While Leinor was exchanging blows with Astair, Ariana and Sylvett were guarding the now-weakened Toobu and Qeena as they were fighting off Heaven's Gate disciples themselves.

"This is so much fun!" Kyu laughed happily. She was in her demonic form, grabbing onto two white-robed guys and smashing them into the ground like paper dolls.

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself!" Sylvett shouted, sparkling in gold, blocking a sword strike. The ringing of the impact made her enemy tumble backward, letting go of the sword, holding his ears while the whole world was spinning around him.

"I need to agree with her on this." Shadow chuckled as he took up his own demonic wolf form. "Climb up!" he said as he lay next to Toobu and Qeena. "We need to move faster!"

"I'll help!" Orsi said, easily lifting them up with her mind, and jumped up behind them. "I can deflect incoming attacks for a short minute!"

"Good! Hang onto my fur; we are going to rush forward!" Shadow howled, rushing forward.

"We'll take care of the rear!" Sylvett and Ariana nodded while Kyu was already way off, rampaging around the other Heaven's Gate disciples. She was distracting a lot of them as everyone was faintly hearing her screaming, "Disqualify this, you baddies!"

"We'll open the way!" Tuxon charged forward, summoning his Thunder Hammer, and with every attack, he left behind small sparks that formed an electric fence around them. It was zapping towards those people who got too close to it and were not an Immortal Wonders Sect member.

"Now, this is much more interesting!" Zaphil laughed, summoning two lions made out of pure flames, hopping up onto one. He quickly formed a fire-lance, hurrying and going after Tuxon, while the second lion stayed beside Shadow, serving as an additional guard.

"Don't leave me out of the fun!" Jishan followed them quickly, already covered in a draconic, flaming armor, joining the fray, making Wyland the only one who stayed.

“H-h-honestly…” He shook his head, taking out a big, round shield and a longsword. “L-l-let’s g-g-go, W-w-we c-c-can u-u-use t-the S-s-skyshark t-to s-s-support t-t-the E-e-elders!” He said as he looked at Shadow, deciding to stay close and protect his exhausted senior brother.

"Your Sect is so different," Qeena whispered, seeing the fired-up disciples and even amused by the strength they were showcasing. They were easily blowing away the opposition that they came across, cleaning up the way to the Skyshark.

"Well, most of us did grow up in the Sect as a family, and you'll see…" Toobu answered. "It is pretty fun to take part in its everyday life! Most of our disciples are only occupied by one thing; bettering themselves or working on new spells. Now they have free range to try them out! They don't need to hold back! Of course, they are excited!" He laughed, looking back at her as she was sitting behind him, holding onto his waist unceremoniously.

"Yes, yes!" Orsi nodded behind Qeena. "This is much more fun than lifting stuff up in my room!" She giggled as she just looked to the side. Seeing a Heaven's Gate disciple drawing a bow back, she was already focusing on him. As soon as the arrow left its strings, it stopped in mid-air before falling to the ground, like hitting an invisible wall. "I didn't realize until now that most projectiles are way slower than how Young Master aims them at me!"

"Hah, of course! Your Master is at a different level!" Sylvett chuckled, running behind them.

"Soon, we need to call you an Elder, too, no?" Ariana smiled.

"Who knows! Let's get back to the Skyshark first, hm?" Sylvett said calmly.

“A-a-agreed.” Wyland added.

"Why are there so many of them here?" Shadow asked suddenly, mainly aiming the question at Qeena.

"I don't know." She answered, still hugging Toobu from behind. "It was probably to demonstrate strength. I wasn't told much. I was always ordered to do things, that is all."

"Or they are not really Heaven's Gate people," Ariana added with a serious voice. "In this chaos, it is hard for me to sense, but I am sure we have people from the crowd aiming at us."

"J-j-just l-l-look a-at K-kyu."

Following Wyland's words, it was much more evident. Kyu was not just fighting white-robed people but multiple different cultivators who appeared from nowhere. There were so many that she just rolled forward like a boulder, knocking them out of the way.

…

….

…..

"It won't be that easy this time." Astair sneered at Leinor, holding onto a sword in one hand, slashing against him. "This time, your draining effect won't work on me!" He laughed while he held a strange medallion. It was given to him by Zelig, filled with his energy, supplying him with it, even as Leinor was draining him of it constantly.

"No, it won't be." Leinor smiled before forming two swords from pure energy in his hands and going on the offense. He was striking at Astair with such ferocity that it resembled Ren's style of fighting.

It didn't take long before Astair suffered multiple cuts on his body, splashing red blood everywhere. He was surprised by it by the time he could break off from the dual-wielding Leinor, feeling fear that he was unable to acknowledge.

"You are not the only one who can regenerate!" He shouted, gripping the medallion with more force as the incoming energy repaired his wounds.

"Maybe." Leinor nodded. "But I have a natural affinity towards it. You? You are just overdrawing someone else's powers! Your body will suffer." He shook his head, pitying him. "Just give up already! Don't be so childish! She is my wife; you don't have a chance at all. You are not a bad-looking guy; go find someone for yourself!" He sighed as he rested the swords on his shoulders with a half-grin. "Or rub one out! Anything to clear your head."

"You think this is about Ren? Like as… a human being?" Astair chuckled with slight madness in his eyes. "No… This is about her blood. It showed such a promise that we want it back. Not her! She is just a vessel for multiplying it. I am well aware that if we could get our hands on her, she would be a breeding stock for the family, and my turn would be way back in the line! But still, I could breed with her and strengthen my own line, creating my own branch in the family, reaching a higher position than ever before!" He laughed, but it soon came to a stop as he hurriedly blocked Leinor's swords. Leinor used such a forceful attack that Astair's legs sunk into the ground, and before he could cough up blood, one blade went right into his left thigh, stabbing it through completely, pinning him down.

"I hesitated before, but right now, I have decided. I am going to kill you." Leinor whispered into his ear with a chillingly low voice.

"FUCK OFF!" Astair shouted, somehow pushing him off of him, grabbing onto the hilt of the sword. As soon as he did so, it burnt his palms, yet he managed to pull it out before it could disintegrate and seep into his body. The wound that was left on his leg quickly healed thanks to his talisman, but a heavy limping had remained with him. The pain was still traveling all over his body with every move he made. "If you kill me, that means war!"

"Really…?" Leinor sighed, reforming his missing sword. "Ask yourself this… are you important enough for your leader to go to war over your death?"

"..." Astair had no answer to that, realizing something really bad at that moment.

"Exactly." Leinor smiled in a way that was not a smile hacking at him once more.

He put all of his strength behind his swings; The grass around them wilted and withered in a large circle as Leinor sucked up all the energy around him, greatly empowering his attacks. The first blade that landed on Astair's sword broke it into a million pieces and severed his sword, holding his hand by the elbow. The second strike came immediately from Leinor, disarming him completely and literally. Both of Astair's hands, with the medallion still between his fingers, fell to the ground.

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"I don't need your eyes to force you to obey my words," Leinor said, releasing his weapons and grabbing onto Astair's head. "Kneel." He grinned as he pushed him down, and no matter how hard Astair tried to fight back, he just drained every drop of energy from his body.

Falling to his knees, he was looking up at Leinor with wide eyes. He couldn't say anything as Leinor just held his head with two hands.

"Goodbye," Leinor whispered. His hands were already in motion to tear it off of his neck, but before he could snap Astair's head off, he quickly released him, jumping backward at the last minute.

Where he stood before, a giant, three-meter-long arrow, the kind that was used in siege ballistae, penetrated the ground. Astair's body was blown to pieces by it, instantly killing him and leaving behind a mangled corpse.

"Damn it!" Leinor cursed as he formed a shield around himself as two other giant arrows clashed with it, sending him rolling on the ground by the sheer force that was behind them.

What happened to him was repeating itself at multiple places on the battlefield. From nowhere, surprise attacks bombarded not just them but every Heaven's Gate disciple and Elder, too. Even Rudrick and Ren had to break up their fight as they were ambushed by four masked cultivators. Every one of them was at Harmony, and they clearly advanced at a high body refinement stage, putting up a solid fight against them. The sudden emergence of the third group in the chaos, joining in and attacking both sides, escalated everything to new heights. They wore gray overalls with bloody claws on their backs, holding chains and breaking them apart. Their masks, all varying in colors, resembled demons from old tales about the afterlife. They were targeting anybody who was part of either sect. Ariana and the rest of the disciples just arrived at the Skyshark that was being taken over by these masked figures, but for now, they were unable to figure out how it worked.

"Don't let them use it!" Jishan rushed forward, and when one of the masked assassins' fists landed on his flame armor, it shattered it in an explosion. But in exchange, it also blew off the Ironclaw member's hand, splintering it into gory chunks while Jishan skidded backward. He was falling off the ship, coughing up blood, and feeling extremely dizzy. It was clear the person who attacked him was at the 9th stage of body refinement and an experienced warrior to act so quickly.

"Catch!" Zaphil shouted as his flame lion jumped forward, catching the dizzy Jishan. His second lion landed on the ship, going after the injured Ironclaw warrior and mauling him to death.

"Get the fuck off from our ship!" Tuxon was roaring like an animal, wielding a thunder hammer that was twice his size, smashing it into another warrior who was at a lower cultivation level. His attack exploded the top part of his body into smithereens, leaving behind chunks of flesh and internal organs only.

"Go, help them! We will keep Toobu and Qeena safe!" Ariana said to Shadow, who just nodded, jumping up, turning into a human form in mid-air, summoning a black saber. His speed was faster than any of the other disciples. After decapitating the first enemy he saw, he quickly merged into the shadow of the dead Ironclaw cultivator, appearing behind Tuxon, blocking an incoming halberd's attack, aiming at Tuxon's back.

"Thanks!" Tuxon shouted, fighting off another warrior who was matching his strength.

"No problem!" Shadow smiled, fighting back to back with him.

The two dozen Ironclaw warriors on the ship were widely different in cultivation levels, but it seemed there were no Harmony experts amongst them as those were aiming at the ranks of elders from the sects, keeping them bogged down.

"You good?" Zaphil asked as Jishan came to his senses.

"Yeah, looking into that guy's eyes stunned me for a moment so he could land the punch." He said, making the rest of the disciples furrow their brows as they immediately thought about the Naulins.

"We have no time to worry about this," Ariana said. "We can't let them take the ship!"

"T-t-they w-w-won't." Wyland opened his mouth at that moment. He had been casting his own spell since they were on their way, and finally, it was ready.

Above the Skyshark, a giant formation appeared from nowhere, glowing in a dark, blood-like, crimson color, rotating counterclockwise. A dreadful aura emerged from it, and columns of bloody light struck down, hitting head on everybody on the ship who was not part of the Immortal Wonders Sect. As soon as they got washed by the light, their eyes turned bloodshot as their rage overtook their rational thinking, and now they were attacking each other and anything that moved.

"You are something else…" Sylvett whistled, watching the giant formation.

"W-w-we h-h-have f-f-five m-minutes!" He panted. It took out a lot of him as Ariana patted his back while Wyland just smiled.

The only person here to feel the formation's true nature was Ariana. She could tell it was an accumulation of Wyland's hatred he once felt. It was invading the minds of his targets, everyone whom he deemed enemies, overdriving them and plunging them into a pure, blind rage. It could not be blocked or escaped from. Once it had formed and was operating, it was unstoppable; The only way to resist it was with a strong will.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Kyu arrived from nowhere, landing in her human form between them, gasping for air but looking really happy. "I had a few yummy snacks! What's next?" She asked as she looked around them like she had been taken to a carnival, not into a warzone.

"We are retaking the ship!" Ariana said, jumping forward, followed by the rest. They started to pick off the berserk warriors one by one while they were preoccupied with attacking each other.

…

….

…..

"You just don't quit, do you?" Aerthus asked, furrowing his brows, still fighting against Zelig.

"I rarely have the chance to exercise with my old friend. I missed this!" Zelig smiled, and he looked as if he was made out of pure silver with amethyst crystals as eyes.

"We are being attacked by Ironclaw, yet you still fight with me! You don't care about what happens to your disciples?" Aerthus snorted, blocking his fist and punching into his abdomen, but it only made Zelig flinch a little.

"Negligible losses. The weak should perish before eating up resources that could be given to the worthy." He answered calmly. "A good culling is what will strengthen my Sect and make it stronger than yours."

"You just won't change…" He sighed as half of his attention was on his own people. "My disciples are already ready. We will continue this at another date!" He spoke up when he sensed that they arrived back at the Skyshark. Watching Ren, Leinor, and Zern fighting against the most dangerous Harmony experts, keeping them away from the Skyshark, he knew they had to go before anything worse popped up and overwhelmed them.

Aerthus' body lit up strongly, producing white light with such ferocity that it even blinded Zelig, who had to cover his eyes. He felt strong, healing energies invading him, washing over his senses, making him relaxed. It was making him feel happy and joyful, but he knew this was the worst-case scenario. Healing an already healthy body was producing the exact opposite results. He immediately felt his heart rate rising, his own cells multiplying nonstop as grotesque, tumor-like sacks started growing all over him.

"Shit…" He spat before distancing himself, focusing on expelling Aerthus's powers and getting away before he could influence his cells even further. "You nasty son of a bitch…!" Zelig whispered, watching the Sect Head of the Immortal Wonders Sect leave towards the Skyshark. Only after Aerthus left did he scan the battlefield below him. He was not really bothering with his own dying people as he regulated his own cells. "So you want to leave… and leave me and my people here because we don't have a flying ship? Fuck you." He chuckled.

He raised his two hands towards the sky as a terrifying presence swept downwards, weighing down on everybody. Aerthus just looked back with murderous eyes, but he was too far away by now to stop him in time. The only thing he could do was to rush forward to the ship and try to protect the disciples.

"Break," Zelig said with a calm voice, resonating in the area as the ground started to shake and crack apart. The river water around them churred and rumbled as the earth itself splintered, releasing visible earth energy to the sky, even for those who did not cultivate. "The earth listens to my call! It rises when I say so and sinks when I order it to do so!" He shouted, pushing his hands downward.

Hundreds of normal people immediately fell to their backs, unable to stand on the shaking earth as it splintered and cracked under their feet. Giant, dark, deep holes formed everywhere as the land crumbled. The river was flooding into it, washing everything away that it came into contact with. It was roaring with an animalistic sound, bringing many poor souls right into the abyss, swallowing up everybody, cultivators or not.

The disciples on the Skyshark were horrified by the scene as it looked like the end of the world had come. Seeing this, Zern, who was way behind, fighting off three harmony experts, halting them from reaching the disciples, could finally free himself. As everything started to collapse, he abandoned everything and rushed to them, landing on the ship. Leinor soon followed suit, and then Ren also appeared, quickly operating the Skyshark. She was taking off as fast as she could as the ground started to swallow the ship itself, and they were falling downwards.

"Let me!" Aerthus arrived, taking control as soon as his feet touched the floorboard of the ship.

"Old friend!" Zelig's laughing voice rang out as Aerthus maneuvered the Skyshark, making it fly upwards with great speed. "Our competition will continue at a later date! Take care!"

Just as they heard his voice, a hand made out of the ground rose up like an exploding volcano, hitting the Skyshark from below. Aerthus could barely, in the last moment, protect the ship with his own energy, preventing it from being blasted apart, but it still shook violently. Unfortunately, Ariana, Jishan, and Orsi fell over the railings, unable to grab onto it, right into the still crumbling earth, swallowed up by the dark abyss below them.

Before the rest of the disciples could react, the first to jump over, going after them, was Ren, followed by Leinor, without any hesitation.

"Stop!" Aerthus shouted at Zern, who wanted to go after them. "I need you here to help me out! Let them retrieve the disciples!"

"Y-yes!" Zern answered, gritting his teeth, turning away from the scene of the morbid destruction that was happening behind them as the Skyshark quickly left, rising up to the clouds.