My Synthesizer Has Talent

Su Qing read books on how to obtain the Devouring Dao Path for a while longer.

The books were as complex and numerous as the stars.

He was completely surrounded by them.

Luckily, there weren’t an overwhelming number of them.

Su Qing sat on the floor, picked up a book, and began to read.

These books had all been left behind by students of the Immortal Palace.

For the most part, they consisted of their personal insights.

For the sake of the All-Knowing Dao Path, Su Qing was truly giving it his all.

He was reading nonstop, having barely left this spot.

"Wow, has it been several Taichu Eras already? This new student is insane. He doesn’t eat or drink... he can’t be an ordinary Cultivator."

"You’re only just now noticing?"

"The moment I realized something was off, I looked into his identity."

"Right now, that bunch from the Black Abyss Dynasty is outside, constantly calling him out for a deathmatch on the Taichu Dao Platform."

"A deathmatch?"

"That’s insane."

"I know, right? The Cultivator’s name is Su Qing. Rumor has it he’s already at the Dao Path 12 Steps."

"He destroyed the Black Abyss Dynasty’s Greed Realm, so now they’re saying they have to kill him."

"Right now, this Su Qing guy is a real enigma. Nobody knows what his true strength is."

Suddenly, a rather formidable woman appeared. She had a white tiger tail, was over three meters tall, and said to the gossiping group, "Watch your mouths."

"Every single one of you... I have no idea why the Taichu Daoist Palace even let you enroll."

The gossiper who had been leading the conversation immediately fell silent.

He had only enrolled in the previous Star Sea Era.

But this tigress before him, over three meters tall, was rumored to have already reached the Tenth Realm. She was a renowned figure in the Immortal Palace.

On top of that, no one knew for how many Star Sea Eras this woman had been in cultivation.

Her strength was incomparably formidable.

Some people...

When they enter the Daoist Palace, it’s easy to become complacent, and it’s also easy to lose their original selves.

After stepping onto the path of Cultivation, especially after practicing the Taichu Cultivation Method, they basically no longer have to worry about their lifespan.

They would then pursue pleasure and other distractions. As students of the Taichu Daoist Palace, they were generally considered a cut above the rest in the outside world.

By the time they have a rude awakening, the gap between them and the peers of their era who never stopped advancing is as vast as that between heaven and earth.

Perhaps this was why there was a walking trial to enter the Taichu Daoist Palace.

But they didn’t want to think about it; pleasure held them back.

They were too comfortable, and they had forgotten the original aspirations that brought them to the Taichu Daoist Palace in the first place.

The tigress came to stand before Su Qing.

Her huge shadow fell over him, blocking some of the light.

Su Qing looked up and saw a tall woman.

The long tiger tail was rather conspicuous.

"Can I help you?" Su Qing asked, puzzled.

He didn’t put down the book in his hand.

"Nothing important. Just came to see the person who, according to rumors, is too scared of the Black Abyss Dynasty to leave the Taichu Book Land."

"Rumors?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow, though he didn’t really care.

"If you don’t have any business with me, please don’t disturb my reading," Su Qing said.

’I really don’t want to deal with the Black Abyss Dynasty right now.’

He was currently pursuing the All-Knowing Dao Path. He’d been reading for several Taichu Eras, yet he’d felt practically no signs of the Dao Path awakening.

’How bizarre.’

Even ordinary Awakened hadn’t read as widely as Su Qing.

And after reading so many books, Su Qing had discovered that there was actually a wondrous object that could grant one the All-Knowing Dao Path.

It was the Golden Eye.

It was something that formed naturally in the core of a Star.

As long as one could consume it and make it their own, they could awaken the All-Knowing Dao Path.

A Golden Eye might only appear in one out of every hundred thousand Stars.

But Su Qing didn’t want to do it that way. The Golden Eye could be considered a type of living being, growing by absorbing the power of a Star.

It was only called a living being because it could reproduce, but it was far too rare.

’Finding a Golden Eye would be way too much trouble.’

He recalled something else he had read about. ’The Black Abyss Dynasty has a method for the Devouring Dao Path. They have a Black Abyss Stone Tree, and the Stone Flowers that bloom from it can grant that very path.’

’But that is far too much trouble,’ Su Qing had thought at the time.

The woman’s visit made him think of the Black Abyss Dynasty again, and he recalled her words. It seemed they wanted to settle a score with him.

Su Qing was puzzled.

The Black Abyss Dynasty could be considered the largest power under the Taichu Daoist Palace. They were widespread, morally ambiguous, and often acted without rhyme or reason.

They were thoroughly committed to the principle that the strong devour the weak.

The strongest in the Black Abyss Dynasty seemed to be an unknown existence named Black Abyss.

He was similar to the founder of the Taichu Daoist Palace.

Their true identities were unknown; they were known only by their deeds.

’If I could get a flower from the Black Abyss Stone Tree, I wonder if it would let me step onto the Devouring Dao Path,’ Su Qing mused.

’How can I get someone from the Black Abyss Dynasty to give me a Black Abyss Stone Flower?’

’Wait... I just remembered what that woman said. Was the subtext that the Black Abyss Dynasty wants to challenge me?’

’I’ll go ask around.’

Su Qing stood up and looked around. The only person who seemed free was a woman whose body shimmered with a brilliant light.

It was the external manifestation of the Star Dao Path.

Just as the woman was about to leave, Su Qing used the Daoist Immortal Step to block her path.

"I don’t know you. What is the meaning of this?"

"Do you want to fight me on the Taichu Dao Platform too?" The woman’s killing intent flared, and she was clearly angry. Her voice was androgynous.

Su Qing looked apologetic as a fist-sized Star Essence appeared in his hand.

"My apologies. I’d like to ask about something. Will this be enough as compensation?" Su Qing asked as he offered it to her.

When she saw the fist-sized, incredibly dense Star Essence, she couldn’t help but look at Su Qing with astonishment.

She paused. This person wasn’t one of the Immortal Palace students she remembered, and she hadn’t been in seclusion recently, so she was sure she would have recognized him.

The look in his eyes held no trace of lust.

’So, he most likely just wants to ask for information. And he’s a new student.’

She nodded and took Su Qing’s Star Essence.

"What do you want to know?" she asked bluntly.

"About the people from the Black Abyss Dynasty. Are they challenging someone named Su Qing?"

"The Black Abyss Dynasty? They’re causing a huge commotion, waiting at the entrance to the Immortal Palace."

"And yes, I believe they issued a challenge."

Su Qing smiled with satisfaction. "Thank you for your answer."

The woman vanished.

Su Qing also vanished, heading toward the exit.

The moment he stepped through the exit, a man from the Black Abyss Dynasty appeared and blocked his path.

"Su Qing. I’ve been waiting a long time for you."

The man’s gaze fell upon Su Qing, sizing him up.

Su Qing sized him up in return.

[Unknown Existence: (Devouring Dao Path) (Annihilation Dao Path) (Immortal Dao Path)...]

’The Energy he contains... it seems to be about the strength of seven Greed Realms.’

’Interesting.’

"The Black Abyss Dynasty?"

"So you know? I’m challenging you to a deathmatch."

Su Qing’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "Sorry, I decline. According to the rules of the Taichu Daoist Palace, you can’t force me."

The man faltered for a moment, then his arrogance swelled. "Someone like you... I could crush you with a backhand. It’s only natural you wouldn’t dare."

"Tsk." The man clicked his tongue, his eyes filled with contempt.

"Don’t treat me like a child. Your mental fortitude is weak," Su Qing said expressionlessly.

"You’re the last person who has the right to talk to me about weakness."

"A coward who doesn’t dare to accept a challenge." The man didn’t get angry; instead, his face was a mask of arrogant mockery.

"It’s not that I can’t accept the challenge. Give me a complete Black Abyss Stone Flower, one that you haven’t tampered with, and I’ll accept."

’Since he’s being this provocative, he must really want me to accept. Asking for a Stone Flower isn’t too much, is it?’

"A Stone Flower? If I give it to you, you’ll accept?" the man sneered, before asking seriously.

"Of course. We can make a Taichu Vow, with Lord Taichu as the guarantor of our word."

"Very well. Let’s make it."

The man agreed immediately and made the Taichu Vow with Su Qing.

...