Castle of Black Iron

That was an odd-looking fruit. At the first sight of that fruit, Zhang Tie felt some visuals flashed in his mind. He felt having seen it somewhere.

It looked so weird that it didn’t look like a fruit at all; instead, it was more like a complex three-dimensional pattern, which was utterly different than other fruits bred by the small tree.

Seven-strength fruits looked like mini sculptures of animals. This fruit looked weirder. It was completely covered with a beautiful, complex pattern formed by rounds.

Thinking of ’sculpture’, Zhang Tie instantly became spirited. He finally remembered why he was familiar with this fruit. Because he had seen it on real sculptures.

Zhang Tie recalled the two lion sculptures outside the gate of the Clansmen Pavilion of Huaiyuan Palace. Lion sculptures were usually seen outside the gate of the major Chinese agencies, units or big private mansions. One of the two lions would usually step on a ball with round patterns. Zhang Tie found this latest fruit looked as same as the ball under the foot of the Chinese stony lion.

The surface of the fruit was covered with interlocked numerous round patterns. There was a six-petal flower in the middle of each round pattern. Additionally, the exterior of each round pattern was also divided into petals which looked similar to the six petals. As a result, each petal appeared in two round patterns, making this pattern both simple and sophisticated.

The tradition that Chinese put stony lions outside the gate could be dated to thousands of years ago before the Catastrophe. This was a cultural symbol. However, when Zhang Tie realized that the surface pattern of that ball under the foot of stony lion was consistent with that of this fruit, he became shocked.

Zhang Tie didn’t understand why. Therefore, he stretched his hand towards that fruit and wanted to check its attributes.

——Wing Demons’ Fruits of Source. It’s not ripe yet. You cannot eat it.

——When this fruit becomes ripe, it will increase your life source and improve your health in an all-round manner.

——All the lives are sprouted from source seeds. Spiritual life rules reflect the source. The powerful strength is the outward manifestation of the source. This source is included in each fulfillment. It includes all the knowledge, rhythms, lives and holiness. It gathers female and male, brightness and darkness, positiveness and negativeness. It’s the seed of lives, the blossom of lives and the fruit of lives. It’s also the thriving tree of lives.

Watching the introduction of this fruit of source, although Zhang Tie didn’t fully understand it at once, he instinctively felt this fruit was unusual and very powerful from both its look and its introduction.

Heller was waiting for Zhang Tie calmly under the high platform where the small tree rested on.

After peering at that fruit for a while, Zhang Tie went downstairs and came to Heller’s side.

”What’s the effect of this fruit of source?” Zhang Tie put it straightforwardly.

”The most important process of cultivation for the human is to constantly light one’s surging points, through which one could release the energy of source of life and communicate with this universe. The power of your source of life would be reflected in all aspects. From the aspect of fighting strength, it could increase the potential and strength of each of your surging point to the utmost!”

”How?”

”Each fruit of source could increase the source of your body by 1/12. That was to say, each fruit of source could also increase the potential of each surging point by 1/12!” Heller explained.

Zhang Tie was shocked, ”Each surging point?”

”Right, each surging point! If each surging point on your body was regarded as a steam engine which could provide you driving force, with each fruit of source, your surging points’ driving force would increase by 1/12. It’s very effective for those surging points that you’ve already lit. After eating it, you could obviously feel the change of those surging points and your body. For those surging points which had not been lit, its effect would display when you light them!”

Although ’1/12’ was not an enormous figure, its effect was very terrifying. Because it was different essentially. According to Heller, when the surging points in one’s body were seen as an engine, if others could only gain 12 horsepower by lighting a surging point, he would gain 13 horsepower by lighting a surging point. That would be an advantage.

”By lighting 12 surging points, I could gain the same effect as lighting 13 surging points. Based on my current fighting strength as a LV 9 fighter, as long as I eat a fruit of source, I would immediately gain the fighting strength of 3 more surging points. Additionally, after lighting each surging point, I would be a bit stronger than others. Gradually, the difference between me and others would be decisive. When I become a battle spirit, I would light 987 surging points. Because of the fruit of source, I would gain the power of 82 more surging points, which was close to the total number of surging points lit by a LV 11 battle master.”

”A fruit of source could bring me the fighting strength of a LV 11 battle master. That is great!” Zhang Tie finally let out a sigh as he heard Heller’s introduction. After losing seven-strength fruits, he finally gained a more powerful fruit...

”What are the other effects of this fruit of source?”

”It has many effects. As long as you eat it, your physical strength and endurance would increase by 1/12. Normally, your life expectancy would extend by 1/12. Additionally, the aging speed of your cells would slow down by 1/12. The existence of all lives and their psychological activities reflect the source of lives. Life is the germination of source while death was the exhaustion of source.”

Having not imagined that such a fruit could have so many effects, Zhang Tie widely opened his mouth, ”Ah, why 1/12? Why not more? How long would this fruit take to become ripe?”

”12 is a mysterious figure. It’s the reflection of life rules. You need to kill 360 wing demons, namely the total number of days of a whole year to ripe this wing demons’ fruit of source.”

”How many fruits of source could I gain from wing demons?”

”One, only one fruit of source from each kind of demon!”

”Ah, only one?” Zhang Tie became a bit disappointed after hearing Heller’s answer.

”The more powerful the fruit is, the less you could gain. This also complies with the life rules. Like those living beings on the peak of the food chain, only when their population was small could the balance of the ecosphere be sustained!”

Zhang Tie understood it. He also recovered his composure, ”If such a great fruit could be constantly obtained, that would violate the intention of the God. Even though I could constantly gain seven-strength fruits, it would also be very terrifying. I should be satisfied with this. After all, there’re many kinds of demons. If I can get a fruit of source from each kind of demon, I would also have a bright future. But I’m afraid that I could barely get a shadow demon’s fruit of source. Shadow demon is the rarest demon. It’s hard to say whether there are 360 shadow demons in the world or not. It seems that this also complies with the universal law, even moon’s shape would change with time. I should not have all the benefits. There should always be a pity!”

”Aww, I find the surface pattern of this fruit of source is same as that on the ball under the foot of stony Chinese lions, why?” Zhang Tie asked.

After glancing at Zhang Tie, Heller drew in the air by hands, displaying a three-dimensional pattern in front of Zhang Tie. In the beginning, a round appeared in the middle of that image. Gradually, the other rounds appeared and formed that pattern in front of Zhang Tie. After that, the whole image immediately turned into three-dimensional from two-dimensional. Rounds were interlocked with each other as they started to move, deriving various nice and complex geometrical patterns and scenes——

”This is tetrahedron; this is octahedron; this is dodecahedron; this is icosahedron; this is Plato cube, the basic architecture mode of the material world; this is the Mehta Thrun cube which symbolizes sacredness; this is Cassara time grid; this is Mer-Ka-Ba spiral...”

Heller explained as that image composed of rounds constantly derived, making Zhang Tie fascinated, ”This is the Meiosis mode of human cells; this is the geometric interaction mode of light; this is Fibonacci sequence of number; this is genetic code arrangement of biological DNA; this is male; this is female; this is the chord structure of music; this is the transformation mode of mass energy of nuclear fission; this is the self-rotation mode of galaxy...”

After introducing them to Zhang Tie, Heller clapped, causing all the patterns and lines disappear one after another. Finally, they turned into the plain pattern composed of rounds once again. Heller watched Zhang Tie, ”Did you understand?”

Zhang Tie was completely stunned, ”How...how could that be?”

”This pattern is the totem and essence of sacred geometry. It has a lot of secrets. It represents spiritualism, intelligence, morality and physical source rules. You, humans, call it flower of life, words of light; but I prefer to call it words of source. In this age, very few people understand its real meaning.”

Zhang Tie became silent. He had never imagined that the ball under the stony Chinese lions that had been spread for thousands of years could contain such profound and sacred secrets and rules. No wonder those sculptures could become the symbol of magnification, power, sacredness and honor after being spread for thousands of years. When the stony lions stepped on the rules of source clearly, they would look extremely dignified.

When Zhang Tie knew that Chinese had already mastered the secret of the rules of source thousands of years ago and put the sacred geometric patterns under the foot of stony lion in a low-key and remarkable way, he finally understood why the Chinese clan in the Eastern Continent were so proud.

...

After eating those trouble-reappearance fruits which were formed by killing wing demons, Zhang Tie left Castle of Black Iron.

Before leaving Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie watched those leakless fruits hanging on the small tree as he made a decision to grasp the method to promote to LV 10 as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would hardly deal with any possible dangers.

After drinking too much all-purpose medicament, Zhang Tie had a good sleep.

When he woke up on the second day, Zhang Tie felt energetic as all of his wounds had recovered.

However, at this moment, the Logistics director had already brought a wholly new suit of air cavalry in the Idiots.

...

On the second day, the first page of the newspaper ’Holy War News’ which was delivered to over 5 million frontline soldiers across the Selnes Theater of Operations by the Human Alliance Command was filled with one report——Selnes Eagle Swept Wing Demons across Flatte City.

There were two pictures in the report. Zhang Tie’s airship was covered with wounds. Like battle armors, the entire body of the glider was tainted with the fresh blood of wing demons; Zhang Tie’s military exploits ranked first in the Military Exploits Ranking of Crystal Battle Fortress.

The newspaper ’Holy War News’ was delivered once a week to the frontline troops, each time fixedly printing 100,000 pieces. This day, only several hours after it was delivered had the urgent remote-sensing messages been spread to the Human Alliance Command from all the frontline troops across the Selnes Theater of Operations. Almost all the troops that could touch with the command had sent the urgent letters——the ’Holy War News’ is severely insufficient. We need more...

On the same day, a name——Zhang Tie, the Selnes Eagle started to spread across the Selnes Theater of Operations. Everybody kept this name in mind.

This name represented the first air cavalry across Waii Sub-Continent, an unprecedented powerful armed force that could completely conquer the air force of demons and a hope that could make all the despaired people spirited...

Along with this report, all the millions of soldiers across the Selnes Theater of Operations focused on the Crystal Battle Fortress...