Rose rushed to Nigel’s side, cheeks puffed with indignation. "Why did you throw yourself in like that? Look at you—you’re covered in wounds!"
To her, Nigel’s behavior was pure foolishness. Yesterday, Zora hadn’t even truly intended to save them, yet he acted as if he owed her a life debt.
But Nigel ignored her entirely. His gaze stayed fixed on the distant battlefield, pupils trembling as he silently prayed.
Please... let her survive.
Over there, the Nether Wolf King had just slamd Zora to the ground. One human and one beast were locked in a vicious struggle, blood mist curling around them.
Soone muttered bleakly, "Zora’s done for. Let’s go."
One after another, warriors jumped down from the branches.
Even though her performance had stunned them, the outco seed obvious. No one present believed a lone early-stage Sky realm cultivator could defeat a Nether Wolf King even if they were in the sa realm and stage. Because the monsters, especially predators like a wolf, typically have a stronger physique than a human.
Nigel’s face drained of color. His heart twisted painfully; he didn’t want to accept what everyone else already had.
"Stop staring. You know the result," Rose sighed. "She has no chance of...
But mid-sentence, Rose froze. Her eyes widened so abruptly they looked ready to fall out. She raised a trembling finger toward the battlefield—
Yet not a single sound escaped her throat.
Nigel frowned. "What now?" He followed her gaze—
And his breath caught.
Rising from beside the fallen Nether Wolf King... was a figure drenched entirely in blood.
"Zora?" His voice cracked with shock and wild relief. "You’re not dead!"
The shout echoed across the silent mountain.
Warriors who had just begun leaving halted mid-step, heads snapping back.
What did he say?
Not dead?
As the collapsing Wolf King hit the ground, the pack broke instantly. Leaderless, their killing intent shattered, and they fled into the forest like shadows dissolving in moonlight.
Everyone stared blankly at the lone figure standing where the Wolf King had fallen.
Blood soaked her clothes.
Her white dress had beco a crimson banner.
Her hair clung to her cheeks.
Her steps were slow, steady, unwavering.
"She... she defeated the Nether Wolf King?"
"I—I must be dreaming!"
"How could an early Sky stage kill sothing like that? Is she actually mid-stage?"
Instinct said no.
Their eyes said yes.
The blood-stained silhouette walked calmly toward them, each step a shockwave through their hearts.
There was no soft grace left in her—only the lethal quiet of soone who had battled death and walked back out again.
Her cold and sharp gaze swept across the warriors.
Under that glance, every throat tightened. None dared et her eyes.
This...
This was the bearing of a true powerhouse.
Only now did they understand—
Zora was never a waste.
She was a prodigy wrapped in dust, finally revealing the edge of the sword she truly was.
Zora stepped toward Nigel and Rose. Before Nigel could say a word, she lightly tilted his chin and slipped a dicinal pill past his lips.
Rose blinked in outrage. "W–what did you just feed him?"
Nigel shook his head. "Rose, the Princess consort, wouldn’t harm ."
His tone held not even a thread of doubt. If Zora had wanted to kill him, she’d already shown more than enough ability to do so. A pill from her could only be dicine.
Zora gave Rose a flat, unimpressed glance before turning back to Nigel. "You’re much sharper than she is."
Rose’s face froze. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again—but nothing ca out except indignation.
Zora offered Nigel a small white porcelain bottle. "Golden wound salve. It’s very effective."
Nigel accepted it with a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"No need." The corners of her lips lifted into a faint, elegant arc. "Showing up when things looked hopeless... that makes you worthy of friendship."
She didn’t bother analyzing motives. Whether Nigel acted out of gratitude or impulse didn’t matter. In a mont when everyone else fled, he had stepped in front of danger to help. That alone deserved acknowledgnt.
Nigel’s smile brightened. "Then I’m honored."
After interacting with her briefly, he realized Zora wasn’t cold or arrogant at all. If anything, she was straightforward to the point of honesty.
"I’ll head off. If you need help, find anyti."
Her gaze flicked to Rose, who was still sulking beside him, and her smile deepened with mischief. She truly disliked third wheels.
Nigel quickly caught the hint and nodded. "Be careful, Miss Zora. There are still many beasts around."
"I will."
With that, she turned and vanished between the trees—light, effortless, unstoppable.
The mont her figure disappeared, everyone exhaled at once. The tension that had strangled the air finally loosened.
"In my opinion, Luna is dood," soone whispered. "She used to mock Zora every day. Looks like the real idiot was her."
"I heard Luna broke through, too. Her strength isn’t bad."
"Even so—after what we just saw—do you really think she can win?"
Silence spread.
Everyone had seen Zora slay the Nether Wolf King alone. Whatever Luna had achieved, she wasn’t even close to that level.
After leaving the battlefield, Zora walked deeper into the forest. Her clothes were stained with the blood that had sprayed across her during the fight.
The stench was unbearable.
"Is there water nearby?" she asked, brows knitted.
"Eastside," Black replied imdiately. "There’s a spring, Master."
She headed straight there, washed away every trace of blood, changed into clean clothes, and finally sank beneath a tree, letting her body relax.
White’s voice dipped low with suspicion. "Master, the Nether Wolf group’s appearance was... odd. I suspect soone orchestrated it."
It wasn’t mistaken.
Zora understood the behavior of magical beasts far too well. They hadn’t provoked the wolves at all. There was no reason for the pack to suddenly launch a coordinated attack.
Her eyes darkened.
"There was soone pulling strings last night."
No matter how one looked at it, provoking a Nether Wolf pack was not a mistake she would ever make. Which ant only one thing: soone else engineered it.
Black frowned, agitation rippling through his shadowy form. "But no contestant in this royal hunt could do that."
The strongest competitor was only mid Xuan Yuan stage. Commanding a Nether Wolf King? Impossible. Even luring one would require suicidal audacity.
A quiet, amused curve touched Zora’s lips. "It wasn’t a contestant. It was... probably soone outside the ga."
Black’s pupils contracted. "So you suspect—"
"Exactly."
Silence settled over the three of them. No more words were needed. Their conclusion was the sa.
The next day;
Morning light spilled across Mt. Philanos. Zora opened her eyes; the fatigue of last night washed away. Her condition had recovered more than half.
"The final day," she murmured, rising. "Ti to find the Gale Wolf."
Her voice held calm determination, like a blade sliding from its sheath.
Black and White exchanged grins brimming with confidence.
With their master moving, the first place was already decided.
Two days of searching with no results had narrowed the range significantly. Zora adjusted course and set off—her silhouette a streak of white threading through the dense forest. Thorns grazed her clothes but never slowed her motion.
Tension choked the air throughout the hunting ground.
Today was the last chance. Life, death, victory, humiliation—all would be determined by sundown.
anwhile, high above the forest, the imperial stand had turned deathly silent.
Emperor Alexander and his ministers listened to the guard’s report, shock rippling across every face.
"Last night... Princess Consort was surrounded by Nether Wolves?" Emperor Alexander demanded.
The guard nodded vigorously. "Yes. Her Highness was alone when the pack encircled her."
Emperor Alexander’s heart plumted. He had spent two days discreetly probing into Prince Kael’s movents. Though he’d found no concrete answer, one thing was clear:
Kael was preparing to reclaim everything he had lost.
For three years, Emperor Alexander had treated him "well," but only out of fear of the forces above Kael. He never believed the fallen prince could truly rise again.
Now, terrifyingly, reality seed to be shifting.
If Prince Kael fully awakened his identity, the tides of the imperial court would turn overnight.
And Zora... was the Prince’s consort that the emperor himself had chosen, and Kael also accepted it. For her, Kael, who stayed as a low key crippled prince for years, didn’t hesitate to hurt the General, didn’t hesitate to hurt the Pri Minister either...
If anything happened to her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Across the viewing platform, General Helius, Jasmine, and Icarus exchanged glances of poorly concealed delight.
Apathy? Concern? Not even a trace.
Because of Zora, their family had been humiliated ti and ti again.
If the "disgrace of House Phoenix" died in this mountain, then good riddance.
Such trash, they thought, should never have existed.
The guard watched their shifting expressions, his own twisting in confusion.
Why were they celebrating...?
He hadn’t even finished the report!
"Your Majesty," he said hurriedly, "the situation... did not end there."
Emperor Alexander’s brows knotted. "What else?"
He had no interest in trivial events. All he cared about was how to face Kael with this news.
The guard swallowed and declared:
"Princess Consort slew the Nether Wolf King—alone—and scattered the entire pack."
"What!"
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