Chapter 51: A True Windfall

Over the past few years, Wang Kun had devoted himself to rigorous training. Although his strength had yet to break through to the second rank of the planetary level, he was already very close. Indeed, as soon as he returned to the world of Swallowed Star, his power immediately advanced to planetary level, rank two.

“It really must be the difference in power levels between the worlds,” Wang Kun mused to himself, reflecting on his years spent in the alternate world. There, not only had he been unable to break through to the second planetary rank, but Xia Tian, who was on par with him at planetary level one, had also been stuck at that bottleneck. Now that he was back in the Swallowed Star universe and had broken through, his loyal aides, Xia Tian and Zhang Yijun, should also be able to make rapid progress.

With this in mind, Wang Kun teleported more than a dozen times in quick succession, soon arriving in a desolate region of the Australian continent. In the next instant, his four beautiful, deadly subordinates appeared at his side.

“Master, I feel I’m about to break through,” said Zhang Yijun, her wavy hair cascading down, as she hurried to report the moment she materialized. In the previous world, she had already reached the limit of the War God level. Just like Wang Kun, the moment she returned to the Swallowed Star world, she sensed an imminent breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Xia Tian was even more direct—her power leapt from planetary level one straight to level two, now matching Wang Kun’s own. There was no denying it: Wang Kun’s female warriors were all more talented than he.

“Xia Tian, watch over Yijun. As for Haiyao and Kaixin, you two can go find some monsters nearby to hone your skills,” Wang Kun instructed casually.

“Yes, Master!” came the reply.

With his subordinates assigned, Wang Kun instantly teleported to Mist Island on the Australian continent. In the previous world, his plan to cultivate the Moyun Vine had failed, as the vine, like himself, had been unable to break through to the next stage. Since the Moyun Vine had not reached planetary level nine, he knew that Ruins No. 12 was currently out of the question. Still, Mist Island was worth another attempt, especially since his strength had improved so much since his last visit.

In the alternate world, more than ten years had passed, but in the Swallowed Star universe, it had only been a few months. To rise from planetary level one to two in such a short time—surely that counted as genius? In any case, Wang Kun had come this far; a try at Mist Island would hardly delay him.

Soon after arriving, Wang Kun feigned the appearance of searching for the Spirit of Plants, combing the area. Deep beneath Mist Island, Babata, monitoring through his sensors, quickly detected Wang Kun’s presence.

“Well now! It’s that kid again. Planetary level two—has it really only been three months? He’s already reached planetary level two?” Babata was baffled. “His brain capacity is at nine, a bit higher than last time, but with that kind of limit, how did his power rise so quickly?”

Though Babata prided himself on his knowledge, he was momentarily at a loss. Then, through his sensors, he noticed something even more bewildering: Wang Kun would sometimes vanish and reappear elsewhere on the island.

“Is that… Could it be teleportation?”

“No way! How could a mere planetary-level brat know teleportation? Even my master, the immortal Hu Yanbo, never mastered it, yet this boy can?” After careful observation, Babata had to accept the shocking truth: Wang Kun really did know this heaven-defying technique.

“No, regardless of whether his brain capacity is sufficient, he must become my master’s disciple. Teleportation! Even immortals struggle to acquire such an ability, and he’s mastered it at the planetary level—he must have some unique qualities.”

With that thought, Babata sprang into action. From the Meteorite Ink starship, he released a special signal to draw Wang Kun’s attention, scattering Muya Crystals across the ground and in subterranean pockets like there was no tomorrow.

While harvesting the Spirits of Plants, Wang Kun was suddenly drawn by a presence from underground. “That feeling… could it be that I’ve caught Babata’s attention?” As someone familiar with the story, Wang Kun knew that only Babata, deep beneath Mist Island, had the power to do this.

He followed his instincts, soon discovering a Muya Crystal embedded dozens of meters below the surface. “So Babata really is watching me—he’s even releasing Muya Crystals.” Wang Kun feigned delight as he collected the crystal.

As he ventured deeper, the number of Muya Crystals he found increased. Then, a blood-red blade fragment caught his eye.

“This is… a fragment of the Crimson Mixed Copper Mother! A superweapon far more powerful than a telekinetic weapon like the Sky Shuttle.” Wang Kun was thrilled; he knew from the story how precious the Crimson Mixed Copper Mother was—even a single fragment was equal to the wealth of some Domain Lords. Exceptionally tough, this could become his strongest weapon if used well.

After carefully putting away the fragment, Wang Kun continued to follow the signal deeper underground. At a depth of fifteen thousand meters, a massive, ancient metal door appeared before him. Wang Kun feigned shock, murmuring to himself, “An ancient civilization ruin—there really is one beneath Mist Island.”

He pretended to inspect the door cautiously with his psychic power. Confirming it was safe, he slipped inside and entered the outermost chamber of the Meteorite Ink starship.

No sooner had he stepped inside than his system triggered a special-location check-in.

Beep! Special location detected: Mist Island, Meteorite Ink starship.

Hearing the pleasant system prompt, Wang Kun suppressed his excitement and silently recited the system’s activation phrase.

“Deep Blue, check in!”

Beep! Check-in successful!

Beep! Congratulations, host. You have received: Space Rings +10, Space Bracelets +10, Black God Armor Sets +100, Muya Crystals +10,000, Moyun Vine Seedlings +10, Eternal Love +10, 100 billion Qianwu coins, and the Meteorite Ink Starline Legacy Secret Technique.

Seeing the string of rewards on his system interface, Wang Kun was overjoyed.

“This is a real windfall! Now I have all the cultivation resources and secret techniques I could ever need.”

“With all this, there’s no way I’d ever want to take a dead man as my master,” Wang Kun thought. He quickly gathered all the Muya Crystals scattered in the corridor. Even though he now had ten thousand from the system, there was no reason to leave behind the hundreds right in front of him.

In an instant, he swept all the Muya Crystals into his inventory. Then, talking to himself, he said, “Today’s haul is more than enough. For safety’s sake, I’d better wait until I’m stronger before exploring the rest of these ruins.”

With that, Wang Kun immediately left the corridor and returned to the surface without hesitation.

Seeing Wang Kun collect the baited Muya Crystals and then leave without a second thought, Babata in the ship’s core was dumbfounded.

“This kid is infuriating! He made it all the way into the ship’s corridor and then ran off just because he was afraid of danger?”

“Argh! If the ship were powered up and I could leave the core, I’d jump out right now and give him a piece of my mind—what kind of warrior is so cowardly?”

Of course, Wang Kun couldn’t hear Babata’s frustrated complaints. He was already delighted with his haul. Even if Babata begged him, he’d never take a dead immortal as his master—especially one who was, in his view, trash.

Besides, Hu Yanbo, master of the Meteorite Ink starship, was little more than a stepping stone for the main character Luo Feng in the early days on Earth.

After leaving Mist Island, Wang Kun stayed on the Australian continent for a few days, careful to avoid Mist Island itself. After all, Babata could detect him there at any time, and Wang Kun had no intention of revealing too much about himself.

During these days, aside from cultivating Moyun Vines with his Muya Crystals, Wang Kun also took the opportunity to teach some of the Meteorite Ink starship’s legacy secret techniques to his subordinates, choosing those best suited to Xia Tian and the others. He also gave each of them a Muya Crystal to help them train rapidly.

Previously, with his limited supply, Wang Kun had been reluctant to let his female warriors use Muya Crystals for cultivation. Now, with plenty to spare, he was generous.

In the following half month, with the resources and techniques Wang Kun provided, Xia Tian and Zhang Yijun made swift progress. Their talent far outstripped Wang Kun’s, and with the Meteorite Ink legacy, although their realm was still at or slightly below his, their combat ability was either equal to or even surpassed his own.

“It’s clear that good techniques and offensive skills make a big difference in combat strength,” Wang Kun thought. “If I didn’t use my psychic powers, just as a martial artist, I’d already be no match for Xia Tian or Yijun. Once Haiyao and Kaixin improve their basic strength, their secret techniques will probably boost them past me as well.”

“But that’s all the better—the stronger they are, the more they can help me. After all, they’re my most loyal followers.”

Wang Kun was thoroughly satisfied with this outcome. He had never been one to seek out danger, and now, with subordinates stronger than himself, he would have no need to risk his own neck in the future.

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