Chapter 1176-1177
Chapter 1176 – Seeded Participants
As the clouds in the Machine Field settled down, the people from the Machine Field were finally able to see something they never expected. A lot of families including the Zhang Family disappeared like smoke. Even the Fire Temple and the Divine Earth Palace needed to reorganize themselves after the event.
Although there were a lot of things left to do in the Machine Field, the time needed to accomplish them wasn't that much. It took two months for all sides to settled down. And all these days Zhao Hai didn't appear. Not only Zhao Hai, the other ten great experts were nowhere in sight. After all, they didn't have any place to participate in this matter.
However, two of the ten experts were implicated in this wave that crashed down in the Machine Field. One of them was Meteor Zhu Chen. Zhu Chen was from the Divine Earth Palace. And in the recent elimination round, he was seen slaughtering people, incurring the discontent of many powers. As it turns out, this was another plot by the Yin Yang Sect. Zhu Chen became the Yin Yang Sect's blade. At the same time, he was also a victim of their plot.
Another expert that was implicated was Fire Saint Sun Fei. He was a candidate trained by the Zhang Family. His situation was the same as Zhu Chen, he was being used as a blade.
However, unlike their patrons, the two were treated differently by the Machine Field. Even if the Machine Field exterminated the Zhang Family's core members, Sun Fei was from the External Hall. The Machine Field already treated these ascenders differently, therefore, the two weren't treated as harshly as the family they belonged to.
This wasn't out of Zhao Hai's expectation. After all, from the perspective of the Machine Field's forces, Sun Fei and Zhu Chen were useful tools, like sharp knives. Would you punish a knife that was used to commit sin? Of course not. The knife was just a tool. The person who used it was the guilty party.
This was the case with Sun Fei and Zhu Chen. The two killed a lot of people, yes, but they had the strength to make the other powers think about recruiting them.
As long as those two join any power, that power would instantly get a place among the 100 participants of the Six Realm Beginner Competition. In this case, nobody would want to pass up on them.
However, an issue came up when there were a lot of people who wanted to get the two of them. In the end, nobody was able to properly recruit them. This matter became the center of the Machine Field's attention. Even the Ashley Family participated in this competition.
Although Sun Fei has killed a lot of the Ashley Family's participants, these participants were from the External Hall. If the family could trade a few talents for a true talent, then they would do so without hesitation.
Zhao Hai knew about these matters, but he didn't do anything about it. This was because he was still closing up. But his practice session was about to end. At fixed times, he would go to the yellowsand background and then practice his body tempering technique. He already stopped absorbing astral qi, this was because his astral qi had already reached a saturated state.
At this point, his body, spiritual qi, and even spiritual force had astral qi in them. Because of this, even if Zhao Hai deliberately absorbed astral qi, there would be no place in his body to place it, making his efforts useless. Therefore, Zhao Hai would just go to the yellowsand background in order to digest the astral qi he had accumulated.
Zhao Hai also tried to see the strength of astral qi. During that time, Zhao Hai was given a scare. Whether it be his magic formations or his sword qi, its offensive power had been increased by about five to ten times. Things would get even more insane if Liquid Silver was added to the mix.
Zhao Hai didn't expect astral qi to be this strong when he started. Moreover, he discovered that, besides the first time, his digestion of astral qi was getting faster and faster. This caused Zhao Hai to be puzzled.
However, Zhao Hai changed his mind when he understood what was happening. The first time he absorbed astral qi, he needed to maintain sober in order to guide astral qi using his spiritual force. At the same time, he also needed to perform the stellar body tempering technique. This amount of pain was something that no other man could endure. Because of this process, Zhao Hai was able to make his body much more suitable for astral qi. Although Zhao Hai separated his consciousness and body on his next session to escape the pain, the amount of astral qi he managed to absorb at that time was a lot.
And after Zhao Hai separated his consciousness and body, things became different. He could still practice, but this time he didn't torture himself with the pain. With this situation, it would naturally speed up Zhao Hai's absorption and digestion of astral qi.
Zhao Hai estimated that his current offensive strength wouldn't be any worse than Cultivators of his level. If he used all of his strength, then he might even compete against Nascent Soul experts.
Naturally, this was just Zhao Hai's own estimate. He had yet to fight a Cultivator, so a lot of factors were still unknown.
As for the matters of the Machine Field, Zhao Hai didn't care much about it. He doesn't have the strength to affect the big picture, so he could only observe from the Space's monitor.
The disturbance in the Machine Field didn't last very long. The Patriarchs of the families in the Machine Field weren't stupid. They clearly knew that if the realm were to turn chaotic, the Cultivation Realm may use the opportunity to make a move.
Besides their fear of being attacked by the Cultivation Realm, the reason these heads of the powers decided to solve the matter quickly was because of the Six Realm Beginner Competition.
If they didn't deal with this matter soon, then they would only be harming their benefits in the competition.
Although the Machine Field hasn't been getting good results in the Six Realm Beginner competition, there were still rewards for participating. And the competition this time was much more important, given how much talent the Machine Field has been able to produce. Therefore, nobody in the Machine Field would want to miss the opportunity to join the competition.
Since there had been a reshuffle and even elimination of some great families, this meant that the smaller powers would be getting a bigger slice of the pie.
Sun Fei and Zhu Chen's assignment had already been determined. Zhu Chen was still under the Divine Earth Palace while Sun Fei was taken in by the Fire Temple. The two became direct members of the churches and weren't under any family.
Zhao Hai agreed to the arrangement made by the Machine Field's higher ups. Due to the recent scuffle, the Divine Earth Palace and the Fire Temple had been heavily damaged. It was proper for Zhu Chen and Sun Fei to gain benefits for them. This would allow the two churches to restore their strength.
This decision was most likely influenced by the Mage Church Alliance. The three major forces of the Machine Field, Church Alliance, Mech Army, and the Warrior Association needed to be balanced. This way the realm would maintain its peace.
The Fire Temple and the Divine Earth Palace had lost so much. And since these two were important pillars of the Church Alliance, they needed to regain their strength or else they would weaken the Alliance. Because of this, the Machine Field's high-level figures went on with their decision.
However, another matter occured that surprised Zhao Hai. The small influenced began to discover the power they had when they united. They saw that they now had enough influence to talk with the major powers.
There were thousands of small forces in this alliance. They also elected leaders to fight for them. They had the intention of being equal to the three major powers.
But since this alliance was still on its starting stages, they didn't have much to work on. Moreover, the three major powers couldn't just leave them be. Therefore, even if these small forces were happy with their current state, they still couldn't get whatever they wanted.
As things went on, the date for the Six Realm Beginner Competition was finally set. And because of this, the Machine Field's qualifiers needed to change. What differs the Machine Field from the other realms this time was the existence of seeded players. All of these seeded players were geniuses with a level no lower than level 4.
There were a total of 20 seeded players, ten of them were from the ten great experts. Nobody objected to this decision. As for the next ten, the committee as well as the top ten experts nominated participants. And ranked on the 11th spot was Zhao Hai!
The first person to nominate Zhao Hai to be a seeded player was Xiong Li, and the second was Sun Fei. Although it can be said that Sun Fei's reputation had taken a huge dive recently, he was still quite a famous individual in the Machine Field. Additionally, he was a strong competitor. Therefore, there were a lot of people who favored his nomination. His proposal for Zhao Hai to be a seeded participant was a huge surprise to everyone. Everyone knew that he had been enemies with Zhao Hai. Moreover, they heard that he and Zhao Hai had clashed back in Yellowsand Planet. Although the two hadn't fought, their meeting was still bad. Sun Fei nominating Zhao Hai was quite unexpected.
Of course, Xiong Li's nomination for Zhao Hai also gave people some surprise. But after some time, people found out that Xiong Li and Zhao Hai were friends. Xiong Li's nomination for Zhao Hai wasn't strange, he just wanted to help a friend.
In the beginning, only a few people heard about this information. However, as time passed, people found out about it. This caused a huge pressure for the qualifier committee. After all, the committee hasn't handled the qualifiers that well. Although the members of the committee had long since been changed, the trust to the organization remained negative.
But at this time, Xiong Li defended his stance. He stated that his friendship with Zhao Hai in Yellowsand Planet had nothing to do with his nomination. Moreover, Xiong li openly admitted that even he might not be able to win against Zhao Hai.
Xiong Li's admittance caused the Machine Field to pause. There were very few people who saw Zhao Hai make a move. Zhao Hai's ascend and his rise to power was something that surprised many people. And now, Xiong Li admitted that he wasn't sure of winning against Zhao Hai. This caused more interest towards Zhao Hai.
But when these people tried to look into Zhao Hai, they discovered that Zhao Hai acted very low-key. He had already ascended for quite a few months already, but he spent most of his time closing up. There were very few people who saw him coming out, so there were so few records of his appearance. This caused even more interest to gather towards him.
Very soon, Zhao Hai's place as the 11th seated candidate was settled. Xiong Li and Sun Fei's recommendation as well as the committee's investigation determined that Zhao Hai was qualified to be seeded.
Naturally, Zhao Hai's wasn't clueless about these matters. He stayed inside the Space all this time as he watched the changes happening in the Machine Field. At the same time, he was settling matters inside the Space.
Karen's laboratory has been churning out significant results. Since they learned magic theory, their study towards magic formations went on the right track. It can be said that their experiments weren't as simple as before. At this point, those kinds of research no longer interested them. What they liked to do now was to research new magic formations.
Zhao Hai didn't say anything regarding Karen's current actions. He decided to just let them be and perhaps they might bring him a pleasant surprise.
The other races in the Space were also doing very well. Even if they didn't have much changes, this didn't mean that they were slow in their development. After all, they hadn't been inside the Space for long. Undergoing a huge change in a short time was almost impossible.
On the other hand, Margaret became even busier than Zhao Hai. In the past, Margaret just had a general understanding of the Space. But as she knew more and more about it, she became awed by the mystery of its existence. Margaret now preferred to stay inside the Space instead of going outside.
As for Zhao Hai's closed door cultivation, the Ashley Family did their best so that nobody would disturb him. No matter what happens outside, the Ashley Family guaranteed that Zhao Hai was not to be disturbed. To be honest, Zhao Hai appreciated their efforts.
The Ashley Family did this also because Zhao Hai was their hope to gain benefits. Therefore, no matter what Zhao Hai wants to do, the Ashley Family would give him their full support.
Moreover, the Ashley Family truly hoped that Zhao Hai would close up all this time, This was because the current Machine Field was too chaotic. It wouldn't be good for Zhao Hai to participate in it.
After the seeded participants were selected, the date for the competition was decided, and the groupings were prepared, the only thing that everyone needed to do was wait for the next round to start!
Chapter 1177 – Heading Out
Zhao Hai finally went out of the Space. Although Margaret liked to stay inside the Space, she had to come out with Zhao Hai since the next round of the qualifiers was about to begin.
But since Zhao Hai was a seeded participant, he doesn't need to participate in the beginning stages. At this point, there were 20 thousand people left who were qualified for the next round. Although some of them had withdrawn, there were still more than 10 thousand people left who would participate.
About more than 10 thousand people competing for 100 spots. One could imagine how fierce the competition would be. But things were much easier for seeded participants like Zhao Hai. They wouldn't need to participate in the beginning rounds.
Nobody objected to this system of having seeded participants. This was because these seeded participants were the powerful experts the Machine Field had. They already had some reputation in the Machine Field, so everyone knew that they were strong. Also, this was the smart thing to do. And even if one was a seeded player, they would still face the more powerful participants in the final rounds.
The reason for seeded positions was the fear of two powerful experts meeting in battle prematurely. If there were no seeded participants, then all remaining participants would be in the pool for selection. It might be possible for Xiong Li to meet Streep in the first round. This means that one would be eliminated while a lucky level 3 would defeat their opponent and progress to the next round. Naturally, those who weren't strong wouldn't be able to reach the top 100. However, if either Xiong Li or Streep were eliminated and couldn't join the Six Realm Beginner Competition, it would be a huge loss for the Machine Field.
Because of this consideration, the Machine Field chose 20 people to be seeded. They also want to see how this would go. If it had great results, then they would select seeded participants for every qualifiers from now on.
Upon hearing that Zhao Hai had come out, Cadjo took Desbarres and Luke to Zhao Hai's room. While Zhao Hai was closing up, only Luke was in the building since Cadjo and Desbarres returned to the family. They were Elders of the family. Moreover, due to the restless state of the Machine Field in the past few days, they were needed to help settle things.
The Ashley Family wasn't implicated by the situation in the Machine Field. On the contrary, they benefited a lot since they participated in the investigations. Because of the Ashley Family's position, they were able to lead teams and gain benefits for the family.
The Ashley Family's time had truly come. They no longer needed to deal with the Zhang Family. And now that the Zhang Family has been eliminated, the Ashley Family were able to absorb some of the members of their camps and they were even able to get several factories. These gains were certainly good for the family.
Then there was Zhao Hai being nominated for a seeded position. This caused the family to be ecstatic. It can be said that the Ashley Family was in a festive mood. So upon hearing that Zhao Hai had come out, Cadjo immediately took Desbarres and Luke to visit him.
Seeing that the three had come to see him, Zhao Hai immediately asked them to sit down. Margaret offered some them some tea before sitting beside Zhao Hai.
Cadjo looked at Margaret and Zhao Hai's intimate appearance and didn't give a comment. For three months, Margaret had been inside Zhao Hai's room while Zhao Hai was closing up. By this point, their relationship had gone public. Moreover, Thunder didn't object to the two of them. It was as if he already gave a nonverbal agreement to their relationship.
Cadjo looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Little Hai, did you benefit a lot from your cultivation?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "My harvest isn't small. The reason I closed up is because I had been contaminated by astral qi back when I was in Yellowsand Planet. I only noticed it after coming back. Therefore, I closed up so that I can refine it. Fortunately, I was able to succeed."
As soon as Zhao Hai said this, Cadjo and the other stared for a moment before their expressions changed. Cadjo quickly said, "Little Hai, you're able to refine astral qi? You're kidding right?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I won't joke about this. Don't forget, I'm both a Mage and a Warrior. If I wasn't, then it would be impossible for me to refine astral qi. But since I'm a Mage and a Warrior, I had the chance to successfully refine it."
When he heard this, Cadjo laughed out loud and said, "Good, that's fantastic. Fortune is really looking down on the Ashley Family. Little Hai, how is your offensive strength now? I heard that as long as one concentrates astral qi, their offensive strength would be outstanding."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Right, as long as it is absorbed by my body, the offensive strength of my attacks are enhanced. My formations are now much more powerful than before, even if I use the same amount of spiritual qi."
Cadjo's smile turned brighter, then he said, "That's good. It seems like the seat of this qualifier's champion is already reserved for you. Perhaps you might even get a good place in the Six Realm Beginner Competition. Our Ashley family will then be praised by the entire World of Cultivation."
Desbarres nodded, he was also smiling as he looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Little Hai, you'll have to work hard this time. Make the Cultivation Realm know that our Machine Field couldn't be bullied."
A lot of things happened in the Machine Field in the past few days. But in the end, all of the blame fell into the Yin Yang Sect. The Machine Field and the Cultivation Realm had always minded their separation. Although there were some scuffles from time to time, these were small conflicts. But this time, the Yin Yang Sect caused a huge chaos to descend into the Machine Field. Even if they didn't know the stance of the other sects in the Cultivation Realm, the Machine Field still decided to be on guard.
Although it can be said that the Machine Field really wanted to retaliate against the Yin Yang Sect, the individual strength of the Machine Field is just too low. If the Machine Field sent battleships to the Cultivation Realm in order to deal with the Yin Yang Sect, the Cultivation Realm's sects would certainly stop them.
Because of this, Desbarres and the others could only suppress the anger in their hearts. They were born and raised in the Machine Field. Because of this, they had a very strong sense of belonging towards the realm. The Machine Field had always been held down by the Cultivation Realm. Whenever Cultivators looked at the people from the Machine Field, all of them would raise their noses up high. There was no way for Desbarres and the others to agree to this.
Therefore, the Six Realm Beginner Competition has given them the opportunity to vent their anger. If Zhao Hai didn't make any breakthrough, then Desbarres might not be this confident. But after Zhao Hai was able to concentrate astral qi, Desbarres was even more certain of Zhao Hai's success.
Most of Zhao Hai's understanding of the Machine Field had come from the computer. But in the end, a computer was just an inanimate object, there were a lot of things that weren't true in it. Because of this, Zhao Hai didn't know what impact someone who absorbed astral qi to the people in the Machine Field.
The Machine Field didn't have any way to absorb astral qi. This has restricted the individual ability of the soldiers in the Machine Field. To be honest, the magical spells of the Machine Field weren't any weaker than any other attacks in the Cultivation Realm. Once someone was able to layer 1 thousand formations, they would have the same strength as a Core Formation Expert.
However, the Machine Field didn't have any technique to absorb astral qi and evil qi. Because of this, they didn't have any way to increase their offensive abilities.
Naturally, after many years, it was impossible for the Machine Field to have no way to absorb astral qi and evil qi. However, there were extremely few people who were able to do it. This has a lot to do with the current system of the Machine Field.
The Machine Field's practice gave priority to the battle qi and magic. However, both battle qi and magic weren't suitable for absorbing astral qi into the body.
Battle Qi specialized in refining the body from outside in. And when the blood was activated, it would produce energy, which was battle qi. Magic specialized in spiritual force. Instead of working on the body, it specializes in the mind. This made it hard to prepare the body for the introduction of astral qi.
And since battle qi specializes in the body, battle qi became tightly knit with the Warrior's body. There were similar methods in the Cultivator Realm, but this method made it very hard to attract astral qi to one's body. This method was just like Zhao Hai's stellar body tempering technique. To be honest, if Zhao Hai couldn't separate his body and consciousness, it would be impossible for astral qi to be digested into his body.
Practicing stellar body tempering technique was in itself very painful. Zhao Hai's body had been adapted to the pain, allowing it to take in astral qi. If it were any other Warrior in the Machine Field, then they would not be able to endure the pain.
There was no need to talk about Mages. Mages specialize in spiritual force. Spiritual force was linked with the brain. Therefore, Mages needed to be careful whenever they cultivate their spiritual force, or else they would succumb to insanity. If their brains were to be heavily damaged, they would definitely turn into complete idiots in vegetative states.
It was for this reason that Mages wouldn't dare combine astral qi with their spiritual force.
The reason why Zhao Hai was able to combine astral qi with his spiritual force was because of his ability to separate his consciousness and body. Actually, this method was truly ingenious.
It separates one's mind to their body, turning them into spectators of themselves. So even if the mind was attacked, the body would stay in perfect condition. Additionally, with how strong Zhao Hai's body was, nothing would be able to hurt him.
At the same time, since the astral qi that Zhao Hai absorbed came from the Space, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to be harmed. Because of this, Zhao Hai was able to succeed in absorbing astral qi!