Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 698

Chapter 698: Old Grudge

The sky deepened into dusk. After their impromptu feast, Ethan and the others finally reached the residential complex on Ascension Isle.

The orange-yellow glow that had shielded it during the tribulation was gone. Without hesitation, they started up the winding mountain path.

They’d known it was large from a distance, but stepping inside the grounds left them truly awestruck. It was like a full-fledged sanctuary for a bygone order of mystics. Training halls, sparring grounds, a library that undoubtedly housed ancient texts on energy manipulation and combat arts… it had everything.

Ethan suspected this place had once been a thriving spiritual sanctuary long before the Seredin family had stumbled upon it. For some unknown reason, it had been abandoned, leaving this magnificent complex for the Seredins to find and claim.

“Let’s split up and explore!” Micah suggested, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“No,” Ethan said quickly, shutting it down. “We have no idea what might still be active in here. A place like this is bound to have defensive measures, maybe even dormant arrays.” The others nodded in agreement. This was unknown territory.

“So, what’s the plan, boss?” someone asked.

Ethan thought for a moment, then turned to Micah. “About the array… it’s not just going to stay this foggy, is it? It’s only evening outside, but in here it feels like midnight.” He pointed upwards at the churning mist that blotted out the sky, creating a strangely oppressive atmosphere.

“Oh, right! Forgot about that.” Micah scratched his head, then pulled out a control disk. He tapped a few specific points on its surface.

BZZZT.

The very air above them seemed to shudder. The pervasive mist descended, then dissolved, parting like a curtain being drawn back to reveal a skylight to the heavens.

“Here, boss,” Micah said, offering the disk to Ethan. “This is the new control token for the entire Sumeru Array. I crafted it after I finished the repairs.”

Ethan glanced at it but pushed Micah’s hand back. “You and Ryan are in charge of anything related to arrays from now on. It’s your department.”

He then looked up at the newly revealed sky. There was no visible trace of the barrier; it seemed perfectly seamless with the world outside. The time was early evening, and the golden light of the setting sun streamed in, painting the ancient wood and stone in a warm, fiery glow.

“We’ll find any places to bunk down for tonight,” Ethan decided. “This place is too big to explore in one go. Speaking of which…” He turned to Victor. “If I remember correctly, the Fortress Wars expansion launches tomorrow, doesn’t it?”

Victor blinked, then nodded. “Yeah. It does.”

“And where’s Celia?” Ethan suddenly realized that while all his core brothers were here, Victor’s wife; his own honorary Vice-Leader—was absent.

At the question, Victor’s expression turned wry, a smirk playing on his lips. “You have the nerve to ask? You’re the most hands-off Guild Leader in history. A new expansion is about to drop. Do you have any idea how swamped she is right now?”

“Uh…” Ethan was instantly cornered, a flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck.

“Ethan…” The voices of Lyla, Amber, and Rainie chimed in almost in unison as they approached him together.

“Yeah?” he said, his eyes darting between the three of them. His awkwardness level immediately spiked.

“You…” He glanced specifically at Amber, who immediately dropped her gaze, her cheeks turning a shade of red so deep it looked like she was trying to hide her face in her chest. Ethan’s own eyes widened slightly before he quickly shifted his focus to Rainie.

She met his gaze, her eyes flickering for just a moment, but she held it steadily, not looking away. It was Ethan who found himself unable to maintain the contact, his eyes darting away before finally landing on Lyla’s face.

Lyla simply wore a gentle smile, but it was the kind of smile that seemed to see right through him, down to his very soul.

‘Oh shit,’ Ethan thought, his heart sinking. ‘Does she know?’ His gaze flickered unconsciously back to Amber for a split second, and a wave of guilt washed over him.

“Ethan, I wanted to ask you something,” Lyla said, her voice calm.

“Y-yeah? What about?” he stammered, the guilt making him defensive.

“Why are you stuttering? You’re acting really weird today.” Lyla frowned, studying him intently.

“I… I am?” He swallowed hard.

“Aren’t you?” The corner of her mouth twitched, but she quickly smoothed her expression. “Never mind. I wanted to know what you plan to do about the Steele Consortium… about Zachary Steele?”

“Whew…” Ethan let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. For a moment there, facing Lyla’s quiet inquiry had felt more oppressive and terrifying than facing down the heavenly tribulation.

But at the mention of Zachary Steele’s name, his eyes narrowed to slits.

Since his return, Zachary had been a festering thorn in his side, a core of hatred from a past life. Initially, he lacked the power to do anything. Later, he gained glimpses of the truth—that the Steele family were far more than simple businesspeople. That had stayed his hand, because until his return from the Sea of Death, he had been pathetically weak.

After returning and logging into Ethereal, he’d been immediately hounded by that idiot Anzu, forcing him to flee to the General’s Hall and off-world again. This time, upon his return, Celeste’s crisis with the Ninth Division had taken priority.

But now… it was time. Letting Zachary live this long was a mercy he hadn’t deserved.

If Zachary was only as powerful as he appeared on the surface, crushing him would be as easy as squashing an ant.

The thought was tempting. To appear before him in all his current power, to make the man kneel and beg for forgiveness.

But then, a second thought struck him. Forgive him for what? Zachary had no knowledge of their previous life’s conflict. Was he supposed to make him apologize for stealing Ivy away?

The thought made Ethan’s expression turn odd. If he was honest, he didn’t even hate Zachary for that anymore.

His eyes traveled over the three women before him. Without the cascade of events that had unfolded, would he have found Lyla again? Without meeting Lyla, would he have ever truly encountered Amber? Without Amber’s initial provoking attitude, would he have stormed into her home and… well, given her that memorable spanking?

It seemed that after he’d… disciplined her… her entire attitude toward him had done a one-eighty. She’d even pretended to be his girlfriend on the Flying Dragon and shared that honeymoon suite with him.

As for Rainie… he never expected to see her again in this life, let alone that she’d develop feelings for him. And the reason was absurd—a chance encounter within an illusion during his trials in the Spirit Realm. What was an illusion to him had somehow bled into Rainie’s dreams back on Earth, a vivid, romantic dream about her old high school classmate that sparked this inexplicable affection.

So, while the embers of hatred for Zachary still glowed, the desire to simply snuff him out had vanished.

Now, he wanted something else entirely…