Aji surged toward the Denad continent to locate the specific coordinates Gayatri had mapped out. According to her report, that sector housed a dark army contingent twice the size of any other regional force, accompanied by two supreme aura signatures—signaling a unified command structure.

Two Annihilation Demons had combined their legions into a single strike force. Recognizing the tactical necessity, Aji deployed a high-speed spatial technique, weaving a rapid-transit portal that carried him across the continental expanse in a fraction of the time.

Upon arriving at the hidden stronghold, Aji activated the stealth domain he had inherited from Saint Ganada's legacy. Melding seamlessly into the ambient shadows, he moved completely undetected; so long as a shadow existed, his physical presence remained invisible to external perception. It was the absolute stealth technique Ganada had deployed during the war twenty years ago.

Reaching the central marquee—where high-density dark magic saturated the air—Aji confirmed the presence of two warlords from the 10 Annihilation Demons. Observing them from the shadows, he noted that both commanders had grown complacent, relying entirely on the vast perimeter of dark operatives guarding the outer encampment.

Listening to their conversation, Aji discovered they were devoted lovers, sworn to stand side by side through life and death.

It was a profound anomaly: two warlords among the 10 Annihilation Demons cared nothing for the outcome of the global war, desiring only to exist together in quiet isolation. They marched under Shura's banner solely to settle a personal debt of gratitude to the Demon Lord.

Initially, Aji had set out with the absolute intent to eliminate both warlords by any means necessary. Yet hearing their true motives, he reconsidered his approach. Revealing his presence atop the marquee's structural beam, he deactivated his stealth domain.

Only then did the two warlords realize an intruder had been observing them from above. Outraged that a young cultivator had penetrated their sanctuary and interrupted their private moment, Jonas and Marie prepared to fight.

They dropped into combat stances.

"Before I tear you to pieces, speak!" Jonas demanded, his dark core flaring. "What is your purpose here?!" He was intensely curious as to how a young orthodox cultivator could penetrate their outer defenses without triggering a single alarm array among their vast army.

"I am here to help you," Aji replied calmly. "I offer you a way to remain together, free from the affairs of the world and this pointless war."

Jonas found the claim absurd. How could a total stranger offer them a life free from conflict? In a realm governed by absolute power, no such sanctuary existed—unless the intruder was subtly referring to their execution.

"So... you came to execute us?" Marie interjected, stepping up beside Jonas. To her, the youth's intent was obvious: eliminating them would remove a massive threat from the coming campaign. Furthermore, deserting Shura was out of the question; they had sworn an absolute oath to stand by the Demon Lord, who had rescued them and brought them together.

"Contain your anger; I harbor no desire to slay you," Aji said gently. "I possess the means to remove you from this battlefield, allowing you to enjoy your lives together in peace, entirely unbothered."

To the two warlords, the youth sounded increasingly delusional. Yet his absolute calm was undeniable. He introduced himself as Aji—a name completely absent from their intelligence records, despite their extensive espionage network tracking every high-tier grandmaster across the five continents.

Leaving the war to live in peace without consequences? How could they ever face Shura again? And why did this youth display not a single shred of fear before two of the 10 Annihilation Demons?

Moreover, how had a young cultivator come to possess knowledge of the 10 Annihilation Demons in the first place? That information was a closely guarded secret, sealed away from the martial world.

"I can transfer you both to a different dimension," Aji explained smoothly. "Not a hidden veil like the Second World, but an entirely separate realm disconnected from this physical plane."

This boy is insane, both Jonas and Marie concluded. A youth offering to relocate them to an alternate dimension sounded like the rambling of a lunatic.

They knew the Second World was a high-tier spatial technique deployed by Shura, hiding physical mass and aura behind an imperceptible boundary. Yet the concept of a completely separate, independent dimension was beyond comprehension.

Now, this stranger was claiming he could send them to a realm entirely severed from the physical world?

Suddenly, a realization struck Jonas. His mind flashed back to his fractured premonitions of the future—did this bizarre encounter link directly to the anomalies he had glimpsed? Many details in his visions had seemed illogical at the time.

Could this youth named Aji be the central key to the future timelines he had perceived? Jonas began cross-referencing his visions.

Losing his patience, Jonas raised his mid-sized broadsword, a wave of dark magic expanding outward from his vessel.

"Enough of your nonsensical ramblings, boy! You die here!"

As Jonas's dark aura spiked, the intense killing intent alerted his elite honor guard stationed outside. Fearing for their masters' safety, the guard division breached the marquee.

Five combatants rushed in first, followed by others, until twenty elite dark sub-commanders—the personal generals serving directly under Jonas and Marie—filled the chamber. They gasped in disbelief upon seeing a lone young cultivator standing calmly before their masters, while Jonas prepared to strike.

The elite guards were stunned. The intruder's aura clearly marked him as an orthodox cultivator, yet he had bypassed their vast perimeter undetected and now stood face-to-face with two Annihilation Demons without displaying a hint of fear.

"Die, brat!"

Jonas bellowed, surging forward at terrifying velocity. He intended to test the youth's true parameters himself. Aji was clearly no ordinary cultivator; his absolute composure after infiltrating a camp of two hundred thousand dark operatives proved as much.

Jonas moved like a black lightning bolt, leaving an Afterimage in his wake. His blade swirled with a volatile mixture of dark magic and azure atmospheric sparks, radiating immense kinetic weight. In the blink of an eye, Jonas crossed the distance, bringing his sword down toward Aji's head.

CLANG!

Impossible!

A split second prior, Aji had stood completely still, appearing utterly defenseless before the incoming blow. Yet as the steel drew near, Aji raised his wooden staff with both hands, catching the blade in a clean parry.

His reaction speed was absolute—invisible to the naked eye. One moment he stood empty-handed; the next, his staff was locking blades against Jonas's high-speed slash.

Jonas poured continuous dark aura into the clash, attempting to overpower his opponent through sheer kinetic force, yet Aji held his stance effortlessly. The resulting energy detonation unleashed a shockwave so intense that the twenty elite guards were forced to deploy personal barriers to avoid being swept off their feet.

Marie remained standing, enveloping her frame in a defensive shield as she observed the duel. She watched the young warrior with growing fascination, marveling at his composure inside the heart of the dark army's encampment.

Gritting his teeth, Jonas doubled his dark output, seeking to crush Aji's guard under a wave of absolute pressure.

"HAAAAA!"

The surging dark magic exploded outward, creating a brilliant, turbulent kinetic field. The twenty elite guards were forced back several paces despite channeling their peak dark parameters to anchor themselves.

This cannot be!

Jonas was genuinely stunned. Though he had not yet unsealed his full transformed state, doubling his kinetic pressure should have sent any young cultivator flying through the tent walls. Yet Aji stood unyielding, absorbing the blow without his boots shifting a single inch. Furthermore, as Jonas elevated his output, Aji's internal parameters rose in perfect tandem to match the pressure.

Every time Jonas increased his force, Aji adjusted his output instantly, perfectly neutralizing the incoming kinetic load. The youth possessed an extraordinary ability to measure an opponent's strength and counter it seamlessly.

The shockwave from their locked aura continued to shake the grand marquee, forcing the elite guards to strain against the kinetic recoil. It was a high-tier power struggle between two grandmaster-level combatants.

"Who are you truly?!" Jonas demanded, glaring at Aji as their weapons remained locked. "I acknowledge your strength. Before I unseal my full parameters, tell me who you are and why you came here!"

Jonas sought a clear answer before committing his absolute maximum strength to the fight.

Aji offered a quiet, serene smile. "Remember my name—I am Aji. I am merely a cultivator who wishes to build a better world. I seek nothing for myself, save for the complete eradication of Shura from this realm. I am simply a passing-through cultivator, and my time in this world will be brief."

Jonas stared at him in disbelief. What kind of answer is that?!

Building a better world sounded no different from Shura's grand ambition of forced peace. Yet this youth claimed his sole target was Shura himself, describing himself merely as a "passing-through cultivator."

Did such a person truly exist? Despite his skepticism, Jonas felt a sudden desire to see just how far this youth's resolve could carry him. He needed to test Aji's absolute limits—for if the boy truly aimed to eliminate Shura, he would need strength capable of defying the heavens themselves.

It was an intriguing development, opening a path Jonas had never anticipated.