Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1435 A Different League!

Max paused momentarily right at the edge.

The contrast between the end of the first pillar and this dividing line stood out sharply. Here, the flame principles weren't scattered loosely anymore. They appeared thicker, more cohesive. The furious nature grew stronger, and the ruinous purpose grew keener.

In front, the hovering displays revealed that the top disciples had already entered the second pillar. Their forms looked like dim outlines shifting inside a richer red radiance.

Max's focus wasn't on the crushing warmth bearing down on him, or on the even breaths from Carl and Laura next to him. Instead, his eyes lifted to the suspended screens hanging high up in the dome.

A single display grabbed all his attention.

Across it, a silhouette dashed like a trail of scorching brightness along the golden route. Waves of flame creatures rushed at him, but they crumbled to nothing before touching. The encircling blaze that hindered so many others seemed to split away from him on its own.

He showed no doubt. He didn't ease his speed. He pressed on as if the Path to Eternal Flames existed just for his ease.

That silhouette belonged to Zain Heron.

As Max and his companions lingered at the first pillar's border, and as the elite group of leading disciples had barely started navigating the second section, Zain Heron had finished traversing the whole third pillar.

The display indicated him nearing the fourth's gateway, where fires had turned into a thick scarlet inferno throbbing with ruinous force.

The disparity was immense.

Max's eyes tightened a bit while he studied the scene. Zain's motions flowed smoothly but burst with power, each stride matching a rush of fire that seemed to arise not just from his heritage, but from his core form. The blaze nearby didn't fight his presence. It blended with it seamlessly.

"Could this be the power of the Blazing Dragon Sovereign Body?" Max pondered silently.

The connection between his sacred form and the Source Bloodline showed plainly from afar. Zain didn't expend effort pushing back the flames. Rather, he drew them in and channeled them, boosting his drive further.

His Dragon Scales Transformation flashed momentarily on the display, not as a frantic shield but as a seamless part of himself. It felt like the Path to Eternal Flames welcomed him as kin.

Carl and Laura traced Max's stare skyward.

The instant they spotted the screen with Zain Heron, their faces shifted dramatically.

Carl's breath hitched briefly. Laura's eyes grew wide without thought.

They knew the tales. Every person in the Black Dragon Palace knew about Zain Heron. The mightiest outer disciple across all Thirty Six Halls. The owner of the Blazing Dragon Sovereign Body. The one who had crushed rivals in tournament after tournament.

Still, tales were one thing, and seeing it unfold was another.

Watching him close in on the fourth pillar while they geared up for the second hit them with a chilling truth.

The divide wasn't minor.

It was vast.

Zain Heron performed at a tier that left most outer disciples far behind. His speed wasn't just quicker. It crushed all. No doubt marked his progress, no effort showed in his stance. The fires that burdened others appeared to energize him.

Carl gulped softly, the prior resolve in his gaze fading a touch as the facts sank in.

Laura gripped her hands lightly, her stare hardening while she fought to stay steady.

If any disciple from the Thirty Six Halls could match him evenly, it was just one.

The Saintess in training, Isabella Lumin.

She alone held the promise to challenge his rule. She alone bore the Imperial Bloodline that might someday surpass even the flawless link of the Blazing Dragon Sovereign Body.

"Where's Isabella Lumin?" Max whispered as his gaze jumped from screen to screen. The dome brimmed with views from different parts of the Path to Eternal Flames, every display tracking various disciples' advances through the stages.

Zain Heron's form ruled multiple screens, his fiery shape slicing through the third pillar with unstoppable force.

"She ought to be close to Zain Heron," Max went on, his tone hushed yet reflective. "But I can't spot her anywhere."

Carl and Laura tracked his look, their eyes sweeping over the glowing projections overhead. They moved from display to display, hunting for any sign of the Saintess in training. Blazes thundered on the screens. Disciples battled on, some pushing ahead, others stumbling. Yet Isabella Lumin remained absent.

"Odd," Carl remarked with a faint scowl, his forehead creasing as he mulled it over. "Has she already gone past Zain Heron somehow?"

"That can't be," Laura shot back right away, her voice steady. "Isabella Lumin hasn't completely roused her Imperial Bloodline. Lacking the full emergence of that lineage, she couldn't possibly overtake Zain Heron. His Blazing Dragon Sovereign Body already syncs perfectly with his Source Bloodline."

Her logic held firm. Zain's supremacy rested on flawless unity. Isabella's promise loomed larger in concept, but it stayed partly asleep.

Max held off replying at first. His stare grew keener as he scrutinized the screens closer. He picked up on a faint trend.

He scanned the area around them and the overhead screens again before voicing it deliberately.

"These screens don't show figures at random," he stated. "I spot nearly every disciple in the trial except us and those in our 100-mile vicinity."

Carl's eyes flickered as he absorbed Max's observation. Laura's widened a fraction.

"So that implies…" Carl started.

"If Isabella Lumin isn't by Zain Heron, and she's missing from the front groups in the second pillar," Max wrapped up softly, "then she's got to be in our immediate area."

"You mean me?"

The voice rang out serene, crisp, and startlingly near.

Max whipped his head around.

A lithe form approached them down the golden path, her pace relaxed but firm. The surrounding flames didn't erupt wildly. They pulled back a bit, like they respected her. The golden ground under her feet gleamed gently with every footfall.

It was Isabella Lumin.

Her face stayed peaceful, her breaths even, and no tension marked her bearing. A soft shimmer of draconic power hovered near her like a faint aura, even without her projecting her presence strongly.

Carl and Laura stood taller on reflex as she neared.

The Saintess in training faced them, not leading with Zain Heron, not lagging behind, but strolling steadily in their midst.

Max's gaze locked with hers.

Face to face, he felt it distinctly.

The Imperial Bloodline inside her moved subtly, not forceful but immensely profound. It resembled an age-old stream running under still waters, held back yet immense.

And briefly, the sleeping craving in his own bloodline stirred again.

Yet this time, Max's face stayed unchanged. He refused to let the craving take hold.