Chapter 309: Enlightenment
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I glanced at the notifications that popped up as I consumed them one by one, feeling stronger with each pill and drink of water I took, all while making sure I didn’t wake up Sara, who was fast asleep.
[You have consumed [Divine Hope Ki Pill (S Rank)] x60!]
[You have absorbed a large quantity of Hope Ki Essence, your Heart of Hope is resonating with it!]
[Your Maximum Hope Essence Storage has increased from 17.000 to 23.000!]
[Your Comprehension over the [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 4] has increased by 70%!]
[You gained +6.000 Ki Stat.]
My Heart of Hope resonated as I finished eating these pills, which thankfully had a sweeter flavor than the rest. It helped me get as far as 70% comprehension, another 30% and I’m already at Tier 5. Fantastic.
[You have consumed [Divine Body Refinement Pill (S Rank)] x60!]
[You have assimilated a large quantity of Ki Essence into your Body, further refining and improving your Physique!]
[Your Physique [Ten Colored Stars Physique (Tier 4: Rank 3)] has Ranked Up to Tier 4: Rank 7!]
[You gained +4.000 Physical Stats.]
[You gained +8.000 Ki Stat.]
I felt a strong wave of power pass through my body. I was only three more Ranks to reach the next Realm, dammit!
Not enough, but not bad either; these bonus stats are my saving grace, as I can’t level up anymore. To keep up with the ever-growing challenges, more stats are a necessity.
[You have consumed [Divine Martial Core Refinement Pill (S Rank)] x60!]
[Your Martial Core has absorbed a large quantity of Divine Martial Ki, growing exponentially stronger!]
[Your [Martial Core]: [Eclipsing Umbral Star Core (Tier 3: Rank 1)] has Ranked Up to Tier 3: Rank 6!]
[You gained +2.500 Physical Stats.]
[You gained +3.000 Ki Stat!]
[You gained +1.750 Cosmic Energy.]
[Congratulations! Your Story has progressed further through many Challenges, while your Dao Roots are growing steadily as you develop, your [Cosmic Heart] develops!]
[Your [Cosmic Heart]: [Rank 1: Novice Star (Upper Stage)] has improved to Rank 1 Peak Stage!]
[You gained +3.000 Cosmic Energy.]
[Your {Radiance} resonates with this growth, granting you greater power.]
[All Stats have increased by +1.000.]
Holy sh*t, that’s nice!
“Peak Stage already?!”
If I can push my story even further with the next incoming events and end up changing many people’s lives, then I could easily get to Rank 2…
At that point, my Story would become something slightly below Historical Constellations!
Although not so long has passed, I’ve done a lot of great things, from slaying Death Apostles, to capturing them, slaying Uroboros, avenging the angels and slaying that angel king, then saving the last surviving demons, then the demon castle, then fighting the will of the Golden Sun Venerable and reviving Fang Shuan, and now I’m here.
Now that I think about it, my Story had a lot of epic fights, scenes, and even a slight of romance. It’s certainly a bit chaotic, but it’s weaving itself to be very thrilling. The more thrilling a story is, the stronger and faster it grows.
However, the hard part is keeping the pace though… But right now, it has been progressing steadily!
If I can reach Rank 2, maybe I could officially awaken a Dao Root and it will no longer just be a “Phantom” one.
“Okay, calm down…”
I slowly calmed down, noticing new notifications, as I felt my Spiritual Body surging with new power, further boosting everything within my body and also improving my personal Martial Arts.
[You have consumed [Spirit Body Refinement Pill (S Rank)] x30!]
[You absorbed a large quantity of Spiritual Ki Essence, boosting, strengthening, and refining your Spirit Body and all things connected to it!]
[Your Physique has grown stronger! It has Ranked Up from Tier 4: Rank 7 to Tier 4: Rank 10!]
[You gained +3.000 Physical Stats.]
[You gained +6.000 Ki Stat.]
[Your Physique has reached the maximum Rank of 10! To further Ascend your Realm, please absorb compatible ingredients.]
[Your Martial Core has been refined even further! It has Ranked Up from Tier 3: Rank 6 to Tier 3: Rank 10!]
[You gained +2.000 Physical Stats.]
[You gained +2.400 Ki Stat!]
[You gained +1.400 Cosmic Energy.]
[Your Heart of Hope has grown stronger! The Maximum Hope Essence Storage has increased from 23.000 to 24.000!]
[Your Comprehension over the [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 4] has increased by 15%!]
FLAAASH!
My Rainbow Aura improved, revealing the figures of several of my Egos surging endlessly and then disappearing, like a wave, a sea of “me”.
Of my many powers, of my many skills and abilities.
All unifying, slowly yet steadily…
“Phew, that felt nice~” I sighed in relief. “Now these…”
Ding!
[You have absorbed the [Golden Ki Pearl (S Rank)] x60!]
[You have absorbed and assimilated a large quantity of Ki, which has increased your complete pool permanently.]
[You gained +15.000 Ki Stat.]
FLUOSH!
A wave of pure golden ki surged from my body, then twisting to black ki, red ki, green ki, blue ki, yellow ki, white, silver…
“I have so much Ki…”
Mana is overrated!
Ki is the way.
“Now, these…”
Six golden heaven pearls were in front of me; using my Snake-shaped Aura, I ate them, absorbing their essence.
Golden clouds surged within the interior of my body, my internal spiritual body in particular. I quickly assimilated them; it was much quicker than before.
One after another, these clouds became part of my spiritual body, part of my strength itself…
[You have consumed the [Golden Heaven Pearl (S++ Rank)] x6!]
[You gained +3.000 Ki!]
[Your Heart of Hope has absorbed all of the Golden Heaven Ki, growing stronger and bigger.]
[Your Maximum Hope Essence Storage has increased from 24.000 to 30.000!]
[Your Comprehension over the [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 4] has increased to its maximum value of 100%!]
FLASH!
Visions surged inside of my mind—of everything I have lived, of everything I have done for others, of their smiles, of their happiness.
I first saw… Baihe. She was smiling and crying, hugging me. After everything that happened, I had given her Hope when nobody did.
Then I saw the angels thanking me in the mausoleum of Solomon. And I also saw that little angel girl’s soul, finally reunited with her brother after thousands of years.
Afterwards, the Demons, the families, the children, mothers, fathers, and Inferna and her little brother, Isaac. They were thanking me, happy.
Then I saw my friends, everyone, my brother even, and then the chairman and his friend, the doctor; they were thankful as well.
And then Fang Shuan, and what I did for him…
Lastly, what I’ve been doing here, Zero One, Wai Tian, Yin Sheng, Master, and even the people of the Simulation.
I felt their gratitude, like a fluffy sea that made me stronger. I smiled as they did.
It felt so nice to make others happy.
Their happiness became mine as well.
Ding!
[Congratulations! Your Martial Arts: [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 4] has Ranked Up to Tier 5!]
[You have further comprehended what it means to carry everyone’s hopes and fulfill them, to become the Paragon of Hope, the Eternal Guardian of the Weak, and the Paladin of Smiles.]
[You’ve comprehended what it means to make others Smile, to feel Gratitude towards you, and to draw Infinite Power from those you’ve made happier.]
[As long as these people’s smiles remain within your heart, you’re invincible!]
[The [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 5] has unlocked the Martial Arts: [Heavenly Protection of Joy (Tier 5)]!]
[Your Hope Essence Storage has increased by +2.000!]
Heavenly Protection of Joy.
A new Martial Arts, and it sounds so mysterious and funny.
This technique, upon activation, generates a protective veil over my body.
It seems to drastically decrease damage taken based on Hope Essence and also on the people I’ve made smile.
How amusing! These powers are sure incredible…
Master has really made quite the corny power, but it’s so cool too!
Now, the scrolls!
First, these empty scrolls, one after another, I opened them, absorbing their empty knowledge.
Ding!
[You have absorbed the empty knowledge of the [Martial Arts Enhancing Scroll: Blank (S+ Rank)] x20!]
[The Empty knowledge has absorbed your previously learned knowledge and enhanced it, giving you an artificial feeling of enlightenment. All your Martial Arts proficiency has increased!]
[Your Martial Arts: [Celestial Golden Dragon Divine Fist: Tier 4 (Core Martial Arts)] [Seven Demonic Cursed Seals Arts (5/7): Tier 4] [Cloud Step: Tier 6] [Inner Heavenly Bridge of the Psyche Meditation Arts: Tier 1] has Ranked Up!]
[The Martial Arts: [???] is developing rapidly! It might soon reveal its true form.]
[Continue absorbing Martial Arts knowledge and enlightenment to continue its growth and development.]
I didn’t get a new Cursed Seal automatically this time, but that’s fine with me; I’ll get the other ones with the Heavenly Demon’s guidance.
“Huh, so that wasn’t enough?!”
However, I got a bit angry that my personal Martial Art had YET to become real…
Dammit, I just consumed almost everything already, except for the Heart of Hope Scrolls.
Would those do it?
If not, I guess I can achieve it by training.
Let’s see…
The golden scrolls of the Heart of Hope opened, revealing to me golden letters, fusing into my body and soul.
[You have absorbed the knowledge of the [Martial Arts Enhancing Scroll: Heart of Hope (S+ Rank)] x10!]
[The Martial Arts: [Heavenly Golden Flames of Hope Arts: Tier 5] has gained +50% Growth.]
I felt enlightened, more visions coming and going, the power of Hope that gathered around the world of Bestia- no, that gathered across many worlds—it started to blossom within me.
“T-This is…?”
Although my Heart of Hope had not gotten to Tier 6, I felt it; something new was beginning to develop, something unique that the master didn’t have.
“Is this because of my connection with those other worlds?”
It was as if I didn’t just absorb Hope Essence from the world I was in; it was as if… there were simply no boundaries.
“Not yet…”
However, Myriad Self Arts had yet to show up.
I can clearly use it if I want; I can even change; I’ve even reached the Echo Techniques level.
Yet the System refuses to acknowledge it yet!
“Whatever… I’ll get to it on my own.”
It’s not like I need items anyway.
I’ll get it on my own and I’ll improve it on my own.
“For now, I’m finally done… Phew!”
I quickly stood up, stretched, and got ready to go eat dinner.
“Sara! Time to wake up… Dinner’s almost ready; I can smell master cooking from a mile away.”
“Mmm… Another one…! Hic…”
She was drunk… and totally dreaming about drinking even more.
Oh well, let’s let her be.
We ate a lot already, so dinner is more of a formality and just my excuse to talk with Master some more before the end of the day.
I walked outside my room, meeting my friends, who were sitting around the large living room, reading martial arts books, while absorbing their items.
They were mostly finished too.
“Ah, everyone! How are you doing? Did you rest well?”
As I asked, everyone quickly noticed my presence.
“Ah, Anna! Yeah, I’m done absorbing the items,” she said. “I got stronger with these new ores and the electricity-filled orbs! I’m grasping cultivation better too!”
“That’s nice!” I smiled.
“Me too,” Yin Sheng agreed. “I think I might reach a new level of Shadow Technique.”
“A new level?” I wondered.
“Still working on it…” the cute fox said, covering his face with his tail, something he often did when he was a bit embarrassed.
“My Meditation Abilities have become better too,” Wai Tian smiled with a calm nod. “My control over my abilities has improved.”
“Nice! Congrats!” I giggled.
“And well, my soul’s stronger,” Fang Shuan said. “But that’s nothing too new.”
“Well, I’m glad everyone’s gotten stronger…”
“Now, now, my disciples. Time to eat dinner, and then you must go to sleep early for tomorrow, alright?” master said.
Master invited us to eat at the table, which was full of delicious meals, especially a lot of noodles and soup, dumplings, and tea!
“Ah, another feast! Thank you, master!”
I was so happy here, for some reason…
…
Though, still…
I miss my home and my friends back on Earth as well.
But let’s bear with it; let’s enjoy the present.
“Master! Master!”
Suddenly, the voice of someone we recognized very well echoed throughout the entire palace.
“Hm? My Will? What is it?” Master asked.
“T-There’s something… in the simulation… The tower! There’s an error! It’s coming to you right now! Please be careful!” she said.
“Huh? To me- Ah!”
Master’s eyes widened, as we all felt a tremendous presence rushing towards us.
“Hurry! Everyone, get ready to fight!”
Master quickly flew outside the palace, and we followed her, landing on the forest surrounding her home.
And then it arrived.
Yet…
Despite its enormous presence.
There was no hostility, actually.
And…
“Um… Mama?”
A little child appeared, looking from behind a tree.
“H-Huh?”
Master fell to her knees the moment she saw him.
“Song…?”
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