"And you? Who exactly are you? How were you able to push the Fire Feather Technique beyond the tenth level?"
Leilin looked at Burns before him, curiosity written across his face.
"Guess?" Burns sneered coldly. "I'll tell you something today — if I hadn't come to the Lava World to lay low long ago, the strongest Morning Star in Jupiter's Thunder would definitely not be Clins!"
A fierce and violent aura erupted from Burns's body. Behind him, a massive amount of starlight flickered, forming a special Morning Star domain.
Two orbs of scarlet-gold flame, carrying overwhelming waves of the Fire Feather Technique, also manifested instantly in his hands.
"Today I'll show you my innovative spell — a fusion of the Morning Star
The wild, violent energy of the Fire Feather Technique grew even more ferocious and immense under the spell's amplification, forming a multitude of fire blades that slashed toward Leilin with devastating force.
"As expected... not a single wizard is a fool. Someone has long since begun attempting to merge two systems of power... What a pity..."
Leilin shook his head, his eyes filled with regret. "What a pity that you've run into me!"
Leilin's research into the Fire Feather Technique went even deeper than his opponent's. Moreover, as a Fourth-level Warlock who had undergone extensive enhancements from the Fire Source Stone and other means, he was a far cry from who he used to be.
"Bloodline Shield!" Leilin snapped his fingers, and several massive crimson shields materialized out of thin air. Upon their surfaces were lifelike carvings of Comoea Giant Snakes, their eyes radiating fierce light as though they were about to come alive.
Clang! Clang! Countless fire blades struck the shields, producing a piercing, relentless clatter like a torrential downpour.
"Your understanding of both paths is still far too shallow... Truly disappointing..."
Leilin sighed. Behind him, a massive phantom of the Comoea Giant Snake materialized. Its two vertical pupils gleamed like colossal stars, and the primordial ferocity they exuded made Burns's expression change involuntarily.
Boom! Two orbs of dark crimson flame appeared in Leilin's hands. Burns's Fire Feather Technique crumbled again and again under the onslaught of those dark flames, and Leilin closed the distance in an instant.
"No... how is this possible?" His greatest pride had been easily crushed by his opponent and dismissed as worthless. Burns's face twisted immediately.
"Nothing is impossible!"
Leilin extended his right hand, wreathed in flame, and shattered the opponent's defenses in an instant, seizing Burns by the neck and lifting him off the ground.
*Ding! Scanning the opponent's body energy circulation pathways! Optimizable areas detected! Data archived, added to simulated fusion experiment!* The Chip completed its scan, and the circulation patterns of the Fire Feather Technique and the singularity points within Burns's body surfaced instantly in Leilin's mind.
With this new data, the Chip's projections regarding Leilin's own integration of the Fire Feather Technique's energy pathway grew far more complex and precise.
Although progress remained stuck at that final sliver, the original dark crimson Fire Feather energy within Leilin's body seemed to undergo an even more mysterious transformation, beginning to shift toward a higher energy tier.
"If the Fire Feather Technique, previously infused with Shadow System energy particles, could already easily break through the original tenth-level defense and form a unique countermeasure, then what about taking it a step further?"
A flicker of anticipation appeared in Leilin's eyes. The Fire Feather Technique within his body was currently in a remarkably wondrous transitional phase. Though it had not yet formally advanced, it could already easily crush anyone else's tenth-level Fire Feather Technique, which only deepened Leilin's anticipation.
"I knew it was here!" A mass of dark shadow emerged from Leilin's hand, extracting Burns's spatial items and the Earth Tray one by one. When Leilin finally laid eyes on that black copper key, his eyes lit up.
He had personally witnessed Locke attempting to use this very item to break through the final defense of the magical array last time. Now that Burns had been entrusted with it, it clearly served an extraordinary purpose.
"Let me go! Lord Jessiah will offer you something satisfactory! Or... we could sign an agreement — once my years of service to Jupiter's Thunder are fulfilled, I can defect to the Ouroboros Ring!"
Defeated by Leilin and stripped of any means to resist, Burns had calmed down. Even the viciousness had vanished from his face, and he began calmly stating his price.
As a Morning Star Wizard, he did not want to die! And he believed he still held value to Leilin, so he began rationally analyzing his chances of survival.
"Not bad at all! A Morning Star Wizard's loyalty is indeed worth letting you go once!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "What do you all think?"
"It would be simpler to just have him fall. After all, we don't have time to set up a powerful binding magical array or anything of the sort. A regular contract would probably be torn apart by him easily!"
A ripple of spatial distortion flashed, and
"So all three of you are here!" Burns accepted his fate entirely. He couldn't even defeat Leilin alone, let alone three Comoea Warlocks working together.
Hearing Emma's blunt words, Burns immediately grew desperate. "Wait! Inside my storage belt, there's a Crystal Contract! Its power is something even the Throne of Dawn cannot block or sever — this way you can rest assured! Besides, I know a great many secrets about this place, very useful ones..."
Though he knew Emma might simply be threatening him, Burns didn't dare take the gamble.
"Very well! First, tell us everything you know, and then we'll discuss what to do with you!" Gilbert nodded with a smile.
Leilin tacitly agreed. He now understood clearly that this Burns was nothing more than a petty man. Once you defeated him in the area he relied on most, his entire being would crumble. Not only had his original arrogance vanished, but now, to save his own life, he was even willing to completely sell out Jupiter's Thunder.
"What are you going to do? Going to kill me?"
Seeing Leilin easily dispatch a powerhouse of Burns's Morning Star caliber, Shike's face had turned ashen. He hadn't taken the opportunity to flee during their battle but instead stood rigidly to one side.
When Leilin's gaze turned toward him, he forced a bitter smile.
"I'm not someone who enjoys killing, unless it's necessary!" Leilin shook his head. A flash of red light flickered in his eyes, and Shike collapsed stiffly to the ground.
"To break through the Flame Barrier defense here, you need at least the tenth level of the Fire Feather Technique, plus the bloodline aura of the Scarlet Pupil!"
Burns, now completely subdued, stood behind Leilin like a loyal henchman and said, "Our leader specifically collected a secret technique that can use Shike's blood sacrifice to simulate the Scarlet Pupil's aura..."
This was the reason he had brought Shike along.
As for his suggestion, Leilin simply shook his head.
"Faking the Scarlet Pupil's aura using the bloodline in Shike's body! We have that technique too!" Leilin drew a fingernail across Shike's neck, and a thin line of blood immediately appeared. Bright red beads of blood rose and hovered in midair.
"Bloodline Tracing!" A gleam flashed in Leilin's eyes as he began chanting eerie, desolate runic incantations.
As his incantation rang out, Shike's blood began to boil, and behind it, a phantom of the Scarlet Pupil took shape — complete with crimson eyebrows and hair.
"Your Lordship's technique is extraordinary! To obtain the Scarlet Pupil's aura without even needing to sacrifice Shike's blood — this subordinate is truly impressed!"
Burns immediately said in an obsequious tone.
Leilin mentally rolled his eyes, having absolutely zero expectations for the integrity of these Morning Star Wizards.
"Tenth level of the Fire Feather Technique!" Leilin's hands, covered in dark crimson flame, pressed against the barrier.
Hummm! The entire defensive barrier trembled.
"Go!" With a gesture from Leilin, those blood droplets flew onto the barrier, the blood-red color spreading across it and turning the entire structure crimson.
The dark crimson flame in Leilin's hands merged with the opposing Flame Barrier, and the defense gradually opened.
"Despicable thieves! Die!!!"
At that very moment, an unexpected change occurred. The Scarlet Pupil's furious voice began reverberating throughout the entire underground chamber.
Blood-red light condensed together, forming a phantom of the Scarlet Pupil.
"Not good! It's a trap! This defense layer has at least one full-powered strike from the Scarlet Pupil hidden within!" Leilin's pupils contracted.
……
"Caw!"
The massive Fire Phoenix screeched continuously as it clashed with a towering figure and another black-robed wizard. They had fought all the way to the edge of the Lava World, where countless pitch-black spatial rifts materialized around them.
"Hm? Someone is spying on my secret chamber!" The Scarlet Pupil suddenly received a message. "Shike and Burns! Useless, both of them!"
"Scarlet Pupil, what's wrong? Is your lair in trouble?" Jessiah laughed loudly, black lightning crackling from his hands continuously.
Upon hearing this, the other — Archibald, the Elemental Emperor of Fire — roared and blocked the Scarlet Pupil's path of retreat.
"You forced me into this!" An angry voice rang out from the Fire Phoenix that the Scarlet Pupil had become.
As his words echoed, terrifying flames suddenly engulfed the entire body of the phoenix, transforming the massive bird into a horrifying colossus of fire.
Even at the world's edge, vast stretches of space were set ablaze, creating twisted currents of chaos.
"The Flame Phoenix!!!"
"This is a secret technique that burns massive amounts of life force — he's going all out!"
Jessiah and Archibald quickly retreated.
But it was already too late. How could the Scarlet Pupil let them go? The fire colossus spread its wings, and a terrifying wave of flame swept through, swallowing both Jessiah and Archibald whole...
BOOM! A violent firestorm raged, even displacing the spatial currents and leaving an ugly black scar across the rift between worlds.