Chapter 404: Space-time Summoning and the Limit of a True Body Descent

After the battle, in the corridor behind the courtyard, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes. The terrifying and imposing ferocity deep within his gaze gradually receded.

Even for someone as powerful as Chen Chu, fighting a quasi-mythical colossal beast was no small feat. His full attention had been focused on the Thunder Emperor this entire time.

Squinting slightly, Chen Chu murmured, "I’ll need to be more cautious at sea from now on."

The recent battle made him realize that the ocean was divided into territories and had a few passages leading to the mythical world at the center. Moreover, mythical colossal beasts controlled the entrances to these passages in hopes of finding other level 9 colossal beasts with great potential.

It was still unclear what their ultimate goal was, though. They could be trying to strengthen their own colossal beast empire or perhaps simply hunting for food.

"Brother, dinner’s ready!"

Chen Chu snapped out of his thoughts and stood up. "Coming!"

He then went downstairs and took a seat at the dinner table.

While having dinner, Zhang Xiaolan asked, "Ah Chu, how long will you be staying this time?"

Chen Chu thought about it for a moment. "I’ll probably leave by the eighth. The Federation is organizing some of the geniuses to go to a special place. Once I’m there, my cultivation should see another rapid increase."

Chen Hu’s eyes lit up. "Does that mean you’ll break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm soon, Brother?"

Chen Chu smiled. “Something like that."

Even if they didn’t go to the ancient ruins, he estimated that it would only take him about a month to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm. However, once inside the ancient ruins, his top priority would be obtaining the origin of the world. He’d have to put other things like innate runes and law fragments second.

Chen Hu grew more excited. "If you break through to the Eighth Heavenly Realm before the end of next semester, will you be able to reach the Ninth Heavenly Realm within a year?"

Chen Chu smiled. "It’s possible."

He felt more relaxed and wasn’t as "modest" around his family as he was outside.

"If you really reach the Ninth Heavenly Realm within a year, bro, then you’ll be so fucking awesome!"

Zhang Xiaolan frowned. "Language, Ah Hu! You’re a middle school student. How come you get ruder the more you study?"

Chen Hu just chuckled cheekily.

As the family ate, the TV in the background switched to a news report.

[Now for international news: due to the impact of a typhoon, the eastern coast of North Lin, the southeastern coast of Tarudos, and the Modoro Coast have all been hit by tsunamis of varying intensities.]

[The tsunamis affected three countries, impacting millions of lives and leaving behind property damage worth tens of billions.]

[However, thanks to early tsunami warnings, local authorities were able to evacuate people in time, minimizing the casualties.]

[Currently, search efforts are underway for a few missing onlookers who stayed behind to watch the waves. We hope they are safe. And now, news from West Meng...]

Zhang Xiaolan sighed. "In the face of natural disasters, we humans are so small and powerless."

"Yeah," Chen Hu agreed.

Neither knew that one of the causes of the disaster was sitting right in front of them.

Chen Chu glanced at the news but didn’t pay much attention to it. In battles like that, the Thunder Emperor couldn’t hold back even if would cause a tsunami in the aftermath. After all, it had already moved far from the coast.

After dinner and clearing the dishes, Chen Chu said, "I’m heading upstairs to cultivate now, Mom."

"Go ahead."

As soon as Chen Chu went upstairs, Chen Hu excitedly grabbed his fishing gear and called out, "Mom, I’m going fishing!"

Just as Chen Hu was about to head out, Zhang Xiaolan softly said, "Ah Hu, when you’re out with others, don’t talk too much about your brother, okay?"

"Huh?"

"The more talented your brother appears, the more we need to keep a low profile. We don’t want to cause trouble for him or make others jealous. What Ah Chu needs right now is peace and quiet. Only with those can he focus on his cultivation. Understand?"

Although Chen Chu had spoken casually at the dinner table about reaching the Ninth Heavenly Realm within a year, stepping into just the Eighth Heavenly Realm already meant that with his talent, he could even break into the ranks of kings. Such a powerful individual would stand at the pinnacle of the Federation.

In this situation, as his family, they had to be discreet and avoid becoming a burden on his path forward. After all, they were just ordinary people, and Zhang Xiaolan just wanted the best for his son as a parent.

She was proud of her children’s achievements, but she cared less about how much they received in return and more about not causing any trouble for them.

Chen Hu chuckled. "Don’t worry, Mom. I get it. Keep quiet and don’t attract attention. Once my brother becomes a king, our family will be so fucking amazing."

Zhang Xiaolan couldn’t help but reach up and give Chen Hu a light smack on the head. "Where did you learn to curse like that? Be more civilized, got it?"

***

Chen Chu sat cross-legged in the room upstairs. His expression softened upon overhearing Zhang Xiaolan’s whispered conversation downstairs thanks to his keen hearing.

Soon, however, he gathered his bearings and focused once more. He then gazed at the display in front of him, which showed 2000 attribute points.

Burn 1000 attribute points to enter the epiphany state,

he thought.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Boom!

His consciousness moved, and his mind became clearer and sharper. Everything in the world now seemed simpler, even the problems he had with his cultivation. In no time at all, he easily found and understood the solutions.

At the same time, transcendent energy rushed toward him from the heavens and earth. A swirling vortex of energy formed above the courtyard, which Chen Chu devoured like a black hole.

"The genius from the Chen family has started cultivating again."

"So powerful."

"Have you noticed that the transcendent energy around here has become a bit thinner lately?"

"That’s only natural. Energy is limited, so when a high-level cultivator like him cultivates, he consumes it quickly. When he leaves, it gradually recovers."

Several ordinary cultivators in the surrounding area chatted among themselves mostly about Chen Chu—the cultivation genius from the Chen family.

The next morning.

"Ah Chu, come down for breakfast," Zhang Xiaolan called.

From upstairs, Chen Chu responded, "I'm at a critical point in my cultivation, Mom. Please don’t wait for me."

"Alright. Don’t overwork yourself."

In his room, Chen Chu glanced at his remaining attribute points. Soon, he decided to use more of it to perfect his True Martial Phantom.

While Chen Chu was deeply immersed in his cultivation, Luo Fei focused on merging with her divine battle armor and studying specialized knowledge in preparation for her return to West Meng. Although she was its designated pilot, things that involved the power of a "king" tended to be complicated.

With everyone so busy, time flew by quickly.

A little after five in the afternoon, a burly and vigorous Chen Hu came home with a backpack slung over his shoulders. As soon as he stepped inside, he shouted, "Mom, is my brother still cultivating upstairs?"

From the kitchen, Zhang Xiaolan replied, "Yes, he is. Don’t disturb him."

"No wonder his cultivation advances so quickly! He's so dedicated! I’ve decided—I'm going to work just as hard from now on."

Chen Chu had been back for three or four days now, yet aside from visiting his school to see Luo Fei during the first two days, he had spent nearly all his time cultivating. He kept at it day in and day out, never even stopping to rest.

Deeply impressed by his brother’s focus and persistence, Chen Hu resolved to follow in his footsteps and dedicate himself to cultivation when he entered high school in a couple of years.

Upstairs, in Chen Chu's room, a massive surge of transcendent energy gathered, causing the curtains to billow and the wardrobe to shake.

A phantom with six arms and three faces soon appeared behind Chen Chu, standing as tall as he was. Slowly but surely, the phantom merged with him and, upon completion, caused a powerful and domineering aura to erupt from his body. The entire house trembled slightly as Chen Chu's aura became even more fearsome.

The fusion had covered Chen Chu in black and red scales and given him two indistinct faces on either side of his head. It also made four arms sprout out of his back, forming hand seals and supporting four slowly rotating light wheels.

However, the divine and demonic aura only flashed briefly before the apparition and the scales gradually faded away.

Chen Chu exhaled deeply and opened his eyes. He then smiled in satisfaction.

After spending three thousand attribute points and experiencing three epiphanies, he finally succeeded in adjusting the battle phantom to the Eighth Heavenly Realm and reaching nigh-perfect synchronization with it.

All he had to do now was solidify the True Martial Phantom and bring it to the peak of the Seventh Heavenly Realm. Once he had fully merged with it, he’d be able to take the final step into the Eighth Heavenly Realm.

"I’ll focus on the space-time summoning secret art next," Chen Chu muttered as he glanced at his remaining 682 attribute points. He no longer had enough for another epiphany.

"I'll just take a break for now and open the spatial passage tonight."

He stood up and prepared to head downstairs for dinner. Even he would need a break after a day of nonstop epiphanies and cultivation.

***

Amid the pitch-black depths of teh ocean, golden flames engulfed a black and red colossal beast, illuminating the darkness and bringing the surrounding seawater to a boil. In its claws, the Thunder Emperor was clutching a colossal beast that resembled a 90-meter-long octopus. With each bite, it crunched through the octopus’ flesh as if snacking on spicy strips[1].

In no time at all, the Thunder Emperor completely devoured the level 8 beginner-stage colossal beast. It grew slightly larger, and its length increased by a few centimeters.

However, having reached level 9, the blood and flesh of level 8 beasts no longer provided enough energy for it to grow rapidly. This was no different from when it was at level 2 and still fed on ordinary level 1 mutated fish.

Satisfied with its meal, the Thunder Emperor carefully pulled a leather pouch several meters in diameter from between the scales on its neck. It was cautious not to apply too much force in case the pouch tore.

The pouch was made of a level 8 late-stage colossal beast that had water as its primary affinity, yet it couldn’t withstand the searing heat of the Thunder Emperor’s flames. In a few more days, it would be completely reduced to ashes.

Looking inside, the Thunder Emperor’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. The bag contained over ten high-level Life Crystals. This was the result of its efforts over the past day.

A serpent colossal beast ruled this deep area in the middle of the ocean. Seas like this were rich with transcendent energy, making it a prime habitat for mutated beasts and resources.

After a brief pause, the Thunder Emperor stood on the ocean floor, waiting.

Once its main body, Chen Chu, had finished dinner and returned to his room prepared, it activated the spatial rune on its feathered horns.

Boom!

As Golden flames burst into life and formed a crown, powerful spatial energy took shape and created a silver vortex. One by one, the high-level Life Crystals, including the crystal from the level 7 peak colossal beast that the female orca had defeated, passed through the spatial passage.

Once all the Life Crystals had been sent through, the Thunder Emperor closed the passage using its mind. Then, with a flick of its tail, it vanished into the depths of the dark sea.

In his room, Chen Chu held the Life Crystals in his hand.

[You have converted a high-purity Life Energy Crystal, gaining 985 attribute points.]

[You have converted a high-purity Life Energy Crystal, gaining 321 attribute points...]

Six level 5 crystals, two level 6 crystals, and one level 7 crystal, along with the over 600 attribute points he already had, brought his total attribute points back up to 3241.

With anticipation in his eyes, Chen Chu took out the secret disc for the summoning secret art from his Sumeru Bracelet. He then burned 1000 attribute points to have another epiphany.

Boom!

His consciousness sank into the secret disc’s space. This time, however, he no longer saw the vast world or the shadowy figure from before. Instead, he found a massive altar, constructed from countless sequence chains of space, time, and bloodline runes. The chains intricately intertwined and rotated slowly, revealing the mysteries of the space-time summoning secret art.

Clearly, this was the true essence of the information contained in the secret disc. Previously, Chen Chu's "ability" had been insufficient to fully grasp it. He could only study it gradually by observing the will phantom's demonstrations.

Now, with his epiphany, Chen Chu comprehended the time-related runes at an astonishing speed. As for the space and bloodline runes, he had already mastered them.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but when the complete image of the Space-Time Altar appeared in Chen Chu's mind, the secret disc in his hand disintegrated into dust.

"I’ve finally mastered it," Chen Chu whispered as he slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with a sense of accomplishment.

It had been almost two months since he obtained the summoning secret art from the Qingqiu family, yet he only fully understood it now.

Still, he could finally begin cultivating.

Chen Chu had to cultivate a "shell" first. Once the space-time summoning secret art was recorded into the attribute page, he could then use attribute points for direct enhancement.

Sensing the half-burnt attribute energy, Chen Chu focused and began cultivating. Thanks to his epiphany, his comprehension was greatly enhanced, and he cultivated and condensed the secret art runes at an astonishing speed. It was as if he was using a supercharged cultivation accelerator.

However, burning 1000 attribute points for an entire night’s worth of accelerated cultivation still felt somewhat wasteful.

Using his vitality as ink and his spiritual will as a brush, Chen Chu condensed rows of simple rune sequence chains one by one. Soon, a faint blue rune appeared on the back of his left hand.

At the same time, the attribute page added a note about the space-time summoning secret art under the secret art section. Chen Chu’s attention focused on the + symbol next to it.

[Would you like to consume 2000 attribute points to enhance the space-time summoning secret art?]

2000 points was equivalent to the amount needed to break through to the Seventh Heavenly Realm, which was less than what Chen Chu had expected. Without hesitation, he chose to confirm.

Boom!

The 2,000 attribute points vanished. At the same time, a vast surge of vitality within Chen Chu roared to life, and his spiritual will was drawn into a powerful current. The power of the Dragon Emperor within him was also pulled into the process.

Hum!

In the room, from the center of the back of Chen Chu's left hand, countless complex rune sequence chains rapidly formed and expanded, covering the entire space. Slowly rotating, they converged into what resembled a mysterious altar that had a faint blue glow.

The altar then connected with space-time and became fully condensed.

Standing atop a colossal beast’s corpse and amid a sea of blood deep beneath the ocean, the Thunder Emperor felt a sudden connection. Its attention snapped toward the direction where Chen Chu was.

Nearby, a massive blue crab, missing two legs and a large claw, lay on the ground in a weakened state. It bubbled in confusion as it watched the Thunder Emperor pause abruptly.

Gurgle, gurgle! My king, what is happening?

The Thunder Emperor let out a low, thunderous growl.

Nothing, General Crab. You’re badly injured; from now on, you’ll follow me.

The blue giant crab, normally a fierce and confident peak level 7 mutated beast, had encountered a beginning stage level 8 colossal beast while cleaning out this part of the sea. Despite its bravado from having fought in several battles alongside the Thunder Emperor and other colossal beasts, it had been easily overpowered.

Within moments, its opponent snapped two of its legs. If the Thunder Emperor had not sensed the energy fluctuations and quickly came to its rescue, the crab would likely have been severely injured and incapacitated.

The difference in power between a peak level 7 and a beginning stage level 8 was too vast, especially for a creature that lacked advanced abilities like the blue giant crab.

Let's move.

The Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor picked up the corpse of the sixty-meter-long colossal beast and began to push onward. Its heavy steps reverberated as it continued to feast, tearing chunks of flesh with each bite.

Gurgle, gurgle! My king, wait for me! You’re incredible! You crushed a level 8 colossal beast with one step!

The blue giant crab scuttled excitedly, trying to keep up as it moved sideways.

Back in his room, Chen Chu stood gazing at the glowing altar.

"So this is the summoning altar," he murmured.

He felt as if he could summon a part of the Thunder Emperor’s power in the form of a projection for as long as he concentrated enough to activate the altar. However, this wasn't the right place for such an experiment. Hence, he forcefully suppressed the urge to test it out and instead mentally recalled the rune altar.

In an instant, a light flickered in the room and coalesced on the back of Chen Chu's left hand, forming a rune that resembled an altar with seven inner and outer layers. Shortly after, the rune gradually faded away.

Now feeling a special power hidden in his left hand, Chen Chu pulled up the attribute page.

[Secret Art: Space-Time Summoning Technique.]

[Intermediate: Creates a Space-Time Altar upon activation. Using the essence of the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor's blood as a "coordinate," it resonates with the soul power of those from the same origin to summon a projection.]

[Tip: Summoning consumes immense vitality and true power. The longer the projection lasts, the greater the consumption.]

[Note: When this secret art is enhanced to its limit, it can reverse the local space-time and summon the true body of the colossal beast known as the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor.]

Meanwhile, just as Chen Chu successfully cultivated the summoning altar, a multinational airplane landed at Wujiang Airport.

1. Spicy strips, also known as

La Tiao

, are a popular Chinese snack flavored with chili pepper. ☜