There was a loud crack, and an unseen force pushed Samuel to his knees. Alex walked past him and made his way toward Maya step by step with a pained look in his eyes.
"I didn't think you would come and find me," Maya said. "It's so good to see you."
She stood up unsteadily, and a sad smile appeared on her thin, wan face. Suddenly, she went limp and collapsed into Alex's arms. She had only recently been interrogated, and she had no more strength left in her body.
Alex hugged her as the rage inside him continued to grow. He felt like a volcano on the verge of a massive eruption.
Verity and the others rushed over, but none of them dared speak. Although they didn't know who the young woman was, they could tell that she was very important to him.
A white rainbow appeared in the sky, and an old woman dressed in red emerged from it. She had a mean face and a stern, authoritative voice.
"Who dares to behave so atrociously in my Snow Palace?" she asked.
Red Dawn was one of the sect's most powerful immortal warriors.
The disciples of the Snow Palace were delighted. She was an immortal who had been stationed in the palace for hundreds of years. Her strength was formidable, and she was respected by everyone. With her there, Alex couldn't act impudently anymore.
"It's him," Samuel shouted, pointing at Alex. "He forced his way in here and killed the senior disciple of the High sect. I beg you to defeat him and protect the Snow Palace."
"Who are you?" Red Dawn asked, glancing at Alex in surprise. The battle of Twisted Mountain had just ended, and she hadn't left the palace for a hundred years, so she didn't recognize him and hadn't heard about anything he had done.
"I'm here to destroy you!" Alex cried. "You're all going to die." He spun around, and the murderous energy within him caused the surrounding space to freeze.
He was furious. Maya was an old friend, so when he had seen her being humiliated, how could he not be angry?
"You're the one who will die!" Red Dawn replied. She let her energy surge into the sky and cover the palace, and then she raised her dragon-headed walking stick and swung it down, trying to smash Alex into pieces.
Alex didn't waste any more time talking. A flame ignited in his eyes and turned into a raging torch. Finally, it condensed into a blood-red sword, which flew toward Red Dawn and slashed at her repeatedly.
"Please show mercy," Maya shouted.
She understood the power of Alex's all-out attack. Even the leaders of the seven sects couldn't withstand a single punch from him, let alone Red Dawn.
But Red Dawn didn't understand. Seeing Alex act so outrageously and actually daring to fight her, she let out a deep laugh. Then she waved her walking stick, and thunder rang out across the palace.
Energy gathered all around her and gradually condensed into a giant ice dragon that sparkled like the brightest sapphire.
Its entire icy body was condensed from spiritual energy, and the air around it froze as it flew, leaving a visible white mark.
This was known as ice energy, and it was one of the signature abilities of the Snow Palace. It was said that Red Dawn had once used the technique to freeze an Earth immortal.
"I don't care which sect you belong to," Red Dawn said. "This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the Snow Palace."
Samuel and the other disciples watched avidly, anticipating Alex's defeat.
There was a thud as the red sword collided with the ice dragon, easily cutting it in two. Then the sword headed for Red Dawn again. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she hurriedly summoned her protective energy to try to fend off the attack.
But Alex's sword was just too powerful.
In a single strike, Red Dawn died with a look of disbelief on her face. She had been a dignified elder of the Snow Palace, a major power, so how had she not been able to withstand even a single blow from Alex?
Samuel and the other disciples were dumbstruck, and they couldn't believe what they had seen. An Earth immortal had fallen.
Red Dawn had been immensely powerful, and she had guarded the Snow Palace for hundreds of years, and yet Alex had killed her. They realized that he must be an immortal.
"Show yourselves!" Alex shouted. His voice was like thunder, echoing in the sky above the thousand-year-old castle, shaking the ground for hundreds of miles.
Alex had killed Red Dawn with his sword as if she were nothing. Now he didn't give her another thought. He held Maya with one hand and slowly rose into the air.
The disciples of the Snow Palace raised their heads and saw him shrouded in golden light.
At first, they didn't understand what was going on, but then there was movement all over the palace. Rays of light shot into the sky, each representing an Earth immortal that had dominated the divine realm.
It was the power of awakening.
In just a split second, twelve rays of light rose from the Snow Palace, meaning that twelve Earth immortals had awakened.
Apart from Kelsey, who had gone to Twisted Mountain, and the Snow Palace master, who was in seclusion, all the Earth immortals of the Snow Palace were there.
"My god!" Samuel exclaimed. "Look at how many elders are present. Even the once-in-a-decade assembly of the sect wouldn't be as lively as this."
The other disciples had no words.
The leader of the Snow Palace's Earth immortals was Rose, a beautiful woman in a purple dress. Among all the remaining Earth immortals, she was the strongest, and she was the deputy master of the Snow Palace.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Why have you barged into the Snow Palace and killed my disciple?"
"I came for Maya," Alex explained. "Your people whipped her, and they wanted to give her to the High sect so that they could search her soul. Is that really how you treat your people?"
Rose was embarrassed. Use of the soul-searching technique was completely unacceptable. After all, Maya was still under their protection, so the thought of her undergoing such an ordeal was unpleasant.
But Rose had more pressing concerns. How could Maya have a friend like this man?
Just as she was about to ask for more details, Samuel cried out in a shrill voice, "Deputy master, he has already killed Red Dawn."
The Earth immortals were shocked when they looked down and saw Red Dawn's body. Rose's face turned cold, and her beautiful eyes were filled with anger.
"So, you're here to cause trouble?" she asked.
"If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation for your treatment of Maya, then I'll do more than just cause trouble," Alex replied. "I'll destroy you all."
The Earth immortals were enraged.
Attacking the headquarters of the seven great sects by himself was simply a joke. They had been powerful within the divine realm for thousands of years. With their terrifying strength, how could a single person defeat them? Not even Kaden would dare attack an entire sect.
"Enough," Rose said. "Let's show him just how powerful the Snow Palace really is."
She refused to allow herself to be overwhelmed by anger. In terms of combat strength, Red Dawn had been ranked in the top five of the Snow Palace, but Alex had killed her. And he had done so quite easily by the looks of things. Rose had already labeled Alex as an extremely dangerous person who should be treated with caution.
The twelve Earth immortals struck out in unison.