Yan Yi and the Bone Dragon stood two hundred meters apart, each wary of the other.

Yan Yi’s gaze never wavered from the skeletal beast. This thing felt like a cannon battery—any misstep would unleash hellfire.

The Bone Dragon shuddered inwardly. This tiny human radiated no mana, yet the moment he gripped his sword, crushing pressure slammed into its bones.

*Damn it. How does the human realm still harbor such ancient monsters? And to disguise himself as a boy… disgusting!*

Thankfully, Yan Yi didn’t hear its thoughts. Or he’d have spat blood on the spot. *I’m still a blooming flower of my homeland!*

Silent understanding flashed between them. They struck simultaneously!

“Crimson Spirit Flame Jade!”

A dozen violet jades erupted from the Bone Dragon’s chest like cannonballs. Yan Yi swung his blade—just once—but a dense barrage of azure sword qi flooded the sky.

Dozens of sword beams clashed with each jade. Explosions ripped through the air between them. Debris flew wildly. Even Juben and Luris, long fled to safety, felt the gale-force blast!

Yan Yi ignored the dust blinding his vision. He raised his sword and slashed diagonally. This time, no swarm of beams—just a single crimson sword qi, dozens of times larger than before, tore through the air!

Everything in its path split apart!

The dust cloud spanning hundreds of meters cleaved cleanly in two. Beneath it, the canyon carved by earlier strikes split again.

Simultaneously, the parted dust began swirling. A new jade formed—five times larger than before!

Both ultimate techniques brimmed with power dwarfing their previous attacks. Yet—they missed.

Yan Yi’s scalp prickled. Every bone in the dragon’s body rattled. He rolled left; it leaped right.

But the dragon’s massive frame betrayed it. The crimson beam sheared off its left wing. Shattered bone dust scattered. The earth behind it split open as the beam vanished into the distance.

Yan Yi fared no better. Small as he was, he dodged the jade—but the explosion’s force swallowed him whole. His hastily raised sword qi barrier crumbled under the onslaught. Blood no longer just trickled from his lip; he coughed up a mouthful, barely escaping the blast’s edge.

Both had already shifted over a hundred meters. No time for words. No time for taunts. They moved laterally, sword qi and flame jades crisscrossing the sky like deadly rain.

The Bone Forest muttered silently: *I have an “F” word I’d like to share…*

…

Juben and Luris sprinted for their lives. Only now did Juben realize—he’d broken through. Luris felt the shift too.

They poured every acceleration spell and drop of mana into flight. Twenty minutes later, they finally reached absolute safety.

“Luris, what caused those explosions? And… where’s Yan Yi?” Interle frowned at their battered state.

“No time!” Luris shouted. Juben rushed over, carefully lifting the healed Xiamu.

“Interle, gather the villagers’ Spirits! We must flee—now!”

While Juben was in the Bone Forest, Interle had bound all nearby Spirits with wood magic.

“Spirits without restored minds can’t leave the Bone Forest.”

Interle’s vines lifted the bound villagers into the air, carrying them toward the group.

“No choice. Just keep them restrained.”

Mindless Spirits would dissipate outside the forest. But they had no time. Another colossal explosion shook the earth.

Interle’s heart sank. *Yan Yi must be fighting that thing…*

“Explain on the run!”

They raced toward Moonlight Village. Luris gave a terse summary. Xiamu fretted—still no word of her companions. But that battlefield? Far beyond their strength.

Interle’s eyes widened. “You mean… that was *Yan Yi*? Truly that powerful? But that’s Yan Yi! The gullible one!”

She’d never witnessed a Demon Ascension battle. Even if she believed he had that power, this fierce warrior clashed utterly with the Yan Yi she knew.

“Interle!” Juben winced. “Even if Yan Yi’s unserious, easily tricked, and shamelessly opportunistic—you didn’t have to say it *that* bluntly!”

*Is that really defending Master? It just highlights more flaws…*

*“Ah-CHOO!”*

Yan Yi sneezed mid-dodge. His defensive sword qi flickered. A violet jade grazed his shoulder. Cold sweat drenched his back.

*Who’s cursing me?!*

Juben stumbled to a halt. The others stopped, confused—until voices boomed through the trees:

“Slothet, you old thief! Keep your son away from my brilliant, wise, utterly peerless daughter! Cross me again, and I’ll send him back to you in pieces!”

“What did you say, Aet, you wretched ghost?! My son’s exemplary! What filthy tricks did your daughter use to ensnare him? I should be demanding reparations!”

“*What?!* Say that again! Slander my daughter, and I’ll ensure your son never sees his father again!”

“Threatening me? We haven’t fought in years—you’ve grown bold! Fine! Pray your wife can patch you up after I’m done!”

“…”

Interle and Xiamu exchanged bitter smiles. Xiamu felt their entire mission here had nothing to do with her anymore.

Dark lines crept across Juben and Luris’s foreheads. Shadows seemed to coil around them.

Two icy voices cut through the air:

“…Father.”

…

***BOOM—***

***SHING—***

Yan Yi and the Bone Dragon had torn across ten miles of land. Craters scarred the earth behind Yan Yi; deep gashes marked the dragon’s path. Between them? Utter desolation.

The dragon’s severed wing regrew rapidly. Yan Yi wiped fresh blood from his mouth. Both panted. This was torture.

“You walking skeleton! Stop regenerating! I’ll pulverize you into dust the moment you do!”

Yan Yi could almost withstand the jades now—but their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. One slip, and a hailstorm of them nearly turned him into the crater-ridden ground.

“Stop regenerating? Then what’s the point of fighting?! I’m massive! And you—drop that barrier in front of you!”

The dragon trembled. Yan Yi’s strikes grew heavier with each blow, as if his stamina multiplied. Its most vulnerable part—its wings—had been shattered countless times.

“That’s not a barrier! It’s defensive sword qi! And it’s not for me—it’s to keep my clothes intact! You think I want to run around naked like you?!”

“Bones don’t need fashion sense!”

Two hundred meters apart, they traded insults until exhaustion silenced them. Yan Yi gasped, “Enough games. Time to end you.”

The Bone Dragon said nothing. A single violet Spirit Flame Jade swelled before it—larger than its outstretched wings. From Moonlight Forest, it glowed like a fallen star.

*This strike will drain my mana. No regeneration after. What rotten luck—appearing in the human realm was supposed to be a blessing!*

Yan Yi charged. His left hand gripped the sword hilt. Crimson and azure sword qi spiraled around the blade, merging at the tip into inky blackness. It consumed the entire sword.

As Yan Yi closed in, the dragon roared. The colossal jade blazed crimson—hurtling toward him.

“Crimson Spirit Flame Jade!”

Trees ignited before the blast even landed. The earth collapsed and surged. This strike could shatter heaven and earth!

Yan Yi’s pupils contracted. He leaped just as the ground beneath him began to melt. Flames licked the edges of his clothes, shielded by sword qi.

Facing the Crimson Spirit Flame Jade felt like standing before a meteor. A fierce grin spread across his face.

“It’s exhilarating… to unleash my full power so casually!”

*Well, almost full power.*

He gripped the sword with both hands. Raised it high. Slashed diagonally!

“Fallen… River of Souls!”

An invisible sword qi erupted—moon-crescent shaped, yet spherical, formless. A colossal beam of pure destruction. It struck the Crimson Spirit Flame Jade—

—and split it clean in two!

The weakened beam carved into the Bone Dragon’s chest. The twin halves of the jade detonated instantly!

A thunderclap shook the sky—even Moonlight Village heard it. Light from the Bone Forest blotted out the sun. A cataclysmic shockwave ripped through the land. Bones and trees flew like leaves. Even the two clan heads shielding the children nearly toppled over.

The Crimson Spirit Flame Jade’s power, amplified by the Fallen River of Souls, had shattered the limits of Demon Ascension!

As light faded and dust settled, the Bone Forest lay unrecognizable. Few bone-trees remained upright. Canyons and craters scarred the earth. A Demon Ascension battle had erased a forest.

At the epicenter lay a circular crater ten miles wide. And within it—a conical fissure, as if cleaved by a sky-obscuring giant sword.