Black God Set

Jiang Chengbai said, "Dad, if a Junior Battle General wants to fight a Lord-Tier monster, Physical Quality is an obstacle they can't avoid. But there are ways to make up for that shortcoming."

"Hmph! As if I wouldn't know? Wood Spirit Wine, Beast Bone Paste, Jade Marrow, Dragon Blood..." The old man shook his head, his expression helpless. "Wait a little longer. Little Zhe has only been exposed to martial arts for just over a month. I want him to build a stronger foundation first. Besides... I have to treat everyone fairly!"

The Jiang Family had only been passed down for three generations, and the branches of the family were still close-knit. There was none of that scheming and infighting. But while other forms of favoritism were manageable, when it came to treasures, the old man was accustomed to dividing them equally.

There were fewer than ten regenerative treasures on Earth capable of improving Physical Quality. Dragon Blood had the best effects among them, and its price was openly listed.

The Jiang Family could spend 2 billion to acquire an Artistic Conception video. Spending 80 billion on a portion of Dragon Blood would not be much of an issue either.

After all, a Junior War God could earn 5 billion a year, not to mention the money-making ability of a behemoth like the Jiang Family.

But if Jiang Zhe had it, his other cousins would need to have it too. That would be another enormous expense.

Artistic Conception recordings? More than 200 billion had been spent on them? But couldn't they be reused? They could also enrich the Jiang Family's martial arts archive.

The old man had actually planned to buy Dragon Blood long ago, but the family needed to recover financially first. They could talk about it after some time had passed.

Just like those wealthy tycoons on the Pig Slaughter List—though their fortunes might amount to several or even tens of billions, it was hard to say how much cash they could produce at once.

Jiang Chengbai avoided the sensitive subject. "Dad, I'm talking about the Black God Set. It can reduce ninety percent of incoming damage, which is perfect for compensating for Little Zhe's lacking Physical Quality. Lend it to Little Zhe first. Once he reaches War God Level, he can enter Ancient Civilization Ruin #9 and bring back a set for the family."

The old man narrowed his eyes and took a Black Jade Thumb Ring from his breast pocket. There was naturally no need to say who would provide this Black God Set.

He had actually prepared it long ago. More than ten days earlier, he had already controlled the Black God Set to force out his blood.

But as the Patriarch, he could not bring up the matter himself.

He had already given Jiang Zhe a golden mace, and that alone had made him think for ages about how to make up for it. Fortunately, there was a pair of golden maces.

"Chengbai, break through."

"Dad, I... should we think it over a little more? Can our family withstand the pressure from outside?" Jiang Chengbai looked worried.

Some time ago, he had suddenly felt inspired and sensed that he could break through to Councilor Level, but he had forcibly suppressed the urge.

He knew very well why he could break through. Put bluntly, he felt guilty, afraid that others would set their sights on the family's treasures.

One should not underestimate how desperately over a hundred Greater War Gods wanted to break through to Councilor Level!

The Strongest Expert on Earth was Hong. His family had the best bloodline genes and the most abundant Cultivation Resources, yet even Hong's descendants had only reached War God Level.

What made the Jiang Family so special?

Both father and son had become Planetary Level one after another. The secret behind that would surely attract covetous eyes.

If it truly stirred up people's greed, even Hong and Thunder God would not be able to maintain order.

Several Councilor Level experts had died in the conflicts sparked by Wood Essence Crystals.

After a moment of silence, the old man said, "Have faith in Little Zhe. He'll soon become the Jiang Family's pillar, and he'll uncover the secret of the Alchemy Furnace too!"

After a pause, he sighed again. "Break through as soon as possible. Things have been restless in Kyoto lately. I'm afraid something might happen."

Jiang Chengbai knew whom his father meant. He clenched his fists and said bitterly, "Damn it! Them again! They really are masters when it comes to infighting!"

"Hehe, five thousand years of dregs. Someone has to inherit them."

Jiang Chengbai got a little heated, and a faint vicious glint flickered in his eyes.

He loved piercing his opponents' skulls with the tip of the Overlord Spear in the midst of battle. He was no easy man to deal with.

It was only after the old man glared at him that he wilted.

The monkey-head-sized Alchemy Furnace was casually tossed over by the old man. Jiang Chengbai hurriedly caught it. This thing was the lifeblood of the Jiang Family.

"Get lost and break through."

"Got it, Dad. I'll get it done soon."

"Mm. After you break through, you'll manage the Alchemy Furnace for a while. I can take a rest and focus on cultivation for some time."

Jiang Chengbai's face fell.

Great. Before he could even enjoy any glory, he was about to become a donkey turning a millstone.

Jiang Chengbai went off to break through to Councilor Level, while the old man stayed in the valley to watch Jiang Zhe cultivate Artistic Conception.

The more he watched, the more he felt that his youngest grandson was a monster!

Could anyone believe that someone could reproduce the Artistic Conception from a video after watching it only a few times?

No, it was not as simple as reproduction.

He extracted its essence and integrated it into his own Artistic Conception.

With "speed" as the core truth, Jiang Zhe commanded wind, lightning, and light, evolving many different Artistic Conceptions.

The grace of wind!

The Swiftness of Thunder!

Interwoven light and shadow!

What was even more remarkable was that he had managed to make it complex without becoming chaotic.

No matter how one looked at it, the core of his spear technique was the single word "speed." His Stabbing Spear was so swift that one could not react at all.

"Haha, satisfying. Watching Little Zhe cultivate really is a pleasure."

The old man shook his head and clicked his tongue. If only there were wine. Little Zhe's picturesque spear technique would have made the perfect drinking accompaniment.

To Jiang Zhe, however, this small progress was nothing to be proud of.

He could already vaguely sense the laws of the Universe Source. If not for the limitations of Apprentice Level, he would likely have charged straight into the domain level. How could a mere Artistic Conception stump him?

If he could not even figure out something like this, would that not disgrace the Divine Crystal's boost to his comprehension?

"My spear technique is more or less done..."

Muttering to himself, Jiang Zhe shifted his focus to movement technique and tried to integrate Artistic Conception into it.

It was the complete opposite of his earlier spear training.

Starting from the foundation, he first mastered the Artistic Conceptions of wind, lightning, and light-shadow one by one, then developed them all toward "speed."

Swift as the wind!

As forceful as racing thunder!

Fast as flowing light!

Jiang Zhe had a little "experience" and knew some Cultivation Common Sense, so he naturally made the most correct choice for himself.

"Speed" could lead to Time Acceleration, one of the ultimate mysteries of the time system. That was the grand and Righteous Path.

Now, he only needed to pray that heaven would not play a joke on him.

If things suddenly took a sharp turn at the end and assigned him to the Space Faction, then all his efforts would come to nothing.

Watching his youngest grandson hop left and right beside the pool while already studying a Realm-Level Movement Technique, the old man's face was full of gratification.

But upon closer inspection, there was also a trace of bitterness in his eyes.

"The waves behind drive on those ahead. This old man is really about to be drained dry. I'll have nothing left to teach him."

10 Times Force Amplification; Realm-Level Movement Technique; Realm-Level Spear Technique...

Hm? Spear technique... There was still a little he could teach in that regard, though not much.

There was also "Thunderclap" among the Six Arts.

Beyond that, all he could do was provide some Cultivation Resources. Jade Marrow, Dragon Blood... all of it had to be put on the agenda.

There was also Treasure Medicine at home made from Giant Clam Pearls and Lord-Tier Dragon Blood.

The more he thought about it, the more the old man set his sights on King Level Monsters, intending to earn some extra money.

The Jiang Family had no surplus left either~

By evening, the eldest uncle, who had been nowhere to be seen all day, returned.

Jiang Zhe had originally assumed his eldest uncle had gone to fetch supplies, but he did not see a backpack when he came back.

He glanced at his eldest uncle, then... looked twice more, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Jiang Chengbai was puzzled. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Jiang Zhe smiled and nodded. "Councilor Level."

"So you really weren't guessing when it came to Grandpa last time." Jiang Chengbai shook his head with a laugh, then floated into the air to confirm Jiang Zhe's judgment.

"Let me show you my Special Ability."

As he spoke, a warm earthy-yellow glow lit up around Jiang Chengbai. A layer of rock-like scales rapidly emerged over the surface of his skin. Each scale was about the size of an adult's thumbnail. Though they formed only a thin layer, they gave off a heavy, reassuring sense of protection.

Combined with his two-meter-tall, powerful frame, the visual impact was immense. He looked like a savage, cold-blooded dragonman.

"I call it the Azure Dragon God Armor. Dad, Little Zhe, what do you think?"

The old man naturally praised such a defensive ability to the skies.

Jiang Zhe also chimed in with a few approving words.

He had not learned what level this sort of defensive ability ranked at in the universe, so he could not judge it.

But most Special Abilities awakened at Planetary Level did not have much room for further development.

Even the Diamond Body that Barabata had highly praised, which allowed a Psychic Master's cultivation to exceed a warrior's cultivation by three levels instead of the normal two, had gradually disappeared from notice.

I wonder what Special Ability I'll awaken at Planetary Level... It'd better have some potential for growth. Jiang Zhe thought.

He was suddenly jolted awake by the old man's shout.

"Little Zhe, given your progress during this time, it's yours."

A Black Jade Thumb Ring flew toward him. Jiang Zhe hurriedly caught it. "Grandpa, this is?"

"Put it on."

Jiang Zhe did as instructed, slipping the ring over his thumb. He lowered his head to inspect it, but he truly could not tell what it was.

About thirty seconds later, a needle-prick-like pain came from his thumb.

The Black God Set?!

Jiang Zhe cried out inwardly. He had never imagined that his grandfather would give him this godly survival gear.

Sizzle—sizzle—

The entire ring seemed like a mass of boiling water, with black droplets trembling one by one.

Then blood merged into the droplets... The entire process lasted about fifteen minutes. When everything stopped, a strange sensation lingered in Jiang Zhe's heart.

The Black Jade Thumb Ring felt like a part of his body.

With a thought from Jiang Zhe—

Black streams of light rapidly spread outward, forming a black metal battle suit in a style similar to Iron Man's.

Then the streams of light shifted again, forming a black cloak.

Black cape, Chinese tunic suit, business suit...

Jiang Zhe controlled the Black God Set as it continuously changed shape, playing to his heart's content.

The old man shook his head with a smile. "Little Zhe has a unique spiritual quality. He adapted pretty quickly."

Afterward, Jiang Zhe learned of the family's requirement—once he reached War God Level, he would need to enter an Ancient Civilization Ruin and retrieve another Black God Set for the family.

Jiang Zhe readily accepted.

The twenty-third day of wilderness cultivation.

The three left the Taiyi Mountain Range and headed for City 079.

That was right, not City 009.

Because they needed to find Lord-Tier monsters suitable for Jiang Zhe's training, they changed their itinerary at the last minute. They were heading to Huang County from before the Great Nirvana.

It was composed of several islands in the strait.

Departing by sea from City 079 was the shortest route.

Jiang Lie and his father had always believed that Jiang Zhe's insistence on challenging Lord-Tier monsters was because he wanted to temper himself. He wanted to Become Stronger too badly.

In truth, Jiang Zhe mainly wanted to cultivate the "Life Blueprint."

His own training was secondary.

More than ten days ago, he had been thoroughly beaten down by that Golden-Fur Ape. Later, when he learned that his grandfather had been teasing him and that Lord-Tier monsters varied in strength, Jiang Zhe began to form some ideas.

And now he had the Black God Set.

Jiang Zhe's desire to kill Lord-Tier monsters was fully rekindled!

Fighting Lord-Tier monsters was not about proving anything.

One had to understand that cultivating the "Life Blueprint" at War Marshal Level and War God Level came with different levels of difficulty.

At War Marshal Level, he could kill Beast Generals and Lords to obtain massive amounts of light points.

At War God Level, he would need to kill Lords and King Level Monsters to obtain the same number of light points.

Indeed, for him, the difference in difficulty between completing the two was not great.

But he had to consider the number of monsters available.

Lord-Tier and King Level Monsters were obviously fewer in number. By then, even if he killed every monster on Earth that met the requirements, he might still not gather enough for cultivation.

Moreover, killing too many Lord-Tier and King Level Monsters would cause enormous chaos.

Looking back, killing Lord-Tier monsters across ranks while at War Marshal Level offered Jiang Zhe the greatest returns. One kill alone could satisfy him quite well.

With only a small number of Lord-Tier monsters, he had a chance to complete cultivation of the first blueprint.

If he waited until he advanced to War God Level before cultivating the "Life Blueprint," the situation would be completely different. He would merely be making things harder for himself.

That was why Jiang Zhe was so obsessed with challenging Lord-Tier monsters. It even made him seem a little possessed, as though he would lose hundreds of Hunyuan Units if he did not find a Lord-Tier monster to fight.

In a sense, that was indeed the case. A loss! A massive loss!

Along the way, his eldest uncle received a call from an unfamiliar War God overseas, asking about the Artistic Conception recordings.

His eldest uncle replied that the bounty had already ended, then hung up.

None of the three paid it any mind and continued on their journey.

Elsewhere.

On the rooftop of a forty-plus-story office building in City 009, a team of Black men gathered.

"Deputy Commander, we received word that the target appears to have changed destinations. They're heading toward the area around Cities 077, 078, and 079."

"Brothers, let's get moving too. Head southeast and wait for them to send us the latest location."