Battle Frenzy

What was that?!

Celeste was suddenly dumbfounded.

It was the sound of pills slamming against the inner walls of the pill furnace, and it followed a rather perfect melody. It was as if someone was striking a bell in a joyous movement. It was a clear and natural sound that was pleasing to the ears.

Closely after, there was an extremely strong pill fragrance. It ignored the physical barrier that the wall of the pill furnace posed and simply passed through to waft into the air!

The surging collision force and the extraordinary fragrance… Could it be…?!

Celeste was stunned and widened her mouth. She simply watched Wang Zhong open the pill furnace aptly, but there was no surging air current. On the contrary, rays of golden light shone from the pill furnace. Then, two golden pills that mixed with the golden light soared into the sky.

There was no doubt that this was a Perfect Pill!

How, how was this possible?!

Celeste simply felt as if her outlook on life had been subverted. The entire process was clearly imperfect, and she had determined that at most, 50% pills would be produced. How could he possibly produce Perfect Pills? Even if a great deal of luck was involved, this could not be possible, right?

However, Wang Zhong did not seem pleasantly surprised by this. This was definitely a batch of Perfect Pills.

When it came to pills, one’s foundations, techniques, methods, and other aspects only determined the lower limits of the pill. When one was competent enough, one could have 100% confidence that they would produce 90% pills. However, one could not depend on this to produce Perfect Pills as this involved a completely different path of pill refinery. The threshold for producing Perfect Pills was very low in some aspects. As long as one ensured that the pill spirit was nurtured correctly and the pill was formed, then there would be a possibility of producing a Perfect Pill. The rest depended on “fate” and affinity. There was no need to speak about affinity. Meanwhile, most people concluded that fate meant luck. However, in reality, one could control their fate.

“You… How did you do it?” Celeste was truly shocked by this. If Wang Zhong used luck to explain this, it would be hard for her to believe it. After all, this was the third time! Furthermore, she had witnessed this personally three consecutive times. This world was large, and there was no lack of strange things. However, how could this happen again and again? Furthermore, there had obviously been some flaws in Wang Zhong’s process of refining the pill. Even a batch of high-quality pills should have been unlikely…

“Even if you want me to explain, I can’t explain it,” said Lao Wang with a smile. This was not strange. Even almighty figures like Elder Yimo could not teach others how to refine Perfect Pills. Furthermore, Lao Wang was simply extrapolating and using one method to wrestle against the signs of fate. “However, there is one thing that I’m now sure of. The Perfect Pills have nothing to do with the so-called flaws. I feel that it should be the control of fate.”

Wang Zhong’s method was rather bold. As for whether Celeste was able to understand this, that was beyond his control.

Obviously, the daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince could not understand Wang Zhong’s theory. This was different from the pill refinery that she usually engaged in. It went beyond the range of theory and general knowledge, and was an extremely mysterious thing. It was like discussing the significance of deities to an atheist. However, this did not affect the glow in her eyes that had a strange glint to them. To the women of the Heavenly Shell race, their beauty standards were completely different from the conventional standards of beauty.

When ordinary humans admired those of the opposite sex, they would first look at their face and figure. Regardless of whether they had a cute face and a voluptuous chest or were small lolis, as long as their appearance corresponded with one’s beauty standards, one would feel a hormonal impulse when they saw the other person. This was called attraction.

But what about the Heavenly Shell race? They resembled peacocks who admired whether the opposite sex had beautiful tail features. They were like gorillas who admired whether the opposite sex had a stronger body. They were even similar to some primitive animals who were simply attracted to the strong scent from the other person. Only one thing could cause such attraction and excitement for the opposite sex in the Heavenly Shell race — their Core! Before the ancestors of the Heavenly Shell race developed intelligence, they were no more than ordinary shells in the ocean. Their shells were able to produce dazzling pearls that acted as an important standard to determine the individual’s value. This was what was most beautiful about the Heavenly Shell race and what attracted them to one another…

At that moment, Wang Zhong had this “charm” in Celeste’s eyes. Furthermore, he was extremely charming. As someone who had just learned pill refinery not too long ago, he had been able to produce Perfect Pills three consecutive times! How different was he from a beautiful woman who, in the eyes of a human, had outstanding beauty just by applying light makeup? Not only was it beautiful, it was also purely natural! He had been able to reach this stage in just a few months. What if he continued to learn pill refinery? He would not simply be beautiful. Instead, his entirety would be filled with this intoxicating attraction to the Heavenly Shell race both on the inside and the outside…

Just as Wang Zhong was speaking, he sensed Celeste’s enthusiastic gaze. Even though she was the respected Celeste, the honorable daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince, to be honest, she was now just a girl who had experienced her first awakening of love. Others saw her as too arrogant and cold only because the gap between them was too large. Thus, others simply felt that she was unattainable.

“Wang Zhong, have you ever thought about having a girlfriend from the Heavenly Shell race?” Celeste did not mince her words. Daring to love and hate others had always been a label assigned to the females of the Heavenly Shell race, just like how their elder had married a member of the Fire Demon race.

The pill refinery house instantly fell silent. Not only was Lao Wang quiet, the three elemental spirits beside them were also dumbstruck, especially Nini and Yiyi! They could only smell their master every 10 days or so, but this woman… no, no, no… this poop picker wanted to dominate him? What gave her the right?! This was definitely unacceptable! However, it was obvious that they could not interrupt this situation. They could only stand by anxiously and worry helplessly.

Although Wang Zhong was not very experienced, he did not hesitate and smiled. “I already have a wife.”

Not only did Celeste know about Lan Daier, she also knew about Scarlet. Among the females, the Heavenly Shell race had extremely similar world outlooks as Earthlings, except that they were simply more beautiful. As the daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince, Celeste was a target of onlookers and admirers. Thus, she was more cautious than anyone else. To an ordinary person, the gap between someone in the divine territory that was heading towards immortality and an Earthling who was far beneath them was massive. However, Wang Zhong still acted the same way. Most importantly, Celeste could sense the sincerity in his actions. He was not loosening the reins only to grasp them better.

The more this was the case, the more she admired and respected him.

“I am not asking you to make a decision now. I believe that time will change your choice.” Celeste was not unreasonable as this did not conform to her identity. It would also be impolite to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong smiled and did not continue to pursue this question. Some people had frank personalities.

Celeste could not be stopped. Roro saw this and hurriedly took this opportunity to leave. After all, the gazes from the other two spirits, Nini and Yiyi, were about to pierce through them.

The daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince, who was aloof in the eyes of countless people, also had such a passionate side. Wang Zhong sighed with emotion, but he did not probe into this issue either. It had been a long time since he had come to the divine territory, and he missed Scarlet somewhat. It was said that the path of cultivation was lonely, but if it was truly lonely, there would be no reason to continue.

Just as he had packed up the pills, Lavel’s messenger arrived. It was obvious that the messenger had been waiting for him.

“Wang Zhong, come to the Creation Star Ring immediately!” Lavel did not show any hesitation or speak nonsense with Wang Zhong.

Had the Soul Steel been completed? Lao Wang became rather excited. This was related to whether he would be able to obtain his level-4 equipment. Thus, he hurriedly rushed over.

“…The second stage of nurturing the Soul Steel requires 7,749 steps, and I’m not even done with 10% of them. How can it be that easy?” It was as if Senior Lavel had poured a bucket of cold water over him. “It’s just that when I was resting, I heard of some very inconceivable news…”

Lavel observed the fellow in front of her with an ambiguous smile. “Have you entered the Celestial Honors Class?”

Lao Wang instantly noticed that there was also a Celestial Honors space ring on Senior Lavel’s hand. This was not surprising. After all, besides the supervisors and some external participants, the Heavenly Gates pupils who were able to join the list of candidates attempting the Heavenly River Tide were mostly from the Celestial Honors Class. Regardless of whether it was Lavel or Yan Moyu, the pupil of Elder Yimo, it was the same.

“Senior is really well-informed.”

“There are only so many people in the Celestial Honors Class, and the circle is only so big. Whenever anyone joins the Class or dies, it is not a small matter. I cannot be considered well-informed. Congratulations.” Lavel waved her hand. Of course, she had called Wang Zhong over simply to confirm this and to congratulate him.

As a senior in the Celestial Honors Class, Lavel’s understanding of it was much better than Wang Zhong’s. In the entire long history of the Heavenly Gates, no more than ten Void Cores had entered the Celestial Honors Class. Furthermore, the only other pupil in history so far to have entered the Celestial Honors Class as a member of a low-leveled civilization was the earliest ancestor of the Heavenly Shell race.

Now, another such pupil had emerged. Furthermore, his path was very similar to the one that the Heavenly Shell ancestor had taken. They were both Void Cores from low-leveled civilizations that had entered the Celestial Honors Class and came from civilizations that had just entered the Star Alliance not too long ago… Ordinary members of the Heavenly Gates might not understand these things and the meaning behind them, but to the seniors in the Celestial Honors Class, this had caused an uproar among them.

Back then, the Heavenly Shell ancestor’s entry into the Celestial Honors Class had caused a large dispute. Furthermore, many things had set the stage for this. Back then, the Heavenly Shell ancestor was a true influential figure who could stir the Heavenly Gates and was very well-known. However, this Earthling had silently joined them. This was simply unthinkable. It was said that the Heavenly Shell race, the Machinery race, and the insect race were also behind this. For these three races to be able to override all objections against him, this Earthling was obviously not as simple as he seemed on the surface…

“I can’t say that there is no doubt or dissatisfaction. The experts of the Celestial Honors Class are not as senseless as you expect. Perhaps most of the Celestial Honors Class pupils are just curious about you,” said Senior Lavel. “However, there are always some radical ones. You should be more careful. Also, don’t be too close to the Heavenly Shell race. It will have no benefits for you and the Earthlings.”

After she finished speaking, Wang Zhong was chased away. As a result, Wang Zhong’s head was spinning. Lavel had been speaking slightly aimlessly, but her words had never been clear. In the eyes of an outsider, there seemed to be a problem with being allied to the Fire Demon race and the Heavenly Shell race.

…

The Land made a clear distinction between practitioners, between those who were Void Cores and those who were below the Void Core Realm. However, they were all still “children”. Once one accumulated their Solid Core and reached the strength and realm associated with it, only then did they have the qualifications to slowly interact with this entire world.

Regardless of whether it was Lavel’s reminders or his conversation with Celeste, Lao Wang had a faint feeling that a storm was about to brew. Furthermore, he was about to be involved in this storm.

He did not know how long Senior Lavel would take to nurture the Soul Steel. Furthermore, it was said that the Celestial Honors Class typically only assigned missions one or two times a year. Thus, Lao Wang’s daily life in the Heavenly Gates consisted of occasionally going to the Combat Cultivation Hall to take a look or attending lessons at the Pill Refinery Hall. He also often went to the library and shut himself off for three or five days. The rest of his time was spent on solidifying his Void Core. His divine cells did not become obsolete because he had accumulated his Core. On the contrary, they had evolved as a result of it. This had also allowed the efficacy of his Devouring Heaven Technique to increase as well. The speed at which he absorbed the spiritual influence in the world had reached the normal Void Core standard and even exceeded it slightly. Although it was not as heaven-defying as when he was a Foundational Stage, it was enough to compare with the Void Core techniques of many high-leveled civilizations.

Lao Wang did not waste time and focused on cultivation.

There were numerous Void Core techniques in the Land, but they only served one function: to absorb the spiritual power in this world and complete the spiritual power accumulation from the preliminary Void Core Realm to the peak Void Core Realm. This would allow a Void Core to complete the primary qualitative change from an illusory state to a solid state. Under normal circumstances, a typical Void Core technique would take at least a hundred years to complete this entire process. However, some Void Core techniques and rules from higher-leveled civilizations could speed up this process by 10 times. Peak level-8 civilizations like the Heavenly Shell race could even shorten this accumulation to about three to five years! Meanwhile, using the Devouring Heaven Technique, Wang Zhong should be able to finish this accumulation in about ten years.

The techniques that he had comprehended in the Foundational Stage were comparable to the Void Core techniques from high-leveled civilizations. If this information was spread, no one would believe it. Furthermore, what was even more terrifying was that Wang Zhong could clearly sense that the Devouring Heaven Technique, which he had miraculously obtained, had not reached its limits. There was still a lot of room for improvement. He started to be able to sense some flaws and imperfections in his process of cultivation. However, it was a pity that he had not accumulated enough cultivation experience, and his realm was not high enough. Thus, he could sense where the problem was but had no way to solve them. He could only feel helpless. But at the very least, while he was in the Void Core Realm, he was completely able to use the Devouring Heaven Technique…

The number of pupils in the Three Great Halls had decreased greatly. After completing the first year of newcomer courses, the lowest-scoring pupils who were supposed to be eliminated had quietly left the Heavenly Gates.

With the Illusion Sea mission from the Combat Cultivation Hall, the level-7 pill mission from the Pill Refinery Hall, and the weapon refinery mission from the Equipment Refinery Hall that Flying Pig and the others had taken on, the first year of the Violent Demon Era 58th Batch had ended. The poorly performing pupils, the second-rate students, and the weak were naturally eliminated. No one pitied them or even cared about them. However, even those who had been eliminated would mostly become tyrants in various aspects back in their races, just like the leader of the Flamerock race that had looked for trouble in Heavenly Treasures Street half a year ago…

The remaining students who stayed in the Heavenly Gates were the elites among the elites and could be considered as official Heavenly Gates pupils. Various Heavenly Gates benefits in many aspects started to follow, such as the treasure vault conversion system, access to the library in the Internal Gates, and so on. Of course, ordinary pupils did not have the qualifications to casually enter these places, but they could submit applications and wait for approval from the higher-ups. Those who performed very well in their respective Hall would also receive special benefits.

New practices were gradually forming. Most of the elites who could remain were the types of people who immersed themselves in cultivation. Most of the fools who were like Balor and Gorst had disappeared. Without the chattering from certain idlers in the Heavenly Gates, the Three Great Halls in the Heavenly Gates were much more peaceful.