Su Ping actually learned a lot, even though he only stayed in the Soul Sea for half an hour. He managed to get in touch with something with the essence of the Ascendant State.
He was certain that he could reach the Ascendant State if he could stay there for a few more days.
I might get another chance to go in there, and stay longer if I win the finals, Su Ping thought.
The first ranker, Luo Ying, was still inside the Soul Sea at the moment.
He was also relocated half an hour later. His hazy body was covered in purple light, which seemed to be lightning, or some special energy.
He slowly opened his eyes, golden light flashing in them; you could see a temporary confusion, but they soon became sharp.
“Senior, I heard that some of the great powers in ancient times could be etched in deeper spaces. I saw heroes dying in battles while I was there; what were they fighting against?”
Luo Ying looked at the Ascendant State cultivator.
Everybody else was slightly stunned too; they turned their heads and looked at their protector and guide.
“Those were things from the primordial times, and secrets that you’re too weak to know yet. However, all of you have a chance to break through and become Ascendants, so it’s fine for you to learn them now. It is said that catastrophes happen after certain, fixed time cycles. Some catastrophes were human wars, while others were wars against beasts.
“In addition, there were special things in history that have already gone extinct.
“All in all, you only need to remember that this universe isn’t as peaceful as it seems; beasts invade our borders all the time. Your galaxies are uneventful because someone else has been defending them in your place. All of you need to train harder, that way you can defend your countries too in the future!” said the Ascendant expert.
There was a slight crease in Luo Ying’s brow; that was not the answer he wanted.
He saw a lot of things back there, and felt that great dangers were hidden in this universe.
Otherwise, why would the unparalleled heroes in those images fight so relentlessly?
Su Ping glanced at Luo Ying; the latter had obviously seen the images left by the powerful minds of those heroes. Unfortunately, the Ascendant State cultivator had simply said that they were fighting beasts; it wasn’t the answer that Su Ping wanted to hear.
Maybe it’s a secret that the Ascendant cultivator can’t touch yet, Su Ping thought.
“All of you experienced the Soul Sea. Even if you only stayed for ten minutes, that experience alone will be a seed of the Ascendant State in your heart. Go back and get prepared; the upcoming contest isn’t easy,” said the Ascendant cultivator in a casual manner.
He then took everybody out of the palace where the Celestial State resided.
The guides of all the star zones were staying outside the palace. Su Ping saw You Long, who flew towards him quickly. The latter said with a smile, “Junior brother, good for you. It’s incredible that you ranked second; I’m sure you enjoyed your visit to the Soul Sea.”
Su Ping suddenly thought of Diaz; he didn’t find him among the top ten. He was rather surprised by this.
The next moment, he remembered Diaz’s look. The man would have probably gnashed his teeth after seeing him win second place…
Su Ping smiled and said to You Long, “Thank you, senior brother. I am planning on entering secluded training; I heard that the upcoming contest will be cruel.”
You Long nodded and said telepathically, “You’re going to the void battlefield, a deep-space battlefield in the sixth space near the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm; it’ll be dangerous there. You won’t be protected by the astral arrays, so you have to keep your eyes peeled for any weird thing that might drift your way.”
Su Ping showed a slight change in his expression, not expecting the contest to be that dangerous.
The sixth space was a place where even the Star Lords had to be cautious.
“I understand.”
Su Ping nodded.
He had fallen to the sixth space through a crack in the fifth space back in the cultivation sites, so he knew how dangerous it was.
“There are about two days left. I’ll take you to a place so you can rest,” said You Long.
Su Ping nodded.
The guides of the other star zones also ushered their contestants too.
Very soon, You Long took Su Ping to a palace.
The palace was covered in an astral array, and there were small enhancement arrays inside.
You Long chuckled and said, “This is my residence. You can stay here for now. Rest well; no one will disturb you.”
Sensing the abundant astral power inside the palace, Su Ping took a deep breath and said, “Thank you, senior brother.”
“That’s all right. Our master is very happy because of your achievement; he will probably award you later.” You Long smiled and left.
Su Ping entered the training room, and then asked the Star Lord servants outside not to disturb him before he closed the door to start with his training.
He took out the materials that Xingyue Shen’er had found for him; all kinds of smells filled the room as he opened the boxes and bottles.
There was the smell of blood from some hearts, and a refreshing grassy smell. There were also red feathers and sharp claws.
Su Ping examined them and found that they were exactly the materials he needed; all of them were genuine.
I owe her a big favor, Su Ping thought.
He extracted all the materials with his astral power. He set his own body ablaze when he activated the Solar Bulwark’s secret technique, quickly making the temperature of the room soar.
However, the training room was blocked by a powerful astral array, which prevented it from being burned down.
Su Ping melted the materials which then turned into a golden red fluid, then directly swallowed it.
Su Ping felt that something was awakened when the hot fluid flowed into his body.
His blood boiled and burned, as if his body would have turned into a furnace.
The burning lasted a long time; Su Ping’s blood was dried and thickened. The weird feeling inside his body became increasingly clearer, just like when the bottom of the lake is revealed after the water is pumped away.
Phew!
Suddenly feeling an excruciating pain, a pair of burning wings unfolded behind his back; they were glowing brilliantly.
He felt extremely comfortable, as if just having broken free from a cocoon. He suddenly opened his eyes, which flashed with gold light and fire.
Su Ping stood up, feeling that his body was overflowing with power.
His cells became tensile and condensed, which were currently on fire.
His senses were significantly sharpened, and his fists were surrounded by a powerful aura. Su Ping took a deep breath, sucking up the air in the room before breathing it out.
He then unleashed all the pressure in his body as he exhaled.
Su Ping closed his eyes and gradually relaxed, before he examined his own body carefully.
His body had undoubtedly been significantly improved; he was invincible in the Star State with nothing but his physical strength!
It’s a shame that I haven’t mastered the power of faith yet, or I’d be able to fight the Star Lords! Su Ping thought. Su Ping knew his condition fully well after having dealt with a lot of Star Lord creatures in the cultivation sites.
Unfortunately, the power of faith was on a completely different level, and Star Lords could defeat him easily with that.
Perhaps I can try condensing a small world…
The idea suddenly popped up in Su Ping’s heart, before it gained further momentum.
Star Lords kept their power of faith in their small worlds—
Otherwise, no matter how talented they were, their power of faith would quickly fade away, unless they attached it to some special treasures.
Condensing a small world requires a complete path…
My path of flames is already complete!
It requires a tremendous amount of astral power as well as a complete path to construct a small world.
I also need to have enough mental power to control it.
Su Ping took a deep breath and got started; he wasn’t short of anything except for being below the minimum cultivation realm.
The first path that Su Ping chose was the path of flames.
As for the small world, Su Ping chose to compress it in his abdomen; he melted 100,000 cells to accommodate the small world with the vast space inside the cells.
As the path of flames laid the cornerstone, a tremendous amount of astral power filled the space.
Su Ping’s Chaos Star Chart circulated crazily and absorbed the astral power inside the training room.
All the astral power stored inside Su Ping’s cells was poured into the proverbial black hole found in his abdomen.
Light gradually appeared in the black hole. Su Ping had the vague inkling of a special feeling… That he was in control of that unique space. He could create anything there.
After a long time passed, a small world took shape in Su Ping’s body.
The astral power in Su Ping’s body was fully drained. His mental power was also depleted; he had been forced to constantly send his mental power to stabilize the small world.
I have to create an inner circle. Otherwise, the small world will be a monster forever sucking me dry. Su Ping’s eyes glittered as he did his best to speed up the construction.
He didn’t construct a complete small world immediately; there wasn’t enough time for that. He was planning to create a seed first.
The seed of a world.
Soon, the seed of a small world sprouted; it was very small, but it already had an inner cycle.
Next, Su Ping could fill it with astral power to expand it.
Now I can absorb the power of faith too. However, my small world is too small to absorb a lot. I need more astral power.
There’s abundant astral power in this room, and my Chaos Star Chart is fast too. However, it’ll take at least a month for me to create a complete world!
Su Ping slowly opened his eyes. It was then that You Long’s voice was heard coming from the outside world. “Junior brother, it’s time. Have you rested well?”
“I’m ready.”
Su Ping ended the training and donned a new set of clothes from his storage before he walked out.
“Huh?”
You Long exclaimed in surprise the moment he saw Su Ping.
He detected an obvious difference in Su Ping, while only two days had passed; there was a different feeling in his aura. However, he didn’t have much astral power.
“Was there a failure or something in my training room?” You Long couldn’t help but ask.
Aura aside, Su Ping seemed to be weaker than before he entered the training room.
Su Ping was amused by this; he shook his head and said, “No. I tried a different cultivation method; it consumed some of my astral power.”
“…”
You Long was lost for words. His junior brother was truly reckless, exhausting his astral power with such a dangerous method right before the contest.
“Here you go. This is an Astral Source Fruit; half of it should be able to replenish your astral power.” You Long took out a purple fruit and tossed it over to Su Ping.
The fruit had an elegant appearance. Su Ping was stunned. It restores astral power?
Throwing courtesy to the side, he quickly took a bite.
It only took two mouthfuls for Su Ping to feel that the pulp had turned into a magnificent dragon of astral power filling his body, soon replenishing his astral power reserves.
He ate faster, soon finishing the entire fruit, core included.
The astral power inside its core was even denser; Su Ping felt as if his astral power was overflowing; all his cells completely full.
Su Ping’s body had been strengthened after having cultivated the third level of the Solar Bulwark; his cells were now able to accommodate many times more astral power. To put it simply, his astral power was tens of thousands times more when compared to a normal Fate State warrior!
If I hadn’t constructed the small world, the astral power would have been enough for me to fill up my astral power twice, Su Ping thought.
He looked at You Long and asked, “Senior brother, do you have more of these fruits?”
You Long was shocked after seeing that Su Ping was able to finish the entire fruit without suffering from indigestion. It was scary to see that his junior brother—who was merely a Fate State warrior—had finished a whole Astral Source Fruit.
Even a Star Lord would have been satiated.
“…”
“What kind of body do you have, junior brother? Why do I feel that you have an even better appetite than Junior Brother Diaz?” You Long couldn’t help but ask.
Smiling awkwardly, Su Ping replied, “Having a good appetite is bliss.”
You Long put on a bitter smile and said, “Fine. Here’s another one. You’re going to the void battlefield; this will replenish your astral power if you’re ever exhausted.”
Su Ping accepted it with glittering eyes. “Thank you, senior brother!”
You Long waved his hand. His monstrous junior brother was still weak; he would remember this favor well, that was why You Long wasn’t too regretful. He said, “We’re running out of time. I’ll take you to the rendezvous point.”
“Okay…”
Hardly had Su Ping said that when both of them disappeared.
They soon arrived at the palace of the Celestial State experts, where the other top hundred contestants were gathered.
Su Ping turned his head and found Diaz, who was staring back at him in the crowd with a gloomy mood.
Diaz ranked twelfth in the end. He could have collected more Divine Cores; unfortunately, he encountered three Star Lord zombies, which took him a lot of time to get rid of. That was why he didn’t have much time left to find Divine Cores, thus failing to make it to the top ten.