Ethan’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a cold, murderous amethyst light. The air around him distorted as he took in the carnage. Nearby, Jason and six elite Falcon soldiers were desperately engaging the Scavenger Leader. They struck him with everything they had, but unlike their battle with the Ancestor, this was different. The Scavenger’s skeletal transformation made his body as hard as cold steel; their blows barely left a mark.

The Scavenger Leader roared, his skeletal hand blurring through the air. It pierced Jason’s abdomen with the ease of a hot knife through butter. Jason coughed up a violent spray of blood as the monster’s clawed fingers hooked into his liver, ripping it out.

The Scavenger chewed the organ raw, blood dripping down his chin as he mocked him. "Where is your leader now? You’re nothing but meat to him! He doesn’t even defend you...!!! Hahaha! Next, I’m taking your heart! I want you to look death in the eye and beg for mercy...!!!"

Despite the agonizing pain, Jason’s lips curled into a bloody grin. "This is... nothing."

With a trembling hand, Jason pulled a small vial of crimson liquid from his belt and downed it. It was a high-grade recovery potion. His flesh began to knit together, and his internal organs started to regenerate slowly, though the process was a grueling race against the Scavenger’s speed.

"It seems he’s generous with you," the Scavenger Leader hissed, his eyes narrowing. "Giving such valuable potions to a bunch of wor—"

A crack of thunder silenced him.

The Scavenger didn’t even see the movement. One moment he was taunting Jason; the next, a bolt of violet lightning materialized directly in front of his face. He found himself staring into Ethan’s amethyst eyes, which radiated a pressure so heavy it felt like the world was collapsing.

Ethan didn’t speak. He threw a single punch. It was so fast the Scavenger Leader couldn’t even raise his arms to parry.

BOOM!

The impact sounded like a mountain splitting apart. The Scavenger Leader was sent hurtling backward, skipping across the desert sand for hundreds of meters like a stone on water until he disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Ethan glanced down at Jason, his expression softening just a fraction. "You did well. Rest now."

With a single, explosive leap, Ethan vaulted onto the roof of the lead armored transport. He stood silhouetted against the smoke-filled sky, his right arm raised toward the heavens. Violet electricity arced wildly across his skin, feeding off the massive reserves of his new Spirit Core.

"Lightning Spears!" Ethan roared.

Fueled by his Spirit Body and amplified by his refined spiritual energy, a torrential rain of violet lightning bolts began to fall from the sky. Each bolt struck with precision, piercing the beast-men and causing their bodies to detonate from the inside out.

The monsters tried to regenerate, their flesh bubbling as it attempted to close the gaps, but the lightning remained in their systems, cauterizing their cells at a molecular level. Seeing their King standing tall, the soldiers found their courage.

"Counter-attack!" Jason yelled, leaning against a crate as he clutched his side. "Exterminate them all!"

The Royal army surged forward, their rifles buzzing furiously as the soldiers who had been freed from the pressure regrouped to help their comrades.

The Leader of Celestial watched Ethan’s speed with horror, his composure shattering. "Focus on their leader! All of you, kill him now...!!" he screamed, his voice reaching a panicked pitch. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

His two Taoist companions joined him, and together they unleashed thousands of paper talismans. The air around the three men became a swirling vortex of yellow paper, forming an impenetrable field of floating charms. They began a frantic, high-speed chant, and the talismans launched toward Ethan in a relentless wave.

Fireballs, mana explosions, and shards of spiritual ice slammed into Ethan’s position. He stood perfectly still, his arms crossed, absorbing every impact one after another. The explosions rocked the ground beneath him, but Ethan’s expression didn’t even flicker.

His body was enveloped in a faint, translucent amethyst aura that acted as a second skin, protecting even his clothes from the singe of the flames. It was the embryonic stage of Spiritual Armor—the unmistakable hallmark of a Core-level warrior. Though it was not yet fully developed or at its peak strength, it was more than enough to ensure that the Celestial attacks couldn’t even touch his hem.

Ethan looked at them through the smoke, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Then, he vanished.

"Watch out...!!" the Celestial Leader shrieked.

He slammed his palms together in a desperate move. A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield as hundreds of his defensive talismans detonated simultaneously, creating a layered stack of translucent mana barriers.

Ethan’s fist reappeared, driving forward with the force of a falling star. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! The shields shattered like glass one after another. Ethan’s fist tore through the defenses, vaporizing over two hundred layers of concentrated mana before his momentum finally ground to a halt just inches from the Leader’s face.

Ethan paused, a look of genuine surprise crossing his features. He looked at his own fist, then at the trembling man before him. "It seems I’ve underestimated you," Ethan said, his voice dangerously calm.

He looked up at his two Taoist companions with eyes full of desperation and pure terror.

"Run!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "Go! You must inform the Ancestor at any cost! Tell him... tell him what he is!"

With a frantic, suicidal motion, he slammed his fist into his own chest, forcing his heart to pump a concentrated burst of essence. He reached into his robes and pulled out a single, pitch-black talisman that seemed to swallow the light around it. He spat a mouthful of hot, vital blood directly onto the dark paper, the ink beginning to glow with a malevolent, pulsating purple light.

"GO NOW!" he screamed, the talisman in his hand beginning to vibrate with enough energy to tear the local space apart.