Chapter Ninety-One: Abundance

Lost in cultivation, Tang Tian entered a state of unrivaled exhilaration, unable to pull himself away.

Brother Bing had said that Tang Tian was still too weak for the true power of his Silver Martial Soul to be unleashed. Yet the more than fivefold enhancement of his instincts still brought about a qualitative leap in Tang Tian's strength. He cultivated without rest until Brother Bing reminded him that this bout of grueling training had run its course.

Back at the fissure, he threw himself once more into training.

With his instincts heightened, many things had changed. Sensations that would once have been overlooked now stood out with crystalline clarity. The Heaven-Dragon Force, which had long shown no progress, yielded a new discovery. He could feel, within his true power, an explosive property hidden deep inside it.

Having found a direction, Tang Tian trained with even greater dedication.

Three days later, Jing Hao came again. The attitude he now showed Tang Tian was entirely different from before. If there had once been a faint air of an elder brother guiding a younger one, now they spoke as equals.

Seeing Jing Hao approach, Tang Tian stopped and greeted him. Jing Hao could hardly conceal his delight. With a laugh, he said that he had come bearing good news: the higher-ups had decided to raise Tang Tian's rank by one level, promoting him from Black Iron Warrior to Bronze Warrior. This was not only due to Tang Tian's achievement this time, but also because the upper ranks had been astonished that someone with only fourth-tier strength could condense a Silver Martial Soul. They believed his prospects were boundless.

Tang Tian smiled and said he still had far to go.

Noticing that Tang Tian was not overly excited, Jing Hao guessed that he knew little about the benefits of Bronze Warriors, and so he took the initiative to explain. The granting of Bronze Warrior status within the Martial Association was extremely strict. Apart from strength, one also had to possess sufficient merit. In the more remote constellations, a Bronze Warrior could already serve as the head of a branch division. Each month, a Bronze Warrior received three sixth-tier starstones and could choose either three sixth-tier Silver Soul General cards or one fifth-tier Gold card. More importantly, a Bronze Warrior gained the right to enter the association's internal exchange meetings. Tang Tian's current points total was as high as five thousand, which was astonishing even among Bronze Warriors. He could buy whatever he needed at the exchange meeting: secret treasures, Soul General cards, soul cores, and more.

"Five thousand points is a lot?" Tang Tian's interest was instantly piqued.

Jing Hao shook his head with a wry smile. "Of course it's a lot. I have less than seven hundred."

Tang Tian let out a soft sound of understanding.

"These are the association's rewards. You can check them in your Light Badge," Jing Hao said. Then he added, "The one who benefited most this time was my teacher. He is deeply grateful to you. He had originally intended to give you a set of Silver Armor, but after learning that you had inherited Peacock Blue from Senior Ghost Claw Farmer, he withdrew that idea."

"Withdrew that idea..." Tang Tian stared, his heart aching. Silver armor. That was Silver-grade armor, and it had flown away just like that; he had not even gotten a single glance at it.

"Yes. My teacher said that although Peacock Blue is not widely known, it has tremendous potential and room to grow. If wielded well, its power would not be inferior to ordinary Silver Armor. That is why he hopes you will cherish it. With that in mind, he decided to give you a secret treasure he once used."

As Jing Hao spoke, he took out a silver necklace, from which hung a small, gleaming cylindrical object.

"This is a Silver secret treasure of the Pump Constellation, called the Pump Necklace. The Pump Constellation is a minor constellation, but this secret treasure is exceedingly practical," Jing Hao said, his voice full of envy. "My teacher heard that your true power is only at fourth tier, so he chose the Pump Necklace especially for you. A pump is just that: a device that draws in the surrounding energy continuously and can raise the local energy concentration by fifteen percent."

After hearing this, Tang Tian beamed at once and hurriedly took it, putting the Pump Necklace around his neck.

Sure enough, he could clearly feel the energy around him becoming noticeably richer.

A good thing.

In an instant, Tang Tian judged its value. True power cultivation was a slow, grinding process. A fifteen percent increase might not sound like much, but given enough time, the cumulative gain would be astonishing.

Jing Hao, though inwardly envious, could not help laughing heartily when he saw Tang Tian's irrepressible delight.

But soon his expression turned grave. "There's something I think I ought to tell you. Kong Youlin is dead."

"Dead?" Tang Tian's eyes widened in surprise. He was not surprised that Kong Youlin had died, but that Jing Hao had learned of it so quickly.

The Light Martial Association truly was formidable.

Jing Hao's face was somber. "Kong Youlin was worldly and pragmatic, but he was not weak. Not only had he reached seventh tier, he also possessed the Swan's Song armor. That armor was no less impressive than your Peacock Blue, yet he still fell victim to an ambush. The association is still investigating. His younger sister, Kong Yiyu, the head of the Perseus Constellation branch, has sworn a poisonous oath to avenge him."

Jing Hao did not imagine for a moment that Kong Youlin's death had anything to do with Tang Tian. Setting aside everything else, with Kong Youlin's seventh-tier strength, the current Tang Tian could not possibly threaten him.

"Kong Yiyu?" Tang Tian echoed instinctively.

"Yes. She has already broken through to eighth tier," Jing Hao warned. "I know she has a conflict with you, but under no circumstances should you clash with her now. The strength of an eighth-tier warrior is beyond your current imagination. The gulf between Silver Warriors and Bronze Warriors is absolutely unbridgeable; it is a difference in the very nature of power. I am telling you this because the association will be holding a meeting in White Rainbow Constellation, and you may run into her there."

Tang Tian knew Jing Hao meant well, and he hurriedly nodded. "I won't act rashly."

"Good." Jing Hao nodded. "So long as you do not provoke her first, she will be helpless to do anything to you. Hmph. The power of our faction is not something a mere Kong family can afford to offend. Train well and break through to fifth tier as soon as possible."

After offering these cautions, Jing Hao finally left. Before departing, he glanced at Bing. Jing Hao had even asked his teacher about it, but his teacher had never heard of such an odd Soul General.

Tang Tian asked Bing, "Hey, old man, how strong is eighth tier?"

"Strong enough to turn you into dust in one casual blow," Bing said without even looking at him.

"Isn't that a bit exaggerated..." Tang Tian exclaimed with an overly dramatic expression, but soon enough he grew serious, stroking his chin. "Looks like a young man can't afford to slack off!"

Bing swallowed the words he had been about to say. This fellow did seem to possess a certain amount of self-awareness after all.

Tang Tian suddenly raised both arms and shouted, "Come on! Take down eighth tier!"

Bing: "..."

Tang Tian then suddenly remembered his Light Badge. Since Jing Hao had just said the points inside could be used to buy things, he quickly took it out.

The moment he did, he gave a surprised sound. The Light Badge, which had previously been as dark as black iron, had now turned bronze.

"Incredible. It can actually change color!" Tang Tian exclaimed as he activated it. The Light Badge was somewhat like a secret treasure, able to connect with the Martial Soul. Tang Tian only felt the scenery before him shift.

He quickly found the exchange meeting, where an array of lists appeared before his eyes.

The selection was vast and bizarre, containing all manner of items, each marked with its required points. The most numerous were secret treasures, soul cores, and Soul General cards. Tang Tian was most interested in Soul General cards. He already had several secret treasures on hand, more than enough. What he lacked were Soul General cards, especially fourth-tier martial techniques.

The gold card Jing Hao had given him was fifth-tier, and distant water could not quench immediate thirst. Sai Lei had given him two cards, one called Chain Double Kick and the other Four Heaven Dragons, in addition to the Eight Trigrams Step Jing Hao had given him last time.

Boxing techniques, palm techniques, finger techniques, joint techniques, and so on still had to be solved by himself.

He browsed further, only to be astonished by a discovery: not a single Soul General card below sixth tier was listed. After a moment's thought, he understood. Only Bronze Warriors could enter the exchange meeting, and their ranks would not be lower than sixth tier. Low-tier cards like fourth-tier ones would naturally be in little demand.

Still, the prices of these cards were not high. Most fifth-tier Silver cards required only one hundred points, and he even saw a fifth-tier Gold card that cost just five hundred. Thinking of his own five thousand points, Tang Tian suddenly felt rich beyond measure.

Looking around, he found a warrior who specialized in Soul General cards. This warrior sold the most complete variety of cards and looked as though he were running a dedicated card shop.

Tang Tian sent the other man a private message asking whether he had any fourth-tier Gold cards.

Before long, the other man replied: yes.

Not long after that, Tang Tian indeed found several fourth-tier Gold cards on the exchange meeting, each costing only two hundred points.

Without hesitation, Tang Tian chose four Gold cards.

Shockwave Fist, Moon Hand Blade, Overlord's Fury Finger, and Touch-and-Fall.

Shockwave Fist shared many similarities with Little Collapse Fist, and Tang Tian felt it suited him perfectly. Moon Hand Blade was a variant palm technique, a palm like a moonlit blade. Overlord's Fury Finger was a ferocious finger technique, powerful and sharp. Touch-and-Fall was an especially formidable joint technique: once he made contact with an enemy, even the slightest change in the enemy's strength would trigger the swiftest possible response from him.

Joint techniques were a niche category, and Touch-and-Fall was a famed classic among them. Unlike other martial techniques, it did not have a rigid ranking structure. In fact, its power would rise dramatically along with the warrior's true power. In other words, Tang Tian would not need to cultivate another joint technique until sixth tier.

In truth, it was not only joint techniques that were like this.

The martial arts system of the present age was, in essence, a spindle-shaped structure: it began with basic techniques, then expanded rapidly in variety as it climbed upward; but once it evolved into the higher tiers, the number of its forms began to shrink just as quickly. This was the so-called one hundred rivers returning to the sea, all roads leading to the same destination.

Any martial technique, once cultivated to true profundity, would ultimately arrive at the same end by different paths.

Obtaining four Gold cards filled Tang Tian with excitement. Though he had spent eight hundred points, he did not feel the slightest pang of pain. These points had come too easily, and Tang Tian did not yet know how precious they were. Jing Hao had been in the Light Martial Association for so long and had only around seven hundred points, while the points Tang Tian had spent today already exceeded Jing Hao's entire fortune.

This was Tang Tian's first time cultivating Gold cards. What, exactly, was the difference between Gold cards and Silver cards?

He could hardly wait to use Shockwave Fist.

Tomorrow night there will be another update.