Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Chapter 94 The Phantom King's Proposal (2 Updates)

Jiang Chen chose very simple equipment.

A Tier 3 Force Battle Blade, a Tier 3 Shield, and two Tier 3 Force Weapons, the 'Sky Shuttle'.

Two 'Sky Shuttles', one for assisting flight and the other for ranged attacks, plus a shield for defense and a sword for melee combat, make for the simplest yet most complete configuration.

It wasn't that Jiang Chen didn't want to choose a better weapon, but rather that he hadn't studied it carefully.

The more powerful the weapon, the more effort is required to figure out how to use it.

A powerful telekinetic weapon, if used without prior research, will be less effective than a familiar but less powerful weapon.

-

On a desert, dozens of kilometers ahead of Jiang Chen, a dense array of figures appeared.

Tens of thousands of humans, like Jiang Chen, who possessed third-order stellar primal force and telekinesis, held long swords and shields and stood in neat formation.

A huge countdown number appeared in the sky.

3, 2, 1!

As the countdown reached zero, Jiang Chen and the tens of thousands of powerful figures in front of him moved simultaneously.

Domains erupted, and streams of light of various colors flew through the air.

Countless telekinetic weapons attacked Jiang Chen.

Driven by the wind elemental laws, Jiang Chen transformed into a streak of light, tracing a stunning arc in the sky at an astonishing speed, bypassing the enemy's vanguard, and rushing towards the flank of the opposing army.

Jiang Chen was completely focused, abandoning all other characteristics of the wind element law, pursuing only one word: speed!

With the blessing of the wind element, Jiang Chen rode the Sky Shuttle, and his flight speed was several times faster than that of his opponent's telekinetic weapon.

A streak of blue light streaked across the sky, traversing tens of kilometers at an astonishing speed, and appeared on the left side of the military formation.

"Swordfish Formation!"

Jiang Chen threw out the Sky Shuttle, and with the help of his mental power, the Sky Shuttle quickly formed a swordfish-like shape and rushed into the army formation.

With Jiang Chen's control over the 'Sky Shuttle', he could have activated its third form, the 'Blade Array', long ago.

But he could do three things at once.

While having to watch out for enemy ranged attacks, control the telekinetic weapon underfoot to fly and dodge, and also attack the enemy, the second form, 'Swordfish Formation', is actually more energy-efficient and can last longer.

Moreover, with the blessing of the laws, the attack power of the 'Swordfish Formation' is more than enough to deal with these third-tier stellar enemies.

The 'swordfish' composed of 365 blades, like a real, living fish, darted swiftly through the crowd.

Each touch can easily take the life of an enemy.

Even the Ninefold Domain crumbled instantly before the Swordfish, which was empowered by the power of laws.

As for the Tier 3 shield, with the Swordfish's speed, it's too fast for the enemy to react at all, easily bypassing the shield's block and attacking the enemy's vital points.

However, Jiang Chen was not entirely without pressure.

Although they had an advantage in speed, the number of enemies was simply too great.

The overwhelming psychic weapons surrounded Jiang Chen from all directions, constantly compressing his living space and forcing him to dodge and maneuver, while also looking for gaps in the psychic weapon attack to break through and avoid being trapped in one place.

Every attack posed a significant threat to Jiang Chen.

It's not just telekinetic weapons.

These enemies not only possess the mental power of a third-order stellar being, but also the primal force of a third-order stellar being.

In the Killing Space setting, they are equally adept at both ranged and melee attacks.

It might even launch a rather rudimentary soul attack.

The only good news is that Jiang Chen's soul is strong enough. With the blessing of [Mind Sublimation], a soul attack from a third-tier stellar level poses no threat to Jiang Chen.

Otherwise, having to dodge melee and ranged attacks while also being wary of sneak attacks from invisible, intangible, and extremely insidious soul attacks would be too much pressure.

Even though he could ignore soul attacks, Jiang Chen was still under great pressure.

The closer they got, the less space Jiang Chen had to hide.

However, due to the great distance, Jiang Chen's long-range telekinetic attacks would pose a significantly reduced threat to the enemy, giving them more room to react, dodge, or block.

Only when the distance is close enough can Jiang Chen guarantee to kill an enemy with a single blow.

But every time they approached the enemy's main force to attack, they risked getting injured.

"My Force and Telekinesis are plentiful, so I don't need to worry about running out of energy. My priority is to ensure I don't get injured. If I'm not confident enough, I'd rather not make a move!"

Jiang Chen continuously analyzed the enemy's various abilities in his mind.

Although you can get a rough idea by looking at their level, weapons, and so on.

However, more specific details should be judged based on performance in actual combat.

Moreover, although these 10,000 martial artists are all at the 'ninth level of Domain,' the domain attributes they possess are random.

Even within the same domain, different areas of focus exist, resulting in differences in speed, attack, defense, and other details for almost every individual, making them unable to be viewed as a single entity.

Fortunately, stellar-level memory and information processing capabilities are extremely impressive.

In actual combat, remembering each person's strengths, specialties, and so on is one of the most basic requirements.

Although the pressure was immense, forcing Jiang Chen to maintain a high level of focus, he could still manage to spare a tiny bit of attention to observe and remember each person's characteristics.

As Jiang Chen became more familiar with the enemy's methods, he became more adept at handling various complex situations.

Which attack emphasizes speed, which attack is extremely powerful and must be completely dodged—Jiang Chen would have a wealth of data appear in his mind, allowing him to quickly make the most accurate judgment on the situation.

-

off the field.

Looking at Jiang Chen's performance, the Illusionary Spirit King commented, "His combat skills are a bit rough, but among stellar-level fighters, they are already quite good. He was able to utilize his laws to the fullest, making the most of his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses. Although this approach is a bit mediocre, it is effective."

After a pause, the Illusionary Spirit King continued to comment on Jiang Chen's performance: "Judging from his performance, he has grasped the 'wind element,' 'speed,' and 'cutting' aspects of the wind-based laws. Although his understanding of each aspect is very superficial, as I said before, it is already extremely rare among stellar-level beings."

As he spoke, the Illusionary King looked at Qinia and smiled, "This little guy you discovered is indeed quite remarkable. The weapons and secret techniques he uses are all common items that are easy to obtain, and he doesn't have any other special methods. It seems that he really has no background. He hasn't received guidance from any powerful teachers or had any good resources, yet he can still comprehend the laws. If he were given a good environment, he would indeed have the potential to soar to great heights."

Qinia said, "Lord Phantom King, according to the information I have investigated, 'Erso' came from an indigenous planet that was destroyed by a space adventure team. He himself was enslaved and only recently regained his freedom."

Seemingly remembering something, Qinia added, "My application to the Alliance includes detailed information about 'Erso'."

"Oh? Born a slave?" The Illusionary King seemed to have become somewhat interested.

Although she was assigned to preside over this assessment, with the strength and vision of the Phantom King, why would she pay attention to the information of a little star-level guy?

However, after seeing the other party's performance and hearing about it from Qinia, the Phantom King did indeed develop a slight interest in 'Erso'.

He spared a sliver of his consciousness to retrieve the application report that Qinia had submitted not long ago. After reviewing 'Erso's' information, the Illusionary Spirit King nodded and said, "Born as a slave, to have reached this point, his talent is indeed monstrous. It's a pity that he only comprehended the Law of Wind. If he could comprehend even a trace of the Law of Time, perhaps I could recommend him to the Peerless Secret Realm."

"Moreover, this kid has a strong will and might have the potential to become an illusionist. He's worth observing."

The words of the Phantom King caused Qinia to widen her eyes in surprise.

"Lord Phantom King, are you perhaps interested in taking 'Erso' as your disciple?" Qinia asked incredulously.

The Illusion King shook his head and said, "Although he has the potential to become an 'Illusionist,' it's only a possibility. If he's not suited for it, I naturally won't take him on as a disciple."

Among the powerful members of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, the Phantom King is considered a very special existence.

Other powerful figures value compatibility in their disciples based on their temperament or alignment with the laws and paths they follow.

When the Illusion King accepts disciples, he doesn't consider anything else, only whether their will is strong and whether they are suitable for the path of 'Illusionist'.

Among the currently active King of Kings, the Illusionary Spirit King has one of the largest number of disciples, having taken in dozens of disciples in just the last ten thousand years.

However, the vast majority of them have perished, and only 19 are still alive.

Don't be fooled by the fact that being the disciple of the Phantom King seems dangerous, with a high probability of death.

But Qinia knew very well what a great opportunity it was to be accepted as a disciple by the Phantom King.

Although the Phantom King still said he needed to examine and confirm whether 'Erso's' talent met his requirements, this already meant that this lowly genius from a slave background, whom he had discovered, had obtained a tremendous opportunity that even he himself could hardly hope for.

Subconsciously, Qinya glanced at Jiang Chen, who was fighting in the desert, and pondered how she could further strengthen her relationship with him.

If, by some chance, the other party really becomes the disciple of the Illusionary Spirit King, and there is a close kinship between them, then I and my family will also receive great benefits.

-

The battle lasted for nearly an hour before gradually coming to an end.

For a battle at the stellar level, this is an extremely long time.

If two stellar-level powerhouses were to fight, even if they were evenly matched, the outcome could be decided within a few minutes.

If the difference in strength is even slightly greater, it won't even take a second.

In this battle, the enemy was too numerous, and Jiang Chen was extremely cautious, trying to avoid all risks as much as possible. He would rather give up the opportunity to attack than be injured if he was not absolutely certain of victory, which is why the battle was prolonged.

After an hour of fighting, Jiang Chen had consumed nearly half of his primal force and psychic power.

This is an extremely rare occurrence among stellar-mass stars.

Even apprentice-level and planetary-level martial artists often fight until they are completely exhausted.

At the stellar level, this situation becomes very rare.

In most cases, the attack is fatal within one or two moves, so the energy expenditure is naturally small.

As the last enemy fell victim to the 'Swordfish Formation', the barrier of the killing space dissipated, and the desert and its corpses vanished at a visible speed, returning to their original state.

Even the enemy's bloodstains on Jiang Chen's body disappeared.

"Lord Phantom King." Jiang Chen returned and bowed to the Phantom King.

"You've passed the second test."

The Illusionary Spirit King looked at Jiang Chen and said softly, "Before we begin the third trial, I'd like to ask you if you're willing to accept another test from me?"

"Another test?" Jiang Chen asked, puzzled.

“Your will and talent are both good. I can give you a chance to become my disciple. However, my lineage only accepts ‘illusionists’ among mentalists. Although you are a mentalist, it is still unknown whether you have the talent for illusion.”

The Illusion King said, "I can bestow upon you a set of secret techniques for illusionists. If you can successfully master them within the allotted time, you will become my disciple. Later, as you become more familiar with the abilities of an illusionist and pass even more rigorous tests, you will also have the opportunity to become my personal disciple."

disciple?

Illusionist's Secret Technique?

Jiang Chen was surprised by the sudden move by the Phantom King.

Jiang Chen didn't know much about the Phantom King. The little information he had came from the small part of the original story about Hong's love affair.

Only two pieces of information were revealed about the Phantom King himself.

I. The Phantom King is an invincible soul master who is skilled in soul enslavement and has many soul servants under his command.

Second, it seems that the Phantom King suffered some kind of emotional trauma and forbids his disciples from finding spouses.

As for temperament, preferences, and even the laws governing cultivation, Jiang Chen knew nothing about them.

However, regardless of whether the Illusionary Spirit King is suitable for him, becoming an apprentice of an invincible king would bring Jiang Chen tremendous benefits.

This identity alone will bring Jiang Chen many advantages in his future development.

only……

The Phantom King requires that one must be a magician?

This seems to conflict with Jiang Chen's plans for the future.

Jiang Chen wasn't sure if he had a talent for illusion, but he was certain that his future path would inevitably be related to 'technology,' rather than becoming an illusion master who manipulated souls.

However, Jiang Chen was also very interested in the illusionist's training system.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to have some understanding of it.

After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Chen asked, "May I ask, Lord Illusion King, if I were to become your disciple, would I be obligated to follow the path of an illusionist, and not be able to choose another system?"

"If you become my disciple, I will only teach you the secret techniques of an illusionist. As for martial artists and controllers, I won't bother with them if you're interested. But you'll have to acquire the secret techniques and resources yourself."

The Illusion King glanced at Jiang Chen and said indifferently, "Not all of my disciples are illusionists. But I don't care about their strength; I only care about their achievements in the art of illusion. I don't care how many resources or secret techniques they can obtain from me."