Alicia fought with a furious, unbridled rage, completely consumed by the devastating truth Sengturi had just revealed—that her father had been poisoned by the Golden Crane Academy. Their motive was painfully clear: to eliminate her father and expand their own influence, solidifying their position as the second most powerful faction behind Dasatama.

To make matters worse, they had exploited her family’s vulnerability, pressing her into a marriage proposal under the guise of salvation. They were consumed by an insatiable greed for control, desperate to establish themselves as an absolute power in this world.

The ultimate technique left behind by her grandfather, Yonan, which she had absorbed from Aji's sealed scroll, now surged through her veins. Though she remained at the peak of Rank 8, the relentless onslaught of her sword swings felt like a volley of explosive fiery embers. Massive waves of energy continuously radiated outward, engulfing everything around them.

Friend and foe alike were swept up in the collateral shockwaves of Alicia's fury. Anyone caught near her vicinity was forced to deploy defensive barriers to protect themselves from the lingering blasts.

Sengturi found himself overwhelmed, struggling to parry her fierce, continuous strikes. He had never imagined that the woman he nearly wed possessed such terrifying combat power. Yet, it was hardly surprising—she was the true granddaughter of Saint Yonan.

Realizing he was being pushed to the brink, Sengturi resorted to the dark cultivation arts he had secretly mastered, fusing his core strength with the sinister energy slumbering within his body.

"Soul Transform!"

Sengturi unleashed a surge of pitch-black energy from within, merging it seamlessly with his physical frame. A glowing horn materialized upon his forehead, though the rest of his physical features remained unchanged.

It was a volatile synthesis of light and dark forces. A dense shroud of black mist and dark energy swirled around Sengturi's frame, multiplying his combat power exponentially. Re-energized, he stepped forward to meet Alicia's fierce assault once more.

Their blades collided with a deafening clash.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Lunox tried to press her assault on the Sky Squad, only to be intercepted by Barsha. Moving with blinding speed, Barsha restricted Lunox's mobility, forcing the dark warrior into a defensive stance as she strained to withstand Barsha's relentless pressure.

Meanwhile, Bezman found himself locked in combat with Lao once again. The chaotic, sweeping strikes of Bezman's chain weapons were repeatedly checked by Lao's exploding energy discs. On the opposite side of the courtyard, Gayatri held the line against Rasu.

Across the entire compound, the Sky Squad engaged in desperate, high-stakes duels against the combined forces of the Golden Crane Academy disciples and the dark army. This was no longer a skirmish they could easily contain—their opponents were highly trained, battle-hardened veterans with extensive combat experience.

They urgently needed reinforcements!

Battling while simultaneously trying to cover his squad, Commander Gonan raised his magic communication ring to send out an emergency distress signal. He issued an urgent summons to Dasatama, as well as the senior advisors and sect leaders across the continent—particularly those within the Orpris continent itself.

They needed to mobilize immediately via spatial magic portals, linking directly to the portal in Linggar Emas so they could breach the Golden Crane Academy grounds without delay.

Until help arrived, however, they had to survive the relentless onslaught of the traitors and dark operatives. The situation was growing increasingly dire, as even the rank-and-file dark operatives were resorting to demonic transformations. Though transforming granted them immense power, it came with a strict time limit; the dark forces were deliberately dragging out the battle to wear the righteous fighters down.

In this world, martial arts were fundamentally divided into two distinct paths.

The first was the Righteous Path—often referred to as White Martial Arts. Practitioners of this discipline relied on cultivating internal energy through patient, rigorous training, awakening the latent power within their own bodies. They pursued strength through perseverance and discipline, walking a honorable path that caused no harm to the innocent.

While progress along the Righteous Path was noticeably slower, those who dedicated themselves entirely to the craft could reach supreme levels of power.

The greatest virtue of the Righteous Path lay in its stability—practitioners rarely suffered catastrophic side effects from energy overload. While energy deviation could theoretically affect anyone, it was an exceptionally rare occurrence among those who followed the White Martial Arts.

The Dark Path, practiced by the army of darkness, was the exact opposite. Its followers were unwilling to endure the lengthy process required to achieve genuine mastery. They resorted to any means necessary—sacrificing others, absorbing foreign soul energies, and practicing forbidden arts rooted in dark demonic magic.

This path exacted a heavy toll on the user's body and soul. Practitioners effectively bartered their very souls for immediate power, leaving them vastly more susceptible to severe energy deviation.

If a dark cultivator failed to control their heightened emotions while pushing their power past its limit, it often marked the end of their martial journey. They would be utterly consumed by demonic energy, losing all conscious control over their own physical bodies.

Astro and Arion fought back-to-back, coordinating their movements to repel the incoming waves of dark operatives. They covered each other's blind spots, successfully taking down several opponents. Yet, as more enemies activated their demonic transformations, the sudden surge in the enemy's physical parameters forced the two into a defensive retreat.

Across every quadrant of the estate, every member of the Sky Squad fought with everything they had.

Lao struggled to find an opening against Bezman, who continuously bombarded him with heavy, blade-tipped energy chains. Following his Demon Transformation, Bezman's frame had expanded significantly, his face contorting into a terrifying, dark mask.

Forced onto the defensive, Lao focused his internal energy into the upgraded discs forged by Chief Blacksmith Rakuta. Lao channeled his core strength into every strike, clashing against the incoming chains. Yet the enchanted metal chains were extraordinarily resilient, refusing to break as the two traded heavy blows.

As the duel dragged on, Lao began to falter under the overwhelming bombardment. Sensing an opening while Lao was focused on offensive maneuvers, Bezman whipped the opposing end of his chain forward. The razor-sharp blade at the tip cut through the air with a violent, whistling gale. Caught off-guard, Lao had no time to dodge—he was forced to recall his energy and brace behind a hasty barrier.

SNAP!

Unexpectedly, a radiant, shimmering figure materialized directly in front of Lao, catching the lethal chain mid-air with her bare hands. Lao gasped, saved from a critical hit at the last possible second.

Bezman flinched in surprise, yanking hard on the chain, but the shimmering entity held it fast with an iron grip. It was no ordinary human—yet it possessed the distinct silhouette of a woman.

The radiant figure was a summoned energy clone manifested by Gayatri. Though locked in her own fierce duel against Rasu, Gayatri had kept a watchful eye on her brother. Splitting her focus, she had channeled a portion of her core power to project the energy clone across the battlefield to protect him.

Lao stood in awe—his younger sister had once again proven herself to be one step ahead. She truly was a genius. She had witnessed Warrior Jiro's demonstration on sustaining energy summons through intense concentration only once—a technique even Warrior Jiro struggled to keep completely stable—and yet she had already mastered it.

Now, she was capable of maintaining an energy summon on an active battlefield, intervening to save her brother while simultaneously holding her own ground.

Refusing to let his sister's intervention go to waste, Lao spotted a decisive opening. He drove his core energy into the dual discs in his hands, sprinting forward at maximum speed. He dashed straight toward Bezman, sliding along the length of the taut energy chain held firmly between Gayatri's summon and Bezman's grip.

WOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHHH!