Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 697

Chapter 697: A New Home

Ethan’s first thought was that someone had ambushed them!

“I’m… I’m fine!” Uncle Jed slowly braced himself against the tree behind him, leaning back heavily.

Julian just waved a hand, dismissing any concern.

This only made Ethan frown in confusion. Something was off.

He was just about to speak when an ethereal, disembodied voice echoed around them.

“In a speck of dust, worlds are found; in a single thought, eternity’s bound.

In a realm without start, without end… Formation… Persistence… Decay… Void.

The four cycles turn…

The Sumeru Array… Arise!”

The words died in Ethan’s throat. He recognized that voice. It was Micah’s.

He scanned their group quickly. Everyone was accounted for.

Except for Micah.

BZZZZZT…

In that instant, the world shifted. A thick mist began to coil and rise from the shores of Ascension Isle, enveloping the island.

Ethan was stunned. Wasn’t this the Sumeru Array that had protected Ascension Isle? He’d seen it shattered during the first wave of the heavenly tribulation, the storm of lightning that had ravaged the place.

Hearing Micah’s voice now, a spark of hope ignited in his chest. Had the guy actually managed to repair it?

He’d initially liked the idea of claiming Ascension Isle as a permanent base, but after encountering that stone-faced clone of Alaric, he’d scrapped the plan. His fallback was to pretend to return to the Shatterstar, then just vaporize the entire island with the main cannon. He figured even Alaric’s clone couldn’t withstand a blast like that.

Though, he had to admit, the idea made him a bit nervous. How much power would it take? Too much, and he might accidentally crack the planet. He still remembered, back in the Blood Realm, juicing the main cannon to full power and obliterating half a world. That planet had been dozens of times larger than Earth. Earth itself was barely bigger than the Sea of Death, and that was just a sealed zone on the Umbral Star.

But before he could put his ‘scorched earth’ policy into action, the heavenly tribulation had hit, derailing everything. Watching Ascension Isle get reduced to a charred wasteland by the lightning had killed any desire to claim it.

Who wants a piece of scorched real estate? he’d thought. The ghosts can have it.

The only thing that had piqued his curiosity was that magnificent palace complex, built entirely of Southern Seas Rosewood. It had the grandeur of a celestial manor dropped from the heavens. Even during the tribulation, it had glowed with a faint golden light, repelling both the lightning and his own attempts to enter.

But now… after he’d awakened, the island was lush and green again. The scorch marks were gone. The mountain springs flowed once more. He figured Victor and the others, after their epiphanies and remembering his earlier musings, must have rushed to the Whitmore family’s territory and hauled everything they could get their hands on over here.

Seeing his own VR Capsule set up nearby confirmed it. Aside from the two main villas in the Whitmore’s territory, he suspected they’d moved pretty much everything else. Were they trying to set up a post-apocalyptic boutique hotel?

SWOOSH!

A sound of parting air cut through his thoughts. Everyone looked up to see Micah landing gracefully among them, a triumphant grin plastered on his face.

“Haha! The Sumeru Array is truly incredible! Took me a day and a half to fully grasp its operational principles,” he announced, puffing his chest out slightly.

A day and a half. Everyone knew that was ridiculously fast for a formation this complex. It was clearly an ancient, top-tier artifact. For him to not only understand it but repair it in that time was nothing short of genius.

Not that anyone was going to tell him that. By unspoken agreement, they all suddenly found the sky incredibly interesting.

They’d learned his personality by now. Give Micah an inch of praise, and he’d paint himself a mile-wide monument.

“You fixed it, great,” Victor said, ever the pragmatist. “But what’s to stop that Alaric guy from just waltzing back in if he feels like it?”

“Him?” Micah scoffed. “Relax, I already thought of that. I changed the activation sequence. And… I discovered that the previous owners were only using a fraction of its power. This formation’s primary function is defense, with offensive capabilities as a secondary feature, and illusions as a tertiary effect. From what I’ve studied, if the Sumeru Array’s defenses were at full power, I doubt even the boss’s heavenly tribulation could have broken through!”

“What?” Ethan blurted out, genuinely shocked. He knew better than anyone how ferocious that lightning storm had been. For Micah to claim the array could have withstood it entirely seemed like a massive exaggeration.

“It’s true!” Micah insisted, his expression turning slightly grim. “However, achieving full power is… complicated. While I was inspecting it, I found the array lacks a core. Its central power matrix is missing.”

“An array without a core can still function? Micah, buddy, they might not have common sense, but don’t try to fool me!” Ryan Chase chimed in from the side.

“Who are you saying has no common sense?” His sister, Evelyn, immediately shot back, glaring at him.

The collective gaze of the group turned toward Ryan.

“Uhhh…” Ryan felt a chill run down his spine. He mentally kicked himself. “My… my big brother! I was talking about my big brother, Leeroy!” He opted for the lesser of two evils, choosing to throw his sibling under the bus rather than face the wrath of the group.

“You little—!” Leeroy was on him in a flash, his hand smacking the back of Ryan’s head with a sharp THWACK.

The mighty Ryan, who had been soaring through the skies just moments ago, was sent face-first into the dirt with a comedic oomph.

“Alright, alright, enough messing around,” Ethan said, laughter in his voice. “The array is active, this place is secure. Let’s get settled into that ridiculously luxurious palace. From now on… this is home.”

The post-battle tension melted away in the camaraderie and teasing. Having secured such a formidable stronghold lifted everyone’s spirits. The word “home,” spoken so simply, took root in their hearts.

Amid the laughter, they decided against flying. Instead, they hiked through the forested hills, making their way toward the distant rosewood structures on foot. For the first time in days, they allowed themselves to truly relax. The exhaustion of recent events finally settled in.

As they walked, Markham’s stomach let out a loud, protracted gurgle. The big man hurried up to Ethan with a grin.

“Boss,” he said, patting his substantial belly. “How about we christen the new digs with a proper feast? A barbecue, right here in this pristine wilderness. My treat… figuratively speaking.”

The idea was infectious. Ethan looked around at the group, seeing the eager nods. A slow smile spread across his face.

“Alright, everyone,” he announced. “Let’s get this party started!”