Halfway through their escape across the rooftops of Vorthex Prime, the night exploded.

A deafening thunderclap shattered the sky, followed immediately by a devastating shockwave that ripped through the city like an invisible hammer. The ground heaved violently, buildings groaning and cracking as if struck by a planetary earthquake. Neon signs flickered and shattered. Hovering vehicles spun out of control, crashing into towers. Screams erupted from the streets below as people were thrown off their feet, some sent flying into walls, others crushed under falling debris. Entire structures on the lower levels collapsed in clouds of dust and fire. The death toll was instant and brutal.

Lian and Elara froze mid-leap on a high rooftop.

Before they could react, a massive figure came hurtling toward them like a cannonball, trailing dark Qi and broken masonry. The person smashed straight into the reinforced building they had just been standing on with catastrophic force.

BOOM!

The entire structure shuddered. Reinforced walls that were built with mid-grade precursor alloy — classified in the planetary construction system as Grade E (strong enough to withstand heavy orbital bombardment and Core Condensation realm attacks) — cracked and exploded outward. These buildings were nowhere near as strong as the auction house’s elite Grade A+ shielding, but they were still far tougher than normal civilian structures. A Core Condensation realm cultivator should not have been able to destroy one so easily.

Lian and Elara jumped away at the last second, landing on an adjacent rooftop as the building they had been on partially collapsed in a roar of dust and falling steel. Chunks of reinforced concrete and twisted metal rained down into the streets below.

The figure who had caused the destruction slowly stood up from the rubble, laughing loudly — a wild, unhinged sound that echoed across the devastated block.

Lian’s eyes narrowed the moment he heard that voice.

It was Zephyr Kane.

The lone wanderer rose from the wreckage, his dark gray robe torn but his body mostly unharmed. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his silver eyes burned with manic joy. Dust and debris fell from his midnight-black hair as he cracked his neck.

“Is this the best you can do, Representative?” Zephyr shouted into the night, his voice carrying clear amusement and challenge. “You come for revenge over a little humiliation at the auction, and this is all you bring? Pathetic!”

Lian understood immediately what was happening.

This was revenge.

The Eternal Veil Syndicate representative had waited for the auction to end, then launched an attack on Zephyr Kane for daring to challenge him publicly. The representative wanted to make an example out of the lone wanderer who had refused to back down.

From the opposite side of the ruined street, another group appeared.

The Eternal Veil Syndicate representative descended slowly from the air, surrounded by ten black-clad figures. All ten wore full masks and dark combat suits, their auras suppressed but clearly powerful. They landed in perfect formation behind their master, silent and deadly.

The representative’s face was twisted with cold fury, but his voice remained composed as he stared at Zephyr Kane.

“You dared humiliate me in front of the entire auction,” he said flatly. “Now you will learn what happens to those who challenge the Eternal Veil Syndicate.”

Zephyr Kane threw his head back and laughed again, louder this time, the sound echoing between the damaged buildings like a madman’s declaration of war.

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

Eternal Veil Syndicate: A powerful organization with higher-ups at Nebula Dominion and at least one Void Ancestor- level.

Zephyr Zane: A lone wonderer.

Keep it as reminders