As Adrian and the others continued flying toward the city, they sensed the gathering presences ahead of them.
Lara stiffened mid-flight, her expression sharpening instantly, "It's the Everlasting Pill Sect. They're inside this city."
When they had first spotted the city from afar, the entrance had been barely visible, and only a few Everlasting Pill Sect disciples had been stationed near it. At that distance, their presence had been completely drowned out by the surrounding chaotic energy, making the area feel no different from the rest of the planet.
Now, as they drew closer, the situation was entirely different. Concentrated flows of divine essence became clearly perceptible, along with the unmistakable pressure of authority being wielded openly. The chaotic energy ahead had been pushed back in multiple overlapping zones, creating a stable pocket of controlled space. There were cultivators within the city, and they were not hiding.
Maelis cursed under her breath, "Kenric and Marivelle are both here. This is going to be hard."
Lara sensed it as well. These two Everlasting Pill Sect elders were as strong as she was, each wielding fifty-seven percent authority. Against them, Torvain and Maelis would struggle severely. During the earlier stages of the war, their sect had relied on additional elders to counterbalance such enemies, but those elders were now gravely injured and recovering back at the sect.
Lara glanced toward Adrian.
If they had encountered this situation without him, retreat would have been the only sensible option. They had only three elders present, while the enemy had four, with some of them stronger than anyone on Lara's side. But Adrian was here now, and his seventy percent authority placed him above everyone present. She could only hope that his intentions were truly as sincere as he claimed.
Adrian sensed the enemy as well. Although he did not recognize any of the individuals personally, the authority radiating from their domains told him enough. The four beings positioned at the forefront of the city entrance each wielded at least fifty percent authority. Even without precise values, it was obvious that they were High Rule Stage cultivators.
His dark crimson domain continued its steady work, refining the surrounding chaos without pause. The energy flowed into him constantly, replenishing what he expended and slowly expanding his reserves. He felt no strain maintaining it.
Lara spoke quickly, providing clarity. "Those four are the Everlasting Pill Sect elders. The one with four arms and the female both have fifty-seven percent authority. The other two are at fifty-five percent."
The information aligned perfectly with Adrian's judgment. He spoke calmly without turning his head, "We follow the plan. We cross this city, no matter who tries to stop us."
A faint spark of hope ignited within Lara. If Adrian truly fought alongside them, there was even a chance they could kill one or more elders here. Such a victory would be monumental, potentially shifting the entire trajectory of the war.
Adrian was not acting recklessly. His mana reserves were far greater than before, and he was no longer ignorant of combat at the Rule Stage. After upgrading his UNI-Authority to Commercial level, he had learned about authority techniques and combat theory extensively through the forums. While he lacked real combat experience against High Rule Stage opponents, he understood enough to know that survival was well within his reach.
They continued flying forward. The city entrance loomed closer, now less than two kilometers away. Adrian could clearly see the enemy formation: four elders standing in front, dozens of disciples arranged behind them in defensive positions. Every one of them was wrapped in their divine domain, using authority to forcibly repel the surrounding chaotic energy.
The disciples behind Adrian shifted nervously. Some gripped their weapons tighter. Others exchanged glances, their expressions hardening with resolve.
The distance closed rapidly. One kilometer.
Kenric's four eyes tracked Adrian's approach with cold calculation. Beside him, Marivelle's expression remained neutral, unreadable.
Five hundred meters.
Two hundred.
The air between the two groups grew heavier. Divine essence thickened, pressing against the boundaries of opposing domains. The ruins surrounding them trembled faintly under the accumulated pressure.
At one hundred meters, Kenric's voice rang out, amplified by divine essence and authority, "Lara! We meet again! This time, I will make sure you die!"
Adrian and the entire group halted instantly. With enemies blocking their path, moving forward was no longer possible.
Lara's expression hardened into something cold and sharp. Her divine domain expanded outward around her body, crimson light bleeding into the space around her. She responded coldly, her voice carrying equal weight, "I can say the same to you. This time, I will make sure you die."
Adrian watched this exchange. It was clear that Lara and this four-armed being had fought before.
Before anyone else could speak or react, Kenric dashed forward through the air, sword already in hand.
The suddenness of it caught everyone off guard. Lara immediately flew out of Adrian's domain to meet him, a sword appearing in her hand as she drew it from her spatial ring. There was no hesitation, no pause to issue instructions to the disciples or elders. Kenric's charge demanded an immediate response, so she flew out first.
"Lara, wait—" Maelis started, but the words died in her throat. It was already too late. Lara was already committed.
The two elders met in midair and exchanged slashes.
Adrian's eyes widened slightly.
Kenric's sword passed cleanly through Lara's neck and emerged from the other side, yet there was no wound, no blood, no damage whatsoever. At the same time, Lara's blade cut through Kenric's torso, exiting through his back without leaving a wound behind.
Neither of them was injured.
Adrian immediately recognized it, "A defensive authority technique."
He had read about these techniques in the forums. Authority techniques were broadly categorized, and what he had seen pirates use in the past were movement-based authority techniques. What he was seeing now was a defensive authority technique, something far more advanced.
Using this technique, a cultivator modified the rules within their domain to temporarily redefine their body as non-solid. In that state, physical attacks simply passed through them, as though the cultivator did not exist at that location.
Each sect possessed its own variations of such techniques, all closely guarded and never shared publicly.
And this was the first time Adrian was witnessing such a phenomenon directly.
He focused his perception and saw that both Lara and Kenric had compressed their domains tightly around their bodies. They were not extending them outward but instead modifying the rules within that confined space.
He attempted to observe how they were using authority to achieve this effect, but the moment he tried, reality itself blocked his perception. No information was offered, no matter how hard he pressed.
It was like staring at a wall. His awareness pressed against something impenetrable, something that refused to yield no matter how much effort he applied.
He sighed.
He knew of this limitation already. In the forums, it was said that even if someone watched these techniques being used, they would not be able to discern how they worked. A cultivator's authority naturally blocked external perception, making it impossible to identify which rules were being altered. One could see the effect, but never the method.
Adrian was now facing the same situation.
But what if he used his Source Eyes? Would it allow him to see?
He wanted to test it and activated his Source Eyes, focusing entirely on the clash between Lara and Kenric.
The world sharpened. Colours deepened. Every movement became clear, every fluctuation of divine essence rendered visible in perfect clarity. The wall that had blocked him moments ago simply... wasn't there anymore.
As Kenric attacked Lara again, Adrian could now see what was happening inside Lara's domain. Lara was modifying the rules within her domain, especially the rules of space and liquid, declaring that any matter inside her domain would be considered as liquid at the moment of impact.
The sword Kenric used to attack passed through her as though cutting water.
The modification happened in an instant, a deliberate rewrite within her domain. The blade encountered no resistance because, for that fraction of a second, there was nothing solid within Lara's domain to resist.
When Lara counterattacked, Adrian observed Kenric's response just as clearly. Kenric modified the rules similar to Lara, but he focused on the rules of fire and space, declaring that any matter within his domain would be considered as fire, allowing Lara's blade to pass through harmlessly.
The transformation rippled across his torso, turning flesh into flickering flame that reassembled the instant Lara's sword passed through.
The methods used by both were different, but the outcome was the same. Both cultivators temporarily transformed the entire space within their domain into something non-matter through authority, and since their bodies existed inside those domains, they followed the same rules.
The realization struck Adrian deeply. This was why divine beings were fundamentally superior. Mana and willforce were only part of the equation. Authority itself granted abilities that could never be replicated through arcane concepts alone. No matter how many arcane concepts one mastered, transforming a solid body into non-matter was impossible without directly altering reality.
A Stellar could wield fire with devastating power. But a divine being could become fire itself.
In the fight, Adrian also noticed something else. They only invoked these techniques at the exact moment an attack was about to land, and their domains remained tightly compressed around their bodies. This implied they were conserving their energy fuel. They had their domains small and only changed the rules within that small space, which should cost them less resources. And on top of that, they also used it only at the moment of impact, reducing the cost further.
Adrian also felt this way of doing things resembled the early stages of the Energy Body Art. Energy body art was a technique that transformed a cultivator's entire existence into pure conceptual energy. And now Lara and Kenric were similarly transforming into a non-matter form.
But Adrian could notice the differences. When the Energy Body Art was used, everything transformed, including mind and consciousness. It transformed one's entire existence.
Adrian knew this better than anyone. His source form was similar to the energy body art, and whenever he transformed, his entire being became Source, even his thoughts dissolving into absolute clarity. Thinking now, he could understand it more clearly. Whenever he transformed, his mind would become completely blank and absolute. It felt like merging with the will of the Source itself.
But in this fight, neither Lara nor Kenric was invoking a concept's will. They were simply altering matter states inside their domains, making this a preliminary application rather than a full transformation.
Seeing all this, Adrian felt exhilarated. He had just seen through it! The Source Eyes had revealed everything. The exact rules they were using, the precise modifications, and changes they were invoking!
What the universe claimed was impossible to perceive had been laid bare before him. His heart pounded harder, and his fingers twitched at his sides.
This changed everything. With this ability, he could learn authority techniques simply by watching battles, or better yet, by participating in them.
No need for sect inheritance. No need for manuals locked behind loyalty oaths and decades of service. He could observe, comprehend, and replicate.
Adrian's interest deepened further, and he wanted to see more! He had read about another category of authority techniques used for offense. And now this battlefield was about to give him exactly that opportunity.
Behind him, Maelis shifted uneasily, "Should we assist her?"
Torvain shook his head, "Not yet. If we move now, their other elders will engage. We need to wait for the right moment."
The disciples remained tense, hands gripping weapons they could not yet use.
Adrian said nothing. His gaze never left the battle.