Chapter 2: Major Advancement (Part 1)

The final passage was filled with numerous spatial cracks, but the group rushed straight ahead without hesitation. In less than three minutes, the light around them brightened slightly, and the pressure diminished as the starry sky came into view. Everyone, except Li Ran, was stunned by the dazzling stars—even Guo Shier was no exception; he had never seen such a clear starry sky before. They gazed at it in awe, and Ceres whispered, “It’s truly beautiful…”
Qi Wu Zhen spoke softly, “This is the starry sky!” Her voice was so gentle as if she feared waking something up if she spoke too loudly.
Li Ran sighed, filled with mixed emotions—finally free. But moments later, he frowned slightly, realizing that the subtle connection between him and his main soul had vanished. He wondered inwardly, “Could it be because my soul has become too powerful? But if the soul grows stronger, that connection should only strengthen, not weaken. Could there be something wrong with the main soul?” By “something wrong,” he meant it might have been destroyed.
Kumu said, “It seems the rules of this world don’t reject us!”
Only then did everyone realize this and were overjoyed. As long as the rules of this universe did not reject them, they could continue to survive. With the skills of those who specialized in spells, they would surely thrive in this vast world.
Guo Shier moved slightly before activating his altar. Instantly, his altar advanced—growing rapidly and pushing everyone back with a massive force. In an instant, it reached several thousand meters in height, which was terrifying. Guo Shier felt as if he were standing on the top of a mountain. First, he was shocked, then overjoyed, shouting, “Damn… it’s fucking… amazing! This place not only doesn’t reject us but also integrates us perfectly! Haha, hahaha!”
Soon, Li Ran began to advance, followed by Qi Wu Zhen, and then everyone else—包括 Ceres from the Blade Clan—also advanced rapidly.
Guo Shier noticed that his altar was mutating, rapidly forming into a massive entity before contracting quickly to the size of a fist, floating before him with countless dust-like runes swirling wildly. Everyone was immersed in the joy of advancement, focusing their attention on their own altars.

The soul fluctuations of the handsome old man were transmitted to Guo Shier: “Damn it… kid, haha, I can actually advance too… I… I feel ten times stronger than before, no, that’s not right—at least dozens of times… My soul is growing stronger, haha. This place is too… too crazy, haha…” He danced around in the altar. He thought his life would end there, never expecting his soul to grow stronger.

Li Ran said, “That’s not all. Check your own souls!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “Damn, my soul is also getting insanely stronger…”

Even Seraphine’s soul was growing stronger. Everyone was becoming more powerful, which was completely beyond everyone’s expectations. Everyone was enjoying this moment. After all, whether in the World of Spells, the World of Star Sacrifices, or the Small Worlds, there was no such exhilarating sense of growing stronger. This kind of transformation was something everyone hoped for, and yet it happened right after entering the Grand Universe.

The most surprised person was Wang Dayang. He originally thought he could no longer advance because of his age. According to the development patterns of spellcasters, he was already on the verge of decline. Advancing now meant he could live many more years, which was excellent news for him—after all, no one wants to die. He was extremely grateful to have met Li Ran’s team; otherwise, he would never have had such a chance to advance.

Seraphine was a bit at a loss at first, but she quickly reacted and adjusted her training methods according to those of the Sword Clan. Gradually, she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. This advancement was too important to her—it was a crucial milestone. Once she surpassed it, her strength would multiply. After advancing, flying in space would become easier. Through this advancement, she could barely reach the edge of being a top-tier expert.

Li Ran said, “In the World of Star Sacrifices, we didn’t have time to reach the top, hehe. But that doesn’t matter anymore. The Soul Altar in this world must be very powerful. I can feel it—it’s fascinating. The Grand Universe not only doesn’t reject us but also has great tolerance, accepting us right away. We’ve reached heights unattainable in the World of Spells, but… it will probably be difficult to advance further in the future. I wonder if the Greater World has the materials we need. If not… we might have to stay at this level.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “With our current strength, fighting against Xingyunzi Lan Landai should be no problem at all.”
Li Ran said, “If they enter the Luotian Ruins… and their strength is reduced, they might still be slightly stronger than us. But we won’t know until we fight.”
Kumu said, “More or less. They won’t be much stronger—maybe just a bit, or it could even end in a draw.”
Guo Shier said nodding, “As long as we can utilize our talismans, I think… our strength won’t be inferior to theirs!”
After all finished advancing, they discussed for a while longer before Li Ran took out the star map and began to examine it. No one here knew the greater universe better than Li Ran, and he quickly determined their location—indeed, not far from the defense outpost. That outpost blocked the path to the planet they wanted to go to.
Li Ran said, “Should we go through here or take a detour? Taking a detour will take a lot of time. If we go straight, we’ll be detected by the defense outpost of the United Spirit Kingdom. I can’t tell if they… will be hostile toward us.”
Qi Wu Zhen said calmly, “Hostile? If they are, then destroy them!”
Kumu nodded in agreement. “We’re not afraid of them. Since they dare to look down on us, they must be prepared to die.” His tone was even more casual than Qi Wu Zhen’s, as if he didn’t take the United Spirit Kingdom seriously at all.
Due to their greatly increased strength, everyone’s attitude had changed slightly—becoming more reckless and fearless.
Li Ran nodded and said, “Still, let’s be careful. This world is far more complex than ours. It’s best if we can pass through smoothly.” His meaning was clear: if they could get through uneventfully, they wouldn’t deliberately provoke anyone. But if the other side tried to make things difficult, they weren’t afraid to engage in a fierce battle.
Guo Shier glanced back and sighed with relief, “We’re finally out!” He did have thoughts of returning to Earth, but he knew it was extremely difficult. If he could ask Li Ran for help, there might be a sliver of hope—after all, Li Ran had also been to Earth before.
This time, Sericeline didn’t hold Guo Shier but hovered beside him. With a joyful expression, she said, “Shier, I’ve advanced to the level of the Sword Sect. Hehe, if I go back to the Sword Clan now, I think no one will be able to defeat me!”
Guo Shier asked, “Is this hurdle very difficult to overcome?”
Sericeline nodded vigorously. “It’s said that our Sword Clan once had a genius who reached this level. He was incredibly powerful—no one in the clan could match him. Later, he disappeared without a trace; no one knows where he went.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “He has no rival, so of course he won’t stay idle. Hehe, he must have gone on a journey…”
Sericeline said, “If he goes on a journey, he will return eventually. But after he left, he never came back to the clan.”
Guo Shier said, “Journeys… often bring unexpected dangers and mishaps. Just like us—after leaving the World of Spells, we could never return…” At that moment, he was filled with emotion. He thought of the Northern Spell Gate, his master Luo Jie, everything in the World of Spells, his followers, as well as the Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan who remained there… Those scenes flashed quickly in his soul—precious memories left from this life. Since they were engraved in his soul, he could never forget them; he could only seal them away in a corner of his soul.
Li Ran said, “Alright, almost everyone has completed their level-up. This isn’t a place to stay long. Shall we take the defensive outpost route?”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “I agree.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Elder brother, let’s take the defensive outpost route. I believe they won’t bother us.”
Everyone agreed. Taking the defensive outpost route would save a lot of time and also allow them to communicate with the people of this world.
They formed the Five-Star Formation once again—this was the most efficient way to travel. After working together for so long at the Luotian Ruins, they had developed a tacit understanding. They raised the altar about a foot above their heads, then connected themselves again with purple chains, transforming into a streak of spelllight that flashed before disappearing into the air. It was then they realized how exhilarating it was to fly in space—the speed was simply terrifying.
Even so, they still felt it was slow, as the stars around them seemed motionless, with no reference points. They kept accelerating, hoping to go faster.
Li Ran smiled and said, “There’s no need to rush. We’re already very fast.” With experience in flying in space, he naturally understood that this speed was already astonishing.
Guo Shier pointed at distant dark spots and asked, “What are those? I’ve seen many of them.” Using soul waves to detect in space allowed them to reach extremely far distances—something unimaginable before, measured in millions of kilometers.
Li Ran said, “Ignore them. Those are detectors.”
Guo Shier asked, “Will they detect us?”
Li Ran said, “Of course.”

Guo Shier said, “I wonder how they’ll treat us uninvited guests, hehe.” He didn’t really care. In fact, in the vast universe, anyone who could fly through space with their physical body was a distinguished guest in every star nation, and no one dared to treat such supermasters poorly.
Sericeline asked, “Are the people here very strong?” After thinking for a moment, she added, “I mean… are they generally strong? People like Xingyunzi and Lanlandai don’t count; they’re probably among the extremely few.”