"Shit! Argh! Gah!" Shen Ze grunted nonstop as he was repeatedly sent flying by attacks from a Grade 3 System. Once the strongest cultivator part of Immortal's army, to an even stronger Hero after defecting to Mascot's side, Shen Ze had matured a lot.
But in the end, despite possessing power on par with a Grade 3 System, he couldn't win against them. Any injuries faced by the Systems could easily be healed through Mental Energy. Only a blow to their Core Skill was a threatening attack.
But even that could be solved as long as they simply revive. Moreover, even if they were to lose a level, they could instantly level up by absorbing the plenty of Mental Energy oozing out of the System World.
The war had already raged on for a century. By this moment, he had gotten damn tired. On the other hand, the Systems were the same as usual. As beings of the mind, they could function endlessly as long as they were supplied with Mental Energy.
He couldn't do that. Moreover, as more and more of his allies continued to drop dead, the pressure he faced continued to pile up. Unlike their opponents, they couldn't revive once killed.
Moreover, none of them was a Concept Representative. Shen Ze was truly relying upon brute strength to face a Grade 3 System.
"Do you want to win?" Suddenly, a voice resounded in his head, alarming him, for his defensive means prevented something from reaching his mind announced.
Startled by the voice, Shen Ze bellowed mentally, "Who the heck are you? What do you want?"
"I'm Compass Carburettor." Came the reply.
"What's a Compass Carburettor…" Shen Ze retorted instinctively as realisation dawned on him later, "You're the one that killed Arnark?"
"Of course," Compass Carburettor's voice resounded calmly and continued, "Now, I have an offer for you."
"What is it?" Shen Ze asked, raising his guard, especially since he couldn't detect where or how Compass Carburettor was talking to him.
"If you return to your rightful owner, I'll strengthen your causality. You'll be able to go toe-to-toe against a Grade 3 System and recover."
"My owner…?" Shen Ze frowned as he stared at the back of Immortal that was being smacked across the void by a group of Systems, "The Immortal I served wasn't this weak. Besides, I betrayed him for a reason…"
"Wasn't it to become stronger?" Compass Carburettor snorted, "That's in a cultivator's nature. But you see…that's your nature too."
"When you stop being a cultivator is when you become weak."
His words exploded in Shen Ze's mind, causing him to realise as he looked around, muttering slowly, "Indeed, it's not in my nature to take my character into account, talk things through and plan my schemes. If something is in my way, I slash it. if someone glares my way, I slash it. If somebody dares impede my growth, I slash it."
Immortal Energy churned through his body as slowly, the Cheat granted to him by Mascot was ejected and returned to its owner. Instantly, his powerful energy spread across the void as his clothes changed.
His cropped hair grew to become long, his suit reverted into a Daoist cloth, and the sword in his hand morphed from cool-looking to an intricately inscribed work of art. With the loss of the Cheat, he indeed turned weaker, but Shen Ze felt free.
It was like inhaling a breath of fresh air after swimming in a garbage pile. With that, he returned to being a cultivator.
And his return caused a beam of energy to slam into Immortal and caused his strength to surge. Shen Ze has basically devoured pretty much most if not all the resources of his home universe.
So, his foundation was equivalent to a universe. Moreover, it was one of the strongest Cultivation Worlds out there. His return spiked Immortal's strength by multiple factors.
In contrast, Mascot wasn't weakened. After all, she had only recruited Shen Ze with a Cheat. All she had been gaining from him was empowerment every time he used her Cheat. So, the loss was barely a drop in the ocean.
It was only because the current Immortal was batshit weak that just Shen Ze's return alone resulted in such development. During Immortal's peak, even the addition of a million Shen Ze was just a drop in the ocean.
"I did as you said, Compass Carburettor." Shen Ze spoke in his mind, "Now, how will you support me?"
"Like this," Saying so, Compass Carburettor appeared behind him and patted him with his left hand, unleashing a powerful energy flux as without even being able to resist, Shen Ze became a member of Secret Society.
Honk!
Carried in his hand was a truck as Compass Carburettor pulled out a System from within.
Grade 3 System—Ancient Strengthening (Level 299)!
Lore and Tell-Tale surged into the Ancient Strengthening System as he fired off dozens of Psyche Stars, suppressing its madness momentarily.
He concentrated its entirety on the Core Skill and extracted all its essence. The Ancient Strengthening calmly nodded with momentary clarity before it returned to become mad. All the data extracted from it condensed into a sphere as Lore seeped into it at full power.
"He started his journey as a trash. One day, he found an ancient manual and began to refine his body through it. By consuming treasures one after that, obtained through inexplicable ways, he refined and strengthened his body, eventually surpassing those blessed by the heavens. And in the end, he became the heavens." Tell-Tale began to recount Shen Ze's tales as his story resounded throughout the battlefield.
"You…when did you enter my world?" Zaira stared incredulously as she glared at the figure of the Ancient Strengthening System in Compass Carburettor's hands, "I sealed everyone, so how…"
Preceding her words, her fists flew, intending to pummel Compass Carburettor before he could finish recounting the tale, vastly familiar with the power he was employing.
But suddenly, dozens of magic circles appeared and impeded her attacks as Magister's cackling voice resounded, "Something interesting is happening, Zaira. Don't interrupt the process."
"And today, the multiverse has recognised his efforts and bestowed him a fragment of its absolute rule, a Concept to be precise, one that embodies the mortal that had attained the greatest strength to date," Tell-Tale whirred with a powerful flux as the sphere of Lore seeped into Shen Ze, causing him to scream and erupt with enough power that everyone in the vicinity was blown away.
"Hahaha! You're right, Magister!" Immortal laughed as his strength continued to increase; the auras of peak Cultivators too began to increase. Sparked by Shen Ze, one after another, the defected Heroes shed their false identities and picked up their original weapons as Cultivators part of Immortal's army, one said to be the strongest in the multiverse.
The catalyst that sparked this was an infamous concept all Cultivators that attained the peak were familiar with.
Concept—Ancient Strengthening!
