Passive Shackles Upgraded

[Knee Strike (A-rank → SS-rank) LV215: Concentrates Killing Intent Wave at the knee joint and explodes, dealing both physical and spiritual damage. The attack inflicts negative effects such as stun, stagger, and paralysis. The hit detection level is increased, and it deals an additional 3000% damage to shields and barriers.]

Taking advantage of the remaining time after learning Flash, Lister also improved his Knee Strike.

Once the barrier began to repel him, he stopped using the meteorite-like key.

Although only 6 days have passed outside, 18 years have passed inside the barrier.

This is the first time Lister has ever participated in such intense training in the game.

After improving key skills, it's time to take a break for now.

Outside the barrier, warships from the Milky Way Galaxy stood guard in layers.

Many warships are still undergoing repairs, and in just six days, the changes are minimal for everyone.

"Lord Lister, these are the newly collected 'keys'."

Inside the main control room of the main ship, Siegfried laid out the 'keys' he had collected on the tactical command console.

The number was indeed more than he expected; he had already collected 337 so far.

He has so much that he can't possibly use it all up.

"I will send reinforcements after I return. You will remain stationed in the Angis Galaxy for the time being."

"The Eye of Ashes will become our special restricted area in the future."

Having experienced the effectiveness of the barrier, Lister prepared to seal it off completely.

Unfortunately, I don't have many cards I can trust.

Other Hegemon are close to him can be assigned some tasks, but those related to barriers are not within his consideration.

There simply aren't enough people available to carry out the immediate eradication of the entire Angis Galaxy.

The only option is to issue a strong notice first, and then gradually purge the forces within the galaxy over the next few years.

"This is for you."

With a wave of his hand, all the meteorite keys on the table vanished.

Only two were delivered to Major General Siegfried.

"This barrier is a training ground with a different flow of time."

"It can hone all your active skills. You can stay inside for three days outside, but inside the barrier it's equivalent to nine years."

"Allocate your time and go in to hone your skills."

With so many opportunities to improve his skills, and since he can't use them all himself, he'll naturally plan to train his subordinates.

He would inform Sariel, Wang Yue, Hoffman, and others who needed it and give them the opportunity to hone their skills.

He also has a portion reserved for players, especially top players.

Among top players, a single Quasi-Hegemon offers very limited help.

Lister is now prepared to give this opportunity to his advantage, so that he will have more leverage in his future war with the Emerald Royal Court and even in the possible World-Ending Level war that may ensue.

"Lister... such a precious opportunity..."

"Or give it to..."

"Major Qi, it's just a skill-training barrier."

"As you can see, this barrier has a large number of keys, and the energy stored inside has not been consumed for hundreds of thousands of years, so it's not particularly valuable."

Seeing that Major General Siegfried was making excuses and was embarrassed to accept, Lister simply brought up Siegfried's original title of "major" again.

This was the person who helped and took care of him the most when he first entered the Milky Way Galaxy, in the recruit camp.

At this point, it's merely an opportunity to upgrade a mere barrier.

Based solely on their past friendship and current loyalty, Lister wouldn't be lacking in favor of him.

Not to mention that Major Qi himself is quite talented and his rank has improved rapidly, but he is somewhat lacking in combat strength.

It's probably almost impossible for them to reach the Overlord Tier, but getting one step closer would be a good thing.

Upon hearing Lister bring up the past, Major General Siegfried finally smiled.

He shook his head to himself, then took the key.

He knew that although there were many keys, this was, after all, a special barrier.

He might not even get this special opportunity for advancement if it were a matter of seniority in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Not to mention that Lister gave him two at once.

For him, what reassured him most at the moment was the trust that Lister showed in him through his actions.

He was once a Quasi-Hegemon Hegemon, but he rose through the ranks to become a near- Hegemon and now a World-Ending Level powerhouse, a feat that always fills him with emotion.

Being trusted by a world- World-Ending Level powerhouse, he naturally felt fortunate about his past choices.

Meanwhile, in the Bloodred Galaxy, the battle was drawing to a close.

Inside the core of the temple, Gebeier's mechanical armor was riddled with cracks, and his dark red cloak was torn to shreds by the energy storm.

He knelt on one knee at the edge of the blood pool, with the collapsing temple dome behind him. Starlight pierced through the cracks, stretching his shadow into Twist blade.

"You bunch of idiots!"

Gebeier suddenly burst into wild laughter, and the blood that seeped from between his teeth crystallized in the vacuum.

"Do they really think they can rest easy by siding with Lister?"

"You want to die sooner, don't you?"

Ewaer, who was manipulating the creation of an ice crystal cage around the entire temple, couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

"Still trying to sow discord even when death is imminent?"

Eternal ice condensed into diamond dust around the throne, each grain reflecting Gebeier's disheveled figure.

"Play off?"

Gebeier suddenly tore open his chest armor, revealing the Void Race emblem embedded in his heart.

"Look at this! The Void Insignia Curtis planted in me himself back then."

As Gebeier moved, the emblem suddenly burst forth with a dark purple light, and the entire blood pool immediately began to boil.

"What good would it do for someone like me to follow the Void Corridor?"

"Those who are destined to be abandoned will be abandoned!"

"Even the Void Corridor, which has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, is like this."

"Lister nothing but a nobody; he hasn't even managed to build a new World Annihilation force yet. How could he possibly be any different!?"

His voice was hoarse, filled with deep resentment.

At the same time, he used himself as an example to show the many Hegemon present today the true face of World-Ending Level force.

Unfortunately, the effect of instigation was limited.

Now all the Hegemon are single-mindedly devoted to following Lister.

In their eyes, Gebeier was simply a perfect example of what not to do.

Mature superpowers can no longer accommodate new Hegemon like them, and being one of the founding members of this brand-new World-Ending Level force is the right way to join World Annihilation a force.

Are you still dreaming?

"Lister has offended the Void Corridor and is completely opposed to the Emerald Royal Court!"

"You don't actually think you've lived for many years, do you?"

"In 400 years, you'll all be cannon fodder in his hands!"

"Why don't we take this Hurry and Escape!?"

"400 years later? What did you learn?"

Or... are they trying to fool us one last time?

Upon hearing this, Ewaer did not stop what he was doing.

However, he stared at the other person with great curiosity, clearly wanting to know more about the inside story.

Gebeier, having followed the Void Corridor, truly possesses a wealth of knowledge in the field of information and intelligence.

It far exceeds the reach of ordinary Hegemon.

"Hehe..."

A chilling laugh came from Gebeier's mouth.

The Crimson Archbishop's dark red tome suddenly turned its pages automatically, and thick blood oozed from between the pages.

His withered fingers paused on a page, on which appeared the emblem identical to the one on Gebeier's heart.

Suddenly, Archbishop Tunan of the Mechanical Holy See retreated violently, his mecha joints spewing out high-pressure steam.

"Watch out! He's about to self-destruct!"

Before the words were even finished, the Void Insignia on Gebeier's heart was already blindingly bright, and the entire temple began to collapse into a black hole singularity.

Too late!

Gebeier laughed maniacally.

"Since the Seed of Eternity will be born in four hundred years anyway, rather than die afterward, I'd rather be buried with you now—!"

The energy from the blood pool behind him surged wildly into his body, and the energy truly began to erupt violently.

But before the explosion could begin, a Crimson cover page suddenly pierced his throat.

The Crimson Archbishop had Flash in the center of the blood pool without anyone noticing. A dark red tome floated between the two of them, and as the pages flipped wildly, countless blood-red runes poured into Gebeier's body through the title page.

"Crimson - Reverse Origin."

The purple light of the Void Insignia was suddenly tinged with dark red, and the energy that was about to erupt instantly calmed down, continuously flowing into the dark red book in its hand.

Gebeier looked down in astonishment and saw that every tube in his heart was beginning to flow backward— Crimson was using blood magic to reverse and disperse the energy he had painstakingly gathered!

"You... how could this be..."

Gebeier's eyes flickered, but the last thing he saw was the Crimson Archbishop whispering in his ear.

"Your tricks... are all things I've already used up."

With that, the crimson tome slammed shut, and Gebeier's body instantly crystallized.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, it exploded into billions of blood crystals.

Each crystal contained a wisp of void energy attempting to escape, which, under the starlight, resembled a torrential downpour of rubies.

Ewaer put away the ice crystal cage, and diamond stardust fell in a flurry.

"You stole the credit, didn't you?"

The voice of the Extreme Cold Hegemon was filled with resentment, but even more so with apprehension—among the Hegemon present, only Crimson could forcibly reverse the self-destructing blood technique triggered by the Void Mark.

"However... the Seed of Eternity..."

The Crimson Archbishop caught the falling dark red tome; the newly added Gebeier relief on the cover was bleeding.

He licked the blood splattered on his lips, then said nonchalantly.

"Trouble over at the Eternal Sea of Trees."

"If you're afraid, you can escape sooner..."

"However, by then... it won't just be Lord Lister's forces chasing you!"

Clearly, the Crimson Archbishop also knew about the Seed of Eternity 400 years from now.

As the first Hegemon invited by Qingteng, his strength and intelligence capabilities are both extremely impressive.

And they seem oblivious to the dangers that lie ahead 400 years from now, as if they don't care at all.

After a brief moment of thought, Ewaer recalled what Crimson had mentioned earlier.

If conflict and war are inevitable four hundred years from now.

It's likely that before this battle even begins, there will be another major purge targeting veteran Overlord Tier powerhouses.

Compared to those Hegemon who are still completely unaware of the situation, these Hegemon who have the opportunity to choose sides are already considered lucky.

Two years later, in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Inside the Soul Barrier, Lister collected the Soul Crystal Stone that had been condensed this time.

The number is actually not that many, a total of 2341.

Strictly speaking, it's not as efficient as harvesting Soul Crystals from the Soul-Devouring Spider.

However, the Soul-Devouring Spider's range of movement is not that wide; its efficiency is limited to a single unit.

The Soul Barrier, however, is designed to absorb the soul energy of all life forms within the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

More than two thousand Soul Crystals, if used according to the original energy ratio, could supply the upgrade of nearly thirty thousand recruit camps.

Of course, his own improvement is the priority right now.

Both the Robust Soul and the Saber Soul Mastery require the assistance of Soul Crystals.

He has finally received these two thousand-plus Soul Crystals.

Inside the Soul Barrier, Lister took a deep breath, and dozens of potions automatically flew out from his storage space.

The Federation Military District's special tranquilizer, the Beta Civilization's soul-soothing liquid, the Glimmer Civilization's soul stabilizer... all sorts of fluorescent lights intertwined in the dimly lit room.

As the injections were repeatedly inserted into the jugular vein, the cool liquid flowed through the blood vessels throughout the body, and the surface of the soul gradually developed a protective luster like mother-of-pearl.

When the last SS-grade "Void Corridor Special Soul Anchoring Agent" obtained through the black market was injected, Lister suddenly swallowed all one thousand Soul Crystals.

The crystal vaporizes into a gray mist the moment it comes into contact with saliva, flowing down the esophagus into the depths of the soul.

"Well--!"

The pain was more intense than ever before.

His spine arched dramatically in an instant, and his fingernails scraped against the metal floor with a piercing sound.

The system notification is flashing rapidly on your retina.

"Warning: Soul Crystal over-absorption in progress! Soul carrying capacity 182% 197% 215%"

In the spiritual world, the gray fog manifests as billions of blunt knives, slowly scraping every inch of the soul's surface.

Even more terrifying is the tearing sensation from the depths of consciousness—as if countless hands are brutally tearing away the elements that constitute the "self," such as memories, emotions, and cognition.

"Fighting Spirit, Unleash!"

Lister activated his skill at the critical point when his soul was about to collapse.

A crimson light exploded from between his brows, and his Fighting Spirit washed over his aching nerves like molten lava.

The damage immunity value displayed by the system fluctuated wildly before finally settling at 63.2%.

Although the pain has lessened slightly, the terrifying experience of having one's soul crushed inch by inch remains vivid and tangible.

Deep within his soul, the gray mist suddenly condensed into countless mirrors, each reflecting Lister from a different period of his life.

The inexperienced recruits in basic training, the cautious trial-takers when they first obtained the system, the ruthless Hegemon who slayed Yatke... these images are being devoured one by one by the gray mist.

"Come back here!"

He suppressed the pain and Killing Intent Wave to its limit.

Blood rain suddenly fell from the spiritual world, each drop transforming into chains that bound the stripped-away reflections.

When the SSS-level Merrick Saber Technique was unleashed at the level of consciousness, the gray mist mirror shattered in pieces wherever the blade flashed.

When the last mirror was shattered, all the Soul Crystal energy suddenly collapsed into a singularity.

An indescribable sense of coolness erupted from the core of the soul, and the previously torn elements of the "self" began to reorganize.

System notifications kept refreshing like a waterfall.

Notification: Soul Crystal absorption complete, current efficiency 99.9%

"Notification: The restrictions on enhancing the Robust Soul and the Saber Soul Mastery have been lifted."

[Robust Soul (Passive, No Grade) LV180 (Note: Can be further improved):...]

[Saber Soul Mastery (Passive, No Rank) LV120 (Note: Can be further improved):...]