Ashen God

Chapter 1043 1042: Ashen God (Grand Finale)

After upgrading the Three-Headed Six-Armed Skill, Zhang Yanhang reopened his soul points balance and began checking again.

[Soul points: 573438000 (-393216000)]

"Because I just upgraded the Three-Headed Six-Armed Skill, I've once again consumed four hundred million soul points, and now only five hundred million soul points remain."

Zhang Yanhang next planned to upgrade his profession level, first raising it to LV.50.

[Name: Zhang Yanhang (Fifth Tier)]

[Race: Human]

[Profession: Heavenly Destiny Master]

[Level: LV.47 (0/35000000)]

[Soul points: 573438000]

After opening the level panel, Zhang Yanhang immediately clicked upgrade.

[Consume 35000000 soul points to increase profession level to LV.48?]

"Yes, increase profession level to LV.48."

[Profession level successfully increased to LV.48, free attribute points +6.]

Upon completing the upgrade, Zhang Yanhang immediately clicked upgrade again, stopping only when he reached LV.50.

[Name: Zhang Yanhang (Fifth Tier)]

[Race: Human]

[Profession: Heavenly Destiny Master]

[Level: LV.50 (Legendary essence [0/7], Ash Source [0/13])]

[Soul points: 453438000 (-120000000)]

"Upgrading to LV.50 consumed a total of one hundred twenty million soul points. I now have only four hundred million soul points left. Originally, I thought the promotion requirements for Sixth Tier might need something else, but surprisingly, it's similar to before, just with an increased demand for Legendary essence and Ash Source.

But if it's just this level of consumption, even now I can easily meet it.

Right, even now I can easily meet it."

A bold idea couldn't help but spring up in Zhang Yanhang's mind: what if he directly promotes now? Would he fail to advance? No, he shouldn't, he clearly can succeed, right?

And since it's possible to succeed, why not try?

This strange thought spread like wildfire in his heart, uncontrollably.

Pushing Zhang Yanhang to impulsively click rank promotion.

[Consume 7 Legendary essences and 13 Ash Sources to increase profession level to Sixth Tier LV.51?]

"Yes, increase profession level to Sixth Tier LV.51."

As before, large swathes of golden light swept up, instantly enveloping most of Zhang Yanhang's body.

But unlike before, when this golden light penetrated his brain, the Talent Light representing Multiple Choice unexpectedly released its protection and allowed the golden light to enter deeply.

However, very soon, Zhang Yanhang noticed something wrong: it wasn't an infiltration at all; it was the pale blue Talent Light of Multiple Choice absorbing the golden light containing massive energy like a long whale sucking water.

The golden light tried to escape but was unable to do so, and in an instant, the pale blue Talent Light absorbed every drop.

After the golden light vanished, it was replaced by the sudden spread of the pale blue Talent Light enveloping the entire body.

When the pale blue Talent Light of Multiple Choice dissipated, Zhang Yanhang felt an unprecedented clarity in his mind, recalling many things instantly.

"So that's how it is, now I remember everything."

When the pale blue Talent Light of Multiple Choice covered the whole body, Zhang Yanhang could now freely manipulate all the abilities from Multiple Choice, especially those passively triggered abilities that modify rules and distort reality.

[Profession level successfully increased to LV.51, free attribute points +6.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master successfully promoted to Sixth Tier, attribute value limit opened to 150 points.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master successfully promoted to Sixth Tier, 'Multiple Choice' Talent upgraded.]

[Congratulations, you have acquired the skill 'Everlasting Flow'.]

[Congratulations, you have acquired the skill 'Heavenly Person Transformation'.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master maximum life value conversion coefficient increased.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master maximum energy value conversion coefficient increased.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master life value recovery speed increased.]

[Heavenly Destiny Master energy value recovery speed increased.]

[Congratulations, you have acquired E-level talent 'Divine Blood (Incomplete)']

Now with memory awakened, Zhang Yanhang wasn't too concerned with professional skills anymore, but certain things that needed improvement were still essential to upgrade. With a gentle swipe, Zhang Yanhang opened a Transmission Channel leading to the Ashen World.

And on the other side of the transmission channel was the incredibly familiar Raccoon City.

Upon returning here, Zhang Yanhang silently sighed, "Although it's a bit nostalgic, let Raccoon City first become the resources for my growth."

Zhang Yanhang immediately made a choice, "Choice! I need more soul points and more advancement resources."

As Zhang Yanhang made his choice, the land of Raccoon City instantly turned to ash, resembling an oil painting suddenly stripped of color, filled with cracks.

Simultaneously, vast lands began disappearing out of nowhere, condensing into pure energy pouring into Zhang Yanhang's body.

In just a few seconds, the entire Raccoon City was completely gone, revealing a black void underneath as if an endless abyss.

Yet a mere Raccoon City clearly couldn't satisfy Zhang Yanhang; the ash phenomenon continued to expand outward, initially slow but then faster, covering the surrounding Goblin Plain and Demonized Swamp in a blink.

Zhang Yanhang, having never explored the high-wall areas and mountain areas before, realized now what they contained—one was Great Wilderness Mountain from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the other was an SCP Foundation research base.

But now with the arrival of the ash phenomenon, various mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas and SCPs inside found themselves meeting an unspeakable extinction, everything turning to 'ashes,' becoming pure energy flowing into Zhang Yanhang's body.

Behind Great Wilderness Mountain and SCP Research Base was the Silent Hill area Zhang Yanhang once wanted to enter, and the Night Parade of Hundred Demons area, and even further back, a massive human Empire which clearly was a high-level area, a Divine Right of Kings country with over a million soldiers serving the God of Light.

Yet before the ash phenomenon, all resisted in vain; even the God of Light, seemingly at the Eighth Rank Creator God stage, didn't have time to let out a cry before losing all light, entering a deathly silence, and chaotic ash state.

But Zhang Yanhang was still not satisfied; the ash phenomenon continued to accelerate, initially taking seconds to devour an area, now it increased to devouring tens or even hundreds of areas per second.

Soon, in a very short time, the ash phenomenon reached sub-light speed, devouring over a hundred thousand kilometers per second.

Soon, even light speed was surpassed, with Zhang Yanhang devouring areas in the Ashen World at hundreds of thousands of kilometers per second, leaving behind merely a vast but empty void.

This pure black but dimly lit area began proliferating like cancer cells through the Ashen World at an alarming rate.

Next came ten times light speed, a hundred times light speed, a thousand times light speed, ten thousand times light speed. In the face of such terrifying expansion speed, the once seemingly infinite Ashen World now seemed to reveal a trace of finality.

The phenomenon of ashen spread continued to expand, as if it wouldn't stop until it devoured the entire Ashen World.

But for the vast Ashen World, this inevitably required a rather long time, because the Ashen World was constantly giving birth to more new areas. Now, the speed at which it devoured might be fast, but perhaps it was not as fast as the world's regeneration speed.

It seemed that devoured quite a lot, but Zhang Yanhang felt that the part he was devouring might be just as small as a tiny red blood cell on a giant's body. However, the terrifying aspect of cancer was that it continuously increased in speed. As long as the foundation was large enough and the number of divisions was sufficient, it would eventually devour the entire Ashen World.

And now, Zhang Yanhang was preparing to speed up the devouring, elevate his rank. Supported by infinite soul points and energy resources, Zhang Yanhang quickly advanced to the ultimate rank that he once dreamt of—the tenth tier.

According to the memories that emerged in his mind, the eighth tier was already the realm of Creator Gods, Saints, and Taoist Ancestors, and the ninth tier the Heavenly Dao and Great Tao realm, while the tenth tier was a supreme ultimate rank far surpassing the Great Tao.

[Name: Zhang Yanhang (Tenth Tier)]

[Profession: Ashen God]

[Level: LV.100 (∞/-)]

[Soul Points: 108500000 trillion trillion Jing (10 to the power of 39)]

[Shield Value: 1000000000/∞]

[Life Value: 1000000000/∞]

[Energy Value: 1000000000/∞]

[Strength: 255]

[Agility: 255]

[Constitution: 255]

[Intelligence: 255]

[Charm: 255]

[Luck: ∞]

[Talent: 1, Multiple Choice (Divine Lord Level). 2, Eternal Immortality (Divine Lord Level). 3, Power of Ashes (Divine Lord Level). 4, Scroll Dragon Ancestor [Bloodline Polarization] (Ancient God Level). 5, Root Rhythm (Ancient God Level). 6, Ashen God (Divine Lord Level).]

[Skill: 1, Gate of Truth LV.MAX (Active). 2, Myriad Forms Martial Canon LV.MAX (Passive). 3, Heavenly Listening and Earthly Viewing LV.MAX (Active). 4, Undying LV.MAX (Passive). 5, Death Principle LV.MAX (Active). 6, Life's Law LV.MAX (Active). 7, Devouring Law LV.MAX (Active). 8, Supreme LV.MAX (Passive). 9, Eternal Dominator LV.MAX (Passive/Active). 10, Infinite Transformation LV.MAX (Passive/Active). 11, Destruction Principle LV.MAX (Active). 12, Power LV.MAX (Active). 13, Time Line Convergence LV.MAX (Passive). 14, One Yuan Beginning LV.MAX (Active). 15, Chaos Reboot LV.MAX (Active). 16, Ash Source LV.1 (Incomplete/Non-upgradable).]

"It's all back, everything's back, but for the current me..."

Though the power elevated to a point where he could easily destroy worlds, and what he once promised like swallowing a star was now effortlessly achievable, Zhang Yanhang's heart was filled with desolation. The power was back, but his former hope could never return.

Quietly gazing at the Ashen World before him, he knew, he ultimately failed.

A seven-colored glass door emitting sacred aura automatically opened in front of Zhang Yanhang, and he silently walked through the door.

With the change of scene, Zhang Yanhang arrived at such a place like a temple. On both sides and central of the temple, there were five thrones in total, at this time the central throne and two thrones on the right had someone sitting on them, only the two thrones on the left remained vacant.

"You have failed!"

A Golden Giant, standing a hundred meters tall, glanced at him from the chief throne on the right side. The Golden Giant's entire body was made of energy, aside from the facial features, there weren't any concrete body characteristics, yet it exuded a perfect sense with a special beauty of fluidity and harmony.

"It's my fault, this plan has failed again."

Zhang Yanhang's face was emotionless, only a deep-seated solitude, heavier than ever. Arriving here meant he was destined to face his final outcome.

A scar-faced giant with his upper body naked, seated on the secondary throne on the right, shook his head, "No, it's not your fault, it's our fault, but you are Zhang Yanhang, we are also Zhang Yanhang. Your failure is our failure, yet once transcendent success occurs, it will be the transcendence of the entirety."

The one sitting on the central throne was a giant of ordinary appearance but clad in golden armor and also a hundred meters tall, with black hair. He also cast a glance at Zhang Yanhang.

"Though our time is infinite, it can't be wasted indefinitely, next time, next time, we must succeed."

After saying this, the black-haired giant closed his eyes and returned to a state of dormancy.

"Indeed, concerning transcendence, next time, next time, success must be achieved."

Repeating phrases similar to those of the black-haired giant, the Golden Giant on the right side also closed his eyes and entered a dormancy state.

"Every cycle is an eternity, next time, next time, we must succeed."

The scar-faced giant, who looked more irritable, was most intolerant of time waste. After reminding once again, he also closed his eyes and entered a dormancy state.

"I too desire to transcend soon, but transcending is by no means easy... next time, next time, we must succeed."

Zhang Yanhang muttered silently, simultaneously transformed into a hundred-meter giant with three heads and six arms, seated himself at the left throne within the temple.

A dazzling golden light shot from the seven-colored glass door emitting sacred aura, accompanied by the slow closing of the temple doors, the interior of the temple returned to silence as usual. Only this time, the temple once more contained a god eternally immortal yet hopeless in transcendence.

......

This is the grand finale. Originally, there was much to say, but upon finishing the finale, nothing seemed to come out.

The early stages of this novel were quite good, with nearly two thousand initial subscriptions. Writing to high-quality shouldn't have been an issue, and now it has about eighty thousand followers, but back then, writing something original like the Crimson Iron Ant Nest shouldn't have been done.

When starting the book, I had already planned that each new area would be a new system—clearing surrounding SCP, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Silent Hill, each area would adopt one, then integrate into various game, anime, and film areas.

If written like this, I believe it wouldn't have collapsed as it did now, clearly with high subscriptions surpassing ten thousand, but average subscriptions are extremely poor, not even maintaining the initial orders.

Furthermore, another flaw of this book is being too verbose, which stemmed from mixing word count for full attendance in the previous book. Since subscriptions were virtually non-existent in the previous book, the sole income was full attendance and minimum guarantees, hence constantly writing whatever came to mind, expanding a lot of topics, habitually deviating.

But the next new book must correct this bad habit, return to the conciseness similar to the first book. Back then, writing four thousand words took about four or five hours, whereas now it generally finishes in two hours. In retrospect, slower composition with more thought seems to produce more excellent plots.

As for why this book suddenly ended, it's simply because I feel somewhat unable to continue writing, I wish to start a new book, write something more interesting.

Of course, this is also related to my recent constant gastroenteritis, feeling a bit unsustainable, and besides gastroenteritis, I contracted H1N1, causing a fleeting illusion of re-contracting COVID.

Since the 20th, the update time has consistently been at 23:22, largely because I stored drafts daily due to illness, thus enabling such a fixed update schedule.

Moreover, after contracting COVID, my constitution severely deteriorated, sometimes experiencing back pain. Though relapses are now habitual, recently neck and hand pain have also become frequent, rendering coding words more difficult to endure.

Additionally, since contracting COVID, I felt a significant decline in memory; scenarios planned the day before were inevitably forgotten if not noted down the next day during coding, with coding status truly plummeting.

Hence, it's really hard to continue this book, I plan to rest for a month or two, recuperate then begin a new book.

Three years have passed, over three million words written, it's indeed time for a proper break.

Originally, I wished to write till promotion to the ninth tier then wrap up, but evidently, the current situation wholly doesn't support it.

Initially thought of posting a separate closing sentiment, but upon reflection, forgot it, simply inscribing at the chapter's end is fine.

Really feeling sorry to everyone, muddling through an abrupt ending.

Incidentally, wasn't there always talk of joining groups before? I only created one old group, if anyone wishes to join, then go ahead, the group number is below the author's speech.

Regarding genuine extras or not, maybe there will be, maybe not, but if truly writing them, it would only be relationship lines at most...

Alright, that's it then, written until here. See you next new book.