A flash of firelight, and Chitong's figure materialized. At this moment, his face was filled with rage, and the fluctuations of his aura were somewhat unstable.
He cast one venomous glance at the still-raging firestorm, then immediately turned around. His palm parted the air like drawing back a curtain, opening a spatial passage that led him into the Lava World.
Rumble!
More than ten seconds later, black lightning mixed with rock finally smashed through the entire firestorm, revealing the battered figures of Jesia and Archibald.
Crash! Dense, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the massive rock, and large chunks broke free and tumbled down.
When it was over, Archibald's entire body had shrunk considerably, becoming almost miniature.
Beside him, Jesia was in even worse shape—not only was his body covered in burn marks, but a significant portion of his hair had been scorched away.
"Haha! After this, it'll take Chitong at least a hundred years to recover from his injuries!"
Archibald laughed loudly, thoroughly delighted. Then he glanced at Jesia.
"What do you say? Shall we go after him?"
"Sorry, Your Majesty the Fire Elemental Emperor! I'm afraid this body of mine can't handle any more fighting at that intensity!" Jesia said with a bitter smile.
"Forget it then! The damage we've dealt to the Atlantean Federation this time should give them a hefty headache!"
Archibald chuckled. "The Fire Elemental Empire has always led in these contests, but now that the Fire Feather Clan has produced someone like Chitong, we'd be fools not to take them more seriously..."
"Under Your Majesty's leadership, the fire elementals will surely come to rule the entire Lava World!"
Jesia wore a smile on his face.
For him, a bit of face and some flattering words were nothing. As long as the real benefits were sufficient, he wouldn't hesitate to call the other the supreme ruler of the Lava World right then and there.
"Haha..." Even so, that was enough to set Archibald laughing heartily.
"Right then, according to our prior agreement—"
Jesia was about to say more when his expression suddenly shifted. "Damn it! Burns and his lot are useless!"
He cursed, and his entire body transformed into a bolt of black lightning, vanishing on the spot.
"Hehe... interesting!" A massive flame erupted beneath Archibald's feet, propelling him forward as he gave chase.
Though he had cooperated with Jesia moments ago, he had never once let his guard down around these outsiders.
……
In the underground chamber, beside the massive magical array, Leilin also found himself facing a terrifying crisis!
The barrier that Chitong had personally set up contained a hidden trap—and the moment it came into contact with an outside force, it instantly manifested a phantom of Chitong himself!
A devastating strike from a level-five powerhouse! Even the current Leilin would either die on the spot or suffer grievous injuries!
"Shike's bloodline is correct! My Fire Feather Technique is fine too! Could it be Burns?!"
Leilin quickly glanced at Burns, only to find him equally panicked—he clearly hadn't anticipated this scenario either.
"Traitor! Die!"
The Chitong phantom roared in fury. His hair and eyebrows seemed to ignite as enormous, ferocious flames coalesced into the shape of a blazing phoenix and charged toward Leilin's group.
It seemed the phantom retained some semblance of consciousness—its first target was the traitor, Burns.
"Argh!" Faced with the overwhelming pressure of a level-five powerhouse, Burns desperately tried to defend himself, but his Fire Feather Technique was instantly shattered before Chitong. He screamed as his entire body dissolved into flames.
In a single blow, Burns—the one who had been inside the Thunder of Jupiter—was killed at the phantom's hands.
After dealing with the traitor, Chitong turned his gaze toward the remaining figures—Leilin in particular seemed to have become his primary target.
Every hair on Leilin's body stood on end.
"There's no other choice! Should I combine forces with the other two dukes and cast the Comoyin Serpent Transformation? But at that level, the entire underground structure would be destroyed!"
In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Leilin's mind—but he ultimately abandoned the idea.
"No! I can only fight it out with the Fire Feather Technique!" A sharp gleam flashed through Leilin's eyes as he made his decision.
*Ding!* "Fire Feather Technique integration and simulation progress: 100%! Task complete!" At that very moment, the Chip's notification voice rang out abruptly.
The Chip's simulation of integrating the Fire Feather Technique into the singularity had already reached 99.9%, and after scanning Burns's energy circulation routes for the technique, progress had surged forward—it had now reached 100%!
"Mm!"
Leilin's expression shifted. Within his Sea of Consciousness, all the energy of the Fire Feather Technique was converted, forming a pure black energy that was entirely drawn into the singularity.
*Buzz!* The singularity trembled violently, spinning rapidly as powerful energy waves surged outward in all directions.