Stepping through the brilliant radiance, Chen Chuan pushed against the colossal air currents until he arrived on the other side.
Once he found his footing, the first sight to greet his eyes was a cluster of cloud islets floating in midair. The one beneath their feet was likely the largest of them all, ringed by tiny green leaves that drifted and danced around them.
The Isle Among the Clouds, "Kuyanaka."
Such a wonder was already awe-inspiring enough, but his and Fantner's attention was immediately drawn to something else.
It was a colossal tree of almost indescribable proportions. Its golden branches and foliage spread out through the mists, stretching to the very edge of sight, as if meant to carpet and prop up the entire sky.
Its root system below seemed to plunge into a bottomless abyss. The trunk was covered in gold, silver, and emerald moss that shimmered with a soft, luminous glow.
A clear, delicate fragrance permeated the air. Boundless, surging vitality rolled toward them like a tide; merely breathing and allowing one's field to blend with the surroundings was enough to draw in an immense amount of energy.
Chen Chuan could not help looking up. This had to be Itzaka, the sacred tree of the First People's legends.
It was an aberrant organism that had thrived for at least ten thousand years, standing unbroken even on the far side of the Ring of the World—the very foundation of the First People.
Legend claimed the First People had descended from this tree and ventured out through the very fissure they had just crossed. While that might only be myth, this space—virtually indistinguishable from an entire realm of its own—undoubtedly proved that the First People had once possessed an extraordinarily glorious past. This single tree was the condensed essence of an entire civilization.
"What a magnificent lifeform."
Fantner watched in sheer amazement. Though he had mentally prepared himself beforehand, laying eyes upon it in person still shook him to the core.
He truly could not understand. When the First People possessed such a mighty living presence, why did they fear the Federation?
Leaning on her ceremonial staff with both hands, the High Priestess gazed forward and said, "This was originally Ikus's roosting tree. But we have drifted further and further apart. We can see him and smell his scent, but we can no longer touch him."
*No wonder.*
Fantner looked at the giant tree. It was undeniably a higher-tier entity, but lacking the medium or necessary conditions to connect, the First People were no longer able to make use of it.
Perhaps when they could use it, they had no need to; and when the need truly arose, they could no longer do so.
He asked, "Honored High Priestess, is it truly wise to tell me this so openly?"
The High Priestess replied, "Here, no consciousness can commune with the outside. If you win, it means we will abandon our traditions; whether you know this or not makes no difference. If you lose, you will have no way to reveal any of it either."
Fantner nodded. "That makes sense. In that case, Your Reverence, will you bear witness to this battle?"
"These old bones of mine cannot withstand such turmoil," the High Priestess said. "I shall await the final victor outside." She turned and slowly shuffled away toward the exit.
Fantner drew a breath, savoring the rich vitality drifting from the tree, seemingly intoxicated by it.
Within a few brief moments, his aura noticeably rose.
Sensing the distinct shift, Chen Chuan remarked, "You seem quite at home here, Mr. Fantner."
Fantner looked up, his eyes burning with intense confidence. "Mr. Chen, I don't know whether to call it bad luck on your part, but it seems you are fated to stay behind today."
The secret transmission he practiced was exceptionally attuned to the fields radiated by such high-energy organisms. Best of all, this tree did not distinguish friend from foe. With its empowerment, his combat strength would increase by at least twenty to thirty percent.
That was a formidable boost, enough to pull far ahead of an opponent originally on his level. If his odds of victory had been fifty-fifty before, he now felt that so long as he made no mistakes, the outcome was beyond doubt.
Even if the man before him truly belonged to that special breed, he was currently only a Secret Palace martial artist, bounded by his own limits.
Chen Chuan nodded. "Is that so? Thank you for telling me."
Seeing that his opponent was still gathering power, Chen Chuan did not mind waiting a moment longer to let him draw more nourishment and reach a higher peak. He even hoped the man could fully match the strength possessed by his original self, so he could experience the true prowess of a martial artist of the Mystic Profundity View.
That had always been what he sought. Only in that manner could he uncover his own shortcomings and compel himself to reach higher realms.
If the sacred tree of the First People allowed his opponent to achieve such a state, he would gladly thank it.
Outside, the High Priestess had already emerged. The elderly priest came forward and asked, "Are we truly leaving them inside to duel... to let them decide our future?"
"Yes," she replied. "I believe the Tree of Life may provide an answer."
The old priest remained doubtful. "But what if the sacred tree chooses wrong?" The sacred tree possessed no will of its own; it simply bestowed greater blessings upon whoever's field drew closer to it.
"I am old," the High Priestess said. "The era that belonged to me has passed. Quezatec's fate should not be decided by me. And what of the rest of them? Nothing but endless squabbling, neither side able to convince the other. We can only leave the final outcome to true strength and the sacred tree."
The old priest said, "Did Your Reverence not mention earlier that Ikus promised a gift to the victor?"
"A gift, yes. Ikus said so, but after a short while, he may very well forget it himself. No matter; when the time comes, I will provide one for the victor."
Back inside the fissure, seeing that Chen Chuan made no move to interfere, Fantner took the opportunity to prepare more thoroughly, though it took only a few breaths.
Once his aura and field stabilized, he sighed in near-intoxicated wonder. "Only now do I feel like a whole person."
Perhaps convinced victory was in his grasp, he became talkative.
"Do you know? Every single one of that bastard's divided spirits is struggling to climb upward, because they all know their ultimate fate is to be reclaimed and integrated.
"Yet each of them has their own personality, their own consciousness. None of them want to be manipulated like pawns.
"They have to fight, they have to battle, they have to seek opportunities. Perhaps that is exactly what the bastard wants, but we have no choice but to play along. Without fighting, our doom is certain; by fighting, a sliver of hope remains."
As he spoke, his momentum climbed continuously. A blue-green blaze billowed from his form, surging like a torrential flood.
Standing directly opposite him, Chen Chuan could feel that mighty field and spirit firsthand. Judging solely by what he sensed at this moment, even Crossal's power back then might not have matched the man before him.
Yet he, too, was no longer the same as he had been back then.
A sound like rolling thunder rumbled forth as a platinum light manifested across his body. Rather than flaring outward wildly, it coated his skin, forming a dense, lustrous layer.
Knowing this opponent was no simple matter, Chen Chuan's willingness to let him gather strength did not mean he took him lightly. He took a deep breath, instantly engaging the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing method.
Above the platinum radiance, a thick white vapor steamed upward. As soon as the drifting leaves drew near, they combusted, leaving countless tiny sparks swirling and dancing around him.
His mutated tissue was now completely under his command. In an instant, his state surged to a level he had previously only attained in the later stages of a brutal battle.
Sensing this extraordinary power, Fantner grew even more excited. Reaching up to grip his chest, he gave a violent yank, tearing off his military uniform.
Yet what ripped away was not merely clothing, but an entire slab of flesh from his chest. What lay exposed beneath was not blood, but a glittering, translucent brilliance—a Divine Visage condensed almost into solid form. The flesh in his hand dissolved into the same light, merging directly into his spiritual field.
Chen Chuan's brow arched slightly. *Discarding the physical vessel and turning his own body into burning fuel to replenish himself?*
Among the opponents he had faced in the past, only Bai Gu had done something similar.
Yet here, it was indeed the right choice. A lower-tier body might actually hinder the man's execution, whereas with the aid of the sacred tree's field, his spiritual power was substantially magnified.
Fantner suddenly thrust himself forward. While his feet remained rooted in place, his upper body dissolved into a translucent, flowing mist. Crossing the vast distance in an instant, it stretched straight toward Chen Chuan, resembling a brilliant, colossal torrent of light streaming across the sky.
Watching the radiance rush toward him, Chen Chuan had no intention of dodging. Lowering his stance and shifting his center of gravity, he clenched his fist. The moment the surge arrived, he met it with a punch!
The blue-green stream of light rushed forward like a mighty river, crashing unavoidably into the platinum flames.
The two torrents of luminous qi collided and churned. Thin threads of glittering light sprayed outward, expanding and bursting from time to time, accompanied by thunderous booms echoing through the airspace.
Just behind the point of impact, Fantner's face and torso gradually condensed at the front of the luminous stream. Staring at Chen Chuan with manic excitement, he said, "Section Chief Chen, I wasn't mistaken. You truly are one of that kind."
Holding against his assault, Chen Chuan's extended arm did not waver in the slightest. Looking directly ahead, he replied calmly, "Is that so? Yet your power isn't as great as you claimed."
Fantner's eyes narrowed. In that split second, his body swelled, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant woven of translucent light. Innumerable arms sprouted densely across its frame, resembling a glowing centipede from afar.
Chen Chuan's gaze turned profoundly still. "Oh? Convergence faction?"
Chapter 1231