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"A scholar?"
The hundred-thousand-year mermaid frowned, her expression heavy with skepticism. She clearly didn't buy a word of what Su Wen was saying.
"Human, do you take me for a fool?" she suddenly erupted in fury, directly commanding her kin to attack.
The numerous merfolk immediately unleashed their spirit abilities, their soul power melding seamlessly into the ocean. In an instant, orderly rows of towering waves rose from the depths. At this moment, it felt as though the entire surrounding sea was under the absolute dominion of the Sea Princess Clan. Su Wen's expression shifted slightly.
"What formidable control."
The spiritual power of the Sea Princess Clan was exceptionally potent. This natural gift granted them a superior degree of water element manipulation, allowing for a staggering level of environmental mastery.
That was impressive enough on its own, but with the coordinated effort of so many merfolk, they were actually capable of temporarily seizing total control over a vast section of the ocean.
Fortunately, Su Wen was faster.
His figure vanished in an instant, reappearing directly in front of the Star-God Clam. The clam, radiating brilliant starlight, snapped shut as an instinctive defense, but it was still too slow for Su Wen's movements.
Su Wen's right hand darted out, snatching a pearl that had clearly finished its gestation. Simultaneously, pages from his book transformed into golden streams of light, swirling around and merging into the body of the Star-God Clam.
"Human, you court death!"
The mermaid princess was livid, churning the sea into a frenzy of violent waves.
Rumble!
Su Wen's spatial traversal distance was immense—an effect he had developed himself through rigorous research. However, the Sea Princess Clan was unaware of this. Generally, space-attribute teleportation abilities possessed by soul beasts or Spirit Masters had strict limitations, either in terms of distance or cooldown time.
Su Wen, however, shattered their common sense.
Having secured the Star-God Clam's pearl, he vanished again, reappearing in the distance atop the Pioneer, which had already fled quite a way.
"Go!" Su Wen urged Hai Da and the crew.
Simultaneously, a massive amount of golden light spiraled between heaven and earth. It was as if he were sketching an illusory world into existence. Within this domain, the various elements became utterly chaotic. Even the Sea Princess Clan found their control over the water elements disrupted by this phantom realm.
Unable to manipulate the waters from a distance to pin down the Pioneer, the members of the Sea Princess Clan were forced to give chase in person. However, upon entering the zone covered by Su Wen's golden light, they realized that not only was their remote manipulation restricted, but even their use of water elements for movement was severely hampered.
By the time the merfolk managed to leave the area shrouded in Su Wen's radiant light, the Pioneer and its crew had already made their clean escape.
"Grandmaster Wen, the Sea Princess Clan is generally considered friendly toward humans. If possible, we should try to avoid major conflicts with them," Hai Da remarked to Su Wen after they had reached safety.
"I know. That's why I didn't actually raise a hand against them."
"Still, their spiritual power is truly intense. Even I felt the effects."
With the assistance of the Spirit-Illusion Eye, Su Wen possessed an incredibly high resistance to spiritual-attribute abilities—one could even say he was immune to most. Yet, the collective spiritual shock and confusion abilities unleashed by the merfolk just now had managed to ripple through his defenses slightly.
"Xingxing, are you alright?"
The mermaid princess led her kin back to the Star-God Clam.
"Princess, I am fine. That human Spirit Master only took my clam pearl."
"He only took your pearl?" The mermaid princess frowned, unable to comprehend Su Wen's behavior. While a clam pearl was precious—a product of the Star-God Clam's long years of cultivation—it shouldn't have been worth instigating a direct conflict with their clan.
"I had been nurturing that pearl for over ten thousand years. It contained a vast amount of stellar energy and had essentially become a heavenly treasure. If a human Spirit Master refined it, there was a chance it could cause their martial soul to evolve with a star attribute."
It wasn't just about the attribute evolution. If that massive amount of stellar energy could truly be absorbed, even a Spirit King-level master could potentially jump five or six ranks instantly. Of course, a clam pearl was not a medicinal herb; refining it would likely take six months to a year. Still, such an effect was nothing short of heaven-defying.
"That pearl was intended for the Little Princess. If she had absorbed it, her cultivation could have increased by at least ten thousand years," the Star-God Clam said resentfully.
For Spirit Masters, the utilization rate of a clam pearl was actually quite low. Despite the enormous stellar energy within, it was difficult to absorb; even after refining the pearl, most of the energy would simply dissipate. Soul beasts, however, were different. With their powerful physical structures and superior digestive capabilities—combined with the direct assistance of the Star-God Clam—there was a real chance to absorb the energy entirely.
"No matter. It isn't a bad thing for my younger sister to accumulate her strength for a bit longer."
For a soul beast, the hundred-thousand-year mark was a massive threshold. Breaking through it triggered a Heavenly Tribulation. If they survived, they could continue to live for another thousand years; alternatively, they could choose to transform into a human Spirit Master.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast that did not transform would face a test from Heaven and Earth as the thousand-year mark approached. If they survived the tribulation, they could continue cultivating until they reached the two-hundred-thousand-year mark, where they would face the trial again. Surviving that first thousand-year tribulation after the initial hundred thousand years meant they had set foot on the path of a "Great Beast," but only by passing the second Heavenly Tribulation—the two-hundred-thousand-year mark—could they be considered a true Great Beast.
For soul beasts, every Heavenly Tribulation was a life-or-death calamity. They could be struck down and killed by the lightning at any moment. Consequently, soul beasts that reached a certain age became extremely cautious in their cultivation.
For instance, an eighty-thousand-year soul beast might choose to simply coast through life, living out its final twenty thousand years slowly. They would stall for time in hopes that a fortuitous opportunity might arise during those two millennia to help them transform, thereby increasing their chances of surviving the tribulation. A beast of this level might be capable of gaining decades or even a century of cultivation progress in a single year of serious training, but they would choose not to.
They did this simply to live as long as possible—unless they faced a natural predator or were forced by circumstance.
Of course, some didn't need to worry so much. For example, the princesses of the Sea Princess Clan, with their pure royal bloodlines, had no trouble surviving the hundred-thousand-year tribulation. Thus, they didn't have many taboos regarding cultivation before that mark.
Hearing the princess's words, the Star-God Clam shifted its body slightly. "The Princess is right. Although the Little Princess is exceptionally talented, building an even firmer foundation is certainly not a bad thing."
Su Wen and the others had finally moved beyond the pursuit range of the merfolk.
Aboard the Pioneer:
"Grandmaster Wen, what are the benefits of this clam pearl?" Hai Da stared at the head-sized pearl in Su Wen's hands, swallowing hard.
Su Wen rolled his eyes. "Do you even need to ask? Couldn't you feel it yourself?"
"It contains pure stellar energy converted by the Star-God Clam, and the storage capacity is terrifying. Refining this energy can rapidly increase one's soul power rank," Su Wen explained. "And as long as you don't neglect the training of your soul power control and spirit abilities, there's no need to worry about damaging your foundation."
"Don't even think about it. This pearl is meant for his little girlfriend; you won't be getting it," Zhan Tian Douluo remarked, looking at the wide-eyed Hai Da.
Hai Da sighed, realizing the pearl likely wasn't destined for him. Su Wen stowed the pearl away, his spiritual power already connecting to the Academic Realm.
(End of Chapter)