Chapter 250: Ascend

Ascend

Cheng Shi went in anyway, because 【Chaos】 had given him no other choice.

Without the help of that massive hand of primordial chaos, he couldn't even get back down from this platform covered in "corpse-words."

So when there was only one path before him, Cheng Shi gritted his teeth and charged in with his eyes shut.

And the instant he stepped through that shattered 【Order】 gate, the scene before his eyes changed once more.

All the murky-yellow primordial chaos peeled away like threads being drawn out, and the true blackness of the void surfaced before him again. Cheng Shi stood dazed in place, staring at the first step that had appeared at his feet.

It was the first step — and the only one.

He had to admit, up to now, if not for that torn codex, Cheng Shi would never have guessed that the one enthroned above was that 【Chaos】 which worshipped disorder.

Everything here was far too orderly — from ascending the platform, to passing through the gate, to the staircase beneath his feet, every step was meticulously arranged.

But the more it was like this, the more afraid Cheng Shi became.

Because madness often hides beneath a calm surface.

Hoo—

"Relax, Cheng Shi, you can do it — it's just one small step." The moment this thought crossed his mind, Cheng Shi suddenly froze, then inexplicably added, "Yet one giant leap for mankind."

Saying so, he......

Jumped up.

Because jumping can effectively prevent the arm-swinging mix-up that comes from nervousness.

But the instant he landed, illusory human faces surfaced from deep within the void, then rushed swiftly toward Cheng Shi's face. As these phantoms passed through his body — from far to near, then near to far — countless noisy, fragmented voices brutally poured into his ears.

Cheng Shi instinctively crouched low, focusing his mind to listen to these mingled noises, but he couldn't make out every word — he could only roughly tell that all these voices were "slander and curses"!

He furrowed his brow, a look of confusion on his face.

What... does this mean?

Before he could think it through, the second step had already appeared before him. This time Cheng Shi wasn't so stiff — he hopped straight up.

Immediately he saw the scene in the depths of the void change again: a second person appeared beside each solitary figure, and the moment these two discovered each other, they began to grapple, their faces written full of fury.

Cheng Shi understood — this time it was "anger and brawling."

And the instant these scenes appeared, they surged toward Cheng Shi just as before, like a pouring torrent sweeping through his consciousness, making him — just like the figures in the scene — grow increasingly irritable.

The third step appeared.

This time Cheng Shi didn't hop. He gave an impatient kick, then stepped up with a furrowed brow.

The scene began to stretch out — from a two-person drama to a sprawling tapestry of countless fighters locked in chaotic melee!

Blood drifted through the air, flames seethed, the world turned to scorched earth, corpses piled like mountains and seas.

These three scenes were clearly "warfare and slaughter."

Scroll after scroll of the long painting plunged toward him and enveloped Cheng Shi. The countless shrieks and wails in the tapestry seemed to ring right in his ears; a river of blood lapped at the backs of his feet, flames seared his flesh. Cheng Shi's eyes gradually began to redden. He clenched his fists, exerting every ounce of strength to suppress the destructive desire in his heart so he wouldn't charge into that lightless battlefield.

Immediately after, the fourth step appeared.

He waded through viscous blood, stepped over fire that burned bone, and climbed up with a savage expression.

Then all the blood faded, all the flames were about to die out. In the scene deep within the void appeared countless living beings like walking corpses — wandering aimlessly, madly beating themselves, sounds squeezed from their throats into meaningless roars, their gazes gathered within their eyes and frozen into a madness poised to erupt.

The entire world was saturated with "frenzy and hoarse silence."

Cheng Shi only glanced once at these countless phantoms, and then — just like the countless beings before him — was tearing at his own hair, pounding his own head, half-kneeling on the ground gasping for breath, retching uncontrollably.

"Shit! Shit!! Shit!!!

I've had enough! I've had enough!! Why isn't it over yet?! Why isn't it over yet?!"

Cheng Shi gritted his teeth, crawled up on his knees, and clambered onto the fifth step.

And then the world before his eyes completely changed!

Changed into something incomprehensible, something beyond understanding!

Humans walked like beasts, birds crawled like snakes, the rising morning sun hung full as the moon, the silver hook of the crescent flew upside down with fire.

His cognition finally broke down. This world — no, this was no longer a world — this was a carnival of disorder, a feast of chaos!

And as the sole banqueter, Cheng Shi, watching this scene where humans were no longer human and ghosts were no longer ghosts, finally had his mental defenses shattered by chaos's disorder.

He actually began to move unconsciously.

Cheng Shi didn't know what he was doing, but he knew he had to move — because stillness was also a form of order, something He despised. So he danced aimlessly, to the rhythm of frenzied noise, accompanied by disordered shrieks, twisting and turning clumsily and absurdly.

And at this moment, the sixth step appeared.

But Cheng Shi, immersed in the disordered revelry, couldn't see this step at all — he had already completely embraced chaos.

"What a pity."

A sigh came from deep within the void, and then — beyond the five steps Cheng Shi had walked — countless more steps emerged in sequence, linking together, stretching straight to the very end of the void.

Looking out, there were far more than a hundred or a thousand steps.

The moment these solidified steps appeared, Cheng Shi awoke from his chaotic reverie.

He jolted awake, but had absolutely no memory of what he had just done.

"Shit, just now it felt like... I got way too high?"

Blacked out?

Huh? What did I do? I probably didn't do anything, right?

He checked his own body with a panicked expression, then let out a long breath: "Thank god, thank god, my pants are still on."

And just then, from the end of these steps came a "strikingly orderly" majestic voice.

"Who are you?"

"......" Cheng Shi flinched violently, then straightened his back, shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "Ah... Cheng Shi, walker of 【Void】, oath-breaker of 【Deceit】, believer of 【Fate】 — Cheng Shi!"

He gave up. He didn't dare to brazenly claim the title of an envoy before the true lord's face, so he could only pray that his patron would hear this devotion and come quickly to save him.

So the moment he finished speaking, he began chanting in his heart:

Help! Help! My lord, two lords! Come save me! Please, I'm about to be done for!

Yet the voice from above neither agreed nor disagreed; it only fell silent for a moment, then said without a trace of emotion:

"Come up."

But that single "come up" was, to Cheng Shi's ears, the greatest affirmation imaginable!

It hadn't denied him!

What does that mean? It means It... never mind, it doesn't mean anything. It means the two 【Void】 masters probably don't need to make the trip, things might still turn around, I don't have to be done for!

Forgive me, forgive me, if the two of you haven't set out yet, please don't come for now. Give me some private space, allow me to go pay court to my new boss, and let this rather unqualified envoy of mine properly report his duties before the boss.

Ahem, straighten your back, Cheng Shi. Whether you can put on an Ultraman vest and sneak into the board of directors depends entirely on this one move!