Chapter 289: What the hell is a Lesser Heaven?
Amid the crowd of soldiers, murmurs began spreading among them.
Some whispered in fear.
Some grinned madly, eyes unfocused, as if they had already lost their sanity.
Others stood calmly in place, faces numb and emotionless.
One thing was certain.
The people gathered here would die without a doubt.
"Hey, system. Are you sure that I won't die?"
The voice came from within the crowd.
Its owner looked no older than seventeen or eighteen. He wore a grey robe like the rest, his appearance unremarkable. Yet if Lia, Alissa, or Evan heard that voice, they would recognize it instantly.
This was Lin Fang.
The self-proclaimed destined protagonist.
The transmigrator from Earth.
The bearer of a Villain System, destined to overthrow the Heavenly Dao and destroy the Fate Holder of this world.
Yet for some reason, his life over the past few months had been utterly miserable.
He was supposed to enjoy endless riches and live surrounded by beauties.
But reality proved otherwise.
Following the system's guidance, he joined the High Order to complete quests and grow stronger.
Months passed.
The only real progress he achieved was becoming a second ranker after consuming an Abyssal Transformation Pill. Thanks to his system, the pill caused no madness whatsoever.
Even so, he felt no joy.
Sure, wielding abyssal energy felt cool.
Being part abyssal sounded powerful.
But what was the point?
'WHEN YOU GET TREATED LIKE SHIT?!'
Dark lines formed across Lin Fang's face as he cursed madly in his mind.
He had enough.
The High Order truly lived up to its reputation as a den of mad dogs.
They tormented him relentlessly, to the point where he genuinely considered dying again just to see if he could get lucky with another transmigration.
Some members actively hunted him down.
They wanted to dissect him.
They wanted to uncover his mysteries.
Because of that, Lin Fang hadn't slept properly for an entire month.
Fail to complete tasks and you get thrown out.
Make a small mistake and your fellow members beat you up and deny you food for the day.
Complain to higher ranked seniors and you receive three lashes from burning abyssal whips.
He even began to wonder if his system was deliberately forcing him through torture because he failed to complete its quests.
But how the hell was he supposed to complete them?
How was he supposed to capture a beauty's heart when no beauty would even look at him?
Reality finally struck him.
He, Lin Fang, was NOT the protagonist!!!
The endless whippings had beaten that truth into him.
And the moment he accepted it, the system presented a new upgrade requirement.
Obtain essence from a Lesser Heaven.
He nearly choked on his own saliva.
What do you mean Lesser Heaven?
What even was that?
Why did it sound harder than getting close to Alissa?
And obtain what again? Essence? What essence? This sounded very wrong.
At this point, he would kneel, cry, and beg Alissa to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week if it solved his problems.
But a Lesser Heaven?
He didn't even know what that meant.
One thing, however, was certain.
He had enough.
He was leaving the High Order.
When Grey Lockhart appeared, Lin Fang planned to slip away from the army and defect to his side.
He was, after all, the Southern Region Champion.
Surely he wouldn't indiscriminately bomb someone from his own region… right?
Worst case scenario, Lin Fang would reveal that he was an otherworlder with a powerful system to prove his value.
And if that still didn't work…!
He would fall to his knees and cry his heart out!!!
At this point, dignity mattered far less than survival!!!
Just then, his expression changed drastically.
He abruptly turned his head, his gaze locking toward the southern side of the secret realm.
There, towering in the distance, stood a massive ice mountain.
A mountain so large that it pierced the skies, radiating cold that seeped into the very bones of those who looked at it.
And then—
To everyone's terror, it directly blew apart.
A violent explosion erupted as the ice mountain shattered into countless fragments, the frozen peak collapsing in an instant. Shards of ice and frost scattered across the sky, and what followed immediately after was something far more horrifying.
An abyssal storm.
Dark, violent abyssal energy surged outward, swallowing the area where the mountain once stood. The storm twisted and roared, forming a terrifying vortex of pure abyssal power.
"It's the Abyssal Mistress!" the senior grey robed High Order member exclaimed, his voice trembling as excitement flashed across his face.
The Abyssal Mistress.
She was a full blown abyssal being.
A being born directly from the Abyss itself.
"She's out…" the senior grey robed member muttered, his breathing growing rapid. "Does that mean… she managed to take that step?"
His excitement could no longer be contained.
"You are done for, Grey Lockhart! Done!" he shouted loudly, a cruel and vicious smile spreading across his face.
The Abyssal Mistress of the southern branch.
She was the mother of Zeryth.
The same Zeryth that Grey Lockhart had killed.
She had already learned of her son's death long ago. At that time, her fury had erupted so violently that the entire secret realm trembled under her rage. Abyssal pressure flooded the land, and countless High Order members had been forced to act together just to calm her down.
In the end, she chose to return to seclusion.
She left the matter of eliminating Grey Lockhart to the High Order.
And now—
She had awakened once again.
Judging from the aura erupting from the abyssal storm, it was clear.
She had successfully stepped into the first level of the third rank.
The very same level as the only third rank powerhouse currently standing in the southern branch.
Brilliant light suddenly burst forth from within the castle.
A red hooded figure shot into the sky like a streak of crimson light. His aura spread outward, heavy and overwhelming. He gave the senior grey robed member a brief nod before flying straight toward the heart of the terrifying abyssal storm.
"I greet the Abyssal Mistress," he said hurriedly, forcing a respectful smile onto his face.
Despite the fact that she had once been weaker than him, he had always treated her with caution and respect.
After all—
She was a full blown abyssal being.
Within the abyssal storm, a pair of otherworldly yet youthful eyes slowly opened.
Those eyes were cold.
Unfeeling.
They fixed themselves onto the third rank powerhouse with chilling clarity.
Her voice echoed through the raging abyssal storm, calm, deep, and filled with killing intent.
"Where is Grey Lockhart."
....
"…"
"Huh? Is it just me, or has the cosmic energy in this region thinned out again?"
Grey had just emerged from his secret realm when he sensed something abnormal.
The cosmic energy in the surrounding area felt noticeably weaker than before. The natural circulation appeared disrupted, thin and uneven, as if something had interfered with it directly.
For a brief moment, Grey even suspected that a powerful ranker had arrived here and forcefully torn a hole in the natural flow of cosmic energy.
However, that thought did not last long.
The moment he spread his mind perception outward, the truth revealed itself.
"Oh?" Grey's eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting?"
A flicker of interest flashed across his face.
And in the very next instant—
The world shifted.
Golden light suddenly erupted from the heart of the Three White Spring Cities, surging upward like a pillar that pierced the heavens. The radiance was brilliant and overwhelming, carrying a dense and ancient fluctuation that instantly disrupted the surrounding cosmic currents.
Far beneath the city, deep within the underground facility of the City Lord's Mansion of the White Spring Cities, a man with white hair sat cross legged.
His aura was undergoing a profound transformation.
Right beside him floated a beautiful woman, her expression frozen in stunned disbelief as she stared at the scene unfolding before her.
It was Evan.
And Xia Qingyue.
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