The Gravity Chamber

The East Guardian went through every detail, clearly explaining the rules of the recommendation system and what would be required.

Guen thought it over. "But if someone deliberately recommends a genius from a hostile faction, wouldn't that just be a losing proposition?"

The East Guardian explained, "Generally, dangerous missions like this are assigned to people who have exhausted their potential. But scouting the sea beasts' movements is crucial to the Empire's plans to harvest Sea Gel next year. The Empire once suffered a heavy loss because it didn't know where the sea beasts were. Fighters who have exhausted their potential have little motivation to do this job well. The occasional one or two who are patriotic and eager to serve are still no use. That's why the rule gradually emerged that each faction would send its own geniuses. Not only did casualties drop considerably, but many talents were cultivated in the process."

"If someone makes a recommendation out of self-interest and with ill intent, the recommendation can be refused, and not a single person sent. But the faction in question will have to pay more to satisfy the other factions. It would take roughly three times the resources and treasures to refuse a recommendation. If the recommendation is accepted, the recommending faction pays that cost and must also give the person being recommended an additional amount of resources and treasures equal to twice the original amount. This time, the Imperial Council recommended you. If you agree, the total will be five times the resources and treasures. The Goddess Temple only wants those abundant bulk supplies, which are of little use to you anyway, and we'll compensate you with an equivalent amount of contributions. We absolutely won't take advantage of you."

Guen was still curious. "What if a faction is wealthy enough to keep refusing recommendations? Wouldn't it be able to preserve a large number of geniuses over time?"

A cold glint appeared in the East Guardian's eyes. "It would, but that's happened before in history. If a faction refuses to send people more than three times in ten years, the others will join forces to destroy it! Two official factions have been wiped out that way. Conversely, if a faction never refuses within ten years, its territory can be expanded, and it can force other factions to trade certain supplies with it, such as the Goddess Temple's exclusive Green Marrow or the Imperial Council's Jade Stalactite. The Demon Hunters were once a weak civilian organization, but they've shouldered major responsibilities for fifty years straight. The various factions are already prepared to accept them as a new official faction, giving them complete control of the East Sea Province. That's the price of responsibility—and its reward."

Guen couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.

At the very least, an official faction had the power to collect taxes and independent administrative authority over a certain region. Every official faction dominated its territory, possessed immense wealth and deep foundations, and could take part in the Empire's decision-making. Every organization had to obey the national policies they established. But as the ones who made the rules, the benefits they enjoyed were too numerous to describe.

Hadn't Chen joined the Demon Hunters?

Guen blinked.

"By the way, Guardian, what benefits would I get if I agreed to go out to sea?" Guen asked.

The East Guardian answered without hesitation. "You decide what benefits you want. Think about what you need. I can only give you a rough estimate: it would be worth about 180,000 contributions from the Goddess Temple. If you do an excellent job, the Goddess Temple will also grant you additional rewards. For example, you could spend a month at the Temple of Life, or the High Priest might even forge a Force Weapon for you. Of course, you already have one, but you should understand how significant an offer this is."

I'm in!

Guen's eyes reddened.

One hundred and eighty thousand contributions. Counting the contributions from missions he hadn't turned in yet, he only had about two hundred. The thought of 180,000 made him feel dizzy.

If he wasn't going to take a risk now, when would he?

Guen thought for a moment before speaking. "Guardian, my knowledge is limited. I don't know what would be most worthwhile to ask the Imperial Council for."

The East Guardian looked pleased. "The Goddess Temple has all the ordinary treasures, so don't bother asking for those. This is a rare opportunity, so you should focus on things unique to the Imperial Council. My first suggestion is to ask for a gravity chamber made of Hujia Stone."

"Hujia Stone?" Guen asked, puzzled. "Isn't that exclusive to the Council of Elders?"

"That's right. But when the Empire was first established, three institutions controlled its power. One of them was destroyed because it refused to send people to the East Sea Province. But if you trace things back to their origins, the Council of Elders and the Imperial Council are really one family. Hujia Stone may be exclusive to the Council of Elders for everyone else, but the two councils trade with each other, so you can get it from the Imperial Council too," the East Guardian explained.

"What's so good about this gravity chamber, Guardian?" Guen asked. "I saw that it costs a lot at the Armory Camp, but it only increases gravity. That shouldn't be all that effective for training your flesh and blood, should it?"

The East Guardian smiled. "You've been focused on cultivation and haven't paid attention to these things. Ordinary training methods, even the Secret Methods from the Land of Inheritance, take several hours to train the deep-level cells, and each session can only train some of them. A gravity chamber trains every cell in your body. According to the High Priest, ordinary cultivation can train at most 15% of your deep-level cells, while a gravity chamber can train up to 97%. Cells have appetites too. Once they've been trained, they get hungry. When they're hungry, they can absorb more Cosmic Energy. The more cells you train, and the deeper the training, the more energy they can absorb at once. With a gravity chamber, you can absorb dozens or even hundreds of times more Cosmic Energy than before! And the gravity generated by Hujia Stone is very gentle. The gravity multiplier may be high, but it barely harms your flesh or internal organs—almost not at all. So you absolutely must exchange for a gravity chamber made of Hujia Stone."

Guen suddenly remembered that after going all out earlier, he really had absorbed much more Cosmic Energy. He hurriedly called out to Moto in his mind. "Moto, can a gravity chamber increase the speed of cultivation?"

Moto responded at once. "Yes, Master. In the universe, a gravity chamber is an indispensable cultivation aid. It can strengthen the body and improve the efficiency of energy absorption. It works very well until the Cosmic level."

"Then why doesn't it work well after the Cosmic level?"

"Master, according to my data, after reaching the Cosmic level, cultivation focuses more on comprehending laws. You already know that comprehension of laws has four levels: ordinary, Conception, domain, and world. The Cosmic level lies between Conception and domain. My database also contains an explanation from a powerhouse on Tucha Planet: 'From the Apprentice Level to the Cosmic level, the main change is from the outside in, so external aids produce immediate results. Starting at the Cosmic level, the change is from the inside out, and comprehension becomes more important. If someone at the Cosmic level can't achieve comprehension from within, they won't be able to advance to a higher level.'"

The Cosmic level was still too far away.

But while Guen vaguely felt that there was some sense to the difference between changing from the inside out and changing from the outside in, he had no real insight into it. He could only give up, cut off his communication with Moto, and continue asking, "I'll take your advice, Guardian. Besides the gravity chamber, what else do you think would be best?"

The East Guardian said solemnly, "I suggest you use all your remaining requests for Muya Crystals. The total amount is five times the original resources. The Imperial Council certainly won't make things that easy for you. The threefold amount will definitely be paid in bulk resources. They'll only accept your demands for the twofold extra amount, which is paid to you separately. You can ask for something more valuable, but the quantity won't exceed that limit."

"The Imperial Council has Muya Crystals?!" Guen's eyes widened.