Chapter 17: Rise in the Universe
While the global social networks were abuzz with discussions about Shen Mu, the man himself had already taken off in a fighter jet he borrowed from Liu He, heading for the African Desert.
The African Desert, after the Great Nirvana, became one of the three most dangerous places alongside Australia and the Amazon Forest, all of which were havens for monsters, with king-level monsters roaming about.
"Roar!" An earth-shattering roar echoed across the desert as a giant mammoth frantically attacked a tiny figure.
This giant mammoth was the overlord of this small area of the desert, a high Horde Leader-level monster known for its terrifying defense and massive size. Even an invincible wargod fighter would find it hard to defeat.
"This reaction speed is too slow, not even comparable to the monsters I encountered in Australia."
Shen Mu's figure moved like the tides, easily dodging the giant mammoth's attacks. Then, streams of light burst forth from the flying knife pouch at Shen Mu's waist, drawing mysterious trajectories in the air before easily piercing through the giant mammoth's eyes. In an instant, this high Horde Leader-level monster died on the spot.
"Twenty down. Calculating the average price of materials from a high Horde Leader-level monster's corpse at 10 billion, that's 200 billion yuan successfully added to my account."
Shen Mu's figure hovered in the air, with the flying knives dancing under his spirit control, easily dismantling the giant mammoth's corpse. The most valuable materials were loaded into the fighter.
Including the materials from the monsters he hunted in Australia and the gains from killing monsters during his training camp excursions over the past six months, Shen Mu's funds exceeded 300 billion.
"One vial of dragon blood at half price is 800 billion, so two vials would be 1600 billion. Buying a king-level fighter jet should also be about the same."
Both of his parents were Warlord-level fighters, especially his father Shen Gang, who was a peak Warlord with his body strength just breaking through the 60,000-kilogram mark, not far from the wargod level.
Of course, Shen Gang's talent was limited to this level, and his body's potential had been exhausted, with progress over the past few years being pitifully slow. One vial of dragon blood could at least double Shen Gang's physical qualities, making him a primary wargod, and with good luck, even an intermediate wargod.
As for his mother Chen Wen, she was just a primary Warlord with physical qualities of less than 15,000 kilograms. Doubling or tripling that would also give her a chance to reach the peak of warlord.
After that, dragon blood wouldn't be needed. By then, relying on Luo Feng's support, they could obtain some apprentice-level resources from the universe, combined with mu ya crystals, and easily feed them to reach the planetary level.
Both his parents and his fiancée Tang Yongqing needed to be stacked with resources to reach the planetary level, ensuring a lifespan of a thousand years. Only then would Shen Mu have enough time to rise in the universe, obtain more resources, and gradually elevate his parents and relatives to high levels. If they didn't live long enough, even if Luo Feng became the master of the universe tens of thousands of years later, he wouldn't be able to help them.
"Rising in the universe..." Shen Mu sighed softly, gazing at the sky. Under the scorching sun, he couldn't see the vast universe and endless stars, only light before his eyes, no distant horizon.
His talent was quite good among Earthlings, and his Azure Dragon clone had naturally grown to the planetary level, which should be considered a so-called planetary-level bloodline. Advancing to the star level through training wasn't too difficult. But that was as far as it went. If he didn't have other opportunities, no matter how hard he tried, his limit would be the star level.
"Missing the fast track of Yun Mo, it will be countless times more difficult to rise in the universe in the future." Shen Mu pondered silently.
The simplest way to gain Babbata's recognition was to have a high enough brain width and excellent spirit talent. But this was a matter of talent, innate, not something Shen Mu could decide. Shen Mu never liked to pin his hopes on things he couldn't control.
Besides that, the only hope was to comprehend the domain.
Hong and Lei Shen were just fighters, but because they comprehended the domain at the planetary level, they also received resource from Babbata. As a spirit master, as long as he could comprehend the domain, the resources he would receive would be above those of Hong and Lei Shen, and he might even have a chance to surpass Luo Feng.
"Comprehending the domain, how difficult."
For the future Luo Feng and the many geniuses in the universe, having a domain seemed to pose no difficulty. But this was just an illusion, a survivorship bias.
Looking at Lei Shen made it clear. Lei Shen's comprehension ability was definitely not low. Relying on the qualifications of an Earthling, he eventually became the master of the universe. Becoming the master of the universe meant that Lei Shen's comprehension ability was among the best in the entire human race of the universe. Yet even so, it took him decades to comprehend the domain. This was with Hong's guidance and the opportunity of the Golden Horned Beast incident to break through this step. Otherwise, who knows how much longer it would have taken.
"Take it step by step. I am already at Artistic Conception, and the unity of heaven and man is within reach."
How difficult it was to comprehend the domain didn't matter. Shen Mu had died twice; he wouldn't shrink back because of difficulties.
For now, the first step was to reach the unity of heaven and man and then seek Hong's guidance. Given Hong's behavior and character, as long as Shen Mu could reach the unity of heaven and man, he would certainly not be stingy with his insights into the domain. Even if he couldn't be like Lei Shen, frequently seeking Hong's guidance on the power of the domain, he would definitely receive pointers.
Compared to Luo Feng, who hadn't possessed the Golden Horned Beast, Shen Mu still had a great advantage. Living in the ocean for decades, his Azure Dragon clone had given him enough insight into nature, allowing him to directly achieve mastery of Artistic Conception. He was only a step away from perfecting it and reach the unity of heaven and man.
As Shen Mu pondered, the giant mammoth was completely dismembered, and all the valuable materials were collected. Shen Mu also reboarded his king-level fighter and returned to Hongning Base City.
***
Hongning Base City, headquarters of the Limit Dojo.
"You're quite bold, hunting high Horde Leader-level monsters in the African Desert alone. Aren't you afraid of attracting the pursuit of king-level monsters?" Hong's expression was stern, but there was an appreciative look in his eyes for Shen Mu's reckless behavior.
"Indeed, I was targeted by a king-level monster, the Flame Lion King, but it couldn't catch up to me. Plus, I borrowed a king-class intelligent fighter jet from Brother Liu He, so it was foolproof."
The defensive capabilities of the king-class fighter jet were quite good, able to withstand most attacks from king-level monsters. If the engine technology were improved, it might even be rated as an A-class spaceship in the universe.
As for Hong's intelligent fighter jet, if Shen Mu remembered correctly, it could withstand casual long-range attacks from a star-level Golden Horned Beast, with defensive capabilities comparable to an entry-level B-class fighter.
"Alright, including the seven monsters you hunted in Australia, each valued at 15 billion, that's a total of 40.5 billion trialyuan, how about it?"
A value of 15 billion was basically the limit for a Horde Leader-level monster's corpse. Among the many Horde Leader-level monsters Shen Mu hunted, only five or six reached this level.
"Thank you, Master Hong." Shen Mu sincerely thanked Hong for taking care of him.
Hong nodded slightly and then said, "The king-level fighter jet you wanted has been prepared. Two vials of dragon blood have been placed on the fighter. If you can hunt another king-level monster, you can exchange it with me for some treasures that can't be bought with money."
Shen Mu naturally agreed. The other treasures Hong mentioned should be the accumulation of the Limit dojo over the years. Items like dragon blood, which could be bought with money, didn't qualify to be listed among them.
***
After leaving Hongning Base City, Shen Mu piloted his king-level fighter jet, heading straight for Kyoto Base City. Since awakening the memories of his previous life, it had been half a year, and this was the first time he was going home.
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