With Kyle out of the way, the Rulers began eyeing each other warily, ready to fight and kill—for the rewards. After all, each of them was absolutely unwilling to share anything. They were greedy and wanted everything for themselves. It was clear that another brutal battle was inevitable, and now, the Rulers present had become each other’s enemy.
Yizhe was the first to reach the center, digging through the ice in search of the golden crystal and Kyle’s soul. That kid’s body should have disintegrated under the onslaught of so many natural laws, so he was searching for his soul and icy power.
He hissed softly as the sharp ice cut into his skin, the pain intensified since he had no power left in his body to protect him.
Nature was truly brutal.
It hadn’t left even a tiny drop of energy in him or in the surroundings. Yizhe knew it would take a long time for him to recover fully.
Still, it had been worthwhile.
Soon, the others joined him, and a weird and bewildering scene unfolded. Everyone quietly dug through the ice in search of a fallen man’s soul and the golden crystal.
It seemed that after expending so much energy, their judgment had dulled. After all, they could’ve simply taken out a treasure or two from their mind space to restore energy and easily locate what they were seeking.
Despite that, they continued like fools.
However, the more time passed without them finding anything in the ice, the more twisted and ugly their faces became.
Finally, Yizhe snapped.
"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! No way! He has to be dead! Look around!"
A full hour went by.
By now, every Ruler was panting, their bodies trembling with utter exhaustion.
Their minds were clouded.
Beads of frost clung to their faces and hands, their eyes wild with desperation.
It was at that moment that one of them suddenly stiffened as he sensed a familiar power lingering in the ice he was digging.
He stuttered as he shouted mockingly.
"S-stop! Stop looking! He’s gone!"
"He’s not here...!"
Everyone snapped their heads toward him, their faces filled with rage, hands itching to stab him to death! Yet, he could do nothing but laugh pitifully with a blank expression.
"Hahaha, he created a teleportation portal to run away while we were fighting our way to him!!! You idiots—did you all forget that he was a master of arrays as well?! Haha..."
His laugh rang with a wild, unhinged edge as he repeated the main point mockingly.
"He’s also a master of arrays!"
The other Rulers froze, the realization hitting them like a physical blow. Their greed, their certainty that the battle was already won—all shattered in an instant.
Some sank to their knees, while others clenched their fists so tightly that their knuckles whitened, teeth grinding in fury.
But all they could do was curse.
Yizhe slumped dazedly onto the ice.
"We indeed won the battle, but... he didn’t even stay to fight that battle? Then... who did we actually defeat? How truly tragic."
His words struck a deep nerve.
Yet, after the initial surge of anger came a chilling realization—if the man returned for revenge, they were truly doomed! Everyone present shuddered. Kyle had already been a calamity in just the short three years since becoming a Celestial... how much stronger would he become once he absorbed the power in the golden crystal and returned?
No... no, what if he began hunting them down one by one? With so many of them together, yet still unable to kill him, how could any of them hope to survive alone?
One of the Rulers suddenly grabbed his tattered robe and started running away.
His parting words were rather shocking.
"I’m leaving this realm!! The tomes of my family back home need some offerings!"
Someone kindly reminded him,
"You are a Celestial. You can’t go to the lower realms. The balance will be stirred."
Only to be met with a tearful laugh.
"I don’t care, shit! I just love my life!"
As if sharing a tacit understanding, many Rulers followed suit and quickly fled, each planning where to hide until Kyle was dealt with. Even the Rulers who had followed Kyle from the moment they saw him outside the Gate of the Layer of Ancients ran away.
They didn’t even dare return to guard the gate! As long as that man was alive, there was a chance they might die without even knowing how! Heck, he might even come back right now to wipe them out! After all, in their current state, that man’s power was enough to kill them multiple times over!
In the end, only Yizhe, the middle-aged woman, and the two old men who had emerged majestically from the temple alongside him remained at the scene.
Yizhe cast a wary glance at the old man who had stood by his side the day he first met Kyle and even interfered in Kyle’s final trial so he couldn’t become a Celestial.
"Old man... why do I feel like I’m going to die soon—and in a extremely terrible way?"
The old man coughed violently twice.
"It’s okay. We can hide in the temple. It’s fortified with an ancient power capable of withstanding even the peak Celestials..."
His words prompted the others to glance toward the temple, but no matter how they squinted, the familiar silhouettes of the two towering spires were nowhere to be seen.
The middle-aged woman grimaced, her solemn tone cutting through their stupor.
"There’s no temple left. It was destroyed. Pull yourselves together and stop acting foolish! We need to contact the strongest Rulers, like Nathaniel and the others at the top, to take down Kyle before it’s too late!"
Yizhe stared at her.
"Why do I feel it’s already too late?"
His words earned him a sharp slap on the head from the middle-aged woman as she dragged the two injured old men along.
"Shut up and get moving! We all need to leave this place before he comes back!"