Chapter 121: Enlightening the Fighter Jet

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Enlightening the Fighter Jet

After the two Bronze Halls on Earth merged into one, the location of this hall became extraordinarily important, already transforming into the most heavily guarded base. Even Shen Yun had to go through identity verification procedures to enter. This was to prevent some bizarre inheritances from impersonating him. After all, in the current world, anything was possible.

Leaving Xiaojie and Erin behind to look after the house, it took some time on the road before Shen Yun arrived at Otherworld Number Two.

The Bronze Hall here remained the same as before. Originally, these Teleportation Arrays came in corresponding pairs: one on Earth and one in the Otherworld. But now that the one on Earth had been upgraded, this one in the Otherworld instantly became a lower-level Teleportation Array.

Even so, the only change in authority was that the Earth’s hall could use this Otherworld hall to devour other Bronze Halls in the Otherworld for upgrades. Therefore, as long as there were infinite worlds, the Bronze Hall on Earth could theoretically upgrade infinitely until it connected to the myriad heavens and worlds. That wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

Shen Yun could already feel the long road ahead, which made him need companionship all the more.

"Vierlia, you’re always waiting for me here. What if I flaked?" Shen Yun asked as soon as he exited the hall, spotting Her Majesty the Queen waiting alone at the entrance of the underground palace.

"I would wait all day, so you wouldn’t have the heart to flake," Vierlia said with a look of slight pride.

"That’s quite cunning." Shen Yun was left speechless.

"Hmph, it won’t do if I’m not a bit cunning." Vierlia let out two cute HUMPHS from her nose, then looked at him with full anticipation. "I’ve prepared everything. First, we’ll go shopping—there have been quite a few changes in our Royal Capital lately. Then, we’ll head to the coast, and I’ll grill some sea fish for you. As for the evening... hehe..."

"Well..." Looking at Vierlia, who had obviously been looking forward to this for a long time, Shen Yun couldn’t help but touch his nose. Despite feeling a bit guilty, he still spoke up, "I might have to do something else today."

Vierlia’s smile instantly froze. It took a long while before she revealed a disappointed expression. "How could this be? I managed to squeeze out a whole day just for this, and we haven’t seen each other in over a month."

"I have no choice, but... a companion of Xiaojie is coming." Shen Yun showed an apologetic expression.

"A companion of... Xiaojie?" Though extremely disappointed, Vierlia’s attention was immediately drawn by his words. A hint of seriousness touched her expression. "What exactly is Xiaojie...?"

"Well, I can’t say the specifics." Shen Yun shook his head. "It’s roughly... some entity that took a liking to my aptitude and will continuously send subordinates to me without excessively interfering or paying attention. It’s similar to a test, I suppose. At the very least, Xiaojie’s life and loyalty are indeed in the palm of my hand."

This was the bluff he had managed to come up with. The true nature of the Bodhi Branch certainly couldn’t be revealed right now. However, the endless stream of companions definitely needed an origin story.

"To think such a thing exists..." Vierlia murmured. She found it unbelievable, but the reality seemed to be right in front of her. Suddenly, she thought of something, and her expression turned a bit strange. "The entity you mentioned... couldn’t happen to be... a woman, could it?"

She herself was a prime example of someone who valued Shen Yun’s potential. It was hard not to let her thoughts wander in that direction.

"Well..." Shen Yun gave a wry smile. "Frankly speaking, I don’t know."

In reality, whether the Bodhi Branch ended up in his hands purely by good luck or if someone intentionally delivered it to him was a complete mystery. He simply couldn’t be bothered to ponder over something so useless to think about.

"I understand." Vierlia lightly bit her lower lip and lowered her head. "Then, business first."

"Don’t worry, I’ll spend more time with you this time around," Shen Yun said softly. "Let me fulfill my duties as a Prince Consort a little, so some people won’t think you’re easy to bully."

Since he had been absent from this world for long periods and rarely showed his face even when he did visit, certain ambitious individuals naturally began harboring incredibly naive thoughts.

"They’re just a few clowns," Vierlia said, smiling as she shook her head. "If I needed you to show up just for that, it would be far too bothersome. Hurry and go on ahead. I’ll finish up some tasks early so I can squeeze out some more time later."

"Mhm." Shen Yun nodded.

After walking all the way to the outer hall, his figure shot into the sky, accompanied by the rolling RUMBLE of thunder. Some Mages and Warriors couldn’t help but look up. They knew that His Highness the Prince Consort had returned.

Shen Yun had deliberately let Xiaojiu leave behind such an imposing presence. His appearance served as the best deterrent. After all, Vierlia’s rule over the massive Violet Kingdom currently still completely relied on him.

Upon reaching the high altitude, he brought out the fighter jet. He didn’t rush to get inside, instead taking a moment to admire it from the outside.

"Those curves are truly beautiful." Shen Yun exhaled a breath, somewhat unable to suppress his anticipation.

"I’m guessing it will definitely be a mature lady," Xiaojiu said with absolute confidence.

"Hmm..." Shen Yun didn’t reply because he was hoping for the exact same thing. It could only be said that Xiaojiu truly understood his preferences far too well.

"Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll go a bit further this time and head out to sea for Enlightenment."

Shen Yun sat inside the fighter jet and started it directly in mid-air. Then, slowly and carefully, he accelerated bit by bit. Once it reached a certain speed, he used his own power to reinforce it.

Mach 3. Even before Enlightenment, with his reinforcement, it could reach three times the speed of sound—one kilometer per second. After Enlightenment, its speed would multiply tenfold, straight to ten thousand meters per second, exceeding the first cosmic velocity of 7.9 kilometers per second. This level of performance was well worth anticipating.

A fighter jet transforming into a Cosmic fighter jet? The more Shen Yun thought about it, the more anticipated he became.

After a few hours, they arrived overseas. The size of this planet was about 1.2 times that of Earth, with a much larger proportion of its surface covered by oceans and only a single continent. Upon reaching the open sea, one felt as though they had entered an entirely different, expansive world.

"Here should be good enough, Master." Xiaojiu expanded the scanning range to its maximum. "There is a small island over there."

"Alright, this is the place." Shen Yun slowly decelerated, stopping in the airspace above the island. He exited the jet and took a deep breath.

Pressing his hand against the fighter jet’s hull, he willed it, and the patterns on the back of his hand suddenly bloomed with a green light. As if coming to life, green branches sprouted from his arm and continuously threaded through the entire fighter jet, yet without causing any destruction.

Energy, along with a steady stream of Heavenly Dao Insights, flowed in. A newly born soul was constantly brewing. Growing.

Finally, the Bodhi Branch fully retracted into Shen Yun’s body, while up in the high sky, thunderclouds rolled in. Shen Yun and Xiaojiu backed away.

The fighter jet trembled slightly. Its body suddenly burst forth with rings of blue energy light resembling waves, and then it soared toward the sky.

CRASH!

Lightning struck down. The Thunder Tribulation had begun.

Although it wasn’t his first time witnessing a Thunder Tribulation, Shen Yun paid a bit more attention this time. That was because he was getting closer and closer to the Golden Core. Recently, he could even sense some sort of feedback from the Heavenly Dao. His cultivation was very strange; unlike others who needed to comprehend Heavenly Dao Laws, his merely required the accumulation of power—a feeling that once a certain quantity was reached, it would trigger a qualitative change.

"Xiaojiu," Shen Yun couldn’t help but ask as he watched the astonishing momentum of the thunderclouds. "I’m thinking, if just a few ordinary bolts of lightning mobilized by you through Heavenly Dao Insights are enough to obliterate a Golden Core expert, then how can a mere Divine Thought Stage cultivator survive a Thunder Tribulation of such scale?"

He had never thought about this question before, but thinking about it now, it indeed seemed very strange. If struck by high-voltage lightning, someone in the Divine Thought Stage was highly likely to perish. If struck repeatedly, even a Golden Core wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

"Ahem, Master, then allow me to teach you properly." Xiaojiu switched to a tone that sounded like a teacher. "Thunder Tribulation is just a habitual name. More accurately, it isn’t a calamity, but a baptism by heaven and earth—a reward. Originally, when a Cultivator comprehends the Heavenly Dao, they are not defying the heavens, but conforming to them. Once their comprehension reaches a certain level, heaven and earth will bestow a reward."

"So that’s how it is..." Shen Yun began to understand. That was why the gap between the Golden Core and Divine Thought Stages was so massive. The moment one stepped into the Golden Core, not only did their Spiritual Power undergo a complete qualitative change, but even their physical body became incomparably powerful, far surpassing that of Divine Thought. So, the Thunder Tribulation was actually a baptism.

"This should be the first exponential leap in strength along the path of cultivation," Xiaojiu said softly. "My current Void God Stage is completely different, though. It’s not a night-and-day difference achieved in a single night of breakthrough. From the very beginning of integrating a trace of my Spiritual Power into the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, all the way to complete integration, one remains in the realm of Half-Step Void God. Strength is accumulated slowly."

She was about a month away from fully stepping into the Void God Stage. But even now, her strength was not far behind that of a true Void God, as her accumulation had reached a near-complete state.

"I understand." Shen Yun finally had a general grasp of the concept.

Then, all that was left was to wait. It seemed that for every entity he Enlightened, the Thunder Tribulation would last an entire night. According to this theory, they received the most baptism from heaven and earth, which explained why their strength was so formidable. If they spent an hour longer than others, that meant they were reinforced for an extra hour.

With Xiaojiu around, the waiting time wasn’t too boring. They chatted, listened to music, and he even took Xiaojiu out to play some games.

Finally, after the night completely fell, the Thunder Tribulation gradually dissipated. A massive moon hung high in the starry sky.

And beneath the bright, clear moonlight, a woman surging with azure energy light floated in the sky. She wore a black skintight suit that fully displayed her tall and slender figure. Her posture was perfectly straight, her skin snowy and delicate, and her long black hair drifted as if weightless. Paired with that radiant glow, she looked like some noble goddess.

Just like Xiaojie in the beginning, she silently gazed at her hands and body at this moment, comprehending the changes of obtaining life.

Suddenly, she looked at Shen Yun.

In a mere instant—at a speed so fast it made one wonder if it was a hallucination—she appeared in front of Shen Yun, leaving behind a trail of dissipating light.

"Are you my master?" a somewhat timid voice asked, as the azure light surging in her eyes gradually faded away, revealing a pair of clear, slightly nervous large eyes.