The renowned Adjudicator King’s sudden appearance before King Blazing Star made the latter both startled and fearful, his expression of anger freezing on the spot. "You—how are you here?" According to his intelligence, the Adjudicator King had been in deep seclusion for a century, focused on breaking through to the mid-stage of Deification, and had not shown herself to the world. She hadn't even attended the Holy Radiance War orchestrated by King Holy Radiance this time.

Deep down, King Blazing Star held both reverence and dread for the Adjudicator King. While she wasn't the strongest in the Holy Radiance Domain, she was unquestionably the most awe-inspiring. Her impartiality and possession of the Sword of Judgment—which throughout the history of the Winged Gods had always symbolized the eradication of internal corruption and decay—naturally made the other Kings nervous, terrified they might misstep and face her judgment.

"What, is my presence here surprising you?" The Adjudicator King’s sword remained sheathed, yet she stood like a sharp blade, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings, a cold smile playing on her lips. "King Blazing Star, you truly have nerve, sinking so low as to resort to smashing things out of frustration over a mere woman?"

King Blazing Star flinched, but quickly, a look of insulted rage crossed his handsome face. "Your Excellency Adjudicator King, this is my personal matter and none of your concern."

"None of my concern?" The Adjudicator King scoffed repeatedly. "Does the life or death of Liu Yue concern you none either?"

King Blazing Star's expression shifted between dark and uncertain, bordering on humiliated anger. "Adjudicator King, this is my private affair, it has nothing to do with you. Liu Yue... in short, she has nothing to do with me now. Adjudicator King, if you are here as a guest, I, Blazing Star, warmly welcome you. However, if you have come to witness my humiliation, please forgive my rudeness in seeing you out." While the Adjudicator King indeed held the authority and duty to purge internal rot within their clan, King Blazing Star felt his conscience was clear and thus had no reason to fear her sword descending upon his head. After all, without sufficient evidence, the Adjudicator King couldn't act recklessly.

"You fool, do you truly think I, the Adjudicator King, have nothing better to do than come here to mock you?" The Adjudicator King paced slowly with her hands clasped behind her back as she rebuked him.

King Blazing Star looked confused, somewhat bewildered. "Then, Your Excellency's purpose in coming..."

"Heh, it seems love truly blinds people and strips them of their judgment. I thought you, the dignified Blazing Star, were one of our clan's rare talents, the very hope of our future." The Adjudicator King revealed a look of disappointment and pity. "Who knew you would disregard our clan's greater good for a woman, blindly leading troops into battle. Not only that, but after realizing that woman had deceived you, you became despondent and volatile. Shameful, truly shameful."

King Blazing Star’s face flushed alternating shades of green and white from anger, his voice tight with mortified fury. "Adjudicator King, you are not welcome here. Leave."

"Trash."

The Adjudicator King spat the single word with a cold sneer.

"Adjudicator King, you have gone too far!" The rage in King Blazing Star’s chest ignited instantly to its peak. With a roar, he drew his innate spirit treasure, the Blazing Sword and Star Shield, from his primordial spirit. His face contorted, he shouted ferociously, sweeping his sword and shield towards the Adjudicator King. "Adjudicator King, I demand an apology!" This sword and shield were King Blazing Star’s signature weapons. The Blazing Sword burned with a fierce inferno, capable of cleaving and incinerating everything. The Star Shield possessed a defense as vast as the sea of stars, able to withstand any tempest. This combination of offense and defense perfectly embodied King Blazing Star’s combat style.

The Blazing Sword instantly reached its maximum intensity, transforming into a fierce dragon of fire that lunged towards the Adjudicator King.

Facing his fierce and powerful attack, the Adjudicator King merely... (Book Repository

The Adjudicator King’s strike was imbued with a sharp and profoundly majestic aura. The piercing edge of the sword light shattered every restraint, tearing the surrounding space apart, peeling open a chasm of pitch blackness.

Clang~

Where the twin swords met, King Blazing Star’s imposing fire dragon was instantly scattered, and the Blazing Sword was knocked aside. However, the momentum of the Sword of Judgment did not diminish; rather, it grew sharper and more tyrannical. It struck mercilessly against the Star Shield, which was famed for its ability to defend against all assaults.

The vast and mystical array pattern of starlight exploded into fragments of light. Simultaneously, King Blazing Star, ship and all, was sent flying backward, slamming heavily against the temple wall, creating a shockingly clear, human-shaped indentation in the thick, solid stone.

King Blazing Star was aghast, but more so, he felt lost and bewildered. Although he knew he was no match for the Adjudicator King, being struck down in a single move instantly pulverized his extremely strong self-esteem. His eyes glazed over, and he didn't even wipe the blood trickling from his lips. He couldn't comprehend how his strength could be so far inferior to the Adjudicator King’s. Was he truly, as the Adjudicator King had insulted him, nothing but utter waste?

"Sigh..." The Adjudicator King sighed softly, retracting the Sword of Judgment. "Blazing Star, as I expected, you have lost your true heart to all sorts of distractions. Compared to a hundred years ago, you haven't made any progress; you’ve actually weakened. You have also brought shame upon your Blazing Sword and Star Shield."

King Blazing Star showed a flicker of defiance, collapsing back onto the ground. Gripping his Blazing Sword and Star Shield, he slowly rose. "Adjudicator King, I have been diligently managing my Blazing Star Continent for the past century. Meanwhile, you remained secluded for a hundred years, ignoring everything; naturally, you have grown stronger."

"I was secluded for a hundred years? So, I grew stronger?" The Adjudicator King lightly laughed, hands clasped behind her back, her voice carrying a hint of ethereal uncertainty. "What would you think if I told you I was imprisoned for a hundred years?"

"What? Who dared to be so bold?" King Blazing Star was filled with indignant rage.

Some ten days later.

Inside the temple of King Holy Radiance, King Holy Radiance himself was in a state of extreme fury, smashing his throne into powder with one heavy blow, his expression utterly difficult to look at. "The foolish King Blazing Star, unable to handle even this small matter, still dares to call himself a rare young talent, the hope of the Winged Gods' future. A waste, truly a waste! We let him fight a proper war, and he actually allowed himself to be lured into an ambush. Damnable, utterly damnable! He even implicated King Liu Yue, causing them to be surrounded and besieged."

King Holy Radiance commanded numerous talents and gathered great generals. However, faced with his wrath, these subordinates knelt on one knee, not daring to breathe too loudly. Yet, the generals under King Holy Radiance were indeed deeply dissatisfied with King Blazing Star’s performance. Their side had finally suppressed the Abyss Lord’s power through precision infiltration tactics, achieving small victories that accumulated into a great advantage—the situation was exceedingly favorable.

But that King Blazing Star, burdened with the reputation of a brilliant young talent and a rising star, turned out to be hollow inside. Not only did he fail to match the enemy in elite infiltration operations, but he was also led by the nose and walked right into an ambush. King Holy Radiance’s scolding was apt: waste, absolute waste. As a result, not only was the hard-won advantage lost, but their side was also pushed into a disadvantageous position.

"Uncle."

King of Light, Ajiana, frowned slightly and spoke. "Now that matters have reached this point, further scolding King Blazing Star is useless, Uncle. I implore you to consider the bigger picture and immediately dispatch troops to rescue King Blazing Star and King Liu Yue. Delaying any longer will lead to greater losses for our army."

The other generals held similar thoughts, but they lacked Ajiana’s standing and dared not provoke King Holy Radiance while he was enraged. However, once Ajiana raised the issue, the other generals quickly voiced their counsel.

How could King Holy Radiance not know that saving them was the right course of action? But ever since he confidently led his army into the Abyss, everything had gone wrong. The greatest setback was that wicked succubus managing to rescue the Adjudicator King—that problem remained like a thorn lodged in his heart.

However, after failing to pursue them, King Holy Radiance had no choice but to set that matter aside for the time being and focus on securing the Chaos Spiritual Energy Strange Realm first. Once he controlled that Chaos resource, their strength would increase significantly. In the end, might makes right, regardless of how the Adjudicator King might slander him in the outside world.

Yet, just as the war effort began to show positive signs, rapidly moving towards his predetermined objective—in just another half a year, he could secure an absolute advantage and crush the Abyss Lord Udis in one go—at this critical juncture, the so-called hope of the stars, King Blazing Star, had dropped the ball.

How could this not infuriate and enrage King Holy Radiance, who was already extremely volatile?

Forcing himself to calm down, King Holy Radiance, his face ashen, commanded, "Ajiana, this time it falls to you. Lead ten thousand Light War Vessels, fifty thousand of our clan's elites, and one hundred thousand human elites. Immediately rush to reinforce King Blazing Star and King Liu Yue on both fronts. You must repel the enemy and secure those two forces. Then bring them all back; I will reorganize the troops and launch an all-out assault with thunderous might."

For the current situation, the strategy of infiltration and erosion was clearly no longer viable. Circumstances forced King Holy Radiance to prepare to consolidate his army for a direct assault. Although winning this way would still result in significant losses, he no longer had any other choice.

Following the order, in no time, countless dense streams of flying vessels surged outward from the overwhelmingly grand Holy Radiance Main City, like an incoming tide.

Far away in the sky, the Abyss Lord Udis observed this scene through a special formation. Beside him, the general Bailuo exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "It seems Commander Lei's tactics have worked, My Lord. I shall immediately lead the Blood Fury Army to intercept those vessels."

"Wait." ... (To be continued)