He mentally started pricing the [Geocentric Star Flame]. If he could seize it and perform a [Reconstruction], there was a ninety percent chance it would evolve into something even more terrifying than his [Infernal Dark Flame].

  "Hmph!"

  The Solaris Emperor let out a cold snort.

  RUMBLE!!!

  A supreme, crushing aura erupted from his maw. In that instant, a terrifying force capable of erasing a [Great Grandmaster] peak slammed toward Selina.

  He was done playing. He had decided to kill this "S+ genius" then and there.

  Simultaneously, to ensure his "future prize" remained intact, he cast a protective shroud of Source Essence around Lance.

  BOOM!!!

  The impact of the Emperor’s aura struck Selina, and the very foundations of the Imperial Palace shattered. The shockwave was so immense that had it been the High Speaker standing there, he would have been vaporized instantly.

  However, the Solaris Emperor’s eyes widened in shock.

  A faint, ethereal presence had manifested around the girl, negating his strike entirely. Selina stood unharmed, but the aura radiating from her had shifted fundamentally.

  A coldness so absolute it felt like the death of a star began to bleed from her pores. A world-shaking pressure, arrogant and ancient, expanded in every direction.

  At that moment, across the entire star system, tens of trillions of people felt the temperature begin to plummet at a terrifying rate.

  "What is happening!?"

  "Why did it suddenly turn so cold!?"

  "The Solaris Sector has never seen weather like this! Is the sun dying!?"

  Panicked outcries echoed across thousands of habitable worlds.

  "Oh no... something has gone horribly wrong!!"

  The High Speaker, watching from the palace gates, felt his blood run cold. He immediately established an emergency link to the High Guardians, reporting the anomaly.

  The reply from the central authorities was instantaneous: "Guardian Aether has been dispatched. Protect Lance at all costs!"

  The High Guardians had already suspected the Emperor might try something when they heard about the private audience. A [Stellar Class] powerhouse was already in transit. But the High Speaker was frantic. By the time Guardian Aether arrives, Lance will be frozen solid!

  He ignored the risks and charged toward Sunfire Hall.

  Buzz!

  The moment he reached the threshold, a wave of absolute zero washed over him.

  "What—?"

  The High Speaker didn't even have time to finish his thought. The frost swept through his body, turning him into a living ice sculpture before he could take another step.

  Inside the sanctum, the Solaris Emperor was reeling. The cold was so intense that even he, a master of fire, felt it biting into his bones.

  "Who... who are you!?"

  His arrogance had vanished, replaced by a desperate, defensive posture. He looked at Selina, but the girl’s cold, indifferent eyes weren't those of a teenager. They were the eyes of a predator staring at an insect.

  The Emperor felt a jolt of pure terror as he realized the infinite flames within his own [Consciousness Hub] were beginning to flicker and die. His very supernatural trait was being suppressed out of existence.

  Lance, meanwhile, had activated the shield of his Rank 8 [Star-Thunder Wings], wrapping himself in a violet lightning barrier that hummed with defensive power.

  I knew she had an 'Old Man' in her ring, but this is insane, Lance thought, watching the transformation. This cold is making even my [Solar Stellar Flame] tremble. The Emperor is a dead man walking. I just hope she doesn't decide to 'clean the scene' and come after me next.

  "Tch. I had hoped to recover more of my strength before I dealt with you," Sovereign Glacia’s voice, filtered through Selina’s throat, sounded lazy and dangerous. "But since you've decided to deliver yourself to my doorstep and seek death, I suppose I should fulfill my disciple's wish and settle the blood debt of House Skylar."

  "House Skylar? Selina... wait!" The Solaris Emperor’s eyes bulged as the name registered. "You're a descendant of Skylar Valerius!? That’s impossible! I personally ensured every member of that lineage was erased a thousand years ago! No one could have survived!"

  He finally understood why she looked familiar. She carried the features of his most talented disciple—the one he had murdered and betrayed a millennium ago.

  But how he had missed a survivor was a mystery he would never live to solve.

  Buzz!!!

  A surge of power that defied the very logic of the world swept toward the Solaris Emperor.

  CRACK!!!

  In a heartbeat, the Solaris Emperor—a being whose power was theoretically capable of snuffing out stars—was flash-frozen into a jagged statue of cobalt ice.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  BOOM!!!

  A violent explosion followed. The Solaris Emperor’s soul and physical form detonated simultaneously, reduced to a billion glittering fragments that vanished into the void.

  Lance watched the execution, a wave of cold realization washing over him. This is the power of a true cosmic apex.

  At the same time, a sliver of doubt crept into his mind. Will my trump cards even work against her? If they don't and she decides I’m a loose end... I’m as good as dead.

  "Well, brat, we finally meet face-to-face," Sovereign Glacia said. She drifted through the air, her feet never touching the ground, and stopped directly in front of Lance. She reached out a slender, spectral finger and playfully tilted his chin upward. "Now that you’ve seen what I am... tell me, should I kill you to keep my secret?"

  "Ahem. Senior, we’ve known each other for days now," Lance said, his voice forced into a calm he didn't entirely feel. "Can't we just find a way to coexist peacefully?"

  "Hmph. You arrogant little brat. You knew I was there the whole time, didn't you?" Glacia’s expression shifted, her eyes flashing with a sudden, predatory sharpess. "Tell me. Is it a technique you’re practicing? Or do you have an old ghost in your head just like Selina does—someone even more powerful than me?"

  Despite her menacing tone, using Selina’s teenage body to play the "vicious tyrant" actually looked somewhat adorable.

  "You’re as sharp as they say," Lance replied, pivoting into a flattering tone. "I happened to stumble upon a powerful soul-type cultivation method. That’s how I was able to perceive your presence. Would you like to take a look at it? Perhaps you could point out any flaws?"

  Glacia’s interest was instantly piqued. "Oh? A technique?"

  A technique capable of shielding a person from her perception—even in her current diminished state—had to be extraordinary. It likely surpassed anything she currently possessed.

  As a remnant soul, she could still exert power at the [Galactic Realm]. Between Lance’s [Grandmaster] rank and her level lay a chasm of [Great Grandmaster], [Planetary Class], and [Stellar Class]. Each stage represented a thousand-fold increase in power; the gap between them was effectively a hundred-million-fold. Yet, his technique had successfully cloaked him. The implications were staggering—it could very well be an [Immortal Grade] protocol.

  If Lance had known what she was thinking, he would have been impressed. The "old ghost" had correctly guessed the grade of his technique in seconds.

  "Very well. Show me this masterpiece of yours," she said, leaning in.

  Lance gave a thin, dangerous smile. His eyes flared with a sudden, piercing light.

  Heavenly Demon Disintegration—SACRIFICE!!!!

  Lance let out a silent roar in his mind.

  BOOM!!!

  In an instant, every internal organ in Lance’s body dissolved into pure energy. From the outside, he appeared unchanged, but his internal cavity was a hollow vacuum of roiling power.

  The energy flooded his meridians, and his [Undying God-Body] immediately kicked in, regenerating the sacrificed tissue even as the power boost hit its peak.

  A violent, chaotic aura erupted from Lance’s frame. His combat output spiraled upward, smashing through the [Grandmaster] ceiling and reaching the level of a [Great Grandmaster] in a single heartbeat.

  Sovereign Glacia’s face drained of color.

  "Great Grandmaster? Impossible! How can a [Rank 1 Grandmaster] body output the energy of a [Great Grandmaster]!? What is this!?"

  Shock turned into a sudden, icy premonition of danger.

  "Eternal Soul Protocol!!!" Lance bellowed.

  Glacia finally realized she had been played. "You little bastard! You dare trick me!?"

  She didn't hesitate, swinging a palm strike directly at Lance’s head with the full weight of her [Galactic Realm] soul behind it.

  BOOM! RUMBLE!!!

  The impact was so immense that the entire Planet Solaris shuddered to its core. The crust beneath Sunfire Hall buckled and groaned, continents began to drift, and the foundations of the world started to disintegrate.

  Across the planet, millions of residents scrambled for their evacuation ships, paralyzed by the sudden, world-ending cataclysm.

  Yet Lance, the target of the strike, stood perfectly still. He was entirely unharmed. Using the split-second of contact, he thrust both hands forward into the void.

  "ETERNAL SOUL SUPPRESSION!!!"

  The command tore through the fabric of reality.

  Glacia tried to retreat, her mind screaming to get Selina’s body away from him, but she was too slow.

  DONG!!!!!!

  A deep, resonant toll of a bell echoed from the very depths of Glacia’s soul. Her spirit began to vibrate violently, and she felt her connection to Selina’s nervous system being severed by a force as absolute as gravity. Her strength vanished instantly.

  DONG!!!!!!

  A second toll followed. Glacia felt her soul being struck by a spectral hammer.

  The force was irresistible. Her translucent form was violently ejected from Selina’s body, hurtling through the air.

  Without her soul to anchor it, Selina’s limp body began to fall toward the cracking floor. Lance blurred into motion, catching her gently before she could hit the ground.

  "You brat! You double-crossed me!!" Glacia shrieked from the air, her form flickering with impotent rage.

  "Save your breath for the bell, Senior," Lance said, offering her a polite, harmless smile. He pointed toward the space above her head.

  "What—?"

  Glacia looked up. Her eyes widened in terror.

  A gargantuan, golden Soul Bell had manifested in the sky above her. It pulsed with the light of the [Eternal Soul Protocol].

  The bell descended with the inevitability of fate.

  BOOM!!!

  Glacia, unable to move, was swallowed by the bell. A shockwave rippled across a radius of millions of kilometers, vibrating through the very vacuum of space.

  Vroom!

  The massive golden bell began to shrink rapidly, condensing until it was a small, ornate trinket the size of a plum. It drifted through the air and settled into Lance’s open palm.

  "It actually worked," Lance chuckled, looking at the golden seal. "The [Eternal Soul Protocol] is truly broken."

  "Damned brat! I’ll kill you! You looked so innocent! I’ll skin you alive!!"

  Inside the bell, Sovereign Glacia was throwing a spiritual tantrum. A being who had ruled the cosmos for millions of years had been outplayed and caged by a fifteen-year-old child. She found that her power was completely neutralized; she was a prisoner in a golden cage, with no hope of escape.

  "Forgive the rudeness, Senior," Lance said, shifting the unconscious Selina in his arms. Her lithe form pressed against him as he adjusted his grip, his eyes never leaving the miniature golden bell. "But you’re far too dangerous. I had no way of knowing if you were an ally or just another predator waiting for the right moment to strike. We both know the games beings of your level play—possession, body-snatching, the list goes on. Selina and I may only be acquaintances, but I have no desire to see her used as a puppet."

  Glacia fell silent, the spiritual fire of her indignation flickering within her cage. She knew he was right to be wary. Even she, upon sensing the majesty of his soul technique earlier, had entertained the fleeting thought of seizing it for herself—perhaps offering him some minor compensation in exchange for his life. If she, a sovereign who considered herself above such petty theft, had felt that urge, she knew other powerhouses would be far more ruthless.

  What truly unnerved her, however, was how deeply Lance had hidden his fangs. The burst of power he had manifested during the sacrifice could have erased a [Great Grandmaster] in a heartbeat. Combined with a protocol that was clearly at the [Immortal Grade] or higher, he was a variable she hadn't accounted for in her wildest dreams.

  How did an [Immortal Grade] protocol end up in a backwater sector like this? she wondered, her mind racing through cosmic archives. Such a technique appearing in the fringes of the universe was like finding a supernova inside a candle flame. It defied all logic.

  "So, what will it take for you to release me?" Glacia asked, her voice dropping the arrogance for a tone of weary entreaty. "I truly harbor no ill will toward the girl. Look at me—I’m a ghost without a home, a remnant of a dead era. Have some mercy and let me go."

  "Not a chance," Lance replied, his gaze unwavering as he stared into the golden glow of the bell. "At least, not yet."

  He remained entirely unmoved by her display of vulnerability. He knew better than to trust the word of a being who had lived for millions of years. Until he was strong enough to ensure she couldn't snap his neck with a thought, she would stay exactly where she was.

  System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!

  28+ Advanced Chapters on my Patreon.

  https://www.patreon.com/yivan