Gravity Chamber

The East Guardian laid out every detail clearly, explaining the rules of the recommendation system and what needed to be done in plain terms.

Guen mused, "But if that's the case, wouldn't recommending a genius from a hostile faction on purpose just be a losing deal?"

The East Guardian explained, "Generally speaking, such dangerous missions are meant for those whose potential is exhausted. However, scouting the movements of sea beasts is crucial for the Empire's plan to harvest Sea Gel in the coming year. The Empire once suffered a great loss due to ignorance of sea beast movements. Those with depleted potential have little motivation to do this job well. Even the occasional one or two with fervent patriotism are hardly up to the task. That's why the rule gradually evolved to let the geniuses of various factions carry it out—not only did casualties drop significantly, but it also fostered a lot of talent in the process.

"If someone makes a recommendation out of personal spite or ill intent, it can be refused, and no one is sent at all. But the price is that the recommending faction must pay a greater cost to satisfy the other factions—roughly three times the resources and treasures—to reject the recommendation. If the recommendation is accepted, then that cost is borne by the recommending faction, and they must also give the recommended individual resources and treasures equivalent to twice the original amount. This time, the Imperial Council recommended you. If you agree, that's a total of five times the resources and treasures. My Goddess Temple only wants those large quantities of bulk goods, which are useless to you anyway, and I'll compensate you with equivalent contribution points—I won't take a single advantage."

Guen was still curious. "But what if some faction is wealthy enough to keep refusing recommendations? Over time, wouldn't they hoard a lot of geniuses?"

The East Guardian's expression turned cold. "Yes, but history has seen such cases. If a faction refuses to send people more than three times within ten years, it will be jointly wiped out by the other factions! In the past, two official factions were destroyed this way. Conversely, if a faction never refuses once in ten years, it can expand its sphere of influence and forcibly trade certain resources with other factions—like my Goddess Temple's exclusive Green Marrow, or the Imperial Council's Jade Stalactite. The Demon Hunters were once a very weak Civilian Organization, but after shouldering heavy responsibilities for fifty consecutive years, all parties are now prepared to accept them as a new official faction, fully taking control of Eastsea Province. That's the balance of responsibility and reward."

Guen couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

An official faction, at the very least, had the power to levy taxes and exercise independent administrative authority over a certain region. Every official faction dominated its own territory, with immense wealth and deep foundations, capable of participating in Imperial decision-making. The national policies they formulated had to be followed by all organizations. But as the makers of the rules, the benefits were too numerous to describe in just a few words.

Hadn't Chen joined the Demon Hunters?

Guen blinked.

"By the way, Guardian, if I agree to go into the sea, what benefits can I get?" Guen asked.

The East Guardian answered without hesitation. "The benefits are yours to ask for. It depends on what you need. I can only give you a rough figure—roughly equivalent to 180,000 contribution points from my Goddess Temple. If you perform well, the Goddess Temple will also grant additional rewards, like staying in the Temple of Life for a month, or even possibly having the High Priest forge a Force Weapon for you. Of course, you already have one, but you should understand the weight of that."

I'm in!

Guen's eyes turned red.

180,000 contributions. The contributions he had on him, even counting the unfinished mission rewards, were only around two hundred. 180,000—Guen felt a little dizzy.

If not now, when would he take such a risk?

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

The East Guardian showed a satisfied expression. "Don't mention ordinary treasures—my Goddess Temple has all of those. This is a rare opportunity. You must first focus on things unique to the Imperial Council. My first suggestion is to request a gravity chamber made of Hujia Stone."

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

"Correct. But at the Empire's founding, there were actually three institutions holding power. One of them was destroyed because it refused to send people to Eastsea Province. But tracing back to the source, whether it's the Council of Elders or the Imperial Council, they're actually one family. To others, Hujia Stone is exclusive to the Council of Elders, but to the Imperial Council, it circulates between them. You can get Hujia Stone from the Imperial Council too," the East Guardian explained.

"What's so good about the gravity chamber, Guardian?" Guen asked. "I've seen it priced very high in the Armory Camp, but it only increases gravity. For training the flesh and blood, it can't be that effective, right?"

The East Guardian laughed. "You, you must have been focused solely on cultivation and missed this. Ordinary training, even with the Secret Methods of the Land of Inheritance, takes several hours to train deep-level cells, and each time you can only train a portion of them. But a gravity chamber trains every single cell comprehensively. According to the High Priest, ordinary training can at most train 15% of deep-level cells, while a gravity chamber can train up to 97%. Cells also have appetites—when trained, they get hungry. When hungry, they can absorb more Cosmic Energy. The more you train and the deeper the level, the more you absorb each time. With a gravity chamber, the Cosmic Energy you can absorb in one go will be dozens or even hundreds of times greater than before! Moreover, the gravity from Hujia Stone is very gentle. Even though the gravity multiplier is huge, it causes almost no damage to the internal organs. So you absolutely must exchange for a Hujia Stone gravity chamber."

Guen suddenly recalled that after his full-power outburst earlier, he had indeed absorbed much more Cosmic Energy. He quickly called out to Moto in his mind: "Moto, can a gravity chamber increase cultivation speed?"

Moto immediately replied, "Yes, Master. In the universe, the gravity chamber is an indispensable auxiliary tool in the cultivation process. It not only strengthens the body but also increases the efficiency of energy absorption. It works very well up to the Universe Level."

"Then why is it less effective after Universe Level?"

"Master, according to my data, after Universe Level, the focus shifts more toward comprehending laws. You already know that the comprehension of laws is divided into four levels: Ordinary, Conception, Domain, and World. Universe Level sits between Conception and Domain. My database also contains an explanation from a strong expert on Tucha Planet: 'From Apprentice Level to Universe Level, the change is primarily from the outside in, so external aids have an immediate effect. But starting from Universe Level, the change is from the inside out, and comprehension becomes more important. If a Universe Level cannot achieve comprehension from the inside out, they will be unable to advance to a higher level.'"

Universe Level—that was too far away.

But the idea of "from the inside out" and "from the outside in"—Guen only felt vaguely that it made some sense, but he couldn't grasp any real insight. He gave up, cut off his communication with Moto, and continued asking, "I'll follow your advice, Guardian. Besides the gravity chamber, what do you think is best?"

The East Guardian said solemnly, "I suggest you convert all your remaining requests into Muya Crystals. With the total being five times the resources, the Imperial Council certainly won't let you off easy. Three times the resources will definitely be given as bulk goods. Only the extra two times, which are compensation specifically to you, will accept your requests. You can ask for something precious, but the quantity won't exceed this limit."

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