Martial World

Chapter 1269 – The Summit

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Empyrean Divine Seal’s finger cut through the void, leaving behind a purple golden path of shimmering light. These lights gathered together, forming a strange golden purple rune.

Lin Ming froze for a moment. This purple golden rune seemed to exude some strange magical charm, making him fall into it.

This is…

His heart wildly shook!

Empyrean Divine Seal’s finger did not stop. After drawing up the first rune, he continued to draw up a second, a third, a fourth…

Every time he drew a new rune he did so slowly. The path of light he carved into the air was simple and profound, as if it contained the highest truths of this world.

The entire process was soundless, without a single word spoken.

At this time, the world had faded away from around Lin Ming’s eyes, leaving nothing behind but these mysterious runes.

In truth, he didn’t understand just what Empyrean Divine Seal was drawing. But, he could faintly feel that these runes he drew were incomparably precious treasures, containing the mysteries of the Great Dao within them!

Lin Ming entered a complete ethereal state. Besides Empyrean Divine Seal, everyone lost all meaning.

In the audience, the billions of spectators also saw this scene.

“Who is that phantom? What is he doing?”

“That could be a divine soul mark that an ancient supreme elder once left behind in the Divine Seal Altar. After hundreds of millions and even billions of years it still remains in existence, continuing onwards in perpetuity! What is disturbed because of Lin Ming? Heavens, that is unbelievable!”

“It is said that when an unrivalled genius climbs up the final stretch of the Divine Seal Altar, they will arouse a world phenomenon. Vast Universe Heavenly Palace’s Vast Cosmos climbed up the last 10,000 feet of the Divine Seal Altar during the Divine Transformation realm and also triggered the appearance of a phenomenon. This ancient phantom is likely the world phenomenon Lin Ming caused by climbing up the Divine Seal Altar!”

“Inconceivable. He has actually alarmed an ancient supreme elder! And he seems to be writing something in the air!”

“He is indeed writing something, but I can’t see what it is. It’s like my vision has been blocked by some strange power!”

Although the audience couldn’t clearly see these runes being drawn, they could see that the phantom was drawing them. But, in the process of drawing them, distortions appeared in the surrounding power of the Heavenly Dao Laws, causing all of them to be unable to clearly see what was happening.

“Are those words? Runes? Can anyone see what is being written?”

Many people widened their eyes as best they could, deploying any mystical sight skill in their arsenal to see just what this Empyrean phantom was writing. But, the more they tried to look, the dimmer their vision became, until they couldn’t even see the finger of that Empyrean phantom.

“What a pity!”

“I can’t see!”

Everyone was able to guess that this Empyrean phantom was likely some outstanding existence amongst all Empyreans. Otherwise, it was impossible for a phantom to leave behind such a terrifying pressure.

The words, the runes he carved might contain the truths of the Great Dao. If they could remember them then their benefits would be endless!

“If we can’t see, can Lin Ming see them?”

“That phantom seems to be deliberately drawing these characters. Is it doing so for Lin Ming to see?”

As everyone was discussing, their hearts were beating with fear and also envy.

A purple gold divine light came shrouding down like tens of thousands of fluttering silk ribbons. Lin Ming and that Empyrean phantom were covered within this light, and no one could clearly see what was happening on the Divine Seal Altar’s 33rd step.

And within this brilliant blazing light, Lin Ming felt his entire body become weightless. He was only able to watch blankly as these mysterious runes flew into his body. Some buried themselves into his flesh and blood, some fell into his soul force, and some flew into his inner world.

“What is this? Laws? Information? Or both?”

Lin Ming sucked in a deep breath.

In that moment, the light vanished and the phantom of Empyrean Divine Seal also disappeared along with it. There was nothing left but a dim shimmering purple gold light that quietly scattered away like endless flower petals…

In that final moment, Lin Ming felt a strong will from this fading light, unyielding and indomitable…

Empyrean Divine Seal…

Lin Ming’s thoughts were extremely complex. When Empyrean Divine Seal vanished, the overwhelming pressure from the sky completely disappeared and everyone was restored to tranquility.

“What happened just now?”

“The ancient supreme elder’s phantom has disappeared, and the runes he carved have vanished also.”

No one had been able to see those purple gold runes submerge into Lin Ming’s body, thus no one knew what happened. The final 10,000 feet of the Divine Seal Altar was completely different from their expectations.

They thought that Lin Ming would have to withstand some terrifying heavenly tribulation, and perhaps he would even be defeated, but they never thought this would be the result.

Lin Ming breathed in, grabbing the extremely rough walls of the Divine Seal Altar once more, then began to climb upwards, one step at a time!

100 feet… 90 feet… 80 feet… 70 feet… 60 feet… 50 feet…

Lin Ming was only a few moments away. But, he did not hurry himself. Every step he took was as stable and steady as the rivers and mountains.

The billions of spectators all held their breath, each and every one of them with their eyes glued onto Lin Ming.

At this final moment, time seemed to slow to molasses.

Lin Ming firmly reached out his right hand and grasped the precipice of the Divine Seal Altar’s 33rd step.

Pulling his right hand, he seemed to conjure up every last shred of strength in his body as he slowly pulled himself up.

His arms were the first to reach flat ground. Then his chest, his waist, and then his legs. Lin Ming half knelt on top of the Divine Seal Altar’s 33rd step before slowly standing up.

The Divine Seal Altar’s 33rd step – he had made it!

In that moment, Lin Ming felt as if his entire life had been baptized. He stood 3.3 million feet in the air, overlooking the endless rolling lands, peering into the vast galaxy!

At this time, his body, his soul, his inner world, everything seemed to transform, becoming purer, slowly fusing together.

“He did it, he finally reached the top!”

“It’s a miracle!”

The billions of spectators didn’t cheer at the start. They were all still lost in their shock, unable to utter a single word

But after a silence that lasted for several breaths of time, the entire area burst out with deafening cheers!

“He mounted the Divine Seal Altar! This is like a dream! Lin Ming is the peerless proud son of heaven of the Divine Realm that only appears once every million years!”

“His talent and potential are incalculable. In the future there are high hopes he will become an Empyrean.”

“He surpasses an Empyrean descendant!”

When the numerous spectators said that Lin Ming surpassed an Empyrean descendant, they referred to his potential. When Lin Ming climbed up the Divine Seal Altar to reach the top, the truth was that it wasn’t because of his strength, but because he alone had crossed a 33 Layered Heavens Ninefall and experienced a nine by nine heavenly tribulation. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to mount the summit of the Divine Seal Altar.

In Divine Dream Heavenly Palace, Empyrean Vast Universe looked down at Lin Ming as he stood on the Divine Seal Altar’s 33rd step. He blinked several times, opening his mouth but finally not saying anything.

After several dozen breaths of time in silence, he then slowly said, “Divine Dream, that final phantom… was that Empyrean Divine Seal?”

Empyrean Divine Dream nodded. She said in a soft voice, “I have never seen him before, but I could feel his aura. I shouldn’t be mistaken.”

“Mm. I could also feel it a little. Really, that was quite shocking. I used a fragment of the ancient Divine Seal Altar, as well as countless timeless god stones, in order to refine the current Divine Seal Altar. Even so, for the Divine Seal Altar to be able to project Senior Divine Seal’s phantom, his strength must have reached an unfathomable boundary. Perhaps the word Empyrean alone is insufficient to describe his strength. I wonder what Senior Divine Seal finally wrote in the air?”

Empyrean Vast Universe sighed with deep emotion. Although they were both called Empyreans, the truth was that he couldn’t compare in the slightest with Empyrean Divine Seal. In truth, Empyrean Divine Seal already surpassed the limits of an Empyrean.

Empyrean Divine Dream said, “I only saw a tiny portion of Senior Divine Seal’s handwriting. It should be the highest Laws of the 33 Layered Heavens and possibly some information too, describing the great war that happened 3.6 billion years ago.”

3.6 billion years ago was an incomparably glorious era from ages past. Although there were Empyreans that could live for 100 million years, there were still many things that were lost in the endless river of history.

This was just like a mortal that could live for a hundred years. How could they know what happened 36,000 years ago? Moreover, after that great calamity, many masters perished from the skies, and even the martial arts world had been struck back down to its fundamentals. Many things had to be redeveloped from the beginning.

Some secrets would have disappeared in the infinite flow of time, and only some peak characters of the Divine Realm would know of them.

As Empyrean Divine Dream mentioned the 33 Layered Heavens, Empyrean Vast Universe frowned and said, “I am still not sure just what lucky chance Lin Ming encountered that allowed him to access the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens. Because the Heavenly Dao Laws changed long ago, that is something that should have been cut off from the Divine Realm. These Laws are almost impossible to comprehend now.”

Empyrean Vast Universe realized that Lin Ming had come into contact with the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens before he had climbed up the Divine Seal Altar. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to become aware of it.

Empyrean Divine Dream spookily said, “Lin Ming indeed must have comprehended the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens before he started climbing the Divine Seal Altar. But, that is not necessarily because of some lucky chance, but perhaps because he himself was thoroughly enlightened about it.”

Empyrean Vast Universe was shocked. “He thoroughly enlightened himself on it? How could that be possible? Underneath the limits of the Divine Realm’s Heavenly Dao Laws, it is impossible to access the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens.”

“There is always a possibility. For instance… if Lin Ming were to break through a 33 Layered Heavens Ninefall and withstand a baptism of the Heavenly Dao Laws, he would come into contact with the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens. At that time, he might have even withstood the power of heavenly tribulation. If that is true, then it can also be explained how Lin Ming was able to use heavenly tribulation…”

As one of the leaders of all Empyreans within the Divine Realm, Empyrean Divine Dream’s understandings of a 33 Layered Heavens Ninefall were far greater than Empyrean Vast Universe’s.

After Empyrean Vast Universe listened to this, he looked at her with amazement. “33 Layered Heavens… Ninefall!?”

When Empyrean Vast Universe crossed Ninefall himself, he had stopped at a 30 Layered Heavens Ninefall, a 90 mile origin energy cloud.

Thus, he was not clear on what it meant to cross a 33 Layered Heavens Ninefall.

If it were really as Empyrean Divine Dream said, then Lin Ming’s future achievements would be hard to imagine!

Of course, Lin Ming still fell far short of being on the same level as those ancient supreme elders. After all, the achievements of these characters were not based on just how many Layered Heavens they crossed during Ninefall.

This was because Ninefall was merely the beginning of a martial cultivator’s road. There were many boundaries afterwards, and in order to take a solid step forwards within these boundaries, one needed to pile up countless lucky chances and resources before they could hope to be successful.

Since ancient times, for the birth of an Empyrean, talent, destiny, resources, and inheritances were all indispensable.

“Since Lin Ming disturbed the phantom of Empyrean Divine Seal, then in a sense he obtained the recognition of Empyrean Divine Seal. If I’m not wrong, that must be because of the Concept of the 33 Layered Heavens. If this were 3.6 billion years ago, Lin Ming might have even be received as a disciple of Empyrean Divine Seal.” Empyrean Divine Dream suddenly said.

Empyrean Divine Seal was a peak existence who cultivated essence, energy, and divine.