This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 742 - 386: Upgrade and Inventory, Energy Level Touches X

Chapter 742: Chapter 386: Upgrade and Inventory, Energy Level Touches X

Li Ming didn’t want to ruin his relationship with the Observer, so when he saw the other’s attitude soften, he apologized, "It’s indeed my fault. This is my first time here, and I don’t understand the rules of this place."

The Observer didn’t respond. In fact, many rules should have been explained and guided by him, but upon noticing the peculiarities of the newcomer, he chose not to reveal himself immediately.

His mechanical eyeball drifted before he asked, "How did you bring those Mechanical Bodies in here? Information state transformation shouldn’t allow the transportation of such things."

"Secret." Li Ming smiled. The Observer shook his head and said in a strange tone, "Unexpected. Diglas’s Holy Castle has only been revived for fifty years, and now it welcomes such a peculiar individual as you."

"Diglas?" Li Ming hesitated. Is he the Lord of this Holy Castle?

The information here was immense—this was clearly not the first Holy Castle to be revived.

"After a Holy Castle is revived, does it send out purple skull insignias to designate its inheritor?" Li Ming asked.

"Lord Diglas’s insignia is a purple skull. As for the other Lords’ insignias, they are different," the Observer explained.

That matched perfectly. Li Ming pondered inwardly. If the chosen ones all bore the purple skull insignia, the Pioneers and the Star Abyss Empire would undoubtedly investigate this aspect thoroughly—it’s an easy lead to follow.

"What level must one reach to unlock the Holy Castle?" Li Ming asked.

"You must pass the Peak Transcendence Level Trial to unlock the Holy Castle."

Peak Transcendence? Li Ming took a sharp breath. Theoretically, this corresponds to an energy development progress surpassing 90% of an X-level lifeform.

But the problem lies in those bizarrely powerful lifeforms. Even with 90% development progress, an X-level lifeform would surely stand no chance against them—it would require brute overwhelming force.

In other words, one must reach at least the Ultimate Life Form level to pass the Peak Transcendence Level Trial.

No wonder those X-level lifeforms disappeared without a trace—it’s an unwinnable fight.

Li Ming clicked his tongue internally but then realized something amiss. "Observer, these Dominator-level Titans left behind the Holy Castles for others to obtain, correct? This level of difficulty feels wrong."

"It is indeed a bit challenging, but this was established to select those truly one-in-a-trillion lifeforms," the Observer replied matter-of-factly.

Yet Li Ming still felt something didn’t sit right.

Suddenly, he understood—it was the difference in evolutionary systems!

The Titans’ Evolution Path must have been superior to the current evolutionary systems; hence, they set such trials.

But they seemed to overlook the differences in those systems. They didn’t reduce the difficulty—or rather, they might believe that if the evolutionary system lacked strength, it didn’t deserve their legacy.

The Genetic Evolution Path, after all, was designed as a compensatory route for lifeforms whose inherent life strength wasn’t sufficient.

Thus, it required more powerful lifeform genes to compensate for intrinsic weaknesses.

However, Titans were inherently powerful; they followed a completely distinct Evolution Path.

Li Ming was at a loss for words—no wonder only one Eternal Silence Star had emerged across all these years.

This created a deadlock for the current Evolution Path. Too low a Titan bloodline concentration meant the Holy Castle couldn’t be unlocked; too high a concentration suppressed development potential, preventing higher-level evolution.

"Right, what kind of Evolution Path do Titans follow?" Li Ming asked casually.

"Titans?" The Observer stared at him, then said, "Through special means, they absorb powers from the Dimension World to evolve. Don’t bother imagining it—only pure-blooded Titans can achieve this."

Absorbing Dimension World’s power... That makes sense. Adapt to the circumstances. Li Ming felt the current Evolution Path suited him well, and he wasn’t thinking of changing it anyway.

"Hmm, doesn’t the purple skull insignia signify the inheritor of Titan civilization? Yet in the end, all it seems to do is unlock a Holy Castle?" Li Ming had many questions left unanswered.

"You’ll understand once you unlock the Holy Castle," the Observer shook his head.

Figured—it’s another matter of permissions, isn’t it?

A thought flickered in Li Ming’s mind, and he tried probing the Observer. But the Observer remained vigilant, seemingly existing in another dimension, untouchable.

Li Ming was utterly speechless, and he began asking about the enemies encountered during the trials.

"The Abyss Clan, from the Abyss of Eternity..." the Observer said in a deep voice.

"Eternal Abyss? Were they the ones who led to Terrax’s downfall?" Li Ming tested the waters.

"You’ll know once you unlock the Holy Castle," the Observer replied expressionlessly.

Li Ming was frustrated and proceeded to ask several more questions—some were answered, while others weren’t.

Eventually, he reluctantly glanced at the massive portal one last time before deciding to return.

As he vanished, the Observer’s pupils swirled with streams of data, his brows furrowed tightly.

...

As his eyes opened, clarity gradually returned to his vision. Li Ming felt as though he had fallen into a dreamlike state. A glance at the time showed that over two hours had passed, matching what he expected.

Lowering his head, he saw streams of information-state particles converging, shining with mysterious light, their colors unpredictably shifting.

These particles gradually condensed into various weapons. Some resembled longswords, their blades composed of flowing particles, emanating a chilling gleam with every flicker.

Others transformed into long spears, their tips spinning particles at high speed, creating energy vortices that seemed capable of swallowing anything nearby.

Some even took the form of giant axes, with arcs of electricity dancing across their axe blades. Each flicker brought forth immense energy fluctuations.

Unbelievable, Li Ming thought to himself in amazement.

Four A-level weapons, requiring average control levels of six million—considered quite powerful.

One S-level weapon, requiring a control level of fifty million. But it was relatively ordinary—far inferior to the upgraded data of his Controlled Objects, which had undergone numerous enhancements along the way.