Claudia's hand closed around the Demonic Asura Lotus Flame, her serpentine eyes narrowing in triumph. Around her, over fifty cultivators from various factions watched with bated breath, their eyes filled with greed and awe. They had combined their mana to shatter the protective formation, trusting Claudia's promise of negotiation. It was a fatal mistake.
The dark flame expanded. In a single heartbeat, it swelled from a fist-sized spark to a ten-meter inferno, becoming a living dark fire. The sudden heat wave hit the nearest cultivators like a physical battering ram, distorting the air with violent mirages.
