Myriad Devils-Chapter 206: To become an Empyrean

Stellar fighters aged as well.

Besides those who transcended worlds, none could escape the grasp of time. This was what was told to the mortals; however, Anon wondered.

Was this really true?

Less than fifty or so years had passed since the great rebirth. Many had become stellar fighters and returned from the camps, the academy, and even the army, aged.

So this naturally backed this saying.

But with himself as an example, this saying felt false.

Maybe this inverted sky dimension had a time flow that was skewed, and hundreds of years were only a few years on Earth, and maybe there were many more dimensions like this, stepped into by the stellar fighters of Earth.

This was why stellar fighters appeared to’ve grown old even though the great rebirth was a handful of years ago.

However, those who did not enter the third world and could not join the army would not have entered dimensions like this. It likely hinted that those in the first and second world did not acquire greater longevity than mortals.

Or maybe he was wrong, and maybe even fifth worlders were no different than mortals. Maybe it was just he, Anon, who was fundamentally unique.

Who knew the answer?

.....

After the battle against the darkness daemon, Anon had, in the passing of a hundred years, battled once more.

This was a battle against a native, and it was a battle that he greatly enjoyed. It was the first time since entering this dimension that he dominated from beginning to end.

His sword techniques involving the black and white lightning were above the apex tier, and with the immense curse magic oozing from his soul, augmenting his attacks, even when he did not actively try, his opponent suffered with every attack. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

After the battle, he subconsciously felt a limit with his sword. It was as if he had achieved a kind of pinnacle, so that there was no possibility of improvement.

Since then, he shifted his focus to his fleshy body and pondered on the core of true mastery over the body.

Anon developed martial techniques; however, as someone who was not experienced in this aspect and did not even practice high-tier bare-fisted martial arts before, it was a challenging task to create something from nothing.

Yet still, this was an entity that devoured the experience of countless wraiths and the even more complete memories of some cursed spirits.

One could say that Anon’s fighting experience, especially after being honed by this inverted sky dimension, was phenomenal.

Anon began by meditating on this experience.

He mentally battled with his bare fists against many apex-tier staff, spear, and sword techniques that he developed over the years.

Even if he had not practiced bare-fisted combat before, his natural combat experience led the way forward.

Facing off against these techniques, he very naturally developed martial techniques to counter them, and in his own way, developed apex-tier counter staff, counter spear, and counter sword techniques.

With such a base, he continued his martial development and forged numerous apex-tier techniques before finally beginning to merge the mysteries of the black lightning and glowing patterns into his martial arts.

This was not a process that could’ve been easily mastered, especially in the very beginning. However, once he took the first step, the following steps became easier...

.....

"After the next battle, I’ll achieve the pinnacle of this dimension. I wonder, how long will it take me to nurture a Primordial Cloud thereafter?"

Anon sat at the edge of his ancestor cloud.

This cloud spanned 48,000 meters. Following the chain that began back then, his Ancestor Cloud would double in size once he attained victory.

It would expand well beyond the necessary 60,000 meters and incur the descent of the dimension’s consciousness.

"When I first arrived, the knowledge from this dimension stated that there had been only a handful of primordial drifters across the past million years."

Anon could faintly sense that becoming a primordial drifter was much more complex than simply killing a few Empyreans.

"Back then, nurturing a primordial cloud was too far away, so I did not need to focus on that; however, after becoming an Empyrean, the mystery behind nurturing a primordial cloud would need to be solved."

Anon fell back, slamming into the cloud with his back. After an entire century of drifting, his hair was a tangled mess that could, with a single command, unknot.

It had grown very long.

If he stood, it would reach below his calves, trailing behind him even when he was upright.

Fortunately, his sword soul power was quite sharp; yet Anon chose to keep his hair as long as possible.

In the modern day, especially due to the appearance of stellar fighters and the normalcy of combat, it was rare to see male earthlings with such long hair.

Yet still, this style reflected the changes that Anon’s psyche had undergone.

After drifting across the crimson heavens for over a century, it was clear he was no longer just another Earthling.

His amber gold eyes dazedly stared at the earth above.

For a moment, he seemed to perceive the spiritual city, but its image disappeared quickly thereafter.

"Sigh..."

The inverted sky dimension was traumatic.

Anon could only imagine; however, if stellar cosmic energy existed in this world, a century would’ve passed even faster.

Meditation and cultivation held similarities, but they were two different concepts. With stellar cosmic energy, most of his time would’ve been spent on cultivating his spirit.

Ah...

Well, at least, he’d cultivate his spirit until it reached the peak of the second world. He did not dare to enter the third world, after all, that was the goal of the new world order.

’Seth, and the purest incarnation... You all so wish for me to enter the third world, so why send me into a dimension that suppresses the spirit?’

’You refuse even when there is a chance that my spirit may enter the third world, all because you’re so scared by the idea of me attempting spirit, flesh unity.’

Anon smiled.

If they did not show such opposition to the idea of him attempting spirit, flesh unity, Anon would’ve likely entered the third world by now.

After all, spirit, flesh unity was impossible for a second world spirit; and yet, the purest incarnation’s fear showed that the matter was not as simple as possibility and impossibility.

’Do they really think that I do not see them as an enemy? When I see my enemy wish for me to do something, isn’t it obvious that I’ll do the complete opposite?’

’Or is it that they actually wish for me to attempt spirit, flesh unity, and this is their way of... No, that is unlikely. My subconscious is absolutely correct. The purest incarnation certainly wishes for me to enter the third world; however, then we’ll return to square one.’

’Logically, they should understand that they’re exposing themselves too much.’ Anon frowned.

"Logically... logic... logic..." Anon shot to his feet, his eyes lightning up. His figure was trembling as he chuckled darkly.

"You’re too good at this, too good!" Anon muttered under his breath. At the same time, he sensed a foreign gaze, pulling him back to a state of normalcy.

"Such an intense gaze? Such a fiery gaze!"

Anon looked in its direction, his vision traversing across the crimson heaven.

The approaching drifter cloud carried a grandiose sight of an ancestor cloud spanning more than fifty kilometers, burning with vengeful flames.

Anon stared at the emerald flames that lit up a distance of over fifty kilometers, and then glanced back at his own ancestor cloud...

"Is mine bugged? Every other drifter had some tasteful decorations. One had black flowers, another had a cloud filled with shattered blades. One had mountains of corpses, and this one’s entire battle cloud is lit ablaze. Why is my cloud so dull?"

The drifter cloud was the manifestation of a soul’s power. Its appearance hinted at a few things, and yet, Anon’s drifter cloud’s appearance was the absolute standard for an ancestor cloud.

It was the same when he had a mature cloud as well. Back then, it was only a mass of purple clouds, and now, it was only a mass of emerald clouds.

He couldn’t help but sigh in dismay.

A flash of amusement passed through his eyes. At a moment’s notice, he came up with a theory behind the plainness of his drifter cloud.

"Maybe my drifter cloud’s dull appearance is due to the nature of my soul, and its inherent trait of devouring. Even though your cloud is pleasing to the eye, in the end, it will be completely devoured by mines..."

Reaching this point, Anon suddenly frowned, "But if that’s the case, then shouldn’t my drifter cloud reveal the properties of all of my previous victims?"

He scratched his chin and gave up his attempts at solving this mystery.

The two drifter clouds drew closer, and battle was imminent. Anon turned his back to the approaching cloud and approached the center of his own.

Well, no matter where he was situated, when the two clouds intersected and the battlefield was created, the two forces would be brought to opposing ends of the battle cloud.

Though the dimension could not control the drifters themselves, the cloud could be controlled, so when the battlefield was being created, both drifters would always find themselves furthest away from the other.

One could say that this was unfair to close-combat specialists; however, when one step was enough to cross the entire battlefield, what was truly fair and what was truly unfair?

On one side of the battlefield, Anon could be seen. His longsword was next to him rather than wielded by him.

On the other side, a six-armed figure stood. Even though he sprouted six arms, his aura was that of a human, surprising Anon.

Existing in this hypothetical sixth world, Anon’s perception was so acute that he did not doubt that the figure before him was a human; however, his appearance was indeed... different.

These two ancestors were entities with talent that could not be underestimated, and yet, in this forsaken world, one was bound to fall...

In this battle of ancestors, only one can become an Empyrean!