Chapter 542: Sea Demon Shield
Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations
The elderly man pointed to the cliffs before them and said, "It's just like the steep cliffs before us. Right now, you can use it to temper your will. But after you've completed the second transition, you won't die even if you fall off the cliff. What good would it do then?
"Right now, what you must do is to continue to accumulate your strength while you're at level 19, focusing fully on tempering your martial will. Although you're only at level 19 now, you attained perfection in your Heaven's Perception a long time ago, and your martial will isn't weaker than most level 29 Knights.
"What I want is for you to continue accumulating your power. Then after you've completed your second transition, you'll be able to attain a breakthrough to level 29 within a short period of time. After that, you'll continue on the momentum to attain a breakthrough to become a Demigod with two tiers, or even three or four tiers of perfection. This is even more beneficial for your future path of cultivation.
"As for Dongfang Ling, Fang Xingjian, and the Fifth Prince, don't think that they're amazing just because they became Demigods with great ease. Their paths started off easy but were later plagued with difficulties. When one's cultivation reaches their level, it's too hard to temper their martial will then.
"As for you, it'll be tough at first but easy at the later phase. After you've completed the second transition, you'll only take one to two months to be able to fully surpass them."
"Master, is that true?"
"Of course. Don't compare yourself to Fang Xingjian, Dongfang Ling, and the Fifth Prince. There are countless geniuses in history who became Demigods within a short period of time by relying on their talents. Your goal in the future is to at least reach the Divine level and leave your name behind in history."
The elderly man said affirmatively, "In the path of martial arts, one’s will is the most important. The more powerful your abilities are, the harder it is to temper your will. As a result, your power will become weaker. The world is full of challenges that can constantly temper your will and help you build an extremely sturdy foundation."
"You've said it well."
Just as the elderly man was preaching to the young man, Head of Department James walked out slowly, looked at the two of them, and said, "In the path of martial arts, one’s will is the most important. The more powerful your abilities are, the harder it is to temper your will. What you've said shows your unique and original understanding toward the physical body and the martial will."
The elderly man threw a glance toward James and said nonchalantly, "You've been hiding at the side for long enough. Who are you? Why are you finding trouble with us who are just two insignificant people?"
"You're no insignificant person." James smiled. "Ten years ago, the Ardor Might held control over the river transportation in the entire Northern Ice Region, and their leader, Wang Huan, was known as the Black Dragon King. He was a powerful level 29 warrior.
"However, the Black Dragon King was later defeated by the Fist Emperor, and the Ardor Might was also taken over by the Great River Alliance. The Black Dragon King disappeared completely, but it’s said that he keeps himself hidden with a large amount of the wealth belonging to the Ardor Might. It’s also said that he’s secretly nurturing a disciple, preparing to seek revenge on the Great River Alliance."
The Fist Emperor was one of the top ten Divine level experts in the world, and the Great River Alliance was the faction he had founded, which held complete control over the 72 waterways.
The Fifth Prince had once said that he had become sworn brothers with the Fist Emperor, causing everyone to be greatly astonished.
Upon hearing James' words, the elderly man's eyes were filled with hints of seething killing aura. "Who are you?"
"The Great Western Region's James," James said calmly. "Back then, the Ardor Might possessed medicinal powder ground from the legendary Nine-Colored Nine-Scented Vines right? Give it to me, and I won't come bother you anymore.
"I know that you're not short of money either, but I'm still willing to fork out one million gold to purchase it."
"If you want the medicinal powder of the Nine-Colored Nine-Scented Vines, then let's fight it out first."
Violent heavenly thunders and terrestrial magnetism forces extended out from the body of the elderly man who was the Black Dragon King, displaying the powers he had as a Demigod with one tier of perfection.
At the next moment, two figures clashed fiercely. The mountains and rivers broke down, and the world shattered. The young man, who was standing by the side, cried out in astonishment as he retreated like he was facing natural disasters.
From the young man's perspective, the place was filled with shattered pieces of mountains, crushed ice and snow, as well as violent gales. It did not seem like a spar between two people. All he saw was merely the descent of endless disasters.
However, at the next instant, a cry was heard from the tempest.
"Where did you get a Divine Remains Equipment?!"
"Hmph, what do you think I've been doing for the past ten years? I expended all my efforts, used whatever the Ardor Might had back then, and combed through the world in order to source for materials. I did all these just for the sake of repairing this Sea Demon Shield.
"Even the Fist Emperor himself won't be able to break through this Sea Demon Shield without putting in some effort. Die!"
When the Black Dragon King was young, he had been just an ordinary fisherman. Then one day, he had accidentally gone down to the bottom of the sea and found a piece of broken Divine Remains Equipment. From it, he comprehended a set of Nurturing technique, Training technique, and Killing technique. It had been only from there that the Black Dragon King, who founded the Ardor Might, came to be.
After founding the Ardor Might, the Black Dragon King had tried whatever he could to repair the Sea Demon Shield. However, before he could succeed in doing this, he had been defeated by the Fist Emperor, wasting all of his efforts.
For the past few years, he had expended all of the wealth he had accumulated, gone around in search of the necessary ingredients, and devoted a lot of effort to this task. Then finally, he had managed to repair the shield.
His goal was to nurture his disciple to become a Demigod with four tiers of perfection, or even to the Divine level. He would then get his disciple to defeat the Fist Emperor on his behalf while using the Sea Demon Shield. After that, they would rebuild the Ardor Might.
There was another deafening sound, and the entire world fell silent. However, the young man felt as if a series of black shadows had flashed past his eyes. It was James' silhouette.
At the next instant, another wave of power encompassed him. Following this, lights and shadows kept on flashing. Then the young man was grabbed by someone who was dashing at a rapid speed.
‘Thinking of leaving? I shall seize you and offer you to the First Prince in order to join him. This will be a good way to silence you, in case you leak out news about me.
‘Hmph, the First Prince wishes to take in all the factions in the world and will definitely not let the Great River Alliance and the Fist Emperor off. I'll join his camp and wipe out the Great River Alliance completely through the hands of the royal family.’
In the sky, a series of thoughts flashed through rapidly in the Black Dragon King's mind as both he and his disciple were encompassed by a wave of light that was of an ocean blue color. Behind his back, there was a flashing phantom image of a monster that was roaring ceaselessly.
Almost without any hesitation, he turned into a meteor, giving chase after James.
At this time, Fang Xingjian had already returned to the Great Western City.
The moment he arrived, he went to look for Robert, who had been tasked to gather the ingredients for the mystical prints.
"How is it? Are all the ingredients in?"
Robert replied, "Xingjian, I asked for help from Anderson, Lilia, Zhou Xingwen, as well as Lord Devitt and Lord James to help me gather some precious ingredients.
"Other than Lord James, the others have already returned.
"However, even if Lord James brings back the item, we're still short of one more thing."
Fang Xingjian frowned and asked, "Short of one more? What is it?" Fang Xingjian needed the tenth level of the mystical prints to help him strive and reach the level of brain regeneration.
The requirement for one to reach the level of brain regeneration was to have an extremely powerful will that could exist outside one’s physical body. It would have to be a will that could still continue to think even after the person was dead.
The second thing was that it required one to have a deep grasp and understanding of the brain.
Fang Xingjian could be considered to have just barely managed to achieve these. However, brain regeneration was a life or death matter. Therefore, he still hoped that he could first get his hands on the tenth level of the mystical prints and then make the attempt to achieve this when he felt more confident.
After all, even if his lifespan would not diminish, if he were to damage his brain in his attempt to achieve brain regeneration and thereby becoming an idiot for his remaining three years in life, he would be better off dead.
Fang Xingjian was very confident and clear that his lifespan of three years would not change. Therefore, he would not die so easily. However, it was still possible for him to be crippled, confined, or sealed. Therefore, he would not do things recklessly.
Robert replied, "We're still short of the Origin Essence Stone."
The Origin Essence Stone was a unique mineral of the legends. It looked just like a ruby, and it possessed the power to store the consciousness of any person.
Fang Xingjian looked at Robert and said, "Is it that it can't be found or that you aren't able to get your hands on it?"
"It is a prized treasure that is capable of storing the human consciousness, allowing it to live even in the absence of a physical body. There's no need for me to explain how valuable it is," Robert said, smiling bitterly. "I can't find one that is without an owner. As for those with an owner, there's one in the City of Universal Truth, and the Imperial Capital should have one as well. There's also the legendary Terrene Shrine... It's said that they have an extremely huge piece of Origin Essence Stone which is the sect's prized possession, and it has amassed the intelligence of all the past leaders in their history.
"As for the other people... They probably did whatever they could to hide it after getting their hands on one. They won't let the news leak even after a few decades or a few centuries."
"We'll carry on later."
Just then, Fang Xingjian stopped Robert and stood up, looking toward the sky. "Someone is coming... Hmm? They're quite fast. Demigod experts?"