Ye Tian stood among the remains of the Justice Army, his gaze fixed upon them, his eyes burning with a silent, simmering rage.
His presence alone seemed to suck the warmth from the air, and the remaining soldiers trembled before him, feeling the unyielding weight of his power.
But the man who had nearly taken the old man's life was right at the front, his body shaking uncontrollably as he found himself under Ye Tian's deadly stare.
As Ye Tian's eyes met his, the soldier's knees buckled, and he collapsed, his face twisted in terror as he lost control, his entire body betraying him.
A dark stain spread across the front of his uniform as he whimpered, helpless.
A look of disgust crossed Ye Tian's face, and he smirked.
"You nasty little bastard," he muttered, his voice dripping with disdain as he took a step back, lifting off the ground.
He began to rise slowly, his form levitating above the ruins of the city, the dark energy swirling around him like a storm.
With each passing second, the aura grew denser, thicker, like a living force that pulsed with his heartbeat.
It was as though his body, which had been drained of power for so long, was now refilling with an unending stream of qi, the dormant energy within him roaring back to life.
The Justice Army soldiers looked up, their faces pale with horror as they watched him ascend.
His figure was framed by the storm clouds gathering above, the dark sky casting shadows that flickered across his face.
The dark energy surrounding him solidified, forming into a spectral armor that clung to him like shadows, two horns of swirling black flame curling up from his head, giving him the unmistakable appearance of a demon.
Ye Tian looked down, his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin as he surveyed the terrified faces of his enemies, a look of pure, casual indifference on his face.
"Now then," he mused aloud, his voice a low, rumbling purr that sent shivers down their spines.
"How should I kill all of you?"
He tilted his head, considering them with a look of almost childlike curiosity.
"Shall I crush you all in one blow, wipe you out with this city? But that would be far too quick."
The soldiers flinched, their bodies stiffening as his gaze moved across them.
"Or perhaps," he continued thoughtfully...
"one by one, letting each of you feel it in turn... but no, that would take too long."
Then, his expression brightened, a gleam of twisted excitement sparking in his eyes as a wicked smile curved his lips.
"Ah, I know. A quick death that feels like an eternity of suffering."
The soldiers' faces turned ashen as they felt the pressure of his power intensify, pressing down on them like the weight of a thousand mountains.
Ye Tian raised his hand, his fingers curling as he summoned the energy that lay dormant within him, the air around him crackling with anticipation.
His voice cut through the silence, commanding and cold, as he spoke the words that would summon the oldest and most terrifying power in existence.
"Origin Flame of Chaos, I call forth your existence. Heed my call."
The words reverberated through the air, carried on a surge of dark energy that shook the heavens themselves.
The clouds above swirled and thickened, gathering from every corner of the sky... not just above him, but stretching across the entire world, an unending mass of storm clouds that loomed like a harbinger of death.
Lightning crackled within the clouds, illuminating the darkness with bursts of blinding light, the thunder so loud it shook the very earth.
It was a storm unlike any other, a storm that could only come from the depths of chaos itself, from the very origin of existence.
And then, a cold, ancient voice echoed from within the storm, a voice as old as the universe, filled with a power that made even the bravest mortals tremble.
"Who dares to utter my name? Who is arrogant enough to call upon his death so openly?"
The voice was filled with disdain, its tone haughty and thunderous as lightning surged through the clouds, illuminating the world in flashes of blinding white.
Every being across the land... mortal, immortal, and hidden... felt the weight of the entity's presence.
Even the most powerful cultivators in the deepest, most hidden corners of the realm felt a chill of pure fear ripple down their spines.
For the Origin Flame of Chaos was not merely a force. It was the first power, the origin of creation itself, the entity from which all existence flowed.
Long before the principles of yin and yang, long before time and space, there had been only chaos... the void from which this entity had emerged.
Above, lightning struck the earth with furious abandon, the very heavens trembling under the wrath of the Origin Flame.
It roared with fury, its voice echoing across the world like the call of an avenging god.
Ye Tian's gaze never wavered, his lips twitching with a faint, amused smile as he looked up at the sky.
A vein pulsed on his forehead as his eyes narrowed, his expression hardening.
"It's me, you arrogant bastard... " he muttered, his voice laced with both anger and excitement.
The Origin Flame seemed to recoil at his words, the lightning intensifying, each strike more violent than the last. Its voice rose, thick with anger as the storm swelled in response.
"Who dares to use such filthy words toward me? Whose demise shall be swift and unforgiving—"
Before it could finish, Ye Tian's voice cut through the storm, calm and unbothered.
"Ye Tian. That's the name of the one who dared."
Silence followed, a stillness so profound it seemed to stop time itself.
The thunder ceased, the lightning held back, and the swirling clouds paused mid-motion, as though the universe itself had frozen in shock.
For a moment, all was quiet.
Then, a hesitant, almost bewildered sound filled the sky, as if the entity were struggling to comprehend what it had just heard.
"Eh…?" the voice uttered, a hint of disbelief coloring its tone.
There was a pause, followed by a nervous laugh, as if the entity couldn't quite believe the audacity of the mortal before it.
"No… no way. That monster's dead! You're not really… are you? What is this nonsense?! How dare a filthy mortal joke about such things!"
The voice, now laced with a mixture of anger and bewilderment, thundered across the heavens.
"Do you truly have a death wish? Show yourself, if you dare, so that I may end your pathetic existence!"
The storm clouds gathered even tighter, twisting and contorting as a massive eye began to take shape, forming from the very essence of the storm itself.
It was an eye vast as the sky, its surface swirling with a purple hue, ringed by a golden, divine light that radiated an intimidating, otherworldly power.
The eye opened, scanning the earth below, its gaze filled with an ancient malevolence as it searched for the impudent mortal who had summoned it.
But then, as it finally found Ye Tian, its movement stilled, the light within it flickering with a glint of recognition.
The black aura surrounding him, the demonic horns that curled from his head, the spectral armor of darkness... it was unmistakable.
The Origin Flame fell silent, its presence faltering as realization dawned.
Ye Tian's lips twitched, a faint smile breaking through his anger as he raised his arm higher, his fingers outstretched.
His voice was calm, almost mocking, as he addressed the ancient entity before him.
"Well? How about it, you ancient sack of ash? Care to come down here yourself, or do you need me to make it easy for you?"
The Origin Flame's reaction was instant. The intimidating, thunderous voice that had once filled the sky was replaced by a high-pitched scream, an unmistakably feminine shriek that echoed through the heavens in a tone of pure, unadulterated fear.
"K-Kyaaaaargh!!!" the scream pierced the silence, a sound that sent a shockwave through the storm as the eye recoiled, the golden light dimming in a panicked retreat.
The Justice Army soldiers stared in utter disbelief, their minds struggling to process what they had just witnessed.
The very embodiment of chaos, an entity as old as existence itself, had been reduced to a state of pure terror at the sight of one man.
And that man was Ye Tian.