Chapter 437

Swoosh-

The quiet sound of waves drifted in through the window. It was dawn, and Li Kenxie was silently gazing at the familiar sight—a scene he’d grown tired of over the past few months in Babel.

“...”

The winter sea wind assaulted his entire body, then scattered in every direction. It was a wind that would have chilled anyone to the bone.

But Li Kenxie felt nothing. No biting cold that stung his skin. No ensuring warmth surging from within. Nothing registered at all.

Feeling that typical, hollow emptiness, Li Kenxie began recalling memories of a time before the emergence of the Towers of Heroes and the Abyss of Demons—

Flicker-

A faint crackle of flame suddenly echoed in his ears. Turning his head, Li Kenxie spotted an old lamp sitting on the table, something Caden had sent a few weeks ago without warning. The strange lamp, a symbol of a person’s life, contained a flickering flame—which was now burning precariously.

“...”

Knowing what that meant, Li Kenxie wordlessly stared at the flame of his disciple’s life rushing toward death, weakening further and further.

Woong!

When the crimson light faded, the flame changed; it turned transparent. Seeing it, Li Kenxie’s eyes widened at the

Sacred Flame

Caden had left behind. He slowly reached out toward the old lamp, and a portion of the final Sacred Flame that Caden lit seeped into his body.

Fwoosh-

Then the lamp went out, sending the room into darkness once more.

“...”

As Li Kenxie looked down at the now cold, extinguished lamp in his hand, a bitter expression appeared on his face.

“I see... so you’ve managed to find it.”

Before him, who had been searching for decades, his disciple had discovered what he desperately wanted. And after revealing the path, his disciple had left first.

Understanding everything now, Li Kenxie set the old lamp down and stepped back into the lodging.

“...”

Finding Li Fei fast asleep in the bed, Li Kenxie carefully lifted her into his arms, making sure not to wake her. Turning around, he stepped out of the building and headed toward the center of Babel—

“Good morning.”

Ludwig appeared before him without warning. His arrival was so subtle that it was almost as if he had been standing there all along.

“I can’t say it’s a good one for me,” Li Kenxie replied, not batting an eye at Ludwig’s appearance.

“Is that so? Perhaps it’s just because you woke up earlier than usual. That’s just how habits are...”

“Are you here to stop me?”

At Li Kenxie’s direct question, Ludwig closed his mouth... then slowly nodded.

“Yes. Somehow, I have ended up here.”

“I guess I have lived long enough. To think I would get to see you getting bossed around.”

“Oh? And you’re one to talk?”

“At least I was on a somewhat equal footing.”

That’s why I have no reason to hold back with what I’m about to do.

Reading Li Kenxie’s expression, Ludwig let out a bitter sigh.

“Do you really have to do this?”

“For now, yes.”

“I see... In that case, think again.”

Ludwig’s stare became ice cold.

“Wouldn’t that be better than dying here?”

Ludwig made it crystal clear. If Li Kenxie tried to leave, he was going to stop him—even if he had to kill him.

It was an outrageously arrogant thing to say, even if it was between two fellow Perfect Ones, but Li Kenxie didn’t argue.

He already knew very well who would prevail if they fought at full strength.

“Better than dying, huh...”

Repeating Ludwig’s words quietly to himself, Li Kenxie remained calm despite Ludwig seeming ready to strike at any moment.

“That’s something I should be saying.”

Rumble!

A massive tremor echoed throughout all of Babel. Flinching, Ludwig immediately looked elsewhere, sensing the source was not from the man in front of him, but somewhere else.

This is...

Beneath Babel, inside the chamber where the Vermillion Bird roosted, a massive sphere of transparent flames had appeared. From it, an enormous amount of energy had surged out and spread throughout Babel via the surrounding pipelines, causing the tremor just now.

“I did as you asked and passed the power of Anatta to the Vermillion Bird. But it seems it still can’t fully control it yet—only when I give the order.”

“...”

“The Sacred Flames that bloomed from the Vermilion Bird have already spread across all of Babel. If you and I fight now...”

Even if it was almost guaranteed that Ludwig would be the one to come out victorious if the two were to fight, Li Kenxie would ensure that the entirety of Babel was taken out along with him.

Understanding that too, Ludwig’s expression immediately darkened as mana laced with killing intent spread through the air. The ambient mana didn’t just apply pressure—it frayed the mind itself with a viscous, crushing malice.

Li Kenxie’s use of Babel as leverage had made Ludwig show his true terror, and as a result, Li Fei, held in Li Kenxie’s arms, turned deathly pale.

“Ugh...”

Trapped in a surreal fear, unable to fully wake or fall back asleep, she writhed in distress.

“It’s okay.”

Li Kenxie gently patted her back.

“Go back to sleep. This will all be over soon.”

Flicker-

Blooming from his hand, a Sacred Flame flowed into her back as Li Fei’s expression gradually relaxed before she drifted back into peaceful slumber.

Confirming that she had calmed, Li Kenxie looked up again at Ludwig.

“Think it over, Ludwig.”

“...”

“Wouldn’t it be better to trust him, rather than let Babel be destroyed completely?”

“...”

Receiving Ludwig’s silent stare, Li Kenxie drew even more power from the Vermillion Bird’s flame. In response, all of Babel trembled once again as Ludwig’s mana surged preparations of spatial magic to counter—

“...Whew.”

The surging ambient mana vanished in a blink.

“What do you want?”

“Send me to where he is.”

“If I send you there, what will happen to the Sacred Flames spread throughout Babel?”

“It will all disappear soon, so you don’t need to worry. But the Vermillion Bird might go out of control; someone will need to keep it in check.”

Ludwig let out a silent sigh. Once again, he realized he truly was bound to Babel.

Was this his plan from the start?

He had loosened surveillance to keep Li Kenxie in place, but that leniency had come back to bite him. Now understanding that neither his mistake nor Li Kenxie’s decision could be undone, Ludwig fixed his gaze on him.

“Do you truly believe that the choice you’re making right now is the right one?”

Despite being well aware of the fundamental principle of Perfect Ones—that for those who had conquered the Tower of Heroes, there was simply no such thing as a wrong decision—Ludwig still felt the need to ask.

“It

has

to be right.”

“...Is that so.”

Feeling the depths of Li Kenxie’s resolve from those flat words, Ludwig activated his spatial magic.

“In that case, I shall let judgment fall to the other side.”

Whoosh!

Li Kenxie vanished with a wave of Ludwig’s hand, instantly settling the turbulent energy that had filled Babel.

And in the place where Li Kenxie once stood, the brightening dawn filled Ludwig’s view.

“...I’m sorry.”

The soft murmur disappeared into the air.

***

Hearing the report of a large amount of energy detected at Babel, Se-Hoon briefly considered the different possibilities: an attack by the Demon Forces, unexpected movement from Ludwig, or even a malfunction in the Tower of Heroes.

But he quickly dismissed every single one. Deep down, he already knew the exact answer.

“High-energy anomaly resolved. Spatial teleportation spotted in progress—”

Boom!

Before the Warhound’s report could finish, a thunderous roar erupted.

Detecting the source, Se-Hoon quickly looked up and saw that a massive rift had opened in midair. However, Ludwig’s stealthily cast spatial seal—meant to hold whatever was coming through—could be seen desperately preventing the exit of its target.

Blaze!

Alas, a surge of Sacred Flames burst out of the rift, melting everything in its path. Whether it was the seal or the surrounding space, all of it was incinerated.

Then, from the blackened fissure, Li Kenxie stepped out.

“What a pain...”

After ordering the Vermillion Bird to go on a rampage to prevent any further interference from Ludwig, he calmly looked around.

There was nothing. All that was there was a lone standing Earth Weaving Loom and... a person, frozen in place, standing in front of it.

“...”

“...”

The two locked eyes in silence for a long moment—until Se-Hoon broke it.

“You son of a bitch.”

He didn’t know what had happened in Babel, but the fact Li Kenxie showed himself now meant only one thing: he’d sided with Caden.

Despite Se-Hoon’s eyes burning with disgust, Li Kenxie didn’t design a response. He surveyed his surroundings instead.

“So this is the core of the Offering Ritual...”

Although the aftermath of the battle had left it heavily damaged, he had already reviewed the schematics beforehand and knew there would be no problem.

Recalling them, Li Kenxie lightly tapped the ground with his right foot.

Whoosh!

Crimson lines of flames spread outward from that point, reconstructing the ritual.

Wooom!

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

In an instant, the Sacred Flames had swept across the entire industrial zone and burned away the pitch-black darkness.

And at that moment, when the Offering Ritual was fully restored by the flames, the Seeker’s heart—fused into the ley lines in the earth—reacted violently.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Synchronizing with the entire network of ley lines, the heart began to throb violently as an overwhelming energy shook the surrounding land.

Things were turning south; Se-Hoon moved to intervene—

“Don’t.” Arriving beside him at some point, Li Kenxie calmly spoke. “If the Offering Ritual is forcibly canceled now, all the accumulated energy will be redirected to you, the administrator.”

Se-Hoon looked down. He could feel the full force of the Sacred Flames merging with the ley lines.

“No matter how close to immortal you are right now, taking in this amount of Sacred Flames at once would be too much. And even if you manage to endure, you’d still have to fight me afterward.”

Li Kenxie gave him a deadpan look, clearly ready to attack at any moment.

“So try not to do anything stupid. Just stay put. It’ll be over soon.”

Knowing that he wasn’t speaking to an idiot, Li Kenxie calmly turned to activate the Offering Ritual, thinking that was enough of a warning.

“...”

Staring at Li Kenxie’s back, Se-Hoon watched silently.

“...I don’t get it.” He finally spoke. “Wouldn’t it be much safer to kill me first and

then

activate the ritual? Why go through all this trouble?”

“...”

“Is it because you’re not sure you can kill me? Do you think that I’ll obediently sit back out of fear if you warn me? Or... are you hoping I’ll somehow understand why you guys are doing all this after looking at the activation of the ritual?”

He could understand why Caden passed the authority to him. With every other method exhausted, the only option left had been to hand over the plan to him and buy time with a desperate gamble.

However, Li Kenxie’s choice to activate the ritual without killing him first was sloppy and inefficient—he couldn’t understand it.

He’s definitely up to something.

To completely suppress Li Kenxie right here and now, Se-Hoon needed to know why, exactly, Li Kenxie was acting the way he was.

He was determined to find out, so Se-Hoon calmly assessed the situation and focused on Li Kenxie’s reaction.

“That’s such a stupid question.”

But what he got was a look of disdain.

“When a kid does something dangerous, do you stop them by killing them?”

“...What?”

The unexpected analogy left Se-Hoon at a loss—only for him to understand a beat later.

Does he... does he think of the Offering Ritual in such trivial terms...?

The Offering Ritual was a forbidden ritual that sacrificed

hundreds of millions

to create a few pieces of equipment... and he was treating it like basic crafting...? The warped, utterly broken sense of morality sent a chill down Se-Hoon’s spine.

“You... What kind of bullshit are you—”

“Don’t overthink it. I don’t place as much value on your opinion as you assume.”

Unlike Caden, who had looked overjoyed when his ideals were realized, Li Kenxie remained utterly indifferent. There was no sense of anticipation or satisfaction—just nothing.

Unable to understand, Se-Hoon stared at him, confused.

“Then why...?”

“Because I think it’s worth trying. Isn’t that reason enough?”

At that, Se-Hoon finally understood.

All this time... I have never known who Li Kenxie truly was at all.

What he’d seen until now was merely the shell—the leftover remnants from when Li Kenxie was still human. His true self, the Sacred Craftsman, was a ruined being who felt nothing about even billions of lives.

Just... what kind of wish could shatter a man like this?

As if answering that unspoken question, Li Kenxie spoke once more. “For someone who’s almost guaranteed to conquer the Tower of Heroes one day, this will be a valuable experience. So don’t interfere and just watch quietly from there.”

Without another word, Li Kenxie stepped up to the Earth Weaving Loom and carefully laid the sleeping Li Fei in front of it.

Clack!

A part of the loom rose up and gently accepted Li Fei, drawing her into its frame.

Clank, clank.

Now merged with Li Fei, the Earth Weaving Loom drew power from the flame-infused land and wove a new ley line.

Simultaneously, a pillar densely etched with thousands of characters—the Pillar of Sacred Flame, the final key to activating the Offering Ritual—merged with the earth in its hidden location.

Infinite Nirvana: Flames of Anatta

A tsunami of Sacred Flames burst forth, spreading across the country with overwhelming force.