The echo dissipated gradually and a heavy silence filled the air, even the gods didn’t dare to speak out.
Among the fragmented space borders, some ancient beings from the invading world assembled in the secret halls made of collapsed spaces. Their gazes were frigid and cold.
"Have you heard?" one of the old creatures whispered faintly inside the silent space. "According to the Universal Will, that aomaly is endowed with the ability to save their universe from the catastrophe looming above them."
"What if he manages to save theirs? " another creature whispered from the darkness. "Since their world and ours have been entangled because of the collision, the salvation of theirs could come with a price. We won’t allow this wild card to do whatever he wants."
The supreme being of the universe remained silent. He sat still upon his throne and gazed at the distant galaxy with his lifeless eyes.
Finally, he raised his hand and a jade token with the stamp of supreme power appeared in his palm.
"Get the Anomaly."
Though his voice sounded mild and quiet, there was an icy edge in each of his words.
"Capture him before he gets too strong."
"He is only a Martial Warrior at the moment, " the supreme being continued frostily. "He’s just a speck of dust, weaker than a common mortal. Get this Anomaly before he rises up. Send the Void Stalkers. Let them use their ability to pass through tiny space gaps and kill him when he’s still weak."
In an instant, several figures detached themselves from the alien army and disappeared silently crossing the cracks of the universes. They entered the home universe like blades invisible to eyes.
However, the chaos was unleashed in the home universe for other reasons.
The great sects, the ancient dynasties, and the hidden divine clans were put in the state of chaos instantly.
"Find him! This is the savior of our Era! Protect him at any cost!" shouted the ancient patriarch of the righteous Holy Land.
"A savior? Ha!" laughed the ruler of a dark empire. "If this creature holds the key to our salvation, why should we trust this task to others? Capture the Martial Warrior. Seal his soul with our blood art and make him work for our empire!"
"No..." another voice was heard from the darkness of space. "An anomaly that cannot be predicted threatens the balance of the current order. If he evolves and changes the laws of the heavens, we’ll all suffer the consequences."
The hidden mastermind fell silent for a few seconds and said again.
"Eliminate him. Better to face any catastrophe alone than to give our lives to this creature, the full potential of which we do not know."
In an instant, a large-scale hunt started in numerous star systems.
The gods, emperors, assassins, and beast clans from the ancient times combined all the resources they had, looking for some cultivator, who had only just begun his journey in the Martial Warrior Realm.
...
But on an insignificant planet called Earth Federation, nothing had happened yet.
In a soundproof room of cultivation hidden in the basement of Sterling family manor, no one could even suspect that the great event had already taken place.
Lucian opened his eyes carefully.
A dim shine, which looked like dark glass, appeared in his pupils and disappeared, restoring his usual expression. Slowly breathing out, Lucian relished the strong flow of energy in his body.
All muscles felt like completely renewed and strengthened. The dark Spiritual Seed was turning in his dantian, sending out the warm and strong stream of energy.
Martial Warrior Realm... Finally, it is!
Lucian didn’t allow himself to smile and raised his head.
Several steps from him stood motionless Evelyn with her hands covering her mouth. Astonishingly widened eyes spoke about her amazement, but underneath it there was relief.
Next to her stood Magnus, whose hands were folded behind his back. His calm exterior couldn’t hide a slight twitching of his mustache.
"How is it?" she asked, trembling with worry. "Did you manage it? Lucian, is there anything wrong?"
Lucian rose and stretched out his arms and legs, hearing several satisfying clicks, as if small fireworks exploded in his joints.
"I managed it, Evelyn," he said, smiling triumphantly and scratching his nose. "There are no injuries. Now, I’m officially a Martial Warrior."
Evelyn sighed deeply, finally relaxing. "You frightened me to death! Do you know how aggressive this whirlpool was? I thought you will blow up your dantian!"
Magnus approached Lucian and looked at him attentively, as if trying to see something in his body. Even with his high level of cultivation, he could barely feel a young man’s vitality. All of it was closed inside the body.
"Good. Very good," Magnus said, his deep voice carrying a note of interest. "Now that you’ve broken through, we will test your foundations. Go to the machine of testing physical strength. Show your raw punching power."
"All right," Lucian said, nodding. "Honestly speaking, Uncle, I’m interested as well."
Lucian walked over to the corner of the room, where a heavy-duty, military-grade strength-testing pillar stood. The machine was constructed from high-density black-iron alloy and was capable of withstanding the force of a late-stage Martial Master without deforming.
Lucian stepped in front of the crimson leather striking pad.
He didn’t use any Martial Skill footwork, nor did he channel the dark energy within his dantian. He simply planted his back foot, aligned his hips, and threw a clean, standard straight punch directly into the center of the target.
BOOM!
A dull, thunderous shockwave reverberated through the enclosed room.
The entire alloy pillar groaned as it vibrated violently against the reinforced floor bolts.
The digital screen mounted atop the machine flickered for a fraction of a second before displaying a crisp, terrifying set of crimson numbers:
5,100 kg!
Five thousand one hundred kilograms.
Over five tons of pure, unadulterated physical force.
Looking at the number, Lucian couldn’t help but pump his fist in quiet celebration. The endless, round-the-clock efforts of his Shadow Soldiers over the past week had paid off far beyond his wildest expectations.
A standard cultivator who had just broken through to the first stage of the Martial Artist Realm would usually possess between 800 and 1,200 kilograms of punching force.
Even a top-tier genius who completed the legendary 108 Heavenly Cycles of the Perfect Heavenly Cycle would generally start at around 2,500 kilograms, only reaching 5,000 kilograms upon reaching the ninth-stage peak of the Martial Artist Realm.
Yet Lucian, still only at the first stage, already possessed the raw striking power of a ninth-stage peak Perfect Heavenly Cycle cultivator.
In terms of pure physical strength alone, he was already standing at the absolute pinnacle of his generation.