War was on the horizon, but not just for the Underworld as across the vastness of space, a shocking truth had come to light that directly put two Prime Worlds against each other! The forces of the Time Immemorial Sect, a sect in the lands controlled by the Profound Astral Sect of the World of Cultivation- had uncovered a heinous scheme by the forces from the Magus World after their encounter some time ago!
Grand Elder Amos has begun investigating the reports that Elder Dan returned from the Devilish Abode with, following the trail of exactly why the Magi from the Magus World were targeting the people of his sect. After Elder Dan was saved by the mysterious entity that held numerous draconic heads and tentacles, he moved rapidly to report this and chase down any leads as to why the Magi were targeting them in the Devilish Abode.
Grand Elder Amos had thought it was a grudge that he didn't know about or an old offense that was just uncovered, but as he followed the trail, he came to realize that many forces all over the World of Cultivation were being targeted by Magi from the Magus World!
He quickly brought this information to the attention of the Profound Astral Sect as a thorough investigation was carried out. This investigation revealed a shocking horror as the powerhouses of the Profound Astral Sect were able to catch and imprison a magi in the act, and the things this Magi revealed made a chill run down the spines of all those listening!
A shocking truth was revealed on that day, with the grand designs of the major organization of the Magus World specifically targeting the beings in the World of Cultivation to obtain their bodies for experimentation and the creation of abominations that moved without souls!
This shocking truth enraged the entirety of the World of Cultivation as all travel was closed off, the portals connecting it to the Magus World being the first to be destroyed as everything single remaining Magi on the World of Cultivation was purged that day.
Blood and mayhem ran through the mountains and clouds, this single action heavily offending the forces of the Magus World as they denied any wrongdoings and called the actions of the World of Cultivation baseless murder, sparking a chain of conflicts as the two Prime Worlds now stood at the cusp of a War!
It was not just these two powerful Prime Worlds that were on the precipice of war and conflict as ever so slowly, chaos spread across the worlds as many other powers faced their own rising issues and conflicts, many thinking they were isolated incidents, but only those commanding higher levels of power being able to look at and realize that restlessness and chaos was spreading across the stars.
Chapter 338 - Discerning Fate
In the Inquiring Mountain that was under the control of Grandmaster Vredral, Noah was sitting on the lush greenery outside of his expansive dome-shaped dwelling that felt too much like a cathedral.
His eyes were closed as he had {Fate's Disciple} activated, his body gaining a l.u.s.ter of gold as wisps of light converged above him and ever so slowly descended onto his body in an orderly fashion. He felt like he was some wizened being pondering on life as numerous Fate Lines descended within the next few hours, his face that of calmness and peace as the environment around him was really too conducive for this sort of mental state.
He was actively condensing Fate Lines while expanding his senses to cover the well-ordered plants that held an array of colors surrounding the location where he and Athena stayed on this Inquiring Mountain, many of these plants creating snaking paths that went up or down the mountain as simple roads were visible.
The mountain was thick with essence everywhere you turned, causing one's body to bubble in excitement just by being there. He remained in this state as he thought back to the events of the past few days, being interrupted when he heard the familiar voice of a particular War Princess.
Noah's sharp eyes opened as he received a message from his 'Senior Sister' Athena who was staying alongside him in a similar expansive dwelling on the same mountain.
"Master is calling for us."
The message was curt and simple, Noah cutting off the mana he was supplying to {Fate's Disciple} as he got up with a calm expression and began heading out.
It had been over a month since his intrusion into this 7th Celestial Star, the gains being nothing short of stupendous as he was able to get his hands on a myriad of skills and abilities.
This was especially so in the last month as after he passed the point of 10,000 Fate Lines, he began receiving techniques of even higher tier every few days as he advanced forward and collected more Fate Lines.
The one thing he didn't like was the fact that no matter how many times he tried, condensing a maximum of around 100 Fate Lines was always the limit everyday, no matter how much longer he chose to active {Fate's Disciple} with his expansive energy. This had only allowed him to amass a bit over 3000 Fate Lines this past month. While this seemed like a small number to him, it was actually a monstrous rate to anyone who heard it as it had exceeded any metric set before!
In the 7th Celestial Star, a rumor had begun to spread about a genius under the tutelage of Grandmaster Vredral that shone even brighter than the War Princess.
Noah thought about this War Princess that he had regularly sparred with this past month, one of the few things he came to learn about her being her love for battle. She never went past the relationship of a Senior Disciple teaching her Junior, and always kept their talks short as all that seemed to be on her mind was learning about fate and battle!
Even this was something unique as while Grandmaster Vredral watched their interactions, he mentioned to Noah how Athena had never given this level of treatment to any past disciples before. There was a level of interest and importance she placed on Noah as the both of them carried the title of those with a Noble Fate!
None of this mattered to Noah though, keeping his mind on the prize as he kept being spoiled with techniques and Spirit Stones freely.
Under the guise of his monstrous talent and the numerous treasures they handed him, he had publicly shown Grandmaster Vredral that he had a breakthrough into the Void Realm a few days ago!
The Grandmaster nodded deprecatingly at this level of genius as he advised Noah to take a slower pace and consolidate his foundation, having no need to rush through the ranks in this manner.
At this point in time though, Noah could be considered a full-fledged Red Robed Celestial, his Fate Lines being a bit over 13,000 at this moment!
His thoughts gradually came to a close as he neared the monastery at the peak of this Inquiring Mountain that was under the control of Grandmaster Vredral, coming face to face with the aged figure and a Red Robed Athena standing respectfully by the side.
The Grandmaster donned his usual golden robe that dr.a.p.ed over his body, hiding an aged figure that palpated with power. One could see the numerous wrinkles that covered his face, along with the abundant white hair and a long beard that shone with l.u.s.ter and vitality, making one think of both age and power.
"You have surpassed all my expectations so far, and now have the chance to join in on an extraordinary mission that would have fallen solely onto the shoulders of Athena. Yet, this is also a mission that involves something special to you, thus granting you possible participation."
Grandmaster Vredral's aged face shone with splendor as he spoke, Noah putting his right hand on his chest to respectfully greet him as he continued to listen. The Grandmaster waved his hands as a projection of two worlds appeared in front of them, Noah observing closely as he recognized a few features from one of the worlds!
"We will test your proficiency in the Absolute Techniques of Fate that you have been studying to see whether you will qualify for this mission. In front of us lies your home, the World of Cultivation, and the Magus World. We have noticed a particularly significant level of disorder between these two worlds that could propel into something even more chaotic. Use [Fate Discernment] and tell us of your findings."
Noah's eyes latched on to the projection of two Prime Worlds as they slowly rotated in front of him, his mind th
inking to the skill that the Grandmaster mentioned, as well as the Absolute Technique it was connected to!
[Fate Discernment] was a singular ability from the biggest boon he had received from the Celestials so far, an Absolute Skill that actually allowed him to get even closer to the truth of this abstruse Supreme Law of Fate, containing abilities that finally opened his eyes to understand why Celestials held their monstrous level of power.
<
[Fate Discernment] :: The clouded and abstruse fates of different entities or beings became easier to see. Strict conditions must be met for any usable information to be discerned.
[Fate Traverser] :: As one that is proficient in the workings of fate, you have more of a leeway over your own fate. This ability allows you to traverse to the most favorable outcome of your fate.
[Fate Concealment] :: The user's own fate or the fates of their targets can be made hard to decipher, where others will not be able to find exactly where fate will take them.
[Fate Harverstor] :: An ill-advised ability given to the Herald of Fate that allows them to pluck away the good fate of others while steering away from a bad fate. It is an ability that requires enormous forethought, as it can lead the Herald of Fate into areas they should not peer into.
Over the past 30 days, he received four abilities in total that made the Absolute Skill, <
This was the first Absolute Ability that Noah obtained which held the low amount of 4 abilities, but each one was shocking in itself as he received a first-hand look at how the Celestials operated and used their power.
The Grandmaster in front of him had asked him to use [Fate Discernment] on two planets, a tremendous task that would require an enormous source of essence and extreme use of Fate Lines to be able to perform well! Yet, this was his first barrier for this mission that was already on Athena's shoulders.
He thought of the possibilities of what could have occurred between the World of Cultivation and the Magus World as a few ideas came to mind, but he focused on the task at hand as he prepared to use [Fate Discernment] on these two worlds.
Athena and Grandmaster Vredral were watching closely as they personally knew how hard it was to manipulate the Law of Fate and be able to discern the fates of entire planets.
Yet to Noah, this was the simplest thing as he did not even know how to manipulate mana, much less being able to manipulate the law of fate!
He did what was always made available to him- the act of simply casting the skills he held in his stat panel as the System he held did the rest, his thoughts simply watching as [Fate Discernment] moved the lines of fate in his body in unique ways as it began searching for something.
The ability mentioned that strict requirements had to be met for fate to be discerned, and the biggest requirement was that the caster had to know exactly what being or entity they were casting the skill for, as well as what they wanted to know from it!
Noah's thoughts focused on the illusory images of the World of Cultivation and the Magus world as his eyes closed, a layer of golden light wrapping around him as he soon began to receive images and wisps of information that he never knew existed.
Grandmaster Vredral watched from the side while shaking his head in amazement, Athena looking forward as a sharp light passed through her eyes. Even to these monstrous beings, they had to admit that this disciple in front of them was too monstrous!
Being able to so seamlessly cast [Fate Discernement] and even be able to get it right on his first try, just exactly how much of a monster was he?!
Chapter 339 - A Mission of Destruction!
Bountiful information entered Noah's mind as he focused on the images of the World of Cultivation and the Magus World. Golden light continued to converge and disperse from his body as [Fate Discernement] worked to show Noah something he never knew before.
This process continued for a whole 30 minutes before Noah finally came to the end of it, the end which caused him to feel a chill run down his back as eyes snapped open!
RUMBLE!
The Fate Lines within his body trembled from the unexpected impact as the Grandmaster reached out and clasped onto Noah's body to stabilize his energies. His gaze was one of wonder as he looked at Noah like he was some prized possession.
"What did you see?"
Noah breathed heavily as he was not even acting, the things he had seen while using [Fate Discernment] being that shocking. His eyes calmed down as he replied.
"I saw...the utter and complete annihilation of the World of Cultivation and the Magus World."
Yes!
Noah's first use of this stupendous ability allowed him to see that in the near future, both of these two worlds would actually face destruction!
This thought drove him to cold sweats as these were two Prime Worlds, what exactly could bring worlds at this level to be destroyed? What exactly was coming in the future?
[Fate Discernement] had only shown him that at this moment in time, the flow of fate was going towards both of these worlds being destroyed. It did not tell him when, nor did he know how- he just held the simple knowledge that both of them would be destroyed. He looked over to the Grandmaster who had begun speaking in a serious tone.
"In the past months, the major force of the Magus World has been harvesting the bodies of the cultivators from the World of Cultivation for their own uses."
The Grandmaster began, but Noah's mind received a bolt as he recalled the Magi he had come across the moment he finished taking down the Devilish Time Unveiler in the World of Cultivation.
He had chanced upon the one called Black Serpent who was hunting the cultivators from the Time Immemorial Sect, choosing to save them as he devoured the Magi and actually obtained memories of their plans in the World of Cultivation!
Their memories told him that the Magi were holding grand designs to build up a force similar to the Punishers that the Celestials held. From the Celestial's side, the Punishers were beings from the Elven Race that had lost their will, giving rise to a force that dutifully followed the orders of the Celestials with strong bodies to aid them.
The main powers of the Magus World sought to create a similar fighting force, and they found their experiments to be working the best while using the bodies of the cultivators from the World of Cultivation. Thus they had begun targeting them as they conducted a project to build creations that fully followed their orders while holding tremendous power!
Noah found out and knew about this plot more than two months ago, but he had simply put it out of his mind as he simply did not want to add another thing on his plate, focusing on infiltrating the Profound Astral Sect as he put this information about the Magus World in the back of his mind.
Yet now...he was receiving this same information again, and this time it was linked to the cause of the possible destruction of two Prime Worlds!
"They hunted down and massacred countless cultivators before their doings were found out, creating a situation where both stars are now on the brink of war. We saw this increasing chaos and discerned fate just like you did just now but at an even higher level, coming to know that the result of this conflict between these two worlds would result in the destruction of both of them."
Noah was listening with rapt attention as numerous thoughts swirled in his head, still shocked at the fact that he knew [Fate Discernement] did not lie to him, and that these two worlds really were facing destruction.
"But the chaos does not just end there. Both of these worlds have their own allies and enemies, where their conflict will embroil numerous Large World and Prime Worlds, contributing to a rapid increase in disorder that will only exacerbate across the surrounding stars."
>
The Grandmaster waved his hand as a golden plaque appeared on it, his aged eyes reading it as he revealed the contents of the mission that would shock many!
"Thus, we have to act in accordance with our beliefs and bring about Order and Balance, preventing this chain of chaos that will begin with these two worlds at the center. This brought about the mission that would have fallen on Athena's shoulders, and now it had fallen upon yours as well so that you can gain more experience on the workings of fate as you observe the changes to occur with the completion of this mission."
"To prevent the chain of chaos and disorder, we have discerned fate and looked at numerous possibilities, the verdict coming down to a singular path that would allow for the most Order and Balance. The mission you two will carry out is to oversee the destruction of the Magus World before this conflict can continue any further."
…!
Noah couldn't help but look towards this Grandmaster in shock as he continued with an impassive face.
"The Magi have played with forces beyond their control while in a quest for power, their actions culminating to the eve of a war between two Prime Worlds that would go on to cause tens of billions of deaths over the next few weeks as many surrounding powers get pulled in. To prevent this fate and bring about Order and Balance, you two will use a Prime Warship to act out the Verdict of Celestials and bring an end to the instigators of this war."
THUMP!
Noah could feel his heart beat increasing as he continued to listen to the words of the Grandmaster, a shocking mission landing on his lap, and this mission required for the destruction of an entire planet!
Chapter 340 - Chaos Reduction, Fear!
Silence reigned in the area of the monastery that Noah, Athena, and the Grandmaster were in as the two were looking closely at Noah. The words of the Grandmaster repeated in his mind as even more came.
Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705 Page 139