NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC93: Hideout, Kill yourself (5)
Chapter 93: Hideout, Kill yourself (5)
"Leave it to us, Grandmaster!" the twin sisters spoke with confident looks on their faces. "We will make sure the High Order members do not see the sun set today!"
Quite a cruel remark, but the High Order deserved nothing less. They were people who treated others as garbage and killed like it was nothing. They didn't have a shred of humanity left in them.
If you ran across a High Order member, it was either you or them who would live another day. For people like that, there was no need for mercy or even polite conversation.
Then, they rushed toward the group of 2nd Rankers.
"Leave the 3rd-level 2nd Ranker to me, Master," Werner chimed in as a powerful aura erupted from him, suppressing the entire area.
Even the lower-ranked gray-robed Rankers felt their strength weaken.
"This is Law Suppression," the gray-robed man at the 3rd level of the 2nd Rank exclaimed.
A blood-red fire erupted from Werner, dancing around him as he took a step forward.
By the time he took another step, his entire body was covered in that blood-red, burning flame—like fire from hell itself.
"Old bastard!" the gray-robed commander's face twisted in fear. "Do you know who you're dealing with? If you leave here quietly, the High Order will not make things difficult for you!"
This was his final card. Everything had crumbled, and all he could do was threaten Werner with the consequences of offending the High Order.
He was certain that if he didn't do something, he would die here.
Hearing this, Werner snorted slightly. With one step forward, he was suddenly right beside the commander.
"Yo—"
Just as the commander was about to shout, Werner placed his hand on the man's head, clenched tightly, and slammed him into the ground.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the impact, forming a massive crater where the commander was thrown.
"You are too weak to talk terms with me, brat," Werner said coldly, standing menacingly in the air like a blazing fire spirit.
He stretched out his arm and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the world flashed black and white for a moment before a huge ball of raging blood-red fire shot toward the crater.
"Blood Fire: First Form."
Boom!
As soon as the attack landed, a terrifying shockwave burst out. The densely packed forest was reduced to ruins. Every tree within several miles vanished, and a huge pillar of fire shot into the sky, forming a mushroom cloud.
"That's a whole nuke," Grey muttered as he watched his disciple in action. His eyes flickered as he activated his appraisal skill. Staring at the crater, he sensed nothing, no trace of life.
That guy was dead.
Everything within several miles was destroyed, but the attack had only targeted the commander. Everyone else was unharmed.
"The Law of Life and the Law of Fire," Grey nodded.
Werner was a dual-law wielder. Wielding two laws was rare, but Werner had lived long enough to comprehend both.
The combination of those two laws gave birth to the Law of Blood Fire.
His law ability allowed him to mark a target and amplify the damage they received.
Werner called it the Life Amplification Mark.
Grey shook his head. The 2nd Rank middle stage was on a completely different level—unfathomable to ordinary Evolvers.
He knew Werner wasn't even using his full strength. If he wanted to, he could easily destroy Ashspire City in just a few attacks.
And coincidentally, this powerful being happened to be his disciple.
Seeing the commander fall, the other 2nd Rankers were terrified. But amid their fear, madness flickered in their eyes, the same madness every High Order member possessed.
They had to end this quickly and escape!
They turned their attention to the twin sisters and charged forward with dense killing intent—two going for Meiling, two for Meiying.
"Mimi, go help the sisters," Grey said to Mimi, who had been silently observing the battle beside him all this time.
It already knew what was about to happen from the beginning, so it was calm. Mimi was an extension of Grey himself, and the terrifying part was that it could use Grey's abilities too. That included Heavenly Tribulation and his special ability.
Thinking about it, Grey shook his head. He could already imagine Mimi flying into the air, joyfully shouting "Mimi~" with a happy face as it eliminated hundreds in a single strike.
Both he and his cat were terrifying. If they fought together, they could easily take on a 2nd Ranker.
"Mimi~" Mimi nodded obediently and shot off like a streak of lightning toward where the twin sisters and the 2nd Rankers were fighting.
"Knight Aura Amplification!" one of the 2nd Rankers shouted, plunging his spear, shining with silver light, toward Meiling, who stood calm and cold.
Seeing this, Meiling snorted. Taking a step forward, she twisted her arm slightly, deflecting the incoming attack with the back of her hand. In the same motion, she lowered his spear, raised her leg, and struck straight at the man's head.
Bang!
The strength from Meiling's kick made the 2nd Ranker dizzy on the spot.
Just then, another 2nd Ranker who had been watching from the side seized the chance to sneak up behind her, his sword raised high.
His blade glowed with killing intent and dense abyssal energy as it slashed down toward her back at immense speed.
But—
Just before it could land, a streak of silver light flashed.
Clang!
Mimi appeared between the 2nd Ranker and Meiling, its small body wrapped in arcs of silver Heavenly Tribulation. With one paw, it deflected the sword, sending sparks flying.
Then, it waved its paw, and instantly, a dense bolt of Heavenly Tribulation lightning descended, crashing into the man's sword and spreading across his body.
"Argh!"
The 2nd Ranker's body stiffened as the lightning paralyzed him. The Heavenly Tribulation left his muscles completely numb, and when he tried to circulate his energy to heal himself, the Heavenly Tribulation reacted, wreaking even more havoc inside his body.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC94: Information, City Lord's intentions (1)
Chapter 94: Information, City Lord's intentions (1)
The Second Ranker stumbled back step by step, gritting his teeth in pain. The more he tried to cleanse the energy from his body, the more violently the Heavenly Tribulation reacted.
Meiling saw this and didn't waste any time. She glanced at the cat with grateful eyes and rushed forward, grey energy swirling around her fist.
With cold eyes, she closed the distance in an instant and then her spatial ring flashed and a talisman popped out of it.
"Augmentation array!"
The talisman flashed and covered her body for a second as she punched forward.
Bang!
The air around them distorted, and the sound of bones shattering echoed through the field.
In the very next moment, the force of her blow sent the man flying backward, his ribs crushed into pieces.
The Second Rank Evolver of the High Order's eyes dimmed, and all strength drained from his body as he fell lifeless.
One dead!
But it wasn't over yet. Meiling turned toward the knight she had stunned a few moments ago.
He was fully recovered now and charged toward her with an enraged expression.
"How dare you kill him! You'll pay for this!" he roared, bringing his spear down with great momentum.
Clang!
However, it was all for nothing.
Mimi appeared in time, blocking the attack, but the Second Ranker poured more power into his weapon, overpowering Mimi and striking at its legs.
Bang!
Mimi immediately fell to the ground. Though its legs were gone, there were no other injuries.
"Mimi!" Meiling shouted in worry.
The very next moment, Mimi's legs grew back instantly.
It was Grey's ability. As long as he didn't run out of psionic energy, Mimi wouldn't die—it would simply regenerate.
Mimi stood up energetically with a grumpy expression.
"Mimi! Mimi! Mimi! Mimi! Mimi!" It began cursing the man who had sliced off its legs, and a powerful lethal energy erupted from its body.
Sword Energy!
"Mimi!" The cat flew into the air, shaping the lethal energy into a sword with an angered expression. Its figure blurred as it shot toward the man.
"The cat is flying!" Meiling said with a dumbfounded expression. And it's using sword energy?!
However, now wasn't the time to think about that!
She charged forward alongside the cat.
Swish! Swish! Swoosh!
Mimi spun through the air, its body rotating faster and faster. Bit by bit, it gained momentum until a terrifying whirlpool of sword energy formed around it as it rushed toward the Second Rank High Order member.
The man was alarmed, but the storm of sword energy reached him faster than he expected and swallowed him whole.
Srkkr! Slish! Splat!
Lethal energy slashed down on the grey-robed High Order member, his body tearing open as cracks and wounds appeared everywhere.
Mimi stopped spinning midair and sent another bolt of Heavenly Tribulation toward the man.
With his body covered in wounds, it took less than a second for the Heavenly Tribulation to enter him.
The Law Power immediately paralyzed him as the Heavenly Tribulation wreaked havoc inside his body.
"Now!" Seeing the opening, Meiling didn't hesitate. She instantly appeared next to the man and punched forward just like before.
Bang!
Her punch connected, and the man was sent flying. The moment he hit the ground, he was already dead.
The other man was also dead—but it still wasn't over.
Meiling turned her head toward her sister. Meiying was still fighting. Her movements were fast and precise as she dodged and countered, but she was being besieged by two Second Rankers at once, barely holding on.
"Let's go, Mimi!" Meiling shouted.
Mimi nodded and leapt onto Meiling's shoulder as she rushed forward. The air cracked beneath her feet as she appeared beside her sister in an instant. Just as one of the men was about to land a heavy punch on Meiying, Mimi shot forward from Meiling's shoulder and blocked it with its tiny paw.
Boom!
The air distorted as the two forces clashed, but the one who emerged victorious was the Second Ranker. Mimi was blasted backward with a hole in its chest—yet, in the same instant, it regenerated and shot forward again.
"What?" The Second Rankers were stunned as he blocked the incoming paw attack from Mimi.
"Meiying, let's use the technique! We can finish them in one hit!" Meiling said quickly.
Meiying nodded firmly, and the other twin, Meiling, grabbed her hand.
The air around them shifted abruptly. They both raised their free hands, forming fists. Immediately, a powerful surge of Aetheric energy erupted from their bodies, intertwining together. Grey light swirled around their arms like mirrored streams.
"Twin Fist!" they shouted in unison. "Heaven Shattering!"
They stepped forward and punched simultaneously at the two Second Rankers.
Seeing this, Mimi joined in. Its body floated up, fur bristling with lightning and dense sword energy. It waved its paws, sending waves of sword energy and Heavenly Tribulation forward.
Boom!
The world flashed black and white for an instant as a terrifying blast of Aetheric energy shot forward. The sword energy and Heavenly Tribulation merged with it, vaporizing everything in its path.
The Two 2nd rank evolvers couldn't tell what killed them.
"That's all of them." Grey clapped his hands, smiling. "Good work, everyone."
"Grandmaster!" both twins called out respectfully as he strode over.
He had been observing from the side, and honestly speaking, he was impressed.
These two grand-disciples of his were truly exceptional and highly talented. After all, they had reached the peak of First Rank at just eighteen years old, and their combined technique was fascinating.
He had seen it in action before, and its power never failed to impress him. The Twin Fist: Heaven Shattering was a unique combined attack only these two could perform.
Once energy is refined, it's tainted by one's life force, creating slight variations between individuals. Normally, this causes resistance when two energies are combined, but because these two were twins, they could merge their energies perfectly.
This amplified their power severalfold, allowing them to instantly vaporize the two remaining Second Rankers.
These two were geniuses in formation mastery, and according to what Werner told him, they formed this technique after witnessing the functioning of the Dual Convergence Formation and gaining useful insights from it.
That formation allowed one to act as a substitute source of energy, transferring their power to the designated individual. In essence, it ensured that the target would never run out of energy. as the formation converted the supporter's power into raw cosmic energy, which was then processed through the Cosmic Energy Conversion Diagram.
As he was musing, Werner descended back to the ground, his appearance returning to normal.
"Great. Everyone's here." Grey nodded. "Then let's get to treasure hunting."
As he said that, he turned his attention to the crater where the abandoned building stood, the same place the High Order members had emerged from.
The structure was completely destroyed by Werner's earlier attack. Now, only an entrance remained at the center, and right above it shimmered a faint barrier.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC95: Information, City Lord's intentions (2)
Chapter 95: Information, City Lord's intentions (2)
Grey, the twin sisters, and Werner floated above the secret hideout of the High Order. The twin sisters were still only at the 1st Rank, but with Werner's help, they were capable of taking flight. As for Grey, he didn't need any help. He could fly indefinitely if he wanted to and could even sleep in the air for all he cared.
Werner was closely examining the barrier covering the entrance to the High Order. It was shaped like a honeycomb, and any attack directed at it would be neutralized effortlessly.
Werner's body abruptly burned red, and a large amount of spiritual energy poured out from him as he shot a compressed fireball at the barrier.
Puff!
As soon as the fireball hit the barrier, it was neutralized completely, leaving no damage behind.
Werner then flew closer and examined the formation carefully, narrowing his eyes.
"This is a Peak Two-Star Defensive Array," Werner said after finishing his inspection.
"However, the formation flag is located inside the High Order's secret hideout. It'll take quite some time to break it."
Having access to the formation flag, or the item where the formation was inscribed, made things much easier to dismantle. Without it, however, breaking the formation was a lengthy process.
"How long will it take, Master?" Meiling asked curiously.
"If we start now, we could crack the formation in one hour... no, two hours! With Master's help," Werner declared as he turned to Grey, who was staring deeply at the barrier.
[Your comprehension defies the heavens! By looking at the Two-Star Formation 'Dual Lock Barrier Formation,' you've comprehended the 'Absolute Lock Formation.']
Grey used his True Origin Sight, and immediately, the formation's structure was laid bare before his eyes. He could see which nodes were connected, the paths through which energy flowed, and all he needed to do was destroy those nodes to collapse the formation.
This was exactly what he had done with the killing array earlier.
The True Origin Sight hadn't turned out to be completely useless after he discovered Nexus Energy. It still had its uses.
Not only that, but by using it, he could also comprehend techniques and forge improved versions from them. He had even comprehended the killing array during the process of breaking it.
It was originally called the Bloodwind Formation, but after refining it into the Doom Engraving Formation with his cheat, it required far less energy to activate and could reach full power more easily. Once fully powered, it could kill multiple 2nd Rankers in a single strike. It was also equipped with a passive setting that automatically triggered when someone entered its range, meaning he no longer needed to go through the troublesome display of setting up formation flags like the High Order members did. Instead, he could catch enemies off guard and activate the array instantly.
This was his new trump card.
Grey turned to Werner and the twin sisters and flashed them a grin.
"One hour?" Grey asked, as his mental fluctuation spread out from his body, reaching every corner of the formation. Immediately after, the strong barrier that had effortlessly deflected Werner's attack shattered into pieces like glass and dispersed into the air.
"..." Everyone stared blankly at Grey.
They didn't know what to say anymore.
Did no formation have any effect on him at all?
Was he a natural bane to all formations?
The twin sisters and Werner didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
They were all formation masters, but how was Grey so different from them?
And to make things worse, their grandmaster was a year younger than they were.
The heavens were truly unfair.
"Let's go in." Grey waved his hand, and the entrance, sealed by a thick steel door, opened with a metallic creak.
"Yes!"
Werner and the twin sisters nodded, and one by one, they entered the hideout.
As soon as they stepped inside, the air turned cold. Looking around, they noticed that the interior was made of a special kind of steel, with screws holding the walls together.
Just below them was an elevator that blocked their view of what lay beneath.
The four landed on the elevator platform and looked around.
"To think their hideout would be this advanced. How long have they been here?" Meiying asked in disbelief.
"It looks like the High Order has been hiding here for years," Werner said thoughtfully. "To think they were this close to Ashspire City all along. They were hiding in plain sight, developing continuously."
"The lives of thousands of civilians were at risk all this time," Werner added, shaking his head.
"Let's go down," Grey said. His eyes flashed with light as he connected his hacking interface to the elevator and began operating it.
Pss!
With the sound of pistons pushing and the churning of motors, the elevator slowly began descending.
It went down steadily, and after a solid three minutes, it finally stopped.
"Such depth," Werner said as he looked upward. "We are several hundred feet underground. I believe even basic detection units wouldn't be able to detect this place."
"Indeed," Grey nodded. Even he was slightly surprised by the depth of this facility. What was below them was far larger than he expected.
In front of them stood a massive steel door. Grey slowly pushed it open, and beyond it lay rows of small rooms that looked eerily similar to the laboratory he had infiltrated the previous night.
The smell of medicine and cold metal filled the air. The temperature dropped, and a sterile chill spread through the place. Everything about this area screamed laboratory.
Grey's eyes flashed, and he immediately detected several signals, almost a hundred of them, coming from within those rooms.
There was no doubt about it. These signals matched those of cybernetic implants.
"So this is where I picked up the signals from earlier," Grey muttered. "I don't sense any other signals. I guess every High Order member came out to fight us."
It made sense. The person they were dealing with was a middle-stage 2nd Ranker, just one step away from undergoing Law Reshaping and ascending to the late stage. To deal with someone like Werner, they would need an army far greater than what the High Order currently had.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC96: Information, City Lord's intentions (3)
Chapter 96: Information, City Lord's intentions (3)
Walking in, he noticed several cameras pointed directly at them. The cameras wouldn't have any effect on him since he had already developed an automatic interference method to prevent them from capturing his face. As long as he was near any kind of technology, it wouldn't be able to detect him at all. However, the same couldn't be said for his disciple and grand-disciples.
Fortunately, removing these cameras was easy. With one camera near him, he could use it as a node to connect to the others one by one. With a single thought, the cameras were destroyed.
Buzzt! Buzzt!
Several cameras exploded one after another, leaving behind faint trails of smoke.
"Let's go inside one of these rooms," Grey said to the others.
He had already checked for potential traps using both his mental perception and his mind interface. There were no technological traps or traps placed by Evolvers here.
With that confidence, they chose a room and entered one at random.
As soon as they stepped in, Grey saw an extremely familiar scene.
Huge, human-sized tubes filled the room, large wires connected to them, and several holo-computers surrounded the area.
It was a spitting image of what Grey had seen back in Sector 1's Black Viper Gang hideout.
The only difference was that there were no lab members inside, and within these special, liquid-filled tubes were living humans.
They were wearing only short pants and nothing else. There were almost ten of them inside these tubes, curled up like embryos.
"This is?" Meiling's expression changed drastically. "These are Evolvers!"
"Were they experimenting on them?" Meiying asked in a surprised tone. "There are so many of them!"
"It appears so." Werner spoke calmly as he observed the place with narrowed eyes.
There was something extremely suspicious going on here.
Grey's mind interface flashed with numbers as several windows popped up continuously. He swiftly connected to the local database of Ashspire City and cross-checked the people inside these tubes. Three out of the ten were from Ashspire City.
"Three of them are from Ashspire City," Grey said. "The others should be from the nearby Three Guards Province since it's the closest to this part of the outer ring."
He looked deeper into their reports. "According to the database, these people were either declared dead or went missing."
He frowned slightly as he continued. "And the Enforcers of Ashspire City haven't made even the slightest investigation into them. Their families have requested and visited multiple times, yet the Enforcers haven't taken any action. The investigation has been on standby for several months with no progress."
Things could be hidden from the public, but nothing could escape Grey's eyes. His mind interface made it impossible to conceal secrets, especially data stored in a city's local databases. They were now the easiest thing for him to crack.
The law enforcers of the city were supposed to keep order, step in when incidents occurred, and assist ordinary citizens. They were usually very competent in what they did and rarely made such blunders.
All of this led Grey to believe that something was definitely going on here.
"No investigation?" Werner frowned.
He didn't doubt Grey's words. He knew what Grey was capable of.
"Indeed," Grey nodded, then connected his mind interface to the cybernetic chips implanted in their brains. Immediately, lists of errors appeared in his feed.
[Status Report]
[Neural Sync Rate: 12% (Critical Instability)]
[Cognitive Deviation Index: 874% (Above Lethal Threshold)]
[Conscious State: Fragmented]
[Mind Integrity: Corrupted]
Seeing this, Grey shook his head. The same report appeared for all of the people inside the tubes, all of them were highly unstable, their consciousness fragmented. Living a normal life was now simply impossible unless a 3- or 4-star Alchemy Master personally came down to treat them.
"They're long gone. Saving them is impossible now," Grey said to his disciples, who were waiting patiently for his words. "But since they're still alive, perhaps there's a slim chance they could recover someday."
He didn't know what kind of torturous experiment they had been subjected to, but this gave him a new impression of the High Order.
Twisted and cruel pieces of garbage, these people were no longer human. From this, he could tell there wasn't a shred of humanity left in them. They had fallen completely into the abyss. He should have already expected they would go this far.
There were more than a hundred victims here, all trapped inside tubes, broken beyond repair. They had families waiting for them at home, perhaps even newborn children, but the High Order didn't care about any of that. What mattered to them were their experiments.
"These High Order people..." Meiling gnashed her teeth in anger. "They're not human at all!"
"There are more of them here," Grey said, glancing at her. "Almost hundreds."
"Just what were they experimenting on, Master?" Werner asked. "To kidnap people on this scale, they must be doing something huge behind everyone's back. And considering it's the High Order, it's not going to be anything good."
"Indeed." Grey nodded. "Yesterday, I raided a lab similar to this one in Sector 1. It was also run by High Order members, and coincidentally, it was located in the Black Viper Crew's den."
"The Black Viper Crew?" Werner's expression changed. "The Interwire Company?"
"Seems like it." Grey nodded. "Last time, I tried to extract intel from the laboratory, but the data was wiped clean before I could recover anything useful. Still, I believe these experiments are related to the Law of Machinery."
"Law of Machinery? What is that, Master?" Werner asked in confusion. He had lived a long time, yet he couldn't recall anything about such a law.
"It's a law they're trying to comprehend," Grey replied. "For what purpose, I don't know. But I believe we might find the answer here."
As he said that, he walked up to the holo-computers. They were still functioning, displaying various data, most of it related to cybernetics.
But that wasn't what Grey wanted.
He swiftly connected his mind to the computer.
Inside, he saw several nodes connected together to one large node. From one glance, he knew it was the main database of these computers. Without wasting any time, he began hacking into it.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC97: Information, City Lord's intentions (4)
Chapter 97: Information, City Lord's intentions (4)
Grey's vision shifted, and immediately, a huge amount of data began pouring in. Heaps and heaps of applications and encrypted reports flowed straight into his head.
Soon, Grey found what he was looking for.
"Bingo," Grey mumbled as he selected the data. It was a large-scale research report.
[Central Evolutionary Research Division – Confidential Reports]
[File No: ERD-0473]
[Project: Forced Law Comprehension of the Law of Machinery through Data Cores]
[Supervising Member: Varyn – Late-stage Second Rank Expert]
[Objective: To forcefully comprehend the Law of Machinery to create the 'Ultimate Weapon' against the Ultimate AI, Eterna.]
"Hey, Eterna," Grey called out in his mind with a smile. "You're mentioned in the report. Look."
"..." Eterna slowly appeared in Grey's vision and stared at the report with a deadpan expression.
"I'm not surprised," she said calmly. "This was bound to happen. I already had my doubts when we first encountered the Black Viper Crew's den."
"Nothing escapes you, Eterna. Well, except the High Order," Grey replied as he continued reading.
[Subjects: 100 Late-stage First Rankers, 30 Early-stage Second Rankers, and 1 Mid-stage Second Rankers.]
[Phase I]
[The experiment was conducted in Hideout 0431, near Ashspire City. It began with the low-level subjects. Each subject was exposed to a Law Compression Core programmed to transmit the Law fragments of the Law of Machinery directly into their brain implants.]
[Phase I Results]
[Subjects exhibited extreme neural overload within 4.3 seconds of data upload. 67% suffered from structural collapse of cybernetic implants and entered a vegetative state due to mind-law dissonance.]
[Conclusion: The Law rejected them due to the artificial nature of comprehension.]
[Phase II]
[The experiment was conducted in Hideout 0431, near Ashspire City. This phase used early-stage Second Rank Evolvers. Each subject was exposed to a Law Comprehension Core.]
[Phase II Results]
[The upload of Law data into their brain implants triggered a subtle resonance; however, it also led to unexpected events. The subjects were struck by the Heavens due to the forced comprehension and died on the spot.]
[Conclusion: The subjects were able to withstand the forced comprehension slightly better than lower-level subjects. However, they were still pushed into a vegetative state and struck by Heavenly Tribulation. This experiment goes against the natural order of Heaven. More tribulations are to be expected.]
[Phase III]
[The experiment was conducted in Hideout 0431 near Ashspire City. It involved mid-stage Second Rank Evolver who had comprehended the law of fire. THe subject was exposed to a Law Comprehension Core after being implanted with cybernetics and redirected to Evolutionary Path 001, the Cyborg Evolutionary Path.]
Grey read every word carefully, storing it in his mind. Things were far more serious than he had expected.
Heavenly Tribulation!
This experiment had actually triggered Heaven's wrath through forced Law comprehension!
Just then, as he was musing, the text on the report started flickering, and a red warning appeared.
[Error! Data is being erased!]
[Error! Data is being erased!]
"It's you again, sneaky rat," Grey said aloud.
Last time, the data had been erased just like this, and he couldn't do anything about it. But this time, Grey was prepared.
"Activate the bypass protocol," Grey commanded in his mind.
Immediately, a huge formation appeared in front of him. The data source of the intruder was instantly exposed. Within seconds, he cracked the defense and completely neutralized the attack.
The bypass protocol allowed him to intercept any digital assault and even gain remote access to the attacker's system.
As soon as he bypassed the formation and neutralized the attack, a quick-forged hack list appeared in his vision. Without hesitation, Grey selected Neural Pathway Burnout.
Buzz!
A massive surge of psionic energy drained from Grey's body at an alarming rate. The moment he executed the command, all his inner psionic reserves vanished without a trace.
He could remotely kill someone with this method, no matter the distance. After all, he possessed a Cognitive Anchor, and everything technological was connected to the Information Layer. As long as he received the signal, he could target the source directly.
The only limits were the massive psionic cost and the restriction that it would only work on targets of equal or lower level. The farther the distance, the greater the depletion.
It was an ability he had long possessed but never used, until now.
With the attack deflected and even turned back on his opponent, Grey continued reading with satisfaction.
In the realm of cyber warfare, no one could match him.
[Phase III Results]
[With the help of high-level members of the High Order, they were able to deflect the Heavenly Tribulation. The research progressed more efficiently with their aid. The upload of Law comprehension triggered another tribulation, but temporary comprehension of fragmented Law constructs was achieved.]
[The temporary comprehension resulted in the subject gaining telekinesis, localized technology distortion, and repeatedly screaming, "I can see it! The world is 0s and 1s!" We believe he temporarily glimpsed the undiscovered Information Layer mentioned in the fragmented Law of Machinery. However, all he could do was glance into it, before it was too late, we cut the connection. The evolver is still alive and functioning normally, but mental state is extremely unstable.]
And the lab report ended there.
"The Information Layer," Grey muttered. "Are you seeing this, Eterna?"
"Yes," Eterna nodded slightly.
"Good," Grey said with a grin. "Because they already found out about the Information Layer. Your days are numbered."
He laughed. "Your reign as the Ultimate AI is coming to an end!"
"You'll be affected too," Eterna replied with a deadpan expression. "The only Cognitive Anchors in this sector of the Information Layer are yours and mine. If they find a way to eliminate me remotely, you'll be affected as well. Instant mind death."
Grey froze, his laughter abruptly stopping as a dumbfounded look appeared on his face.
"How do I revoke my Cognitive Anchor?" Grey asked flatly. "Because my future suddenly looks very bleak."
"You can't," Eterna said expressionlessly. "Once an anchor is formed, it can't be revoked until the day you die."
Grey smiled wryly. "Then that only means one thing, we need to stop them from comprehending the Law of Machinery."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Eterna inquired.
"Don't worry. I'll figure something out," Grey said with a deadpan expression.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC98: Information, City Lord's Intentions (5)
Chapter 98: Information, City Lord's Intentions (5)
"Hm, there are more records here," Grey said with a curious look as he selected one of the data files.
Coincidentally, it was the record of the middle-stage 2nd ranker.
"Oh?" Grey tilted his head, interest flashing in his eyes. "Well, look who we have here."
"..." Eterna fell silent as she stared at the data on the screen.
[Subject 161]
[Name: Orin Ardent]
[Occupation: City Lord of Ashspire City, Major funder of this experiment.]
Next to the report was the image of a middle-aged man with a neatly tied black bun and a short beard. His calm, composed expression carried the weight of authority, typical of a man who had ruled for years.
"City Lord Orin," Eterna murmured softly.
"How generous of the city lord," Grey said with a smirk. "He personally decided to become an experiment subject when progress stalled. How noble."
Then his grin widened. "But hey, Eterna, doesn't this make things a lot easier for us?"
"We can use it to our advantage," Eterna replied, nodding slightly.
"This guy is truly generous. He even helped us indirectly," Grey said before bursting into laughter.
Both Eterna and Grey had already come up with a plan. Grey had been subtly putting it into motion, waiting for the right moment. All he needed now was enough strength to execute it, and once he did, his resource problems would be completely solved.
He had reached level six in the past month. Though progress was slow due to stabilizing his foundation, his cultivation speed would normally have been impressive. He had spent a fortune buying hundreds of cosmic stones to fuel his progress, yet he was only halfway to the 7th level.
He needed more resources than he originally thought.
But once this plan took effect, he wouldn't have to worry about resources ever again.
And the City Lord was the key piece in that plan.
Grey turned toward his disciples, who were giving him strange looks. He suddenly grinned like an idiot, then started laughing uncontrollably.
They wondered if the traumatic data from the captured evolvers had somehow affected his brain.
"Cough." Grey cleared his throat and snapped his fingers.
Immediately, the holo-screen flickered and displayed the City Lord's profile.
"This?" Everyone's expression changed drastically.
"The City Lord?" Werner's voice trembled. "How is this possible?"
"The City Lord was working with the High Order?" the Twin Sisters gasped in disbelief.
No one could have imagined that the man who stood as Ashspire City's protector, the one everyone respected, was actually behind the scenes supporting the enemy.
"This is unimaginable," Werner said, anger rising in his voice. "To think the real culprit behind so many High Order incidents in Ashspire City was the City Lord himself!"
High Order operatives were spotted often in Ashspire City, but each time they were caught, they somehow escaped unscathed.
Now, the truth was clear.
The City Lord had been secretly helping them all along.
A terrifying aura burst out from Werner. "Master, I'm going to pay the City Lord a visit!"
"Pay him a visit?" Grey shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
He recalled Varyn, the High Order supervisor behind the experiment. That man was a late-stage 2nd ranker, though Grey didn't know his exact strength. If Werner charged into the City Lord's mansion recklessly, it would be suicide. What if that guy was precisely hiding there?
Grey swiped the screen again, pulling up another report. "Here. Take a look."
The section describing Varyn's details appeared before them.
"A late-stage 2nd ranker..." Werner's face darkened. "So there really was someone like that pulling the strings from behind."
Werner clenched his fists tightly. There was a heaven-shattering gap between a pseudo–late-stage 2nd ranker and a true one who had undergone Law Reshaping.
Law Reshaping was when an evolver reforged their body using the very laws they cultivated. Each successful reshaping brought immense growth in strength. And when one reached the end of the 2nd rank, the number of Law Reshapings determined their chances of ascending to the 3rd rank. Those who only reshaped once had the slimmest chance of breaking through.
"Before thinking about that," Grey said, glancing at the unconscious, half-broken evolvers floating inside the human-sized tubes, "we should get these people back home."
He already knew who to call.
Opening his contacts in his head, Grey tapped the most frequently called number on his new account.
Valeria Everhart.
"Hello?" Valeria's sweet voice came through the comm.
"I need help," Grey said bluntly.
Ten minutes later, dozens of AVs descended from the air one after another, docking neatly above the High Order hideout.
Grey waved his hand to signal them.
One of the AVs opened, and from it stepped a woman with a curvy, well-endowed figure. She wore a luxurious gown with a black luxurious coat draped over her shoulders and stylish black sunglasses. The moment she spotted Grey, she hurried toward him.
"Little brother Grey!" Valeria exclaimed as she rushed forward and began examining him anxiously. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Her voice was filled with genuine worry.
"I'm fine," Grey replied, rolling his eyes. "If I were injured, I wouldn't have called you. I'd be running away to heal first."
"Greetings, Miss Valeria," Werner said with a calm nod.
"Senior Werner?" Valeria blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
She hadn't even noticed anyone else until now. She had been completely focused on Grey.
Hearing her, Werner chuckled awkwardly. "Me and Master wer..."
He froze mid-sentence, almost choking on his words. The Twin Sisters looked equally awkward, their faces twitching slightly.
"Master?" Valeria's sharp ears caught it immediately. As the CEO of a major corporation and an evolver herself, her senses were exceptional. "Who's Master?"
She turned her gaze toward Grey, who had one hand covering his face in exasperation. He had told Werner countless times not to call him that in public.
"I mean, me and my good friend Grey here were just out for a test flight in his newly forged AV," Werner said quickly, coughing to cover up. "I just suddenly thought about my own master from back in the day. We used to travel like this too."
"Oh, is that so?" Valeria nodded, though her eyes narrowed slightly as she shot a suspicious glance at Grey.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC99: Information, City Lord's Intention (6)
Chapter 99: Information, City Lord's Intention (6)
"The City Lord?" Valeria's expression changed drastically as her gaze fell upon the holo-computer inside the High Order's hideout.
After a brief exchange, Grey immediately brought Valeria and her team down into the underground base, giving her a quick rundown of everything that had happened so far.
"Unbelievable." Valeria shook her head, still digesting the information. "To think he would actually collide with the High Order. We need to report this to the Federation immediately."
"Indeed." Grey nodded. "That's the most optimal approach to handle this situation."
"We alone won't be able to defeat a late-stage evolver," Werner added thoughtfully. "The Federation's assistance might be necessary."
"But... would the Federation even care about the report?" one of the twin sisters, Meiying, asked hesitantly. "When has the Federation ever cared about what happens down here?"
The room fell silent. Even Werner didn't respond. She was right. The Great Federation, and especially the Federation Master, had never bothered with the southern region. To them, this place was nothing more than a backwater filled with small, third-rate cities and a few struggling second-rate ones.
It had already been several years since anyone from the Federation had descended here.
"Are you hearing this, Eterna?" Grey asked in his mind with a grin. "They're talking about the Great Federation you work for."
Lately, Grey had found plenty of chances to tease Eterna, and he wasn't about to let these golden opportunities slip by.
"..." Eterna remained silent.
She was just an observing AI after all, bound to the artifact owned by the Federation Master. She had no authority to interfere, no power to change anything. All she could do was receive reports and, at best, push them forward in the review queue.
Grey knew that well.
"But," Eterna finally said, "I believe someone will descend from the Federation this time. We have someone from the Floating City present here."
Grey's gaze turned toward Valeria when he heard that.
"Don't worry." Valeria's tone carried quiet confidence. "Once we file the report, I'll make sure a late-stage Second Ranker, or even a Third Stage expert, descends from the Floating City."
She spoke with the natural authority of someone born in the Floating Cities, those elevated realms above the world where the Federation's elites lived. Her confidence wasn't arrogance; it was assurance born from influence.
Grey wasn't surprised. Valeria's background, her physique, and the powerful aura of her two bodyguards all proved her status. Once she reported it, someone from the Federation was bound to come.
"How long will it take for someone from the Federation to reach the Southern Region?" Grey asked.
This world was vast. The ten Floating Cities hovered at the very center of the Blue Star, while the Southern Region lay far to the south. Even a Third Rank expert would need days to travel that distance.
"It should take at least five days," Valeria estimated after a moment of thought.
"Five days..." Grey frowned. "That might be too long."
With the High Order's means of gathering information, they would find out soon enough. And last time, Grey had been caught using a soul lamp. Who was to say other members didn't have similar marks placed on them?
The danger was very real.
"Worst case scenario," Grey muttered under his breath, "Another Nova City incident will happen in Ashspire."
The moment hung heavy in the air.
Then, without warning, Grey rose to his feet and shot into the sky. Valeria and the others, startled, quickly followed him.
"What happened, Brother Grey?" Valeria called out, her tone tense.
"Nothing," Grey replied, his eyes narrowing as he gazed down at the sprawling Ashspire City below.
A faint glow flickered across his pupils.
Fate Insight.
And then he saw it, colors that only he could perceive.
The color of calamity.
The color of destruction.
And finally, the color of death.
It wasn't targeted at a single person; it enveloped the entire city.
"Looks like we're in deep trouble," Grey said softly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
"Huh?" Valeria's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Werner's expression hardened as he contacted Grey telepathically. "Master Grey, did you see something again?"
Having trained under Grey for a while now, Werner knew his master possessed extraordinary abilities, ones that could glimpse things beyond normal perception.
Grey, however, only shook his head and said nothing.
His eyes drifted toward the southern edge of Ashspire City, where a massive fortress stood. That was precisely where the secret realm was located. Upon closer observation, he realized there was a faint connection between the two, but what it meant, he couldn't tell yet.
He turned to Valeria and Werner. "The secret realm opens in a few days, right?"
"That's right," Valeria confirmed with a nod.
"Then you should be prepared," Grey said quietly, his tone mysterious. "Keep all the evolvers from the Formation Association and the Azrael Corporation on standby."
"In short," he added, "prepare for the worst. Running away might become an option too."
Everyone's expression changed drastically at his words, especially Valeria's.
"Grey, what did you see?" she pressed. "Is the city in danger?"
But Grey didn't answer. His gaze lingered on the city before drifting toward the distant Three Guards Province. There, too, he saw faint threads of calamity.
"You'll know soon enough."
"..."
Eterna's voice echoed in his mind once again. "You saw something, didn't you? Just like with Lia and Nova City."
Grey didn't respond. It wasn't that he didn't want to; it was that speaking it aloud could hasten what was to come.
He could only guide them indirectly.
Finally, he turned to Valeria, his tone heavy.
"Contact the Federation. Make sure someone, preferably a Third Ranker, descends as soon as possible."
Things were not looking good. This calamity was definitely related to the High Order. Grey was certain of that.
The best option would be to run away. However, Grey had something else in mind.
He believed he wasn't as powerless as he had been during the incident with Nova City.
This time, he wouldn't let the High Order have their way.
"If everything goes well, the crisis will be safely averted, and I can put my plan into motion," Grey said with a grin.
"..." Not even Eterna could tell what Grey was thinking.
Grey now possessed a rare confidence. Even in the face of such a large crisis, he was unfazed.
He had already promised himself that he would never run away again, and he believed he didn't have to this time.
"High Order. Let's see how you play your cards this time," Grey thought as a sharp purple light glowed in his eyes.
There was now an unknown factor in play and that was Grey.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC100: City Lord Orin (1)
Chapter 100: City Lord Orin (1)
A few days later, in the City Lord Mansion of Ashspire City.
The City Lord Mansion of Orin floated above the Inner District. It used large formations and anti-gravity thrusters beneath it to keep it aloft. People said he built the mansion that way in hopes of reaching the floating cities one day.
Inside the mansion, in the office, three people sat together.
One was a middle-aged man with a long beard, another was a man with slightly white hair and a calm gaze, and the third wore a gray robe.
All three, except the one wearing gray robe, had cybernetics implanted. The Middle-aged man with a long beard had cybernetics on his hands and around his collar, while the old man's body was full of it.
They were City Lord Orin, the CEO of Interwire Corporation Marcius, and Varyn, one of the High Order's experts.
"That damned bitch Valeria," City Lord Orin roared from the office. "How is she ruining our plan like this? This is the second time in two days. Two!"
He ground his teeth in pure anger. "We need to kill her. She's sabotaging our plans."
"How do you plan to do that?" Varyn asked calmly, taking a sip from the cup of tea placed before him.
"She is from the floating cities. Even we were not able to find any solid information on her," Orin said in a measured tone.
"But—"
A cold grin formed on Varyn's half-covered face. "What can the people of the floating city possibly do to us, the higher order?"
"I believe we should capture her and discover her secrets. She's extremely powerful for a twenty-one-year-old, at the middle-stage of 2nd Rank. She is definitely hiding something. I have already received orders from higher-ups to bring her in."
"Are you saying I can't kill her?" Orin's gaze went cold. He bit his lip hard.
"Kill her!" Orin shouted. "I will kill her! No one can stop me. Not even you!"
Like a madman who had lost control, Orin repeated the same words over and over.
Varyn sipped his drink calmly, watching.
Marcius, on the other hand, wore a worried expression.
"Lord Varyn, could this be a side effect of law comprehension?" the old man asked. "Is it dangerous? We've already cut off the connection with the Information Layer, right? But he still looks like he's gone mad."
Before Varyn could answer, Orin suddenly turned to Marcius. A distortion appeared in the air, and Orin stretched out his arms. Marcius was sent flying backward.
"What did you say, old man?" Orin asked coldly. In a flash he was beside the old man, clutching his head tightly. "Say that again!"
"I was mistaken," Marcius groaned through clenched teeth.
He was certain that saying a single wrong word might get him killed.
"Please forgive me, Lord Orin. I regret whatever I said!" Marcius begged.
Orin threw the old man to the side and sneered. "Useless."
He sat back down, facing Varyn, who remained calm amid the chaos.
"I will kill her. She's a worm in my path. This is my city. I will not let others trample my power."
"She is the only variable I cannot control," Orin added as his eyes flashed red.
Although many believed the city was controlled by corporations, that was false. All those corporations, except Azrael Corporation, answered directly to the City Lord. He had complete control over them.
"Mine! This city is mine! I will not let her do as she pleases!" Orin shouted.
"And that bastard from the Three Guards Province called me last night," he continued.
"Oh?" Varyn looked up in interest.
"That piece of shit threatened me!" Orin's veins bulged. "After Valeria rescued the test subjects, she also returned the people the High Order had taken from the Three Guards Province."
"He is suspicious of us!" Orin exclaimed. "The High Order hideout was right beside Ashspire City. He said that if he found out we were behind it, he would personally eliminate me."
Orin's face showed fear. "That's a late-stage 2nd Ranker. He will kill me!"
However, his fear quickly burned back into anger.
"But I'll kill him too!" Orin shouted. "Kill him! Kill him! How dare he threaten me? Who does that filthy bloodline warrior think he is? He's just a late-stage dog. I can kill him!"
"You indeed can," Varyn said calmly. "After the war armor is finished, your power will soar to the late stage."
"That's right!" Orin cried with an evil grin. "Once I get that armor, I'll show everyone. I'll let the world know who the real owner of Ashspire City is, and I will take over the Three Guards Province too!"
He turned to Marcius, who had shrunk back to the side and watched with fear.
"When will the armor be ready, you old bastard?" Orin demanded.
"It will be ready in three days, the same day the secret realm opens," Marcius replied in a trembling voice.
Interwire had been also secretly funding research into the Law of Machinery, and they had begun building a war armor, something Orin could use to permanently push himself into the late stage.
"Perfect! That's also when the tournament for the Southern Region championship starts!" Orin laughed. "I'll kill that bloodline warrior city lord bastard and every participant there!"
He laughed like a madman.
"You think it will be that easy?" Varyn sneered. "There will be many experts from other cities there."
"Sir, the automatons we've created using the Law of Machinery are also ready," Marcius said. "They can be controlled by the war armor."
"Hear that?" Orin said with a cold smile. "That alone is enough. I'll kill everyone there. Since he decided to offend me, he will pay the price with the blood of his civilians!"
Marcius wanted to argue, but he held back. He could feel that the City Lord had gone too far. He was willing to plan the extermination of innocent people.
"That alone won't be enough." Varyn said. "For that reason, the High Order has dispatched more members. They will be here soon."
Varyn was plotting the elimination of the Three Guards Province. It was his grand plan, but with Ashspire City taking a defensive stance, things were simpler. He did not need to convince Orin to act.
"Good! Good! Good!" Orin crowed excitedly. "Everything is under my control. I will eliminate that bastard as soon as I get my armor. I will bring him down from his high horse. Then the entire Southern Region will remember my name: Orin Ardent!"
"Then, I will kill Valeria!" Orin screamed. "She is an insect standing in my way. No one stands in my path!"
He burst into maniacal laughter.
Varyn, calm as ever, finally spoke. "I told before already. You cannot kill Valeria."
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC101: City Lord Orin (2)
Chapter 101: City Lord Orin (2)
"Why?!" Orin's expression flared with rage again. "I'll do it! Who are you to tell me what to do? I am the city lord not you!"
A calm smile spread across Varyn's face when heard this. He snapped his fingers, and a terrifying aura erupted from him.
Immediately, Orin's head slammed down onto the table in front of them.
Orin tried to sit back up but, a powerful suppression rendered him unmovable.
"Do you know who you are talking to?" Varyn asked coldly. "I made you. You should always remember that, Orin. You will do as I say."
"Y-yes!" Orin stammered, panic on his face. "Please let me go, Lord Varyn. I was wrong! Wrong!"
He showed the genuine look of fear, he knew what Varyn was capable of doing. Even after going insane, his subconscious mind didn't dare to defy Varyn.
Varyn waved his hand and released him.
Orin sucked in a deep breath, recovering from the pressure of Varyn's presence.
"You can personally kill Valeria once we figure out her secrets," Varyn said, sipping his tea calmly. "After that, she will be of no use to the High Order."
Orin's face brightened at the suggestion.
"Yes! I will kill her! Kill her!" He burst out laughing again.
Then Varyn changed the subject.
"Did you find the person I asked you to find?" he asked Marcius without hurry as Orin continued laughing.
Marcius nodded and produced a chip from his pocket. He plugged it into the table. The tabletop shifted and a holographic projection sprang up.
The projection showed the streets of Sector One. The focus was a single person.
A young teen, about seventeen or eighteen, with long black hair tied into a neat ponytail. An angular, handsome face, deep purple eyes, and a small smile. A white cat perched on his shoulder, looking around curiously.
"Is this the person you were looking for, Sir Varyn?" Marcius asked.
"Indeed." Varyn studied the image. "That is precisely the person."
"Grey Lockhart," Varyn said slowly. "I wonder where you ran off. To think we would meet so soon."
"Our agents discovered he's been working with Valeria for a while. That is why it took so long to get useful intel. His identity was being anonymously encrypted by Azrael Corporation, they were protecting him all along." Marcius spoke.
"But he walks the streets freely, and that's how we got his picture. We investigated from there. We believe he's working with Valeria to bring down the High Order. He also raided the Black Viper Crew's den. Could he be behind the outer-ring hideout? How else did Valeria find it?"
"Of course he's the one. No doubt about it," Varyn said. "That guy has a special eye for High Order operations. He managed to find two bases within two days."
"One of our members died under his cyberattack," Varyn added, sipping his tea. "The last time we removed the data, but the next day he remotely accessed our Byteripper's system and eliminated him. His neural pathways were completely burnt out."
"What?" Marcius was stunned.
"Is he that powerful?" Marcius asked, voice trembling. "He's the reason the Nova City plan failed, right, Sir Varyn?"
"Powerful?" Varyn snorted. "He's a small fry. The person he killed was only a late-stage 1st Ranker. What could he do? The Nova City incident was luck."
"Lord Varyn, I've checked the list of people entering the secret realm. His name appears on it. he's under Azrael Corporation."
"WHAT?"
Orin who was laughing stopped and immediately became enraged after hearing this.
"Who gave our enemies access to the secret realm? I'll kill them!"
Orin was furious beyond words.
"I will kill that brat too! He dares to disrupt our plans! Bastard! I'll tear him apart inch by inch! Does he even know how much I spent on that hideout?" Orin ground his teeth.
If he had someone to choke, he would.
"W-well, it was you who issued the entrance pass, City Lord Orin," Marcius said awkwardly.
"What did you say?" Orin snapped. "I never did that!"
Orin's disrupted flow of mind from the experiments made him completely unreliable, he even started having short term memory loss.
This is a direct side effect of forcing law comprehension and attempting to enter a new dimension without proper preparation. Going in unannounced and entering after gaining insight into the Information Layer, like Grey did, are two entirely different things. The dimension will definitely reject the former.
"Calm down," Varyn said. Immediately, Orin's fury cooled.
Varyn turned back to Marcius. "Eliminate him inside the secret realm. With him gone, Azrael Corporation won't come snooping around. I will supply some strength-enhancing pills from the Order."
"You did not need to, Lord Varyn," Marcius replied carefully. "Interwire has already prepared for this. He is an enemy of the High Order. A variable like him must die."
Marcius then made a call. Within ten minutes someone entered the office.
"Lord Varyn," the newcomer said.
He turned to Varyn and bowed respectfully as he greeted him.
He was a young man about Grey's age, with braided hair, slightly tanned skin, and tattoos running along his arm.
"This is Anderson," Marcius introduced. "He is our top genius and is entering the secret realm."
"Don't worry, Lord Varyn. I will deal with him," Anderson said with a cold smile. "I follow the Martial Evolutionary Path, one of the top three paths. A small fry like him won't stand a chance. I'll make sure he's dealt with for good."
"Good," Varyn said. "Do the work perfectly and I will make sure you have a place in the Order."
"Yes, sir!" Anderson answered.
"Eliminate him, or I'll eliminate you," Orin suddenly said, pointing at Anderson. "Do you get it?"
"Yes, City Lord!" Anderson replied confidently.
He had noticed the City Lord earlier, but Marcius had briefed him that Varyn was more important. He naturally courted Varyn's favor first.
"Good! Good! Good!" Orin cackled like a maniac. "Everything is going according to plan! Everything! Ha ha ha!"
Everyone in the room noted Orin's erratic behavior. He had mood swings and seemed childlike at times, but that was a symptom of exposure to the information layer. He was far gone.
Marcius might have showed some worry, but Varyn had none of that.
To Varyn, Orin was a pawn. Once Orin's usefulness ended, he would be disposed. The High Order's plan was far grander.
They intended to corrupt the city, raise the corruption count, and open a portal!
A portal straight to the Abyss, that had always been Varyn's goal. He had failed in Nova City. While pretending to help the Duskwood family to take control, he actually sought to summon an abyssal being by corrupting an entire city and using its citizens as catalysts.
That was Varyn's method: twist promises, deceive others, and then stab them in the back. He felt no remorse in doing so, it was all for the sake of the High Order.
For the glory of the High Order and the Abyss, he would continue.
A wide grin spread across Varyn's face. With the Three Guards Province added to the equation, the portal could summon an even stronger abyssal being without the world consciousness interfering.
"The threshold for the crossover will be met with the vital energy of the citizens and the cosmic energy of the cities." Varyn said, grinning evilly. "The Southern Region will be unified soon!"
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC102: Secret Realm (1)
Chapter 102: Secret Realm (1)
"Mr. Grey! We want to go to the secret realm too!"
The twin sisters stood in front of the Azrael Corporation's headquarters in the central sector along with Werner, Valeria, and her two bodyguards.
They had an exaggerated look of sadness written on their faces when they spoke to Grey, who stood on the side staring at the sky.
Hearing this, Grey slowly turned to the twins and spoke. "I told you before, it won't do any good to join me in the secret realm. It's better if you stay put in Ashspire City and prepare yourselves for what is to come."
"But..." Meiling puffed her cheeks up. "I wanted to go and explore the secret realm."
Grey shook his head upon hearing this. "It's already been decided, no going back now."
"Mister Grey is right," Werner, who stood by the side observing, spoke out while rubbing his long white beard. "The city is about to enter dangerous times, and we won't know when the attack will come. It's better to be prepared for the worst."
Grey silently nodded.
The twin sisters originally planned to enter with him, but after he looked at the city with his Fate Insight, he changed the plan completely.
He arranged for the twin sisters to help the Formation Association and the Azrael Corporation. They were genius formation masters and could handle many formations all at once without any issues.
They were budding masters who were one step away from becoming 2-star formation masters, hence he believed they should stay in the city and provide help rather than coming with him.
It was also the same for the members of the Azrael Corporation who were supposed to come with him. Valeria managed to receive three permits for the secret realm — one was allocated to him, and the other two were allocated to the top individuals within the 1st Rank of the Azrael Corporation.
But under Grey's words, Valeria also made them stay put within the city.
The one extra invitation which Werner allocated to Grey was also not used. There were plenty of candidates who could potentially fill that place alongside the twin sisters to enter the secret realm, however, Werner decided it was better not to send them off into the secret realm.
He took Grey very seriously and treated each of his words with caution. Hence, he was on full alert. It was the same for Valeria.
She trusted Grey to the T. He was a miraculous being in her eyes, always unpredictable and powerful. She had heard the entire thing that happened in the Outer Ring High Order's hideout from the twin sisters, and this completely made her reassess her opinion of him.
Strong and undefeatable. Even in the face of hundreds of corrupted soldiers from the High Order, he alone was enough to eliminate them.
"Is everyone prepared?" Grey inquired curiously.
He hadn't paid much attention to what they'd been up to these past few days. Instead, he'd spent most of his time holed up in his mansion, only stepping out when something important required his presence.
He had been trying to push for a breakthrough in his rank, but even after borrowing resources from Valeria and the Formation Association, he couldn't reach the next level. He was effectively trapped in a bottleneck.
As for what this breakthrough was, even he didn't know. He expected things would be smooth sailing for him once he cut the cost of refining all three aspects of his being. the body, mind, and energy, allowing his evolutionary technique to refine them simultaneously using the same amount of energy. But amidst all this, he never took into account the problem of the bottleneck.
He believed he had to perfect that before he advanced his path to the 2nd Rank. He wanted his evolutionary path to be smooth sailing with no errors. Perhaps his personal wallet might help with it; she had a special physique that allowed her to have no bottleneck after all.
But for now, he believed the secret realm might have what he was looking for to break through the bottleneck.
Grey then quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Werner began speaking.
"It's been great, Mr. Grey," Werner said. "We've mobilized all the formations within the Formation Association, and all the formation masters in the association are also preparing themselves as we speak."
"The entire army of evolvers of the Azrael Corporation is completely mobilized and ready to charge," Valeria added. "They will immediately take action once something happens."
"Good," Grey nodded. "I can enter the secret realm in peace then. Just do as planned, and things will work out."
From his calculations, he knew that the calamity he foresaw would happen precisely today.
Because today was the day when the secret realm would open. From the data observation received by the city from the spatial distortion of the secret realm, it would open precisely in two hours from now.
The sun hadn't even risen in Ashspire City, it was 3 AM in the morning. But it was already time to move.
The secret realm was something he had been looking forward to ever since he was made aware of it.
He had some goals and plans for entering it. He wasn't entering for no reason, in fact, he could've just stayed in the city and helped them with the calamity from the side. However, entering the secret realm was also part of his plan.
It was a hit-or-miss plan, but if it worked, then he wouldn't have to utilize Plan B.
The High Order would never foresee what was coming at them.
That aside, the secret realm was littered with all sorts of secret opportunities, and most importantly, an inheritance ground!
Thanks to Werner and Valeria, Grey was able to gather a lot of information about the secret realm, and from that, he knew the inheritance ground was where the real treasures were.
Grey's goal was simple, completely monopolize the secret realm for himself and take all the things inside.
Of course, on that note, the reason he denied the others from the Formation Association and the Azrael Corporation from entering was definitely not because he wanted to hoard all the treasures for himself.
Definitely...
Grey then shifted his gaze to the sky and activated his Fate Insight once more. Indeed, there he saw it, a dense jet-black miasma of death lingering around the city.
It was even more apparent today.
One thing was certain: once he departed from here, the city would be overwhelmed with disasters, and many would fall today.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC103: Secret Realm (2)
Chapter 103: Secret Realm (2)
"It's time to set off," Grey said to everyone. "The secret realm will open soon."
As he said that, he swiftly opened his mind interface, connected it to his AV, and directly called it over. It had an auto-pilot function, so he didn't need to manually control it; it would come to him with a single command.
"Little Brother Grey, be safe inside the secret realm," Valeria voiced her concern. "While the inside of the secret realm is filled with treasures and opportunities, it is also filled with dangers. From the records we've received, there are several monsters waiting for you inside."
"Yes." Grey nodded. "The highest probable threat there is only going to be at the peak of the 1st rank. Something of that scale is nothing to me."
What he said was true. In the 1st rank, he had no competition.
It didn't matter if it was a god or a demon, or perhaps an ancient immortal with endless talent. He, who had undergone transformation through the Law of Heavenly Tribulation and held the superior energy that overlooked all, had nothing to fear.
"Master, please be safe," Werner used telepathy, something exclusive to Law Transformers, and spoke directly into Grey's mind.
"Don't worry, old man," Grey replied. "I'll be just fine. Worry about yourself."
Grey shook his head. If Werner were to fall here today, it would definitely be a loss. He had been his disciple for the past two months and had continuously assisted him in every matter. Not only would he lose a disciple, but the city would also lose a powerful Two-Star Formation Master.
As he finished musing, his AV arrived and neatly descended beside him. Slowly, the door to the AV opened, revealing the interior.
"Farewell, everyone," Grey said with a smile.
He could see it in their faces, the unease, the fear, the silent anxiety buried behind every glance. The upcoming calamity hung over them like a dark cloud, pressing down on their hearts. He wasn't blind to it. Hence, he gave them small words of encouragement
.
"There's no need for any of you to worry," Grey said, a confident grin tugging at his lips. "As long as I don't fall, nothing will happen to you or this city. I, Grey Lockhart, guarantee it. with my name."
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere froze.
"!!!"
Everyone was taken aback. For a moment, even the sound of the wind seemed to stop.
Valeria blinked, her eyes widening as she stared at him.
Where did this confidence come from?
What gave him the courage to speak like that?
He was just a 1st Ranker, someone who hadn't even stepped into the true realm of power.
Should a mere First Rank Evolver like him even dare to make such a declaration?
Normally, such words would be brushed aside as arrogance, the kind of empty boasting only the young and reckless would make before reality crushed them.
But no one laughed. No one mocked him.
Because somehow, they believed him.
That brief smile of his carried more strength than any speech.
Then, without saying another word, Grey turned and stepped into the AV.
The engines roared to life with a deep hum that shook the air. Dust rose around him as the AV slowly lifted off the ground before accelerating upward in a streak of light.
Everyone stood there, watching silently as the AV ascended higher and higher, growing smaller with each passing second until it became nothing more than a dot in the vast sky.
Yet even as it disappeared from sight, his voice lingered, echoing in their minds, clear and unshaken.
"As long as I don't fall, nothing will happen to you guys and the city."
To them, it didn't sound like a mere promise — it was a declaration, a certainty that his words would become reality
Inside the AV, Grey sat in the pilot seat with his legs crossed, casually gazing at the view of the technologically advanced Ashspire City.
Then, Eterna came into his vision.
Seeing her, Grey spoke. "You're here, Eterna. Did something happen?"
"Yes." Eterna said. "I have detected multiple signal blockages within Ashspire City. Current count: five hundred and twelve."
The signal blockage detected by Eterna could only mean one thing: that organization was here. After all, such precise interference was something only Eterna could recognize; it was targeted directly at her.
To ordinary citizens or even Cyborgs, those people would seem completely normal. No matter how deep they tried to dig, they wouldn't find anything unusual.
But with Eterna using his cognitive anchor to constantly scan the area around him, there was no way she would miss the faint distortions caused by the signal blocks.
"I figured as much," Grey replied calmly. "Still, to think there would be more than five hundred of them. The High Order is going all out, aren't they? Also, they really need to step up their game. At this point, it's becoming too easy to identify a High Order member. But I guess they're already making preparations for that."
Recently, Eterna had tried snooping around the City Lord's mansion. Targeting or breaching the privacy of a City Lord was strictly against the laws, but she could still probe their family members instead. Yet, to her surprise, she hadn't found anything out of the ordinary.
That only led her to believe that the High Order had already begun taking countermeasures.
"Affirmative." Eterna paused briefly. "Based on your prior analysis, I assume you anticipated this development."
The way Grey spoke made it clear that he already knew about the infiltration long before she mentioned it.
"So, the calamity you foresaw was related to the High Order," Eterna inquired with analytical curiosity.
Of course, she had suspected it from the beginning. As a powerful AI, her predictive algorithms were beyond ordinary, but seeing the way Grey acted only confirmed her calculations.
"Maybe," Grey replied with a smile. "Maybe not. Perhaps a different factor will come into play. We won't know for sure."
Grey wasn't going to tell Eterna outright about the calamity. That would only accelerate things unnecessarily. Fate was unpredictable, and he didn't want to provoke it this early.
Besides, what he said was true. Maybe an unpredictable variable other than the High Order might appear, you never know.
Then, Grey changed the subject. "Any updates on the Federation?"
"Yes." Eterna nodded slightly. "That is the secondary reason I contacted you, aside from reporting the High Order's signal blockages. A 3rd Rank expert has been dispatched from the Federation. Estimated arrival: five days."
"In five days?" Grey sneered. "By the time he arrives, the city will already be razed to the ground, corpses littered everywhere."
"..." Eterna's tone shifted subtly. "Is the situation projected to escalate to that degree?"
Grey simply stayed silent. He neither denied or confirmed it.
"The Federation is truly inefficient," he muttered. "Utterly useless."
"Alright, now go away. I'm enjoying the view here. Don't disturb me," Grey waved Eterna away.
Eterna wasn't really helping with anything, and it wouldn't be a lie to say she had been mostly useless so far. She did help with his safety and the High Order, but aside from that, she hadn't been much of an asset. And in this incident, she couldn't help either.
Eterna knew this well, but she was powerless to change it. Perhaps, if she did try to interfere, something even bigger would erupt.
Soon, the AV passed through the sectors of Ashspire City and finally arrived near a towering fortress
This fortress was built directly above the secret realm for maximum security, ensuring that no one trespassed or approached it without authorization.
Grey attached his permit to the AV, and as soon as he entered the fortress's airspace, a scanner swept over his AV and instantly gave him clearance.
Bit by bit, he slowly descended and finally landed within the fortress. There, many other AVs and vehicles were already parked.
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NEXUS ASCENSION: MY COMPREHENSION DEFIES THE HEAVENC104: Secret Realm (3)
Chapter 104: Secret Realm (3)
As soon as the AV docked, Grey stepped out.
He looked around curiously. The first thing he noticed was the law enforcers of the city, stationed in every corner of the fortress, fully alert and ready to take action if anything went wrong.
Aside from them, several mechas were also stationed here.
Mechas were combat-ready, destructive forces of technology. Depending on the grade, the strongest third-tier mecha could easily unleash firepower equivalent to an early-stage Third Ranker. Their versatility was immense, capable of adapting to countless situations.
Grey had always wanted to build a mecha for himself. It could prove useful in dangerous times, and with his mind interface, he could even control it remotely.
Of course, that was something only he could do. Normally, mechas were piloted manually, the user had to sit inside and synchronize their mind with the machine, similar to how one entered virtual reality.
Speaking of virtual reality, Grey had only entered it once to design his mansion. He had never really bothered exploring it since then. Perhaps after all of this was over, he should check it out again, and maybe even create a towering, one-of-a-kind mecha.
Then, Grey turned toward his AV and waved his hand. Instantly, the AV turned into a flash of light and disappeared into his spatial ring.
That's right, it entered his spatial ring. During the past few days, while handling important matters, he had also paid a visit to the Golden Chamber of Ashspire City.
It had been a solid two months since he bought his spatial ring, known as the Prototype Ring. It possessed twenty cubic meters of internal space, but after two months, it was nearly filled with formations and all sorts of other items. He figured it was time for an upgrade, that way, he could even store his AV inside.
He swiftly modified the ring's space from twenty to two hundred cubic meters. It was simply a matter of swapping the spatial formation inside for a more powerful one, so it didn't take long, half an hour at most. However, it cost him a whopping 10,000 Union Credits. Still, it was worth it. Now he wouldn't have to worry about space again, unless he decided to start storing megastructures and skyscrapers.
Which he obviously wouldn't...
Speaking of the Golden Chamber, the one here in Ashspire was doing extremely poorly compared to the branch in Nova City. There were almost no customers inside, and most of the shelves were empty.
In this city, neither the Golden Chamber nor the Evolver's Association held much influence. Everything was effectively controlled by the Corporation, and most of the resources for Evolvers came directly from them rather than from the Chamber.
Grey then glanced at the numerous AVs and cars parked around him.
There were hundreds of them, and plenty of people as well. With a single glance, he could tell that most of them were from the City Lord's Mansion, top families of Ashspire, and major corporations. Altogether, there were about a hundred or more participants.
"But the majority are from the City Lord's Mansion," Grey snorted.
Wherever he looked, he saw the Light Saber insignia, the mark of the Ardent Family.
It was obvious that the City Lord was favoring his own kin. While other families barely received two or three entry permits, his own family probably received over fifty. It was blatant favoritism, using his authority to give his family special treatment.
Grey finally turned his eyes toward the Secret Realm.
The Secret Realm floated slightly above the ground, suspended in the air. Steps had been built beneath it for people to climb up.
It resembled a cracked piece of glass, as if reality itself had glitched. It looked like someone had wiped away a portion of the world's canvas, leaving behind jagged fractures that shimmered faintly.
The cracks pulsed with a void-like hue, distorting the air around them. It was beautiful, yet unsettling, like a doorway that shouldn't exist.
The moment Grey laid eyes on it, his ability stirred to life.
[Your Comprehension defies the heavens! By gazing at the Secret Realm, you've gained insight into the 'Law of Space'.]
"The Law of Space!" Grey's eyes widened.
He realized that he had actually gained comprehension of the Law of Space, he had more knowledge about it in his head now.
What was the Law of Space? It was the fundamental structure that bound reality together, the invisible framework that defined distance, direction, and existence itself. Without it, there would be no up or down, no here or there, only chaos, where even reality couldn't find a place to stand.
The Law of Space was something only Fourth Rankers could comprehend. Everyone knew that much. As for how or why they comprehended it, no one truly understood.
What was certain, however, was that Fourth Rankers could tear apart space and travel great distances in moments. They were beings capable of perceiving the very fabric of space and bending it to their will.
Those below the Fourth Rank couldn't even sense its existence. It was reportedly proven that a Third Ranker had absolutely no chance of comprehending it.
But Grey...
He had actually managed to gain insight into the Law of Space.
"Is it because of the spatial distortion?" Grey mused.
There was no other explanation. He definitely wasn't capable of perceiving it normally like Fourth Rank experts. If he could, then all he would need to do was stare at the sky for a while, and he would have already grasped it long ago.
This revelation opened several new possibilities for Grey.
Comprehending the Law of Space, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't as impossible as facing a Heavenly Tribulation either. He believed that with enough exposure to spatial distortions, he would eventually gain true mastery over the Law of Space.
"This is great!" Grey exclaimed, excitement flashing in his eyes as he began walking.
There was still nearly an hour left before the Secret Realm opened. Since that was the case, he decided to spend the remaining time staring at the spatial distortion without blinking, and gain even more insight into the Law of Space.
Nothing could stop him from doing so.
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