Chapter 179

Two top-tier bigwigs placed bets and gambled, looking for some amusement.

Regarding this matter, the seven participating contestants and the one local native were completely unaware.

"Where am I?"

Meng Yi, disguised as the Daoist "Golden Core Ancestor," frowned.

There wasn't a single person in sight, let alone a planet.

Meng Yi observed the surrounding environment; apart from void turbulence, there was nothing else.

【Notification: Player 'Bai Mo' has obtained the identity 'Lord of the Heterodox Infinite True Realm'.】

"Starting as a Lord of a Heterodox Realm?"

Meng Yi rubbed his temples; his disguise as a "Golden Core Ancestor" had been a complete waste of effort.

"Damn it, this is a huge loss!"

"I even said 'thank you' to that scoundrel Wei Yan just a moment ago!"

Treating someone as a "good friend" when there's something to gain, and a "scoundrel" or "beast" when there isn't—that's just how Paradise players are.

"At least it's a good place to hide my true body."

Meng Yi tried various methods and detected no immediate danger. He smiled lightly: "In that case, 'Infinite True Realm'—expand!"

The folded, collapsed state of the Infinite True Realm expanded at extreme speed.

The "Infinite World Tree" propped up the void turbulence, while the "Nine Heavens Illusory Dream Realm" and "Nine Netherworlds" stabilized the surrounding environment.

The "Human World: Twelve Pure White Lands," rearranged into the Twelve Earthly Branches pattern, rotated between heaven and earth, surrounding the Infinite World Tree.

The Infinite True Realm, which maintained a constant tenfold time acceleration, had its various status-holders performing their respective duties.

Meng Yi sat beneath the ancient tree, contemplating a solution.

Main Mission 1 required the player to leave the Heterodox Realm and head to the Primitive Universe to obtain the qualifications to participate in the special Holy Grail War.

This mission had to be completed.

If a local native NPC took a player's qualification before the war began, the only outcome would be erasure.

"Holy Grail... Holy Grail..."

Meng Yi retrieved relevant memories from his past life to search; the possibilities for a "Holy Grail" were too numerous.

The Holy Grail used by Jesus in Christian legend, the holy relic in the Arthurian legends...

But combining "Holy Grail" with "War" and "Heterodox Realm," one worldview fit the dungeon perfectly.

"Could this be a derivative Type-Moon worldview?"

Type-Moon was manageable, but the title "Strongest Contest: Special Holy Grail War of the Heterodox Realm Hegemon" suggested this wasn't just any ordinary Holy Grail.

Dead Apostle Ancestors? True Ancestors? The Mage's Association? The Five Magicians? UO? The Seven Beasts?

In this new version, which integrated elements of "Heterodox Realms," "Servant Universe," and "Caelum Galaxy," those things were barely worth mentioning.

It wasn't just Meng Yi who was puzzled; the other six contestants who had also started as "Lords of Heterodox Realms" were equally confused.

Type-Moon, Primitive Universe, Earth.

Ryougi Shiki, who had been "educated" by Teacher Meng in the past, replaced the original identity and gained the local authority bonus.

Fuyuki, Reien City.

Dressed in a white kimono, Ryougi Shiki sat before the courtyard, her "Root Personality" taking the lead.

The power of the Root, which shared the same origin, pried at the structure of the world.

The fragile parallel worlds of the Type-Moon worldview were overturned.

The "Derivative: Root-connected Sajo Ayaka" approached her counterpart.

In a sense, they could be seen as the material vessels for the "Swirl of the Root."

The "Swirl of the Root" provided its full support, allowing the derivative Sajo Ayaka to understand the cause and effect.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl sighed faintly, looking at Ryougi Shiki with complex emotions: "I really envy your identity. You have only one 'you,' the only 'you,' while I have countless 'me's."

Ryougi Shiki did not answer.

The "Evolution Paradise" had thrown her into a derivative dungeon of her hometown and provided the "Promotion Assessment Main Mission" to minimize the destructive impact of the super-standard Holy Grail War.

If the Holy Grail War destroyed the "Primitive Universe Earth" = Promotion Assessment failure.

If the Holy Grail War did not destroy the "Primitive Universe Earth" = Promotion Assessment success.

After descending into the dungeon, through the personality connected to the Swirl of the Root, Ryougi Shiki saw the current situation clearly.

The blockade isolating the universe was gradually weakening, and the "Servant Universe," where monsters and demons were rampant, was slowly merging with the "Primitive Universe."

Her power came from the "Swirl of the Root" of the "Primitive Universe Parallel World Cluster Solar System," not the "Primitive Universe" itself!

No matter how much the local authority bonus boosted her, her output limit was capped at Seventh Rank Breakthrough.

Attack power = Seventh Rank Breakthrough.

Health, Mana, Defense, Immortality = Pseudo-Single Universe.

She wondered how many monster players had entered this dungeon; perhaps seven, or at worst, fourteen.

There were only two modes for a Holy Grail War: a free-for-all with 7 contestants and 7 Servants, or a 7-vs-7 faction confrontation.

A few dungeons ago, she had been educated by a "fish-bombing" player in the "Derivative: Demon Slayer" dungeon, and she knew how terrifying they were.

For such a high-difficulty "Promotion Assessment," the "Evolution Paradise" had generously loaded her with Seventh Rank Breakthrough output.

This showed just how high the "beast index" of the monster players participating in this dungeon must be.

"That man shouldn't be here."

Ryougi Shiki did not know Meng Yi's player nickname, nor did she know that she and Meng Yi were enemies meeting on a narrow road, matched into the same dungeon again.

In her view, that "man" who was only at the Fifth Rank stage could be killed instantly by her in her Seventh Rank Breakthrough state.

As for whether that "man" could have promoted from Fifth Rank to Seventh Rank Breakthrough in just a few dungeons?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

If she really encountered that "man," she would smash her head into the Swirl of the Root on the spot!

'I need to find a solution to complete the Promotion Assessment. The top priority is to stop the fusion of the Servant Universe and the Primitive Universe to prevent super-standard Servants from replacing the Heroic Spirits.'

She was confident she and Sajo Ayaka could do this together, relying on the local authority bonus.

After all, it was only the initial fusion of two universes; it hadn't reached the point of no return.

'I must kill the super-standard players as much as possible. As long as the players are killed, the Holy Grail War will not start.'

Ryougi Shiki drew her short blade and said coldly: "Gaia, Alaya, come out."

"I have made the following deployments; listen well."

Gaia, the consciousness aggregate of the parallel world solar system Earth, and Alaya, the consciousness aggregate of the parallel world pan-humanity, were not necessarily weaker than Ryougi Shiki in output.

However, rank mattered; they had to follow the orders of the "Root-connected Ryougi Shiki."

Gaia, filled with a sense of maternal fusion and tolerance, appeared as a blurry, earthy-brown shadow.

Alaya, the aggregate of pan-human consciousness, appeared as a phantom constructed of thoughts, civilization, and flowing light.

"One, Gaia, release the 'Ether' sealed in the Sea of Stars and increase the total amount of mystery to suppress the players intruding into the 'Primitive Universe' with 'World Etheric Power'!"

"Two, Alaya, give the Grand Servants in the Throne of Heroes the maximum scale of reinforcement and grant them the authority to act freely. If there is an opportunity, kill the players participating in the Holy Grail War at all costs!"

"Three, Sajo Ayaka and I will be responsible for slowing down the fusion speed of the 'Servant Universe' to prevent the intrusion of super-standard beings."

"Yes." x2

Gaia and Alaya obeyed the orders.

"Fine."

Sajo Ayaka sneered inwardly at this, pretending to be compliant with Ryougi Shiki on the surface.

Having witnessed the "uniqueness" and "infinite possibilities" brought by the player identity, the "Derivative: Sajo Ayaka" developed other ideas.

Why could Ryougi Shiki be a player, but she couldn't? What exactly did she lack compared to Ryougi Shiki?

"Heterodox Realm: Infinite True Realm."

After a few days of exploration, Meng Yi used the newly acquired "Gate of Alchemy: Truth" combined with various White Study system techniques like spacetime law skills to open a spacetime gate to explore the void.

"Eh?"

Standing before the spacetime gate, Meng Yi, looking righteous, frowned: "There is an unknown force continuously exerting interference, increasing the difficulty of exploring the void."

This situation was like a broken faucet leaking water, wrapped in a few layers of plastic film by someone.

Was it useful? It had some effect.

Was it very useful? It treated the symptoms but not the root cause.

Meng Yi picked up the "New Human Emperor Banner," his disguise as the Daoist, and lightly touched the spacetime gate with the banner's tip to analyze and distinguish the strength of the blockade.

"Seventh Rank? No, it's Seventh Rank Breakthrough."

"Similar to Xia Mi's situation, it's like a Seventh Rank Breakthrough after the world status bonus."

Xia Master, who was watching from the side, pointed at herself, stunned: "Ah? Me?"

Meng Yi looked at the lazy old mother dragon with great disgust.

"Shut up!"

Xia Master's face fell, and she said aggrievedly: "Ao, I know, Big Brother, you go ahead."

Meng Yi continued to analyze the source of the power sealing the void.

"Inclusive of all things, existence and non-existence... Could it be the 'Swirl of the Root'?"

"But if it really were the 'Swirl of the Root' blocking me, a Seventh Rank Breakthrough wide-area blockade would seem incredibly ridiculous; it shouldn't be at this level."

Question 1: In the Type-Moon worldview, who can manipulate the "Swirl of the Root"?

Answer: Ryougi Shiki or Sajo Ayaka.

"Based on my situation, the possibility of other Second Rank players reaching Eighth Rank is slim to none."

"Even if they had Eighth Rank combat power, a Seventh Rank Breakthrough with the home-field advantage bonus would just be a toy."

"I haven't made a move yet, and the other players are also in the testing phase; no one has rashly contacted the void blockade."

Who, without the "fish-bombing" players making a move, knew so accurately that fish-bombing players would appear?

Sajo Ayaka, the omniscient one who connects to the Swirl of the Root through magic circuits and has the home-field advantage bonus?

"Impossible. The 'omniscience' granted by the home-field bonus does not include players who are 'variables'."

"Ryougi Shiki is a 'player' who possesses 'uniqueness'. According to logic, she shouldn't be in this dungeon."

"If Ryougi Shiki is really in this dungeon, then the Seventh Rank Breakthrough blockade that alerted the enemy can be understood."

Meng Yi's eyes became playful.

"Is it really her? Enemies meeting on a narrow road."

"Wide-area blockade line..."

"If it really is Ryougi Shiki, she shouldn't be a participating contestant, but a player with other missions."

Meng Yi calculated Ryougi Shiki's dungeon progress based on her performance in the "Demon Slayer dungeon," where she was almost played to pieces by him.

"It's highly likely that her progress is similar to Liuying's, participating in the '1→2 Promotion Assessment'."

"Did the 'Special Dungeon: Strongest Contest' and the 'Promotion Assessment' overlap? This is getting more and more interesting."

The situation was spiraling out of control.

Who the Second Rank fish-bombing players were and how many there were, he didn't know yet.

What kind of ghosts the local forces would bring out, he didn't know either.

"She doesn't know me, but I know her. This child is a bit impatient."

Meng Yi decided to wait a bit longer; he had started as the "Lord of the Heterodox Realm," and the other players were likely similar.

"I can wait, but not for too long."

"Failure of Mission 1 will result in erasure."

"It depends on who loses their patience first and becomes the 'bird that sticks its head out and gets shot'."

In just three days, the bird that stuck its head out appeared.

Covered in red battle patterns, with bulging muscles radiating masculine beauty, the shirtless man with a crew cut roared.

"Red Dragon Battle Fist!!"

His burly body erupted with ultra-high-intensity individual magnetic fields, which then interfered with the external magnetic field.

A fierce electromagnetic field affected the fundamental forces of the universe; a punch with the full power of the "Perfect Martial God" realm slammed into the void blockade.

'Clang—!'

A short blade was drawn, and a miserable blade light that granted death to all things collided with Dong Lin's dragon fist at the blockade line.

"Concept of instant death?"

"Go to hell! All that fancy stuff!"

"Shatter for me!!"

Dong Lin's already sturdy body expanded further, red dragon patterns activated and twisted, pouring in infinite determination, firm belief, and an indomitable will to shake the blade of instant death!

The iron fist that twisted causality and shattered fate crushed the blade of instant death, leaving only a negligible scratch on Dong Lin's fist.

"Will is immortal, I am immortal!"

Relying on his tenacious will, Dong Lin withstood the instant death judgment, and the wound healed instantly.

"Hidden rat! Get out here for me!"

Dong Lin broke into the void blockade and arrived in a normal universe starry sky, his roar shaking the vacuum.

The power of a parallel world at the solar system level descended.

"Sea of Ether" besieged him from all sides, doing everything possible to suppress Dong Lin's energy level.

"XXXX!!"

The stacking of the local authority's magnitude left the super-strong man depressed.

He could continuously bombard the "Sea of Ether," but doing so would also trap him here, making it difficult to break free.

"Fine! That's the spirit!"

The immortal battle body, which could gather and disperse at will, vanished into nothingness, and the swimming red dragon battle patterns lost their luster.

Dong Lin's will hid its tracks and began to explore the location to complete Main Mission 1.

"Such an eye-catching life planet, you're the one!"

The gradually spreading immortal will captured the "Primitive Universe Earth," and his will began to spread toward the Earth.

The first fish-bombing player made a move, and the other fish-bombing players who had been holding back made their moves simultaneously.

"Concept of death?"

"Interesting. Your blade light is strong, but my sword has yet to be tested!"

'One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws!'

Jun Lingtian, in white robes, did not give an inch.

With a wave of his hand, his ancient sword was unsheathed!

With a Seventh Rank Middle comprehensive evaluation, he slashed out a sword glow of Seventh Rank Breakthrough power, meeting the incoming blade of instant death head-on!

"Hehe, I'll let you kill to your heart's content."

"Huan," the living interstellar civilization, chose to crush the quality with quantity.

Hundreds of millions of interstellar technological fleets rushed into the void blockade.

Man has his limits; Ryougi Shiki's constant instant death blade light killed the vast majority of enemies, but one core warship penetrated the blockade.

"Distortion, misdirection!"

Li Lin, cosplaying as an anime character, had his hands in his pockets and a light, breezy expression on his face.

His idealistic domain, which distorted reality, deflected the direction of the instant death blade light, and Li Lin easily crossed the blockade line.

"I think... death can be eaten."

Vex, the aggregate of multiple concepts from League of Legends' Runeterra, used powers like darkness, fear, shadows, and decadence to devour death.

The "sleepy Poppy" wiped the corner of her mouth and exclaimed: "Delicious!"

"Yo, the welcome ceremony is quite enthusiastic."

Threads of order connected a large number of "Faceless Puppets."

Black Tower chose the same method as "Huan, the living interstellar civilization."

Meng Yi's "Golden Core Ancestor" disguise walked into the void blockade.

"Nothing more than this." Meng Yi, looking like a Daoist immortal, waved his ancient banner.

The embedded "Gate of Alchemy: Truth" threw the blade of instant death hundreds of light-years away.

The banner's surface fluttered lightly, and the three-zhang area around him seemed like a pure land where all laws could not invade.

With the same Seventh Rank Breakthrough output, how could the biased, crippled local goods compare to a player who had walked their own path and possessed thousands of strange methods?

For a local to rival a player, they would need to reach the 14th Rank defined by Paradise.

Meng Yi arrived at the "Primitive Universe," where the "Sea of Ether" was boiling, and encountered the same treatment as the other fish-bombing players—"World Suppression"!

"Knowing how to borrow momentum and go all-in; there's progress, but not much."

"I don't mind giving you another lesson so you can remember this."