The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

Annand let out a cold snort—it was indeed the trial he had set for Arthur. If he couldn't endure, didn't possess enough will, he didn't deserve to be his son, nor did he deserve to inherit the Sun lineage...

Suddenly, a pure white flame of intense heat flared up in Grand Duke's hands—a heritage passed down from the era of the Sun Knight, the spiritual embodiment of all ancestors, known as the Sun Fire. Only those with an unyielding spirit of survival could earn the Sun Fire's acknowledgment.

"My son, allow me to show you our family's secret supreme technique. This move is the very manifestation of our ancestral knights' spirits. It is with this skill and spirit that our lineage has been passed down generation to generation. For thirty thousand years, our bloodline has never broken,"

"Behold...."

As the Sun Fire emerged, Annand chanted the flame's name with solemn, commanding gravity—the King of Ten Thousand Flames—

"Dari People."

Dad, you fucking can't do this, damn it!

So the secret supreme technique of my family is the Dari People! The knight's spirit of my ancestors is just fucking the Dari People!

Not even sparing your own son, huh?!

No wonder our family could pass down through generations; be any more unbreakable, and it'd be a miracle!

The moment Arthur heard Annand utter the words 'Dari People,' the last bit of hope in his heart completely shattered. He never expected his father to be such a beastly, demonic figure. The perfect and majestic image of his father completely collapsed in his heart.

Still...

... he absolutely must not give up. Just this once, he must not surrender. If he did, something important would be taken from him!

He must not lose consciousness!

Lose consciousness, and he'd be screwed!

The greatest father-son battle in history thus began.

Arthur's will to survive surged stronger than ever before. The endless Sun Flame engulfed his body, the white hot blaze scorching his shell and roasting his soul—such torment far exceeded the limits of human imagination. Yet still, against all odds, Arthur's soul endured, stubbornly holding on within the boundless Sun Flame.

"I have understood your intentions.... But I... I will never give up!"

Persistence,

All he had left was persistence.

He absolutely, could not give up.

For the dignity of man, for the glory of the Sun Knight!

Witnessing this scene, the Esoteric Sect Followers were tearful, especially when they heard the sacrilegious and domineering words 'Dari People' from Annand. Many Chaotic Cultists were almost tearing their flags in excitement; this disorderly upheaval, ethical inversion, and class breakdown were precisely the chaotic spectacle they longed to see—the most marvelous performance of the century!

Meanwhile, the Followers' respect and awe for the Chaotic Ladder, the architect behind the curtains, soared to new heights.

All of this was surely orchestrated by the youth before them.

As the situation had unfolded, they realized everything—the reason why the gathering was deliberately located opposite the Sun estate—it was all part of a grand scheme.

It was to purposely provoke the Grand Duke of the Sun, forcing him to assert his starry dominance over his son, to tempt with allure, to draw out the Sun Fire,

Then, let the Serpent of Pain, which had possessed Arthur's body, inherit this flame and bring the spark of the Sun into the embrace of the Esoteric Sect.

The plan was foolproof.

Mr. An Su, unfazed, watched the Esoteric Sect Followers, his gaze shifting away silently to behold Arthur, tormented by the Sun Fire. He felt as if something was stuck in his throat; from which point did things go awry, for the situation to escalate to this abstract turn of events...

His original plan had been merely to find an empty corner to hold a meeting...

Enough of that, enough.

Mr. An Su sighed helplessly, thinking that this was perhaps serendipity, a blessing in disguise.

He watched Arthur struggling in the Sun Flames and his lips twitched slightly.

If it were any other time, this guy would have surrendered already!

In the original world line, Arthur was expelled from his house after failing the saint's exam, then had an epiphany and made a comeback, unleashing extreme willpower and eventually passing the Sun Flame trial. In the current world line, it was sheer fear of being "Dari'd" by his own father that triggered his extreme willpower...

Looking at the outcome, the two scenarios didn't differ much.

"We need not bother with him."

Mr. An Su once again shook his head without compassion, turned around, and with his teal eyes looked at the Followers in the room, "Let's begin with the actual matter at hand."

The Esoteric Witches looked at each other, seeing perplexity and uncertainty in one another's eyes. Wasn't this supposed to be the actual matter?

Was the Hell Scroll they just witnessed merely an appetizer?

"In fact, I've already communicated with the Bishop of Chaos." An Su lowered his gaze slightly, his long lashes casting shadows over his eyes, creating an air of mystery, "The Era of Chaos is about to descend."

At those words, a huge uproar erupted in the room.

The Esoteric Sect Followers couldn't stay seated anymore, quickly standing up.

Ambivalent emotions flashed through them—astonishment, joy, confusion....

The Bishop of Chaos from the Ladder Church is All Nether's most mysterious bishop; no one had seen his real face, nor did anyone know what his plans were. The Followers only knew that everything happening now was connected to Him.

Including the joint actions taken by the Three Great Esoteric Sects, all had been directed by him.