Chapter 392: Chosen Ones

Going back a few minutes in time.

In the meeting rooms of a dozen sects across the Divine Plane, all the major figures had gathered.

In the Ironweald Sect, the scene was no different. All the Central Elders, the Grand Elder, and the Sect Leader himself had their eyes fixed on a massive runic inscription floating in the center of the hall.

That runic formation had been granted to all the sects participating in the Celestial Event. Besides displaying the real-time ranking just like the one the disciples had access to, it also provided detailed data on each disciple, including their approximate positions on the planet.

No one outside could perfectly visualize everything happening on the surface—only the Sovereigns’ Heralds, the supreme supervisors of these events, possessed such authority. But... why would they bother?

After all, this was considered a low-level Celestial Event, one that the truly hegemonic sects couldn’t even be bothered to participate in. Because of that, the Heralds had simply kicked things off and left everything running on autopilot. If anything anomalous happened, it was up to the participating sects to alert them.

And, as expected, nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far.

Inside the Ironweald Sect’s hall, the atmosphere was one of infectious optimism.

Not even in their wildest dreams had these figures predicted such a spectacular performance from their youngsters.

During the first month, the casualties had been insignificant. And now, even after the second eruption broke out, not a single core disciple had fallen. The defensive line wasn’t merely holding—it was dominating the battlefield, gaining points nonstop.

The most radiant figure among them was the Grand Elder. Earlier, after reading the meticulous report from the youngest Central Elder about the war against the Sorcerers and witnessing Priam’s surgical command, she had taken the initiative herself: she advised her own niece to swallow her pride and hand over complete command to him.

If Nise’s personality had been a little more vain, she would have categorically refused. After all, she had been appointed the leader of everything, and she was a talented Youngster who stood above everyone else at her level.

However, the young woman had accepted the advice with maturity. Now, the meteoric results were plain for anyone to see.

That Innate Celestial, who never stopped shocking the sect, had completely transformed the fate of the core disciples.

However, minutes ago, the shock had been of a different kind: everyone had watched as Priam left his position and plunged directly into the abyss.

That horrified everyone, because it was complete suicide. But against all odds, he not only entered and emerged unscathed, but also shot straight to the absolute top of the ranking.

It was clear that Priam’s anomalous power surpassed every estimate.

The minutes dragged on in tension. Until... the critical moment finally arrived.

Through the runes, the Elders clearly noticed the stealthy movement of dozens of figures positioning themselves around Priam shortly after his rise to the top.

"Those bastards from the Thunderhead Sect!" roared Central Elder Maut, his voice filled with fury and apprehension.

The Thunderhead Sect was infamous for harboring a terrifying race of assassins among its ranks: the Vekil.

At the Mage level, the Vekil were considered the number one assassins in the entire world. The penetrating and electrical power of their lineage acted like an impenetrable curse within the victim’s body; once it invaded the body, death was inevitable.

However, once the target reached the level of a Sage, the dynamics changed.

The Essence of Creation within a Sage’s body formed a practically insurmountable natural defense, capable of expelling this race’s electrical poison.

For that reason, in order to kill a Sage, Vekil assassins were forced to wait for the exact moment when the victim exhausted or projected all of their Essence of Creation outside their body.

"Those bastards are terrible at large-scale open combat, so their tactic from the very beginning was to ambush whoever accumulated a lot of points," explained Central Elder Nafal, the scholar of the group, with a grim expression. "And the worst part is that they succeeded in most of their attempts. That’s why they’re in the top 10."

After a brief moment, he continued.

"I heard they sent around thirty Beginner-level Acquired Celestials to this Celestial Event, led by one at the Veteran level... Their assassination potential in this generation is completely off the charts."

Everyone in the hall swallowed hard, cold sweat running down their backs.

Their only hope was that Priam would notice them in time and not leave an opening for a blow from behind. But...

The worst-case scenario didn’t take long to become reality.

"WHY DID HE DO THAT?!" one of the Central Elders shouted angrily.

Everyone watched as Priam launched himself forward and unleashed an overwhelming attack, expending all his energy. At the same instant, the assassins hidden in the shadows advanced toward him like deadly claws.

However...

Against absolutely all expectations, the situation turned completely upside down in the blink of an eye.

***

Back to the battlefield.

Deafening booms, flashes of incandescent lightning, and roars of pure despair erupted nonstop from within the Miasma domain maintained by Dandara.

From the outside, the scene looked like hell itself.

Without hesitation, Priam turned toward the rear and summoned eleven names at once: his six generals, and five figures who had distinguished themselves brilliantly in his army.

Upon hearing his call, the eleven left their positions and followed Priam toward the Miasma domain, diving in without the slightest hesitation.

As they crossed the barrier, reality changed drastically.

There was no light. There was no sound. There wasn’t even the slightest sense of up or down.

It was an abyssal, suffocating darkness, similar to sinking into the abyss of nothingness itself. Curiously, the violent struggle of the attackers that everyone could witness from outside seemed to be completely muffled in there; a deathly and terrifying silence reigned.

Priam, floating in that void, sent a direct mental command to Dandara:

’You can finish them off.’

The response was immediate. Dandara unleashed all the fury that had been held back within her domain.

Blinded by greed, around fifteen thousand assassins had been swallowed by the trap. Most belonged to secondary stealth races, but the real treasure was a specific group: forty Sages from a powerful race that mastered the electrical element—and thirty-one of them were Acquired Celestials.

The moment he returned from the abyss, Priam had already detected the presence of those shadows lurking around the outskirts of his army. He recognized the pure elemental energy they emanated, and instinctively sensed the high potential of their Lineages. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He needed a new useful Lineage.

Electrical element? He had never studied anything of the sort, but he had liked the feeling of using the Lightning of Destruction earlier. Because of that, he felt that having a Lineage that could help him control this power better would be interesting.

Besides... in the future, he intended to obtain as many Paragon Magic Arts as possible, and he would certainly face more Celestial Punishments. So, improving his mastery and control over this element would be the right strategic move.

Suddenly, everyone who had entered the Miasma felt a Yin of death surge forth overwhelmingly.

[Celestial Overlord activated!]

[31 Celestial Marks successfully absorbed]

Dandara pulverized the enemies’ bodies in a single overwhelming coordinated attack. The assassins didn’t even have time to panic; with the mindset of Celestials at their level, they blindly trusted in the regeneration they possessed.

Unfortunately for them, Priam’s new innate ability harvested their Celestial Marks at the exact instant their bodies were destroyed, sealing a true and irreversible death before they even understood what had hit them.

[System Assimilation: +60%]

[Assimilation of acquired knowledge:]

[Type 1: 15%]

[Type 2: 22%]

[Type 7: 70%]

[Type 8: 15%]

[Type 10: 16%]

[Type 12: 14%]

Priam felt a shiver of excitement as he read the windows. The assimilation progress of Type 7 had jumped to an impressive 70%! If he maintained this luck and managed to complete it in the future, he would unlock something genuinely shocking.

[Possible Celestial Marks to create: 12]

He let out a brief mental sigh. After the System reached Level 5, the requirements for advancing had increased. Even the thirty-one Celestial Marks harvested, one of them being at the Veteran level, had only yielded 60% toward the next level, preventing his Celestial creation limit from increasing.

Still, twelve was more than enough to get started.

Around Priam’s group, the dense Miasma began to disperse, becoming translucent and gentle. The light gradually returned, allowing the eleven companions to see each other and feel their surroundings once again.

Without wasting a second, Priam looked at the eleven he had brought with him.

"From today onward, you will be Celestials," Priam said, his voice resonating with unquestionable authority. "If anyone asks in the future: you tried to absorb the Celestial Marks of the dead here and, through sheer luck, managed to succeed after failing repeatedly."

The eleven widened their eyes, far too shocked to form a single word. Before they could even process the magnitude of that statement, Priam simply issued the command through the System.

*WUUUUM!*

Eleven beams of runic light flowed out of Priam and shot straight into the chests of the chosen ones. The instant the marks pierced their Jade Cores, a muffled crack—like a crystalline shell splitting apart—echoed from deep within their beings.

The ordinary Jade Cores they carried shattered, merging with the Celestial Mark to make way for genuine Celestial Cores!

Right after the transformation of the eleven, Dandara calmly appeared beside Priam, her eyes radiant.

Priam turned toward her, smiled, gave a slight nod, and confirmed the final command in the System.

The twelfth and final Celestial Mark was channeled and absorbed by her.

Dandara had been limited by being a Fighter class, with her new powers out of sync with her. But now, everything had changed.

From this moment onward, none of the twelve chosen by Priam would need to limit themselves to the power of normal classes. They could learn anything, and each of their potentials would multiply countless times over.