The man in his blood-red robe stood upon the air itself, each step suspended over the void. The robe drifted around him like a living stream of crimson, coiling and rippling as though it breathed.Linton and the others were struck dumb. Especially those who had scoffed earlier when he spoke of "gods" crossing blows. Their worldview shattered on the spot.In a world that worships science and logic above all, who could imagine someone standing in the sky and walking through clouds?Yet here it was, undeniable and unfolding before their eyes.The newcomer was none other than the second-ranked assassin in the world, the Blood Demon. His gaze swept down first, landing on Celia."Ripper," he drawled, "looks like you failed miserably."Celia lowered her head, saying nothing. That alone was a signal of her silent admission.In the assassin world, failure and being caught by your target meant inevitable death.A streak of scarlet flashed across the Blood Demon's eyes. His voice turned cold enough to freeze bone."The day you entered the Netherweb, you should have understood that your life ceased to be your own."In the Netherweb, failure is forbidden. Once I finish this bounty, I'll deal with you myself."His tone was calm, yet it carried the weight of a death sentence. Celia's blood chilled instantly, terror spilling across her features.Then the Blood Demon turned to Leander. His gaze sharpened like drawn blades, and a ripple of invisible force plunged downward.Leander lifted his eyes. Where their gazes collided, sparks seemed to crackle in the air."Jeff Ashcroft," the Blood Demon said in a quiet, even tone, "I've come to kill you." He said it the way someone might announce a casual visit, using a calm voice, but in his case, with murderous intention."Oh? Is that so?" Leander smiled faintly."You're an assassin. Assassins hide in the shadows. That's how you get a one-strike kill on me."You're here, appearing out in the open, attacking me face-to-face. You've already broken the cardinal rule. Now I'm truly curious, how did you kill a King Phase back then?""Haha!" The Blood Demon laughed madly, chin lifted, wild pride pouring out of him. "That King Phase? I killed him with stealth, in addition to my secret technique. I struck the instant his mind slipped."But with you? I don't need the trouble."Scarlet light erupted in his eyes. A suffocating wave of pressure exploded outward."You're strong, yes. You killed Gadru, the former champion of the International Combat Units. You destroyed fifteen High Arbitrators alone. But you are still not a King Phase."And as long as you're not a King Phase, I have absolute confidence, one hundred percent, that I can crush you with overwhelming force."Below the King Phase, I am invincible."He said a mere few simple sentences, yet his pride brimmed to the point of arrogance."Invincible below King Phase?" Leander murmured, lips curling into a dangerous smile. "You truly believe that?"The Blood Demon didn't respond. Hands clasped behind his back, he lifted one arm and pointed north of Highcliffe."Come, Jeff. Let me see whether the one hailed as the strongest in all of the International Combat Units' history truly deserves the title."I'll be waiting for you on Swallow Hill."The moment the final syllable fell, wind erupted beneath his feet. His figure burstinto a blazing streak of bloodlight and surged toward Swallow Hill.Leander drained the last of his drink, then approached Liam and Shirley.Liam stared at Leander's approach, throat locked, mind frozen.When he'd learned Leander was the chairman of Jeff Enterprises, he had beenshaken, confused, and skeptical, but he could still process it.But tonight shattered every framework he had ever believed in. He was no longer certain the world he'd lived in was even real.Leander reached him, placed a hand on his shoulder."Liam, there's far too much in this world you haven't seen. And too much I've yet totell you."I have business tonight. I'll go ahead. After this, we'll drink and I'll tell you everything."With that, his figure blurred—almost ghostlike—and shot upward from the balcony as a streak of blue light.Liam and Shirley remained stunned into statues. Behind them, Linton collapsed onto the ground, legs giving way, a dark stain spreading across his trousers.The moment Leander erupted into blue light, Linton finally recognized the silhouette. It overlapped perfectly with one of the two "gods" he'd seen that night at the Celestial Pavilion.Only now did he grasp it. The one fighting in the heavens that night had been Leander Ashcroft.Boom!At 11:30 p.m., Swallow Hill stood empty, desolate. Then a streak of bloodlight shredded the clouds and speared the summit.A heartbeat later, a tail of blue light followed, like a meteor ripping through the night.The lights dissipated. Only the two silhouettes remained, facing each other. Leander and the Blood Demon hovered at the cloudline, facing one another. An unseen collision of force between them churned the clouds into rolling waves."Jeff Ashcroft," the Blood Demon said with a bloodthirsty smile, "Swallow Hill's night scenery is worthy of your title as the mightiest alive pick fine spot here for your grave." Power surged beneath his robe. Crimson radiance unfurled like a sea."Many have said that to me," Leander replied calmly. "All of them died. You won't bean exception." His voice dropped—and without a breath of hesitation, he thrust out afist.The strike tore through the cloud sea, opening a tunnel of spiraling mist several stories wide. The Blood Demon's pupils narrowed instantly.But he didn't dodge. He raised his fist, bloodlight surging around his knuckles, and struck head-on.Boom!The collision ripped a storm across the mountain, vaporizing the summit of Swallow Hill section by section.Neither budged. Their first exchange was perfectly even.noveldrama"Oh?" Leander's brows lifted slightly.He hadn't used full strength, but ever since achieving Spirit Convergence,the Nirvana Energy in him hadtransformed. It was now dense potent, and multiplied severalfold. Astrike like that could have obliterated any Chief Arbitrator.But the Blood Demon met it directly. He was the first man he had ever seen whocould.Leander studied him closely. Thecrimson glow around the BloodDemon had thickened intonear liquid currents, using and falling like viscous blood. His auraflickered unpredictably, vast, grand,transcending the mortal world.At that moment, Leander understood that the Blood Demon's realm was far aboveInfernal Crown Transcendent. He had stepped into an entirely different tier.To someone at his level, even Infernal Crown Transcendents would be mere insects."King Phase?" Leander whispered.The Blood Demon tilted his head back. Blood-essence roared around him, dyeing Swallow Hill peak a ghostly scarlet."You look surprised, Jeff."A twisted grin curved his lips. "You said it yourself. Below the King Phase, I have norivals."That is because I am now a Half-King."At that instant, he flexed his fingers. The world began to warp. A radius of a hundredfeet collapsed into a dome of bloodlight, forming a realm of its own. And Leander was sealed inside.