"A soul-faction marksman, huh..."
Within the forest stage, the Crimson Nun, Selei, glanced at the arm that refused to heal on its own, the corners of her mouth curling slightly upward. As a Sanctuary sorcerer of the mind faction, it was genuinely hard for Selei to accomplish much in an environment sealed by the mysterious chains. After all, she could not use sorcery spirit miracles, and the direct combat power of an academic branch like the mind faction was vastly inferior to gunplay or physical martial arts.
Yet just as beauty was a weak card played alone but became an unbeatable trump when paired with any other outstanding quality, if a Sanctuary sorcerer mastered both academic theory and physical arts, they could manifest academic power through physical technique.
Out of curiosity, Selei had once studied an obscure chain faction. Though she had only reached the gold rank, it was already sufficient to serve as a medium for her suggestions.
Her chain strikes planted psychological suggestions in her enemies; the longer a fight dragged on, the easier it became for Selei to hypnotize and control them.
Relying on this, Selei had easily torn through three stages, amassing a total of four holy grail fragments.
Now, however, she had finally met a formidable opponent: an elf who was a master of both the soul faction and the gunplay faction.
Whether by miracle or pure skill, the other woman could imbue bullets with soul-rending lethality. Not only did this neutralize Selei's danger sense, but wounds inflicted by them could not regenerate naturally.
Even under the suppression of the mysterious chains, sorcerers existed as soul bodies; under normal circumstances, non-fatal injuries would still heal automatically.
*Should I use the forest terrain to close in, or just flee?* Selei stroked the serrated edges along her chain, her expression flickering with indecision.
Right then, a violent shudder ran through her entire body. The world before her eyes split in two: half remained the Void Realm, while the other half looked out upon the mortal world!
How could this be? She had tried long ago; before this event concluded, it was impossible for a sorcerer to return to reality of their own accord, let alone have their soul span both the Void Realm and reality simultaneously!
"Selei Umbrella." A soft, magnetic voice resonated by her ear. "My scion, which position would you prefer? The Flayed Twins, or the Scarlet Handmaidens? Yet you seem to have a singular devotion to ascetic faith; perhaps you aspire to become a Nightshadow Priest?"
Selei froze. An instant later, her legs clamped tight, a flush crept over her face, and her body trembled in waves. She gathered every ounce of focus to listen to that divine voice, not daring to let her mind wander for a single second.
A moment later, she rose to her feet and spoke with resolute devotion: "All things in this world shall be as You will!"
With that, she strode toward the center of the forest. At the same time, three figures approached from other directions: a Curse Elf sorcerer, a parasite sorcerer, and the soul-archer elf who had just been locked in mortal combat with her.
The four exchanged glances, every one of them seeing the astonishment and delight in the others' eyes. They could hardly believe that mere Sanctuary sorcerers like themselves had been granted such a miraculous opportunity, fortunate enough to participate in the grand chess match high above the clouds.
The only one whose expression was somewhat strained was the soul-archer elf. She kept craning her neck toward the portal, her face filled with anxiety. Though they had been bitter enemies only moments ago, they were now all fortunate souls graced by the favor of their Divine Lords. Thus, in high spirits, Selei offered a word of concern: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing..." The soul archer shook her head. "I just thought I caught a glimpse of my daughter's silhouette back there."
"Is your daughter a Sanctuary sorcerer too? If she's in the Sanctuary realm, there's no need to worry."
"Even if she's a Sanctuary sorcerer, she's still my daughter."
"I understand, I understand," Selei nodded repeatedly. "Just like how my little underclasswoman suddenly became a Sanctuary sorcerer, but in my eyes, she's still that very delicious little junior... Still, business comes first. I'm going to begin."
"In the name of the Blood Moon Overlord," the Crimson Nun pressed her palms together, her body shifting continuously between reality and illusion, "we present to the Distant Sky Realm the seeds of the Wound of Wind!"
"Hereby we petition for the blessing—Search and Summon! Whosoever obtains the holy grail may search and summon any being within Dream Heaven!"
The soul archer pressed her hands together. "In the name of the Weaver, we present to the Distant Sky Realm the trunks of Scattered Snow, and fragments of the Moon Crystal!"
"Hereby we petition for the blessing—Safe Abode! Whosoever obtains the holy grail may be teleported to an empty stage while condensing it!"
The Curse Elf sorcerer pressed their palms together. "In the name of the Lord of Joy, we present to the Distant Sky Realm the dreams of spring, summer, autumn, and winter!"
"Hereby we petition for the blessing—Chaos Barrier! Whosoever obtains the holy grail may scramble the positions of all participants!"
The parasite sorcerer pressed their hands together. "In the name of the Boundless Abyss Lord, we present to the Distant Sky Realm the Local Dreamnet!"
"Hereby we petition for the blessing—Battle Royale! Remove the participant limit of Dream Heaven and accelerate the convergence of fragments!"
Finally, all four cried out in unison: "Distant Sky Realm, hear our plea!"
A moment later, a sudden current of air swept across the Distant Sky Realm, gently brushing against Dream Heaven—a breeze not even the ruby barrier could withstand.
As the current washed over the four, streams of scarred wind drifted out from Selei;
from the soul archer drifted frost-covered tree trunks and shards shimmering like moonlight;
from the Curse Elf sorcerer drifted spring breezes, summer cicadas, autumn leaves, and winter snow;
and from the parasite sorcerer drifted radiant, multicolored webs.
These offerings swiftly dissolved into thin air, vanishing without a trace. Yet the four sorcerers knew that they had witnessed the turning point of an era with their own eyes. From this day forward, the Wound of Wind, Scattered Snow, and Moon Crystals would gradually reappear in the Distant Sky Realm. Aside from the Language of Flowers, all the specialties that had vanished from the Distant Sky Realm thousands of years ago would return.
Beyond that, seasonal shifts would begin to manifest across all dream bubbles, cycling through the climates of spring, summer, autumn, and winter within the span of a single hour.
Moreover, the dream bubbles of the Distant Sky Realm would no longer remain isolated from one another. Linked by the Local Dreamnet, countless dreams would merge to form vast, chaotic, and intricate super-dreams.
That ancient Distant Sky Realm—where dream bubbles were isolated, seasons never changed, and treasures like the Wound of Wind were nowhere to be found—would become nothing more than a memory belonging to the previous generation of Sanctuary sorcerers.
Thousands of years from now, future Sanctuary sorcerers would forget this millennium-long history, just as they themselves knew nothing of what the Distant Sky Realm was like in the era of the Spectre Prophet.
Though they had no idea that these traded offerings were simply items the Divine Lords had confiscated long ago and were now merely returning to their rightful owner, the sheer sight was enough to leave them trembling with excitement—the Divine Lords could actually strike a direct bargain with the Void Realm!
And the Divine Lords had personally struck a deal with the Void Realm solely to introduce rules favoring their chosen agents into this competition.
Just how great a prize was that legendary holy grail?
What they did not know was that just as those traded items were about to leave Dream Heaven, they were intercepted by an outer web shimmering with starlight.
The perpetually tranquil Distant Sky Realm suddenly erupted with violent thunder, shattering countless dream bubbles in the process.
Just as black wind and lightning were about to batter Dream Heaven, a message was sent straight into the heart of the storm: *Taxes must be paid.*
***
"Looks like I'm the first to assemble it."
Yinzhi looked down at the holy grail in her hands, lacking only the final fragment, then turned around with a giggle. "Thank you, Harvey. Are you sure you won't defect to my side? I guarantee you a spot as an angel!"
The person traveling alongside Yinzhi was none other than the necromancer, Harvey.
He shook his head. "I listen to Igola."
"Since you've helped me so much, what reward do you want?" Yinzhi was in high spirits and spoke with blunt candor.
She had to be blunt; Harvey was completely oblivious to subtext, standing at the opposite extreme from Igola.
Still, while she was very fond of clever boys like Igola, she didn't dislike someone like Harvey either. Being able to relax her mind a bit around someone wasn't a bad thing—even if Igola only ever gave her mind a modest workout anyway.
"Can you give me two quotas for demigod advancement?" Harvey asked directly, devoid of any negotiating finesse.
"For you and Igola?"
"Just tell me if you'll give them or not."
"If you're both willing to become angels, of course I will."
"Then I'd better ask Igola first."
Yinzhi stood on tiptoe to ruffle Harvey's hair, took the fragment from his hand, and held the holy grail aloft, merging the final shard into it.
The moment the grail became whole, a flowing rainbow rippled across its surface. At the same time, Yinzhi became aware of four newly established rules.
"Search and Summon, Safe Abode, Chaos Barrier, and Battle Royale, huh..."
She wrinkled her nose. Among them, Search and Summon and Safe Abode were designed to ensure a demon could condense the holy grail safely, whereas Chaos Barrier and Battle Royale were meant to speed up fragment collection, paving the way to condensing a second or even third grail. It seemed some Divine Lord wanted to sweep the board.
Turning her attention back to the holy grail, she pondered for a moment before spending her Search and Summon privilege to directly summon a sorcerer who might be present in Dream Heaven—
"Huh?"
Suddenly dragged across space, Igola froze in place. But the moment the deceiver saw Yinzhi and Harvey, he immediately grasped the situation. "You have the authority to summon specific individuals? Why not Amilo? Why me? Have you already gathered all the grail fragments?"
"While I'm glad I don't have to explain much, don't be in such a rush. You'll have plenty of time to panic later."
Yinzhi rested her hands on her hips. "Though Harvey is very useful, I decided I needed your help just to be safe, Igola. Amilo is very strong, but his magic tricks aren't well-suited for complicated situations."
"Why should I help you?" A cold glint surfaced in Igola's eyes. "Right now, it's two against one. Why shouldn't we kill you and take your holy grail?"
Yinzhi patted Harvey on the rear, and Harvey gave a helpless shrug. "She saved my life."
"And you saved hers! Sorcerers and demons complement one another!" Igola retorted. "Neither of you owes the other anything!"
"No, she really did save me."
Harvey shook his head. "After expending my virtual wings, I have virtually no combat power left. But she can slaughter other sorcerers with her bare hands. She rescued me from a group of them."
Igola faltered for a moment, then countered, "Then in return for saving Harvey's life, we won't kill you—we'll just take the holy grail."
"Igola," Harvey said helplessly, "if she dispels my Sorcery Spirit Transformation and we fight using mortal skills, the two of us together are no match for her."
"Oh, my," Yinzhi said shyly. "Don't make this lovely maiden sound like some kind of savage beast."
Igola's expression turned exceedingly grim. "Fine. Even if we can't beat you, why should we help you?"
Yinzhi tapped her lips, thinking for a moment. "How about this: if you and Harvey are willing to assist me going forward, for every Discolored Holy Grail I condense, I'll give you an allotment of three drops."
"Two-thirds!" Igola demanded, opening his mouth to bite off the lion's share. "If you don't agree, go ahead and summon Amilo over. Harvey, we're leaving!"
Chapter 911