Chapter 183 - 154: Avatar

Chapter 183: Chapter 154: Avatar

’What peculiar bio-energy. There’s no Spiritual Power involved in the reaction?’

Linghu Yao sensed something, but she didn’t dwell on it. Matters concerning the Exotic Realms were top secret; even for the strongest genius of the new generation, such information had not yet been disclosed to her.

SWOOSH!

The primordial qi of yin and yang combined, hurtling toward Linghu Yao.

"It’s no use. Your techniques are far too primitive—"

BOOM!

Before she could finish, the yin and yang energies collided, detonating right in front of Linghu Yao’s Sword Array. The entire area was consumed by the radiant blast of primordial qi.

Although Linghu Yao was unharmed, her vision was completely obscured. The energy readings from her Spiritual Eye were blurred, and for a moment, she was unable to distinguish truth from falsehood.

ROOOOAR!

A Divine Dragon, swirling with the five elements and generating yin and yang, descended from the sky and crashed directly into Linghu Yao’s avatar.

The rampaging energy assaulted her Sword Array, draining the avatar’s Spiritual Power at a frantic pace.

However, she wasn’t worried.

’This crude torrent of energy poses little threat to my Sword Array. He can’t keep this up for long. Three breaths, at most...’

Soon, three breaths had passed.

Then the fourth breath, and the fifth...

The light of the Sword Array dimmed, and cracks appeared on her Spirit Swords.

Like a great dam crumbling from a single crack, in the next instant, the Divine Dragon completely devoured Linghu Yao’s avatar.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Linghu Yao’s avatar was shattered by the blast of primordial qi, which then tore through the surface of the Floating City, continuing downward until it struck the foundation of the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations, where it finally dissipated.

In the distance, Enforcement shuttles were rapidly approaching. Zhang Ji hesitated no longer. His body transformed into a bolt of lightning, and in the next instant, he traversed the void and vanished without a trace.

.......

Everything happened so suddenly that the pilot of the cargo Immortal Ship didn’t even do a headcount, immediately flying the vessel away from Shunjin Heaven.

A short while later, an emergency news bulletin spread through the Spirit Net.

[19th Heaven Attacked, Large Quantity of Star Sand Stolen from Eternal Steed Immortal Ship Technology, Emergency Lockdown on Suspended Lifts and All Inter-Heaven Cargo Channels...]

....

....

The Sixth Heaven, Duobao Heaven.

Inside a True Source Technology processing plant.

The members of the Ascetic Order gathered.

Quite a few of their people had been permanently left behind in the Nineteenth Heaven.

Yan Jiulin’s aura also seemed faint. To buy everyone time, he had faced a Celestial Dao Alliance enforcement shuttle and taken a direct hit from its Spiritual Energy Main Cannon.

That was an attack with a power comparable to a strike from a Divinity Transformation Cultivator.

"Though we sacrificed some of our own, the plan was ultimately a success. We are one step closer to our great cause. We will forever remember our fallen brothers..." Yan Jiulin said, his face heavy with sorrow. "For the time being, everyone is to stay in the factory. Don’t go outside. Bear with it for now and focus on your cultivation. If you’re short on Spirit Coins for your training, you can come to me. Once the heat is off, we will formally distribute the rewards based on contribution..."

Yan Jiulin collected the Star Sand from everyone, offered a few words of reassurance, and then dismissed the meeting.

He didn’t distribute the rewards to everyone right away.

He was afraid someone would be unable to resist, take the money out for a spending spree, and expose their operation.

He would provide Spirit Coins if they were needed for cultivation, but he wouldn’t give them money for entertainment—not for the time being.

Most of those present were core members, so they generally accepted this arrangement.

Zhang Ji hadn’t been a core member before, but after this incident, he was tacitly promoted to one.

With his demonstrated strength and having completed such a mission alongside them, it was only natural.

Yan Jiulin didn’t even mention the deaths of Kong Jue and Zhu Hai.

After all, they weren’t the only two who had died.

On a major operation comparable to robbing a large bank vault, losing a couple of comrades was perfectly normal.

In fact, this mission was considered a resounding success.

Their intelligence had been sound and their plan meticulous. All told, they had only lost three Golden Core Stage members and a dozen at the Foundation Establishment level.

But what they had obtained was a resource that those who died could not have acquired in ten lifetimes.

.....

Zhang Ji returned to the quarters Yan Jiulin had arranged for him.

He mentally replayed his actions during the operation.

First, during his fight with Yu Kang, his Breaking Army Finger had been easily countered.

It had been the same later when he fought Linghu Yao’s avatar.

His Palm Skill was specifically targeted and dismantled by her Sword Array.

In the end, he had to rely on the overwhelming, brute-force power of his Divine Dragon Wave to finish her off.

Their systems were different. Once his techniques left his body, he had almost no control over them, making them easy to counter.

’To fight enemies like this, I have to use the attack techniques of the [Profound Heart Stream].’

’I need to constantly manipulate the energy of my attacks, adapting it in response to my opponent. That way, it won’t be so easily countered. Or, I need to induce a qualitative change in the energy itself, elevating my attack power to a level where the opponent has no chance or time to react.’

Zhang Ji figured that without using [True Solar Flame] or the [Instant Thunder Without Delay Skill], his combat prowess was only about on par with Yu Kang’s.

The Nascent Soul experts in this world were really something.

The Extraordinary System here was far more developed than on Origin Star. In a real fight, without relying on external artifacts, a Sage King from Origin Star could at best fight a Mid-stage Nascent Soul like Huo Chuan to a standstill. They would stand no chance against Yu Kang.

As for Zhang Ji himself, he had many ways to defeat Yu Kang.

In a contest of speed, for instance.

If he went all out on speed, Yu Kang would be nothing but a sitting duck.

Or in a battle of endurance.

His energy reserves were absurd. He had a "backup battery" inside his [Ark of Hope] that held seventy percent of his total primordial qi. Wearing down and killing Yu Kang wouldn’t be difficult.

He could even trade injuries.

He could use the [Instant Thunder Without Delay Skill] to accelerate to 120 times the speed of sound, then instantly drop his elemental form to launch a kamikaze-style attack.

The force of such an attack would absolutely be comparable to that of an S-rank expert.

There was no way Yu Kang could block that.

As for Zhang Ji, he would, at worst, end up with a shattered arm or half his body mangled.

With the nirvana of his [True Solar Flame] and the recovery from his Celestial Silkworm Origin, he’d be back at full health in seconds, good as new.

In short, Zhang Ji now had a clear assessment of his own strength.

Above Nascent Soul, but not quite Divinity Transformation.

That being the case, he felt much more relieved.

His judgment hadn’t been mistaken; this was roughly the level of power in this world.

As long as he was cautious, the risk of causing trouble wouldn’t be too great.

....

....

「Taiyao Heaven.」

Linghu Yao opened her eyes, her expression turning grave as she processed the information fed back from her Spirit Body.

"Such incredible strength... and I’ve never heard of techniques like that. Could it be an ancient cultivator?" Linghu Yao murmured, her brow furrowed.

The mention of ancient cultivators made her think of the Blood and Flesh Ascetic Order, which in turn brought her own master—the traitor to the Celestial Sword Group—to mind.

Her expression turned fierce.

’My master must have been bewitched by the Evil Cultivators of the Ascetic Order to turn his back on the Celestial Sword Group,’ she thought. ’Sooner or later, I will persuade him to come back.’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Linghu Yao said.

Qu Wuyin pushed the door open, a bowl of soup in her hands. She said, "Senior Sister Linghu, you’ve been practicing your avatar technique so diligently lately; you risk overtaxing your Divine Soul. I made you some Soul-Nourishing Four-Delicacy Soup. It will help replenish your spirit."

"Thank you." Linghu Yao smiled, rising to take the soup from her personally. Then she added, "Wuyin, don’t go out for a while. It’s best if you stay home and cultivate. It’s not safe outside right now."

"Okay, I’ll listen to you, Senior Sister." Qu Wuyin nodded. "In that case, I’ll take my leave."

"You should get some rest too," Linghu Yao said with a smile. "Don’t practice your swordplay too late into the night. You need to balance training with rest."

Qu Wuyin looked touched. She bowed her head, closed the door, and turned to leave.

What Linghu Yao didn’t see was the playful, mocking glint in Qu Wuyin’s eyes as she lowered her head.