Chapter 184: An Ascension Ritual Without Foundation

Chen Xiyi found Lin Feng’s situation odd. Lin Feng seemed impatient for some reason. While unsure of the cause, Chen Xiyi knew it was influenced by something.

Sadly, no clue appeared on Lin Feng’s Status Bar, making it hard to judge immediately.

If Chen Xiyi were in that spot, knowing a trap existed, he’d act cautiously—falling into a pit carelessly would spell trouble.

Once inside such a trap, climbing back out wouldn’t be easy.

For now, Chen Xiyi felt no rush. The more frantic an opponent acted, the wiser it was to stall—not leap in alongside them.

After calming down, Lin Feng realized he’d lost control of his emotions.

Before, his mind had stayed calm, chatting lightheartedly with Chen Xiyi without concern. This sudden anxiety made no sense.

Trapped in the moment, he hadn’t understood—but Chen Xiyi’s words snapped him back to clarity. Why rush?

He had no life-or-death enemies, no urgent crisis. No reason to hurriedly complete the Ascension Ritual. Frankly, he should’ve ignored this trap from the start.

Gaining power now could erase who he truly was.

“I understand now. I’ll calm down first,” Lin Feng forced a bitter laugh. “This Sword Art and Ascension Ritual… they’re truly eerie.” With that, he left.

“Are you bored? Go sit in prison if you need a hobby,” Chen Xiyi quipped.

“I’m aiming to advance to Postnatal Warrior status,” Lin Feng replied flatly. “Crack that ritual quickly.” Busy now, he walked off without listening further.

Chen Xiyi furrowed his brow. Did such advancement even require a breakthrough?

Cheating his way through cultivation spared him the hardships true Martial Artists faced—training through scorching summers and frigid winters, enduring pain to progress gradually.

After Lin Feng left, Chen Xiyi pondered another matter.

Would Wandering Light truly erase himself completely?

A conspiracy theory formed in his mind. If nothing changed from the beginning… winning this game seemed impossible.

“Wait… Why do I care?” Chen Xiyi eyed his Cycle Function. This world’s only value now was the Ascension Ritual. Martial manuals? Pointless. Other treasures? Meaningless.

The true prize was already his. Why linger over this realm?

Even if Lin Feng became Wandering Light—a future terror—Chen Xiyi would be long gone by then. No threat to him.

Chen Xiyi saw how he’d trapped himself in limited thinking. Wandering Light belonged thirty thousand years from now—not the present.

Unless he stayed for centuries… but he wouldn’t linger a decade, let alone a hundred years.

What Player sticks around in a low-level stage for eternity? Chen Xiyi wasn’t the type to endlessly level up on beginner maps called “Ten Mile Slope”.

If he had an experience-grinding Module, sure. But Home Game was different. Staying meant wasting time, not building strength.

“I should ignore Wandering Light… but he already targets Lin Feng now. Swapping with Lin Feng after Lin Feng becomes The Immortal? Then I’d be doomed!”

Chen Xiyi did worry.

The eleven Temporal Immortals proved Wandering Light could send replacements back through history—keeping their full power intact.

Such unfair tactics.

Evidence suggested no Grandmaster Martial Artist should exist until the Mythic Era began.

When was the Mythic Era?

When Lin Feng performs the Ascension Ritual and becomes The Immortal. That moment should’ve marked Year Zero.

But Chen Xiyi’s meddling pushed that event back. Now the Mythic Era stayed frozen because Lin Feng delayed.

A frustrating standoff.

“Forcing Lin Feng to quit won’t work, either. Once I leave, the future’s influence will strike him.”

“Wait… did I overlook Wandering Light himself as another value?”

A fresh thought sparked. This world’s worth wasn’t just the ritual—it was Wandering Light too.

If Wandering Light replaced Lin Feng… would the game still list them as Friends with Goodwill?

Defeating him might yield rare drops!

Sacred Knight Chris gifted him a Phoenix Bloodline and Knight’s Path Module—unusable without matching slots, but valuable.

Wandering Light was different. Born of the Ascension Ritual, he’d align with Chen Xiyi’s Modules—specifically Immortality.

Lin Feng trained as a Martial Artist now, irrelevant. But as Wandering Light? That power flowed from the ritual…

“Conclusion: Wandering Light is a major boss. The kind that drops loot I can actually use.”

Simple and clear.

“I’ll delay events. Once my Cycle Function cools down, I’ll revisit this. Researching the ritual will occupy the waiting time—probably weeks.”

Chen Xiyi’s plan: have Lin Feng stall. When Cycle Function reactivated, then proceed with the ritual.

Lin Feng resisted the future’s pull for now, but that wouldn’t last. The influence worked silently—undetectable even to him or those nearby.

Only Chen Xiyi’s unique sight sensed it.

Over days, the effect would worsen. Lin Feng felt wary now… but vigilance fades. A month? Two? A year?

Eventually, the slow-boiling-frog treatment would rewire his thoughts.

Chen Xiyi could stop him once or twice—but not forever.

A dead end: kill Lin Feng, or watch the future consume him.

“He was doomed from the start.” Chen Xiyi sighed in frustration. This enemy cheated worse than even Qi Refiners—messing with Time itself.

Weeks flashed by—three moons passed.

Finally, Chen Xiyi restored the Ascension Ritual’s original design… and uncovered a chilling truth.

This ritual wasn’t whole—it formed a fragment of a larger system.

“The Module’s complete, granted by the ritual itself… one earned after performing it.”

No wonder it’s a one-time Module! It’s just a borrowed piece torn whole from another practice!

The shock ran deep. This system couldn’t belong to this world. Its potential—both highest peaks and lowest depths—overshadowed its current Martial Arts realm.

“No shock Wandering Light feels so estranged from Martial Artists. Not similar species anymore.”

As Chen Xiyi studied the ritual, cross-referencing scrolls Lin Feng found at its origin site, a theory bloomed.

Another civilization—beyond this world—visited long ago.

Likely in primordial times, when early human cultures formed.

The writings left behind used the visitors’ language, not ancient local tongues.

“More importantly… that visitor probably died here.” Chen Xiyi traced bone fragments etched with the ritual script—part of a skull. “Were other rituals inscribed on… say… rib bones? Foot bones? A full system?”

Meaning Wandering Light created eleven Temporal Immortals not just as lovers… but to supplement his power gaps.

Chen Xiyi analyzed the Ascension Ritual as mid-to-high tier in its native system.

Its nature? An illusion—like a floating castle built without foundation. Power gained instantly… with nothing underneath.

Sending agents into the past wasn’t about growing strong. It reclaimed strength buried in missing underpinnings.

Fixing the gaps in his foundations.

If changing history meant reclaiming the past… turning the Ascension Ritual into a Sword Art? That was his Plan B.

Wandering Light only held the Ascension Ritual—nothing beyond. To grow further, he needed to fix his foundations… then advance via higher rituals.

The Sword Art, for instance.

Two tasks fit neatly together: reclaiming power while embedding “Sword Concept” deeper into history—bolstering Lin Feng’s sword talent bit by bit.

All nurturing his future self. Power fed backward through time.

“So… I shouldn’t rush my Ascension Ritual. Might trap myself just like him…”

Unknown power beckoned, but Chen Xiyi sensed danger—a Module fragment lacking a foundation was cursed bait.

After securing the ritual documents in his Pixiu Pouch, Chen Xiyi turned to the Sword Art Lin Feng shared.

Lin Feng had reconstructed this manuscript… gifting him a copy after purging all trace of the Ascension Ritual from it.

A complete sword manual now: twelve linked moves, forming twelve distinct rituals tied together.

“Sword Concept Rituals. Twelve moves, twelve ceremonies woven entirely around sword energy.”

Suspicion flared. Twelve moves. Twelve rituals. Twelve Temporal Immortals…

“Could the Ascension Ritual represent… just one of twelve higher rituals?”

No multicolored markers on his Game Map hinted at other ceremonies here. Either lost… or never existed.

“Annoying! Why can’t they ever give a full set?!”

Chen Xiyi’s head throbbed. If true, how to ever patch the gaps?

Abandon his Ascension Ritual Module? Unthinkable.

Traps everywhere. Rebuilding the system alone seemed impossible now—no groundwork to build upon.

Like demanding a baby run before crawling. Maybe two stumbling steps… then face-first impact with the ground.