In the quiet sanctuary of her bedroom, Sylvia carefully pulled Timothy's love letter from beneath her pillow.
She read it meticulously, over and over, each word sinking in deeper with every pass.
As her eyes moved across the paper, a noticeable blush spread across her cheeks.
"How can anyone be so brutally honest?" she exclaimed.
By the time she reached the last sentence, her cheeks were burning hot. Without hesitation, she dove under her covers, wrapping herself up tightly.
A whirlwind of emotions surged through her, and cocooned in her blanket, Sylvia couldn't help but toss and turn, causing her light pink sheets and canopy to become slightly disheveled.
From within the bundle of blankets, occasional soft whimpers could be heard, unclear what emotions they were meant to convey.
She was like a girl corroded by the sweet sting of love.
No, perhaps it was exactly that...
With a sigh, Sylvia threw back the covers, her face flushed like blooming peach blossoms, her eyes shimmering.
Her gaze upon the letter was dreamy.
The warmth from the blanket lingered, leaving a delicate fragrance wafting from her.
"Goddess Sylvia, what's going on here?" Suddenly, a voice came from the doorway.
Zephyra stood there, puzzled by the strange scene before her.
Why was Goddess Sylvia rolling around wrapped in a blanket like a caterpillar? Why was her breathing hurried and her cheeks flushed?
Could it be!
"Goddess, have you not bathed in a while and you're feeling itchy?"
"What do you think?" Sylvia's lips curved into a slight smile, a hint of amusement in her tone.
But that smile sent a chill down Zephyra's spine, who had been on the receiving end of her wrath recently.
"Goddess, I didn't mean to offend."
Instantly, her face fell, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.
...
Suddenly, a massive phantom appeared out of nowhere, its thousands of white feathers bristling with a chilling intent.
Its deep eyes, one black and one white, seemed to hold an endless void.
The overwhelming aura surged like a tidal wave, as if even the vast galaxy would pale in its presence.
Umbral Tyrant's pupils shrank in fear, overwhelmed by the immense pressure.
Every cell in his body screamed for him to flee.
But his legs trembled, his body cold and stiff, and he found himself completely paralyzed.
Meanwhile, Timothy, in his Celestial Feather Form, pointed downward.
Amidst a sky full of feathers, the entire hall shook violently, erupting with a thunderous roar.
"Boom!"
Sunflare Elder and several others were horrified and quickly retreated.
As the dust settled, they clearly saw a deep crater where Umbral Tyrant had been standing, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading outwards. All that was left was a nearly unrecognizable crushed body.
"One strike to kill Umbral Tyrant?"
That also meant that the strange power that had appeared could just as easily have killed any of them.
"No, wait!"
They quickly realized something.
If that young man who had just fled into the hall truly had the power to kill them with one strike, why would he run away?
Rather, that strike had the terrifying power of an Emperor-level fighter.
If he was really that powerful, why would he care about a minor place like the Valley of the Undead?
There had to be something fishy about it!
"That kid can't be that strong. Our alliance stands. Once we kill him, we'll fight over the heritage in the temple!" Sunflare Elder quickly made a decision, given the urgency.
With Umbral Tyrant dead and the black-robed elder's spirit broken, only he and five others like Feydran remained.
The others looked tense but ultimately nodded in agreement, gritting their teeth. They had all paid a hefty price to sneak into this secret realm, and they weren't about to let it go to waste.
"Stick close to me. If we five join forces, we might still have a chance!"
As Sunflare Elder spoke, the group huddled together, each holding their most powerful artifacts.
They were betting that Timothy didn't have the strength to strike again!
Inside the dark temple, they couldn't sense any presence.
The empty and dark environment only heightened their anxiety.
What secrets did this young man, who appeared to be in his teens or twenties, hide?
Even as they spread their spiritual senses throughout the hall, they couldn't detect his presence at all.
The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive, a faint light barrier enveloping the group as they moved slowly forward.
Suddenly, a stone mysteriously dropped from nowhere, bouncing twice on the ground before stopping in front of them.
An eerie silence followed.
"It's a trap!" Sunflare Elder suddenly shouted, his sword slashing through the air.
"Crack."
In mid-air, the sword shattered.
Before them, the air filled with white feathers, the intent to kill overwhelming.
Endless phantom images filled the temple completely.
Those eerie, black and white eyes chilled everyone to the bone.
The five exerted all their strength, using every technique they could to resist.
But under the crushing force of the mighty spiritual power, they couldn't stir even a ripple.
With one finger pointed, dust flew up.
In the echoing boom that shook heaven and earth, carrying boundless fear, the five were crushed into nothingness in an instant.
[You have shattered Sunflare Elder's spirit]
[You have shattered the lone practitioner Feydran's spirit]
...
[After shattering the spirits of 7 Mystic Core cultivators, you receive a reward: +7 skill points, and may select one Epic-level technique]
Having borrowed 10 skill points from the system and only recouping 7, Timothy felt a bit shortchanged.
However, the power of the Celestial Feather Form was indeed formidable, even if it could only be used once.
With a single strike, it matched the full force of a Transcendence Realm powerhouse.
"How did you do that, are you... really just at the Energy Foundation level?" Emily was stunned by the scene before her, unable to believe it.
She had clearly felt the immense pressure emitted by the phantom, a terrifying oppressive force that was no less than that of Goddess Sylvia!
"Guess," Timothy didn't bother to answer, focusing instead on looting.
These guys indeed had a lot of valuable items on them. After collecting a heap of techniques, spiritual medicines, and magical artifacts, Timothy stuffed them all into a storage space he had acquired.
Emily stomped her foot in frustration, having anticipated that Timothy wouldn't bother with her.
Even her original appearance hardly piqued his interest, and now that she had used a disguise technique, it seemed like Timothy didn't even treat her as a woman!
Emily was very dissatisfied.
She was curious to see if this unromantic guy would show any emotion if he were to face Goddess Sylvia!