Arrangements

Babata, inside the underground ship, hadn't noticed anything unusual about Shi Fen.

In Babata's eyes, Shi Fen was simply delighted to have found Wood Bud Crystals by chance. "As expected of a native. He's actually this happy to see Wood Bud Crystals. Getting the two of you to submit will be a piece of cake. Hahaha!"

Babata laughed wildly inside the ship, completely unaware that every move he made was being watched by Shi Fen.

Several hours later.

The battle for the Wood Bud Crystals ended. Every last crystal Babata had released had been snatched up.

Shi Fen came away with 12 Wood Bud Crystals, while Luo Feng had astonishing luck and collected 15. Hong, Thor, and the others made a great haul. The later-arriving Earthling powerhouses collected very few; the Wood Bud Crystals were basically scooped up by Hong, Thor, and their group. The later arrivals managed to find fewer than 10 scattered crystals.

Shi Fen could easily have taken them all, but anyone with a brain would have thought something was wrong if he did.

So Shi Fen had "gotten lucky" and found 12 Wood Bud Crystals.

During the battle, Shi Fen deliberately arranged to run into the Fifth Speaker, Atkin, and fight him for a Wood Bud Crystal. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Fen used his Soul Domain, wielding a blade and shield along with 16 throwing knives.

He pinned the Fifth Speaker, Atkin, to the ground and gave him a thorough beating.

"That bastard Atkin. After others made sacrifices, he used their deaths to throw his weight around and pull off disgusting little schemes. Let's see you take a beating!" As Shi Fen beat Atkin, he felt as if he were experiencing things from a "God Perspective." The moment he saw Atkin, he couldn't help but give him a thorough thrashing.

During the battle against the monster horde, Shi Fen hadn't used a blade and shield because he lacked confidence in his weapon skills. The situation had been critical, and he'd instinctively chosen the Spiritual Force he was best at using.

Now, with the Soul Domain enhancing him, Shi Fen used Atkin as a whetstone to improve his weapon skills.

The Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, which had been stuck for a long time, surged from the first layer straight to the seventh under the terrifying boost of the Soul Domain, where it finally stopped. Shi Fen's Force Amplitude shot up to 56 times.

His Martial Artist abilities quickly reached a high level by Earth's standards.

Shi Fen had beaten Atkin to his heart's content and felt much better.

Atkin was so furious he wanted to curse. Was there really such a huge grudge over one Wood Bud Crystal?

When he learned who Shi Fen was, Atkin was so shocked that he didn't dare say a word. He could only curse inwardly. "Shi Fen, the chief forging master, is actually this strong! Is he even a forger? He hasn't reached the Planetary Level, and he's already this powerful. What'll happen once he reaches it?

"Damn it, what bad luck. I still need him to forge an SSS-Grade Weapon for me. I can't afford to offend him."

Atkin had to swallow his anger. He didn't dare make a fuss and quietly slipped away, pretending nothing had happened as he continued searching for Wood Bud Crystals.

Shi Fen's strength wasn't revealed to the public as a result of this fight.

While searching for Wood Bud Crystals, Luo Feng fought the Third Speaker, the Ice and Snow Emperor, head-on. Relying on his Gold Domain, Luo Feng didn't fall behind and fought the Third Speaker to a standstill.

The complete set of custom-made SSS-Grade Weapons forged by Shi Fen had been entrusted with an important task on its very first outing.

Word of Luo Feng's strength spread far and wide, and his reputation soared!

Shi Fen and Luo Feng had become Hong's subordinates, so Hong felt awkward taking a cut of their gains. He promised that they could redeem items at headquarters, offering 15 Star Points per Wood Bud Crystal. Since so many crystals had appeared at once, Hong couldn't afford to buy them all at the usual price, so he offered less.

In the original story, the price given was 20 Star Points per Wood Bud Crystal.

Including the 12 Wood Bud Crystals and the share Hong had given him for the Spirit of Vegetation he'd collected earlier on Mist Island, Shi Fen had quite a haul. He didn't mind the slight difference in price.

Shi Fen and Luo Feng made their exchanges with Hong on the spot. They spent 4 Wood Bud Crystals on various treasures to increase their strength, including Dragon Blood, Jade Marrow, and Spirit of Vegetation, as well as 3 King-Level Fighter Jets.

Hong had plenty of good things in his Space Ring, and he handed the treasures over to Shi Fen on the spot. The three King-Level Fighter Jets would be delivered to Bright Moon Residential District later.

"When we get home, we can start producing War Gods in batches."

Shi Fen planned to raise himself, Luo Feng, Wei Wen, and all their families to the early War God level. Then he'd use Wood Bud Crystals to raise Shi Tie, Shi Tian, and Wei Wen to the peak War God level, and perhaps even help them break through to the Planetary Level. The three King-Level Fighter Jets were meant for them.

As the three pillars of Three Stones, they naturally deserved better treatment from Shi Fen.

Once their strength improved, the three of them would be able to forge Kro Alloy without strain and work as they pleased. If they could reach the Planetary Level, the help of Void Force would surely let them make even greater strides!

As the Wood Bud Crystals were dug up, the large crowd gathered on Mist Island began packing up and leaving one by one.

"A pulling force?"

Shi Fen sensed a strange pull from underground through his Soul Domain and was delighted. "I didn't expect I'd be able to sense this pulling force. But this inheritance should be left for Luo Feng."

"I'd better hurry and deliver the Wood Bud Crystals to Master. He'll finally be able to become a Planetary-Level powerhouse!" Shi Fen pretended to be in a hurry, ignored the pulling force, and flew into his fighter jet, heading straight for Hongning Base City.

After Shi Fen flew away, he saw Babata jumping up and down angrily inside the ship and was thrilled.

Babata stomped around inside the Black Ink Star Ship. "This mysterious pulling force is so useless! It let that peerless genius get away! Aaargh! I'm furious!"

Shi Fen arrived at the Forging Room and respectfully placed the Wood Bud Crystal in his master's hands.

Elder Qian looked at Shi Fen, who stood before him, respectfully holding a Wood Bud Crystal. He was deeply moved.

How could someone like Elder Qian not know what had happened on Mist Island? He knew his combat strength was poor; all his ability lay in his Forging Hammer. He didn't have the strength to compete for the crystals, so he'd hoped Hong would give him one and let him break through to the Planetary Level.

He'd only just had the thought, and Shi Fen had already brought one to him.

Elder Qian said little and accepted the Wood Bud Crystal. He alone knew the complicated feelings in his heart. He offered Shi Fen a brief word of thanks, then went into seclusion to prepare for his breakthrough to the Planetary Level.

Shi Fen didn't mind Elder Qian's somewhat cold attitude.

The colder Elder Qian seemed, the more clearly he would remember it in his heart. Shi Fen understood that.

After bidding Elder Qian farewell,

Shi Fen boarded his fighter jet and flew toward a spot in the Pacific Ocean.

On the way to Elder Qian's place, Shi Fen had kept the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror's detection function fully activated. Carefully controlling its search range, he had searched the Pacific Ocean bit by bit. Before he even reached Elder Qian, he had found an oval black giant egg on the Pacific seabed.

To make sure it wasn't the egg of some other monster, Shi Fen had specifically looked through all kinds of information on Earth's monsters and searched the entire Pacific Ocean. At last, he confirmed that what he'd found was the Golden Horned Beast Egg.

"This scourge really did arrive early."

After arriving, Shi Fen went deep underwater, slaughtered a large number of sea monsters, and put this "scourge of Earth" into his World Ring. With the Golden Horned Beast Egg safely stored away, Shi Fen headed home, completely satisfied.

Sitting in the fighter jet's cabin, Shi Fen couldn't help rubbing his chin, inwardly pleased with himself. "Golden Horned Beast, you won't escape me. In this lifetime, you won't hurt a single Earthling!

"That 'God Perspective' really comes in handy."

As soon as Shi Fen got home, he began improving the strength of his family and friends.

The Luo family immediately told Luo Feng about it. Luo Feng, who was still rummaging around the underground river, heard the news and hurriedly told Shi Fen, feeling a little embarrassed. "Oh, my family doesn't need you to help improve their strength. I got so much Spirit of Vegetation and quite a few Wood Bud Crystals. If I still need you to do it, that'd be a slap in my face.

"Once I've exchanged them for treasures with the director, I can use my own resources to improve my family's strength. And as for Wei Wen's family, we'll split our resources evenly.

"You're so generous all the time, you make me feel like an outsider. Honestly, that's enough."

Shi Fen had no choice but to agree. That way, the two of them would have more resources to work with.

After discussing it, the two decided to raise all their family and friends to the high War God level. Shi Tie, Shi Tian, and Wei Wen would be pushed straight to the Planetary Level.

Knowing that Shi Tie and the others had made astonishing progress in their forging skills, Luo Feng decided to invest in them and promised Shi Fen 2 Wood Bud Crystals to help improve their strength.

By Earth's standards, 2 Wood Bud Crystals were worth an astonishing amount.

Seeing how serious Luo Feng was, Shi Fen found it hard to refuse and could only accept.

All their family and friends set aside their work and eagerly used the treasures to improve their strength.

Everyone felt as if they'd risen to the heavens in a single step.

Seeing the treasures Shi Fen brought out and hearing about what he'd done, they all felt it was unreal, their heads spinning. But the improvement in their physical abilities was real and couldn't be faked.

With everyone on track to improve their strength, Shi Fen could finally start examining what he'd gained.

"Good things take time. I hope this brings me a pleasant surprise."

At dusk, Shi Fen walked out of Bright Moon Residential District and flew toward the Wilderness Area.

After reaching the Wilderness Area, Shi Fen piloted the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror straight through the ground and flew back to Yangzhou City. Before collecting his treasures, he had to fulfill his promise and beat up Zhang Haobai.

With his current status, Shi Fen could openly beat or even kill Zhang Haobai without facing any punishment. Besides, no one would go out of their way to cause him trouble for killing a scumbag.

It was a joke.

The world's greatest forging master and an Invincible War God-level Spiritual Master—who would dare offend someone like that?

But Shi Fen didn't like beating people up in the open. He wanted to leave Zhang Haobai with a lasting impression, and a sneak attack would stick in his memory even better.

That night.

Zhang Haobai was out causing trouble again when Shi Fen's detection picked him up.

It was an excellent opportunity to strike.

The Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror hurtled through the ground and quickly reached a spot near Zhang Haobai.

Shi Fen emerged from the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror ahead of time. His Black God Set transformed into a black hooded outfit with a face covering. He streaked forward, swiftly crossing several kilometers before appearing right in front of Zhang Haobai.

Shi Fen saw Zhang Haobai and his bodyguards groping a pair of pretty twin girls in the middle of the street. He didn't waste a word and attacked at once, beating Zhang Haobai and all his bodyguards.

Shi Fen controlled his strength perfectly, enough to leave them in the hospital for several months. After beating them up, he still wasn't satisfied, so he broke one of Zhang Haobai's legs. Only then did he clap his hands happily and pile the unconscious men in a heap on a busy main road.

To keep the two girls from getting into trouble, Shi Fen hypnotized everyone present, leaving only the memories he wanted them to retain.

Shi Fen made sure to add something extra for Zhang Haobai—something he'd definitely remember for the rest of his life.

After finishing, Shi Fen drove the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror back to the Wilderness Area through the underground passage he'd made on the way there.

In the desolate wilderness,

Shi Fen made sure no one was around, then slipped into a dilapidated house. Once inside, he found a concealed corner and hid his Communication Bracelet and the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror.

Shi Fen vanished, entering his Inner World directly, then traveling from there into the Treasure Refining World.

"Baby, I'm here!"