Earlier, when Kaelan reached the edge of the world with Isla beside him and the inner barrier standing before them, Isla immediately understood where he was taking her.
The Inner Void.
It is filled with void energy under the control of the world—part of the world, yet also apart from it. Here, the World Will is at its weakest. It neither interferes nor resists if a cultivator establishes an outer field. This place exists precisely in the blind spot of the world's authority.
They exchange a glance and continue upward.
Passing through the barrier feels like stepping through mist. The barrier exists only to prevent void energy from flooding the world; to them, it offers no resistance. Beyond it, darkness stretches endlessly, broken only by the distant, dim glow of the sun and moon far behind them.
Kaelan looks at Isla and says, "Let's go deeper."
He moves forward into the void, and as he does, a strange familiarity washes over him—as if he has returned home. Isla follows without hesitation. They travel on, and days pass without meaning, distance without measure.
Finally, Isla speaks. "Here should be enough."
Kaelan stops and looks back. The world they left behind is now nothing more than a faint star of light suspended in the darkness. He nods.
"You can begin forming your outer field," he says. "I will protect you."
Isla moves ahead and sits cross-legged in the void. Hours pass in silence. Then, light begins to extend from her body—soft at first, barely visible.
Void energy presses in immediately, resisting the expansion, but the light does not retreat. It spreads steadily. A ten-meter radius forms around her, then continues outward. The field grows without pause, and after a month, it reaches a full kilometer in radius.
While guarding her, Kaelan turns his attention inward.
He perceives the thirty-six paths of the Light Law within Isla's cultivation, each one clear and distinct. He has already comprehended all paths of the other six elemental laws. What remains unfinished is Light.
He has already grasped the Light Energy Path. Among the remaining thirty-five paths, he needs only the beginnings of the Bright Path, Heat Path, Burn Path, Illusion Path, Distortion Path, Purify Path, Destruction Path, and Speed Path. These are visible to him now, laid bare by Isla's cultivation, and he comprehends their applications with ease.
His Divine Crystal still bears thirty-three faces—three short of what is required to elevate a law from the meteor stage to the moon stage.
He could take three more paths directly from the Light Law.
But he does not.
If he does, his law would be dominated by Light. And his law is not Light.
It is the Elemental Storm.
Instead, he decides to create.
The thirty-three existing paths within his Divine Crystal originate from the seven elemental laws. Among them, one fundamental path exists in each element—the path governing pure elemental control: Dark Path, Fire Path, Wind Path, Earth Path, Water Path, Thunder Path, and Light Path. At their core, all seven are expressions of elemental energy itself.
From these, Kaelan begins constructing a new framework.
A path that transforms one elemental energy into another.
As Isla's outer field continues to expand, Kaelan refines this framework, filling it piece by piece, stabilising its logic, and anchoring it within his concept. The path takes shape slowly, deliberately, until it is complete.
When Isla's outer field reaches a radius of 4.7 kilometres, Kaelan finishes.
He pauses and calculates the passage of time.
From the moment he began creating the path—
Ten years have passed.
Kaelan then begins creating the second path.
Drawing upon the foundation of the Energy Transformation Path, he starts shaping a new one—an energy that can be transformed into any of the seven elemental energies. With this path, he will be able to cast spells of multiple elements simultaneously, without conflict or delay. He enters deep creation, refining concept after concept, while Isla's outer field continues its steady expansion in the void.
Unseen by them, Nyxarin arrives in the area.
He does not spread his spirit sense. Instead, he observes with his naked eyes alone. In the vast darkness of the Inner Void, a colossal field of light stretches for kilometres, and at its center sits Isla, cross-legged, radiating calm authority.
"Where is Kong Wuya?" Nyxarin wonders.
He moves carefully through the void, suppressing all fluctuations, and soon finds Kaelan at a distance—also seated cross-legged, eyes closed, immersed in cultivation.
Nyxarin's gaze sharpens.
With both of them deep in cultivation inside the Inner Void, this is a perfect opportunity to launch his ritual and advance to true godhood. But not yet. Not now. He needs the moment when neither of them can break free from their cultivation.
So he hides and waits.
Kaelan completes the second path.
The total number of paths he has comprehended reaches thirty-five.
Only one remains.
If he wishes to continue the path of Elemental Storm, the final path should naturally be related to the storm itself. Yet as he reaches this point, hesitation arises within him. The concept of storm was bestowed upon him by the world, and he is confident he could make it his own—but he realises that he has never truly comprehended storm itself.
This hesitation leads him to a realisation.
He must change his way.
The answer comes without struggle.
The Way of Elements.
He does not need to deliberate further. The decision settles instantly, clean and absolute. And with it, the final path he must create becomes clear—a path that returns the seven elemental energies to their most primitive origin.
The first two paths he created—the Energy Transformation Path and the Energy Simulation Path—are precisely the foundations required for this final one.
The Return to Origin Path.
As Kaelan prepares to build its framework, he notices something else.
Isla's outer field has stopped expanding.
It has reached roughly fourteen kilometres in radius.
She now stands within it, no longer cultivating, but contemplating.
Kaelan sends a voice transmission.
"Are you done?"
Isla's reply comes calmly.
"The first step is complete."
Kaelan responds,
"I sense a 'but.'"
After a brief pause, her voice returns.
"If I begin the second step, I will not be able to stop."
Kaelan sends back,
"Are you worried about the war?"
"No," Isla replies. "That is not the reason."
Kaelan answers,
"With the first step complete, I no longer need to protect you. I can return to the world."
"I know," Isla responds, "but to complete the transformation, I need my original divine body."
Kaelan does not hesitate.
"Tell me where it is. I'll bring it to you."
Coordinates flow into his mind.
He opens his eyes, rises, and turns back toward the world.
Nyxarin, hidden in the void, watches closely and follows at a distance.
Kaelan passes through the inner barrier and descends toward a mist-shrouded island. The moment he enters it, the island begins to tremble violently. Its foundation collapses, cracks spreading everywhere as its true nature is revealed.
At its core lies Isla's divine body.
Kaelan retrieves it and ascends once more into the Inner Void.
From afar, Nyxarin watches as Kaelan emerges again, carrying Isla's divine body, and flies back toward her, and Nyxarin's eyes gleam as the final pieces of his plan fall into place.
"So Isla won't be able to leave for now," Nyxarin murmurs to himself.
"That leaves only Kong Wuya, Issac, and Nyra in my way."
And this time, he is no longer following Plan A.
He is executing Plan C.
With Isla occupied in the Inner Void, carrying out her transformation, the path ahead becomes far clearer. Nyxarin turns away, retreats through the layers of the world, and returns to his palace. He settles onto his throne, his expression calm but his thoughts racing.
Time is no longer on his side.
By his estimation, no one in the world can now stop Isla from reaching true godhood. Compared to her, his own chances are slim—vanishingly so. If he hesitates any longer, he will be left behind forever.
So he must act.
He must carry out his plan and fake his own death.
Nyxarin will transfer everything—his power, his authority, his will—into his clone, Minyu. But he cannot simply disappear. His death must be witnessed. It must be unquestionable, undeniable, carved into the minds of every power in the world.
Only then will no one suspect deception.
And the perfect moment will be during his ritual to ascend to godhood.
At that time, even if Kong Wuya does not intervene, Nyra and Issac certainly will. Gods cannot ignore such a disturbance. His death, occurring under their eyes, will be accepted as truth.
As he refines the plan, another thought surfaces.
"There is still another group," Nyxarin mutters.
"They claimed they have a method to help me reach godhood."
Hope flickers within him, faint but real.
The nine martial art leaders.
He had dismissed them before, seeing them as mortals unworthy of serious consideration. That, he now realises, was a mistake—just as it was a mistake to underestimate Kong Wuya.
He recalls that moment clearly.
He had attacked Kong Wuya once, probing his strength, and retreated after sensing his terrifying resilience. If he had unleashed his full power then, if he had crushed Kong Wuya without restraint, none of this would be happening now.
Regret is useless—but calculation is not.
If the martial artists truly possess a way to hasten his ascent, one that allows him to surpass Isla before her transformation is complete, then he would not need to fake his death at all.
He straightens slightly on his throne.
"It's time to hear them out."
Nyxarin sends a cold, concise voice transmission to one of his subordinates.
"Send an invitation to the nine martial art leaders."
The message leaves his lips like a decree, and the machinery of his final gamble begins to turn.