Lu Sheng was sitting inside a spaceship. It was hard to imagine that the battlefield base, which gathered top elites from over a hundred star regions, could only offer such an old and worn-out spaceship.
It was far inferior to Lu Sheng's former vehicle, the "White Hole Shuttle," and only slightly better than the recruitment spaceship he had arrived in. The seat underneath him was even still controlled by buttons.
As the escort for this journey, Haiji Dao explained, "In the interdimensional battlefield, attacks from alien beasts are a constant threat, and we may need to be prepared for battle at any moment. Spaceships, in most cases, are disposable consumables. Therefore, the spaceships currently in the base are stockpiled stock brought in when the base was first established; that's the only option. Furthermore, with the Chief Star Elder personally protecting us, there's no safer or more reliable place in the entire Hundred Great area than this spaceship."
Lu Sheng dispersed his spiritual power, which had already advanced to level 13. He could faintly sense the aura of Mokodo, the Chief Star Elder and Commander of the Hundred Great battlefield, in the starry sky surrounding the spaceship.
Level 14 powerhouses wield laws, wandering between reality and illusion like gods in ancient myths. Unfathomable, unseen. Sheng, with level 13 spiritual power and the unique nature of his spiritual power inherited from the Divine Crystal Dao, could only barely sense a trace.
"If the Lord of Oblivion hadn't been fighting the Commander and unable to break free, essentially standing still and letting me attack him, even my full-force punch with five million immortal cells in their Main Sequence Star form might not have been able to harm it. My current strength is still far too weak compared to level 14." He thought silently.
He then immersed most of his mind in his cultivation, quickly entering the dream space universe.
Just as Haiji Dao had said, with commander Mokodo personally protecting him, there was nowhere safer on this battlefield than the ship he was currently on. If she couldn't protect him, then no one could. Being awake or in a dream made little difference. He might as well take this opportunity to cultivate and improve himself within the dream space universe.
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Lu Sheng stood in the desolate starry sky. No matter how many times he entered, facing this desolate and lifeless landscape, an overwhelming sense of bewilderment, confusion, and even despair would inevitably well up within him. But these emotions would quickly be suppressed. Replaced by a profound sense of urgency.
There was no time. Bearing the expectations of an entire universe, Lu Sheng had no choice but to push forward with all his might, striving for that faint glimmer of hope… Any other emotion or thought was too extravagant for him.
"I wonder what Qingxue, Mom, Dad, and Qinghe are doing now," Lu Sheng murmured to himself, their faces flashing through his mind.
He thought for a moment, then casually tapped his finger. His spiritual energy conjured several figures in the void not far away. There was one whose soldier spirit had vanished, her eyes gentle, stroking her lower abdomen and looking at him tenderly, it was Qingxue. Standing beside her were his nagging mother, his smiling father, and his sister Qinghe, who was beaming with admiration.
Sound Controlled Shadows was a simple technique using mental power. A virtual spiritual entity infused with all of Lu Sheng's memories and his longing for his family, similar to a holographic projection, but far more sophisticated.
If Lu Sheng wanted, he could even communicate with it. But there was no need. Sheng only needed them by his side now. He withdrew his gaze from his family and focused his attention back on himself.
Level 12, yes, now he had advanced to level 12.
He also possessed five million immortal cells throughout his body. This number was astonishing. But compared to the sixty trillion cells in his entire body, it still seemed insignificant.
"The road ahead is long and arduous."
Even Wang He, the founder of the Stellar Path, had not turned all his cells into stars.
Sheng didn't know how far he could go.
Then came his spiritual power, which, as always, exceeded his level by one. His level 13 spiritual power finally displayed some of the formidable and domineering power of the level 15 Divine Crystal [TN: that a martial artist can try to reach at the end of the Divine Crystal Dao, the martial path of the Divine Crystal].
In his sea of consciousness, the Seven Emotions Blade had barely condensed its blade and tip, yet it was already enough for Lu Sheng to kill level 13 opponents like slaughtering pigs.
"After leaving the battlefield, if I want to improve the Seven Emotions Blade so quickly again, I'll have to find another way." [TN: He improved it very quickly on the intedimensional battlefield by sucking in the experience of alien beast powerhouses which he won't encounter anymore from now on.]
Sheng hoped that the so-called Celestial Academy, so highly praised by Mokodo, was truly as good as she claimed. Besides the improvement in his physical body and spiritual power, the remaining challenge was the qualitative leap from level 11 to level 12.
Body power. Sheng slightly released the power of rules within his body. Instantly, dozens of silver light bands floated around his body. The total number of light bands was forty-three. A large portion of it merged into his physical body, while a smaller portion floated around him like special effects from an online game character, lending him an air of mysterious elegance. Twenty-five rules were mastered and entered his body, eighteen rules couldn't be absorbed into his body yet.
"Hoo!"
Sheng slowly exhaled a long breath of air. After summoning the power of these rules, he felt his combat strength surge to its peak under normal conditions!
"Is this the power of level 12?"
He slowly closed his hands, feeling as if black lightning was dancing in his palms. That was pure power condensed to its extreme, an overwhelming sense of power capable of shattering and tearing everything apart with a mere gesture.
"Unfortunately, when facing the laws, it is still utterly vulnerable."
Purple lightning began to surge from his body. This was true lightning power. A law power that theoretically only a level 13 expert could wield. Sheng raised his hands, purple lightning coiling around his palms. He looked as if he had grasped a purple lightning dragon with his bare hands.
"Throwing that punch at the Lord of Oblivion wasn't entirely without its benefits. After that punch, it seems my peak fifth-realm fist technique is about to break through..."
In fact, Sheng only needed to unlock the inherited memories of Wang He deep within his consciousness to easily unlock a sixth-realm fist technique. But the sun and the moon cannot stand together in the sky. He planned to try to break through on his own first, then fuse the result of his own cultivation with Wang He's inheritance [memories of the expert martial artist who took the Stellar Dao he created all the way to level 15]; perhaps that way he can create something new.
"This sixth-realm fist technique will inevitably lead to the comprehension of a law. Based on the memories I collected, it should be either theStellar Law or aFire Law, I wonder which I'll comprehend. By practicing according to the Stellar Dao, both seem possible to obtain, but the former is undoubtedly far more powerful than the latter."
To be precise, the Stellar Law is far more advanced and complex than a single Fire Law, since there is many of them. Broadly speaking, Fire can be divided into Yin Fire and Yang Fire. Illusory Fire and Real Fire. Further down, it can be divided into even more subcategories. A single Law of Fire comprehended at level 13 should belong to one of these subcategories. Collectively, they are known as the Fire Laws.
Lu Sheng naturally wouldn't be content to merely comprehend a single, specific Law of Fire. Therefore, he could only strive as far as possible towards the Stellar Law.
The advancement from level 11 to level 12 brought about a complete transformation for him; the power of the many martial arts techniques he had previously comprehended also experienced a qualitative leap.
The specific extent of the improvement would have to be demonstrated in actual combat. What surprised him most was the Immortal Dao Golden Core within his dantian. This thing, it seemed, had secretly gained some benefit during his advancement. Its size had expanded considerably, becoming increasingly like a planet. Not only that, Lu Sheng also noticed something new growing on the surface of this Golden Core. Strange-looking patterns. The originally pure white, smooth golden core now seemed complex and profound.
"I wonder how it will develop in the future?"
He shook his head. He had completely given up on consciously cultivating the Immortal Dao. He let it grow freely and wildly.
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Translation notes by dhoo
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Dream Space Universe
夢境空間宇宙, mèngjìng kōngjiān yǔzhòu
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Star Law aka Law of stars
恆星法則, héngxīng fǎzé: 恆星 star, 法則 law
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Fire Law aka Law of fire
火之法則, huǒ zhī fǎzé: 火 fire, 之 's, 法則 law
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Body power
機之力, jī zhī lì: power of machine, hmm
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Sound Controlled Shadow
音令鉛影, yīn lìng qiān yǐng