[1]
I looked up at the bright moon in the sky. The Purgatory’s moonlight was just as gentle as it was on the surface with one difference: its light was cold enough to turn my skin into ice.
Oh? What’s that?
I narrowed my eyes suddenly. A cloud had blotted out the moon—no wait, that wasn’t a cloud, that was an extraordinarily tall cliff top. That’s right, it was a cliff top. The fortress was built at a gap between two mountain ranges, and the cliff top, for some reason, was at least 10,000 meters tall. It almost looked like a wolf’s fang that was reaching toward the sky. It was so tall that we could just barely see it from the ground…
I raised my hand and measured the angle for a bit. Then, my heart began racing faster.
……
“Hey, what are you doing?” Uldan shot me a surprised look.
The corners of my lips turned up uncontrollably.
“You’re totally smiling like an evil villain right now!” She pointed a finger at me.
I exhaled a bit before saying, “We’re going to play a game called ‘justice rains from above’, Uldan. We’re going to destroy this fortress and rush into the spatial rift while the enemy is confused!”
“Oh? And how do we do that?” Uldan asked.
I grabbed her hand and said, “Just follow me!”
Pa!
Leaving behind a barely discernible trail of divine energy in my wake, I flew Uldan up toward the sky. This plan would probably decide whether we could enter the sixth floor and continue our journey to rescue Xinran, or not.
The higher we flew, the colder it became[2]. Eventually, it became so cold that my metal armor was covered in ice, and even Uldan’s eyelashes were becoming frozen. She blinked a couple of times before asking me, “How much higher are we flying? We’re more than high enough to avoid being detected already…”
I pointed above my head. “Not yet. Look over there!”
“Ah?!”
Uldan looked up and finally noticed the impossibly tall cliff that looked like a wolf’s fang. It looked tiny from the ground, but it was really an enormous object.
Thud!
After we landed on the frozen cliff top, I dropped to one knee and struck the ground with the Xuanyuan Sword. Sparks flew everywhere, and the Xuanyuan Sword only managed to leave a 10 cm deep mark on the ground. It was way tougher than I expected. I had a feeling that the ore that made up this ground was as tough as a meteorite, but unfortunately I didn’t have a Mining skill. Otherwise, I could’ve converted them into yet another bag of fortune.
Uldan shivered in the cold wind while asking, “What is your plan exactly? You’re not planning for us to jump off and dive toward the fortress, are you? We’re still going to die, and I don’t really think that our current company embodies the concept of justice.”
I laughed. “Of course not! If the two of us would suffice, I would’ve charged the front entrance instead of flying all the way up here! No, my plan is to bring this big boy down on the fortress!”
“What? You want to…” Uldan’s mouth fell open.
I nodded and pointed at the fang-like cliff. “We’re going to sever the top part of this cliff. Then, we’ll push the severed part about 500 meters to the front. If we succeed, I guarantee that we’ll flatten all the bastards in the fortress like pancakes!”
Now that Uldan realized the plan, she stomped her foot once and grinned widely. “That sounds awesome! But… this cliff is extraordinarily tough. I don’t think we’ll be able to sever it even with our divine powers. The stone we are standing on is Dead Rhombus Stone, and it’s a type of ore only found within the Purgatory. It is so tough that not even a Divine Armament will be able to penetrate it, much less us…”
I raised the Xuanyuan Sword and said, “We have to try nonetheless. One way or another, we must take out the fortress if we wish to enter the sixth floor.”
“Alright, we’ll do as you say!”
……
I abruptly took to the sky once more and circled around the fang-like protrusion about seven to eight times. Finally, I found a fairly good spot to begin the project. The rock formation about a thousand meters below the cliff top was only about a hundred meters in diameter, and it was shaped a little like a goose’s neck. Moreover, it was obviously a fault in the cliff because I saw winter moss and snow flowers growing inside of it. Assuming that the plants had penetrated deep into the rock formation, it might be even more fragile than I expected. Who knows, a strong push might even be enough to tip the protrusion over. Lin Na had been way too careless in choosing the location to build his fortress!
Swhoosh!
I backed a dozen or so steps before saying, “Uldan, head to the cliff top and push toward the north. I’m going to start widening the fault of this cliff. Hopefully, we’ll be able to sever it through and through!”
Uldan nodded. “Alright. See you later!”
As Uldan flew toward the top, I thanked myself for saving Uldan from her eternal bondage. I wouldn’t have been able to do this alone.
I let out a shout, gathered my divine energy, and activated Heavenly River Transformation. A pair of bloody wings penetrated my Cloak of Divine Fervor and spread out behind my back. I would need all my power to sever this fang-like cliff!
Burning Blade Slash!
Bang bang bang…
The entire protrusion shook visibly under the assault, but it wasn’t enough to sever it.
However, there were clearly three deep marks where Burning Blade Slash had struck. Although the Dead Rhombus Stone was extraordinarily tough, the weapon I was using was also the greatest Divine Armament of this world. Its sharp edge was enough to cut through any obstacle!
I gathered my energy once more and held the Xuanyuan Sword horizontally to my right. Then, I summoned a giant golden sword that was at least several hundred meters long. It was of course my SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill, Xuanyuan Slash!
“It’s all up to you, Xuanyuan Slash!”
I muttered a prayer before swinging the golden sword at the fault. I couldn’t take too long, or those Executioners on the ground would surely realize what was going on eventually.
Bang!
There was a series of shattering noises as the Xuanyuan Slash traveled through the rock. It dug so deep that I couldn’t even see the end. Higher up, Uldan pushed with all her might and finally tipped the fang-like protrusion over. The next moment, the entire thing was falling toward the ground.
“Now, Uldan! Push it 500 meters toward the front!” I shouted.
Uldan slammed hard against the rock, but it was just too big and heavy. It wasn’t quite like a mayfly who tried to push a tree, but it was close. I would have to help her if this plan were to succeed. She was an archer after all. In the end, it was up to a fighter like me to perform the heavy labor!
Chiang!
I sheathed my sword and flew straight down. After I caught up to the falling rock, I threw a punch to move it toward the north. Heavenly River Transformation gave me immense power, but even then the rock only shuddered and moved about dozens of meters to the front. That was far from what I hoped would happen.
……
I backed a few steps and descended toward the ground at the same speed as the rock. Then, I summoned the purple draconic energy around my fist. I was going to unleash Purple Dragon Howl and push it 500 meters to the front! Go!
Whoosh whoosh!
The powerful cyclone of energy slammed into the giant rock and did exactly what I hoped it would do. After the broken protrusion had moved enough distance, I immediately withdrew my strength so as not to overdo it. If my calculations were correct, the rock should land about 500 meters from here and directly on top of the fortress!
The rock, Uldan and I descended lower and lower until we were less than three hundred meters away from the ground. Then, I abruptly stopped my descent, caught Uldan with one arm and said, “Let’s stop here. There’s no need to fall together with the rock, is there?”
At the very edge of my vision range, I saw a ton of undead creatures looking up in surprise and puzzlement. An Executioner muttered to himself, “What… is that? What’s that falling toward us?”
A group of Corpse Eaters screamed in fear. They seemed to realize the danger even faster than the Executioners themselves!
……
What happened next was exactly what I hoped would happen.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The gigantic protrusion hit the ground with the force and speed of a meteor. The powerful shockwave engulfed countless screaming Executioners and Corpse Eaters and swiftly turned the hard-built fortress into a pile of rubble. Not only that, the rocks abruptly started detonating as if they were filled with gunpowder!
“What the fuck? These things can explode?” my eyes widened.
Uldan nodded. “The core of the Dead Rhombus Stone is filled with energy. Considering the force of the impact, it would be stranger if it didn’t explode[3]…”
I could only watch in shock as the Executioner army dropped like flies. At the same time, my level began jumping like crazy. I had no idea that killing the mobs like this would still give me their experience, and the rate I was scaling the eternal ladder could only be described as impossible—
Level 260!
Level 261!
Level 262!
……
Level 267!
……
I had skyrocketed all the way to Level 269 in just the blink of an eye. To say that the rush felt like an injection of ecstasy would be an understatement!
For a moment, I could only stare dumbly at my own level. I had risen from Level 259 all the way to Level 269 in an instant. The devs had claimed that it would take at least 1 to 2 years to level this far, and I had reached it in just an instant!
I silently opened the level ranking of Sky City. One refresh later, it was clear that I was far ahead of everyone—
Name Level Class
Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand 269 Master Swordsman of Death
Lian Xing 255 Phantasm of Stars
Beiming Xue 255 Master Archer of Death
Wind Fantasy 255 Light Wanderer
Purple Marquis 255 Master Swordsman
From Water 255 Master Knight of Tempest
Legendary Brave 255 Master Swordsman of Dragon
Warsky 254 Master Swordsman of Lava
Farewell Song 254 Master Assassin
Shadow Chanel 254 Master Mage of Darkness
Gui Guzi 253 Master Knight of Death
October Rain 253 Master Archer
Little Piglet [1] 253 Master Swordsman of Cold Wind
Chaos Moon 253 Master Swordsman
Clear As Perfume[2] 253 Master Archer
……
Everyone had been shooting up the levels like crazy for the past couple days due to the patch event, the city retaking event, and of course the usual grinding. The top players especially were very, very close to each other in terms of levels. I was the only odd one out, of course. The level gap between me and everyone else was practically insurmountable at this point!
On the forums, Stranger of Three Lifetimes sent me a private message: “Holy shit, are you goddamn crazy, what the fuck did you do to jump to Level 269 in one go? Are you trying to give the entire world a heart attack?”
I replied silently, “I’m undergoing a life-or-death trial right now, we’ll talk later. Grind harder…”
……
Suddenly, Uldan gave my cloak a tug and said, “We need to go now. The way to the spatial rift is open…”
“Where’s the guardian?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Probably inside the fortress…”
As if on cue, a terrific roar suddenly erupted from inside the fortress. The next moment, a ferocious beast leaped up into the air. Without hesitation, Uldan and I flew straight toward the abyss at the back of the fortress. I was really glad that we didn’t need to fight a boss this time, and a quick glance to the back further cemented my belief. The guardian of the fifth floor was a full-fledged Divine Rank boss, and there was just no chance we were going to beat it. The last thing I wanted right now was to die after a resounding success…
Swhoosh!
The spatial energy of the rift caught me and pulled me forward. The next moment, we were on the sixth floor, the Redemption Realm!
1. T/N: took a bit of liberty with this title, but in my defense the author’s chosen term has little to do with what actually happened in the chapter too ☜
2. E/N: Oh noes, but if the Earth was flat, and Sun was on the dome, wouldn’t he be getting closer to the Sun as he goes up, making it hotter and hotter?! ☜
3. E/N: There’s no nuke, but let’s drop a condensed mass of energy that creates explosions when compressed. Guess how nuclear bombs work. There’s no uranium 235 in it to be compressed with the explosion, but still, it’s like a huuuuge bomb! Oh, and rhombus is used in engineering for bridges. Rhombus muscles are often cheaper and stronger than using a more expensive and sturdier material. So rhombus-shaped rocks being so sturdy here, maybe because of that. Author is an engineer like me, so I’m guessing our trains of thought should be a bit similar. xD ☜
