Chapter 114: Resonance

In the dead of night, within the royal palace of Yadi City, Yadis gazed outward, sensing a swirling energy lingering in the surroundings, his brow furrowing slightly.

Through his perception, he discerned that the world was undergoing a subtle yet growing change as time passed.

This shift’s origin was unclear, yet it had been gradually expanding—from initially requiring his utmost focus to detect it, to now being palpable even without deliberate effort.

It was a pressure emanating from the world itself, transmitted through the portion of the world's essence he occupied, conveyed from the world consciousness. It carried a sense of urgency and a powerful feeling of impending crisis.

It seemed that some threat within the world was steadily growing, slowly encroaching and even awakening an instinctive alarm within the world consciousness, which in turn generated this mounting urgency.

Ordinary individuals could not perceive this intensity, but those like him, who bore the world’s essence, could sense it clearly. The greater the essence one possessed and the stronger one’s power, the more vivid the sensation.

If those with feeble essence and low power tried to sense it, they might at best feel a vague unease, a looming urgency without understanding its true nature.

But for Yadis, the essence was laid bare before him.

“Is it the demonic god consciousness that fled last time, growing stronger?” The thought flashed through his mind.

Years ago, during the decisive battle determining the fate of the Northern Territory, the revered ancestor god Indelizu and the god of nature fought fiercely. Yet at a critical juncture, the demonic god consciousness corrupted Indelizu, turning him into a vessel of that dark force, and then vanished without a trace.

Since then, the oppressive sensation emanating from the world around him had only intensified.

This summons indicated that the world’s corruption was spreading rapidly, almost overwhelming all resistance. Thus, under the world’s instinctive will, those bearing destiny were urged to hasten the final contest and determine the true child of the world.

These thoughts churned in his mind until memories of that battle’s details surfaced once more, prompting a sudden unease within him.

“That’s it. Even then, the state of that ancestor god was already abnormal from the start.”

A dawning realization crept upon him.

“No matter how powerful the demonic god was in life, it had fallen and was severely suppressed by the world consciousness. To corrupt a fifth-level ancestor god and seize a portion of its world essence outright would have been nearly impossible.”

“The only possibility is that the ancestor god itself was compromised long ago, tampered with from within.”

“Perhaps this arrangement began even during that ancestor god’s lifetime.”

He recalled the disquiet he once felt while studying the records.

The progenitor of the Indeliru Duchy, Zalmarad, had been a prince of the royal court centuries ago. Leading three thousand knights, he established the Northern Territory—a desolate land overrun by demonic beasts.

Legend held that Zalmarad was naturally heroic, waging war across the Northern Territory, driving out the demonic creatures that plagued the land. He was famed for single-handedly slaying a three-headed, calamity-class demonic wolf—a feat far surpassing that of a sky knight.

Yadis had long harbored doubts about this.

The reason lay in the absence of the “Battle Qi” system.

Within the multiverse, various systems exist with hierarchical differences, shaped by origins and time.

This world, though it spawned the extraordinary Battle Qi system, perhaps due to temporal or intrinsic limitations, only allowed practitioners to reach up to the level of third-tier sky knights.

This was already quite remarkable.

From the divine legacy Yadis inherited, he understood that across the multiverse, countless systems coexist, yet very few enable one to transcend to the first level and truly master the extraordinary. Reaching third level was immensely rare—considered a national treasure in his previous life.

Yet even this was insufficient against a fourth-level demonic beast, birthed by a near-immortal demonic god. Such a creature would utterly dominate.

To Yadis’s knowledge, the sole exception was the royal court’s ancestor god, Chrisia—the savior of the last century.

Yadis speculated that to save the world, Chrisia must have been at least sixth level. Only such a level could intervene in the world’s salvation and rescue it from peril.

But this was a unique case—a child of destiny born at the world’s darkest hour, infused with the entirety of the world’s primal power. It was an unrepeatable miracle.

Hence, Zalmarad’s feats perplexed Yadis greatly.

“Now it seems clear—he was targeted by the lingering demonic god’s consciousness, perhaps even that three-headed demon wolf was deliberately arranged to await this very moment.”

His thoughts turned to the three-headed wolf that Zalmarad became after being corrupted by the demonic god consciousness, affirming his suspicion.

“Judging by these omens, in just a few decades, the world consciousness will no longer be able to contain it.”

After a pause, sensing the world’s power pressing urgently around him, Yadis contemplated in silence.

At that moment, the latent true spirit within him suddenly surged forth. Radiant light blossomed, imbued with a strange force that frantically calculated and simulated.

Within the glow, a vision began to emerge.

On an ancient, vast land, an immortal demonic essence flooded the world, breaking through its barriers and descending upon the earth.

Under this immortal influence, the land transformed—scenery twisted into abyssal chasms, living beings corrupted into demonic beasts that rampaged and turned the world into a sea of blood.

Flames and blood spread, and as life faded away, the once-vibrant world changed into a colossal abyssal realm. The residual world essence was completely plundered and transformed into sustenance to revive the fallen demonic god.

Then the vision shattered; the light dimmed, unable to proceed further.

Contemplating the simulation’s outcome, Yadis fell silent. He then turned his gaze southward, toward the royal court.

“You must sense it as well—that’s why you are so eager to unify the world, preparing for the looming crisis.”

He murmured softly, a glimmer of gold flashing in his eyes.

In the void, as time slowly unfolded, two distant pillars of heaven began to draw closer together.