Chapter 101: The Death of Palmer

"Linley..." Seeing that Linley was preparing to take Bebe and leave, Gaia’s brows furrowed slightly as she hurriedly stood up and called out to him.

Just then, a terrifying, scorching aura descended abruptly, enveloping the entire city of Hervis. Simultaneously, a low, deep voice resonated within the castle hall: "Gaia, Linley, come out and meet me!"

"Bamei?" Linley frowned upon hearing this and quickly said to Qiankun, "Brother Qiankun, this Bamei likely came here because he saw me. I will go and dismiss him; I won't let him cause trouble here."

Qiankun, noncommittal, watched as Linley and Bebe flew out. Only then did he rise and walk to Gaia’s side, his eyes narrowing as he gazed coldly outside. "You see? The innocent are punished for the treasure they carry. Even if I do not possess the treasure, trouble still descends from the sky. I had no intention of concerning myself with such matters, but when it arrives at one's doorstep, there is no escaping it. Let us go and meet this Paragon of the Fire Element."

When Qiankun and Gaia flew out of the castle, they saw Bamei, the Paragon of the Fire Element, and Linley already at daggers drawn, as if a single wrong word would trigger a fight.

"Hmm?" Bamei, noticing Gaia and Qiankun, couldn't help but change his expression. He looked at Qiankun in astonishment. "Qiankun? He is here, why did I not detect him before? As a fellow Paragon, how is it possible that I could not perceive him?"

Qiankun flew directly with Gaia to the side of Linley and Bebe, looking coldly at Bamei. "Bamei, what do you want by coming here?"

"Qiankun, I truly did not expect that you would arrive at the Ocaron Plane so early. I understand now; you must have been in the Ocaron Plane for over a hundred years. Decades ago, Brody and his wife arrived at the Ocaron Plane—you must be aware of that, right? You surely know the news about the Red Rhombus Crystal; perhaps you have already obtained it? I advise you to hand it over!" Bamei’s sharp gaze fixed on Qiankun.

Qiankun could not help but sneer. "The Red Rhombus Crystal? If I had obtained it, would I wait for you to come and seize it?"

"That is hard to say. After all, for a Paragon, there is nowhere safer than a material plane," Bamei remarked.

"Is that so?" Qiankun was somewhat impressed by Bamei’s imagination. "Even if the Red Rhombus Crystal were in my hands, do you think you could take it from me?"

Linley, standing nearby, also looked at Bamei with a sharp gaze. "Bamei, I advise you to leave! Otherwise, if Brother Qiankun and I join forces, even if we cannot kill you, banishing you into the chaotic spatial currents would be a simple matter."

"If the two of you joined forces, I might indeed be no match for you. However, I am not the only one who wants the Red Rhombus Crystal," Bamei said with a slight shake of his head and a scoff.

As his voice trailed off, a sudden gust of wind swept in, transforming into a man with white robes and white eyebrows—the Paragon of the Wind Element, Bayer.

"Bayer?" Linley frowned upon seeing the man. This fellow was his old adversary! They had encountered each other on the battlefield of the planes before, where Bayer had tried to kill Bebe but failed.

Qiankun’s expression darkened. He swept a cold gaze over Bayer before saying in a low, stern voice to Bamei, "What? Do you think the two of you can threaten me?"

"Qiankun, I heard that the capital of the Hervis Empire was established by your son, and many of your descendants are here, right? Are you certain you want to fight us? Are you not afraid of destroying this city?" Bamei laughed.

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Qiankun’s eyes, and murderous intent surged within him. He said coldly, "Linley, help me stall Bayer for the time being."

"Brother Qiankun, rest assured, leave Bayer to me," Linley shouted, though he couldn't help but transmit his voice to Qiankun: "Brother Qiankun, must we fight here? Once the battle starts, I fear this city will truly be destroyed, and countless lives will be lost."

"You only need to stall Bayer; leave the rest to me," Qiankun replied via telepathy before his figure blurred, and he lunged toward Bamei.

Bamei’s face sank, his anger rising as a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "You think I fear you? Since you do not care about this city, do not blame me for being ruthless."

Bamei’s entire body erupted with golden flames, causing the surrounding space to twist and crack. Seeing Qiankun closing in, Bamei transformed into a streak of fire that instantly passed through Qiankun’s body, only to reappear as himself behind Qiankun.

Qiankun turned around, his expression indifferent, his gaze still cold as he looked at Bamei. "Is that all you have?"

"How can there be no reaction at all?" Bamei was shocked. As a Paragon of the Fire Element, his physical and soul attacks were both terrifying. The move he had just used combined both, yet it had failed to harm Qiankun in the slightest.

On the other side, Linley looked coldly at Bayer. "Bayer, if you don't make a move, I am happy to take it easy. But if you do, I was able to banish Magnus into the chaotic spatial currents; banishing you wouldn't be much harder."

Bayer’s expression turned somewhat ugly. He gritted his teeth but wisely chose not to intervene. He hadn't even caught a glimpse of the Red Rhombus Crystal yet, and it wasn't worth fighting Linley to the death just yet.

"My turn," Qiankun said coldly, looking at Bamei. With a low shout, his figure flickered, crossing space as if teleporting, and he appeared directly before Bamei. His palm, glowing with golden light, struck toward Bamei, simultaneously drawing the surrounding space to bind him, leaving Bamei with no room to dodge.

Bamei was not afraid; the physical attacks of a Fire Paragon were extremely powerful. With a flip of his hand, a giant fire-red sword appeared, which he used to meet Qiankun’s palm.

*Boom...* The palm and the giant fire-red sword collided with a low, heavy thud. Qiankun felt his entire body shudder, and his hand went slightly numb.

"What?" Seeing that Qiankun’s palm remained completely unharmed, Bamei’s expression changed drastically. The fire-red sword in his hand was a Sovereign artifact! Even with a Sovereign artifact, he hadn't managed to injure Qiankun’s hand. How hard must that hand be? Was it comparable to a Sovereign artifact?

Bamei, also enduring the powerful backlash, felt a dull pain in his chest. Trapped by the surrounding space, he was forced to cough up blood. As he felt the terrifying binding force that still lingered, Bamei was shocked: "What kind of technique is this? Can this Qiankun manipulate space to bind me? Although the Laws of the Wind contain the Profound Mystery of the Wind Space, it shouldn't be this precise!"

However, Bamei had no time to ponder. Qiankun, moving with the speed of a teleport, had already closed in on him again. Under the pressure of the terrifying spatial binding, Bamei struggled to lift his giant fire-red sword to block, only to find that Qiankun had suddenly vanished.

"Oh no!" Sensing danger, Bamei felt a dull throb in his head, as if he had been struck by a heavy club. His head felt as if it were splitting—no, it *was* splitting. A moment later, as his consciousness shattered, his massive head burst apart like a watermelon. The sight left Linley, Bayer, and Gaia, who were watching from a distance, wide-eyed with shock.

"Dead... he’s dead?" Bayer whispered in disbelief. As he slowly regained his senses, his body trembled, and his face turned pale. He looked at Qiankun as if he had seen a ghost, a deep, pervasive fear flashing in his eyes: "He... he actually killed Bamei. How is this possible?"

A Paragon! The pinnacle of existence among the gods, someone whom even Sovereigns could not touch once they fled to a material plane—yet he had died at Qiankun’s hands. The rule that Paragons could not kill one another seemed to have been shattered.

Other high-level Paragons who had rushed over upon sensing the commotion now froze in their tracks. If Qiankun could kill Bamei, he had the potential to kill them as well. In the presence of Qiankun, they had lost their confidence, and how could they dare to approach?