Chapter 249 - 211: Major Upgrade

Chapter 249: Chapter 211: Major Upgrade

With the Refinement of the S-rank Superpower Crystal Core,

Zhang Ji’s [Unyielding Defense] Superpower officially broke through, reaching the Legendary Level.

This was his third Legendary-Level Cultivation Technique-type Fighting Skill Crystal.

For Zhang Ji, however, it didn’t provide much of a direct boost to his combat abilities.

This was because the skill was an extremely defense-oriented Superpower.

It almost exclusively boosted his defense, with little effect on his other stats.

The only real benefit was that with the added defense, Zhang Ji could unleash his power more recklessly.

He could condense and release the Primordial Energy in his body at will, unleashing it however he pleased. Zhang Ji even felt that if he were just a bit stronger, he could actually use the Cosmic Four Source Attraction to guide the Four Elements into his body and have them collide, generating a miniature world.

However, he’d probably still get hurt if he tried it now. Besides, he felt that a miniature world created that way would be incomplete.

He had a much grander vision.

Once this upgrade was finished, Zhang Ji turned his attention to the Sword Bone.

The Primordial Sword Bone was indeed quite complex. Zhang Ji had asked Shen Xi to design an array body module, but even after working on it for so long, it still wasn’t completely finished. The effort was rivaling the time it took to calculate the Qiankun Nine Heavens Void Tide-Inducing Array.

Of course, this was also because Zhang Ji had set his standards quite high.

If he only wanted to make basic use of the Primordial Sword Bone, it wouldn’t have been nearly this complicated.

But Zhang Ji had high expectations; he wanted to unleash its full potential.

The Primordial Sword Bone was a true Mythical Level creation. Although it was more of a support item, its previous owner, Linghu Yao, had clearly never pushed it to its limits.

In theory, its full potential was comparable to that of a Tribulation-Transcending Sword Cultivator.

’Let it run the calculations for a couple more days, then. The installation will only take five days at most, anyway.’

Zhang Ji wasn’t in a rush. He decided to practice the Cosmic Four Source Attraction first, striving to turn this ultimate move into a standard technique.

Although his [Myriad Transformation Four Ultimates], in terms of raw power, was on par with the Cosmic Four Source Attraction, he still needed to practice this skill.

After all, techniques like the Celestial Dragon Break consumed his own limited energy. At full power, Zhang Ji could only unleash a few volleys. The Cosmic Four Source Attraction, on the other hand, directly borrowed energy from the natural elements. Guided purely by his Spirit, Zhang Ji could use it dozens of times without fatigue, as long as the elements were abundant.

....

「October 25th.」

With a furious roar, Giles completed his bloodline’s advancement.

No, it would be more accurate to say his bloodline had reached its perfect form.

His bloodline was S-rank to begin with, and now he had finally reached its full potential.

Just like Cyril, he sought out Zhang Ji, wanting to spar for a bit.

After undergoing Gigantification, the giant ape stood over five hundred meters tall in the void. The Qi and Blood seething around its body was so intense it twisted the very space around it.

But Zhang Ji handled this new, powerful Giles with absolute ease.

It was even easier than during the Battle of Supremacy.

With a single index finger, Zhang Ji pressed down. The ground trembled. Giles’s internal energy was completely suppressed, unable to burst forth at all. Just like that, Zhang Ji forced him back to his original form.

"This isn’t fair..." Giles said, climbing out of the massive crater. "You at least fought Cyril for a little while! How come you one-shot me?!"

"We can go again, then."

The corner of Zhang Ji’s mouth curled up as he raised his palm, as if ready to strike again.

"Ahem... I was just kidding," Giles said.

Despite his banter, a deep, inexplicable shock lingered in Giles’s eyes.

’Zhang Ji has gotten even more terrifying.’

’Before, even though Zhang Ji was powerful, we could still be considered peers.’

’But not anymore.’

’Even after my own breakthrough, I can’t fathom the depths of Zhang Ji’s power.’

’He felt they were no longer on the same plane of existence.’

’The gap between us is just too vast.’

However, the thought of the majestic figure he had witnessed when his bloodline fully awakened helped him regain some of his composure.

’The Ape God who could swallow suns like sugar pills... with its bloodline powering me, maybe one day I’ll have a chance to truly fight Zhang Ji.’

.....

.....

[Sword God Array Body].

This was the name of the array body Shen Xi had designed for Zhang Ji.

It was based on a substantial amount of reference data. In addition to Zhuge Mingyuan’s Profound Origin Quantum Array Body, Xiang Zhe’s Body Refining Skill was also analyzed and incorporated as the core for controlling the Primordial Sword Bone.

The original couldn’t produce a heart like Xiang Zhe’s.

Aside from the Cultivation Technique’s concepts being outdated and limited by its era, the brutal, cannibalistic method it employed was also incredibly inefficient.

It was merely a theoretical possibility.

In reality, even sacrificing hundreds of millions of people wouldn’t be enough to create a true Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

A more efficient method was required.

Exactly how Xiang Zhe managed it, no one knew.

However, Shen Xi provided an alternative path.

It involved using Alchemy Technology to create artificial hearts from the flesh and blood of Spirit Beasts, Demonal Beasts, and other mutated creatures. Then, by combining Demon Potion Technology with the Shennong Cauldron, they could directly refine "Heart Acupoint Pills" to achieve a similar effect.

With this method, Zhang Ji could directly achieve the creation of a Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

Once the plan was finalized, the Shennong Cauldron was fired up to full capacity once more. After a massive expenditure of resources, Zhang Ji received countless tiny, crimson pills.

They were only thumb-sized and closely resembled miniature human hearts.

The original, primitive method was not only barbaric and unethical but also inefficient—a far cry from the means Zhang Ji now possessed.

Over the next five days, Zhang Ji would have to consume over a hundred million of these pills.

He would use sheer quantity to make up for the gap in quality.

As he devoured handful after handful of Heart Acupoint Pills, Zhang Ji simultaneously began to inscribe the array body onto himself.

This wasn’t a simple matter of inscribing patterns on the surface of his skin. That kind of array body could hardly be considered a true one; only a Body Cultivator below the Golden Core realm would use such a crude method.

At Zhang Ji’s level, the task required inscribing the patterns onto the very particles that made up his cells.

This was delicate work. Currently, neither the Celestial Essence Realm nor Origin Star possessed such technology. Fortunately, Zhang Ji could do it himself. After mastering the , he could activate his [Prajna Stance] and achieve this level of ultra-microscopic control.

His Spirit split into tens of billions of strands within his body, working on his internal particles simultaneously. This was immeasurably more powerful than Dugu Yunfeng controlling five hundred million Spirit Swords at once.

Dugu Yunfeng had to rely on an Artifact Spirit, and his control lacked such fine precision.

Zhang Ji’s control, however, was precise. It was equivalent to simultaneously commanding attacks from tens of billions of Spiritual Artifacts without the aid of an Artifact Spirit.

And he was truly capable of such a feat.

The massive consumption of Heart Acupoint Pills, combined with the inscription of the array body, gradually began to change Zhang Ji’s body.

An unconventional Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart was being forged within him.

Its Spirit Patterns connected the particles throughout his body, forming an incredibly complex system.

This process took Zhang Ji a total of five days.

When the inscription was finally complete on the last day, he picked up the Primordial Sword Bone and plunged it directly into his spine.

As if passing through phantom matter, the Sword Bone entered Zhang Ji’s array body, becoming its final, missing piece.

Like a Divine Sword returning to its sheath, the two merged into one.

There could not have been a more perfect fit.

The Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart embedded itself into the hilt of the Sword Bone, becoming its operational core.

All his prior preparations were, at that moment, acknowledged by the Limited Space.

A prompt subsequently appeared.

[Prompt: You have obtained [Sword God Array Body] (Legendary) Fighting Skill Crystal x1. It can be extracted and stored in the Limited Space.]

Strictly speaking, this was the first time Zhang Ji had obtained a "Rationalist School" Fighting Skill Crystal.

Previously, he hadn’t fully understood the mechanics of the Limited Space and also lacked the appropriate technology or external items. As a result, aside from having Robby help with his bloodline, he had barely dabbled in the "Rationalist School."

But now, he understood completely.

The combat path of the "Rationalist School" was still acknowledged by the Limited Space.

One could use external items, but one could not be completely reliant on them.

The power had to be mastered personally and thoroughly integrated until it became a part of one’s own strength.

Any self-modification could not be performed by others; the technology and principles involved had to be mastered and implemented by oneself.

At this moment, Zhang Ji had completely mastered the Sword Bone within him. It had become a part of him, as natural as an organ he had been born with.

Countless insights into the Sword Dao flowed through the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart and into Zhang Ji’s consciousness.

At the same time, Zhang Ji’s body was strengthened even further.

The enhancement was comprehensive, boosting his defense, attack, energy conduction and absorption efficiency, and even his innate aptitude.

Zhang Ji extended his right hand, formed a two-fingered sword sign, and pointed casually into the void.

In the next instant, Sword Intent surged. Hundreds of millions of Sword Gang motes erupted from his body, forming a vast Sword Sea in the void. The sea of swords then unified, coalescing into a single, dark red Giant Sword before being drawn back into Zhang Ji’s body.

He had only seen Dugu Yunfeng’s once, but now, upon recalling it, he could replicate it with ease.

The same was true for Ling Xuzi’s [Final Tribulation]; it wasn’t difficult at all.

He could simulate that as well.

’So, this is the Sword Dao?’ The corner of Zhang Ji’s mouth curled into a smile.

While it wasn’t as viscerally satisfying as shattering everything with a single punch, it had its own unique charm.

Still, Zhang Ji preferred direct, close-quarters combat.

That was where his greatest strength lay.

’Otherwise, what was the point of forging such an indestructible, sturdy physical body?’

Zhang Ji was now confident he could face the all-but-crippled Divine Emperor.

He wouldn’t get careless, though.

He still had preparations to make. He would seize every possible advantage, no matter how small.

Failing due to carelessness was an outcome he absolutely could not accept.

Next, he had to wait for the Starships to finish construction and for the arrangements in the Lan’er World to be finalized. He also planned to use this time to master the Cosmic Four Source Attraction.

He had already refined six of the Cosmic Four Source Attraction’s essences and only needed four more to achieve mastery. It wouldn’t take more than a few days.

By mid-November at the latest, he should be ready to advance into the Lan’er World.

At that point, once the interdimensional war was over, the Lan’er World could be gradually brought under his control.

With the resources of four worlds backing him, reaching Super S-rank would be a certainty.

Given his potential, he might even become powerful enough to rival an SSS-rank expert.

SSS-rank—an existence who wielded the immense power to obliterate a planet with a single strike.

They had essentially transcended the conventional combat power system. In the Origin Universe, such an individual was an absolute powerhouse. They weren’t just qualified to have a seat at the table; they were the kind of transcendent being who could stand on top of it.