Progress

The Forest Goddess Temple was very free, imposing no strict restrictions on its members' movements.

Even less so for low-level members who hadn't yet reached the Planetary Level—their only requirement was simple: train hard and reach the Planetary Level as soon as possible.

Before long, someone led Guen and the others to find their lodgings.

Among the sprawling palace complexes, many houses stood vacant.

Guen picked an empty palace and moved in. Inside, there was nothing beyond tables, chairs, stools, beds, and a wall lined with piles of books.

Guen casually picked one up.

Will and Transcendence.

"During cultivation, willpower is often overlooked, but transcending to become a Planetary Level warrior requires willpower as an indispensable key factor. When will and body achieve perfect unity, one can cross the barrier and attain the Planetary Level. This book primarily explains several methods and techniques for tempering willpower..."

Guen glanced at a few pages and set it down.

He scanned the bookshelf and found that there was more than one method of transcendence—approaches from spirit, body, and combat techniques all summarized ways to reach the Planetary Level.

Beyond that, the shelves held many special Secret Methods, Guiding Techniques, blade arts, and other martial skills, all casually placed there.

With Guen's current insight, he could easily judge that any one of these Secret Methods, if given to a warrior below the Planetary Level, would be immensely helpful.

Guen also noticed one thing: these Secret Methods mostly used Apprentice Level and Planetary Level to refer to realms, rather than the Aoyu Empire's Super Tier.

But the methods of transcendence held little appeal for Guen—he was already confident about how to advance to the Planetary Level.

"Moto, scan these books and find what's valuable to me." Faced with the dazzling array of scrolls, Guen couldn't be bothered to search one by one, so he had Moto scan them.

A blue fluorescent light shot out from the Smart Computer. Guen only needed to align the light and quickly flip through the books.

"Master, these seventeen volumes will be helpful to you. Two are cultivation Secret Methods, fifteen are humanities and geography. The rest are inferior to the Secret Methods stored in my database." Moto recorded the suitable content and transmitted it to Guen.

"Mm." This result didn't surprise Guen.

Though Mercedes had once come from the cosmos, compared to the Legacy of Tucha Planet, its foundation was far behind.

"Moto, which should I take first—Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid or Green Marrow?"

"Master, Green Marrow. In terms of effect, it merely imitates Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, so naturally it can't compare. However, it contains a large amount of Life Energy, which can be taken during cultivation to speed up training. But using Dragon Blood and Green Marrow together would be wasteful—using them separately yields the best results."

Guen thought for a moment and agreed.

If outsiders knew that Green Marrow was only being used to assist cultivation, they'd probably be furious.

This treasure could only be produced by the Forest Goddess Temple; other Factions found it difficult to obtain.

Even Dragon Blood was extremely hard for other Factions to replicate.

But within the Goddess Temple, these items weren't exactly common either.

Green Marrow: one portion every ten years. Dragon Blood: five portions every ten years.

And only those below the Planetary Level could enjoy this treatment.

But Guen had the superior Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, so he didn't care much.

Guen took out the Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid. The bottle, no bigger than a thumb, contained the Second Stage reward—only Guen had received it in this trial.

He pulled out the stopper. A faint fishy smell wafted out; just one sniff made every cell in his body seethe.

Guen tilted his head back and drank the entire bottle of Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid. A special, pure energy immediately exploded inside him.

Guen felt every cell being reborn, as if he were a bamboo shoot growing rapidly.

Layer after layer of blood scabs formed on his skin—traces of his body's rapid transformation.

"Hmph."

Guen grunted and shattered the layers of scabs, revealing skin as smooth and lustrous as porcelain, flawless in every way.

Even the fairest, most beautiful girl would feel ashamed standing before Guen.

Guen threw a punch, and the air instantly cracked with a sonic boom.

"Apprentice Level 8, so easily." Guen couldn't help but remark.

"Master, now is the best time to take the Green Marrow." Moto reminded him.

Guen nodded and picked up the Green Marrow.

The Green Marrow bottle was larger, and its fragrance was fresh, as if he were standing in a forest. He drank it in one gulp, and his entire body felt warm and comfortable.

Compared to Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, the energy in Green Marrow was gentler.

Guen immediately began using the Guiding Technique. Streams of Cosmic Energy were drawn in, and every cell greedily absorbed both the Cosmic Energy and the Life Energy from the Green Marrow.

With each breath, Guen grew stronger.

By the time Guen stopped, every cell was fully saturated with Cosmic Energy, and his strength had reached the limit of the 8th Level.

Moreover, under the influence of Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, Guen felt that even without Dragon Blood, his cells were extremely resilient. With just two or three more sufficient training sessions, he could reach Apprentice Level 9.

"Only half a year, and such progress."

Guen was even more amazed.

Half a year ago, he had been a Tier 7 Warrior with a Force Multiplier of 3.5 times his body, aiming to take down Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts.

Now, his physical strength had reached ninefold, and his level was extremely close to Ninth-rank Warrior.

If a Vajra Ape appeared before him now, it would be the Vajra Ape that had to flee in panic.

Body Movement Technique, fist techniques, weapons, and realm—in just half a year, this progress was simply inconceivable.

Back then, when he first met Uncle Jack, he was only at the Seventh Rank, and it took over a decade for him to advance to the Eighth Rank.

And before that, who knew how much time he had already spent.

Yet he had achieved it with ease.

"If just one outpost for investigating the natives on Tucha Planet has brought me such great progress, then becoming a core member on Tucha Planet itself—the benefits..."

Perhaps even the Universe Level that his parents had always hoped to reach would no longer be a difficult goal.

His father Kolong and mother Ina's greatest concern was returning to their homeland.

And that might require Universe Level.

Before this, Guen thought it would be good enough to reach Star Level like Mercedes, but now it seemed his potential might not stop there.

"Let me pause for a moment—I need to go to Beast Canyon."

Although the temptation to push straight to Ninth Rank was strong, Guen wanted to test the power of the Meteor Light Blade and the Flame Slash that the Volcano Interior's intelligence had valued so highly.

Moreover, his fist techniques and Body Movement Technique had improved greatly; he had to try them out to satisfy his urge.

The Volcano Interior was a trial—by the end, Guen was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, completely different from a cathartic battle.

The Forest Goddess Temple's territory was vast, and he couldn't leave before Planetary Level, but there were still places like Beast Canyon and the Forest Assembly where he could temper himself.

The Forest Assembly was an annual grand event held by the Barbarian Tribe, where many Barbarian experts would gather to spar and compare skills. As a member of the Goddess Temple, Guen could also participate, but the time hadn't come yet, so the perpetually open Beast Canyon, filled with monsters of all levels, suited him better.

As soon as Guen left his palace, he saw Uncle Jack at the entrance.

"Uncle, why are you here?" Guen's expression relaxed into a smile.

"I never would have thought that the red-haired kid Guen would achieve something I truly admire—first place in the trial. I've participated in three trials, but this is the first time I've seen the top scorer," Uncle Jack said with heartfelt emotion.

"Of course, I came here hoping you wouldn't misunderstand Setti. The ambush at Starlight Forest and the Imperial Council caused heavy casualties among the others from Double Moon Town, so Setti didn't dare tell you the truth, afraid of dragging you in and harming you."

Guen snorted coldly: "But we've already been dragged in. Him hiding things like this—he really doesn't treat us as his own people. If not for me and Chen, he might not have even made it into the final trial. I'll ask you just one thing, Uncle Jack—did you deliberately lead those people from Double Moon Town in?"

Uncle Jack replied: "Although I've known Setti for a long time and work for him, we had no ill intentions. We just wanted to cover our tracks. I participated three times only to gather intelligence for Setti, letting him pass in one go, afraid of drawing attention and causing trouble. Who would have thought His Majesty the King would act so directly, even stirring up the Vajra Ape?"

"Fine. I've only met Setti once anyway. I don't care what he thinks, but if he ever harms you, I won't let him off. As for the Imperial Council, I'll deal with them too—not for him, but for the people of Double Moon Town," Guen said solemnly.

Uncle Jack and the people of Double Moon Town had treated him well. Guen couldn't remain indifferent, and he wouldn't let this grudge go.

As for Setti, the fact that he could endure Mercedes' pressure just to bring Uncle Jack along was what truly made Guen change his view of him.

Mercedes was the number one figure in the Aoyu Empire. Even the Planetary Level members of the Imperial Council had to shut up when confronted by him, didn't they?

That incident had somewhat eased Guen's feelings.

"Alright, Uncle, I still have things to do. We'll talk later." Guen nodded at Uncle Jack and headed toward Beast Canyon.