Yuan’s Ascension

On the battleship.

I hope I’ll meet Pei He, Rou Shui, and the others again someday. Wu Yuan smiled faintly, pushing the memories of the past two years to the depths of his heart, no longer dwelling on them.

Wu Yuan had long grown accustomed to such experiences; the path of immortality was long and winding, with life and death ever uncertain, partings and reunions inevitable.

According to the intelligence gathered by my body refiner self in the eldritch voidrealm, the higher echelons of both camps will be closely watching for talents who unleash extraordinary power on the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield. Wu Yuan mused inwardly. These past few days should have given the two camps enough time to react.

On the way back to the war base over the last few days, Wu Yuan avoided combat as much as possible to prevent exposing his trail.

The eldritch world is unlikely to take any abnormal actions, and even if the Eternal Sun Immortal World is aware of my actions, they can’t do anything to me as long as I haven’t returned. Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

Moreover, with Instructor Nan Yin's connections, he might already know of my performance.

Wu Yuan had his suspicions about Instructor Nan Yin.

A Sixth Tribulation High Immortal was an extremely powerful existence among High Immortals; of the dozens of High Immortals in the Dragon Star Immortal Sect, a Sixth Tribulation High Immortal would undoubtedly rank among the top five.

Yet, they wouldn’t normally possess such a vast network of connections.

Master said he once concealed his identity and wandered the world. Perhaps he encountered some super powerhouses and forged these extensive connections? Wu Yuan pondered. Or is Master hiding his true strength, and is actually a nominal disciple of some Astral Monarch?

Initially, Wu Yuan did not find Instructor Nan Yin particularly special. But later, as his own horizons broadened, especially after interacting with Astral Lord Yin He, Astral Lord Chen Deng, Senior Brother Jiang Huan, and others, Wu Yuan became increasingly aware of Instructor Nan Yin's formidable abilities; at the very least, his attainments in the Celestial Body Dao seemed no less than those of an Astral Lord.

This made Wu Yuan increasingly suspicious.

Or could it be... that Instructor Nan Yin is actually an incarnation of the immortal ancestor of the Dragon Star Immortal Sect? This was the possibility Wu Yuan found most plausible.

It fit on all fronts. He had Astral Lord-level strength, living long enough to forge a vast network of connections. After concealing his true strength, he publicly declared Wu Yuan a nominal disciple under the tutelage of the 'immortal ancestor'.

As for Instructor Nan Yin being Sword Immortal Dong Yang? Wu Yuan had also considered this, but quickly dismissed it due to the low probability.

He had never met the Sword Immortal Dong Yang, and the image of the Sword Immortal Dong Yang passed down in the sect's legends differed vastly from Instructor Nan Yin's appearance. They were clearly two different individuals.

Most importantly, the legendary Sword Immortal Dong Yang wasn’t known for expertise in the Celestial Body Dao.

…

No matter how great the disturbances in the Eternal Sun Immortal World or the Eldritch World, my life isn’t at risk. Wu Yuan mused inwardly. My only concern is the Voltari Temple; I don't know if they'll dispatch more geniuses from the Immortal Hall.

After doing his research in the eldritch voidrealm, Wu Yuan was well aware that if his performance was too outrageous, the Voltari Temple would not hesitate to send a steady stream of its most talented disciples at his cultivation phase to deal with him.

This was the primary reason for Wu Yuan's hasty departure.

My qi refiner self may not fear the Immortal Hall geniuses from the Voltari Temple, but I have no need to provoke them either. Why incite their wrath? Wu Yuan's lips curved into a faint smile.

If they want to target me, they’ll have to find me first.

…

The battleship traveled at three thousand li per second, slicing through the void silently and deftly avoiding rogue planets of various sizes.

It swiftly approached a dark crimson planet with a diameter of over a hundred thousand li.

The war base. Within the battleship, Wu Yuan gazed at the planet.

Countless ore-rich planets populated the boundless expanse of outer space, some thousands of times larger than the war base. Yet none of those planets could exude the overwhelming pressure that this crimson planet did.

It was like a colossal slumbering beast. The myriad cryptic patterns on the crimson planet's surface seemed unremarkable, but collectively they seemed to contain unspeakable power.

Legend has it that during great wars, king-rank fighters lead armies to assault the enemy’s war base? Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

A king-rank fighter’s strength? Even if there were ten or a hundred more Wu Yuans, he felt he would be instantly annihilated if this war base unleashed its full might.

Fortunately, during the so-called great wars, war bases would only activate their basic arrays.

I haven't heard a great war erupting in Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield 36 in these two years. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

A great war typically erupted when the power disparity on a battlefield grew too lopsided.

Hum~

"Greetings, ninth-rank fighter Ming Jian. Welcome back to the war base. Please follow the guiding power into the passage." Wu Yuan's avatar within the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm's personal hall received this transmission.

Immediately after, Wu Yuan sensed an invisible force guiding his battleship, pulling the ship swiftly into a channel.

The war base had six visible passages - four entrances and two exits.

The passage I’m entering seems different from those used by most fighters. Wu Yuan's gaze swept over another passage below, where quite a few combatants were entering, some flying and some aboard battleships.

…

Is this the second floor of the war base? Wu Yuan strode out of the battleship, surveying the vast plaza thousands of li away.

It was now empty and deserted, completely unlike the bustling scene he had witnessed on his previous arrival. The place was eerily silent.

"Esteemed ninth-rank fighter," a black-armored soldier in standard battle regalia approached, smiling. "Welcome back to the war base. Since this is your first time on the second floor, allow me to provide an introduction."

"Very well," Wu Yuan nodded lightly, accepting the offer.

Every war base had three floors. The first was where most combatants rested. The second was restricted to only seventh-rank fighters and above or Void Refiner/Elysian Field cultivators. The third floor was reserved for the stationed troops.

"Wow! Is that a spirion battleship?" An exclamation rang out nearby.

Wu Yuan turned to see two figures descending from a distance. One was a white-robed youth with his hair bound in a braid, his robe adorned with mysterious patterns. The other was a purple-armored middle-aged man with dark skin and cold eyes, maintaining half a step behind the youth. He appeared to be the youth’s bodyguard.

An Amethyst Cradle cultivator as the master, a Void Refiner cultivator as the bodyguard? They must be from influential backgrounds, here on a trial mission. Wu Yuan surmised.

"Brother! Are you here on a trial mission too? I’m Fu Zha. To own a spirion battleship, your background must be impressive, brother. I wish I could afford one," the white-robed youth called out loudly, his tone overly familiar.

Wu Yuan was slightly taken aback. He had never heard of this Fu Zha. Smiling faintly, he replied, "It does look impressive, but I haven’t examined it closely. I seized it in battle."

"It truly is impressive. A spirion battleship can reach a maximum speed of... What? You seized it?" Fu Zha's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Wu Yuan. "You, an Amethyst Cradle cultivator, did it yourself?"

"Indeed." Wu Yuan nodded calmly, turning to the black-armored soldier. "Please lead me to my residence."

"Yes, follow me." The soldier nodded and flew through a corridor.

Wu Yuan followed without sparing Fu Zha another glance.

"So arrogant?" The white-robed youth muttered under his breath.

"Young Master," the purple-armored man beside him finally spoke, his voice deep. "His displayed name is Ming Jian."

"Ming Jian? What about it?" The white-robed youth frowned.

"Young Master, you should at least check the fighter ranking leaderboard." The purple-armored man shook his head. "Ming Jian is a ninth-rank fighter. And he went from first-rank to ninth-rank in just two years. Rumors say he has the strength of a legendary-rank fighter."

"What?! First to ninth-rank in two years?" The white-robed youth's eyes bulged. "Even faster than my brother? No wonder he's so arrogant."

"A top-tier genius from the Fourth Origin Eldritch Field?" The youth exclaimed loudly.

The purple-armored man could only shake his head at his young master’s behavior.

"It's fortunate we didn't offend him, or my brother would beat me senseless if he found out." The youth shook his head. "Just casually strolling around and we run into such a formidable figure."

"How scary! I’m going back to the manor."

…

As they traveled through the corridor, spanning over ten thousand li, they passed numerous sprawling manors, each occupying a vast area. Occasionally, Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses could be seen coming and going.

"It's Ming Jian."

"So that's Ming Jian?" These Elysian Field powerhouses recognized Wu Yuan almost instantly through the information displayed on their voidrealm jades. All of them looked on in shock.

Perhaps Ming Jian's name had yet to spread across the entirety of Battlefield 36, but within Outer Space War Base 1294, he was famous.

In fact, even the Amethyst Cradle black-armored soldier guiding Wu Yuan sneaked glances at him from time to time, clearly well-informed of his exploits despite not being a combatant himself.

Soon after, the soldier gestured toward a manor spanning dozens of li below. "Fighter Ming Jian, this is your manor. Once inside, you will have full control of the residence. Upon activating the arrays, none may enter without your permission."

"Additionally, as a ninth-rank fighter, you may use this manor free of charge – a special privilege."

"You can review its other functions within your personal hall in the eldritch voidrealm. I won't elaborate further," the soldier concluded.

Wu Yuan nodded. "Thank you."

The soldier saluted and swiftly departed.

Rather courteous. Wu Yuan smiled faintly and transformed into a stream of light, shooting into the manor below.

Within were pavilions and towers, with meditation chambers and other cultivation facilities.

The environment was exquisite, undoubtedly one of the most luxurious manors in the war base, superior to most others on the second floor.

Yet there were no servants.

"Esteemed ninth-rank fighter Ming Jian, you are now the master of this manor." Information flowed into Wu Yuan's mind.

He swiftly took full control of his new residence.

Different ranks, different treatment. Wu Yuan mused. Ordinary fighters unwilling to spend ethercrystal can only endure the hardships on the first floor.

Privileges were earned through strength. Only those who had slaughtered countless Immortal Court cultivators could ascend to the rank of a ninth-rank fighter. Such preferential treatment was only natural.

He walked into a meditation chamber, surveying his surroundings. The chamber was impressive, yet it paled in comparison to the Essence Tower. Shaking his head, Wu Yuan assumed the lotus position, quickly accessing his personal hall in the eldritch voidrealm.

As a ninth-rank fighter, he had substantial privileges in two key areas.

First, he could exchange ethercrystal laurels for special resources prepared exclusively by the eldritch world, items that couldn't be purchased with any amount of ethercrystal in the external world. Second, he could sell his battlefield spoils to buy standard artifacts like spirion battleships, arrays, battle puppet constructs, flying swords, and more.

Within the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm, Wu Yuan scanned the light screen before him. My ethercrystal laurels.

Fighter: Ming Jian

Rank: Ninth

Accumulated ethercrystal laurels: 136,323,000 (1 billion needed to advance to legendary-rank fighter).

Remaining ethercrystal laurels: 136,323,000.

With just over a hundred million ethercrystal laurels, there aren’t many treasures I can purchase. Wu Yuan smiled bitterly.

The ethercrystal laurels earned on the battlefield were entirely different from ordinary ethercrystal.

Wu Yuan browsed through the items available for redemption, marveling at the unique options before him. There were opportunities to enter exclusive realms, chances to receive guidance from Archimmortals and Astral Lords, and treasures that anyone in the cultivation world would covet.

For instance:

Semi-Legendary root establishment treasure: one billion ethercrystal laurels

Legendary root establishment treasure: 3 billion ethercrystal laurels

Ridiculous. 3 billion ethercrystal laurels? Wu Yuan muttered to himself. Just how many immortal cultivators would I have to kill to obtain that many?

The difficulty was apparent. He would definitely be targeted relentlessly by the Voltari Temple.