Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 971: The World Marked Him

Ethan was forced back dozens of steps.

He steadied himself, eyes locked on that mote of light.

It hadn't dissipated.

If anything, it had grown brighter.

Like it had confirmed some kind of connection.

Then—

Another mote appeared from deep in the void.

This one felt even more familiar.

Ethan could clearly sense it: the energy flowing inside that mote was perfectly same-origin with Heavenly Demon Lightning.

It rushed over.

No attack.

No testing.

It went straight into Ethan's body.

The instant it touched him—

Heavenly Demon Lightning detonated.

White lightning raced through his energy circulation, spreading in a blink and merging completely with the mote.

His perception expanded violently. He could see the energy structure of this space with unnatural clarity—see the hidden veins running through it.

His forehead started to heat.

Energy gathered there.

Then—

It formed.

A white gem slowly emerged.

Ethan's eyes snapped wide.

The moment that white gem took shape on his forehead, he felt a change in his body—something irreversible.

This wasn't just a boost in power. It was deeper than that, like his very existence was linking up with the world's energy framework. Heavenly Demon Lightning no longer simply flowed through his channels—it spread into every corner of his senses, making his awareness sharper than it had ever been.

His breathing settled, steady and controlled.

But the space around him began to tremble, unstable.

The soul-entity that had been fighting the mote before was now completely pinned in place.

Its body wasn't whole anymore. It was bound by some invisible force, like the space itself was rejecting its right to exist.

The flickering core in its chest started to shake out of control—like it was being forcibly pulled free.

Ethan slowly lifted his hand.

He didn't consciously release power, but Heavenly Demon Lightning answered his intent anyway. It extended from his palm, splitting into several thin, terrifyingly stable arcs of white electricity.

Those arcs moved like they had minds of their own, wrapping precisely around the soul-entity's core.

The next instant—

The core detached.

No explosion. No struggle.

It was simply ripped out of the soul-entity's chest.

The soul-entity convulsed violently, then collapsed, breaking into countless energy fragments that scattered and vanished into the void.

Ethan drifted forward.

He reached out.

The core dropped neatly into his palm.

The moment he touched it, his pupils tightened.

An energy structure of unprecedented complexity spilled out from inside. It wasn't a single attribute at all, but a fused blend of multiple elements—like a piece of the world itself had been compressed into this tiny core.

The system reacted immediately.

Streams of data flickered across his vision.

The scan results refreshed again and again.

He could feel it clearly: this core wasn't a normal energy source. It was a highly integrated framework, containing the fundamental energy model of this Plane World.

And while he was still immersed in it—

Danger arrived.

The distant space twisted hard.

The "air" stopped moving entirely.

In its place came pressure—an oppressive presence, like something crawling up from the bottom of an abyss, closing in fast.

Ethan looked up at once.

His body shifted into combat on instinct.

Heavenly Demon Lightning spread around him, forming a defensive structure.

The next second—

They appeared.

Dozens of soul-entities burst out of the void.

Their forms were even less stable than the last one, as if they were made of pure malice. They had no fixed outline, but every time they moved, they tore at the space's structure and threw the surrounding energy into chaos.

They let out a silent roar.

The attacks came down.

Energy gathered.

Dozens of impacts fired at the same time.

Space shuddered.

Ethan didn't step back.

He only raised a hand, slowly.

The motion was light—so light it looked like he was just brushing the air.

But Heavenly Demon Lightning responded instantly.

White lightning spread from his fingertips, flooding the entire space in a blink.

It wasn't wild anymore. It carried a precise control structure now—like countless chains snapping into place, locking every soul-entity down.

The moment contact was made—

Destruction began.

Their structures collapsed at speed.

Their energy cores couldn't hold stability and started to break apart.

It didn't take long.

A few seconds later, the space fell quiet again.

All of the soul-entities were gone.

Ethan slowly lowered his hand.

He could feel it.

His control over this world had changed—fundamentally.

But then—

The world started collapsing.

The spatial framework stopped holding steady. Cracks spread at speed. Energy bled out in streams.

This inner world was losing its support.

Ethan didn't linger.

Heavenly Demon Lightning wrapped around his body, and he ripped himself out of the collapsing space.

The next instant—

He reappeared outside.

The massive energy giant was still standing there.

But it had already lost its core.

Its body began to come apart. Cracks raced across it.

Then—

It shattered completely.

Countless fragments of energy scattered through the air, then faded into nothing.

Thalorien and the others rushed in.

Their faces were full of shock.

But before any of them could speak—

A new threat arrived.

On a distant slope, a strand of energy rose slowly into the air.

It wasn't a normal fluctuation. It felt older—more primal.

Its very appearance caused a subtle shift in the world's energy structure, like the Plane World itself was responding to something that had just awakened.

Ethan's gaze pinned that spot.

His body slid into combat on instinct.

Heavenly Demon Lightning began to circulate.

He was ready to move.

That was when—

Thalorien stepped forward.

His voice was low, firm.

"This existence is the Thalaryn's mortal enemy."

His power began to release.

The air shook.

His body shot upward.

No further explanation.

He was already charging straight at the source of that energy.

The next instant—

The fight exploded.

On the slope, energy impacts bloomed outward, and the space there started to quake violently.

Ethan's pupils tightened hard as he hovered in midair, feeling the Plane World's energy flow twist into chaos—like a calm lake being churned up by an invisible hand.

He'd thought this place was just an untouched pocket world, a standalone space no civilization had ever reached. But what Thalorien had just said cut into his mind like a blade.

If this place was truly independent… then how the hell had the Thalaryn's mortal enemy shown up here?

The thought hadn't even fully formed when the earth in the distance began to tremble.

A low, dense scraping sound rolled in from the far edge of the horizon, slow and steady—like countless hard shells grinding together as they collided.