Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
Combat order referred to Growth Hunter, Awakener, etc. To climb up the order was an extremely difficult task. Every increase in level signified a significant improvement in combat strength.
Noah Realm C’s final statement, though spoken casually, caused a storm among the contestants! Right now, Sheyan could feel the power of the potion slowly fading away, and he was starting to regress from the temporary combat order of a peak-level Executor. The sensory threads that he was just starting to skillfully control were also beginning to dissipate like wisps of smoke.
But following Noah Realm C’s words, he immediately felt an indescribable force pouring into his body and spreading into his limbs and bones. The sensory threads, which were already close to dissipating, regained their vitality. They grew wildly, trying to climb to a higher level!
At the moment, Sheyan had temporarily stepped into the ranks of the Executors with the help of an item, but right now, when Noah Realm C evaluated his strength, she actually took him as a real Executor. Therefore, his reward of combat order + 1 was actually done on top of his temporary order of an Executor!
Of course, it was not because Sheyan was so lucky that he encountered such a major bug by coincidence; it was probably an extra reward from Noah Realm C for his efforts. Sheyan must have the top 3 highest merit among the contestants in the destruction of Noah Realm E, if not the highest. It was not unreasonable for Noah Realm C to increase his combat order by an extra level as additional reward.
Countless spots of starlight descended under the will of Noah Realm C and scattered into the bodies of the surviving contestants who were wading through space. Meanwhile, those who originally belonged to Noah Ream E could only watch all this with envious eyes.
While many people were promoting to Executors, Sheyan fell into a hazy trance. At first, it was unbelievably painful, because he felt like his entire body was being stuffed with so much power that he was bursting apart, as if even his hair could not hold any more energy. But after that, he felt unbelievably empty, like he was a speck of dust floating in the sea.
This was the disadvantage of forcing a promotion when his cultivation had not reached the proper level yet. It was almost impossible in the Realm to obtain something without paying a price for it. Since he did not obtain the power through hard work and experience, he had to experience the most painful trial.
While Sheyan was suffering from extreme pain, his mind was also in a mess. For some reason, he suddenly recalled the feeling back when the bomb produced by Eve exploded, when every cell in his body was being unraveled.
Sheyan had originally banished that memory to the deepest part of his brain and covered it up, because the unspeakable fear back then made Sheyan feel really small. If he could throw that piece of memory away, he would gladly do so without any hesitation.
But while he was suffering, the memory suddenly resurfaced! The dreadful and lethal feeling washed over him tyrannically, while all the negative emotions that had been torturing him disappeared completely, as if Hades himself had descended, so all the evil spirits could only run away in fear.
Humans had the ability to resist anything, especially when it was just a piece of memory. From the very beginning, the subconscious would keep telling the body: you are safe now, what you are experiencing is just a memory. Therefore, even though the memory cut like a sharp razor, through repeated cutting, it would become blunt, until it was no longer able to cut anything.
After being forced to recall the memory countless times, the fear finally dropped to a level that Sheyan could endure. His brain was finally functioning again. By the time Sheyan could completely control the fear, he found that he actually enjoyed the feeling of having every cell in his body being torn apart. He felt like he had become a million entities, assimilating into the universe. He felt as if he had become nature itself! It was a strange kind of happiness.
After the extreme fear had been slowly stripped away, what was left was happiness? Wasn’t that bizarre?
Actually, that is the way things are in this world. If you add too much sugar into a drink, it will taste bitter instead. Pain is scary and brings suffering, but the pain created by a masseuse is enjoyable and even worth paying for. Extreme darkness will ultimately give birth to a ray of light. The world is full of contradictions, but behind the contradictions, it is full of vitality and prosperity!
The moment Sheyan experienced the happiness, he abruptly turned limp and feeble, like all the energy had been sucked out of his body. But thanks to that, he no longer felt like he was going to burst apart due to the non-stop injection of power into him.
He soon received some notifications:
[ You have successfully promoted your combat order. ]
[ As the fights get more and more intense, being a soldier that merely execute orders can no longer satisfy the need of war. The enemy must be eliminated faster! At such times, you need the power to settle the conflict with a single strike! ]
[ You need the power of an Arbiter! ]
[ Your Survival Awakening Skill: ‘Survival Mark’ has been upgraded! ]
[ You have obtained the Survival Arbitration Skill: ‘Arbitration Mark’ — At the cost of losing the ability to move or attack, you can mark a target within 300 metres to greatly enhance the target’s survivability and combat ability. In the next ten seconds, 75% of the damage done to the target will be transferred to you, as will all negative conditions which restrict movement. At the same time, the target’s movement speed, attack speed, casting speed and attack power will all be increased by 50% of your attributes. ]
[ Your Offensive Awakening Skill: ‘Hunter’s Eyes’ has been upgraded! ]
[ You have obtained the Offensive Arbitration Skill: ‘Hunter’s Eyes (Real)’ – The prey you have your eyes on will have a hard time escaping. Your eyes will unleash a power which will continuously act upon the target’s body. During this period, the target will not be able to use their Awakening Skill or Arbitration Skill. ]
[ When you gaze at the target for one second, one of their three attributes between hit rate, explosive strike rate and dodge rate will be randomly selected. The selected attribute will drop by 1%, which will be added to your own attributes. The effect lasts for 300 seconds. ]
[ The initial cooldown time of ‘Hunter’s Eyes (Real)’ is 10 seconds. The cooldown time will increase by 30 seconds with every use, up to a maximum of 300 seconds. This will reset every 24 hours. ]
[ This ability will be interrupted when the target moves more than 100 metres away from you. ]
***
“So powerful. So this is the power of an Arbiter?” Feeling the surging power in his body, Sheyan could not help but itch for a fight. Not only that, he also realised that his sensory threads could now reach a range of over three kilometres. Although his base attributes had not changed much compared to when he was an Awakener, he knew very well that 5 Awakener Sheyans had no chance of beating the current him in a fight. With the help of the precise calculation ability of the Executor that could only be performed with the help of the sensory threads and the domineering power of the Arbiter, the increase in his endurance in combat was staggering.
Sheyan’s promotion had taken seven hours to complete. If it was not for the protection of Noah Realm C’s flesh armour, he would have long been reduced to ashes in space. However, he was not actually the one who took the longest to promote. Most of those promoting to a higher order this time were forcefully promoted, like shoots that were pulled higher to help them grow. Sheyan had a good, solid foundation, so his process was relatively smooth. Some who were more unlucky found themselves trapped in the illusion!
It was truly not an easy process. Take Aziz, for example. In order to successfully promote to a higher order, he had temporarily released himself from the shackles of the flesh armour while still in space, using the threat of death to force himself to promote. Only after that did he succeed.
But most of the contestants succeeded in promoting in the end. Even if there were the occasional failures, there were no deaths.
Sheyan was not interested in waiting in space. He waved at an imperial spaceship that was patrolling not far away. The spaceship immediately flew over and took him on board respectfully before transporting him to the giant warship in the distance. Sheyan was now an official Imperial Lieutenant General, a high-ranking officer! His status as a contestant was awe-inspiring, while his military rank demanded respect. Even the captain of the giant spaceship was only a Brigadier General. The Empire had a strict social class structure, so the captain naturally did not dare to disrespect Sheyan. He was waiting for Sheyan’s arrival at the docking connection.
Sheyan nodded slightly. He declined the proposal for a banquet and all kinds of complicated reception ceremonies, much to the relief of the others there. These ceremonies were very important to the nobles of the Empire, so the Brigadier General dared not ignore the formality. If Sheyan actually cared about them, it would be enough to end his career.
Under Sheyan’s order, the whole Party Ace soon assembled inside the warship. They were naturally given the treatment of officers, unlike the other contestants who were treated coldly and with indifferent courtesy.
Shortly after they settled down, the Brigadier General, who was supposed to be on duty in the control cabin, came to find Sheyan with a very serious look on his face.
He told Sheyan, “Lieutenant General, Prince Pombaru has heard about the shocking events that have taken place here. It’s the first time we’ve ever heard of two Realms trying to consume each other. His Highness has expressed a great interest in this matter….”
“So?” asked Sheyan.
“The prince wants to know all the details. You will be rewarded with his friendship,” said the Brigadier General respectfully. “But more importantly, His Highness stressed that this is not just his wish, but the wish of the whole Big Ben Research Institute.”
