Translator: 549690339
Ever since Lin Zhen had the Dark Star within his body, he had never felt absorbing star crystals to be difficult. However, this time, the absorption process was not as easy as before.
The power of the mature Constant Star Crystals was too strong, not to mention absorbing three at once. It took Lin Zhen about six or seven hours to absorb them. By the time he finished, the remaining three crystals on the branch were about to transform into White Dwarf Stars.
After the absorption, Lin Zhen didn’t even have time to digest; he immediately began absorbing the other three.
It took even longer for these three because his Dantian was almost saturated. Lin Zhen hadn’t had time to digest, so he could only absorb while consuming, which was very slow.
By the time he finished absorbing these three, it seemed that a day had passed.
Looking at the more than 300 crystals on the tree, Lin Zhen had a headache. He needed time to digest this amount.
However, what comforted Lin Zhen was that after continuously absorbing these six star crystals, he had completed almost half of the fourth stage of compression. If he absorbed another ten or so, he could compress his Dantian Qi to the fifth level.
“Forget it, if I can’t go out, I won’t go out for now. I’ll just absorb the star crystals here and finish more than 300 of them before speaking.”
Lin Zhen moved his somewhat numb legs. One leg still had remnants of the electric current, which seemed impossible to remove without dispelling.
However, Lin Zhen was not in a hurry. He had Lightning Ions in his body, so the electric current couldn’t cause him real harm; it could only paralyze him at most.
Sitting cross-legged in the spatial rift, Lin Zhen began to digest and compress the newly injected energy in his body.
The excess energy of the star crystals was stored in the Dark Star. Lin Zhen adjusted his breath, released the energy from the Dark Star, and gradually compressed it into his Dantian.
The energy of the six star crystals took Lin Zhen a whole day. It wasn’t until the second day that he began the next round of absorption.
After repeating this for three days, Lin Zhen finally reached the fifth level of Dantian Qi compression.
“Phew! Level five, and it only took 15 star crystals to reach it. In the past few days, I’ve counted the number of star crystals on the tree: 330 in total. There are still 315 left to absorb.”
“Based on this calculation, I can at least complete eight stages of compression, or even higher. However, it’s going to take a lot of time. I don’t know if I can finish within three months.”
Fortunately, there was still plenty of food in his Space Ring, so he didn’t have to worry about starving to death for now.
Since Lin Zhen’s departure, the number of star crystals in the Beehive increased, making the martial artists very happy.
With the Four Gods of Sky Dome staying in the Beehive and taking almost all the star crystals from the west side, they now had nothing to do every day besides cultivating.
As for Lin Zhen’s squad, they never appeared again, and no martial artists disturbed them. From the perspective of other martial artists, Lin Zhen’s squad would soon disband.
As time passed day by day, Lin Zhen had not returned, seemingly disappearing from the world. No one knew where he went.
The news of Zhou Butong’s death reached the Beehive, and Tong Huan took his place, taking charge of the Beehive’s affairs.
After Tong Huan took office, he raised the amount of star crystals the martial artists had to hand in to 40%. This caused a strong backlash from other martial artists. Even when it was 30%, some couldn’t tolerate it, let alone 40% now.
However, the martial artists’ resistance didn’t have much effect. The Four Gods of Sky Dome and the people of East One Team suppressed the resisters. Under the huge gap in power, the martial artists couldn’t resist.
Tong Huan also publicly announced that these extra star crystals would be sent to Sky Dome for Ye Lanshan’s advancement and breakthrough.
It had been more than two months and nearly three months since Lin Zhen went missing. Sky Dome released news that Ye Lanshan had reached the edge of breakthrough and needed a lot of star crystals for support, asking for people from the Beehive and Ant Nest to send star crystals there.
As one of the two giants of Sky Dome, Ye Lanshan had quite a reputation in the Star Fruit Tree. She was a martial artist with seventh level compression Dantian Qi. Now she was about to advance to the War God level; her Dantian Qi would soon reach eightfold compression.
Eightfold compression was her limit. Given her age of nearly 30, it was about time she advanced to the War God level. After the compression was completed, Ye Lanshan would break through to the War God level.
It was said that in the Sky Dome, Little Overlord Yue Feng was preparing a banquet. He planned to celebrate Ye Lanshan’s breakthrough and send her off since she would have to leave the Star Fruit Tree within three days after completing her breakthrough.
Although it was not explicitly stated by the people at the Sky Dome, everyone Imew that the moment Ye Lanshan left, it would be time for Yue Feng to marry Su Mingyue; no one would be able to stop Yue Feng then.
Inside the Beehive, the Four Gods of Sky Dome and Tong Huan were discussing matters together.
Hua Cangtian was the first to speak, “I think our mission is almost over. The Overlord has already sent word that everything will be resolved within half a month. It means that Ye Lanshan will break through and leave any day now. Once Ye Lanshan leaves, Su Mingyue will become Yue Feng’s wife, so the wedding will definitely take place within the next half month.”
“Hahaha! The Overlord will finally get what he wants. Will he leave the Star Fruit Tree with a child in his arms?” Zhang Sihai laughed.
Dong Shencai looked at Hua Cangtian, “Is this what you wanted to talk about today?”
“Of course not. My point is, Lin Zhen has been missing for quite some time, and it is likely that he has already given up. The Overlord’s wedding is about to start, and the farewell banquet for Ye Lanshan will also be held. The four of us must return to attend it; we cannot keep staying in the Beehive like fools.” “So you mean, let’s leave? Return to Sky Dome?”
“Exactly. There is nothing for us to do here anymore. Being in the Beehive is intolerable – I don’t want to stay another day listening to the constant buzzing of these mutated bees- MV head feels like it’s going to explode- If we go back to
Sky Dome, we will be able to enjoy the wind, listen to the raindrops, and bask in the sunshine. How wonderful would that be!”
As Hua Cangtian was reminiscing, Dong Shencai interrupted him, “It won’t do. Our mission here is to prevent Lin Zhen and his team from advancing. Lin Zhen is not here now, but he could come back at any time. We can’t abandon our mission.”
Hua Cangtian gave a bitter smile, “Shencai, think about it. Even if Lin Zhen comes back now, what can he do? Let him climb the mound and absorb the Star Crystals – how much can he absorb in just ten days? Besides, he cannot randomly absorb them either.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Shencai hesitated.
Yes, everything would end in half a month, and Lin Zhen would not be able to turn the situation around no matter what he does. Even if he returns to the
Beehive, what difference would it make?
However, Dong Shencai’s sense of duty still made her uneasy.
“I still don’t think it’s appropriate. Some things can’t be taken lightly until the last moment. Moreover, the Overlord has not ordered us to return immediately, only informing us to get ready.”
At this point, Li Xuanqiong chimed in, “Shencai, the Overlord is busy and can’t take care of us here. Besides, we have known him for so many years, don’t you Imow his character? There are hardly any times when his orders are crystal clear. When he told us to prepare, he basically meant that it’s okay for us to return. He won’t say anything extra about it. Perhaps the Sky Dome needs our help with some preparations.”
“Yeah, with Ye Lanshan focusing on his breakthrough and unable to manage things, the four of us not being there means the Overlord has to handle everything by himself. We can’t feel at ease staying here either,” Zhang Sihai added.
The four of them had had enough of staying in the Beehive. When Lin Zhen was still around, they could at least stay vigilant. However, Lin Zhen had been missing for almost three months, and they were utterly bored with nothing to do every day.
Moreover, these damned bees! The unbearable noise they made after mutation left the four of them feeling tormented. They couldn’t help but miss the Sky Dome with every passing day.
Although Dong Shencai was somewhat swayed by the three of them, she still insisted, “I still don’t feel at ease. Lin Zhen still has teammates here. If he comes back, he can always regroup…”
“Don’t worry, Miss Dong. Those guys who have already lost their fighting spirit won’t be able to create any trouble. I can guarantee that everything in the Beehive is under control,” Tong Huan said.
Little did they know that Dong Shencai was exceptionally stubborn, she insisted, “No, Lin Zhen still has teammates. I will wait here until the Overlord orders me to return. You three can leave if you want, but I won’t leave.”
Having said that, Dong Shencai closed her eyes and began to meditate, no longer paying attention to the others.
Hua Cangtian and the others felt helpless and left the tree hollow together.
“What should we do? Shencai doesn’t want to go back. If the three of us go back alone, the Overlord definitely won’t agree.”
“Yes, among the four of us, the Overlord values Shencai the most. If we leave her alone here, the Overlord would probably skin us alive.”
“So what do we do? I can’t take staying here anymore. Just thinking about having to stay here for another half a month makes me feel like I’m going crazy.”
At this moment, Tong Huan suddenly spoke up, “Miss Dong is worried about Lin Zhen returning and teaming up again. But what if there are no more teammates of Lin Zhen here?”
“What do you mean?” The three of them looked at Tong Huan simultaneously.
Tong Huan grinned slyly, “You all know what I mean. Lin Zhen’s four teammates are not strong enough to withstand any of your attacks; they would undoubtedly surrender. When you break the news of their deaths to Miss Dong, she would have no reason to stay.”
Hua Cangtian, Li Xuanqiong, and Zhang Sihai exchanged glances before nodding involuntarily.
“Tong Huan, this is a good plan! Let’s do it this way.. It’s a bit late today; we’ll take action tomorrow morning and capture all of them in one swoop!”
