Inside a dark, enclosed room brimming with wind elemental energy, Kanoru sat in absolute silence. With his legs crossed and eyes closed, he was comprehending the wind element, letting his mind and chakra flow freely through the ambient energy. His spiritual space now contained 30 wind elemental runes. One more rune, and he would advance to the Spirit Lord realm.
To reach that final breakthrough, he was employing the method he had discovered through countless trials—combining spells to deepen his understanding of the element. After mastering every wind elemental spell available through merit exchange, he had begun fusing them into more powerful composite spells. With each success, his comprehension of wind essence increased, bringing him closer to the elusive Spirit Lord realm.
However, simply mastering others' spells wasn't enough. With his knowledge of battle arts from his past life, he started creating original spells. One of his proudest creations was the Wind-Rasengan, a swirling orb of razor-sharp wind chakra that could tear through armor and rend flesh with terrifying precision. The first time he used it, he had unexpectedly slain two Spirit Realm invaders, catching them off guard with its devastating power.
But now, he needed to go further. To advance to the Spirit Lord realm, he had to create a spell capable of seriously injuring a Spirit Lord—something that could rival the might of their advanced techniques.
To achieve this, he was now working on combining two of his most powerful wind spells: Sky Sword and 1000 Wind Arrow Kill.
His goal was simple yet ambitious—to infuse each wind arrow with the same destructive force as Sky Sword. If he succeeded, the spell would become an unstoppable barrage of wind blades, devastating even Spirit Lords.
Suppressing all distracting thoughts, Kanoru immersed himself fully in the fusion process.
---
Outside the retreat chamber, Asuna stood leaning against the wall, her arms crossed as she gazed at the closed door. Her eyes remained fixed on the entrance as if willing Kanoru to step out, his aura soaring to new heights.
Her mind drifted toward their next objective: capturing the node at Red Tiger Forest. According to their scouts, the node was protected by one Spirit Lord invader, fifteen Spirit Realm cultivators, and a regular army unit. With Kanoru advancing to Spirit Lord, the battle would tip in their favor.
Their group already had twenty Spirit Realm cultivators, not counting Kanoru. With their combined strength, they could crush the invaders and claim the node.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, breaking her thoughts. She turned to see her mother approaching.
Asuna asked, "Mother, are all preparations finished?"
Her mother nodded. "Yes. Now we only need Kanoru to leave the retreat after advancing to Spirit Lord realm."
Asuna glanced at the closed door and exhaled softly. "He only entered a few hours ago. It'll take at least a couple of days for him to break through."
Her mother smiled faintly and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Then there's no need to waste time here. Let's go and relax in the garden."
After a brief moment of thought, Asuna nodded. The two of them walked side by side through the mansion's corridors and stepped out into their private garden through a side door. The cool evening breeze carried the scent of damp soil and distant flowers.
The blood moon, usually omnipresent in the sky, was hidden behind thick clouds, giving the night a rare, almost serene darkness. The garden lamps flickered softly, lighting their path.
As they strolled, they eventually reached the training field of their army. They stopped and watched as children, barely three to five years old, practiced combat drills. With tiny fists clenched and wooden swords in hand, they performed basic martial stances.
These children were taught to cultivate from the age of three, allowing them to reach the Middle-Rank realm faster and join the army when they came of age. The decision to train children as soldiers had been a difficult one, but the brutal necessity of war had made it inevitable.
Kanoru had opposed the proposal when it was first presented. He had argued fiercely against sending children to the battlefield, but in the end, he had been outvoted. The proposal passed, and the training program began.
She sometimes thought she did not understand Kanoru. His thoughts are completely different from those of most males in this world. And is also one of the reason she fell in love with him.
Asuna's mother broke the silence, her voice soft but wistful. "When will you have your own child?"
Asuna's eyes narrowed slightly. "Not now. After we win the war. If we lose, bringing a child into this world would be dangerous for both them and us."
Her mother frowned faintly. "But the order from the higher command came last week, instructing everyone to have as many children as possible to replenish the population."
Asuna shook her head. "Kanoru inquired about that. Mingzhu and I are both in the Spirit Realm. Getting us pregnant would be a huge loss of combat power, so Spirit Realm cultivators are exempt from that order."
Her mother parted her lips as if to say something, but before she could, a wave of black fog suddenly rolled in from beyond the city walls. It carried a stench of decay and death, spreading over the entire city.
Asuna's eyes narrowed. "Again."
Her mother's expression turned grim.
"Where is Lou Chen?" Asuna asked.
Her mother replied, "He, Mingzhu, and Rong Chen are stationed at our section of the city wall, defending it with our army."
Asuna nodded, her voice steady but tense. "This is the last day of their wall-guarding task, right?"
"Yes," her mother confirmed, and they resumed walking in silence.
The city, already dark, became even more difficult to navigate with the black fog obscuring their vision. Only the faint light of the garden lamps illuminated their path.
---
On the city wall, Lou Chen, Gu Mingzhu, and Rong Chen stood side by side. Behind them, their warlocks and mages gathered, preparing spells.
From the dense black fog, white skeletons with dark veins became visible. Mindless and relentless, they charged toward the city wall in massive waves.
The defenders responded immediately—warlocks and mages unleashed a barrage of spells, the night illuminated by flames, ice, and lightning. Even warlocks, who had previously only wielded Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood, were now casting Thunder and Wind spells. With the spread of arcane knowledge during the invasion, access to rarer elemental spells had become more common.
The skeletons fell by the hundreds, but more poured out of the fog, undeterred by their fallen brethren.
Suddenly, dark skeletons emerged, countering the mages' spells with their own dark energy magic.
Seeing them, Rong Chen activated his spell. "Endless Vines!" he called out.
A hundred green energy seeds scattered across the battlefield. The ground shuddered violently, and from each seed, thick vines erupted, entangling and crushing the dark skeletons.
However, before Rong Chen could unleash his spell again, a barrage of dark ice arrows flew toward him.
Before he could react, Gu Mingzhu's voice rang out:
"Lion Roar!"
A massive lion's head formed from wind elemental energy. It opened its maw and roared—sending out a blast of destructive sound waves that obliterated the incoming arrows.
Below, a dark-robed figure wielding a black crystal staff emerged from the fog. Purple skeletal hands gripped the staff tightly.
Rong Chen's eyes narrowed. "Morul."
From the ground, Morul cackled. "Rong Chen, you only know how to bully the weak. Do you have the guts to face me?"
Rong Chen snorted. "If you have the guts, come up here. I'll entertain you."
Morul sneered and raised his staff. The black crystal gleamed, summoning hundreds of black crows, which swarmed toward the wall.
Rong Chen retaliated, conjuring wooden arrows and firing them in rapid succession, cutting down the crows.
Nearby, Lou Chen and Gu Mingzhu engaged their own opponents—three Spirit Realm invaders.
Suddenly, Lou Chen heard a familiar voice.
"Looks like I'm not late. I'll take the one in the green robe."
It was Mike, a blond-haired, blue-eyed cultivator, arriving just in time.
Lou Chen nodded silently, focusing fully on his remaining opponent.
The battle raged throughout the night. As the first light of dawn pierced the horizon, the skeletons and zombies finally retreated, vanishing back into the black fog.
After the battle ended and the sun rose, the defenders on the city walls began to disperse, their faces pale with exhaustion. The undead forces had retreated, leaving behind piles of broken skeletons and rotting corpses.
Descending from the wall, Lou Chen, Gu Mingzhu, and Rong Chen made their way back through the blood-soaked streets. Their warlocks and mages, battered but intact, followed behind them. When they finally reached their lane—the entire street occupied by their army's residency—Lou Chen slowed his steps.
"You all go ahead," he said in a low, steady voice. "I'll go hand over the task."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and separated from the group, walking toward the city hall alone.
The streets were filled with civilians and cultivators cautiously emerging after the long night of battle. Despite the blood and broken weapons scattered along the pathways, the city was still standing—for now.
---
Upon reaching the city hall, Lou Chen pushed open the heavy iron doors and entered. The hall was bustling with activity. Cultivators in armor and robes, their faces still dirty from battle, stood in long lines at the task counters.
Without hesitation, Lou Chen walked directly to the counter where task submissions were handled. Seeing the line stretching ahead, he calmly took his place at the back, standing behind a group of middle-ranked cultivators. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes carried the sharpness of someone used to battle.
As the minutes dragged on, he stood in silence, ignoring the murmurs of conversation around him.
---
After some time, his turn came. Stepping forward, he placed his token on the counter.
"I want to handover our task," he said evenly.
The man behind the counter, a middle-aged cultivator with thin-rimmed glasses, took the token and infused it with his magic energy, verifying the details. After examining it, he glanced at Lou Chen.
"It was a group task, guarding a section of the western city wall for a week," the man confirmed.
"Yes," Lou Chen replied.
The man nodded slightly. "Fifty red merits are paid to you."
With a flick of his hand, he transferred the merits into Lou Chen's token and returned it.
Lou Chen took the token and turned to leave, but before he could step away, the man called out,
"Do you want to take the task for guarding the city wall again?"
Without a second thought, Lou Chen shook his head. "No. We want to take some rest."
The man gave a brief nod of understanding and moved on to the next cultivator.
---
Lou Chen squinted as the sunlight pierced through the black fog, now dissipating over the city. As he made his way back, he overheard the hushed conversations of the people behind him inside the city hall. The discussion started when they heard Lou Chen had completed the task of guarding the city wall.
"Who are they?" a young woman whispered, her eyes wide with admiration.
"That man is Lou Chen," a merchant answered, gesturing toward him. "He's from the army led by Sky Sword Master."
Hearing the name, several people gasped in awe.
"Sky Sword Master?!" another man exclaimed. "How lucky he is! I can't even imagine what it's like to serve under him."
"Sky Sword Master" was the title given to Kanoru, famous for his signature spell—a massive sword of wind elemental energy that would appear in the sky above, capable of piercing spirit realm enemies or crashing into the ground like a meteor, devastating everything in its path.
"Sky Sword Master!" a youth muttered with longing. "I wish I could join his army."
A nearby cultivator snorted with disdain, glancing at the young man's weak aura.
"Join his army?" he mocked. "You're over thirty and still a middle-ranked mage. With what face do you think you can join the Sky Sword Master's army?"
The youth flushed with embarrassment but said nothing.
Another man spoke up, his tone reverent.
"And Lou Chen himself is famous," he added in a hushed voice. "He's known as the Purple Fire Demon."
At the mention of the title, several heads turned, and a few gasps escaped the crowd.
"The Purple Fire Demon?!" someone whispered in shock. "That's him? Wow…"
Despite the murmurs and glances, Lou Chen walked forward with a calm and steady expression, ignoring the attention.
Nearby, a group of cultivators murmured among themselves.
"How did they even get the task of guarding the city wall?" one of them asked, puzzled. "I tried asking for it, but they said there's no such task."
"Only groups who've completed more than 100 missions can take on the wall defense task," another cultivator replied with a sigh.
Guarding the city wall was a lucrative but high-risk mission, and only groups that had proven their loyalty through 100 successful tasks were allowed to accept it.
Without pausing, Lou Chen passed the gawking crowd, his steps unwavering. He left the city hall behind and made his way through the streets toward their lane, where his comrades were waiting.