Three comets fell from the sky, or so it seemed to the inhabitants of the city. A thunderous aura pressure descended with them, sinking into the flesh and minds of the inhabitants.

Sam emerged from his cultivation, and rushed out of his house, looking up at the sky. All around him, citizens cowered, some of them forced to their knees by the auras descending from above. Sam simply stared up, his advanced perception able to make out what was happening. Three E Rankers floated amid nebulas of power, all of whom possessed a first stage Dao Seed.

Their leader wielded nothing but his bare fists, while the others held longswords, crackling with lambent energy.

They were far weaker than Gordanus, but still E Rankers in truth. Had Sam not spent the last few weeks training to integrate his body and soul, he would have been confused by what he was able to pick up with his Dao senses. Their Daos permeated their bodies completely, and it looked as if they were focal points of reality itself. As he possessed a Seed, he was able to contest this pressure, and he did so quickly, extending a dome of power across the city.

“Who among you slew the scion of our sect?” A booming voice called out. “Show yourself now, or your city will be forfeit!”

Sam snarled, and started to chain his buffs together. His armor was missing, as he hardly wanted to cultivate while wearing it for an extended period of time. However, it hardly made a difference at this point.

He teleported up into the sky, near the edge of the force field, where the E Rankers waited.

“Who the hell are you people?” He asked. “What scion? Is this about the blustering idiot who threatened that we would be destroyed if we killed him? From the Asshole Sect, or something like that.”

“It is the Athari sect, you bastard!” One of them roared.

“Can you stop with the Dao enhanced vocal posturing?” Sam said mildly. “If you truly are powerful, why do you need it?”

Behind him, the Overlord rose into the air, on a platform of red light. Some of the captains stood beside him. Lao floated in the air next to the platform, borne aloft by his Dao Seed. The E Rankers spluttered, lost for words.

Sam cocked one eyebrow, which seemed to push them over the edge. He then channeled his Dao energy into his eyes, attempting to upgrade his analysis skill. It was high time that he did so. He thought about the meaning of his Dao, and how it would help him achieve vengeance if he knew the strengths of his opponents. An invisible barrier shattered, and he was able to see their stats. A notification appeared, but he ignored it, only noting that his skill had upgraded to Legendary, and was now called Eye of the Avenger.

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Jakoss Athari

Level 177

Delvari

Makra Athari

Level 154

Delvari

Anthos Athari

Level 152

Delvari

Their leader was the strongest, but none of them were that far past the beginning of E Rank. However, Sam could not afford to underestimate them. A moment later, Jakoss’ hand came crashing down on the shield, imbued with his Dao. A tremendous blast of energy slammed into the shield, causing it to flicker. His eyebrows raised in surprise, and he attacked again. With a grimace, Sam teleported outside of the shield. There was no reason to put his people in danger.

“Your fight is with me, cowards,” he spoke. “Those under my protection are of no concern to you.”

“We will determine that, filth. They share in your sin,” Jakoss intoned. At least he had dropped the pretentious voice. It must have seemed shallow after Sam’s challenge.

Sam simply snorted, and teleported towards the man, his hammer already wreathed in Dao Energy. Then something happened that he had never encountered before. Jakoss teleported out of the way. His hammer swung through empty space, and he felt a fist impact his gut a moment later, sending shockwaves through his body. The air around him trembled as the titanic strength of the E Ranker came crashing down upon his all too mortal body.

He coughed up blood, slamming down into the forcefield. Tiny cracks spread across his bones. Jakoss laughed, and teleported once more. However, now that Sam knew his trick, he was ready. He tracked the flicker of space as the man emerged, and swung his hammer as quickly as he could, filling it with Dao energy and mana.

Jakoss emerged from the ether into a face full of hammer. The energy detonated, and blasted him backwards. The air all around for hundreds of feet was expunged from the area by the force, before collapsing back in on itself with a thunderous boom. Jakoss flew at thousands of miles per hour into the sky, but he teleported away from the momentum, emerging next to his allies. His face was covered in blood, and his jaw was clearly broken. A look of hatred had replaced the smugness that had previously been there.

“What the hell are you?” He asked.

“I’m Sam Atlas. Protector of this planet.”

“This won’t be a planet by the time we’re done with it,” the man said, clearly bluffing. There was no way that an E Ranker, especially one at the bottom of the Rank, would have that much power.

The others emerged from the force field a moment later, standing beside Sam. Wisely, they had been waiting to see the strength of the E Rankers for themselves. The Overlord glowed with power as he stimulated his Dao Seed against the might of his opponents. Lao began a reciprocal cycle with his Dao, empowering himself. With his upgrade, he was now the third strongest person in the faction, after the Overlord.

Jeffrey and Talnor were close, and so was Eduardo. All three of them stood at the pinnacle of the Fragment stage, but they were finding it hard to upgrade to the next level. Despite that, they were unusually potent for their levels.

“More weaklings, coming to defend your weasel of a leader,” Makra sneered, her voice filled with disdain.

“We’re not the ones who brought three E Rankers to deal with a few F Rankers,” the Overlord replied, grinning. “This will make our victory all the sweeter.”

“Be silent when your betters are talking,” Jakoss spat, sending his Dao crashing down on the Overlord.

The man simply snapped his fingers, and a wave of Dao pressure erupted out, disrupting and overpowering the rival Dao. The pressure intensified as the action empowered the Overlord’s Dao, as he honed his ego on his minor victory. Then he shot forwards, a halo of red light surrounding his form.