âI probably wonât be able to reach the bottom of the Heaven Cauldron by relying on the empyrean gold body alone. I need a powerful body-refining battle art. The Invincible Sword Body doesnât strengthen my physique, so I need something similar to Xuanyuan Yufengâs Onyx Draconian Art.â Tianming recalled how powerful Xuanyuan Yufengâs physique was when he transformed into an Onyx Draconian.
âLingâer already gave me the tribulation manna, so itâs not appropriate for me to ask her for stuff. Iâve already caused some uncertainties with the tribulation manna, so I should keep a low profile.â Tianming stood up and went to take a look. He had already settled Lin Xiaoxiao.
âIâll be going out. Remember to clean the place up. Itâs been a long time since anyone stayed here,â Tianming instructed.
âGot it,â Lin Xiaoxiao replied obediently.
âBe meticulous about it, alright?â
âYes, Young Master.â Lin Xiaoxiao was practically gnashing her teeth when she said those words.
âHey, you look pretty cute when youâre angry.â Tianming left the Number One Pavilion for the mountain next door, where Fang Xingying was cultivating.
âWhatâs the matter?â Fang Xingying came out of the corner and looked at Tianming indifferently.
âWhere can I find a good body-refining battle art?â Tianming asked. He had been progressing swiftly. Just as he got familiar with the Human Branch, he had already come to the Earth Branch, and Fang Xingying was the only person he knew here.
âYou can find it in the Triorigin Hall. Thereâs Triorigin Halls in the Earth and Heaven Branches. You can buy samsara body-refining battle arts as long as you have money, or take missions like hunting beasts or guarding the borders and hunting fugitives,â said Fang Xingying.
âI can spend money to buy them in Triorigin Hall?â Tianming remembered that he could only exchange for battle arts in the Human Branch through official channels, and he couldnât buy them with money.
âOf course. Do you have tribulation crystals?â
âNope.â Tianming had already used up all the pocket money Feiling had given him. The assassin had appeared before he could even take more, and Tianming lost his opportunity to contact Feiling.
âThen do you have contributions?â Fang Xingying asked.
âI didnât have time for that.â
âThen what the hell are you asking for?â Fang Xingying smiled.
âThere arenât any free ones available?â Tianming asked.
âDo you want empyrean saint battle arts? I can give you two.â
âNo thanks. Theyâre too weak for me.â
âThen thereâs nothing I can do to help,â Fang Xingying replied.
âThink about it again and see if I can obtain peerless battle arts by being handsome alone,â Tianming said with a smile.
âThere is one place.â
âWhere is it?â
âIn your dreams.â
âBah. Iâll be going now.â Tianming turned around and left.
âOh, I did think of one place thatâs free,â Fang Xingying suddenly said.
âGo on.â
âThe Deepstar Pool is opening soon, and thereâs two places available this time. The Deepstar Battlefield will open the day after tomorrow, and youâll be able to enter the Deepstar Pool to cultivate the Ancient Deepstar Godbody if you can obtain a place. The Ancient Deepstar Godbody is the strongest body-refining battle art in the Archaion Sect. Itâs the Archaion Sectâs signature art. Itâs famous, one of the Nine Pinnacle Battle Physiques in the world,â said Fang Xingying.
âWhat? Slow down. Thereâs too much information. Firstly, whatâs the Deepstar Pool?â Tianming immediately went into the details when he heard of the Ancient Deepstar Godbody.
âThe Old Deepstar Pathâs core, where the astalsources are born.â
âWhatâs the astalsource?â
âItâs something strange. It has the power of tribulation patterns and spirit hazards, along with the essence and appearance of spirit ores. People call it a combination between spirit hazards and spirit ores. The Ancient Deepstar Godbodyâs fundamentals are to absorb the astralsources into the body and forge the physique into an astral body.
âUpon greater mastery, you can even pluck the stars out of the sky and travel through outer space. You can even control the Deepstar Pool to become the master of the Old Deepstar Path! The strength of the Ancient Deepstar Godbody depends on how many astralsources you absorb. The astralsource is limited, which is why thereâs only two spots every time.â Fang Xingying explained.
âSo powerful? I can even fly to the stars upon greater mastery?â Tianming asked.
âThose are just legends. How should I know if itâs true?â Fang Xingying replied.
âHow is it compared to the Hexapath Samsara Sword?â
âTheyâre not of the same kind. One is an ordinary battle art, while the other is a body-refining battle art. But theyâre equally powerful,â said Fang Xingying.
âOkay, Iâve decided to get that. How do I get a spot?â Tianming asked.
Fang Xingying did not reply but held back his laughter.
âWhat are you laughing about?â Tianming asked.
âIâm just joking with you. Itâs impossible for you to participate because the registration is already closed. Furthermore, itâs limited to those under the age of twenty. Youâre already overaged, right?â
âWhenâs the deadline? Where do I register?â Tianming asked urgently.
âSourceglow Hall. Look for the palace lord to register. But the registry closed before the Human Branchâs faction battle. The Deepstar Battlefield will open the day after tomorrow, and thereâll be at least twenty thousand people entering,â said Fang Xingying.
âHoly shit! How unlucky!â Tianming felt terrible that he couldnât catch up to this wave.
âSpeaking of which, you can just get the sect master of the Human Branch to add you in. Heâs not giving you a spot, and registering is nothing for someone of his status,â said Fang Xingying.
âYouâre right.â Tianming didnât even need Jian Wuyiâs help.
âBut youâre already overaged, and it wonât be easy to handle that. If that wasnât the case, then even those in the Samsara stage can participate in it, and theyâd definitely take it. Iâm afraid that not even the sect master of the Human Branch can help you resolve the issue of your age,â said Fang Xingying.
âHow is age determined?â Tianming asked. He had hidden his real age before in the Grand-Orient Sect, and no one knew exactly how old he was in the Decimo Dao Palace.
âThe Sourceglow Hall has a heavenly pattern formation to test the age of your bones. Thereâs no way you can fake it,â Fang Xingying replied.
âOh.â Tianming wanted to give it a try because he had the Aeonic Grandbane, not to mention that he also had a unique physique. So he wouldnât know how old he actually was unless he tested it. With that, he turned around and left.
âHey, youâre really going?â Fang Xingying asked in a daze.
âYeah.â
âIâll be honest with you. You shouldnât bother wasting your time.â
âWhy?â
âThe Deepstar Poolâs quotas are prepared for talented Heaven Branch disciples. Earth Branch disciples are just there to make up numbers. Twenty thousand people going after two places, do you have any idea how difficult itâll be? In the Archaion Sectâs history, there were only three times where Earth Branch disciples obtained the spots...â said Fang Xingying.
âYouâre saying that theyâre reserved for people like Fang Xingque?â Tianming turned around.
âThatâs right. Heâs only sixteen, and heâs one of the popular candidates to get a spot. But thereâs many Samsara stage disciples under the age of twenty in the Heaven Branch. In terms of strength, Fang Xingque can only be ranked in the top ten,â said Fang Xingying.
âNo worries. It doesnât hurt for me to give it a try,â said Tianming. He was still under the impression that he would be in the Earth Branch for a long time. But he didnât expect that he would be facing Heaven Branchâs geniuses the day after tomorrow. After all, those people represented this continentâs elites!
âThatâs normal. Everyone has the same thoughts as you,â said Fang Xingying.
âDo you have any other ideas?â Tianming asked.
âNope.â
âSee you later then.â
......
There werenât many people in Sourceglow Hall since the registration had ended. Tianming came in and looked for Gou Yuqiu.
âWhat are you doing here again?â Gou Yuqiu asked.
âPalace Lord, Iâd like to participate in the âBattle of Deepstar,ââ Tianming said straightforwardly.
âThe registration is already over,â said Gou Yuqiu.
âThe sect master of the Human Branch asked me to participate,â Tianming took out the Human Sacred Seal.
âOkay. Go test your age. Itâll break the rules if youâre overage, and even the Human Sacred Seal will be useless,â said Gou Yuqiu.
Tianming guessed that this old womanâs status wasnât low, and she was probably a tribulation elder. After all, everyone else knelt when they saw the Human Sacred Seal.
âWhere do I take the test?â
âThat room over there.â
Tianming entered and found himself in a spherical space. When he stepped in, the heavenly patterns began burrowing deep into his bones. Not long later, a total of twenty heavenly patterns appeared on the screen.
âTwenty years old. Count yourself lucky,â said Gou Yuqiu.
Tianming immediately rejoiced when he heard that. âAs expected, my body grew younger due to the Aeonic Grandbane. But itâs probably also related to the Primordial Chaos Beastsâ bloodline.â
He immediately looked at Gou Yuqiu and asked, âThen, was my registration successful?â
âItâs done. Head to the Abyssal Battlefield with everyone else the day after tomorrow and wait for the Deepstar Battlefieldâs opening. Hereâs the registration token, and you can use it to exchange for an Astral Formation to enter. Donât lose it.â Gou Yuqiu tossed a token over with the word âDeepstarâ engraved on it.
âThank you, Palace Lord.â
âNo need to thank me, let alone get excited. Itâs where Heaven Branch disciples compete, and youâre only going there to broaden your view and get beaten up. Itâs nothing worth being excited about,â said Gou Yuqiu.
âOkay, then Iâll be taking my leave.â Tianming left.
Gou Yuqiu burst into laughter. âThis stinking brat even dares to scold Fang Qingli, that old bitch, asking her grandson to drink milk. Thatâs so satisfying, I like it.â
Tianming knew that the elders paid attention to his behavior.
......
Tianming returned to Fang Xingying and waved the registration token in his hand, âLook, whatâs this!â
âYou succeed?â
âThatâs right.â
âItâs good to have a backer. Youâre not the sect master of the Human Branchâs illegitimate son, right?â Fang Xingying asked.
âI canât tell you anything. Why donât you guess?â Tianming smiled. âYou going?â
âI naturally am. This is a precious chance to be beaten,â said Fang Xingying.
âDonât bullshit. Youâve already been beaten up pretty often,â Tianming curled his lips.
âYou...!â Fang Xingying gnashed his teeth, because Tianmingâs words jabbed into his sore spot.
âCome, tell me how the Deepstar Battle works?â
âGo in and get beaten up before coming out. Then enjoy how the Heaven Branch disciples trash everyone from the Earth Branch.â Fang Xingying rolled his eyes, then continued in a meaningful tone, âWeâre going in to be toyed with.â