novelraw Chapter 68: Dihua
Chapter 68: Dihua
Lu Yu and Qi Changhai had no idea that Qi Wei had just jumped from one pit into another.
He also didn't expect that after all that, it would still be him…
However, Lu Yu hadn't noticed from the beginning that his old classmate was mixed in with the crowd.
If he had known, he probably would have sighed and said:
"Qi Wei's Law of Transcendent Trait Convergence!"
At this moment, he was sitting in a carriage made of lanterns, feeling the boiling Dark Golden Spirituality Power around him, and could faintly see a radiance as brilliant as a star.
Although it was just a sliver, it felt far stronger than the sum of all that majestic Dark Golden Spirituality Power combined.
It was a qualitative leap.
And this was the Stellar Spirituality Embryo that only a Morning Star Rank Beast Tamer could possess.
Lu Yu had also looked into what was needed to advance to the Morning Star Rank; three conditions had to be met.The first was to venture deep into the Mother River.
Gold Rank Beast Tamers could enter the Mother River to explore, but to go deep, one had to be a Peak Gold Rank Beast Tamer, or a Beast Tamer with special means, to ensure their own safety.
This condition was not considered that difficult.
The second point was the need to ignite the Heart Spark.
The path of a Beast Tamer was a process of mastering Spirituality.
Without a sufficiently firm will, one would fall into chaos from absorbing a massive amount of Spirituality during the process of advancing to the Morning Star Rank.
At best, their mind would be impacted; at worst, they would be eroded by the immense spiritual power and undergo Aberration.
The Heart Spark was the manifestation of a Beast Tamer's will. Some desired wealth, some desired power, some desired slaughter… No matter the emotion, the will could be ignited by the power of the Supreme Mother River and turned into a Heart Spark.
Therefore, the personalities of Beast Tamers were exceptionally paranoid, or perhaps, insane!
Once the Spirituality Transformation was successful, they would gain the qualification to purify their Soul, give birth to a sliver of a Stellar Spirituality Embryo, have a stronger ability to resist corruption, and their strength would experience a qualitative leap.
Thus, a Beast Tamer who had undergone Spirituality Transformation was strong enough to sweep through ordinary Gold Rank Beast Tamers.
However, the process was difficult. Those with an wavering will could easily be struck by the power of the Mother River, resulting in severe mental trauma.
Lu Yu had read about related knowledge in some ancient travelogues; there were actually clever ways to get through this process.
But they were all top-tier Secret Arts belonging to the various major Schools, Families, and Secret Societies, and the price was not small.
They were not something a minor figure like him could come into contact with.
As for the last point, it required at least one core Pet Beast to have honed the proficiency of two or more of its skills to the Perfect-level.
For Lu Yu's Pet Beasts, with the blessing of the Proficiency Template, this condition was very easy to meet.
For an ordinary Pet Beast, however, honing skills not only required a great deal of time, but because they couldn't know the right direction, they often had to fumble through frequent battles.
If they were injured during this period, it would take a lot of time to recuperate, and in serious cases, it could even affect their potential.
Therefore, every Pet Beast that could meet the condition had invariably gone through long years of arduous training, and their own innate talent was also extremely strong.
And after all three conditions were met, one could enter the Supreme Mother River, set up a Ritual, and perform the Sublimation Ceremony.
Pet Beasts of different Attributes had different Sublimation Ceremonies!
Once the sublimation was successful, they would advance to the Morning Star Rank, receiving the Mother River's blessing, the Beast Tamer's transformation, Pet Beast ability enhancements, and so on…
In short, just like the name of the Pet Beast rank, they would become an Overlord of a region.
As for the man before him, Sun Jie, he was likely from the Military; the air of a seasoned warrior about him was too obvious. Since he had a background, the first two requirements wouldn't stop him.
He must be stuck on the Pet Beast requirement.
Lu Yu glanced at the Soul Lantern at his feet with his Eye of Truth and found that its key Racial Skill, 【Ghost Fire】, was stuck at 99% Expert-level.
It might have an epiphany in the next moment, or it might need a long time to train, or it might even be stuck below the Morning Star Rank forever.
But this problem was not difficult for Lu Yu, who possessed the Eye of Truth that pointed toward the correct direction for everything.
It was just…
Why help him?
With no ties between them, his priority was personal gain.
The performance with Little Mouse earlier had basically frightened everyone, making them feel awe, which could be regarded as "intimidation."
However, although Sun Jie was wary and fearful of him, he wouldn't be completely obedient, and would even maintain a certain distance and vigilance.
And to make him useful, he needed to use both carrot and stick.
After all, he wasn't the real mysterious expert, the 【Collector】.
He didn't have the ability to suppress an Overlord Monster on a whim. His true self was just an ordinary Mid-tier Red Copper Beast Tamer.
Therefore, a favor from someone who had ignited their Heart Spark, and was even a future Morning Star Rank Beast Tamer, was quite valuable.
As long as the 【Collector】 Vest / Alternate Identity was there to intimidate from the shadows, when he showed up in his true form, there would be no need to test human nature; the other party would definitely honor his promise.
Lu Yu calculated the pros and cons in his mind and had already made a decision. He looked at Sun Jie, who was sitting upright before him like a good student.
He probably had no idea that with just a little effort, he could crush the mysterious expert in front of him.
Thinking of this, Lu Yu's gaze deepened.
The Eye of Truth opened silently, staring at Sun Jie.
Sun Jie had always believed that this mysterious person before him was an old undying monster, so he was already a little nervous.
However, as Lu Yu kept staring at him, scanning him up and down, he couldn't help but clench his buttocks as a chill shot up from his tailbone straight to his brain.
Thinking about this person, since he liked to take Demonic Beasts as Collection Items, some powerful Beast Tamers didn't seem any worse than Transcendent Creatures…
Could it be…
He's taken a liking to me?
Before he could regret letting the wolf into his house, he heard Lu Yu's meaningful voice come from under the mask:
"The greatest sound seems silent, the greatest form seems formless."
This was a famous quote from the Dao De Jing, meaning that the greatest sound seems to have no sound, and the greatest form seems to have no shape.
Although their worldviews and cultures were different, the philosophical principles contained in top-tier knowledge were universal and not difficult to understand.
To sum it up in one sentence: return to a natural state.
Sun Jie was stunned as if struck by lightning, repeatedly chanting:
"The greatest sound seems silent, the greatest form seems formless… The greatest sound seems silent, the greatest form… seems formless…"
As he continued to chant, his voice grew louder, his expression more and more excited, tinged with a bit of madness as he laughed loudly:
"I get it, I finally get it!"
As his voice fell, the Lantern Carriage beneath him instantly erupted in blazing flames. The eerie blue fire serpents, originally constrained by Spirituality, burst forth, instantly engulfing the entire Soul Lantern.
The cloth strips and frame that formed its body were all incinerated, turning to ash.
Yet the original carriage did not disappear.
Instead, it transformed into a Hell Chariot that stretched across the sky like a meteor of black fire, descending with majestic heat before the entrance of a Mysterious Market.
This scene attracted many shocked gazes from within.
"Yiyi!"
The Ghost Fire Chariot landed and instantly broke apart. A Soul Lantern in the form of a ball of eerie blue flame floated out, the Ghost Fire burning to form four fiery faces.
It spun around happily, shining dazzlingly like a small sun, its aura more than half as strong as before.
"I had been ignoring that the essence of the Soul Lantern is Ghost Fire, and the lantern is just its outer skin.
I even used to make the Soul Lantern use Spirituality to restrain its rising flames to prevent burning this skin. Now that it has returned to its original form, the Ghost Fire skill has automatically reached Perfect-level…"
Sun Jie murmured, pleasantly surprised.
What shocked him even more was that the 【Collector】 had seen through a principle he hadn't grasped in decades with just a single glance. With just eight words, he had cleared the final obstacle on his path to the Morning Star Rank.
What incredible wisdom!
He turned his head, full of gratitude, only to find the 【Collector】 standing atop a large boulder, looking up at the sacred Silver Moon in the sky.
A pure white radiance enveloped the Yellow Robe that billowed in the wind, as if expressing humility at this moment, like an Ancient Sage from old legends with his back to all living beings.
He stood still, his figure as straight as a pine tree, unmoving, as if he had merged with the boulder beneath him that had weathered ages of wind and rain, watching the vicissitudes of the world.
As for everything that had just happened, it was not enough to make him turn his head.
Why did this eminence suddenly go to that distant rock?
Rock…
A rock!
After just being enlightened, Sun Jie felt that every move of such an expert was filled with deep meaning.
After a moment of contemplation, he had an epiphany!
Wasn't this the other party teaching him that so-called power, strength, and wealth were nothing but withered bones in the face of the long years, while the sun, moon, mountains, and rocks were eternal?
See through the illusion and return to one's natural self.
This was not indulgence, but controlling it from its very root!
One should not be swayed by momentary gains and losses, but must temper oneself so that one's will can be as firm as a rock.
Especially after the Ghost Fire burned away its facade; although it had become stronger, it was also easier to lose control, which required an even calmer mind.
Sun Jie suppressed the trace of pride in his heart. If before he had mostly feared the Collector, now he felt respect and admiration.
Truly a sage who had lived through ancient times, he had silently guided him once again!
But he did not know that Lu Yu, atop the boulder, was looking at the shining Primordial Moon through his mask and sighing in his heart:
'I'm never showing off in the air again. I almost thought we were going to crash, and my legs are still a little weak…'