From Prisoner to Si Chen..

Chapter 540 Ascension
Following the instructions in the secret letter from President Caesar, Gilan officially began the ascension ceremony on September 9th.

His ascension ceremony was particularly special.

Because Jilan's plan is to pass through all twelve gates of ascension, only to feel the enlightenment of the original essence, but not to choose to ascend.

Each gate of ascension will only open in the corresponding month, which means that Jilan will need a whole year to complete this plan.

Although this is a long time, after all, it has only been a year since Jilan traveled through time. But when it comes to the great cause of "ascension", Jilan is unwilling to be vague and has made preparations, striving for perfection, and striving to let "Banlan" deduce the best 7th-order essence, so that he can further expand his own advantages after ascension.

Step by step, step by step.

Since the 6th level "game" has already given him a very strong specialness, allowing him to look down on the world, then after ascending to the 7th level, he will definitely be able to replicate the miracle and look down on the same level...

"This month symbolizes the goddess of salt and justice, Lady Snow, so the first door I will pass through is the 'Gate of Weights'."

After taking a shower and changing clothes and having breakfast, Jilan sat cross-legged by the attic window in the most energetic state of mind.

He murmured, taking a deep breath.

Speaking of this gate of ascension, it happens to be the gate that the "Crippled King" William Gerard passed through when he ascended.

Gillan was briefly seen in the Easter egg of the real film "Dark Ages", and I have some impression of him.

"let's start……"

Jilan relaxed his hands on his knees, facing the morning light outside the window, and closed his eyes.

His consciousness quickly sank and he fell into a dream.

Immediately, he set out from the island where his own spiritual kingdom was located, and steered his spiritual boat towards the divine land.

After arriving in Toyalan, Gilan was teleported to the "Corridor" area through a token given by President Caesar, and appeared directly in a dreamy wilderness.

This is the transition zone of the corridor leading to September's "Gate of Weights"... The surrounding environment is filled with blue mist, and the light is scattered, forming a circle of light. There are clumps of uneven weeds growing on the muddy ground, and countless sharp knives are standing.

Jilan looked calm and walked forward with his white cane.

His steps were slow and steady.

In theory, if you want to pass through the "Gate of Weights", you must be naked and barefoot and cannot avoid the sharp knives on the ground. This is the invisible rule.

But Gillan is completely free to disobey.

Because he is a "specially authorized" person, he naturally does not need to endure such pain and suffering.

Jilan walked alone, bypassing the sharp knives on the ground and crossing the wilderness. The environment was quiet, with no birds singing or insects chirping, only a gentle breeze.

His eyes suddenly fluctuated.

Because he felt...

There were many gazes coming from the void and falling on him. Most of these gazes were kind and full of expectation.

"Are they the higher-ups in the Empire? They know about my Ascension plan, so they came to watch the ceremony."

Ji Lan secretly thought.

He thought to himself, took off his hat, and saluted towards the void, as a greeting to the superiors who came to watch the ceremony.

As he saluted, he seemed to hear laughter, applause, and whispers, but they were not quite clear.

Not long after.

Gilan crossed the wilderness and reached the end, where stood an enormous square stone door.

The door was made of simple stone, with dense patterns and symbols carved on it. In the center of the door frame, there was a relief of a scale pattern and several ancient Hierophant characters:

"The Gate of Weights."

And by the door stood a dark-skinned man.

He wore a golden hat with a turned brim and a priest's robe. In his left hand he held a double-winged snake staff and in his right hand he held a pot-shaped furnace with a blazing fire.

Gillan recognized the man.

It was the September Apostle "King of the Crucible" Hermes, a great alchemist who once lived in the same era as "Lady of the Silver Bottle" Macara.

After his ascension, he was appointed by Si Chen "Ms. Snow" to become the guardian of the "Gate of Weights".

"Trialist Gillan Iros, meet Mr. Hermes."

Gillan stepped forward and bowed politely.

The apostle in the vestments looked at him quietly, smiled, and nodded:
"No need to be polite. You are the most outstanding alchemist of the modern era. After you ascend, you can discuss with me the mysteries and truths of the alchemy field..."

"Mr. Hermes's theories form the basis of alchemy. I have benefited a lot from them. I will definitely ask you for advice in the future."

Jilan kept a low profile and spoke humbly to this great man who was the founder of alchemy.

Hermes smiled.

"It's not about asking for advice, let's communicate together."

"Ms. Snow has told me about you. Normally, all mysterious people who try to ascend in September must go through my tests and trials before they can pass through the Gate of Weights. But you don't have to. You were able to completely decompose the Apostle Biwo with alchemy, and even injured the Blind General Biwo. This is enough to show that your attainments in this field have reached the pinnacle of the world."

"I hope the 'Gate of Weights' can inspire you. Go ahead."

After saying that, Hermes turned sideways, pointed his winged snake staff at the door behind him, and gestured with a smile.

"Thank you." Jilan bowed to him.

Then he walked to the stone gate, stopped for a moment, looked up, took a deep breath, and took the last step.

hum! !

The moment Jilan stepped over the "Gate of Weights", the densely packed mysterious symbols and ancient characters on the stone gate lit up with golden light.

The scales relief in the center of the lintel has changed. A triangular symbol symbolizing spiritual knowledge, spirituality and physical body appears on the left tray, while a ball of light symbolizing the original substance appears on the right.

After tilting left and right, it finally achieves perfect balance.

At this moment, Jilan seemed to have received a revelation, and he froze in place.

He felt a vast and profound knowledge flowing into his mind through the door like an invisible trickle.

Jilan closed his eyes and took it all in.

The spiral of the furnace staff, the way of "Ms. Snow" in September, the name of the 7th-level essence is called "Judgment"!
The 7th level of "Compassion" is already the status of an ascender, possessing a powerful force that ordinary people do not possess and that transcends the threshold of the earthly world.

According to the "Law of Balance" governed by "Ms. Snow", all things should be conserved and follow equal exchange. Therefore, "Judgment" has the ability to forcibly reverse all unbalanced things, and it has a high priority.

For example, when facing an opponent who is stronger than you, you can use the "Judgment" essence to reduce the opponent's strength to the same level as your own, or raise your own strength to the same level as your opponent.

Of course, this ability also has certain limitations. It can only be biased towards one side and cannot make the strength of both sides completely equal.

And "Judgment" also has an extremely powerful ability, which is "Beheading".

After paying a specific price, the "Sword of Truth" can be summoned on the spot through "equivalent exchange", which is the projection of the "Salt Spring Sword", the sword of "Ms. Snow", to kill the target.

Although this sword is only a projection, it is the embodiment of the "Law of Balance" and has an extremely high status. It can harm enemies of a higher level, even including apostles.

Therefore, among the twelve paths, the 7th level "Judgment" is one of the few essences that has the ability to fight across levels.

This enlightenment in his mind continued, and Gillan also developed an intuition -

As long as he wanted, he could touch the essence of "Judgment" on the spot, thereby ascending on the spot, being reborn and becoming a 7th-level ascender of the September Path!
But Gillan ignored the "invitation" to enlightenment, and silently said in his heart:
'Colorful, absorbing.'

As his instructions were given, "Banlan" absorbed all the inspiration about the essence of "judgment" and turned it into nourishment for its own deduction.

The "7" mysterious points originally required for the player to reach the 50000th level of essence soon became "47000", a reduction of 3000 energy points.

'very good. ’

Gillan's mouth curled up.

He opened his eyes and looked into the distance behind the door.

Before crossing the "Gate of Weights", the surrounding environment was an endless wilderness, but after he walked through the door, he found himself on a frozen lake, surrounded by hundreds of human-shaped ice sculptures standing in various postures on the lake. This is no longer the "Corridor" of the God's Hometown.

It is a "temple" located on the top of Shenxiang Mountain.

Jilan knew that this frozen lake, named "Linchi Lake", was the residence of "Ms. Snow" in September.

At the end of the icy lake, there is a lady floating in the air. Her body is like a "giant" magnified countless times, wearing a crown, with white hair, eyes closed, and a holy expression.

Wands in the left hand, scales in the right hand.

It was none other than “Ms. Snow” Shadiya.

"Gilan Iros, audience with 'Ms. Snow'."

Jilan's expression changed, he looked up at the god in the air and bowed respectfully.

The cold wind was blowing.

The white-haired goddess tilted her head slightly, opened her eyes, and looked at Jilan. Her eyes were as bright as gold, and her gaze was calm.

"To gain, you must lose. You are quite good... Facing the enlightenment of the essence of 'Judgment', you still choose to stick to your original intention and have determination for your own path and truth."

"Although you lost the chance to ascend this time, you gained valuable enlightenment experience. Perhaps, after nearly two thousand years, you will create a new February path."

"Guillen Iros."

The Goddess of Salt and Justice spoke slowly.

Her voice blew across the cold wind, echoing on the lake, full of solemnity.

Gillan instinctively lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"You are highly valued by William. I have given you this opportunity to escape because of his request. I hope you will cherish it... His dream of a prosperous world will also be fulfilled with your help."

The goddess said.

"This is also fulfilling the principle of 'equivalent exchange'."

"Yes, I understand, Your Majesty."

Gillan took a deep breath.

The goddess silently examined him twice, her golden eyes seemed to be able to see through all the lies in the world.

"Next month, you will cross the 'Scorpio Gate.' Do not be influenced by that path."

"Follow the instructions carefully."

Gillan said with his head down.

The next second, he felt his vision twisting and spinning, and his consciousness was forcibly awakened, breaking away from the divine dream.

After opening my eyes, I found myself still sitting cross-legged by the attic window, but it was already getting dark outside.

Most of the day passed quietly.

"Success!"

Gillan smiled.

The first ascension ceremony went smoothly, and he successfully crossed the "Gate of Weights" and received the enlightenment of the September Road.

"There are still eleven gates to go through. At the rate of one gate per month, it will take until August next year to complete all of them... Don't be impatient, take your time."

...

...

time flies.

Ji Lan arrives at Triumph Building on time every day to carry out a busy and tedious day of official duties, but his working hours are not fixed and he often has to work overtime until very late.

It is common to return home when the moon is high in the sky.

But in his opinion, since he has succeeded the position of teacher chairman, he must perform his duties conscientiously and do what he should do.

After Gillan took office, the results were very obvious.

In just a few months, the number of mysterious and dangerous incidents occurring within the empire dropped significantly. Whether it was the secret cult hiding in Bremen or some lone mysterious individuals, they all became cautious and extremely low-key under the terrible pressure of the "Red Sage".

Today's mysterious investigative committee is far more powerful and overbearing than before, and anyone who violates the "secret decree" will be hunted down, not pursued.

With the addition of Alevia, Franco and the other three, the strength of the committee's top management has also improved, making those mysterious forces and mysterious people even more awed.

Things are developing in a good trend.

End of October.

Jilan prepares to begin the second ascension ceremony.

Late that night, after getting home from get off work, Jilan took a shower, came to the attic alchemy room, sat by the window again, looked at the bright moon in the night sky, and closed his eyes.

This time, he was also teleported to the "Corridor" of the divine land in the form of a token.

But the environment surprised him a little.

For this was a dark land, like a wasteland shrouded in the night sky, and surrounded by rocky mountains.

The location of Jilan is similar to a basin.

In the distance ahead was a canyon rift that blocked out the sky and was blocked by a huge stone door.

"Scorpio Gate..."

Jilan murmured and walked forward.

During this process, he once again felt a series of gazes coming from the void from somewhere unknown and falling on him.

And these gazes are generally filled with malice and indifference.

He knew that these gazes must come from the superiors in the federal camp.

"Everyone is well."

Jilan grinned, not at all stage-frightened, and took off his hat and bowed to the void.

He kept walking and soon arrived under the gate at the mouth of the rift, where there was a figure.

"Hello again, Mr. Yashirs."

Jilan stopped and saluted the figure.

The other person was wearing a black robe and his face was covered by a skeleton mask, so his facial features could not be seen.

But a pair of cold eyes looked through the hole and fixed their gaze on Jilan.

This person is none other than the October Apostle "Song of Daishen" Yasirs Vim, the guardian of the "Scorpio Gate".

In the recent encirclement and suppression campaign in the Federation, this person’s earthly self was destroyed by the “night of exposure” finally released by Gillan.

It also made Yashirs a laughing stock in the divine land.

He certainly had no good feelings towards Gilan.

"Gilan Iros, according to our agreement, you can pass through the 'Scorpio Gate' directly without any tests or trials."

An indifferent voice came from under the skeleton mask of the black-robed man.

"Move quickly."

(End of this chapter)