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When the sphere of purple light expanded to its limit, it contracted again toward the "Tiger Soul Blade" at its center. The entire process lasted less than half a second, and in that brief moment, ninety percent of the living beings in the city had been drained of their life force and perished. As the purple light contracted, the black magical energy, compressed once more, immediately burst forth in alternating waves. A black, semi-transparent energy wave erupted in all directions. Unlike the silent purple light, the black light was accompanied by countless thunderous explosions. Everything touched by the black light instantly shattered into pieces—whether palaces, towers, streets, or houses—all crumbled into rubble and sand.

Before the debris from the collapsed buildings could even touch the ground, the third wave of attack erupted. The "Tiger Soul Blade," now glowing purple once more, had absorbed the life force of all living beings in the city. The purple light, condensed on the blade, suddenly released all its power, transforming into a light source as dazzling as the sun. For a moment, all colors were indistinguishable. Along with the light, a massive shockwave and heat expanded. A bright sphere of light rapidly expanded into a colossal fireball hundreds of meters in diameter. Unleashed energy and heat erupted without restraint, the immense force even overtaking the previous wave of dark energy, easily bursting the dark energy into rings of light, like a balloon, filling the entire city.

This scene, witnessed by Jin Luosha from the distant mountains, would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The cataclysmic explosion instantly leveled the city. The sound was so overwhelming that it defied hearing and description. A mushroom cloud, wreathed in black and purple light, soared thousands of meters into the sky. The clouds above seemed like burning cotton, igniting a massive circular hole hundreds of kilometers wide, letting sunlight pour down onto this tragic battlefield.

When the dust settled, all that remained on the ground was a massive circular crater, its surface littered with countless red, glass-like crystals—the result of rocks melted by intense heat.

When human reinforcements arrived two days later, the centuries-old elven city, "Red Glory Royal City," a fiery red architectural marvel, had vanished from the world forever. Over a hundred thousand residents perished, leaving no survivors. The only structure left standing was a circular underground chamber, the "Lonely Chamber," protected by the "Staff of Solitude," which could lock time and space. It was the endpoint of the return of the "Holy Emblem." Thanks to the power left behind by the Twelve Sages, it narrowly survived the devastating explosion. However, even so, it had been completely looted. The temporal and spatial barriers that once protected it were gone, and all the items inside, including the "Staff of Solitude" and the "Holy Spear Quinilon," had disappeared without a trace. Only an empty altar remained, surrounded by the corpses of a hundred dead mages.

The perpetrator of this tragedy had long since fled, leaving no trace.

PS: Is it too verbose to describe the power of a single strike in eight thousand words? Ahem, sorry, this is somewhat in memory of the "Devouring Heaven" blade technique that Chi You in "Divine Weapon Chronicles" never successfully executed. But rest assured, there won't be such indulgent and drawn-out plots in the future. It seems that this move, "Reopening the Chaos Purple Radiance Calamity," won't have many opportunities to appear before Chen Xuanfeng becomes a Sword Saint. Its true purpose is merely to counter the ultimate power of the "Hero" sword, which will appear in its perfect form in the future.

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In the Xinghai Continent, there is no saying similar to "Fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortune never comes alone" from Chen Xuanfeng's previous life. All matters of luck are attributed to the will of the gods, so such sayings might be considered disrespectful to the divine. However, in September of the 1046th year of the War God's Calendar, or the 387th year of the Human Light Calendar, a series of calamities plunged almost the entire human world into fear and confusion. People began to wonder: Have the gods abandoned humanity?

First, the young Sword Saint, the "Red Sun Knight," died mysteriously in battle, sparking a conflict between the "Mercenary Empire" and the "Kuta Tribal Alliance." Then, the Temple Sword Saint, the "White Night Knight," who was escorting the "Ten Realms Red Lotus Sword," was ambushed and killed by the orc Sword Saint, the "Holy War Martial Emperor" Katherine. To make matters worse, on the same day, humanity's most important ally and strongest magical supporter, the blood elves, suffered a devastating blow. The royal capital, the "Red Glory Royal City," which had gathered nearly half of their population, was completely erased from existence by an unknown force. The loss of life, military strength, wealth, and culture was incalculable. The blood elves' accumulated treasures and ancient texts, stored for millennia, were plundered, and even the "Holy Spear Quinilon," representing the sacred power of the Light Temple, disappeared without a trace. The only clue was that the entire incident seemed related to the orcs. This event would inevitably affect the future balance of power between orcs and humans, having a profound impact on the future trajectory of the human world.

As if the gods felt that humanity's spirit had not been sufficiently tested, three nights later, in the desert within the territory of the "Mercenary Empire," another event occurred that would shock the human leadership to its core.

The desert was like snow, the moonlight like water.

Under the hazy moonlight, a simple traveler's camp was lit by a bonfire. A dozen desert knights sat around several bonfires, eating and resting in small groups. These men, covered in dust, clearly had endured a long journey. Half of them were dressed in the military attire of the "Mercenary Empire," while the rest wore adventurer's garb. Though clearly not from the same group, they cooperated, as if the military had hired the adventurers.

In the light of the fire, an elderly officer in his sixties was pointing at a map, discussing with two young adventurers.

"You're saying that west of the 'Scorpion Sand Valley,' there's a path leading to the Sinking Star Grand Canyon? Such a thing isn't even recorded on the empire's military maps. I find it hard to believe your information," the old man said, shaking his head.

A red-haired youth sneered, "General, if the empire's military intelligence were reliable, would you still need our help? You should understand that ever since the military was taken over by the Treyde family, one of the four great families of the royal court, it has become nothing more than a tool for power struggles. The surveillance of internal family factions is pervasive, while actual preparations for war have nearly come to a halt. The maps you're using are probably from a decade ago, aren't they?"