Chapter 271: Secret Scriptures from the Federation (I)

Chen Chu couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration when he realized that it was Yan Ruoyi herself who had leaked her identity. Her actions showed that she truly was the daughter of a Heavenly King. Even though she couldn't cultivate, her spirit, courage, and vision were beyond that of ordinary people.

It seemed odd at first that she would somehow know about these soul avatars’ infiltration, but in this Transcendent Era where strength was paramount, Yan Ruoyi's status as the youngest daughter of a Heavenly King made her more esteemed than any other imperial princess.

Despite her limited remaining time and lack of interest in power, a faction of influential individuals naturally gravitated toward her. Whether they were seeking favor with Heavenly King Xuanwu, driven by shared interests, or inspired by his character, they would ensure his only surviving daughter wasn’t neglected, giving her connections and access to information that she otherwise wouldn’t be allowed to see.

The hostility the Purgatory Demon King and Blood God Akunus held for Heavenly King Xuanwu was reciprocated by deep-seated hatred from Xuanwu's family toward them. After all, Yan Ruoyi's mother, two uncles, and two brothers had all perished by their hands.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to describe it as an outright blood feud. So trading her last three months of life for two king-level soul avatars seemed incredibly meaningful to her.

Chen Chu had never fathomed that the front lines of the War of Civilizations could be so merciless, having spent his whole life in the security of the rear. Not only were there direct combat and attacks on the front lines, but also the involvement of top-level powerhouses from both sides.

In such circumstances, the concept of preserving the reputation of these influential individuals didn’t exist. Instead, the two sides relentlessly targeted and eliminated geniuses from the opposing side, and even ambushed and killed the family members of the powerhouses, all with the aim of provoking the opponent into making irrational decisions in battle.

The infiltration on both sides was also disconcerting. While humans breached the enemy's rear bases, the Purgatory Demon Clan and the demon cults were also persistently infiltrating the human rear, aiming to disrupt the stability of the blue planet.

Chen Chu said solemnly, "General, my current cultivation is only at the late stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm. I'm afraid my power is insufficient to face these king-level soul avatars."

As much as Chen Chu respected King Xuanwu, he didn't want to agree to the mission impulsively. Seeing his cautiousness, Ling Yi's eyes showed admiration. "Don't worry, we conducted extensive evaluations before approaching you. Although a king-level soul is powerful, splitting a part of that soul to form an avatar significantly depletes vitality and greatly diminishes strength, and takes years to recover from.

"Moreover, because the split off soul is only a fragment, it can't break into the Seventh Heavenly Realm after getting put into a new body, so its direct threat isn't that great. The real trouble lies in their experience and knowledge as king-level experts. They have various cunning methods, enabling them to quickly train a large number of death seekers and fanatics.

"In Kyrola, the Federation nearly wiped out the forces that the demon cults had secretly cultivated for years, with almost all high-level fanatics and bishops killed or injured. Rebuilding their forces here is the avatars’ true purpose for infiltrating this time.

"According to the information we have, Akunus has possessed a Blood Emissary in the beginning stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm, while the demon king has possessed a fanatic from the Demon God Cult in the middle stage of the Sixth Realm. So we must find a way to draw them out and eliminate them without giving them time to increase their cultivation or gather more extreme followers.

"Of course, even though the possessed bodies are only in the Sixth Heavenly Realm, their combat power under the will of a king can increase by an entire realm, requiring at least an individual with Seventh Heavenly Realm strength to stop them.

"Currently, there are quite a few Seventh Heavenly Realm experts in the rear, and even some Eighth and Ninth Realm experts can be mobilized. However, if they appear out in the open, our enemies certainly won't take action.

"This is why we want individuals in the Sixth Heavenly Realm who actually possess the combat strength of the Seventh Realm or higher. All you need to do is hold them off and make sure they don’t escape. We’ll have Eighth Realm experts waiting nearby to surround and eliminate them when the time comes."

"There were thirteen candidates for this mission, including you, whom I recommended. Although you're only at the late stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, you displayed combat strength reaching the threshold of the Seventh Heavenly Realm in your recent battles, and that was without even comprehending battle will.

"Moreover, you have cultivated the Insightful Blade to a level where you can sense hostile gazes, making you highly suitable for this mission. But the Fifth Heavenly Realm isn't quite secure enough. To ensure greater success for this operation, I plan to give you an Elixir of Divine Essence to help you directly break through to the Sixth Heavenly Realm."

Elixir of Divine Essence?

Chen Chu's eyes flickered slightly.

The Elixir of Divine Essence was a top-level resource that could help a cultivator cross minor realms below the Seventh Heavenly Realm without any side effects. It was especially precious because it could also help with major realm breakthroughs, such as from the Fourth to the Fifth Realm, or from the Fifth to the Sixth.

Ling Yi continued. "And in this plan, you will be teaming up with another person. Akunus is a cunning and insidious figure. He will definitely send out some of his minions to test the waters first. Therefore, having just one person isn't safe, as it could easily lead to a diversion.

"Your roles are clear. You will be responsible for Little Yi's close protection and spotting any enemies, while your partner will handle killing the attackers. Oh, and he is an Innate Awakener. Both of you are exceptionally talented, so you should have things in common to talk about."

Chen Chu was surprised. "An Innate Awakener?"

Innate Awakeners were people who were born with their abilities already awakened. In the past, these individuals were known as superhumans.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After the appearance of the rifts, these people could control transcendent energy to form powerful attacks before the Seventh Heavenly Realm, without needing to comprehend any wills. They could also cultivate true martial arts, making each of them exceptionally powerful. Due to their innate harmony with the natural world, their cultivation usually progressed at an incredibly fast pace.

A top-level resource for breaking through realms and two top-level secret scriptures, but opponents who could be in the middle stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm and king soul avatars who could be even stronger...

After some contemplation, Chen Chu decided to take on this task. Creating his own secret scripture in the short term would be too difficult, but having two scriptures as a reference would greatly increase his chances of success.

As for the risks, his current normal combat power was at the peak of the Sixth Heavenly Realm. In his Tyrant Elephant or Golden Dragon state, however, he estimated his power to match those who had just broken through to the Seventh Realm. In his Divine Might Dragon Elephant state, he should even be able to match an expert who was securely in the beginning stage of the Seventh Realm.

Recently, while delving into high-level arts and reviewing summaries of top-level secret scriptures, Chen Chu had come to understand why high-level Seventh Heavenly Realm experts were so powerful.

The Seventh Heavenly Realm wasn't just about harnessing the power of heaven and earth; the most crucial aspect was that the runes formed at this level could nearly merge with the body, offering comprehensive enhancement.

After the second true power transformation in the Seventh Heavenly Realm, the body would undergo a thorough enhancement: increased strength, accelerated speed, sharpened reflexes. When combined with formidable true power and the might of heaven and earth, one’s overall power was significantly amplified.

Even in his Divine Might Dragon Elephant form, where Chen Chu's strength and defense were amplified fifteenfold and he gained a touch of colossal beast power, he could only assert that he matched a beginning stage Seventh Heavenly Realm expert.

Of course, his combat power was already rather formidable. His late stage Fifth Heavenly Realm strength rivaling that of a beginning stage Seventh Heavenly Realm master meant that he crossed four minor realms at this point. The reason for his extraordinary combat power was his base strength, which had reached fifty tons, making it comparable to the formidable physical power of a peak Seventh Heavenly Realm expert.

Normally, the base strength limit for the Fifth Heavenly Realm was around ten tons, while the limit for the Sixth Heavenly Realm was eighteen tons. After transforming at the Seventh Heavenly Realm, the base strength starting point skyrocketed to thirty tons.

However, this referred specifically to pure physical strength. It doesn't mean that an individual with the strength of thirty to forty tons could match a Seventh Heavenly Realm expert in power. If someone had a body strong enough to lift thirty to forty tons, but hadn't cultivated true martial arts, they wouldn't even be able to defeat a Fifth Heavenly Realm cultivator.

In the Third Heavenly Realm, high-level arts could make physical strength four times stronger, not to mention the transformation of true power that occurred at the Fourth Heavenly Realm. After breaking through to the Fourth, the basic multiplier for true power enhancing physical strength remained unchanged, but it also evolved into more powerful true power attributes.

Chen Chu's Divine Might Tyrant Body caused his physical strength to perfectly integrate with his true power to achieve a synergy greater than simply adding up physical strength and true power separately, allowing him to fully unleash his physical strength. This superior combination was the reason for his terrifying combat power.

Once he had broken through to the Sixth Heavenly Realm, his cultivation would further improve, and the flame transformation of his true power would make it several times stronger than at the Fifth Heavenly Realm. If he then maximized the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd to gain a rune, his combat power would become even greater.

Even if those boosts weren’t enough to make him a match for these potential enemies, their task was merely to hold off the king soul avatars for a while, until top-level experts arrived for reinforcement. The reward for this was two secret scriptures; each one was worth nearly 1,000 contribution points, of which Chen Chu had only 300, along with 300 merit points.