They couldn’t hear the roar... yet the ground trembled beneath their feet. An ominous presence rose silently, pressing down on their hearts like an invisible weight.

One by one, they turned to look at each other — throats dry, breaths uneven — as an unspoken fear spread through the crowd.

Zola’s gaze darted toward a distant direction, his expression darkening. "This is bad..." he muttered. "It shouldn’t have awakened this early. No one in the mortal realm is capable of defeating it."

Meanwhile, deep within the cave... The colossal crimson being suddenly fell silent.

A wicked smile spread across its face. "Humans... so many of them."

It vanished. Not a blur. Not a trace. Simply... gone.

He vanished from where he stood. The next instant, he appeared right in front of Logan. "We need to leave. Now. Or you will die."

"To the Immortal Heavens," Zola replied calmly.

Zola’s eyes remained as they were. "Yes. It’s a demon. Though it’s only a soldier-level demon... but even that is equivalent to a third-stage Nascent Soul refiner." He paused briefly before adding, "That’s three entire realms above Martial Sovereign." His words spelled disaster. Yet his expression remained unchanged — calm... almost unhinged. It revealed only one thing. He wasn’t afraid, no matter how powerful it was. But he had no intention of interfering.

But Logan’s pupils shrank. "What? A demon? Three realms above Martial Sovereign—" He didn’t get to finish.

A violent gust of wind exploded outward from the center of the battlefield, forcing everyone to stagger back.

It appeared.

Slowly... it rose.

"Who... who are you?" Hueng Long asked, struggling to suppress the dread rising in his heart.

Then...

Blarrghh!

Silence! It was as if everything had frozen.

Hueng Long hadn’t even had the chance to react — no defense, no dodge... nothing.

At any other time, he would have addressed him as Master. But now... all restraint shattered as he rushed forward in desperation.

The demon appeared before Wang Long like a ghost. Its arm shot forward.

It pierced through him effortlessly. In the next moment, the demon withdrew its hand... A blood-soaked organ clenched in its grasp.

Chianxu stood frozen where she was. Not even a minute had passed... and two members of her family were already dead.

This happened.

’What do we do now?’

The thoughts echoed silently, filled with despair.

Then...

The demon slowly turned toward her. Its lips curled into a twisted smile. It licked its lips... as if a delicacy had just walked straight into its grasp.

At the same time, Chianxu thrust a spear forward with everything she had.

Time seemed to slow. The outcome was obvious. The patriarch of the Long family, a martial sovereign, couldn’t survive a single blow. Her father, a martial emperor... couldn’t either. So what could she — a mere martial king possibly do?

Just before her suicidal strike could land...

Chianxu vanished. The demon’s attack sliced through empty air. Yet...

In the distance...

Chianxu was in his arms. Across Logan’s back, two deep, bloody gashes ran diagonally — fresh and brutal.

Ignoring the pain, Logan tightened his grip slightly and looked down at her. "Don’t act rashly," he said firmly. "I know what you’re going through." His voice softened — just a fraction. "But will throwing your life away... bring justice to your father and your grandfather?"

But just then...

Her vision blurred. And everything... went black.

Gently, he lowered her to the ground, making sure she was safe.

He rose to his feet. And turned. Standing face to face with the demon.

The air itself grew heavy — thick with suffocating tension. As if the world was holding its breath... waiting for what would come next.