Chapter 469
“Oh?” Leander remained motionless, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Not a single one in nearly a hundred years p>
That’s strange indeed.
Though the King Phase was indeed a cultivation realm above the Transcendent Realm, the fact that its existence was recorded in history meant that people had once reached it, just like the Transcendent Realm in ages past.
Both Grayson and Tsaric once paid an enormous price, sacrificing more than half their lives just to break into the Transcendent Realm. Yet now, there were dozens of Transcendents.
There was no doubt the King Phase was far stronger and much more mysterious -than the Transcendent Realm. But for no one to have reached the King Phase in nearly a century? It was truly inconceivable.
“Indeed p>
Seth nodded hard.
“The Shadow Division was one of the earliest special divisions to be founded in Astria, but even the director possesses only partial information about the King Phase. Everything we know comes solely from ancient written records.
“According to these records, the last King Phase master to appear in the entire world was from Astria. He was known among the strongest martial artists of the world as…the Dragon Emperor p>
Leander widened his eyes, his pupils contracting.
“Do you mean the Dragon Emperor of Astria? He was the last King Phase master to have appeared in the world p>
He’d often heard about the Dragon Emperor. In fact, during his battle with Galen in Highcliffe, the Dragon Emperor had even sent Master Branson, head of the Ancient Lingster Sanctum, to meet him.
But he knew precious little regarding the Dragon Emperor himself-only that the Dragon Emperor had once been Astria’s invincible legend, a supreme being who had dominated the world across multiple eras, a peerless figure revered throughout the land from the reign of the last royal family to the early days of the republican era. He had no idea that the Dragon Emperor carried yet another special identity—the last King Phase master in the world. It was a title of undeniable dominion.
A look of deep reverence appeared on the faces of Seth and the other two men.
“To be honest, we don’t even know if the King Phase truly exists. Even with the Dragon Emperor, most of what we know comes from hearsay. Only the director and deputy director can access the Shadow Division’s top-secret files on him,” Seth continued.
“And the last time he appeared in public was nearly a century ago, tracing back to World War I. As for whether he still lives or whether a true King Phase master still walks the world… we do not know p>
Leander clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze as deep as the night sky. Though he said nothing, a faint yet ambiguous smile tugged at his lips.
Seth’s words reminded him of Master Branson, who once exchanged a single blow with him.
He was certain that Master Branson had held back during their clash. Even restrained, he could sense that Master Branson’s cultivation and power were much stronger than any of the fifteen Chief Arbitrators he had fought today.
Even if all fifteen had joined forces, they wouldn’t have been able to touch a single hair on Master Branson’s head. Had he intended to destroy them, they would have perished before they could even blink.
Yet those fifteen were masters standing at the pinnacle of Infernal Crown Transcendent. By that measure, Master Branson was likely a King Phase master.
And since Master Branson was a close friend of the Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Emperor must be a King Phase master as well.
So, the King Phase does exist… There was no limit to the pursuit of strength. Even someone as proud and indomitable as Leander dared not claim he could glimpse the end of this endless path.
“The King Phase, huh Leander murmured thoughtfully.
Then, his thoughts shifted to the Arbitration Office, the organization that now stood fully opposed to him.
The Spirit Avatar that appeared when he slew Fergus could only have belonged to someone whose spiritual strength had reached the Origin Realm. In other words, there was a King Phase master hidden in the Arbitration Office as well.
Otherwise, the Dragon Emperor would not have been repeatedly besieged by the Arbitration Office-until he was forced to go into hiding.
Among the twenty-four Chief Arbitrators of the Arbitration Office, nine had yet to appear. If these nine were stronger than the fifteen he’s just killed, then they must be King Phase masters.
And even further above them were the lofty Sixteen Supreme Arbiters p>
Leander could feel his blood boiling with excitement. It seemed the higher he climbed, the more he could sense how vast the world truly was. But that only made his enthusiasm burn even brighter.
A moment later, he smiled.
“King or Emperor I’ll surely meet them one day p>
Then, he pushed aside all thoughts of the King Phase.
At his current level, the idea of facing a powerful opponent no longer made him flinch or tremble. He knew that he simply needed to crush everything in his path with absolute strength.
Be it a Transcendent or a legendary King Phase master, if they stood in his path, he would pulverize them without mercy.
“The King Phase is too distant right now. I should focus on what’s in front of me. First, I need a place to refine the Bloodjadea and the Dragon Core. I must advance
into the Origin Realm as soon as possible p>
Spiritual cultivation was just as
important to him as martial cultivation. After all, defeating the fifteen Chief Arbitrators would have required far less effort if his spiritual
strength had already been in the Origin Realm.
At that level, he could transform his mind into a blade and seal away a small region
of space with a single thought. That would have allowed him to erase such a line-up in a heartbeat.
Having made his decision, he turned away without sparing another glance at the three men. He tapped his toe against the ground and transformed into a streak of blue light, vanishing into the distance at lightning speed.
The three quietly watched the blue streak fading into the distance.
A long while passed before Kenneth broke the silence.
“Jeff Ashcroft’s battle today may have shaken the Arbitration Office’s unshakable dominance that lasted for centuries. In fact, he will surely overturn the stagnant hierarchy of the international martial world p>
Keith nodded in agreement. He shared the same sentiment.
Only Seth, after a moment of thought, said solemnly, “No, he won’t just overturn the international martial world; the structure of the entire underground world will change after this battle p>
After Leander departed from the Aorinth Peaks, his whereabouts became unknown. However, news of the battle soon spread across the world by word of mouth and various other channels.
Forums on the International Martial Network exploded as martial artists from everywhere spammed the comment section, discussing only one thing: Leander killing the fifteen Chief Arbitrators by himself.
Every major ranking was dominated by this event, becoming the trending topic on the International Martial Network. In fact, discussions hit the website’s highest peak since its founding.
Various headlines flooded the forum
as post after post went live: ‘Sovereign Ashcroft Reigns Supreme, ‘The Arbitration Office’s Rule Challenged’, ‘Just How Strong Is Jeff Ashcroft? Has Jeff Ashcroft Surpassed the Infernal Crown Transcendent p>
His name once again soared to the top of the International Martial Network. Even
the recently updated International Combat Units became completely overshadowed.
People began speculating whether
the rankings needed a complete reshuffle. Just as arguments were escalating, the website owner “Umbral Court suddenly appeared and pinned a new international Combat Units to the front page.
Curious, countless martial artists clicked into the link. When the page loaded, they stared speechlessly at their screens.
The new rankings were astonishingly simple. There was no long roster of names; no flashy titles or code names. There was only one name and one title, written in Astric: The Iron Sovereign, Jeff Ashcroft.
Such a phenomenon was a first in the history of the International Martial Network.
Leander had successfully ascended to the top of the International Martial Network before he even reached twenty. He became the sole existence in three hundred years to wipe the board clean the one and only in the world!
At the Ashcroft Residence in Highcliffe, Ethan sat in front of his computer. His eyes were slightly unfocused; his expression filled with despair.
“Leander… you’ve climbed so high I can’t even hope to catch up to you anymore p>