Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  The mighty fire principles rampaged within his body, and all he could do was muster his curse principles in an attempt to fight back. The result of such resistance was his body slowly melting down, bit by bit.

  “Someone, help me! Gloria, save me, quick…I won’t last much longer!” Cerveris hovered in the air after escaping the flames. He looked around with his scorched head, trying to look for his companions. His face was black and burnt, every inch of his skin cracking to reveal the roasted flesh beneath.

  Steam rose from every crack and hole of his body. Cerveris’ eyes had already exploded. The black blood had dried up into a gray, glue-like substance before it managed to run down his cheek.

  He turned his bloody and empty eye sockets around. He sensed Gloria’s aura and immediately reached out with his burnt, cracked right hand. He had only just reached out with his hand when his nails were blasted away. Pieces of his flesh peeled off like leaves in the wind, scattered as ash to the sky.

  In the blink of an eye, all the flesh had peeled off of Cerveris’ right hand, leaving behind only the scorched bones.

  Gloria might be filled with disdain for the sinister and underhanded Cerveris, but she could not just sit by and watch as he burned to death. She let out a battlecry and split off part of her purple light to engulf the burned-up curse adept.

  The moment the purple light appeared, it cut off the connection between Sinai’s clone and the fire principles in Cerveris’ body. The power of the flames was instantly reduced dramatically.

  However, it wasn’t so easy to dispel Sixth Grade fire power!

  Having escaped the jaws of death, Cerveris hastily expressed his gratitude and vanished from the battlefield.

  From the looks of it, he had returned directly to his adept tower using some secret spell. He then hid within an alternate dimension and used the spatial power to isolate himself further from the fire principles’ damage. Given his injuries, he probably wouldn’t come out of that alternate dimension for another ten years!

  The only one among the ultra-powerhouses who responded in a composed manner was Death Witch Leader Khesuna.

  The moment the flames appeared, Artest, the Fourth Grade corpse dragon she was riding, let out a breath of dense, white death-energy with all its power. The death energy protected it and Khesuna as they rushed out of the flames.

  Khesuna was perfectly unharmed when she emerged from the fire. Artest, who had kept them both safe, was severely injured by the ordeal. Small fires had ignited all over its black body. No amount of death energy managed to put them out.

  Sinai’s clone was truly Sixth Grade. With just a single move, he had managed to push the ultra-powerhouses to the edge of death and forced them to flee.

  However, this attack obviously also caused Sinai’s clone to suffer even greater repulsion from the World of Adepts. The right arm he had managed to wiggle through was forced back out by the power of the plane. Only half his head was left stuck in the rift now.

  It also caused all his efforts up till now to be in vain!

  However, after the terrible shock from earlier, the ultra-powerhouses were now incredibly wary of Sinai’s clone. They no longer dared to approach him.

  Just as Sinai’s clone roared furiously and began to tear at the rift once again, the war towers in the distance finally unleashed the lightning blast that they had been mustering in unison. Numerous lightning bolts, each three meters thick, descended from the skies. They struck at Sinai’s undefended clone like an apocalyptic smite from the god of lightning himself.

  With every bolt of lightning, flames blasted away from the head of Sinai’s clone. He was incredibly furious, but there was nothing he could do.

  After all, more than half of his body was stuck in the rift. Sinai’s clone could only draw upon a limited amount of power. Naturally, there was no way he could conjure an effective retaliation against the adepts.

  His eyes blazed with fire as two golden beams containing mighty fire principles swept across the horizon like lasers. Where the beams crossed, the sky was rent apart, and the ground split. The earth, dirt, plants, and the insects…everything was vaporized and made to disappear without a trace.

  Even the ultra-powerhouses hiding in the distance couldn’t help but retreat even further away in horror. They did not dare take even a single step closer to the battlefield.

  Fortunately, Sinai’s clone was mostly pushed out of the world by the plane’s power at this point. Even his head was almost entirely out now. This caused his attacks to have barely any accuracy; they were only an act of venting his anger.

  Moreover, the use of his divine-fire power only caused the World of Adept to reject him even more!

  A short moment later, the last bit of his head was pushed out. Only the dark distorted rift remained at the bottom of the valley.

  At this point, the so-called Inkdeep Valley had been marred beyond recognition!

  The numerous battles, along with the rampant destruction of Sinai’s clone, had left no piece of greenery or life within fifty kilometers of Inkdeep Valley. The earth was black and scorched, steam and smoke occasionally rising from underground.

  The further in you walked through the scorched earth, the more devastated the environment.

  The air was no longer breathable, while hot air and poison that could melt bones drifted everywhere. You couldn’t even find dirt on the ground, let alone plants. The only thing within sight was the black bedrock.

  The ground was uneven and filled with ditches, and the ditches themselves were filled with lava.

  Within fifteen kilometers of Inkdeep Valley, you wouldn’t even be able to find the tough bedrock any longer. The only thing that remained was an area filled with chaotic ribbons of light.

  These light ribbons were not ordinary magical light. They were planar laws that had been forced to manifest after all the material substance had been melted away. Each light ribbon represented a law chain. They seemed to be chaotic and unsequenced, but they wove together in accordance with some profound and mysterious principle, forming a strange yet incredibly majestic sight.

  The countless law chains twisted together in a complicated fashion, making it impossible to see where they came from and where they were headed. It was almost as if they were branches of the world that simply reached out from empty air.

  They might only represent the very tip of the world’s principle system, but the strange and beautiful sight they presented was truly enchanting. Moreover, the more sensitive individuals were even able to sense the functioning of the world through these law chains.

  What was the truth of the world?

  This! This was the truth of the plane world!

  Planar creatures were only distracted and tricked by the material substance. They could not see past the illusory material to the true face of the world- the essence of the world. Now, with all the substance around the spatial rift thoroughly destroyed, the principles shaken, and the laws thrown into chaos, the true face of the world was finally presented to everyone’s eyes.

  However, the price that everyone paid to witness this scene might have been a little too much!

  Chapter 1426 - Fragments of Divine Authority

  Upon seeing Sinai’s clone vanish from the rift, Greem couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief.

  Even though Greem had orchestrated Sinai’s arrival, the might of the clone had still exceeded his expectations. Greem’s mind was still stuck at the level of planar creatures. Naturally, there was no way he could have predicted the true power of higher lifeforms.

  After that short contact with Sinai’s clone, Greem had attained a certain understanding.

  Compared to adepts, gods possessed a deeper understanding and control of the principles that pointed toward the essence of all power. Unlike adepts, the gods divided principles into different domains, which were then organized into divinities.

  Divinities were to gods what the principles were to the adepts!

  The gods placed all their pow
er into their divinities and used them to create their divine authority. This divine authority was then used to convert the faith power of their believers into divine power. Their divine power contained the might of their divine authorities, which also represented their homeworld’s will.

  In that regard, the principle adept path was somewhat similar to a god’s path of ascension. However, a god’s powers were always borrowed rather than gathered by their own means. Consequently, when they left their god kingdoms and homeworlds, their true power would be significantly weakened.

  No wonder the numerous Great Adepts looked down upon the gods. They even called them parasites that fed off the principle systems of their origin plane. All of their power and might was tied to their origin plane. Should something happen to it, they would not be able to survive.

  It was the fundamental reason why the World of Gods always obstructed any foreign powers from entering their origin plane!

  On the other hand, what the adepts were doing was more of an imitation of a planar world’s principle powers. They observed, researched, and experienced the systems by which the principles functioned. They then found law powers that were most compatible with their soul origin.

  By tracing the origins, they slowly moved from the law chains to the principles powers that resided at the plane’s core. It allowed the power they controlled to approach the essence of the planar world slowly.

  If the planar world was a giant tree, then the adepts only had control over one or two leaves at the very tip of the branches. With the leaves in hand, you could follow the veins to find the twigs. You could then follow the twigs to the branches, and branches to the trunk.

  In the end, the source of all principle adepts’ power would point toward the massive roots hidden deep under the ground.

  This system of roots was so massive that a singular adept would only be able to gain control of a small portion of it even if they dedicated their entire lives to it. Meanwhile, by relying on this essence that they had mastered, principle adepts would be able to siphon an endless source of power and allow themselves to grow stronger slowly.

  It was perhaps a path of power that the principle adepts had chosen for themselves!

  In just a single instant, Greem had managed to understand and calculate his future path through the principle aura around him, as well as the Chip’s analysis of the Sinai clone’s power. He also gained an approximate understanding of the source and overall structure of the principle powers.

  At his level, resources and knowledge were only the bare minimum. What truly decided his future potential was the height and depths of his rational thought process.

  Idealism, the idea that reality was fundamentally inseparable from human perception and understanding.

  It might only be a lofty philosophical idea back on Earth, but here in a foreign world filled with magic energy, the power of the mind reigned supreme over the material. The mind was the true force that possessed the ability to change and shape reality.

  ……

  Just as Greem was about to continue down this path of thought, the rift floating amidst the ribbons of light suddenly cracked out loud. Something was happening again.

  Oh? Sinai’s clone had just been exiled from the World of Adepts, hadn’t he? What’s happening? Was he trying to enter again?

  Greem stared intently and started gathering up power within him.

  Just as expected, the rift tore open again. Sinai’s ugly and hideous head of fire appeared, again.

  However, he wasn’t foolish enough to enter himself this time. Instead, he opened his mouth and let out a blazing hot breath of flame.

  The flames surged into the planar world. Unlike before, it did not spread out and exterminate all substance around it. Instead, it circled around the rift and gathered into a concentrated sea of fire. Once the fire energy had reached a certain concentration, Sinai’s clone spat out a golden crystal the size of a nail.

  The flames scattered around the rift immediately gathered around the golden crystal once it entered the world of Adepts, as if they had found a core to rally around.

  In the blink of an eye, a ten-meter-tall fire giant that very much resembled Sinai’s clone got up from the ground. He began to examine this foreign world around him.

  Judging from its power levels and form, this new fire giant was a peak Fourth Grade fire creature. However, the fire energy contained within his body was more intense than even Fifth Grade fire creatures.

  A fragment of the divine authority of fire.

  That golden crystal was a fragment of divine authority!

  Only a divine authority fragment could serve as a host for the Sinai clone’s consciousness and allow him to maintain control over the fire principles.

  Upon seeing this, Ainley, Gloria, and Khesuna’s gaze instantly turned glaring cold. Their hearts couldn’t help but start beating wildly.

  The so-called divine authority was the foundation of a god’s power. Only when the divine authority they were crystallizing became sufficiently powerful could they become gods of a higher grade.

  If the principle crystals that Greem had obtained earlier were only fragments of a certain principle power, then divine authorities were the essence of principles that formed a complete and functioning power system.

  It had been split off into a fragment the size of a nail, but as long as it remained a divine authority, the power it contained would be a perfect, refined system. Should a fragment of divine authority fall into the hands of an adept, it would be no less mystical than the philosopher’s stone itself.

  This tiny divine authority fragment alone might not be enough to turn an ordinary human into a god, but there would be no problem using it to push a peak Fourth Grade adept to the Fifth Grade. However, considering the origin attribute of the fire divine authority, Greem was probably the only one who could make use of it.

  Upon seeing the divine authority fragment appear, a thought appeared in the minds of all the ultra-powerhouses present at the same time. They had a vague feeling that this was Greem’s ultimate goal behind all his actions so far.

  Did he want to steal the Fire God Sinai’s divine authority? Did he have the power needed to fight against such a terrifying clone of a Fire God? He didn’t intend to borrow our power again, did he?

  While everyone’s thoughts were turning in their minds, Greem’s thousand-meter-tall body finally moved.

  Wild chuckling could be heard as Greem’s gigantic body abruptly collapsed. His body reverted into a torrent of pure fire energy that rushed toward the newly formed fire giant in the distance.

  The fire giant that was still bound by the countless law chains had nowhere to run. He could only open his mouth wide and devour all the flames rushing toward him.

  Much like how Sinai’s flames had not been able to harm Greem himself, Greem’s fires could not harm this fire clone either. With enough time, he would be able to devour ten Greems put together.

  After all, what resided within the fire clone was a fire divine authority fragment that could refine and convert any fire energy absorbed!

  However, the fire energy that contained Greem’s mental consciousness was not so easy to devour without a trace. It was important to note that the level of Greem’s power was not inferior to this particular clone of Sinai. The only difference was the amount of reserve energy and their skill at manipulating their power.

  Even the fire clone couldn’t help but be confused by Greem’s ‘suicidal’ action. However, It was free energy sent right to his mouth. The clone instinctually opened up and devoured that tremendous and overwhelming fire energy that belonged to Greem.

  Suddenly, the fire energy within his body that contained Greem’s mental consciousness started to go berserk. The fire clone chuckled coldly and began to draw on his power to suppress that restless surge of energy.

  He had over a dozen times more power than Greem, to begin with; he wasn’t worried at all about Greem causing any trouble inside his stomach. However, t
he commotion in his body undoubtedly dispersed his power, causing him to lose control over his body of fire temporarily.

  As he was giddily attacking Greem’s mental consciousness, the fire clone seemed to have sensed something. He turned back with all the power he could muster.

  A pair of massive, jade-green eyes were staring straight at him.

  Upon seeing the fire clone turn back, a hint of mockery appeared in those jade eyes. The creature opened its massive maw–larger than even Sinai’s clone–and devoured the clone in a single bite.

  The Devouring Fish!

  The starbeast transformation ability that Greem had only recently mastered.

  After transforming into the Devouring Fish, Greem was able to devour an individual whose power did not exceed twice his own.

  However, it was obvious that the fire clone that Greem had devoured today was over a dozen times more powerful than himself. After a series of gagging motions, Greem opened his mouth and spat out a giant body made of flames. He then tore apart space and vanished without a trace.

  The remainder of the body of fire instantly scattered into a sea of fire, no longer controlled by the divine authority fragment and Sinai’s soul.

  Inkdeep Valley, which had only started to return to peace and quiet, was ravaged by fire energy once again!

  Sinai’s clone, who had been standing quietly outside the spatial rift and controlling the fire clone, let out a furious cry of anger.

  Just now…just earlier…that damned human adept had transformed into a starbeast and devoured his fire clone. More infuriatingly, his divine authority fragment had been taken away.

  Having lost his origin connection with the divine authority fragment, the Sixth Grade Sinai clone’s aura immediately fell. His power was reduced by several minor grades.

  Just as Sinai’s clone was about to fly into a rage and rush into the World of Adepts once again, his body froze. He turned around slowly.