Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 205 An Unusual Beginning

Unexpectedly, the Temple of Light did not show the world they were about to travel to, as it had done before.

Instead, a completely new prompt appeared.

[Executioner, based on dynamic balance, you are about to participate in the Tier 2 advancement battle.]

Please pass through the Gate of the World and arrive at the meeting point.

The massive metal doors continued to rumble as they opened, revealing a curtain of light like water behind them.

They are definitely different!
Li Xia silently observed the movements of the apostles on the field, noting that it wasn't a portal-like structure but a vortex.

Even the classic "sign-holding support" team formation in the square was absent.

"Your Highness, these apostles should all be participating in the advancement battle."

Aowu clearly noticed this as well and couldn't help but whisper, "Teacher Ao didn't play low-level games before."

The few fragments it occasionally recalls are all from the ninth rank or higher, and even those are vague and unclear.

But one thing is certain: it has never had so many apostles in its memory!
Li Xia nodded without answering.

Even though the Temple of Light has gathered together the apostles who need to advance in the near future by adjusting the ratio of the flow rate of derivative time to the flow rate of temple time.

But this number is definitely not small.

There are approximately 100,000 second-tier apostles, which is roughly the top 5% of those with the strongest abilities who are promoted.
Looking down, I saw the somewhat nervous Blackie beside me. This was the first time the kitten had entered the world of the palace, and I had never experienced it before.

I and Aowu are already seasoned veterans.

He stroked its head, and the charcoal-covered body, which had been tense, slowly relaxed.

As the metal gate was fully opened, the apostles, in twos and threes or in groups, began to walk toward the 'water curtain' inside the metal gate.

As you step inside, ripples spread across the 'water curtain'.

"Go, go."

Li Xia stopped waiting and landed on his shoulder with a hoot. Black Charcoal also waved its paws a little to cheer itself up.

I joined the crowd and stepped into the 'water curtain'.

There was nothing unusual; I just felt a blur before my eyes, and the huge square had vanished.

Instead, there was an open-air platform, the sky was a hazy gray, and the surroundings were desolate.

Some of the apostles looked puzzled, while others nervously and quietly observed their surroundings.

They even secretly picked up weapons.

However, some apostles remained calm, clearly having already heard about it.

"Damn it, isn't the Hall of Light a place where you can teleport comfortably? Why did it have to be so uncomfortable when we teleported before?"

A voice muttered curses under its breath, drawing everyone's attention.

The short, stout apostle was momentarily stunned by the gaze; the apostles who came to participate in the advancement trial were all quite strong.

Even its weakest attribute is at least 15 points, indicating a remarkably sharp perception.

Being watched by so many eyes feels like being pricked with needles.

The short, stout apostle shifted uncomfortably, then suddenly straightened up and declared emphatically:
"What are you looking at? Did you enjoy the feeling of being transported to a derivative world before?"

Upon hearing this, the vast majority of people's gazes actually turned to agreement.

Li Xia recalled the feeling of being stuffed into a giant washing machine and silently gave a thumbs up.

Some apostles still looked at him as if he were mentally challenged, their expressions slightly disdainful, even carrying a hint of superiority.

No need to guess, these apostles are all members of the guild.

With a large group, all kinds of people will be there, and naturally, there will be quite a few fools who feel superior after joining a guild.

"More than that, I'm concerned about what to do next."

A female apostle dressed similarly to Alice from Resident Evil asked with some distress.

Her beautiful figure stretched the leather jacket tightly, highlighting her graceful curves.

It's unclear whether she's a natural beauty or had cosmetic procedures after entering the hall of fame.

But since it was pleasing to the eye, one of the apostles replied:
"Just wait, it should be soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire sky seemed to suddenly darken.

Even the apostles, who already knew everything, couldn't help but look up.

Something resembling a mountain was slowly descending from the sky, obscuring the heavens.

"Starship???"

Someone exclaimed in surprise, for what had fallen from the sky was none other than a starship that looked extremely futuristic.

The colossal creature, over two thousand meters long and over five hundred meters high, slowly pressed down, its immense oppressive force leaving everyone speechless.

Black Charcoal was stunned. The largest ship it had ever seen before was the Hunter's Guild's dragon-hunting flagship.

That large ship was only a hundred meters long; where have I ever seen a spaceship of this size?

Even Li Xia was deeply shocked by what he saw.

It considered many possibilities, but never imagined it would be a starship.

Could the next battle take place inside the starship?

[Executioner, please enter the landing ship, seat number A, C00234, and await further instructions.]

The enormous spaceship landed lightly on the ground like a falling leaf, in a manner completely disproportionate to its size.

The side hatches opened, and small landing craft, resembling yachts, scattered out like a swarm of bees.

They landed neatly on the ground in front of the apostle.

Li Xia, along with the curious Aowu and Heitan, boarded the landing craft, whose interior was decorated much like an airplane cockpit.

It just used a lot of metal, giving it a cold, hard luster.

The entire landing craft has about 25 seats. Judging from its size, it doesn't seem to have a cockpit.

It was highly likely to be unmanned. The small landing craft quickly filled with people, and with a slight sway, it headed towards the huge spaceship above.

"Meow!"

Blackie peered through the small porthole, watching the landing ships outside, which were also taking flight like swallows returning to their nests.

I couldn't help but be moved by this scene.

The short time I spent with my owner was far more exciting than I had imagined.

It must be the most skilled Palico hunter in the entire clan right now!

The distance was very short, only a few minutes, before we landed again.

Following the signs, we arrived at the cabin area of ​​the hangar.

Five thousand people barely filled one cabin.

"Brother, what's your name? Are you from the guild or a solo player?"

He had barely sat down when the apostle next to him came over and tried to get close to him.

Li Xia looked at the apostle who seemed eager to confide in him, but didn't want to talk to him; he just wanted some peace and quiet.

Seeing Li Xia's expression, the apostle was not annoyed; such a demeanor was actually the norm in the Hall of Light.

Unless it's someone they know well, the apostles are wary of everything.

"Hey bro, I don't mean any harm and I don't want to get anything. It's just that the journey is long and I'm getting bored."

Aowu truly lived up to his reputation as Li Xia's trusted advisor, perfectly discerning his thoughts.

He craned his neck and asked, "You sound like you know a lot about advancement battles?"

The apostle who spoke up chuckled: "Although our guild isn't one of those top-tier guilds, it's still an eighth-tier guild, so we do have this much information."

"Oh?"

Aowu's straight man skills were quite good; he successfully aroused the other person's desire to confide with just one word.

Of course, it's also possible that the apostle was already overflowing with the urge to confide.

"This is a warp landing ship from the Hall of Light. I heard it was exchanged with other halls."

exchange?

The name 'Superstring Hall' suddenly popped into Li Xia's mind, even though he only knew the names of these few halls.

But this is the most 'sci-fi' of all.

Could it be an exchange with the Superstring Hall?
Awoo asked in confusion:

"Why would we need a jump landing? With the strength of the Hall of Light, do we even need this kind of spaceship? It would be an easy task."

The apostle didn't take it seriously. If he hadn't learned the general outline from the guild's information, he would definitely have had the same doubts.

"Oh, you just don't understand."

Once the talkative guy started chatting, he launched into a long, uninterrupted tirade:

"Normally, we are teleported to different derivative worlds, which are all created by the Temple of Light."

It has the mark of the Temple of Light inside, so it's very convenient.

However, large-scale teleportation is quite different.

He paused, then suddenly changed the subject:

"You know about the Void Sea and the Primal World, right? It's the theory that the world is a bubble."

This was something that a guy named Cloud from the Brotherhood of Steel once explained to me.

Seeing the three of them nod, a satisfied smile appeared on the talkative man's face.

"It's good that you understand, no need for further explanation—navigating in the Void Sea is not navigation in the way we understand it, but rather describing our existence in the Void Sea through 'rules' or rather 'mathematics'."

Describing 5,000 people requires describing them 5,000 times, which actually consumes a lot of energy, and the key issue is that it's time-consuming.

Because everyone's information is unique, and the way it is described is different.

However, it's different with this kind of jump landing ship.

All it takes is to erect some kind of 'mathematical law protective shield' on the outside, and it can continuously adjust the values ​​through 'formulas' to 'sail' in the void sea!

Before the talkative brother could continue, Li Xia already understood the secret.

It would take enormous resources to 'describe' five thousand apostles, or to find a spaceship with a built-in 'mathematical rate protection shield' to assemble them.

The choice is obvious, not to mention that these five thousand apostles are all weaklings at the second tier.

To enable them to survive in the 'Void Sea', activating the shield would definitely require a massive amount of energy.

For the Temple of Light, it's roughly the difference between providing these 5,000 people with 5,000 private jets and chartering a super-sized bus.

If Li Xia were in the Hall of Light, he would definitely choose the bus!
Just then, something resembling liquid metal suddenly flowed out from both ends of the seat.

It wrapped around the body and solidified into a seatbelt with a very large coverage area.

Then a transparent cover slowly descended from behind the seat, closing the entire seat in place.

Li Xia turned his head and discovered that even Aowu and Black Charcoal, these liquid metals, had evolved seat belts suitable for their body size.

All I can say is that the level of technology is beyond my imagination.

The transparent dome blocked out all sound, and the whole world became peaceful.

Even so, the chatterbox didn't stop talking, trying to continue the conversation through lip reading.

Li Xia:
Fortunately, the notification from the Hall of Light finally popped up again.

[Executioner, please wait for the jump to complete.]

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)