The Collapse of Gaia

Around Tamojin Lake, the golden luster of the water was completely invisible, replaced by seven-colored energy and corpses scattered everywhere.

Such scenes are not uncommon in Hell, but today was different from the past. Aside from the spectators killed by the shockwaves of the battle, the other corpses were all Seven-Star Demons—top-tier powerhouses capable of dominating entire regions in Hell.

"My god, is this really a Highgod? Is it not actually a Sovereign making a move as the legends say?"

On a mountain peak a thousand meters away from Tamojin Lake, a group of people who had rushed over to watch the battle stood frozen, their expressions utterly bizarre.

"Those who were killed... were they all Seven-Star Demons?" A white-haired youth swallowed hard, doubting if he was dreaming.

"Everyone, shouldn't we... get further away?" A trembling voice rang out, and in an instant, everyone snapped out of their stupor. Without a word, they all turned and fled, terrified of being wiped out by a stray shockwave.

However, a few individuals split off their divine clones and charged against the current. After all, if they could record the shadow-images of such a battle, they could sell them to the Fiend Castle for an astronomical price. It was worth risking the loss of a single clone for such immense wealth.

Inside the metal lifeform of the Augusta Clan, Montero had crushed the wine glass in his hand at some point, yet he seemed not to notice, watching quietly with an incredibly complex expression.

Although Montero had seen more than one Paragon Highgod, this was his first time witnessing a Paragon in action. After all, whether it was Magnus or Clementine, they had been famous for countless years and had no enemies left, so they would not move lightly, and Montero had no qualifications to spar or seek guidance from them.

Therefore, although Montero knew the strength of a Paragon was invincible, he had never experienced it face-to-face. Seeing it with his own eyes today, he finally felt that sense of powerlessness and despair.

Montero tried to imagine himself in Gaiseresen's position facing Ren, and realized it would inevitably be a terrifying ordeal. Montero finally understood why his ancestor, Augusta, was so courteous to Clementine; a Paragon truly possessed the qualifications for such treatment.

As for Belfield, who stood beside Montero, he remained motionless like a statue. Every corpse that had fallen from the sky just moments ago was a Seven-Star Demon just like him. At this moment, Belfield felt as if he had returned to his childhood, looking up at a Saint-level powerhouse.

"I really am a frog at the bottom of a well!" Belfield muttered to himself, his expression filled with disbelief.

It was not just the spectators who felt this was incredible; Gaiseresen and the others, who were clashing with Ren at close range, felt it even more so.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?" At this moment, the blood at the corner of Gaiseresen's mouth had not yet been wiped away, his eyes staring blankly at everything before him, as if he were in a dream.

Gaiseresen could not understand how things had turned out this way. Wasn't the opponent just an ordinary Asura? Why was he so powerful? The honorary elders of the clan were also beings who had fused five profound mysteries, and even with them, could nine Asuras not stand against a single Paragon?

"You, how dare you!"

Gus, the White Tiger Patriarch, had recovered by now and flown back into the sky, his tone filled with rage. Just moments ago, his son, the Second Elder of the White Tiger Clan, had been killed—killed without the slightest ability to fight back.

At this moment, Gus's eyes were blood-red. He had clearly lost his reason, forgetting the gap in strength, and lunged at Ren regardless of the consequences.

"You really don't learn your lesson!"

Ren shook his head slightly. His right hand moved, and a cyan halo spread out, transforming into a white ribbon that expanded instantly, binding Gus up in the blink of an eye, leaving only his head exposed.

"Let me go, you bastard! I'm going to kill you! You... mmmph!"

Gus began to curse, but after only a single word, a white beam of light struck his mouth, and he was instantly rendered unable to make a sound.

"How annoying."

Ren ignored Gus and looked toward the two Fuerhans behind Gaia, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Gus and Gaia could not be killed; after all, these individuals were the children of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns, similar to Resjing, the son of the Azure Dragon Sovereign. No matter how bold a Paragon Highgod was, he could not kill the children of Sovereigns unless he was prepared to stay in a material plane forever.

However, Ren did not intend to let the others go. Although he had never met Fuerhan, he knew that the person standing in front of Emmanuel and being protected by Gaia was, in all likelihood, Fuerhan.

"You two, it's time to go!"

Ren's eyes locked onto the two Fuerhans, especially Emmanuel, who had previously brought the former Liang'an Prefecture Lord, Alfred, and the Azure Dragon Sovereign's envoy, Conofier, to his doorstep. He was the one who had started all of this.

"Mother!" "Grandmother!"

Feeling Ren's icy gaze, Fuerhan and Emmanuel looked instantly toward the Great Elder, their expressions filled with pleas for help. They ignored all protocol and called out to their mother and grandmother directly.

"You, what are you doing? How dare you!" Gaia immediately blocked the path in front of the two, looking at Ren with vigilance.

Regarding Gaia's words, Ren found them somewhat laughable. Both sides had reached this point, yet she still asked what he was doing.

"Go!"

Tia, the Vermilion Bird Patriarch, and Bowen, the Black Tortoise Patriarch, flew rapidly to the three, with Gaiseresen following closely behind, dragging his injured body as he roared at Fuerhan.

The two did not hesitate; their clones split into two, speeding away in four different directions, while Gaiseresen and the other three turned around and charged at Ren regardless of the cost.

"How boring!"

Ren let out a cold snort. A layer of transparent light waves rippled across his body, and a strange, musical sound resonated.

"Hum~~"

A translucent sword shadow erupted from Ren's eyes. In an instant, it pierced through Gaiseresen and the other three, plunging into the two clones of Emmanuel. Emmanuel did not even have time to react before he was dead.

"Ah!! You bastard!"

Gaia let out a roar. Her dragon claws, covered in cyan scales, lunged toward Ren's face, her attack filled with fury descending in an instant.

"Boring!"

Ren shook his head slightly. A white halo appeared on his body once more, transforming into four tentacles that spread out, directly binding Gaiseresen and the others simultaneously.

"Swish!"

The next moment, Ren's figure flickered again, appearing instantly before Fuerhan. With a casual wave of his hand, the two bodies of Fuerhan appeared directly before him.

"Stop right there!"

A roar erupted from Gaia's throat as a massive Azure Dragon phantom manifested behind her, unleashing a unique energy that struck directly at Ren's soul.

Innate Divine Ability—Dragon Roar!

Simultaneously, Gaiseresen unleashed the same technique, causing two colossal Azure Dragons to materialize out of thin air and exert the power of heaven and earth upon Ren.

In an instant, Ren felt everything around him slow down significantly. He immediately realized this was the power of time; in this magical universe, the Laws of Time could not be cultivated, and only the innate divine abilities of a few divine beasts could influence it. The Azure Dragon's innate divine ability, Dragon Roar, was one such power.

However, after only a brief moment, Ren's body regained its mobility, and he continued forward without any reduction in speed. Although Dragon Roar was powerful, its effectiveness depended on who was wielding it.

The reason Linley was able to banish Magnus after his soul mutation was twofold: first, he possessed the augmentation of Willpower and a formidable soul; second, the Star River in the Planar Battlefield was adjacent to a spatial rift, allowing him to simply kick him into it.

If they were anywhere else, Linley would have had to tear open a spatial rift first to banish Magnus. Even though it would only take an instant, that brief window of time might have been enough for Magnus to escape.

This was all based on Linley's level of strength. As for the children of Sovereigns like Gaia, their innate divine abilities were formidable in typical Asura-level battles, but they held little significance against a Paragon, even if Gaiseresen and the others attacked simultaneously.

"Boom!"

Fuerhan's body was reduced to dust, and his Godhead fell to the ground. With this, every member of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, excluding the five children of the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns, had fallen.