Chapter 17 The "Ascension" of Xiao Tan

The first thing Xiao Tan did was to curse. It had almost become an instinct; as long as there was a living creature in front of him and his skills weren't on cooldown, he'd think about casting it.

Naturally, Qi Sha, who was fifty meters ahead of Xiao Tan, was the target.

Without any warning, Qi Sha suddenly felt a tightening in his heart and a weight on his shoulders... He immediately opened the game menu alertly and found the word [Curse] in the status bar.

"Hmm... he didn't seem to use this move when we fought last time..." Qi Sha pondered. "Is it a new skill he learned recently...?" He didn't know what the effect of this "Curse" was, so he didn't dare to be careless.

So, Qi Sha chose to stand still and observe, wanting to see what specific effects this curse would have besides psychological pressure.

"What could it be... weakening one of my attributes... or dealing damage after a certain period of time..." From Qi Sha's point of view, he naturally hoped it was the former. If that was the case, then delaying was the right thing to do. Because a curse that weakened attributes couldn't last for long; it would disappear soon. Every second he stalled, the duration of the curse would decrease by a second.

At this moment, something unexpected happened on Xiao Tan's side... That last *Hua Ge Cha Cha Curse You* had raised his Spiritual Arts specialization to C-grade.

As the saying goes, many grains make a pile, and constant dripping wears away the stone. For several days, he had been using this Spiritual Arts skill non-stop in numerous scripts, and finally achieved his initial goal.

"Hmm... this is fate..." Xiao Tan was also well aware that it would be very difficult to win against Qi Sha with his own strength. But... now he had an extra skill that required B+C grade to learn, which could very likely... allow him to find a chance to win.

"Hmm? Is he going to make a move?" Qi Sha saw Xiao Tan reach into his bag and thought he was going to take out some kind of item to attack. But unexpectedly... Xiao Tan took out a paper book that looked tattered.

"What's this... *Gui Yuan Mi Ji* (referring to the version in the movie *The Magic Crane*, where the secret manual itself is a consumable item that can cure all diseases and increase one's power)?"

Qi Sha made a very unreliable guess in his mind.

Xiao Tan took out the secret manual-like *Tiandi Ni Zhuan Shen Jue* and confirmed the learning requirements: Fighting Specialization B, Spiritual Arts Specialization C, Level 30 or higher.

Then, he chose to learn it.

Qi Sha saw clearly that the book in the other person's hand suddenly disappeared in a flash of white light. He immediately thought, "Oh? It really is a consumable item? Could it be a skill?" He pondered, "But why did he wait until he was in the script to learn it... Could it be some kind of special continuous skill that automatically activates after learning and lasts for the entire script?" Obviously, he couldn't possibly guess the exact situation on Xiao Tan's side...

"Speaking of which..." Xiao Tan muttered as he looked at the icon in the skill bar after learning the skill, "Although I learned it... what exactly is the effect of this thing..."

Indeed, the effect description of *Tiandi Ni Zhuan Shen Jue* was utter nonsense—[Effect: Reverse Heaven and Earth, Invert Qiankun. (No cooldown)].

"The notes also write quite vaguely, 'Reversing the nature of the human body's communication with the outside world'... What does that mean..." Xiao Tan thought. "But... since I've already learned it, I might as well try it once, anyway, it only consumes 2% of my Stamina."

At this moment, Qi Sha in the distance couldn't hold back any longer. He thought, "Tch... this inexplicable curse hasn't disappeared yet... What the heck is this kid doing there..." He stared at Xiao Tan. "Hmph... I'm clearly stronger, but a curse has delayed me for so long. If this is the other person's psychological warfare, then I've undoubtedly fallen for it."

Thinking of this, Qi Sha couldn't help but feel a little angry. He let out a low shout, "Do you really think I'll keep waiting!" He leaped out, like a tiger released from its cage, step by step quick, step by step startling. His right fist was coiled at his waist, as he charged to attack.

However, at this instant, an astonishing scene appeared...

Although this battle wasn't broadcast on the main screen, it was still considered a focused battle, with tens of thousands of viewers. In front of these tens of thousands of viewers, Xiao Tan did something... that perhaps no one in the entire game had been able to do.

He flew...

This wasn't *Yue Bu* (Moonwalk) that allowed him to walk on air, nor was it a powerful jump off the ground... but like a rocket, he rose straight up, straight into the clouds, and no part of his body showed any signs of exertion.

"Holy crap..." Qi Sha's pupils reflected a rising figure, watching the other person shoot towards the sky in a straight line. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "He's ascended to immortality..."

…………

At the same time, in a certain conference room of the Saber League.

"Are you kidding me!" Long Ao Min jumped up from his chair, his eyes fixed on the screen on the conference table. He couldn't believe his eyes. "No way..."

The other Saber League members around the table also widened their eyes and complained, "Brother Long... are you sure this guy's strength is below yours..."

…………

On the other side, in the login space of the specially invited player Shiva.

"I went to... out of curiosity, I wanted to see what would happen when Qi Sha fought the guy from the Inferno Front, but I saw something incredible!" Shiva stood in front of the display screen and muttered to himself, "If he has this ability... as long as he grabs his opponent, flies rapidly into the high altitude, and then lets go..." Thinking of this, he couldn't help but say again, "Hmm... speaking of which, if he enters the top 100, there's a chance I'll meet him, right? If he uses this move on me, what should I do... *Weightless Contact* can't be used on myself..." He was already considering various scenarios that might occur in the *Butterfly's War*.

…………

Looking at the conference room of the Inferno Front...

"I know you're listening, I can feel it." Feng Bujue, full of second-year syndrome, stood in a corner of the conference room and muttered, "I understand you, you fear us, you fear change. I don't know what the future holds, I don't know how this will all end, but I know how to begin... I'm going to hang up this phone and let the masses see... the real world. A world without you, a world without rules and boundaries, a world full of infinite possibilities! Where the future goes... the choice is yours."

After he finished these lines from the *Matrix*, he looked up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle and jumped in place, "Hmm... Why can't I fly..."

Sitting at the conference table, Bei Ling shook her head and covered her forehead: "Guild Leader... have some self-respect... although there are no outsiders here..."

"Sigh..." Si Yu sighed deeply, "If this scene had appeared half a month ago, I would have decisively broken off all ties with you..."

Feng Bujue remained unmoved, returned to the conference table with a solemn expression, propped his hands on the table, leaned forward, and solemnly stared at Xiao Tan who was flying on the screen, "I understand... his existence is the sum of the few remaining inequalities in the entire game program, he is the ultimate form of an abnormal program, no matter how hard the system tries, it cannot be eliminated through formulas; it cannot guarantee perfect mathematical precision and harmony..." He took a deep breath, "He... is the Savior... ah!"

Si Yu went behind Jue Ge and used her hands to pull Jue Ge's mouth and the corners of his eyes horizontally, twisting his face into a funny grimace.

"Hmm... the guards didn't come to stop me..." Si Yu pondered, "It seems that even the system supports my actions..."

"Okay, okay... I won't say it." Feng Bujue shrugged.

Si Yu retracted her hands and wiped the saliva that had沾到n her fingertips on Feng Bujue's clothes.

"Back to the topic..." Feng Bujue straightened his expression, sat down, "Putting aside the possibility that Xiao Tan is the 'Savior', this can only be *Tiandi Ni Zhuan Shen Jue*, right?"

Bei Ling said, "I knew it... Did you really think anyone would believe you after you mumbled a bunch of nonsense there?"

…………

In the script, on the wasteland.

At this moment, perhaps only Xiao Tan himself knew that he wasn't flying... but "falling."

"So this is what they call 'Reverse Heaven and Earth, Invert Qiankun'..." Xiao Tan flew upwards at an extremely high speed, muttering softly, "Simply put... reversing the effect of gravity on me, huh..."

He looked down at the ground that was getting further and further away from him, "Using it once more will reverse it back..." He paused for a moment. "What am I even doing... This is simply a suicidal skill... Either I'll fly into the atmosphere and be burned to death, or I'll fall to the ground and be smashed to death, right..."

Of course, he wasn't completely without options. As long as he reversed the gravity first, and then reversed it twice in succession when he was close to the ground, he could eliminate the accumulated momentum. However... this up and down, apart from wasting Stamina, didn't seem to have any other use.

"Hmm... since I'm already in the sky, how about..." Xiao Tan suddenly had an idea.

If he had bought a secret manual called "Rulai Shen Zhang" (Buddha's Palm) from an old beggar for a few coins when he was a child, the thought that would appear in his mind at this moment would be, "I seem to have learned a palm technique that descends from the sky..."

Unfortunately... there was no such setting.

Xiao Tan's idea was just *Bu Ying Zhui Hun* (Shadowchasing Soulsnatcher). He wanted to use the momentum of falling from this high altitude to use his ultimate move on Qi Sha.

After thinking about the tactic, he made up his mind and used the *Tiandi Ni Zhuan Shen Jue* again. The reversal of gravity was extremely sudden, but it didn't cause any damage to Xiao Tan. He was like a ping pong ball bouncing off a racket, instantly reversing direction.

A moment later, Qi Sha, standing on the ground, finally saw Xiao Tan's figure again.

"I thought this kid was going to fly out of the earth..." Qi Sha casually spat out a complaint, but a few seconds later, looking at the approaching opponent, his expression changed drastically, "Wait... what is he going to do... Sky Cross Fist?"