abcnovels
Chapter 198: 197: Du Gang’s Current Situation!
Chapter 198: 197: Du Gang’s Current Situation!
Chapter 198: 197: Du Gang’s Current Situation!
Translator: 549690339
After the qualifying contest, there will be a three-month break. In other words, the official competition will take place three months later.
Finally, Du Gang was also ready for secluded cultivation. This time, he received more than 30,000 Saint Crystals, mostly redeemed from people. Originally, he had over 70,000 Saint Crystals, but over 30,000 of them were given to Kong Luo.
However, these over 30,000 Saint Crystals were enough. The energy required for him to upgrade from the Sector Lord level to the Eternal level only needed 10,000 Saint Crystals. This means that as long as his Laws meet the standard, he can upgrade to the Eternal level at any time!
This is the prowess owned by the Sacred Body; there is almost no bottleneck. As long as the energy meets the standard and the Laws are in place, advancement can be achieved.
“Let’s absorb the energy first!”
In his secret room, Du Gang first prepared to absorb the energy until it was full, and then cultivate the Laws.
He took out a Saint Crystal and roasted it with fire. Seeing no particularly significant reaction, he swallowed it.
“Boom!”
A powerful energy burst open in his body immediately. Like a depth charge, it contained an infinite strength that was ready to explode at any moment.
But at this moment, a potent suction was produced in Du Gang’s body, and in just a moment, all the energy of the Saint Crystal was absorbed completely.
“The energy is indeed not small!”
Du Gang nodded and quickly continued to swallow.
Each Saint Crystal, which seemed to contain a lethal dose of energy to others if swallowed rashly, would be completely absorbed in his stomach within one second.
So, in just one day, Du Gang stopped when he had swallowed 10,000 Saint Crystals.
The 10,001st Saint Crystal, no matter how he tried, could not be absorbed further. It was as if his body is a bottle, and it has reached its absorption limit. “This is the first time I’ve never worried about energy!”
Du Gang lamented. This time, thanks to the relics, he was able to get so many Saint Crystals.
Thinking of Kong Xu’s suggestion that the relics involved some plotting, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I implore you, let there be more such plots!”
He was curious as to how the Jiang family would react if they knew that he had obtained so much energy so easily.
After laughing for a while, Du Gang collected his thoughts and began to cultivate with the “Ultimate Gold Secret Book”.
This time, as before, his cultivation progress was fast, generally maintaining a speed of reaching the advanced level of one Mystery every nine days.
In just two months, he cultivated the remaining seven Mysteries to advanced levels.
The nine Mysteries, which seemed hard to combine in others’ eyes, were
almost effortless for him. When he brought the ninth Mystery to its advanced stage, they naturally combined into one.
“Pop!”
With a soft sound, Du Gang successfully advanced and his cultivation level reached the second rank of the Sector Lord level.
With this advancement, the newly generated Laws of the world also attached themselves to his internal world.
“Boom!”
At this moment, his internal world started to expand rapidly.
Utilizing this Law power, it expanded by a full hundred kilometers before gradually stopping.
This means that his internal world now has an area of 10,000 square kilometers.
“By this calculation, once I reach the ninth rank of the Sector Lord level, would my internal world almost have an area of 500,000 square kilometers?”
Du Gang frowned, ‘When I left, the Earth’s population reached three billion. If crowded a bit, 500,000 square kilometers should be enough to accommodate them…”
“Let me see if I can use Saint Crystals to expand the area of my internal world…”
Thinking about this, he quickly absorbed a Saint Crystal.
When the Saint Crystal appeared in his internal world, it did not have the chemical reaction he expected. Instead, it kept floating there without being absorbed by his internal world.
“How do I do that?”
Suddenly, he noticed that his mental body seemed to have strengthened a bit in his internal world. Not only was the color more profound, but the power contained in it was also stronger.
“Could it be that enhancing the mental body will expand the area of the internal world?”
Thinking about this, Du Gang tried to devour a Saint Crystal with his mental body.
Unlike before, this Saint Crystal was basically like an ordinary stone, entering the mental body with no change.
“Looks like, the mental body can’t absorb Saint Crystals…”
“Indeed, this is also normal. The Saint Crystal belongs to external energy, akin to physical energy. To grow, the mental body probably needs mental energy…”
At this point, Du Gang remembered the list of items that could boost mental power that he saw in the Virtual Universe Company’s direct disciples’ exchange list.
“By devouring those items that can increase mental power, I should be able to enhance my mental body and expand the area of my internal world, right?!”
“Let’s go out and see. I’ve been in seclusion for two months. It’s quite a long time…”
Leaving the secret room, Du Gang quickly logged into the Virtual Universe Company’s exchange library to check the prices of items that enhance mental power.
“Rune Stone, a relatively common item that can enhance mental power.”
“Depending on the amount of mental power enhancement, it can be divided into: lower-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.”
“And the price of lower-grade is…”
When Du Gang saw the price of a lower-grade Rune Stone, he was completely dumbfounded.
“A lower-grade Rune Stone needs ten Divine Crystals?!”
“Have they gone mad?!”
He couldn’t believe his eyes. You must realize that the energy he needed to increase from the Sector Lord level to the Eternal level was equivalent to one Divine Crystal.
This is ten thousand times the energy a normal person needs. Normally, for an average person, to break through from the Sector Lord level to the Eternal level, considering only energy and not other factors, only one Saint Crystal is needed.
And now, a lower-grade Rune Stone actually costs ten Divine Crystals!
Shaking his head, Du Gang swiftly left to go ask Kong Xu about the situation regarding Rune Stones.
He initially planned to increase his mental power a bit, but it seems that his remaining 20,000+ Saint Crystals can’t even afford a lower-grade Rune Stone!
Kong Xu, not in seclusion, had already reached the ninth rank of the Sector Lord level; there was not much he could do in seclusion. All he had to do was wait for opportunities to advance to the Eternal level!
When he asked about the Rune Stone, Kong Xu was startled and asked: “You’re planning to buy Rune Stones?”
Du Gang said bitterly, “I do want to buy, but the price is just too steep…”
Prince Kong Xu nodded and chuckled, “That’s standard. Rune stones can enhance mental power. What is mental power? It’s the power of the soul, the source of a person…”
“The high price of the rune stones is also normal. They are incredibly scarce and come from the heart of the Primordial Continent. If we want to acquire them, we have to send our strongest people to the continent to trade for them…”
“Sigh!”
Upon saying this, Prince Kong Xu suddenly sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
Du Gang asked curiously.
“Nothing much. It’s just that the ordinary residents of the Primordial Continent don’t need to cultivate and yet they seem to live forever. In comparison, we, the people of the universe, seem rather miserable…” He expressed this with genuine sadness.
Prince Kong Xu continued with a bitter tone, “Do you know where Sacred
Bodies and Divine Bodies originate from?”
Du Gang was puzzled by his sudden question. He shook his head, “I don’t know. ”
Prince Kong Xu sighed, “Actually, these are just designations accorded by us, the people of the universe…”
“On the Primordial Continent, everyone is eternal. Every commoner there, once they’re born, they reach the cosmic level. When they come of age, they attain the Sector Lord level…”
“Ordinary people attain Sector Lord status upon reaching adulthood?”
Du Gang looked at him dumbstruck, his gaze fixated on the prince’s eyes, trying to ascertain if he was joking.
“I’m not joking!”
Prince Kong Xu shook his head and said, “The Primordial Continent is a complete world, unlike our universe where the Laws and space are scattered.
Everything there is more tangible…”
“Over there, ordinary people reach the Sector Lord level upon maturity, and those from races that have rendered meritorious services to humanity, achieve eternal status upon maturity…”
Du Gang furrowed his brows, “Divine Bodies?”
Prince Kong Xu nodded, “Yes, you are from the Ancient God Clan or the Ancient
Clan. In the Primordial Continent, you belong to the God Clan…”
“The definitions of Divine Bodies and Sacred Bodies are constructed by us, the people of the universe. It was us who came up with these distinctions because these Divine and Sacred Bodies rarely appear amongst us. As I have mentioned before, we, the universe people, are the descendants of the Nuwa Clan. We are a diluted race, subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death…”
“To the people of the Primordial Continent, Sacred Bodies are common, and everyone in the God Clan possesses Divine Bodies, but for us… uh…”
Prince Kong Xu paused, frowning, “Frankly, I’m unsure whether you should be classified as a person from within the Primordial Continent or a Universe person…”
Du Gang shrugged, “What do you think? I’ve cultivated all the way up from the
Seven Colors rank!”
Hearing this, Prince Kong Xu conceded, “Alright, you belong to the Universe People…”
“For us, the Universe People, Divine and Sacred Bodies seem more like divine gifts… ”
“The number of Universe People is unimaginably vast, yet the eventual yield of Divine and Sacred Bodies is exceedingly low!”
“Over billions of years, the Universe People have given birth to a countable number of Sacred and Divine bodies!”
“Moreover, the majority are born on Penglai Island, solely because it’s closer to the Primordial Continent…”
“Compared to the people on the Primordial Continent, we are the real human race. In our eyes, they are Sacred or Divine Clans.”
Prince Kong Xu shook his head with a smile, “However, they do not see it that way. In their cognition, they are the real humans and we are the halflings or Secondary Humans… ”
Du Gang furrowed his brows, “You’ve never been to the Primordial Continent, have you? Why are you so sentimental about it?”
“I may not have visited, but my elders have…”
Prince Kong Xu sighed, “Every time my elders return from a visit, they always sigh profoundly. Over time, I naturally came to understand the situation on the Primordial Continent…”
“Sometimes, you wonder if it was a good thing or a bad thing for Nuwa to create us Secondary Humans?”
“If you view it as a good thing, undoubtedly, she created us, allowing us to exist in this world…”
“However, on the downside, she made us experience worldly suffering, exposed us to the endless cycle of life and death, prompted us to…”
Prince Kong Xu said bitterly, “If I was unaware of the existence of the
Primordial Human Tribe, maybe I wouldn’t have these feelings. But every time
I think of their eternal lifespan, I feel uneasy…”
“Just think, at the edge of the universe, our Universe Human brethren are being devoured by entropy every moment. Every minute, every second, countless Universe Humans perish…”
“The terms ‘Primordial Continent’ and ‘Primordial Human Tribe’ were coined by us, the Universe People, implying that they are the original humans…”
Du Gang was rendered speechless for a while, unsure of how to console him.
He didn’t feel much about it, because to him, observing the Universe’s center, including the Primordial Continent, was akin to studying aliens.
After all, he came from the edge of the universe. Here, the normal lifespan was several hundred million years. However, at the edge of the universe, ordinary people could only live for around a hundred years. The disparity was just too vast!
Compared to Prince Kong Xu’s gaze upon the Primordial Continent, wasn’t it similar to how Earth’s human race viewed the inhabitants of Pangu Continent and Penglai Island?
Eternity and several hundred million years, to him, and to the human race of Earth, didn’t seem much different.
Perhaps, after living for several hundred million years, he might empathize with Prince Kong Xu’s thoughts!
“Cough, cough!”
Prince Kong Xu gathered his thoughts and chuckled, “Alright, I’ve digressed…”
“Rune stones enhance mental power, also known as soul power, which is a treasured resource…”
“Generally, only the Primordial Continent has some output. There’s virtually no other place in the universe where they are produced…”
“The most crucial part of progressing from the Sector Lord level to the Eternal level is to cultivate the soul in one’s inner world into a deity…” “This process is hard and cannot be taught or practiced…”
“Just like me. I’ve reached the peak of the Sector Lord level for ten thousand years now, yet I have no clue how to progress to the Eternal level…”
“Because, the opportunities for everyone to progress to the Eternal level vary. That’s right, opportunities. Some people may ascend in times of intense joy or grief, some may never ascend in their lifetime…”
“And others might ascend just after a fight. It’s a lot like destiny. If your destiny is sufficient, you can progress. If it isn’t, you can’t…”
“From this, you can see how precious it is for a Divine Body to be born among the Universe People!”
Prince Kong Xu chuckled, “Perhaps at the Sector Lord level, Sacred Bodies can rival Divine Bodies. However, when a Divine Body reaches the peak of the Sector Lord level, it will naturally progress to the Eternal level. That is when a
Sacred Body can never outshine a Divine Body…”
“The Golden Age is actually a profound concept, as elusive as progressing from the Sector Lord level to the Eternal level, but we cannot help but believe it…”
“Because, the Golden Age holds the secret to progressing to the Eternal level.
Especially since the individual who inaugurated the Golden Age is a Divine
Body, this makes it even more believable…”
“After all, there’s another belief that Divine Bodies carry luck. If a Golden Age is initiated by a Divine Body, everyone else will find it much easier to progress to the Eternal level along with them…”
Master Kong Xu laughed and said, “Otherwise, why do you think the Jiang family has been basically indifferent to your existence? With the strength of their ancestors, if they really want to kill you, basically no one can stop them…”
“One reason might be that their ancestors don’t want to kill you. Another reason is, I think that it might be because you have a sacred body. They also want to use your sacred body to enable their descendants to advance to the eternal level…”
He continued, “These are all just fanciful speculations, now back to rune stones…”
“As I mentioned before, breaking through from sector lord level to eternal level essentially means refining the mental body inside one’s world into a god…”
“As to how to break this bottleneck, no one can say it clearly. But without exception, the stronger the mental power, or the people with stronger mental bodies, the easier it is to break through…”
Master Kong Xu then added, “Um… you should know about mind masters, right? In a way, they are considered semi-sacred bodies. This is because they are naturally strong in mental power and can achieve many operations which ordinary people are incapable of, such as multitasking…”
“Of course, having a strong mental body is just a guess and not an actual truth. Otherwise, mind masters would not be simply referred to as semi-sacred bodies. They can only be said to have a hint of mental talent. In actuality, many mind masters cannot even reach the sector lord level…”
“Compared to us, mastering the mystery of the laws is basically effortless and we can advance very smoothly…”
“But for most people, simply understanding the mystery of the laws is enough to stifle them!”
Master Kong Xu laughed and said, “So, under normal circumstances, mind masters aren’t special before reaching the sector lord level. Only when they reach the peak of the sector lord level, they begin to be taken seriously. Because at this time, they can be called semi-sacred bodies and compared to others, they have a greater probability to advance to eternal level!”
“After understanding the role of mental power in advancing to the eternal level, you should understand why the value of rune stones is so high, right?!”
He laughed, “This thing, although it can’t guarantee a hundred percent advancement to eternity, it can increase the probability of becoming an eternal powerhouse by a bit, this alone makes it quite valuable…”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang curiously asked, “Have you ever used a rune stone?”
Master Kong Xu shook his head and said, “Our big families are different from ordinary people…”
“For ordinary people, they can fully inherit what their parents have…” “But for us, everything is calculated in terms of value…”
“Each junior within the family is first divided into levels based on blood relations, whether there are strong people among their elders, and the level of these strong people…”
“Then, the juniors are categorized into a second stage based on their talents, efforts, physique, and so on…”
“After that, they are divided into a third stage based on their strength, fame, abilities, and so forth…’
“Each of these stages has corresponding standards, what standards?”
“Like when you kidnapped Chen Yixuan, the 500 saint crystals were the standard for their ransom. If it’s too high, the Chen family won’t pay the ransom because his relative value is not higher than 500 saint crystals, let alone the speculation that he might break through to eternal level, everyone has the chance of breaking through…”
“Furthermore, you probably don’t know this. For example, Chen Yixuan, didn’t he consume the family’s resources this time? He has to make up for it, either through saint crystals or talent or something else. Otherwise, his weightage in the family will decrease…”
He sighed with a melancholic expression, “People outside often say that we, children of prestigious families, are born with a golden key, but in reality, we are the ones who have truly faced many cruel situations to grow up…”
“Even me, I managed to reach this point by stepping over countless people with the same last name as me, one step at a time…”
“In our Kong family, every child is given a unique number as soon as they are born. This number accompanies us for the first half of our lives…”
“Only when one’s weightage in the family reaches a certain standard can they stand out and have their own name…” Du Gang stared at him in amazement and shock.
“So, we ordinary people are actually quite lucky?”
“Ordinary people…”
Master Kong Xu wanted to hit him, but he held back, trying to calm himself down a bit and replied, “Misfortune is a blessing in disguise I guess. Different situations will cultivate different characters and abilities, everyone’s experience is different, so the final result is also different…”
Du Gang also understood that, compared to ordinary people, being born within their large clans was relatively better.
After all, within these large clans, selecting heirs could be a process of weeding through hundreds of millions to one. They could always select some outstanding ones.
But for ordinary people, the selection is made from the entire population of the cosmic human race, a proportion so vast it’s virtually unimaginable!
Kong Xu lamented, “That’s why, my worth within the family, is actually less than ten Divine Crystals…”
“Aren’t you the most outstanding among your generation?”
Du Gang curiously asked, “Moreover, you possess a Sacred Body. If even you don’t advance, the others…”
“Sigh!”
Kong Xu sighed, “To you, a generation might seem vast, but in actuality, a generation merely differs by ten or twenty years…”
“For us, it is not calculated by generation, but by era!”
“The previous era refers to the people from ten million years ago, marked by the activity of the last Golden Age, and this era refers to the people of this
Golden Age, even including those old fellows of ten million years, who can also
be counted in our era…”
“Golden Age, Luo Shan…”
Du Gang suddenly furrowed his eyebrows, saying, “You’re not telling me, that in these millions of years, only Luo Shan and his group of Eternal Level existences have emerged?”
Kong Xu revealed a thought-provoking expression.
He said slowly, “It’s not precisely so. Over these millions of years, roughly every few hundred thousands of years, an Eternal Level powerhouse would emerge…”
“However, the Golden Age, hence so-called because, within this age, a large number of Eternal Level powerhouses may be born…”
“In the last Golden Age, even though the most outstanding one was Luo Shan’s group, in total, more than a hundred Eternal Level powerhouses were born!”
“A hundred in ten million years…”
Du Gang was left dumbfounded.
Kong Xu laughed, “Does it seem like a lot? As if a hundred could emerge in ten million years!”
“But in fact, you must understand, within the territory of the Advanced Cosmic Nations, there are Sector Lord Levels who have lived from the Big Bang era, that is, from over ten billion years ago!”
“In these millions of years, your competitors aren’t just this generation, possibly even the last generation, and perhaps even numerous generations from the past could come out and compete against you!”
Kong Xu said lightly, “These old folks, although they are not as gifted as us, with the accumulation over the years, the Laws they have mastered are not limited to just one series…”
“In terms of strength, these old fellows are much stronger than Luo Shan’s group, but still, they cannot advance!”
“So, the importance of opportunities is self-evident…”
Kong Xu suddenly froze.
He hadn’t noticed it until just now when he unintentionally probed Du Gang with his Mental Power, and realized that he had already reached the Second Rank of the Sector Lord Level.
Although he had already sensed it, he still couldn’t resist asking.
“You’ve reached the Second Rank of the Sector Lord Level?”
Du Gang nodded, “Yes, it took me almost two months to break through to the second layer of the Sector Lord Level!”
“Only?”
Kong Xu’s look at Du Gang was full of sourness.
“Just over two months…”
In contrast, his own two-thousand-year record of advancing from Rank One Sector Lord Level to Second Rank seemed insignificant!
He is a Sacred Body!
He is a Sacred Body!
He is a Sacred Body!
Repeating it three times to himself with closed eyes, Kong Xu finally calmed down.
He tried not to think about it and changed the subject: “Anyway, there is something I have to tell you…”
“A Saint had obtained a Source Stone from the Primordial Continent and gave it to Yu Shuiyao. She plans to hold a Source Opening Conference in five days, and you are also invited…”
“Source Stone?”
Startled, Du Gang had never heard of this term before. “What is that?”
Kong Xu explained: “The Source Stone is a special product of the Primordial Continent, a mysterious substance believed to have originated from the mythical era before the big bang, or even longer, deep beneath the Primordial
CUHLH1e11L…
“This Source Stone is wrapped with a special substance, immune to Mental Power detection, and can hardly be seen through by any other means. Only after being excavated, can it be determined if it contains any ‘sources’.”
“Huh?”
Du Gang asked curiously: “Aren’t the ‘source’ and the Source Stone the same thing?”
“They’re not!”
Kong Xu shook his head: “The ‘stone skin’ of the Source Stone is very special, completely isolating what’s inside. The reason they are sought after is because most of the material mined from them is Divine Origin…”
“Divine Origin, a type of energy of a purity that surpasses even Divine Crystals!”
“Of course, under normal circumstances, most Source Stones are empty, with only about one in a hundred having something inside…”
“Among those with contents, most are Divine Origins, hence the name Source Stones, but a small portion contains very peculiar things that could either be ancient artifacts or malicious energies from the ancient times, or even ominous objects…”
“In summary, this is how extraordinary Source Stones are. Every single one, despite being nine out of ten times empty, is still highly valuable…”
With realization, Du Gang asked, “So, this Source Opening Conference, is it when Yu Shuiyao plans to crack open the Source Stone?”
“Exactly!”
Kong Xu nodded: “The Source Stone that the Saint gave to Yu Shuiyao, although only the size of a fist, is worth a hundred Divine Crystals…”
“That expensive?”
Du Gang was astounded. He had just heard about the value of Divine Crystals, and now a Source Stone worth a hundred Divine Crystals appearing shocked him.
Moreover, 99 out of 100 of those Source Stones are empty!
Kong Xu nodded, “That’s right, the value is that high. If it contains a Divine
Origin, even a small piece would be worth over ten thousand Divine Crystals…” “And if there’s an ancient weapon inside, the value could be even higher…” “Of course, it’s still possible that ominous items can be found inside…”
Du Gang finally got it – these Source Stones were just like gambling stones on Earth; everything depended on luck.
“Did she invite me?”
He was a little doubtful. Given Yu Shuiyao’s obviously annoyed demeanor, why would she invite him?
Kong Xu laughed: “You’re the one who started the Golden Age. Of course, they will invite you…”
“As per legend, the people who start the Golden Age have great destiny. The more entanglements with others, the more likely to advance to the Eternal Level…’
“Do you really think that you have to be killed to advance to the Eternal Level?” “If you are killed, the Golden Age might just end…”
“There was an era when a Son of Destiny instigated the Golden Age, but ended up being killed prematurely by an old bastard. In the end, no one advanced to the Eternal Level for a full billion years. Since then, no one dares to kill the instigator of the Golden Age…”
“Huh?”
Du Gang was confused, “So you mean, even without the Kong Family’s protection, the Jiang Family won’t kill me?”
“Of course not, if you are killed, there might be a billion years without an advancement to the Eternal Level, but while this may be serious for others, it doesn’t affect the Jiang Family much, does it?”
Kong Xu laughed: “All I can say is, those old bastards at the Sector Lord Level l,vnn’t dnrp tn Inv finopr nn
“Additionally, each Son of Destiny who ignites the Golden Age brings with them a wholly unique era…”
“I see!”
Du Gang agreed: “So, being the Son of Destiny who started the Golden Age, to all of you, whether as friends or enemies, any connection with me enhances your chances of advancing to the Eternal Level?”
“It’s more or less the case!”
Kong Xu chuckled: “Didn’t I say it before? The reason that the Kong Family could have me come find you is that my family paid quite a price…”
Du Gang frowned: “If I’m that useful, then why aren’t the other sixteen families in Penglai protecting me?”
Kong Xu shrugged: “It’s all about the price. Your Ancient God curse is far more terrifying than promoting a family disciple to the Eternal Level…”
“Your Ancient God Clan was once a major clan on the Primordial Continent. As a result of the curse, only you remain. Other than my family’s ancestors who have some connection with your Ancient God, who else would dare to get involved?”
“Compared to having their disciples enter the Eternal Level, clearly building a relationship with the Ancient God is more terrifying…”
Kong Xu lamented: “Don’t consider our eighteen great clans so invincible. The truth is, once placed on the broad way of the Primordial Continent, we are just average clans, far inferior to your Ancient God Clan of old…”
“Think about it, even the Ancient God Clan nearly became extinct due to the curse. Who else would dare to touch it?”
Du Gang frowned: “Isn’t the ancestor of your Kong Family afraid as well?”
Kong Xu shook his head: “I don’t know about that. The Ancestor probably has his own considerations…”
“Now even I am starting to feel uneasy. I want to get close to you and benefit from this Golden Age, but I also fear that I might not have any descendants thereafter…”
“Hehe!”
Du Gang smirked, “I’ll come find you in five days. You take me to Yu Shuiyao’s.” Now he fully understood his own position.
He was a role that, while feared by others, some simply cannot afford to ignore.
Therefore, these imperial scions of these clans who have come to interact with him, such as Kong Xu and Yu Shuiyao, are definitely not the best of their generation. As per the nature of these clans, the best scions would absolutely still be secretly cultivated and wouldn’t be worth taking any risk here..