The surging tide of energy roared within Rowan's body, filling his veins with pure fire. The Eternal Flame pulsed beside him, and his confidence burned brighter than ever.
To stand among the geniuses in the coming tournament, he knew he had to perfect his domain at least to the Ninth Layer. Yet advancing one's domain was far more difficult than raising one's cultivation. It wasn't something that could be forced; it required deep insight, an understanding of the laws themselves, the sort of enlightenment that came only through endless meditation and comprehension.
Even with the Eternal Flame radiating beside him, it wasn't easy to attune himself to the Laws of Fire. But Rowan had an advantage no one else possessed the Mind Stone. With it, he could accelerate his understanding of both the flame's law and the expansion of his domain.
Bathed in a soft blue aura from the Mind Stone, Rowan sat cross-legged in the heart of the molten star. The gem's light wove around him like living threads, harmonizing with the fiery waves of energy that rippled through the lava sea.
Every heartbeat was a rhythm of creation and destruction.
Every breath deepened his connection with the flame.
Days blurred into weeks, then into months. Within this eternal heat, Rowan's consciousness and the flames merged into one. When he closed his eyes, he was the fire alive, dancing, unyielding.
After a month, his domain stretched across nearly three kilometers. By keeping it constantly active, his understanding of fire and law grew tenfold under the combined influence of his domain and the Mind Stone.
Yet cultivation, even in its serenity, could grow monotonous. Between sessions, Rowan occasionally drifted into the "Swallowed Star" world to ease his mind. Endless meditation without diversion was a slow death of the spirit and Rowan was never one to cage himself entirely in discipline.
Three months passed.
Then, the silence of the Eternal Flame shattered.
A thunderous boom erupted through the lava field as waves of molten rock spiraled upward. The entire sea of magma convulsed like a beast awakened from slumber, the air splitting under the pressure. From the heart of the storm, Rowan stood, bathed in violet fire.
The molten whirlpool stretched for five kilometers, and at its center, the violet flames burned like a god's fury. His eyes opened two glowing amethysts that illuminated the molten world.
"Second Heaven of the Domain."
His voice echoed low and steady, as the violet light deepened, transforming his aura into something wild and divine. Within a ten-kilometer radius, his domain blazed at ten thousand degrees. And when he compressed it to a hundred meters, the temperature soared to fifty thousand hotter than the sun's surface itself.
Even tenth-grade Kro Metal would melt instantly in this inferno. Only the Black God Suit he wore could withstand such fury.
"Three months to reach Second Heaven," Rowan mused, smiling faintly. "Magnus's Essays on Domains really lived up to its reputation."
He had expected it to take at least six months, even with the Mind Stone's aid. Yet he had surpassed that mark in half the time a feat that even the legendary Magnus had taken more than a decade to achieve.
In the cosmos, there were nine levels of the domain. Most cultivators only grasped it after reaching the rank of Universe or Domain Master. To comprehend it at the Planetary stage was nothing short of monstrous. Those who achieved both the domain and even a glimpse of law at such a stage were the true prodigies of creation the ones fated to shatter worlds.
Rowan closed his eyes, withdrawing the fire around him, and stepped back into the Swallowed Star world. The moment he arrived, his communicator buzzed.
A message from Magnus.
He read it briefly Ryan had entered the ancient ruins of Civilization Nine for a trial, but it had been over three months with no return. Of the five War Gods who went in, two had survived, two had perished, and only Ryan remained missing. The message ended grimly: "We believe he's dead."
Rowan's lips curved into a small, knowing smile.
Ryan wasn't dead. Not yet. He had simply been chosen by the AI of the Meteoric Star for the true trial one far beyond the ruins themselves. Rowan's interference had accelerated the chain of events, pushing Ryan into destiny earlier than fate had planned.
It would be a year, maybe more, before Ryan reemerged.
Unconcerned, Rowan dismissed the message and skimmed the rest one from Selena, who had been waiting while he cultivated. Smiling faintly, he replied, and within minutes, her sleek battlecraft descended outside his residence.
Selena stepped out, dressed in a crimson gown formed from her Black God armor. Her pale skin gleamed like porcelain beneath the sunlight, her every motion steeped in allure.
"Rowan!"
She ran to him, flinging herself into his arms. Her once-cold demeanor had softened; she clung to him like a newlywed bride, her affection unrestrained.
Rowan, however, was not one to indulge endlessly. As much as he enjoyed her company, he still guarded his greatest secret the ring that allowed him to traverse worlds. Not even Selena could know.
Still, he let her stay for the evening.
Meanwhile, in Jiangnan Base City, the headquarters of the HR Alliance shook with a deafening crash.
A fist had shattered the reinforced Kro Metal wall.
"He's dead… Ryan's dead!" Leon roared, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging across his temples. Blood dripped from his clenched teeth. "He can't die before I kill him myself! I'll tear him apart piece by piece!"
His wife, Vanessa, reached for him in fear, but Leon spun and struck her across the face. She fell to the floor, blood on her lips, shock and grief flooding her eyes.
"Don't touch me!" he snarled.
The man she saw before her was no longer the composed War God she'd once admired. He was a monster his arrogance curdled into hatred, his pride devoured by madness.
"Leon… please…" Vanessa whispered. "You're not yourself."
Ever since the night she had gone to Rowan's home to beg for their revenge, Leon had changed. He barely looked at her anymore. They no longer shared a bed. And now, her sacrifice the one she had offered in desperation only made him look at her with disgust.
"You… hate me now?" she asked softly, tears trembling on her lashes.
Leon didn't answer. His pride as a War God wouldn't allow it. His wife had lain with another man, even if it had been for his vengeance and that truth tore at him more than Ryan's existence ever had.
But when Ryan died, all that anger had nowhere to go. It turned inward, festering until it drove him mad.
Then came the thought that would seal his fate.
"If Ryan is dead… then his family still lives," Leon murmured darkly. "I can make them pay instead."
Vanessa's eyes widened in horror. "No Rowan won't let you! He told us never to touch Ryan's family!"
Leon sneered. "Ryan's gone. His family is nothing now. In this world, the weak are just prey. Without him, they're already dead they just don't know it yet."
"Leon, please," she pleaded. "If Rowan finds out "
He looked at her with a sinister gleam. "Then you'll make sure he doesn't."
Vanessa froze. She understood instantly. "You… you want me to go back to him."
"You've done it once," Leon said coldly. "Do it again. Buy me the right to finish this."
Tears streamed down her cheeks, but there was no escape. He shoved her aside and left her trembling in silence.
Later that night, Rowan sat on the couch, swirling red wine in a crystal glass. Selena knelt before him obediently, her skin still glowing faintly from their shared heat.
His communicator chimed Vanessa's name appeared. Only two words: Are you home?
Rowan smirked.
Just as he expected.
He replied simply, "Come in two hours."
Then he turned to Selena. "Fetch two vials of dragon's blood from the guild master before you return, alright?"
She nodded immediately, sensing his meaning someone else was coming, and she wasn't meant to be here.
"Alright… but I'll stay a little longer first."
Rowan chuckled, pulling her back into his arms. "An hour, then."
Two hours later, Selena departed in her sleek aircraft.
Moments after, another ship landed this one marked with the HR Alliance insignia.
Vanessa stepped out, still wearing her gold combat suit, her beauty sharp and cold under the night sky. As she walked through the courtyard, she heard faint cries from Ryan's family in the neighboring building.
A flicker of hatred passed through her eyes, but she suppressed it.
When she reached Rowan's door, she hesitated only a moment before pressing the bell.
"Come in," his voice echoed lazily.
She entered to find him reclining on the sofa, glass of wine in hand, the firelight painting his features in amber and shadow. His smile was calm, but his eyes those sharp violet eyes seemed to pierce straight into her soul.
"So," Rowan said, setting down the glass. "What brings you here tonight?"
He lifted a finger, and invisible energy wrapped around her. Her armor slipped free as if unbuckled by unseen hands, and her body drifted forward, helplessly drawn into his arms.
His tone shifted, quiet but commanding. "Answer me, woman."
Vanessa trembled. Her lips parted, but the words came out barely a whisper.
"I… I want to trade my body… for permission to destroy Ryan's family."
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