Julius might have gotten his head crushed, but that wasn’t what worried him. This wasn’t the first time he’d gotten his head blasted apart. But it was the first time that his opponent successfully interfered with his healing skill while doing so.

[Phoenix Renewal] was trying its best to heal him, but the Tier 5 used every ounce of its strength and willpower to ensure he couldn’t. That same black cloud that had immobilized him was now flowing into his soul. And it was an insidious thing.

It was directly attacking his healing skill. He’d never experienced anything like this before, and it was a little worrisome. Drasil and Seraphyne, who were still inside his soul, were frantically trying their best to get rid of this attack. Drasil went so far as to blow on the cloud to dissipate it.

It would have been a hilarious sight on any normal occasion, but it was ruined by the truly deadly situation he found himself in. He could feel his body getting weaker with every passing moment that his head remained destroyed. His thoughts were becoming hazier and more discombobulated. It was only thanks to his legendary focus skill that he was still able to keep all of his skills active and fight back.

He attempted to use [Void Step] to escape, but it was like a mountain fell from the sky and crushed the structure of the skill before it could activate. It fell apart like a sand castle getting swept out to sea.

If that wasn’t bad enough, he could feel its domain activating around him. With him already so distracted, he couldn’t use his anti-domain technique. He failed to gather his soul in time to prevent it from pouring down on him.

Despite his impressive willpower, there was nothing he could do when the full strength of a bona fide Tier 5 pressed its entire weight and oppressive domain on him. His skills flickered out, and his healing skill was the last one standing. He did the only thing he could think of and released as much mana as he could.

Just like whenever things got tough, he brute-forced it.

But even then, it was a futile fight. This ant stood over him as it tore apart any resilience he put up. He didn’t know whether it was a blessing or a curse that his spatial perception was the only thing working at the moment. His long-time training of the skill allowed him to use it to some extent despite it being suppressed.

The creature knew he was dying, and he could practically feel its amusement as it watched him struggle.

It lifted its leg and placed it on his chest. He was just conscious enough that he could feel its heavy weight, crushing his ribs. Then, with a push, it drove its leg straight through his chest. His already struggling healing skill was overloaded. The combination of attacks was too much for it to handle, and he felt it flicker out.

And once that happened, the ant didn’t let up. It collapsed on top of his soul and aura. It wasn’t giving him any chances or opportunities.

And he felt his consciousness start to fade. He struggled with all of his might, used every trick he could think of to hang on. He grabbed hold of every ounce of his soul and let it blast out. He desperately clung to life and roared out as he slammed his dying aura into the ant that still had its foot wedged into his chest.

But not even his legendary skill could keep him going anymore. He felt his willpower slowly fading away, like a dying light. He kept on trying, but it was like flailing around against the heavens futilely.

Then there was nothing left. His soul felt empty and broken from his desperation-fueled actions. The only thing he could do was lie in the dirt as the ant bent over, its pincers wide open as it got closer.

This fucker is going to eat me, he internally cursed.

He then laughed, or at least tried to. He didn’t exactly have a mouth to laugh out of. He was going to die, and honestly, he didn’t know what was going to happen. His Ruinous Phoenix Body mentioned that it was possible to come back to life, but he didn’t have a lot of faith in that description.

Freya explained that it wasn’t something that he should ever attempt. It was something that cost a lot to use, and she didn’t know if he would be able to afford it.

But seeing that he was at the end of the road, he was going to go for it. If anything, he was more worried about what would happen to Drasil and Seraphyne. There was no telling what would happen to them.

Making a decision, he drew upon the very last crumbs of his mind and, with a groan, forcibly ejected Drasil and Seraphyne from his soul. Or at least he tried to. He was successful in throwing Seraphyne out; the ant tried to grab her with its domain before she could get away, but Julius somehow found another reservoir of strength and managed to deflect the domain long enough for her to get away.

Unfortunately, she was the only one who came out. Drasil, the stupid little glutton, had no intention of leaving. He grasped tightly onto Julius and wouldn’t allow himself to be ejected. Julius was bombarded with flashes of stubbornness and determination.

Drasil was making it clear that he wasn’t going to leave him. And Julius didn’t exactly have the strength to force him otherwise.

Julius felt incredibly amused and fondly rubbed Drasil on the head with his soul, a solemn smile on his face.

Drasil released another resolved pulse in response. He could tell what Julius was planning and got to work.

If this stupid ant was going to eat him, then he was going to be in for a surprise. Julius began to compress his core to its limit, he only just advanced to Tier 4, so his ability to control it was quite low, but that didn’t stop him.

While it compressed, Drasil helped it spin rapidly. A vortex of ruin swirled in his soul, sucking in every ounce of mana left in his body. His crown, which had been knocked off when his head had been smashed, reappeared in his soul space. The temperamental thing also recognized what Julius was doing, and he didn’t have to request its help. It jumped in without a word, aiding him and Drasil.

The ant on top of him must have felt this change and reacted swiftly. It started to rip his body apart; its plan to eat him was no longer important. Julius let out an amused chuckle. It was too late.

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His Imperfect Phoenix Core was already on the edge, and he gave it the last push. The core cracked and then immediately detonated. The ant tried to get away, but the sheer amount of ruinous energy and mana disrupted its skills enough that it was unable to.

Julius watched as the ant was torn apart just as everything within a several hundred feet turned white.

***

Elder Huan POV

The entire battlefield froze when a blinding white tore through it. A sphere of destruction and flames obliterated everything in its path. Nothing was left except a perfectly round crater where Julius had once been.

Huan had many indescribable feelings flowing through him at the moment. This kind of destruction wasn’t something seen from a Tier 4. It wasn’t even something you’d normally see from a Tier 5.

A display like this would have firmly placed Julius at the head of the sect if he were a disciple. A talent that the sect would have spared nothing to nourish and train.

Was this what Cassandra had seen in Julius? Was this why she was so insistent on treating him with so much care? He knew that Julius was special, but he had seriously undervalued him. And perhaps that was his mistake. If he knew what he knew now, he would have never sent Julius to the frontlines to help. He would have done everything in his power to keep him alive and return him to the sect safely.

But now that same talent that had annihilated a Tier 5 and countless Tier 4 ants with that last attack was dead in that crater.

Regret and anger poured into him like an unstoppable tidal wave. And he allowed it to keep on rushing in. Leon, who was still beside him, protecting him, had to step back to avoid getting injured by the incredibly powerful flames.

“Elder Huan, calm down!”

Calm down?

He slowly turned toward the young elder. “Get back to the camp. I will handle the rest,” he said in a soft whisper. All of his plans were forgotten.

Leon was thankfully smart enough to know better than to argue and, with a blast of mana, tore through the Tier 5s, blocking them in. The ants didn’t even try to stop him; they were completely focused on Huan. They knew who the real danger was and were preparing to activate countless skills to protect themselves.

Not that it mattered. Because during Julius’s last resort explosion, he’d gotten inspiration. He felt the notifications flooding in, but dismissed them. He laughed self-deprecatingly to himself.

The sad irony of this. For years, he’d been stuck; it'd been so long that he completely gave up on progressing any further. Becoming Tier 5 had been one of the best days of his life. It had proved that he had the talent and dedication to get there. But after many years at Tier 5, he realized something.

He wasn’t special. Not compared to other geniuses and monsters who were already at Tier 6 before they turned thirty. No, he was missing something. That spark or special light that these other geniuses seemed to have.

Cassandra was one of these people. An absolute monster who might not have been graced with the standard talent one would expect from a Tier 6, but she had the spark.

And ever since then, he’d been desperately trying to find that same spark. Chasing after it, doing whatever he could to see if he could find it. And for years, he failed.

But that explosion had revealed something to him. Julius had ignited his own spark to fuel it, and without a moment's hesitation either. But in that brief moment, Huan realized the truth.

He always had the spark. It wasn’t something that he didn’t have; in fact, it had never left him. He had it when he was a weak Tier 2. When he was an arrogant Tier 4. But as he got stronger and older, that spark slowly faded. It was the same reason why he hadn’t taken any missions for years. The same reason why he wallowed in the sect, managing the Mission Hall.

He was satisfied. He told himself that he wasn’t, but deep in his heart, he was. And that dimmed his spirit year after year until it resembled the faint little spark it was now.

But it was still there. And so he ignited it. He fueled it with everything, much like Julius had done during his final moments. The entirety of his being and sense of self.

He could feel his soul and his body being drained of life, but he already knew the truth and couldn’t stop now. The moment he flinched would be the moment he failed, and he knew that if he failed here, he would die, as would everyone in the camp behind him. Without him, they would be overrun.

But he didn’t let those thoughts deter him; if anything, he used them as fuel and motivation.

The Tier 5s were still trying to break through his wall of flames; they could sense something. But it was already too late.

He felt the last piece slot into place, and instantly, the entire world went silent. His flames, which had been roaring all over the place, disappeared. Vanishing as if they were never there.

He stared at the incoming ants and let out a chuckle. These creatures, which had been pushing him to his limit, suddenly seemed so simple.

He spotted the little sparks flickering within their bodies and scoffed. They were truly pathetic creatures. He could tell that their power came at a cost. The corruption had twisted them so badly that they sacrificed everything for that speck of power.

He grasped those pitiful sparks with his will and let out a soft breath.

“Ignite,” he whispered. His words were barely audible, yet they weighed so heavily on the world that reality twisted.

The ants dashing toward him, ignited in flames, and none of their skills or strength was enough to stop it. In less than a second, the Tier 5s and their overwhelming strength were piles of ash, blowing in the wind.

The swarm of ants was next; their sparks were even dimmer and weaker than the Tier 5s. They were turned to dust as he ignited them with a soft whisper.

An explosion of power from whatever force was supporting them blasted outward, shielding whatever remained of their forces. He wasn’t able to get all of them, but it was more than enough. The danger they posed was significantly reduced.

He let out a shaky breath, blood dripping out of his nose. The strain of using such a power didn’t come without a price. He would need some time to recover and acclimate to it.

He wiped his nose and looked over at the crater that Julius created with his last attack. It was then that he finally read the final notification he received.

Congratulations, you have pushed the boundaries of reality and acquired the Supremacy of the Dying Spark.

If only it hadn’t taken such an accident for him to reach this enlightenment. He shook his head in disgust and went over to the crater. However, he paused and stared blankly at what appeared to be some small creature at the center of the hole.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a small turtle of some kind.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, mainly talking to himself.

But to his surprise, the turtle turned toward him. “Don’t worry, he does this from time to time. I’m pretty sure he’s still alive,” a female voice rang out in his mind.

Huan didn’t understand what she was trying to say, but he could feel the barest trickle of aura coming from underneath where she was sitting. Feeling the smallest bit of hope come back to life, he quickly walked over to her and stared at the aura coming from the pile of ash.

“What is—”

“Shhh.”

He was stunned that he was being shushed by a turtle not much larger than his hand. And he was even more stunned when he found himself listening to her. Instead, he sat down next to her, and the two of them watched the pile of ash in silence.