All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 41

“‘Phantom Light Step’ is a movement technique that incorporates some illusion techniques. When mastered, others can’t pinpoint your true location without special detection methods. I once used this technique to kill five beast king-level fierce beasts while outnumbered five to one at the Spirit God Realm. ‘Phantom Form Sword Technique’ is a special sword technique. I once condensed light into a sword to kill a Lord-level Nightmare. You can also condense fire into a sword. This technique isn’t limited by the user’s power attribute. The sword is formless, and the moves are unpredictable, making it hard to counter,” the illumination Goddess explained.

Her small figure demonstrated the mysteries and learning methods of these two techniques. Zhanyue felt a headache coming on. These gold-grade techniques were indeed much harder than purple-grade ones, even understanding them was much more difficult.

As the illumination Goddess moved, Zhanyue felt she was one meter in front of him, then three meters away. He couldn’t pinpoint her actual location. Looking at her was always like looking through a refracting glass. The Light Goddess’s application and understanding of light far surpassed ordinary people.

“As expected of a movement technique incorporating illusions. It’s so powerful,” Zhanyue marveled.

Then the illumination Goddess demonstrated the other technique. Her hand was empty, then a shining golden sword appeared. The light sword had a shadow but no form, its moves unpredictable. It seemed to thrust at one’s chest but actually aimed for the head.

“Phantom Form Sword Technique” paired with “Phantom Light Step” was a perfect combination. Others could neither judge your position nor predict where your attacks would land. It was like fighting from another world.

“These two techniques aren’t invincible. Some cultivators specializing in perception don’t rely on their eyes. When they close their eyes and locate enemies through perception, these two techniques become much less effective. Those two Mountain Goblins could locate you underground through perception. It seems the Mountain Goblin Clan is also very skilled in perception, but they might not be able to break through ‘Phantom Light Step’. After all, my ‘Phantom Light Step’ has been improved many times and doesn’t purely rely on visual deception; perception can also be deceived. There are no invincible techniques in the world. It depends on your level of mastery. If you can’t even fool the Mountain Goblins’ underground perception with ‘Phantom Light Step’, you might as well give up early,” the illumination Goddess said bluntly, intentionally provoking Zhanyue to train diligently.

After this exchange, Zhanyue realized the gap between himself and this Goddess sister in terms of strength and martial understanding. The illumination Goddess was indeed once humanity’s strongest expert. Her divinity and various deeds benefiting humanity often made people overlook her achievements in martial arts.

After about half a day of teaching, Zhanyue hadn’t even grasped the basics, naturally feeling frustrated. He wasn’t the type of martial genius who could learn instantly.

“Don’t belittle yourself. Everyone’s talents are different. Your combat talent is extremely strong. Even without learning any specific moves, you can use power as if it were an extension of your arm. However, your talent for comprehending martial techniques isn’t as good as your combat talent. But if you could master gold-grade techniques in half a day, people in this world might as well just bang their heads against a wall and die. Remember, haste makes waste,” the illumination Goddess comforted. She recalled the previous battle in the dream realm. She hadn’t taught Zhanyue anything, but he had used her power masterfully, relying purely on combat instinct. Moreover, this guy’s pill refining talent was also extremely strong. What more could he ask for? She needed to keep him in check occasionally to prevent him from becoming too arrogant. These two gold-grade techniques were a good opportunity.

“Little brother, little brother!” Hulu called from outside the door. Without Zhanyue’s permission, even the Mountain Goblin King wouldn’t dare enter Zhanyue’s room.

The illumination Goddess’s small figure disappeared. Zhanyue opened the door to find the Mountain Goblin King Hulu standing before him, holding a bowl. The contents were dark red, with a pungent bloody smell.

“Big brother… what… what is this?” Zhanyue asked, puzzled.

“Blood Demon Soup. Drink it quickly,” Hulu urged.

“Blood Demon Soup? What’s that?” Zhanyue asked, confused. This thing obviously didn’t look pleasant to drink.

“It’s something good that can give you the Mountain Goblin Clan’s divine abilities,” Hulu explained.

Zhanyue’s eyes lit up at this, “There’s such a thing?”

“Yes. Legend has it that long, long ago, our Mountain Goblin Clan was on good terms with humans. The Mountain Goblin Clan also once had pill refiners and medicine makers, as you should know. This was developed by a medicine maker within the Mountain Goblin Clan. Humans who drink it have a chance of developing the Mountain Goblin Clan’s innate divine abilities. As for why he developed this, I don’t know. Yesterday, seeing you envious of our Clan’s talents, unable to obtain them, and considering all you’ve done for our Clan with no way to repay you, I remembered this formula. It needs to be taken continuously for a hundred days. There’s a 99% chance of awakening the Petrification talent, but also a slight chance of awakening the Earth Burrowing talent,” Hulu explained.

“There’s actually such a miraculous thing?” Zhanyue’s eyes widened. “How is it made? Why does it smell so strongly of blood?”

“Naturally, Mountain Goblin blood is one of the core ingredients,” Hulu didn’t conceal this fact.

Zhanyue was shocked, “Big brother, you didn’t kill people for blood, did you? That’s unacceptable.”

Hulu shook his head, “Of course not. How could our Mountain Goblin Clan do such things? This blood was all voluntarily donated. Each person donates a little blood every day, not enough to harm their lives. When they heard it was for you, they were all very enthusiastic.”

Zhanyue felt indescribably moved looking at the bowl of blood before him. These Mountain Goblins truly treated him as one of their own.

Drinking the bowl of fresh blood in one gulp, he felt a special power nourishing his whole body. “Still need ninety-nine more times? That’s a lot of blood,” Zhanyue felt sorry for them.

Having received so much, Zhanyue became even more dedicated to translating the cultivation method. He didn’t want to owe others.

In the mountain, there’s no calendar; in the cave, no sun or moon. Translating cultivation methods and pill formulas, refining pills when materials were ready, practicing various techniques when tired of sitting – days passed one after another. Finally, the cultivation method was fully translated. A full year had passed since Zhanyue was carried into the underground palace.

After handing over the cultivation method to Hulu, another three months passed. During these three months, Zhanyue wasn’t occupied with translating ancient texts or refining pills. He invested all his energy into practicing several martial techniques, achieving remarkable results. During these three months, Hulu didn’t come to find him, as Hulu himself was in seclusion.

Standing nervously outside a room, Zhanyue paced back and forth. In his arms, he held a small Mountain Goblin, Hulu’s only son, who by seniority was his little nephew. This was one of the rare moments of tension in his life. Many Mountain Goblin Clansmen stood around, all looking nervous.

Then, a terrifying pressure covered the entire underground palace. All Mountain Goblin Clansmen felt their bloodlines suppressed and knelt down in unison.

“Hahahahaha!” Then, crazy laughter echoed through the underground palace. “I’ve finally broken through!!!”

The room’s door opened, and Hulu walked out. His entire aura had completely changed. Although not tall, he had a towering, majestic presence like a high mountain.

“True King Realm?” Zhanyue asked.

Hulu nodded, then bowed respectfully to Zhanyue, “Thank you, brother. You are our Mountain Goblin Clan’s benefactor. If not for you, I might have died of old age in the Profound Realm. The curse of our Mountain Goblin Clan having no True King is now history!”

“No need for such formality. I was deeply afraid that my translation wasn’t accurate enough and would affect your breakthrough. Now a weight has been lifted from my heart,” Zhanyue breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest worry had finally been resolved.

The underground palace was once again decorated with lanterns and colored banners. This celebration was grander than any before. Various delicacies and fine wines were provided in unlimited quantities. Laughter and cheers echoed throughout the underground palace.

“Dingding, Dangdang, shall we have another battle?” A year had passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhanyue invited them to fight again.

“We can, but Second Great King, you’re not allowed to use that cauldron to hit us anymore,” the two said somewhat timidly. Their strength had also increased considerably, after all, they were now the king’s personal guards with abundant resources.

“Of course not.”

The three fought again at the old site, but Zhanyue was now a different person.

“Petrification!” The two turned into stone bullets and burrowed into the ground. Their impact force and speed were far beyond a year ago. Even the surface of the stone bullets was coated with a layer of earth-yellow spiritual energy for protection.

Two attacks came from left and right, but Zhanyue’s figure suddenly disappeared from the field. As the two were about to burrow into the ground after missing, two pillars of fire erupted from the ground they were about to enter, sending them straight to the ceiling before they fell heavily.

Instant kill! In this battle a year later, Dingding and Dangdang were defeated in an instant.

“Second Great King, it’s not fair. You can use Earth Burrowing too now. We can’t beat you,” the two looked miserable.

Zhanyue recalled the days of awakening from the Blood Demon Soup and couldn’t help but smile. His luck was really good. There was a high probability of comprehending Petrification and a small probability of comprehending Earth Burrowing. He had hit the jackpot. Flying and Earth Burrowing were of the same level, but he had learned Earth Burrowing before flying. However, this wasn’t his innate divine ability. The time and distance of his Earth Burrowing were much less than the Mountain Goblin Clansmen’s, but he was already very satisfied.

“Little brother’s strength is improving by leaps and bounds,” Hulu praised, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. He knew Zhanyue was going to leave.

Without alarming others, as Zhanyue didn’t like farewell scenes, after leaving a large number of pills for the Mountain Goblin Clan, Hulu personally escorted him outside the mountain.

“A hundred miles from here is Thousand Feather City. Big brother, let’s part here,” Zhanyue said, looking at Hulu.

“Alright, little brother. If you encounter any trouble out there, remember to come find me. I’m at the True King Realm now. If one day you can no longer stay among humans, the doors of the underground palace will always be open for you,” Hulu patted Zhanyue’s shoulder. Without being sentimental, he instantly burrowed into the ground and left.

Breathing the air above ground, looking at the long-unseen sun, Zhanyue felt as if ages had passed.

Sixth stage of the Spirit Communication Realm, second-grade pill refiner, mastering Earth Burrowing technique and two extreme fires, possessing the treasure Sun God Stone and Earth Mother Golden Cauldron. “Flame King Blast” cultivated to the third level – Flame King Realm, initial mastery of “Phantom Light Step” and “Phantom Form Sword Technique”. Assessing his current status, Zhanyue stretched lazily and smiled as he walked along the small path. He was no longer the helpless novice he once was. Although only at the Spirit Communication Realm, he was confident he could fight anyone below the Profound Realm.