The Black Demon Lightning Sea slowly faded from existence over time, and within half an hour, it'd been completely replaced by a swirling black mass.
This mass was none other than the Void Mana Damien unleashed to devour the sea. Now, it has eaten its fill and finished its job. The Black Demon Lightning space lost its support and collapsed.
But Damien's plans didn't end there, the portal he set up was a separate matter. Once he collapsed the Mystic Realm, Atticus would be sent back to the entrance he used to access it. Naturally, he couldn't allow this.
The portal's use was to bring Atticus back to the Dawn World with him. Collapsing the Mystic Realm, on the other hand, was to enter the scene with a bang.
When the Black Demon Lightning space collapsed, the Mystic Realm became unstable. Most of its power was located in that space, and it was integral to maintaining the realm. After its destruction, small cracks began to spread in every direction, invisible to all present.
At least, invisible to anyone that wasn't Damien. With the combination of Dimensional Magic and All-Seeing Eyes, he easily pinpointed these cracks and expanded them, helping them grow with fervor.
Within 15 minutes, the Golden and Silver Heavenly Lightning spaces began to quake. The lightning sea beyond them was practically submerged in lightning tsunamis and earthquakes as the realm malfunctioned.
It was incredibly abrupt. Before the present geniuses could even understand what was happening, they found an inviolable force covering their bodies and ejecting them from the Mystic Realm.
Among these people was none other than Jiao Mei. Even as her body vanished from the Mystic Realm, her eyes remained on the horizon. She had a strange feeling that she understood what caused this event.
Damien stood in the Silver Heavenly Lightning space and watched these changes. 'That was easier than I thought…'
Perhaps it was because this Mystic Realm was relatively simple and easy to understand, but Damien felt like destroying it should've been harder. After all, it was a product of the mighty Dimensional Leaderboard. It was impossible for its structure to be flimsy.
'Hmm, maybe it's beginner's luck?' He thought to himself. He wasn't stupid enough to think he was just that powerful, not after understanding how chaotic his inner state was. In the end, he could only give up and assume that this specific Mystic Realm was weak.
His body flashed, reappearing in the Golden Heavenly Lightning space. After calling Zara, who recently awakened, over and absorbing her into his shadow, he grabbed Atticus and teleported to the Black Demon Lightning space once more.
"Alright, I made this portal so you can exit the Mystic Realm with me. Let's go to the Dawn World and figure out where Death Emperor Star is from there." He said.
"Hm?" Atticus responded, "go with you?"
"Well, yeah. How else am I supposed to know where to go?" Damien questioned.
"Ah, I see there's been a miscommunication somewhere," Atticus said with a bright smile. "You see, Death Emperor Star's first trial doesn't even take place on the star at all!"
"Don't tell me…"
"Yup!" Atticus' smile widened. "Admissions into Hidden Death Valley begin in exactly 6 months. If you can't make it there on time, you don't get accepted! Here are a few information jade slips and a star chart to help you out a bit since you're so oblivious. Other than that, you're on your own. Good luck buddy! I'll see you there!"
Atticus rapidly removed a few items from his space ring and threw them at Damien. In the next instant, he smiled and winked, his body fading and turning holographic.
"Hey!" Damien shouted. He extended his mana to lock space, but soon noticed that he couldn't interfere with Atticus' teleportation!
'A Demigod…' he realized. He couldn't even grasp Atticus' position in the spatial layers after he activated his teleportation method. The only beings capable of outwitting Damien to such an extent were Demigods.
"Dammit!" He yelled exasperatedly. Of course things wouldn't be so easy. It was no wonder why Atticus seemed so eager for their departure.
Damien begrudgingly grabbed the items Atticus left behind and sifted through them. There were jade slips denoting general knowledge about the Divine Realm and Death Emperor Star. Using these, Damien could establish a solid grasp on the Divine Realm's mechanics.
The last item was a small black ball. At the moment, there was nothing reflected on its surface. However, Damien could easily infer its purpose from its name alone.
In the end, he stored these items in his subspace and sighed. 'I made that portal for nothing…rat bastard.'
As he complained inwardly, he silently walked through the portal he created. Since it already existed, he wouldn't let it go to waste.
Just like that, the Storm Heavens Mystic Realm expedition came to an abrupt conclusion.
***
The Dawn World's current atmosphere could only be described as "alit with fervor." Even those in the far reaches of the world knew of the Storm Heavens Mystic Realm and its implications. Everybody wanted to see if a Dawn World genius could rise to fame this time.
This anticipatory atmosphere was especially prevalent around the Mystic Realm Gate. Numerous spirit ships lined the skies and bodies polluted the earth until it looked like a mass of blackness.
These people had no idea when the Mystic Realm would end, nor did they know what was occurring inside. Yet, they still decided to wait.
Conversations ran amok, guesses as to whether Jiao Mei would surpass Marcus Strow, of the talents that made up the universe's peak, there were even some proudly facing off while supporting their respective geniuses.
The Eclipse and Sun and Moon Sects were especially heated. They'd been in competition for a very long time, and the results of their geniuses would supremely impact their standing after the secret realm ended.
Late at night in this lively atmosphere, flashes of light began appearing around the portal.
"They've returned!"
"The Mystic Realm closed!"
Countless exclamations rang out. Along with the appearance of these geniuses, a massive golden holographic scroll appeared in the sky. This was the Dimensional Leaderboard.
On it, millions of names shone with splendor. Its visage made the sect leaders in the audience especially excited.
The Dimensional Leaderboard had appeared! This could only mean that one of their geniuses performed spectacularly in the Mystic Realm!
One by one, people materialized in the square and flew to greet their sect members. Some were ecstatic, some were downtrodden, and some were entirely expressionless. However, none of these people provoked a response from the Dimensional Leaderboard.
Until one person came out.
A body materialized, but its countenance was hidden under the brightness of the Dimensional Leaderboard.
The shift didn't occur in the top 1000 or even the top 100,000, but nobody was discouraged by this fact. Even reaching the top 1,000,000 was a feat to be praised for generations.
But in front of everyone's eyes, the name that appeared wasn't at the 1,000,000th spot.
There, ranked 500,431…
Jiao Mei.
The Dimensional Leaderboard's brilliance dimmed, acting as a natural backlight for Jiao Mei's beautiful veiled form. Looking at the leaderboard in the sky, she felt a strange mix of joy and loneliness.
This was the goal she'd always dreamed of. With her power before entering the Mystic Realm, she would've never reached the 500,000s. She knew that this achievement was due to the contributions of a single person.
And now that she'd met him, the top 1,000,000 didn't seem as grand anymore. Jiao Mei's aspirations already exceeded the Dawn World's limits.
Jiao Mei's eyes darted through the crowd in search of that familiar face, but before she could find him, a booming voice rang out from above.
"Marcus…where is our Marcus?!"
