Chapter 599 - 552: The Ability of the Numbered Nirvana Skill [Stealth]

In a moment that felt like a thousand years, Bertutan thought of many things.

How did she fall?

A new god who had lived through the rise of the gods, the Pillar Stone of truth, the invasion of the ancient evils, and the Age of No Gods; who had remained unscathed for over a hundred thousand years... had fallen here? In the First Civilization Cosmic Country, a place long since pacified and thought to be entirely safe?

What power could have caused her fall?

There were many possibilities.

But the most likely was Shi Ming—the Heir of the Gods who had drawn the Sword in the Stone. He already possessed the ability to slay a new god, and Huang Ji’s recent visit to his domain might have been the very trigger for her death!

The first to fall was Huang Ji.

Who would be the second?

The new gods, standing loftily at the pinnacle of the Star Sea, almost never considered something as remote as "death." If the thought ever crossed their minds, it was usually in the context of planning funerals for others. Even if gravely injured, gods like Bertutan and Herakrode would never truly believe they could fall. They simply had too many trump cards. A being capable of killing them so instantly that they couldn’t even use a single one was thought to be virtually nonexistent.

But had that changed now?

The furrows on Bertutan’s brow deepened. He let out a sigh, observing a few seconds of silence for his former colleague. Then, his attention turned to another problem that demanded consideration.

Huang Ji, who had left the group, had already fallen.

Was Candela, who had also left, truly safe?

The one who had just contacted him via the [Voice of Entanglement]... was that the real Candela?

The power of the Divine Warrior was beyond doubt.

She was ranked number one among the five new gods.

But one must not forget that not long ago, that very Shi Ming had appeared before them in the guise of Candela, ruining their plans. The [Time] and [Gold and Silver Era] abilities he had used were identical to Candela’s. Was this a simple copy of her skills, or was it some other, more staggering outcome that one dared not even imagine?

He activated the destiny-attribute treasure, intending to contact Candela again and see if he could discern anything from subtle clues.

But in the end, he stopped.

’The seeds of doubt had already taken root and sprouted.’

’Whether it was the real Candela or not... it no longer mattered.’

...

...

...

On the Primordial Star, Teacher Nie’s second lesson began.

"To put it simply,"

"My [Concealment] can make any target—be it tangible, intangible, abstract, or concrete, even a concept—hidden, unselectable, and imperceptible. Its effect was potent enough that even the four great ancient evils of the past were helpless against it. Unless one possesses a specific counter-skill, exceptionally high Spiritual Power, or is a master of observation, they would be completely powerless against this ability."

"Even if you detect a faint trace, you still can’t take any action against the target."

"Therefore, it is known as the most powerful survival, reconnaissance, and assassination skill in the Star Sea."

’Is that so?’ Shi Ming thought.

Perhaps finding words too pale a substitute, the new god personally demonstrated [Concealment] for Shi Ming to show its effect.

Shi Ming already knew about her ability, but he couldn’t just say so.

He watched Amonev’s demonstration with rapt attention, perceiving the power of this #15 Nirvana Skill on a real and tangible level.

Amonev’s body transformed from visible, tangible matter into an outline traced by stars, reminding Shi Ming of constellation diagrams in a picture book.

Then, the starlight rapidly dimmed,

and Amonev’s entire body vanished completely, leaving no trace behind, as if the woman had never arrived on the Primordial Star at all.

Shi Ming tried to use the Time Giant’s abilities of time and destiny to find her, but there was still no trace. Even when he rewound the area’s time by ten minutes and tried to lock on with the River of Destiny, he could find no information, no image of Amonev. It was as if the target had completely vanished from the world.

He focused his Spiritual Power for a deeper, more meticulous observation.

This time, his powerful Spiritual Power did not disappoint him; he found an extremely faint, subtle trace. If he were to use [Borer] to exploit this ’bug,’ or use [Zero] to clear out the power in this area, Shi Ming was confident that Amonev’s concealment would be completely exposed.

Naturally, he wouldn’t do that.

Cooperation requires a sense of boundaries.

Not showing someone up during their demonstration is the most basic of these boundaries.

"Truly amazing," Shi Ming said in awe.

Besides maintaining boundaries, a little flattery was also necessary.

Amonev returned from her hidden state to reality, her expression still neutral.

"That was just the most basic application of [Concealment]. Every numbered Nirvana Skill has techniques that can be used across multiple dimensions. For example, [Concealment] can also assist other targets. Combined with the divine authority of [Concealed Thought], it can even hide an entire thriving race, erasing it from the perception of ordinary beings."

"It is the ultimate assassination skill, yet it has no direct offensive power. Only when paired with an extremely powerful attack skill can one become an assassin capable of slaying new gods."

"However..."

Amonev didn’t continue.

Shi Ming understood.

’However... attack skills that would allow Amonev to instantly kill a new god while concealed were exceedingly rare. Even numbered Nirvana Skills seldom had an instant-kill effect; achieving it required a combination of secret treasures or other methods.’

’Amonev did not possess such an ability.’

’Candela’s talent skill, [Gold and Silver Era], when pushed to its absolute limit, was one such possibility. The [Silence] skill of Creator Uncle Tian, Herakrode, combined with Bertutan’s [Void], was perhaps another. Beyond that, even the most powerful single-target attacks could only gravely injure a new god, at best.’

’To fall instantly?’

’It was too difficult.’

’The new gods had an unimaginable number of tricks up their sleeves. As long as they weren’t dead, there was little difference between a grave injury and a light one. That was why, when the report of Shi Ming killing Huang Ji arrived, Amonev’s first reaction was that it was "absurd."’

"My other skill is called [Starfall]."

"While its attack power isn’t the absolute strongest, when combined with my [Concealment], it can still gravely injure an unprepared new god. However, in the current situation, our target will certainly not be unprepared. The probability of a successful assassination is practically zero, and we might even walk right into a trap they’ve set."

Shi Ming understood Amonev’s concerns.

Bertutan was no fool. He would be intimately familiar with the skills of his former colleague, Amonev. Now that they were on opposing sides, his group would undoubtedly take specific defensive measures. For the short term, at least, they would be on high alert against [Concealment].

In this situation, any "opportunity" an assassin might see could very well be a trap deliberately left exposed by the enemy.