[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-mystic-calling-stone-of-glory":3,"chapter-mystic-calling-stone-of-glory-mystic-calling-stone-of-glory-chapter-725":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1242331,1669,"Chapter 725 725: The Desert Stirs","mystic-calling-stone-of-glory-chapter-725",725,"\u003Cp>The wind still howled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorching sand whipped into spirals, swirling around Ethan like a living thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hovered high above the battlefield, golden-red light streaming from his palm—the last of his power, drawn tight and burning hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lizardman staggered in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His armor was cracked all over, lightning flickering through the fractures like dying serpents writhing in their final throes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gasped for breath, chest heaving, the light in his eyes beginning to flicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan's gaze was ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So this… is your limit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised the Scepter of the Fey Sovereign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A low hum answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runes etched along the staff flared to life, dozens of beams weaving together midair, forming a radiant bow. The string pulsed like a heartbeat, tugging at the air with a shrill, vibrating whine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Ethan didn't hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew the bow—energy surged into the arrow like a tide crashing backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air thickened with golden-red mist, heat shimmering through it. Flame born of blood and spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fwoosh—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrow tore through the sky like a meteor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lizardman roared, raising both axes to block—but this time, his strength couldn't keep up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light and thunder collided, swallowing him whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air detonated into concentric rings, the shockwave ripping across the desert in a roaring tide of sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the dust finally cleared, the Lizardman's body had been hurled hundreds of feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack—crack—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His armor shattered completely, breaking into a rain of metal shards that clattered down from the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He screamed—a raw, ragged sound that the wind shredded to pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His exposed flesh gleamed wet and strange under the sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan didn't stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a blink, he was there—right in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This ends now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fist came down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>WHAM—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No flash, no flourish—just raw, crushing force, like a mountain collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact kicked up a tidal wave of sand, the air itself warping from the pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lizardman's body was launched like a ragdoll, slammed deep into the dunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground caved in, forming a massive crater. Dust exploded upward in a towering plume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan hovered above it all, eyes cold as forged steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To me, you were nothing but a grain of sand in this desert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the moment you appeared, your fate was sealed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He extended a hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden runes flowed from his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lizardman's body exploded instantly—flesh and bone turned to ash, scattered on the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with it came a surge of energy, rushing into Ethan's core—the victor's reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His blood roared in his veins. His power climbed another half-step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan drifted down to the ground, exhaling slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hot wind hit him full in the face, carrying the scent of rust and blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the army behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Form ranks,\" he said quietly. \"We're leaving.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers moved at once. The dust in the air began to settle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as Ethan turned—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom… boom… BOOM—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A vast, indescribable force stirred beneath the sea of sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grains lifted into the air by the millions, swirling, spinning, coalescing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In seconds, the sky darkened beneath a massive shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Sand Colossus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its body was made of living sand, constantly shifting, reshaping itself with every breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its eyes—if they could be called that—were hollow, pitch-black voids, bottomless and still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earth groaned beneath it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM—RUMBLE RUMBLE—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The desert rolled like an ocean, and the sky tore open under the weight of rising dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound came from deep below, low and thunderous, carrying the weight of something ancient and unstoppable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan looked up—and his pupils contracted sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the heart of the desert, a mountain was rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No… not a mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A giant, forged from sand, shattered stone, and flowing light, slowly taking shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had no bones, no flesh—only sand, breathing like a living thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With every breath, the air itself trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The Sand Colossus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan's throat tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All units, fall back!\" he barked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of figures scattered at once—Fairies, Dragonkin, and others moving in perfect sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as they began to retreat—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Space collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air crumpled like paper in a giant's fist. The boundary between sky and sand cracked with faint golden fissures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their escape route was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan's brow furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spatial lock…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up at the towering shadow of sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sand Colossus loomed silently over them, faceless, eyeless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its presence alone felt like a world without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's not alive,\" Ethan murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But it moves—like the will of Layer 21 itself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elira stepped forward, eyes steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let me try.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Ethan could stop her, she spread her wings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind her, the phantom of the Skytear Demon Moth unfurled, vast and luminous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It dissolved into a swarm of butterflies made of light, streaking toward the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, the world was bathed in violet-gold brilliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>WHUMP—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No clash. No resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light vanished the instant it touched the giant's chest—swallowed whole, without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even an afterimage remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elira was hurled back hundreds of feet, crashing hard into the sand. Her face had gone pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan caught her mid-fall, his eyes flashing cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This thing isn't a creature. It's the core of this layer's world. Only I can face it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He set her down gently, then swept his gaze across the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All units—hold position. No one approaches without my command.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised the Scepter of the Fey Sovereign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light gathered in his palm, gold and crimson energy surging along his veins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan became a streak of light, shooting skyward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Straight at the Sand Colossus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he neared the towering form, the air around him warped violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A repulsion field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anything that came close was flung away by space itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan grunted, his body jolted backward by the force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced himself upright, gripping the scepter with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Energy condensed into a furious sphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden-red orb slammed into the sand barrier like a meteor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Air detonated. The desert roared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The repulsion field shattered into a web of glowing cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan surged forward, piercing into the giant's chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in an instant—he was somewhere else entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walls of flowing sand surrounded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light fractured into a thousand shards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every grain pulsed with energy, each one a tiny sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn't a body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A system window blinked into view:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Target: Sand Colossus]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Status: Primordial Force Aggregate]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Warning: This entity has absorbed all energy from Layer 21. Structural stability—98%.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>",1089,"2026-06-05T15:15:48.805Z",1,"novelbin.me","940a7700660338af5fd5eeb27f5c9d9595952f9eec2e70b8f746d3c2f162c8dd","mystic-calling-stone-of-glory-chapter-726","mystic-calling-stone-of-glory-chapter-724",1138,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmystic-calling-stone-of-glory-cover.jpg"]