Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

by <unknown>

  Although such a design may lead to monotonous tactics due to the lack of changes, it is something not unacceptable for ordinary fighters and low-level Cultivators.

  Li Yao secretly compared Rockman with other crystal suits that he had worn and discovered that the operation pattern of Rockman was even easier than the 'beginner mode' in many crystal suits. It could almost be called 'auto mode'.

  The Exo could choose from several combat styles, including 'assault', 'guerilla warfare', 'stall', 'remote attack', 'strength saving', and so on. Then, the crystal suit would act accordingly and automatically adjust the power rune arrays, defense shield, and the crystal reactor.

  The Exo could also input simple instructions such as 'attack to the left' or 'defend on the right'. Their crystal suit would immediately complete the instructions.

  Such a mode significantly improved the independency of a crystal suit and diminished the importance of the Exo. It had both disadvantages and advantages.

  For experts such as Li Yao, he disliked the dull, boring combat style where the crystal processor took care of everything; he preferred to handle all the information he needed personally.

  From the wind and direction of a breeze a hundred meters away, to the activation level of one of the runes on one of the thirty-two power rune arrays on his back… Everything must be under his control so that he could pick one of the thousands of possible combat plans at his will.

  Such an 'auto' crystal suit was like a puppet with strings. Most of its movements had been preset. All the Exo had to do was to cooperate and do what the crystal suit asked to.

  It may not be a big deal if the Exo was faced with a mediocre enemy. But the experts were likely to notice the pattern in the attacks and eventually locate loopholes.

  But Li Yao had to admit that, for ordinary fighters and low-level Cultivators, such an 'auto mode' might be their best choice.

  After all, not everyone had the talent required to be an expert Exo. They were hardly likely to encounter the real formidable enemies, too.

  Even if they were engaged with a real formidable enemy, they could simply crush the enemy with their advantage in numbers!

  Therefore, although he was not particularly fond of the crystal suit himself, Li Yao still paid his respect to the designer of such a crystal suit.

  At this time, Li Yao noticed that, right beside the attack and defense instructions, there was another row of brilliantly shining buttons surrounded by right gold lines.

  The words on them were the three moves comprised in the 'Peak Fighters Luxury Bundle'.

  Black Tiger Explosion, Tiger Devil Slash, and Tiger Satan Heart Piercing Barrage!

  Li Yao was greatly interested. He locked onto 'Black Tiger Explosion' with one of his telepathic thoughts and triggered it softly.

  In a moment, a transparent phantom seemed to break apart in front of his eyes. Intense spiritual waves and telepathic thoughts were ringing around him. The Rockman produced a shrill sound, with an intimidating aura surrounding him. New reminders appeared on the light beam, asking him to carry out certain movements with his arms and torso.

  Li Yao crossed his arms and pushed forward. He had barely exerted any of his strength when two streaks of immense spiritual energy blew out of the crystal reactor furiously like Zhang Heiniu just did, except that the black swirl of spiritual energy reached more than thirty meters away!

  As I expected, not only does the 'skill card' store the instructions of a certain move, it also contains one of the telepathic thoughts of the Cultivator who produced it. The Cultivator must have spent a lot of time and effort on it. It is as authentic as their own attack. Quite impressive!

  Greatly satisfied, Li Yao took off his crystal suit. He said to Zhang Heiniu, after thinking for a moment, "The most important thing about Black Tiger Explosion is not how much force you exert to push it out, but the inward helical strength when you are punching. You should 'swing' your strength instead of 'pushing' it out. Try to understand it. The damage of your attack should be able to be increased by 10% after you do."

  "Thank you very much, Master!" yelled Zhang Heiniu in excitement.

  Li Yao smiled. Pondering for a moment, he said to Mu Ping, "Mayor Mu, I would like to make a deal with Black Iron Town."

  …

  In the next half month, Li Yao stayed in Black Iron Town, partly to collect all the useful information about the Flying Star Sector, and partly to study the 'auto' crystal suits of the Flying Star Sector more carefully.

  In order to deal with the giant crab, several Exos suffered tremendous wounds, and two of them had perished on the spot. Almost all the crystal suits had been seriously damaged.

  Some of the minor damage could be maintained by themselves. But the crystal suits with more damage had to be sent to a bigger town named 'Star Lord Temple' for examination.

  Li Yao had proposed to maintain and also strengthen the broken crystal suits in exchange for one of them.

  The style of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was different from the crystal suits in the Flying Star Sector after all. Also, it had been affixed with a lot of materials from Skeleton Dragon.

  Skeleton Dragon had been an ancient deadly demon forty thousand years ago. Its body materials and the scraps of the ancient magical equipment it collected were definitely treasures that were not seen every day.

  Although Li Yao had covered them up and nobody had noticed anything wrong in Black Iron Town, Li Yao was certain that, since this world boasted such advanced technology in crystal suits, it was quite possible that somebody would see through the secrets of his crystal suit after he reached the more prosperous places and encountered the real specialists of the trade.

  If so, he might be blamed even if he did nothing wrong just because he had an unparalleled treasure. Somebody might covet the body materials of Skeleton Dragon and decide to hunt him down. It would be a great nuisance for him.

  Therefore, Li Yao had made up his mind that the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit would be his secret weapon which wouldn't be used unless it was absolutely necessary.

  And when the secret weapon was to be used, all the enemies who saw it would have to be eliminated!

  So, he needed a common crystal suit of the Flying Star Sector for his daily use.

  Right now, he could make do with an engineering crystal suit. After all, he could always upgrade the crystal suit after he arrived in the more prosperous places.

  Li Yao spent ten days maintaining all the engineering crystal suits and farming crystal suits. He had basically grasped the refining style of the preliminary crystal suits of the Flying Star Sector.

  Although he hadn't completely figured out the complicated rune arrays inside the crystal suits yet, he found no major trouble performing the rudimental repair work.

  Then, he started to modify his own Rockman.

  Since it was an engineering crystal suit and wouldn't boast enough combat ability no matter how it was modified, Li Yao decided to go exactly the opposite way. He fully restored the characteristics of an engineering crystal suit for Rockman and added two extra multipurpose arms that were filled with all kinds of maintenance and refining tools.

  The Rockman right now had four arms, with an enormous storage bag on its back which could carry bountiful magical equipment units and components. It looked somewhat clumsy and eccentric.

  Purposefully, Li Yao didn't polish or strengthen the surface of his new crystal suit. He even left a few meteorite scratches and patches of rust undealt with, making the crystal suit look heavy, stupid, and utterly harmless.

  In a battleground, it would fit every description of a standard logistic crystal suit for maintenance.

  In accordance to the Rockman was the new identity that Li Yao set for himself.

  Li Yao, twenty-three years old, born and raised in a minor relic at the periphery of the Flying Star Sector. Because of the poor transportation, he had never gotten in touch with the outside world, except for the stories that he had been told and the knowledge he'd
learnt from books.

  Since he had been living with the garbage in the relic since he was a kid, his talent for magical equipment maintenance was discovered very early. He was especially good at the maintenance and modification of beginner-level crystal suits.

  Half a year ago, his hometown was destroyed by an unexpected rain of meteorites; only a few survived. He had since been wandering in several other space towns and eventually learnt more about the outside world, especially the information regarding Heavenly Saints City.

  As a young man who desired to be a master in crystal suit refining, he was now striving to reach Heavenly Saints City.

  There were more young men in the Flying Star Sector that had shared similar life experiences than specks of dust here.

  Making their way to Heavenly Saints City was almost a ubiquitous dream for everyone in the Flying Star Sector.

  Such an identity was both inconspicuous and hard to falsify. It offered a fairly plausible explanation for his maintenance and modification skills, too.

  After he left Black Iron Town and marched into the depths of the sea of stars, no one would doubt his background.

  Mayor Mu had told him that there would be a kermis in a bigger town nearby named Star Lord Temple during the last five days in each month. At that time, the fleets of dozens of towns and villages in this place would all take part in the kermis, exchanging news and bartering goods.

  There was cargo that set off to the more prosperous places regularly in Star Lord Temple, too. The young men who wanted to make a living in the outside world often chose to take the cargo ships because of the fairly reasonable ticket prices. For those who were adept at certain skills and could work as sailors or mechanics, they could even take the cargo ships for free.

  Black Iron Town had suffered tremendous losses. Not only were some of their own residents killed or injured in the battle, the professional guards that they had hired from Star Lord Temple had passed away, too. It was expected that they sent the dead bodies back.

  Besides, the precious materials they retrieved from the giant crab could only be sold in Star Lord Temple.

  Therefore, the kermis this month was something that they had to attend.

  Li Yao offered to go with them. Mu Ping was worried about the safety issue since they would be carrying so many demon beast materials and therefore agreed happily.

  Chapter 446: News Store |

  Six days later, on a shabby carrier, Mu Ping bowed to the light beam and said to Li Yao solemnly, "In front of us is the Temple of Lord Sea Stomper."

  Inside the light beam was the remnant of a cruiser more than three thousand meters long with defense rings around it. The head and the tail of it were both shattered, a clear sign that the cruiser wouldn't be able to cruise anymore. The middle part of the cruiser was still intact and emitting seven-colored faint mystic rays.

  Mu Ping explained, "Lord Sea Stomper used to be a 'Sea Stomper'-level cruiser of the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago. Right now, most of its structure is too damaged to repair. But many living quarters in the middle part of the starship are still functioning. Also, since defense is highlighted in the design of the starship of this particular model, the protective rings around it are still working and can release solid spiritual shields.

  "Five hundred years ago, a fleet which was blown off course by a cosmic storm found the place accidentally and survived the disaster by hiding inside the protective rings. Since then, the place has become well known.

  "Everybody says that the soul of the starship has become a divinity, guarding the residents in this area from the unseen world. This place is the best port around.

  "As time's gone by, the starship has become known as 'Lord Sea Stomper' and the place in general is called 'Star Lord Temple'. It is the trading center of the dozens of space towns nearby. Many other people have moved into the living quarters of the starship, gradually turning it into a teeming town itself."

  "Fourth brother, offer incense to our Lord!"

  A stout man answered and rubbed his hands on his linen trousers. Then, he typed quickly on the light beam. The carrier shivered and sent out three ivory light beams from its head to the front end of Lord Sea Stomper.

  The three mystic rays were not aggressive at all; they carried the purest and most stable spiritual energy. After they pierced into the front end of Lord Sea Stomper, the hundreds of holes there all started glittering like countless blinking eyes, bringing out a sense of mystery.

  Mu Ping and the townsfolk all shut their eyes and prayed.

  "May Lord Sea Stomper watch over Black Iron Town and see that it is not disturbed by demon beasts, space pirates, or cosmic storms. It will be better if we can find more precious treasures in the ancient relic. If we make a fortune this year thanks to your help, we will definitely deliver you a water circulation system next year!"

  Li Yao found it very amusing. As a determined modern Cultivator, he did not believe in the supernatural powers whose existences were hard to prove. He reached out to Mo Xuan during the time being.

  Mo Xuan and the rest of the crew hadn't idled around while Li Yao was staying in Black Iron Town. They had collected a lot of warship remnants in the ancient battlegrounds and covered Sparkle with them in a messy manner.

  Right now, even if Mo Xuan were to park Sparkle right in front of Li Yao, he wouldn't be able to recognize it.

  Then, after riveting a bunch of other starship remnants, Mo Xuan drifted after Li Yao.

  Battlegrounds were everywhere in the Flying Star Sector. Stirred by cosmic storms, countless remnants were floating in the sea of stars. Nobody would pay attention to them at all.

  Li Yao exchanged the latest progress with Mu Xuan and his lot. Mu Xuan was quite interested in the refining style of the Flying Star Sector's crystal suits, too. They agreed that they would start a large-scale telepathic thought transmission session to send the detailed information over when they arrived at a relatively safe location.

  Right then, the carrier drew close to Star Lord Temple.

  Li Yao could see that dozens of small carriers were docked in the port at the tail of Lord Sea Stomper. Another few carriers were entering the port slowly.

  They all detected the carrier of Black Iron Town and emitted mystic rays in a fixed rhythm one after another, broadcasting their identity to the newcomer.

  The carrier of Black Iron Town followed them and sent out its spiritual authorizations, before it entered the port slowly, too.

  …

  "Supreme Scorpion Sword Art, simple yet scaring! Remote learning through telepathic thoughts. Organized in small classes. One month of concentrated learning will be enough for you to learn the first three levels. The tuition fee is only 15,000 bucks. The first fifty students to sign up, for an additional 5,000 bucks, will receive a complimentary well-tempered Supreme Scorpion Sword which is 2.4 meters long with three venomous thorns embedded on the tip. A hundred percent true and authentic. Our headcount is limited. Come on and sign up if you are interested!"

  "Skill cards. New skill cards have arrived!"

  "Super skill cards produced by elders of Cheetah Teeth Sect, all Core Formation Stage Cultivators, containing an entire set of seventy-two deadly serial moves, are now available! Once you start the first move, you won't be able to stop the following three minutes of storm-like attacks at all! Look. There are signatures of the elders of Cheetah Teeth Sect. They are totally authentic. Everybody is welcome to check them out in the branches of Cheetah Teeth Sect!"

  "Do you want to be an unparalleled expert in the world? Are you eager to let your name resound in the Flying Star Sector? Do you want to fully appreciate the mysteries of the Cultivation world? Join Rumbling Thunder Union!

  "Rumbling Thunder Union boasts both a long history and an immense capability right now! We have experience in the transportation industry, the mining industry, and the crystal suit refining industry. Right now, we have thirty-five starships in total, thirteen large-scale mines, and refining centers on fo
ur planets. Our comprehensive capability always ranks in the top twenty in the Flying Star Sector!

  "Rumbling Thunder Union is headquartered on the super starship 'Rumbling Thunder'. Not only does the starship have unimaginable firepower and an amazingly high speed, it is also installed with a one-hundred percent real simulation of the natural environment. There are many attractions in the living quarters, including lakes, beaches, and hills. You will feel that you are standing in a natural paradise instead of floating in the sea of stars!

  "Right now, we sincerely invite promising young men below the age of eighteen with a Spirit Actualization Quotient higher than 80% as our intern disciples. The length of internship will be three years, during which time your living expenses will be covered, and you will be enlightened by the real masters. Once your spiritual root is awakened, you will be registered as an official disciple! Even if your spiritual root isn't awakened in three years, you will still have the opportunity to work in the Rumbling Thunder Group with a decent salary!"

  Half a day later, as Li Yao walked through the packed streets of Star Lord Temple, watching the colorfully blinking light beams in the air, hearing the tempting commercials, and even smelling the vague scent of the delicious food, his lips curled up without him knowing.

  The feeling… was so familiar.

  It was the time of the monthly kermis. A lot of visitors had come to this place. At least ten thousand people were roaming on the street.

  Outside of the starship, it was cold, lonely space. Inside Star Lord Temple, it was a lively world of laughter and happiness.

  In a trance, Li Yao felt like he was back to a certain underground city of the Heaven's Origin Sector.

  They were both raucous, noisy, and chaotic. But they were equally vigorous, too.

  At this moment, Li Yao bade farewell to the folks of Black Iron Town.

  As a gesture of gratitude, Mayor Mu Ping had given him a large sum of money after the shell of the giant crab had been sold.

  Li Yao was a newcomer to the world and literally cash-strapped. Therefore, he'd accepted Mu Ping's generosity, which had met his urgent need.