Astoria didn't kill the Roc Lord. Rather, she tossed him into a spatial dimension for him to rot until she could come back and give him a proper punishment.
Afterwards, she made her way to the abode of the Shadow Lord, head of the Invisible Panther Clan.
Now that she'd taken care of two out of the main four, Astoria had used up both the element of surprise and her free pass.
The Lightning Lord wasn't an easy character, but he died easily since Astoria used such a destructive attack at close range without giving him a single chance to dodge.
As for the Roc Lord, he was just weak. There was a reason he had to follow behind the Black Dragon Clan and accept any scraps they threw at him.
But these last two wouldn't underestimate her as they absolutely received news of her strength, and they were nowhere near as weak as the Roc Lord.
Astoria entered the Shadow Lord's territory with her awareness fully extended and her senses heightened to the max. The Invisible Panther Clan was incredibly skilled in deception and stealth, a skill Astoria had personally tasted multiple times.
Right, unlike the other clans, the Invisible Panther Clan wasn't a weak clan, they were just participating in this war due to the external pressure of the Black Dragon Clan.
When it came to respect, they were similar to giants in their worship of strength.
Xiu!
Crack!
Astoria raised her arm and grabbed the hidden dagger that flew towards her neck, directly shattering it to pieces.
"Alana…" Astoria muttered, feeling the shadowy fluctuations coming from the dagger.
"Astoria, I am surprised you still remember me," a calm and slightly sultry voice came from the void.
"How could I not? With the way you humiliated me last time, did you think I would easily forget you?" Astoria sneered.
The woman named Alana smirked from her hiding place. "Do not fault me for your own weakness. If you had the strength to compete against me, would you have lost in such a way?"
Astoria gritted her teeth in anger.
"You hypocritical bitch! Show yourself and watch how I educate you!" She roared.
Alana's smirk widened. Astoria's greatest fault was never her strength, but her short-sightedness.
The same impulsivity that led to her becoming the little devil emperor was what usually cost her the victory in battle against her peers.
This time, though Alana wasn't particularly hostile to Astoria, she'd received orders.
"Our Patriarch has passed it down. As long as you can defeat me, the Invisible Panther Clan will no longer interfere in Beast Emperor Star's matters," she stated.
Astoria's rage only grew. "Even at this juncture, you want to mock me?!"
"I am not mocking you."
"Then, tell your Patriarch to come personally. Maybe then I'll listen to what he has to say."
"That is impossible."
Before Astoria could quip back, Damien's voice suddenly rang in her ear.
"Take her offer."
Astoria's eyes narrowed, but she didn't talk back.
She was well aware of her master's means at this point. If he said so…
Then she would have to calm her anger and view this situation from a different perspective.
Being blinded by rage wouldn't do her any good.
"Huu…" Astoria let out a deep exhale.
"Fine, let's do it like this then. I want to see how my old nemesis has improved in these past few years," she said calmly, once more spreading her awareness and preparing for battle.
And though she couldn't quite feel it, she was absolutely correct to listen to Damien's suggestion.
After all, the leader of the Invisible Panther Clan, the Shadow Lord…
Was an extreme peak master only slightly weaker than Damien!
It was evident that he was hiding his strength, and it was evident that he had differing thoughts about the current situation than his peers on the same side, therefore, Damien chose not to engage directly.
Just as the Shadow Lord wished, this matter would be solved by juniors.
Nevertheless, Astoria didn't attack rashly in this battle as she did in the previous two.
She knew some of her enemy's quirks, and unlike the previous two who were more arrogant and domineering, Alana was quiet and careful.
She only showed herself when she was assured of victory, and if she wasn't, it was impossible for anyone on the same level to find her.
This battle would by far be the quickest, as it would be ended in one move.
However, this was the most difficult battle for Astoria up to this point.
She closed her eyes and focused on the surroundings.
Damien's teachings surfaced in her mind, supporting her decisions.
Enemies who could use stealth would always be the most troublesome, but as a spatial cultivator, it would be embarrassing to lose to a stealth expert at the same level.
After all, what was stealth?
Wasn't it merely concealing oneself in the atmosphere or environment?
Even at the most complex levels, unless a stealth expert could separate themself from the dimension, it would be impossible for them to hide from a space-practicing peer.
2 years.
For the past 2 years, Astoria had been doing everything in her power to focus on this singular concept of sensing the atmosphere and using it to her advantage.
This was the basis of her spatial element.
And as long as she could just find a trace…
'There it is.'
She didn't find Alana, but she found where the previous "greeting knife" was thrown from.
'Vector Control.'
Astoria locked onto that point in space. From there, she expanded her perception and used Vector Control to "trace" the activity that existed and extended from that point.
And using this roundabout method.
Astoria's eyes narrowed.
She quietly set up a Dimensional Cage in the surrounding area and charged mana into her legs and fists.
In the next instant…
BOOOOOOOOM!
Space ruptured and burst as Astoria's fist pushed forward.
From the center of that impact, a girl not much older than Astoria flew forward, coughing out blood as she tried to stabilize herself.
Flash!
Astoria appeared right in front of Alana, her face only centimeters away from the other girl.
She grinned.
"I'm not the same person I used to be."
Alana's eyes widened.
A small smile spread on her lips.
And a furious punch slammed into her gut, crushing her into the ground below.
Astoria landed silently, her expression unmoving.
Something was happening within her.
It wasn't some sort of ethereal phenomenon, but rather a small shift in Astoria's perception.
The validation she wished for was a type of validation that only she could provide herself.
And now, though the battle was short, just the fact that she was able to defeat Alana in a single move was telling of her strength and effort.
The time she spent working, the time she spent shedding her identity as a devil emperor and growing into herself as a practitioner…
She finally felt like she could feel just how significant that time was for her.
And with that confidence, she made her way to her fourth and final battle.
A battle that even Damien, who was watching from above, wasn't sure if she could win.
This time, her target was the Dark Phoenix Clan.
The clan itself was relatively new and had a short history, however, there was one thing that allowed them to sit on the same pedestal as the top forces in the Beast Domain.
That is, they were descendants of the Godbeast, Death Phoenix.
