Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1218: Ambition and Position

A day later, outside the crumbled Helioterran imperial palace, the emperor prostrated with a bitter expression on his face.

The other Helioterrans flanking him were ashen and visibly weak. The three who had previously blocked the path of Sir Star Ring had blood oozing out of the corners of their mouths, and seemed incredibly dispirited. Their cultivation bases had declined! They were no longer Quasi-Immortals, but rather, had fallen down to the Imperial Sovereign level.

Close examination would reveal that they weren’t the only ones who had been affected like that. The other Helioterrans had all experienced a decline in cultivation base to varying degrees. And based on their soul fluctuations, the decline… was permanent. It came from their souls and their blood! Their bloodline had been pared down and their souls had been restricted!

Even the emperor himself had been affected. Although he was still a Quasi-Immortal, it was a constant struggle for him to stay in that level. Unfortunately, this situation wasn’t likely to change. That was because his extra face had withered up. His ancestral awakening had been interrupted!

And yet, the other Helioterrans still chose to defer to him, despite the resentment they felt in their hearts. A group of people was flying past them in the starry sky.

They were the ascendees. In the lead was Xu Qing. They were leaving.

***

The Helioterrans’ ceremony was about purifying blood and stockpiling ringsource. But the ascendees had taken the stockpile and split it up according to the quota established by Xu Qing.

Zhou Zhengli took the lead in handing over twenty percent of what he had collected. Li Mengtu and the others quickly followed suit.

As for the Helioterran imperial clan… Sir Star Ring used his powers of order and his canon of balance on them. In doing so, he ensured that the bloodline would remain impure.

Given the Helioterrans’ errant behavior, if events here had affected other heavens beyond heaven, it would have been necessary to report the matter, and the species would likely have been wiped out. Instead, their bloodline had been pared down. As a result, it didn’t matter what got reported at this point, the actions of Xu Qing and the other ascendees conformed perfectly with big human organizations in the Fifth Star Ring.

No one could blame them for doing anything wrong. Besides, their actions fell in line with what everyone expected from the Department of Acquisitions…. In fact, this entire thing seemed to be something of an assessment.

Even the Helioterrans realized that. They knew that in terms of a squadron of ascendees like this… their species didn’t measure up in battle prowess, background, or anything else for that matter. Their species was simply unlucky to have clashed with people like that. If the squadron had felt like simply exterminating them as a species, they would have had nowhere to run to.

Humankind was paramount in the Fifth Star Ring. So when all was said and done, they were actually a bit relieved at how things had ended. The fact that their species could continue living was a blessing on its own. Things had been wrapped up.

Now Xu Qing led everyone back to Prison A29. Along the way, he explained to the rest of the squadron what he had learned about the True God sun, and also what he planned to do.

When everyone realized that the kelp plant was actually the jailer in charge of A29, and that there was a chance they could extract ringsource from a True God, they started to get excited. They had already collected enough ringsource to meet the qualifications for the mission. And all of them had managed to build up significant personal stockpiles. But… they all still needed a lot of ringsource.

As a result, their eyes began to shine brightly. The recent experience of working together to invade another species and split the loot had caused all of them to warm up to each other significantly.

And they all approved of having Xu Qing as their leader. Considering that Xu Qing had a peak level of battle prowess, and was leading them to get more ringsource, their approval grew even stronger.

They soon arrived at Prison A29. The True God sun was still in the same spot. The kelp had come with Xu Qing as its true form, but hadn’t dared to be derelict in duty, so it had left behind a clone to keep an eye over things in the prison.

Upon returning, Xu Qing suppressed his anticipation, quickly scanned the area to make sure nothing unexpected had happened while he was away, then turned to the ascendees.

“Now we go forward with the plan to collect the ringsource!” Xu Qing said.

Sir Star Ring and all the others had been informed of the plan on the way. Now that they were present to see and sense everything personally, their eyes were shining with anticipation and determination.

Without another word, Xu Qing shot toward the sun. The kelp clone’s roots wriggled aside to make an opening, all while the true form provided a boost to everyone as they followed Xu Qing.

Zhou Zhengli, Sir Vilespirit, Yuanshan Su, and Li Mengtu were among them. Before long, the Acquisitioner squadron had entered the sun like a pack of hungry wolves.

***

Time passed. Three days later, the sun started trembling, and the kelp plant outside swayed back and forth violently.

It lasted for seven days. Rumbling echoed out into the starry sky, thanks to the violet ringsource fluctuations from the sun. Apparently, the sealing mark had been broken. A few more days passed. The sun was starting to get less fiery and hot. It was even shrinking. Apparently, there was going to be another eruption of ringsource.

However, that was when an intense stream of divine will swept through the interior of the sun. It turned into a voice.

“All of you… that’s enough!! This fodder is mine to take away. You have ten breaths of time to get the hell out of here. Any who remain after that will die here, and neither your Masters nor your backing organizations will have any cause to blame me!”

The thunderous voice shook the entire Helioterra Universe. Countless galaxies and planets shook, and all living beings trembled.

Even Xu Qing and the other ascendees were stricken with fear. After all, they had invaded this True God sun. Coughing up blood and facial expressions flickering, they fell into retreat.

By the time the ten breaths of time had passed, they were outside of the sun. The moment they appeared out in the starry sky, a huge vortex opened up beneath the True God sun. It looked like a gigantic mouth. Then a gargantuan hand stretched out, grabbed the sun, and dragged it into the vortex.

The kelp had no choice but to loosen its grip via the roots, otherwise it would have been dragged inside as well.

All of this takes some time to describe, but from the moment the ascendees appeared out in the open to when the vortex and hand appeared, only an instant passed. Then the hand dragged the sun into the vortex, and they all disappeared.

It was as if nothing had ever been in that spot. The only thing left behind was the quivering kelp, as well as Xu Qing and the ascendees, all of them scowling. Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words.

After going inside, they had encountered some difficulties breaking through the two sealing marks from before. But things had generally gone smoothly, and they had managed to absorb quite a bit of ringsource from the True God. Unfortunately… when they opened the third sealing mark, something unexpected happened.

There was an eye in the third sealing mark! It was the eye of an immortal, and it was the true form of the sealing mark restraining the True God sun.

The moment they spotted the eye, it opened and unleashed a terrifying tempest-like will. None of them had been able to stand up to it. There was no doubt as to its identity. It belonged to the Lower Immortal who was responsible for the entire situation.

Clearly, he had once been a minor government official in the Aurora heaven beyond heaven, and upon learning from his apprentice that something was going on, he erupted into a fury.

And he had given them ten breaths of time to leave. Not being willing to leave the True God sun behind, he had paid a heavy price to take it away. Apparently, the Lower Immortal hadn’t been able to do anything else but that.

And there wasn’t anything Xu Qing and the others could have done either. They weren’t strong enough to challenge a Lower Immortal. All they could do was sigh and leave.

The kelp plant looked confused. The prison it had been guarding… was gone. The gods in its leaves had been taken away by the warden. Now it had no mission left in this world….

In response to Xu Qing’s suggestion, it left with them.

Eventually, they ran into an asteroid field. There, they all selected asteroids where they settled cross-legged to work on digesting the ringsource they had taken. They would leave the universe in a month. Though they had only taken the ringsource from behind two sealing marks, that was still a significant amount.

Half a month went by quickly. The asteroid field drifted quietly through the starry sky.

During the time that passed, the ascendees all improved their cultivation bases and battle prowess thanks to the ringsource. Their auras were now much fiercer than before.

When the seventeenth day came… a magnificent aura suddenly spread through the floating asteroid field. The aura was so strong it threw the asteroids into chaos.

Space-time rippled. The five elements merged. The natural law of the universe stirred, converging into a dazzling, multicolored display. Deafening rumbling sounds echoed out, like the thump of a heartbeat or the crash of heavenly thunder.

Everyone was shaken deeply. Even as they sat there cross-legged, they opened their eyes and looked in the direction of the disturbance!

On an elliptical asteroid someone sat cross-legged in a black robe, with violet hair flying around him. He was shining with bright light and pulsing with explosive immortal energy. He was none other than Xu Qing!

Sir Star Ring’s eyes shone brightly. He’s breaking through to Quasi-Immortal! That energy. Those fluctuations….

Sir Vilespirit’s expression was grave. Yuanshan Su seemed stunned. Li Mengtu was already scanning the area for threats, as he took it upon himself to stand as dharma protector for Xu Qing.

Hordeslayer and Rampart seemed nervous and even scared. They had their own ideas about what this meant. If Xu Qing became a Quasi-Immortal, then all he had to do was lift his hand, and the two of them would become immortal swords that would excitedly rush to his call…. And thus, their anxiety was building.

That was when Zhou Zhengli’s eyes narrowed with determination. Standing, he flew over to an asteroid near Xu Qing and sat down cross-legged. Looking stern, he said, “What are the lot of you doing? Stand as dharma protectors right now! And if any of you are thinking of trying to pull some sort of fast one, let me just remind you—” Zhou Zhengli’s eyes shone with a mysterious light “—that this heaven beyond heaven has a name. Remember what it is? The leadership positions in the other heavens beyond heaven are filled.

“All of you understand what that means. So, regardless of what the lot of you are thinking, I can tell you that my goal is to seize a leadership spot in this heaven beyond heaven without a lord! Although the chances are small, they do exist. Considering the possible benefits… I’m willing to take a chance. And that’s why anyone who poses a threat to my chances will be considered an enemy!”

This was the first time Zhou Zhengli had openly stated his ambitions. Although no one could be absolutely sure that he was telling the truth… there was no doubt that his words stirred the hearts of everyone present.

Hordeslayer and Rampart suddenly weren’t feeling very scared. After initially looking stunned, their eyes shone. “Leadership spot?”