Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The thirty-three space rifts were all guarded by Lin Huang’s summoning beasts and God’s Figurine’s Combat Souls, so the Virtual Gods from the gravel world were finally able to catch a break.
Many people looked upon Lin Huang with conflicting emotions; his abilities had completely exceeded the expectations of everyone present. They were all awestruck by how powerful Lin Huang was, yet at the same time, they feared him.
Everyone was aware that even if all the Virtual Gods of the entire gravel world were present, their defenses would have broken sooner or later. However, with Lin Huang here, the invaders from the great world would at least consistently fail in their explorations before the True Gods arrived.
Nevertheless, the thirty-three imperial monsters that Lin Huang summoned were also a great threat to everyone. He could slaughter all the Virtual Gods of the entire gravel world with a simple flip of his hand if he really wanted to. (Most of the people present did not know that the last twelve monsters Lin Huang had summoned were God’s Figurine’s Combat Souls, not summoning beasts.)
The Union Government was extremely conscious of Lin Huang’s unpredictability, not only because he was strong as an individual, but also because he had Dynasty—one of the six giants—backing him. As far as the Union Government was concerned, this was a great threat to them.
For more than eight hundred years, the Union Government had been the official representative of the entire gravel world, so they certainly did not want this position to be taken by another organization.
With this concern in mind, Dongfang Bai could not help directing a question at Lin Huang.
“Emperor Lin, if by luck we win this war, what do you plan to do next?”
The question attracted attention but not Lin Huang’s; rather, all the higher-ups of the other big organizations present pricked up their ears and awaited his answer.
Mr. Fu lofted a brow, glancing at Dongfang Bai with a measure of obvious dissatisfaction.
Dongfang Bai’s question might have seemed to be mere random small talk, but those with a discerning eye understood the real meaning behind his question.
“What do you mean, ‘if by luck we win’?” Lin Huang turned his head to look at Dongfang Bai. “In this war, we must win. There is no second choice!”
Everyone was stunned by Lin Huang’s words, but they quickly regained their senses. They all felt that Lin Huang was changing the topic of discussion and deliberately avoiding the question.
Just when Dongfang Bai was about to laugh it off and let the topic slide, Lin Huang spoke up again.
“If you’re asking about my personal plans after the war, I’m planning on taking Xin Er and the others to the great world with me. The gravel world no longer has the cultivation resources I need. However, this is my home. If we have time in the future, I’ll still bring Xin Er and the others back for a vacation, and meet up with old friends for a meal or a drink, or something along those lines.”
Of course, Lin Huang knew what Dongfang Bai was trying to ask, so he gave the answer that Dongfang Bai wanted to hear.
As a matter of fact, that was what he was planning to do anyway. In his current situation, it did not make much sense for him to remain in the gravel world. Only in the great world could his combat level be subsequently elevated.
Moreover, there was a high probability that Lin Xin would be able to directly break through to virtual god-level after her current closed-door cultivation. Once they arrived in the great world, she most likely would have some measure of ability to protect herself, however small.
Mr. Fu’s combat level had also reached rank-9. If he wanted to achieve another breakthrough and advance to true god-level, he could only do so in the great world.
As for the people of Dynasty and Misery, Lin Huang felt that if some of them wanted to depart with him, he would take them along. If not, he would let them stay and develop on their own.
After receiving a response like this from Lin Huang, Dongfang Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He did not doubt Lin Huang’s words because he knew that the main purpose of Lin Huang’s trip to the great world a year and a half ago was to rapidly increase his abilities. Now that he had returned one and a half years later, there were genuinely no resources in the gravel world that were suitable for him to use in his cultivation.
Although Lin Huang’s answer satisfied the Union Government, Dongfang Bai still had to be courteous and offer up pleasantries.
“This is our hometown after all, and our family and friends are all here. If I do go to the great world one day, I myself might want to come back occasionally to meet up with friends and family.”
When the people around heard that Lin Huang was planning to leave, they all had mixed thoughts.
Some of them were considering whether or not they should go to the great world with Lin Huang.
After all, they were already Virtual Gods. In the gravel world, virtual god-level rank-4 was pretty much the limit. There would be no appropriate resources for them if they wanted to advance any further than that.
Many people had never traveled to the great world because previously there were too many others who had gone there and were never heard from again. Some of them even deliberately left their Soul Lamps and other such items behind before departing. The Soul Lamps had all been extinguished without exception, and this obviously meant that they had died. This was enough proof that going to the great world was an extremely dangerous undertaking.
Despite this, Lin Huang had not only gone to the great world, but he had even stayed there for a year and returned alive. This proved that he had a safe way of reaching the great world, which excited many people.
There were also some others who felt that Lin Huang’s departure would be the turning point for Dynasty to decline.
They felt that their own organizations might have the opportunity to take Dynasty’s position as one of the giants.
Everyone present had their own thoughts on the matter.
The space rifts soon started transmitting space fluctuations again.
The ninth wave of exploration began soon after.
This time, all thirty-three dimensional gateways opened at the same time.
The explorers’ combat levels had been upgraded once more, and their numbers had increased yet again!
All the explorers’ combat levels had been raised to virtual god-level rank-6, and their numbers had also increased to twenty per dimensional gateway!
If it had not been for Lin Huang bolstering the rifts with the God’s Figurine’s Combat Souls just in time, it was certain that the Virtual Gods of the gravel world would have suffered many casualties in this wave of attack.
Of the thirty-one contingents of battle troops that had been formed, twenty-eight of them were led by Virtual God rank-3s, and their strength was barely at virtual god-level rank-5. If they were to face off against groups of Virtual God rank-6s, the battle formations would be obliterated in an instant.
However, in the face of Bai and the other monsters, Virtual God rank-6s were nothing.
In the time it took to lift an arm, six hundred and sixty Virtual God rank-6s were all subdued in an instant, with not a single one remaining. The whole battle took no more than half a second from beginning to end.
All the Virtual Gods present could only gape at the scene that unfolded before them.
From what everyone could see, the invaders—who were stronger than themselves—were no more than sitting ducks in the face of Lin Huang’s summoning beasts. They were completely subdued without a single trace of resistance.
Even Mr. Fu felt slightly despondent.
He had not expected the group of little brats who had required his guidance back then to be far more powerful than himself right now. As a Virtual God rank-9, Mr. Fu felt that he had little chance of being victorious against any of the summoning beasts that were present.
“Apprentice, these summoning beasts of yours—they can’t have all been elevated to mythical-level, can they?”
Mr. Fu could not help asking through voice transmission.
“Most of them are class-4, but there’s also a class-4.5 and a class-5,” Lin Huang nodded in response.
“Class-4.5 and class-5?!” Mr. Fu gulped. This was the first time he had heard of these two concepts—he had always thought that class-4 mythical-level was the limit.
“Bai is at class-4.5 Pseudo-supreme God-level, and Ku Rong is at class-5 supreme god-level.” When he finished, Lin Huang was afraid that Mr. Fu would not know who Ku Rong was, so he added, “Ku Rong is the little monk wearing the white monk’s robe.”
‘There’s a supreme god-level?!’ Mr. Fu silently screamed internally, but there was no way he could let his apprentice discover that he himself did not know of the existence of levels beyond mythical-level. He stole a glance at Lin Huang, and when he saw no major reaction there, he nodded calmly. “The little monk does look really strong, but I didn’t expect him to be a class-5.”
