"Just upgrade it. Enough talk," Lance told the Virtual Universe. The thing was far too long-winded.
"Command accepted. Comncing upgrade of your assessnt field."
Since Lance insisted on the upgrade, the Virtual Universe ceased its explanations and imdiately complied.
Hum!
In an instant, Lance was reduced to a stream of data and vanished from the spot.
In the depths of the boundless starry sky, Lance’s figure slowly materialized.
[Ding! Assessnt field upgrade complete. Based on the adjusted difficulty tier, your current points are: 1.54 million! Current Rank: 114,411,200!]
As Lance landed, the notification chid in his mind, leaving him montarily speechless. That was a staggering string of numbers. He couldn't imagine how many people had already surpassed a million points.
By this calculation, it would likely take tens of billions, perhaps even hundreds of billions of points, to break into the top tier of the rankings.
"It seems the only way to gather enough points quickly is to slaughter these geniuses on a massive scale," Lance decided. It was a plan he’d formulated before arriving, and the current rankings only solidified his resolve.
Without hesitation, Lance reached into his Subspace Ring and withdrew a Tier 12 High-Grade Void Core.
He glanced at his Status Panel. At this stage, all ten of his classes had reached Tier 12 Mid-Grade.
"In that case, I’ll set up a prototype of the Nine-Revolution Heaven-Devouring Array. At its peak, that formation consists of ten Tier 6 arrays—a force said to be capable of even erasing Supre Divinities. Setting up a base version now should be more than enough to effortlessly crush these so-called universal geniuses."
Lance didn't waste another second and began his work.
"Hand over your Legacy Token. Since you're a mber of The Desolates, I might let you live!" an icy voice suddenly echoed in Lance's ears.
Lance’s brow arched. He turned toward the source of the voice and saw a youth shrouded in an endless black mist, looking down at him with cold indifference.
I didn't sense him coming?
That was unexpected. With Lance’s strength and his formidable Soul aura, it should have been impossible for anyone below the God-King realm to approach him undetected.
He imdiately focused his senses on the opponent’s aura.
A faint, nearly imperceptible ripple finally registered in his perception. The presence was so minute that even with his current power, Lance had to exert his full concentration to track it. It was no wonder he hadn't noticed while distracted. The stranger was at the tenth stratum of the Domain Lord Realm. Judging by the sheer intensity of that suppressed aura, this person was undoubtedly the top-ranked genius on the Leaderboard of a Supre God-Realm.
"The Power of Concealnt... and the strength of a top-ranked Divine Kingdom genius. I see. You must be the number one on the Concealnt Supre God-Realm Leaderboard—The Nether-Shades," Lance said with a calm smile.
Before entering the zone, he had skimd the Leaderboards of the hundreds of Supre God-Realms within the Sentient Races, morizing almost every top na. He had even looked through the data on the powerhouse experts from the Wilderness Hunting Zone and the Machina District.
To him, these were details that required only a glance to commit to mory.
"Oh? You recognize the Power of Concealnt? It seems you’re not as simple as you look," The Nether-Shades replied, his eyes flickering with renewed focus.
Few could identify his power so quickly, and even fewer could definitively na him as The Nether-Shades. This ant Lance believed that only The Nether-Shades’ mastery of concealnt could escape his detection—which, by extension, ant Lance held a very high opinion of his own strength.
"You flatter . I'm decent enough," Lance said, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "I didn't expect to run into a super-genius so soon. As it happens, I need an Esper Energy Core to study the Power of Concealnt. Would you mind parting with yours?"
As he spoke, Lance gripped the empty air with his right hand.
Hum!
A long spear materialized in his grasp. It was the Spear of Destruction, though its current grade was only Tier 11. Since he was in the Domain Lord Class assessnt field, he could manifest the Tier 11 version of the weapon to match the environntal constraints, even if his actual cultivation was lower.
Simultaneously, a suit of pitch-black battle armor spread across his body, encasing him completely.
Clang!
Lance swept the spear to the side, and an aura of absolute destruction erupted from his form.
"That aura! Weapons and armor forged from Destruction Power? And they’re Tier 15? Where the hell did he get those?!"
In the Infinite Void, God-Emperor Extinction—who had been slightly worried about the appearance of The Nether-Shades—was now shaking with shock.
He knew better than anyone the value of Tier 15 Destruction-type equipnt. Back in the day, he had spent years begging his Master before the Destroyer Supre finally forged a set for him. Yet here was Lance, at the Star Sea Realm, wielding such gear as if it had appeared out of thin air.
God-Emperor Extinction was dazed. He was certain that no one in the universe, aside from his Master, could forge such armor—unless they were also a Supre Divinity of the Destruction Lineage. But there could only be one Destroyer Supre at a ti.
Furthermore, this set wasn't his Master's work. He could sense the quality—it was at the terrifying Perfect Grade!
(In reality, it was Legendary Grade, but God-Emperor Extinction lacked the context to recognize sothing that high.)
"Perfect Grade Tier 15 gear... If anyone dares to say he isn't the Grandmaster's reincarnation, I'll chop them down myself!"
Extinction was genuinely emotional. Given the speed at which Lance was recovering his strength, it wouldn't be long before he reached the Immortal Class. With no Paramount God of Death currently in the universe, once Lance reclaid his supre throne, the Human Race would stand at the pinnacle of the cosmos once more. It would be the end for the Celestial Fiends.
"What kind of weapon and armor are those? Why do I feel a threat of death just by looking at them?"
The Nether-Shades’ expression grew solemn. He was beginning to regret his arrogance. He should have used a sneak attack to kill Lance instantly. As a master of the Power of Concealnt, he was a born assassin, but his desire to flaunt his superiority had backfired.
With a grimace, he drew a black light-blade.
"If you want my Esper Energy Core, co and take it!" The Nether-Shades spat.
He moved.
Hum!
With a sudden ripple, endless black mist surged from his body. The fog expanded with terrifying speed, swallowing everything within a radius of several light-years.
Lance’s vision plunged into total darkness. Every sensory thod he possessed failed to penetrate the mist. Even the light from nearby stars was smothered, becoming one with the gloom.
"Interesting. So this is the legendary 'Assassination Domain'?" Lance’s eyes shimred. "I’ve heard that his domain is condensed from over nine thousand Law Threads, making it the strongest in the Divine Kingdom at the Domain Lord level."
Lance recalled the data he had studied. Most believed that a thousand Law Threads were the limit for forming a Domain. However, those who reached the peak knew better. Any Law could technically be refined into 10,081 threads—the number of the Universal Epochal Cycle.
A period of 10,081 billion years was known as an Epoch, which was the absolute lifespan limit for a God-King Class powerhouse. Only those who broke through to the Immortal Realm could live beyond a single Epoch and achieve theoretically infinite life.
A Domain forged from 10,081 Law Threads was exponentially more powerful than one made from a re thousand. The resulting Domain Power was on an entirely different level of existence.
Of course, within the entire universe, the number of people capable of condensing a Domain with all 10,081 Law Threads certainly did not exceed ten thousand.
Once the number of Law Threads surpassed a thousand, adding even a single one beca agonizingly difficult. The more threads one sought to weave, the more terrifying the required talent beca.
Nearly every Universal Class powerhouse exhausted their entire lifespan in an attempt to increase their count. Many managed to reach three or four thousand threads, but in their obsession, they often realized too late that their longevity was spent.
In the end, they died before they ever had the chance to break through to the Domain Lord Class.
Despite this, countless Universal Class Tenth Stratum experts still insisted on comprehending as many Law Threads as possible before advancing.
This wasn’t just because more threads ant greater strength in the future; it was because a higher count made the eventual construction of one's Small World significantly easier.
Sovereign Glacia possessed extraordinary natural talent, but unfortunately, she had started as a minor cultivator with no background. She simply hadn’t known that it was possible to continue comprehending beyond a thousand Law Threads.
Consequently, she had reached the limit of the Domain Lord Realm at only a few million years old, yet found herself eternally unable to break through to the World Lord Class.
The reason was simple: she had only a asly thousand Law Threads. Theoretically, barring a miracle, it was impossible for her to ever beco a Realm Lord.
By the ti she learned the truth, it was already too late.
However, after she was killed and her Domain was shattered, she found a silver lining in her catastrophe.
Having survived the disaster, she now needed to re-condense her Domain from scratch. This gave her the opportunity to continue increasing her Law Threads. This was the sole reason she had refrained from re-condensing her Domain all these years.
If she were to fully manifest her Domain now, her strength would far exceed the re Galactic Realm, and she certainly wouldn’t be handled so easily by a nobody like Lance.
Back to the matter at hand.
At that mont, The Nether-Shades, having used over nine thousand Law Threads to manifest his Domain, rged completely with it.
Hum—!
Suddenly, an infinitesimal ripple of energy fluctuated behind Lance’s back.
“A sneak attack? You’re courting death!”
Lance scoffed. He instantly mobilized the Power of Genesis, flooding every cell in his body. In a heartbeat, his speed, strength, and reflexes were catalyzed to the level of a World Lord Class.
“The Death Spear Art!”
A thunderous roar erupted from Lance’s lips.
In an instant, boundless Death Qi surged onto his spear like a tidal wave.
The Destruction God-Spear transford, its shaft and blade turning a chaotic swirl of black and red.
Clang!
The black-red spear whipped around in a lightning-fast reverse thrust, piercing toward the space behind him.
Puchi!
The sound of a blade tearing through flesh instantly rang out.
Whir—!
The surrounding dark energy began to contract violently, like a receding flood, sucking back into the body of The Nether-Shades, who had been impaled through the chest by Lance’s spear.
This sudden counterattack left The Nether-Shades wearing an expression of utter disbelief. The black light-blade in his hand was a re few centiters from Lance.
But at this mont, he could no longer move an inch.
The mont the spear pierced him, the Power of Death and Destruction Power detonated simultaneously within his body. He was already dead.
The look of sheer horror on his face hadn't even had ti to fade.
Shhh—!
As Lance slowly withdrew the spear, The Nether-Shades’ body dissolved into ash and began to drift away.
All that remained in his place was a single orb of black light.
This was the Esper Energy Orb within his Consciousness Hub, also known as an Esper Energy Core.
When Lance had previously said he wanted to "borrow" the core to take a look, his intention had always been to kill The Nether-Shades.
“What terrifying spear technique. That is absolutely a Tier 15 technique, and one trained to the absolute limit. Among my juniors, very few have mastered a martial skill of this level to such a degree!
It seems that although the Grandmaster hasn’t fully awakened all his mories, he’s nearly there. Or perhaps… he’s already rembered everything.
ntor will be overjoyed when he hears of this!”
God-Emperor Extinction watched the screen with agitation, witnessing Lance’s overwhelming display of power.
He gave a helpless, wry smile. When he had first seen The Nether-Shades appear, he had actually been worried that the Grandmaster might be in danger.
Now it was clear that Lance’s strength was far beyond anyone’s imagination.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but lately, I’ve had the feeling soone is watching . It couldn’t be The Virtual Universe, could it?”
Having finished off The Nether-Shades, Lance frowned slightly and muttered to himself.
In the shadows, God-Emperor Extinction was instantly stunned.
Lance had actually sensed his presence?
This was beyond terrifying!
He had no way of knowing that Lance, who had fused Destruction Power into his Power of Genesis, possessed an incredibly acute perception of Destruction Power.
Even hidden as he was, Lance could easily pick up on it.
The only reason Lance had been caught off guard by The Nether-Shades earlier was that he wasn't particularly familiar with the Stealth branch of Espers.
While Void Power offered superior concealnt, it relied on hiding within the void itself. This was exactly why Lance wanted to study the other man’s Power of Concealnt.
Furthermore, his opponent had been at the Domain Lord Realm Tenth Stratum, specializing entirely in stealth-based abilities, cultivation thods, and martial techniques.
If that entire specialized kit couldn't hide him from Lance—who was several major realms lower—he might as well have stayed ho.
In truth, it wasn't that Lance couldn't detect him, but rather that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. He had just arrived and was preparing to set up a formation; his consciousness wasn't focused on scouting.
The mont Lance paid even the slightest bit of attention, he could instantly sense the faint, thready aura of The Nether-Shades.
“The Nether-Shades developed this Power of Concealnt to Tier 13. No wonder it’s so potent. Since I happen to have a few repair opportunities left, if the Exploits are high enough, I’ll test them out on this!”
Lance looked at the Tier 13 Power of Concealnt core in his hand, a small smile playing on his lips.
The Power of Concealnt, much like Psionic Telekinesis, belonged to a unique branch. Its elental grade could be as low as Tier 1, but its peak could reach Tier 14.
The fact that The Nether-Shades had reached the top of the Supre God-Realm Leaderboard with a Tier 13 ability wasn't just due to the ability itself, but his overall talent. After all, there were plenty of people with higher-grade Power of Concealnt than him.
Lance checked the Exploit count on the Esper Energy Core.
[Ding... Detection complete. The Exploit count for this Esper Energy Core is: 7 Trillion!]
The system prompt echoed in his mind. Seven trillion!
In the past, Lance would have considered this an excellent haul since it would allow for a direct upgrade to a Tier 14 ability.
But now, for Lance, it was barely enough.
“A Tier 14 Power of Concealnt will still be difficult to use against high-level powerhouses.
Still, it should be enough to hide my techniques and abilities from those three or four ranks above .
It’ll have to do. System, Reconstruction!”
After a quick ntal calculation, Lance chose to repair the Esper Energy Core.
[Ding... Command received. Beginning reconstruction of the Esper Energy Core Exploits!]
The system responded instantly.
Hum—!
A beam of light, visible only to Lance, enveloped the Esper Energy Core.
Even though they were within the Virtual Universe and the core was rely a simulated object, the system was capable of manifesting it into reality.
Not only would it raise the grade to Tier 14, but it would also ensure that the Virtual Universe could not detect any abnormalities.
If the Virtual Universe—the very creator of this world—couldn't sense the change, then God-Emperor Extinction certainly wouldn't.
[Ding... Reconstruction complete! Your Power of Concealnt Esper Energy Core has been upgraded to: Tier 14 (Immortal Grade)]
[Esper Energy Core (Power of Concealnt): Can be fused directly into the Consciousness Hub. Grants instant mastery of the Tier 14 Esper Ability: Power of Concealnt. At this level, the ability is developed to its limit, granting the power to sever the perception of Heaven and Earth!]
The system prompt rang through Lance’s mind once more.
“Developed to the limit? Severing the perception of Heaven and Earth? Just how high is this limit? Surely not the Supre Divinities?”
Lance’s eyes flickered. He knew this was significantly more powerful than the previous Tier 13 version.
At Tier 13, The Nether-Shades had been able to hide from Lance, whose perception was comparable to an average God-King Class powerhouse.
Now that he possessed the Tier 14 version, his concealnt would be on a different level entirely.
Without hesitation, Lance slamd the glowing orb directly into his forehead.
System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!
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