Chapter 1081: Eight Days Later! Prepare to Break Through!

Just as Greater Xia was thrown into national shock over Xu Jingming's news.

Other nations on Blue Star simultaneously received the message.

USA, Holy Covenant.

Dozens of American ninth-rankers gathered within the holy, majestic palace.

At the end of the palace, on the Throne, Pope Evelyn sat with elegant grace.

Her figure was slender, her fair skin glowing softly under the golden light of the Throne.

Beside the Throne stood Catherine, tall and stunningly beautiful, her face seven or eight parts similar to Evelyn's.

Having ascended to seventh-rank, she had already been brought by Evelyn to attend the Holy Covenant's highest council.

This was training her as the successor.

Yet now, Evelyn, ruler of the USA, furrowed her delicate brows as she stared at the holographic projection in the center of the palace.

The hologram showed Xu Jingming slaying the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape outside the Crimson Fortress.

"My lord, this is Xu Jingming's performance on Greater Xia's frontline."

"According to the video, he has indeed broken through to mid-ninth-rank, with actual combat power at the peak of ninth-rank invincibility."

Shortly after, the video ended.

Cain, the Grand Hierarch of the Covenant, stepped forward and reported solemnly.

"Ninth-rank invincible! How could Xu Jingming's breakthrough be so fast?"

"Sh*t! We in the USA only have one ninth-rank invincible!"

"......"

With the video's contents confirmed, the entire Covenant erupted in uproar.

Beside the Throne, Catherine's beautiful eyes widened, her heart swept by a storm of shock.

Ninth-rank invincible?

Is Xu Jingming really this strong?

After the shock, the entire palace sank into silent stillness.

After a long while, Evelyn finally opened her crimson lips and spoke thoughtfully:

"From today, cease all operations targeting Xu Jingming."

She had originally intended to contact the Tianming Sect and have the Holy Covenant assist in eliminating Xu Jingming.

But now that he is ninth-rank invincible, the Holy Covenant has no need to act further.

Whether the Tianming Sect acts or not—that is beyond her concern.

"Yes!" The ninth-rankers below all nodded.

Beside the Throne, Catherine's fair face wore an extremely complex expression as she watched.

She had once been naive, knowing only cultivation.

She had believed the Holy Covenant was as holy and radiant as she imagined.

But as her mother Evelyn began bringing her into Covenant affairs, she discovered the Holy Covenant was in fact so dark.

Ambushing foreign prodigies, colluding with the Tianming Sect...

At first, learning this filled her with unbearable pain.

Yet she had no choice but to accept it.

Because this was her country, and her mother ruled it!

"When I reach Supreme Strength, I will purge all corruption!"

A fire burned within Catherine's heart.

She still lacked the power to change anything.

But the fact that the Holy Covenant would no longer target Xu Jingming already brought her relief...

"Ninth-rank invincible! Greater Xia is growing stronger."

"Heizhou ninth-rankers, listen: never provoke Xu Jingming again!"

"Classify Xu Jingming as Maximum Threat Level! Maintain constant intelligence surveillance!"

"......"

Not just the USA—other nations reacted simultaneously upon receiving the news.

They classified Xu Jingming as an extreme threat, a peak powerhouse not to be provoked.

Across the entire Blue Star, fewer than five ninth-rankers held this status...

The movements of Greater Xia and other nations were easily known to Xu Jingming through Eva.

But he had already anticipated this, and paid it little mind.

After the banquet ended, Xu Jingming requested from Zhou Yuanwu to be sent to the next frontline battlefield.

For him, fame was illusory—only Ability Points could carry him further.

December 24th, Southern Border.

As Greater Xia's southern frontline, the combat here was undeniably fierce.

After nearly every major battle, the battlefield was filled with sorrow and deathly silence.

But this time was an exception: soldiers were cheerfully gathering materials from the monstrous beasts.

The scene was joyful, utterly devoid of post-battle grief.

The reason was simple.

Xu Jingming, hailed as ninth-rank invincible, arrived at this battlefield three days ago.

Since then, battlefield casualties have dropped dramatically.

"My Lord Lei Di!"

"My Lord Lei Di, you've worked hard!"

"......"

On the border wall, as Xu Jingming landed.

One by one, the eighth-rank Grand Masters and seventh-rank Masters on the wall excitedly greeted him.

Xu Jingming gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, but his attention was fixed within his own mind.

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Level】: Ninth-Rank Mid-Level (+)

【Ability Points】: 31.234 million

Eight days had passed since the virtual world's commendation ceremony.

During this time, Xu Jingming had remained at various frontline battlefields across the nation.

"Pity that since the end of the Crimson Fortress, the beasts have begun retreating from the frontline."

"Otherwise, I could have gained even more ability points."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

The beasts weren't fools; they wouldn't launch a beast tide to their deaths knowing he was on the frontline.

After all, for someone who controlled lightning-based ability, human wave tactics were useless.

Whether ten thousand beasts or a hundred thousand, it was merely a matter of one Thunder Art strike.

"Still, the gains during this period have been more than enough."

Xu Jingming's gaze flickered slightly.

31.23 million ability points!

This was his gain during this period.

He could have leveled up when his ability points reached 21 million three days ago.

But breaking continuously from Ninth-Rank Lower to Ninth-Rank Upper within just a few days was too unusual.

That's why he chose to hold back.

After all, no beast on the frontline could threaten him.

And the beasts on the other side seemed to have received intelligence—they immediately retreated whenever he appeared on the battlefield.

This meant he never even needed to activate Lei Shen Form on the frontline.

His normal form was enough to crush everything.

"My Lord Lei Di."

As soon as he returned to the border command post, several fully armed men who had just come down from the frontline bowed respectfully.

They were Ninth-Rank Councilors stationed in the southern border, responsible for commanding the border legions.

Yet before Xu Jingming, they showed not the slightest arrogance—only deep respect.

"How were the casualties from this beast tide?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Report, My Lord Lei Di: battle losses were extremely low—less than one-twentieth of previous levels."

One of the Ninth-Rankers replied quickly.

"Good."

Xu Jingming nodded. "The southern border is now in your hands. For the next several months, the beasts won't dare launch another large-scale invasion."

"Are you leaving, My Lord Lei Di?"

The Ninth-Ranker who had spoken earlier blinked in surprise.

"Mm." Xu Jingming gave a simple nod.

Nearly half a month had passed since his last breakthrough to Ninth-Rank Mid-Level—it was time to break through again.

Moreover, most of Great Xia's frontline battlefields would no longer see large-scale beast tides; he needed to move elsewhere to continue harvesting ability points.

It was simple: if Great Xia had no large-scale beast tides, he could just go to another country.

If all else failed, he could return to Dayangzhou.

With Dayangzhou's scale of beasts, there would be no shortage of targets to kill.

"S-Class: Teacher Aemose has sent a message—ask you to visit her in the virtual world when you're free."

At that moment, Eva's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.