Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat! Chapter 582: Return Through Fire and Shadow

This thing devoured the Imperial Aura as if it had been starved for centuries. The more of the Ancestral Dragon’s Imperial Aura it absorbed, the brighter the multicolored glow radiating from the bone beca. It was almost as though the Imperial Aura had been created for this very purpose. Even Yaya, wielding the Tree of Life, couldn’t consu the Ancestral Aura at such a furious pace.

"Let’s go. I’ll show you so high-tech, you bumpkin!" Ethan muttered, his patience fraying at the old man’s endless hidden tricks.

"Bumpkin?" Aldric the First blinked in disbelief.

"Yes," Ethan said quickly, reading his confusion. "It ans you’re unbelievably strong and impressive."

"Oh? Then I am a grand bumpkin!" Aldric roared with laughter. "Co, to the Serpent Isles... no, to Earth!" His slip betrayed his true thoughts, but he didn’t seem to care.

As they reached the ch’s main hatch, Ethan nearly tripped down the ramp extending from the Shatterstar. He shot a wary glance back at Aldric. Was this man another Morzan—so shaless deviant? A wave of unease washed over him. With so many beautiful won at his side already, what if this so-called First Emperor threw propriety aside entirely?

Forget it. Once they arrived in Earth, Ethan decided, he would simply abandon him in the Serpent Isles and be done with it. Let him stir up trouble there. If he conquered those local actresses, well, that would almost count as a service to the nation.

Having convinced himself, Ethan felt lighter. Inside the Shatterstar, he assigned Aldric his own quarters, far from the cockpit. The last thing he wanted was the old man beside him during flight. If Aldric harbored darker intentions, Ethan, locked into the virtual cabin, might not even have the chance to resist.

"Target location confird. Auto-navigate to Earth!" Ethan barked, switching into pilot mode.

[BEEP BEEP... Location confird. Target: Earth. Distance exceeds normal range. Spatial jump-warp mode required. Proceed?]

"Do it. Get us ho."

[Jump-warp mode initializing. Destination locked: Desolate Domain. System charging...]

The ch’s voice faded into a low hum as the Shatterstar began to shudder beneath Ethan. He had never felt anything like it. Monts later, the entire machine shimred, then vanished from the Path of Ethereal.

On the ground below, only a vast crater remained, carved deep into the summit of the General’s Tomb. Around it, the cracks of warped space slowly stitched themselves closed. The purple fire’s scars faded, the land restoring itself to its tranquil paradise of birdsong and flowing light. Only the gaping wound at the top of the Tomb remained unrepaired.

Such was the law of the Path of Ethereal. It was the most powerful prison in existence, its defenses—inside and out—utterly unyielding. No one who entered could leave. If KH3106 of the First Universe had not run into disaster within the Second, he would have co here eventually. And he too would have been trapped.

Just as Ethan and the Shatterstar disappeared into the void, a storm of attention erupted across Earth. What drew every gaze was Ethereal’s official site. A platform that had never once posted an announcent now blazed with a single headline:

[ETHEREAL WORLD REOPENS TOMORROW. SYSTEM MAINTENANCE COMPLETE. HENCEFORTH, ETHEREAL WORLD WILL REMAIN PERMANENTLY OPEN, 24/7.]

The ga’s reopening was no longer the headline that captured players’ attention. What gripped them instead were the last words: "will remain permanently open, 24/7."

This was nothing short of a revolution for Ethereal. Overnight, self-proclaid experts surfaced everywhere, each declaring their theories with conviction. So warned that with constant access, workshops and farming groups would dominate, smothering the casual experience. Others claid the gap between professionals and ordinary players would grow so wide it could never be closed. Many cried that the system itself had beco unfair, tipping the scales toward those who played for profit. Rumors swirled like wildfire, each more frantic than the last.

Ethan, of course, knew nothing of this.

Barely half an hour later, Shatterstar’s massive fra reappeared in the vastness of space, this ti near a blazing red planet. The scorching aura radiating from it stirred sothing familiar in Ethan’s mory.

"The Sun?" he breathed, startled by the sight.

[Desolate domain reached. Distance to target earth: One hundred fifty million kiloters. All thrusters engaged. Estimated arrival: Fifteen minutes. Initiate stealth mode?]

"Activate!" Ethan ordered at once.

His voice carried more awe than command. "Fifteen minutes... unbelievable."

Shatterstar’s thrusters roared to life. A radiant streak of light tore across the darkness, its speed outstripping comprehension. Compared to this, even the concept of light-speed seed laughable. With stealth mode engaged, however, only Ethan could admire the trail they left behind.

What he didn’t realize was that the mont the ch had erged near the Sun, another uproar had erupted on Earth. Powerful telescopes across the nations had tracked an unidentified object materializing beside the star. At first, it looked no bigger than a speck of dust compared to the Sun’s enormity. But when magnified, its shape revealed sothing distinctly humanoid.

The discovery ignited a frenzy among Earth’s scientific community. For years they had longed for proof of extraterrestrial life, and now it seed to be within reach. They rushed to contact reporters, scrambling to organize a global press conference. In truth, most were less concerned with the pursuit of knowledge than with the chance to stand at the center of history and bask in borrowed glory.

Fifteen minutes later, Shatterstar drifted silently into Earth’s atmosphere, bypassing every satellite and defense system as though they were nothing more than children’s toys. Compared to Shatterstar, Earth’s so-called high technology was little more than decoration.

"Your Majesty," Ethan said, his tone deceptively casual, "we’ve arrived at your destination."

Aldric the First, peering out the viewport, asked warily, "Arrived where?"

Ethan’s gaze swept toward the islands below. "The Serpent Isles," he said flatly. "Go on. And rember to bring glory to the Empire."

Before Aldric could question him further, Ethan pressed a control. In an instant, Aldric’s body dissolved into ions and vanished from the cabin. By the ti he regained his senses, he was standing at a bustling intersection.

This was Miraito—the busiest crossroads in the world. Streams of people poured past in every direction. At first, no one paid him any mind. But when a few sharp eyes noticed the strange way he had appeared, fingers pointed, voices rose, and a chorus of chatter spread quickly through the crowd.