Boom!
Lu Jun's blood and vitality surged violently, dyed with platinum radiance. His lungs shone brilliantly as a sharp aura soared into the sky, ringing loudly like the simultaneous resonance of ten thousand swords.
At the center of his body, between the two lungs, a magnificent palace hovered in midair. It was entirely platinum, its layout resembling a general's mansion, filled with killing intent, while White Tiger patterns were etched across it.
The palace radiated boundless light, like a rising platinum sun, faintly echoing the Taibai Venus in the western sky.
Metal Element Transcendent Power, Taibai Golden Palace!
This ability was closely connected to Taiyi Golden Radiance and the White Tiger Tally, though its specific effects still needed to be explored and mastered.
However, with each breath Lu Jun could draw upon the myriad energies of the world, stirring his essence, qi, and spirit, dispersing them throughout his body and extending outward to his skin and hair. Every strand of blood and vitality within him glimmered brightly, like a divine weapon filled with awe-inspiring killing intent.
Soon, the Northern Qi Sea beneath his abdomen was stimulated and revived on its own, resembling a black sun suspended in place. From his kidneys flowed pitch-black, extremely soft and gentle water, nourishing his body.
Thus Lu Jun's originally blade-like posture—sharp enough to split the heavens and impossible to confront, softened slightly.
The endless blood and vitality within his body gained a hint of roundness amid the sharp killing aura, as if yin and yang were balancing each other while continuously tempering his physique.
Rumble!
The phantom of a ghostly deity appeared behind Lu Jun. With cracking sounds it stood tall between heaven and earth, breaking through the barrier that separated the Heavenly Realm stages and advancing into the Seventh Realm of Vitality, the level of a Monarch Physique.
The ghostly deity solidified and suddenly fused with him.
In the next instant, Lu Jun's height rose steadily, his body shining with an indestructible glow. He suddenly stood up, his eyes flashing with strange colors. His lungs and kidneys emitted mystical brilliance; the golden palace hovered at his center, while the black sun sank within his abdomen. A supreme and powerful Monarch-level pressure spread outward with a thunderous roar.
Fortunately, the Three Step Tower was enveloped by a powerful magic formation, containing boundless space and restraining the surroundings. Otherwise, Lu Jun's aura would certainly have leaked out and caused a major disturbance.
He took a deep breath and looked at his own state, a trace of realization flashing through his eyes.
If the standard of the lower three realms of vitality was the fascial layer, creating special tissues within the human body, and the mark of the middle three realms was the Ghost-Deity Dharma Form, where vitality radiated outward like a blazing sun, then the mark of the upper three realms was Demonization.
Its principle was similar to Transcendent Power at the Super-tier, refining vast quantities of magical elements directly into the body.
Lu Jun's Seventh Realm of Vitality was now almost like the demon blood-beast race, filled with endless brute force of blood and vitality. Structurally, it had fundamentally diverged from that of ordinary humans.
He could now be considered another independent race, similar to vampires, demons, or Moth Girls, inhuman beings.
"Not bad. These dozen days of cultivation weren't wasted."
Lu Jun felt satisfied. At the same time, during this period he had not forgotten to maintain control over his star particles. With the Star Sea Control Device, he had successfully mastered Metal Element Super-tier Magic as well.
Now he possessed four Super-tier elements, along with four Transcendent Powers.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A moment later, Lu Jun's phone rang. It was a call from President Xiao, which surprised him. He muttered softly,
"What does Master want with me?"
After he answered, an irritated elderly voice came from the other side.
"You brat, come to my office immediately. It was your suggestion to Hua Zhanhong, wasn't it? Always piling more responsibilities onto me."
Hearing this, Lu Jun was shocked to learn that President Xiao intended to personally lead the expedition to the Mariana Trench!
Then Lu Jun reconsidered and realized it made sense. In the country, if one asked who possessed the strongest Water Element Forbidden Curse, it would undoubtedly be President Xiao.
Moreover, President Xiao was a triple-element Forbidden Curse Mage, extremely powerful, second only to human peak powerhouses like Hua Zhanhong.
Even if he encountered an Emperor, he could at least hold his own for a while and retreat calmly.
Most importantly, President Xiao's identity was secretive, so it would not alert the Sea Demon spies hidden within the Nine Provinces.
"Wonderful."
Lu Jun felt that Hua Zhanhong had truly considered his choice of personnel carefully. With his own master leading the team, how could he possibly fail to obtain the Water Element Heavenly Seed?
Immediately afterward, Lu Jun stepped out of the Three Step Tower. With a single thought, he used Instant Movement and arrived inside President Xiao's office.
Amid flashes of silver light, his figure appeared in the office. Several figures were already standing there, all turning their gazes toward him.
Lu Jun glanced over them and was surprised to discover that most of them were familiar faces.
There was Ye Mei, whom he had met before, a top-level authority of the Forbidden Palace Court; Lu Huan, the Chief of the Ancient Capital's Imperial Guard Mages; and two other men who were relatively unfamiliar, both carrying the stern and capable aura of military backgrounds.
Lu Huan smiled and said,
"Lu Jun, long time no see. I never thought that one day we would fight side by side."
As he spoke, Lu Huan felt somewhat emotional. Back then, Lu Jun had only been a High-Tier youngster, yet now he had grown to a level where even Lu Huan willingly admitted inferiority.
Lu Jun responded with a smile.
"Chief Lu, age has only strengthened you. During this mission, we will still rely on you to shoulder much of the responsibility."
He sensed the aura of the four people present. Every one of them had Full Super-tier cultivation, possessing the strength of Forbidden Palace Court guardian-level mages.
Moreover, these four were absolutely trustworthy. Otherwise, Hua Zhanhong would not have revealed President Xiao's identity as a Forbidden Curse Mage.
At the same time, within Lu Jun's spiritual world, the pitch-black ocean-like Star Sea shone brilliantly. His Water Element Calamity Talent, Command the Wind and Summon the Rain faintly reacted.
All of them cultivated the Water Element!
Those present then introduced themselves one after another, mainly the two men from the military.
One was named Chen Zhen, who looked like a hearty northeastern strongman. He was quite talkative, constantly calling Lu Jun "little brother."
The other was named Bai Lang, somewhat shorter and thinner, with dark skin like someone who had spent years living at sea. He was quiet and taciturn, clearly a southerner.
Both of them came from the navy. Unfortunately, with the sea levels rising and the Pacific Empire invading, the sea routes had been cut off. The navy had been strategically abandoned, so they were reassigned to missions like this.
President Xiao looked at everyone gently, listening as they exchanged information about their respective magic elements and abilities.
When Ye Mei heard that Lu Jun possessed the Water-Avoiding Pearl and the Water-Suppressing Pearl, she could not help but breathe rapidly. Being able to completely ignore Water Element magic below the Super-tier and suppress water elements themselves was simply a bug-like ability.
After they finished discussing, President Xiao cleared his throat and said,
"For the upcoming exploration mission to the Mariana Trench, I will not easily use my full power. Otherwise, the aura of a Forbidden Curse will spread and attract the pursuit of Emperor-level demons from the Sea Demon Empire."
"That would instead place us in the most dangerous situation."
"Our mission this time is very simple: gather intelligence on the Emperor-level forces of the Pacific Empire and establish contact with the Water Elemental Holy Spirit race."
Hearing this, Lu Jun and the others solemnly replied,
"We will not fail your expectations."
"Now we set off. We will first travel by land through Southeast Asia, then head out to sea toward the Mariana Trench."
President Xiao made the proposal. No one objected. Before coming, they had already said farewell to their families and superiors, making all necessary preparations.
With President Xiao as the leader, the six-person team officially departed. Activating a spatial teleportation array, they began their secret operation.
At Pearl Institute, Ding Yumian could not help but feel worried. Going deep into the heart of the Pacific Empire could be described as a mission with almost no chance of survival. She could only hope everything went smoothly.
She knew that Lu Jun possessed the Ancient King's Armor Robe, which could heal the soul, yet she still could not help but worry. After all, both President Xiao and Lu Jun were among the two people she cherished the most.
"If only I could move freely. My Psychic Element could help them avoid the Sea Demons."
At this moment, Ding Yumian deeply hated the existence of the Holy City.
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