Reign paused, realizing how suggestive his earlier words sounded.
Luckily, this was a pretty ancient world—none of them took it that way.
"Prepare the Phoenix Array!" the Supre One shouted, his voice echoing across the battle field.
Countless spirit users dropped to their knees, their heads touching the ground.
The air shook with the sound of their unified breaths and quiet chanting.
The Supre One stepped forward. He took his place at the very center of the kneeling sea of people .
Like a giant living network, spirit energy began to flow to his feet.
He raised his arms wide, and a radiant glow surrounded his body.
From every spirit user — young and old, strong and weak — spirit energy surged forward like endless rivers, all pulled toward him.
Other high-ranking elders, even the ones with special titles and rare techniques, stepped in close, placing their hands on his back and shoulders.
Their faces twisted in pain, but they pushed their energy into him without hesitation.
The Supre One clenched his teeth, sweat and blood dripping down his face.
His muscles bulged and cracked under the massive power pouring into him.
This was the worst-case scenario.
The Phoenix Array was a forbidden technique, a final gamble ant only for true desperation.
It would give one person an unimaginable amount of power — enough to burn mountains and boil seas.
But there was a price.
The person at the center would die. Their body would be destroyed, and their soul would burn away forever.
The Supre One knew this. But he had no choice anymore.
He glared at Reign, who was still floating calmly, smiling like a man enjoying a peaceful afternoon walk.
"I will kill you," the Supre One whispered through gritted teeth. "Even if it costs everything."
Above them, the air shimred and twisted, turning into a giant burning bird shape — the spirit image of the Phoenix.
Its wings spread wide, covering the entire sky with a bright golden-red light.
The ground began to crack and lt under the heat, and pieces of the fortress walls crumbled into dust.
Spirit users cried out in pain as their life force was drained away, but none pulled back. They knew this was their last chance.
Reign looked up at the giant flaming bird. Then he tilted his head and gave a small clap.
"Oh? So you still had this much left. I almost feel touched by the effort," he said, his voice playful and mocking.
The Supre One roared, pushing even more power into his body.
His skin split open, revealing glowing cracks of pure spirit light.
Soon, his hair ignited into fire, and eyes burned like molten gold.
He slowly rose into the air, his glowing, cracked body floating higher and higher.
With a final push of will, the Supre One floated toward the Phoenix's head.
His broken, burning body rged into the bird's forehead, sinking deep inside as if becoming its heart.
"Demon!" he roared, his voice shaking the whole battlefield. "I will not let you destroy this world! Even if I die today, I will stop you and that monster!
The Phoenix above shrieked, and then dove straight down toward Reign, carrying all the gathered power of the spirit sect.
BOOOOOOM!
A napalm explosion shook the sky. If it hadn't happened at that height, the entire area below would've been wiped out.
It was not over yet.
The flas didn't vanish—they kept burning for a full minute.
Trees withered, lakes and ponds dried up, and the weak collapsed from the heat alone.
This was the power of the Phoenix Array, said to be strong enough to erase entire countries.
When everything finally settled, the sky was empty—no clouds, no smoke. Only the giant burning Phoenix remained, still flapping its wings.
"Did we win?" soone asked.
That question made them look up. With no sign of Reign in the sky, cheers erupted.
They had won. They had finally defeated the monster that haunted them for so long.
So dropped to their knees, overwheld. Others hugged the nearest person. A few just stared at the sky, unable to believe it was over.
For the first ti in what felt like forever, hope filled the air.
But then, a small dot ford in the sky.
At first, no one noticed. The cheering continued, full of relief and hope. The dot took shape—a bird.
Celebration turned into confusion.
It grew larger with each passing second, until it stood five tis the size of the Phoenix.
Ironically, it shared the sa form, but its flas burned blue, and the heat it gave off was even greater.
The Supre One nearly coughed up blood at the sight. At the center of it all stood Reign, smiling.
"You thought you were the only one who could summon a Phoenix? Hate to break it to you, but mine is way stronger."
If Ember was in her human form right now, she would be bright red right from embarrassnt.
That's right—using the Holy Grail, Reign brought back the divine beast he absorbed before.
It started as an experint, but he chose to keep them around. That way, he always have company when he needed it.
Of course, since he spent most of his ti thinking about destruction, this was the first ti he ever used one of them.
"Ember, use Fireball!" Reign shouted, raising his hand like so kind of trainer.
The divine beast could only shake her head—at least ntally—and obeyed.
She opened her mouth, gathering blue flas that burned hotter than ever. Her power had grown, all thanks to Reign.
"I won't go down that easily!" the Supre One roared.
Below, the people raised their hands, pouring what little spirit energy they had left into the sky.
The golden Phoenix responded, growing larger—but even with their help, it only managed to double in size.
But that didn't stop the Supre One. He began burning his own life force, and the golden Phoenix's flas surged wildly in response.
SHRIEEEEK!
With a deafening cry, it took off, soaring straight ahead.
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