Infinite Range: The Sniper Mage

Chapter 738: 738: Divine Body Forged

The three soul marks pressed together, becoming a single flawless mirror that shed a pure, pristine glow.

At the same time, a phantom boy holding a war halberd rose quietly behind Orson. He was still all clean lines and sharp grace, a face cut from marble, standing like a monument. The aura rolling off him was that of a peerless War Supreme.

“Long time no see, Orson.”

A voice full of approval sounded. Orson smiled. “Yeah, Brother Gongsun.”

“BlazeKing…”

Bellara stared, dazed, at the black-clad youth. Even the Fire God had feared this one by three parts. The master of Radiant Shuttle. The BlazeKing.

“You too, little Bellara. Been a while.”

The youth bared his teeth in a warm, neighborly smile and reached out to smooth Bellara’s hair. Bellara’s face flashed with panic and she sprang back hundreds of meters.

The impression he had left on her was too terrifying. If Orson dreaming of godslaying was arrogant fantasy, the man before her had drunk divine blood for real.

She let out a slow breath. Soul marks were the legacies strong Infinite Dimensions adventurers left in the world, a lingering imprint of will and inheritance. Only someone as powerful as the BlazeKing could leave a soul mark above God. That must have been the special taste she had sensed on Orson.

No. It was not just an Overgod mark. He had another card.

“Hm? I held her when she was little. Why is she running?” the black-clad youth said, baffled.

Far off, Bellara’s face went still. She said nothing.

Orson could not help a shake of the head. “You are supposed to be dead. Who would not be spooked seeing you now?”

The youth gave an awkward laugh. “Well… fair. This will be the last time we meet. I hope you are ready to break the game.”

“Come on. You said last time was the last time.”

“Oh? Did I? I do not remember.” BlazeKing scratched his head and looked all kinds of harmless.

Orson could only laugh. For a monster, the man was chaos in a smile, no hint of tyrant anywhere.

BlazeKing looked to the sharply wary Bellara. “Let the old things stay buried. You are not enemies. Learn to stand together.”

Learn to stand together… damn it all.

Orson almost swore aloud. This woman had worked him over a hundred times across fifteen years. Stand together, my ass.

“Young man, condense your Divinity. While there is still a little time, I will go pay my respects to a few old friends,” BlazeKing said, smiling.

“Wait. You are dead. Who are you going to see here?” Orson blinked, wrong-footed.

“A fine question,” BlazeKing said. “Seems I am not dead all the way. Lend me some chaos soil. I have some heartfelt words for the four guardian beasts.”

“Heartfelt words… ha. Sure.”

Orson laughed and brought out the Chaos Cauldron!. Most of the chaos soil had gone to planting the world tree, but he had kept some back for a rainy day.

At the sight of the Chaos Cauldron!, Bellara’s face changed. The outline of armor hidden beneath her dress surfaced and thrummed, resonating with the Cauldron as if it might tear free of her control at any moment.

Orson’s gaze narrowed. As expected, the armor on her, the one that devoured incoming skills, had been forged from shards of the Chaos Cauldron!. No wonder there had been no trace of loose fragments once he neared a full set. They had been smelted down into plate. Fragments did not exist anymore.

He did not say it out loud. Once he condensed his Divinity, that armor would be his sooner or later.

“This will do,” BlazeKing said with a nod.

The instant he spoke, the chaos soil writhed, and a youth rose from the dirt. Pity Orson could not read his stats. He would have bowed twice on principle and paid homage to the BlazeKing’s bearing.

“Immortal Art, Soaring Celestial.”

The boy flung up a hand and turned into a lance of white light that punched straight through the sky. He shattered the dome of the secret realm and ripped on through.

A space-type forbidden art?

Orson stood there, speechless. The ninety-ninth heaven that had vexed him for years, blasted open like paper?

“Bad. He is going to the Sunforge Shrine.”

Bellara’s face drained. She left Orson where he stood and shot toward the heart of the realm.

Orson’s smile went cold. He had already combed every corner of this place. He knew exactly where the formation to the peak lay. The array belonged to Bellara. Unless she died and the outer seal fell, only she could open or close it. Now he did not need to bother. The BlazeKing had gone through headfirst, and left a hole he could climb.

Once the two were gone, Orson moved his mind.

Divine Essence streamed from his pack and began to circle the three soul marks like a ring of stars.

“Divinity fusion success rate 33%.”

“Divinity fusion success rate 55%.”

“Divinity fusion success rate 99%.”

“Divinity fusion success rate 100%.”

“Begin fusion?”

The prompts rolled by. Orson nodded. He drew a long breath and braced for whatever came.

“Fusion successful.”

“Your Overgod soul marks, the Heavenly Spirit series, are of exceptional quality.”

“They have condensed directly into the exclusive Divinity Mid Chaos Godseal.”

A tightness gripped his heart. The soul marks turned a deep red, shed a strange chaotic sheen, and plunged between his brows.

“You have received the blessing of the elder pantheon.”

“You have gained the buff Starstride.”

Effect: Walk the void without impediment.

“You have gained the buff Usurper.”

Effect: Devour Divinity. Sit the high seat.

Then the void poured down in many-colored light and wrapped him head to heel. His body came apart in an instant, then knit anew. Pain like tearing his heart out made him throw his head back and roar. The entire heaven shook.

It went on for two hours. The lines in Orson’s face faded. His hair blackened to ink. His skin took on the sheen of polished stone. His eyes went deeper still. It felt like he had lived through an inward-out evolution in a handful of hours.

“Overgod soul marks converted to Mid Chaos Godseal.”

“Congratulations. Your Divinity is condensed. Your divine body is forged. All beings will bow.”

“Your maximum health increased tenfold.”

“Your maximum mana increased tenfold.”

“Your critical damage increased to 120x.”

“Your attack range increased tenfold.”

Orson could not hide the joy that surged in him. He opened his eyes. The world remained, yet his sense of it had changed utterly. It felt like his hand closed around everything.

And to his surprise, he had skipped the lower rank and leapt straight to mid-tier God. His Divinity effects had jumped by an epic grade.

He understood the structure now. The pantheon was stratified. The gulf in attributes and combat strength was vast, its root in the raw wattage of one’s Divinity. The stronger the Divinity, the more terrifying the field you could throw.

He checked his domain, face alight.

“Divine Domain: Supreme Firepower”

“Strength: Pantheon mid tier”

“Note: Domain strength scales with your rank.”

“Effect 1: When Supreme Firepower is active, all skill cooldowns are cleared. Casting time is removed.”

“Effect 2: You gain the Sight of the Pantheon. Your sight increases one thousandfold. Anything your eyes can reach can be hard-locked and tracked until the strike connects.”

“Warning 1: Your mana and health do not increase while the domain is active.”

“Warning 2: Domain duration and cooldown mirror each other. Duration 24 hours, cooldown 24 hours.”

Holy hell.

Compared to the pseudo-divine version of Supreme Firepower, this was a different animal. Both effects were obscene. Effect 1 had two small words that weighed a mountain. All skills. That meant even forbidden spells could be spammed. Effect 2 juiced his sight by a thousand. If he could see ten kilometers before, now he could sweep ten thousand. And once he locked you, the shot would never miss. Run to the edge of the sea, flee into the deep between stars. Orson Express. Delivery guaranteed.

The system was not done.

“Choose your exclusive Godly Relic.”

“This item can be a weapon, armor, or accessory. Minimum quality Forbidden Magic tier. Choose carefully. This selection cannot be changed.”