Chapter 496: To Think You Survived Three of My Strikes Without Dying |
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
The guy with a mouth like a mouse and cheeks like a monkey in front of him wailed. Su Chen also snapped back to his senses, realizing he had unconsciously exerted force with his hand. Even if it was just a slight fluctuation, it wasn't something this guy could withstand.
Many people on the street were already casting strange glances, and some even took out some kind of recording equipment.
"Sorry." Su Chen released his hand, revealing an apologetic look.
The middle-aged man also knew he was not someone to be trifled with and waved his hands repeatedly, "It's fine, it's fine."
Not daring to delay here any longer, he massaged his shoulder and merged into the flow of people.
Su Chen's eyes flickered slightly, and he disappeared from his original spot.
A short while later, in a certain residential area, the middle-aged man came out of the elevator and went straight to a door. After a beep and automatic identification, the door opened.
"Daddy!" A little girl with pigtails rushed out and hugged this guy's thigh.
"You're back..." A gentle and soft voice came from inside the room. "What's wrong? Why are you grimacing and baring your teeth?"
"Don't even mention it. I ran into a madman on the way back. He seemed to be a high-tier professional, and he actually asked me what era this was..."
The door closed, and the voices gradually faded away. Su Chen's figure manifested, feeling increasingly amazed. "Vivid and lifelike, not like a puppet at all. What kind of ghostly place is this?"
Next, he rapidly shuttled through this city, and even the planet. The entire planet seemed to exist substantively, and everyone in it had their own lives, jobs, and relationships.
Professionals had long lifespans, and some families even had seven or ten generations living under one roof.
"...The Sovereign's millennium inspection has reached the Five-Star Pass..."
Su Chen fiddled with the communication device in his hand, flipping through various news. Those who were stars were all high-tier professionals who had remained popular for hundreds of years. There were also some super-large corporations that had developed some new equipment and the like.
"Truly lifelike?" Su Chen's gaze narrowed. Suddenly, he soared into the air, arriving in the atmosphere where the clouds and mist were thin in just a few flashes.
On the planet below, the ratio of ocean to land was about half and half. Cities stood in great numbers, and there were also a massive number of satellites in low orbit.
Looking up, an impressive sun hung overhead. "It doesn't look like Starfire."
Su Chen murmured softly, because with his eyesight, he also discovered several planets nearby. This was clearly a planetary system structure he was extremely familiar with.
Looking down again, Su Chen's body shuddered slightly. In an instant, black flames surged out from his body, growing rapidly against the wind and rolling in all directions.
Even though the oxygen was thin in the atmosphere, within a few breaths, the Cinderless Flame still spread extremely far away.
"Power to destroy a planet..." Su Chen sighed with emotion, then shook his head. "The Cinderless Flame can probably only burn out the surface. I wonder if I open all my Sky-Scars and punch it, whether I can smash this planet to pieces."
"Holy crap, what's that thing?"
"It looks like fire, black fire!"
"Where did this high-tier professional come from, actually daring to commit a crime."
"..."
The reaction speed of the city below was very fast. Panic had already broken out on the streets, with people fleeing in all directions.
"Warning, warning... High-energy elemental power convergence detected. Please head to the nearest defense shelter as soon as possible!"
"...Unknown high-tier professional, please stop your dangerous behavior..."
Su Chen looked down at the scenes below. There was orderly evacuation, several formidable auras were heading towards him, and an energy shield had already risen above the city.
"...Everything is perfectly correct, as if it were real." Su Chen shook his head, and the rolling tide of flames returned to his body.
With his current speed, he was far from being able to cross the Starry Expanse. As for the starport in this place...
Dong!
Just as Su Chen was thinking, a bell toll suddenly sounded in his ears, and everything around him seemed to stagnate.
"24 hours have arrived!" A cold voice echoed from an unknown source.
Immediately after, the surrounding void was like a crumpled piece of paper being pulled flat by a tremendous force. The ground turned into a scorched brown, stretching infinitely in all directions.
Above his head was a vast starry sky, with countless meteorites crisscrossing and flowing within.
"There is indeed a problem with this space. It's not a real existence, or rather, its form of existence is special." Su Chen finally verified his thoughts.
At the same time, he felt an indescribable aura descend, sweeping across his entire body in an instant. A sound like a great bell and chime rang in his ears, cold and majestic:
"Non-main body, cannot enter the 'Absolute Domain'!"
Su Chen only felt his vision blur, hearing screeching sounds echo around him again. By the time he snapped back to his senses, he was already standing in front of the Formless Heavenly Gate.
"I was pushed out?" Su Chen was slightly stunned. He looked at his main body to the side and checked the time. The flow of time on both sides wasn't much different, only a few hours of discrepancy.
Recalling that final voice, he wasn't surprised that his clone was discovered.
"This Nine Hells Thunder Evolution, although it has various abilities coordinating, a Morning Star might find it difficult to spot the clues without careful inspection. But a Radiant Moon could probably see through it, let alone whatever is inside here..."
"That place is so vivid and lifelike, simply like a substantive existence. The people living there each have their own emotions and don't seem like puppets."
Su Chen's consciousness returned to his main body. He paced around this Formless Heavenly Gate, pondering secretly: "But my consciousness could still stay in the clone, so this must definitely be the Nether Realm..."
"Could it be..." Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, a speculation forming in his mind: "That is the so-called Primordial Return-to-Void Realm?"
Within the Abyssal Ruins, the only thing that could be related to the Abyssal Void and that he had some understanding of was that Primordial Return-to-Void Realm.
"But aren't the Return-to-Void Realms all those kinds of ruined areas? Is it because of the special nature of the so-called Source Realm?" Even more questions arose in Su Chen's mind.
He truly couldn't believe that an entire Abyssal Void was still preserved within that Primordial Return-to-Void Realm. That would be too bizarre; what difference would that be from not being destroyed?
"That Primordial Return-to-Void Realm seems to be located in the extremely deep parts of the Nether Realm. I don't know if it's blockaded or what the situation is. Even if the several Radiant Suns want to enter, they have to go through an Abyssal Eternal."
"But this Formless Heavenly Gate seems to be able to enter it directly." Su Chen's expression flickered. "But there is a time limit to staying inside. Once the time is up, one enters some Absolute Domain."
"And it doesn't allow clones to enter; only my main body can go in."
After thinking for a moment, he didn't act rashly. Instead, he tried to push the Formless Heavenly Gate in front of him. Perhaps because it was already activated, this thing wasn't completely unresponsive to the outside world like before.
Su Chen exerted a little bit of force, and he saw this door tilt to one side.
"It's this simple..." Su Chen thought for a moment and tentatively poured some elemental power into it. He saw the door tremble.
Su Chen jumped in fright. Before he could withdraw, he saw this door actually transform into a wisp of streaking light and sink straight into his body.
"This..." Su Chen's face changed. He subconsciously touched his chest, but his body didn't feel any abnormality.
"It recognized me as its master?"
Su Chen couldn't help but think. With a thought, sure enough, a streaking light burst forth from his body, impressively appearing before his eyes and transforming into the Formless Heavenly Gate, still looking like it was open a crack.
"Freely storing and releasing, it seems that's all there is to it." Su Chen experienced it for a while and didn't discover any other abilities.
"This door shouldn't be seen through by others, right." Su Chen was somewhat worried. He naturally wasn't worried about Radiant Moons; what he was worried about were Radiant Suns.
"It's a Sovereign Relic after all; hiding itself shouldn't be a problem." Su Chen released the Formless Heavenly Gate, having his clone keep watch outside.
He himself stepped into it, arriving at that Zezhou City once again.
"Where did this powerful professional playing a joke on us come from..."
He appeared on the street again, but had changed his shell and location. He didn't inherit the clone's progress and instead directly entered that Absolute Domain.
The pedestrians around him all had lingering fear on their faces, mentioning the black flames that had just covered the sky.
"It's actually continuous..." Su Chen still couldn't help but click his tongue. Having experience this time, he didn't wander around randomly, quietly waiting for the day to end.
Twenty-four hours, not a minute more, not a minute less. The familiar bell toll exploded in his ears, and everything around him stagnated. The scene changed, and he once again arrived in the so-called "Absolute Domain".
That majestic aura descended once more, and a voice rang out—
"8th-Rank Professional, biased towards the physical-type, Seven Treasures Refinement, Sacred Classes — Eight Types, Level... Level... Difficult to evaluate. True Radiance Talent, meets the minimum standard for the initial trial. Please prepare yourself."
Su Chen's face moved slightly. It could actually scan that I have the Seven Treasures Refinement? And also the number of Sacred Classes. As for not being able to evaluate the standard, he wasn't surprised either.
His Sacred Classes had all undergone multiple enhancements, so they indeed couldn't be judged by conventional standards.
This place seemed to be some kind of trial ground, and a True Radiance Talent was actually only the minimum standard?
"True Radiance?" Just as he was pondering, a voice suddenly rang out.
Su Chen looked toward the sound. Not far away, at some unknown time, a middle-aged man with a short beard had impressively appeared. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he was currently examining him.
"The Divine Bloodline has actually decayed to this extent. Even a True Radiance is sent to make up the numbers."
A sharp gleam flashed in Su Chen's eyes. He only had one thought: this guy could be communicated with!
"Your Excellency, what is this place?" he hurriedly asked.
"You don't even know what this place is?" This short-bearded middle-aged man was originally just displeased, but upon hearing this, he seemed somewhat enraged.
"Ignorant junior!"
The next instant, a violent and ferocious fierce shout exploded. Su Chen only felt his vision brighten, as if a great sun had abruptly risen, and boiling vitality surged overwhelmingly towards him.
His speed was extremely fast. In the mere rise and fall of a thought, this person had already crossed the void and arrived. His five fingers spread open, expanding rapidly.
Purple light surfaced between his fingers and palm, possessing abilities such as blockade and imprisonment. It covered the firmament, looking as if he wanted to crush his head along with the void!
"This old guy..."
Su Chen was speechless inwardly. The Flash-Shadow Body activated, and his figure had already disappeared from the spot.
Boom!
An explosive roar rang out from where he stood, and the airwave swept across ten thousand miles in the blink of an eye.
"Hmm?!"
The bearded man turned his head to look, quite surprised. "You do have some skill."
"Your Excellency, I come from the Abyssal Domain, outside the Nether Realm," Su Chen explained.
"I don't care where you're from." The bearded man couldn't be bothered to respond.
Rumble!
The next instant, a cyan elemental tide rolled and spread like water. A giant beast like a fish leaped up from behind the bearded man, letting out an angry roar that shook the sky.
Rumble rumble!
The next instant, the bearded man arrived carrying momentum, moving like a star shifting horizontally. Boiling energy swept across heaven and earth, crossing the distance between the two in the blink of an eye.
"This is an 8th-tier?" Su Chen couldn't help but feel somewhat horrified. This guy was stronger than any 8th-tier he had ever seen. Du Yunfei, Zhong Yue, and Tong Zhuo couldn't even compare.
"Roar (Where are you running)!"
Amidst the high-pitched beast cry, the bearded man's fierce roar was faintly mixed in. A massive boom seemed to explode in his heart at the same time. Su Chen was dazed for a split second, and the Psionic Power in his entire body boiled.
In that instant, without any hesitation, he opened all his Sky-Scars, and terrifying enhancements assaulted his body.
Clang!
A dazzling radiant energy suddenly lit up, like a small sun, followed by a thunderous explosion. Ripples spread out in all directions like a tide.
"He blocked it!" The short-bearded man's pupils shrank, and he thought 'crap'. Before the other party could pull back and counterattack, he immediately withdrew several miles away.
However, this little guy just stood in his original spot without moving.
"This guy is really an 8th-tier?" Su Chen exhaled a breath. The other party's power level was already close to half of what he had with all eight Sky-Scars open.
If he didn't have the additional God-Ascension enhancement, it might really be hard to win against him.
"Could it be a talent level above Azure God?" Su Chen secretly speculated. Seeing that the bearded man was about to make another move, he said directly: "The Abyssal Void has already been destroyed long ago. You guys are fundamentally not normal forms of existence."
The bearded man was stunned, his cheeks twitching, and his pupils gradually filling with blood vessels. "Are the Divine Bloodlines so rebellious nowadays? You have successfully enraged me!"
Almost simultaneously, the void he was in exploded with a boom. A streaking light shot over at a terrifying speed, tearing a tiny rift in the void wherever it passed.
The omnipresent elements all seemed to be drawn by him. Facing this head-on, Su Chen felt an unimaginably formidable aura rushing toward him.
Su Chen continued to drift and scatter, appearing extremely far away. "Your Excellency, can't we just talk?"
"Talk?" Almost the instant he appeared, that streaking light folded back towards him without any inertia.
"Talk? Defeat me first, then we'll talk!"
Su Chen felt helpless in his heart. He really wanted to talk to this guy. "Forget it. Without defeating him, I probably won't be able to talk at all..."
In a split second, the streaking light swept past his body. Su Chen's body was torn apart, turning into phantom images and drifting away.
"Let's see where you can run!" The bearded man's eyes were icy cold as he looked around. "Found you!"
The next moment, he ruthlessly smashed towards the left. A figure formed from black flames emerged. While it was directly pierced through by him, that flaming fist also landed on his shoulder.
Crack—!
The bearded man's pupils shrank, as if he had crashed into the core of a star. A tremendous force, unimaginably stronger than he had anticipated, submerged him like a torrent.
His bones snapped crisply and cracked open.
"This is a True Radiance!?" he found it unimaginable. His entire person flew horizontally, his eyelids twitching wildly. Surging water flowed behind him, also forming a human shape.
He forcefully twisted his body and opened his mouth to spit out a streak of lightning glow. The shadow formed by the flowing water couldn't withstand any attack and immediately disintegrated.
But that seemingly light and soft water fist had already landed on his chest.
His horizontal flight instantly stopped. His entire person was like dough struck by a heavy hammer. His chest caved in, and he smashed into the ground, kicking up a waterfall of dust.
But this space was very special; there were only energy fluctuations, making it difficult to leave any damage.
And as the ground squirmed, earth and stone actually took shape, tightly constricting him and exerting sudden force.
"Ah—" the bearded man let out a miserable wail. His upper body was already twisted out of shape, his bones dislocated, and his arm embedded into his skeleton.
The power passively emitted by his body shattered the forms of earth and stone.
"Your Excellency's talent should be above Azure God, right? To think you survived three of my strikes without dying..."
A voice rang out, and flowing shadows gathered. Su Chen looked down at this guy's body, truly amazed.
Looking at the young figure that appeared before him, the bearded man's heart twitched. "This is a f*cking True Radiance?"