54: Chapter 54 Absorbing the Chaos Thunder Pearl
After exiting the Treasury Pavilion, Su Mu looked back at the unassuming building once more, unable to hide the shock in his heart.
The space ring in Su Mu's hand only had a volume of 8 cubic meters, yet this Treasury Pavilion had seven floors in total. If what Elder Hua said just now was true...
200 square meters was far from the limit; a single floor likely spanned at least a thousand square meters.
With each floor being three meters high and seven floors in total, that would be over ten thousand cubic meters.
Su Mu couldn't help but feel envious of the convenience of the Space-type.
"Forget it. Maybe the system will provide an opportunity to awaken a second ability later. When that time comes, I must get a Space-type."
Carrying the chaos thunder pearl, Su Mu walked directly toward Yang Wendao's villa.
Feeling that the old man was no ordinary person, he felt he should go and inform his teacher.
Inside the Treasury Pavilion at that moment, a shadowy figure stood by the door watching Su Mu, though Su Mu could not see the old man.
Only after Su Mu had walked far away did the shadows on the old man's body gradually dissipate, revealing his form.
"He truly is quite a decent little fellow!"
...
"What? You met Elder Hua?"
Yang Wendao's voice was loud enough to lift the roof off the house.
Su Mu felt it was strange. Wouldn't any normal person who went to the Treasury Pavilion see Elder Hua?
"Yeah! I went to the Treasury Pavilion to exchange for resources, and Elder Hua was right there at the front desk! I ran into the old gentleman as soon as I walked in."
It was like the First Emperor touching an electric wire—he was winning big time.
"This is your fortune, kid. If Elder Hua was willing to show you around the Treasury Pavilion, you must have caught his eye."
Su Mu was still very curious about the old man. "Teacher, what exactly is Elder Hua's background?"
"Elder Hua is a founding-level figure of Huaxia, and he has deep ties with my master."
Hearing this, Su Mu became even more curious. "Teacher, could it be he's my Grandmaster's good friend?"
"No! Elder Hua is my master's Martial Uncle."
A 'boom' of thunder seemed to strike the top of Su Mu's head.
"In that case, wouldn't Elder Hua be my Great-Grandmaster?"
Yang Wendao leaned back on the sofa. "Correct!"
Su Mu swallowed hard. "Then what rank of powerhouse is Great-Grandmaster? How old is he now?"
"Elder Hua's cultivation is far beyond our imagination. As for how old he is? To be honest, I don't know either. He has looked like that since the first time I met him.
However, for someone of his cultivation level, nothing is surprising."
After speaking with Yang Wendao, Su Mu was once again shocked by the old man's strength, while simultaneously feeling a deep sense of his own insignificance.
Immediately, Su Mu felt a more urgent desire for a system upgrade, but his one thousand-plus conversion points instantly brought him back to reality.
"Teacher, if there's nothing else, I'll head back first."
He would have to wait until Friday to go hunt fierce beasts in the wilderness, but the chaos thunder pearl could be used now. After absorbing the lightning and dark energy inside, it might allow his ability to undergo a transformation.
However, before Su Mu could get up to leave, Yang Wendao reached out to stop him.
"No rush. What resource did you exchange for at the Treasury Pavilion? Bring it out and let me see!"
It wasn't that Yang Wendao had designs on Su Mu's resources; it was mainly because using some resources haphazardly could damage one's foundation.
He was his teacher, after all. Although he gave Su Mu a great deal of freedom, he also had to prevent his disciple from going astray.
Su Mu didn't hide it either, directly taking out the chaos thunder pearl for Yang Wendao to see.
Yang Wendao was an eighth-rank powerhouse, after all; he understood what it was with a single glance.
"A resource containing both lightning and dark energy simultaneously. It truly is very suitable for you."
As he spoke, he stroked his chin as if in deep thought.
"Direct absorption won't maximize your gains. I suggest you go to the Seven Star Platform to absorb it. The weather tonight happens to be good, so you should be able to see the big dipper."
Yang Wendao gave his suggestion.
"Okay! Thank you, Teacher. I'll go right now."
Bowing to his teacher, he ran toward the Seven Star Platform at his fastest speed.
Of course, Su Mu, who was unfamiliar with Modu Ability University, couldn't find the location of the Seven Star Platform on his own.
"Xiao You, help me plan a route to the Seven Star Platform."
"The current road speed limit is 15. Your current speed is 45. You are speeding; please slow down."
(￣▽￣)"
It felt a bit like an artificial idiot.
Su Mu soon reached the back mountain of Modu Ability University. According to Xiao You's navigation prompts, the Seven Star Platform should be at the summit.
Su Mu continued running toward the summit at top speed.
What came into view were seven huge circular platforms, arranged in the shape of the big dipper.
Many prayer mats were placed on the platforms, arranged in three concentric circles.
Su Mu roughly estimated that a single circular platform could accommodate at most 20 people for cultivation.
With seven platforms, that meant a maximum of only 140 people could cultivate at the same time.
This confused Su Mu. Logically, many people should be fighting to use a cultivation holy land like this.
But then Su Mu found out why.
"One credit per hour?"
Su Mu stood at the entrance of the Seven Star Platform, inquiring about the usage price.
"That's right. Junior, positions in the outer circle of the Seven Star Platform are one credit per hour, the middle circle is two credits per hour, and the inner circle is three credits per hour."
Su Mu was shocked!
Ordinary students were only issued 10 credits a year. Even students on the grade rankings could probably only afford to cultivate at the Seven Star Platform once or twice a month.
However, since his teacher recommended it, Su Mu had to see for himself what was so magical about this Seven Star Platform.
"Senior, give me a spot in the inner circle for five hours!"
The glasses of the senior guarding the gate almost fell to the ground.
But having been a student at Modu Ability University for two years, he quickly reacted.
"O-okay, take out your student card for a moment."
Su Mu handed over his student card, and the gatekeeper senior swiped it.
This transaction cost 15 credits. Current remaining credits: 1084.95.
"Damn!" Even a senior with good upbringing couldn't help but swear.
There was no helping it. What kind of freshman has this many credits right after starting school? Even the first-place winner of the Freshman Competition only gets 1000 credits.
The extra 100 credits might not look like much, but that was worth a million!
"Senior, can I go in now?" Su Mu spoke up to remind him.
"You can, you can. Your position is Kaiyang Platform No. 3. There is a timer in front of the platform. The countdown will start once you sit down.
If you don't come out after the time is up, credits will be deducted according to the extra time."
Su Mu nodded, took back his student card, and walked directly toward the sixth circular platform.
According to Su Mu's understanding, these seven circular platforms were likely named after the stars of the big dipper.
The Kaiyang Platform should be the sixth platform, corresponding to the sixth star of the big dipper, Mizar.
He walked to the Kaiyang Platform, found position number three, and immediately sat down.
The countdown in front of the prayer mat instantly began to tick.
4:59:59
He immediately took out the chaos thunder pearl, placed it between his legs, and began to absorb the lightning and dark energy within it.
The ability within Su Mu's body began to grow restless as the lightning and dark energy were continuously sucked into his body.
Dark Lightning began to manifest bit by bit from within Su Mu's body.
Occasionally, a faint stray current would break free from Su Mu's restraint and land beside his body.
Fortunately, there was no one in the inner or middle circles of the Kaiyang Platform; otherwise, it would surely have affected others' cultivation.
Shadow energy and lightning energy flooded into Su Mu's meridians.
The two initially restless energies were devoured and absorbed bit by bit by the Dark Lightning.
The two energies within the chaos thunder pearl placed between Su Mu's legs became increasingly calm.