But that was when the man swung his sword. The sky burst into blazing flames. Swords made of light materialized out of the flames. Each sword looked exactly like the sword in his hand. And each sword carried a name on it, the name of its target. The swords matched the number of soldiers attacking the man.

It still didn't seem like the man would live to tell the tale, the swords seemed to be too far away to save him. But then something the soldiers didn't expect happened. The swords teleported right next to their foreheads. One sword one man.

In the next moment, all the soldiers fell to the ground lifelessly as their eyes turned blank. None of them breathed again.

Because there were so many corpses, the crater disappeared as it was filled with flesh. The man stood calmly at the center, his sword dripping flames and blood.

The ship from before came again and released the same warning beep. The man frowned a little and lazily swung his sword toward the sky. It didn't seem like he was attacking a worthy opponent, it was more like he was snatching an annoying fly.

The ship just split into two and then exploded. There was no indication as to how the ship was destroyed - the sword never touched the ship - but the massive abomination was gone. Abdin would have vomited blood if he was there, this was the same ship that took him to space and killed him. The same ship he couldn't escape from. How could this man easily destroy it?

The man roared. It didn't suit his icy demeanor but it was terrifying to the ears. "I'm Yunusu Hamu, do you think I'll ever die?"

The voice roared throughout the skies and the lands. It seemed to have been spoken from the sky to issue a challenge.

Having heard no reply, Yunusu Hamu smiled to expose his arrogance and disdain. He led all the cultivation sects in this world to prosperity so he already knew about the existence of Fabae and Origin. But he didn't expect the inhabitants of those worlds to be able to infiltrate his world. On several occasions over the last few decades, he'd tried visiting other worlds but couldn't pull it off.

The attack by the two foreign worlds had interrupted his plans. If everything had gone according to plan, he would have already taken Yusta'Diyum and made himself the King of all.

He shrugged and shook his sword. That was the importance of having a plan B. If plan A didn't work, you would always have something to land on.

He smiled wickedly as if remembering something. The sword disappeared from his hands and he turned around and looked at a spot that had been empty all this while.

Disciple Umaru appeared on the spot. He was dressed in a long and tight robe with a small cap on his head. He bowed deeply as he faced the man in front of him. His bow seemed a bit too excessive considering he looked much older than the man.

"Teacher, your guess is right as it has always been. Barahan is working with Fabae. Emperor Biyakin and Nánata have all sworn allegiance to them. Yusta'Diyum didn't know about it. But it appears like King Mururunu has been suspicious of the man. He has some people from the League watch him. We still don't know if Barahan is aware of it or not."

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Yunus looked at the disciple from head to toe. An unusual smile plastered his face.

The disciple was alarmed. He didn't know why the teacher was giving him such a look. He trembled inwardly. Since disciple Usanyu had turned his back on them, Teacher had no reason to trust his disciples anymore.

He had been ready when he came today...

"Teacher..."

Yunusu raised his hand to stop him. "Are you done with your assignment?"

Umaru nodded vigorously, inwardly heaving a sigh of relief. "All the disciples that have a close relationship with Usanyu have been eliminated. The two leading sects in the East that serve under him have been eliminated. Nobody that supports his cause is left alive. And as you have ordered, all our troops have been returned to the headquarters. All our remaining forces are also there."

Teacher Yunusu nodded slightly. He was still smiling, making his disciple quite nervous.

Umaru gathered his courage and said, "Teacher... It would take at least 12 months from here to Biyakis. I'm afraid Fabae will attack us as soon as you leave."

They had successfully pushed the invaders back but it was all thanks to his teacher. As soon as word got out that his teacher was gone, even for a day, Fabae and even Yusta'Diyum would pounce again.

Yunus looked toward the side with a soft sigh. That was the reason he didn't visit Biyakis up until now. But he needed his bloodline skill now, the same skill that was robbed of him when he was just a child. He had been following his younger cousin for a long while now. It was mostly for two reasons. One, he felt happy to see his cousin constantly going in cycles with his cultivation - never progressing beyond the confines of mortality even after countless years.

Second, it was for moments like this when he needed to take his skill back. For a long time, he had decided to ignore the bloodline skill, he felt that he'd already reached a certain level that he didn't need it - maybe just for aesthetics but not for cultivation. But he didn't expect to be going against a foreign world at this moment. Now that he needed his skill, nobody alive or dead could stop him from taking it.

"Umaru, what are you saying? Didn't we speak about the importance of that bloodline skill? Have you also forgotten your teachings like your brother?"

Umaru fell to his knees and put his forehead on the ground. "I wouldn't dare, Teacher. All I'm saying is Teacher can send a part of his soul to get the job done. There are only small nations on that continent but we have many subsidiaries in Biyakis and Shurein, there shouldn't be a shortage of people that can host a fragment of your soul. It will be their honor even if they are to die afterward. This way, we can easily kill this ungrateful existence called Abdin and even throw a stone in Barahan's plans. As soon as you secure the bloodline skill, we can take the war to them."

Teacher Yunusu fell silent for a while. He was clear about the threat he was facing, it was just that his bloodline skill was too important. But he would also need all the sects and disciples under him if he was to win. That was why he was hurt so much by Usanyu's betrayal. That man was only beneath Umaru when it came to talent. It was still a mystery where Usanyu's allegiance was now.

After a long while, he took a deep breath and decided.

***

At the same moment, somewhere in the vast space between stars, two worlds stood opposite each other. One small and the other big. The big world was at least seven to eight times bigger than the small world. The two worlds were currently touching each other by the sides, the small world became smaller and the big world got bigger.

If you moved closer, you could see a thin layer of milky light covering both worlds. Anything that touched this light would simply disappear without a trace.

An even bigger star was passing by the site. As soon as it got within a couple of miles of the milky light, it stopped and started dissolving. The star was two times the size of both worlds combined, but it couldn't withstand the milky light.

Within the sphere of light, thirteen people stood solemnly. Each was clad in a grey robe and was putting their palms on the smaller world. The milky light didn't affect them in the slightest. It was probably because their bodies were stronger than the stars or maybe because they were the source of the light.

Anyone seeing these men would be startled, to say the least. Humans couldn't survive outside the protection of their worlds, but these were clearly humans and yet they were unharmed.