Imperial Crown.

Chapter 552: Ascending to the God Level
Many thanks to Qidian Daddy [Starting the Dian is Killing and Avoiding] for the 100 reward!

……

blow.

After breaking through to the fifth tier of magic, Raven could finally soar freely through the air. He vividly remembered his first attempt at flight four months prior, when he had just reached the fifth tier. He couldn't quite maintain his balance, flying erratically and wobbling precariously. But he quickly mastered the technique and began flying with effortless grace.

Eight and a half years! Raven had broken through from a fourth-tier mage to a fifth-tier mage! It had taken him a full eight and a half years! Now, not only had he successfully broken through to the fifth-tier mage level, but he had also finally removed the blood curse from his body. This should have been a day of joy for Raven, a day of rebirth. But Raven felt no excitement whatsoever. Leaving aside the fact that the torment of the past four months had nearly killed him, the fact that the Elf Empress Daiyunyi had gone back on her word and refused to let him leave was enough to trouble Raven.

The curse broke out in 1203, and it's now mid-July 1208, almost five years from now. His feigned illness and absence before leaving was somewhat understandable. But if the five-year period has passed and there's still no news of his death, it will inevitably attract everyone's attention. Emperor Habs, the eight ducal families of the capital, Governor Tyron of the Nord Province, the people of Snowmaple County… and Comos of the Morinil Province, Cardinal Thomas… and then, a wolf-like counterattack from everyone. This is an unbearable burden for Raven! Therefore, he must return to divide and conquer them one by one.

That's why Raven was in such a hurry to go back.

He was willing to give up immortality for his aunt, for Lux, for his territory… He certainly wouldn't stay in the Forbidden Zone for the sake of the elf mother and daughter. To be honest, he could feel that Daiyun's feelings for him were sincere and passionate. However, Raven didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Starting from the Astral Bone Tree, it would normally take over 50 days to reach the barrier! But now, Raven has arrived in just about two days. That's the difference! However, what troubles him is that even after breaking through to the fifth rank, Raven still can't break through the barrier. And he's searched for a long time but hasn't been able to find Anno and the others. It seems that Anno, Litanshi, and Gilida have all been released by the Elf Empress.

Raven spent two months like a headless fly at the barrier, trying every day to break it with magic. Gradually, it began to show results; tiny cracks appeared in the barrier. At this rate, it would take at least another two years before Raven could create a gap in the barrier to leave. Two months later, Luna Rego reappeared, kneeling on the ground and weeping, begging Raven not to leave. But Raven ignored her, continuing his relentless bombardment of the barrier every day.

Seeing that Raven had made up his mind, Luna Lego left in a huff. A little over a month later, another person appeared beside Raven. "Luvita, I recognize you," Raven said with some curiosity. This woman was the fourth-tier elf who had previously chased after Ernada. The one Raven had driven away with his Void Eye.

“Lord Raven, ever since I learned that you were in the Forbidden Zone, I have rushed back to find you without stopping,” Luvita said, her expression somewhat unnatural.

"Oh? Please speak." Without guessing, Raven knew that it must have been Anno who informed Luvita that he was here.

“I know where the barrier’s weak point is,” Luvita said bluntly.

"What do you need me to do? You're not after my good looks, are you?" Raven said half-jokingly.

Luvita glanced at Raven with a mixture of disgust and exasperation. "Lord Raven, I would like you to take care of my son."

"Your son?" Raven was stunned.

Luvita nodded. "That's right, I haven't seen my son either, but I know his name." "Tang San." "If you can help me find him, please take care of him for me." "I can take you out of the barrier."

"Tang San?????????!!!!!!!!!"

Raven was a little shocked. He hadn't realized that Tang San was actually the child of a human and an elf. However, he still subconsciously asked, "Why don't you go find him yourself?"

"You know my son? Have you seen him? How is he now?" Luvita sensed the change in Raven's tone and asked impatiently.

“No.” Raven shook his head. “Never heard of it.”

Luvita's eyes dimmed noticeably, as if she realized her lapse in composure, and she gave a helpless bitter smile. Indeed, how could Raven, a human noble, possibly know about her child? Luvita raised her eyes again and said in a deep voice, "It's extremely difficult for our elven race to leave this place. Don't ask for details. Even the Elven Saintess cannot leave the forbidden area; otherwise, the price she would have to pay would be extremely heavy."

"I see. No wonder Dai Yunyi and Luna Laige never mentioned leaving with me." Raven nodded. "Don't worry, I'll look for Tang San after I get out. What's his father's name?" As for why the Elf Empress couldn't leave the Forbidden Domain, Raven didn't want to know, nor did he care.

“Jack,” Luvita said with a hint of shyness.

Raven nodded expressionlessly.

The two then flew together in the direction she indicated. Elves naturally have wings, so they flew quite fast. Soon they arrived at a spring, and Ruvita pointed to the barrier there, saying, "This is the weakest point in the entire barrier. If you want to force your way out, you can only do so from here."

Raven bombarded the crack several times, and sure enough, it grew larger than before. However, it was still extremely difficult for him to break through on his own. Luvita then joined in, but their combined efforts were of little use; at most, they could only widen the crack a little, and it would soon heal! Neither the size of the crack nor the healing time was enough for Raven to crawl out.

……

Astral Bone Tree.

"Mother, please think of something!" Luna Lego said anxiously. "If all else fails, I'll go and bring Luvita back. After all, she has already violated the rules of the Elven race and has been stripped of her title."

“It’s no use.” “Raven’s mind is made up.” Dai Yunyi shook her head and said.

"But I just won't allow him to leave!" "Mother, if you let him leave, I... I won't live either!" Luna Laige threw a tantrum. Although she was over 400 years old, she had never left the forbidden area and had been extremely pampered by Dai Yunyi since childhood, so her nature was naturally as pure and simple as a blank sheet of paper.

The reason Daiyunyi went to the Elf Sanctuary to drink the tree sap and give birth to her was simply because she was too lonely. In the past few hundred years, with Luna Laige by her side, Daiyunyi was no longer lonely. Seeing Luna Laige's rare temper, Daiyunyi quickly patted her head and coaxed her with a smile, "Don't worry, with their strength, they can't break the barrier set up by Mother. I won't make the same mistake again."

"Mother, you didn't actually want Raven to leave, did you?" Luna Raig asked slyly.

"Shut up!" Dai Yunyi shouted coldly.

"Actually, I don't really care. Really." Luna Lego nestled in Daiyunyi's arms, half coquettishly and half seriously, and said, "Mother, you have already sacrificed enough for the peace of the Elf race and for the Miders Continent."

"Ugh……"

Dai Yunyi stroked Luna Laige's long hair and sighed softly in silence.

...Another month passed in the blink of an eye. Although the crack continued to widen, growing from the size of a fist to the size of a head, it was still a long way from allowing Raven to emerge! The repetitive, mechanical bombardment of the barrier every day gave the bored Raven time to think. He suddenly realized an extremely terrifying possibility.

He hadn't known of Tang San's existence before, let alone that the other lived in his ancestral land. Later, on the way to the Beastman Empire, Hu Xia mentioned Tang San during a casual conversation, saying that the young man had already shone brightly in the Bloodstained Scimitar competition. At the time, Raven didn't take it seriously, assuming it was just a coincidence of names. But now Raven was absolutely certain that Tang San was a rebel summoned by the Elf Saintess.

Since the other party happens to be the child of the elf Luvita, he will naturally search for his mother when he grows up to a certain stage. This means Tang San will inevitably come to the forbidden area of ​​the Elf Empire. It's practically a perfect closed loop. If he dies or fails, Tang San will likely be his replacement, Raven.

The elven saintess really went to great lengths and schemes to break through her cultivation barrier.

In truth, Dai Yunyi harbors many secrets. For instance, why didn't she absorb and refine the Eternal Life Mark directly? Wasn't it the very thing she longed for—eternal life? And why can't she leave the Forbidden Domain? With her eighth-tier, nine-star strength, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could sweep across the entire continent. What powerful entity is imprisoning her? Furthermore, why won't she let Raven leave now? Even if she had a sliver of affection for Raven, it wouldn't warrant this. If it weren't Raven who came to the Forbidden Domain today, but Tang San or another rebel, would the Elf Saintess have reacted the same way?

However, given Raven's current level of cultivation, he clearly cannot get involved in these extremely dangerous secrets.

He always felt that there was a giant hand above his head, manipulating and connecting everyone's fate, with each person becoming a chess piece, completing their predetermined destiny on the chessboard step by step.

Perhaps one day, Raven will be able to break through to the ninth rank, and then he can come back to explore these secrets.

"I'll do it, Raven."

Just as Raven's thoughts were churning, an unexpected voice rang out.

Raven turned around and saw a black cat licking the water by a spring not far away. The cat casually remarked, "Who else could it be but Sicreth?"

"You?" Raven asked suspiciously. Sicot had been by his side the whole way, but most of the time it had run off to play on its own. Sicot was Raven's pet from the Astral Plane, which he had contracted when he broke through to the third tier of magic. Now, its strength was far inferior to Raven's; even the fifth-tier Raven was helpless against the barrier before them, so what could a mere pet do?
“I can help you get out of here, but…” Sicot sat upright on the rock, its black tail swaying back and forth.

"But what?"

“However, we may need to be apart for a while,” Sikoret said calmly.

Raven fell silent, naturally understanding the unspoken meaning in Sicot's words.

“Raven, on the continent of Middlesbrough, no one is someone you can easily trust,” Sikeret’s voice rang out again. “I can’t reveal too much.” “Don’t worry, cats have nine lives.” “We’ll meet again someday.”

Raven's expression was grave as he slowly nodded.

Then, Sycorette leaped onto Raven's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek with her fluffy head. Since Sycorette's arrival, she had rarely shown such affection to Raven. Raven understood that Sycorette was expressing her reluctance to part.

Immediately afterward, Sicreth leaped again, disappearing from Raven's shoulder and reappearing in the air. She stood on all fours in the void, chanting a complex and difficult incantation. The incantation was long, and Sicreth struggled to chant it, demonstrating the high price she paid for using this magic. Eventually, the black hair on Sicreth's body stood upright as if attracted by static electricity. The surrounding magical elements began to roar and boil, swirling and rising into the air. A full half hour later, a beam of light, as straight as a laser, plummeted directly from the sky.

"Ascend! the! Divine! Stairs!"

A dazzling light also emanated from Sicreth, as she screamed in agony, a scream that was both painful and desperately suppressed. Those four words burst forth from her throat with heart-wrenching sorrow. With a hum, the entire sky turned from day to night, utterly shrouded in darkness. Raven looked up… wait—what was that? Sicreth had actually summoned the entire Astral Plane?! Raven's expression was one of utter astonishment, staring at this scene in disbelief. He truly had no idea that Sicreth, who had been with him for nearly 15 years, possessed such terrifying power!

"Damn it, who disturbed my good sleep?!" "It looks like Miss Sicot!" "Bastard! She's the one who stole our opportunity back then!" "What is she doing now?" "Looks like she's begging us for help?" "No! Idiot! She's committing suicide!" "Suicide? Why suicide? Could it be for that kid we made a contract with back then?" "Who else could it be?" "Should we help her or not?" "Of course not! Hmph, I saw through that kid's all bark and no bite, a silver-plated spearhead! I bet I was right, didn't I?" "Is it worth burning away your divine power for a mere lowly commoner from the lower realm?" "Who cares? We'll just enjoy the show!"

Within the astral plane, a cacophony of voices arose. These voices were grand and indifferent, identical to the voice of the elven saintess, Daiyunyi. "Silence!" a furious, sharp rebuke rang out, and no one dared utter a sound. The next moment, a girl in a black dress, her face obscured, stepped out from the astral plane. Then, she burst into flames, transforming herself from her feet into starlight, forming staircases of light that descended from the astral plane.

boom

A golden beam, like a laser, finally descended from the astral plane, slamming into the barrier. Instantly, the entire barrier emitted a series of groans and cracking sounds. The once indestructible and rock-solid barrier began to shake violently, revealing its inner structure—a honeycomb-like network of interconnected, massive hexagonal blocks. After the deafening explosion subsided, a gaping hole, as thick as a jar's mouth, finally appeared in the barrier. Simultaneously, a stairway of light descended from the sky, stretching to Raven's feet.

Just as Raven was about to leave, Luvita grabbed him again. She hurriedly took out three purple magical plants. "Raven, these are flowers of the underworld. Please give them to Tang San and tell him that I miss him very much."

"Go! Go now, Raven!" Sicreth roared.

Raven took the magical plant and immediately climbed the steps, walking along the light ladder towards the outside of the barrier. At this moment, he couldn't fly at all, as if he were restricted.

"Sicoret, come out! Let's go together!"

Raven had no way of knowing what was happening within the Astral Plane, but he did witness the light ladder slowly dissipating, and a gloomy feeling settled over him! So as soon as he escaped from the barrier, he turned back to look at it and shouted loudly.

"I...I can't go on." Sicreth seemed to be burning fiercely within her as she spoke, utterly weak. "Good luck, Raven."

"Didn't you say you had nine lives?!" Raven asked, forcing back tears. He had only felt this way when Nancy passed away. And now, just a few short years later, he was about to repeat the same tragedy.

"I was lying to you, you idiot," Sicot said before he was completely consumed by flames, turning into starlight-like dust that dissipated into the air.

As she vanished, the astral plane disappeared, the light ladder crumbled, the golden light dissipated, and the entire sky brightened once more. The barrier was also slowly recovering.

“Dai Yunyi.” “Sicot is dead.” “I no longer care about right or wrong.” “If I don’t avenge this, I swear I will not be a man.”

Raven looked at Daiyunyi and her daughter Luna Laige, who were rushing over, through the barrier opening, and said with a pained expression.

……

(End of this chapter)