Jidu, the Heavenly Virtue of Pride, was stranded in the air.

Black rods now pierced all of his limbs, dispersing his Spiritual Essence and seeping away any physical strength he could muster.

As he bled from each wound, his eyes remained blazing with fury.

He wanted to curse, shout at their insolence. Unfortunately for him, he barely had the strength to move his eyes, much less his mouth.

Ozul seriously observed him for a moment, making sure there were no tricks he could pull to escape now.

Then he nodded toward Raven and Blaze, who understood the gesture and turned their focus on the Empyreans being held off by their companions.

It was time for cleanup.

Ozul turned his attention to Zier.

He had descended to the ground and was clutching his chest in pain.

The aftereffects of creating a poison strong enough to affect a Heavenly Virtue using his Blood Arts were too much of a burden for a mid-level Empyrean like him.

He rotated his Spiritual Essence, focusing on neutralizing the poison before it also began to affect him.

Ozul reached there just in time and immediately injected the Purity into his body.

While Zier knew where to guide his Spiritual Essence, Ozul provided him the force to push it with much more ease.

A few minutes passed, and he recovered enough to stand straight.

Smirking, he commented, "Seeing how long it took you, I should’ve made it a little less potent." It would have been less of a burden on him then.

Ozul shook his head and replied, "You couldn’t take chances."

Zier nodded. After all, they only had guesses for how strong the Virtues really were. No shortcomings were allowed in the plan.

’If the poison had failed, could he really-?...’ He glanced up at Ozul and smiled, ’Yes, he would’ve already killed the Heavenly Virtue of Pride.’

"If you are well, go help the others. Do not chase them if they escape," Ozul’s words brought him back from his musings.

"I have to concentrate on him as well..."

Zier nodded, realizing that even Ozul couldn’t drop his guard in front of a Heavenly Virtue. He bolted toward the others to help them finish it as soon as possible.

...

It didn’t take long, as the majority on their side quickly overwhelmed the other Empyreans.

Seeing Jidu’s bloody figure stranded in the air with rods sticking out of his body was enough to break their morale.

As they made a move to flee, no one tried to chase them; Ozul had given them clear instructions to get it over with as quickly as possible.

With their mission over, Ozul willed it, and a spatial rift split open right in front of the group.

They all stepped into it, appearing in a secluded grassland in an unknown Realm.

Unconcerned with the surroundings, they gathered around the weakened Heavenly Virtue, who looked more pitiful than a lamb tied for slaughter.

Among them, Ember’s interest stood out the most.

As dark red scales covered her transformed hands, she subconsciously itched closer to him.

The pain and trauma after he had ripped out her Mind’s Eye without mercy, the amusement flashing past his eyes as he watched her squirm in pain, and the humiliation she felt while hiding for decades.

All of that didn’t suddenly come to her mind; she had never forgotten it.

Her days of misery were etched in the sharpest corners of her memory.

And now the subject of centuries of her bottled-up emotions was before her, helpless to defend himself.

Before she got any closer, however, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

Turning around sharply, she was about to shout, but stopped when she saw it was Rai’s rare, solemn face.

Shaking his head, he spoke lightly, "It is not the time yet."

They both noticed Ozul silently sitting behind Jidu as he placed his palm on his back.

"Do not drop your guard, I am loosening his restraints a little," his voice reached their ears. Right after that, the black rods shrank in size, but remained impaled in him.

The 6 Empyreans nodded earnestly, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.

Soon, they could even feel that Spiritual Essence was circulating around Jidu again. It was weak, unworthy of a Heavenly Virtue, but still better than having none of it.

Going to all that trouble of subduing Jidu alive was for one reason only: learning the difference between the Heavenly Virtues and the rest of the cultivators.

Something must be different in the very fundamentals if no one in existence had ever stepped into that threshold.

If he could learn that and help the trio reach that level, it would only make it easier for him.

Even if he couldn’t find any secrets, understanding the difference in their physiology would at least let him explain to them a certain path they would have to follow.

After all, once the cultivators reached the Empyrean Realm, there was no clear direction of progress.

All of them blindly wandered about, some luckily stepping into corners which gave them an edge over the others.

This was the reason there wasn’t any noticeable difference between the Empyreans.

Ozul’s vision shifted from darkness to subtle outlines.

This was his way of perception as he probed Jidu’s body using the Purity.

The wisps of Purity slithered around all of his Spiritual pathways, nodes, and even the core.

It took him almost half an hour before he opened his eyes again.

As soon as he did, the black rods strengthened again. A groan of pain escaped Jidu’s throat as he again lost the little traces of Spiritual Essence.

Facing Ember, he said, "I believe you want to kill him?"

Ember nodded absentmindedly.

"He is all yours."

And with that, he stood up and gestured to the others to give Ember space.

With that began an hour-long spectacle which allowed others to see just how deep the hatred of dragons really burned.

Ozul was busy in his thoughts, but the other five couldn’t keep their eyes off Jidu.

Ember’s hands were turned into dragon claws. Fire and fury reigned over Jidu. She kept muttering something to him, but they had no way of knowing since she blocked off all sound.

Tears and cuts piled on his old body, and pain kept accumulating. He had no way to defend himself.

Worst of it all, he was conscious throughout the experience, yet he couldn’t move at all.

His best show of struggle was weak groans of pain that escaped his throat. His mouth couldn’t even shape those sounds.

Soon, however, it got tiring.

Ember breathed heavily. Even with no protection, hurting the body of a Heavenly Virtue drained her.

Yet, her hatred was anything but quenched.

With one final strike, she reached for his throat.

Her claws gripped his windpipe, and with one foot on his chest, she pulled it apart!

Blood splattered everywhere, and the lifeless body of the Heavenly Virtue of Pride fell with a small thud.

Everyone watched in eerie silence as the Ember turned around, her face solemn and marred with blood.

Yet, Rai noticed a hint of satisfaction lingering at the corner of her eyes.

The unseen weight on her shoulders was lifted as she walked back to the group with light steps.

She stopped near Ozul and spoke softly, "Thank you."

He didn’t look up to respond, remaining passive in his thoughts.

And then she plopped down next to him, her face toward the ruined corpse of Jidu as she exhaled a deep breath.

"Ha..."

A slow smile crept its way onto her face as she felt the cool breeze on her bloody face. Her heart was at peace now.

If the others were not battle-hardened Empyreans who had lived centuries, they would have been disturbed at the sight.

Just then, however, Ozul’s Purity surged forth and surrounded Jidu’s corpse.

A few seconds later, the Purity receded back into his body, leaving behind a husk, an empty shell. It would soon crumble away with strong winds.

Absorbing a Heavenly Virtue was yet another boost in his strength.

Next time, it would be easier to handle one of them now.

’If I absorb all of them... will I be able to go against that Emperor?’ He thought for a moment, but disregarded that thought.

It was pointless to muse on what he couldn’t know. Since he had never even seen him, a conclusion couldn’t be drawn just yet.

"So, there are only 6 Heavenly Virtues now..." Rai broke the silence with a wide grin plastered on his face.

Although he wanted to make some contribution in subduing the big man, it was still a great sight to behold.

Ozul heaved a sigh and asked Ember, "My final target is the Heavenly Emperor. Will you follow me?"

Although two Empyreans mattered little if the battle was against ’the God,’ it would change everything if he could boost their powers like the Virtues.

Ember nodded without hesitation. He had given her the long-sought-after revenge. Now, she was ready to risk her life again.

Turning toward Rai, he stared silently.

Rai smiled sheepishly, "I go where Lord Ember goes."

Finally, it was Vesta’s turn. Unlike Rai, she was more honest about her feelings.

"Watching someone that powerful squirm in pain? Oh, I want that." As she said that, her face couldn’t help but morph into an uneven smile. Even her subordinates who considered her the messiah destined for their liberation would think twice upon seeing that.

Ozul nodded, confirming their words after sensing their emotions.

"It’s settled then." He nodded and then eyed Zier,

"You should be first..."