Claude nodded. "Of course."
Civet's tone was somewhat solemn: "Among the parallel world invaders, there is no shortage of strong individuals. Not to mention Tier 3, there are even Tier 4 and Tier 5. As for whether there are stronger ones, that's currently unknown."
"Tier 5?!" Claude's scalp tingled, but he quickly reacted: "This world has quite a few powerhouses; they certainly won't just stand by idly. It's not our turn to fight these strong beings."
They were content to only deal with the invaders they could handle.
Although defeating Tier 4 or Tier 5 powerhouses would certainly yield greater rewards in Phase Four, they dared not even consider it.
Luo Changkong asked again: "What is this so-called truth?"
"The truth is that these invaders from parallel worlds did not come here to invade on their own initiative; they were simply tossed here casually by some entity."
Civet remembered clearly when he encountered a Demon God at close range in the Willpower World. Back then, merely glimpsing its true appearance almost caused his spirit to collapse.
Now, being able to capture intelligence related to such a level in the void showed that his own strength had improved significantly, especially his mysterious divination techniques, which had grown much more potent.
He couldn't divine who the entity was that tossed these invaders into this world, nor could he specifically peer into that entity's strength or location.
However, considering that its level and power were likely comparable to the Demon God he encountered in the Willpower World, Civet couldn't distinguish which was stronger.
He was still only a Tier 3; being able to spy on such high-level information using divination techniques was already extraordinary.
Civet was confident that if he ever met that existence from the Willpower World again, even facing its true form, he wouldn't be as helpless as before. He had grown much stronger!
"Tossed over casually?" Claude didn't understand. "Why would they do that?"
Civet shook his head.
He had only glimpsed part of the truth; as for why that entity acted that way, he didn't know, so he speculated offhandedly: "Because it has the power to do so."
"Correct answer!"
A terrifying pressure descended from above, sweeping over the sky and the land.
BOOM!
The atmospheric pressure felt like an immense weight crushing the surface of the sea.
Civet and the other two had their expressions change drastically, but there was absolutely no room to resist.
In an instant, they were crushed down onto the sea surface, unable to bear the burden.
Luo Changkong's veins bulged as he gritted his teeth, trying with all his might to look up.
Defying the sunlight, he saw an arrogant, imposing figure standing high above them.
Such a strong oppressive feeling!
Civet's face darkened. "This is it. We're finished."
As a mysterious diviner, he understood the strength of the person before them even better than Luo Changkong or Claude.
He was so strong that they had absolutely no chance of resisting. Not even a one-in-a-trillion possibility existed.
Jumper Licing observed Civet with great interest, his eyes showing surprise: "You are only Tier 3, yet you can perceive my existence. Your ability seems quite special."
Indeed.
Everything existed in the parallel worlds.
He felt that Civet's ability was no weaker than his own Observer's Appraisal effect; perhaps it was even stronger.
Hearing this, the hearts of the three men turned cold.
Luo Changkong couldn't help but force a bitter smile.
They were finished.
They had summoned the puppet master behind the scenes.
As he spoke, Jumper Licing immersed himself in the feeling of controlling all this power, looking down upon the few of them with the posture of a supreme ruler.
He smiled and asked: "You all seem very curious why I came to invade this world?"
Claude took a deep breath, adopting the mentality of 'better to die fighting than yield,' suppressing the fear in his heart, and looked directly at Jumper Licing: "Why?"
"The reason is simple." Jumper Licing glanced casually at Civet. "Just like this kid said: because I have the power to do so, so I do it. There's no special reason needed. Isn't the relentless pursuit of strength precisely for this: to do whatever you want? That is the privilege of the strong."
If he didn't possess the power to crush everything, he wouldn't have the mood to banter with a few ants.
Jumper Licing thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of superiority reserved for the powerful. Having been meticulous for so many years, why not indulge himself a little?
The three men remained silent.
Exactly.
This was the privilege of the strong.
Jumper Licing felt extremely good about himself and declared: "When a person possesses the power to control everything, then their actions require no necessary reason. This matter might be a disaster for you all, but for me, it was just a passing whim."
This was power!
Luo Changkong and the other two felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
Jumper Licing then asked Civet: "Your ability is quite interesting. Why don't you follow me? This world is too small; you can see a much broader world."
"..."
Civet did not answer, merely staring with unimaginable shock at the space behind Jumper Licing, as if seeing something unbelievable.
Then.
"Aaaah!!!" Two streams of blood flowed from his eyes. Covering his head, he let out a tragic scream and fell into the sea. Intense past memories flashed through his mind, and Civet was terrified to the extreme.
It was her! The entity from the Willpower World!!
He had thought he could finally look the other party in the eye, but he never expected that in silence, she had grown even more powerful, reaching an increasingly terrifying level.
Only then did Jumper Licing realize something.
He suddenly spun around.
A young person entered his sight.
Licing's pupils contracted.
When? Why hadn't he detected anything at all!
He had just finished proclaiming his might as a powerhouse, only to have someone appear behind him without him noticing. Jumper Licing felt a sudden burning sensation on his face, accompanied by an overwhelming wave of terror.
At this moment.
Jumper Licing's cautious nature, suppressed until now, resurfaced. Without hesitation, his figure vanished from everyone's sight, decisively leaping to an alternate parallel world.
Someone who could approach him silently without a sound must have strength no less than his own. Jumper Licing would not rashly engage such an opponent. Leaping through space-time was his greatest advantage.
...
In a certain parallel world.
On a bustling street beside the road.
Jumper Licing felt lingering fear.
He had miscalculated.
After indulging his nature and taking such a wild plunge, he had nearly fallen. He needed to lie low for a while until his strength advanced further, after which his power would naturally be greater.
"Next time, I won't be so pathetic!"
With that declaration, he began to walk away.
The moment he turned, he saw a figure rushing past the pedestrians on the opposite side of the street.
Mei was standing right there, quietly staring at him.
"?!?"
His heart gave a violent jolt. Jumper Licing's breathing hitched. He thought it was a hallucination. He had clearly jumped to an alternate parallel world; how could that person appear here! What in the world was going on!!
Subconsciously, Jumper Licing raised his hand, unleashing a dazzling, brilliant radiance. Intense energy instantly consumed everything, obliterating all matter.
A dazzling light erupted across the universe. The ocean of stellar energy churned ceaselessly, and violent gamma rays spread out, instantly burning countless stars and planets into flowing molten stardust.
Following that, even more intense energy fluctuations arrived, mercilessly destroying the entire galaxy, erasing it completely from the cosmos.
Tier 6.
Galaxy cluster level.
Destroying a galaxy of a trillion stars was as easy as turning over one's hand.
A faint sense of dread remained in his heart. Jumper Licing stood in the cosmic void, his chest heaving uncertainly, still shaken. He looked around.
"Eliminate her?" Could it be that what he had seen just now was merely an alternate-timeline counterpart of that person, and the real person hadn't actually pursued this parallel world line?
With this thought, Jumper Licing finally breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems I was being overly sensitive..."
His thoughts abruptly stopped.
Jumper Licing's spirit jolted back to the present moment. Only then did he realize he was still standing on the busy street, as if everything that had just happened never occurred.
An illusion?
Time reversal?
Jumper Licing turned around in disbelief to look at the opposite side of the street. Mei was standing there silently, simply staring at him. Although Mei hadn't made any movement, Jumper Licing felt an icy chill shoot straight up to his forehead.
What just happened?
WHOOSH!
Without hesitation, Jumper Licing decisively leaped to another parallel world, utterly battered. At this moment, an indescribable, immense terror enveloped his heart.
And he—this was the first time he had glimpsed the power of such a high-tiered existence.
"Impossible!"
"Even if she can traverse space-time like me, she can't possibly lock onto me precisely every single time! Such a person cannot exist in this world!"
Based on what Jumper Licing knew, even a Tier 7 would struggle to precisely locate every single possibility across countless parallel universes. He refused to believe the opponent possessed power beyond Tier 7.
"Impossible! Such a person doesn't exist in the manifested world! I should be the first to escape the cage, the first person to freely traverse parallel worlds!"
Arrogance.
Confidence.
This was Jumper Licing's nature, but now it was wavering. His pride as a powerhouse was on the verge of collapse.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
Jumper Licing didn't know how many times he had jumped, only stopping when he felt he had completely evaded Mei. Looking around, he found himself in a shopping district.
"Mommy, I want ice cream!"
"Crêpes!"
"Fair skin, 100% waterproof..."
The clamor echoed by his ears, directly assaulting Jumper Licing's fragile nerves. He nervously scanned his surroundings, searching for the silhouette of that one person.
"Hahahaha." A slightly pale smile touched Jumper Licing's lips. He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "If you have the ability, come at me again! So that's all you amount to!"
As his words faded, a cluster of balloons drifted by, momentarily obscuring the view, then revealing Mei in the distance. Jumper Licing's smile instantly twisted into extreme terror. It was as if his heart had been suddenly seized.
Harsh reality shattered his last sliver of illusion. Jumper Licing felt no luck; his trembling body dissolved into white light, fleeing into the tiered worlds of the Endless Space. Even so, he had not completely despaired.
He conquered the tiered worlds with manic intensity. He had to exert all his strength to climb to the highest floor, obtain the strongest power, and thus fear nothing!
Time flew by.
Five years.
Ten years.
...
Twenty years passed in this world. Jumper Licing finally returned to reality. The moment he reappeared in the manifested world, he unleashed his full power without reservation.
Universe level.
Peak Tier 7.
Although he possessed the aid of the Space-Time Distortion Ring and the Observer's Appraisal effect, this was Jumper Licing's limit. He had reached the end of his path.
The overwhelming power fractured space, annihilated galaxies, and made the universe groan. Jumper Licing revealed his power with extreme arrogance.
"HAHAHAHA!"
He laughed arrogantly, searching everywhere for Mei's presence, showing no fear, his expression utterly manic. "Come on! Where are you? I'm not afraid of you now!!"
Even if he couldn't reach Tier 8, he didn't believe he was weaker than Mei now. However, he failed to realize that his fate and future had been decided long ago. He was destined to stop at Tier 7, regardless of any opportunities in the tiered worlds. His ambition and future were fixed right there.
Mei arrived from the space-time of twenty years prior, turning the future into the present. Her response to Jumper Licing was a detached gaze devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
The moment she appeared in his sight, she raised her hand and pressed down in the void. Jumper Licing's immense power instantly vanished without a trace, his magnificent form plummeting in that instant.
Apeiron power was deployed.
It was as if he had been physically dragged down from Tier 7 to the level of an ordinary person. His immense power receded like a dying tide.
Licing was utterly astonished. It was a sudden fall from grace, as if he had been stripped of his divinity and cast into the dirt.
A mirage.
A reflection in the water.
"Mommy, I want ice cream!"
"Crêpes!"
"Fair skin, 100% waterproof..."
He was still on that shopping street.
Jumper Licing raised his hands, trembling. He couldn't feel his power. Or perhaps it was still there, but it felt like stagnant water—completely unusable.
Tier 7?
He was as insignificant as an ant!
"Impossible!"
"Impossible!!"
"Absolutely impossible!!!"
For this moment, Jumper Licing had toiled in the tiered worlds for countless years. He believed that, in the end, he would finally fear nothing. Yet this was the result.
He could not accept it.
What level of power was this, exactly?
Jumper Licing did not want to know why Mei had targeted him; those who possess such power have no need for reasons. He only wanted to know exactly where Mei stood on the scale of strength.
Time.
Space.
Everything stood still.
Jumper Licing couldn't even manage to enter the tiered worlds. His consciousness and spirit were imprisoned, making him unable to even open his phone to enter the Endless Space.
As he collapsed, the look of ambition slowly faded from his eyes. He desperately tried to grasp a final glimmer of survival, roaring at the silently appearing figure:
"I am willing to serve you! Just spare my life, I will do anything..."
CRACK.
The shattering space-time devoured Jumper Licing's existence and completely erased his origin. In the final moment before his death, he read the meaning in Mei's emotionless expression.
"Unnecessary."
Jumper Licing had been allowed to live until this moment purely because, as a Tier 7, his kill value was higher. His fate had been constrained by Mei twenty years ago, writing down an outcome named death.
[Main Mission · Phase Four · Completed]
[Obtained Maximum Multiplier Reward · 100x]
[Points Acquired: 3 million]
[Remaining Points: 25,004,508,100]
"..."
[Main Mission · Phase Five: The invasion of parallel worlds is by no means a natural phenomenon. Please be sure to uncover the truth behind this event. The final reward will be multiplied based on the depth of the investigation.]
[Mission Reward: 5 million Points (?) times]
"..."
[Main Mission · Phase Five · Completed]
[Obtained Maximum Multiplier Reward · 100x]
[Points Acquired: 5 million]
"..."
[Main Mission · Completed]
[Mission Completion Confirmed?]
[Yes]
[Main Mission Assignment Successful]
[Settlement Completed]
[Remaining Points: 25,009,508,100]
...
Phase Five of the Main Mission wasn't considered too excessive.
The Hyperdimensional Space did not require the Void Wanderers to unearth the entire truth behind the parallel world invasions.
However, any harvest would yield rewards. Civet and the others, who knew fragments of the truth, would undoubtedly receive substantial compensation.
Mei, as someone fully aware of the situation, naturally received the maximum reward. Successfully completing the fourth and fifth phases earned her 8 million Points.
With the Main Mission entirely complete, this Tethered Mission had reached its conclusion. Upon entering the settlement phase, Mei's figure flickered and vanished.
...
Back in Hyperdimensional Space.
"Damn it, I actually made it back alive!"
"Tch, this mission was a huge loss..."
"Hahahaha!"
Every time a mission ended, there were always those who were happy and those who were sad. There were the survivors just glad to live another day, and those who strove relentlessly to advance.
Their performances differed.
The usual routine.
Mei first went to the enhancement chamber to appraise all the equipment and items dropped during the mission.
Then, she immediately contacted Breatly of the Raitei Legion to conduct the trade. The wealthy and powerful Raitei Legion never refused any equipment.
Breatly quickly arrived to trade with Mei, with Lina once again serving as the guarantor.
Lina exclaimed in admiration: "Another massive haul!"
After inventorying everything, Breatly nodded: "In total, we have 85 Tier 8 items, 261 Tier 7 items, 1.14 million Tier 6 items, and 34.51 million Tier 5 items. Adding the remaining low-tier equipment and items from levels one to four, the approximate value is 128 Tier 8 tickets. Can you accept this price?"
"Acceptable."
Mei didn't haggle. The payment was settled on the spot. There were few Tier 8 items this time, but the sheer volume of low-tier gear meant the total value was slightly higher than the previous time.
"Pleasant cooperation."
"Pleasant cooperation."
The transaction concluded. 128 Tier 8 tickets were in hand. Adding the 91 tickets she already possessed, Mei now had a total of 219 Tier 8 tickets. She then used the Prize Machine to exchange 200 Tier 8 tickets for 2 Tier 9 tickets.
The Tier 8 tickets were black. The Tier 9 tickets, however, were a brilliant rainbow color.
"This is a Tier 9 ticket?!" Mei showed no emotion, but Lina beside her was extremely excited. It was the first time she had ever seen a Tier 9 ticket; she was utterly astonished.
After dealing with those trivial matters, Mei immediately left the Hyperdimensional Space.
...
Earth Universe.
Night.
A cool breeze stirred.
The magnificent Milky Way stretched across the night sky. Mei looked up, seeing the galaxy cleaved in two. A colossal power from beyond the vast universe was piercing through cosmic space, reaching even here.
The Star Spirit King's trials continued. This slaughter would not cease anytime soon; a mere few months was far from enough to produce the strongest.
On a cosmic scale, let alone a few months, even tens of millions of years were but a blink. The youngest universe had a history spanning billions of years.
Mei took a step. The surrounding scenery transformed. Countless light-years of distance were dragged backward by spacetime, and in an instant, she stood atop the Void World's timeline.
Gazing upstream.
That was the origin of the void.
"It's time."
The moment was ripe.
She declared her intent.
Mei rebelled against the flow of the Void World's timeline. Under normal circumstances, to go against the Void World's timeline, one would need to integrate the infinite dimensional worldlines downstream, unifying them to leverage their power to move upstream.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to reach the void's origin.
During the battle with the King of World, Mei had once fought him near the void's origin, encountering immense resistance that prevented her from getting closer.
However, this time was different.
Back then, Mei was merely a unique Tier 8.
Now, she was an Apeiron who had surpassed the limits of Veritas.
The resistance of the Void World's timeline could not hinder her in the slightest.
No need to integrate downstream.
Directly ascend to the origin!
BOOM!
The Void World's timeline trembled ceaselessly.
Mei advanced step by step, time and void rapidly flowing beneath her feet. She violently forced her way upstream, treating the resistance of the Void World's timeline as nothing.
The Star Spirit King was startled.
He instantly leaped onto the Void World's timeline, gazing at Mei's retreating figure, his face filled with shock.
"Has she begun her rebellion?"
He wondered if this journey would succeed or fail. Mei was the strongest person he had ever seen, but facing the countless powerhouses upstream, Mei might not be able to contend.
And upon realizing that Mei had not integrated the downstream worldlines, yet was still so powerful in going against the current, the Star Spirit King was even more dumbfounded, utterly shocked.
What immense confidence and dominance! The Star Spirit King gazed at Mei's departing figure, a surge of heroic passion rising within him. This was a true powerhouse!
From downstream to upstream.
And then, beneath the origin of the void.
The violent tremors of the Void World's timeline had already startled the numerous rebels, especially those few supreme beings who had long ago rebelled and reached the void's origin.
A full five unique Tier 8 beings!
These five supreme beings were all individuals of astonishing and peerless talent. They had rebelled to this point, and to this day, no one could integrate the worldlines beneath these five origins.
They each held a worldline, locked in a standoff for countless years.
Until Mei arrived.
The gaze of truth.
Seeing through all ages.
One of the supreme beings observed downstream, seeing Mei going against the current.
"Another newcomer..."
Subsequently, the other four supreme beings turned their heads.
They had initially believed the one going against the current was merely a challenger, seeking to contend with one of them for a worldline. Unexpectedly, the newcomer's power surpassed that of the supreme beings.
BOOM!
Mei reached the base of the void's origin, her step falling. The five Void World's timelines beneath the origin instantly flickered, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
She directly bypassed the five supreme beings, ignoring the immensely powerful and indescribable resistance. With one hand extended, she reached for the void's origin.
"How is this possible?!"
The five supreme beings were utterly terrified, unable to comprehend this scene. They had never imagined that someone could completely disregard the resistance of the Void World's timeline, directly flowing against it to the void's origin.
A challenger?
No.
Mei hadn't even considered these so-called supreme beings. The sheer terrifying aura surrounding her had sent these five supreme beings crashing downstream.
The origin of the void.
It was within her grasp!