580 Baptism [20]
It was strange how fast a situation could change.
Mere moments ago, hundreds of thousands of troops were earnestly fighting to kill each other, even 4th classes were dropping like flies. But with the arrival of Tian Yang and his following movements, everything went quiet.
Not even the troops below dared to move, as they feared the consequences of offending this new Demigod. After all, before his arrival, they weren’t able to see the other Demigods in the sky who were covered by Authorities.
Damien’s situation was the cherry on top. Even an idiot could understand that these Demigods were paying close attention to him. Hell, the start of this war was due to Wrath’s desire to get his hands on the Seed.
When the Void Essence cocoon covered him, surprise was the main emotion among them. Especially the 4th classes who already underwent Baptism, they were clearest on the strangeness of his situation.
A normal Baptism was simple. One’s comprehension of elements would be put to the test along with their mentality. While the method of testing and difficulty varied greatly per person, the underlying intent was usually the same.
A situation like Damien’s was uncalled for. What did it mean? Why did it carry so much significance that even a Demigod would earnestly watch?
All these questions were doomed to go unanswered, but at the very least, these practitioners were happy to be present at what seemed to be a monumental moment.
Crack!
When that crack rang out, tensions reached an all-time high. And finally, Damien’s hand pushed through, allowing the cocoon to crumble and fade into nothingness.
Standing in the air now was a heroic youth. His momentum was both heroic and demonic at the same time, giving him an unpredictable aura, but his true aura was actually not present at all.
If it wasn’t for common sense, the previous events, and the fact that he was currently hovering in the air, it wouldn’t be difficult to mistake him for a common mortal.
But this was only for those weaker beings. The 4th classes could faintly feel a hint of the power he possessed, but the Demigods were far clearer.
They could easily sense the all-encompassing yet non-existent aura radiating from his body. To be able to give them this kind of feeling, Damien didn’t even seem human anymore.
Rose and Ruyue were perhaps the most surprised by the new Damien that came out after his evolution. After all, his appearance had gone through great changes!
His skin had always been milky-white, mirroring the finest jade, but this effect was even more exaggerated now. His smooth and unblemished skin made him seem like a sculpture carved out of the rarest minerals in existence.
His hair, which had been uncut for many years, fell down his back like a midnight waterfall. However, unlike before, those streaks of silver were no longer present. His hair had reverted back to its previous glossy black appearance.
And below his sharp eyebrows were two mystical purple eyes. Even they had reverted to how they were before Damien’s evolution. No longer did they swirl along with the blood-red color that used to be there.
In essence, Damien’s appearance regressed in a positive way. The only facet of his previous special appearance that remained were his cross-shaped pupils.
This change in appearance wasn’t done on purpose, it was a natural byproduct of his path to perfection. After all, the changes in his appearance were always imperfections.
His hair and eyes were byproducts of a time when he was young and unskilled. Back then, Damien had only just unlocked the functions of his Void Physique and gone through his first evolution.
It was only natural that this evolution wouldn’t be as complete as those that came after it. Whether it be his hair or his eyes, they were both caused by his first evolution.
Previously, he didn’t have the ability to go back and change what had happened in the past. The damage had been done. And with the general public not raising any concerns over his flashiness, he slowly got used to it.
But that didn’t change the fact that they were imperfections.
The Void Physique was able to perfectly evolve Damien’s body and incorporate the traits of those he devoured. Even when he gained special bloodlines, they never affected his external appearance. This was the ideal.
The only reason the All-Seeing Eyes maintained their cross-shaped pupils is because they functioned as both a trait and a skill. While he acquired them through devouring a spider beast, they were no longer the same pupils from back then.
More than anything else, reverting to the appearance he was given at birth made Damien feel refreshed. He felt more like himself than he ever did before.
And when that was combined with the unbridled power he felt coursing through his veins…
He threw his head back and roared into the sky. Dragon Pressure spread from his body in waves, giving off an extremely threatening feeling. Some 3rd class soldiers in his direct vicinity were killed by this pressure alone.
Finally.
Finally, after so many years, his Baptism was complete.
There were no messages from the system, no indications that he passed, but he knew it instinctively. He was no longer on the same level as those small 3rd class existences.
As his hands clenched into fists, he could feel the essence of the world moving with them.
He could feel Laws.
It was a mystical feeling. Who knew that the space he had been mingling with since young could give him such a clear feeling? It felt as if he was connected with it, he had become one with it. It wasn’t just his closest companion anymore. Space was him and he was space.
But at the same time, it wasn’t just space. Whenever he interacted with space, he found that time would sneak its way in. And when he interacted with time, the same situation would occur with space.
Within his body, these two elements had been intrinsically linked. Rather than saying he had affinities for space and time, it was more accurate to just call it a singular space-time affinity.
‘Tch. To think the difference between utilizing laws with the help of World Force would feel so different from doing it personally. I was an idiot to think that World Force alone put me on par with those experts like Bai Xieren.’
Back then, he’d mistakenly believed that even if he faced Bai Xieren, he’d have a chance at victory due to World Force. But he was older now and far smarter. More than that, he finally understood how it felt to be a 4th class.
Even if they were on the Cloud Plane and he had complete control over World Force, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Bai Xieren. Her ability was her own, while Damien would only be borrowing a mere portion of the Cloud Plane’s power.
He shook his head in dismay. He didn’t even realize how insane his arrogance had been. If it wasn’t for the fact that those powerful beings he interacted with on the Cloud Plane were allies and those who respected his position as the Star Master, he would’ve been squashed like a bug.
The god-like omniscience that binding a world provided easily got to his head. With him still in the process of mentally maturing, this was even more so.
But he didn’t have time to feel the true extent of his embarrassment towards his past actions. After all, he’d just received an immense boost in power.
To consolidate that power as well as understand his limits, there was only one thing for him to do.
His battle intent blazed.
Today, he would fight and kill until he either ran out of enemies, or dropped dead himself!