Ling Jiuâs airship had been destroyed, but a more luxurious, extravagant, and splendid airship had appeared in the forest. It was Arthur Austinâs airship.
It was a typical double-story villa airship with a living room, kitchen, and training room on the lower floor. Meanwhile, there were bedrooms and a study on the upper floor. It had the most expensive carpet, sofa, chandelier, and TV.
Ling Jiu had estimated that this airship was worth over $30 billion, which was far more expensive than his $8.8 billion airship. Now, it had become his trophy.
Bai Ya and Ling Jiu cleaned the airship, throwing away Arthur Austinâs quilt, toiletries, and other stuff before replacing them with their own.
âDo you have any extra quilts, Bai Ya? I donât have any.â
âYeah, but itâs used.â
âItâs okay! I donât mind that.â
After a long while, the two finally finished cleaning up. By then, it was dusk, and the sunset on Mars was blue.
Bai Ya had prepared dinner, so the two talked over dinner.
âYou shouldnât have killed him!â
Bai Ya had graceful table manners, but tonight, there was a hint of worry on her face.
âYou mean Arthur Austin?â Ling Jiu fetched a dish for himself. âDonât worry, they canât do anything to me.â
âI looked up the Austin familyâs background this afternoon,â Bai Ya said. âThe Austin family is a global financial giant that owns one of the worldâs largest multinational banks. It controls 37 banks around the world and has a firm presence in industries such as insurance, maglev vehicles, and Direbeast sales. These are just on the business side.
âAs for their soft powerâŠâ Bai Ya said. âSince they have money, the Austin family can buy many Arcana potions and Treasures of Heaven and Earth. There are many Arcanists in the family. Besides, many of these powerful Arcanists are serving in major Arcana combines around the world, and the top executives of such big organizations as Pangu and Vulcan come from this family. The father of Arthur Austin, whom youâve killed, is one of Vulcanâs department managers. So, you can imagine how powerful that position is.â
Vulcanâs corporate structure was exactly the same as Panguâs. At the apex of Vulcan was the worldâs second most powerful Arcanist, followed by four vice presidents, and a dozen department managers. It was not hard to imagine the power and influence a department manager wielded.
âOthers stay away from such a behemoth, but youâŠâ Bai Ya sighed. âAnyway, forget it. Iâm partly to blame for this. If the Austin family wants revenge, letâs face it together.â
âYou really are a loyal friend.â
Ling Jiu was slightly surprised.
Bai Ya glared at him and did not say another word.
After dinner, the two went back to their respective rooms. Bai Ya could only sleep at night since the level of Gene Arcana on Mars was extremely low, and the Arcana trees she had planted had not yet produced any mysterious energy.
But Ling Jiu was different.
He was constantly absorbing Dark Bio-energy for his self-cultivation practice, no matter where he was. That was also an advantage possessed by Emissian warriors, who could practice anytime, anywhere, and unrestricted by the environment.
An enormous amount of Dark Bio-energy poured into his body, and the hungry cells, as well as Sapling Ling, absorbed it first. Once they were full, the Dark bio-energy entered the pubic region, merged with the growing nebula, and was finally absorbed by the Gene Arcana Core, which was spinning at high speed.
âI am now a Level 7 Arcanist with ten Arcanas: Shadowform, Blink Arcana, Gravity Arcana, Tungsten Form, Ten-Thousandfold Gene Arcana, Five-Element Manipulation, Dimensional Arcana, Time Halt, Ultimate Physique, and Inner World.
âGravity Arcana, Dimensional Arcana, and Time Halt are manipulative. They are unbeatable.
âUltimate Physique allows me to exert one hundred thousand times the power of ordinary Level 7 Arcanists. Coupled with the Emissian war blade and Dimensional Arcana, I have confidence in beating a Level 10 Arcanist. If they want revenge, let them come,â Ling Jiu muttered to himself.
âWhat are you talking about? A rookie named Ling Jiu killed Arthur Austin? Donât be funny, your joke is not funny at all.â
âI am not joking. Itâs true. Many of us have seen it with our own eyes. Why would I lie to you?â
âArthur Austin was really killed?â
âArthur Austin is a direct heir to the Austin family. There are even rumors that he is the next patriarch. Things are serious since heâs been killed.â
âLing Jiu is too brutal. You should stay away from him whenever you see him in the future. Donât get yourself into trouble.â
âIsnât Ling Jiu a rookie? Where did he get such an ability?â
âWho knows? Arthur and Euphemia were beaten together. They were not in the same league as Ling Jiu at all.â
âAre all the rookies so brutal nowadays?â
The news had spread throughout the matriculation camp.
People were talking about this case in the dormitory, bar, KTV, and other places.
The incident was the biggest thing that had ever happened in the matriculation camp in recent years. It shocked the protege trainees who had been busy planting trees and practicing self-cultivation all day.
Niu Ben had received the news, too. At first, he did not believe it, but the vivid description of the incident was circulating in the camp. When he was finally convinced, he was shocked.
âI canât believe that Ling Jiu is so brutal.
âWeâre talking about Arthur Austin, the guy who climbed to 28th place in just half a year in the matriculation camp. I canât believe that Ling Jiu has killed him.
Euphemia Athena came in front of the wormhole in the matriculation camp. She wanted to report the matter to a higher level immediately since this was such a serious incident.
She passed through the dimensional passage and came to the Antarctic Ice City.
âWhere are you going?â
Just then, a voice came. Euphemia looked over and found that it was Uncle Wang, the personnel guarding the dimensional passage.
âI have somethingââ
Euphemia quickly explained, but Uncle Wang held up a hand and interrupted her. âThe trainees of the matriculation camp are forbidden from leaving Mars. Are you prepared to violate the rules of the matriculation camp?â
She gritted her teeth when she saw Uncle Wangâs unyielding expression. She suddenly used Blink Arcana to flee, but this Arcana that had never failed her before did not work this time. Her expression collapsed. âHow could this be possible?â
With a wave of his hand, Uncle Wang sent her flying backward. She plunged and disappeared into the dimensional passage.
âThese rascals!â Uncle Wang shook his head. âAll these people know all day is snitching.â
Planting trees during the day, practicing self-cultivation at night, and teasing the camp beauty occasionally, Ling Jiu was having a good life. He had no fear of the Austin familyâs revenge. Just like that, two weeks had passed.
On this day, Ling Jiu passed through the dimensional passage and quietly left the Antarctic Ice City.
âThis kid is sneaking out again!â
Uncle Wang, who was sitting in front of a dimensional passage, glanced at Ling Jiu and shook his head. Yet, Uncle Wang closed his eyes to get some shut-eye instead of stopping him.
An hour later, Ling Jiu arrived on the Australian mainland.
âReplicate The Devourer.â
Replication successful. Do you want to install?
Two hours later, Ling Jiu returned to the matriculation camp. He immediately got a call from Niu Ben as soon as he arrived.
âWhatâs up, Brother Niu?â
Ling Jiu was puzzled. Niu Ben had not contacted him once since he came to the matriculation camp. It was almost the fourth week since then, and now he suddenly called.
Niu Ben could not hide his excitement. âI just discovered a dimensional passage beneath Olympus Mons. There is a planet on the other end of the passage. I need someone to help me explore this planet. Are you on, bro?â
âYou found another planet?â Ling Jiu was shocked.
âForget it, just come over. Let me first give you a detailed introduction of this planet before you decide whether to explore it,â Niu Ben said.
Ling Jiu was back in the matriculation camp minutes after hanging up. He found Niu Ben in the coffee shop.
There were quite a number of people in the cafe, all drinking coffee. When Ling Jiu came in, they immediately turned their heads and looked at him.
âItâs Ling Jiu indeed!â
âDamn! He is Ling Jiu!â
âKeep your voice downâŠâ
Noticing the curious gazes, Ling Jiu shrugged them off with a smile and walked towards Niu Ben: âHey, Brother Niu!â
âTake a seat, bro.â Niu Ben motioned to Ling Jiu to sit down, his face screwed up. âYou are famous now, bro.â
âAre you poking fun at me, too, Brother Niu?â Ling Jiu took a sip of coffee and shook his head. âLetâs talk about the new planet, Brother Niu. Iâm more interested in this.â
âOkay.â Niu Ben immediately cut to the chase. âI found this dimensional passage by accident beneath Olympus Mons. You know Olympus Mons, donât you?â
âOf course. It is the highest volcano on Mars and the largest known volcano in the entire solar system.â Ling Jiu nodded.
âThatâs right,â Niu Ben said. âThis dimensional passage is 30,000 meters beneath Olympus Mons, and it is stable. So we can go through this dimensional passage to reach the other planet on the opposite side.â
Ling Jiu kept nodding as he listened.
âAccording to the data sent back by the probe that was sent out, that newly discovered planet is an inhospitable place with a surface temperature of over 400°C. The atmospheric pressure is at a terrifying level. Even if we have Venom Suits, we canât stay on this planet for too long.â
Niu Ben slowly said, âThatâs all I know about this new planet. We need to explore it to get more information. I think you should know, bro, what it means to discover a new planet. We will get a handsome reward once we report the new findings of a planet to the matriculation camp. My ability alone is limited, and I cannot explore this planet alone. Hence, I need someone to help me. I immediately thought of you, bro. It is now up to you if you are interested.â
He needed the aid of Ling Jiuâs Dimensional Arcana. The planetâs environment was too hostile, but the Dimensional Arcana would solve that problem.
âThe surface temperature exceeds 400°C? The atmospheric pressure is terrifyingly high?â
Others might not withstand such a hostile environment, but not him.
âIâm in, Brother Niu.â Ling Jiu thought it over and immediately made up his mind.
âGreat.â Niu Ben was overjoyed. âShall we go now?â
Off the two went, heading straight to Olympus Mons.