"Mm, no rush. I'll take a look at the other Innate Secret Arts that suit me first."
Wu Sheng's eyes lit up. He was growing more and more excited about the Innate Secret Arts he had left.
"The Innate Secret Art 'Demon Ape Transformation' could originally only be used to change one's size and appearance. In the later stages, it could also evolve into a body-based Amplitude Secret Technique."
"The Innate Secret Art 'Demon God Transformation' is an evolved version of 'Demon Ape Transformation.' It has an added Disguise ability, which can be used to change one's aura!"
Seeing this, Wu Sheng couldn't help marveling again.
This Innate Secret Art was pretty useless to him right now. He couldn't change his aura, so no matter how much he changed his appearance, anyone who knew him would recognize him at a glance.
But if he had this Disguise ability, wouldn't his move be even more powerful than the Demon Killer Clan's Innate Secret Art, "Copy"?
Then he looked at the next one...
"The Innate Secret Art 'Soul Control' expands the number of Mind Control targets to five after evolution. The Mind Control mark will completely merge with the target's soul, reducing the risk of detection. Mind Control targets retain their autonomy, eliminating the risk of backlash while preserving abilities such as shared laws. Note: These slots still cannot be used interchangeably!"
"The Innate Secret Art 'Soul Assimilation' keeps the number of Assimilation slots unchanged after evolution, and locks in the Avatar slots, eliminating the risk of backlash. It can establish a symbiotic connection between a new Avatar and the Original Body, while preserving the new Avatar's own advantages, such as an Inner World. Note: An Avatar is still just an Avatar. The Original Body's death will have a major impact on the Avatar, but the reverse has no effect. These slots still cannot be used interchangeably!"
"Holy crap, this is insane! Absolutely insane!"
After reading some of the descriptions, Wu Sheng felt more and more hopeful about his future.
For example, if he reached Star Grade now and used Assimilation to create an Avatar, that Avatar would be nothing more than an advanced puppet he could control remotely, and there'd still be a risk of backlash. If the Avatar died, he wouldn't lose his Assimilation slot or be affected himself. But if he died, the Avatar would die with him.
That was because this kind of Avatar was more like a Divine Power Avatar. It didn't have the symbiotic connection that existed between clones.
But if he used the evolved Innate Secret Art "Soul Assimilation" to create a new Avatar, that would be incredible.
The new Avatar wouldn't just be similar to a clone. Judging by the description, it could even retain its own Inner World and Divine Kingdom.
Of course, that was just Wu Sheng's initial interpretation. He suspected there would be other restrictions, but the overall effect should be something like that.
When the time came, the new Avatar would practically be half as powerful as the Original Body. If the Avatar died, the Original Body would be unaffected. If the Original Body died, the new Avatar would suffer as well and be severely weakened, but it could still use its Inner World to reconstitute the Original Body.
One Original Body and three Avatars—who knew, perhaps he could eventually create four Inner Worlds, or even four Divine Kingdoms!
"Haha, it's a lovely idea, but there'll definitely be plenty of restrictions in practice!" Wu Sheng laughed. He'd never heard of anyone possessing four Divine Kingdoms at once. That would be far too contrary to the laws governing the Primordial Universe.
"If I really choose this Innate Secret Art, I'll have to be extremely careful when selecting my Avatar targets."
Wu Sheng knew very well that when a Golden-Horned Giant Beast created a clone, it only needed to find a strand of hair or a scale to nurture one in its Inner World.
But his Inner World didn't have that ability!
He first had to find a living being with a soul, then use the Innate Secret Art "Soul Assimilation" to completely merge that soul with his own. That was how an Avatar came into being.
Of course, that was also one of the main reasons the Avatar could retain its Inner World!
The problem was that his current Assimilation ability couldn't establish a symbiotic connection between the Avatar's Inner World and his own. If the Avatar died, the Inner World that came with his Life Core would disappear along with it.
So Wu Sheng still had to be very careful about his choice of Avatar target.
After all, once the Assimilation ability evolved and the symbiotic connection was established, the Avatar slot would be locked.
If the new Avatar died, he could only recreate it through his Inner World. He wouldn't be able to choose another target to serve as his Avatar.
"Hmm, why isn't there a third-stage Innate Secret Art?"
Wu Sheng looked through the list carefully and saw that it really didn't mention a third stage. He couldn't help laughing.
"I'm being too greedy. That's no good. Never mind. I'll look through all these Innate Secret Arts one by one, then think carefully about which one I should choose!"
Seven or eight days passed. Wu Sheng felt that his understanding of Innate Secret Arts had risen to a whole new level.
"Worth it. So worth it! One trillion Cosmic Crystals, and just reading the information about these Innate Secret Arts is worth every penny."
"Tsk, tsk. I Am the Universe, Space-Time Control, Dark World..."
"Every one of them is comparable to a Universe Master Level Strongest Secret Technique. Even the weakest is at the Ultimate Level. What a shame!"
Wu Sheng shook his head and sighed. "What a shame I have to find the one that suits me best."
If he blindly pursued the most powerful one, even if he exchanged for it, he wouldn't be able to use it. That would be just as good as not having it.
"The ones best suited to me are the evolved 'Soul Devour' and 'Mind Control,' followed by 'Soul Assimilation.'"
"The first two provide support for law comprehension, so they're the best choices for my future cultivation of the laws. In my opinion, 'Soul Assimilation' is even more powerful than an ordinary Clone ability. If I find a suitable body and assimilate it into an Avatar, it'll surely help me greatly with comprehending the Source Laws."
Wu Sheng sighed. He wanted all of them.
Unfortunately, he could only make his first purchase from the Time-Space Shop for free. The second would cost another trillion Cosmic Crystals, and the third would cost ten trillion.
Where was he supposed to get that kind of money?
It wasn't as though he could get lucky and kill a few more Kadi or Li Hu, was it?
After all, their money came from the factions backing them. Once he left the Trial Ground, even killing ten times as many Li Hu might not be enough to raise the funds.
"Damn it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'll choose 'Mind Control.'"
Wu Sheng gritted his teeth.
"Mind Control" wasn't as good as "Soul Devour" for helping with law comprehension, nor was it as good as "Soul Assimilation" for keeping him alive. But it had the advantage of combining the benefits of both, and its slots weren't fixed. If a Mind Control target died or he reclaimed the slot himself, he could use it on a new target.
Most importantly, he was only at Planet Grade. "Soul Assimilation" wouldn't grant him his first slot until Star Grade, and he wouldn't get the second and third slots until Cosmic Level and Domain Lord.
But "Mind Control" started at the Apprentice level, so he could use its two current slots right away.
Besides...
"Leo isn't trustworthy either. Every so often, he tries to use the Mind Control mark to strike back at me. He's not like Man Gu. If I let him recover even some of his freedom, he might report me to the higher-ups at Thunder Star Mountain. Then I'd be in serious trouble!"
"Only by using the evolved 'Mind Control' to keep him firmly under control can I truly put him to work for me. Mm, I can also use his Innate Secret Art to try to comprehend my own Domain."
"I can't wait any longer!"
Wu Sheng narrowed his eyes. The Time-Space Shop appeared again. In the "Innate Secret Arts" section, he found the "Can Evolve" label and then located the description for the new "Mind Control."
He read it over several times before letting out a long breath.
He clicked confirm!
Ding!
The golden letters slowly began to gather together. Then, from somewhere unknown, an immense pressure spread around him and gradually poured into the golden letters.
A few seconds later, a droplet radiating endless golden light took shape. As Wu Sheng stared in amazement, it shot straight into the center of his brow.
It moved so fast that it must have easily exceeded the speed of light.
Inside Wu Sheng's Inner World...
The Golden Water Droplet suddenly appeared. It passed through the nine Miniature Planets formed from Wu Sheng's soul, then vanished into the eye of the Azure Wind Pillar, which stood nearly nine kilometers tall.
Hiss!
Boundless golden light and waves of pressure poured out through the Azure Wind Pillar, enveloping everything in the Inner World, including the nine Miniature Planets formed from Wu Sheng's soul. Yet the light had no hint of hostility. Instead, it felt strangely warm and comforting.
Rumble!
Wu Sheng's Inner World seemed to have been stimulated by something. This space, eighty kilometers long, wide, and tall, began slowly expanding once more.
"Haha, what a bargain! My Genetic Primal Force was already stuck at the Eighth-Order Peak. Thanks to this surge of energy, it's advanced to the Ninth Order. Now I only need to accumulate enough energy, and I'll be able to break through straight to Star Grade."
Wu Sheng examined his Inner World and found that it had grown to ninety kilometers across. The Primal Force pillar inside had also reached a height of nine kilometers. Combined with the nine Miniature Planets formed by his Spiritual Force...
He was quite pleased!
"Leo, Leo. It's time to try out my new Innate Secret Art on you!"
Wu Sheng looked at the Blue Armor Giant nearby, whose expression was still blank, and smiled.