. Feroe owed Kalagunis a life debt, and twelve hundred years prior, he had saved Kalagunis from Luo Ya, the God of Slaughter’s assassination attempt. This history persuaded Bada and Su to accept Kalagunis’s presence.

Feroe had assumed that with the Tibuzi household as a backing, the pursuers would seek negotiation rather than immediate combat. When Yang Ying and Blade first appeared, and Kalagunis revealed their Terran origin, Feroe believed they were envoys sent by some greater power.

It was a consensus among the Fourth-Level beings that the entity behind the Terrans had killed the Fourth-Level Hardek.

However, Feroe failed to realize that Yang Ying and Blade were not sent by another powerful entity; they were the powerful entities themselves.

If a fight broke out on the planet Boyad, the consequences would be catastrophic. Thus, Feroe immediately stepped forward to intercede, signaling Bada and Su to join him in blocking Yang Ying and Blade.

The members of the Tibuzi household were united. Though Bada and Su harbored some disdain for Kalagunis, they responded to Feroe’s call, flashing forward to stand between Yang Ying and Blade.

Su stated, “You cannot fight on Boyad; the resulting devastation would be too great. This is the territory of the Tibuzi household; you shouldn’t act like the masters here.”

Yang Ying paused, then nodded. “You are right. A full-scale conflict between Fourth-Level entities on Boyad would be no less destructive than a nuclear bomb. Perhaps we should do this instead.”

Yang Ying ripped open a Wormhole. On the other side of the swirling nexus lay the outermost reaches of the Boyad planetary system. As far as the eye could see, endless debris floated, tumbled, collided, and shattered in the vacuum—a process repeating for eons upon eons, without end.

“We have no desire to bring disaster upon Boyad either. Kalagunis, let’s change locations.”

Yang Ying pointed. The Wormhole yawned like a bloody maw, swallowing Kalagunis whole. Although Kalagunis attempted resistance, and Feroe and the other two tried to disrupt Yang Ying’s portal, the disparity in power was too vast. Yang Ying gave them no chance to react. In an instant, Kalagunis was devoured by the Wormhole, and Yang Ying followed him inside.

Blade, however, remained outside the portal, blocking Feroe and the other two. “We agreed not to fight on Boyad, and you must stay here; you are not permitted to follow.”

“Impossible! Hmph, you think just blocking the Wormhole stops us?” Feroe thundered in anger. He waved his hand, tearing open a Wormhole beside him, and shot inside like a streak of green light. Bada and Su mirrored his action.

“You should stay put.” Blade had anticipated their reaction. He extended a single finger and tapped: “Stasis Field!”

A flash of ice-blue light followed. All three entities were instantly encased in a frozen Stasis Field.

“Spatial confinement won’t hold us! We are Fourth-Level beings—break!” Feroe strained violently within the block of ice, but the ice remained utterly motionless.

“If you possessed the peak of the Fourth Level, you might manage some struggle. But alas, you are still hundreds or thousands of years shy of that mark. Remain here quietly until Kalagunis meets his end,” Blade stated calmly.