Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Ethan had collapsed, and Julian and Micah rushed to his side.

"Quick, get him in!"

KH3106's voice cut through the panic, and another virtual capsule materialized on the ground. The two of them lifted Ethan together and lowered him inside.

"Damn… feels like we're putting the boss in a coffin," Blackie muttered under his breath.

"You and your cursed mouth—can you shut up for once?" Micah snapped. Standing right beside him, he'd caught every word. Blackie's loose tongue was a walking jinx.

"What did Ethan mean when he said we were saved?" Julian asked.

[Beep, beep, beep… Temperature stabilization detected… External thermal energy at charging level… KH3106, authorize energy absorption system activation?]

"Activate," KH3106 ordered.

"Look, up there…" Micah pointed to the sky.

A figure had appeared, cloaked entirely in black, his form completely shrouded. He floated high above, staring at the vast, writhing will of the Spirit Realm.

"You were nothing but a spirit artifact, and only when this place transformed into a Spirit Realm did you ascend to become its will," the man's voice rolled through the air. "You were born of it, and it is your shackle. Leave this place, and you'll drift like rootless weed—gone before long."

"Who are you?" the will demanded. Its shape was faint, formless, always shifting in the air.

"Me? Heh heh." The man chuckled, reaching up to pull back his hood.

"You…" The ethereal shadow recoiled in an instant, withdrawing thousands of feet away.

Inside the mech, the crew stared.

"Boss?"

"Ethan?"

"Holy crap!"

Shatterstar's camera zoomed in on the stranger's face, and every gaze in the cockpit dropped to Ethan, submerged in the capsule's pale liquid. They looked back up, comparing, disbelief etched into every face.

"Could they be twins?" Blackie muttered.

"Nonsense. From his voice alone, he's at least a hundred years old," Micah shot back.

"Then who is he?" Blackie demanded.

"He's… uh… Ethan's grandfather? Maybe he ate a Youth-Preserving Fruit?" Micah guessed weakly.

Blackie snorted, white mist puffing from his nostrils. "You're full of it. I saw Overlord Caelum nineteen thousand years ago…"

"Who's Overlord Caelum?" Julian asked.

"His grandfather. My savior," Blackie said without hesitation, pointing at Ethan. Julian froze.

"Nineteen thousand years ago? You kidding? Ethan's barely twenty!" Micah said sharply.

Blackie's words faltered. The math didn't match. He stared at Ethan, then at the man outside—two identical faces—his mind churning in confusion.

Far above, the will kept its distance. "What are you going to do?"

"You don't need to panic. You still have a purpose," the man said with a benevolent smile that only made the will tense further. "I won't let you die."

It was Ethan's second avatar—controlled, of course, by the old man Morzan. Who else could halt the movement of a colossal star with a flick of his hand?

"State your demands," the will said cautiously.

"Just like your master—little ability, plenty of cunning. Fine, I'll be direct. On the ninth layer there are two things. I don't want the living one. Hand over the dead one, and this ends here. Otherwise…" Morzan glanced up at the stationary fireball looming in the sky.

Silence. The will didn't respond, its thoughts unreadable.

"Disagree? That's fine too."

Morzan didn't raise his voice, yet the words carried a weight that made the air itself tighten. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the sky and appeared inside Shatterstar.

Blackie yelped and nearly leapt out of his seat.

"Oh? A Black Qilin? Not bad," Morzan said with casual interest. His gaze slid over Blackie, and the beast's skin crawled as if he'd been stripped bare.

"You little brat, get up!" Morzan barked, staring down at Ethan in the capsule.

Ethan's eyes snapped open. Through the receding liquid, he met Morzan's gaze. "Old man, you finally decided to show up? What, planning to wait until I died so you could collect my corpse?" His voice dripped with resentment.

"Enough whining. Can you move? If so, come with me—we're about to make a fortune." Without waiting for an answer, Morzan hauled him up by the collar.

"Easy! All my bones are shattered!" Ethan winced.

[Beep, beep… Warning: Patient's vital signs normal. Injuries include comminuted fractures of all 206 bones, complete rupture of localized fracture structures… Not recommended to leave treatment capsule.]

The cockpit went silent. Normal vital signs? Every single bone broken?

KH3106 stared. The human body had 206 bones—Ethan had just been told every last one was shattered, and yet… the man was on his feet. Barely, but standing.

Ethan blinked in disbelief. Am I crippled?

"Good, good… perfect," Morzan said with a satisfied nod. Holding Ethan by the back of the neck, he stepped forward—and the two vanished, reappearing twenty feet from the will. The entity flinched back.

"Why run? In this Spirit Realm, I can't touch you… unless I destroy it," Morzan said lightly, tilting a wine bottle to his lips.

The will hesitated, realizing the truth—he couldn't harm it without shattering the entire realm. Here, it was god. No superior being could challenge it inside its own domain. Slowly, it twisted into a solid form—a young man in white robes, holding a folding fan.

"Heh. Even your spirit form is modeled after yourself," Morzan remarked.

"Your demand, I cannot grant," the young man said, snapping the fan open.

"Oh?" Morzan turned to Ethan. "Do you know what governs a Spirit Realm?"

"No," Ethan gritted out. His every nerve screamed in pain.

"It's condensed Soul Power," Morzan said. "Can your Gate of Ascension still open?"

"Yes."

"Then open it."

Biting back agony, Ethan summoned his Soul Power. The Gate of Ascension took shape, vines twisting like ancient serpents, the sight eerie and wild.

"What are you doing?" the white-clad man asked, folding his fan.

"Teaching a stubborn child," Morzan said flatly. A massive palm materialized in the air and closed around the young man.

The will dissolved into mist, voice echoing, "In this Spirit Realm, I am god. You cannot harm me, as long as—"

"Haha! Maybe I can't kill you, but catching you is easy," Morzan laughed. The palm shifted into a cage that sealed the space.

The will hadn't expected it. "What can you do with me? I feel no pain, have no desires. Torment? That's Impossible."

"I'm not here to torment you," Morzan said, tightening his grip. "I hear the will of a Spirit Realm often dreams of becoming human—but to do that, you need possession. And the host must open their soul willingly. Today, I'm giving you the chance. Whether you succeed or not… is up to you."

The giant hand contracted, compressing the will into a glowing sphere.

"Go," Morzan said, flinging it into Ethan's Gate of Ascension.