Swallowed Star

A supposedly seventh-tier combat power could be boosted directly to a tenth-tier combat power with an automaton type treasure. This was the charming aspect of the automaton type, something which researching and creating any other secret techniques could never be able to achieve. Of course, everyone was using automaton type treasures, and so, those who were originally much stronger would naturally be able to unleash an even stronger combat power.

“Given the strength of this new recruit, Milky Way, so long as he is given enough time, he will be able to earn military credits at any rate and in any amount he pleases,” the captain said to himself silently. “He will also be able to continue improving himself. It seems like upon returning to the army this time, I will have to cozy up to this new recruit, Milky Way. By the next reincarnation-level mission, if I am still unable to become a true god, I’m afraid the hope of accomplishing a reincarnation level mission will fall on this new recruit, Milky Way.”

The captain understood this quite well. For now, he could depend on some external means to try to kill this new recruit, Milky Way. Yet, if ample time were given, this new recruit, Milky Way, would certainly surpass him. Since he could not defeat Luo Feng, the smarter thing to do was to make friends with him.

******

“That law master is simply too strong. None of the true gods from our entire Xuan Yu Mountain has such a terrifying ability of close-range dodging like him.”

The five true gods who had progressively tried to obstruct Luo Feng’s way before were all greatly shocked—especially the three true gods who had just started to create obstructions. Now, they felt all the more lost. Even with the three of them working together, this law master had been able to escape their siege with great ease. It was as though he was poking fun at them.

“That law master will definitely become a true god.”

“And he will be a top-tiered, most terrifying true god! If he further relies on an automaton-type treasure, I’m afraid he is going to be nothing less than an invincible true god of void space.”

“Yes. It is rare for a true god to be evenly matched with a true god of void space… and if one wants to achieve that—just like that law master earlier on—it is indeed possible to accomplish such a feat.”

The five true gods agreed unanimously. The further one progressed upward, the weaker an automaton type treasure became. When law masters relied on the power of automaton-type treasures, many of them could become equal in force with true gods.

On the other hand, throughout the entire World of Jin, it was rare for a true god to be evenly matched with a true god of void space with the reliance on automaton type treasures. But they all felt that if it were that law master earlier on, so long as he became a true god, he would be able to achieve this.

******

In the sky high above Nine Smoke Marsh, bouts of powerful ripples were being transmitted over. This was due to the overpowering presence of six true gods of void space from Nine Smoke Marsh and Xuan Yu Mountain suspended in midair without engaging in any crossfire.

“Nine Smoke, the three of us combined are, unbelievably, still not a match for you. How many times has it been?” The three true gods of void spaces from Xuan Yu Mountain lamented.

“Qu Wan!” Nine Smoke had a devilish body that resembled an octopus and nine human faces. He also had a beautiful voice. “How very impressive you all are. Only three of you, yet I cannot break through your combination law. If all four true gods of void spaces from your Xuan Yu Mountain come here, I suppose.”

“Eh?”

“Mm?”

Six true gods of void space witnessed everything that was occurring beneath their feet at once.

“What impressive close-combat dodging!”

“Impressive.”

Even true gods of void space could not hold back their praises.

“With the blade positioned as the cutting tip and its own body as the handle of the blade, he had become one with his blade to form a battle blade. When he moves about, the blade becomes sharper and more powerful. At times, it will collide and borrow the strength of its enemy. And other times, while the enemy tries hard to resist, it would already be drifting off afar.” Nine Smoke could not help marveling the moment he gained an understanding of what he had just witnessed. “What an ingenious plan to be able to create such a close-combat technique.”

“With the blade positioned as the cutting tip, and its own body as the handle of the blade?” The other true gods of void space were instantly more enlightened.

These true gods of void space were all aware that their close-combat dodging techniques were much more impressive than that law master. But they had the advantage of a stronger foundation, a stronger comprehension, and a better grasp over the void space. In terms of how subtle and marvelous these close-combat techniques were—and the various incredible aspects of it—they all knew that when they were still law masters themselves, they were a far cry from this new recruit.

“This new recruit must be someone the East Army intends to focus on cultivating.”

“Yes.”

“I think he might already be placed on the name list.”

The true gods of void spaces were all discussing while trying to reach a verdict.

Nine Smoke responded, “This is certainly one extraordinary genius, a rare sight in our World of Jin. If given enough time, in the future, it is highly possible that he will be sealed with a title to become a titled great being.”

“A titled great being?”

The other true gods of void spaces were amazed. Sealed with a title?

Even for these six true gods of void space, none had been sealed with a title before. To be sealed with the name of a “Jin” was the dream of countless true gods of void space—something all of them greatly desired. Just like true gods, it was certainly possible for true gods to be sealed with a title, but the requirements were much more intense, and that intensity could reach such an extent that was almost unbelievable.

The weaker a true god was, the more stringent the requirements of being sealed with a title were. If one accomplished the level of a general within the East Army, then right away, he would be sealed with a title!

******

Far in the distance, amidst the grassy patches of the marsh, Luo Feng remained well hidden.

“Having seized a true god corpse of Nine Smoke Marsh, at least I have accomplished this disaster-level mission.”

Luo Feng revealed a trace of a smile. His greatest takeaway, though, was not that true god corpse, but rather…

“When I was traversing the true god level battlefield earlier, I collected samples of blood, scales, hairs, and some other body components from a total of 212 true gods, all of which I gathered from the marsh or wild grassy patches that the true gods fought on. With my godly power, I have hopes of becoming a true god, but the previous samples of life genes of true gods were too few to be useful. This time around, I have collected more than enough. After this era has ended, I can either choose to enter or leave the World of Jin. By that time, I will let my new Remote Ocean body take these samples of blood, scales, and hair.”

Luo Feng was very pleased with this thought as he continued to observe the true god level battlefield from afar.

Watching the happenings on the true god level battlefield, there was a possibility that an opportunity might arise.

******

Having encountered the stealing of true god corpses by the two law masters, the captain and the new recruit, Milky Way, and the 10,000-plus true gods from the two parties engaged in crossfire within Purple Vine Marsh were in a rage. They paid no heed the first time a true god corpse was stolen by the captain, but the second time a true god corpse was stolen by a new recruit, this time by Milky Way, they were extremely puzzled.

Yet no matter how puzzled they were, seizing a true god corpse, was an act of provocation toward the living true gods!

“Catch them both.”

“Catch them, or both us, Nine Smoke Marsh, and you, Xuan Yu Mountain, will be put to shame.”

“Next time. Just wait until the next time they appear. We will catch hold of them.”

These true gods were all highly vigilant. When both camps were fighting one another, occasionally, there would be one being annihilated and thus falling right within the marsh. The other true gods, whether intentionally or accidentally, would not deviate too far from this region. Most thoroughly, they were all detecting with their godly powers. The moment there were signs of ripples, they would speedily surround the entire region.

However, Luo Feng and the captain were both highly intelligent. Each of them had one true god great being corpse from the Nine Smoke Marsh, so they were in no hurry.

But the crossfire between Xuan Yu Mountain and Nine Smoke Marsh—two powerful groups—was long and tedious. There were times where both parties confronted one another and fought like crazy; there were times where they fought in battles where one party gave chase as the other escaped as if they were playing cat and mouse. The longer this crazy battle dragged on, the more intense the training and honing of skills for these law masters became. Likewise, the longer the fighting persisted, the more frequent the annihilation of true gods became. And just like that, the true gods from both groups of top powers started to feel the rage.

On top of all that, Luo Feng and the captain remained obscured from view.

One day, two days, three days… Half a month… One month…

“Just like the military mission of a law master, demanding that they obtain a true god corpse is simply unrealistic. I suppose those two law masters have accomplished their missions and left.”

Great beings from the two groups of top powers were gradually losing interest in the true god corpses they had lost.

“We, two different groups of power, even if we fought against one another, or even if we see no need to safeguard our true god corpses, there is no reason we should let them take any more corpses away again. We shall each send out one true god to collect the corpses belonging to us, and during the collection, both sides shall not attack one another. What do you think of my proposal?”

A voice was rapidly transmitted in response. “All right, let’s do that.”

Nine Smoke Marsh and Xuan Yu Mountain both designated a true god to be sent out to collect the corpses belonging to their deceased true gods.

Hua! Hua!

A tribal true god, fully covered in red, transformed into a streak of flowing light and set out to collect the numerous tribal true gods’ corpses. At that moment, not a single beast true god from Nine Smoke Marsh attacked him.

At the same time, an eight-hooved beast true god with a long neck also flew out to collect the beast true gods’ corpses. After close to three months of fighting, there were over 20 true god corpses, and this beast true god collected them all in a single breath.

******

“No!”

“Leave some behind.”

The captain and his warriors watched with blazing eyes. They were all at the peak of anxiety.

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

The other warriors were panicking. They had waited for close to three months. Previously, they had seen those many true god corpses lying around. How could they not have been tempted by the sight? But their captain had given strict orders, and so, no one made a move. Now, all the true god corpses had been taken away.

Beneath his gigantic, curved horns, the captain’s gray eyes swept over the warriors around him as he barked his orders. “You may go on your own if you want to! They were purposely baiting us. Now, they are paying no need to us at all, retrieving all the corpses. Could it be that you all are thinking of killing a true god? To kill a true god, even with our joint efforts, would take an extremely long time. Before we could hope to succeed, we would most likely be surrounded by thousands of true gods.”

The warriors were all anxious and angry, but they were also at a loss as to what they should do.

“Wait! Wait for the right opportunity!” the captain shouted. “After all, we have an entire era.”

******

Elsewhere, Luo Feng kept a close watch over every move made by that scaly, long-necked, and eight-hooved beast true god. He was paying such close attention to its every move because this beast true god had just collected 26 true god corpses in one go.

“A single true god corpse is worth 10,000 military credits,” Luo Feng said to himself. “26 true god corpses will be worth 260,000 military credits.” Luo Feng was felt his heart stirring with excitement as he watched the beast true god. “This beast true god was sent here to collect the corpses because its status is not high enough. Judging by its performance during the melee earlier on, its power is quite ordinary… It does not even seem to own a true god level armor.”

No true god level armor! And power that was weaker than a true god?

Luo Feng was so tempted. He had spent eight million eras of painstaking cultivation to attain his current power and strength! Based on his own judgment, to kill this weaker beast true god, which did not own a true god level armor, would be a piece of cake! But he needed to spend some time working something out, but even this short length of time would be more than enough for the true gods. They could rapidly surround him in no time.

If he were to rely on his close-combat dodging technique, he would still be able to escape from a siege by a few true gods. But if the number was increased to a few dozen true gods—or even 100 true gods—Luo Feng could only depend on the Boat of Mausoleum to make his escape. If there were more than 100 true gods… perhaps even the Boat of Mausoleum would not be able to make an escape!

“Wait. I have to wait for the right opportunity.” Luo Feng’s eyes were locked on that eight-hooved beast true god.

Previously, when they were collecting corpses, no one had made any move to attack it. But when the collection of corpses ended… it would still re-enter the battlefield and continue to fight as it normally did. Its power was weaker, and based on what Luo Feng had observed, he was gradually able to judge the magnitude of decline of the power of that beast true god.

“An additional decline of 20 percent of its power, and then its body will be weak enough. Given the strength of my power now, if I were to release a full-force outburst, I could definitely kill it in no time.”

Luo Feng locked his eyes on that eight-hooved beast true god as he waited for the right time to make his move.