Chapter 1,288.

The unyielding brutality of Zac's Evolutionary Dao couldn't so much as break the palm's skin. Instead, it was Zac who was flung back dozens of meters by the recoil. Around him, hundreds of trees collapsed without warning. For an outsider, it might have looked like the jungle crumbled on its own. The reality was much scarier.

Zac got back to his feet with a solemn expression. The golden scar on Insik's forehead had expanded to the width of a hand, and it continued all the way to his groin. The suspected Technocrat looked like a costume being zipped open, an impression that was greatly reinforced when another person stepped out of the tear.

The scene, together with Insik's clothes, made Zac think of Leandra's appearance the day she took Kenzie away. His mother's enormous mechanical form created a portal with her hands, from which her fleshy body emerged. Zac later learned from Sendor that ability was part of Kayar-Elu's unique inheritance from the Technocrat Codex.

While similar, it was clear that Insik wasn't part of his mother's faction. For one, the man emerging from the golden curtain was a separate entity—one much stronger than Insik. The golden scar also wasn't created through the Dao of Technology. It was made from intense Imperial Faith, a blessing that extended to the mysterious newcomer.

It was a layer of impermeable Faith that had kept [Verun's Bite] from digging into flesh. Breaking through had felt as impossible as cleaving the Left Imperial Expanse. Worse, what the newcomer had done went beyond calling upon the boundless faith gathered in the continent. He'd displayed a shocking level of control for a Late Hegemon. He'd somehow taken Zac's energy and scattered it with an invisible wind. It was Zac's own attack that had damaged [Apex Jungle].

This man was the real deal.

Zac prepared for a tough fight while trying to get a read on his opponent. The olive-skinned man was human like Insik, though his robes were quite different. More than anything, the exquisite green robes resembled the style of the ancient cultivators of the Left Imperial Expanse. Zac hadn't encountered any true noblemen in the memories so far, but he expected this was what they'd look like.

The stranger wasn't even a pugilist. He was a swordsman, and he'd already drawn a thin rapier. His relaxed stance made Zac's mind scream of danger. The Imperial Qi that Yselio used in their fight felt like a poor copy of the great faith instilled in the edge. Zac might have a small attribute advantage, but he feared it wouldn't account for much when they came to blows.

It almost felt like Insik had gotten his hands on a protective charm from one of the lanterns, one capable of summoning a clone of some ancestor. However, the vague outline of a Skybreaker seal on the man's hand confirmed that he was another trialtaker. Could they be part of the mysterious faction mentioned in Iz's docket, the Pesvati Rift in the Eternal Storm? It would explain Insik's clothes.

If true, it was no wonder they managed to snatch one of the Flamebearer seals. Zac didn't want to imagine just how powerful Eouso was if their subordinate gave off such a threatening vibe. Either case, there was no value in getting entangled with these people. Even if he won, it'd create problems down the road.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I captured your subordinate to get some answers. He and his companions are unarmed."

The swordsman ignored the greeting, which only increased Zac's unease. His emotionless eyes took in the surroundings, briefly stopping at the raging storm. Eventually, the gaze landed on Zac, and he knew words wouldn't be enough. Zac activated [Primal Edict] and [Conformation of Supremacy] just as the swordsman disappeared.

Fast! Zac was aghast at the speed at which the thin blade stabbed toward his stomach. It perfectly avoided Zac's defensive perimeter made of six Heavenrender vines. It carried the judgment of a long-gone empire, and Zac felt his Cosmic Energy scatter like an army breaking from overwhelming pressure.

Zac shifted the angle of his swing, moving [Verun's Bite] to parry the thrust. Thankfully, the strength imbued into the attack wasn't nearly as impressive as its speed. Zac's swipe pushed the sword to his side without exhausting its momentum. Meanwhile, Zac ordered his vines to capture its wielder.

The key to defeating a speedster was to catch them or at least limit their movement. From there, you could end the battle with one sting. Haro only caught air, and the sword disappeared so quickly that it could have been mistaken for an illusion. A mysterious ripple left behind by the thrust proved the attack was real.

Zac wasn't given the luxury of analyzing its nature. A scream of danger forced Zac to twist his body unnaturally. The thin blade grazed his lower back before disappearing again. Like before, an invisible wind was left behind.

The blitz was unrelenting. The swordsman was easily the fastest opponent Zac had ever faced. He launched three strikes for one of Zac's while moving so quickly that Soul Sense failed to catch even his shadow. Each strike disrupted Zac's energy with pinpoint precision, forcing him to rely on pure technique to stay safe.

The pristine, newly upgraded energy highways had become leaking sieves. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his skills active. Not having upgraded his skills became Zac's saving grace. With its tenfold energy requirements, a Late D-grade skill would have failed already.

Zac's solid defense and sturdy body were enough to not suffer more than grazing wounds, but he'd lost control of the flow. He was simply reacting to attacks through [Inborn Predator] and his Danger Sense. Normally, this would have been an acceptable outcome. Such shallow wounds couldn't bring Zac down, especially not when using the Ent Elder form of [Conformation of Supremacy].

It didn't matter that the constant stabs prevented Zac from activating any more skills without Void Energy. [Apex Jungle] and [Primal Edict] were already running, and they were enough to create a shift in any battle. He only needed to accumulate enough axelights and vines to disrupt the swordmaster's flow.

That didn't happen. It didn't take long for Zac to realize what the lingering ripples were doing. They created discordant vibrations that disrupted his skill fractals. They reinforced another, passing his defenses to enter his body. Zac was already having trouble supplying the necessary energy to keep the skills going, and the vibrations were making him lose control.

A burst of [Void Zone] would have solved the problem, but Zac felt that using the Void would be a mistake. The whole situation smelled of a conspiracy. Zac's ample experience would be for nothing if he couldn't figure out that his enemy wasn't sincerely trying to kill him. Insik, who clearly was much stronger than he initially let on, wouldn't just be standing to the side with a respectful expression.

The swordsman's whole approach was meant to force Zac to expose his hidden cards. Zac even felt they were waiting for Zac to use his Void Emperor bloodline, even if there was no reasonable explanation for how they'd know about it. Could this be related to the Holy Relic he picked up the other day?

Whatever they were after, these bastards were looking down on him too much if they thought this was enough to push Zac off-balance. So what if he only had access to three half-working skills? He'd overcome much worse without having to rely on his Void Emperor bloodline. It was time to take back control.

The few vines [Primal Edict] had formed couldn't change anything. They'd been torn to shreds by hidden blades before they could get close. However, a dense, green mist had spread through the region—countless spores that cried for sustenance. Neither Zac nor the dead zone could provide what they needed. Something else could.

Thousands of vibrant trees withered with speed visible to the naked eye. Within seconds, half the trees formed with [Apex Jungle] collapsed. The summoned trees didn't have true physical mass, but they could still fulfill the same role as real vegetation after death—to become fertilizer for the next generation.

The death of one meant the life of another. Such was the law of the wild, the engine that kept the wheel of Evolution spinning. In no time, there were hundreds of massive vines groaning with insatiable hunger. With the jungle gone and the dead dao still inedible, there were only two sources of sustenance left—Insik and his master.

It made no difference that Zac had lost control over his skill. The vines followed the mandate of the wild, hunting for prey to grow stronger. The two imperials were inundated by a wave of destruction. Countless vines were torn apart by hidden blades, but their shreds were resorbed to let new ones grow.

The tide of verdure gradually exhausted the dispersed energy from the duel, forcing the swordsman to deal with their advance himself. He tried to maintain the pressure on Zac, but not even his speed was enough to deal with attacks from every direction. Hundreds of bloodthirsty vines made maneuvering all but impossible, and it was now Zac who disrupted his opponent's attempts to activate skills.

Suddenly, the swordsman disappeared. The vines had lost their prey, so they formed a thick cocoon around Zac. It was at that moment Zac switched to [Conformation of Supremacy]'s other form, and primal runes poured into [Verun's Bite] in quick succession. Knowing there wasn't much time, Zac performed a blade dance inside his sanctuary.

Flickers of axelights came and went, their lives made short by the dispersion ripples still holding Zac's energy hostage. The respite wasn't long-lived. Transferring energy between skills was too inefficient, and [Apex Jungle] was already in a bad state. [Primal Edict] had almost run out of fuel by the time the swordsman backed down, and he had already caught on.

The wooden barrier shattered, and Zac felt the pang of danger from another stab aimed at his neck. He grinned, knowing the moment had come. The last energy stockpiled in [Conformation of Supremacy] was spent. Ninety-nine unremarkable runes lit up as one, creating a bubble of destruction with Zac in the middle.

Even Zac felt his hair stand on end. He'd essentially planted a bomb by his feet and lit the fuse. There was no backing down now. Zac roared and waved his axe with all the strength he could muster. The swordsman had already been forced back by the display, so there was no one to stop his wide swings.

The bubbles of unstable power collectively popped and gave birth to a sun in Zac's image. It only lasted a moment before it collapsed. The kinetic force in Zac's swings pushed the explosion outward, causing a tidal wave of destruction to ripple in every direction. Zac sensed a lance of concentrated power ripping through the chaos with great speed. This time, the speedster was too slow.

The energy-scattering ripples had all been overwhelmed, leaving Zac's surroundings clear. Zac already had [Flashfire Flourish] in hand. It activated, and he turned into a streak of flames that rushed into the roiling storm.

"Bastard, follow me if you dare!"

There was no way of telling whether his assailant had heard his parting words. Zac moved dozens of miles in the blink of an eye and only kept going. The destruction of Zac's own making had been replaced by the wrath of the world, and the agony it brought was many times greater. As expected, his escape treasure couldn't shift between dimensions in the Left Imperial Expanse, so it could only force its way through the dangerous terrain.

Zac held on as long as possible before deactivating [Flashfire Flourish]. The distance he'd crossed in a minute was greater than what he usually covered in a day, yet the storm's other end was nowhere in sight. Perhaps that was for the best. The chaotic storm perfectly hid his position. Even the best portable scanners wouldn't cover more than a couple of miles in this place. The imperials would have to rely on their luck if they wanted to find him.

Razorsharp winds tore at Zac's already battered body, filling the wounds with an unstoppable will of destruction. The storm was imbued with various calamitous powers from the Dao of Nature. Zac's blood boiled from the fiery wrath of volcanoes, and his bones creaked from the tectonic shift of continents.

Zac's Life eroded with the fall of seasons. He was being pushed toward the same end as [Apex Jungle], turned into fertilizer for barren lands. Mother Nature was the Multiverse's true overlord. When she smiled, the Cosmos prospered. When angered, her subjects had to take cover if they wanted to survive. A shell made of bones enclosed Zac's body, and a secondary barrier further added to his protection.

[Ossuary Bulwark] only managed to block part of the force gathered in the smoldering winds. It absorbed most of the physical attack, but the chaotic Dao slipped into his body. Zac furiously resisted by releasing a storm of Life, Death, and Conflict from his Soul Aperture. Overcoming nature was part of any cultivator's struggle, and he refused to give in.

Taking out the armor gave Zac a much-needed breather to gather his wits. Zac rarely used [Ossuary Bulwark] since setting out to the Imperial Graveyard, even if it was much sturdier than the one Yselio destroyed. The replacement bulwark was a Middle D-grade Equipment that could reluctantly be considered a War Regalia.

The awakening treasure had barely managed to form a spirit, so there was some distance from the real thing. There were limits to its self-recovery, and the blacksmiths in the Zecia Alliance Army were far out of reach. If the armor broke early in the trial, he'd be left with nothing when facing the real dangers later on.

Nature was cruel but fair. Anyone following him would have to suffer the same treatment, and Zac refused to believe anyone could last longer than he in such a hostile environment. He'd faced similar dangers many times, like when he explored the depths of the Twilight Chasm. [Void Zone] could almost be considered a cheat.

Five minutes later, there were still no signs of Insik or his master. As expected, they weren't willing or able to follow. Zac continued his journey. The destination was the same as before—the pillar vaguely visible on the horizon.

Zac didn't like running from a fight before giving it his all, but those two had been too fishy. Altogether, things worked out quite well. He'd gathered the information he needed before escaping without exposing any of his secrets. He'd give that maniac what he wanted if he tracked him down again. The storm would provide the perfect battleground for a real showdown.

There was only one question that remained unanswered. Who the hell was that?

-------------

Emir wordlessly looked at the elaborate display as it faded. To think a warrior of such pedigree would use such a vulgar means of escape. He hadn't expected the children of the Imperial Tutor to be so base. Then again, talents often had their quirks.

"I apologize for calling on you early. I'm aware of the cost," Emir said.

"It's my honor to serve, my Lord," Insik said with a bow. "We shouldn't have encountered a Flamebearer this early. Activating the gate to investigate is natural."

"Do you know his identity?"

"I believe he's Zachary Atwood. He's a native local to the Pillar's ascent."

"A local Flamebearer?" Emir said with a frown. "Is the Sindris Clan planning on interfering?"

There were already enough variables without them muddying the waters further.

"He's part of the Sindris Clan?" Insik said with surprise. "There's nothing in the reports. The Sindris Clan respected their exile. They've been guarding the Edge since the fall. Zachary Atwood might be a descendant of a wanderer."

"Perhaps," Emir said, looking down at his hand.

The echoes of carnage still lingered. It was surprising how close he'd come to losing his hand from a simple strike imbued with Dao. It was impossible to predict the outcome if his opponent had chosen to stay instead of disengaging. Emir still regretted not pushing slightly harder, even if it meant expending valuable resources set aside for other tasks.

It would have been worth it if it let Emir confirm his nagging suspicion. Few things would move the Undying Clan. However, he would. That monstrous bloodline would also explain the intangible pressure he levied on the slumbering expanse. But the Void Emperor wasn't part of the prophecy. His chapter was supposed to be concluded. Had they been misled, or were his suspicions wrong? Emir had too little to go on and no avenues to get answers.

"Who were the companions he mentioned?"

"Strangers I gathered during the preliminary trial. I altered their perceptions to make them willing helpers," Insik explained, glancing at the storm. "I'd planned on using them to accomplish my mission. I fear I'm unable to reach it myself. I'll have to gather new helpers before setting out."

Emir followed the Harbinger's gaze. There was no sign of how deep Zachary Atwood pushed. Not that pursuit was possible. The Harbingers were only meant to set the stage, not deal with the Flamebearers.

"It doesn't matter," Emir said after some thought. "I'm changing your assignment. Gather new helpers and take them to the closest waystation."

"What about the saint? Without his guidance, the Hollow Court might—" Insik said before stopping mid-sentence with realization. "Him?"

"With him around, the flame with ignite whether it wants to or not. We'll have to adapt to whatever deviations his brush with Destiny brings," Emir sighed.

"Where do you need me?"

"The Daedalian Court. The Buddhists have found clues to the bridge of Karma," Emir said.

"The Sangha?" Insik blanched. "I can't stop them in my current state. Should we call Master?"

"It's not necessary. The Sangha was destined to become a thorn in our side. Avoid direct clashes. Delaying their investigation is enough," Emir said. "Don't lose faith. The backlash is greatly weakened here. The general trend was locked in when the Left Imperial Expanse was allowed to resurface. You only need to hold on."

"What will be, will be." Insik bowed as the gate reopened. "Lord, you need to return."

Emir gave the storm one last look before stepping through.

'Zachary Atwood, is it? Are you a blessing or a curse?'