Chapter 1053: Blessing
All eyes stayed on Anthony, eyes widening in awe and shock. Although their bodies froze, their minds remained fully functional, racing with thoughts they could neither suppress nor properly process in the face of what was unfolding before them.
Anthony rose slowly into the air with a calm smile on his face, his voice echoing as he allowed everyone to move their heads so they could see him from below.
"While it’s nice to meet all of you, as the Crowned Prince said earlier, we are simply here to attend to a few things," he stated. He could see the awe in their eyes, but he merely shook his head at it, as though such reactions were unnecessary.
Bryan flew upwards and floated beside him as he simply enjoyed the show Anthony was putting on, his earlier seriousness fading slightly as curiosity and intrigue took its place.
"Well, since all of you are here at the exact moment I was here, it seems you all truly are lucky," Anthony spoke again with a smile, as he decided to put on a show. If the people believed in him, why not show off every once in a while and reinforce that belief in a way none of them would ever forget.
"And because of your luck, I’ve decided to bless everyone here with a gift," he added, as though he was enjoying where this was going, his tone carrying a faint trace of amusement.
Bryan arched an eyebrow at the word "gift." He understood how rich Anthony was, but he didn’t know what level of gift Anthony was going to give out to these people. Besides, there were millions of them, far beyond what conventional means could account for.
Anthony’s mind shuffled through what he should do for his fans. After a moment, a thought appeared, and his lips curved slightly as he spoke with a calm tone that carried absolute certainty.
"I bless you all, with the blessing of breakthroughs."
The moment those words left his lips, mana erupted with thunderous booms from everybody present. Eyes widened in shock as they all felt it in real time, their bottlenecks shattering instantly. Those stuck on various levels climbed to the next without resistance.
People didn’t just break through a minor level, no, they crossed through multiple levels in tandem. Every single person crossed a full Major Mana Rank, their progress leaping beyond what should have been possible under any known principle.
If someone was at Master Rank Level 7, they broke through to Grandmaster Rank Level 7. Those who were still stuck at the Mortal Rank stepped into the next Mana Rank entirely, leaving behind limitations that had bound them for years, if not decades.
Bryan’s eyes widened in pure shock. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He dared not believe it, yet it was unfolding right before him in undeniable clarity.
But he wasn’t the only one; the millions below were also experiencing the same overwhelming shock. They were all still frozen in place, yet they didn’t need to control or guide the mana to their mana core or stabilize their breakthroughs. Everything happened perfectly and flawlessly, as though guided by an unseen and absolute force.
But their minds weren’t focused on the breakthrough itself but on the madness of it. It was known that to break through, one had to cultivate by themselves. There were no shortcuts. One could only progress faster by abusing resources, which could damage their cultivation foundations and weaken their strength if misused.
And now, right before their very eyes, that same truth and law was being broken as though it was nothing, as though the fundamental rules of cultivation had been rewritten on a whim.
Within mere seconds, the trembling and roaring mana in the air calmed as every breakthrough ended. Everyone felt the power rippling through their bodies, the increased physical strength, the enhanced perception, the clarity of mind. While they couldn’t move, they could all feel it in vivid detail.
Anthony released his control over their bodies, allowing them to check themselves, but none of them rushed towards him as he floated as though he existed on a different plane of existence. They could only stare, their earlier frenzy replaced with something deeper, reverence, disbelief, and something bordering on worship.
Bryan couldn’t help but swallow hard at what he had just seen. It was impossible, it was literally impossible, something that shouldn’t exist within the boundaries of reality.
He couldn’t help but imagine how Anthony had acquired such a power. He didn’t dare believe his father could even do such a thing. If the man could, he would have done so already, just so he, Bryan, could progress faster and become the Dragon Emperor in a shorter amount of time.
’How far does this power extend?’ he couldn’t help but think. ’Does it take one straight to the Planetary level?’ Bryan’s mind raced uncontrollably, his entire worldview flipping and restructuring itself in response to what he had just witnessed.
In truth, Anthony hadn’t bestowed any blessing; he had simply used Authority Of Severance to sever their Mana Ranks, granting everyone a full Major Rank breakthrough. After years of practice, his control had reached such a level that something like this could be executed with precision and ridiculous ease.
"It was nice meeting all of you, see you all at another time," Anthony spoke, his voice soft and gentle. The moment he was done speaking, he vanished from where he floated, Bryan, who was still lost in his thoughts, was also forcefully teleported alongside him without resistance.
The moment Anthony was gone, chaos erupted in maddening waves. Voices echoed in every direction, shock tearing outward as people struggled to process what had just happened.
"What the fuck did I just witness?" an Elf spoke with a shock-filled tone, his voice trembling slightly.
"This is impossible," another man, a werewolf, stated, his expression stiff with disbelief.
"You mean, was impossible," a woman replied, her eyes fixed on the space Anthony had occupied a moment ago as she patted her stomach as though imagining a little Anthony growing within... only if Vega knew how many competitors she had.
"Gods are meant to do the impossible," this time, a human spoke, his tone filled with reverence and blind belief.
"Tell me someone clipped that, somebody recorded it, right?" another man asked, desperation creeping into his voice, as this moment seemed too unbelievable to exist only in memory. They had all been too shocked and overwhelmed to even think of recording.
A man at the back simply smirked at the question. He was the first to notice Anthony. The moment he noticed him, before they even bowed and knelt to Bryan, he had started recording at that exact moment. After all, new videos of Anthony were sure to bring in tons of money and attention to him.
The man fiddled with his phone and uploaded the recording without hesitation.
He had recorded the entire thing... and with that, the internet crashed once more under the name Null Anthony, who had refreshed the world’s memory with yet another impossible feat, one that would be discussed, analyzed, and worshipped for a long time to come.