CHAPTER 236: "T-THIS... ISN’T LADY CARLOTTA WHITE?”

Sarman sensed Carlotta’s immense strength and felt that even their strongest peak tier resonator below the same tier might not stand a chance against Carlotta.

But fortunately, Carlotta was a Weaver, so she naturally couldn’t participate in this battle between peak tier resonators.

Carlotta gave a strange look, turned toward Amelia, and quietly explained the situation before asking, "Do you want to warm up a bit?"

Although they had many peak tier resonators on their side, it was obvious that only Amelia could guarantee victory. If Amelia didn’t step in, there would be no point in fighting at all.

The others from World One, using incomplete cultivation methods, could never overcome those from other worlds no matter how hard they tried.

Amelia smiled slightly and said, "Do you want me to go?"

"Decide for yourself. I don’t care either way."

Carlotta shrugged.

"Then I’ll warm up a bit."

Amelia laughed.

She had already returned to the right path... Of course, even if she hadn’t, with her genius-level talent, she could still overpower those from other worlds.

Carlotta immediately asked the High Priestess to relay their acceptance of this battle between peak tier resonators.

After hearing this, Sarman immediately called over a woman from their group who appeared somewhat frail.

"She walks the Path of Creation."

The High Priestess immediately identified the woman’s ability, since she herself walked the Path of Creation and could even be considered the farthest advanced among all the worlds on this path.

Amelia’s silver hair fluttered slightly as she stepped forward.

Besides Carlotta, she rarely had chances to fight, because Carlotta could easily handle most situations without her intervention.

Now, as Amelia stepped onto the battlefield, many from the rear turned to look, curious about who this girl was.

"Are we continuing the fight?"

Selina asked Carlotta.

Carlotta nodded: "They want a battle between peak tier resonators."

Selina nodded in understanding, then suddenly realized something and stared in shock at Amelia.

Amelia was a peak tier resonator?

Since Amelia hadn’t fought before, Selina didn’t know this. Her impression of Amelia still remained as that of an apprentice, so upon suddenly learning that Amelia had already become a peak tier resonator, she couldn’t quite process it.

"This can’t be right... How could Amelia... How could she be a resonator? Let alone a peak tiering resonator?"

Selina was momentarily dazed.

Carlotta exclaimed: "People can improve."

"Even if people improve, there should still be limits, right? It feels like just a blink of an eye, and an apprentice has become a peak tier resonator. Is that even reasonable?"

Selina couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s reasonable."

Carlotta said.

"Why do you think it’s reasonable?"

"Because my strength used to be lower than hers."

"..."

Selina fell silent, staring blankly at Carlotta.

Someone whose rank had once been lower than Amelia’s was now a Weaver, what kind of situation was this?

Selina was truly bewildered.

But regardless, the battle quickly began.

The moment Amelia moved, everyone turned to look in surprise, because with a mere wave of her hand, an enormous figure appeared behind her. This was identical to Sarman’s previous attack, a similar massive silhouette, even resembling Sarman herself.

Sarman’s eyes instinctively broadened, shocked to see her own technique being replicated by the opponent.

The enormous figure loomed, towering and terrifying. With just a raised hand, a gigantic palm slammed down like the sky collapsing, covering the frail woman from the other world completely.

"Boom!"

The palm struck the ground, causing the entire surface to shake violently.

This frail woman, Ivy, had been highly praised by Sarman, and indeed her strength wasn’t simple. Although struck by the palm, she still managed to withstand it. Then she shot into the air, and around her, a blurred projection of a world emerging, it was her inner world, manifesting externally in a phantom-like form. As this vast world appeared, she instantly gained empowered empowerment.

At that moment, she seemed like a world sovereign, and with every movement, thunder and lightning erupted in the sky above. The entire city instantly plunged into darkness.

Then she pointed at Amelia, and a storm of lightning suddenly poured down, rushing toward Amelia in a wildly frenzied manner.

In response, Amelia simply sent her massive divine form forward, allowing the torrent of lightning to strike it until it was riddled with holes.

This scene made Sarman feel extremely complicated inside, as if she herself were the one being struck. Vaguely, she even felt sharp pains spreading across her body.

Thousands of lightning bolts, violent and terrifying, charged forward with ruthless destructive force, closing in instantly.

Seeing this, Amelia stepped forward in the void and appeared at an extremely distant location, easily evading the attack as if teleporting.

Then Amelia raised her hand and pointed into the air. Suddenly, vast waves of sword aura burst into existence throughout the void, they compressed every inch of space, completely enveloping Ivy.

"Memory magic? Has she mastered it to this extent?"

Selina was momentarily dazed.

At this moment, the people from World One realized that Amelia was using memory magic.

It was a rare type of magic, but undeniably powerful.

Yet Carlotta knew that what Amelia was using wasn’t just memory magic anymore, she had also integrated other types of magic.

For instance, some magic enhanced her speed, while others sharpened her perception... Everything happened silently, unnoticed by most.

Carlotta could sense Amelia’s calm temper and knew that this battle was still easily within Amelia’s control. Her heart relaxed considerably.

And indeed, that was exactly how it turned out.

The battle didn’t last long. Amelia wove her memory magic into a vast net, trapping Ivy inside. No matter how hard Ivy struggled, she couldn’t break free, thus declaring Amelia’s complete victory.

But when the result came, Sarman found it hard to accept, never expecting their side to suffer defeat consecutively.

In this trial of the gods, was there truly nothing they could change?

In contrast, World One erupted once again into thunderous cheers.

At this moment, the High Priestess stepped forward and began speaking with the dazed and distracted Sarmann, asking her various questions.

Meanwhile, Carlotta went to greet the returning Amelia, gently embracing her.

On the side of World One, everyone cheered, each person feeling a surge of pride and relief.

Amid her joy, Selina turned back and asked the others, "Has anyone among you been to the outside world recently? Do you know what the current situation out there is like?"

This question leaves many speechless.

"The outside world... How could anything have changed? Isn’t the outside world still just the same as before?"

Someone asked, puzzled.

"We entered here three months ago, and everything was normal back then. Why are you asking this, Your Grace?"

"What’s going on in the outside world?"

After exchanging a few words, they realized that the most recent person who’d made contact with the outside world had done so two months before.

And that person was none other than Bob, who had previously guided Carlotta and Selina to this place.

Bob thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mentioned it, while I was searching around, I came across someone who’d entered the ruins just a few days ago. But when I invited her to join us, she refused. Ah, I can’t really blame her, I was a complete stranger to her, after all. Not everyone would trust me."

Selina’s eyes lit up, and she urged, "You all go search the surrounding areas and see if she’s still around. The sounds of our recent battle were extremely loud. Anyone still in this city might have gathered here out of curiosity. This is a good opportunity to exchange information."

Everyone agreed it made sense and quickly scattered.

At the same time, the High Priestess had nearly finished her conversation with Sarmann.

She returned and told Carlotta, "In their perception, none of them realized they’re merely impressions. They believe they’re still participating in some kind of trial, and their goal is to perform well within this city to earn recognition."

"Do they really think their actions are being observed?" Carlotta asked.

"That’s exactly what they believe. They think the god is omnipotent and is already evaluating every one of their experiences."

The High Priestess replied.

Carlotta didn’t know what to make of this, and asked further about why the god had left these impressions behind.

The High Priestess said, "According to their beliefs, if their performance in the city is sufficient after a certain period of time, they will qualify to pay homage to the god. Of course, you and I know the god can’t possibly appear, but they firmly believe it. That’s why I plan to travel with them and secretly help them achieve this so-called ’qualification’ to see if any changes might be triggered."

The High Priestess felt that perhaps by doing this, she might truly encounter the "god."

Of course, this "god" would most likely not be the kind she imagined. But the exact circumstances were unclear. In any case, it was worth a try.

Carlotta said, "Then go ahead. I’ll also take a walk around this city. There’s no rush to head to the location of the Lion’s Key. I’ll wait for you."

The High Priestess nodded, thanking Carlotta.

Carlotta truly wasn’t in a hurry to reach the location indicated by the Lion’s Key, because she suspected something might be wrong with that place.

That location was most likely deep within the Central Ruins.

But could it really be a place the Pirate King had once visited?

Carlotta was highly skeptical. She believed the Pirate King had originally discovered a special location in the outer regions of the Central Ruins. However, since the Central Ruins had since malfunctioned, many structures from its depths had surfaced into the outside world. In other words, many of the ruins outside might now extend into the deeper areas.

This suspicion was not unfounded. Based on all past information, the reason the Pirate King was known as the Pirate King was because his alchemical ship was superior to others, not because his personal combat strength surpassed that of other pirate generals.

Given this, Carlotta can confidently say that her current personal strength far exceeded that of the Pirate King back in his day. Yet, whenever she looked toward the depths of the Central Ruins, she always felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

She found it hard to believe that the Pirate King could have ventured too deeply. In other words, if she truly follows the Lion’s Key’s guidance, she might encounter great danger.

Under such circumstances, it would be best to act alongside the High Priestess. Having an Exalted nearby being naturally ensures maximum safety.

As the High Priestess departed, the numerous individuals from other worlds also began to leave.

Seeing this, the people from World One wanted to stop them, but Selina blocked their way.

"Let them go."

Selina clearly understood that if a large-scale conflict truly erupted between both sides, the losses on their own side would be devastating.

Even though Carlotta and Amelia had both achieved victory, only these two could claim such a feat.

Besides them, who else could confidently say they’d win in an even match?

No one.

Although this answer was difficult to accept, it was the truth. Despite having spent only a short time here, Selina was capable of making such a judgment.

’I wonder what exactly these native people are, where they come from and what their purpose is within this city. We’ll have to investigate slowly.’

Selina pondered.

Before long, the numerous "natives" disappeared into the distant mist.

It was then that Selina noticed the High Priestess was also gone. She turned to Carlotta and asked, "Where’s that lady who was accompanying you?"

Carlotta faintly said, "She intends to walk around a bit."

Seeing this, Selina didn’t press further.

She felt that Carlotta’s entire group was strange. Although she hadn’t yet seen that woman in action, she was certainly no ordinary person.

At this moment, the people from World One who had previously left to search the surrounding areas began returning one by one.

After circling the area, they indeed found several others from World One and brought them back. Although some initially hesitated to follow, their group was larger and their attitude slightly more forceful, so no one could really refuse.

As the group returned, the area became lively once again. The people from World One began chatting with each other, whether they knew each other or not, exchanging stories about the recent battle.

Especially those who had been present the whole time, they immediately began explaining the situation to the newcomers. As they spoke, they inevitably gestured toward Carlotta and Amelia, indicating that these were the ones who had shone so brightly earlier.

Upon seeing Carlotta and Amelia, some of the newcomers froze, their eyes inevitably widening in shock.

"T-This... isn’t Lady Carlotta White?"

One person shuttered and said.