While the onlookers who had gathered later stood there bewildered and disoriented, Haiji Dao, Anon Turing, Pablo, and Zoe were equally plunged into deep confusion. They stood among the crowd, moving with the flow of people. Even though they possessed the deepest truths, it felt as though they were caught in a bizarre, grand dream.
Lu Sheng. That name, for Haiji Dao, Anon, or the father-daughter duo of Pablo and Zoe, had once again become unfamiliar and distant.
Sheng's innate talent was beyond question; it had astonished them time and again. But... what neither Pablo and Zoe nor Haiji Dao and Anon could have imagined was that Lu Sheng's talent could be so monstrously extraordinary. Even when compared to a Sovereign-level Blood, he was in no way inferior! In fact, he even seemed to possess a greater edge. This was too outrageous, too absurd.
It felt as though… there is a figure renowned worldwide, famous far and wide, universally acknowledged as the strongest in a certain field, standing atop a pedestal of glory... one day, you unexpectedly ran into them, and just as you were about to approach for an autograph… your ordinary-looking friend suddenly jumps in and trades blows with them.
That massive contrast left them with an overwhelming sense of disorientation. Especially Zoe. When she first learned of Dilius' existence, she had hoped that Sheng would one day feel the same sense of defeat and frustration in Dilius' presence that she had felt in Sheng's.
What she hadn't expected was that Sheng wasn't even intimidated by Dilius—he'd even managed to suppress Dilius head-on twice in a row. Right now… The sense of defeat in Zoe's heart had grown even more intense. It was more than ten times stronger than before.
"That guy… isn't he a Sovereign-level as well?" Zoe's eyes went unfocused as she muttered, "But how could two Sovereign-class Bloods appear within the same galaxy at the same time?"
Haiji Dao and Anon's hearts were equally filled with shock. Anon was fine, since he had never been able to gauge Sheng's true limits from the very beginning. But Haiji Dao was different. When he first met him on the Interdimensional Battlefield, Sheng hadn't even reached level 12 yet. His strength was just enough for Haiji Dao to barely discern.
Later, when Lu Sheng ascended to level 12—with combat prowess rivaling that of a level 13—Haiji Dao began to take him seriously and treat him as an equal. Then, during a subsequent sparring match, Haiji Dao suffered a crushing defeat at Lu Sheng's hands. At that moment, he sensed that Sheng was stronger than himself, and his attitude toward him shifted from mere regard to genuine respect.
Then came his mastery of the Extreme Yang Law, where he wiped out five level 13s in a single battle. Now, having ascended to level 13 himself, he stands on equal footing with the legendary Sovereign-class prodigy, Dilius.
Haijii Dao has witnessed Lu Sheng's growth with his own eyes. Watching his strength rise was like watching a rocket—it skyrocketed at an insane pace. At first, he was like a shallow pool—one could see right to the bottom. Then he became a lake, inspiring awe and making one hesitate to test its depth. And now... Lu Sheng had completely transformed into a vast, boundless ocean.
Never mind actually venturing in to test it—even even standing on the shore and gazing from afar was enough to fill Haiji Dao with profound awe and a sense of reverence.
"If... if the Chief Star Elder were to hear this news, what kind of reaction would she have?" Haiji Dao's thoughts seemed to drift back to the Interdimensional Battlefield. Muttering to himself, he added, "I imagine her expression would be quite a sight then."
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Elder Shadostar stood in the void, hands clasped behind his back, his face expressionless, his eyes flickering as he pondered something unknown. But from the slight tremor in his hands—which he tried to hide but could not fully conceal—it was clear. His state of mind was far from calm. He had already figured out the truth.
Lu Sheng was Lu Sheng, and Dilius was Dilius. They were two distinct individuals. Yet what still prevented him from fully calming his emotions, causing waves of turmoil to surge within him, was this:
Lu Sheng, whom Zi Yanxin had "recruited" with a mere thirty Third-tier Star Cores to serve as the Star Spirit Flower Clan's revered figure. His innate talent and strength were almost on par with that of the Sovereign-level Dilius! This truth had dealt such a direct blow to the Elder's mind that he still felt waves of dizziness.
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Zi Yanxin stood with her back straight as an arrow. Her eyes burned with intensity, and her beautiful face glowed with radiance; the earlier dejection and despair had long since vanished. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward from time to time. Overwhelming ecstasy filled every cell of her body.
She now felt that her decision to let Haiji Dao hitch a ride on the ship was absolutely the wisest choice she had ever made in her life. Without a doubt!
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Sheng followed the gaunt man with snow-white skin as they flew toward the heart of the Celestial Serpent. He sensed the aura emanating from the man before him. There was no doubt that he possessed level 14 strength.
Moreover, the impression he gave off seemed far more formidable than that of Mokodo, the Chief Star Elder of the Hundred Great Battlefield, who was also level 14.
"It seems there's a huge gap between level 14 practitioners. The Hunting Bow truly lives up to its reputation as the center of the entire Celestial Serpent galaxy—it can produce top-tier level 14 powerhouses with ease." Lu Sheng thought to himself.
Before long, they arrived. They came to a halt on an incredibly massive planet at the very center of the Celestial Serpent's heart. Sheng casually extended his spiritual sense downward and was startled by what he discovered.
The weakest inhabitants of this planet possessed at least level 12 martial prowess. Level 13 martial experts were a dime a dozen, and even level 14 practitioners numbered no fewer than ten.
"Is this the true depth of the Celestial Serpent Star System?" Sheng marveled inwardly.
After the man with snow-white skin brought them here, he coldly instructed them, "Wait here."
Sheng and Dilius naturally had no objections. The man left immediately after speaking. Only the both of them remained. The moment the man left, Sheng immediately felt a searing, piercing gaze fixed firmly on his face, scanning him up and down. He calmly looked up to meet the eyes of Dilius, which were brimming with malice.
"You're really lucky."
Dilius glared at Sheng, his voice icy. "If that guy hadn't suddenly appeared, you'd be dead by now."
"Hah…" Lu Sheng gave a short chuckle upon hearing this. He looked at Dilius with a playful expression, then suddenly raised a hand to his throat and slowly mimicked the motion of slitting it. He murmured, "A Sovereign-level Blood—truly remarkable. I, on the other hand, am merely an Immortal…"
"You!"
Lu Sheng's words instantly provoked Dilius. A fierce gleam shot from the third vertical eye between his brows, and a murderous aura radiated from his entire body, as if he were about to pounce on Sheng at any moment.
'What a poor temperament—exploding at the slightest provocation. He's likely never experienced true defeat. Reaching Level 13 in less than twenty years is fast enough, but there are still many shortcomings.' Lu Sheng sighed inwardly.
Although his own cultivation time wasn't long either—at most around thirty years—converted into cosmic years, it wasn't even as long as Dilius.
But! Lu Sheng had absorbed the memories and experiences of far too many powerful beings within the Dream Space universe. His will was unshakably firm, far surpassing even those ancient monsters who had lived tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.
In this regard, Dilius could never hope to match him. Seeing that he was about to lose his temper and strike first, Sheng began to roll up his sleeves as well.
'He's the one who provoked me first; he's the one who struck first. Even if I beat him to death… no one could blame me for it.' Sheng thought to himself silently.
To be honest, he was still itching for more after that battle. Having just entered the Second Realm of Extreme Yang, he had a whole arsenal of hidden cards up his sleeve, yet he'd barely managed to play one—a killing move that was practically obsolete: Final Ice Blazing Sun.
There were still so many hidden cards he hadn't had a chance to use, but unfortunately, he'd been interrupted. With such an excellent punching bag as Dilius right here, he really couldn't resist the urge to let loose.
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Translation notes by dhoo
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the Chief Star Elder of the Hundred Great Battlefield is Mokodo