Chapter 176: Joint Effort

It was the outline of an unfamiliar continent, its mountain ranges winding like a dragon's spine, and in the center stood a Heaven‑Reaching Tower, its summit encircled by twelve blood‑red stars.

At the continent's edge, a fissure was slowly widening, like a wound tearing the sky.

"Did you see it?" Fengling's fingertip hovered over the fissure, "This is the 'gate' that will soon open. Beyond the gate lies the Bawier Continent, a far broader world with civilizations and cultivation techniques beyond this place."

Robin's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Staying here, no matter how powerful, you're only a Three‑Ring Wizard; becoming a Morning Star Wizard is impossible, because Antis Island was originally just a coastal piece of the Bawier Continent. It was torn apart when two strongmen clashed; one fell, and the storm formed from his death wrapped this continental fragment, completely severing its link to Bawier Continent."

Robin's breathing grew heavy; Fengling's words struck his mind like a heavy hammer.

"Antis Island is just a continental fragment?" he stared at the snarling fissure on the holographic map, his throat tightening, "Then what about the cultivation system we're using now?"

"It's merely a broken inheritance," Fengling's fingertip brushed the pocket watch's edge, and the display shifted, showing two contrasting diagrams: the left depicted Antis Island's energy veins, sparse as a spiderweb; the right showed Bawier Continent's torrent of magic power, vast as a galaxy.

"Did you see clearly?" she whispered, "On Bawier Continent, a Three‑Ring Wizard is only Entry Level. True masters can move mountains, fill seas, even—"

The pocket watch shuddered violently, and the projected Heaven‑Reaching Tower erupted with dazzling blood‑red light.

The twelve blood‑red stars ignited simultaneously, weaving a snarling dragon‑head pattern atop the tower.

Robin's temples throbbed; the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method began to run on its own, and golden light shimmered in his eyes.

"Indeed," Fengling's pupils narrowed slightly, "your bloodline is resonating."

At that moment, a tremendous crash of trees falling echoed from afar.

The Grey‑robed Knight's broken blade slashed the night sky; a silver‑gray Sword Qi swept across, turning every centennial ancient tree it touched into dust!

"Tsk, half an hour ahead of schedule," Fengling snapped the pocket watch shut and yanked Robin back swiftly. As her skirt fluttered, a metal cylinder bound to her thigh was revealed—a badge engraved with Lady Aisar's organization, also a spatial transmitter.

Robin suddenly seized her wrist, "Wait! You haven't explained fully."

"Deal with him first!" Fengling shook off his hand, tore a necklace from her neck, forming a magical seal that briefly restrained the Grey‑robed Knight.

The Knight's Sword Qi suddenly stalled before the seal, and countless fine silver runes floated in the air, webbing the lethal silver beam.

Fengling's necklace shattered into powder mid‑air, each crystal grain forming a restraining chain.

"Three seconds!" blood spattered from Fengling's mouth, "His domain has anti‑magic properties!"

Robin's muscle memory reacted before his mind could.

The Dragon Devouring Breathing Method surged at full power, golden patterns spreading from his neck down his sword‑holding right arm.

The Grey‑robed Knight's pupils snapped shut as he saw the Order Power affixed to Robin's new Tang Sword.

"Order Crescent Slash!"

Robin's blade pierced the seal's gap; the moment the tip struck the broken blade, a visible shockwave burst outward.

The ground within a ten‑meter radius collapsed with a roar, and the splintered stones vaporized the instant they touched the two's protective aura.

The Grey‑robed Knight showed surprise for the first time.

His broken blade vibrated at high frequency, and the moon‑devouring runes were being eroded in reverse, peeling away piece by piece.

"Impossible! You've only just appeared, how could you reach Order Knight level so quickly?"

Robin's mouth curled a cold arc; the Order Power on his new Tang Sword flowed like a living thing, "You think only your Knight Guild knows what true order is?"

The Grey‑robed Knight's broken blade emitted a mournful wail; the fallen rune fragments coalesced into eerie rune chains that wrapped his arm instead. Robin's golden aura flared, and the suction from the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method began to warp the surrounding air.

"This isn't ordinary Order Power," the Grey‑robed Knight's voice finally trembled, "You've merged with the dragon‑born's—"

"Got it right," Robin surged, the new Tang Sword tracing a perfect arc, "Dragon Devouring Order Slash!"

Where the blade passed, fine black fissures rippled through space.

The hastily raised defensive barrier of the Grey‑robed Knight tore apart like paper; his chest armor exploded into a bowl‑sized void, yet no blood spilled, and the wound's edge flickered with eerie starlight.

Fengling's pupils narrowed sharply, "Star Marrow Heart Guard? You're directly of the royal line."

The Grey‑robed Knight let out an inhuman shriek; his body swelled and distorted, blood‑red patterns identical to those on the Heaven‑Reaching Tower surfacing beneath his skin.

Robin felt his Tang Sword suddenly scorching hot; the Order Power on its blade was being tainted by a higher authority.

"Step back!" Fengling flung three grains of Sand of Time, "He's about to sacrifice himself to summon a Gatekeeper projection!"

But Robin didn't retreat; instead he stepped forward.

His left hand formed a claw, reaching straight for the Grey‑robed Knight's mutating chest, "Perfect chance to test the new insight—Dragon Devouring Devour!"

The golden dragon‑claw illusion collided with the Star Marrow Armor, and the resulting energy turbulence uprooted every tree within a hundred meters.

Fengling was forced to deploy the pocket watch's protective barrier, stunned as Robin's left hand truly pierced the theoretically indestructible Star Marrow Armor.

"Ugh!" a nonhuman tone crept into the Grey‑robed Knight's scream; the starlight within him was being gradually drawn out by Robin, "You blasphemer."

Robin's eyes erupted with golden rays, and the devoured Star Marrow sparked a violent reaction inside him.

The patterns on the new Tang Sword began to evolve, with dragon‑scale protrusions appearing along the blade's spine.

When the last strand of Star Marrow was drained, the Grey‑robed Knight's body shattered like dried bark, revealing a pulsating blood‑red core inside.

Fengling inhaled sharply, "It's a Gatekeeper's mark! Destroy it quickly!"

The blood‑red core suddenly emitted a beam aimed at Robin's forehead.

At the critical moment, the new Tang Sword automatically blocked; its dragon‑scale patterns formed a micro‑formation that refracted the beam toward the sky.

As the clouds were pierced, an angry dragon roar echoed from the distant horizon.

Fengling's face turned deathly pale, "You… you just reflected the Gatekeeper's attack back?"

Robin also froze; he looked down at the evolved new Tang Sword and noticed twelve tiny star engravings had appeared on the blade, perfectly matching the blood‑red stars atop the Heaven‑Reaching Tower.

"It seems," he said, slowly raising his head toward the Storm Strait, "We've got a serious grudge against the Gatekeeper."

(End of Chapter)