by Yuri Ajin
“I know I agreed to your plan and gave you the required number of Energy Stones, but I have to admit that I doubted its success until the very end,” Shacks said. “How did you manage to get Jiang Dao to trust you?”
“Long story.” Kai waved him off, concentrating on the control board.
“By the way, should we kill them?” Shacks nodded at the Exorcist, who continued their fight against the barrier.
“No, we need them alive,” Kai replied, and then added, “Now stop bothering me.”
“Rune’Tan, go for it,” he said, giving the redhead control of his body.
Taking over, Rune’Tan connected to the board and began to work.
Meanwhile, the Exorcists scurried to remove the Rings with the Energy Stones in order to interrupt the portal activation, but it was too late. A shockwave caused the Rings to break and their contents to spill out. The Energy Stones now hung in the air, slowly dissolving, and no one could stop the process.
A message appeared before Kai and his group.
Attention!
Manual input of coordinates and interdimensional route completed.
Activating the inter-world portal...
Estimated time of activation: 1 minute and 7 seconds
Destination: Diol (distant world)
The platform under their feet lit up.
The teleportation process had begun.
Chapter 30
THE NEW WORLD
Three hours earlier
In the middle of the endless snow-covered taiga, hovered a ball dark as a starless night.
Concentrating, Kai drew a gigantic amount of Cold Void particles toward himself, gradually defrosting the area inside the Space, and most importantly, Jiang Si’s head. After a few minutes, it thawed. With the use of sword energy, Kai cut off the top of the skull, revealing a fat worm wiggling among the young man’s brains.
“Move and I’ll kill you. If you say a word, I’ll kill you. If you use energy or Forces, I’ll kill you,” he warned, making sure that the parasite understood him. “As soon as I open my pocket dimension, you’ll contact your master, like you did on the plane. Tell him that the Gates are to the north and bring him there.”
After that, Kai dispersed the Space. Once they were outside, the worm immediately began to create a special energy signal that headed somewhere south. It could easily establish a distant connection since it was originally a technique created by Liu on his homeworld when he was still a Holy Lord. Kai nodded and then crumbled into snow. His journey to the Gates continued, and the first part of his plan had been completed.
During their flight to Novosibirsk, he thought about how he could leave with Jiang Dao and help Earth with the upcoming invasion. And when Liu appeared and the parasite discovered, he knew what to do. And since he needed the thing alive, he simply kept it frozen within the Space, where it could do nothing but slumber until he needed it.
All that remained to be done was to lure Liu to the tower, where, hopefully, he’d distract Jiang Dao and his men long enough for Rune’Tan time to speed up the portal’s activation.
If everything went well, Kai would be transferred to a new world, and Jiang Dao and his squad would remain on Earth, where they’d be forced to fight against the invaders in order to gain strength and collect enough resources to reopen the Gates. Kai had no doubt that this task would take them at least a couple of centuries to complete. And even if they failed, they would have at least bought the Earth and its inhabitants some time to develop. And maybe, just maybe, become strong enough to protect themselves.
His plan, however, had two flaws — the oath not being enough to join Jiang Dao, and Liu not arriving on time. However, after some thinking, he found a solution to both problems.
He’d offer something extremely valuable to Jiang Dao in exchange for a place in his group — Rune’Tan’s vast knowledge about various worlds, resources, the nuances of cultivation, and much more.
As for Liu, he was sure that the insectoid would arrive in time due to his flying speed. While they were jumping out of the aircraft, Kai calculated how long it’d take Liu to catch up with the plane, as well as the approximate time of day, and location of the collision. So, knowing where his opponent would be, he easily figured out how long it’d take for him to fly to the Gates. Thanks to the High Priest, he also knew that the portal would be ready to go today around dawn.
In case Liu was late, Kai decided to do nothing. As he couldn’t distract the Elementalists on his own, he could only sit still and be transported to the new world with them. However, once there, he planned to hire Holy Lords and have them go to Earth to fight the insectoids. He was going to pay them with the Memory Jade. According to Rune’Tan, an item that could help create the Sphere of Twin Blades would be worth a fortune even in the Belteise Empire.
Kai hoped that it wouldn’t come to this as that’d mean that he’d have to spend a couple to several decades looking for the right people and part with a valuable artifact. Still, it was better than just giving up.
Continuing to move using the Step Through the Snow technique, he suddenly felt a fast-moving object of rather big proportions enter his aura. It was moving toward him, but since it was definitely not Liu, he wasn’t in a hurry to run away, curious to see who was following him.
After a few seconds, the object appeared in front of him. It turned out to be a relatively small airboat bearing the familiar insignia of the Bright Moon Clan.
The vessel braked, stopping a few feet from Kai. People disembarked from it, and the airboat began to shrink until it disappeared into a spatial artifact.
“You know, it took a lot of energy to use it,” Shacks complained and then added with a chuckle. “We found your friends on the way to Group B and gave them a lift.”
They’re equipped much better than I expected... Kai thought but didn’t reply.
“Are you going after Jiang Dao? Alone?” Ivsim asked.
“I am,” Kai replied coldly.
The only one who realized that something wasn’t quite right with the young cultivator was Lily. She immediately noticed that there was something different about his gaze, voice, and demeanor. The violet eyes didn’t seem so empty before, and his voice had never been that hollow.
But she didn’t dare to ask him about what troubled him.
“You think they’ll let you join their little party?” Shacks asked.
“I do.”
“You’re a sly little fox, you know? I knew you told us where the Tower was for a reason,” the archer chuckled. “You knew that we’d come running after you, didn’t you?”
“I did. And you made it in time.” Kai nodded. The northern wind fluttered his long dark hair, and his eyes seemed to glow in the dark. “You have two options — negotiate with Jiang Dao yourself, or follow me. But if you choose the latter, you must swear an oath to me.”
“And what is the oath?” Shacks asked after a minute of reflection, breaking the silence that fell on them. He was well aware that a group of Bright Moon Clan members suddenly asking to join him would arouse many suspicions in Jiang Dao and probably lead to a skirmish. Not to mention that his father had ordered him to stay away from the Jiangs at all cost as there was a good that they’d find out that he was in possession of a huge number of ancient artifacts.
And although he had had every intention of obeying his father’s order, Kai changed his plans. For some reason, he was certain that with Kai’s help, he’d be able to go to the next world, so he decided to trust him.
“That when I give the sign, you’ll all fight by my side.”
“In a battle?” Shacks was surprised. “When?”
“That I can’t say for sure. But it’ll happen in the future. In the very distant future. Perhaps in thousands or even tens of thousands of years.”
“I see...” Shacks grinned. “All right. Tell us about your plan and then we’ll decide.”
Kai nodded and began his story.
***
There was only
half a minute left before the portal was activated. Preparing for teleportation, which would put a tremendous strain on their minds and bodies, they waited in silence, preparing to join hands at the right time.
And while explosions of powerful techniques echoed from somewhere beyond the tower walls, Kai and his friends watched the changing numbers.
24 seconds...
23 seconds...
22 seconds...
21 seconds...
“Did you set everything up as I asked?”
Because he had reached considerable heights on the path of cultivation and therefore was regarded by the System to be stronger than even a Holy Lord, Rune’Tan had access to the Gates’ advanced settings.
But not to all of them. To choose the next world, for example, Saha, a Holy Lord needed to confirm their power by focusing their ki and aura on the desired destination. And without his own body, Rune’Tan couldn’t do it.
This condition existed to prevent people like particularly strong Elementalists from using their soul energy to boost their auras and trick the Gates into thinking that they were very weak Holy Lords. In fact, Kai had done something similar without knowing it. Using his soul energy, he filled himself with so much power that the System mistook him for an Exorcist and allowed him to activate the Yin Yang Ghost Tattoo.
“Of course,” he said. “I set the portal’s activity time to one minute. That’s the best I could do. But there’s good news. According to the System, if the number of people on the platform doesn’t change, there’ll still be enough ki left in the Gates to block portals from Hanix for the next thirty-six years.”
“Is that the homeworld of the Kaoh’s?”
“Yes. At least, judging by available information from the journal of records of inter-world portals. Guests came only from Saha and Hanix.”
“Good. Where will they teleport to?”
“To this Mari... Mariana Trench...? The place you told me about,” Rune’Tan recalled. “Their portals will open only at its bottom.”
“Thank you.”
As the only option was to choose a teleportation location on the planet’s surface, they couldn’t put the insectoids’ portal in space or somewhere underground. Fortunately, the System’s definition of surface included sea and ocean bottoms, so Kai decided to place the portal in the Mariana Trench, more precisely, the Challenger Deep, the lowest underwater point on the planet.
He hoped that the Kaoh’s would like his parting gift.
As for the tower itself, he sent its coordinates to the Union via a special satellite transmitter.
The moment of teleportation was approaching.
15 seconds...
14 seconds...
13 seconds...
12 seconds...
Seventeen people joined hands. And although they had prepared themselves for teleportation, they didn’t expect that everything would shake so hard that they almost fell. However, it weren’t the Gates that shook, but the very space and energy around them. Whatever the source of the tremor was, it was somewhere outside the tower.
A second later, a bright light illuminated everything around, blinding everyone present. The dome, created and powered by one of Shacks’s artifacts, was covered with hundreds of cracks.
When the flash went out and they were finally able to see, they frowned.
With eyes closed and his long, dark hair carried by the waves of energy emanating from him, revealing seven bright red symbols on his face, Jiang Dao looked like some sort of a vengeful deity. He had increased his power by merging with the seven Elder Elementals that he had taken from his mentor.
The tip of his sword had already broken through the barrier. Leaning on the weapon with his whole body and pouring all his strength into it, Jiang Dao slowly opened a passage for himself.
Everyone who was inside looked with horror at what was happening. Kai was shocked to see Liu’s disfigured head lying a few steps behind Jiang Dao. By the looks of it, this time, the insectoid was dead for good.
It was less than a second before the portal was activated when the barrier finally shattered. At the same moment, a residual surge of power knocked Kai and the others off their feet, scattering them all over the platform. Fortunately, they managed to attack Jiang Dao with their most powerful abilities a moment before to prevent him from hurting them.
The portal finally lit up, engulfing everyone inside in its glow. Including Jiang Dao.
“Maaaaaster!” Jiang Suin cried and jumped through the hole in the barrier, just barely managing to grab Jiang Dao by the hem of his robes at the last moment, thus becoming the last person to leave Earth today.
The portal was deactivated.
***
Unbearable thirst, weakness, and pain in the whole body — that was what Kai felt when he finally woke up. He also felt pressure. Wherever they were, the world’s energy strongly pressed on his senses. It was difficult to breathe. There was simply too much prana in the air.
Opening his eyes, Kai saw a cloudless sky with a mercilessly scorching sun. And a hovering System message.
Attention!
Inter-world transfer has been initiated through the Gates of Ecumene.
The coordinates have been manually altered.
World connection time: 5 system Epochs
Location: Nikrim (middle world)
Middle world?! Nikrim?! Kai was shocked. What the hell?! I don’t remember seeing any of this when we were waiting! This place wasn’t among the listed worlds one could get to from Earth! What the hell is going on?!
But his surprise didn’t last long. The Cold Void suppressed his emotions, and a strong headache the very desire to think.
Raising himself with a groan, Kai realized that they were in a desert. No, he was in a desert. There was nothing around him for miles save for an endless ocean of golden dunes stretching far beyond the horizon.
Jiang Dao... he thought. His blow made us stop holding on to each other. The rest of them are probably in different locations of this world.
Looking around, he almost fell back on the ground again. Not only did his body hurt as he was almost completely out of ki, and his regeneration was taking its time, but also because the amount of prana was difficult to deal with. On top of that, the desert itself was teeming with particles of naturally formed Forces of Fire.
Incredible. There’s at least twenty times more prana here than on the Plateau or Earth... Kai thought. He closed his eyes and let his body slowly adapt. My strength has been reduced... My powers remain the same, but here, it’s much more difficult to use them due to the pressure. The locals probably don’t even think about it. They got used to it.
Not feeling anything with his aura, the scope of which was also reduced, he chose a random direction and walked. There was no point in staying in one place.
He walked for three days, but nothing changed. The desert was an extremely inhospitable place, forcing him to constantly spend ki in order to protect himself from the heat with the Cold Void. This in turn reduced his speed.
The sun went down under the horizon. Day changed to night.
Walking under the starry sky, Kai was slowly growing tired of everything. The landscape didn’t change, no matter how many hundreds of miles he traveled, but when the first rays of dawn began to break, he met the first living creature in this world. For a moment, he even felt joy, which, however, quickly disappeared.
He had to deal with a giant snake at the Titan Stage, which thought that he’d make a great breakfast. The fight lasted for a long minute, only because Kai was still unaccustomed to the local atmosphere. Fortunately, the monster couldn’t compete with the Cold Void. In this way, Kai obtained an Energy Crystal as well as snake skin that could be sold. If, of course, there were intelligent beings in this world who knew about trade. As for the meat, it turned out to be poisonous, so he didn’t bother with it.
It wasn’t until the sixth day of his journey that he ran into something interesting again.
Several miles
away from him was the sparkling top of a huge pyramid. Curious, Kai decided to take a look. Climbing a high dune, he saw a huge black pyramid surrounded by black sand, which, for some reason, didn’t move when the wind blew. As soon as he stepped foot onto the new territory, it became dead silent. The whistling of the wind, the rustling of the sand, and even the sound of his own footsteps disappeared.
And then he saw a seven-foot-tall creature near the pyramid.
And it saw him.
It had no aura, and there wasn’t a drop of ki in its body. Still, it seemed incredibly powerful with its tall, muscular body and demonic face. Continuing to stare at Kai, it’d occasionally flap its leathery wings.
Looking at the demon, Kai suddenly felt a strong and inexplicable sadness, the kind of which even the Cold Void couldn’t drown out. Tears involuntarily flowed from his eyes. For some reason, he felt very sorry for this creature, which, as it seemed, was suffering here.
Unfortunately, everything changed in a second.
The demon’s gaze became empty. It bared its teeth and then ducked as if it intended to dash toward its victim.
At the same moment, the System activated.
Attention!
A task has been received...
ULTIMATUM!
IMMEDIATELY DESTROY THE NON-SYSTEM BEING!!!
TIME LIMIT: 59 SECONDS...
REFUSAL: DEATH!
FAILURE: DEATH!
PERFORMANCE AWARD: LIFE!
The black sand, on which Kai couldn’t even leave a trace, exploded like a geyser under the demon’s feet. The creature instantly crossed several miles, suddenly appearing in front of him.
Kai was saved by only one thing — his quick reflexes.
Creating a gust of wind comparable to a Royal-rank attack, the demon swung its clawed hand. Activating the Retreat Step, Kai teleported somewhere to the side. But before he managed to appear in a new place, the demon had already tracked him down.
Reappearing, Kai saw death itself rushing toward him. Having no time to do anything else, he could only stare at the approaching demon that suddenly stopped when it was only a couple of feet away from him. It stood frozen with its wings spread and hand raised to strike, as if time itself had stopped. Huge chains suddenly appeared on the creature’s body, reaching all the way to the top of the pyramid itself. Bursting into flames, the chains dragged the demon back into the structure. And although it growled and twitched, it couldn’t do anything to save itself.