Lying in his hospital bed, Lancelot temporarily suppressed the various speculations in his mind and instead sensed the special power he had gained after completing the awakening ritual and receiving divine grace. Combined with the information transmitted from Logo, Lancelot's understanding of the Fate Master System began to increase rapidly.
After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming brightly, as if he had been touched by something. Deep in his eyes, there was surprise and excitement.
"Saint- level Fate Master, this realm itself is a great opportunity!" Lancelot murmured to himself.
In the Star God Realm, there is only one Transcendent profession: the "Fate Master System."
The cultivation of Fate Master is mainly divided into eight stages, and thus into eight levels. Later, due to the sudden emergence of the World King, a completely new realm was created, and Fate Master gained a ninth level—[Saint King].
Before the Saint King level, the eight levels of Fate Master are as follows:
Level One: Mortal Shedding. Bathed in divine grace, one gains the approval of the Star God Realm's will and is granted a "Fate," possessing the qualification to absorb the Ether Power.
The second level, the Mage, absorbs the Ether Power, which is actually the natural element often referred to in the Astral Realm. Through meditation, this power is absorbed and transformed into magical power, and the Divine Power is refined.
The third level, Fate Art Master, solidifies the originally gaseous mana and forms a "Fate Art Template". One Fate Art Template corresponds to one Fate Art. Theoretically, as long as you have enough mana and strong enough Divine Power, there is no limit to the number of Fate Art Template you can solidify.
At this stage, the Fate Master not only learns magic but can also cast spells instantly, resulting in a dramatic increase in combat power, a world of difference from before.
Level Four, Fate Artifact Master: Find Transcendent materials that suit your own abilities and integrate them with the Fate Art Template to further strengthen the Fate Art Template.
From then on, not only could Fate Art be cast instantly, but also, due to the reinforcement of the Fate Art Template, they could be cast continuously without worrying about the template breaking.
In other words, it evolved directly from a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun, resulting in a dramatic increase in lethality.
Levels 5 through 7, Truth Fate Master, signify touching the Truth of the world. Measured by the Astral Realm hierarchy, this is essentially entering the Sanctuary realm and becoming Legendary being.
At this stage, the Fate Master's Fate Art can leverage the power of laws and harness the Ether Power permeating the world, amplifying their destructive power dozens or even hundreds of times. Every move they make can cause upheavals, landslides, and earthquakes.
Because the Fate Master System in the Star God Realm is not yet perfect, the title of Truth Fate Master is used across levels five, six, and seven.
The corresponding Transcendent system in the Astral Realm should be Level 5 Legendary, Level 6 Epic, and Level 7 Demigod.
In most cases, the "advanced Fate Master" mentioned by the various forces in the Star God Realm are referring to Truth Fate Master.
After the Truth Fate Master, there are two more levels in the Fate Master System.
That is, the eighth-level Saint and the ninth-level Saint King.
Lancelot's knowledge of the realms within the Fate Master System stemmed not only from the original owner Luoni's exposure to it, but also from the extensive information transmitted from Logo.
It's worth mentioning that after descending into the Star God Realm, although the information channel between Lancelot, Logo, and Gustavo was not severed, the transmission speed was hundreds of times slower than in the Astral Realm, and there were some 'lag' and 'delay'.
Logo deduced that this was most likely because the Star God Realm was no longer located within the Astral Realm's [Assimilation Zone], or rather, it was located on the edge of the Assimilation Zone.
Since the rules of the Astral Realm do not extend to this area, the influence of the Fantasy Dimension has declined. The Virtual Universe built upon the Fantasy Dimension, which is the Higher-Dimensional Information Space constructed by the Aslant Civilization, naturally has a greatly weakened information transmission capability.
After arriving at this deduction, and combining it with the realm division of the Fate Master System, as well as the original owner's memories that they had already grasped, Logo and Lancelot both came to a surprising conclusion.
The eighth-level [Saint] in the Star God Realm's Fate Master System is likely to differ from the Peak Demigod in the traditional Astral Realm Transcendent system, and is closer to the True God Rank.
In short, the strength of Saint should be above that of Demigod but below that of True God.
And the Demigod mentioned here include the so-called Invincible Demigod.
The reason for this difference lies in the fact that the rule system of the Star God Realm has not yet been incorporated into the rule system of the Astral Realm, and is not greatly affected by the Astral Realm.
Different landscapes nurture different species.
Similarly, it's perfectly normal for different rule systems to produce different levels of Transcendent abilities.
So the question arises: under the power of the Goddess of Fate, can the participants in the Fate Supremacy War Star God Realm, who are reborn through a process similar to possession, continue to progress and break through to the "Saint" level?
Logo and Lancelot shared the same idea; they both believed that a breakthrough was possible!
However, before that, the task of [Karmic Inheritance] must be completed. Only when the degree of integration reaches 100%, or is extremely close to 100%, can one conform to the rule system of the Star God Realm and have the opportunity to achieve the Saint rank.
And this may be one of the hidden benefits of the Fate Supremacy War.
Being able to break through the shackles of the Astral Realm rules and shatter part of the thick barrier between Demigod and True God would undoubtedly be of great help in advancing to the rank of True God.
This is similar to the high jump.
Jumping 1 meter is obviously much easier than jumping 1.5 meters.
If we consider the difficulty of breaking through to the True God level in the Astral Realm as a 1.5-meter high jump, then if we advance to the Saint level in the Star God Realm, the difficulty of the high jump will drop drastically to 1 meter, meaning the difficulty of advancing to the True God level will be greatly reduced.
"Right now, not many participants seem to realize the importance of the ' Saint ' rank within the Fate Master System, and those who do won't speak out. This is our opportunity."
"We must recover to our peak condition as soon as possible, continue to break through, and seize the initiative. Invincible Demigod cannot defeat Invincible Demigod, but what about Saint?"
Lancelot's eyes were bright.
Using the information transmission delays and lag, he and Logo deduced the location of the Star God Realm, and further deduced that the Star God Realm's rule system was different from that of the Astral Realm.
Other participants didn't have this advantage.
Before the Fate Supremacy War begins, no one knows the specifics of the battle, and the Goddess of Fate will never reveal it. The Fate War is of utmost importance, concerning the struggle between the Goddess of Luck and the Goddess of Misfortune, and it is absolutely impossible to let the squabbles of ants ruin the great cause.
In this way, the three parties, including Logo, who have the first-mover advantage, have an even clearer goal—to recover their strength as quickly as possible at all costs!
"The so-called Saint- level Fate Master are actually just those Transcendent in the Star God Realm Containment with a higher upper limit. They are likely not limited to the Fate Master System. After all, Legend has it that there were powerful beings comparable to Saint even before the beginning of time... As for Saint King level..."
A slight ripple stirred in Lancelot's heart. The level of power represented by the Saint King, who was above even the Saint, was self-evident.
"Such beings, twelve of them perished in one fell swoop more than two thousand years ago. What could be the reason...?"
With this in mind, Lancelot's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. He decisively stopped thinking; his top priority now was to become stronger as quickly as possible.
And the first step to becoming powerful...
Lancelot's gaze naturally fell on another task.
"Once the mastermind is identified, I'll receive one lucky gold coin..."
One lucky gold coin may not seem like much, but a little bit of water can accumulate into a deep pool, and a little bit of soil can accumulate into a mountain. An avalanche, enough to bury countless lives, may start as just an insignificant snowflake.
While Lancelot lay in his hospital bed, brainstorming various ideas.
On another planet, ' Savage Star,' far away from Light Arrow Star, a bloody massacre involving the annihilation of entire families is unfolding.
Nightfall fell, dark clouds gathered, obscuring the brilliant starlight shining down from above, leaving only pitch-black darkness.
In the lush and beautiful mountains and rivers, a towering stone wall forms a semi-circle, enclosing a city built of piled rocks. At intervals along the wall, arrow towers are placed, and guards clad in iron armor, with eyes like hawks, vigilantly carry out their patrol duties.
Just then, a red light ripped through the sky, accompanied by a foul-smelling wind of blood. One by one, the guards were blown off the city wall. Their hard iron armor was riddled with corrosive pits, and the flesh that was just a moment ago was now Dissolution, leaving only mottled white bones.
"Enemy attack!!"
A piercing alarm sounded, and the Crawford Family's Fate Master rushed out from all directions. When they looked up and saw the scene in the sky, their expressions changed drastically.
The sky, which had just been filled with howling winds, was now shrouded in blood.
Beneath the blood mist, the ear-piercing sound of scales rubbing together sent chills down the spines of many mortal guards, making their legs go weak.
Suddenly, a huge python's head emerged from the blood mist. On top of the snake's head stood a middle-aged man dressed in a black and red robe. He was exceptionally robust, but his aura was extremely cold, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, as if he could launch Fatal Strike on his enemy at any moment.
"The Shadow Serpent Quiniel Family, what are you trying to do? Anim, do you intend to wage war against the [Blood Pact Circle]?"
A handsome man walked out, accompanied by a one-meter-tall brownish-yellow spider with fine black markings on its body.
The man's words elicited a cold laugh from Anim Quinil, who stood atop the python's head. "Blood Pact Circle? Don't flatter yourself. Your Crawford Family is merely one of the many peripheral forces of the Blood Pact Circle Sect. Even if we wipe you out, my Quiniel Family will not be punished; at most, we'll receive some compensation."
"Damn it, Anim! You only dare to act so recklessly because you have a good son! Don't forget who helped your Shadow Serpent Clan through a crisis more than ten years ago? Have you forgotten how groveling you were back then?! You ungrateful wretch!" Another Fate Master from the Crawford Family stepped forward and roared. Beside this Fate Master was a ferocious-looking tiger, exuding an imposing aura.
Upon hearing this, Anim Quiner's face immediately darkened, his pupils flashing with a chilling light. Without further ado, he turned directly to the patriarch of the Crawford Family, the man accompanied by the spider-headed figure, and shouted, "Manyin, if you hand over the coordinates of the ancient ruins, I guarantee I'll retreat immediately and cease all trouble for your Crawford Family. Otherwise... not a single one of you will be spared!"
"How do you know about the ruins?" Manyin Crawford's pupils contracted, and he instinctively looked around. After a moment, he suddenly shouted, "Where's Jeffrey? Where is he?!"
Haha, you mean him?
Anim Quiner laughed as he pulled a short, thin man from behind him. Upon seeing Manyin Crawford, the man immediately cowered and leaned back.
"Jeffrey, you've betrayed the family!"
"Traitor, I'll kill you!"
"You despicable traitor, beast, pig!"
Upon seeing that Jeffrey Crawford, one of the core members of the family, had actually sided with the Shadow Serpent Clan, the Crawford Family was immediately enraged, their eyes bloodshot as they looked upwards.
Jeffrey staggered backward, but the next second, a hand with sharp nails pierced through his chest, and blood dripped down.
"Why..."
"It's simple, I don't like traitors either!" Anim sneered, withdrew his hand, and let Jeffrey's body fall from the sky.
"So, what's your decision? Have you made up your mind? Consider this guy my introductory gift to the Crawford Family. Isn't that sincere enough?"
"Ha, Anim, do you think I'm a fool?" Manyin Crawford stared at the fallen corpse, a flicker of heartache in his eyes. Then he raised his head, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "The Shadow Serpent Clan, how could they possibly leave any survivors? I know your ways all too well. Enough with the nonsense, let's fight. Let me see just how much you've gained from your precious son."
As soon as he finished speaking, Manyin Crawford and his war beast soared into the sky, with the other family members following closely behind.
Seeing this, Anim slowly dropped his pretense, a cruel smile spreading across his face, "As expected, you're much more difficult to deal with than that fool. Too bad, your Crawford Family... is too weak!"
Boom!!
As Anim opened his arms, a huge metal disc appeared behind him, with intricate and mysterious lines engraved on it, outlining a clearly defined snake shadow.
Immediately afterwards, one after another, blood-red giant snakes emerged from the metal disc, roaring as they surged towards the Crawford Family, as if a blood-red inferno had descended.
"Level Four Fate Artifact Master!"
Manyin Crawford's heart sank. He was only Level Three Fate Art Master. Although he was only one step away from becoming Level Four Fate Artifact Master, the difference in strength between the two was like a chasm.
"There's no other way; this is the only way we'll have a chance!"
Facing Anim, whose strength far surpassed his own, Manyin Crawford let out a long roar. The spider-like war beast beside him immediately merged with him, transforming into a deformed and twisted monster, but its aura was indeed several times stronger.
"The Blood Pact Circle Sect's [Beast Fusion Forbidden Technique], ha, a fake is a fake. Trying to deal with a genuine Destiny Fate Artifact Master like me? Wishful thinking!"
Seeing the deformed monster lunging at him, Anim scoffed disdainfully and engaged it in fierce combat.
Meanwhile, as a bloody battle raged inside the Crawford Family's castle, a group of people stood calmly atop a distant mountain peak, watching the carnage unfold below.
The leader of this group was a man who looked to be around thirty years old, dressed in chainmail and dressed as a knight.
Beside this man was a teenager, who looked to be watching the fierce battle below with a look of pity in his eyes. "Star Envoy, shall we not intervene?"
Without turning his head, the Star Envoy said, "Why should we interfere in the battles between Fate Master? Let them fight it out themselves; the more they die, the better."
"But this is a human life..." the boy said urgently.
"No, from the day they became Fate Master, they ceased to be human." The Star Envoy's face was as cold as iron, and the icy tone in his voice made the young man dare not say anything more.
The Star Envoy, however, was not satisfied. He turned his head, stared at the boy, and said coldly, "Remember your current identity. We are Star God, only responsible for protecting mortals. Fate Master are not within our protection."
"But there are mortals on the battlefield below too," the boy said softly.
The Star Envoy's expression became somewhat complicated, but quickly returned to its coldness as he warned, "Mortals who join Fate Master's family are no longer mortals. This is their own choice, and they should bear the corresponding consequences."
"Is that so..." The boy twisted his fingers together, feeling that what the Star Envoy said was right, but there was still a sense that something was wrong. He couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he could only follow behind the Star Envoy listlessly, looking down at the bloody tragedies that were happening in the castle.
Time passed, the clouds thickened, and finally, with a clap of thunder, large raindrops poured down, as if washing away the Slaughter and sins of the world.
Thick, slippery, cramped...
Gustavo awoke in the darkness, his body feeling as if it were immersed in the depths of an icy ocean, his life force rapidly fading, on the verge of death.
"What the hell is the Goddess of Fate doing? Why does she have to give us this near-death start?!"
Feeling the blurry surroundings, Gustavo couldn't help but swear.
He struggled desperately to leave this narrow, death-filled place, but couldn't move an inch, until a warm hand reached in from some direction and grasped Gustavo's body.
Immediately afterward, a young voice rang out, filled with obvious surprise. "Great, you're alive!"