Red Mountain walks quietly and then stops. He casually looks back and sighs, the portal through which he was just transported has lost its functionality. At a considerable distance from him lie four corpses, he recognizes each one of them. They are all the men he himself sent to defend the honor of the sect, but whose end was far from the real reason.

  Suddenly a body is thrown toward him, it is the fifth elder to whom this mission was entrusted.

  "E- Elder…"

  "I am here."

  Elder Red Mountain comforts the man who is about to lose his life.

  "The sect… Lunar Cascade is not behind… this."

  "Yes, your words confirm my suspicions. Thank you, your contributions to the Sacred Rock Sect will not be forgotten."

  The man smiles one last time and then the gleam in his eyes disappears. He has died.

  Red Mountain closes the eyes of the corpse and gently lays him on the ground. Only then does he direct his gaze toward that legendary beast, whose level is sufficient to toy with all the elders of his sect, but for some reason blood drips from its body.

  'Why is a level 700 qilin coordinating with those petty hunters? Do the wounds on its body have anything to do with this?' Red Mountain does not allow himself to be consumed by hatred, he is not someone easily moved.

  "I am Red Mountain, elder of the Sacred Rock Sect. Who are you? What enmity do you have with my sect?"

  Contrary to expectations, the qilin appears annoyed by his courtesy. He does not seem intimidated in the slightest, preparing himself for the fact that, despite the words, the battle cannot be avoided.

  "I am Disdainful Tempest, guardian beast of this Forbidden Area."

  "What?"

  Surprise floods the face of Elder Red Mountain. 'Forbidden Area? Lower… Lower Plane? What is all this?'

  "Human, did you ask what grudge I hold against you?"

  At that very moment, small spheres of light gather around the qilin Disdainful Tempest, some of them taking human form. A form that Elder Red Mountain knows very well.

  "Whoever you are and wherever you come from, none of that matters. You did not follow the established path, you are intruders who must be eliminated. The laws are absolute, no living being is above them."

  As he utters each word, the spirits looking human regain their senses, until one of them looks in his direction and his eyes turn bloodshot.

  A spirit shouts at Elder Red Mountain: "I will kill you, Lawrence! You are the cause of all this!"

  Disdainful Tempest smiles maliciously. "Once you die, you will join your own for eternity!"

  "Bastard, do you think I'll fall for those tricks? The dead cannot come back to life!"

  "Hahaha... Kill him!"

  As the qilin gives the order, the spirits of the fallen men raise their weapons against the man they once respected as an elder in their sect.

  "Moonlight!"

  "King!"

  Elder Red Mountain buries deep within himself his shock and decides to fight against the spirits taking the form of the deceased elders of his sect. He hates how Disdainful Tempest employs such tricks, but quickly he is unable to distinguish illusion from reality.

  "What's going...? How is it possible that they can use their very same abilities?! Even their Way is being replicated!"

  Each of the spirits attacks him as fiercely as if he were their worst enemy. In each of their screams, a common term can be heard, Lawrence.

  "Enough!"

  Behind Elder Red Mountain, his Way manifests, the Way of a level 799 ranker. Vast storm clouds blend with the surroundings, as hundreds of them manifest, thunder and lightning fall mercilessly.

  "Fight against me, Disdainful Tempest!"

  It is not easy to fight spirits whose levels have suddenly risen to level 750. For ordinary hunters, leveling up may be a common event, but level 700 rankers find their level increases hindered depending on their understanding of their Way.

  Those elders in life did not reach such a level, but in death, they are capable of posing a threat to him.

  "If that is your wish."

  Disdainful Tempest is not one to wait for his minions to do the work for him, he wishes to tear flesh with his own teeth, shatter the body with his own horns!

  He joins the battle as requested by that human, but the spirits do not stay behind him waiting, they join their master to claim the life of Elder Red Mountain. Making him regret his idea of fighting him!

  Red Mountain clenches his teeth and decides to carry out his duty as an elder of the sect. His priority is to destroy those spirits that take semblance of his men and he slowly achieves this. Wounds begin to appear on his body, while the wounds on the qilin reopen.

  His lightning pierces all kinds of defense, striking at an indescribable speed. On the other hand, Disdainful Tempest's magic is versatile, spiritual magic allows him to use all kinds of elements and forms, even without demonstrating a Way, the qilin is capable of claiming his life at the slightest oversight.

  All the spirits are eliminated, Elder Red Mountain manages to restore their names and allow them to rest in peace. It takes him a long time to accomplish this arduous task, but eventually, only he and the qilin are left standing once more.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "You have the mission to protect this place, I have the duty to avenge my men. Although our battle will not end until one of us dies, answer me, Disdainful Tempest. How did all this begin? What purpose do I risk my life for?"

  For a moment the qilin seems willing to respond, but then his gaze of hatred returns and directs his eyes towards a distant position.

  "Do you want an answer? There it is!"

  Both look towards the same place, where suddenly a man appears.

  "That's the human who woke me from my sleep! Lawrence!"

  Upon hearing his name mentioned, Lawrence looks in the direction of Elder Red Mountain and Disdainful Tempest. Smiling cheerfully, he waves his hand back and forth as if greeting a long-lost friend.

  "Are you Lawrence? You? But… How?"

  Red Mountain cannot believe that a mere level 507 hunter planned this situation so meticulously. What does he gain by pitting the Sacred Rock Sect against the Lunar Cascade Sect?

  "Is there no one behind you? No one to back you up?"

  "Don't you understand yet?"

  Lawrence laughs loudly, unable to contain himself before the delusions of a dead man. His action allows the elder to discover something, but he does not want to put it into words, because if so...

  "Yes, I am using a foreign knife to solve internal problems! Your sect was conveniently there! That's all!"

  His men were sent to die in vain.

  "You don't know what you're doing! The war between two sects will weaken the kingdom, everyone will be involved in the friendly fire!"

  "Two sects?"

  Lawrence squints his eyes and then realizes something. "Hahaha! So that's why those guys kept mentioning the Lunar Cascade Sect every time they arrived, Hahaha... Wait, let me clarify something. How the hell did you get to that misunderstanding? Did I accidentally leave a note incriminating them? I don't remember doing such a thing!"

  "No, no… You lie! The information came from one of our disciples who survived that day! Darkness Devourer!"

  "Darkness Devourer?"

  Lawrence recalls having heard such a name years ago. 'Ah, him.'

  After getting the answer, he stops talking. He just smiles again and allows the elder to run his imagination, whether he considers him the mastermind or just a pawn, the outcome will not change because an old decrepit hopes to avoid a war.

  "I will find out what you hide. And I will return to the Sacred Rock Sect. Disdainful Tempest! Grant me just this!"

  The qilin remains silent and watches the situation. Elder Red Mountain misinterprets his silence and attacks Lawrence with the intention of incapacitating him, thus obtaining all the information he hides.

  An action he will quickly regret.

  "What?"

  A beam of light suddenly appears at his side, he has to use the attack that would incapacitate Lawrence in order to lessen the damage. Nonetheless, a cut deepens in his abdomen.

  "Mad beast! Why do you do this? I thought we had an agreement!"

  "Over and over I have to repeat it."

  The qilin looks annoyed, but still spits out the following words. "You are an intruder, my priority over you is above that of him."

  Because Lawrence successfully challenged the Forbidden Area Cloudsea, his beastly instinct forces him to consider him a lesser threat compared to the intruder in front of him. Disdainful Tempest exists solely to follow orders, a caged beast that cannot contradict its master.

  Red Mountain clenches his teeth upon understanding all this, 'With this I won't be able--'

  When the qilin seems to have gained a significant advantage by seriously wounding Red Mountain, who turns the situation around is none other than Lawrence himself.

  "Hey, even though it doesn't look like it, I respect my elders. I can't let a mad beast cause you so much harm. Here you go, don't thank me."

  The next moment, the body of Elder Red Mountain is surrounded by a golden aura, as soon as this happens his wounds begin to heal visibly. He cannot understand why his enemy would have the kindness to heal him, but he soon discovers it.

  When this time he gains the advantage, Lawrence again interferes.

  "Old man, don't you know that animals should not be mistreated? Here you go, little deer, don't thank me."

  This time the golden aura surrounds the body of the qilin, healing his wounds.

  "You plan for us to kill each other! I should have taken care of you back then!"

  The roars of Disdainful Tempest are interrupted by the deadly attacks of Elder Red Mountain. He had already predicted the man's action, but in this type of circumstance, he cannot reject his sacred magic. If there is even a chance, he will not pass it up just because he knows his intentions.

  "Red Mountain, I will be merciful. I will ignore your attacks on that human!"

  "Hah, I cannot trust the word of a deranged beast. I know that as soon as you have the opportunity, your instinct will compel you to kill me. You live to protect this place and will use any means to murder me."

  "Damn old decrepit! I will kill you and then kill that human! Everyone will die today!"

  If the purpose of his being could be contained, long ago Disdainful Tempest would have killed Lawrence, but it is not so. He is chained to this place, to a set of rules. He must give his all to kill the human in front of him, not so with Lawrence, whom he would most wish to disappear from the face of the earth.

  The battle between the beast and the elder continues for a long period of time. Lawrence offers his help whenever either side seems to be at a disadvantage, but the mana consumption for healing the wounds of two beings who surpass him by a wide level gap exceeded the permissible barrier.

  Based on medicinal pills, Lawrence countered this difference, even at the cost of sacrificing his lifespan to maintain his sacred magic. Initially it was a few years, then decades that he sacrificed. Although he may be considered an immortal due to his long lifespan, each of those years is of utmost importance considering that sooner or later his level will stagnate and he will need them.

  Both sides begin to fall slowly but simultaneously. The qilin loses his horns and left eye, while the elder loses his left foot and various wounds remain on his body.

  The fight that took place in the sky, decreased to the ground.

  Until at some point, Elder Red Mountain loses the strength that sustains him, being the qilin who delivers the final blow. After fading into the ground, his face shows infinite regret, with words that he would have wanted to convey at least one last time.

  Red Mountain has died.

  At that very moment, applause resounds, Lawrence calmly approaches the qilin, who has lost all strength in that last attack.

  "Nice show, you were born to be the clown at the party."

  "Human..."

  The qilin Disdainful Tempest lies on the ground practically lifeless, without energy and without mana. His body is completely wounded, there is no place that his blood has not stained.

  "Kill me, that's what you've always wanted."

  Lawrence stops steps from the face of the beast and then shakes his head.

  "You tempt me, but no. No one knows what will happen with the killer of a guardian beast, I prefer to act with caution and let you die like a beggar in the streets. Who will care about you? Go ahead, surprise me."

  "Ha ha ha ha..."

  The aged laugh of Disdainful Tempest contains such joy, it seems incredible that it comes from someone on the brink of death.

  "If this is a show for you, who do you think is missing?"

  Lawrence quickly understands his meaning, significantly surprised at the momentary thought that crosses his mind. But before he can even utter a word, he is interrupted by the qilin. He does not want to exhaust his last breath on empty explanations, because for Lawrence this is his death, but for him, it is his farewell.

  "To this day you do not know the true purpose of this place, nor do you understand why you succeeded in the first place."

  Disdainful Tempest wishes to burden the mind of his killer, that every second of his life he regrets making him his enemy.

  "Did you think I wasn't prepared for this day? Hahaha ha ha"

  "You shouldn't have moved your snout..."

  Lawrence uses his sacred magic and heals the wounds of this beast about to die, it's not too late to get some answers from this-- but then he is surprised. 'Why...? Why do his wounds disappear, but his life does not return?'

  "The Storm of the End... The Divine Plane will not be the only one destroyed. How many fragments will there be this time?"

  "What do you mean by that? Speak! Answer!"

  The hatred of Lawrence gets no response, Disdainful Tempest achieves his last purpose before losing that which he never wished to have.

  Disdainful Tempest has died.

  Being the only one standing should have given him unparalleled satisfaction, yet none of that can be seen on his face. In silence, Lawrence kicks the corpse of that beast before returning to his mansion.

  All celebration now tastes bitter.