The infernal wave that erupted from the industrial complex surged toward the neighboring city of Wuhan, rushing to bring the vast metropolis where millions lived into its embrace.
Before the sirens could sound, the Sacred Flames had already smothered everything in their path—be it buildings, cars, roads, and people—without sparing a speck.
The city became chillingly silent and eerie, as though everything within had been replaced by a sea of Sacred Flames. Unstopped, the Sacred Flames were on the verge of reducing Wuhan to ash without a trace when, all of a sudden, a massive surge of earthen mana burst up from underground.
One of the ley lines Caden had created and spread across all of China using the Earth Weaving Loom stirred. In accordance with the principles of the five elements, the ley line began drawing in the Sacred Flames in Wuhan, activating the hidden spell prepared by Offering within it.
Following the ley line’s current, the Sacred Flames that sought to devour the city gathered at the center and began compressing into an orb. The excess flames poised to burn Wuhan to the ground were all suppressed—only to be channeled through the ley line toward other regions.
Bursting through the ground, the excess flames from Wuhan took the neighboring cities into its embrace as well, where the same spell then activated again and transmitted the surplus energy even farther.
Like an uncontrollable flash fire, the Sacred Flames quickly stretched beyond Se-Hoon’s sensory range, prompting him to activate his power of Perception and look up toward the sky.
The once brimming currents and possibilities in the sky were gone—all burning in a blazing transparent inferno. It was as though... the very fate of China was being decided.
The people... are all merging into one.
The spreading Sacred Flames were refining the citizen’s souls while the spell derived from Defiant Ember was preventing them from being completely obliterated—the textbook structure of an Offering Ritual.
If I had to guess the stage... it’s still in the refining stage.
There were three major phases to an Offering Ritual: the refinement of the soul, the forging of the vessel, and then the third and final phase of assimilation.
Knowing that, the question then was at which point could one intervene to minimize the damage? And the answer? It came to Se-Hoon immediately.
I have to take action during the assimilation phase.
During assimilation, the soul merged with the vessel and, upon completion, would recognize the vessel as part of itself. At that point, rescuing the victims—like with what happened with Fire Heaven Greatsword—would be next to impossible. Before that, though, was a different story.
If I can interfere at just the right moment, I can inject a sense of alienation into their souls and awaken them.
Long ago, he had also planned to stop an Offering Ritual with that method. However, back then, he had arrived just a step too late because information leaked somewhere. But that was then. With all the preparations made in advance, it was well within reach now.
While his opponent had changed, the activation of the Offering Ritual itself was still within expectations. What was of higher priority right now was the unexpected variable that had interfered mid-process.
With that thought in mind, Se-Hoon looked straight ahead.
There, standing at the source of the sea of Sacred Flames stretching in every direction, was Li Kenxie. Like Caden moments ago, his entire body had been consumed and transmuted into Sacred Flames.
He was utterly still, just staring at Li Fei within the Earth Weaving Loom.
The loom continued to move, encasing Li Fei as if cradling her. To Se-Hoon’s eyes, it looked like an adult gently rocking a child in their arms—which wasn’t far from the truth.
Se-Hoon stared at Earthweaver holding Li Fei with a bitter expression. The sight of the two Li Kenxies, which only he could see, turned his expression complex.
“...What exactly are you trying to do?”
“I’m pretty sure I explained everything just now,” Li Kenxie calmly replied, turning toward him.
“That’s the problem—I didn’t understand a word of it.”
Se-Hoon met his eyes, and with a more composed voice than before, continued his questioning. “What did Caden tell you that made you suddenly take an interest in the Offering Ritual? And how is any of this supposed to be a ‘good experience’ for me?”
“If your goal really is to teach me a lesson, then you should at least explain what’s going on properly. I still don’t understand any of it.”
Despite being subjected to his questioning, Li Kenxie had no obligation to answer. It was common sense: the ritual had already begun and the focus now was on minimizing variables. Explaining the plan to Se-Hoon at such a point was worse than pointless, reaching the epitome of foolishness.
But that was only if the other party truly viewed him as an “enemy.” Knowing Li Kenxie didn’t, from his own words, Se-Hoon just asked directly.
“The answer lies in the ritual itself.”
And as he thought, Li Kenxie replied indifferently.
“That was his dying will.”
So Caden hadn’t told him in advance? Just conveyed his intentions while dying? At the revelation that Caden had thrown everything away just to drag Li Kenxie in, Se-Hoon clicked his tongue in disbelief. Find the newest release on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
“And what exactly is that ‘answer’ he spoke of?”
If that was what drove Li Kenxie, perhaps it was also something Se-Hoon could use to sway him.
“Did you forget already?” Li Kenxie quietly asked, staring at him.
“I’m pretty sure I also explained this before.”
Furrowing his brow, Se-Hoon began retracing his memories—and it came to him faster than expected.
“If she had truly attained anatta, even such maternal love would have vanished. So what was that ‘relief’ for? It’s something I’ve been pondering ever since that day.”
To uncover the secret hidden in the dying words left by Luo Mingmei as she gave birth to Li Fei before perishing in the Sacred Flames, Li Kenxie had stolen his granddaughter from his son and was now activating the Offering Ritual at the cost of hundreds of millions of lives.
Is that really worth it...?
Why did it matter so much that a being who had supposedly reached a state of anatta left behind words of relief? From Se-Hoon’s perspective, even if it were tied to the power of Anatta, Li Kenxie’s obsession was abnormal.
It was almost as if that phrase had to carry some... profound meaning?
The sudden realization flashed through Se-Hoon’s mind, making his eyes shoot wide open. He looked back toward Li Kenxie once more.
“You’re not... regretting it, are you?”
Similar to how Wurgen once conquered the Tower of Heroes but forgot his wish—and went astray—perhaps something had gone wrong during Li Kenxie’s path to ascension as well, something he now regretted.
But contrary to what he thought, Li Kenxie shook his head.
“No. There hasn’t been a day in my life where I regretted it.”
If it weren’t regret, what could justify such an obsession? Left at a loss once again, Se-Hoon looked at Li Kenxie with doubt in his eyes.
Like that, Li Kenxie held his gaze for a long moment before opening his mouth.
“Have you ever felt the sense of ... realizing something profound?”
“I’m sure you must have. Whether big or small, those realizations are what shaped the ‘you’ standing here now.”
There was a weight in Li Kenxie’s voice—something indescribable—that made Se-Hoon stare in silence, unable to reply.
“In that moment of realization, don’t we feel as if we’ve touched upon an eternal truth? As if we’re omniscient. But then ask yourself: was that truth ever truly eternal?”
“Everyone in this world has distinct perspectives. And it is that very difference which proves such things like unchanging truths do not exist. If true eternity existed, wouldn’t everyone’s realizations be the same?”
Li Kenxie’s body suddenly flared up, only to settle down again.
“What we believe to be the truth can be overturned at any moment by a new realization. And yet, we humans... we cling to our truth, convinced that it’s immutable.”
A power built by denying all else—a manic obsession that twisted the world and defied its laws, before finally proceeding to take root as a new law of reality—was what made one a hero. It was the very essence of the synesthetic mindscapes that lived within them.
“Do you truly believe this arrangement is fair?”
“A world where fleeting logic, the shallow enlightenment of fools, becomes the laws that govern all creation.... Do you, do you truly THINK THAT’S JUST?!”
As he roared, flames surged from Li Kenxie’s body as though he were about to explode. But then, just as abruptly, they calmed—the emotion that had gripped him burned out.
“I think it’s quite fair.”
His voice was devoid of feeling, like someone else had taken his place within moments.
“That’s why I don’t regret it.”
Se-Hoon remained silent. He had assumed the repulsion he’d occasionally felt toward Perfect Ones like Li Kenxie stemmed from their unpredictability and danger. But now, after that explanation, he finally understood.
Perfect Ones... were completed in their incompleteness.
The Golden Ring, the world and universe, didn’t make their wishes into laws because they were perfect or because they had uncovered eternal truths. It was far more primitive. Their obsession had just... reached a height that could pierce the universe itself.
That was why their synesthetic mindscapes were accepted as law. And once accepted, they could no longer be corrected or improved.
This is... dangerous.
Although he already had the thought that Wurgen seemed a bit loose back then, the revelation that the system was even sloppier—and infinitely more dangerous—than he’d imagined made him fully understand just how easily a Perfect One could become a disaster.
Grimacing, Se-Hoon clenched his jaw under the watchful gaze of Li Kenxie.
“If you ever attempt to clear the Tower of Heroes yourself, be mindful of this. That is the lesson I wanted to give you,” Li Kenxie finished explaining with a quiet calm.
Li Kenxie had cast everything away in search of enlightenment. But before he could grasp it, he had already reached the top of the Tower and been completed, transformed into law.
Would the Li Kenxie of the past have abandoned his path had he known? There was no way of knowing now.
But there was one thing that Se-Hoon did: He must be erased.
The Sacred Craftsman Li Kenxie and the power of Anatta—if that law standing before him wasn’t destroyed, then just like now, hundreds of millions would be sacrificed once again.
And at that grim understanding, Se-Hoon clenched his fists tighter than ever before as the Offering Ritual moved on to its next stage.
Seven crimson stars emerged around the Earth Weaving Loom. The pulse flowing from them seeped through Earthweaver into the ley line underground, resonating with the Seeker’s heart merged with it.
“So they’re using the Seven Saints as vessels to disperse the souls, huh. Tsk, why go through such trouble...?”
With a displeased frown, Li Kenxie placed a hand on the Earth Weaving Loom to use the Sacred Flames flowing across China to trace their purpose.
“I see... He turned the Sacred Equipment I gave them into relays. Clever.”
The Sacred Equipment had been reforged through the Offering Ritual, giving them the ability to share power among their bearers.
“The resonance effect between them will also complete the forging of the vessel quicker. Remaining time is... five minutes.”
In roughly five more minutes, the ritual would move to its final stage and hundreds of millions would die, never to be revived.
Yet despite knowing that, Li Kenxie spoke as though he were reading a description, eerily monotone.
He took his hand off the loom and faced Se-Hoon once more.
“Do you have anything you’d like to say?”
Gazing up at the crimson stars floating around the Earth Weaving Loom, Se-Hoon slowly opened his mouth and asked, “What happens if all of those relays are destroyed before the vessel is completed?”
Not expecting a question, Li Kenxie blinked in mild surprise.
“The entire ritual will become unstable. Those relays aren’t just dispersing the influx of souls; they’re also stabilizers that are preventing the vessel from going berserk.” Despite his surprise, he answered without resistance.
Immediately, Se-Hoon’s eyes lit up. If the Seven Saints were defeated and their Sacred Equipment were destroyed, a critical breach would form during the final assimilation phase—the chance he needed.
However, upon seeing his reaction, Li Kenxie added a warning.
“But that also won’t be easy. They’re drawing power from the ritual, and now they can use the Sacred Flames as well. Unless another Perfect One intervenes—”
A clear, crystalline shatter rang through the air, cutting him off. Both of their gazes snapped toward the source.
And upon seeing that the number of crimson stars floating around the Earth Weaving Loom had dropped from seven to six, a flicker of shock crossed Li Kenxie’s face.
Right as Li Kenxie stood there in disbelief, another two stars began trembling...
With the lights dimming, the stars exploded and dropped the count to four.
Could it be Ludwig...? No, that’s impossible. He can’t leave Babel.
Li Kenxie’s expression twisted upon realizing the Seven Saints were being taken down one by one by someone else.
Could it be that other Perfect Ones had joined the battle? Wanting to confirm, Li Kenxie reached for the Earth Weaving Loom...
His eyes locked with Se-Hoon’s. A smug look, as if he had known how it would play out all along.
Immediately, Li Kenxie narrowed his gaze.
“You... What did you do?”
“What did I do? I didn’t really do much.”
As Se-Hoon nonchalantly spoke, the corners of his lips curled into a slight smirk.
“It just so happens that the Sacred Equipment you gave them is just cheap knock-offs compared to the stuff I make.”