85: Chapter 85 Go for it! Cheers!

Deacon Zheng Kun, Appraiser Li Ming, and the others had not yet fully recovered from the shock.

Suddenly, an indescribable sense of oppression emanated from the direction of the quiet room.

It was not a pressure of raw strength, but rather an aura that seemed to come from the deep Universe—cold, dead, and silent, yet carrying the majestic power of the stars!

Immediately after, they watched in astonishment as a dense, pitch-black cloud silently spread outward with Ling Tian as the center, shrouding a radius of several dozen meters!

Within the cloud, faint specks of black light could be seen flickering, like the destructive stars of the astral Realm!

In the area covered by the cloud, light was distorted, and even the Origin Qi of the world became extremely volatile!

"W-what is this?!"

Appraiser Li Ming exclaimed, feeling the destructive power interwoven within the cloud, his face filled with disbelief.

"A Domain?! Could this be a Domain skill?!"

Deacon Zheng Kun's pupils constricted violently. "Impossible! He is only in the Demon King Realm! How could he possibly comprehend a Domain-type skill?!"

A Domain is a profound power that involves the level of the world's majestic power!

Usually, only experts at the Yuan Emperor level, or Demon Emperors, can initially touch upon it!

How could a Demon King possibly master it?!

"Could it be the effect of the star essence?"

The recorder muttered, "But... but how could a single portion of star essence allow a War Beast to immediately comprehend such a powerful Domain skill?!"

Their War Beast Association had handled quite a lot of star essence, and they knew well that its main effect was to subtly purify the Bloodline, enhance Aptitude, and assist in Cultivate.

A situation where a War Beast could immediately gain a powerful skill was unheard of!

Unless... one consumed more than ten portions at once, triggering a qualitative change!

But they had clearly only given two portions just now!

Even if it had swallowed both, it shouldn't have resulted in this, right?

Ling Tian felt the effect of [Nebula], his mouth twitched slightly, and he retracted the skill.

Well, it seemed he was destined not to be associated with words like "dazzling" or "divine."

However, the effect of this dark nebula seemed even cooler?

He could feel that within the range of this dark nebula, his energy recovery speed had increased significantly, while enemies within the range would suffer continuous suppression.

An area-of-effect Domain skill!

And it was growable!

Not bad!

The pressure brought to him by the Yuan Emperor was not small, but at this rate, perhaps after two more evolutions, he could clash with a Yuan Emperor, right?

Just as Ling Tian acquired the new skill, Xia Youchu, who was beside him, also consumed the other portion of star essence.

The pure and vast Star Power surged into her limbs and bones, scouring her Meridians and tempering her Mental Energy!

Her cultivation, which had been somewhat unstable due to her Rebirth and consecutive battles, began to rapidly solidify and climb!

Yuan Master 6-star... Yuan Master 7-star... Yuan Master 8-star...

In the end, her cultivation steadily stopped at the Peak of Yuan Master 9-star!

She was only one step away from the Yuan Spirit Realm!

Feeling the surging power and more refined Mental Energy within her, a sharp light flashed in Xia Youchu's eyes.

The improvement brought by the star essence satisfied both Xia Youchu and Ling Tian.

The pitch-black cloud slowly dissipated, but that heart-palpitating aura remained.

Deacon Zheng Kun and the others looked at each other, seeing the same shock and confusion in each other's eyes.

The effect of this star essence was a bit absurdly good!

How could they know that Ling Tian possessed a Heaven-Defying attribute called [Devour], where any Heaven And Earth Treasure entering his body would be perfectly decomposed and absorbed, without the slightest waste.

For ordinary people, absorbing 30% of a Spirit Medicine's medicinal power was already rare; most of the energy would be lost during the process of absorption and conversion.

But Ling Tian was different.

His devouring was equivalent to digesting, absorbing, and converting!

The efficiency was one hundred percent!

As long as you still poop, your absorption efficiency can never be higher than Ling Tian's!

The door to the quiet room opened, and Xia Youchu and Ling Tian walked out.

Xia Youchu's aura was more refined, faintly touching the threshold of the Yuan Spirit Realm.

Ling Tian was still his usual lazy self, but the way Deacon Zheng Kun and the others looked at him had completely changed.

Before, they were looking at a precious source specimen; now, they were looking at an incomprehensible monster!

"Young Miss Xia, your War Beast just now..." Deacon Zheng Kun couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, he just finished digesting the star essence, had some insights, and gained a new ability."

Xia Youchu's tone was calm, as if she were talking about an insignificant matter.

It wasn't that she knew in advance, but that she had become numb.

Compared to this guy, it seemed more like a reincarnated emperor than she was?

Deacon Zheng Kun's mouth twitched.

One portion of star essence, and it directly comprehended a powerful skill suspected to be a Domain type?

Wasn't this comprehension ability a bit too Heaven-Defying?!

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart, and his attitude became even more respectful:

"Young Miss Xia, Academician Bai is on his way. Before that, the association hopes to maintain close communication with you. This is the headquarters' special-grade communication talisman. If you have any needs, or if your War Beast has any unusual changes, you can contact us at any time."

He offered a jade talisman with an ancient design with both hands.

This already exceeded the treatment for a regular elite Beast Tamer; it was almost treated according to the association's highest standard for honorary consultants.

Xia Youchu took the jade talisman and nodded.

She knew that the potential Ling Tian displayed had already attracted the attention of all parties.

This attention was both an Opportunity and a hidden source of trouble.

She had to improve her strength as soon as possible!

...

Just as Deacon Zheng Kun and the others remained at the Xia family, nervously waiting for Academician Bai, the Xia family welcomed a guest.

"Youchu! Youchu!"

A crisp, melodious voice filled with irrepressible joy came from outside the door.

A young girl wearing a goose-yellow long dress with a beautiful face ran in like a cheerful butterfly; it was Xia Youchu's good friend, Su Wanqing.

"Wanqing? Why are you here?" Xia Youchu saw her friend, and a smile appeared on her face.

During the most difficult time of her life, Su Wanqing was one of the few who never abandoned her and even provided her with quite a lot of material help.

She had always remembered this friendship.

Although all the supplies Su Wanqing gave were eaten by a certain guy!

Ling Tian also cast a glance and nodded at this great philanthropist.

"Good news! Huge good news!"

Su Wanqing excitedly grabbed Xia Youchu's hand, her pretty face flushing red. "I don't have to marry into Black Rock City anymore! That City Lord Zhao Qian has fallen! I heard that his whole family suffered, and all his sons seem to have died inexplicably!"

She patted her chest, looking like she still had lingering fears. "It really is the heavens opening their eyes! I don't know which hero acted on behalf of heaven, but they really did me a huge favor! If I find out who it is, I will definitely thank him properly!"

Xia Youchu looked at her friend's excited appearance, then glanced at Ling Tian, who was lying nearby pretending to sleep, and the corner of her mouth couldn't help but curl into a strange arc.

She coughed lightly and chimed in, "Yes, it really is... the heavens opening their eyes."

Ling Tian nodded silently in his heart.

That's right, it was this heaven—me—who opened its eyes.

No need to thank me, we're all buddies.

Su Wanqing was immersed in joy, completely unaware of the subtle atmosphere between Xia Youchu and Ling Tian, and continued chattering: "Now my dad finally has nothing to say! Youchu, you don't have to worry about my affairs anymore!"

Xia Youchu nodded with a smile: "It's good that it's resolved."

...

After seeing Su Wanqing off, Xia Youchu did not relax at all.

"Father, I plan to take Ling Tian to the front line early." Xia Youchu found Patriarch Xia Yuan and stated her plan.

"Go to the front line? So urgent?"

Patriarch Xia Yuan was a bit worried. "It's dangerous and perilous there, and it's still more than twenty days until the time you agreed upon with General Qin."

"It is precisely because there is still time that I must go."

Xia Youchu: "I want to go to the front line first to join the army, familiarize myself with the environment, and hone myself. And..."

She paused and transmitted her thoughts to Ling Tian: "Ten days from now, near the Star-Shattering Gorge on the front line, a wild Secret Realm will suddenly open. There are many precious Opportunities inside, and it is even rumored that there is a chance to become a god!"

In her previous life, this suddenly appearing Secret Realm had enveloped a squad of new recruits patrolling nearby.

Although those new recruits generally didn't have high strength and couldn't penetrate into the core of the Secret Realm, they obtained quite a few benefits on the periphery. Some found Vermilion Fruits that could strengthen the Physical Body, and some obtained Yuan Crystal Cores containing pure Yuan energy.

It was even rumored that someone obtained a Nine-Orifice Spiritual Flower that could cleanse the marrow and improve Aptitude!

At that time, the news spread and caused quite a sensation, but by the time the various forces reacted, the Secret Realm had already hidden and disappeared.

In this life, since she knew in advance, she naturally wouldn't miss it!

"Dummy, we'll set off immediately and join the border army as new recruits, just in time to catch this Opportunity."

Xia Youchu's eyes were burning with intensity.

Ling Tian's eyes lit up as he listened.

Vermilion Fruits, Yuan Crystal Cores, Nine-Orifice Spiritual Flower!

They sounded delicious!

Let's do it!