Translator: CinderTL
Shattered buildings filled his vision, the ruined city eerily familiar.
The streets were pockmarked and dark, the crimson moon still hanging high in the sky.
"I'm back here again?" Chen Feng's expression turned grim as he immediately recognized Qinggang City, the place he had just left.
Beside him, the Holy Shield Colossus stood on guard, its massive form radiating wariness against potential ambushes. But Chen Feng quickly noticed something was amiss.
"Where are the Black Tide Creatures?"
He scanned the surroundings, amplifying his Perception. To his surprise, not a single Black Tide Creature could be found in the entire ruined city. Even the air, though dark, was devoid of the usual thick, pitch-black mist.
This unsettling situation put Chen Feng on edge. He immediately took flight with the Holy Shield Colossus, surveying the entire city from above.
Collapsed buildings, shattered streetlights, and endless wreckage stretched for hundreds of meters, then thousands. Yet as they soared through the air, neither Chen Feng nor the Colossus spotted a single Black Tide Creature.
"What's going on?" Chen Feng frowned, gazing into the distance.
The gap in the high wall remained, but it was eerily quiet compared to before, with no colossal creatures crashing through.
The entire world was disturbingly silent, as if Chen Feng had stumbled into an alternate-dimensional Qinggang City.
Looking up, the Blood Moon continued to cast its sinister glow, but Chen Feng was certain he wasn't trapped in an illusion.
What in the world is going on?
His suspicion and unease grew with each passing moment.
Could this Illusionary Art be so advanced that I'm unable to detect it?
He almost doubted his own senses, until...
Thud!
A sudden, muffled thud echoed through the eerily quiet Qinggang City, piercing the silence like a blade.
Chen Feng's gaze sharpened as he turned toward the source.
It was the Blue Light District, shrouded in darkness with no discernible activity.
But then...
Thud!
Another muffled thud reverberated, and this time, visible ripples distorted the invisible space.
Without hesitation, Chen Feng and the Holy Shield Colossus surged forward at full speed, hurtling toward the disturbance.
The muffled thuds persisted, and he clearly saw the spatial ripples growing denser.
Yet the moment he arrived, the area abruptly fell silent.
It was as if some life form had given up the struggle, and all the muffled sounds vanished instantly.
Chen Feng's perception sharpened, and he frowned slightly.
He leaped to the ground, landing in a crouched stance, and reached out to touch the invisible barrier before him.
Hum!
An invisible barrier blocked his path, as if isolating a section of Qinggang City's Blue Light District.
Could someone be behind this?
Sensing something amiss, Chen Feng clenched his fist tightly.
Qi Force coalesced, and Daylight Gale Qi erupted like a radiant pillar of light.
Boom!!
His punch shattered the barrier.
A massive circular rift tore open before him, and strands of light pierced the darkness of Qinggang City.
Intact buildings, streetlights, and smooth asphalt roads came into view.
Though still shrouded in darkness, they seemed like the city's last flicker of hope, stirring an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Beyond that,
a wisp of silver-gray light, tinged with gold, drifted away into the distance. On its back seemed to stand the ghostly silhouette of a young man, who vanished like a phantom.
"Impossible!"
His eyes widened, and Chen Feng surged through the shattered spatial barrier.
He stared intently at the vanishing Colossus and the retreating figure of the youth, his mind reeling with recognition. It was unmistakably himself—or, more precisely, a younger, weaker version of himself.
Immediately, he scanned his surroundings.
Everything was identical to the Safe Zone he had first encountered upon entering the Dream Realm—the cage he had finally broken free from after his Holy Shield Colossus reached Sixth-Tier.
His perception expanded, yet he still detected no Black Tide Creatures. It was as if the entire world contained only him and the Colossus.
Suddenly, the earlier commotion flashed through his mind.
Could this be my past?
The absurd speculation struck him. Chen Feng suddenly realized that the illusory version of himself he had seen earlier might have only been at the Grandmaster level.
Is this another parallel timeline?
Or perhaps... a recurring dream cycle?
Buzz!
His Blood Wings fluttered as he soared into the sky.
He raced straight toward Qinggang City's towering walls, desperate to unravel the mystery.
Reaching the breach in the wall, he gazed out over the desolate landscape beyond.
The black mist was gone, leaving only the inky sky and the eerie glow of the moon.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, man and Colossus flew out of the ruined city once more.
The next moment...
Buzz!
The world warped as if spacetime itself had been distorted.
Chen Feng felt his feet touch solid ground again. Focusing intently, he looked around.
His expression froze. He was back in Qinggang City's Safe Zone.
Except...
Boom!
A muffled explosion erupted as an invisible barrier shattered under brute force.
The Silver-Gray Colossus, now radiating golden light and carrying the youth, materialized beside him and strode past.
The Colossus and the young man were identical in appearance, even their expressions and demeanor.
Chen Feng reached out to them.
But then—
Buzz!
The Colossus and the young man rapidly faded into nothingness, seemingly oblivious to his presence.
Frowning deeply, Chen Feng felt increasingly uneasy.
Could this truly be a recurring dream realm?
As his suspicions mounted, just as he was about to rush out beyond the city's high walls once more—
Buzz!!
The silver dagger he carried suddenly vibrated violently, emitting a resonant hum.
Startled, Chen Feng glanced down.
The Power of the Holy Sword contained within the dagger was inexplicably overflowing, transforming into a golden radiance that engulfed its entire silver surface.
The next instant—
Clang!!
Golden light surged skyward as the Holy Sword materialized.
With a horizontal slash that seemed to cleave heaven and earth, it instantly banished all darkness. Even the eerie moonlight that had been cascading down from above dimmed into insignificance.
Simultaneously, within the Serpent Spirit Secret Realm:
An anomaly rippled through the Royal Palace atop the Holy City. Astonished gazes turned toward the disturbance.
A flash of golden light resembling the Holy Sword momentarily illuminated the palace. The three Legion Commanders paled slightly and hastily rushed toward the palace.
Unaware of these events, Chen Feng's mind was already reeling with questions.
Yet at that moment, he couldn't afford to dwell on these mysteries or ponder why the Power of the Holy Sword had activated autonomously.
Because when he looked up at the sky above Qinggang City, where the Holy Sword's golden crescent slash had dissipated, an entirely different world was now reflected in the heavens.
The bustling metropolis was meticulously guarded by towering, well-maintained walls.
Streets teemed with pedestrians and vehicles, while Extraordinary Ones soared through the skies.
The tranquil scene flickered, and Chen Feng's gaze shifted upward, revealing an immense golden palace suspended high above the city.
Crafted entirely from gold, it resembled a colossal sculpture wrought from the precious metal.
Each supporting beam measured over ten meters in thickness and soared over a hundred meters in height. The main gate was even more grandiose, stretching nearly a kilometer wide.
As if sensing his gaze, the palace suddenly erupted in a blinding golden light.
The entire cityscape vanished. Figures from the streets and districts dissolved into radiant Light Orbs, drifting upward to merge into the palace.
Chen Feng held his breath, bracing himself for what was to come.
Slowly, the palace gates creaked open, revealing a narrow slit.
A massive golden stele stood within, etched with dozens of names.
Chen Feng couldn't quite make out all the inscriptions in his fleeting glance, his attention drawn more to the humanoid golden statues flanking the stele.
Some were hulking figures clad in loose Martial Arts Uniforms, their massive frames exuding strength, while others draped themselves in flowing trench coats, striking flamboyant poses that radiated alluring grace.
Each statue was remarkably lifelike, brimming with distinct expressions, and easily numbered over twenty.
Buzz!
In an instant, as if sensing something, a panel materialized before Chen Feng, flashing a series of astonishing notifications:
[You have discovered the Heroic Spirit Hall of the High Wall Alliance!]
[Civilizations may perish, but Heroic Spirits endure!]
[Function: Preserves the Spirituality Fire Seeds of Angel-tier powerhouses, allowing resurrection through Divinity!]
[Tip 1: Each Heroic Spirit possesses a unique personality, retaining all memories and most of their abilities from their former life!]
[Tip 2: The reviver can suppress a resurrected Heroic Spirit, returning them to slumber within the Hall!]
[Tip 3: The higher a Heroic Spirit's tier, the more Fragments of Divinity required for resurrection!]
[Collect sufficient Fragments of Divinity to resurrect Heroic Spirits!]
[Current Fragments of Divinity: 0]
The words burned into Chen Feng's mind, leaving him momentarily frozen in place.
A Heroic Spirit Hall?
The High Wall Alliance's Heroic Spirit Hall?
He had never encountered any records or memories of such a place in Qinggang City.
Wait!
His gaze sharpened as a figure suddenly surfaced in his mind—Wang Yu, the Extraordinary One with the Spirit Control Talent!
Could this be connected to the other party in some way?
The thought had barely formed when the sky suddenly trembled.
Chen Feng looked up and saw the palace's massive golden gates slowly closing once more.
As they did, countless specks of light drifted down, piercing through the reflected image and landing in the ruined city.
Some hovered in mid-air, while others drifted through windows and settled between buildings.
Deep crimson, blue, and gold—each slowly expanding into a glowing orb.
In an instant, Chen Feng realized these were the same Light Orbs he had collected earlier!
Except for their much smaller size, resembling tiny buds sprouting from a tree, there was no other difference.
Buzz!
Just then, the Blood Moon in the sky flickered strangely again, as if blinking, showering the area with an eerie lunar glow.
The space surrounding Qinggang City rippled with distortions, and Chen Feng once more felt the weightless disorientation of temporal and spatial chaos.
Finally—
ROAR!!
The familiar roar echoed in his ears as countless Black Tide Creatures charged toward him once more.
A ruined city, a dim environment, and swirling black mist—Chen Feng realized he was still standing in the same place.
Chen Feng gazed into the distance, beyond the breach in the high wall.
A terrifying aura and earth-shattering tremors rapidly approached, as if some colossal life form far surpassing the Sixth-Tier was awakening and charging toward them in a frenzy.
Ignoring the commotion, Chen Feng simply looked up at the sky.
The magnificent golden palace still loomed, its doors tightly shut, shimmering between reality and illusion, as if anchored in another dimension beyond reach.
Boom!
The Holy Shield Colossus slammed its fist once more, unleashing a terrifying storm that annihilated all living creatures in the surrounding area.
Amidst the splatter of blood, Chen Feng extended his Perception in all directions.
The scattered Light Orbs grew at varying rates, but most remained sluggish. He wasn't disappointed; Qinggang City's Light Orb reserves had been depleted long ago.
Now, he could afford to wait.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the world shook violently, and Chen Feng's eyes snapped open.
The familiar ceiling came into view. He lay in bed for several seconds, slightly disoriented.
This Dream Incursion had been unlike any previous one, pervaded by an unsettling strangeness.
The two nearly identical Qinggang Cities made him suspect they represented separate realities: the Dream Realm and the real world.
Then there was the Heroic Spirit Hall.
The ability to collect Fragments of Divinity and resurrect Angel-tier powerhouses was utterly inconceivable. So far, only Wang Yu seemed possibly connected to it.
And then there were those diary entries that always surfaced at opportune moments.
Is he guiding me? Chen Feng frowned. He'd entertained this thought countless times, but this time it felt particularly compelling.
This wasn't mere baseless speculation.
It was because...
Focusing his perception, Chen Feng saw the silver dagger within the Black Dream Space revert to its ordinary form, devoid of any power of the Holy Sword.
Though an inanimate object, it had actively struck out, revealing the existence of the Heroic Spirit Hall.
There was clearly only one connection:
Alonco, who repaired the Holy Sword.
Wang Yu, who could summon Heroic Spirits.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Chen Feng lay motionless for a long time.
Until finally...
"Hoo!"
Exhaling a long breath of stale air, he suppressed his swirling conjectures and rose to approach the window.
The pavilion bustled with figures. Disciples practiced martial arts stances, while True Disciples attempted to cultivate the Thunderous Roar technique.
His gaze swept over the scene, and Chen Feng shook his head.
"Whether someone is guiding me or not," he muttered, "I simply need to become stronger—strong enough to fear no opponent."
The revival of Heroic Spirits depended entirely on his own efforts, and collecting Fragments of Divinity seemed no easy task.
Ultimately, everything still rested on his own strength.
Instantly, his gaze shifted to the status panel.
"Enhance!"
[Heavenly Aura Overlord Body: Aura Body (43%) +]
[Thunderclap Art: Thunderous Roar (81%) +]
His Extreme Martial Arts and Thunderous Roar had been completely drained, yet neither skill had managed to break through.
Chen Feng felt no disappointment.
Because...
"Golden Dawn Art, break through for me!"
Buzz!
Two hundred Limit Breaking Orbs dissolved into nourishing energy, and all ten Golden Profound Orbs were consumed.
The second layer of the Golden Body Manual, previously glimpsed in his memory visions, surfaced in his mind, accompanied by a flood of profound comprehension.
This progress was the result of relentless day and night training, a brutal tempering of his bones and tendons through grueling practice.
As a result, his True Art proficiency surged wildly, reaching its peak.
[Golden Dawn Art: Golden Body (1%)]
(End of the Chapter)
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