The Stars Beyond

Chapter 213: A Battle Of Transcendents In The New World

Chapter 213: A Battle Of Transcendents In The New World

"Heh, you'll see soon enough, no need to rush. I'm really looking forward to it. Many have contacted us privately, eager to acquire Chen Yongjie's Transcendent flesh for research. We're going to make a fortune this time!" Zheng Hui smiled comfortably, seemingly just waiting for Old Chen's arrival to start the grand feast.

Although only a mechanical being, it closely resembled a real person, acting as Zheng Hui's "replica." His real self was monitoring and controlling everything through surveillance feeds.

Wang Xuan asked, "Kidnapping me is just to lure Old Chen here? Am I, a Grandmaster, so insignificant in your eyes?"

"Regrettably, a Grandmaster really isn't much. Killing you on New World's soil isn't hard. Today, you are just an appetizer; the main course is Chen Yongjie," Zheng Hui shrugged.

Wang Xuan was assessing the situation, pondering the cost of a siege against a Transcendent surrounded by a dense array of technological weapons.

"Let's go. We'll head out to welcome him. We'll wait for Chen Yongjie's arrival," Zheng Hui ordered the remaining personnel in the underground base to evacuate immediately.

Then, he had the four high-grade mechanical beings transform into a flying vessel, locking Wang Xuan inside. He himself entered and took the pilot's seat.

"We'll watch a magnificent fireworks show from outside, enjoying the sight of a Transcendent's desperate struggle. Can't wait," he said, leaving Wang Xuan's phone behind in the base.

They then left the underground, with the flying vessel formed by the high-grade mechanical beings landing on a mountaintop, overlooking the base from afar.

An hour later, a silver spacecraft arrived, carrying Old Chen, appearing above the forested area.

Old Chen, having strong connections, managed to mobilize a spacecraft. An elderly man accompanied him inside, mainly because Chen Yongjie feared death and dared not traverse the skies without the company of an important member of a conglomerate.

Still high above the ground, Old Chen leaped directly down. "Old Chen, the base is empty. They're likely waiting for you to enter, then they'll use scientific weapons to saturate the area with attacks," Wang Xuan, whose spirit had left his body, sent a message to Old Chen amidst the forest.

"Why do you have to drag me into this? Can't you handle it yourself?" Old Chen grumbled.

"I'm a Grandmaster, not suited for action. You're a Transcendent, and you love fishing. Everything is moving in the direction you hoped. I feel like today we might catch a big fish in a large net. Get ready for the haul!" Wang Xuan informed him, having sensed the thoughts of people hundreds of miles away, learning about another significant base of the Ashen Blood Organization. He planned to take down their entire operation.

Old Chen contacted the silver spacecraft in orbit, asking them to block signals over this forest area to prevent the Transcendent battle from being observed.

In a flash, Old Chen surged into the underground base. However, the next moment, he quietly left, emitting X substance around him to isolate his presence with Transcendent energy, and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

"Strong pulse interference? They won't let us watch, what a pity," Zheng Hui lamented as everything disappeared from the screen.

After waiting for a moment, he softly commanded, "It's about time. Detonate!"

Boom! A colossal beam of energy struck the forest, and the underground base exploded in a cataclysmic upheaval, completely destroyed. The underground explosion resembled a volcanic eruption, with various energy bombs detonating.

"Experts have analyzed that Transcendents are terrifying, and there's a high chance some flesh and blood would remain. It's a pity we can't bring his entire body to the lab, what a waste," Zheng Hui said with regret.

He stared at the site of the explosion, where smoke billowed and mountains crumbled, and ordered, "Clean up the battlefield, collect any Transcendent flesh and blood. And if he's not dead, finish him off!"

Beside Zheng Hui, three silver-white mechanical beings left trailing images as they dove down from the mountaintop, their sonic booms filling the air.

Wang Xuan was visibly moved by the power of these high-grade mechanical beings. Their propulsion systems were indeed formidable, capable of killing a Grandmaster without difficulty as they soared through the air.

Old Chen emerged disheveled, his clothes tattered and covered in blood – his own doing, as he had smeared himself with animal blood. He saw the three high-grade mechanical beings diving from the mountaintop and swiftly evaded their energy beam attacks. If hit directly, even he wouldn't withstand it – these beams could take down small spacecraft.

However, with his spiritual realm formed, Old Chen could sense danger and continually dodged in advance, avoiding all the attacks.

As a Transcendent, he moved through the forest like a phantom, seemingly defying the physical laws that bound humans. His strength and speed were beyond normal comprehension.

"Shi!" One of the mechanical beings, standing six meters tall and wielding a five-meter alloy blade, leapt from mid-air, aiming to cleave Old Chen in two. Such a strike could sever a small mountain – utterly beyond human endurance.

But Old Chen dodged it.

"Shi, shi!" The other two mechanical beings joined, their blades glowing as they swept across, cutting off all of Old Chen's escape routes, aiming to eradicate him.

"See? This is the power of technological civilization," Zheng Hui spoke. "High-grade mechanical beings far surpass human reaction speed and strength. It's not even a fair comparison. A Transcendent hit by one of their strikes would be obliterated!"

Wang Xuan ignored him, knowing that the battle was about to end. Old Chen wasn't just a newcomer to the Transcendent realm but a monster capable of killing potent herbalists. At his level, he could control objects with his unrivaled spiritual power, able to perform sword manipulation techniques.

Crack! Inside the three high-grade mechanical beings, strange noises emanated, and sparks of energy flew as Old Chen, using his spiritual control, tore apart their intricate internal components.

"How is this possible?!" Zheng Hui exclaimed in shock.

Wang Xuan, tired of his prattle, expanded his spiritual power and silently destroyed the internal components of Zheng Hui and the silver-white high-grade mechanical being beside him. With this, all the exorbitantly expensive high-grade mechanical beings, each worth billions, were paralyzed.

Strictly speaking, these mechanical beings had the attack power to destroy a Transcendent's physical body, but their internal precision components were vulnerable. A sweep of spiritual control was enough to cripple them. Transcendents at the level of Mist and Lantern might not be able to handle such mechanical beings.

"Old Qian, are you sure no one will come with a battleship to bombard me from afar?" Old Chen contacted the elderly man in the distant silver spacecraft.

The elder on the ship chuckled, "Don't worry, New World has its rules. Battleships can't be used arbitrarily on our soil, except in special circumstances that threaten the land. Otherwise, if every conflict involved these weapons, wouldn't the mountains and rivers be obliterated?"

But Old Chen remained cautious, elevating his spiritual realm to its utmost, just in case a distant battleship launched an attack.

Suddenly, Old Chen felt a chilling sensation, his skin breaking out in goosebumps. He rapidly fled, soon realizing the threat was not from a battleship. The danger lurked in the forest around him, swarming in countless tiny particles barely visible to the naked eye, encircling him.

His spiritual realm identified them. They were micro-mechanical beings. Individually, they posed little threat, but if inhaled in large quantities, they could obliterate internal organs and turn the brain to mush.

For a Grandmaster, these were lethal weapons – a moment of inattention could lead to a deadly assault!

Old Chen, with a grim expression, hid in the dense forest, activating his spiritual realm to sweep the surrounding area. He felt the micro-mechanical beings gathering, almost forming a mist-like cloud.

They were dispersed, subtle, silently advancing to infiltrate his body, an insidious threat invisible to those without a spiritual realm.

Rustle! Around him, it was like a shower of dust as countless micro-mechanical beings fell to the ground.

It took Old Chen a considerable amount of time to clear these nearly invisible threats. His expression was grave, a testament to the wariness warranted by New World's scientific weaponry.

Boom! The three high-grade mechanical beings, with their internal components torn apart, suddenly exploded, engulfing the entire forest area.

Old Chen screamed, his clothes charred as he fled the forest, now overwhelmed by flames and turned into a sea of molten lava.

Wang Xuan was sure Old Chen was feigning injury, knowing he could have evaded the explosion in advance. If there were real danger, Wang Xuan, as a protector, would have rushed to assist already.

Yet, Wang Xuan did call out, "Old Chen, are you alright?"

"I'm seriously injured!" Old Chen used a secret technique to force blood out through his pores, his body stained crimson.

He had come to appreciate the benefits of concealing his true strength. All the dirty and tiring work was being pushed onto him, while Wang Xuan sat comfortably on the mountaintop, watching the battle.

Old Chen too wanted to preserve his strength, letting the conglomerates and organizations underestimate him.

"Old Chen, how are you?" came the communication from Old Qian on the silver spacecraft.

"I'm injured, but not dead. Don't worry," Old Chen responded.

"He's covered in blood and stumbling. He must be seriously injured. It's time for us to finish him off," someone spoke from a distant mountaintop and then silently disappeared into the forest.

Following him, a woman cloaked in a black cape appeared, vanishing from the spot like a ghost.

Wang Xuan had sensed the presence of hostility in the distant forest. He was astonished – were there really other Transcendents on New World? It seemed likely that individuals from the New Arts domain had come to eliminate Old Chen and sever the roots of the Old Arts.

Although he and Old Chen had speculated that Oleisha might not be the only Transcendent from the New Arts domain, the confirmation of this fact weighed heavily on him. What else lay hidden in the birthplace of the New Arts, and had their most powerful figures now emerged?

Upon detecting the presence of other Transcendents, Wang Xuan sprang into action.

"Chen Yongjie, it was you who killed Oleisha in the Old World, wasn't it? And you even insulted him, staging his death as an 'air disaster.' Today, you won't survive," a man with short brown hair, a muscular build, and appearing to be in his fifties, though his actual age was unknown, spoke coldly.

Another woman with long black hair and pale blue eyes radiated Transcendent power, evidently very strong.

In their eyes, Chen Yongjie was just a dying Grandmaster a month ago who then faked his death and stepped into the realm of Transcendents, barely reaching the level of Mist.

So, the two of them had come, first letting the Ashen Blood Organization make their move while they lay in wait, ready to strike at the crucial moment.

One at the level of Lantern and the other at Mist, they approached Old Chen with cold, ruthless eyes.

"Hmm?" They quickly sensed something amiss.

Old Chen's body emitted a golden light, like a Buddha walking forth, radiating a holy glow and wielding an ocean-like force. He locked onto them with this immense power.

The man and woman were shocked. How could there be someone like this, surpassing the level of Lantern in just a month?

They had arrived full of confidence, feeling invincible, but now, like two frightened rabbits, they leaped up, ready to flee in different directions.

Boom! Old Chen struck out with a palm, blocking one of them. His Sixteen-Foot Golden Body shone brilliantly, engulfing the person in light, exploding them with a thunderous blast and incinerating the remains to ashes.

The woman, on the other hand, was split in half by a flying sword wielded by Wang Xuan.

Although Transcendent blood was precious, Wang Xuan chose not to collect it, avoiding further complications. He conjured a blaze in his palm, incinerating the woman's body as well.

"Let's go, starting with the Ashen Blood Organization," Wang Xuan said.

Since their enemies sought to hunt Transcendents and cause a major disturbance, he was willing to oblige them. Hundreds of miles away lay a true base of the organization, housing important members and equipment.

"Old Qian, you go ahead. I'll take Little Wang for some training, so we won't be taking the spaceship back," Old Chen communicated with the elderly man on the silver spacecraft.

Then, he and Wang Xuan vanished into the depths of the dense forest.

That day, they arrived at the Ashen Blood Organization's true core base in the Cloud Mist Plateau. Not only was Zheng Hui there, but other significant figures were present too.

This place housed their "Deity" level laboratory!