Chapter 808: Ascending the Saint Rank

The Disaster Legion has withdrawn!

That piercing, cold-wind-like evil aura vanished, and only then did people realize what had happened; cheers rang throughout the city.

Even with all the preparations, no one wanted to risk their lives against the Disaster Legion.

The newly‑joined transcendent fighters, who had just taken part in the raid on the Floating City, were thrilled; the Disaster Legion suffered such a loss that it retreated from beneath Gotham City—truly a perfect victory worthy of the annals!

And the one who drove all this was Lei En.

Dwarves, blood elves and orcs, as well as the residents of Gotham City, all turned their gaze to Lei En standing on the city wall, eyes full of reverence and admiration.

Until today, even though they had settled in Gotham City, people still harbored a doubt: could Gotham City fend off the Disaster Legion and the Abyss forces? Could it truly establish a foothold on the eastern coast of the New Continent?

Now those doubts have vanished!

The Disaster Legion's retreat without a fight is the best proof, filling every Gotham resident with confidence and hope for the future.

"Your wisdom, sir!"

"Long live the Lord!"

"Goddess above, thank heavens Lei En the Speaker is one of our Empire, otherwise we would have lost a young, great hero…"

Both common folk and transcendent beings in Gotham City shouted joyously for Lei En.

Gradually, it coalesced into a single chant: Long live the Lord!

The cheers echoed through the whole city, soaring to the heavens, and the entire metropolis was immersed in victorious joy; Lei En's prestige reached its peak.

Such universal adoration made the Weizelan Wizards envious, and even Anxiwodasi wore a look of admiration. He watched Lei En rise slowly, allowing more citizens to see him, spread his arms, and receive the people's cheers.

"A true hero!"

Anxiwodasi's mind conjured the thought, and he couldn't help but think: "When Emperor Alpha founded the Empire, even at the same age he was far inferior to Lei En. No, in all human history there's no younger talent surpassing Lei En; his talent, strength and achievements, even if he ever stalled, would still stand atop mortal heights."

Moreover, Lei En would never stop there.

Suddenly, Anxiwodasi recalled the ambition shown last year in Nuosiruier; if Lei En were to advance further, what would his goal be?

A mere Consul title of the Empire could never satisfy Lei En.

Then only…

Anxiwodasi's expression shifted slightly.

Before anyone—especially Lei En—noticed the change, his face returned to normal, yet the speculation in his mind sprouted like wild grass, spreading uncontrollably.

Lei En landed back on the wall, noticing the teacher seemed a bit absent‑minded.

"Teacher?"

Anxiwodasi was stunned before responding; his gaze at Lei En was complicated—though he concealed it well, Lei En's soul‑eye still caught a hint that the teacher's attitude had subtly shifted.

The mental difference was slight, still caring, but no longer unconditional trust—there was a faint reservation.

"What's going on?"

Lei En muttered inwardly, completely baffled.

Anxiwodasi's outward face showed no change as he said seriously, "Do not lower your guard; the Death Lord and Sazastan are both extremely cunning, deeply scheming—be careful they don't strike while you're lax."

"Understood," Lei En nodded.

Without the teacher's reminder, he would still fend off enemy assaults.

Gotham City's defensive forces will become routine; in the short term they won't rashly expand, but will first fully secure Shield Island and the Aibolaken region. Meanwhile, I plan to produce more Electric Light Cannons to cover the city and develop an upgraded Thundercast Colossus; the two, together with the Holy Spear Knight Corps, will form the city's defense system.

There is also a stronger, safer defense method; Lei En has only a preliminary prototype, and only after research will its feasibility be known.

The Weizelan Wizards stayed in Gotham City for half an hour.

After confirming the Disaster Legion truly withdrew, Anxiwodasi took the Wizards back to Mo Du.

Lei En instructed several Saint Rank elites under his command to continue the defense, and he teleported back to Ge La Mo Gen, heading straight for his Floating City.

New Xiang Floating City has been descending for almost an hour.

The news had already spread across the Empire, shocking billions. From the Consul and Supreme Council down to transcendent beings and street commoners, anyone with a hint of information had heard: the Weizelan Wizards avenged their past disgrace, snatching New Xiang Floating City back from the Disaster Legion!

All sorts of news and rumors flew everywhere, spreading with eyes and noses.

Everyone wondered how the Weizelan managed it, how they could capture the Floating City, and the crucial question: who will command this Floating City?

At this moment, crowds surged on the open ground outside the Floating City.

Tens of thousands rushed to the landing site, scattering around the Floating City to watch the spectacle, like an open‑air market on a huge sale. If the Holy Spear Knight Corps hadn't formed a perimeter forbidding anyone within half a mile, people would have already risked climbing onto the Floating City.

Most of these people were Mo Du residents; a few came from across the Empire, spending fortunes on teleportation just to watch the fun.

And the numbers kept swelling, with ever more onlookers.

Some held cameras, snapping away at the Floating City—click, click—flash after flash without pause.

Most were reporters from various Imperial newspapers, needing to run faster than anyone and unafraid of death; they filmed both the Floating City and the Holy Spear Knight Corps, preparing a big story.

Lei En teleported directly to the Floating City's control room.

Only a few Thundercast Celestial Soldiers remained, repairing the metal gate the teacher had damaged; it will be finished within two days.

The control room is the most crucial part of the Floating City; it must be repaired to ensure safety.

Aside from the control room, Lei En will not repair any other damaged rune arrays. Standing inside, his vision projected the Floating City's layout, the entire interior flashing in his mind, his focus landing on the lower levels.

A full two hundred thousand Undead Army!

They were split into hundreds of groups, imprisoned in various camps, with many Death Knights and Undead Wizards among them.

After the Floating City leapt to the Empire, its reserve energy was nearly exhausted, and the protective arrays of the lower camps grew weak, creating many gaps. Some Undead have already broken through the camps, attempting to break out of the Floating City under Death Knights and Undead Wizards.

Via the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, Lei En remotely commanded the Holy Spear Knight Corps to eliminate them.

The Floating City is my absolute home field; I control the whole board, like activating a full‑map cheat in a game, clearing the fog of war. The Holy Spear Knight Corps knows the enemy's positions like the back of a hand, easily segmenting and destroying them.

Over ten thousand Undead have been blown to pieces by bullets, grenades and Rocket Launchers.

"Cease fire, regroup, check weapons!"

Vandus shouted the order.

The first battalion of the Holy Spear Knight Corps that entered Fu Kong Cheng halted immediately, executing orders with disciplined precision. All its members were blood elves who had fought in the Mosuobulai battle, seasoned veterans; having slain so many Undead, each bore a fierce murderous aura, giving the impression of an invincible legion.

The view was littered with Undead corpses.

The entire camp was cleared.

The Holy Lance Knights suffered almost no casualties; only a few blood elves were accidentally hit by an Undead Wizard's spell, but fortunately it caused no serious harm.

"Retreat to resupply ammunition and let the second battalion take the lead."

Fan Du Si continued to issue orders.

The second battalion led by Jia Du Si arrived just in time; the two battalions linked seamlessly, taking over the fight, while the first battalion withdrew back outside Fu Kong Cheng.

Soon, gunfire and explosions rang out in the next camp.

In the control room.

Lei En watched the mobile phone's energy units surge rapidly; during the assault on Fu Kong Cheng he had slain tens of thousands of Undead, their souls converting into an amount of energy he could not precisely tally, and the energy rose while simultaneously being consumed.

Just a few Wish Spells consumed nearly three thousand energy units.

There was also battle music and frequent casting.

The Soul Power Pool was filled many times, and Lei En had no chance to use it before Sheng Jilesi converted all the energy into Holy Light Power and stored it in the artifact Holy Blood Amber.

The conversion of energy into Holy Light Power loses twenty percent.

Even so, the Holy Light Power in the Holy Blood Amber was already completely filled, reaching the cap of ten thousand units of Holy Light Power.

Now the Soul Power Pool is about to be filled again, holding nearly three thousand energy units.

Lei En glanced at the situation in Fu Kong Cheng.

Most of the Undead that had broken through the camps had already been eliminated; the remaining camp defenses were sturdy and could hold out a while longer, so Jia Du Si was ordered to slow the rate of Undead extermination.

No rush, take it slow.

Lei En quickly calculated: the Undead army in the new Fu Kong Cheng numbered about three hundred thousand, with over one hundred ten thousand already slain, which had supplied roughly twenty thousand energy units.

If the remaining nineteen hundred thousand Undead were all destroyed, he would end up with about forty thousand energy units and ten thousand units of Holy Light Power to use.

This wave is massive!

Lei En's eyes lit up; with so much energy and Holy Light Power, he could accomplish countless things.

First, he definitely needed to boost his own strength.

He first selected the Titanium Extreme Golden Body, a powerful legendary Element at Tier 2; upgrading to Tier 3 required roughly five thousand energy units, but the progress bar was already at 73%, so he poured in a little over 1,300 energy units, and the Titanium Extreme Golden Body reached Tier 3.

The leaves on the Soul World Tree began to tremble as the Elemental runes shifted.

Lei En felt his physical condition surge; his skin glimmered with a metallic sheen, deepening from a pale gold to a hue that seemed forged from real gold, reminding him of a certain small golden trophy from a past life abroad.

Fortunately, this only happens when the Titanium Extreme Golden Body is fully activated; otherwise it would be too conspicuous wherever he went.

Physical defense rose, and magical resistance could not be neglected.

Lei En waited a moment, then began upgrading another legendary Element, the Energy Furnace.

It was also Tier 2, with upgrade costs similar to the Titanium Extreme Golden Body; its progress bar sat at 34%, and a full 3,300 energy units were poured in to reach Tier 3. A Tier‑3 Energy Furnace raises the ceiling for absorbed energy, equivalent to the power of four standard single‑target Nine-ring Techniques.

"Huh…"

Lei En exhaled, a smile appearing on his face.

The enemy's spell struck him, first weakened by the Rainbow Light Cloak and Blood‑colored Cape, then partially offset by the resistances of the Titanium Extreme Golden Body and Titanic Divine Power, before finally reaching him, where the Energy Furnace absorbed the remaining energy.

But after four layers of resistance, how much spell energy remained?

Lei En had tested it himself; at most less than a third got through, and any technique below Seven‑ring could not penetrate the resistance.

Converted, he could hard‑hold up to twelve single‑target Nine-ring Techniques without injury.

Of course, these are standard Nine-ring Techniques.

The teacher's Fireball Technique might endure four or five explosions; more than that would be too much.

Facing Augulevi Master's spell attack left him even more uneasy; that terrifying Holy Soul Wizard must have a way to break magical resistance, defying ordinary logic.

The two legendary Elements consumed over four thousand energy units.

The Second Battalion of the Holy Spear Knight Corps, led by the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, charged into the next camp to reap souls, and the Soul Power Pool began rising again.

Lei En thought for a moment, then began creating a Thundercast Celestial Soldier.

Creating a legendary‑grade Thundercast Celestial Soldier required, combined, the Genesis Technique and Brain‑Chip module to consume 150 energy units. Over the past months he had repeated this over two hundred times, becoming highly proficient, watching step by step as a brand‑new Thundercast Celestial Soldier was born in the control room.

Meanwhile.

In the upper region of the Darklands, within the Obsidian Tower.

In the meditation chamber of the seventh‑level tower, eleven mage avatars temporarily set aside constructing spell models, each consuming energy to convert into mana; the Lake of Stars expanded rapidly, entering a soul‑ascending state.

On the eighth level, Sheng Jilesi stood in the center.

The Holy Blood Amber hovered above his head like a sun, radiating dazzling golden light; the overwhelming Holy Light Power almost solidified, spilling over the entire hall.

Nine Holy Blood Angels spread around, receiving the infusion of Holy Light Power, upgrading wildly as if riding rockets.

The majority of the Holy Light Power was absorbed by Sheng Jilesi.

He was preparing to break through the Saint Rank!

The handsome, imposing, towering Sheng Jilesi closed his eyes; his sharply chiseled face showed no sign of movement. He first used his artifact to bless himself, spending over 3,300 units of Holy Light Power to cast "Dawn Holy Blessing," a golden rune of legendary Element rank merging into his soul as his core.

Then, the massive Holy Light Power surged from the artifact, permeating his entire body.

Because of his previous experience helping Lifen break through, Sheng Jilesi knew what to do: a simple, brutal method requiring about 1,500 units of Holy Light Power to Tear the soul and trigger a Soul Transformation.

The process was excruciating, more painful than a typical Soul Transformation ritual; ordinary people could not endure it.

Before breaking the bottleneck, the will would collapse.

But for Sheng Jilesi it was not difficult; he directly bestowed upon himself the "Dawn Willpower," then opened his phone interface and launched the music player.

Boundless power filled his whole body.

The Holy Light Power merged with flesh and blood; his skin cracked, spilling golden blood that soaked his armor.

Besides this, Sheng Jilisi felt little pain; he stood motionless, the pain drowned out by the music echoing in his mind.

A moment later.

When Lei En created the third Thundercast Celestial Soldier, Sheng Jilisi's soul shuddered and his body rose up into midair.

Behind him unfolded a pair of angel wings with crystal bones, golden-light feathers, and flowing bloody crimson blood; Bi Fulin's wings were larger and wider. The divine artifact Holy Blood Amber above his head turned into a halo, his body bathed in dawn-like light, brilliant and dazzling, exuding a terrifying aura, as if even the surrounding space had frozen.

Sheng Jilisi opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing in his pupils.

He had reached Saint Rank!

(End of Chapter)