lnside the aircraft, Rien stared at the group with a bored expression.
"How long until we reach the Tian Clan?" he asked calmly.
Miss Yin checked her device. "Almost four hours," she replied with confidence.
Kuto's eyes widened in horror. "FOUR HOURS?! I can't sit in this flying tin box any longer! We've been traveling since yesterday morning!"
Lan walked up behind him and smacked the back of his head—hard.
"Stop whining! We're visiting a clan. We can't just teleport there. It's a royal protocol." She crossed her arms.
Kuto rubbed his aching head. "Royal protocol?"
Rien looked at him with a wise, gentle expression.
"It creates a good impression between clan masters. If you suddenly teleport into the Tian Clan, it looks disrespectful. Royals and masters prefer 'grand' methods to show prestige."
Miss Yin narrowed her eyes at him. "So you're saying I'm showing off?"
Rien waved his hand dismissively. "My apologies."
Suddenly, a massive shockwave slammed into the aircraft, throwing everyone to the floor—except Rien, who still sat calmly in his seat.
"Are you all okay?" he asked as if nothing happened.
Kuto groaned while clutching his shoulder. "Who the hell did that?!"
Rien stood and walked to the front window. Above them floated Rue and another Northern Alliance fighter.
"So you came again," Rien said calmly.
Rue laughed loudly. "This time, kiddo, I'll take that cosmic energy of yours."
Rien looked at the second man and then back at Rue.
"Are you sure you can defeat me? I doubt you even have the guts to stand under my presence."
He stepped out into the air, walking as if on solid ground.
Kuto tried to follow and act like a powerful master—then immediately plunged downward.
"LAN!!!" he screamed.
Lan sprinted and grabbed his wrist, struggling to pull him up.
"ARE YOU STUPID?! YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T FLY!" she yelled furiously.
Kuto looked down at the clouds far below. "We're… ABOVE THE CLOUDS?!" His voice trembled in pure panic.
Lan dragged him up and collapsed on the floor, sweating. "You're so heavy, idiot!"
Kuto panted. "I… I forgot I can't fly."
Meanwhile, Rien faced the two attackers.
"So… who wants to die first?" he asked calmly.
Rue pointed at his partner. "This is my younger brother, Yuo. He'll show you the power of the Northern Alliance."
Yuo licked his lips. "Your cosmic energy is… delicious. I want to taste it."
Rien gave him the flattest deadpan expression in human history.
"I thought you were vegetarian… or non-vegetarian. Turns out you're cosmi-terian."
Yuo roared, cosmic energy exploding around him as he lunged—but Rien instantly appeared behind him, hand on Yuo's shoulder.
"I'm here."
Yuo screamed in pain as Rien tightened his grip.
"That's not even one percent of my physical strength."
Rien then casually tossed him from the sky like trash.
Rue's face twisted in rage. He clapped his hands, and dozens of portals opened, spilling out a hundred of the Northern Alliance's strongest fighters.
"These are the top 100 Tian Huang–rank warriors!" Rue laughed proudly.
Yin Xia's face turned pale. "Tian Huang?! Their cosmic energy is terrifying!"
Rien placed his hands behind his back. "I hope this doesn't bore me."
The warriors attacked at once, cosmic energy exploding across the sky.
"You cannot defeat me," Rien said as he dodged effortlessly.
He grabbed one man by the throat—the man vanished instantly.
The others formed hand signs, combining their cosmic energy to summon a giant sky warrior.
Rien actually looked impressed.
"Oh? A giant warrior. Not bad."
He snapped his fingers.
The giant evaporated instantly.
"Too weak," he said, eyes moving to Rue.
Rue snarled and attacked together with his men—but their attacks didn't even touch Rien.
"Work harder," Rien said, still floating calmly.
Kuto watched with awe. "Wow! They can't even touch him!"
Lan nodded. "Rien is insanely strong."
Rien snapped again—all hundred fighters vanished at once.
"Well… now I'm bored," he said, walking toward Rue.
Suddenly, Yuo reappeared, half his body drenched in blood.
"You survived," Rien said, mildly surprised.
He waved his hand. Yuo vanished instantly, right in front of Rue.
Then Rien asked Rue politely, "What kind of death do you prefer?"
Rue panicked and ran with every ounce of cosmic energy in his body. He flew desperately into the sky—
And found Rien already standing in front of him.
"Where are you going?" Rien asked.
Rue froze. "H-How did you get here?!"
Rien vanished him on the spot and teleported back into the aircraft.
"I am everywhere," he said calmly.
Kuto stared at him with sparkling eyes. "You killed a hundred Tian Huang warriors like nothing!"
After a few hours…
The aircraft landed before the Tian Clan. Members stood in formation to welcome the Xia Clan.
Kuto looked out the window. "Whoa… so many beautiful women!"
Lan smacked him again. "Those are the Tian Clan master's wives!"
Kuto's jaw dropped. "He has SIX WIVES?!"
Yin Xia nodded. "Yes. He married the six strongest female clan masters of the Han-Lao Empire."
Rien stood and walked out. The moment he stepped forward, the Tian master and his elders sensed his cosmic energy—massive soul beasts emerged defensively.
Miss Yin rushed forward. "Don't attack! He's my clan member!"
The Tian master glared at Rien, blue flames of cosmic energy rising around him.
"This man's cosmic energy… it's beyond the scale. What is his rank?"
Miss Yin's face went white. "He… he is Xu Di."
The entire Tian Clan stepped back in horror.
Kuto walked out and whispered to Lan, "Why are they so scared?"
Lan sighed. "Xu Di is the final, mythical rank. No one in history has ever reached it."
Rien apologized politely. "Sorry… I had a small battle earlier. Some of my cosmic atoms increased."
The Tian master's eyes widened. "SOME atoms?! You're saying this isn't even the minimum of your power?"
Rien was about to nod, but Miss Yin grabbed his face, squeezing his cheeks.
"CALM. DOWN. your energy. Before I hit you," she growled.
Rien nodded and suppressed all his cosmic presence.
Miss Yin lifted his arm like she was showing a harmless toy.
"See? This thing is harmless."
The Tian master coughed awkwardly and invited them inside.
"That was close," Miss Yin muttered, holding Rien's hand.
Rien nodded calmly. "But this clan does impress me."
Inside the Tian Clan, Rien and Miss Yin relaxed on a luxurious, velvet-lined sofa. Rien leaned back, letting out a small sigh.
"Well… this clan is insanely wealthy," Rien said, sinking deeper into the cushions like he owned the place.
Miss Yin glanced around the ornate room, gold lanterns reflecting in her eyes.
"This clan is extremely well-maintained and wealthy. Because it isn't controlled by just one Tian master… it's actually run by three people."
Kuto's brows shot up so fast it looked like they were trying to escape his forehead.
"Controlled by three people? Since when—?"
Miss Yin nodded with teacher-level confidence.
"Yes. The Tian Sect was founded by three powerful clan leaders. That's why the Tian Huang rank is named after this clan—those three were the first cultivators to awaken the Tian Huang rank."
Before Kuto could reply, the doors swung open.
Tian Master entered with all six of his wives trailing behind him like an expensive parade.
"I hope you're enjoying our clan's services," he said with a welcoming smile—though his eyes locked onto Rien with a strict, assessing glare.
One of the wives stepped close, eyes sparkling.
"My dear boys, I've prepared a warm bath for both of you."
Rien didn't even blink.
"I'll bathe later," he replied calmly.
Kuto, however, jumped to his feet like a puppy.
"I love baths—!"
Before he could embarrass himself further, Lan grabbed his wrist and yanked him back onto the sofa. She stared at Tian's wife like she just challenged her to a duel.
"Thanks, but he doesn't bathe at noon. Right, Kuto?"
Kuto, now terrified of his own survival, nodded so hard his neck cracked.
"Right! I totally forgot. Noon baths are cursed for me."
Tian's first wife blinked, confused but polite.
"Okay… whenever you change your mind, just inform me."
Tian Master sat opposite Rien and Yin, expression serious as if switching into business mode.
"Good. Now let's discuss the real matter."
Miss Yin nodded. She reached into her fourth-dimensional storage ring and pulled out a map, unfolding it on the table.
"The Soul Organization has thirteen towers. After the fight between their tower commander and Rien, only eight towers remain."
There was a proud spark in her eyes as she said it.
Tian Master glanced at Rien, then back at the map.
"So… what's the plan?"
Miss Yin continued,
"We must destroy the remaining eight Soul Towers as fast as possible. Those towers are the pillars of their organization. After their commanders fall, the Soul Organization won't stay silent—they'll reveal themselves."
Tian Master stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"It's a solid plan. But if we destroy the towers one by one, they'll be alerted. They might strike back."
Rien leaned forward slightly, confidence radiating off him like heat.
"Who said we'll destroy them one by one?"
Tian Master raised a brow.
Rien smirked.
"We destroy all of them… at once."
The room went silent for a moment.
Kuto whispered,
"Bro, that's either genius or suicide."
Rien shrugged calmly.
"Genius, obviously."