Chapter 72: Chapter 68: Dehua (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Monthly Tickets) Chapter 72: Chapter 68: Dehua (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Monthly Tickets) Gary Smith and Philip Morgan had no idea that Bob Chandler had jumped from one pitfall to another.
Unexpectedly, it was him again after all the twists and turns…
However, from the very beginning, Gary hadn’t noticed that his old classmate was also mingling with the crowd.
If he had known, he would probably have sighed:
“The Chandler Law of Super Extraordinary Trait Aggregation!”
At this moment, Gary was sitting in a carriage made of lanterns, feeling the boiling dark golden spiritual power around him, and he could vaguely see a brilliant brilliance like stars.
Although it was only a trace, it felt much stronger than the total sum of powerful dark golden spiritual power.
It was a leap of quality.
This was the embryonic form of stellar spiritual power that only Beastmasters of the Morning Star Level could possess.
For aspiring to the Morning Star Stage, Gary had also studied that three conditions needed to be met.
The first was a deep dive into the Mother River.
Beastmasters at the Gold Level could explore the Mother River, but to go more in-depth they had to be a Peak Golden Beast Tamer, or some BeastMaster with a special method, to ensure personal safety.
This condition was not challenging.
Secondly, a soul spark needed to be ignited.
The path of a BeastMaster was about controlling the Spiritual Power.
Without a firm will, one could fall into chaos during the promotion to the Morning Star due to excessive absorption of spiritual power.
At best, it would shock the spirit while, at worst, it could be eroded by the massive spiritual force, causing an abnormality.
The Soul Spark was a manifestation of the BeastMaster’s willpower.
Some craved wealth, power, killing…
Regardless of the emotion, they could ignite the will into a Soul Spark through the power of the Supreme Mother River.
Therefore, the character of a BeastMaster would be extremely paranoid, or crazy!
Once the Spiritual Metamorphosis was successful, they would have the qualification to purify the soul and a hint of the stellar spiritual power would emerge, which would result in a stronger resistance to pollution, and a qualitative leap in strength.
Thus, a BeastMaster that had undergone a spiritual transformation could sweep through the ordinary Gold Level.
However, the process was difficult, and if one was not determined, their spirit could be severely damaged by the power of the Mother River.
Gary had read information related to this in some ancient travel notes.
There were shortcuts to this process.
However, they were the top secret arts of various schools, families, and secret societies, requiring a significant cost, unattainable for a minor person like Gary.
The final point relied on at least one core pet beast.
The proficiency of more than two skills should be honed to the perfect level.
This condition was quite easy for Gary’s pet beast because of the proficiency template.
However, for ordinary pet beasts, not only did they need a lot of time to hone their skills, but they often had to explore it through frequent battles because they couldn’t know the correct direction.
If injured during the process, this would require a lot of time to recover, which could even affect potential in severe cases.
Therefore, every pet beast that could meet the conditions had traveled through long eons and hard training, with excellent talent.
Once all three conditions were met, they could enter the Supreme Mother River, set up the instrument track, and hold the ascension ceremony.
Beasts of different attributes would have different ascension ceremonies!
Once successful, they would be promoted to the Morning Star stage, receiving the blessings of the Mother River, BeastMaster transformation, power-up of the pet beast, and so on…
In short, like the name of the stage of the pet beast, they would become an overlord in the territory.
Leo Thompson in front of him was likely a military man.
The aura of his military background was too obvious.
If he had backing, then the first two requirements wouldn’t stop him.
He was probably stuck at the pet beast level.
Gary glanced at the Soul Lantern under his feet with the Eye of Truth and found that the key racial skill [Ghost Fire] was stuck at 99% of the Mastery Level.
The epiphany might come at the next moment, or it might require a long time of honing, or even be stuck forever below Morning Star.
However, for Gary who possesses the Eye of Truth, which points in the right direction, this wasn’t a difficult problem, except…
Why should he help him?
Under the premise of no family ties, his first consideration was benefit.
The performance with Mousie before had basically scared everyone, making them in awe, which could be regarded as “mighty”.
Although Leo Thompson was apprehensive and fearful of him, he wouldn’t be obedient to him and would even maintain a certain distance and vigilance.
If he wanted to make Leo useful to him, he would need to balance the carrot and the whip.
After all, he wasn’t the real mystical strong man [Collector], who didn’t have the ability to suppress the Overlord Demons casually.
His real body was just an ordinary Intermediate Copper Rank Beastmaster.
Thus, a favor involving igniting a soul spark or even that from a future Morning Star Tier Beastmaster would be quite valuable.
As long as he kept the [Collector] alias to awe at the dark side, when he visited with his real body, the other party would certainly keep their promise without needing to test their sincerity.
Gary calculated the pros and cons in his heart and had made a decision.
He looked at Leo Thompson sitting upright in front of him, resembling a diligent student.
Leo probably didn’t expect that with a bit of effort, he could squeeze the powerful mystery man in front of him to death.
With that in mind, Gary Smith’s eyes deepened, his Eye of Truth silently opening and fixing its gaze on Leo Thompson.
Leo had always thought that the mysterious figure before him was an old, immortal being, which made him somewhat nervous.
But when Gary continued to stare at him, looking him up and down, a shiver ran up his spine, its chill shooting straight up to his brain.
Thinking of how this man enjoyed collecting demons as collectables, he seemed no less than any extraordinary being or powerful BeastMaster…
Could it be…
He’s interested in me?
Before he could regret inviting trouble, he heard meaningful words emerging from behind Gary’s mask:
“The loudest sound brings the deepest silence; the largest thing never shows its shape.”
This famous quote is from the Tao Te Ching, which means the loudest noise could be as quiet as silence, and the largest thing might be formless.
Even though our worldviews and cultures are different, the philosophical truth contained within profound knowledge is universally understood.
In summary, it’s about returning to one’s natural being.
Leo felt as though he’d been struck by lightning.
He stood still on the spot, muttering non-stop:
“The loudest sound brings the deepest silence; the largest thing…is formless…”
As he kept repeating these words, his voice got louder, his demeanor more impassioned.
With a touch of madness, he laughed uproariously:
“I’ve understood.
I’ve finally understood!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the lantern carriage beneath him burst into a roaring blaze.
The originally restrained spiritual blue flames erupted, instantly engulfing the entire soul lantern.
The cloth strips and the bone structure that made up its body were all incinerated into ashes.
Yet, the original carriage didn’t disappear.
Instead, it transformed into a hellish chariot, looming in the sky like a dark meteor.
With a raging, intense heat, it descended near the entrance of a mysterious market.
Many were taken aback by the spectacle.
“Yiyi!”
As the Ghost Fire Chariot landed, it quickly dissipated, revealing a soul lantern in the form of a clump of bluish flames.
The ghost fire burning within took the shape of four flame faces.
It appeared happy twirling around like a small sun, its dazzling brilliance was at least half as strong as before.
“I’ve been overlooking that the essence of the Soul Lantern is ghost fire all along.
The lantern was just a shell.
I used to make the Soul Lantern restrict the ascension of its flames to protect this outer layer.
Now that it has returned to its original form, the ghost fire has automatically reached the perfect level…”
Leo muttered to himself, ecstatic.
What shocked him even more was that the Collector had seen through truths in a heartbeat – truths he hadn’t grasped in decades – and with just eight simple words, he’d cleared the final hurdle on his path to becoming a Morning Star.
What an intellect!
He turned around with a heart full of gratitude, only to find the Collector standing on a massive stone, gazing at the holy silver moon in the sky.
The pure white light bathed his swaying yellow robe, which seemed to have donned a humble demeanour of its own, resembling an ancient sage from old tales, his back to the world.
He stood, perfectly still, as if he had fused with the rock beneath him, a rock that had weathered countless years of storms, watching the constant changes in the world.
As for what had just happened, it couldn’t draw his attention.
Why did His Excellency suddenly go so far away …
to that rock?
The rock…
The rock!
Ever since the advice he’d received, Leo had come to think that every action of such a strong figure held profound meaning.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly realized!
The rock was his way of saying that power, wealth, and prestige are as transient as rotting bones over the long eons; yet, the sun, moon and rocks remain eternal.
See through the illusions, and return to one’s natural self.
This isn’t about being reckless but mastering these elements at their roots!
Don’t allow temporary gains or losses to affect your mood.
To be more determined, you need to remain calm like a stone.
Especially now that the Ghost Fire had burned down its illusion and grown stronger, it had become more prone to losing control and needed calmness more than ever.
Leo set aside his moment of pride.
If before he had felt fear towards the Collector, he felt respect and reverence now.
He truly embodied the wisdom of antiquity, subtly guiding him again!
Little did he know that Gary, standing atop the massive rock, was looking at the shining Primal Moon through his mask and sighing on the inside:
“I’m not going to be showy in the air again.
I thought I was going to crash just now.
My legs are still a bit shaky…”