Turning away from Max, Balthazar rose higher above the battlefield, his voice swelling with demonic energy until it echoed across the sky like thunder rolling through a storm.

"Hear me, all of you," he roared, his command directed at the thousands of demons now gathered, their wings blotting out the light, their bodies exuding hunger after millennia of imprisonment. "The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain will soon open, and within it the geniuses of the human race will gather. If any of you encounter them inside, you are to strike without hesitation. Kill Max. Kill every human genius that dares to step before you."

A chorus of snarls and howls answered him. The sky shook with the voices of demons who had been shackled for over ten thousand years, their hatred boiling over as his words fanned their fury into an inferno.

"They sealed us away!" one demon shrieked, its eyes glowing scarlet. "We will tear their flesh apart!"

"Let their prodigies choke on despair," another bellowed, its claws slicing the air.

"Their blood will paint the domain red!" shouted a third, wings beating with enough force to split the air.

Balthazar smiled coldly, his voice cutting through their cries once more. "Do not forget. Max is the one whose potential threatens us most. He must not be allowed to live long enough. Wherever you see him, surround him. Crush him. Break every bone in his body until he ceases to exist."

The demons shrieked in agreement, their voices rising together in a dreadful harmony that seemed to shake even the heavens. Their laughter, vicious and unrestrained, rolled across the square as if to declare the fate of the humans already sealed.

Max stood calmly amid the storm of hatred, his eyes steady. He did not flinch at their words, nor did he let their bloodlust disturb his composure.

The moment the words between humans and demons faded into silence, the heavens themselves began to stir. A sudden gust swept across the floating islands, carrying with it a chill that made even the strongest of cultivators narrow their eyes.

The calm blue expanse of the sky darkened, and the clouds that had drifted lazily moments before were now dragged into a violent swirl. The wind howled as though announcing the arrival of something ancient and unstoppable, and the atmosphere grew tense with an energy that seemed to vibrate within every bone.

Then, high above the square, the fabric of the sky trembled. At first it was only a faint distortion, as if a ripple had passed across a still pond. Slowly, a pinprick of darkness appeared in the center of that ripple, a tiny hole that pulsed like the eye of a storm. All gazes were drawn to it, both human and demon, their voices falling away as the hole began to widen.

The small tear expanded steadily, stretching with a sound like grinding stone, until it became a yawning rift. Around its edges, the very air fractured. Thin cracks of distorted space shot outward, spreading like jagged veins across the sky. The cracks groaned and shifted, bending the light and making the heavens themselves appear fragile.

The hole swelled larger with every heartbeat, no longer a mere tear but a gateway. Its shape rounded, forming the unmistakable outline of a massive portal. It glowed with a pale radiance, light spilling down upon the floating islands like rays from another world. The longer it expanded, the more oppressive the atmosphere became, as if the portal's presence was pressing down upon all who stood beneath it.

When it finally stabilized, the gateway loomed above them in its entirety. It was vast, stretching across the heavens, its surface swirling with shifting patterns of silver and black. From within, an indescribable aura poured forth, heavy with the weight of ancient laws and filled with the promise of treasures, legacies, and dangers.

The surrounding cracks of space continued to pulse outward, spreading far across the skies until the entire floating domain seemed to be enclosed within a web of distorted reality.

A hush fell upon the square. Humans and demons alike stood silent, their eyes locked on the portal that now hung at the crown of the sky. The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain had opened, and its gateway stood revealed for all to see.

The instant the vast gateway stabilized in the heavens, silence blanketed the floating islands. For a moment, even the howling winds seemed to bow before the majesty of the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain. Then, as the portal's pale radiance spilled across the land, reactions erupted like ripples in a storm.

Among the humans, eyes widened with awe and excitement. Many of the younger geniuses felt their blood boil, their fists tightening as anticipation surged through them. This was the moment they had trained their entire lives for, the chance to prove themselves worthy of the Heavenly Lord's legacy.

Whispers of reverence broke out in hushed tones, calling the sight miraculous and unparalleled. Elders of the Middle Domain forces and the Four God Nation exchanged solemn glances, their expressions grave. They understood that within that shimmering gateway lay both boundless opportunity and unimaginable peril. Their voices carried quiet warnings, urging caution even as they knew their geniuses' eagerness could not be contained.

Aden's voice rang out across the square, steady and commanding, and every face turned toward him. "Everyone, enter the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain," he ordered, his words carrying the weight of the realm. "The fate of this world depends on your arrival, so go."

At his command the humans moved as one. One after another the group of geniuses streamed into the portal, and the fourteen chosen leaders guided their followers through the glowing threshold in orderly succession. The light from the gateway washed over the flying islands and left long, trembling shadows on the stone.

Max looked at the scene with a tightness in his chest and turned to Alice. "I must go as well," he said, his voice low and solemn. "Alice, do not join the war for now and wait for my return from the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain. When I come back I will lead you to slaughter every demon and null that stands in our way."

As he said those words, he could feel the calling from the token that Hermes had given him long ago. The token of the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain.

Alice's fingers clenched briefly at his words and her face betrayed the worry she felt, but she gave a slow nod of assent. Max reached out and patted her head with a touch that was both gentle and firm, a single human gesture that carried more promise than any oath.

He drew himself up, gathered his aura until it hummed like a coiled spring, and launched into the sky. For a breath he hovered beneath the portal, the domain's radiance painting his features in pale gold, and then he plunged through the gateway into the unknown.

On the other side, the demons reacted with a different fervor. Their ranks erupted with harsh laughter and guttural roars that shook the skies. To them, the gateway was not only a promise of opportunity but also a battlefield where they could slaughter their enemies and claim supremacy.

Their younger prodigies licked their lips, eyes glowing with hunger and violence. Wings beat furiously against the distorted air as they howled their excitement, eager to plunge into the domain and prove their bloodline's dominance.

The demon leader, the level ten Divine Rank, raised his head and laughed thunderously. His voice echoed across the skies, thick with disdain. "The Heavenly Lord has opened his domain to all. Let this be the ground where humans learn the futility of hope." His words sent shivers through the demon ranks, their bloodlust igniting like wildfire.

With that, the geniuses from the demon race too entered the portal disappearing from the world.

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