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Chapter 361: Expedition
🕑 Added 2024-01-30 17:36:01 +0000 UTCI finally got my Master's! Receiving my diploma tomorrow, and then I can frame it very nicely, put it on my wall, and forget about it forever. Studying was fun, but I'm glad that part of my life is officially over.
You still get tomorrow's chapter, of course. I have a backlog.
Also, guys: Road to Mastery 3 is live!
Check it out! That's Brock in there, fighting alongside his big bro!
The third book contains everything from after Trial Planet to defeating the planetary overseer, and I really really hope it does as well as the previous two, so consider supporting it if you can! Downloads, reviews, spreading the word, everything helps. Thanks guys!
Book 3 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFW1XHHP
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter, and see you tomorrow!
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The Cathedral Square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Head Envoy let his words hang for a moment. Finally, as Jack was beginning to wonder if something was wrong, he continued.
“A hidden realm was recently discovered in the Heaven Egg galaxy. Additionally, our resident diviners”—he gestured at the Sage and the old woman Envoy—“estimate its rank to be in the upper B-Grade.”
He paused again, letting everyone digest the meaning of his words. Jack had no idea what a hidden realm was. Most people, however, knew. Whispers spread like wildfire. Even the bros revealed expressions of wonder.
“What’s that?” Jack asked Osmu Sosmu.
“You don’t know?” Osmu replied. “Hidden realms are treasure troves! When a B-Grade or higher cultivator dies, sometimes their inner world will remain connected to our universe, letting cultivators go in and explore it. These worlds are exceedingly rare, and they are filled with all sorts of treasures! An inner world has a different Dao composition than the real one—all sorts of unique circumstances may appear.”
Speaking up to here, Osmu’s face passed from excitement to disappointment.
“But…a hidden realm has nothing to do with someone like me. The only ones to benefit will be the Envoys, and maybe some high-ranking C-Grades as well.”
Jack frowned. If that was the case, why had the Head Envoy gathered everyone? To rub it in their faces?
Many people shared his suspicions. Some had eyes filled with doubt, and others with hope. On the raised platform, the Heavenly Spoon Sovereign smiled. “An upper B-Grade realm is most useful for people at the low B-Grade or below—to cultivators of similar power as the realm’s creator, anything inside is simply worthless. However, inner worlds can be vast. Lucky chances are aplenty, and while the best will be suitable for low B-Grades, there will be many lesser opportunities. For that reason, our exploration team will consist of elites ranging from the middle C-Grade to the low B-Grade. Once inside the realm, you can split up and explore the areas most suitable for each power group.”
Jack nodded as he listened. This was in line with what Osmu told him, but it still didn’t explain why the Head Envoy had gathered everyone like this. Was it to celebrate?
Even as he heard about the realm’s circumstances, however, Jack was intrigued. He was only at the first fruit, but his power was great—could he fight for a spot in the exploration team?
The hidden realm was full of opportunities. Even if there was some danger inside, he still wanted to enter—a cultivator who didn’t adventure would end up weak.
“The expedition will be led by the Spacewind Sovereign, an outstanding individual in our ranks,” the Head Envoy said, gesturing at the black-haired man next to him. He seemed valiant and mighty. “As for the leader of the C-Grades…” The Head Envoy smiled at the crowd. “Min Ling, please come up.”
A woman flew over the crowd to land on the platform. Long dark hair covered her shoulders, while a dark spear with a red spearhead rested on her back. Her features were slim enough to be called Asian if she was on Earth, and while her body seemed gentle, there was a hidden power inside it that gave Jack pause.
He had seen her once before but hadn’t been able to approximate her strength. Now, he could sense her towering aura, her tyrannical might. She could exterminate him with a flick of her spear—her power was vastly superior to that of Baron Longform, the third ranked outer disciple.
But that was expected of the number one C-Grade. What gave Jack pause was that her cultivation was only at the seven-fruit boundary!
She dominated the entire Cathedral at two tiers below the other top rankers? he thought, eyes widening. Holy shit! She’s good!
Jack himself could jump tiers to fight. Even against the other geniuses in the Cathedral, jumping four or five tiers was no problem. However, not only did the disparity between tiers increase the higher one went, but the top rankers were also extreme geniuses themselves—especially the top hundred, the territory of the nine-fruit C-Grades.
In the Cathedral, C-Grades were generally required to leave once they reached a thousand years old—one tenth of their lifespan. At that point, their potential was considered mostly realized, so there was no reason for the Church to spend resources on them.
However, if one managed to become a nine-fruit C-Grade, that no longer applied. The nine-fruit C-Grade was only a step away from the B-Grade. Even if a cultivator’s potential was mostly spent, there was always a chance they could take one or two extra steps in their lives. For that reason, the Cathedral kept investing on nine-fruit cultivators for as long as they’d like.
These nine-fruit cultivators occupied the top hundred ranks of the Cathedral. Everyone else cycled constantly, with a new batch of talents arriving every thousand years, but the nine-fruit ones remained. They were the outstanding talents who emerged from the last seven or eight disciple batches.
In other words, someone ranked two hundredth was number two hundred of the current thousand disciples. However, someone ranked ninetieth was actually ranked ninetieth amongst the last eight thousand disciples!
That was why the top hundred ranks were considered a different playing field. The strength discrepancy rose abruptly as one reached that rank. Moreover, even amongst those hundred nine-fruit disciples, there were vast differences. Someone like Baron Longform could absolutely wipe the floor with anyone ranked in the eighties. He was someone who could easily jump tiers to fight other outstanding geniuses of his level.
For Min Ling to rely on her seven-fruit cultivation to dominate every single other disciple…her talent was no less than Jack’s! Who knew what lucky chances she had experienced to reach that level.
While Jack was marveling at the implications of Min Ling’s cultivation, the Head Envoy kept speaking.
“In the hidden realm, there is a high chance that the B-Grades will enter the core areas, while the C-Grades will remain at the outer edges. If that happens, Min Ling will take over leading the C-Grades. With her exceptional talent and heaven-shaking battle ability, she has the highest chances of protecting everyone.”
No one disagreed. It was hard to argue against absolute power. Min Ling herself stood on the platform with a calm look, like this was only natural.
The Spacewind Sovereign glanced at Min Ling with a smile. “I couldn’t wish for a better assistant. Looks like I can relax and lead the sovereigns deep inside the realm—with you there, nobody can harm our outer disciples!”
His words were polite and pleasant. However, Min only looked at him sideways and replied, “Thank you.”
Jack was surprised. Was there some enmity between them? But, if so, why was the Spacewind Sovereign speaking so relaxedly?
Could it be that Min Ling was arrogant? She didn’t strike him as such a person, but you never knew.
If the Head Envoy was surprised, he did not show it.
“As for the rest of the expedition team,” he said, “the ten Envoys participating will be decided internally. For the outer disciples, we will follow a distribution that can take maximum advantage of the hidden realm’s resources. There will be ten nine-fruit C-Grades, ten eight-fruit C-Grades, five seven-fruit C-Grades, and five six-fruit C-Grades—or lower. All participants will be determined by their rank. At the discretion of myself, Spacewind, and Min Ling, exceptions can be made to accommodate for special powers not reflected by one’s ranking. The expedition will take place in one year—that is also when the selection will be made, so I expect everyone to cultivate hard.”
Jack nodded. Determining participants by their rank made sense. For example, the five seven-fruit C-Grades participating would be those with the highest rank amongst seven-fruit C-Grades. In other words, if he wanted to participate, he had to become one of the five people with the best rank under the seven-fruit boundary.
He had absolute confidence in achieving that within the year. He was already close.
Just as everyone thought the announcement was over, the Head Envoy spoke again. “Normally, that should be all,” he said. “However, this particular hidden realm’s circumstances are different. That is…we won’t be entering it alone. The Hand of God will join us.”
The C-Grades fell into silence, then erupted in exclamations. They didn’t even care about keeping their voices low. Even Min Ling, with her indifferent attitude, shot a stunned glance at the Head Envoy.
“Silence!” he commanded. A blanket of absolute power fell on the outer disciples. It was like the sky crashed down. Jack was completely unable to move—in his vision, the Head Envoy turned into a giant green-haired glutton thousands of feet tall, while the entire Cathedral Square was a spoon about to enter the glutton’s mouth. A terrifying suction force fell on him. Even if he was a hundred times stronger, he would have no choice but to be sucked into that tooth-filled mouth.
The vision dispersed in the next moment, but Jack was left in a cold sweat. So was everyone else. The whispers disappeared instantly, and every eye was glued to the Head Envoy, who once again resembled an aloof young man.
What the hell was that!? Jack asked himself. Are B-Grades that powerful!?
On the path of cultivation, from the F to the E-Grade and from the D to the C-Grade were considered small gaps. For a talent to leap over them to fight was not unreasonable. However, from the E to the D-Grade and from the C to the B-Grade were large gaps. That was why, in the Milky Way’s million-year history, nobody had ever defeated the Final Guardian of Trial Planet.
This was Jack’s first time experiencing the power of a B-Grade. Before the Head Envoy, he couldn’t even move, let alone resist. It was maddening.
The universe was wide.
“As you know, the Black Hole Church and the Hand of God are enemies,” the Head Envoy explained. “However, that doesn’t mean we kill each other constantly. We are not in all-out war. There are often peaceful talks between the two factions, negotiations, or even exchanges regarding all sorts of matters. This hidden realm is the same. The two factions received the news at the same time, so we can only compromise: each faction will send in the same number of disciples, and everyone will get what they can. Of course, fighting inside the realm is expected. Each faction believes in their younger generation—do not disappoint me!”
Before the crowd of outer disciples could consider the implications, the Head Envoy continued.
“As this involves the dignity of the Black Hole Church, we will delegate a few extra resources to ensure our expedition is as formidable as possible. Min Ling, as the leader of the C-Grades, you are hereby awarded the Thunder Dao World—the crystalized inner world of a lightning-oriented A-Grade. While all resources inside it have been taken, we hope that the Dao principles it contains can help you develop an extra Dao Fruit in time for the expedition. This Thunder Dao World is lent to you by Elder Heavenstar, so you will have to return it before the expedition.”
The Head Envoy opened his hand, revealing a purple glass bead. Its surface was covered with lightning, not letting anyone glimpse inside it, but the aura it emitted was absolutely heaven-shaking.
If the crowd hadn’t already been suppressed, they would have erupted into whispers yet again. The crystallized inner world of an A-Grade! Even if its value wasn’t obvious, the fact that an A-Grade Elder could only lend it, not gift it, spoke volumes.
Min Ling’s indifferent attitude disappeared completely. “Thank you, Head Envoy,” she said, respectfully receiving the Thunder Dao World. “Please pass my utmost gratitude to Elder Heavenstar. I deeply appreciate this favor.”
Not many things could make the proud Min Ling speak like this, but this Thunder Dao World could.
The Head Envoy smiled. “Elder Heavenstar paused his own meditation on this world to lend it to you—I hope you can take full advantage of it. Now, please return.”
Min Ling nodded deeply, then flew back into the crowd. Many people were jealous of her gift, especially those who cultivated lightning, but what could they say? If they had her talent, they would have received the Thunder Dao World as well.
At the end of the day, no matter what privileges Min Ling received, nobody could say anything. She absolutely deserved it.
As she left the stage, the Head Envoy’s smile didn’t drop—it only widened. “There is one last matter to discuss,” he said. “Jack Rust, please come on stage.”
Comments
Ricardo Henriques
Congrats on your Masters degree Valerios!
chris counts
Congrats Bro!
