Time ticked by. In a flash, more than half an hour had passed.
Suddenly, the blue, crystal-textured light mass on Chu Chengzhou's left arm flared with a dense blue halo.
Next, the blue mass twisted and changed, becoming a left arm spirit bone like blue crystal, emitting a faint azure glow.
Ignoring the extracted left arm bone, Chu Chengzhou immediately released spiritual power to envelop himself and examined carefully.
Before long, a smile appeared on his face.
Although his soul power level had dropped to level 73 Soul Sage and his physique had clearly weakened a notch, the left arm bone he had previously refined into his body had indeed been completely extracted.
Chu Chengzhou could clearly feel that he could once again refine a spirit bone into the left arm slot.
Spirit bone disassembly method, success.
As for the "side effects" of a drop in soul power level and physique after "disassembling" a spirit bone?
That was not a side effect at all, but an inevitable phenomenon.
With the Crystal Guard Left Arm Bone removed, the soul power growth and physique enhancement it had brought naturally vanished with it.
Afterward, Chu Chengzhou refined the just-extracted Crystal Guard Left Arm Bone back into his body.
It wasn't that he lacked a higher-aged left arm bone, but the Crystal Guard Left Arm Bone carried an "Absolute Defense" skill. Though only sixty thousand years, the spirit bone skill's effect absolutely crushed the eighty-thousand-year left arm bone Dai Weisi had dropped.
If there were no better option that would be one thing. Since there was, he would refine the better bone.
Time passed. In a blink it was the following afternoon.
On the bed in the bedroom, Chu Chengzhou, in the midst of refining bones, had a steadily rising soul power aura.
After a long while, as his soul power rose another level, a torso bone of verdant green brimming with life refined into his body. The continent now had one more spirit master with a full set of spirit bones.
While the Nine-Breath Inhalation Meditation far outstrips ordinary meditation in cultivation speed, it also greatly accelerates the refinement of soul rings and spirit bones.
In less than a day, after re-refining the Crystal Guard Left Arm Bone, Chu Chengzhou refined another four bones.
A ninety-thousand-year right arm bone, an eighty-thousand-year left leg bone, a ninety-thousand-year right leg bone, and a sixty-thousand-year torso bone.
Once the Crystal Guard Left Arm Bone was refined back in, his soul power level and physique returned to their former marks.
Now, after refining four more high-age bones, not only did his physique, already above that of most nine-ring Titled Douluo, surge again, but even his soul power jumped by four levels to reach level 78 Soul Sage.
Unfortunately, since these were limb and torso bones again, the boost to spiritual power was not large, and what there was came automatically with the rise in soul power level, unrelated to the four bones themselves.
The right arm, left leg, and right leg bones brought no surprises. Aside from their years, in Chu Chengzhou's eyes they were not truly high-grade. Their attached skills were all strong-attack-type.
For ordinary spirit masters, strong-attack spirit bone skills of eighty or ninety thousand years could serve as trump cards and killers. For Chu Chengzhou, the might of these three was far inferior to his own Sun-shooting Divine Arrow when paired with the Flowing Gold Armor-Piercing Arrow, making them rather chicken-rib skills.
The torso bone, however, gave him a small surprise. Although its attached skill was only sixty thousand years, it was very useful.
Healing-type spirit bone skill: Unending Life. When activated, it can rapidly restore injuries.
He did have a heal before. Xiao Qing of the Sky Azure Tree summon has a healing innate soul skill. But as his soul power rose while Xiao Qing's years stood still, the healing amount fell behind.
He was now a seven-ring Soul Sage, while Xiao Qing at ten-thousand years equated only to a five-ring healing-type Soul King. Even with a considerable boost due to the large gap between Xiao Qing's summoning years and his own summoner strength, counting that in, Xiao Qing topped out at about an early six-ring healing-type Soul Emperor, still a full major realm short.
With such a huge soul power gap, the effective healing on him from Xiao Qing's innate skill would be greatly discounted, even negligible.
So until Xiao Qing's years rise, the torso bone skill Unending Life can make up for this shortcoming.
"Pa."
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou slapped his forehead.
"Almost forgot."
He opened the attribute panel again, removed the upgraded "Absolute Control" from the seventh hang-up slot, and hung up "Sun-shooting Divine Arrow."
Sun-shooting Divine Arrow's hang-up upgrade priority ranks just below the three core arts of essence, energy, and spirit—Indestructible Golden Body, Nine-Breath Inhalation, and A Will Eternal. Now that Absolute Control has advanced to gold grade, and his other supreme arts are either already gold grade or are in hang-up upgrade, with a free slot he naturally prioritized upgrading Sun-shooting Divine Arrow.
After adjusting the hang-up order, his gaze fell on the fourth hang-up slot.
Forging secret art: Hammer of Creation was in the fourth slot, leveling on hang-up.
At present, progress toward gold grade for Hammer of Creation had passed 60%. In a bit over a month, it would advance to gold.
Red-grade Hammer of Creation corresponds to metal soul forging. Barring surprises, gold-grade Hammer of Creation should correspond to metal Heavenly Refinement.
Heavenly-Refined metal can be used to forge four-word battle armor. With a full set of four-word armor, Snake Spear Douluo She Long might not beat the half-divine Qian Daoliu, but flattening the level-98 Golden Crocodile.
Uh, She Long's base is too poor. You could say he is an eight-ring Soul Douluo at a nine-ring level, while that senior Golden Crocodile has a hundred-thousand-year ninth ring and is no weakling.
Even with four-word battle armor, She Long might not beat Golden Crocodile. But taking down 97th-level Titled Douluo like the Azure Luan and the Lion should be easy.
Given battle armor's huge boost, and that he himself will soon become a divine craftsman of Heavenly Refinement, if he doesn't make a set of four-word armor to play with, that would hardly be worthy of a divine craftsman.
Looks like I'll have to make a trip to the Sun Moon Continent when I have time.
Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.
After the later emergence of the black tech known as battle armor on the continent, four auxiliary professions arose around it: designer, forgemaster, maker, and maintainer.
Designers draw up the schematics. Forgemasters provide materials. Makers inscribe soul guidance arrays. Working together, they produce complete battle armor, while maintainers handle upkeep and repairs.
He himself is a forgemaster, and before long will be a divine craftsman of Heavenly Refinement. Materials are already solved.
As for maintenance, if he can forge armor from start to finish, surely he can fix it too.
What remains is how to design and inscribe soul guidance arrays.
Although the current era's Douluo Continent has not developed soul tool technology, the neighboring Sun Moon Continent has. Make a trip there and learn from a soul engineer. With the cheat, it should not be hard.
Elsewhere, the Slaughter City.
Boom.
In the Hell Slaughter Arena, the last opponent's head burst under the Clear Sky Hammer in the hands of a blue-haired figure.
Staring at the nine skinny, headless corpses on the ground, Tang San stood with hammer in hand, murderous intent surging, filled with mixed feelings.
At first, the Slaughter City was quite chaotic. But after he slaughtered wantonly several times, the inner city became a ghost town.
Fortunately, a little over two months ago, for some reason, the inner city suddenly grew "lively" again, with many fallen entering daily.
Though the quality of these fallen was poor—malnourished, weak, some not even formal spirit masters—they could still sign up to fight in the Hell Slaughter Arena.
After more than two months, he finally completed a hundred consecutive wins in the arena.
Only, the sense of achievement was far less than he had expected.
There was no helping it. The opponents were too weak, felled with a single punch. Killing nine weaklings each time, where's the sense of achievement in that?
"Congratulations, young Skull-crushing Blue Demon."
As Tang San was sighing inwardly, a low, sharp voice tinged faintly with mockery rang in from all directions.
An instant later, a tall blood-colored figure appeared in mid-air above the Hell Slaughter Arena.
Heh, the "weakest" hundred-win streak in the history of the Slaughter City?
Gazing at Tang San in the arena, the Slaughter King laughed inwardly.
Looking across history at those who won a hundred straight in the Hell Slaughter Arena, which of them didn't cut down large numbers of high-level fallen?
But this Tang San? Perhaps his strength is up to standard, yet his record is plain as water. In more than half his matches the opponents were weaklings.
And due to the earlier killing spree by the "Soul-controlling Demon," there were no eight-ring fallen in the inner city.
That is to say, even in his first thirty-odd matches, the strongest opponent Tang San met in the arena was only at seven-ring Soul Sage, and even those were few.
With no noteworthy wins in the Hell Slaughter Arena, and with his father acting like a thug and helping him cheat, the Slaughter King naturally despised Tang San from the bottom of his heart.
Wasting no words on him, the Slaughter King directly opened the passage to the Hell Road.
As for blood-sacrificing the audience? The poor souls Tang Hao had forced into the inner city had all delivered their heads to Tang San. Where would any audience be?
A day later, after killing the Dark Gold Three-headed Bat King and the Ten-headed Sun Serpent that had lost its inner core, Tang San successfully passed the Hell Road and obtained the Killing God Domain.
At the instant Tang San gained the Killing God Domain, in the God Realm, within a majestic blood-colored great hall, a towering figure once again opened his eyes.
Another trial-taker on the Douluo Continent has obtained the Killing God Domain?
The Asura God's gaze pierced endless space toward the Slaughter City.
Every trial-taker who gains the Killing God Domain has the qualification to open the Asura God Trial and inherit the Asura godhood. Naturally, the Asura God cast his gaze to assess the candidate's ability.
Of course, having the Killing God Domain only grants the right to open the trial. Whether one completes it and has the power to inherit the godhood is another matter.
As the Supreme God King's gaze descended, the Hell Slaughter Arena at the center of the Slaughter City's inner city began to glow faintly blood-red. As if time flowed backward, all of Tang San's performances in the arena were projected as images into the Asura God's mind.
Clearly, the Hell Slaughter Arena is no simple place. Some God King even installed something like a surveillance system.
"???"
Very soon, the Asura God King, one of the five supremes of the God Realm, was dumbfounded.
"How dare this junior?!"
An instant later, an enraged roar echoed through the majestic blood-colored hall.
The Asura God had never expected that a trial-taker would dare to cheat.
Look at what sort of trash this so-called Skull-crushing Blue Demon was matched against. There were even soul scholars who weren't formal spirit masters. Why not just have ordinary people deliver their heads to you?
In fury, the Asura God, who had only watched Tang San's later matches, withdrew his gaze and marked a big X over Tang San in his heart.
Asura God King: This God King absolutely forbids a shameless cheater from inheriting my godhood.
If he weren't the God Realm's enforcer, who must not break the law by interfering with the lower world, the enraged Asura God would have gone down to hack someone to pieces.
After a while, his anger ebbed and his mood calmed. He couldn't help thinking of that youth with the golden greatbow, called the "Soul-controlling Demon."
"Why hasn't this kid gone to the Slaughter City to open the God Trial yet?"
The Asura God wondered.
Time rolled back one day.
With night about to fall, after eating a very early dinner, Chu Chengzhou swaggered off on Xiao Hong from the Moon Pavilion and arrived at a barren mountain more than thirty li west of Heaven Dou City.
Predictably, when Star Luo strikes again it will be a battle that shakes the entire Douluo Continent, noisier than the fight back then when Tang Hao smashed Qian Xunji. If he stayed in Heaven Dou City, countless innocent civilians would be caught up in it.
To avoid collateral damage, he chose to set the battlefield in the wilderness outside.
The assassination happened yesterday during the day. Star Luo needs time to gather people, and crossing thousands of li to reach Heaven Dou also takes time. Their strike force definitely could not arrive last night.
But by tonight, more than a day has passed since the assassination. If Star Luo moves fast, with the speed of a Titled-level Nether White Tiger, taking turns relaying, they might make it.
Of course, they might not. It was only a possibility.
Even if his estimate was off, he would only camp in the wild for a few extra days. With the emperor and crown prince assassinated and the royal vault cleaned out, Star Luo would not endure for long.
After setting Xiao Hong to keep watch in the nearby sky and act as a "guiding beacon" for the incoming Star Luo experts, the idle Chu Chengzhou began testing elemental fusion.
Since the foe had not arrived, he would not wait idly. Absolute Control advanced last night, and his control over his own soul power rose greatly. Fusion of multiple elemental soul powers should become easier.
This was not his first attempt at elemental fusion. So far he could only fuse the two elements of fire and earth. He could not perfectly fuse a third. He was still a world away from evolving the Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—or evolving chaos from earth, water, fire, and wind.
Don't be fooled by how Five Elements evolution only requires fusing three more elements on the fire-earth base, and chaos evolution only two more. With multi-element fusion, each added element drives the difficulty straight up.
He had thought of cheating for multi-element fusion.
Regrettably, although "Elemental Fusion" had appeared on the attribute panel, its font color was not one of the usual six—white, yellow, purple, black, red, gold—but a dim multicolor. Whether Elemental Fusion's grade was too high or the current cheat's version too low, he could not put it into the hang-up bar to AFK level at all.
Elsewhere, Star Luo Imperial Palace, Hall of State.
After night fell, figures entered the hall one after another.
Before long, the royal Second Elder Dai Wei stepped forward a few paces and said to Dai Tao, who sat at the head with eyes closed, "Old Patriarch, everyone is here."
At that, Dai Tao opened his eyes. His tiger gaze swept across the twenty figures in the hall, then looked north. Strong hatred flashed in his eyes.
"Everyone, move out."
Dai Tao said no more. He simply waved his hand and was the first to leave the hall.
Immediately, the others followed one by one. Under cover of night, twenty-one figures left the Star Luo Palace and headed straight north for Heaven Dou.
"Mubai, your imperial grandfather and the others are going to Heaven Dou. Whatever the result, the continent will likely fall into turmoil. Learn quickly how to be a qualified emperor."
In a palace building not far from the Hall of State, watching the twenty-one figures depart the palace, the Star Luo Empress Zhu Xiuling spoke to Dai Mubai beside her, sadness on her face.
As the empress, Zhu Xiuling was no fool. She knew that since Chu Chengzhou dared to come to Star Luo to assassinate her husband the emperor and her son the crown prince, he must already be prepared to endure imperial retaliation.
This vengeance trip would almost certainly encounter the unexpected.
The five marshals, the seven royal elders, the Retired Emperor, and the others all understood this.
But understanding is one thing. Would they then not avenge His Majesty and the crown prince?
Impossible. The empire could not sit idle.
Not to mention the domineering Star Luo Empire. Even the compromise-prone Heaven Dou would not sit idle.
Because this had already gone beyond personal enmity. It had risen to the level of the entire empire.
It is certain that if the plan succeeds, relations between Heaven Dou and the empire will be extremely tense. Dispatching many Titled-level powerhouses to slip into Heaven Dou's domain and fight is little different from declaring war.
With Spirit Hall fanning the flames, Heaven Dou may very well erupt into large-scale war with the empire.
As for failure? Then the royal family could activate the "Fireseed Inheritance" plan prepared for thousands of years but never implemented.
If a spirit master cannot become a god, lifespan is at most a few hundred to a thousand years. By lying low for a millennium to ensure the White Tiger martial soul's inheritance continues, the White Tiger clan will rise again sooner or later.
Of course, the odds of success are still very high. It is just that the losses will likely be heavy.
"Yes, Mother."
Dai Mubai answered in a deep voice.
Traveling by day and night, early on the third day, before dawn, a small grove more than twenty li south of Heaven Dou City welcomed twenty-one black-robed figures. It was Dai Tao and his party.
Titled Douluo travel fast, but not everyone in Dai Tao's group was nine-ring Titled Douluo. There was even an attached six-ring Soul Emperor "accessory," so their speed was far inferior to Chu Chengzhou's.
"Second Elder, contact our eyes and find the target's location."
In the grove, Dai Tao instructed Dai Wei.
"Yes, Old Patriarch."
Dai Wei nodded, took the order, and left the grove.
A quarter hour later, in a nearby village.
"Greetings, my lord."
In a farmhouse at the village's end, a middle-aged man dressed as an ordinary farmer bowed respectfully to the black-robed Dai Wei.
Obviously, this was one of the many intelligence posts set up by Star Luo's intel service inside Heaven Dou.
The middle-aged man was just small fry and did not know who the black-robed man was. But the highest-level token and code phrase from the intel department that Dai Wei produced told him this was certainly a big figure of the empire.
"Give me the latest information on the intel department's top-priority target."
After showing the token and verifying the code, Dai Wei nodded slightly and spoke directly.
"Yes, my lord."
Soon, the middle-aged man delivered a paper packet.
After opening and scanning it, Dai Wei frowned, then left the village without a word.
Right after he left, the middle-aged man, with a somewhat complicated background, also left home and knocked on the village head's door at the entrance.
Before long, Dai Wei returned to the grove.
"Where is the target?"
Seeing him return, Dai Tao asked.
"Old Patriarch, according to the intel, Chu Chengzhou left Heaven Dou City at dusk two days ago and has been staying on a barren mountain more than thirty li west of the city, seemingly waiting specifically for us."
Dai Wei said gravely.
When he swaggered out at dusk that day, Chu Chengzhou naturally could not escape the eyes of those paying attention.
And Xiao Hong the Fire Phoenix summon had been flying off and on over that barren mountain these two days, practically a guiding beacon. As long as Star Luo's spies weren't just punching a clock, they could find his position.
Hearing this, Dai Tao fell silent for a moment. His gaze swept the group, then he said, brooking no dissent, "Rest for now. We move after dark and finish it quickly."
In Dai Tao's view, Chu Chengzhou "choosing to meet them head-on" was also a good thing.
The continent is vast, with deep mountains and forests everywhere. If he hid away to cultivate for ten or eight years, the empire would be in a real bind.
And by placing the battlefield outside Heaven Dou City, Chu Chengzhou had severed one of his own arms.
Leave aside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Knowing a great battle is imminent, how would Heaven Dou dare transfer a large number of experts outside the city to aid Chu Chengzhou?
So long as Emperor Xue Ye's mind is still working, he would never do something so foolish. Who would protect his own safety then?
"Yes."
Everyone answered in unison.
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle