CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 126: ASCENSION TO GOD! ASCENSION TO GOD!

He spread his arms wide, his words tinged with a trace of tension, but more than that, a mocking amusement.

Even if the Gray Mist unfolded once more, even if he encountered again that terrifying divine spirit hailing from the All Heavens Divine Court—so what?

If they intervene, then they’d be betraying their earlier oath of noninterference.

If they don’t intervene, then what could a mere mortal possibly do?

Necros’s heart was taut with unease, aware that all the other divine spirits were silently watching this moment; he knew he might gamble and lose, but it was of little consequence now.

If he did not perish by the hands of the mighty divine spirits of the All Heavens Divine Court, then he would simply be killed by other divine spirits.

Wizard Shen Yu fully grasped the meaning within Necros’s words.

Opening the Gray Mist again would prove fruitless.

He would not go in, and Shen Yu could not truly intervene.

But at this moment, all the people of Senya below gazed up at him.

That yearning, their desperate hope—Wizard Shen Yu could sense it with crystal clarity.

"This is my Trial—The Divine Court will not interfere." Wizard Shen Yu’s deep voice reverberated endlessly through the forest.

At this moment, countless people of Senya collapsed hopelessly to the earth.

Some had already been tormented by disease, yet compared to suffering of the flesh, it was the torment of the spirit that was true agony.

Instead, Necros let out a long exhale of relief from his heart.

"What a pity indeed—so you have no choice but to stand here and watch as they receive divine punishment." So saying, he could no longer restrain his laughter, a rumbling cascade of mirth echoing outward.

So that all the people of Senya could clearly hear the divine spirit’s jubilance.

How could this even be called a divine spirit?

This was clearly an evil god!

An evil god steeped in boundless sin!

King Senya’s fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckles bled; his magic power boiled throughout his body, resolved to burn up his own life and that of the whole human race, unleashing their fury until death consumed them.

But just then, Wizard Shen Yu’s voice surged forth like rolling thunder.

"You look down on mortals so contemptuously, simply because you believe yourselves to possess power greater than mortals." Wizard Shen Yu’s tone burned with the same anger. "But you little gods of the wild, how could you ever know your own weakness, or appreciate the might of mortals?"

"What laughable words," Necros laughed in abandon. "Then show me—prove to me how strong these ants you could crush at will really are."

At this very instant, the greater Shen Yu’s fury, the greater Necros’s delight.

Especially after hearing for certain that the All Heavens Divine Court would not intervene.

His satisfaction soared still further.

For he knew now, he would not die.

The probing mission: Perfection. The gods could still so easily destroy mortals.

At this moment, Necros was already beginning to imagine what sort of rewards he should demand from the gods once he returned.

They used him to test the waters; such a perilous undertaking, and he succeeded. Next must naturally be his reward!

Perhaps—the actual divine body of the Forest Goddess might truly be bestowed upon him?

"You want to prove something?" Wizard Shen Yu’s tone suddenly lapsed into calm. "Then I’ll prove it to you, and to all you foolish gods. Watch closely."

"Hmm?" Necros cast his gaze at Wizard Shen Yu.

The other divine spirits, too, focused their attention in this instant.

From beginning to end—even the weakest of the divine spirits—had not truly taken Wizard Shen Yu seriously.

Even though they had realized the difference regarding the All Heavens Divine Court.

Still, in their eyes, Wizard Shen Yu was no more than a mortal favored by a powerful divine spirit.

The gulf between gods and mortals could not be crossed.

Completely different species.

This was the unshakable perception the gods had forged over tens of thousands of years.

Yet at this moment, Wizard Shen Yu would wait no longer.

In these dozen days, he had in fact already completed the three remaining spells of the Fourth Stage.

Decisively.

Attack, defense, restraint!

"All mages!" Wizard Shen Yu’s voice, at this moment, transmitted through Magic Mirror Image to every corner of the plane, even reaching other planes now connected.

Countless mages had already received word from the Magic Empire, and were witnessing this moment unfold.

Watching the raging divine spirit, watching their Mage Emperor step forth before a divine spirit!

They heard Wizard Shen Yu calling out to them; each one grew ever more attentive.

The savagery of divine spirits erased every last fantasy among the masses. The Mage Emperor was their one and only hope.

"What I employ at this moment is not power from the Divine Court, but magic—born of your world’s wisdom, and the potential you yourselves possess." Wizard Shen Yu, burning furiously through Gray Mist, declared: "This is the fourth fusion of the Demon Pattern Meditation Method—and the Fifth Stage! Mortals of this world shall also wield the power of gods!"

The fusion of Demon Pattern Meditation Method normally demands no small measure of time.

After all, it requires merging all nine Demon Patterns of the Fourth Stage into one.

Just the inscription of a Demon Pattern alone was already arduous.

One must grow intimately familiar with each Demon Pattern, attempt them again and again—and that is not to mention the difficulty of fusion.

Many mages would find themselves utterly stymied at this fusion step.

This is part of why the Demon Pattern Meditation Method did not consume so much Gray Mist—this meditation method was powerful, it truly had immense potential, but it was far too difficult.

Yet all of this, with Gray Mist, could be easily overcome!

The nine Demon Patterns of the Fourth Stage now each consumed, at most, over one billion, at least, seven to eight hundred million Gray Mist! Far more than Wizard Shen Yu had predicted.

This fusion, coupled with acceleration, burned away forty-three hundred million in a single instant!

But in that moment, Wizard Shen Yu felt his soul undergo a transformation!

Magic Power surged wildly, rapidly undergoing a sublime change!

His entire aura rose to dizzying heights.

And in the midst of this transformation, he reached a realm known across the world.

—Divine Power!

Not only the dumbfounded God of Disease, Necros—even all the other divine spirits watching felt silenced, staring aghast at the spectacle before them.

A mortal, achieved ascension!

Even though that divine spirit from the All Heavens Divine Court had spoken previously of the Ascension Trial, still, when a mortal truly performed an ascension before them, becoming a genuine divine spirit—the shock that crashed down was truly incomparable.

The gap between gods and mortals was as vast as the chasm between heaven and earth, determined by birth, immutable by any hand!

But in this moment, such a belief was shattered completely!

All across the planes, every mage who witnessed this scene was the most stirred of all.

The Magic Emperor had spoken personally: he ascended, using the power of magic!

This signified that the Demon Pattern Meditation Method was now proven—mortals could, indeed, become divine spirits!

The long-held conviction that divine spirits were untouchable, invincible, was utterly overturned!

And with this dogma toppled, looking again to the gods—to that God of Disease in the mirrored magic, so dramatically shaken—none seemed so fearsome as before.

Divine spirits—were nothing but mages of greater power!

"Ascension! What of it?!" Necros, as reality dawned on him, was consumed by even greater fury.

A mere mortal dared to invade the domain of the gods!

He raised his hand, and terrifying divine power blasted toward Wizard Shen Yu!

Winds and waves surged in a breath, shaking heaven and earth!

Enough to make every mortal quail in helpless terror.

But to Wizard Shen Yu’s eyes in this moment—it was crude indeed!

Like using a "turtle punch" in a brawl.

Simply a swing of the fist, nothing more!

"After tens of thousands of years, your battle techniques are still so pitiful!" Wizard Shen Yu raised his hand, and in the next instant, layers upon layers of intricate magic arrays converged upon his fingertips, forging a crimson radiance.

Which he hurled straight at the God of Disease.

And in that split second of impact, the entire divine body of Necros exploded!

This was the specific attack spell Wizard Shen Yu had devised to slay both divine spirits and any living creature.

—Spirit Destruction!

Just as its name stated—to annihilate the consciousness of living beings!

A purer killing spell could not exist!