Chapter 73 – The Chains of Shadows, the Wings of Ice

"Betrayal opens the gate, but conviction seals the soul."

Ashen Mist Ruins – At the Foot of the Cursed Tower

Blood dripped from Arya Kapoor's side. Her gaze remained locked on Zehn, who now stood revealed in his true form: corrupted veins coursing across pale skin, black mist seeping from his back like wings made of smoke.

❖ [Enemy Identity: Abyss Thrall – Shadow Class II]

❖ [Soul Core: Fragmented – Regeneration Active]

❖ [Target Priority: Asha Rani – Phoenix Inheritor]

❖ [Aura Detected: Abyssal Crown Mark – Level Unreadable]

"How long have you been hiding this?" Arya hissed, blood running down her thigh.

Zehn smiled, twisted and calm.

"Since the day I entered the trials. Your precious sect is already infiltrated. You think this is the first betrayal?"

He raised his palm, and black flames surged toward Asha.

But before they could land—

BOOM.

A wall of divine ice slammed between them, rising like a jagged glacier from nothing.

Asha stepped forward, her fan glowing with icy blue runes. Her pupils shimmered like frost moons.

"Touch her again," she said coldly, "and I'll freeze your soul into dust."

❖ [Bloodline Activation: Ice Spirit Body – Supreme Awakening: Phase 2]

❖ [Title Unlocked: Frost Sovereign (Unmanifested)]

❖ [Passive Gained: Glacial Domain – 20m radius freeze resistance boost, movement suppression for enemies]

The Team Reacts

Yi Feng rushed to Arya, pressing a healing jade to her wound. "Stay still. That dagger was laced with soul rot!"

Arya grabbed his wrist and shook her head. "We need to keep pressure on him. He wants Asha. We can't let him win."

Runesaint activated a flame circle, protecting Fira and conjuring potion arrays. "If he's a Thrall… then the Wraith General is secondary. That means this whole mission was bait."

Zehn's Power Unleashed – The Truth Revealed

Zehn raised both hands.

From the mist, a broken crown-shaped rune of pure shadow formed above his head.

❖ [Abyss Crown Echo Detected – Command Protocol Engaged]

❖ [Order Sent: Release the Soul Domain of Wraith General Vesh]

❖ [Linked Enemy Identified: Ashen Crown Sub-Inquisitor]

Asha's eyes widened. "He's not just a spy… he's a controller!"

The cursed tower pulsed. Red-black lightning arced from its top and slammed into the ground.

Then the world fractured.

Phase Shift – Soul Domain: Tomb of Screams

Everything turned gray.

The ground became black crystal. The sky was a chasm of weeping souls. Chains hovered in the air, singing faintly with agony.

The team was no longer in the Ashen Mist Ruins—they were trapped inside the Wraith General's personal Soul Domain.

❖ [Domain Type: Memory Prison – Soul-Slicing Field]

❖ [Exit Requirement: Kill the Domain Lord or Break the Soul Root Sigil]

❖ [Warning: Regeneration Disabled – Qi Regeneration Reduced 90%]

Zehn floated above them, untouched by the shift.

"Here," he said calmly, "you'll all die together. And the Phoenix Soul will be mine."

A second presence appeared: a skeletal warrior shrouded in red lightning—Wraith General Vesh himself.

❖ [Boss Activated – Phase One Begins]

❖ [Target Priority: All Intruders]

The domain shook.

Battle Begins – Arya and Asha vs. Zehn

Zehn attacked first.

Twin daggers laced with shadow qi descended toward Asha. But Arya appeared mid-air, intercepting them with her sabers, deflecting one and taking another slash across her shoulder.

❖ [Arya Status: Critical – HP 42% – Qi Core Depletion: 76%]

Asha caught Arya before she fell and laid her down gently.

"You've done enough."

Then she stepped forward, and the ice within her ignited.

❖ [Skill Activated: Frozen Void Pulse – Soul Rank Variant – Limited Use]

❖ [Area of Effect: 10m Freeze + Soul Shock]

❖ [System Warning: Physical strain detected – Internal meridians at 85% threshold]

The wind around her turned silent.

Zehn laughed.

"You think your frost will—"

He didn't finish.

The moment the ice pulse hit, his body froze mid-motion. For three whole seconds, time itself halted within the domain.

❖ [Zehn Status: Frozen – 3.0s]

❖ [Soul Lock Achieved]

Asha summoned her fan, now glowing with starlight-infused frost qi.

She struck once—cleanly across his chest.

❖ [Critical Hit – Soul Fragment Shattered – Abyss Seed Core Damaged]

Zehn screamed as black mist erupted from his wounds.

Team Coordination – Breaking the Domain

Yi Feng, seeing the chance, yelled, "The soul root! It's buried under the tower!"

Runesaint nodded. "I'll handle it. Cover me!"

As Asha and Arya fought Zehn and the Wraith, Runesaint ran toward the core. Beneath the cursed altar, he planted a divine bomb array, a relic given by Elder Qin Dae.

❖ [Divine Seal Initiated – Countdown: 10 Seconds]

❖ [Target: Soul Root Sigil of Wraith General]

Above them, Zehn roared.

"You won't escape this place alive!"

"Wrong," Arya said, standing again despite her wound. "You made one mistake."

Zehn narrowed his eyes.

"You underestimated us."

The explosion erupted.

Soul Domain Collapses – Zehn's Fate

❖ [Soul Root Destroyed – Domain Collapse in 5 Seconds]

❖ [Wraith General Eliminated – Residual Curse Released]

❖ [Zehn's Body Severely Damaged – Abyss Crown Signal Broken]

As the world shattered, Zehn's body began to disintegrate. His last words came out with a hiss.

"You don't know what's coming. The Ashen Crown has already entered the Central Realms. You're… too late…"

He vanished into black sparks.

Aftermath – Return to Chaos Realm

The team collapsed into the ruined field of the real world. Fira groaned, coughing up blood. Yi Feng supported Arya.

Asha stood alone, her robes torn, her spirit core flickering.

❖ [Mission Complete – Emergency Extraction Initiated]

❖ [Chaos Merit Points Earned: 1200 (Asha), 1100 (Arya), 900 (Yi Feng), 1000 (Runesaint), 850 (Fira)]

❖ [You have survived your first real war]

A gate of silver light opened. The Vanguard had endured.

But so had the war.

Chaos Throne – Zero's Orders

Zero received the report silently.

"He said the Ashen Crown is already in the Central Realms."

Elder Su Yin nodded. "What should we do?"

Zero turned toward a side chamber—where ten soul fragments hovered, sealed in crystal.

"We promote them. But we also begin the next phase."

He raised his hand.

❖ [New Order: Form the Chaos Vanguard Legion. Alpha Unit will be the core.]

"Because from now on," he said, "this is no longer a trial. It's war."