Chapter 135: The Salvatore Family Has Arrived

The Salvatore Family Has Arrived

"The Salvatore family is here!"

Jessica Dawn’s eyes lit up the instant she heard those words.

For the first time since the Azure Sovereign Kingdom’s arrival, the tension weighing upon her chest loosened slightly.

She turned toward the sky, her silver hair catching the mountain wind as it swept around her. Beneath the sunlight, her red eyes carried a trace of expectation.

Please...

Let them surprise everyone.

She had heard too much about the Sovereign Salvatore Family.

She had heard the rumors.

She had heard Adrian Valerius speak of them with unusual caution.

And she had personally witnessed enough strange things surrounding that family to understand one simple truth—

The Salvatore Family was not ordinary.

A figure suddenly leaped down from the back of a Divine White Pegasus.

BOOM!!

The instant his feet touched the ground, the entire mountain seemed to tremble.

Dust erupted beneath him.

Cracks spread outward from the soles of his boots, crawling across the stone like lightning.

Then—

Whoosh!

Crimson flames erupted from the earth.

One after another, enormous lotus flowers made entirely of pure flame bloomed around him. Their petals curled upward, releasing waves of scorching heat that distorted the air.

The temperature around Red Cliff Mountain climbed sharply.

Several nearby cultivators instinctively stepped backward.

The young man stood calmly in the center of the burning lotuses.

Black hair.

Black eyes.

A composed expression.

His robes fluttered gently in the heated wind, yet his posture remained perfectly steady.

There was no need for an introduction.

The aura alone told everyone present exactly what they were looking at.

True spiritual power had already manifested outside his body.

He had stepped into the Astral Manifestation Realm.

The expressions of Lucas Bluestone and his brothers changed instantly.

The Fourth Prince’s genial smile disappeared.

The Fifth Prince’s lazy expression froze.

Even the Seventh Prince’s eyes widened.

This person...

Was already in the Astral Manifestation Realm.

But on the other side—

The prodigies of the Dawn Empire erupted into cheers.

"Our Dawn Empire still has such peerless prodigies!"

"You were looking for the Salvatore Family?"

The young man raised his eyes toward the three princes.

His voice remained calm.

"I am Austin Salvatore of the Salvatore Family—the Flame King..."

Behind him, the burning lotuses slowly rose into the sky.

One.

Ten.

A hundred.

The flames painted the mountain in crimson and gold.

Austin’s expression remained completely indifferent.

There was no arrogance in his face.

He didn’t need it.

His cultivation spoke for him.

The moment his identity was revealed, the surrounding crowd exploded.

"The Salvatore Family... impossible!!!"

"A mere minor house from this backwater Dawn Empire—how could it possibly nurture such a prodigy?! This is impossible!!"

Lucas Bluestone’s pupils contracted.

His heart pounded.

He had expected the Salvatore Family to possess powerful experts.

He had expected them to have some hidden trump card.

But a prodigy below the age limit who had already stepped into the Astral Manifestation Realm?

That was something else entirely.

The Azure Sovereign Kingdom had prepared carefully for this expedition.

They had brought three Half-Step Astral Manifestation prodigies.

They had believed that would be enough to crush the younger generation of the Dawn Empire.

Yet the Salvatore Family had immediately produced someone stronger.

Lucas gritted his teeth.

Before he could say anything—

BOOM!!

An incomparably terrifying Sword Intent suddenly exploded across the heavens.

The atmosphere changed.

The flames around Austin seemed to tremble for a moment beneath that overwhelming pressure.

The Sword Intent was cold.

Aloof.

Untouchable.

It stretched across the sky like the judgment of heaven itself, carrying an oppressive majesty that made countless cultivators instinctively lower their heads.

It was the Sword Principle of Heaven.

The Way of Heaven is Heartless.

A young Sword Emperor...

In the Astral Manifestation Realm?

A figure slowly descended from another Divine White Pegasus.

He was young.

Almost unbelievably young.

Black hair framed a handsome but cold face, while his black eyes carried a quiet sharpness that seemed completely out of place for his age.

The Sword Intent around him continued to spread.

"The Salvatore Family, Sword General Damien Salvatore..."

His youthful voice still carried the faint tone of a boy.

Yet the moment those words fell—

Everyone’s breathing nearly stopped.

Silence.

Complete silence.

What kind of divine family was the Salvatore Family?

How could a family that had risen to prominence so recently produce one terrifying monster after another?

The young man’s voice sounded barely older than that of a teenager.

Yet he had already grasped Sword Intent.

He had already entered the Astral Manifestation Realm.

Such a prodigy was practically unheard of.

Lucas’s face grew even uglier.

One.

Two.

The Azure Sovereign Kingdom’s three prodigies had been so confident moments ago.

Now, that confidence was beginning to crack.

But before anyone could fully recover—

WHOOSH—

A wave of killing intent surged across the mountain.

It came suddenly.

Violently.

Like an ancient sea crashing over the heavens.

The surrounding air became heavy.

Every cultivator felt the hairs on their arms rise.

Something had appeared behind Lucas Bluestone and his brothers.

No one had seen him arrive.

No one had sensed his approach.

He simply stood there.

A young man with black hair and crimson-red eyes.

His expression was empty.

His presence was almost nonexistent.

Yet the moment everyone noticed him, their hearts began pounding.

He held a simple, unadorned blade.

Nothing about the weapon looked extraordinary.

Then—

Bang!

The blade slammed into Lucas’s face.

CRACK!!

The impact exploded with terrifying force.

Half of Lucas’s face split open.

Blood sprayed across the ground.

The force sent him staggering sideways as flesh tore and fragments of bone became visible beneath the ruined skin.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

The scream that came from Lucas’s throat was raw and completely devoid of dignity.

His carefully maintained smile twisted into something hideous.

"Fourth Brother!"

The Fifth and Seventh Princes reacted instantly.

They tried to rush toward him.

But they stopped.

Not because they suddenly regained their senses.

Because something ancient had locked onto them.