Planetary Level 2

Early the next morning, Carl came to call Guen as usual, ready to patrol the coast and hunt ferocious beasts.

Guen had reaped a rich harvest, but Carl had only one ferocious beast kill and its materials to show for herself, which was still far from enough.

But as soon as Guen opened the door, Carl saw that he looked refreshed. Compared to yesterday, his aura was more concentrated. She couldn't help but say with mixed feelings, "Looks like you made quite a haul, Brother Guen."

He had clearly advanced to Planetary Level 2.

Guen smiled faintly.

That was right. In just one night, Guen had taken another step forward.

Planetary cultivation involved not only accumulating raw energy, but also studying and improving one's Force Application Technique. Without a sufficient Force Multiplier, it was like a house with no supporting beams: it couldn't bear such a powerful body and such a vast reserve of Origin Power. Once someone gained an insight, however, they only needed to keep adding bricks and mortar. Simply absorbing energy was enough.

For geniuses, absorbing energy was actually a waste of time. Their realm and insights were already sufficient to support them as they cultivated to higher levels; they simply lacked the energy and had no choice but to absorb it little by little. Even so, they advanced far faster than ordinary people.

Guen had advanced so quickly mainly because Green Marrow and Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid still remained in his body. After he drank the Tempering Potion, his powerful mental strength had fully roused the residual medicinal effects and converted them into energy, helping him advance. Otherwise, he would have needed another two or three years of absorbing energy to reach Planetary Level 2.

"Now I finally understand how precious the Temple of Life is."

Guen marveled inwardly. That vast Life Energy, given enough time to absorb it, would be enough for him to cultivate all the way to Planet Level 7 or 8 in one go.

But the contribution points required were a staggering amount.

Guen had a feeling that advancing from Planet First Order to Planetary Level 2 required ten hours of absorbing energy in the Temple of Life.

And advancing from Planetary Level 2 to Planetary Level 3 would probably take around twenty-five hours.

Each hour required five hundred contribution points.

Guen had a feeling that advancing to Planet Level 8 with the help of the Temple of Life would take hundreds of thousands of contribution points.

"That's brutal. Now I see why so many people are willing to become Core Members of the Goddess Temple. I heard Core Members only need three hundred contribution points for one visit, and each year they're given a number of visits matching their rank."

Guen was tempted, too.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself before smiling. "That's right. The Tempering Potion worked even better than I expected. If you need some, Brother Carl, I can give you a little."

Carl's eyes widened. "You really don't have to—Really? I only need a tiny bit."

Carl was tempted, too, and forgot all about putting on a polite front.

Guen nodded firmly. "Of course. You've looked after me a lot, Brother Carl. It's no trouble to share some with you. But it'd be best not to tell anyone else about this."

"Got it, got it." Carl agreed at once. She couldn't figure out why Guen was doing this, but she knew that once an opportunity was missed, it might never come again.

Seeing how serious Guen was, Carl felt a little ashamed. "If you're only doing this to keep me quiet, you really don't have to. The East Guardian gave it to you. Anyone who tried to take it would be offending him."

Guen shook his head. "You've looked after me all the way here, Brother Carl, and you've always been open with me. You really treat me like a brother, so of course I won't begrudge you a little something. Don't think I'm so calculating."

Guen was willing to share because he understood the Tempering Potion's limitations. Its effects diminished with every use. It was like being pricked with a needle: the first time, it hurt enough to make you cry out; the second time, it still hurt, but you didn't react as badly. After enough times, you even grew numb and barely felt it.

There was no harm in sharing it with someone else.

"Come in, Brother Carl. You look like you can't wait any longer." Guen invited Carl inside and took out the Tempering Potion.

When Carl saw that Guen really had brought out the potion, she struggled with herself, but her heart still pounded wildly. She accepted it, her mouth going dry. After glancing at Guen, as if afraid he might change his mind, she gulped down a third of the potion. The instant it went down, she froze.

Her mental strength had been fully roused!

Seeing this, Guen didn't disturb her. Instead, he drank the rest of the Tempering Potion in one go, and its powerful effects took hold instantly.

This time, Guen already had some experience, and he used the Tempering Potion to practice the third move of Flame Slash.

The first move, Huoguang, used a blast of force to attack the enemy from a distance.

The second move, Liaohuo, was all about extreme speed.

The third move was Tanhuo.

With a single slash, it could set a piece of charcoal ablaze!

The essence of Tanhuo was to release a great amount of one's strength all at once. It sounded simple, but was extremely difficult to put into practice.

It involved an exceptionally advanced Force Application Technique. Even with the Tempering Potion's help, Guen practiced again and again, but the Tanhuo move he managed to execute still felt more wrong than right.

The potion's effects came quickly and faded just as fast.

Before long, Carl emerged from that state of heightened mental strength. Her body gave off a powerful suction force, drawing in all the surrounding energy and actively absorbing energy from the wider world as well.

Guen stopped practicing, too. The Tempering Potion had almost run its course, so he simply watched Carl. "You're about to advance."

Carl spent quite a while absorbing energy before finally stopping. She let out a long breath, excitement plain in her eyes, then lightly threw a punch into the air. The force of it sent everything in the room toppling about.

Carl let out a long roar, then finally settled down.

"Congratulations on reaching Tier 5, Brother Carl. You're no longer a low-tier Fighter. You can now genuinely threaten low-tier Planetary Fighters." Guen congratulated her.

Although the Flame God Armor was A5 Grade and could defend against attacks from Planet Level 5 Fighters, those attacks were already close to its defensive limit. If the Flame God Armor's wearer wasn't very high-ranked, a Planet Level 5 Fighter could still injure them through the armor, wearing them down little by little until they died.

In the Aoyu Empire, Planet Level 5 was a watershed. Only upon reaching this level did someone have the standing to earn respect in this circle.

Carl smiled wryly. "I can only threaten them. You actually killed a Super Tier Warrior—wow. And you've reached Planetary Level 2, too. This pace is unbelievable."

Carl looked at Guen in amazement.

Who could have imagined that just over half a year ago, Guen had been a Tier 7 Apprentice Fighter?

"You must be even stronger now—more terrifying than ever!" Carl said gravely.

Guen shook his head. "You're wrong about that, Brother Carl. My strength hasn't improved much. I owe most of my fighting power to this blade."

Guen patted the Meteor Light Blade at his waist.

Carl fell into thought.

Guen knew exactly where his fighting power came from: the combination of a Second-order Force Weapon and the Secret Method Flame Slash had made him as powerful as he was.

For an ordinary Fighter, advancing from Planet First Order to Planetary Level 2 would bring a huge improvement. But Guen had gained less than thirty percent in strength. He had simply become more durable, with a tougher body.

As one advanced through the Planetary Levels, from 1 to 9, it was a quantitative increase. When wielding the Meteor Light Blade, a Planet First Order Fighter and a Planet Level 9 Fighter were no different apart from their differences in strength and technique.

So if Guen wanted to make significant progress now, he had two options. First, advance to Planet Level 5 and greatly increase his physical strength. It was a watershed, and would allow him to multiply his fighting power several times over.

Second, master the third move of Flame Slash, Tanhuo.

Simply advancing one or two levels would do little for him now.

"Come on, Brother Carl. We've already wasted a lot of time. Maybe we'll run into a Planetary-level ferocious beast today." Guen took the lead, flying toward the coast.

Carl kept Guen's kindness in her heart and followed after him.