A meteor streaked across the dark universe, crashing onto a dark brown planet and landing on a barren, rugged mountain peak.
The streaks of starlight, like flowing flames, scattered, revealing Han Xiao's figure. He glanced down at the boundless, dark brown earth, then looked up at the sky where the brilliant, mysterious aurora borealis hung, and nodded.
Let's level up right here.
Han Xiao focused his mind, opened the panel, and poured all the experience he had painstakingly accumulated into leveling up. His level, which had been stagnant for a long time, finally skyrocketed again, and the panel notifications poured out like a flowing stream:
[[Divine Throne Mechanic] has been upgraded to Lv49, Strength +500, Agility +5, Endurance +18, Intelligence +25. You gain 20 free attribute points and 1 Awakening Point.]
[[Divine Throne Mechanic] has been upgraded to Lv60 (Max), Strength +2000, Agility +5, Endurance +18, Intelligence +25, you gain 20 free attribute points, Awakening Point +1]
[You have reached the level cap for your main profession, and you have triggered the job change quest -- [Divine Artisan]]
[Divine Artisan]: Has over 10,000 blueprint skills and has crafted over 100 different types of Universal Treasure -level mechanical equipment.
[You have reached level 360, and you have triggered the advanced quest - [The Godslayer's Trial]]
[[Godslayer's Trial]: Completely kill five Beyond Grade A individuals with Divine Transformation, requiring one person from each of the five major systems: martial arts, superpowers, mechanics, magic, and telekinesis.]
"Wow, that's ruthless."
Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and he clicked his tongue inwardly.
This mission is countless times more difficult than the last advancement and job change. The level of demand is completely different. Just the requirement of [Divine Artisan] to create 100 different kinds of Universal Treasure is enough to confuse a normal mechanic. Even Han Xiao himself is still some distance from that number. Although the Sanctuary has provided enough blueprints, he has not yet created them all.
In addition, there is the [Godslayer's Trial] which requires killing five Peak Beyond Grade A, making it extremely dangerous. Moreover, it contains the word "completely," so Han Xiao guesses that the tricky methods of individual longevity used by the World Tree and the Netherland experts probably don't count. It's likely that they won't die unless they enter the Sanctuary, and the targets will probably be chosen from among normal people.
Unfortunately... no matter how demanding the task, we have settlement cards!
Han Xiao had stockpiled some Mission Settlement Card over the years in order to avoid these advanced missions. Even if these two missions were difficult, he would only be surprised at most, and would not find them troublesome at all.
"These two tasks are such a pain, thank goodness I can skip them."
Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly used the Mission Settlement Card. The two task names immediately turned into golden "Completed" sub-items.
He had assumed that completing the advancement task would be the same as before, which would mean a successful advancement. However, this time the situation seemed different, and an unexpected message popped up on the panel.
[Level 360 advancement quest completed!]
[You can choose to advance at any time]
[Note: This advancement carries an extremely high risk, with a 90% to 96% chance of failure. If you fail, you will need to complete a new advancement task before you can advance again. In addition, there is a chance of unknown mutations during the advancement, which may be life-threatening.]
[It is recommended to meet the following conditions before choosing the advanced option.]
[1. During this advancement, your life form will be extremely unstable and prone to mutation. Possible outcomes include, but are not limited to, Infinite proliferation, genetic collapse, cellular independence, and cosmic assimilation. Therefore, you will need to use certain special items to stabilize your life form. Triggering this condition during advancement will increase the advancement success rate by 33.3% and decrease the malignant mutation rate by 33.3%.]
[2. For this advancement, you will need some external assistance. The power of one person alone is always limited and one-sided. You will need four superhumans of different types as assistants, and they must have activated the Divine Transformation of their superhuman system. The higher the level of Divine Transformation, the better the assistance effect. When this condition is triggered during advancement, the success rate of advancement will increase by 33.3%, and the rate of malignant mutation will decrease by 33.3%.]
[3. For this advancement, you need a piece of Beyond Divine Remnant Power as a catalyst. When a superhuman who has completed Divine Transformation attempts to break through to a higher level, they may die due to malignant mutation. The life essence, soul consciousness, and core energy that dissipate during the advancement will condense into Beyond Divine Remnant Power, which cannot be observed by normal life forms. Only superhumans in this current state will be able to perceive it. When this condition is triggered during advancement, the success rate of advancement increases by 33.3%, and the malignant mutation rate decreases by 33.3%.]
[Note: If all conditions are not met, the rank will not change even if the advancement is successful. If all three conditions are fully triggered during the advancement, the Divine Advancement will be unlocked.]
"So this is the pattern...?"
After reading the messages on the panel, Han Xiao's spirits lifted, his eyes shifted, and his gaze flickered.
Before today, he wasn't sure if advancing to level 360 would actually lead to a new rank; it was all just speculation. But now it's finally confirmed: this advancement can indeed break through to a new rank, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many changes.
This gave him a slight boost.
Han Xiao focused his mind on his body and clearly sensed that every cell was in a "critical" state, and he could advance at any time if he wanted to.
However, after seeing the warning on the panel, Han Xiao was also afraid that there might be problems with the advancement. He looked down at the contents of the three conditions, which were all grayed out and in a "not triggered" state.
He tried using the Mission Settlement Card on these three conditions, but it didn't complete like the advanced task, with the message indicating that the completion card was invalid for this objective.
"So it didn't work after all. Looks like there's no way to cheat this time."
Han Xiao frowned, then relaxed his gaze. He wasn't too surprised; when he saw the three conditions, he had a vague idea that the Mission Settlement Card might not be useful to them.
The Mission Settlement Card is a special item used on the panel. It does not exist as a physical object. Its function is to skip the task content and obtain the most basic panel rewards. It does not actually change the external environment, nor does it generate physical objects out of thin air.
All three prerequisites require physical items as aids during the advancement process; these items cannot be conjured up from Mission Settlement Card, and they do not exist in the form of tasks.
However, the Mission Settlement Card skipped the previous advanced tasks, which saved him a lot of time. Moreover, if the advancement failed and a new advanced task was triggered, he could still use the completion card to get through it without spending any effort.
Of course, it's best to succeed in advancing to the next level on the first try, and Han Xiao naturally didn't want to fail. Since there was no shortcut to breaking through to a new level, in order to improve the safety of his advancement, he had no choice but to calm down and carefully study the three conditions, and soon he had some clues.
The first condition requires a special "stabilizer," probably because this advancement will involve the reorganization of life forms, which is more intense than previous advancements, hence the "extreme instability." It's like melting a piece of steel and casting it into another shape, requiring a mold.
Han Xiao had a few ideas about this. Special items in the Information State could serve as such a "mold," but it would most likely require Universal Treasure; ordinary Information State devices would probably be ineffective.
Another option is to obtain the blessing of some Universal Treasure with "stability" properties. Han Xiao knows of one that is readily available: the Arcane National Treasure, which has the property of "unbreakability" and should be able to achieve a similar effect.
"However, this thing is in Urnos's possession and is a treasure of the Arcane Church. I wonder if they would be willing to borrow it temporarily."
Han Xiao shook his head.
The second condition requires the assistance of Peak Beyond Grade A experts from the other four systems to advance.
In civilizations where individual power is underdeveloped, it might not even be possible to gather enough people. However, the Three Universal Civilizations, which should be considered prosperous in the universe, have enough powerful individuals to choose from.
With his own network and the Sanctuary's cohesive power, finding four assistants shouldn't be difficult; this should be the simplest of the three conditions.
However, the cooperative intent revealed by this condition left Han Xiao with some mixed feelings.
Reaching this stage alone seems to be the limit; advancement no longer appears to be a solitary endeavor. To become a stronger individual at a higher level, more external assistance is needed, and the level of civilization's development also affects whether an individual can advance further.
In the vast universe, one's strength is ultimately limited. Without external help, it becomes difficult to continue progressing beyond a certain point.
"Are there ultimately limits to the capabilities of a single life form...?"
Han Xiao shook his head.
In addition, the requirement to gather the other four systems reminded Han Xiao of a saying that circulated in his previous life: the Five Superpower Systems represent five aspects of a true "god".
--Martial Pugilist Class represents "Divine Body", Esper Class represents "Divine Soul", Mage Class represents "Divine Authority", Esper Class represents "Supernatural Power", and Mechanic Class represents "Divine Artifacts"!
This claim is widely circulated, but there is no actual evidence. However, after seeing this condition, Han Xiao felt that this claim might not be entirely false, and at least it had some relevance.
"Could it be that the new rank truly combines all five elements?"
Han Xiao subconsciously entertained the thought, but quickly shook his head and dismissed it, realizing he had gone astray.
The differences in the five major systems of energy attributes are unlikely to be broken. Even if he breaks through to the level of a "true god," he will probably only specialize in one and would not be able to be omnipotent.
Compared to the other four disciplines, he felt that the Mechanic Class, which represented "divine artifacts," seemed to be a special case.
The history of almost every civilization is essentially a history of the evolution of tools, representing the spark of wisdom and the Germinal of civilization. The ability to use tools is, to some extent, the biggest difference between intelligent life and beasts, and it probably has a similar significance for so-called "gods".
If "gods" only use the powers of the other four elements to fight, stripping away their fancy appearances, it's not much different from hand-to-hand combat. At most, the moves and routines are different, and magic and superpowers have some special effects... But using so-called "divine artifacts" is like an ordinary person picking up swords and guns, which is completely different in terms of danger.
It's like two max-level heroes, one with no equipment and the other with full gear. Even if their skills are different, their strength is completely different. In many fantasy and mythological stories that Han Xiao had read in his previous life, "magic weapons" were extremely important, even representing strength, especially in the prehistoric world he had read about.
In his view, the "divine artifacts" represented by the Mechanic Class are mostly of this kind of concept; otherwise, the advantage of the Mechanic over the other four departments would not be so obvious in the later stages.
Han Xiao composed himself, putting aside his speculations, his expression slightly hardening.
He had some clues about the first two conditions, but the last one was giving him a real headache.
The Beyond Divine Remnant Power comes from the Peak Beyond Grade A who died after failing to break through to a new level. In the Explored Universe where the Three Universal Civilizations are located, as far as he knows, the only Beyond Grade A with similar experiences seem to be the two sisters, Life and Death.
But Onicelu said that the two sisters from the previous generation sought the true meaning of death and therefore chose to perish. Han Xiao didn't know if that was an attempt to break through to a new level.
Even if it were true, Onicelu had already burned the physical remains of the two sisters, and Hila and Aurora had inherited the two superpowers that contained their Information State. He didn't know if this counted as "Beyond Divine Remnant Power," and even if it did, how should he use it? Did he have to extract their superpowers?
... Wait a minute, if we think about it this way, if Hila and Aurora grow to this level in the future, wouldn't they have already triggered the third condition from the start?
"Tsk, comparing yourself to others is just plain frustrating."
Han Xiao's eyelid twitched.
He had once attempted to use the Netherland Brand as a medium to Sanctuary Revival, but ultimately failed. They might still be alive, or they might have intercepted the Information State and integrated it into their abilities, thus losing the ability to Sanctuary Revival. Now, Han Xiao has another theory: perhaps the Peak Beyond Grade A who failed to break through to a new rank and died was unable to accept the Sanctuary Revival?
Perhaps the Information State records within the Sanctuary have changed as a result, or perhaps those who failed in their breakthroughs are surviving in another unknown form, such as this so-called Beyond Divine Remnant Power...
No one had ever set foot on the levels above that; everything was shrouded in mystery, and Han Xiao could only guess at the moment.
"However, the description says that only Peak Beyond Grade A like myself, at a stage where I can advance, can sense the Beyond Divine Remnant Power. I'll go to the Netherland to verify it later. If it's not, I'll probably have to search the entire universe. In the worst-case scenario..."
Han Xiao's eyes darkened.
The worst-case scenario is that there is no so-called "Beyond Divine Remnant Power" in the current iteration, and no one dies while failing to break through to a new level. In that case, we will have to find another way.
He has decided to trigger all the conditions as much as possible, and overcome any difficulties.
After all, the notes indicated that if any one condition was missing, it would only be a regular advancement and wouldn't break through to a higher rank. According to his understanding, this meant he wouldn't receive the bonus from the new rank, and it wouldn't create a fundamental difference like the difference between Beyond Grade A and Calamity Grade.
Various thoughts raced through Han Xiao's mind. He steadied himself and exhaled.
"Regardless, let's test my perception of the Beyond Divine Remnant Power first."
After speaking, he calmed his mind and, through the palpitations of the critical state, tried to sense the Beyond Divine Remnant Power mentioned in the introduction.
Soon, Han Xiao felt his consciousness sink into an indescribable mystery, as if there were layers of fog before his eyes, and vague shadows flashed by in the fog, which he could not see clearly.
After an unknown amount of time, Han Xiao suddenly caught a glimpse of inspiration, his eyes widening as he finally grasped the feeling. The fog dissipated, and everything became clear.
Han Xiao had initially thought his perception would be a barren wasteland, unable to sense any Beyond Divine Remnant Power. However, the moment he entered this field of vision, he was shaken to his core, realizing he was terribly wrong.
Buzz!
In an instant, dozens of sensory sources appeared in my perception, distributed in various locations, but I only knew the direction, not the distance. They were all the Beyond Divine Remnant Power!
Han Xiao's eyes widened slightly, a look of surprise flashing across his face, and a whole host of thoughts raced through his mind in an instant.
Does this mean that, across the entire universe, there are at least dozens of Peak Beyond Grade A beings from unknown regions who have reached their current level and died while attempting to advance to a new rank?!
Han Xiao's feelings were immediately complicated.
The stories I learned in my past life revolved around Three Universal Civilizations, but that doesn't mean this place is the center of the universe.
There are always people more powerful than us, and countless wonders beyond our own. In places we can't see, how many powerful civilizations thrive in the universe, and how many things are happening?
No one has broken through to new heights in the Explored Universe, but is the vast Unexplored Universe really the same?
Is this iteration... really just the beginning?
After a long while, he finally let out a strange sigh.
"... The universe is so vast."