Qian Ye’s innate talent on the side of Dawn suffered a severe blow after losing the original crystal. When he left the garbage dump, Lin Xitang had evaluated him as having the lowest level of first-class potential, which, considering his physical condition, was downgraded to fourth class.
Now that all the latent dangers in his body have vanished, everyone believes his talent to be Dawn’s Enlightenment, but Qian Ye himself still harbors doubts. He has no confidence that such an Enlightenment could resist the assimilation of Ancestor blood.
At present, the only way Qian Ye can think of is to enhance the Dawn origin power as much as possible, suppressing the dark origin power. It would be best if it could surpass by one level to ensure it is not influenced.
In this way, not only can he not absorb those essences, but he also needs to find another way to consume them. Fortunately, he still has the Book of Black and the Wings of Origin, both voracious consumers, though they usually took the essence refined from the profound chapters. Whether they can directly absorb the essences remains unknown.
Qian Ye tried to establish a connection with the Book of Black and the Wings of Origin in his consciousness and then divided the essence within his body, directing each part to them.
The Wings of Origin greedily swallowed half of the essence, making the wings fuller and more real. A new feather was nearly fully formed. However, the Book of Black absorbed the essence slowly, taking it in thread by thread, as if it were being selective.
Qian Ye wasn’t in a hurry and merely waited silently.
It took a full hour for the Book of Black to absorb the remaining half of the essence. Qian Ye opened his mouth, spewing out a dense black mist like ink. This black mist fell onto the purple substrate, hissing and corroding it, revealing the soil beneath in a matter of moments.
This corrosive power, far exceeding the toxicity of the miasma expelled after previous training sessions, startled Qian Ye.
This mysterious purple substrate was no ordinary material, its own corrosive power was formidable, capable of consuming almost anything except for a few rare metals. Its resistance to corrosion was naturally strong. Yet, in the face of Qian Ye’s black mist, it offered almost no resistance, being swiftly destroyed.
The black mist originated from the Book of Black, supplied by the mixed essences of thousands of dark warriors of various ranks. Since it had not been refined through the profound chapters, the Book of Black became extremely picky, constantly expelling impurities during the absorption. Sometimes, when a lower quality essence was introduced, the Book could reject half of it.
Yet, Qian Ye never imagined that these impurities would converge into such toxic black mist. The destructive power was so potent that even a Night Baron hit by it would likely sustain serious injuries.
Thinking of how the black mist had lingered in his body for a full hour, a layer of fine sweat appeared on Qian Ye’s nose. A sudden thought struck him: Could this be another lethal move? If the black mist could be stored and used in battle, it might even severely injure a high-ranking dark race warrior, unprepared for such an attack.
However, Qian Ye quickly dismissed this enticing idea. Having such a potent toxin in his body was like a time bomb. If it ever lost control, even with his vampire constitution, he would not be able to withstand its erosion and would melt into a pool of black water, just like the purple substrate before him.
Shaking his head, he continued to inspect his body. The Wings of Origin, unlike the Book of Black, did not discriminate, absorbing all the essence without distinction, refining every drop.
The wings attached to the dark golden blood energy grew slightly, and beyond the two existing feathers, a third new one was nearly complete. With more essence, it would mean three more Original Shots, which could potentially save his life three times in the current battle.
With the immediate concern of excessive essence resolved, Qian Ye’s attention returned to the Book of Black. After absorbing so much essence, what changes would occur within the book?
Under his consciousness, the Book of Black trembled slightly and slowly opened.
In the southern region of the Empire, by the sea, stood a bustling metropolis named Linhai. Its port was crowded with countless sails, and on the city’s side, there were four large floating shipyards, with airships constantly coming and going.
To the southwest of Linhai, there was a separate and luxurious district, resplendent and magnificent, with most of its area occupied by a series of connected mansions.
At this moment, in a quiet courtyard of the main mansion, several people sat around a table, sipping tea and enjoying the scenery. The scene appeared elegant, but there was a hint of underlying tension.
A man in his thirties put down his teacup and said solemnly, “The situation on the floating continent seems grim. The reaction from the Eternal Night Council is much faster and more intense than expected. Fifth Brother, you are in charge of the Imperial Fleet. What is the current situation?”
Opposite him was a man of similar age, tall and with signs of weariness etched on his brow and eyes, making him appear older than his brother.
His expression was grave as he replied, “The Sixth Fleet under my command was originally a reserve force, not fully manned. It only had a third of the personnel and ships. But I just received orders from the military to form a detachment with the best troops and head to the floating continent battlefield.”
The others showed a slight change in their expressions. The man leading the group, steady and sharp-featured, pondered, “Even the Fifth Brother’s fleet is being mobilized. It seems the rumors of heavy losses among the main fleets are true. We must prepare accordingly.”
Another person on his left asked, “Has the Eldest Sister heard any news from the palace?”
The leader shook his head, “The Empress cannot interfere in politics, even if she is of imperial rank. Moreover, there are many ears in the palace. Last time we moved against Lin Xitang, we already drew their attention. At this time, the Eldest Sister should avoid suspicion and not pass any messages, lest we provide them with a handle.”
Surveying the people at the table, he added proudly, “Besides, our Jing Tang Li Clan is now teeming with talent, and our fortunes are rising. Why should we need the Eldest Sister to burden herself? This battle on the floating continent, although difficult, is an opportunity for our clan to break through and ascend. If we win, the future of our aristocracy is assured!”
This man was the current head of the Jing Tang Li Clan, Marquis Wanghai, Li Tianshi. Li Tianshi was in his early forties, in the prime of his life. The people sitting in his garden were all core members of the Li Clan, each in their thirties or forties, with Li Tianshi being the eldest. Such a scenario was rare in noble families.
Most ruling families in the empire were led by two generations, with the head of a lineage rarely being under fifty. Many elder statesmen were in their sixties, seventies, or even over a hundred. For example, the patriarch of the Song Clan, Song Zhongnian, actually had the power held by the elderly Lady Anguo.
And if one were to speak about the Zhao Clan, Zhao Wei Huang, not yet fifty, was considered young, but his control over the family was weaker due to the division of power between the two dukes. Even the Zhang Clan’s Zhang Boqian, known for his disinterest in mundane affairs, inherited the Dan Duke position only after several years.
Thus, the Jing Tang Li Clan was truly a rare case.
Each person in the garden had a distinct aura, but all were dignified and graceful. Before becoming the Empress’ clan, the Jing Tang Li Clan was not well-known in military and political circles. Only the top nobles knew that this family was famous in the Tian Yan art, one of the oldest lineages, and their descendants were distinguished and ethereal.
Perhaps this was why the Empress, despite countless beauties, remained favored over time.
Commander of the Sixth Fleet, Li Cunjian, felt a surge of enthusiasm upon hearing the head’s words, but then he sighed, “Elder Brother makes sense, but the floating continent is not easy to conquer. The Mysterious Forest we seized borders the major battle zones, which will become the main battlegrounds in the later stages.”
Li Tianshi remained calm, saying, “No matter. In the early and middle stages, we can rely on the freelancers to stabilize the situation. By the later stages, our Li Clan warriors will take over and hold the line through the toughest part of the battle.”
Another person sighed, “Those outsiders are rebellious, and the cost is enormous. The rewards for the first month are already a significant amount. At this rate, the family will be drained within half a year.”
Li Tianshi also seemed troubled, “Spending money is better than sacrificing the lives of our Li Clan children. Besides, even with such high rewards, the number of strong warriors willing to join us is still fewer than expected.”
Li Cunjian interjected, “The Mysterious Forest is not a place for humans. If it were me, I’d rather go into the central labyrinth’s caves than stay in that eerie place.”
“Exactly.” The others, all powerful themselves, felt the same.
Li Tianshi pondered for a moment and said, “Since that’s the case, let’s increase the stakes! For the next three months, in addition to Mirror Water Rebirth, we’ll add a choice of the Sky Wind Smoke Pearl to the list. The same for the following three months!”
“Sky Wind Smoke Pearl!” Li Cunjian exclaimed, “In the last ten years, we’ve only managed to refine twelve, and only three remain unclaimed. Are we really going to put two up on the list?”
“Why not?” Li Tianshi’s eyes burned with a hidden flame, “Mirror Water Rebirth is for saving lives, but if the freelancers can’t use it immediately, it becomes a liability. But the Sky Wind Smoke Pearl can elevate a general’s cultivation bottleneck by one level. Who wouldn’t be tempted?”
“Moreover, many influential figures desire the Sky Wind Smoke Pearl. Giving it to anyone would cause offense. It’s better to let them compete on the list. It saves us the trouble.” There was a hint of displeasure in Li Tianshi’s tone, indicating the pressure he was under.
Everyone exchanged glances, even the usually aggressive Li Cunjian was silent.
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