It wasn't Alpha 8 that was being compressed!
It seemed that countless worlds were being shrunk within the vortex?!!
Sterl was stunned!
"But... what does this mean?"
Despite his astonishment, Sterl quickly regained his composure.
The shrinking of countless worlds was merely a phenomenon.
What was important was what it symbolized behind the scenes...
This was something Sterl was completely unaware of.
However, out of nowhere, he suddenly thought of something.
From the information he had gathered earlier, he knew that the upper realms and the lower realm were originally a single, complete massive world. It was only after the upper realms were separated from the lower realm that the current world structure was formed.
What did the world originally look like?
...
Sterl didn't dwell on the current changes for too long.
He only knew that amassing more power for himself was essential to resist risks.
Sterl initially intended to head straight for the teleportation array.
He had heard that the teleportation array in the Far North was rarely used and that the surrounding energy was immense, attracting numerous ferocious wild monsters.
At this moment, Sterl casually enhanced the Blood of the Holy Spirit, as the extended time spent marching through the snow had depleted his abilities.
He felt a strange surge of blood energy coursing through him, making him feel warm.
At the same time, the Holy Spirit Bloodline instantly activated!
Sterl felt a sharp pain in his right palm as a peculiar crystalline sand emerged.
"This is... the crystal that fell into my hand when the Crystal Barrier Galaxy shattered earlier??"
Sterl recalled that after the crystal had landed in his palm, it had vanished without a trace. He hadn't expected it to hide within his body!
"Good thing I activated the Holy Spirit Bloodline; otherwise, this could have turned into a disaster."
His expression tightened slightly.
Although Sterl had been shocked by the distortion of the entire world, he hadn't expected to overlook something as bizarre as the crystal merging into his body!
The only explanation was that he had been compelled to ignore it!
The crystal contained some form of cognitive manipulation power!
Sterl's expression darkened; if it weren't for the strength of the Holy Spirit Bloodline, he could have been caught off guard!
"What if it damaged my Bionic Tear? That would be a huge loss!"
Indeed, Sterl's main body was hidden in the little world, and the crystal had merged only with his avatar.
After acquiring the Holy Spirit Bloodline, the avatar had also synchronized its abilities, forcing the crystal out.
By the way, the reason the Holy Spirit Bloodline was effective on the avatar was that Sterl's soul was immersed in Bionic Tear, personally controlling the avatar.
Once his soul detached, and the Bionic Tear acted independently, the enhancement of the Holy Spirit Bloodline on the avatar would instantly dissipate.
The Holy Spirit Bloodline was a power attached to the soul!
"Let me see what this crystal is all about."
The players were bewildered and spoke up.
"Lord, do you know what is happening?"
"Is the sound of breaking in the sky a portent of something?"
...
They were very curious.
"Lord Moffat, you are well-traveled; please enlighten us."
The woman in Sterl's arms smiled sweetly and pouted.
However, the expressions of the players froze.
Sterl looked at the sky, where the crystalline giant screen continued to shatter and crack, with occasional shards falling down.
He hadn't observed it closely before, but now with the powerful perception brought by the Holy Spirit Bloodline,
Sterl noticed that all the shards seemed to be flowing toward sentient beings, with many wild monsters in the distance being selected...
Among them, one or two shards were flying toward him.
"Let's take down some wild monsters and see if we can drop any [boundary fragments]!"
Sterl's heart stirred. The collapse of the Crystal Barrier Galaxy had been ongoing for a while, and the crystals would likely have actively integrated into the bodies of sentient beings around him. There was no need to rush to the new continent; he could farm some monsters first. The prospect of obtaining the upper realms ability made his previously dormant heart race with excitement.
He threw a few Mark of the Heavens from a distance, and a platinum light illuminated Sterl's figure. Although it was broad daylight, in an instant, the sky appeared to be filled with twinkling stars, with several bright celestial bodies descending rapidly from above! They were heading toward the wild monsters in the distance!
Most of those monsters were merely third-class or second-class beings. As they looked up at the Star Radiance diving down from the sky, they were left stunned!
"Wait... Am I really a target for this?"
The monsters disintegrated in the overwhelming energy, as the light from Starlight Spray rained down like a fine mist, efficiently slaughtering all living creatures within a vast area. All that remained were glimmering fragments flying toward the towering energy beam where Sterl was located.
Facing some insignificant creatures, Sterl used his Platinum Skill. The monsters were too far away, and after clearing them with Mark of the Heavens and Starlight Spray, he could trigger the passive effect of the boundary fragment—which attracted crystals to sentient beings, making them drift toward Sterl.
As for why there was an energy beam at Sterl's location, it was because he had cast a Mark of the Heavens enhanced with Fission Law! The players around him, who had previously looked up to him, as well as the woman pouting in his arms, were all dissolved by the radiant light.
"I'm kind-hearted; I made a big move to ensure you all experienced no pain during your annihilation."
Sterl extinguished the Fire of Ten Thousand Souls, incinerating the players' souls entirely. At this point, the entire Far North was eerily silent, leaving only the howling winds and snow.
There was no way around it. Sterl hadn't expected to force the crystals out of himself. If this news got out, it might expose his possession of the Holy Spirit Bloodline. Nearby players, even if they didn't understand what Sterl's actions meant, had enough memory and divine power to recreate this scene in their minds.
Next, Sterl still needed to continue collecting crystals to devise a way to piece together the upper realms ability. Also, his actions being spread among the players would mean exposing that he might possess the ability to harness upper realms power. There was no avoiding it. Despite having enjoyed pleasant conversations earlier, he had no choice but to eliminate them!
After casting his skills, Sterl didn't linger; he decisively continued toward the teleportation array, having collected thirty-one crystals.
"The quantity is less than I expected," he mused, slightly frowning.
"That's normal, given the visible distortion of the Crystal Barrier Galaxy."
"But only the Far North seems affected; this is clearly unreasonable."
Sterl analyzed the situation based on the principles he learned in his previous life—
the further away from the point of distortion, the less significant the distortion at the core would cause massive changes.
The visible distortions in the extreme north indicated that the Crystal Barrier Galaxy had shattered quite severely; logically, even in the Hall of Valor, some powerful beings should have noticed something amiss. Yet, the entire Alpha 8 was currently calm and undisturbed.
"Clearly, the distortion has just begun."
"The influencing power hasn't had time to propagate to farther locations."
"That's why there are so few boundary fragments falling from the Crystal Barrier Galaxy."
He continued his analysis.