"Daniel Wu has joined the chat group."
A notification popped up in the WeChat group.
The study mutual aid group had thirteen members in total, each with their city’s name as a note.
Profound Celestial Pivot: "Baiyu, change your note."
Baiyu: "What kind of mutual aid study group is this?"
King Kong: "It’s just a small circle. Here in Maple Leaf County, most people who want to apply aim for Kyoto Magic University. We created a group to help each other out; the conflicts within the county are minor issues. It’s only when you reach Wuda that things get really harsh."
After some explanation, Baiyu finally understood.
This was a mutual aid group.
Members could trade items, exchange news, share knowledge, etc. To join the group, you had to gain the approval of most members.
Family background and strength were bonus points.
In recent years, Linjiang City’s college entrance exam scores among the six cities were not good.
So this time, they didn’t recognize the top score from Linjiang, but after Baiyu displayed his strength over the past two days, it proved their judgment wrong.
Baiyu’s strength was beyond question.
Besides the top scorers from several major cities, there were a few unique individuals in the group. Linjiang City had two people, Baiyu and Jiang Xi.
"The students from Golden Rainbow Academy are this impressive?"
Baiyu wondered in surprise.
Jiang Xi joined the group earlier than him, which meant that in the eyes of people from other cities, Jiang Xi’s strength was definitely strong, capable of surpassing the previous top scorer from Linjiang.
"Okay, I’ll lurk for now. Tag me if you need anything."
After chatting for a bit, Baiyu noticed that the active members were mainly a few big guys, so he had nothing much to say and prepared to go back and thoroughly study the "Mechanical Realm," a passive Scholar Secret Technique.
A space of ten cubic meters should be filled with weapons, at least.
Otherwise, when he goes to that dangerous Shelter in the future, wouldn’t he just be delivering food to Exotic Beasts?
"Baiyu, change your remark from Daniel Wu. By the way, who exactly is Daniel Wu?" Profound Celestial Pivot clearly had OCD, obsessing over the remark name.
Returning to his room, Baiyu began to study the Mechanical Realm.
This thing was very abstract.
Unlike traditional space rings, this had no specific carrier. As Baiyu silently recited "Mechanical Realm" in his mind, a semi-transparent room appeared in his consciousness.
He tried to place a teacup and book into it, but got no response.
Finally, he attempted with a mechanical part, which successfully entered the space.
He repeatedly practiced placing and removing items, finding that it didn’t consume Spirit at all, and the movement was extremely fast; the part would almost instantly appear in his hand.
"This ability must not be known to others, at least until I obtain the space ring Erza mentioned," Baiyu thought to himself.
The number of abilities he possessed was increasing, each more bizarre than the last, revealing them would inevitably cause a lot of trouble.
He needed to find a reason.
Baiyu’s task panel finally refreshed again.
But this time, it wasn’t a choice between three difficulties.
Only one task was selectable, and the other two were grayed out.
Nightmare Difficulty: Mystery is the cornerstone, knowledge is power. Learning knowledge is to improve oneself, to guide the ignorant, and reason with them; cultivating Blood Qi is to ensure the ignorant will listen carefully.
Requirement: Mysticism raised to LV2!
Reward: A chance to draw from the Rare Level, a book of chosen Spirit Technique, 400 points.
Tip: The host can try to engage more in mysterious affairs, Magical Items, and indescribable objects to enhance the understanding and knowledge of Mysticism.
Note: Learning is inherently a defense against madness.
"Nightmare Difficulty, it seems that after the upgrade of the Scholar Space, the function of choosing one of three has been removed, turning into fixed selections instead. Doesn’t this indirectly increase the task difficulty?"
Baiyu stood in front of the task panel, coldly remarked.
Unexpectedly, a line of text appeared at the bottom of the task panel, explaining:
"After the upgrade, the choose one of three function disappeared, changed to space random selection, task difficulty has increased, but task rewards have also significantly increased."
"You can use points to choose a task, refresh tasks, or give up an accepted but uncompleted task."
The functions even became more complete, actively explaining themselves.
Baiyu was curious and asked several questions, only to receive no response from the space.
The difficulty increased, and so did the rewards.
This was very normal.
Baiyu tried a few tricks and found that the Scholar Space hadn’t changed much since before, so he directly accepted the task.
In the morning, following Erza’s guidance, he went to the core unit of the entire steamship, the area where Qiong Yue was active, and personally met this Ship Master.
In the twilight of her years, enveloped in death.
According to Erza, Qiong Yue spends most of her time sleeping; her Life Force doesn’t allow her to stay awake for long. She might truly be at the edge of exhaustion.
Baiyu couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
Even the powerful like Qiong Yue, who stands at the peak of the East Prosperity Imperial, will have a day when they fall and die. Why do they cultivate Mysticism in this way?
Anyone can brag, but how many are truly fearless?
"Regardless, in this world, if you don’t cultivate Mysticism, don’t become a Martial Artist, don’t cultivate Blood Qi, the mortality rate is bound to be higher. For ordinary people, this wretched world is pure agony."
Baiyu thought of Yu Ping and his two daughters, then knew what life for ordinary people was like.
Whether for self-preservation or for various other things, he must firmly continue down this path.
Qiong Yue didn’t talk much with Baiyu.
Her waking hours were limited.
This woman only asked Baiyu to take care of the Qiong Family after her death, a family with deep roots in Maple Leaf County. As he inherits from Erza, he would naturally become the Qiong Family’s protector.
Afterward, she instructed Baiyu on many things.
On how to treat Erza, how to suppress the Ship Spirit, one by one, she explained everything clearly to Baiyu.
If Qiong Yue relinquished control over Erza now,
Baiyu could even directly command everything on Erza through the Heart of the Dance, but his Spirit would surely explode instantly.
At least a Tier Six Martial Artist is required.
Tier Six Martial Artists touch on the Magic Technique of Refining Spirit Power, at which point they can truly begin to control Erza’s power.
"Mechanics are formidable, especially for us Ship Masters.
You haven’t seen the real combat power of a Legendary Ship, you have no concept, but... I’ll let you witness it before I die, so you can cultivate Mechanical Science well, don’t waste your talent.
There’s no need to enhance your Extraordinary Abilities either.
Even if you advance to Sequence One, you can’t become a deity.
Extraordinary Power is too weak at High Tier.
A powerful Martial Artist can cleave mountains and overturn rivers. A fleet of Mechanical Ships can flatten vast lands, potentially annihilating a race within a Shelter.
Extraordinary, Martial Artist, Mechanic.
Extraordinaries are decent at Low Tier, more formidable than the latter two, with their bizarre power and resilient recovery ability, but at High Tier, if they can’t cultivate a Simulation Realm, they’re the weakest.
Even if they happen to develop a Simulation Realm, my millions of Magic Energy Shells will shatter a deity’s Divine Country.
Also, never place your faith in any deity...
In the future, you’ll control the apex of mechanical power, those deities aren’t as mighty as you imagine.
Their stance isn’t completely aligned with the Human Race.
Becoming a deity transforms one into a different life form, distinct from humans, with the great price of immortality. Those not of our race are bound to think differently."
This was Qiong Yue’s final advice to Baiyu.
It was also her most solemn word.
It was evident how much she valued Erza, hoping Baiyu could follow the cultivation path she arranged.
Qiong Yue and Pang Fei both had negative attitudes towards the Extraordinary, indicating a significant issue.
His mind filled with ever-increasing doubts, Baiyu left Qiong Yue’s presence.
His phone rang with a message.
It was from Jiang Xi.
Inviting him to Linjiang for some "demon-extermination and justice."