Ascension of the Devourer

In a sealed chamber deep within the Black Zenith Order, an ancient hall hovered above Aeron Stormvale's head.

A mysterious primordial force spilled from the center of his brow and slowly flowed into the hall.

Aeron's face grew paler by the second. Fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His body trembled harder with each passing moment. He had nearly reached the end of his endurance.

On the far side of the hall, a woman floated in midair. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her eyes shone like distant stars.

With the silver moon as her crown and the stars as her veil, she resembled a goddess from ancient legend.

Then, suddenly, the primordial force leaking from Aeron's brow began to weaken. His body swayed, on the verge of collapse.

Realizing he could not continue, Aeron gritted his teeth and severed the flow of primordial power.

The Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods dimmed at once.

"Just a little more primordial power and the All-Devouring Vein will be fully reforged. Hold on a little longer," the mysterious woman said.

Aeron glared at her. "Hold on any longer and I will die!"

Three months earlier, the Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods had opened. That was when the mysterious woman first appeared. She had told him that if he drew out the primordial force within his body and poured it into the hall, he could reforge the All-Devouring Vein.

Aeron had agreed.

The extraction process was agony. It felt as though his tendons were being torn from his body and his bones pulled apart. The pain was enough to make a man wish for death.

Worst of all, she had originally said it would take about ten days, but the timeline kept slipping. Ten days became twenty, then a month, and then even longer. She pushed the deadline back again and again until what should have taken only days dragged on for a full three months.

By all rights, the extraction should have ended an hour earlier. Yet the woman kept insisting they were just a little short of what they needed. Aeron had clenched his teeth and continued releasing primordial power.

An entire hour had passed, and it still was not finished. He had already exceeded his limit.

"There are only 3 minutes left. Endure them, and the All-Devouring Vein will take shape. Then it will be yours," the woman said.

"I'm not believing you again." Aeron's refusal came through clenched teeth.

The woman flared with anger. "I have waited through countless ages. I gathered enough power and, with great difficulty, condensed the All-Devouring Vein for you inside the Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods. And now you say you don't want it?

"Do you have any idea how many people would fight for it if the All-Devouring Vein appeared in this world? Not just mortals. Even gods would slaughter one another for it. And you don't want it?"

She waved a hand.

An All-Devouring Vein glowing with nine-colored light appeared before Aeron. Its structure matched the energy channel network of a human body exactly. Ancient markings covered its surface, the only difference from a normal energy channel system. Each mark carried an aura both profound and terrifying. Its only flaw was that it had not fully taken shape.

Even without deep knowledge of such matters, Aeron could tell at a glance that the All-Devouring Vein was no ordinary treasure. But he also understood that something like this was never meant for an ordinary nobody like him.

The woman had lied to him too many times already. Aeron refused to trust her again.

He clenched his jaw, turned his head away, and said, "I don't want it!"

The woman's face turned cold. "I have waited through endless ages. I have no idea how many people I've seen obtain the Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods, yet only you have been able to open it.

"You are the only one. If you give up, the Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods will close again. I do not know how many tens of thousands of years I will have to wait.

"I will give you three days to think about it. I will wait for you here. If you do not return, the unfinished All-Devouring Vein will shatter, and the Primordial Hall of Sealed Gods will fall back into the void."

Aeron ignored her and immediately withdrew from the hall. The moment his mind left, he collapsed onto the floor and fell asleep.

…

Deafening drumbeats rolled through the entire Black Zenith Order.

Aeron jolted awake with a frown. "The Black Zenith Drum rang eight times. Has something major happened in the order?"

"Lord Stormvale!" An acolyte rushed over, his voice tight with anxiety. "Something terrible has happened. Garrick Ironclaw, the Beastmaster Elder of the Beastmaster Order, has brought the Eight Beast Envoys and more than 10,000 demonic beasts to surround the Black Zenith Order."

Aeron's expression darkened.

The Beastmaster Order stood as the number one order in Rovern City. The Black Zenith Order was not weak, but it ranked only third in the city. Compared with the Beastmaster Order, the gap in strength was enormous.

The two orders had always kept to their own affairs. They rarely interacted, and the Black Zenith acolytes never provoked the Beastmaster Order. So why had the Beastmaster Elder arrived today with an army at his back?

"Lord Stormvale, Elder Ena and the others have already gone ahead," the acolyte said. "They told me to inform you to remain at your residence and not go over. They said they would handle it themselves."

"I'm going to take a look as well." Aeron shot forward.

"Lord Stormvale!" The acolyte did not dare stop him. He could only hurry after him.

…

At the front gate of the Black Zenith Order, Elder Ena and the other elders stood in the lead. Behind them, the acolytes formed ranks, weapons drawn and ready for battle.

A massive serpent-drake more than 300 feet long coiled before the gate. Its cold eyes fixed on the elders as its scarlet tongue flicked in and out. Black scales covered its body, each one gleaming with a chilling sheen.

Garrick sat upon its head. The eight Beast Envoys rode various demonic beast leaders beside him. Behind them, a sea of beasts stretched across the mountains, more than 10,000 strong.

The beasts roared and howled without cease. Their cries shook the gate until it trembled.

Elder Ena spoke first. "Lord Ironclaw, the Black Zenith Order has never held any grudge against the Beastmaster Order. Why bring such a massive force to our gates? What do you want?"

"He came to take me," a beautiful woman said as she stepped forward from the side of the Black Zenith Order. She wore a purple gauze dress.

The entire order was stunned.

Helena Lunewell? How was she connected to Garrick Ironclaw of the Beastmaster Order?

Elder Dyo's face darkened at once. He asked coldly, "Helena, you are not only a Black Zenith acolyte, but you are also Lord Stormvale's fiancée. You contacted the Beastmaster Order behind our backs. Does Lord Stormvale know about this?"

"Who I associate with is my business. What does it have to do with the Black Zenith Order or Aeron?" Helena replied without the slightest concern.

"Helena, you are Lord Stormvale's fiancée. You represent both him and the Black Zenith Order. And you say it has nothing to do with us?"

Elder Dyo grew so furious he nearly struck her on the spot, but Elder Ena stopped him.

"Helena, what exactly are you trying to do?" Elder Ena asked in a low voice.

Helena glanced at the elders. "Didn't I already say it? My master came to take me to the Beastmaster Order."

"Your master?" Elder Ena and the others frowned.

"I have already taken Lord Garrick as my master. Since you are all here, I will announce it openly. From this moment forward, I, Helena Lunewell, withdraw from the Black Zenith Order and annul my engagement to Aeron Stormvale. As of today, I have no further ties to the Black Zenith Order or to Aeron."

She took out the core acolyte robe of the Beastmaster Order and slipped it on. Then she removed the Black Zenith Order token from her waist, threw it to the ground, and crushed it beneath her foot.

The eyes of the Black Zenith acolytes turned red. The elders' expressions darkened.

If Elder Ena had not reacted quickly and restrained several hot-blooded elders, they might already have led the acolytes into battle.

"Helena, Lord Stormvale has always treated you well, yet you would do something like this!

"Two years ago, if Lord Stormvale had not saved you and brought you back to the Black Zenith Order, you would never have had the chance to become an acolyte here.

"You knew Lord Stormvale could not hold his liquor, yet you forced him to drink. In the end, you spent the night together. If he had not wanted to protect your reputation, why would he have agreed to marry you?

"And for the past two years, Lord Stormvale provided you with a huge amount of spirit medicine. Without those resources, would you have awakened your bloodline power half a month ago and reached 38th place on Rovern City's Terra Rankings?"

Elder Tria grew angrier with every word.

Without Aeron's full support and those piles of spirit medicine, would Helena have become who she was today? Yet the moment she rose to prominence, she turned on both Aeron and the Black Zenith Order.

Faced with Elder Tria's accusations, Helena showed not the slightest hint of guilt. Instead, she let out a cold laugh. "Elder Tria, don't you think what you are saying is ridiculous? Aeron gave me that spirit medicine of his own free will. It's not as if I forced him.

"Besides, I was his fiancée. It was only natural for me to use the resources he and the Black Zenith Order provided. If anything, what right do you people have to stand here and lecture me?"

Elder Tria's face turned green with rage.

Elder Ena remained calm. He looked at Helena and said, "Aeron is the Master of the Black Zenith Order and the future heir to the grandmaster position. If you married him, you would become the future grandmaster's wife. That status is not low. Yet you chose to join the Beastmaster Order. I truly cannot understand what you were thinking."

Helena glanced at him and sneered, "Elder Ena, if it were you, would you willingly marry a failure like Aeron?

"Aeron's talent is average. Without the resources and support of the Black Zenith Order, he might not even have broken into the Spirit Refining Realm. Even if he inherits the Grandmaster's seat in the future, he will still be a waste.

"And the Black Zenith Order may rank third in Rovern City, but your foundation is far too shallow. It has existed for only 18 years. Compared to the Beastmaster Order, which has stood for 200 years and ranks first, you do not fall a little short. You are nowhere close in either strength or foundation.

"I am one of the universe's favored. My path reaches far beyond this place. Why should I let the Black Zenith Order and that useless Aeron drag me down?"

Elder Ena's face darkened. The other elders were on the verge of exploding. If he had not restrained them, they would already have charged out.

"Helena, you're done talking, yes?" Garrick said as he cast a contemptuous glance at the people of the Black Zenith Order. "If so, we should leave. We still have a long trip back to the Beastmaster Order."

"Yes, Master." Helena quickly moved to follow him.

"Who said you could leave just like that?"

Aeron walked forward with a cold expression. The Black Zenith acolytes immediately stepped aside to clear a path for him.