Only I Level Up (2)

The ground trembled beneath a bruised sky, with jagged remnants of the Third Gate battle scattered across the horizon. 

In the muted atmosphere, Ning Que staggered on the remnants of the torn battlefield, his body aching, every breath stinging in his lungs. 

The Guild's forces, once a united front, were now a fragmented echo of chaos, retreating from the power surge that had fought their ranks.

He ran a hand over his shoulder, where the golden mark pulsed rhythmically, its warmth battling the chill creeping into his bones. 

Fresh memories of the battle flared in his mind: the blinding light of Mireya's transformation, the despair in the faces of the Guild soldiers as they stumbled into disarray, the dark sense of something monumental shifting in the depths of their existence.

"Where the hell is Tao Cheng?" he muttered under his breath, his gaze darting around for any sign of the man.