Chapter 13: The Ancient Tree Spirit King's Wrath Part 1 The deepest part of the forest opened. The roots separated. The ancient trees moved aside. From beneath the ground... Something awakened. A tree older than all others slowly rose. Its trunk reached the sky. Its roots spread across the entire forest. Countless years of memories were stored within its body. The Ancient Tree Spirit King. For thousands of years... It had watched humans appear and disappear. Kings. Generations. Civilizations. Everything eventually became dust. To it... Humans were fragile creatures. Short-lived. Weak. Temporary. But now... A human stood before it. And this human had done something impossible. He had damaged the forest. Not with tools. Not with weapons created by humans. But with power. The Tree Spirit King stared at Adrian. "You..." "What exactly are you?" Adrian held the Eternal Void Sword. "A cultivator." The Tree Spirit King was silent. The word meant nothing to it. This world had never known such a path. It only knew spirits. Nature. Life. Death. But the energy around Adrian was something completely unfamiliar. Not witchcraft. Not spirit power. Not the energy of this world. A strange power that followed its own rules. The surrounding tree spirits whispered. "A human..." "Can control thunder?" "Can create domains?" "Can cut our roots?" Impossible. For countless years... Humans entering this forest became food. Their fear. Their anger. Their memories. Everything became nourishment. But this human... Was standing against the entire forest alone. The Tree Spirit King finally became serious. "Interesting." "Then show me." "How long can your power survive against an ancient forest?" The moment its voice fell... The entire forest exploded. Millions of roots rose from the ground. The sky disappeared. The battlefield became a world of trees. Adrian moved. "Void Traverse Art." His figure vanished. But this time... The forest predicted his movement. Roots appeared everywhere. The Tree Spirit King had complete control over the battlefield. Boom! A root struck Adrian. He blocked with his sword. The impact pushed him backward. The force was far stronger than before. The Tree Spirit King had been holding back. Adrian's eyes became sharper. Good. Finally. An opponent worthy of forcing him to improve. The Eternal Void Sword shined. "Originless Heavenly Thunder." Lightning descended. Thousands of roots were destroyed. But the Tree Spirit King absorbed the remaining energy. "You still don't understand." "This forest is my body." "You cannot defeat me by destroying my body." The ground opened. A massive wave of corrupted life energy erupted. Adrian's expression changed. The energy was not attacking his body. It was attacking his cultivation energy. The forest was trying to absorb his spiritual power. The Tree Spirit King laughed. "Every living thing has energy." "Even you." Adrian's Originless Immortal Core reacted. The absorption stopped. The Tree Spirit King froze. "What?" For the first time... Its ability failed. Adrian looked at it. "My energy..." "Cannot be taken." The ancient trees trembled. They had never seen such a thing. A being whose energy could not be controlled. The Tree Spirit King became silent. Then... It released its true power. The entire forest changed. The roots became black. The leaves became sharp. The ancient trees began transforming into monstrous forms. "Then I will destroy you completely." The battle entered a new stage.