Chapter 190 – Supreme Pinnacle Treasure Set!
The Empress of Dreamshade and the Saint Spirit Queen appeared one after another. They already knew of the little ones' secret scheming and were curious about the so-called opportunity they spoke of.
Both had once teleported to that starfield to investigate, only to find nothing unusual.
"Ziyi! Mengyi!"
Jiang Yuanzhu called out twice, then threw herself into the Saint Spirit Queen's embrace.
Jiang Yuankun, Jiang Yuanmiao, and Jiang Yuanming also stopped their bickering and quickly greeted the two.
The two powerful women nodded with gentle smiles, responding to the four little ones before turning their eyes to Jiang Zhe.
Jiang Zhe slowly stood up from his small bench, stretched lazily, and loosened his joints with a casual shake.
"It's not exactly an 'opportunity.' This was always a gift from the primordial universe to our lineage. Now that I've reached the necessary height, it's fully matured and time to claim it."
"Let's all go take a look."
With a wave of his hand, a triangular dark purple spaceship — the Jade Tiger — appeared in the sky. Its hull was etched with blood-red secret runes, exuding a cold, destructive aura that made the four little ones stare, dazzled.
"Wow, Dad! What a cool ship!" Jiang Yuankun exclaimed.
"So awesome!" Jiang Yuanmiao agreed.
Jiang Yuanming gave a sly grin. "Dad, you really were impressive back then. Still have some fancy toys hidden away!"
"Daddy, I love this spaceship! Can you give it to me?" Jiang Yuanzhu left the Saint Spirit Queen's arms and hugged Jiang Zhe's waist, shaking it hard while blinking her large, watery eyes.
"…"
Jiang Zhe felt he should be thankful at least that the kids didn't blurt out lines like:
— "Hey old man, drop some gold coins already!"
— "Dad, after you die, can I have this ship?"
The sort of lines that would make his blood boil in reverse.
He rubbed his well-behaved daughter's head. "We'll see in the future. Depends on how you behave."
His eyes flickered with mischief.
He glanced at his three sons. "I only have this one luxury ship, you know. Depends on who deserves it. Really gives me a headache deciding."
He even knocked his knuckles against his skull for effect.
Of course, he was deliberately stirring trouble. After all, what's the point of raising children beyond passing on the bloodline, if not for a bit of fun?
The four little ones instantly grew tense, glaring warily at each other. But only for a moment — soon enough, hesitation and thoughts of yielding for their siblings flickered across their faces.
Little white-haired Jiang Yuanmiao suddenly realized something. "Don't fall for it! Dad's trying to pit us against each other, like that 'one peach killing four generals' story. We shouldn't let him turn us against each other. His treasures will end up ours sooner or later — then we can split them slowly."
With a mind width of '100,' he did indeed have brains.
The other three weren't fools either. They immediately understood, then charged at Jiang Zhe angrily, clinging to his legs and arms like sloths, shaking him with all their might.
Though their minds were mature, their experience was shallow. Coupled with Jiang Zhe's unique style of raising them, they still acted like children.
And Jiang Zhe believed children should act like children.
A five- or six-year-old putting on an old, jaded air, always talking about power and talent — what sort of sight was that?
He truly didn't think those "pressured" prodigies could compare to his four free-range kids in terms of temperament.
"Alright, enough!" Jiang Zhe threatened, "If you don't let go, I won't take you to the stars."
The four little ones quickly released their father.
Seeing that he'd agreed, they broke into cheers. Their interstellar adventure was about to begin.
"Wu Xian Constellation!"
"Wu Xian Constellation!"
"Wu Xian Constellation!"
Their shouts only stopped when the Saint Spirit Queen swept them into the ship via teleportation.
Jiang Yuankun and Jiang Yuanming ran off to explore the ship's many rooms. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuanzhu and Jiang Yuanmiao gazed worshipfully at the Saint Spirit Queen, eagerly asking her how she'd done that just now.
Orianna activated the Jade Tiger, performed optical camouflage, then soared out of Earth's atmosphere, accelerating to lightspeed to slip into darkspace.
Before long, the ship emerged back into normal space, arriving at their destination.
"Orianna, activate external view."
At Jiang Zhe's words, the walls and ceiling of the control room turned transparent, displaying the scene outside.
A desolate void — and a blazing fireball.
The four little ones first checked the ship's star chart, confirming they were in the Wu Xian constellation's region, then turned back to the breathtaking stellar vista with quiet exclamations.
Their father spoiled them, but usually only took them around the solar system.
Jiang Yuanmiao stared at the star, eyes filled with longing. He slowly raised a hand, as if trying to grasp it, and murmured, "Tianshi Youyuan One, also called Hezhong — the brightest among Wu Xian's cluster…"
The other three were just as excited, feeling the resonance of the "stars" within their own bodies. They could hardly contain themselves.
"Dad, it's that one!"
"Yes! It's calling to us!"
"Dad, what's happening? My body is craving it, wanting to merge with it!"
The Empress of Dreamshade had already wrapped the four little ones in a barrier of ethereal power, but it seemed completely ineffective.
She was a universe dominator, after all!
She and the Saint Spirit Queen exchanged grave looks. In that fleeting instant, they'd already swept the star — Tianshi Youyuan One — hundreds of times with ethereal scans, finding nothing unusual. It was just a perfectly ordinary star.
"Calm yourselves."
An invisible wave of mental power passed over the four children like a giant hand.
"Remember, they are our tools — we command them! Suppress your inner desire. Do not let it control you instead."
Once the four settled, Jiang Zhe turned to the Saint Spirit Queen and his senior sister.
"Even your ethereal power couldn't detect anything, right?"
The two women nodded, faces serious.
"Senior sister, have you heard of the Flame God Clan's special armors?"
The Empress of Dreamshade raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Zhe smiled. "This star is similar. The Flame God Clan's armor was a gift from Zuoshan Ke as their guide. Likewise, this star is a gift from the primordial universe to my lineage."
Half-true, half-lie.
He'd long decided to blame either Zuoshan Ke or the primordial universe's source will for any abnormalities tied to himself.
Truth was, he didn't know if the changes in Wu Xian's 181 stars were due to his cheat-like 'Life Blueprint' or the universe's will.
Though judging by what his teacher, the Lord of Darkness, once said — that old bastard had probably been watching him all along. Every time he cultivated the Life Blueprint, it was likely under close observation.
Still, Jiang Zhe leaned toward the theory that the mutation of Wu Xian's stars mainly came from the Life Blueprint, with a little nudge from the primordial universe.
As for the real answer? Only two entities could tell him, and neither his golden pages nor the universe's will were inclined to speak.
Back on topic.
"Senior sister, you'll see for yourself in a moment. Orianna, initiate deep symbiosis."
They'd done it so often by now that master and servant were perfectly synchronized. In the blink of an eye, Jiang Zhe's aura surged from Domain Lord level nine to World Lord level nine.
The ship's hatch opened.
Jiang Zhe's figure vanished instantly.
The four little ones blinked, unable to react at first.
"Look!" Jiang Yuanming pointed outside, eyes wide. "Father's out there — he's huge!"
"So big!"
"Incredible!"
"Amazing! I want to learn how!"
Seeing Jiang Zhe in his true form, even the Empress of Dreamshade and the Saint Spirit Queen were stunned.
Honestly, what human wouldn't be confused seeing that size? It was every immortal's dream to reach such a perfect stature.
The Saint Spirit Queen couldn't help muttering, "If that entire body converted into an immortal divine form, it could burn for ages…"
Outside the ship, Jiang Zhe now stood nearly ten thousand kilometers tall, yet still seemed tiny before the blazing Tianshi Youyuan One.
He raised a hand.
The 181 "stars" inside his body burst with light, resonating with Tianshi Youyuan One like a password unlocking a vault.
The star began to tremble, collapse inward, generating a terrifying suction that tore through space, creating a furious spatial storm…
But clad in his Panling armor, with the Hunyuan Umbrella on his back glowing faintly, Jiang Zhe stood like a divine anchor in the chaotic currents, unmoved.
Only now did the four little ones truly grasp how fearsome their father was beneath that lazy, world-weary facade.
They'd seen videos of powerful beings in Earth's virtual spaces. To toy with a star — that was the realm of so-called "immortal gods."
The ship faced brutal turbulence, yet the Empress of Dreamshade's ethereal power dissolved it effortlessly.
She, the Saint Spirit Queen, and the four children all fixed their eyes on the star's transformation.
It collapsed rapidly — but not into a black hole. Instead, countless "ashen motes" scattered from its surface, swept away by the spatial storm, like impurities smelted off to refine the essence.
Until at last…
Only a single point of light remained.
Tiny, focused, yet radiating endless brilliance!
Full. Scorching. Blinding.
The Empress of Dreamshade anticipated this and shielded the children's sight beforehand, sparing them injury.
The Saint Spirit Queen turned away, shaking her head as stabbing pain filled her eyes. Even she couldn't keep them open.
As for the Empress of Dreamshade — a universe dominator — she still squinted hard. The light was simply too intense.
Orianna's mind in the ship had already shut off the external display.
Yet strangely, the light still pierced through the F-grade Jade Tiger's reinforced hull, flooding into the control room with no blind spots.
The Empress's barrier had been meaningless. The four little ones saw it all. But because they shared the same origin, they weren't harmed.
"A treasure?!"
"And of the absolute pinnacle level — no doubt about it!"
When the last of the blinding light vanished, the Empress opened her eyes and drew a conclusion.
With a clang, the ship's hatch opened again. Jiang Zhe stepped inside.
The four little ones rushed over, eyes sparkling as they stared at the crystal orb pinched between Jiang Zhe's fingers.
It was about the size of an adult's knuckle, a perfectly clear gem with 10,081 facets, as if cut and polished from diamond.
The external view returned. Outside, the colossal Tianshi Youyuan One was gone, leaving only a dim, desolate void.
On Earth, observatories erased that star from their maps forever.
"Senior sister, try it — see if you can claim ownership."
Jiang Zhe tossed the "glass bead" to the Empress of Dreamshade.
She caught it hurriedly, gave Jiang Zhe a long look, then tried infusing it with her ethereal power.
Moments later, shock filled her face. She glanced down at the plain-looking bead, suppressed her reluctant admiration, and tossed it back.
"Incredible! The Lei Emperor's lineage truly is favored by the universe. It actually granted you a pinnacle treasure!"
"Even better, no outsiders can claim it — just like the Flame God Clan's special armors. It only recognizes your bloodline."
Jiang Zhe simply smiled. His goal was achieved.
The bead passed among the four little ones' hands, looking utterly ordinary, with none of the majesty a pinnacle treasure should have.
"Orianna, plot a course to the other coordinates on the map. There are still 180 more to go — just enough for a complete set."
The journey continued as the ship darted through darkspace again and again.
Within Wu Xian, Jiang Zhe harvested all 181 bright stars one by one.
…
Now, 181 "glass beads" orbited around Jiang Zhe's outstretched hand, drawing every eye in the control room.
Even the Saint Spirit Queen and the Empress of Dreamshade weren't immune.
They were, after all, looking at a complete supreme pinnacle treasure set!
A single one of these might not stand out among pinnacle treasures. But together, they formed a set of such quality it could rival a supreme treasure of terrifying might — the Empress even suspected it could approach the destructive power of a strongest-class treasure when unleashed as a psychic-type set.
If… if this were held by a human Universe Master, the value it could create for the species was unimaginable!
Unfortunately…
It had a bloodline lock, unusable by outsiders. Just like those special Flame God armors displayed in the race's treasure vault.
Her mind whirled with possibilities.
— What if they seized a Lei Emperor descendant, raised them to Universe Master, and thereby rightfully wielded the set?
Ridiculous.
Right now, aside from the three top dominators, who among humanity stood a better chance of becoming a Universe Master than Jiang Zhe?
Besides, seizing a body required someone of equal level. Where would they find a talent guaranteed to surpass Jiang Zhe, or even his future heirs?
— What if they crafted a Lei Emperor bloodline avatar to gain access?
Still absurd. Only World Lords or below could create avatars. Same problem: how could they be sure such a talent would exceed Jiang Zhe or his descendants?
Any attempt to take this set by force would be naked bullying.
And frankly, the costs of trying to steal it far outweighed simply supporting Jiang Zhe's rise. At least he had a good nature and would repay his mentors — not a treacherous cur.
Thinking of this, the Empress glanced at the supreme treasure bracelet on her disciple Meng Xuan's wrist, sighing at Jiang Zhe's generosity.
This treasure set could not be confiscated by the species. The Flame God Clan's precedent was still fresh — their Emperor had indeed erred, but other Universe Masters hadn't exactly been innocent either, all scheming for those irresistible armors.
"Only Teacher and Elder Master need to know about this set. If other Universe Masters learn of it, with their usual domineering ways, who knows what irrational things they might attempt…"
She calmed her restless heart.
…
Soon, the Jade Tiger returned to Earth.
Jiang Zhe went off to seclude himself and study the newly acquired supreme treasure set.
The four little ones clamored to start cultivating too, wanting to become as strong as their father someday.
Jiang Zhe smiled, ruffling their heads, and agreed.