The news spread like wildfire through the Immortal Alchemist Association.
At first, it came as a whisper from a passing scout near the outer ring of the Divine Herb Forest. Then, it was confirmed by a recording jade—the red light shimmering with unmistakable imagery:
A young man with a beast veil mask, trapped atop the Fire Mountain, staring into the eyes of a massive Naga Ancestor whose hood alone veiled half the sky.
"Kent... is finished," one of the elders whispered with a cold smile.
Inside the association's soaring jade hall, murmurs grew like a rising tide. The elite alchemists, wearing their long robes embroidered with celestial flames, gathered around translucent projection mirrors showing blurred glimpses of the event. A serpent coiling the entire Fire Mountain. The sacred Nagasthra binding a lone youth in the sky. The unmistakable hiss of a Primordial Naga's fury.
Many among them rejoiced quietly.
"Finally... the Fire Mountain reclaims what is hers."
