Chapter 2097

axEach fragment emits strong energy fluctuations.

Its energy level is so high that it seems like a living thing, constantly swaying and trembling, emitting a strange, surging sound.

Looking at the dense fragments before him—no, should say corpse fragments—Lin An's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively gripped his sword.

A few seconds later, as he got closer to the corpse fragments, Lin An's expression grew even uglier.

Hands, feet, legs, a brain with only half a mouth left, and even a segment of spine of indeterminate creature dragging brain matter, floating about.

At a glance, it seemed as if he were underwater, these corpse fragments still holding great power drifting like they were on the seabed.

From a distance, the spiritual energy's glow would make it look dazzlingly brilliant; but up close it makes one's hair stand on end, delivering a tremendous mental shock!

「These corpses' former selves were at least at the Star-Annihilation level or higher..! 」

Taking a deep breath, Lin An carefully detoured around the largest intestine near him.

He saw a blue-green intestine wrapped around a severed hand; as it collided regularly with the surrounding limbs, it writhed like a sea snake.

The residual regulatory power inside it was even more bizarre; whenever this segment of intestine approached a corpse fragment, it would bulge out of nowhere, then quickly deflate, spewing a stream of corrosive energy.

It's hard to imagine what abilities the owner of this intestine possessed in life.

Even after its death, the remaining digestive organs continued to function, incessantly digesting flesh and blood.

「This intestine should belong to the Body System. I just don't know if it's from the Star-Shatter or Sixth Stage. 」

「That finger must be of Dead Star Level; with only a finger left, it can still constantly rend space with its fingertip. 」

Perhaps these corpse fragments were immensely powerful in life; even after death, their remnants still retain their former strength.

A large amount of regulatory spiritual energy overlapped and overflowed, making the entire underground tunnel resemble a demonic realm; countless grudges and anger from before death faintly formed an existence akin to a meme stance.

Shrieks, wails, and angry roars cut off abruptly.

Lin An had no doubt that if an ordinary Fourth Rank were let in here, they would likely go mad within seconds, unable to withstand the mental assault from these corpses.

「What on earth happened here.. 」

「Isn't the Eternal Summit a War Star Level battlefield? Could it be like the Stellar Battlefield? Its former site might have been a powerful civilization's stronghold. 」

「But if that were the case, the types of corpses don't seem to belong to the same civilization.. 」

I can't understand what this is all about.

Upon close observation, Lin An keenly noticed that these corpse fragments were too fragmented; even a few hundred of them together could hardly be assembled into a whole corpse. Clearly, this is a man-made trace.

Gazing at the maimed severed arm before him, Lin An's mind suddenly conjured an image of a slaughterhouse.

「These limbs were definitely not shattered here. 」

「This place isn't a death site; it's more like a garbage dump where a slaughterhouse discards waste after butchering Fifth Stage beings..! 」

Unimaginable why this would be so, Lin An's gaze turned cold, and he instinctively thought of the Starlight Alliance.

「Match.. corpses.. 」

「So-called Starlight War isn't just about harvesting elites from each civilization; it's also about collecting the corpses of their powerhouses, right? 」

「If that's really the case... 」

, unlike his initial favorable impression of the Starlight Alliance upon entry, Lin An suddenly realized that this seemingly powerful civilization, which eagerly selects seeds, is far more complex than it appears.

Suppressing his suspicions, Lin An didn't have time to think further.

What secrets lie behind this, what the Starlight Alliance is concealing—he simply has no time to worry about.

The urgent priority is to obtain that artifact!

Silent flight, like an incoming sphere, constantly speeding through the corpse sea.

As if in endless silence, Lin An didn't even know how far he had flown.

Looking ahead, the corpse sea still stretched beyond sight.

Lin An felt heavy-hearted; now he understood why number 77 said he might not make it in time to get the item.

It's obvious that these powerhouses' corpses have formed an obstruction; even deeper in the passage, the remains only increase, making it hard to say whether some extreme, peculiar entity won't appear.

He dared not waste too much time, nor could he touch the corpses.

In Lin An's perception, many corpses exhibited regulatory fluctuations like runaway stars, wildly radiating attacks outward.

Although his strength is sufficient, he must still face the contamination of these things over the remaining nine days, so he must be cautious. Fortunately, he has exchanged enough potions; otherwise, Lin An would suspect that by midway he himself would be contaminated to mental breakdown.

Fifteen minutes later.

「Beep, battlefield announcement: all participants have entered the Eternal Summit. 」

「This match officially begins! In ten seconds, the battlefield rankings will update in real time, and individual and civilization leaderboards will be released! 」

「Current remaining participants: 1178199! 」

The announcement repeated.

As the final announcement ended, Lin An's vision suddenly presented a fully opened ranking light screen.

After a quick glance, Lin An didn't care about anything.

Whether in personal or civilization rankings, he and the Creator Alliance were at the bottom tier.

Especially the Creator Alliance, its ranking had dropped considerably compared to when they entered.

The only one with a relatively high ranking was Zhang Tie.

Thanks to self-destruction and cross-rank kills earning many points, at this stage he actually broke into the top 100,000.

Although this ranking would easily be surpassed by later top War Star entrants, Xiong Hanzi's Fourth Rank emblem actually attracted some attention from outside civilizations at this moment.

Especially.

Qing Kai.

「Lin An... 」

「Where is that half-breed ranked? Damn it, why does this lousy ranking lack even a search function!? 」

In the outer territories of the Creator Alliance, while following a Fifth Stage squad on a mission, taking advantage of a navigation gap, Qing Kai anxiously checked the Starlight rankings.

If we say that besides the Faction: Long An high-level on Earth currently worrying about Lin An and the others, then the person most worried is probably him.

Although he harbors great hostility toward Lin An, Qing Kai also understands that Lin An's strength is still decent, stronger than many Fifth Stage.

Therefore, since Lin An entered the Stellar Radiance, he can't help but refresh the ranking every few minutes to check Lin An's performance.

It's hard to say what exactly he wants to see.

He both hopes Lin An performs well, earns more rewards, and perhaps then they'll all be his.

He also hopes that little bastard fares miserably inside, realizing how weak he is, how utterly feeble before a Fifth Stage.

However, upon repeatedly checking, Qing Kai suddenly felt a strange sensation.

"This kid actually got 15 points? On the contrary, the Fourth Stage he brought in got nearly forty points!!"

"Could it be that the strongest is actually that bear?"

"That's not right either; why do Ka Lian and the others have none?"

Qing Kai frowned tightly, unable to figure out what was going on.

According to the Stellar Radiance rules, Lin An's points could have many possibilities, but the most likely is that he killed a group of Fourth Stage War Slaves or a Fifth Stage.

That's not surprising; as long as he bumps into any team, with that kid's strength he could do it.

Having no impression of Xiong Hanzi, what Qing Kai couldn't figure out most was Zhang Tie.

"Thirty-seven points—if it's from killing virtual Fifth Stage entrants, that would mean killing six Fifth Stage and seven Fourth Stage."

"That's hardly possible—this is almost a single person wiping out an entire squad. Even Lin An couldn't do that. If they were all Fourth Stage, that would be too many; which civilization would just let its War Slaves be killed for nothing?"

"Besides that, what about Ka Lian and the others? They surely must have participated in the battle, right?"

Fifteen points, thirty points, seventy points, two hundred points.

These four numbers are the thresholds for four tiers; according to the Stellar Radiance battlefield rules, they respectively represent different levels of intensity.

Fifteen points is a single Fifth Stage with a few War Slaves, the easiest battle to erupt.

Thirty points is when two squads clash, and only the strongest on each side can obtain it. Seventy points and two hundred points, however, mean that a single individual possesses the combat power to resolve other civilizations' squads, belonging to the top-tier Fifth Stage!

At the same time, many civilizations, like Qing Kai, are also puzzled.

Only seen on a massive green planet a thousand times the size of Earth, a metallic structure resembling a dragon's nest almost covered the entire hemisphere.

Inside the enormous metallic sphere at the center, more than thirty variously colored double-headed creatures were communicating.

"Have you collected it?"

"How many God Ascendant Fourth Stage are there this time? What is our current ranking?"

The sound came one after another; the before and after of a sentence were actually two heads speaking simultaneously.

If Lin An were present, he would likely recognize at a glance that this double-headed creature belongs to the Chimera clan. However, the speaking head is far stronger than the Chimera Emperor, and even the other head does not need to rest.

"Your Majesty, our ranking is currently around ninety-three thousand, and after data comparison we have locked the number of God Ascendants at two thousand three hundred."

"Among the God Ascendants, we are in the middle, with a current score of 29 points. The highest for now is the Spacefarer clan, whose score is fast approaching one hundred points."

The half-red, half-blue Chimera replied respectfully.

The so-called God Ascendants are powerful civilizations deliberately cultivating Fourth Stage Peak individuals. Since most civilizations know that lower levels yield better mission rewards, many have nurtured low-level seeds with strong combat power.

These seeds try to stay just below the Fifth Stage, then continually enter high-difficulty missions to bring rich rewards to their civilization. The intense slaughter and combat experience far exceeding their peers also make these seeds extremely suited for carrying out missions.

With low resource consumption yet huge gains, some Fourth Stage seeds selected to go to ultra-high-reward scenarios are called God Ascendants.

Especially the Fourth Stage prepared for the Stellar Radiance War perfectly exemplifies this title.

Entering the Fifth Stage battlefield with a Fourth Stage identity to fight! Ultimately relying on rewards, they break through to the Fifth Stage in one fell swoop, gaining formidable combat power—ascending to godhood in a single step!

Without considering strength differences, compared to the difficulty of earning points as a Fifth Stage, Fourth Stage individuals have an easier time accumulating points thanks to cross-level kill rewards.

"Almost breaking a hundred?"

The Chimera Emperor, addressed as Your Majesty, glanced at the rankings with some surprise, but soon stopped caring.

"Spacefarers? Their alliance's strength is only slightly stronger than our Natural Alliance, but their abilities are indeed well suited for the battlefield."

"Heh, it looks like they merely sent a few Fifth Stage as protectors, blocked the entry order, and as soon as they entered they began hunting other civilizations."

"It doesn't matter; I believe we'll catch up soon."

Seeing through the Spacefarers' strategy at a glance, the Chimera Emperor was not surprised either.

The Spacefarer civilization excels at spatial rules, naturally dominating in ultra-large battlefields—but only at the start. As many Fifth Stage gather at the Eternal Summit, that's when their combat power truly shines.

Just running won't earn many points! Especially Awakened Ones of spatial rules, who are the priority target for all civilizations to kill!

"Your Majesty's words are absolutely correct."

"Our Chimera clan possesses four kinds of rules; once the slaughter begins, our advantage remains great!"

"Especially since the Natural Alliance exchanged three vials of potion for our God Ascendants this time, I believe that with such a huge investment, Qiya Si will definitely break into the top five hundred! Perhaps even the top hundred is possible!"

Three hundred points may sound little, but for the high-level tasked with maintaining the alliance's operation and slowing the Apocalypse's progress, this is already a figure that hurts them.

Too much needs to be invested, especially since the top tier must consume nearly 99% of resources to maintain combat strength; the stronger the alliance, the fewer resources can be allocated to the lower tier.

Thus, investing three hundred points among Fourth Stage God Ascendants is considered a risky move, and it's rare.

Strictly speaking, it even has to do with Lin An.

"Top hundred? Maybe…"

The Chimera Emperor shook his head, looking toward the God Ascendant who ranked last on the list—contrary to expectation.

"In the Fourth Stage there are four kinds of rules; this talent might be considered strong among most races, but among those naturally aberrant civilizations, it simply cannot compare."

"The Corpse Summoner civilization can temporarily revive dead Fifth Stage to fight for them; by the late battlefield they can summon hundreds or even thousands of Fifth Stage to fight for them. Which Fourth Stage could overcome this ability? Not to mention their Fifth Stage protectors are even more disgusting."

"The Star God Civilization, upon entering the battlefield, can absorb matter to strengthen itself into a celestial body. As long as it hides in a corner to develop, by the late stage the entire group transforms directly into celestial bodies, and their combat power directly breaks through to War Star Level!"

"The Mechanical Insect Tribe can rapidly reproduce its population on the battlefield; if unchecked, they could even field an army. Fortunately, the Corpse Summoners compete with them for corpses."

"Also, the Prayers can summon external power in battle; this bunch of lunatics is practically cheating."

"Of course, there's also the most disgusting Body System. Each individual is extremely hard to kill, but fortunately they don't tend to form teams."

The more he spoke, the more he sighed; in the entire Apocalypse universe, how many special civilized races there are, so many that even the Chimera Emperor doesn't know what monstrosities will appear in this Stellar Radiance War.

For example, that human named Zhang Tie of the Fourth Stage, whose ranking is extremely close to theirs.

At a glance at the points, one can tell he is a God Ascendant of some civilization.

"Your Majesty, this is also unavoidable. If our previous Stellar Mission yielded some gains, the God Ascendants we dispatch this time might be able to place even more bets."

Speaking of which, I suddenly recall...

The voice cut off abruptly.

Suddenly, for no reason, the entire giant sphere fell silent, as if the Chimera's words reminded the dragons present of unpleasant memories.

Especially in the corner, a two-headed Chimera with red and green hues, at this moment its expression changed, as if it had thought of something.

"Lin An?"

"You mean the monster that Kandis encountered?"

The Chimera Emperor coldly spat out that name from his mouth; frankly, before Kandis returned, he had never imagined a Fourth Stage could shock him to such an extent that he even doubted Kandis was lying.

Why have they invested so much in this God Ascendant War? Because the entire Death Spiral Star System has heard an unbelievably absurd rumor!

In the Stellar Battlefield, there was a Fourth Stage worm-child who killed over a thousand Fifth Stage beings! He even detonated the battlefield, triggering the Overseer War! Countless star systems were affected and destroyed.

Fourth Stage, amazingly strong to this degree! If they could also cultivate such a Fourth Stage...

Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his heart, the Chimera Emperor unconsciously glanced at the God Ascendant that had been found.

Soon, he exhaled a clear breath, his eyes full of complexity as he shook his head.

No Lin An.

Among the Fourth Stage beings screened for eligibility, he did not see that name.

Considering how monstrous that guy is, upon entering the Stellar Radiance, he would inevitably draw attention; his ranking would surely be among the foremost.