Chapter 212 - 177: Fairy

Chapter 212: Chapter 177: Fairy

The reopened Void Illusion Realm had been seized by the Ascetic Order.

They began to brazenly proclaim that the Floating City was on the verge of collapse.

Some were skeptical, while others panicked.

The Celestial Dao Alliance wanted to refute the rumors, but the Ascetic Order controlled the Void Illusion Realm’s permissions. They directly slapped a "The Celestial Dao is collapsing" tag over the heads of the Alliance members.

In an instant, the Celestial Dao Alliance was made to look like a joke.

They did try to dispel the rumors on the Spirit Net.

But with the Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace destroyed and now the Void Illusion Realm taken from them, everyone could see where the problem lay.

Facing the Ascetic Order’s repeated moves, the Celestial Dao Alliance was at a loss.

For a time, chaos reigned. A great number of cultivators fled toward the Abyss of Eternity and other, more distant places.

-----------------

「Origin Star.」

The date was January 8th.

In the training grounds, Zhang Ji and Gu Jie were eating roasted duck with rice.

The ducks were raised on Spiritual Qi.

Compared to other animals, they were plumper, their bodies contained more abundant energy, and their meat tasted better.

"How’s that dragon you’re raising?" Zhang Ji asked, just to make conversation.

"Master, Mr. Robby said Xiaolan is growing very well," Gu Jie replied.

"That’s good." Zhang Ji nodded, then asked, "I heard you’re teaching Melia Horizontal Martial Arts Training. Does she have any talent for it?"

"She’s alright. She can keep up and doesn’t complain," Gu Jie said with a nod.

"What about you? Don’t fall behind in your own training," Zhang Ji said.

"I’ve already earned my professional Seventh Rank certificate, Master," Gu Jie said.

"Seventh Rank already? So fast?" Zhang Ji blinked. "Hurry up and eat. We’ll spar after you’re done."

He honestly had no idea Gu Jie was progressing so quickly.

He had barely asked.

A completely hands-off master.

After giving Gu Jie the Cultivation Technique and resources, he had basically done no personal teaching.

Gu Jie usually sought guidance from masters like Tran.

"Master, I’m finished."

Gu Jie finished his meal in a few quick bites, set down his tray, and stood opposite Zhang Ji.

"Attack with your full strength. Don’t hold back," Zhang Ji said, beckoning to him.

Gu Jie didn’t hesitate. Knowing that his piddling attacks wouldn’t even be enough to scratch an itch for Zhang Ji, he immediately circulated his power to its absolute peak and launched an assault.

WHOOSH!

He was faster than Zhang Ji had expected. His footwork incorporated the techniques of a slithering snake, and his body’s power flowed smoothly. His advance even stirred up a slight wind, seemingly a technique from the [Divine Wind Sect].

FWOOSH!

Amidst the sound of the wind, a fist shot toward Zhang Ji’s face.

The consolidated force was a technique of the Dragon Form, but it seemed to be mixed with something else.

Zhang Ji blocked casually, lightly pushing him away. Gu Jie landed, his knees bent slightly like springs, and launched himself into the air again, sweeping out with a kick.

The Overlapping Waves technique, which combined absorbed force with his own power to release it with double the strength.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Zhang Ji let Gu Jie do as he pleased. The two exchanged blows rapidly for a full ten minutes until Gu Jie started to pant, his movements becoming distorted and a bit slow. Only then did Zhang Ji tell him to stop.

"You’ve trained well in the *Little Five Elements Fist* and the *Iron Body Skill*. It seems you’ve also studied the fighting techniques of the [Divine Wind Sect]. Did Hudson teach you?" Zhang Ji asked.

"Junior Brother Hudson taught me. I felt my speed was lacking, so I cultivated the [Divine Wind Sect]’s [Wind-Piercing Step] and combined it with the Five Elements Fist Body Technique to become more agile," Gu Jie replied.

Zhang Ji nodded slightly.

Gu Jie had adeptly used the air to change his moves mid-flight several times, showing he had truly mastered and integrated the techniques.

"Your progress is very fast, better than I expected," Zhang Ji affirmed. "This way, I can rest easy."

Receiving Zhang Ji’s affirmation and praise made Gu Jie quite happy, but he kept a straight face and said, "This disciple will certainly work harder, so as not to bring shame to Master’s name."

"Who’d you learn that line from?" Zhang Ji ruffled his short hair into a mess. "You should work hard, yes, but not to uphold my reputation. Do it so you can control your own destiny in the future."

Gu Jie nodded heavily, showing he understood.

After this moment with his disciple, Zhang Ji returned to the base of the Bodhi Tree inside the Ark of Hope to prepare for his cultivation.

Gu Jie’s growth rate had somewhat shocked Zhang Ji.

In one year, he had gone from an amateur fighter to a professional Seventh Rank.

He himself hadn’t been much faster back in the day.

Although Gu Jie now had top-tier resources, to be frank, it would be absolutely impossible without talent.

’Just a heart transplant caused such a huge change? Could it be... Melia’s superpower has awakened?’ Zhang Ji muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

According to the plotline Zhang Ji knew, Melia was supposed to awaken a superpower.

Her superpower was supportive in nature.

It had no other effect, just [Healing].

But the upper limit of this healing was absurdly, ridiculously high.

It could even infinitely extend a person’s life and restore cellular degradation.

But it wasn’t a reversal of time. It was purely healing, a restorative effect that didn’t interfere with normal growth.

Otherwise, she herself would never have grown up.

If Melia’s superpower had awakened, then Gu Jie’s astonishing growth rate would make sense.

The biggest problem with Horizontal Cultivation Methods was that the body needed a long time to repair itself.

The body would gradually develop a resistance to medicines, making them less and less effective.

But a superpower had no such side effects.

After Gu Jie sustained injuries from his training, his recovery became much easier.

Furthermore, he was using machine-assisted training, which was even more efficient.

’Putting everything else aside, it seems the kid’s luck has really turned around after hitting rock bottom.’

After a brief moment of reflection, Zhang Ji began his cultivation.

He was currently practicing a newly deduced [Divine Wind Sect] (Epic) fighting technique: [Celestial Wind Body Surrounding Skill].

A portion of Zhang Ji’s Qi Body was composed of [Divine Wind Sect] fighting techniques.

The [Celestial Wind Body Surrounding Skill] was the result of extending and perfecting that aspect.

Once he mastered it, Zhang Ji would be able to shroud his body in a current of celestial wind twenty-four hours a day for protection.

And whenever he attacked, it would passively draw a massive airflow along with his movements.

Both his offense and defense would be greatly enhanced.

After so many battles, Zhang Ji had come to understand one thing more and more clearly.

There was no point in having an attack power so high that it was overkill.

You didn’t need that much attack power to kill someone.

Any excess damage was wasted.

But having high defense was what made you truly strong.

Xiang Zhe was the perfect example.

In terms of offensive methods alone, he wasn’t necessarily much stronger than Ling Xuzi.

But in terms of defense, Ling Xuzi was nowhere near his level.

Even at full power, the most he could do was leave a mark on Xiang Zhe.

But if Xiang Zhe landed a real hit on Ling Xuzi, Ling Xuzi wouldn’t be able to take it.

The same went for Zhang Ji’s battle with Yan Jiulin.

From start to finish, Yan Jiulin couldn’t even break through his defense, while Zhang Ji only needed a single strike to finish him off.

With the same attack power, Zhang Ji himself could absolutely withstand it.

In summary, attack power just needed to be sufficient, but one’s shield had to be thick—the thicker, the better.

Although Zhang Ji’s physical recovery ability was so heaven-defying that he didn’t care if his body was smashed to bits—as long as his head, his only weak point, was fine—he still preferred that his opponents couldn’t truly break his defense if possible.

Because once his defense was broken, it meant the opponent had the potential to threaten his life.

And no matter how low that possibility was, he wasn’t willing to gamble on it.

.....

「Time passed to February 13th.」

Outer space, near Origin Star.

A section of space was suddenly torn apart, and a spatiotemporal rift appeared.

A figure shot out of it.

A moment later, another figure flew out from within, chasing after the first.

The figure in front was extremely fast and seemed to have a clear destination, heading straight for the Supreme Capital.

Upon closer inspection, one could see it was a tiny, winged person, only about the size of a baby’s fist.

Antie Stephanie Montgomery Xia Ya...

Her name was very long because it was her family’s tradition to include the names of their elders.

After who knows how many tens of thousands of years, her name had become extremely long.

And Antie’s race was called Fairy.

A type of Demonal Creature with an affinity for natural elements.

So rare that no more than thirty would exist in any given era.

They had many special traits.

They were long-lived, had an affinity for natural elements, cast Magic as easily as breathing, possessed immense luck, and had a partial ability to peer into fate.

Throughout history, every hero who left an indelible mark had, to some degree, a fairy behind them.

This was because they were drawn to characters with powerful destinies—the darlings of their era.

Good luck and good luck attract each other.

But while the world showered them with such favor, it also, in a way, made them a target for all.

[Fortune Spirit Potion].

A Magic Potion refined using a fairy as the main ingredient.

Although few Alchemists had ever succeeded from ancient times to the present, if one could successfully create and drink it, the terrifying boost in luck it provided would easily push a person into the realm of legends.

Balder Morton believed he would be one of those successful Alchemists.

He had been stuck at the Master Level, just below the legendary tier, for a very, very long time—over six hundred years, in fact.

He had never been able to take that final step.

But the heavens had smiled upon him. A fairy, attracted by a Magic Potion he had concocted, had come right to him.

The fairy was still very weak, at the elite level at most.

He had thought he could catch it easily with one hand, but many accidents had occurred.

Forgetting a spell while chanting it, biting his tongue and interrupting his Magic, accidentally hitting himself with a Magic Potion... for the first time, he truly understood the weight of the two words described in the books: "immense luck."

But this only strengthened his resolve to capture the little thing and refine it into a Magic Potion.

With that kind of luck, he might not only become a legend but also have a chance to step into the domain of the gods.

During the chase, a spatial rift appeared.

The fairy plunged into it without a moment’s hesitation.

It was truly confident.

In all of history, you could count about a dozen legendary Mages who had died encountering spatial turbulence while using Space Magic.

After a moment of hesitation, Balder chased after it.

The fairy encountered no spatial turbulence; its journey was perfectly calm. In contrast, Balder, the pursuer, faced one peril after another. Much of his Demon Energy armor was destroyed by the turbulence, and he barely managed to avoid losing his target as they both traversed the rift.

The other side of the spatial rift was very strange. After he emerged, he couldn’t feel any Demon Elements.

But he didn’t have time to think too much about it; his only thought was to catch that little thing. That was all that mattered right now.

The chase continued until they reached a huge city built amidst a world of ice and snow.

In Antie’s eyes, she saw the physical manifestation of destiny. The sheer weight of his fortune destined him to be the darling of the entire era.

Encountering almost no resistance, it flew into Gu Jie’s collar and hid.

At the same time, Balder arrived in pursuit.

He, however, was not so lucky as to enter the Supreme Capital. He was intercepted outside.

As luck would have it, the Supreme Capital was usually guarded by only a single Saint King on a rotating shift.

But today, because Zhang Ji had called a sudden meeting to discuss matters of the Celestial Essence Realm, all four Saint Kings were present. And so was Zhang Ji.

He now had the opportunity to face the combination of four Saint Kings and the Supreme One.