Chapter 1382 - The Difficulties of Promotion, The Universe’s Vastness

A meteor tore through the dark universe and landed on a dark brown planet, on a barren mountain peak.

Flowing flames scattered, revealing Han Xiao’s figure. He looked down at the endless dark brown land, then looked up at the sky with the mysterious aurora and nodded.

“Let’s level up here.”

Han Xiao focused, opened the interface, and poured all his hard-earned experience into leveling up. His level, which had been stagnant for a long time, finally shot up like a rocket. The interface notifications kept popping up. [Divine Throne Mechanic) leveled up to LV41. +500 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points, +1 Awakening Point.

[Divine Throne Mechanic] leveled up to Lv60 (max).+2,000 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points, +1 Awakening Point.

You have reached the upper limit of the main class. You have triggered the Class Advancement mission-[Godly Craftsman).

(Godly Craftsman): Have over 10000 blueprints. Accumulate 100 different Universal Treasure-level mechanical equipment.

You have reached level 360. You have triggered the Promotion Mission-[God Slayer’s Trial).

[God Slayer’s Trial]: Completely kill five Beyond Grade As who possess God’s Trait Transformation, one from each of the five major classes – Pugilist, Esper, Mechanic, Mage, and Psychic.

“Wow, so ruthless.”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

The difficulty of the mission this time was countless times more difficult than the previous Promotion and Class Advancement. The difficulty was on a completely different level. Just the requirement of (Godly Craftsman) to create 100 different types of Universal Treasures was enough to make normal Mechanics dumbfounded. Even Han Xiao was still a distance away from this number. Although the Sanctum provided enough blueprints, he had yet to create all of them.

In addition, [God Slayer’s Trial]’s requirement to kill five peak Beyond Grade As was extremely dangerous, and there was the word ‘completely’ in it. Han Xiao estimated that the individual lifeforms of the World Tree and the Underworld who could revive could not be counted. It was most likely that the deaths would not be counted if they did not enter the Sanctum, and the targets would probably have to be chosen from normal people.

Unfortunately… no matter how harsh the mission was, he had the Mission Completion Card!

Han Xiao had accumulated some Mission Completion Cards over the years to avoid this kind of Promotion Mission. Even if these two missions were more difficult, he would at most be surprised and not feel troubled.

“These two missions are too much. Luckily, I can skip them.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and used the Mission Completion Card seriously. The two mission names turned into a ‘completed’ status with a golden font.

He originally thought that this would be like before, as soon as he completed the Promotion mission, it would be equivalent to a successful Promotion. However, the situation this time seemed to be different from the past, and the interface popped up with an unexpected message.

LV 360 Promotion Mission completed!

You can choose to advance at any time.

Remarks: This Promotion is extremely risky. There is a 90% to 96% chance that the Promotion will fail. If it fails, you will have to complete a new Promotion mission before you can advance again. At the same time, there is a chance that an unknown mutation will occur during the Promotion. There is a risk to your life.

Recommended to complete the conditions below before choosing to advance.

Remarks: If all the conditions are not met, even if the Promotion succeeds, the grade will not change. If three conditions are completely triggered during the Promotion, the Apotheosis Promotion will begin. “It’s actually like this…”

Han Xiao read the messages on the interface, and his eyes sparkled.

Before today, he did not know if he would be able to reach a new grade after the level 360 Promotion. Everything was just a guess. Now, he finally confirmed that he could indeed reach the new grade after this Promotion. Otherwise, there would not be so many changes.

This made him a little excited.

Han Xiao focused his mind on his body and could clearly feel that every cell was in a ‘critical’ state. As long as he wanted to, he could undergo his Promotion anytime. However, after looking at the warning notification on the interface, Han Xiao was also afraid that something would happen to his Promotion. He looked down at the content of the three conditions, and they were all in a gray ‘not triggered’ state.

He tried to use the Mission Completion Card on these three conditions but they did not complete like the Promotion Mission. The hint was that the Mission Completion Card was ineffective on the target.

“As expected, it won’t work. It seems like there’s no way to pull a fast one.”

Han Xiao frowned before letting go. He was not too surprised. When he saw the three conditions, he had already guessed that the Mission Completion Card might not be useful on them.

The Mission Completion Card was a special item used on the interface, and it did not have a physical body. Its function was to skip the mission content and obtain the most basic reward on the interface. It would not change the external environment or create something out of thin air.

These three prerequisites required physical objects to assist in advancement. The Mission Completion Card could not change them, and these three conditions did not exist in the form of a mission.

However, the Mission Completion Card had skipped the previous Promotion Mission and saved him a lot of time. Furthermore, if he failed the Promotion and triggered a new Promotion Mission, he could still use the Mission Completion Card to pass it without spending any energy. Of course, it was best to complete the Promotion in one go. Han Xiao naturally did not want to fail. Since he could not take a shortcut to break through to the new level, to increase the safety of his Promotion, he could only focus on studying the three conditions carefully. Very soon, he had some ideas.

The first requirement was a special ‘stabilizer’. It was probably because this Promotion would result in a life form reorganization, which was more intense than the past Promotions, which was why it was ‘extremely unstable’. It was like melting a piece of steel and casting it into another shape, requiring a mold.

Han Xiao had a few ideas about this. Special items in the Information Form could be used as ‘molds’, but they would most likely require Universal Treasures. Normal Information Form objects might not work.

The other choice was to obtain the enhancement of some Universal Treasures with the ‘Stable’ trait. Han Xiao knew of a ready-made one, which was the church’s National Treasure with the ‘Unbreakable’ trait. It should be able to achieve similar effects.

“However, this thing is on Wuornos, and it’s a precious treasure of the Arcane Church. I wonder if they’re willing to temporarily lend it.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

The second condition was that he needed the help of the other four peak Beyond Grade As to advance.

If it was a civilization with insufficient individual strength, they might not even be able to gather enough people. However, the three Universal Civilizations should be considered prosperous in the universe, so there were enough strong people to choose from.

With his connections and the Sanctum’s cohesiveness, it was not difficult to find four assistants. This should be the easiest of the three conditions.

However, the meaning of cooperation revealed by this condition made Han Xiao feel a little emotional.

Having grown to this stage alone, it seemed like this was the limit. Advancing seemed to no longer be a matter of one person. If one wanted to become a stronger individual, they needed more external help. The development of civilization also affected whether an individual could advance further.

In the vast universe, a person’s strength was ultimately limited. Without external help, it would be very difficult to continue moving forward.

“So there is a limit to individual life forms?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

In addition, the requirement of gathering the other four classes also reminded Han Xiao of a saying from his previous life, which was that the five Super systems represented the five aspects of the true ‘God’.

The Pugilist class represented the ‘divine body’, the Psychic class represented the ‘divine soul’, the Mage class represented the ‘divine authority’, the Esper class represented the ‘divine ability’, and the Mechanic class represented the ‘divine weapon’!

This kind of statement was widely spread, but there was no actual evidence. However, after seeing this condition, Han Xiao felt that this statement might not be entirely false, at least there was some connection.

“Could it be that the new level combines the five elements?”

This thought subconsciously flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, but he quickly shook his head and denied it. He felt that he was wrong.

The difference in the Energy Attributes of the five major systems was unlikely to be broken. Even if he broke through to the level of a ‘True God’, he would probably be a Specialist, so it should be impossible for him to be omnipotent.

Compared to the other four classes, he felt that the Mechanic class that represented the ‘divine weapon’ seemed to be special.

The development history of every civilization was the advancement history of tool evolution. This represented the fire of wisdom and the sprout of civilization. To a certain extent, knowing how to use tools was the biggest difference between intelligent life and wild beasts, and to the so-called ‘Gods’, it probably had a similar meaning.

If ‘God’ only used the power of the other four elements to fight, they would not be too different from fighting with their bare hands. At most, their moves would be different, and only magic and Esper abilities would have some special effects. However, using the so-called ‘divine weapon’ was equivalent to an ordinary person picking up a sword or firearm. The threat was completely different.

For example, if there were two max-level heroes-one unequipped, and the other fully equipped with ultimate equipment. Even if their skills were different, their strength would not be on the same level at all. In the many fairy tales that Han Xiao had read in his previous life, the status of ‘magical equipment’ was extremely high. It even represented one’s strength, especially when it came to the primitive worlds.

In his opinion, the ‘divine weapon’ represented by the Mechanic class was most likely such a concept. Otherwise, the advantages of the Mechanics in the later stages would not be so obvious in front of the other four classes.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and collected his thoughts.

He had some ideas about the first two conditions, but the last condition made him a little frustrated.

The Beyonder’s Vestige came from a peak Beyond Grade A who had failed to break through and died. In the explored universe where the three Universal Civilizations were located, the only Beyond Grade As who had similar experiences seemed to be the two sisters of life and death.

However, Onicelu had said that the two sisters of the previous generation were pursuing the true meaning of death, so they had actively died. Han Xiao did not know if that was an act of trying to break through to a new level.

Even if it was true, the bodies of the two sisters from the previous generation had already been burned by Onicelu like firewood, and the two Esper Abilities that held their Information Form were inherited by Hila and Aurora. He did not know if this was considered the so-called ‘Beyonder’s Vestige’. Even if it was, how should he use it? Could it be that he needed to extract their Esper Abilities?

Wait, if that was the case, if Hila and Aurora grew to this level in the future, wouldn’t the third condition be completed for them?

“Tsk. Comparisons are odious.”

Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched.

He had once tried to use the Mark of The Underworld as a medium to revive the two sisters through Sanctum Revival, but he had failed in the end. They might still be alive, or they might have held back the Information Form and integrated it into their Esper Abilities, causing them to lose the Sanctum Revival. Now, Han Xiao had another guesswhen a peak Beyond Grade A failed to break through the new level and died, would they be able to accept the Sanctum Revival?

Perhaps the information form records in the Sanctum had changed because of this, or the ones who failed to break through had survived in another unknown way, such as this so-called Beyonder’s Vestige…

No one had stepped into the next level, and everything was filled with mystery. Han Xiao could only guess blindly. “However, the introduction said that only peak Beyond Grade As in my current state can sense the Beyonder’s Vestige. I’ll go to the Underworld later to verify it. If it’s not, I’ll probably have to search the entire universe. If it’s the worst-case scenario…”

Han Xiao’s eyes darkened.

The worst-case scenario would be that there was no such thing as Beyonder’s Vestige in the current Iteration. No one died if they failed to break through to the next level. If that happened, he would have to think of another way.

In any case, he had already decided to trigger as many conditions as possible. He had to overcome all difficulties.

After all, the remark mentioned that as long as one condition was missing, it would only be a regular Promotion, and there would be no way to break through. According to his understanding, this meant that he would not be able to obtain the bonuses of a new grade, and he would not be able to pull apart the fundamental difference like a Beyond Grade A and Calamity Grade Super.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and exhaled.

“No matter what, I have to test my perception of the Beyonder’s Vestige.”

After saying that, he calmed his mind and searched for the Beyonder’s Vestige through the throbbing of his critical state.

Very soon, Han Xiao felt that his consciousness had fallen into an indescribable mystery. It was as if there was a thick fog in front of him, and blurry shadows could be seen in the fog.

After an unknown period of time, Han Xiao suddenly caught a flash of light. His eyes widened, and he finally found this feeling. The fog dissipated, and everything became clear.

Initially, he thought that his senses would be completely empty, and he would not be able to sense much of the Beyonder’s Vestige. However, the moment he entered this perception vision, Han Xiao was shocked, and he knew that he was wrong.

Buzz!

In an instant, dozens of sensory sources appeared in his perception and spread out in all directions. However, he only knew the direction and not the distance. They were all Beyonder’s Vestiges!

Han Xiao’s eyes widened in shock.

Did this mean that there were at least dozens of peak Beyond Grade As from the unknown regions in the entire universe who had reached his level before and died because they were trying to reach a new level ?

Han Xiao had mixed feelings.

The center of the story that I knew in my previous life was the three Universal Civilizations, but that did not mean that this was the center of the universe.

No matter how strong you were, there would always be someone stronger. At the places you could not see, how many more powerful civilizations were still thriving in the universe and how many things were happening?

No one in the explored universe had broken through to a new level. Was the vast unexplored universe the same?

Is this Iteration only at the early stage?

After a long time, he sighed.

“… The universe is really vast.”