Chapter 317: A Great Joyous News, Bai Fu Finally Made It!
Tub Star System.
Inside the base established by the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations.
Winter of the Apocalypse and the others sat around a square table, each with a bitter look on their face, each bearing injuries so deep they could not heal with the naked eye.
No one spoke.
This silence lasted nearly 10 minutes before finally, a Transcendent from Titan Industries broke the stillness.
“Now what should we do?”
Everyone looked at each other.
What should they do?
Even though Bai Fu had joined the battlefield, as time passed, in their battle against the Holy City of Apostles, they had still once again fallen into disadvantage.
This really wasn’t because they lacked strength.
It was because the enemy had cheats.
Those bastards from the Holy City of Apostles were already stronger, and yet, somehow, they were all running with infinite mana.
How were they supposed to fight against mages with higher stats and infinite mana?
【I really don’t know.】
Realizing the situation was turning dire, Winter of the Apocalypse and his team had attempted several joint surprise beheadings, hoping to reduce the enemy’s numbers.
But the existence of Dark Energy had rendered all their attempts useless.
Not only did they gain nothing, but they also suffered greatly.
Now, Winter of the Apocalypse bore an erosion mark left by Dark Energy on his chest. That mark meant his Esper power had a chance to fail, practically costing him his life.
Since they could not win through brute force, they sought reinforcements.
Thus.
Winter of the Apocalypse and the others kept urging the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations to send more troops, but without exception, they were all rejected.
【Brother, I know you’re suffering, but things aren’t much better on our end.
We thought the Revolutionary Army and Star Pirates would be wiped out in one charge, and then we’d be able to help you. But who knew those bastards were so good at hiding?
They clearly had Transcendent-level Espers, and even possessed terrifying cosmic treasures and Void Weapons. Yet they hid them until the Holy City of Apostles attacked, only then did they suddenly appear.
Right now, things are only a little better here than on your side, but not by much.】
After receiving such a reply, Winter of the Apocalypse and the others, whose morale was already low, now had almost none left.
They were holding a meeting, but in their hearts, they were already considering retreat. Still, due to various reasons, no one dared to be the one to break the silence.
But now that someone had spoken up, the others began to talk more.
They complained—complained that the Holy City of Apostles was absurdly strong, complained that their own fortune was terrible.
And while they were venting, someone finally brought the topic back on track.
“To be honest, I think if we keep this up—”
Bang.
Before the words could finish, the conference room’s door was suddenly struck hard.
“Something big has happened, something big!”
“？”
Swish swish swish.
In an instant, all six Transcendents in the room stood up.
Not good!
Winter of the Apocalypse was the first to open the door.
“Is it the Holy City of Apostles attacking?”
The Domination-level being who had knocked on the door quickly shook his head. “No.”
“Then why are you in such a hurry?”
“The Holy City of Apostles didn’t come. Instead, they suddenly left. Just now, the Undying Ones under Bai Fu personally saw them start the Dark Energy engine of their Icon-class Mothership and jump away.”
Huh?
Everyone in the conference room was stunned.
The situation was in their favor—why would the Holy City of Apostles suddenly leave?
Could it be… a trap?
“It doesn’t seem so. They left in a great hurry. Aside from that Icon-class Mothership, all other ships were abandoned. One Domination-level being didn’t even make it out and was killed by Bai Fu. To use a Domination-level being and an entire fleet as bait—that price is far too high.”
That was true.
Even for Cosmic-level forces, losing one Domination-level being was a painful blow.
If it wasn’t bait, then something must have gone wrong inside the Holy City of Apostles!
“Quick, question the captives we just caught. Find out what happened.”
The messenger Domination shook his head regretfully. “Unfortunately, we questioned many, but no one knows why the Fourth Candidate Apostle abandoned them.”
“This……”
Winter of the Apocalypse and the others looked at each other, baffled.
While they secretly rejoiced, the Fourth Candidate Apostle, Litt, who had just retreated, was dark-faced as if his anger could drip from it.
The chance to finally wash away his shame was right before him, yet because Bai Fu had detoured to ambush Cathedral Number Four, he was forced to give it up. On top of that, he had lost another Domination-level servant…
Arghhhhhhh!
Litt roared in fury inside.
The situation had become like this partly because of Bai Fu’s sudden move, and partly because among them was a traitor.
Litt was absolutely certain.
The temporary commander of Cathedral Number Four had told him Bai Fu had navigated the labyrinth system like it was her own home.
If not for an insider giving her the map, how could she know it so well?
“Heh.”
Litt sneered coldly in his heart.
He now understood—last time Bai Fu had blown up the Black Hole in the Tub Star System, it must also have been because of an insider who went easy during the assault on Bai Fu’s temporary base.
Who was it?
For now, he could not figure it out.
But whoever it was, he would make sure that person could neither live nor die.
Of course, the most urgent matter was still to eliminate Bai Fu.
Bai Fu was the greatest threat.
If she continued her sabotage, Cathedral Number Four’s strength would inevitably drop drastically in the short term. With that decline, his position within the Holy City of Apostles would drop as well.
That was something he could never allow.
Right now was the period of rapid expansion for the Holy City of Apostles. While the other Cathedrals were seizing every chance to strengthen themselves, Cathedral Number Four had not only failed to progress but had suffered huge losses. How could he tolerate that?
As the saying went: A Candidate Apostle who did not aspire to be the Supreme Apostle was not a true Candidate Apostle.
Litt’s dream was to seize the chaos caused by the clash of Cosmic-level civilizations, grow stronger, and eventually replace the current Supreme Apostle.
The Holy City of Apostles was not truly united. Each Cathedral had its own interests, only tied together by greater profit.
“Lord Litt, the ship’s jump has ended. In three minutes, we’ll arrive at the first checkpoint of the Cathedral.”
At this time, a crew member stepped forward to report.
Litt nodded. He took the chance to contact the temporary commander and the Supreme Apostle for updates.
“What, Bai Fu already left? And before leaving, she even wreaked havoc inside the Cathedral?”
Damn it!
Litt was so furious his very soul nearly flew out from the top of his head.
The temporary commander cautiously said: “Lord Litt, Bai Fu hasn’t gotten far. She’s still within the Cathedral’s first district. The Supreme Apostle is personally leading the pursuit. She won’t escape.”
Litt exhaled in relief. “Good. I’ll be there immediately.”
He abandoned the ship and, with a few Transcendents, rushed to join the Supreme Apostle.
After the two groups met, they wasted no words and continued the carpet search.
After all, this was Litt’s base. No matter how skilled Bai Fu was at hiding, she could not withstand this level of scrutiny. Her hiding space shrank until she had nowhere left to go.
“Bai Fu, you can’t run anymore. Even if you are an Apostle, today you’ll meet your end here!”
Litt roared toward a gray planet not far away.
His Psionic power carried his voice like a galactic wind across every corner of the planet.
At that moment, Bai Fu, who was lying on a flat rock eating sunflower seeds, lifted her head.
“So they finally came? Slower than I expected.”
Twenty minutes ago, Bai Fu had already finished absorbing the 【Dark Energy Conversion Theory】 and 【Super-fusion Psionic Materials Science】 she had snatched from Cathedral Number Four.
The boost they brought her was beyond imagination.
The most direct enhancement was that she finally activated 【Spiral】 and 【Ethereal】, talents she had long mastered but never unlocked.
【Spiral】 was a Talent. Once activated, Hei Fu was no longer just her True Spirit clone but became her second body. Unless the enemy destroyed both her and Hei Fu simultaneously in a short time, or annihilated her soul outright, she could instantly transfer to the other body to “resurrect.”
【Ethereal】 was a Skill—a functional one. With it, she could absorb Psionic power from her own True Spirit summons and make it hers.
Although 【Ethereal】 had cooldowns and was capped at 10% maximum Psionic value per second, it still increased her combat endurance fivefold. Now she no longer needed Yulia for sustainability. Some of her big skills, like 【Ethereal Field】, no longer needed to be conserved.
In addition, after learning the two cutting-edge Dark Energy sciences, Bai Fu also gained one new Talent and three new Skills.
The Talent was—
【Dark Energy Absorption】: When inflicting damage on an enemy, Dark Energy would absorb 10% of the damage as life force. The absorbed life force could be converted into a Dark Energy Shield. If not converted within a set time, the absorbed life force would dissipate.
The Skills were—
【Advanced Fusion Attribute Prayer Card Mastery】: With this, Bai Fu could craft fusion-attribute Prayer Cards at +100% efficiency.
【Dark Energy Shelter】: With this, Bai Fu could generate a Dark Energy Shield that drastically reduced damage from Psionic attacks.
【Delayed Explosion】: This special skill allowed Bai Fu to delay the damage she took for 5 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the amount received. The more damage she took, the shorter the delay.
The effects of the three skills were all impressive, especially 【Delayed Explosion】. From a certain perspective, it could even be treated as an invincibility skill. Even if it only granted five seconds of invincibility, and after five seconds she would be blown apart, those five seconds were enough for Bai Fu to accomplish many things.
Bai Fu stood up from the ground, shaking her somewhat stiff right arm.
“It’s time to test my current combat strength.”
She raised her head, only to be met head-on by a torrent of Psionic energy crashing down from the heavens, nearly filling her entire vision.
This was the Heavenly Torrent Descending Upon the World!
Before the Psionic energy even touched down, just scraping against the planet’s thin atmosphere caused the entire world to tremble as if plunged into a bitter winter. If it fully landed, the planet would instantly be reduced to ashes.
Calm and composed, Bai Fu unfolded her Dark Energy Shield.
A black hemisphere expanded from her body outward until it touched the Psionic torrent.
Boom!
Psionic and Dark Energy collided billions of times in an instant. Violent shockwaves surged into the starry sky, sending the warships accompanying the Supreme Apostle and Litt tumbling like toys. Yet Bai Fu’s Dark Energy Shield stood unshaken, and behind it, Bai Fu was perfectly fine.
The failed strike didn’t rattle the Supreme Apostle and Litt in the slightest.
They had already expected that this level of attack would not harm an Apostle like Bai Fu. That strike had been nothing more than a greeting.
“Did you think that just because you were born as an Apostle, you could casually provoke the Holy City of Apostles?”
“Today, I will shatter your dream!”
Apostles were powerful.
But power was relative.
To ordinary people, Apostles were untouchable. But to the Supreme Apostle and Litt, apart from a rare few, the others were merely tougher to kill than regular Transcendents, hardly worth fearing.
“Full assault! Against Bai Fu, show no mercy, hold nothing back—strike with the swiftest, most devastating means, and send her on her way!”
The Supreme Apostle pressed his right hand forward.
He couldn’t even be bothered to say more to Bai Fu.
Battle was about life and death—when it came down to that, why waste words?
Why Bai Fu had come to Cathedral Number Four was irrelevant. What mattered was a world without Bai Fu.
In an instant, thousands of massive warships fired upon the planet ahead. Some of these ships were even larger than the planet itself.
Beyond the ships, dozens of Domination-level beings and Transcendents also launched their assault, unleashing their powers with Bai Fu as the target.
Among them was Litt, who wanted nothing more than to tear Bai Fu apart alive. Only Senlan, the Transcendent servant of Cathedral Number Four, frowned deeply.
He still remembered the words Bai Fu had told him before blowing up the Black Hole. For days he had wrestled with the thought of secretly following her. But now… was Bai Fu going to die here?
With over a dozen Transcendents striking at once, he couldn’t imagine how Bai Fu could possibly survive—unless this was merely one of her clones.
But it didn’t look like it.
Could an ordinary clone ever be powerful enough to break through Cathedral Number Four’s defenses?
A pity. His path of evolution.
As Senlan regretted in silence, suddenly, at the heart of the death web woven from countless Psionic and Dark Energy strikes, a light appeared.
At first, it was just a tiny spark.
Gradually, that spark grew to the size of a fist, then a helmet, then a car, until it became a blazing sun.
“It’s Bai Fu!”
One of the Transcendents at the front cried out in alarm.
Everyone saw clearly now—the source of that light was Bai Fu!
Bai Fu charged through the attacks unscathed. No wounds marred her body. Psionic and Dark Energy swirled around her like an exploding star, shredding everything in her path.
“How is this possible?”
Senlan’s jaw dropped, his eyes nearly falling out in shock.
That level of attack—forget him, even Litt would have been injured. Yet Bai Fu, who not long ago wasn’t even Litt’s equal, emerged without a scratch.
This had to be a cheat, right? It had to be!
He wasn’t the only one stunned. Even the Supreme Apostle, who moments ago brimmed with confidence, felt his eyelids twitch violently.
That energy level, that speed of growth…
There was no mistake—Bai Fu was definitely one of the very top Apostles!
The only relief was that Bai Fu had clearly not yet regained her peak strength.
“Stop her! She must not escape!”
With that command, the Supreme Apostle personally moved, sealing off Bai Fu’s escape routes.
But to everyone’s surprise, Bai Fu had no intention of running. Her target was the Fourth Candidate Apostle, Litt, who had just returned from the front!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
As the death web fell, Bai Fu activated every possible buff, spiking her Inspiration to 23,547 points in an instant.
Then, with 【Delayed Explosion】 active, she dove headlong into the death web.
What “death web”? Before her invincibility, it was nothing.
Faster, faster—accelerating beyond anyone’s ability to react.
By the time they noticed, she was already before Litt.
Devouring of Dark Energy!
The new skill she had gained after stealing cutting-edge Dark Energy knowledge from the Holy City of Apostles finally showed its power.
Dark Energy surged like a world-ending spear, piercing through Litt’s chest.
Before Litt could respond, Bai Fu raised her other hand, unleashing a Dark Burn amplified with the effect of True Judgment.
The Lord of Darkness’s divine fire consumed Litt’s chest.
“Hsss—ahhhhhh!”
Litt screamed as endless Psionic energy erupted from his body.
But Bai Fu didn’t even bother to dodge.
Fine—he blasted her, she blasted him!
Ethereal Torrent!
More hybrid Psionic energy gushed forth from the Gate of the Heavenly Eye, overwhelming, as if to swallow the world itself.
The surrounding space could no longer withstand it, fracturing inch by inch like glass.
This was a battle of attrition.
In a head-on war of endurance, there was only one outcome for the weaker side: death!
But…
“What a pity. My strength is still lacking. If I had undergone two Divine Transformations already, I could’ve sent the Fourth Candidate Apostle to the afterlife amidst the armies.”
Bai Fu shook her head inwardly.
The effect of Delayed Explosion hadn’t even triggered yet when the Supreme Apostle appeared behind her.
She hurriedly turned, casting out an Apostle Spirit Vision before his attack landed.
【Name】: ? (Apostle Symbiosis)
【Template】: Ultra Rare – Apostle Symbiosis
【Main Class】: ? Lv39 [Subclass ? Lv230]
Damn, that’s higher than level 269?
That thought barely formed before her mind was drowned out by a flood of game notifications.
Delayed Explosion and the Supreme Apostle’s strike arrived together.
【Your HP bar has been emptied】
【Your soul has suffered a special attack】
【Judgment in progress… Judgment failed. The impact from Symbiosis Apostle continues to corrode your soul】
【Your soul has died】
【Your second body, Hei Fu, has died】
【Paradise Ark trait has activated. In 10 seconds, you will resurrect near the Paradise Ark】
“From the moment you came here, your fate was already sealed.”
The Supreme Apostle calmly withdrew his hand.
Psionic and Dark Energy dissipated. Before him, Bai Fu had completely vanished. As for Litt, he at least had an upper body left, but energy erosion left him gravely weakened, even his soul broken. Recovery would take much effort.
Beaten so miserably, Litt should have been furious. Yet staring at the Supreme Apostle before him, he couldn’t feel a shred of anger.
That power…
How? He had always thought his gap with the Supreme Apostle wasn’t too large. But the force he had just felt…
Litt trembled.
Trembled at Bai Fu’s outburst. Trembled even more at the Supreme Apostle’s revealed might.
Bai Fu, that monster, was at least dead. But the Supreme Apostle—this monster still lived, carrying boundless ambition.
“Bai Fu is dead. Spread the word.”
Ignoring the battered Litt, the Supreme Apostle turned to the others.
The news spread like a hurricane, soon reaching the Explored Universe.
【In order to break the siege of the Tub Star System, Bai Fu risked everything to launch a raid on Cathedral Number Four. She nearly succeeded. But she hadn’t expected the Holy City of Apostles to possess an Icon-class Mothership capable of leaping billions of light-years instantly, nor had she expected the Supreme Apostle to be so powerful.】
【Bai Fu is dead. She gave her life to lift the siege of the Tub Star System. She lived gloriously and died a hero.】
The moment the news spread, some were shocked, thinking it nonsense. Others rejoiced.
Great joyous news, great joyous news—Bai Fu was finally dead!
In short, the Explored Universe boiled over.