Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Long Chapter

—-

Ethan spotted the woman the moment he stepped onto the next level of the pagoda. She had already reached the center of the chamber, though judging by the situation she clearly was not having an easy time of it.

Apparently this was her first visit here.

He could tell because she had triggered the trap herself.

Dozens of stone monk statues had come to life and were swarming her from all directions, their heavy bodies moving with mechanical precision as they attacked without pause.

Ethan paused where he stood, watching the scene unfold.

That was unexpected.

The way the woman had moved through the forest earlier, weaving through the terrain with perfect confidence, had suggested complete familiarity with the area. She had behaved like someone who knew every tree and path by heart.

But here, inside the pagoda, she looked completely different.

She was triggering traps, stumbling into ambushes, and now she was being attacked by stone puppets like a clueless beginner.

Ethan stopped worrying about hiding his presence. Something had already felt wrong from the beginning.

The Temple compound he had passed earlier was positioned extremely close to the massive Energy Sphere. Areas like that were supposed to be heavily restricted.

For this woman to appear anywhere near it meant one of two possibilities. Either she possessed extraordinary ability, or she had some connection to the Divine Sea Temple.

That suspicion was exactly why Ethan had followed her.

At first he had assumed this hidden pagoda might be some kind of Temple stronghold, perhaps a place where she planned to meet someone.

But if she was already triggering traps on the second level, then she clearly had never been here before.

The thought made Ethan lose most of his interest in maintaining stealth.

Still, he had not come this far for nothing. He could simply capture her and question her directly.

What exactly was this place? What valuable thing was hidden here?

The amount of effort she had spent shaking off pursuers suggested something important was buried inside.

Decision made, Ethan began moving.

He ran down the wooden staircase toward the chamber below.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Every step crushed the ancient boards beneath his feet. His raw physical strength was simply too much for wood that had already endured centuries of decay.

The noise echoed through the chamber, instantly revealing his presence.

The woman noticed him immediately. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second as recognition flashed across her face.

’Him? What is he doing here?’

That brief moment of distraction was enough.

One of the stone monk puppets seized the opportunity and swung its heavy arm directly into her chest.

The impact sent her flying across the chamber.

These puppets were driven by ancient mechanisms and strange energy. Their strength was enormous, far beyond normal physical limits.

While she was still airborne, her body must have triggered another mechanism hidden somewhere behind her.

A massive statue suddenly clanked to life.

It was a wrathful Buddha figure clutching a vajra staff, its stone arms grinding as ancient mechanisms awakened inside the statue.

Then the weapon swung.

The wind screamed as the enormous vajra cut through the air, aimed directly at the woman’s back.

She was still flying through the air with no way to change her trajectory, there was no chance to dodge.

’I’m dead.’

The thought crashed into her mind with brutal clarity.

Ethan’s stomach tightened, he was too far away to reach her in time.

Six stone monk puppets had already closed in around him, each of them easily as strong as the woman herself.

And that wrathful Buddha statue radiated a terrifying pressure. The force rolling off it was suffocating.

Facing it head-on would be suicide. There was no opportunity for an ambush either.

Ethan had already begun preparing himself for the possibility that this entire pursuit would end as a complete waste.

Then suddenly, a figure appeared behind the woman.

One casual palm strike.

Boom.

Stone fragments exploded outward.

The massive vajra weapon that had been descending toward the woman met that single palm strike and instantly shattered. The impact traveled up the statue’s arms, reducing both stone limbs to rubble in an instant.

Clank. Clank.

The enormous Buddha statue swayed briefly before going still, its internal mechanisms completely destroyed.

At the same moment, Ethan tore through the six monk puppets blocking his path and arrived beside the woman.

She glared at him, anger flashing across her face. "You followed me?"

Ethan ignored her completely.

His gaze was locked on the figure standing behind her.

"You."

The word came from both directions at once.

Ethan had spoken from the front, while the mysterious figure behind the woman had spoken at the exact same time.

The woman spun around, her expression filled with fear as she faced the person behind her.

"I... I was careful," she stammered.

"Hmph. Did you bring it?"

There was no anger in the voice, only impatience. The woman nodded quickly and produced a black pearl from within her robes.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The object radiated a thick, oppressive aura of resentment, as if it were made from condensed hatred itself.

"Good. Go. The Temple Master is waiting."

The woman bowed deeply. Before leaving she glanced once more toward Ethan, then immediately turned and rushed down toward the lower levels of the pagoda.

Ethan did not attempt to stop her. He simply watched her disappear into the darkness below.

Only after she was completely gone did he speak again.

"So this really is a Temple stronghold. And there’s a Temple Master here too. Looks like my luck hasn’t run out yet."

That single exchange had already given him valuable information.

"Heh. Are you sure it isn’t bad luck instead? Ethan... you really overestimate yourself."

The figure stepped out from the shadows.

Purple robes draped over his body. A mask concealed most of his face, though strands of white hair could be seen near his temples.

Ethan recognized him immediately.

This was the old man who had chased Victor and the others across the Extreme South.

"Heh."

Ethan did not waste time with unnecessary conversation. His body shifted slightly, already preparing to move.

But the old man continued speaking.

"Ethan, we’ve met twice now. Join us. I can secure you a position within the Temple."

Ethan paused in mid-motion.

"Twice?" he repeated, blinking in confusion.

He was fairly certain they had only encountered each other once.

"Twice," the old man said calmly. "The first time, you didn’t see me. But I saw you very clearly. It was the day your little girlfriend humiliated my son."

The more the man spoke, the less Ethan understood.

But one detail suddenly clicked into place. This bastard’s son was probably someone Ethan had already met.

"You..." Ethan searched through his memories.

Nothing came to mind.

"My surname is Steele."

The old man slowly raised his hand and removed his mask.

"Steele?" Ethan stared at him in shock. "You’re... Zachary’s father? The head of the Steele Consortium?"

The revelation hit him like a hammer. The face confirmed it beyond any doubt.

This man was Harrison Steele, the famous CEO of the Steele Consortium. A regular figure in business news broadcasts, someone who frequently appeared on magazine covers and financial headlines.

At the same moment another memory surfaced. Serenity Hotel. That mysterious woman.

She had once shown Ethan a portrait and asked him to infiltrate the Divine Sea Temple.

The portrait depicted the man who had killed her father.

Back then Ethan had thought the face in the drawing looked vaguely familiar, but the portrait had been old and hand-drawn, with small differences that made it hard to identify the person clearly.

Now that he was seeing this man in person, everything suddenly made sense.

"You joined the Temple?" Ethan asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Harrison Steele burst into laughter.

"Joined?" he repeated mockingly. "You think lower lifeforms like you could ever achieve a position like mine?"

Ethan instantly regretted the question.

The hotel owner had clearly said that her father’s killer was someone high within the Temple’s command structure.

Which meant this man had always been one of them. The energy radiating from Harrison confirmed it.

Ethan had originally suspected that the Steele Consortium might simply be an organization secretly controlled by Serpent Island agents operating within the United States.

But that theory had been far too narrow. This man had been born within the Temple itself.

The Steele Consortium had risen to power centuries ago, beginning as nothing more than a small pawn shop before gradually expanding over generations.

Every generation supposedly produced only a single heir who inherited everything.

Now Ethan realized that story might have been nothing more than a carefully constructed illusion.

If Harrison had lived for centuries, then he would never need to pass the company to anyone else.

Which raised an unsettling question, what had happened to all those so-called heirs?

A chilling possibility formed in Ethan’s mind. For a brief moment he almost felt sorry for Zachary.

Because sooner or later, Zachary would probably end up killed by his own father.

And Harrison would simply take over his body, becoming "Zachary" and continuing his long game with a younger face.

Ethan’s pupils shrank slightly.

Harrison laughed again.

"So you’ve figured it out."

His gaze hardened. "No wonder that useless brat couldn’t defeat you."

He raised his hand slowly, energy beginning to surge through his body.

"Last chance," he said coldly. "Serve the Temple. I’ll allow you to live."

His purple robes fluttered violently despite the still air. One answer would determine everything.

"Oh?" Ethan smiled faintly. "You’ll allow me to live? Weren’t you just offering me a position?"

The contradiction amused him.

"Hm. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive," Harrison replied.

His eyes flickered slightly. He genuinely wanted Ethan alive.

A mind like Ethan’s would significantly increase Harrison’s own standing within the Temple.

"Fine," Ethan said casually. "Let’s negotiate then. What position are we talking about?"

He did not raise his energy at all. Instead he began walking slowly toward Harrison as if they were discussing business over coffee.

"Name it."

Harrison did not relax, If anything, his tension increased as Ethan drew closer. His hands were hidden behind his back, quietly gathering power.

Ethan noticed it immediately.

’Tough crowd. Not even falling for simple bait.’

His original plan had been to get close and simply smash the old man before he could react. That approach clearly would not work.

Ethan stopped walking and a smirk spread across his face.

"How about Temple Master?" he suggested. "That seat looks pretty comfortable."

Then he moved.

Bear form and panther form activated simultaneously.

A flash of light passed through the chamber, and Ethan’s smirking afterimage still lingered in the air even as his real body had already arrived directly in front of Harrison.

"Insolent child! How dare you mock the Temple Master!"

Harrison exploded with fury.

His hands shot forward from behind his back and collided directly with Ethan’s attack.

Boom.

The surrounding space seemed to crack apart. The entire pagoda trembled violently as the wooden staircases beneath them disintegrated from the shockwave.

Both men were thrown backward.

They crashed through collapsing planks and dropped down toward the level below.

Ethan’s eyes flickered.

’Strong.’

He had already expected Harrison to be powerful, but that single exchange revealed the old man to be even stronger than anticipated.

Meanwhile Harrison’s expression changed as well. That clash had only used about fifty percent of his power, and Ethan had matched it perfectly. What exactly did this kid grow up eating?

Zachary had once described Ethan as nothing more than a weakling from years ago.

Now that so-called weakling was trading blows with him evenly.

Curiosity burned in Harrison’s mind, mixed with a deeper emotion he rarely acknowledged.

Envy.

How could humans grow this strong? He loved to sneer at them as inferior creatures, yet deep down every being within the Temple envied humanity.

Even the monstrous creatures born from the Temple had to eventually transform into human form if they wished to reach higher levels.

Most died during that metamorphosis.

Temple "people" had their own problems as well. They were not born naturally, they were incubated.

Within the Temple itself there were entire layers dedicated to spawning new life. When one being died, another would eventually be created.

But newly spawned beings were always weak.

Life within the Temple was constant conflict, where killing one’s own kind and absorbing their energy was the fastest way to grow stronger. The earliest generations were always the most powerful.

Harrison had fought his way upward through endless battles, personally killing countless brothers and rivals along the way.

The only reason he had never claimed the Temple Master’s seat was simple. The Temple Master could not be killed.

And the current one was a complete disgrace.

Half a year ago he had been severely wounded by some unknown girl and had since gone into hiding in this remote location, forcing Harrison to come and heal him.

The injury itself was strange. Ordinary treasures could not repair it. Eventually they discovered that condensed resentment energy could help stabilize the wound, which was why Harrison had begun gathering it.

The woman Ethan had chased here played a role in that process.

She had another identity as well, exactly as Ethan had suspected. The pure and righteous aura she once displayed had simply been a disguise.

But one part of her background was real, she truly was Sandra’s aunt, the biological sister of Sandra’s father.

She had been kidnapped as a child and forced into becoming the sole disciple of a hidden Resentment Cult.

Most of those so-called cults in the United States had been destroyed long ago. They could no longer recruit openly and instead operated quietly in the shadows, passing their teachings down to a single chosen disciple each generation.

The children were always taken young.

Of course, Ethan knew nothing about the Temple Master hidden beneath this pagoda or the wound he had suffered.

He was aware that Lyla had injured someone powerful half a year ago, but he had no idea that the victim had been one of the four Temple Masters.

If he had known, it would have boosted his morale significantly. For now, his focus remained on the present battle.

After their first clash, both men had landed on the stone ceiling of the next level below. The stone groaned under the force of their impact.

Ethan did not hesitate, power exploded through his legs as he launched himself forward like a human cannonball, straight toward Harrison.