Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 669

Chapter 669: The Gate to Ascension Isle

Ethan had to admit it.

Even now, humanity had yet to fully uncover the mysteries of the deep sea. The abyssal trenches of Earth were like an alien world, silent and unknowable, untouched by human understanding.

As time passed, Ethan realized that while the sea turtle was fast, it was still nowhere near the speed of the Shatterstar mech. Within just ten minutes, the green marker representing Shatterstar on his arm display had merged with the red beacon—meaning the mech, carrying Victor and the others, had already reached Ascension Isle.

He immediately opened a communication channel.

“You’ve arrived?” Ethan’s voice came through the mech’s cockpit speakers.

“Boss? We’re here,” Micah’s voice replied. “But we haven’t found anything. The whole sea area’s empty. Should I head down and scout?”

Ethan wasn’t surprised. Micah, a master of array formations, would have already examined the surroundings in detail. His curiosity was natural.

Still, Ethan knew better. He had sensed the strangeness of this place long before, back when he’d deciphered Alaric’s cryptic poem. A sanctuary hidden in verses like that was never meant to be easily found.

“Hold off for now,” Ethan instructed calmly. “Just come and pick us up.”

As his words reached them, the Shatterstar mech shifted course. At the turtle’s current pace, it would take at least three hours to cover the remaining two thousand kilometers. Calling in the mech was the only sensible choice.

“Understood,” Micah said before the line disconnected.

Ethan turned toward Princess Star. “Your Highness, if you would, please ask our friend to surface.”

The princess had overheard the exchange. She nodded without argument, understanding his impatience, and gently relayed the command to the old turtle.

—

Half an hour later, the Shatterstar mech emerged silently in the waters east of Crescent Isle.

No one could see it, of course. The mech remained cloaked in full stealth mode. This time, though, Ethan wasn’t relying on remote AI control—he was personally at the helm.

“Scan the sea area within a hundred kilometers below,” he ordered.

[BEEP… Scan initiated. Range: 100 kilometers.]

[Scan complete.]

[Constructing visual model?]

“Affirmative,” Ethan replied.

[Building model…]

[3D model construction complete.]

Before him, a vast three-dimensional holographic model unfolded, glowing faintly in the dim cockpit. What appeared confirmed his suspicions. Beneath the surface lay an invisible island—over ten kilometers across—surrounded by a shimmering, unseen field. A newly built protective layer sealed it completely from the outside world.

Ethan recognized it instantly. A Magic Barrier—a grand array of immense power.

No wonder no one could detect the island. Any ship or bird passing above would simply pass through the illusion, unaware that anything existed below. To the outside world, Ascension Isle didn’t exist at all.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “So, it really is no ordinary place.”

He leaned forward. “Activate the stealth ion shield. Charge the main cannon to zero point one percent and give it a test shot.”

[Stealth Ion Shield activated. Main Cannon charged to 0.1%.]

A low hum filled the cockpit.

BOOM…

A sphere of crackling light, no larger than a football, shot from Shatterstar’s twin barrels and plunged straight into the sea below.

In the shimmering 3D model before him, Ethan frowned.

The cannon’s energy blast hadn’t struck the protective array at all. Instead, it had passed straight through, as if the barrier didn’t even exist.

“Hm?” Ethan’s brow creased.

If their attacks couldn’t even make contact, how were they supposed to break through? He’d only fired as a test, but even so, he’d expected something—a ripple, a flare, any kind of response.

Instead, the only result was a violent burst underwater. A cloud of white-bellied fish floated to the surface, lifeless and glimmering in the waves. The island itself remained untouched, silent beneath the sea.

“Micah,” Ethan called, “any insight?”

“Not yet…” Micah replied after a pause. “I might need to go down and—”

WHOOSH!

Before he could finish, the sea below them shuddered violently. Space itself seemed to twist. A circular rift—nearly a hundred meters across—tore open like a rip in a painted sky.

Through the gash, Ethan could see mountains, rivers, and forests. White cranes soared through golden mist. It looked less like a tear in the ocean and more like a window into another realm—a living landscape breathing beneath the sea.

Then came a sharp sound—thump, thump, thump!—as five figures shot out of the rift.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. None of them looked fully human. Their faces and bodies carried the traits of beasts—fur, claws, ears, tails. One, in particular, had feline features, unmistakably a cat mutant, a member of the Hybrid race. The others bore similar marks of mixed blood.

“Who goes there?!” one of them shouted. “How dare you lurk near Ascension Isle! What is your purpose?”

They hadn’t noticed the cloaked Shatterstar hovering above them. Their voices echoed through the empty air, full of misplaced authority and anger.

Ethan couldn’t help but smile. He’d been wondering how to breach the grand array, and now the problem had solved itself. Whether these fools had opened the gate by accident or design didn’t matter—what mattered was that it was open.

“Let’s go in.”

He disengaged from the cockpit in a single motion.

Below, the five beastkin were still staring at the sky when Shatterstar’s chest hatch opened, its black armor parting like a rift in the heavens. From within, Ethan and his team descended, their figures framed by streaks of light.

The five stared in disbelief.

“Who are you?” one of them demanded, his voice trembling.

“I’m your worst nightmare…” a low voice cut in before Ethan could speak.

A shadow flashed forward.

The young man in black—Blackie—stepped past Ethan and appeared before the five, his expression cold enough to freeze the air. The killing intent rolling off him was suffocating.

Without a word, he moved.

His kick landed squarely on the cat-mutant’s chest.

CRACK!

The sound was sharp and final. The beastman’s sternum caved in; his spine twisted grotesquely beneath his skin. Blood burst from his mouth as his body was flung backward, crashing lifelessly onto the ground.

“You—how dare you?!” one of the others shouted, but their voices quivered. None of them had ever witnessed such ruthless power. On Ascension Isle, violence was rare—controlled, bound by rules. But this was something else. The man in black had struck before they could even react, with lethal precision and no hesitation.

The cat-mutant was dead.

Ethan glanced at Blackie, surprised by the sudden outburst. He knew Blackie wasn’t impulsive by nature. This was something deeper.

When Regis and the Dragon Child had returned earlier, they had brought grim news— Starfall had nearly been killed in battle, hanging on by a thread.

Since then, Blackie hadn’t spoken a word. He had sat in silence, rage buried deep beneath the surface.

Now, that fury had finally broken loose.