Tower of Heaven

When the feelings of dissonance and confusion disappeared from his mind, Atlas returned to his element. The next explosion wasn’t caused by the beast, but by him.

The entire realm was made of flames. Atlas himself was floating in the air and had to maneuver his body carefully with thoughts alone. The flames he created gathered in front of him, but they came from all around him.

The beast used a yellowish-orange flame that was tinged with red. The realm carried the same color themes. However, when Atlas took control of the energy, those same flames heated until they were white and blue.

[Divine Flame Cannon]

Booooom!

A beam of white-hot energy flew through the realm and parted the flames like an ocean. The yellow and orange "atmosphere" that made up the surroundings was laid bare.

Atlas’ eyes flicked to the side, following the shadow of a white figure that rushed into the nearby flames.

[Divine Flame Burst]

Boooooom!

The white and blue flames gathered again, this time spreading like a billowing fan. When they came in contact with the beast’s flames, an array of explosions rang out, making the entire realm rumble.

The white and blue clashed against yellow and orange. One side was backed by skill, while the other was backed by pure talent.

The two forces clashed on their own, and in the meanwhile, their owners entered a second confrontation.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The phantom of the beast dashed within the flames with such speed that its appearance was never revealed. No, it wasn’t just that. It was intentionally hiding its appearance at every step.

When Atlas attacked, it always rushed to hide behind nearby flames. When it attacked, balls and waves of fire shot through the walls of energy without ever revealing its own position.

’It doesn’t know how to fight. It’s acting instinctively. I already know that.’

Boom!

Atlas sent another blast of flame into the world, dispersing more of the beast’s fire.

’However, this is not an instinctual behavior.’

Its desire to remain hidden was created by its experiences as an individual.

’If I want to break it out of its metaphorical shell

Atlas put his hands together. He’d spread enough of his presence into this realm to make a real impact. He closed his eyes and imagined how he’d make his energy flow if he was in the real world, and the technique he desired appeared.

[Flame Emperor’s Domain]

VOOM!

Energy spread omnidirectionally. A wall of white and blue fire spread from Atlas’ body and pushed away everything in its path. It forced away the orange and yellow in the atmosphere, it forced away all of the beast’s attacks, and it forced away all cover the beast could take.

ROAR–!

It made a sound of fury as it had to jump over the flames.

Voom!

The colors that represented the beast appeared again in a quantity just large enough to shield its body, but Atlas wasn’t planning to give it such privileges.

He shot forward, moving rapidly for the first time. His fist shot out, and from it shot forward a qi projection of the same punch.

Bang!

Atlas’ "qi" came in contact with something physical. He pushed through the orange and yellow flames, dispersing them once and for all, and finally laid eyes on its form.

It had nowhere to run within the white and blue. Your journey continues with empire

But, oddly enough, within that same white and blue, it was camouflaged more than it ever could be in its own flames.

A fox.

A fox that clearly had the features and proportions of a cub, but was still taller than Atlas,

Its fur was a beautiful white color, the same as snow and clouds. Its tail was large and bushy, but also much longer than that of an ordinary fox. As it waved, flames gathered around it and decorated it like armor, creating a very interesting scene,

Its eyes were a color somewhere in between red and pink, and the fur around its eyes bore a red mark that almost looked like exquisite eyeshadow.

’A fox spirit? No, it’s a Divine Beast, so it can’t be so simple

Atlas knew of many Divine Beast species, but this one specifically came from a different vein from any that he had met. He was unaware of the exact species of this beast, but if anyone else from the Tower was able to see what was inside, they would instantly widen their eyes in greed.

Even Feng Ziran knew the beast’s identity after seeing its connection to both fire and the mental realm.

It was a Kitsune, one of the only few Divine Beasts that originated from fox species. Known for their great ability to control fire and their natural bewitching aura that could captivate anyone and anything, Kitsune were highly regarded in the world of cultivation.

Their blood was incredibly useful for cultivators. If one could get a hand on enough blood essence to try to absorb the bloodline, one could gain access to the very same abilities that made the Kitsune species renowned.

Those with the most innocent intentions wanted Kitsune as companions who would stay with them as loyal beasts for the rest of their lives. Those with the worst intentions… they would force a Kitsune to grow into a cultivation furnace that would be used until it died from exhaustion.

Perhaps, in this moment, if anyone other than Atlas was present, they would not have been able to suppress their greed.

He merely didn’t feel it at all. It meant nothing to him, but little did he know that the beast was aware of his every thought and emotion.

His lack of true hostility or greed, his lack of any sort of emotion that resembled those of its captors, confused it severely. It could not understand how a human like him existed.

The natural curiosity it experienced as a fox clashed against the wariness it had developed in this life. As such, from the time it drew Atlas into this realm, it had been peppering him with attacks and trying to gauge him.

What it found only confused it more.

Its form had been revealed. From what it understood about the world, the moment its form was revealed, it was as good as dead.

For that reason, when it found itself revealed, it proned its body and bared its teeth. Its eyes possessed a strong killing intent that told Atlas not to approach it in any way if he didn’t want to die.

He looked at it, and then he looked at the walls around them.

There was no such thing as qi in the mental world. It was all a matter of mental power. Atlas had completed Spirit Severance only a single time, but his mental strength was enhanced exponentially. He didn’t have to worry about running out of energy any time soon.

As long as those walls of blue and white flames were maintained, he and this fox spirit would be left with no choice but to confront each other face to face.

Atlas may have been pulled into this space against his will, but there was no way in hell he would allow a beast that hadn’t even been born yet to outsmart or defeat him.

If that happened, it was better for him to hang up his cape and quit being a cultivator altogether!

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