novelraw Chapter 143: Shattering Ascension
Chapter 143: Shattering Ascension
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master fell into a deep silence.
As a Starry Sky Lifeform at the peak of the mid-stage, he knew his hearing could not possibly have failed him.
"What did you just say?"
the Azure Wave Pavilion Master could not help but ask.
"The pursuers were all wiped out by Guest Elder Wu!"
The First-Rank Master replied immediately. An hour had passed since he received the news, yet he still found it completely unbelievable.
Closing his eyes, the Azure Wave Pavilion Master quickly opened his message interface.
He had only been in seclusion for two hours to comprehend the Shattering-tier Martial Arts Manual, but his inbox was already flooded with tens of thousands of dense, unread notifications.
Over ninety-nine percent of these messages were about Azure Wave Pavilion's Guest Elder 'Wu'.
Among the barrage of messages was a video of Su Yuan unleashing a massacre at the end of Vermilion Bird Street.The Azure Wave Pavilion Master quickly watched the footage, falling into a state of profound shock once again.
In the video, Su Yuan stood wielding a silver Long Gun, sweeping away the Imperial Citizen Players of the Top Three Ranks as easily as if he were harvesting cabbages.
Shortly after, the Imperial Guard of the Dayong Dynasty arrived. Twelve Peak First-Rank Imperial Guard commanders worked in flawless coordination, deploying Dayong's strongest military formation just to barely hold their ground against Su Yuan.
After nearly an hour of intense standoff between the two sides, an unimaginably terrifying aura erupted from the depths of the Imperial Palace, rapidly closing in on Vermilion Bird Street.
Only at that moment did Su Yuan take the initiative to leave.
Following his departure, the Imperial Guards of the Dayong Imperial Palace did not dare to pursue him, opting instead to retreat to the palace.
"This..."
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master took a deep breath.
"Guest Elder Wu's strength... is this terrifying?"
The Pavilion Master found it absolutely Beyond Comprehension. He could clearly see that if the Super Grade-1 ancestor from the depths of the Imperial Palace had not rushed over at the very end,
Su Yuan would likely have continued his standoff against the Dayong Imperial Guard.
What kind of arrogance was this?
Standing off against Dayong's strongest Imperial Guard right inside the Dayong Capital City?
The Dayong Dynasty had swept across the Nine Provinces, and its twelve Imperial Guard commanders looked down upon the world with disdain. Let alone fighting one against twelve, the Azure Wave Pavilion Master was not even confident he could defeat a single commander in a one-on-one duel.
Not to mention, when these twelve guards cooperated and utilized their military formation, the power they unleashed far exceeded the simple sum of their parts.
"Super Grade-1. Guest Elder Wu possesses the strength of a Super Grade-1,"
the Azure Wave Pavilion Master muttered softly, gathering his scattered thoughts.
"Correct."
"The outside world is now convinced that Guest Elder Wu is a Super Grade-1 expert,"
the First-Rank Master beside him confirmed.
"A Super Grade-1 master..."
A trace of bewilderment flashed through the Pavilion Master's eyes.
Before today, he had never believed that the Super Grade-1 realm of the Shattered Void World could be achieved by a Mid-stage Starry Sky Lifeform.
It was widely considered to be an ultimate boss created by the game developers solely to prevent Imperial Citizen Players from running rampant.
To fight against a Super Grade-1 master, one would likely need to be a Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeform.
However, Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeforms were unable to strike normally within the Shattered Void World.
This created an endless paradox, which led to a single conclusion—
Super Grade-1 experts were the most powerful individual Life Forms within the Shattered Void World.
"This 'Wu' is quite remarkable."
Just then, a man dressed in white strolled over leisurely.
"Mr. Mu,"
the Azure Wave Pavilion Master greeted respectfully the moment he saw the man in white.
This man in white, Mr. Mu, was a Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeform hired by the Canglan Pavilion Master. His task was to remain outside the Capital City and constantly monitor the shifting aura of the Super Grade-1 expert hidden deep within the Imperial Palace.
A Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeform—a Life Form above Level 30—possessed enough power to utterly obliterate a planet in the real world.
Such an elite powerhouse could build an entire faction or civilization on a whim.
Even the strongest figure of the Multi-eyed Clan was only at the Post-Realm of the Starry Sky Lifeform stage.
Even within the Xien Family, which the Canglan Pavilion Master hailed from, a Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeform was a symbol of absolute status and authority.
For a direct descendant like the Canglan Pavilion Master, only by stepping into the Post-Realm of the Starry Sky Lifeform through his own efforts would he earn the qualifications to be heavily relied upon by the family.
"I observed the scene of Guest Elder Wu striking earlier. His Combat Bonus has reached at least one hundred and seventy or eighty times..."
the white-clad Mr. Mu remarked.
"A Combat Bonus of over a hundred and seventy times..."
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master's mouth twitched. The baseline Combat Bonus for a normal First-Rank Master was merely sixty times.
"Mr. Mu, is there truly any hope for a Mid-stage Starry Sky Lifeform to reach the Super Grade-1 realm?" the Pavilion Master could not help but ask.
Although Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeforms could not directly intervene in the Shattered Void World, it did not stop them from observing the world and drawing their own conclusions.
"Indeed, there is."
Mr. Mu nodded. "Either the Cosmic Force they comprehended is unique enough to form a massive cycle that transcends the Five Elements Power cycle, or they have mastered some kind of spiritual talent."
In the Shattered Void World, physical attributes were strictly capped at the Level 1 Life Form tier. Only talents related to the mind and soul could directly amplify one's strength.
"A spiritual talent?"
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master shook his head slightly. Imperial Citizens possessing such a trait were incredibly rare.
"A grand cycle surpassing the Five Elements Power cycle?"
The Pavilion Master found the concept entirely Beyond Comprehension. The Five Elements Power cycle was universally acknowledged as the perfect Cosmic Force cycle within the Canglan Cosmic Human Empire, and even across all thirty-six major cosmic human empires.
A massive cycle that transcended the cycle of Five Elements Power?
"You don't need to overthink this aspect. The true identity of this 'Guest Elder Wu' in reality is likely very..."
The white-clad Mr. Mu did not finish his sentence.
However, the Azure Wave Pavilion Master completely understood what he implied. Guest Elder Wu's background definitely far exceeded his previous speculations.
Ordinary factions, even the likes of the Xien Family, would find it exceptionally difficult to cultivate a monstrous genius of this caliber.
The battle on Vermilion Bird Street naturally could not be hidden. Not only did the news spread rapidly among the powerful Native Residents, but it also sent the Imperial Citizen Players into an absolute frenzy.
Ever since the Shattered Void World launched, Imperial Citizen Players had been suppressed by the Dayong Dynasty. Even First-Rank Masters among the players dared not act recklessly. Putting aside the Super Grade-1 expert deep in the Imperial Palace, the First-Rank Masters belonging to the Dayong Dynasty alone were more than enough to effortlessly suppress their player equivalents.
But now?
An Imperial Citizen Player had actually stepped up to directly challenge the Dayong Dynasty. Even though he had eventually retreated, he did so Retreating Unscathed.
"How is Guest Elder Wu's strength so overwhelming?"
"I'm also a peak Mid-stage Starry Sky Lifeform, but why do I feel like I wouldn't last a single breath against him?"
"Could Guest Elder Wu be a Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeform?"
"Is your brain broken? Post-Realm Starry Sky Lifeforms can't fight in the Shattered Void World."
"He's hacking! This Guest Elder Wu is definitely using cheats! I'm reporting him!"
Countless Imperial Citizen Players were lost in amazement.
However, a large portion of them firmly believed that Su Yuan was exploiting cheats. Could a normal Mid-stage Starry Sky Lifeform possibly possess this level of power?
It was completely unscientific.
Meanwhile.
At the official headquarters of the Shattered Void World game developers.
Several game observers were also watching the footage of Su Yuan's battle on Vermilion Bird Street.
"This 'Wu' doesn't seem to be 'hacking',"
one of the observers stated. They held authority far surpassing that of Imperial Citizen Players, allowing them to perceive underlying details on a much deeper level.
Su Yuan demonstrating a terrifying strength that eclipsed ordinary First-Rank Masters, combined with the massive influx of player reports, naturally drew the immediate attention of the officials, who instantly began analyzing his combat footage.
In truth, the Shattered Void World possessed an incredibly robust anti-cheat mechanism, but because Su Yuan's strength was simply too unbelievable, they had initiated a manual review.
"There really are no traces of external exploits. To have this kind of power, could he have comprehended a sliver of a Supreme Rule?"
"A Mid-stage Starry Sky Lifeform comprehending a Supreme Rule?"
The game observers blinked in astonishment. Supreme Rules were a domain that only Stellar Life Forms were qualified to touch upon.
"Which high-tier cosmic human empire's Royal Family does this 'Wu' belong to?"
"Only those with the elite bloodline of a Royal Family could possibly hope to grasp even a drop of a Supreme Rule during the Starry Sky Lifeform stage."
"Incredible. Truly incredible."
The game observers murmured their heartfelt praises.
On a hill outside the Capital City.
Su Yuan sat cross-legged.
Scenes of his clash with the twelve Peak First-Rank Imperial Guard commanders on Vermilion Bird Street flashed through his mind.
'The military formations of the Shattered Void World can perfectly merge everyone's strength together. The combined power of twelve Peak First-Rank Imperial Guard commanders far exceeds the absolute limit of a Level 1 Life Form,'
Su Yuan shook his head slightly.
It wasn't that he was out of options when facing the combined combat formation of the twelve Imperial Guard commanders.
By relying on the gray mirror, Su Yuan could clearly identify every flaw and weakness in their formation, allowing him to dismantle them one by one.
But there was simply no need for that.
Killing Imperial Guard commanders—especially right inside the Capital City—would instantly land him on the Dayong Dynasty's wanted list.
Su Yuan was unwilling to waste a hundred thousand Azure Surge Coins to commit suicide and re-enter the game just to clear his wanted status, which was why he merely toyed with the twelve commanders for a little while.
It was only when the Super Grade-1 ancestor deep within the Imperial Palace awakened and rushed over
that Su Yuan chose to withdraw from the Capital City.
It was exactly because they vaguely sensed Su Yuan was mocking them that the twelve commanders refrained from chasing him out of the city, opting instead to return directly to the Imperial Palace.
"Guest Elder Wu."
At that moment, the Azure Wave Pavilion Master approached from a short distance away.
He was able to find this place because Su Yuan had naturally informed him of the location.
"Pavilion Master,"
Su Yuan turned around, greeting him with a faint smile.
"If it hadn't been for you this time, Guest Elder Wu, I..."
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master sighed heavily. After reviewing the aftermath, he realized he had severely underestimated the severity of the Dayong Dynasty's Red-Tier Wanted Order.
If Su Yuan hadn't intercepted all the pursuers, it was highly likely he would never have escaped the Capital City alive.
"You also paid me a handsome reward, Pavilion Master,"
Su Yuan pointed out.
From beginning to end, the Azure Wave Pavilion Master had given Su Yuan a total of nine Superior-grade Martial Arts Manuals, not even counting the three he received upon initially joining the Azure Wave Pavilion.
"How could those few martial arts manuals be worthy of a Super Grade-1 expert's intervention?"
The Pavilion Master shook his head. If Su Yuan were merely a First-Rank Master, or even a Peak First-Rank expert, he would have known how to properly compensate him.
But a Super Grade-1?
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master truly had to rack his brains to figure out a suitable compensation plan.
"What does the Pavilion Master intend to do next?"
Su Yuan asked casually.
"Once I recover to the Level 1 Life Form tier, I plan to undergo Shattering Ascension," the Azure Wave Pavilion Master replied without hiding anything.
"Guest Elder Wu, regarding the Shattering Ascension... the first ten players to successfully ascend in the Shattered Void World will receive..."
The Azure Wave Pavilion Master proceeded to share everything he knew.