Nexus Ascension: My Comprehension Defies the Heaven - Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Great Heavenly Fire Release
Grey and City Lord Albert stood far apart, yet the space between them warped violently.

Silver-purple Nexus energy surged around Grey, pressuring the incoming spiritual energy as faint circuit patterns flickered across his hands and body, blinking in and out of existence as he held his ground against his opponent.

Opposing him, Albert’s spiritual energy rolled like a roaring sea, pressing outward with overwhelming pressure.

A 3rd ranker’s power was no joke.

The sky and ground trembled under the sheer intensity of their released strength.

Even people far away, in other provinces, felt their presence, as if an invisible hand were squeezing the land and the sky itself.

Albert’s gaze sharpened, and his voice echoed directly inside Grey’s mind.

“Let’s take this somewhere else. If we continue here, the province will not survive. Maybe not even the surrounding provinces.”

Hearing this, Grey tilted his head, then nodded.

He had no objection.

He also did not want unnecessary deaths or disasters without reason.

He raised his hand and pointed north.

“The barren lands there. We’ll fight there,” Grey proposed.

The barren lands he referred to were filled with ruined cities, corrupted fields, and endless mountain ranges destroyed long ago.

It was the perfect battlefield for two powerhouses.

Even if destruction followed, it would only claim mountains and corruption fields.

Albert nodded. He had planned to suggest that location himself.

“Then, after you, City Lord Grey,” Albert gestured.

He didn’t want to take any risks. Although he trusted that Grey wouldn’t harm civilians, especially since the earlier sword strike was meant only to shatter the barrier, he still remained cautious.

He had sentimental attachment to his province. He could not allow it to crumble.

Grey shook his head.

“No. We go together.”

Albert frowned slightly.

“You don’t trust me?”

“No,” Grey replied plainly. “Why should I trust you, dumbass.”

He snorted.

“I don’t even know you!”

Dark lines spread across Albert’s face.

But on second thought, it made sense.

As they stood now, they were enemies. Asking someone to go ahead first was no different from saying,

“Go on. I’ll follow you and definitely stab you in the back.”

“Fine. We’ll go together,” Albert said with a sigh.

Of course, Grey wasn’t truly worried about being backstabbed. He had time stop.

With his perception, ambushing him was practically impossible.

Albert stared at him briefly, then added, “I am a man of honor. I do not strike from behind.”

Without another word, both figures shot northward.

They crossed the sky like falling stars, tearing through clouds as they headed toward the northern barren lands.

At the same time, Grey sent a silent command through his link with the infernals.

‘Engage the old men.’

The infernals moved instantly, flames blazing.

The elders sensed it and prepared for battle.

“Open the killing formation!”

…

On the other side, Albert’s aura surged higher as they flew.

“I know this battle is being broadcast to the entire Southern Region,” he said, his voice resonating through the air for a brief moment. “Today, I will show the Southern Region what a true 3rd ranker is capable of!”

How long had it been since a 3rd ranker appeared in the Southern Region?

Most had forgotten.

Others had never known.

They mistook rumors for truth and legends for exaggeration.

Now, he would finally show them the terror of a 3rd ranker.

Hearing this, Grey smiled.

“Then I won’t hold back either.”

The instant the words left his mouth, Nexus energy rolled out of his body like a raging sea.

Boom!

Grey accelerated violently, air distorting as his speed shattered the sound barrier again and again. Not even the fastest fighter jet from his old world could compare.

“Good!” Albert shouted, energy trailing behind him like a blazing comet. “Give it everything you have, City Lord Grey. Defeating a 3rd ranker is no easy feat!”

As his words fell—

The two collided.

Boom! Whrmmm!

Their fists met with terrifying momentum.

The land beneath them shattered instantly. Shockwaves ripped outward as distant mountains trembled and collapsed.

Both figures were sent flying backward, carving long trenches through the air.

Grey stabilized himself midair.

Circuit-like silver-purple patterns spread across his body, glowing brighter as a mechanical halo formed above his head, like an angel revealing its authority.

Seeing this, Albert did not hesitate.

His hands moved in rapid succession, seals forming with practiced precision.

“Fire Release!”

Immediately, several lion-shaped flames burst into existence, roaring as they expanded at terrifying speed.

In mere moments, they grew to colossal proportions, each one dwarfing entire cities as they descended from the sky.

“Interesting,” Grey grinned.

Nexus energy surged violently from his two elixir fields, twitching and condensing as air itself began to collapse.

In the next instant, a black-purple singularity formed between him and the incoming flames.

“Nexus Convergence!”

The moment the words were spoken, the purple black hole swallowed everything in its path.

The black hole pulsed once.

Then it exploded.

The sky tore apart as shockwaves ripped through the battlefield, annihilating corruption fields and pulverizing mountains into dust.

Just then, a familiar notification rang out in his mind.

[Your comprehension defies the heavens! By observing Fire Release, you have comprehended Great Heavenly Fire Release by merging it with Heavenly Fire.]

Grey’s eyes flashed as he dodged Albert’s follow-up strike effortlessly.

Time froze for an instant.

His body shifted just enough for the fist to miss by a hair’s breadth.

‘Fire Release again,’ Grey thought.

City Lord Brown had used it before during their battle, when he suppressed Grey inside a small moon using earth seals before nearly punching him apart with fire.

Grey had gained insight into the spell back then, but had not fully comprehended it.

He didn’t need to.

His comprehension filtered what mattered and discarded what didn’t.

He already possessed Heavenly Fire, so he had believed Fire Release unnecessary.

Most of his enemies relied purely on brute force.

Energy beams. Raw output. No techniques worth copying.

Or perhaps he simply eliminated them too quickly to gain anything.

So far, he had only truly stolen from Zeryth, the abyssal being he fought in Nova City.

Aside from that, he had no opportunity.

He believed it was related to the region itself.

The Southern Region was a backwater place.

Immortal techniques were rare.

Even a 2nd rank release was uncommon.

Now that Fire Release had merged with Heavenly Fire, it no longer carried a rank limit. Its ceiling depended entirely on the evolver.

Great Heavenly Fire Release required lower cost, had wider range, and possessed far greater destructive potential.

Grey laughed softly.

“Since that’s the case, let’s test it, shall we?”

He smiled.

“Watch closely, City Lord Albert. Don’t get burned.”

He formed the seal.

Boom!

Heavenly fire erupted from his body, its colors shifting violently as if reality itself could not decide on a hue.

Purple.

Gold.

Black.

White.

They rotated endlessly.

As the colors stabilized, the flames twisted and took shape.

Eastern dragons rose into the sky, vast and majestic.

For a split second, the world fell silent as they swallowed the heavens with overwhelming power.

The temperature spiked instantly.

A nearby mountain began to melt uncontrollably under the heat of the heavenly flames.

Albert’s pupils shrank.

“This…!”