Chapter 431 - 30: Stability
The banquet lasted late into the night. Zhu Ju dragged his drunken body back to the apartment the Commerce Association had arranged for him.
A two-hundred-square-meter apartment with four bedrooms and two living rooms, all for him alone.
BEEP!
As the door closed behind him, the completely inebriated Zhu Ju instantly sobered up and strode into the training hall.
Too many people had proposed toasts to him at the banquet tonight, including both old colleagues and new ones.
While plying him with drinks and offering congratulations, they were even more curious about what had allowed someone from the bottom rungs of society to catch the Qin Family’s eye, vaulting him into the "upper class" and making others afraid to offend him.
Zhu Ju simply smiled in response, saying nothing and letting them speculate.
"Xi."
"Present."
"Connect me to the company’s intranet and pull up all content related to Genetic Modification Technology."
"Yes."
His vision blurred for a moment.
Thousands of assorted documents materialized before his eyes, stacked layer upon layer like a virtual mountain.
"Separate the data that’s publicly available from the restricted data."
"Yes!"
The mountain split in two, creating one tall pile and one short one.
"Sort the data, from the basic entry-level information to the most cutting-edge research."
"Yes."
The mountain.
It seemed to take on a proper shape.
Zhu Ju sat cross-legged on a cushion. His hands pressed down gently in the air, and a complex Alchemy Array materialized.
Spirit Cleansing Spell!
Six Passes Alchemy Dao!
A black Source Crystal slowly floated out. With a CRACK, his "wisdom" skyrocketed.
A document zoomed into view before him. In just a few moments, Zhu Ju digested and absorbed all the knowledge about genetic modification within it.
One document after another.
Soon, he had gone through hundreds of documents.
His grasp of genetic technology had already reached the level of an average student at a High-Level Academy.
「The next day.」
Zhu Ju, ostensibly "just waking up from a drunken stupor," arrived at his post and clocked in for work.
His job was extremely easy: review the Celestial Wealth Commerce Association’s latest transaction records and ensure no one was embezzling funds.
As for how he did it, that was entirely up to him.
It didn’t even matter if he didn’t show up in person, because he was only accountable to the Qin Family. No one else had jurisdiction over him.
Time passed.
The days went by, one after another.
If scientific research could be measured in ranks, then Zhu Ju’s rank was visibly skyrocketing.
「One month later.」
He was already fully capable of participating in the Celestial Wealth Commerce Association’s research projects without holding anyone back.
After some more time had passed, he could already lead some projects related to genetic modification and even publish papers on the subject.
This rate of progress was nothing short of terrifying.
However, in this world, every Martial Saint was not only profoundly powerful but also a top-tier researcher.
He was also a Martial Saint and possessed an inhuman capacity for learning.
Up to this point, it wasn’t too outrageous.
Furthermore, the further he progressed, the more his speed slowed due to the lack of existing data to reference, until he had to rely entirely on himself.
"Connect me to the Federation’s network. Retrieve all knowledge on genetic modification, genetics, and computer science."
"Yes."
Over the following days, aside from clocking in at work each day, Zhu Ju immersed himself in an ocean of technology.
「Meanwhile.」
His identity as the underworld boss, "Mr. Zhu," allowed him to acquire at least two white Source Crystals every day without disrupting the Underworld’s operations, an amount equivalent to over a hundred thousand Credit Points.
Alternatively, he could acquire one black Source Crystal.
In about a week, he would have a chance to obtain a Blue Source Crystal.
White Source Crystals, which increased the strength of one’s Physical Body, were the most common and the cheapest. Although few people used black Source Crystals, they were not cheap due to their rarity.
As for the Blue Source Crystals, which could increase the power of a Magical Artifact...
A single one was comparable to twenty or thirty white Source Crystals. They were not only rare and expensive but also essential for certain scientific research.
The white Source Crystals were given to his Outer Body Incarnation, Wukong, to increase its strength. A single day of this was equivalent to several years of past training.
Black Source Crystals were essential for the Six Passes Alchemy Dao, indispensable for both deducing Cultivation Techniques and general learning.
He had originally intended to use the Blue Source Crystals on the Creation Immortal Vine’s Winding Dragon Staff. However, the staff’s grade was too high; sinking dozens of crystals into it only slightly increased its power, which wasn’t worth the cost. Therefore, Zhu Ju put them all into his Ten Directions Cross Sword instead.
As time went on, Zhu Ju’s mastery of knowledge and his own Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
*
*
*
「Main World.」
「Mirror Lake Marketplace.」
Having just returned from the Otherworld, Zhu Ju reached out and pulled several Communication Jade Talismans toward him. He swept his Divine Thought across them, and his expression immediately shifted.
SWOOSH!
A flash of lightning flared, and his figure left the isolated island, heading straight for the Marketplace.
Before long, the sprawling Mirror Lake Marketplace came into view. Its Tier Three Grand Array was already connected to the thousands of miles of Water Veins in the surrounding area.
Viewed from a distance, the Marketplace resembled a terrifying, coiled Fierce Beast, capable of stirring up monstrous waves with the slightest movement.
This formless pressure was extremely terrifying, far surpassing even the lingering might of the Holy King Beast.
Zhu Ju hovered in mid-air, a flicker in his eyes.
The Golden Core spun within him. His powerful Divine Soul Power and keen Physical Body perception allowed him to notice things he couldn’t before.
A Tier Three High Grade Grand Array!
’The methods of the Cultivation Realm are better at borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth, using a sliver of strength to leverage immense force and overwhelm opponents with sheer momentum. However, technology has its own merits. It allows for the complete unleashing of one’s power. Taken to its extreme, it’s in no way inferior to the Arrays of the Cultivation Realm.’
"Elder Zhu!"
"Elder!"
"..."
Amidst a chorus of flattering greetings, the streak of lightning that was Zhu Ju landed in a large hall where two people were already waiting.
"Fellow Daoist Hong!"
"Fellow Daoist Miaoyi!"
Hong Kan of the Profound Clarity Sect and Miaoyi of the Little Zen Sect. The posts these two Golden Core cultivators were assigned to guard were both nearby.
"Fellow Daoist Zhu."
Hong Kan nodded in greeting.
"You’ve come at the right time. The Six Demonic Sects have attacked again. Several Sects on the front lines have already been annihilated. I’ve received orders to head to the Celestial River Sect to help them migrate south. I’ll be leaving this area to you two."
"A Demon Sect invasion!" Zhu Ju’s brow furrowed. "Again?"
For hundreds of years, invasions of the Righteous Immortal Alliance by the Demon Dao had been a common occurrence, but large-scale battles typically happened only once every few decades.
It wasn’t because they didn’t want to fight more often, but because both sides would suffer such heavy losses in a major war that it would take decades of recovery to replenish their strength.
It had been less than twenty years since the last Great War of Righteous Evil. Was the Demon Dao really making a move again so soon?
"Indeed," Miaoyi sighed, fiddling with the Buddhist Beads in her hand.
"The Righteous Immortal Alliance has already fled to the Ten Thousand Mountains and continued to migrate south for tens of thousands of miles. To think we still can’t find peace... Could it be that the Six Paths Demon Monarch is truly determined to exterminate us all?"
"It won’t come to that." Hong Kan waved his hands dismissively.
"The Immortal Alliance has two Nascent Soul Elders presiding over it. Even if they are no match for the Six Paths Demon Monarch, they do not fear him."
"We are merely at a disadvantage right now. But since ancient times, evil has never triumphed over good. Sooner or later, we will be able to fight our way back."
Zhu Ju and Miaoyi exchanged a glance, offering an awkward yet polite smile in return.
For hundreds of years, the Righteous Immortal Alliance had been migrating south from Dazhou, constantly suppressed and beaten by the Six Demonic Sects. They had never once held the upper hand.
"Why this time?" Zhu Ju asked. "Why did the Six Paths Demon Monarch suddenly launch an attack?"
"Because of the Jade Void Cave Heaven," Hong Kan said with a sigh.
"The Immortal Alliance formed an alliance with the Jade Void Cave Heaven, which seems to have displeased the Six Paths Demon Monarch. That’s what triggered this demonic calamity."
"The specifics of the situation aren’t clear yet. We just need to defend this place well."
"Understood."
"Understood."
The two of them acknowledged his words.