Master of the Stars

"Oh dang!"

Zheng Xiao stumbled as he let out a long sigh. Everyone could see the changes going on in the holy space—in the cocoon of light—as long as they were focused on it. The details of the changes inside could not escape Zheng Xiao.

He was well aware that An Weng had screwed him over. However, they were both members of the Order placed upon the scales, so he was unconsciously biased toward An Weng. Zheng Xiao was a Clearsworn First Oblatum; he was very familiar with their scriptures. He knew just how precious the holy space represented by the cocoon of light was.

When they had set up the Evolution Field, they used external equipment to arrange the spell formation. Looking deeply into the spell formation, one could see that it was an imitation pieced together by machines. However, upon realizing an exquisite equilibrium, the current holy space had naturally achieved a domain that came from the holy entity.

When the holy space was erected, the underlying masses—chaos and order—that formed the equilibrium with the scales all became sacrificial offerings for the exchange. An exchange that stepped into the extraordinary realm.

This was the true road to heaven! The step to the extraordinary!

The Order viewed the holy space as a womb to nurture the holy spirit. As long as the sacrifices atop the Scales of Truth could provide enough energy, even an Extraordinary could be manifested out of thin air. At the very least, every generation of the Archoblatum was the result of a great exchange via the holy space. It represented the blessing of the holy entity and its supreme authority.

It was because the Order of Justice relied on this inconceivable power that they were able to maintain a steady increase in the number of powerful members in their order. They were able to do this for the past forty years and this allowed them to spread their doctrines all over the globe. In this way, they became one of the top three secret orders in the world.

An Weng went into deep thought. Right now, his fleshly body was completely destroyed. There was a seventy to eighty percent chance that his soul was going to reconstruct his fleshly body using this method. The most common use of the great exchange was to produce the body of the holy spirit.

If An Weng was successful, then the Order would gain another Extraordinary in their ranks. Although tonight’s price was very steep, it would still be worth it. However, there were flaws in the process tonight. The root of the problem was that even if a body was formed, it would not be ’extraordinary’. It would be a huge loss.

The branches continued to wither. Though there were some branches that continued to grow to compensate, it was impossible to eliminate the phenomenon of the withered branches in a short period of time.

There was something even more deadly. This delay allowed Ouyang Chen to break through the last obstacle of the shadow pillar. He stood right outside the cocoon of light and was within touching distance.

Though the holy space was boundlessly magical, the barrier it possessed was not strong. It was incapable of stopping the strike of an Extraordinary.

Zheng Xiao closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

"An Weng, are you there?" An odd greeting was heard for some reason.

Zheng Xiao suddenly opened his eyes in shock, but all he saw was Ouyang Chen standing outside the cocoon of light. Ouyang Chen reached out his hand and lightly tapped the shell of the cocoon of light. He was like a guest paying a visit—courteous and polite. Though his voice was a bit loud, spreading out several hundred meters, it was just as clear and as distinct as before.

Inside the cocoon of light was a sheet of silence. There was no response.

Ouyang Chen muttered to himself in thought upon seeing this. He increased the force of his knocking fingers, stressing the outer layer of the cocoon of light. As his strength increased, the outer shell of the cocoon of light clearly subsided. Its texture was obvious. It was like the membrane of a peeled living egg. Light could shine through it and it could be punctured easily by a finger.

Of course, the holy space was not an egg. Under Ouyang Chen’s external stimulation, the holy space responded in a manner that exceeded everyone’s expectations.

The cocoon of light twitched and pulsated as if it was a living creature. It was like an enormous heart with branches of veins piercing out and extending everywhere. What had once been thin shadows amassed together from the surroundings. The shadows made contact with the branches of veins; it was as if the branches of veins were coursing with living blood. They turned alive in an instant, pouncing forth layer by layer, shielding the cocoon of light, and driving the shadows further away.

At the same time, the Logic World rumbled and shook. The giant shadow pillar that had smashed into the ground pulled up and was being withdrawn upward. The dark clouds of turbid mist churned like waves. It assaulted the senses directly, causing one’s heart to feel smothered.

"This..." Zheng Xiao was a bit stupefied. A different thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. "I was wrong! An Weng isn’t forming the body of the holy spirit! He’s repeating his previous method. He wants to control, to control..."

It was like controlling the Human-Faced Arachnid. An Weng clearly wanted to have the shadow pillar—the demon in the background—be the host for his parasitic soul! He wants to realize complete control over the demon!

However, the consequences of having Luo Nan escape revealed itself in this moment.

Thunder exploded in rumbles. This was the roar of the shadow demon in the background. Luo Nan did not reverse An Weng’s plans, but he had caused an instantaneous change. He reduced the upper limit of An Weng’s control power.

The shadow pillar was pulled up halfway when a buzzing crackling could be heard. The deep dark shadow clouds diffused in all directions, filling the entirety of the Logic World.

No one could avoid it and this was no different than receiving an attack from the demon.

Zheng Xiao’s face went green. He summoned his last bit energy to instantly cast an incantation. A transparent barrier was erected around his body. It blocked the first wave of the dark shadow clouds of erosion.

However, not everyone was as fortunate as him. All the Order’s priests and knights on the rooftops were suddenly ignited by the dark flames when the dark mist enveloped them. The flames seemed toxic and corrosive; a few breathes later, they were all burnt to ashes.

These people died in this wretched manner, but they were unconscious from earlier. At least, they did not die painfully. The Oblatum Knights, however, were the most miserable ones of all.

The Oblatum Knights did not care too much about the corrosive attack of the dark shadow clouds. What they faced was not an external threat. It was the shackles planted deep within their body and soul over the past several years.

They were vessels for the First Oblatums’ mana and this was also their source of power. Right now, An Weng’s power was going through this channel to give them a blessing... One that was completely uncontrollable. The power of the demon was rebelling and it was far above the limits that they could endure.

Muffled explosions could be heard as dirty flowers of blood bloomed in various corners of the buildings. Several Oblatum Knights exploded one after another. And thus, the Order of Justice’s elite troops in Xia City were nearly all wiped out in this instant.

After the six muffled explosions rang out, Baze, who had nearly climbed his way to the rooftop of Building A, suddenly froze in place. His muscular body abruptly expanded to twice its usual size and his muscles and bones creaked grotesquely.

He ascended to the crumbled rooftop of ruin amidst his spasms. It looked like he could explode any moment. But in the end, his powerful genetics and the strength of his fleshly body allowed him to endure it.

Baze strove to open his mouth. What had once been snow white teeth were now completely stained with blood. He roared from the bottom of his throat.

"FAIRCHILD!"

Fairchild stood at the other side of the rooftop. He heard Baze’s roar and turned around. Baze’s eyeballs were nearly bulging out from their sockets and he was already half blind. However, he miraculously locked onto Fairchild’s location. He let out another roar and charged over.

With just two steps, Baze had crossed a distance of several dozen meters and his fist exploded out. Fairchild’s darkened quicksilver aura sprayed and the Shield of Truth broke. Fairchild’s well-built body was sent flying and Baze chased after him at an even faster speed. He pummeled Fairchild with one blow after another.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!"

His howls were filled with murderous intent; he was venting the extreme pain he felt. Then later, he simply tore off his mask. "KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME! COME AND KILL ME!"

Baze’s twisting muscles were like living snakes swimming beneath his skin. It gave him enormous strength, but this strength was engraved with pain and despair.

Baze knew that he would die, but he wanted to die in a way that allowed him some dignity!