Chapter 756: 4th level of Master Rank

Karl stared at him for a moment, eyes gleaming with both suspicion and reluctant acceptance, and then gave a short nod accompanied by a weary shrug. "Alright," he transmitted, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. He raised both arms, fingers splayed wide, and his body became engulfed in surging black flames so dense they looked like molten tar.

Whoosh!

An immense wave of black fire erupted outward from Karl, flowing into the ground like liquid night. Within moments, it spread in every direction, rippling through the battered terrain, weaving around rocks, corpses, and warriors alike.

It slithered beneath the feet of every combatant—human and monster—until the entire expanse of the Second Circle battlefield was blanketed in a rolling, writhing ocean of jet-black flame.

It did not burn. Instead, it glided over the ground like living shadow, cold and silent, casting a dark pallor across the scarred plain. The blood-drenched ground was transformed into a midnight canvas, the flickering black lotus patterns pulsating gently as if alive.

From high above, it looked as though a titanic pool of ink had been poured over the battlefield, smothering the chaos beneath a moving, shimmering veil.

Warriors glanced at the black flames swirling around their boots with confusion and unease, but none could spare the attention to investigate amid the relentless life-or-death clashes.

Max’s eyes narrowed, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as a flash of sly triumph flickered through his gaze. ’Perfect.’ Even as Karl maintained the vast sea of black flames, Max subtly began channeling his own black flames, releasing it in fine tendrils that spread invisibly among Karl’s flames.

His black flames intertwined seamlessly with Karl’s, merging like two rivers of dark oil until it was impossible to distinguish where one ended and the other began.

Nobody—not even Karl himself—could perceive that a second source of black flames was now coiling through the entire Second Circle. Max had achieved exactly what he wanted. By using Karl’s flames as camouflage, he could extend his own black flames across the battlefield without attracting a single suspicious gaze.

That was his plan all along.

"Your light energy attacks are good—but don’t think they’ll help you forever!" snarled the Ascendant facing Max, its voice like metal scraping over stone, reverberating with venomous hate.

As it roared, the eerie white glowing ring etched across its otherwise featureless, midnight-black face began to pulse furiously, shifting from ghostly white to an ominous, blazing red, as though drenched in fresh blood.

Power exploded outward from the Ascendant in a wave of malevolent void energy, crackling like dark lightning. Without even a flicker of warning, its massive body blurred into nothingness, vanishing in a ripple of air so fast that even the blood mist swirling around them seemed to freeze in place.

But Max, his white hair whipping around his face in the storm of chaotic energies, only sneered, his eyes glinting with a cold, savage intelligence as he felt the distortion in the air moving toward him like a tidal wave.

’Wanting to devour me?’ he scoffed inwardly, utterly unfazed. At that precise moment, his gaze hardened to steel as he activated one of his most deadly soul abilities: Soulpierce Ascension.

Instantly, an invisible spear of pure soul force erupted from Max’s consciousness—a razor-sharp needle of condensed mental energy, moving faster than sound, faster even than light.

It shot forward in a silent, invisible streak, colliding directly into the Ascendant’s spiritual core just as it materialized inches away from Max, claws poised to rip him apart. The creature’s monstrous body stiffened mid-lunge, its void energy sputtering as the soul attack hammered into its mind, throwing it off balance and freezing its murderous momentum.

Seeing the Ascendant staggered and momentarily helpless, Max wasted not even a single breath. His golden eyes flashed with ruthless clarity as he roared a silent command in his mind: ’Devour.’

In that instant, an invisible force rippled outward from him, sweeping across the entire Second Circle battlefield like a howling storm. The effect was immediate and terrifying.

All around him, the corpses that littered the ground—whether they were mangled human experts, shredded Nulls, or even fallen Ascendants—suddenly burst into seething, roaring black flames.

Flesh blackened and sizzled, bones cracked and splintered, and blackened smoke coiled into the sky in massive pillars as the dead were consumed in a frenzy of annihilation. The acrid scent of burning blood and seared bone filled the battlefield like a suffocating fog.

One after another, the bodies disintegrated entirely, reduced to swirling motes of grey ash that danced briefly in the wind before vanishing altogether, leaving nothing behind but scorched, blackened patches of earth. The ground where the corpses had lain was now eerily empty, as if the dead had never existed at all.

And as this cataclysm unfolded, a surge of indescribable energy roared into Max’s body, pouring into him like a tidal wave crashing over jagged rocks. His scales glowed brighter than molten gold, veins of dazzling light coursing beneath the obsidian surface of his transformed form.

His muscles trembled as newfound power flooded through every cell, his aura expanding outward with thunderous force that sent cracks spiderwebbing through the battlefield beneath his feet.

In the depths of his mind, a cascade of mechanical, emotionless notifications rang out, each word searing itself into his awareness like brands of triumph:

[Energy increased by 100]

[Soul increased by 50]

[Physique increased by 30]

[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling up to Level 2 of Master Rank.]

[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling up to Level 3 of Master Rank.]

[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling up to Level 4 of Master Rank.]

Max’s chest heaved as he stood tall, feeling his strength transform and solidify under the influx of essence and vitality harvested from the battlefield’s slain. His aura grew impossibly sharper, deeper, his spiritual sea churning like a golden maelstrom.

In the blink of an eye, he had vaulted forward three entire levels, standing now at the Fourth Level of Master Rank.

He lifted his gaze toward the stunned Ascendant still frozen in place, a savage smirk twisting his lips as luminous golden fire burned in his eyes.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay