Celestial Human Diagram

On April 22nd, at 12:17 AM, Resonator technicians from various companies, along with their hired Resonators, began repeatedly infiltrating government platforms to gather intelligence.

In response, the Central City Government deployed a large number of its own Resonators to counter them, and the two sides engaged in a fierce offensive and defensive battle of Domains.

However, even without the Fumu's Domain to draw upon, the government still held its ground, relying on its absolute superiority in resources and home-field advantage.

The only problem was that the Domain battles were consuming a massive amount of communication resources. This caused intermittent voids to appear on the light screens, indicating areas that had temporarily lost their Domain signal and, with it, all monitoring.

The female assistant placed her hand on the Realm Token, as if listening to something. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Specialist, the Administrative Affairs Hall is requesting that the Defense Department deploy more inactive Consciousness Bodies."

Specialist Liang said, "It's not time yet. Deny their request."

This was only the Fumu's first division, still far from the most uncontrollable moment. He was saving his reserve of inactive Consciousness Bodies for the most critical juncture.

For now, the companies were merely probing; none had yet sent out teams to seize the splinter bodies. As a result, just one hour later, emergency response teams across the various districts had located and recovered the entire first wave.

The Sentry Tower's voice rang out. "Confirmed. The first wave of splinter bodies has been fully captured. None were missed."

Hearing this news, the people in the command hall relaxed slightly. It was, after all, a good start.

Specialist Liang, however, maintained his grim expression. He knew it was far too early to relax. In the beginning, the Fumu's splinter bodies were few, numbering only in the single digits.

Central City had already predicted their most likely locations, and with no major obstructions, they had been able to act quickly.

But the next stage would be different. With each successive wave, the number of splinter bodies would multiply. There would be more and more locations they couldn't cover, and the situation would inevitably spiral out of control. The longer it went on, the more chaotic it would become.

Another point of concern was that while the Fumu was in its reproductive phase, even if the splinter bodies were recovered, the Rifts they created would not simply disappear.

Therefore, they would have to station personnel or guards near every Rift, which would further dilute their forces.

And once the various companies and factions had gathered enough data, they would surely seize the opportunity to snatch the splinter bodies. That was when the real battle would begin.

Just then, a civilian staffer approached him, saluted, and handed over a file.

Specialist Liang took it and glanced at it. It was a report from the "Sentry Tower," estimating that the third wave would produce over twenty splinter bodies, with the number continuing to increase in subsequent waves.

This was unavoidable. To reduce the impact of drastic, concentrated changes, the Fumu had been "modulated" to produce a larger number of smaller splinter bodies instead of a few large ones. But this increase in quantity brought its own problems: recovery became far more tedious and difficult.

'I hope the preparations we made are enough for what's coming,' he thought.

An hour and a half passed quickly. At 1:39 AM, the Fumu underwent its second division. This time, it produced nine splinter bodies. The Sentry Tower immediately provided their exact locations and the estimated recovery time.

This recovery also went relatively smoothly. The information war in the outer Domain was still ongoing, but the frequency of attacks and counterattacks had dropped significantly.

This wasn't because the opposition had given up. Rather, the probing companies and factions had gradually gathered the information they needed. After all, besides digital theft, the various powers had spies stationed in every district who could gather intelligence through direct observation.

At 2:20 AM, the second wave recovery was complete.

Specialist Liang pinched the bridge of his nose. When he saw his female assistant offer him a cup of tea, he thanked her and took it.

He glanced at the countdown timer on the main screen. The third wave was at 3:25 AM.

He said in a low voice, "With the third wave, the Fumu will enter its volatile stage. The outer Domain will fail completely, and all the rats will come out of the woodwork." He took a sip of tea. "Have you sensed anything?"

The female assistant shook her head.

Specialist Liang watched the steam rising from his cup. "They're hiding deep," he said slowly. "We'll just have to be patient."

At the port in Yinglu District, a ship that had been waiting just offshore was now docking.

Gongying Changxiu and a retinue of disciples from Wind Forest Hall stood on the ship's deck, their hands resting on the long blades at their waists. Behind them, the clouds glowed like a sunset, and the sea breeze rustled their traditional martial arts gis.

Gongying Changxiu closed his eyes, sensing the air. His spirit was gradually stirring. Having passed through the Ghost Gate, he would now attempt to cross the Celestial Gate.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and said, "Guan Shang, a duel awaits me. This is where we part ways."

Guan Shangjing gave Gongying Changxiu a deep bow. "Brother Gongying, I'm counting on you."

Gongying Changxiu turned and returned the bow with equal gravity. Then he led his fellow Wind Forest Hall members off the ship and into vehicles that were waiting at the dock, heading toward the Central City District.

Meanwhile, in the Xi Hui Opera House, Astrid was donning a suit of Knight Armor and attaching specialized assault gear to her person.

The full set of equipment had been prepared for her by Porlon Company. From the armor to the weapons, everything was crafted from special materials designed to perfectly complement her abilities.

As she was inspecting her gear, a voice came from behind her.

"Adis..."

Astrid turned to look.

A woman in black armor leaned against a pillar. She had black hair and black eyes; it was Sigrid, the actress who played the knight in the opera. Despite being clad in armor just like Astrid, her arrival had been completely silent.

She spoke. "Adis, the company assigned me to you. I'll be your Seeker."

"Can I trust you, Qianji?" Astrid asked, looking into her black eyes. "After all, we've fought more times than I can count."

"Of course. Who can you trust, if not me?" Sigrid replied with a playful smile.

Astrid broke into a smile. She picked up the helmet from the table and put it on. "A Knight can't be trusted," she joked, "but I'm a Shepherdess."

With that, she raised a hand and lowered her Face Armor.

She then picked up the long spear leaning against a table. With a light twist and a CLICK, it collapsed into a short spear, which she holstered on her back.

"Alright, all set."

She took a few steps forward, held out her hand, and slapped it against Sigrid's. "Qianji, it's time to go." Then, with the CLANK CLANK of her armored boots, she headed out.

Sigrid turned, watching her silently for a moment before donning her own helmet and following.

An hour passed quickly, and the Fumu's third division began right on schedule.

This time was different. The disturbance was immense. First, minor earthquakes shook districts across Central City. Then, the Rift in the sky abruptly widened, with new, branch-like fissures spreading outward.

A crystalline, crimson powder rained down from their edges, as if the entire sky were a mirror on the verge of shattering.

As this continued, flashes of lightning-like energy erupted from within the Rifts, accompanied by a rumbling that spread through the air. And deep inside those Rifts, it looked as if something was crossing over.

At that exact moment, Chen Chuan, who was deep in meditation, snapped his eyes open.

In that instant, he felt his spirit make contact with another world.

'He understood at once.'

'The Celestial Gate... is open!'

Having long awaited this moment, he immediately activated the Spiritual Reflection Method. At once, cool, refreshing threads began to seep into his spirit. But at the same time, a strange corruption seemed to follow in their wake.

He knew this was the "filth of Outer Heaven" that Teacher Xue had spoken of.

He would have to absorb the essence while simultaneously neutralizing and expelling the filth.

But doing so divided his focus. If he could concentrate fully on the task, his efficiency would be much higher.

He decided to try having his Second Self bear the burden. In an instant, the Second Self's form grew faint and translucent, and Chen Chuan himself was no longer affected by the corruption.

But he then sensed another barrier above him, blocking the majority of the essence from coming through.

It was like a few grains of sand rustling through an hourglass, or a mere trickle of water. Even though he could now ignore the corruption, he still had to expend more energy to seek out the essence.

To change this, he had to do as Teacher Xue had told him: push his own spirit upward.

He slowly raised the Snow Monarch Blade in his hand.

Only by fighting ceaselessly could he elevate his spirit, allowing it to penetrate deep enough into the world beyond to leave its mark.

But he intended to do more than that. He would use this opportunity to have his Second Self ascend to the Third Limit as well.

When the two merged, not only would his combat power increase, but his Spiritual Power would also become far more abundant.

'Now, all I need is a worthy opponent.'

Inside the command center, the atmosphere was far more tense than before. Multiple emergency response teams had simultaneously encountered resistance and were now engaged in firefights with unknown forces. None of them were making smooth progress.

Although they could leverage their superior communications to dispatch nearby teams for support, the situation remained unpredictable.

Just then, the Sentry Tower issued a sudden warning: "Report. A large cluster of Rifts detected in the coastal region of Ji Yang District. They are continuing to expand."

"The coastal region?"

Specialist Liang's expression tensed. "Put the feed on screen," he ordered immediately.

The light screen flickered, displaying a view of a beach. In the distance, the ocean waves churned. A vast, horizontal Rift now hung over the water. A thick fog within the Rift obscured whatever was on the other side, but a faint rumbling could be heard.

'Was that... thunder?'

As the fog slowly receded, shadowy figures became visible within. The figures advanced, and the fog finally dissipated completely. The onlookers in the command center saw what was coming and their eyes widened in shock.

They were cavalry, clad in full armor, holding spears, their mounts equally armored. A forest of banners fluttered amidst their ranks, and their numbers stretched as far as the eye could see.

"That's... the Sharp Armor Cavalry Army of the Old Imperial Family!"

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