The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2497: A body at the Late Alpha-Omega Overgod Rank

With a swift movement of their hands, the treasures changed owners.

Almost immediately, wide smiles appeared on the faces of both the Nirvana Crown Prince and Cain.

The Nirvana Crown Prince clenched his fists in excitement as he stared at the fragment of chest armor now resting in his hand. Obtaining this treasure turned the entire incursion into the Eighth Realm into a massive victory. Even if the campaign ended now, he would return to the Seventh Realm as a hero.

For a moment, the Crown Prince was tempted to equip the chest piece immediately, connecting it with the fragments he was currently using.

Unfortunately, that was impossible.

The fragments that emerged across the Seventh Realm were connected to the legs and spine, but they lacked the linking piece required to connect with the chest armor. Without that component, there was no way to forge synergy between them and activate the new fragment.

Still, merely possessing this fragment was already an enormous gain.

As for Cain, he was equally thrilled with the exchange.

Now that he held the Nirvana Heart in his own hands—rather than merely observing it through the memories of others—he could confirm that it was exactly what he had been searching for.

Yet the moment of satisfaction did not last long.

The tension in the room quickly began to rise again.

Cain could clearly sense the wariness and restrained hostility within the soul of the Nirvana Crown Prince. The man was ready to strike the instant Cain attempted to leave the stronghold with the Nirvana Heart.

Of course, Cain had no intention of escaping.

After all, he wanted to be here.

"Where is my residence?" Cain asked calmly.

The Nirvana Crown Prince visibly relaxed when he heard those words. He raised his hand and pointed toward a towering structure in the distance.

It was a massive tower rising high above the stronghold walls. Dense streams of energy flowed through it like invisible rivers, making it one of the most stable and powerful locations within the fortress.

Even if the Nirvana Crown Prince disliked the Red King’s arrogant attitude, there was no reason to provoke unnecessary hostility—at least not until he returned to the Seventh Realm with the fragment of the Sacred Treasure.

Cain glanced at the tower and nodded, satisfied with the accommodation.

However, before leaving, he slowly turned back toward the Nirvana Crown Prince. His eyes were colder than the void itself.

"If someone dares approach my residence without my authorization," Cain said calmly, "or attempts to spy on it, I will kill them."

It was not a threat.

It was not a warning.

It was a declaration.

Even within another man’s stronghold, Cain enforced his own rules—and he would not hesitate to take the life of anyone who violated them.

Although that behavior angered the Nirvana Crown Prince, it was also perfectly consistent with the personality he had observed from the Red King so far. Therefore, he simply nodded without arguing.

With that settled, Cain turned and began walking toward the distant tower.

Meanwhile, the Nirvana Crown Prince immediately began issuing commands.

His orders spread across the entire Eighth Realm, reaching every warrior of the Immortal Nirvana Kingdom participating in the campaign.

Their defenses needed to be strengthened.

However, recalling everyone back to the stronghold at once would raise suspicion. Instead, the Crown Prince began gradually shifting the battlefield closer to the fortress while subtly driving his forces back toward it.

Step by step, the warriors of the Immortal Nirvana Kingdom were being repositioned closer to the stronghold.

The sudden strategic changes confused many members of the Royal Blutlinie within the army—especially after the mysterious arrival of the Red King—but the Nirvana Crown Prince offered no explanation.

From the tower, Cain observed the growing waves of suspicion and confusion spreading through the stronghold.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

No matter what the Nirvana Crown Prince did now, everything was already in motion.

"I need to become as powerful as possible before the battle begins," Cain muttered to himself.

Sharp focus filled his eyes as he looked down at the Nirvana Heart.

Taking a deep breath, Cain extended his power outward. Waves of karmic threads spread across the entire tower while golden radiance from the Flow enveloped the surroundings, forming layers of isolation.

As for the Power of Chaos, he kept it hidden for the time being.

Once he was certain that no one could disturb him, Cain lifted the crimson fruit covered in violet lines and swallowed it in a single gulp.

The effect was immediate.

Nirvana Fire erupted from his body.

Violet flames burst forth with a power and intensity far greater than the rebirth flames wielded by the Nirvana Crown Prince. They spread through every inch of Cain’s body, burning with the profound essence of life and death.

Yet the flames neither harmed nor aided him.

Cain lacked the bloodline of the Immortal Nirvana Royal Family, so the Nirvana Heart had nothing within him to resonate with.

But that was exactly when Cain’s eyes began to glow.

He pushed his Primordial Essence to its absolute peak, drawing upon the insights engraved within it regarding the Samsara Immortal Body.

The Nirvana Flames began to tremble.

Cain’s consciousness plunged deep into the principles hidden within the fire, unraveling the fundamental laws that governed its existence.

Hours passed.

Slowly, the flames began to change.

They started revolving around Cain’s body in cycles.

One cycle brought a period of destruction and death.

The next cycle brought life and creation.

Individually, these forces were powerful—but they were not transcendent.

However, the insights of the Samsara Immortal Body were not the only thing Cain had brought with him from the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe.

There was something else.

The most powerful technique he had ever obtained.

The Empyrean Natural Inheritance.

The Doomsday Art.

That technique revolved around cycles of destruction and reforging in order to temper and strengthen the body.

Using those principles—and the Nirvana Flames as a catalyst—Cain began tempering his Royal Blutlinie body.

In truth, everything he was doing now was based purely on theory.

The laws governing Paradise were different from those of the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe, and countless things could go wrong.

Yet it did not take long for excitement to appear in Cain’s eyes.

The cycle of destruction eradicated the flaws within his body, damaging every part of him.

Then the cycle of life and creation reforged those damaged areas, rebuilding them stronger than before and regenerating the missing pieces.

Again and again, the process repeated.

The excitement within Cain’s heart continued to grow stronger.

Because he could clearly feel it.

His body was beginning to strike against the barrier separating him from the Late Alpha-Omega Overgod Rank.