539: Chapter 539 Ascending to the God Level

The great white giant, after announcing its final words, curled its body and transformed into a crystal-clear cross.

It hung in the sky, and the pitch-black high walls seemed to be attracted by it, rapidly closing in on it and completely separating Dream City from the wilderness.

At the same time, a massive floating island abruptly appeared beneath the cross, serving as its pedestal.

As the island connected with the cross, Dream City was split into four sections, partitioned off by the high walls.

Immediately after, a voice that was neither clearly male nor female echoed throughout Dream City and even reached the outside world.

"Good evening, everyone."

"I imagine you have all fallen into a panic upon seeing this scene, but there is no need to fear."

"This is merely the manifestation of the Lord's power, the arrival of a heaven-sent Opportunity."

"My Lord is about to choose a successor here, and all living beings currently within Dream City have this chance."

Pedestrians on the streets stopped in their tracks, looking up in horror.

An out-of-control hovercar crashed straight into a building, slamming into a bathroom; the driver crawled out of the cockpit, his face filled with bewilderment.

The voice was unhurried, its tone even carrying a strange, almost gentle allure.

"From now on, the land beneath your feet and the sky above your heads shall be collectively known as the 'Cage of Victory.'"

"Within this barrier, there is only one path to ascension, and that is combat."

"Whenever you defeat or kill anyone you see, you can obtain the blessing of the entire barrier and possess unparalleled power."

It paused slightly, as if giving everyone time to digest this shock, and then its tone rose slightly, like it was announcing a gift.

"No longer need you complain about the unfairness of fate."

"Useless Mortals, patients with missing limbs, and the dregs of society judged as trash."

"Everything you once lost can be reclaimed with your own hands here."

"And for those already famous Cultivators and powerhouses who hold great strength, you may also cast off all pretenses here and enjoy the pleasure of slaughter to your heart's content."

In every corner of the city, those who were usually obscure felt strange emotions rising in their hearts upon hearing this voice.

Some thugs in chaotic districts had even begun their own revelry.

But the voice ignored everyone's agitation and continued to declare the rules.

"I give you seven days."

"These seven days are a preparation period, and also the prelude to the revelry."

"You can gather everything, unite with everything, betray everything, or you can do nothing and simply wait."

"Of course, if you cannot wait, you may begin the fervent battle right now."

Before the words had even finished, a short scream echoed from deep within a dark alley, only to be quickly muffled as if the rest had been swallowed by something.

Panic and a certain fanaticism spread almost in the same second.

The voice in the sky remained undisturbed, offering the final and most significant bargaining chip.

"After the seventh day, the path to godhood leading to the 'Sky Island' will descend."

"Upon the island lies the ultimate creation to transform into an immortal god."

"However, the spots to ascend the island are extremely limited."

"Only those who set foot on the Sky Island and complete the final struggle there can shed their Mortal coil and become legendary immortal gods—transcending life and death, standing above all living things, eternal and immortal."

As the final sentence fell, a hint of a smile seemed to enter the voice, cold yet merciful.

"There is no need for prayer, no need for panic."

"God never cares whether the lambs are lined up neatly."

"In seven days, we shall meet on the Path to Heaven before the Sky Island."

"I wish you all a pleasant time."

The sound waves completely dissipated.

But the sense of oppression did not withdraw; instead, it condensed into tangible symbols.

At the very top of the sky directly above Dream City, a massive number burning with golden light slowly emerged: '7'.

The number weighed heavily over the city like an eye looking down on all living beings.

Behind this golden light, a vast, inverted land surrounded by clouds was faintly visible, like a floating staircase leading to the other side of the firmament.

After a brief silence, the piercing sound of sirens, the screams and shouts of the crowd, and the abnormally heavy sounds of impact from certain places suddenly brought the entire city to a boil.

"Sky Island... Immortal gods," someone murmured, pulling a dust-covered short blade from the inside of their suit.

There was also a patient in a wheelchair who tremblingly pulled the needle out of the back of their hand, squeezing two words from a hoarse throat.

"Seven days!"

Inside the Joyous Union Sect's temporary base, everyone looked at each other, no one knowing how to speak.

By this time, Dream City had long since changed completely.

The original Dream City was a prosperous and technologically advanced super-metropolis, surrounded by mountains and wilderness.

But the distant mountain ranges had vanished, meaning Dream City had been uprooted and removed from its original world.

It was obvious who could do such a thing: the white figure hanging high in the sky.

After announcing those words, its body had transformed into a massive, crystal-clear cross, the pure white Holy Light looking out of place under the dusky red sky.

After the cross ascended into the high heavens, the pitch-black walls completely enveloped Dream City.

The Truth Cult base that had been there earlier had also disappeared; according to their guesses, that Sky Island must be the original form of that base.

That voice could be heard even outside the city, but even Zhou Yan had no way to deal with this wall.

With this wall in place, communication between the wilderness and the city was basically cut off, and no one knew what was happening inside anymore.

"What about the golden leaf?"

Zhou Yan still looked the same, having not removed his disguise.

For some reason, at least for now, no news had come back from Lord Canglan about encountering Zhou Yan anywhere.

He was certain Ma Hao knew he was here; according to the news Lord Canglan sent back, that giant cross was even Ma Hao's handiwork.

Just as he had withdrawn from the base, that guy had hung this thing in the sky.

The targeted intent could not be more obvious.

But the news hadn't spread. He didn't know if Ma Hao had told Li Heng, but at least Li Heng hadn't told them.

So Zhou Yan didn't expose himself; in the eyes of those present, he was still a high-ranking member of the Taiyi Sect with a somewhat special identity.

It was also this sentence that caused dissatisfaction among most members of the Joyous Union Sect.

Even though he was the one who had brought the leaf back in the first place.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

A short-tempered researcher slapped the table and walked toward Zhou Yan, pointing at him.

But before he could get close, Zhou Su walked to Zhou Yan's side with a cold face.

Fear flashed in the researcher's eyes, but he forced himself to stay in control, bypassed the two, and walked straight to Inspector Ge in the corner, who was munching on potato chips.

"I'm talking to you! Don't you see it's a matter of life and death? And you're still here eating potato chips."

"Huh?"

Unlike the powerhouse Yelena had encountered who was so incredibly strong he couldn't be bothered with them, he had genuinely been fighting for half a day.

So he had consumed a lot of physical strength and needed to eat some high-energy Spirit Food to recover, only to be scolded by this inexplicable researcher.

The researcher was incredibly panicked, but he knew that while offending someone for no reason might result in a beating, if he had actually pointed at that other person just now, he would probably have to spend the rest of his life mining, even if he survived.

After Inspector Ge's two subordinates dragged the researcher out for a 'chat,' Zhou Su said with a worried face,

"Are you sure you want to use it?"

"There's a trap on this thing that we still can't resolve. Even if you obtain information from it, you'll be the only one who knows; we won't be able to help."

Zhou Yan took the linqin leaf; this time he really intended to refine it instantly.

"Shi Suiyan already said everything she needed to say before she lost consciousness. Since everyone knows that the big cross overhead is likely stronger than the Void Refining stage, and the people in the city will create a batch of monsters by killing each other, we must obtain the authority within this leaf."

"At the very least, we need to re-establish contact with the city and find a way in."

"Trust me, I'm confident."

"S.B..."

Zhou Yan's eye twitched, thinking he was being insulted, but when he turned his head, he saw Zheng Dafu leaning against the corner.

He hadn't finished his sentence; the rest was:

"S.B, your strength, trust S."

Seeing him give a thumbs up, Zhou Yan almost wanted to throw the golden leaf in his face.

Is modern language that hard to learn?

What kind of Heaven-Defying phrasing is this?

Zheng Dafu naturally knew Zhou Yan's true identity, so he trusted Zhou Yan implicitly right now.

This was Brother Ao, the one who had brought him back from the dead to this rare world where humans and demons lived in peace.

Surely such a thing would be a simple matter for him.

He was still thinking about resolving this crisis quickly so he could go back and take a good look at this world.

And seeing that Zheng Dafu, who had shown Heaven-Defying combat power in the base, had spoken, the members of the Truth Cult faction and the Taiyi Sect no longer felt any resistance toward Zhou Yan.

Although they hadn't seen Zhou Yan's strength with their own eyes, they had seen Zheng Dafu's; if he said it was fine, it must be fine.

As for Zhou Yan's claim of having experience in handling crises of this level, they didn't believe it, thinking it was just to stabilize morale.