The two went separately.
On the path leading straight to Chaos's temple, no one would consider themselves devout enough.
They didn't dare share this glorious mont, nor did they want to split this once-in-a-lifeti opportunity.
But since two people needed to go — who first, who second?
Before departing, Hu Wei paused and glanced back at Da Yi with a trace of hesitation. Da Yi was shrewd enough to see that Lao Hu wanted him to go first, so Hu Wei could stay behind and observe.
After all, whoever went first was essentially the trailblazer. If they encountered sothing incomprehensible, they'd have zero ti to think.
It was undeniably the most cautious approach. Setting everything else aside, knowing both your enemy and yourself was the key to a hundred victories on the battlefield. This was the strategic eye of a true marshal.
But Da Yi didn't refuse. Because...
He was shrewd.
Who says having the courage to go first isn't a form of devotion?
Showing one's pursuit of Chaos in the face of the unknown — wasn't that proof of sincerity?
So Da Yi nodded, shed his smile, and with a solemn expression, strode through the gate. A step materialized beneath his feet imdiately. He glanced left and right, steeled his nerves, and slowly climbed up.
The first step was "Slander and Abuse." This degree of chaos was utterly trivial for soone with his caliber of foul mouth. Da Yi almost opened his mouth to shout back "Damn—!"
He almost succeeded. Thankfully, he caught himself in ti and clamped a hand over his mouth.
He'd been affected. But at least he hadn't profaned the divine staircase. Still, cold sweat soaked through the back of his shirt, leaving him shaken.
Da Yi's gaze fell solemnly on the second step, then traveled upward following the trajectory of the stairs. Deep in the endless void, he thought he glimpsed the faint radiance of a divine temple.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the staircase looked extrely long — at least several hundred steps. Plodding along like this would waste far too much ti.
Had he been alone, he might have lingered to savor the experience. But Lord Ultraman was right behind him. If he hobbled along all timid and sluggish, his standing in the lord's eyes might drop.
So Da Yi deliberated briefly, then made a bold decision. He...
Flash-stepped.
Using his talent, he blinked straight to... the tenth step!
He couldn't actually see where the tenth step was — he'd estimated based on instinct and appeared at its approximate location.
However, the instant he materialized on the tenth step, this flesh-and-blood being disintegrated into countless bizarre symbols. Those symbols gushed upward like a torrential rain in reverse, dissolving into the churning yellow fog above Cheng Shi and Hu Wei. Then, in an incomprehensible temporal-spatial distortion, they ca drifting back down.
"..."
"..."
The two n on the platform were stunned speechless.
Cheng Shi's head filled with question marks. 'Bro, you really went for it. Do you even rember you're a Chaos follower?'
'You don't actually think you're a War believer, do you?'
'What?'
'That reckless?'
'You do realize Lord Ultraman only managed five steps before blacking out, right? And you just flash-step straight to the tenth?'
'Impressive.'
Of course, whatever Lord Ultraman thought of this brute, said brute would never know — because Da Yi had already dissolved into a stream of abstract, scrambled composite symbols, flowing through the platform's grooved inscriptions and slowly twitching.
Hu Wei saw this and shuddered.
Cheng Shi swore, this was the first ti he'd ever seen the Grand Marshal show nerves.
But there was nothing shaful about it — Cheng Shi himself had just been startled half to death. Probably no normal person could witness this without fear.
People exploding into flesh and blood? For peak players, that was child's play. But people exploding into symbols?
Sorry — too advanced. The current version's CPU couldn't process that kind of interrupt.
Hu Wei's entire body jolted. Shock was written across his face. He stared in disbelief at the shattered pieces of "Little Yi" on the ground, then looked back at Cheng Shi with contracted pupils. He clenched his fists uncertainly:
"My lord, Da Yi... is he..."
"..."
'Well, you've asked the right person. Care to guess whether I have any idea what happened to him?'
But this couldn't stump a clown. A couple of vague responses would do. Chaos surely wouldn't kill off a follower who was working for Him. That would be too... chaotic.
"Ahem. It's noth—"
Before he could finish, the chaotic yellow fog surrounding the platform suddenly churned to a boil. The mist crashed against the platform like tidal waves, sweeping up the scattered symbols under Cheng Shi's mysterious smile and Hu Wei's taut nerves — then reconstituted them into...
A completely bewildered Da Yi.
He was genuinely stupefied. He only rembered using his talent — then instantly losing consciousness. When he opened his eyes and found himself behind Lao Hu, he didn't even suspect he'd failed to withstand the Chaos Steps' power. Instead, he started wondering if he'd just been too nervous.
He looked at Hu Wei and scratched his head awkwardly: "Damn... Lao Hu, did I jump backward?"
For one brief instant, Da Yi believed he had no affinity with the divine.
But he quickly rationalized his way back. Because it suddenly hit him: wasn't jumping backward its own form of chaos?
And so, fueled by this creative self-comfort, Da Yi's expression beca wonderfully complex.
Hu Wei's expression was even more complex. He glared at Da Yi, thinking: 'What kind of intelligence did this "scout" actually bring back?'
So far, he'd learned only two things: the first step had zero pressure, and you couldn't flash-step above the stairs. As for anything else... he was still completely in the dark.
"You..."
Hu Wei shook his head with a sigh, gave Cheng Shi one final bow, then tossed away the greatsword in his hand and strode resolutely toward the Chaos Steps.
When Cheng Shi saw the blood-and-fla greatsword being discarded outside the gate, a bolt of lightning struck his mind!
"BOOM—"
Chaos!
He was Chaos!
This universally acclaid Grand Marshal, this so-called number one on the War leaderboard — he wasn't a charge-into-battle warrior at all! He was a warrior of Chaos: an Alien Blood Compatriot!
Otherwise, he would never have abandoned his greatest advantage at a ti when pure strength was needed to ascend these steps!
The only explanation for discarding that greatsword was this: the weapon wasn't a pure asset — it was actually a hindrance that would impede his progress and profane the Chaos Steps. Because the faith aura the greatsword carried was completely different from his own true faith!
And he no longer dared to use War's tools in Chaos's presence. Not because he no longer wanted to keep up the disguise — but because there was no need to disguise himself anymore!
Because this was his "ho." The place his faith belonged!
He'd been a Chaos man all along!
'What a Grand Marshal. What a big brother. What a... Hu Wei!'
'Your na really does fit you perfectly!'
Cheng Shi was shaken to the core. But oddly, his thoughts lingered less on Hu Wei and more on the true War Chosen whose identity Hu Wei had stolen — the one who never said a word.
'Bro, you can really endure. Just like your Benefactor — a pure ninja.'
"Hoo—"
After seeing through Hu Wei's biggest secret, Cheng Shi was suddenly struck by the feeling of having glimpsed the full picture.
This was what peak players were. This was what Their Chosen Ones looked like. Every single one was more cunning, more resourceful than the last. They were wave-riders in the great tide of the age — the vanguards of the Faith Ga's ta. While other players were still struggling to survive, while most didn't dare claim they even understood the ga, these people were already performing on stages ordinary players couldn't even look up to. Performing for the gods!
Of course, Cheng Shi was one of them too. And the clown's stage, as things currently stood, appeared to be...
Just a bit higher.
Just as Cheng Shi was radiating endless sentintality, Hu Wei... began to dance.
He'd climbed to the sa height as Cheng Shi, and then his burly fra started performing a tap dance.
Don't ask why it was tap dance. The answer was: unconscious chaos.
Cheng Shi couldn't keep his composure. He nearly burst out laughing. He wished desperately for a video cara to record this mont — and the instant that thought crossed his mind, he noticed Da Yi had quietly pulled out a phone behind him, trembling all over as he activated the recording function.
"Pfft—"
'Hilarious. Way too hilarious.'
'This isn't the Chaos Steps — it's a village talent show!'
'Chaos Chosen? Grand Marshal? None of that exists here. There's only a good big brother performing a frenzied tap dance while his buddy secretly films the whole thing!'
Watching all of this, Cheng Shi quirked his lips.
'Tsk. Now how do I get a copy of the video from Da Yi's phone?'
...
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