Chapter 192 – The Extermination Mission!
Jiang Zhe clicked his tongue, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes as he rubbed the extra droplet of blood between his fingertips.
A tenfold increase in soul amplitude was extremely important to him. But there was nothing he could do—the rules of the universe were absolute. Any treasure that merged with the body or soul could only exist one at a time for each individual. It was just like how Luo Feng, despite obtaining the supreme treasure Violet Bell, never considered using it himself, knowing it conflicted with his other armor and equipment.
"I suppose I should count myself lucky," Jiang Zhe mused. "The protective twelve-colored light of the Hunyuan Umbrella doesn't clash with soul-type supreme treasures. Otherwise, I'd suffer yet another significant drop in power."
He put the blood droplet away and swept his hand before him. Countless bronze, silver, and golden beads rained into the air, hovering in the void.
"Are these subsidiary items spawned by the Martial Immortal Soul Beads? Like how Tribulation Armor has sub-armor, or how the Primal Soul has sub-souls?" Jiang Zhe shook his head with a chuckle. "I can't tell if this is the result of the 'Life Blueprint' being influenced by my subconscious, causing its 'counterpart' in this universe—the Martial Immortal Seat—to create such accompanying treasures… Or if it's the original universe's will blatantly plagiarizing Zuo Shanke's ideas."
"But whatever the cause, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I really like it."
With a gesture, three tri-colored metal beads fell into his palm. Each was about the size of an adult fingertip, heavy and clearly metallic. They looked like simple bronze, silver, and gold spheres, but their surfaces were etched with complex runes, each one stirring a varying degree of longing within Jiang Zhe's body.
Bronze, silver, gold—their allure increased in that order. It perfectly matched the later stages of the Life Blueprint: "Bronze Humans (22x)," "Silver Humans (181x)," and "Gold Humans (1810x)."
"How interesting." A delighted arch lifted Jiang Zhe's brow. "I know exactly what these are."
"They're naturally condensed 'Source Essence Crystals.' In other words, members of the Thunder Emperor's lineage can recognize, merge with, and refine these 'metal beads' to advance their cultivation of the Life Blueprint."
"Unlike me, who completed the later stages of the Life Blueprint not by defeating countless foes, but by using the premium energy supplied by the 'Nether Blood Egg' to instantly finish the breakthrough."
Jiang Zhe wanted to experiment with the three metal beads. But the Thunder Emperor lineage currently only consisted of one adult and four children. Naturally, he wouldn't use his own kids as test subjects. Having just gone through the dangerous process of bonding with the Martial Immortal Soul Bead, he decided to try it himself.
He summoned his demon avatar and handed over the swapped-out "Ancient God Blood Crystal." This second avatar had long been planned as his main combat avatar—demon Jiang Zhe could handle the task perfectly. He could teleport, accelerate time, wield destructive power, and brandish his Blood Transformation Blade. His lethality far exceeded that of Jiang Zhe's original body.
Now, equipped with the Ancient God Blood Crystal, his soul amplitude soared, allowing him to unleash even more terrifying domain lord-level soul power. Jiang Zhe also removed the Martial Immortal Soul Bead and entrusted it to the demon avatar for safekeeping. Unfortunately, this peak supreme treasure recognized only bloodlines, not souls, so only Jiang Zhe's true body could use it. Otherwise, demon Jiang Zhe would have fused with it immediately.
"Ugh, still need to find another soul defense supreme treasure," Jiang Zhe muttered with a wry smile. "Makes me kinda jealous of those without avatars—one set of treasures is enough for them."
This shameless man was even modestly bragging to himself. His gaze shifted, finally settling on one of the bronze beads. With a thought—
Whoosh!
The bronze bead responded to the powerful call of its kind, instantly transforming into a streak of yellow light that plunged into Jiang Zhe's chest and merged into the core hidden within his Crimson Palace.
Inside that space, the bronze bead melted into a pool of liquid, enveloping Jiang Zhe's soul core in a glossy yellow coating.
Recognition complete. Jiang Zhe calmly felt the changes.
"Good—there's no soul, consciousness, or willpower struggle required for recognizing ownership. That means the 'four little ones' can safely use them too. Just by sending these beads into their cores, the process is done… Though the soul fusion does feel like hanging a brick on it. Slightly uncomfortable."
He concentrated again. "The stronger the soul, the higher the mental power and amplitude, the better one can bear the burden of merging with these beads. Similarly, fully refining the 'source essence' from this coating removes the strain, leaving the bead only to enhance soul defense and soul attacks."
"Like the sub-armor and sub-souls, these 'metal beads' are basically mini Martial Immortal Soul Beads."
"Lastly, I can feel it—one thought, and I can extract the 'source essence' from the coating, using it to advance the Life Blueprint or fuel my [Conqueror] innate secret technique, boosting both soul and body amplitude."
Jiang Zhe chuckled. "Guess this is like carrying around a portable power bank?"
Overall, Jiang Zhe was thoroughly satisfied. These metal beads would become foundational to his lineage, just like Tribulation Armor or the Primal Soul. If he didn't know better, he'd think this was yet another clever creation by Zuo Shanke—it was just that similar.
"Whether it's due to the Life Blueprint affecting its counterpart in this universe, or a gift from the original universe's will… thank you, either way!"
"Perfect time to use the 'source essence' inside to cultivate my soul amplitude secret technique."
Unlike body amplitude techniques, soul amplitude methods had universal applicability. Once Jiang Zhe's main body mastered them, his other avatars with souls could also adjust their soul forms to achieve the same multipliers. As a primary spiritual force user who had recently been studying soul secret techniques, he valued soul amplitude immensely.
With a thought, the blood-red banner between his brows shimmered, intricate scarlet runes spreading across his forehead.
The [Conqueror] innate secret technique activated!
The "source essence" was drawn continuously from the coating, flooding into his soul core, acting as a catalyst to accelerate his training in the soul amplitude technique bestowed by the Seraph.
Soon after…
By the new year of HX 2310, after visiting his grandfather and parents, Jiang Zhe, Lei Lei, Qiao Lin, and their four children gathered to celebrate as a family.
Jiang Zhe's new year gifts for his kids were each a bronze bead. Sensing the powerful resonance, the four immediately understood the beads' significance and beamed with joy.
Having recently seen blood firsthand, witnessing the harshness of martial cultivation and racial wars, the children had matured greatly. Their former childish antics had faded away. And these weren't ordinary beasts they faced—each opponent had been young elites from the monster race, captured by the Holy Spirit King's underlings from deep within enemy territory and thrown into a miniature world for brutal combat.
In the end, the children's combat instincts proved as outstanding as their talent.
Having formally embarked on their cultivation path for over half a year, and after connecting to the virtual universe to learn about the outside world, they finally realized just how formidable their father truly was.
He dominated his generation—unmatched among human star-level, universe-level, and domain lord-level geniuses. Now he even served as the virtual universe company's Dry Witch Division Marshal, commanding 52 sealed marquis and king-level legion leaders, thousands of undying gods, and countless domain lords, sector lords, and universe ranks—a power that shook the heavens.
At first, they couldn't reconcile these titles with the scruffy, haggard young man who often sat on a small stool in the yard, lost in thought, stubble thick on his face, eyes empty as if life held no more meaning.
If the Holy Spirit King could have spoken his mind, he might have teased: "Is it possible your dad looks this mentally exhausted because of you little devils?"
The children's shock quickly turned into fervor. Accepting their father's immense achievements, they became inspired, fiercely throwing themselves into cultivation and treating him as the benchmark to surpass.
Jiang Zhe quietly observed, wondering how long this enthusiasm would last. They were already 9 and 10 years old—while that was six years less of idle youth than he'd had, he'd still given them a full childhood, and felt no guilt.
For these ten years, he'd been with them the entire time. And until he returned to Chaos City, he would remain by their side.
Under his watch, the children's daily training regimen wasn't overly harsh. Lei Lei and Qiao Lin, meanwhile, remained at the peak of star-level, focusing on comprehending the laws. Since Jiang Zhe could provide them better cultivation resources, they were unwilling to be force-fed to immortality, becoming mere decorative flower vases.
After spending the new year with husband and children, they went back into seclusion, meditating on the thunder god and contemplating the source laws.
After the new year, Jiang Zhe submitted his highest-level mission, with a completion rate of 400%, earning a staggering 400 million points. His balance now stood at over 460 million, with another 3.1 billion points in receivables to be paid upon breaking through to the domain lord level.
Eyes narrowed in pleasure, Jiang Zhe savored his gains.
In the following days, he listened as the Holy Spirit King instructed his children, while he continued refining the "source essence" from the metal beads and training his soul amplitude techniques.
Luo Feng was still immersed in cultivating the [Nine Tribulations Tome], undergoing a crucial transformation. The tides of the era surged forward unstoppably.
HX 2323.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Oriana's voice woke Jiang Zhe from his training.
"Hmm?"
"There's a message—a mission."
Jiang Zhe's lips curled into a smile. "Finally. After finishing this extermination mission, I can apply to return to Chaos City."
His consciousness entered the virtual universe.
In his bamboo study on stilts, a screen appeared before him, displaying the mission details.
Mission Origin:
Following extensive investigations by the Virtual Universe Company intelligence department, it has been confirmed that the entire Komos family, a domain lord household on Valo Star in the Qiong Jade Starfield of the Dry Witch Universe Nation, has been enslaved by a Zerg powerhouse. Their estate has become a major espionage hub.
Important!
This is the Zerg spy organization's headquarters in the Dry Witch Universe Nation. Relocated to Valo Star 5.24 million years ago, it had already existed in the region for over 30 million years. In that time, they cultivated traitors, transmitted critical intelligence, and assassinated human geniuses, causing devastating losses on battlefields across the universe nation.
Mission Overview:
Destroy Valo Star.
Exterminate all intelligent life.
Jiang Zhe let out a low whistle. "Tsk… the Virtual Universe Company really is ruthless."
"But this is standard procedure. Valo Star is a private planet of the Komos family. Its inhabitants—all under layered soul enslavement, including newborns—cannot be saved. By killing the source of the enslavement, it will trigger a domino effect, wiping them all out."
Cruel. But racial struggles in the original universe had always been this way.
Without lingering sentiment, Jiang Zhe continued reading.
Target Strength:
Silver Shadow Marquis – Aikun, three-eyed bald human male. Once a high-tier marquis, over 70 million years his presence faded, secretly enslaved by the Zerg. After obtaining Zerg soul arts, now barely at king level.
Nimos, peak marquis undying.
Jakkor, high-tier marquis undying.
Komos, ordinary undying commander.
Komos family members: 3.79 billion total, including 3 domain lords, 22 sector lords, 9,532 universe ranks, rest planetary/star level.
Mission Details:
Personally kill Aikun (barely king-level), +40% completion, failure -40%.
Personally kill Nimos (peak marquis), +25%, failure -25%.
Kill Jakkor (high marquis), +20%, failure -20%.
Kill Komos (ordinary undying), +10%, failure -10%.
Destroy Valo Star, kill all intelligent life, +5%. Any survivor escapes = mission failure.
Resources Available:
Any Dry Witch Universe Nation forces not on external battlefields.
Time Limit:
1 year. Overdue sub-tasks count as failed.
Rewards:
Total completion x 20 million = final points payout.
Assigned To:
Jiang Zhe.
"Phew, what a long briefing." Jiang Zhe rubbed his eyes, dispersing the screen, and leaned back in his gaming chair.
"Killing a few undyings for 20 million points… quite the comfy job."
Still, compared to the military merits of the outer battlefields, this was paltry. Whoever drafted this must have discounted the rewards, thinking he was too strong. After all, on the outer frontlines, slaying a peak marquis alone yielded 1 trillion merits—converting to 10 million points.
Just then, Oriana reported, "Master, Luo Feng is on his way to Lanling City. He'll arrive shortly."
"Got it," Jiang Zhe replied, already guessing Luo Feng's purpose. He exited the virtual universe, extended his spiritual force outward, and greeted Luo Feng as he descended into the courtyard.