She stared at the black shadowy figure with a cold expression, then calmly asked the system in her mind.
"System, how many kneeling points do I have? Is it enough to upgrade?"
The system responded instantly.
DING!
[Current Kneeling Points: +10,750]
[Required Kneeling Points to Upgrade to System Version 3.0: +10,000]
[Would you like to initiate the upgrade now?]
[ Yes ] [ No ]
Seeing the numbers, Ella's heart swelled with joy.
Excitement bubbled within her at the thought of growing stronger, but she quickly composed herself and sent another thought to the system.
She didn't want to rush.
If possible, she wanted to share her breakthrough moment with Olivia.
"System, can I delay the breakthrough for now? I want to upgrade first and then advance alongside Vivi. Is that possible?"
The system responded once again.
DING!
[Breakthrough Delay: 100% Possible]
[The system upgrade is ready. You may proceed now, but the breakthrough will remain suspended and can be triggered at any time by the twin hosts' direct command.]
[ Upgrade Now ] [ Delay Breakthrough ]
Hearing that it was possible, Ella smirked and didn't waste another second.
She immediately chose to upgrade the system, especially with the black shadowy figure before her growing increasingly impatient.
"Hey, little girl. What are you smiling at? Did you really think I don't have a way to trap your consciousness here?" the figure said, his hoarse voice crackling with power that occasionally stirred the skies, drawing flashes of lightning that threatened to descend.
Ella, however, paid him no attention.
She didn't respond.
Her projection body remained calmly suspended in the air, her focus entirely fixed on the system's prompt.
DING!
[System Upgrade Successful]
[Your remaining Kneeling Points: +750]
DING!
[Breakthrough Conditions Met]
[You are now eligible to break through at any time. Due to your rapid system advancement, your foundation in the Inferno Realm has been automatically perfected.]
DING!
[Perfect Clone Function Unlocked]
[You can now create one clone possessing the exact strength of your true body. This requires Kneeling Points to activate.]
DING!
[Trading Function Unlocked]
[You may now access the Trading Function to view tradable items, techniques, talent cards, rare herbs, and more. Transactions can be completed using Kneeling Points or by exchanging your own resources of equal value.]
Ella's eyes widened in disbelief. Cloning? Wasn't that practically cheating? She couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, stunned by the system's newfound capability.
Alongside the cloning function, another feature had appeared—trading.
The sight of these upgrades filled her with delight, her excitement rising with every passing second.
But just as the joy began to settle in—
"Tsk."
A sharp click of the tongue echoed out as the black shadowy figure unleash a wave of dark energy, dyeing the entire world in ominous black.
The sudden surge of power struck her like a blow.
Her projection began to destabilize, her form flickering violently in midair.
Confusion surged within her.
"Damn it… Damn it! System, what's his realm?" She demanded an answer, unable to understand how she was being suppressed while merely projecting herself.
DING!
[System Notice: Realm Detection Failure]
[Due to the immense difficulty of peering into the higher realms—where anomalous laws continuously reject external interference—the system is currently unable to retrieve any further information.]
[However, the anomaly has been confirmed:]
[Target Identified — Dark Emperor]
[Status: Suppressed]
[Suppressing Force: Unidentified Exalted Being]
[Current Cultivation: Tenebris Realm – Middle Stage] (Severely Restricted)]
[Warning: Further tracking impossible unless system reaches Version 4.0 or higher.]
"What? That's unreasonable," Ella complained, frustration flaring as her projection remained frozen in place.
She wanted to flee, but the moment she read the details of the Dark Emperor's current realm, her panic began to subside.
My own realm was inferno Realm, while the Dark Emperor stood just two level above me—Tenebris Realm.
Realizing this, her anxious expression quickly shifted to one of burning anger.
She clenched her fists, eyes narrowing with murderous intent.
She wanted to rip him apart.
"System, how many kneeling points do I need to create a clone that replicates my true body's strength?" she asked coldly.
She had done nothing to deserve this. To be restrained without cause filled her with fury.
She refused to tolerate his arrogant dominance any longer.
DING!
[Perfect Clone Function Unlocked]
[You can now replicate your true body's strength by consuming Kneeling Points.]
[Consumption Rate: 3 Kneeling Points per 10 seconds of replication, including active usage.]
[Would you like to initiate strength replication now?]
[Yes] [No]
Seeing it, Ella agreed without hesitation. She was itching for a battle.
"I'll kill you, arrogant old man," she muttered, her voice laced with murderous intent as her gaze locked onto the Dark Emperor
He sensed her killing intent and chuckled, intrigued.
"Your will and bloodlust are impressive. I wonder how delicious your luck and essence will taste once I claim your true body."
His words only fueled her rage. He wasn't treating her as a person, but as prey with rich fortune and essence.
The thought made her want to obliterate him completely.
The Dark Emperor laughed at her glare, clearly amused.
Then his expression shifted slightly as a strange sound caught his attention.
Crack... Crack...
Ella's projection began to flicker erratically, fading in and out.
An unfamiliar force surged within her, and before his eyes, her physical form started to manifest.
Flesh, bone, a core of energy—everything was forming from nothing.
Even he, with all his power, watched in momentary awe.
"Interesting. You can summon your true body in such a way? Quite the anomaly," he said, observing without interfering.
Ella remained silent. Her focus was inward. The reconstruction of her body was far from pleasant.
Every limb, every nerve, every organ took shape with eerie precision, mirroring her real body in full detail.
Seconds passed.
Her transformation completed.
Abyssal mist radiated from her form, curling around her like silent flames.
Her cold gaze met his, filled with the intent to kill.
The system prompt followed.
DING!
[Race]: [Primordial] Abyssborn Havoc Empress— [Active]
[Bloodline]: [Primordial] Abyssborn Havoc Bloodline— [Active]
[Physique]:[Primordial] Cataclysmic Havoc Sovereign Body — [Active]
[Due to the successful replication of the host's true self, all racial, bloodline, and physique buffs are now fully active and unrestricted.]
After the system prompt, Ella's body unleashed a terrifying shockwave that vibrated through the entire Human Realm.
SHHHRRRAA-KOOM!!
A thunderous boom cracked the heavens, sending tremors racing through the earth.
The clouds above spiraled violently, torn apart by raw velocity, while stones nearby lifted into the air and shattered midflight.
The eruption instantly alerted every powerhouse across the Human Realm.
A powerful human cultivator, overwhelmed by the sound, muttered in disbelief, "What in the world is this presence? My hearing is about to burst." Shocked and curious, he soared into the sky to locate its source.
He wasn't alone—dozens of powerhouses shot into the air, their senses locked onto the anomaly as they raced to synchronize with the disturbance.
Meanwhile, the Dark Emperor stared at Ella, his expression flickering between shock and disbelief.
"What are you? Even the laws reject your presence, trying to expel you. What kind of physique can't be measured?" he asked, unable to calculate anything about the being before him.
Ella gave no response. Her cold gaze remained fixed on him.
She waited patiently, allowing his guard to lower just enough.
You're dead.
That was all she thought.
As the Dark Emperor remained distracted by his racing thoughts, Ella's form flared with abyssal black aura that shimmered like living flame.
Without a moment's hesitation, she activated her Boundless Drifting Step to its absolute limit.
SHUSH...
He couldn't react in time.
By the moment his thoughts settled, Ella had already clenched her fists.
"Heaven-Shattering Emperor Fist," she whispered.
With eighty percent of her strength and destructive essence condensed into a single strike, her fist distorted the air around it.
The sheer pressure shattered the sound barrier, and the world lost its color.
Her punch connected with the Dark Emperor, and the moment it landed—
CRRRKKKSSSHHH!!!
The sky above fractured like brittle glass, splitting into jagged shards of void.
The ground erupted with colossal cracks, as if the very realm rejected the blow.
This caused half of the Obsidian Grave Continent to crumble.
The deathly fog swirled in two halves, and the devastating blow made it vanish entirely.
From far away, powerful figures witnessing the clash gasped in disbelief.
"That banished deity... was obliterated?" one of them murmured, unable to comprehend the force that had just erased the Dark Emperor from existence.