After a while, the Small Nine Tripod quieted down, the inscriptions around its body beginning to faintly pulse with an eerie crimson light, resembling the sinister grin of a demon, carrying a touch of malevolent aggression.
“Out!” Ye Chen moved his intent, aiming the mouth of the Small Nine Tripod towards an open expanse. A radiant glow emanated from within the Tripod, and a toy-sized starship drifted out. From an initial speck of sesame seed size, it grew larger and larger until it reached several thousand zhang, finally halting and settling onto the ground.
Everyone stared at the brand-new vessel, mouths agape in astonishment.
Having fused two shattered peak Divine Artifact-grade starships, the current Runic Starship’s appearance had completely transformed. It had shifted from its initial dark black to a cold, imposing black-gold, and the runes etched across its hull had become recessed grooves branded onto the metal.
Around the ship—on the spars, the roof, and the deck—the unmistakable form of a warship was evident, like a mechanized figure laden with armaments around its waist and hands. The hull bristled with fearsome, pitch-black cannon barrels, turning the vessel into an absolute steel fortress.
“This, this…” Bai Long gasped, stammering, “Is this still a Runic Starship?”
A sharp glint flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes as he moved swiftly to the entrance of the Runic Starship. As if recognizing its master, the hatch automatically swung open. A flash of green light greeted him, and the old man with the green runes appeared at the doorway, trembling with excitement as he stared at Ye Chen, unable to form a complete sentence. “I—I—I have become a peak Divine Artifact!”
Ye Chen paused briefly, then a sharp light sparked in his eyes. “What is the current destructive capability of the starship?”
“Enough to annihilate a star!” the old man with the green runes provided, his face glowing, eyes sharp and bright. “If we engage a peak Deity head-on without them carrying peak armor, we can blast them to dust!”
Ye Chen nodded slightly, subtly clenching his fist. A cruel glint flashed deep in his eyes as he thought, If you dare to come, you will regret it… He turned back to the clearing, his brainwaves penetrating the Spatial Folding Bag. He scanned the pile of broken components and immediately discovered a distinct light-shell. This shell was milky white, possessing a metallic sheen, and even buried among the other wreckage, it radiated a unique, conspicuous, and dazzling light.
The shell was about eight centimeters long, covered in a faint white glow, seeming to possess a strange magic that captured the gaze, making it impossible to look away.
Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. With a beckoning gesture, a gentle energy drifted out, pulling the light-shell from the heap of broken parts. The shell felt cool in his hand, like water sloshing in his palm—quite strange.
“Is this Dao Artifact grade material?” Ye Chen turned to look at Zi Xiang beside him.
Zi Xiang nodded obediently. “Yes, Master.”
“Master?” Bai Long, standing nearby, was utterly startled. “What’s going on?”
Ye Chen shot him a look, then clenched his hand, aimed the Small Nine Tripod at the light-shell, and silently commanded, “Absorb.”
Whoosh!
The light-shell was engulfed by the mysterious magnetic field at the Tripod’s opening, shrinking thousands of times in an instant and being drawn inside. Just as Ye Chen prepared to absorb the brand-new Runic Starship next, the system prompt sounded from within the Small Nine Tripod: “Greetings, this item cannot be smelted.”
Ye Chen couldn't help but freeze. He retracted his gaze, looked down at the Small Nine Tripod, and communicated mentally, “What?”
“The Nine Tripod system is currently only active to Level One Safety Mode and can only smelt materials below the Dao Artifact grade. To smelt a Dao Artifact, it must be fully unlocked,” the system voice stated coldly.
Ye Chen frowned, pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, pouring the light-shell back out. He casually placed it into the Spatial Folding Bag, sighing softly to himself. He gestured to everyone and commanded, “Get aboard.”
“Where are we going now?” Bai Long asked curiously.
“To kill,” Ye Chen replied, his eyes cold.
“Really?” Bai Long’s eyes lit up immediately. “Take me!”
“You?” Ye Chen glanced at him. “Take you to be cannon fodder?”
Bai Long stood tall. “I’ve improved a lot recently. With my water-element replication talent, I can copy any secret manual. There’s nothing in heaven and earth I can’t duplicate. Once I see it, I never forget it. That’s why I had already mastered all global languages by the time I was nineteen.”
“Oh?” Ye Chen was intrigued. “What is your manual amplification factor?”
Bai Long grinned, puffing out his chest. “Don’t be shocked when I tell you—my manuals can amplify my power by 120,000 times! I can fight against over one hundred thousand Half-God realm experts!”
Ye Chen looked surprised. “120,000 amplification?” He couldn't help but look Bai Long up and down. Although he had spent over 500 years in the Demon God Palace, only about two or three years had passed for Bai Long and the others within the Runic Starship. In such a short time, this man had managed to rise from a common Half-God slave to a contemporary standout!
It was known that many Half-God experts who could achieve 100 times amplification were considered slightly capable, and those who reached 1,000 times amplification were rarer than one in ten thousand. Manual amplification exceeding ten thousand times was even scarcer, virtually unheard of in places like the White Lotus Divine Continent.
Seeing Ye Chen’s surprised gaze, Bai Long became even more smug, chuckling lightly. “That’s nothing. Don’t look so shocked, and don’t envy or worship me. I am simply a legend!”
“How did you achieve that?” Ye Chen ignored his boasting and asked directly. He recalled not giving Bai Long and the others any specific help regarding manuals. Had it all been self-realization?
Bai Long looked up at the heavens, his expression melancholy, conveying the desolation of a world lonely as an avalanche. He said slowly, “I enter the Virtual Arena every day, honing myself in the War God Tower. I copy the combat techniques of my opponents, refining them repeatedly, until I finally created three sets of secret manuals myself. Life is truly lonely.” Yue Heng rolled his eyes, nearly kicking him.
Ye Chen’s gaze flickered. He glanced at Bai Long but said nothing more. He turned and beckoned Zi Xiang over, instructing her in a low voice, “Go to the warehouse and pick out several peak Deity secret manuals. Make sure you have every type available.”
“Understood, Master.” Zi Xiang giggled, then hopped away and ran into the elevator. Not long after, she emerged from the elevator and happily approached Ye Chen, extending her palm, slowly opening it to reveal a silver ring. “The manuals are all inside.”
Ye Chen reached out and took it, probing inside with his divine sense. He found that within this smallest Spatial Folding Bag, seven sheets of golden light were suspended, each being a book made of gold paper, emitting a vast aura, as if they were living entities.
Ye Chen quickly scanned them and noticed three repeating characters in the lower left corner of all seven manuals: “Mad God’s…”
“Mad God’s War Heaven (Melee Manual).”
“Mad God’s Fury (Body Strengthening Manual).”
“Mad God’s Awakening (Self-Detonation Manual).”
Ye Chen was somewhat surprised to find that these seven manuals formed a complete set, belonging to the same series.
It was known that equipment had various attributes, materials, and perfectly matched shapes that formed sets. Secret manuals also had mutually complementary books that could amplify each other, making them exceedingly powerful sets!
Ye Chen had not expected such precious set manuals to be hidden within the Demon God Palace. When he had searched for manuals before, he hadn't looked closely enough and had overlooked this entire series.
Ye Chen sighed internally, then closed the Spatial Folding Bag and casually tossed the silver ring to Xu Tianguo. “This contains a set of peak Deity secret manuals. Practice them diligently. If you master them completely, the manual amplification can reach hundreds of millions of times, or even more!”
Xu Tianguo subconsciously caught the ring, completely bewildered. Upon hearing Ye Chen’s words, his heart jolted violently, and his hand trembled, almost dropping the ring. He seemed unable to believe his ears, his mouth wide open in shock. “What? Hundreds of millions of times??”
Bai Long next to him instantly turned to stone.
Ye Chen nodded slightly. “There are seven in total, covering different types, so training will be somewhat difficult. If you cultivate well, you won’t need to stay inside the Runic Starship anymore. You can use the training rooms in the Demon God Palace; the time flow system inside can adjust the internal time to be 100 times slower than the outside. One hundred years inside will only be one year outside.”
“There’s such a treasure land?” Yue Heng’s eyes lit up, shining with two beams of light.
Ye Chen turned to Zi Xiang beside him. “I’m leaving them in your charge.”
“No problem, Master,” Zi Xiang grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
Bai Long snapped back to attention and looked at Ye Chen cautiously. “Little Chen Chen, tell us honestly, what is your manual amplification factor?”
Everyone turned to look, filled with curiosity.
“Around 20 million,” Ye Chen replied casually.
“Hiss…” A collective sharp intake of breath sounded. Everyone looked at Ye Chen with utter astonishment, completely incredulous. Bai Long’s jaw dropped, leaving him somewhat dazed.
Ye Chen waved his hand. “You all go now and train hard.” Saying this, he walked towards the Runic Starship. As he reached the hatch, he turned to look at Bai Long and the others on the ground.
Bai Long, Yue Heng, Xu Tianguo, Zhuge Fan, Mo Feng, Kaba…” Ye Chen’s gaze swept over them one by one, his eyes flickering slightly. Finally, he waved his hand, turned, and stepped into the cabin. The hatch of the Runic Starship instantly sealed shut, the rear thrusters ignited, and the plasma energy light propelled the ship towards the sky above the Demon God Palace.
The majestic starship, under the upturned gaze of Bai Long and the others, ascended higher and higher, moving farther away, drawing ever closer to that vast and boundless sky.
Finally, under their watch, it vanished from sight.
A long, long time passed.
The group finally withdrew their gazes. Xu Tianguo murmured softly, “I feel like it might be a long time before we see each other again.”
Yue Heng and the others remained silent. The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy, and a sense of foreboding permeated everyone’s hearts.