Chapter 717: Atlas Finally Gets His Revenge
Garion stared at the tutorial panel for a long time.
For once, he did not immediately make a joke.
The God Physique ascension method was insane even by God Gym’s already ridiculous standards.
Destroying the body, devouring the cultivation foundation, fusing everything into a higher law, and then rebuilding the cultivator into something closer to a demigod?
That was not a normal breakthrough.
That was a full-body reset performed through divine violence.
Atlas’s voice sounded inside his mind.
[So?]
Garion glanced at the floating panel. "So what?"
[Do you want to ascend now?]
The hall became quiet.
Garion slowly shifted his gaze toward the enormous golden-black pedestal standing in the center of the [Divine Celestial Ascension Hall].
Atlas continued.
[Your body is already extremely powerful, and your combat strength has exceeded normal Star Realm standards by a ridiculous amount. That is hardly surprising considering you are one of her chosen candidates.]
Garion raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like praise."
[It is an objective evaluation.]
Garion chuckled. "Still praise."
Atlas ignored him.
[There is also another important point.]
Garion waited.
[You do not possess a normal [World Seed].]
Garion’s eyes shifted slightly at those words.
Atlas’s tone became more serious.
[Even if something inside you serves a similar foundational role, the God Physique ascension method does not use it the way ordinary cultivators use a [World Seed]. The hall will directly consume that foundation, fuse it with your body and existing powers, then rebuild everything into a unified law-body foundation.]
Garion looked down at his hands.
In truth, he had always known that his cultivation path was different.
It had been abnormal from the very beginning, ever since he started creating and developing his own cultivation path instead of simply following the established methods used by everyone else.
Normal cultivators condensed a [World Seed] during the Star Realm.
Once that seed matured, they opened it into an [Inner World] and stepped into the Celestial Realm.
Garion had never fit that process properly.
His body itself had already become something fundamentally different.
His God Physique, [Graviton], gravity power, [Divine Relic], and the foundation continuously strengthened through God Gym had pushed him farther and farther away from the ordinary cultivation path.
Atlas finally asked again.
[So, are you going to do it now?]
Garion did not answer immediately.
Instead, he started walking toward the pedestal.
The moment he approached, the golden-black runes surrounding the platform began glowing faintly, reacting to his presence.
Garion stopped at the edge and looked down.
For some reason, the pedestal did not feel like an ordinary cultivation platform.
It felt more like a mouth.
A massive divine machine waiting patiently to swallow him whole, tear apart everything he currently was, and rebuild him into something far stranger and far stronger.
Garion stared at it for several seconds.
His expression slowly became interested again. "Let’s see first."
Atlas paused.
[See what?]
Garion stepped onto the pedestal.
The instant his foot touched the center, golden-black light surged upward and wrapped around his entire body.
HUMMMMM!
The enormous hall trembled.
Garion looked down at the runes rapidly activating beneath his feet. "Let’s see whether my current body is even eligible for this."
A system panel appeared directly in front of him.
[Scanning God Physique Cultivator Foundation...]
Golden-black light swept across Garion from head to toe.
He rolled his shoulders once, cracked his neck, and looked directly at the glowing panel. "Come on."
His purple eyes shone with unmistakable excitement. "Judge me."
---
The golden-black light surrounding Garion grew brighter.
The entire [Divine Celestial Ascension Hall] trembled as countless runes swept across his body from head to toe, scanning every part of his foundation.
A system panel floated directly in front of him.
[Scanning Complete.]
Garion raised an eyebrow. "Already?"
The panel flashed again.
[God Candidate Foundation Has Reached the Required Standard.]
[Ascension Process Available.]
Garion stared at the words for a second before looking satisfied. "Good."
Atlas immediately became alert.
[Wait. You are not actually starting it now, are you?]
Garion glanced down at the glowing pedestal beneath his feet. "Why not?"
[Because the tutorial literally says this process will destroy your body, consume your foundation, break down your existing power, and rebuild you from scratch.]
Garion cracked his knuckles. "Yeah. Sounds useful."
Atlas went silent for half a second.
[That is absolutely not the correct reaction.]
Garion ignored him and reached toward the glowing confirmation panel.
A new warning appeared.
[Begin God Physique Celestial Ascension?]
[Warning: The Process Cannot Be Stopped Once Activated.]
Garion did not hesitate. "Start."
The entire hall suddenly fell silent.
Not merely quiet.
Completely silent.
A second later, the pedestal beneath Garion split open.
HUMMMMM!
Golden-black light surged upward and wrapped around both of his legs before slowly beginning to absorb him into the platform.
At first, Garion remained perfectly calm.
He even looked curious.
A few seconds later, his expression changed instantly.
"GH!"
Purple-black gravity erupted violently from his body.
BOOOOM!
The pedestal swallowed the power without the slightest resistance.
Garion’s eyes widened.
A terrifying divine force began pulling apart his skin, muscles, bones, mana, divinity, cultivation foundation, and nearly every other part of his existence piece by piece.
"FUCK!"
His roar shook the entire hall.
Golden-black cracks spread rapidly across his body as parts of him began dissolving into streams of light. "This hurts like fucking hell! Why the hell didn’t the tutorial mention the pain?!"
Atlas’s voice sounded inside his mind.
For once, there was unmistakable laughter in it.
[Don’t ask me. I am not the idiot who pressed Start immediately after reading a warning.]
Garion gritted his teeth as another wave of divine force tore through his body. "You bastard..."
Atlas sounded even more entertained.
[I warned you.]
Garion tried to raise one hand toward the floating chibi avatar, probably to threaten him properly.
Unfortunately, half of his arm was already dissolving into golden-black particles. "Damn you, Atlas!"
Atlas finally sounded completely satisfied.
[Finally.]
Garion’s eyebrow twitched despite the unbearable pain.
[For once, I get to watch something entertaining instead of being the one suffering because of you.]
Garion’s body continued sinking into the pedestal.
His legs had already disappeared.
His torso was breaking apart next, while his gravity power, God Physique foundation, mana, divinity, and [Graviton] were all being dragged into the hall piece by piece.
Even while roaring from the pain, Garion’s purple eyes still burned with stubborn madness. "Just... wait..."
His voice came out rough as another section of his body dissolved. "When I come out of this..."
Atlas answered immediately.
[Yes, yes. You are going to bully me again. Absolutely terrifying.]
Garion tried to curse him again.
The pedestal swallowed the rest of his body before he could finish.
WHOOSH!
For a moment, nothing remained above the platform except swirling golden-black light.
Only Garion’s furious voice echoed through the enormous hall.
"ATLAS!"