Miles Ning's worn black clothes burst into flame. White-haired and gaunt, he knelt in mid-air, both palms drawing the immense streams of fire swirling around him. The blaze radiated out in all directions, fusing with air and dust until it nearly resembled true volcanic magma.
But it was not enough.
Time had passed, and his strength had faded—Miles Ning was no longer the powerhouse of his youth.
He was even weaker than when Andrew Han first became his disciple. Six peak Great-Class Specters unleashed a barrage of ghostly powers—nets, black curtains, and terrifying weapons—slamming into the searing magma-like flames.
Mu Sam let out a harsh, cackling laugh.
"You old fool, do you think you’re still Ning Three-Thousand? You rebuilt your body, but with a mere mortal shell you dare defy us?"
The scarlet Specter laughed wildly, arrogance radiating from its ghostly form.
They feared Andrew Han, but not Miles Ning. The former was like a blazing sun; the latter, only the dim glow of twilight.
Screee!
The scarlet Specter spun its ghostly body, unleashing a tidal catastrophe that could shatter thousands of minds.
Its ghost power, solidified and sharp, pierced through the curtain of flames.
"Ning Three-Thousand!"
"We’ll kill you first as a sacrifice, then your disciple Andrew Han!" The scarlet peak Specter, face flashing crimson, led the charge, its penetrating ghost power ahead of the others.
"Courting death!"
A sharp light flashed in Miles Ning’s clouded eyes.
His wrinkled face grew grim, his cold expression turning ferocious. Suddenly, three streams of matter-burning flame ignited, painting the dragon’s eyes and infusing them with mysterious spirit. The flames coiled around his right arm, lashing out at the peak Specter in mid-air.
Ooooh!
The streams of flame transformed into a Flame Dragon, colliding with the scarlet peak Specter.
"Peak Great-Class Specter!"
Miles Ning’s pupils contracted sharply. His Fivefold Flame Dragons, a technique that could contend with a titled third-step Martial Lord, now only managed a stalemate in mid-air, as if confronting an enemy across a river.
Unexpected.
But also inevitable.
To Andrew Han, Specters were insignificant. But for ordinary martial artists, a peak Great-Class Specter was the most terrifying foe below the Law Realm.
"Change flame state—solid as iron!"
Miles Ning narrowed his eyes, saying nothing. He ignored the Specter's taunts and altered the Fivefold Flame Dragons, instantly spreading a petrifying spectacle that immobilized the peak Specter before him.
Boom!
Miles Ning kicked out fiercely.
The scarlet Specter, temporarily restrained by the Fivefold Flame Dragons, was sent flying a kilometer away. Meanwhile, Mu Sam and the other five peak Specters broke through the fire cage and chains.
"Damn it."
Miles Ning’s face was cold, white hair drifting in the wind.
If only he weren’t so weak now… Twenty-two years ago, Miles Ning could have killed such Specters with a flick of his finger. This wasn’t nostalgia for past glory, but a bitter sigh for his present frailty.
The mid-size van was ringed by blazing chains of fire.
Each chain seemed etched with mysterious patterns, shielding the van. No matter how fierce the battle outside, the interior remained untouched.
"Blaze to the heavens!"
Miles Ning switched to another technique. Flames clustered behind him, each tongue blazing with fierce heat, manifesting a sea of fire that revealed the art’s true power.
The temperature within a kilometer soared.
It was August, the height of summer—affecting the air over such a wide area was no feat for mortals. This was the level of a titled Martial Lord: attuned to the laws of nature, fusing Internal Power into tangible force to unleash great might.
But even so, before peak Great-Class Specters, it was still not enough.
Screee!
Mu Sam thrust out a hook-like ghost claw, its edge gleaming coldly. It pierced through Miles Ning’s circle of fire, raking his right arm and nearly tearing away flesh and blood.
His Internal Power surged, blasting away Mu Sam’s ghost claw.
Miles Ning fell into disadvantage, truly unable to withstand so many peak Great-Class Specters.
He’d grown weaker.
"I was right—every day and night, you grow a little weaker!" Mu Sam attacked Miles Ning with a harsh, cackling laugh, killing intent saturating the air.
At that moment—
Nearby came an angry ghostly howl—the scarlet peak Great-Class Specter whose body Miles Ning had just immobilized.
"All of you, get out of the way!"
"I'll kill this old fool myself... I was careless just now, and you got lucky. Now I'll show you what 'peak' truly means!" The scarlet Specter revealed its blood-soaked ghostly body, its chilling aura blending with the desolate mountain, spreading terror in all directions.
The other five Specters, including Mu Sam, were secretly astonished.
Truly strong.
Such might could rival a titled third-step Martial Lord.
Even the giant python lurking nearby flicked its tongue twice, clearly startled.
Hmph.
Miles Ning turned, staring coldly at it.
Hiss!
The scarlet Specter's ghostly body split open a giant mouth, revealing pale fangs, as if hiding an endless hell; it brimmed with savage malice, lunging at Miles Ning.
Just then—
A kilometer to the east, light shone.
The blazing summer sun scorched the land, air heavy and stifling, yet it couldn't overshadow the majestic, dawn-like radiance—a resplendent sunrise seemed to replace the burning sun, freezing the swirling hot wind, as if piercing the blue sky itself.
Boom!!!