Chapter 716: Perception Changes with the Soul, With Will Comes Power (2 in 1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Most solo bullet ants were 3rd or 4th rank mutated creatures. There were very few 5th rank bullet ants in colonies, and 6th rank bullet ants would be kings of a colony. This was just a small army out of the whole host of bullet ants, and only one 5th rank bullet ant was present. However, this had already scared off the 6th rank mutated Chromatic Dragon. As it ran away, its body swept up a giant cloud of dust; w.a.n.g Zhong’s scent mixed into its scent when it pa.s.sed him by. Compared to a human that was merely an appetizer to the bullet ant army, this enormous Chromatic Dragon was obviously the main course.
The bullet ant army changed its direction and chased after the 6th rank mutated Chromatic Dragon, eventually disappearing in the desert.
After confirming several times that the bullet ant army was gone, w.a.n.g Zhong finally got the chance to rest. This chase had started since morning, and it was dusk now. Running at high speed for such a long time, he covered a distance of three to four hundred kilometers at least. This used up a lot of his stamina, yet he felt accomplished for some reason.
He gasped heavily, spreading out his limbs on the sand as he lay on his back, feeling the texture of the sand with his skin and experiencing the desert wind that only occurred at dusk. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He kind of fell in love with this desert. Everything here followed the most basic law of life; followed a cycle. It was lonely yet beautiful.
Only those who had experienced loneliness would understand.
Mu Zi was one of those people; w.a.n.g Zhong was as well, and he also saw it in Aiolos’s hearty and relaxed smile.
The laughter in the desert grew louder and louder. This journey had just begun, and w.a.n.g Zhong had already put all matters about the Heroic Soul and Dharma Idol to the back of his mind.
…
Just when w.a.n.g Zhong started his combat cultivation, the elite group in the Fifth Dimension had arrived at a bizarre world through the unique dimensional channel.
The term “Holy Land” led people to believe that they would see a bustling sacred city at the end of the dimensional channel; thus, everyone did not expect to see a ‘simple’ base built on the edge of a cliff.
They were at the hillside of a huge mountain range, where a wide and long pa.s.sage had been created artificially. Dozens of huge round platforms constructed of unknown metal were suspended away from the cliff and connected by metal bridges to the cliff pa.s.sages.
Was this the Holy Land? Most students felt unsure as it was different from what they had imagined. Only a select few people who had more knowledge about the Holy Land, such as Carolyn, knew that this was just a landing base in the Holy Land.
The entire Holy Land was a separate individual s.p.a.ce and also a projection of the Fifth Dimension to another world. It existed in the Fifth Dimension — just like the cursed lands in the Fifth Dimensional World — but its only entrance was the size of the eye of a needle. If you did not have the accurate spatial coordinates, you definitely would not be able to enter the Holy Land, as you would never find it in the vast Fifth Dimensional World. The odds of finding it was one in a gazillion.
“Haha, this is the Adalia s.p.a.ce,” Zhao Kunlun explained enthusiastically to Scarlet. This was an exclusive treatment since, in the case of the previous groups, the Holy Amba.s.sadors were more eager to go back and end their mission. No one bothered to explain this ‘common knowledge’ to the newbies since they would find out themselves after a few days of living here. “It was named after its great founder, Holy Saint Teacher Adalia.”
“Junior Sister,” Helen said, “Holy Saint Teacher Adalia is the first Holy Lord of the Holy Land. He founded this place and is the most influential person here. He was the person behind the current Federation’s structure and managed its relations with the Holy Land. He was the greatest pioneer of mankind who brought light and hope.” Zhao Kunlun and she were the ones better at talking, while Russell could only remain anxious at the side. The Tyrants had always believed in fighting directly rather than talking.
“Holy Saint Teacher Adalia?” Scarlet had not heard of that name at all. She didn’t know why the three Holy Disciples were so enthusiastic toward her. Was it because of her talent?
She did not think that she possessed any remarkable talent, much less compared to Carolyn and the others. This kind of special treatment had created a wave of hatred directed her way before she even entered the Holy Land; it made the situation even more awkward than it was, even though Scarlet had a gentle and calm personality.
“Junior Sister, this is basic knowledge in the Holy Land. Both of them are just rambling on about useless stuff. In the Holy Land, we go by survival of the fittest. The Tyrants have the best teachers!” Russell finally found something to say, but his words offended others too.
Scarlet smiled, expressing her grat.i.tude. She harbored a good att.i.tude throughout the whole journey, and this pleased the three seniors. To be honest, they did not really care which force Scarlet joined, but they just wanted to leave a good impression in case of future times of need.
In this batch of apprentices, Scarlet was definitely different.
Russell stomped his foot and a large plate-like object appeared in front of everyone. “Junior Sister, this is the mode of transportation in the Holy Land. We are still at a safety entrance, and we will be flying for a period of time from here. Want to get a taste of my driving skills? I’ll make it fun!”
“I think it’ll be better if I drive. I’m more steady!”
“No, I’ll do it!”
“Russell, if you want to fight, let’s settle on a time and place, but the Sparta Clan is in charge this time. Stop your nonsense!” Zhao Kunlun couldn’t help but complain.
“Both of you stop it. I’ll do it. The teachers will get impatient by the time you end your childish squabble.” Helen intervened, seizing the initiative. Zhao Kunlun and Russell glared at each other, neither of them backing down, while Helen started to infuse her Soul Power. The runic array lit up and the huge disc carrying everyone rose up into the air.
When the disc rose to a certain height, a golden semi-circular light s.h.i.+eld enveloped everyone.
“Sit tight.” Helen was in high spirits as they set off.
This was a vast and boundless s.p.a.ce, almost as if it was on top of the clouds. Looking down from the cliff platform that everyone was on previously, the whole world was filled with white clouds; there were some occasional mountain peaks breaking through, but those too were at a very high alt.i.tude. The parts of the mountain that were visible among the clouds all had snow on them, similar to the Himalayan mountain tops of Earth, yet they were taller by many times.
The disc aircraft traveled all the way east and gradually entered the so-called central area of the Holy Land.
Here, the clouds below were getting thicker, and no more mountain peaks could be seen breaking through. Nothing could be seen in plain sight. Suddenly, the aircraft slowed down, and it seemed to touch something thin and sticky. There was a faint ripple in the surrounding s.p.a.ce as the aircraft advanced slowly.
The white clouds disappeared, and a divine sight that amazed everyone replaced it.
The hazy sky cleared, brightening all of a sudden; it was very different from Earth which was mostly clouded with mist. An enormous golden sun hung in the sky; its rays of light shone across the whole s.p.a.ce.
The first thing that caught their eyes was the gigantic island floating in the air quietly. Compared to it, the substantial aircraft they were on was like the size of an ant.
The buoyant island took the shape of an inverted triangle: the bottom part was v-shaped such that you could see the outline of the entire island. The forests on the island were full of lush greenery. The lower part of the island was composed of hard rock layers, with huge streams of water flowing through the gaps. It created a spectacular waterfall and formed countless rainbows. Thousands of meters toward the bottom, these majestic waterfalls began to dissipate gradually, evaporated by mysterious forces; mist would then form and slowly rise back up to the island to be reabsorbed. This cycle repeated again and again, forming a breathtaking sight.
Just when everyone was stunned and surprised, thinking that this was the Holy Land, the aircraft quickly zoomed past this suspended island.
Without anything obstructing their vision, more suspended islands appeared in sight! Some were slightly smaller than the island they had just pa.s.sed by, while others were several times or even a dozen times larger. The environment of these suspended islands differed from island to island: some had large forests, while others were desolate and barren. On some islands, volcanoes were erupting, with hot magma spewing across thousands of kilometers; some even splashed on the protective s.h.i.+eld of the aircraft. This made everyone break out in cold sweat. Fortunately, the aircraft s.h.i.+eld was quite powerful. After traveling several kilometers, the temperature of the magma was no longer as high and did not have much impact on the aircraft.
This was a picturesque view of majestic mountains and neverending rivers. In the depths of these countless islands, a faint golden glow shone in the center area, attracting everyone’s attention.
As the aircraft flew higher while moving forward, the source of the faint golden glow became more visible. It took just one look for everyone to recognize that this must be the legendary Holy Land.
It also floated in the air like other suspended islands, but it was so vast that it was unnerving. If other suspended islands were counted as islands, then this would be considered a continent. One couldn’t see the outline of the entire suspended continent, or at least, everyone on the aircraft couldn’t. One could only faintly see its bottom outline from a very far distance. It was so huge that it sank into the clouds below. The faint golden light they saw before was emitted from this central continent. The bottom part of the continent was almost entirely composed of pale golden rocks. At one glance, everyone could tell that these rocks were mineral rocks that contained mostly metal.
The aircraft slowed down and did not speed past, as it did with the other islands. It flew slowly along the edge of the continent as if it had entered a certain channel, while Russell made a landing request repeatedly on the control deck until he received clearance.
A red route indicator appeared in front of the aircraft, and they followed it. They flew for about 10 miles, getting closer and closer to the edge of the continent. From afar, a giant four to five hundred meters tall statue was the first thing they saw. It was hard to imagine how such a huge statue could be built.
The statue was of a middle-aged man in casual clothing, with his hands behind his back. He stood smiling at the entrance of the Holy Land, with a hint of kindness in his smile that made him seem approachable; yet his aura made everyone unable to look him in the eyes even though it was just a statue. It was as if that supposedly non-living statue had immense power and wisdom, having the ability to see through everything in the world.
A huge black stela that was two to three hundred meters tall stood beside the statue. It had a black metal glow to it and was made of an unknown material. A saying was carved on it: ‘Perception changes with the soul, With will comes power.’
“This is the creator and founder of the Holy Land. Praise Adalia, our Holy Saint Teacher, the eternal one who gave us the chance to live on this land.” Zhao Kunlun and the others prayed devoutly once they saw the statue, a look of wors.h.i.+p on their faces. Even the boorish Russell looked serious for once; he stood at attention while placing his left fist on his chest and keeping his back stick-straight.
The people who came from the Earth did not know much about the legend of Adalia; they found it a tad familiar at best. But in the Holy Land, Adalia was an unrivaled presence, with a great reputation, connecting the past, present and future of humans. His immortality was the ultimate goal that humans pursued — or at least, most thought so.
If someone was able to reach immortality, why couldn’t I?
The legend was that he invented the stages of Casted Soul, Heroic Soul and Heavenly Soul. He was a presence that wielded absolute power, a whole lot stronger than Heavenly Soul Stage experts. He ascended into a higher realm and disappeared in the Fifth Dimension. But future generations in the Holy Land inherited his will and the innate need to explore the universe, as well as the meaning of life.
Carolyn and some others knew that already and were not surprised, while the other inexperienced greenhorns were stunned.
“Has Adalia came back before?” Everything in the Holy Land was magical to Grai, especially the statue of Adalia. He could see something different in its eyes. Even though it was just a statue, it had an overwhelming aura.
“Please watch what you say.” Zhao Kunlun turned to Grai. “In the Holy Land, no one should say the Holy Saint Teacher’s name out loud. This is the most basic etiquette you should have.”
Grai smiled and nodded.
Crossing the long entrance pa.s.sage, the real Holy Land finally appeared in front of everyone’s eyes. It was a magnificent city, with traces of complex human civilizations across time and many unknown buildings. Some seemed like they were from myths and fairy tales, yet no one was surprised. This was the Fifth Dimension, where illusions met reality, and the Holy Land exemplified this perfectly.
Perception changes with the soul, this saying was left by the great Holy Saint Teacher. It described how the world would change along with one’s mindset. Humans had unlimited potential; one could even understand the essence of the universe if one had an open mind. Legend said that once you reached the level of a Holy Saint Teacher, you could enter the Fifth Dimension and projection worlds at will and learn about the laws of the universe.