Chapter 30: Saint Magus!
Holding this sharp blade, Desri waved it twice, and blade energy surged in all directions.
"The blade is good, but my arm strength is insufficient," Desri sighed.
Without battle qi, if one's physical strength were great enough—like the Four Ultimate Warriors—simply using brute force with a weapon could achieve astonishing power. In fact, the Abyssal Blade Demon also relied on raw strength to wield that sharp blade.
"What's the rush?" Faen laughed. "Once you become a god, Desri, and your divine body coalesces, won't you be able to use this weapon well with the power of your divine body and divine force?"
"Haha, right." Desri also laughed.
In truth, everyone knew that becoming a god still had one hardest hurdle.
That was the eleventh floor!
The difficulty from the first to the fifth floor wasn't great, but the sixth floor, the 'Flame Monarch,' increased the danger tremendously. Every five floors was a level... Clearly, this eleventh floor would be far more difficult than the sixth through tenth floors. Even creatures like the Flame Monarch and the Mother Queen were already so terrifying.
What was the eleventh floor?
Everyone's hearts felt heavy, but they also knew that on the eleventh floor lay the corpses of gods and divine sparks!
"The eleventh floor..." Linley looked toward the distant ancient stone pillar. Beneath that pillar, the black glow at the entrance of the passage was so conspicuous. "According to what Lord Beirut and the others said, the guardian creatures on this eleventh floor should still be Saint-level."
Clearly, the Sovereign who controlled the Necropolis of the Gods had left a sliver of hope.
Linley also understood that starting from the twelfth floor, only those who had reached the God level could venture in.
"I reckon, starting from the twelfth floor, the guardian grounds there will probably have God-level creatures." Linley didn't dare to think about breaking into the twelfth floor this time. His strength was decent, but against God-level experts, he still had no ability to resist.
Possessing a divine spark and becoming a god—that was a transformation of one's life level.
"We all understand." Desri looked around at the assembled experts and said in a loud voice, "Back then, over eighty experts charged in. Now, only eleven of us have reached this tenth floor."
Everyone nodded.
The other seventy-plus experts had either died or retreated.
Only they had made it to this tenth floor.
"This is also the closest I've ever been to a divine spark in my life. I know that on the eleventh floor above, there are divine sparks," Desri said, his emotions surging, for he too had struggled for so many years. "But everyone also knows that this eleventh floor is extremely dangerous. Far more dangerous than the Flame Monarch, the Mother Queen, the Eye Sovereign, and the Adamantine Fiend!"
A resonance stirred in the hearts of all the experts.
"Perhaps some of us will die on the eleventh floor," Desri said in a low voice. "But at least I, for one, do not fear death. I've lived for thousands of years; I've experienced everything there is to experience. On the path toward becoming a god, I won't regret dying."
All the experts' eyes blazed with determination.
Whether it was Desri, Rosalie, Faen, Tulliray, or the Six-Eyed Golden Lion Krio and his two brothers, or the Black-Armored Giant Scorpion—they had all struggled for thousands of years to become gods. Life and death... they had long since put them aside.
Of the five Saint-level limit experts, Rutherford had died.
No one felt much grief for Rutherford. Because everyone understood... perhaps soon, they too would die on this path to godhood.
Among the eleven experts, Linley, Bebe, and Olivier were relatively young. At less than a hundred years old, they were far behind Desri and his group in age. Their mental fortitude, or their understanding of life and death, was somewhat different from that of Desri and the others.
"Everyone, prepare well. This time, we'll rest on the tenth floor for a year and a half. After a year and a half, we'll step into the eleventh floor," Desri said.
A fighting spirit ignited in everyone's hearts. They all nodded silently.
It had been over eight years since they entered the Necropolis of the Gods. After another year and a half of cultivation, there would still be a few months left before the ten-year deadline. On the eleventh floor, whether they could obtain a divine spark might be decided within a single day.
Everyone dispersed and found their own spots to begin quiet cultivation.
"Boss." Bebe looked at Linley.
Linley looked back at Bebe. Both could feel what the other was thinking.
"Train hard."
For Linley, Bebe, and Olivier, this year and a half still offered a chance to improve their strength. As for the other eight experts... unless an opportunity came, it would be truly difficult for them to break through.
******
On the vast grassland, a breeze swept across a patch of grass, stirring Linley's long hair.
Linley sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, calm and composed.
"The deeper I go into the Earth's mysteries, the harder it gets. I've now reached the 64-layered Earth Pulse. To fuse it into 32 layers... I estimate it won't take less time than before. Last time took eight years... In this short year and a half." Linley made a decision in his heart. "I'll study the 'Wind's mysteries' instead."
Right now, the most important thing was to achieve a breakthrough in strength, to give himself a greater hope on the eleventh floor.
"When the soul harmonizes with nature, mental energy naturally improves. I can cultivate mental energy and study the Wind's mysteries at the same time without conflict." Linley's heart was at peace.
Then, Linley's mind quieted down.
He forgot himself.
Linley's mental energy fully harmonized with nature. The wind blew across the grassland in all directions, and in Linley's mind, the various peculiar trajectories of the wind naturally appeared. At the same time, sword techniques like 'Wind Ripple,' 'Earth-Wind Rhythm,' and 'Ten Thousand Swords as One' were demonstrated in his mind.
Linley studied and comprehended the two major realms of the Wind Element's laws: 'Fast' and 'Slow.'
At the same time, he also gained insights into various sword techniques. Countless sword shadows swirled in his mind.
Sword shadows like the wind—formless, shapeless!
In this state of quiet comprehension, Linley's understanding of the Wind Element's laws advanced slowly but steadily. The sword shadows in his mind became increasingly profound and natural. As his soul harmonized with nature, his mental energy also made subtle progress.
...
Time passed. On the tenth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, on the grassland, many experts either sat cross-legged in quiet cultivation or demonstrated various attacks. Everyone was preparing to enter the eleventh floor.
Bebe, lying on the grass, had faint black light swirling around his body.
Unnoticed... Linley's hair grew even longer.
In the blink of an eye, over a year had passed. Only a little over two months remained until the agreed-upon time.
"Desri." Faen was sitting on the grass with Desri. They had long since reached their limits; if they broke through again, they would become gods. At this moment, they couldn't deliberately pursue it, so they chatted casually. "Do you still remember that battle over five thousand years ago?"
"Of course I remember," Desri said with a sigh. "In that battle, experts from another plane descended. Saint-level experts fell one after another. The battles over the Scorching Desert and the Southern Sea were so tragic and fierce."
Faen nodded slightly.
Back then, Faen and Desri had already entered the Saint level, but they were just small figures among Saints. They were like the Starry Sky Sword Saint 'Tilon'—newly entered Saints. If they had participated in the battle against the other-plane experts, they would have been throwing away their lives.
"Many Saints, and quite a few God-level experts too. Saint fought Saint, God fought God. One God-level expert charged into a group of Saints, and there were heavy casualties," Desri said with a sigh. "From that day on, I vowed that one day, I too would become a god."
Divine might is like a prison!
Before a god, a Saint was far too weak.
"Over five thousand years," Desri sighed. "How many friends have died on this path? Hayward died. Kairlan died back then. Rutherford died too..."
Faen nodded slightly.
In the long years, countless experts had striven to become gods. Reaching the Saint level wasn't hard for them. But becoming a god... the difficulty was far greater.
"Faen." Desri looked at him. "We've reached the final step. This is the closest we've been to becoming a god in over five thousand years."
Faen nodded solemnly. "Whether we succeed or not depends on this final push."
"Hmm?" Faen and Desri both looked at Linley at almost the same time. They exchanged a glance, surprise in their eyes. For experts like Desri, Linley and Olivier were indeed peerless geniuses. What took others thousands of years, they had achieved in less than a hundred. And this Linley... he made them tremble.
Good foundation, strong comprehension of the laws. And now...
"It seems he's finally about to break through to the Saint Magus level," Desri said with a sigh. He too had passed through this barrier back in the day.
...
At that moment, Linley felt a tremor in his soul. In his mind, the sea of mental energy was roaring. The seven-colored soul crystal was trembling, as if undergoing some change.
"Finally breaking through." Linley's heart was filled with joy.
From level nine to peak level nine had taken nearly ten years. From peak level nine to this breakthrough had also taken ten years!
"Rumble~~" The mental energy was continuously transforming. The area covered by the sea of mental energy was shrinking. But the mental energy itself was improving. Most importantly... the shape of the soul crystal began to change.
A slow transformation.
The quantity of mental energy shrank to about one-tenth of its original amount. But the mental energy became much purer and more flexible to control.
"This soul crystal?" Linley was startled.
In truth, the process of cultivation was also a process of elevating one's life level. The most fundamental aspect of life was the soul! As the life level rose, the soul itself would continuously transform. The 'Saint Magus' level cultivated mental energy. Reaching the Saint Magus level meant the soul would transform to a new level.
A slow transformation.
"When will this soul transformation end?" Linley didn't want to waste time.
He knew that the day to enter the eleventh floor was drawing near. The soul transformation was spontaneous. After observing it for a few days, Linley stopped waiting idly. He focused on comprehending the Wind Element's laws and studying various sword techniques.
Countless sword shadows were constantly demonstrated.
As Linley comprehended, he found that as his soul transformed, his speed and efficiency in studying the laws and sword techniques increased.
"Hmm?" Linley felt a tremor in his soul. "Success!"
Linley carefully observed his soul. In his mind, above the sea of mental energy—now dozens of times purer—floated a sword radiating seven-colored light. A faint cyan halo enveloped this sword. Yes, a sword!
"A sword?" Linley was astonished.
"My soul has become sword-shaped?" Linley was also surprised.
In truth, the shape of the soul was not fixed. For example, the undead in the Netherworld had flame-shaped souls, called soul fires. Like the 'Flame Monarch' Linley had killed earlier—its soul was actually inside that transparent stone.
Some God-level experts had souls shaped like blades, or even spheres.
This depended on the path each person cultivated.
"The Saint Magus level is indeed different." Linley's mental energy easily spread out. In this special plane, Linley had previously only been able to cover about ten meters. Now, he could reach several hundred meters.
Linley opened his eyes.
"Congratulations, Linley." Faen, Desri, Rosalie, and the others were nearby. Even Bebe was grinning at Linley.
"Boss, you've reached the Saint Magus level, right? Haha, cast that legendary 'Dimensional Edge' once! I've never seen it before!" Bebe was extremely excited. He was happy for Linley. Reaching the Saint Magus level.
Linley could now cast both Earth-type forbidden spells and Wind-type forbidden spells.
"Dimensional Edge?" Linley was also looking forward to this legendary, strongest single-target forbidden spell. He began to silently recite the magic incantation. He had known the incantation for a long time, but this was the first time he was casting it.
Moments later—
Countless wind elements gathered around Linley. On the grassland, the surrounding wind seemed to freeze in an instant.
A semi-transparent cyan wind blade, three to four meters long, shot out from beside Linley like lightning toward the distance. Its speed... probably even Bebe or Desri wouldn't have time to dodge. The most terrifying thing was that wherever this wind blade passed, "Crackle~~~" the space actually split open.
Like a piece of cloth tearing, space split open with a gash, which of course healed instantly.
After flying several hundred meters, the Dimensional Edge dissipated.
"Tearing space—who could block this attack? And this 'Dimensional Edge,' after being released, can still be slightly controlled in direction through mental energy." Linley was ecstatic.