The Lairen had decided to stake their future on the Dream Crystal Plain in order to break free of the Changhuo Clan's influence, and thus fully cooperated with the defensive efforts against the Calamity Apocalypse.
Meanwhile, in the Valley of Division beside Laiyin Sinkhole, the Changhuo Clan had made the same choice as the Lairen, though their reasons differed.
Deep within the Valley of Division.
A dark-skinned young man with perfect proportions, nearly a golden inverted-triangle physique, walked down a narrow path.
Before long, he arrived before a hidden cave in the cliffside.
Matchstick Men patrolled before the cave, while two guards stood at its entrance. They somewhat resembled the dark-skinned young man, both possessing humanoid forms, but their skin was darker and their features were nearly obscured by an inky hue.
They looked at the Matchstick Men with superiority in their eyes. As royalty of the Shadow Wraiths, they were not of the same breed as these lowly Matchstick Men.
However, the moment they saw the dark-skinned young man, the superiority vanished from their eyes. They stood at attention and lowered their heads in greeting.
"Your Highness Nawat!"
The dark-skinned young man, clad in a lavish silver-and-black suit that carried an almost religious air, with dazzling silver hair falling in scattered locks, was Nawat—the true royal prince of the Shadow Wraiths, and Lady Naluoduo's most favored disciple!
Nawat ignored the two men and silently passed them, entering the cave.
He followed the cave downward.
At last, after walking for an unknown length of time, he arrived near an underground Lava Lake.
The orange-red Lava Lake radiated searing heat, but such temperatures had no effect on Nawat. Step by step, he crossed the black glazed-stone slabs upon the lake toward a glazed island at its center.
That was where his