A Year of Growth!

"The so-called domain is the true fusion of genetic energy, physical strength, psychic power, and consciousness, resonating with the cosmos to form a special force!"

"The combination of these powers elevates a martial artist who comprehends the domain to a terrifying level! A domain master at the Planetary-level is said to be invincible among peers!"

Babata said seriously.

"That impressive?" Luo Feng was somewhat surprised. "What about the state of mind? Do you know how comprehending the domain relates to the state of mind?"

"Well..." Babata wanted to say the domain and state of mind weren't closely connected, but then he recalled Zhou Ze's certainty and how only those geniuses with exceptionally strong inner minds in the universe could comprehend the domain.

"Maybe... but training the state of mind is too ethereal. And look at the three people on Earth who've comprehended the domain now, including Zhou Ze—none of them are younger than you by much..."

"Of course, that bit of age isn't worth mentioning, not even compared to this Demon Babata... Hmph, maybe you can give it a try, but don't put all your focus on training the state of mind!"

Luo Feng nodded: "Babata, you make sense. I understand, Teacher..."

Before Luo Feng could finish, he saw Babata about to change expression, so he stopped and shifted the topic seriously:

"Babata, by the way, can Zhou Ze's talent in Psychic Power really not be improved? Martial artists can enhance their talent through heavenly treasures and earthly riches—Spiritual Psychics should be able to too, right?"

Babata clasped his hands behind his head, lying in the air: "Of course they can! But with such treasures, the effective ones are too expensive to buy, and the cheap ones don't do much—especially for that guy Zhou Ze. His talent as a Spiritual Psychic is ridiculously low!"

"He shouldn't have awakened his Psychic Power at all; maybe he'd have broken through to Planetary-level by now."

"Alright." Luo Feng was a bit helpless.

Babata went on: "To change talent, the best method is actually the 'Bloodline Potion'!"

"Huh, 'Bloodline Potion'? What's that?" Luo Feng asked curiously. "Is it a treasure that can raise a person's bloodline grade?"

"Exactly! When I was underground on Fog Island, I told you about some powerful races among humanity—eating, drinking, sleeping, no training needed, and they naturally reach Domain Lord-level."

"Yeah, hard to imagine..." Luo Feng sighed. "Those Stellar Beasts with peak bloodlines, growing naturally to Realm Lord-level just by eating and sleeping..."

"The 'Bloodline Potion' has the effect of evolving one's bloodline. The most precious ones can even evolve a person to a first-class bloodline—no training needed, naturally growing to Domain Lord-level!"

Babata said: "Even the cheapest Bloodline Potion is something you can't afford right now."

"Ah, that expensive? Babata, even if I reach Stellar-level and open the first account Teacher Hu Yanbo left me, it won't work?" Luo Feng scratched the back of his head.

"Still can't afford it. That's a treasure priced in cosmic currency. Give up!" Babata said bluntly.

"Fine." Luo Feng drooped his head.

"But you can buy a Bloodline Evolution Agent. Its effect is far inferior to the Bloodline Potion, but it's still pretty good."

"Mm, I see."

Bright Moon District.

On Zhou Ze's rooftop, Thunder God came in and started pouring out his grievances.

"Brother Zhou Ze, you don't know, I just sparred with Brother Hong yesterday..."

Zhou Ze smiled faintly: "Win or lose?"

"Won, of course!" Thunder God flashed his white teeth, then looked speechless: "But who knew, right after the fight, he suddenly broke through to Second Layer Domain! That's too fake!"

"Poor me, reclaiming the top spot for less than a minute before Brother Hong snatched it back. Ah, such a hard life..." Thunder God draped an arm over Zhou Ze's shoulder, pretending to cry.

After waiting a while, Thunder God found Zhou Ze unmoved and couldn't help asking: "Brother Zhou Ze, why no reaction?"

Zhou Ze looked at Thunder God with a half-smile. The latter rubbed his shiny bald head, a bit embarrassed.

Just as Thunder God was about to say something, a blurry figure appeared beside them, quickly sharpening into Hong!

"Zhou Ze." Hong greeted, glancing coldly at Thunder God.

"Brother Hong, your plane isn't as fast as mine. I got here way earlier than you!" Thunder God said smugly.

Hong ignored Thunder God and directly asked Zhou Ze: "Zhou Ze, what's the matter?"

Thunder God also looked at Zhou Ze: "You should be able to sense that ominous crisis in the dark too, right? Is it about that?"

Zhou Ze said: "Sort of related. I called you both here to tell you something, and it's up to you to choose."

With that, Zhou Ze smiled slightly. Since their first meeting, the three had often exchanged insights on the state of mind, and Thunder God frequently sought his advice on Force Emission.

So now, though his strength and status were far below Hong and Thunder God, they treated him as an equal.

To beings with such transcendent states of mind, even if you're overwhelmingly powerful, if your mind isn't enough, it's hard to find true common ground.

"Oh?" Thunder God was curious.

Hong glanced sideways.

"A great opportunity awaits you both. You've sensed it too, haven't you? Heh..." Zhou Ze briefly recounted how he and Luo Feng had obtained the Fallen Ink Star inheritance.

"That smart guy named Babata will let us join Fallen Ink Star?" Thunder God asked with a smile.

Zhou Ze chuckled: "Definitely. Comprehending the domain at Planetary-level—even if the Lord of Fallen Ink Star were alive, he'd beg for people like you."

Thunder God laughed heartily: "This is great. The whole sect is just the two of you, so no worries about being cannon fodder."

Hong nodded too: "That works. We get the inheritance without any constraints."

Suddenly, Babata appeared out of nowhere, flailing in the air: "Bastards! Both of you are bastards just like Zhou Ze! Disrespecting the sect—deserving a beating and punishment!"

Babata was both furious and helpless.

Of course, deep down, she was secretly delighted.

After all, these two were absolutely the finest disciples—Apprentice-level geniuses who already possessed their own domains. Such talents, placed anywhere in the universe, would be fiercely fought over.

"Babata." Zhou Ze raised an eyebrow slightly. "Luo Feng isn't here. How can you appear before us?"

Babata sneered dismissively. "It's just a Consciousness Projection. As long as your Smart Optical Computer has this function, I can show up anywhere on Earth. Don't forget, I'm an intelligent lifeform. Such basic features—what's there to make a fuss about?"

Hong and Thunder God exchanged a glance. No wonder Zhou Ze had said earlier that Babata was quite amusing—she was just like a child at heart. And children, you just coax them.

Babata ignored Zhou Ze entirely, instead pulling Hong and Thunder God aside to offer them advice on their future cultivation paths. These were her precious disciples from Fallen Ink Star.

If placed in the wider universe, not just anyone could easily become a disciple of Fallen Ink Star.

At the very least, among her master's disciples, not a single one had comprehended a domain at the Stellar-level.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Under Babata's guidance, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God had all made rapid progress in strength.

But Zhou Ze still hadn't broken through to the Planetary-level. Even with Fallen Ink Star's Psychic cultivation techniques, his Psychic Power cultivation speed barely matched that of an ordinary Earth psychic.

And that was still far too slow!

Zhou Ze asked Babata how to boost his strength without regard for consequences, but Babata said that would require treasures—treasures her master had never bothered to collect because he deemed them beneath him.

Helpless, Zhou Ze could only pour his time and energy into Amplification, Domain, and other aspects. In these areas, he made astonishing progress!

In Force Emission, Zhou Ze had reached 18 times. His Domain was close to the third level. And in terms of consciousness, riding on Luo Feng's insights, his Psychic Amplification had already reached 19 times!

"My Psychic Power can't keep up at all. My Brain Domain Width is too low, holding too little Psychic Power. If I unleash full 19-times Amplification, I can't last even half a minute!"

In the Training Hall, the 19 flying knives that had been whirling rapidly around Zhou Ze clattered weakly to the ground.

"Same with Body Amplification—my body can barely handle any more Hidden Force."

Zhou Ze found it both amusing and frustrating. He suspected he might be rarer in the universe than someone comprehending a domain before the Planetary-level. Who else, at the Apprentice-level, maxed out Body Amplification and pushed Psychic Amplification to 19?

With that effort, wouldn't it be far better to just break through to Planetary-level? Besides, breaking through to Planetary-level was infinitely easier than maxing out Body Amplification.

Raising one's level could be done with treasures, but improving Body Amplification and Psychic Amplification—while external aids could help—ultimately depended on one's own comprehension.

Second floor of Luo Feng's house, Training Hall.

Luo Feng used his Psychic Power to levitate the Blade Fragment.

From a single strand of Psychic Power, he increased it to 19 strands!

Before receiving the Fallen Ink Star inheritance, Luo Feng could control 18 strands of Psychic Power, but he had to control 18 separate objects. He couldn't combine the 18 strands without affecting combat effectiveness—merging them would interfere with each other.

Now, he could merge all 19 strands together.

Babata huffed proudly. "See, Luo Feng? Listen to me, and you'll be fine. I, the great Demon Babata, have roamed the universe for six thousand epochs. That brat Zhou Ze—what does he know about psychics?!"

Luo Feng broke out in a cold sweat. He dared not argue with Babata, especially when she mentioned his teacher. Otherwise, he'd be treated to a full blast of Babata's demonic roar.

Over the past year, he had been training under Babata. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhou Ze, but Zhou Ze simply couldn't guide him. Both had received the Fallen Ink Star inheritance, but Luo Feng had been diligently studying the Psychic Secret Manual.

Zhou Ze, on the other hand, had glanced at the Martial Artist Secret Manual and never looked at it again.

He had been incredibly busy this past year—cultivating Genetic Energy, studying the Control Chapter, Illusion Chapter, and Miscellaneous Chapter of Fallen Ink Star's Psychic Secret Manual, and even dabbling in the Martial Artist Secret Manual.

By the end of the year, he was mentally dazed. Compared to being trapped in the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins, where he only needed to focus on the Basic 321 Forms of a psychic, now he had too much to learn, too scattered.

East China Sea.

Hong and Thunder God floated two to three hundred meters above the sea surface.

"Brother Hong, a year has passed. Watch me defeat you this time!" Thunder God said, brimming with confidence.

A faint smile tugged at Hong's lips. "Alright, come on!"

Both of them unfolded their domains simultaneously. A black-red circular domain and a blue-gold one clashed against each other, sending wave after wave of air pressure surging in all directions.

Even though the sea surface was two to three hundred meters below them, it still stirred up layer upon layer of tsunamis that swept outward.

The aquatic monster beasts beneath the surface fled for their lives.

This was the aura of the two strongest beings on Earth today. Aside from a certain distant, colossal creature deep in the ocean—the Golden-Horned Giant Beast—no lifeform was their match!