Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 55 A fateful friendship

Ten days later, the spaceship arrived at the Giant Axe Secret Realm. Venerable Beiyan first placed Cao Benqi in his residence, and then left with Ling Xuan.

“Ling Xuan, you don’t have any deep-seated hatred with Cao Benqi. I can see that you are much more rational than him. I hope you can avoid him for the time being. You are both the most outstanding geniuses of humankind, and you both have the potential to become great beings in the future. Don’t do anything that will hurt your friends and please your enemies,” Venerable Beiyan said earnestly.

Judging from their performance in the Genius Battle, Ling Xuan was easier to talk to, while Cao Benqi seemed rather stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone.

Although they appear obedient and compliant under one's own intimidation, it won't be long before their true nature is revealed; they are clearly only outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful.

"Your Excellency, you have a very accurate eye for people," Ling Xuan replied with a smile.

But there was one thing he didn't say: he was indeed very rational, and he certainly wouldn't kill Cao Benqi in front of you and so many powerful humans.

But there will always be times when you can't watch over them. How could someone who is so hostile to you let the other person live a good life?

How can I sleep if Cao Benqi doesn't die?

“Alright, I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.” Seeing Ling Xuan readily agree, Venerable Beiyan managed to break into a rare, stiff smile again. “Come with me. King Zhulong has something to give you.”

As they spoke, the spaceship slowly landed outside a palace.

This palace is like a mysterious behemoth born from the depths of the universe.

Its main building is made of a mysterious metal that emits a faint blue light. Against the backdrop of the vast starry sky, the blue light and starlight intertwine, creating a dreamlike scene.

"This is the palace of the Void Gold Lord of the Giant Axe Arena. The Void Gold Lord's status in the Giant Axe Arena is second only to your teacher, the Founder of Giant Axe. The Void Gold Lord usually handles the decisions of my Giant Axe Arena," Venerable Beiyan introduced. "Be respectful when you go in."

"Yes." Ling Xuan nodded respectfully.

I never imagined my ancestor was so influential that he could ask the Lord of Virtual Gold to help him receive a package. He's truly powerful. It seems that living a long life has its advantages; you have connections everywhere.

Following the instructions of Venerable Beiyan, Ling Xuan entered the magnificent palace. After only a few steps, he felt the surrounding space and time changing, and the next second he appeared in the center of a magnificent hall from outside the gate.

Not far ahead stood a tall man with dazzling long golden hair, his back to him.

"Greetings, Lord of the Void Gold," Ling Xuan said respectfully.

The Lord of False Gold turned around and looked at Ling Xuan with a smile, "You are the descendant of that old bastard Zhulong, right? You are much more outstanding than him."

"Uh~" Ling Xuan was a little unsure how to answer. Judging from what the Lord of Void Gold said, the other party's relationship with the Candle Dragon Ancestor seemed to be more than just simple.
"Haha, no need to be nervous." The Lord of False Gold waved his hand, his two long eyebrows that drooped to his chest trembled. "I have a life-and-death bond with Zhulong. Over the years, I have resurrected him nine times."

Ling Xuan paused upon hearing this, realizing that this was how the two of you risked your lives.

"If you had come a hundred years earlier, you could have seen his disheveled state right after his resurrection." The Lord of False Gold seemed quite interested in criticizing the Candle Dragon King, his face full of smiles.

"A hundred years?" Ling Xuan was a little curious. During these hundred years, he had been studying in Chaos City. He didn't expect that his ancestor had already completed the whole process of falling and resurrecting, but he hadn't sensed it at all.

too strong!
"Hehe, perhaps your Candle Dragon Clan has gotten used to this old fellow's occasional demise and didn't inform you." The Lord of Void Gold smiled and then regained his serious expression. "Of course, my life-and-death friendship with him is not just talk. When I was young, this old fellow saved me three times. If he hadn't risked his life to save me, I would probably have perished in the passage of time."

Ling Xuan nodded in understanding. The long lifespan of this ancestor had given him the opportunity to make friends with powerful human beings. Even the Lord of Void Gold had received the ancestor's favor and risked his life to save him.

That is enough to prove one thing: Ancestor Zhulong can be considered a test of human strength. Those who have not received the ancestor's favor are probably mediocre people that even the ancestor would look down on.

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Zhulong asked me to deliver a gift to you." The Lord of Void Gold flipped his hand, and a set of jet-black armor suddenly appeared in his hand.

"What is this?" Ling Xuan's gaze was instantly drawn to the suit of armor. He had originally thought that the treasure promised to him by his clan was the F9-class Crimson Flame Dragon King spaceship. An F9-class spaceship was already enough for him to use until he became immortal, and it would also be of great help to him in the upcoming secret realm mission, especially in terms of survival.

I never expected there would be another piece of precious armor.

"This is the 'Netherworld Armor,' which Old Candle Dragon specially commissioned the Lord of Dragon's Journey to forge for you." The Lord of Void Gold ran his fingertip across the surface of the armor, and the matte black iron instantly rippled with dark gold. "In order to suit your characteristics and allow you to use it as soon as possible, the Lord of Dragon's Journey spent over a hundred years and used various rare materials to forge it."

The armor as a whole resembles a dragon shadow formed from liquid metal, with dragon heads embossed on the shoulders breathing out eerie blue flames, and crystals inlaid in the dragon's eyes flickering with each breath.

Ling Xuan took a deep breath and slowly accepted the armor.

The moment it touched his fingertips, a cool energy coursed through his body, and the armor transformed into a stream of light that seeped into his skin, leaving only faint dragon scale patterns on his skin.

He tried to activate the Force and its laws, but there was no response.

"Haha, Long Xing watched your battle video and knows that you have cultivated a unique secret technique that allows you to possess great power in advance. This armor only requires you to activate it through your power."

The armor has four layers.

The first layer is a self-protective shield that can easily block material attacks below the level of an immortal. Material attacks with a power of a hundred times or more that of a peak World Lord are reduced to one ten-thousandth, and soul attacks are reduced to one percent. The maximum withstand capability is a thousand times the power of a peak World Lord.

The second level requires ten times the power of a peak World Lord to activate. It can easily block material attacks with a power a thousand times that of a peak World Lord. Material attacks with a power greater than a thousand times that of a peak World Lord are weakened to one ten-thousandth, and soul attacks are weakened to one percent. The maximum withstand capability is a million times the power of a peak World Lord.

The third level requires a power a thousand times that of a peak World Lord to activate. It can easily negate material attacks with a power ten thousand times that of a peak World Lord, and weaken material attacks with a power greater than ten thousand times that of a peak World Lord to one ten-thousandth, and soul attacks to one percent. Its maximum withstand power is one hundred million times that of a peak World Lord.

The fourth level requires 100,000 times the power of a peak World Lord to activate. It can withstand material attacks equal to tens of millions of times the power of a peak World Lord, and material attacks exceeding tens of millions of times the power of a peak World Lord will be reduced to one ten-thousandth. Soul attacks will be reduced to one percent. Its maximum withstand capacity is 10 billion times the power of a peak World Lord.

Ling Xuan was astonished. This kind of battle armor powered by divine power was extremely rare and precious in the entire primordial universe. Most treasures in the universe were driven by laws, but this battle armor could be activated by divine power.

If released, it would definitely attract envy, especially from those special beings.

They are typical examples of people whose bodies are stronger than the laws of nature. With this divine armor, their defense and survivability will be greatly enhanced.

No wonder the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom said that his ancestor was richer than the overlord of the universe. Most kings and invincible beings do not have such a top-level treasure armor. His ancestor actually asked a universe master who was good at crafting treasures to make it on the spot.

It seems they really don't lack money at all.

PS: The original work doesn't mention whether the Dragon Lord can refine treasures; this is a secondary setting based on the following points:
First, he opened a treasure shop called Yu Bao Tang in Hongmeng City, which deals in treasures.

Second, it seems that many fans agree that he can refine magical artifacts.

Third, this old guy is incredibly ancient, roughly on par with the Primordial Ancestor (the original work doesn't specify, but the others in the Virtual Universe Company are all disciples or grand-disciples of the Primordial Ancestor, while he isn't, indicating he's at least a partner of the Primordial Ancestor), even the Giant Axe is half a generation younger, and the Chaos City Lord is a generation younger. Given his long lifespan, it's reasonable that he might not be able to increase his strength much, and thus research other things.

Based on the above three points, he was given the identity of a treasure refiner.

Then, this treasure does look very similar to the Armor of Calamity, but it has removed the crucial setting of how many times the divine power it provides, making it seem ordinary. I think that those highly skilled treasure refiners should be able to create treasures that are powered by divine power if they put in some effort.

However, humans are usually the weaker party in terms of divine power, which is why ordinary treasures are driven by laws, while those driven by divine power are so rare.

If it were a race with exceptional physical talent, they might have already studied this aspect and could allow others to use powerful treasures ahead of time.

(End of this chapter)