Chapter 213.1: After Twenty Years of Cultivation, I Have Finally Reached the Divine Ability Realm! (I)
Li Guang was still weighing it. His heart was somewhat restless. Originally, he had long since lain flat[1]. He was satisfied with scraping by on being a wastrel son while waiting for his inevitable demise.
After all, on the path of cultivation, he had no talent whatsoever. To the family as a whole, what did a talentless son matter, even if he was of the patriarch's direct line? To grasp the reins of family power was simply impossible for him; it was no different from a fool's daydream.
Today, however, Li Guang felt like he had a chance. However, such emotions were brought about by restlessness, nothing more. So what if Lu Changsheng truly had a Major Divine Ability Dao Fruit and was a true major divine ability user?
The Li Clan did not lack major divine ability users. In fact, there was more than one major divine ability user within the Li Clan. Back then, they had even applied for a dozen or more drops of Heavenly Spirit Water...
Just then, Li Guang was startled. He suddenly felt that he had overlooked a very important factor. The Heavenly Spirit Water!
Lu Changsheng had won ten straight matches in the Battle Arena and became the King of the Battle Arena. Even by the roughest estimate, he ought to have obtained around three hundred thousand spirit stones.
That was enough to buy thirty drops of Heavenly Spirit Water! What kind of major divine ability wouldn't be satisfied by thirty drops of Heavenly Spirit Water? On top of that, he had given Lu Changsheng five more drops, yet Lu Changsheng wanted to borrow another four hundred thousand spirit stones, enough to buy forty drops of Heavenly Spirit Water.
From the looks of it, Lu Changsheng would surely buy Heavenly Spirit Water as soon as he obtained the money he needed. Thirty drops plus forty drops, plus another five meant a total of seventy-five drops. What kind of major divine ability needed seventy-five drops of Heavenly Spirit Water?
After all, an ordinary Major Divine Ability Dao Fruit needed only somewhere between ten and twenty drops of Heavenly Spirit Water to transform.
Given the divine techniques Lu Changsheng had displayed so far, even if he had condensed three Divine Ability Dao Fruits that were all major divine abilities, seventy-five drops would still be more than enough.
A Divine Ability Dao Fruit could be transformed one at a time, slowly. As long as a single Divine Ability Dao Fruit was transformed, one would become a Divine Ability Realm expert. There was no need for Lu Changsheng to hoard so much Heavenly Spirit Water.
In other words, there was only one possibility left. A possibility Li Guang had not even considered before. An immeasurable divine ability! The legendary immeasurable divine ability!
Li Guang knew very well that with the legendary immeasurable divine ability, once an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit was condensed, it would take at least a hundred drops of Heavenly Spirit Water to transform into a true divine ability.
Is a hundred drops of Heavenly Spirit Water not exactly Lu Changsheng's goal? If so, did he condense an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit?
For a moment, Li Guang's heart and spirit shook. He dared not believe it. An immeasurable divine ability! That was extraordinarily rare even within the Sacred Earth. In all of the Heavenly Sacred City, no one had ever been heard to condense an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit.
Immeasurable divine abilities were so rare that many people would never see one in their entire lives. Before this, Li Guang would never have thought along the lines of an immeasurable divine ability at all. But now, he had no choice but to think it over carefully.
Lu Changsheng's three divine techniques in particular—the Mental Black Hole, the Four Symbols Prison, and the Five Elements Decomposition. Which of those three was an ordinary divine technique?
Even the secret manuals treasured by the great clans could not match the might of these three. If Lu Changsheng had devised them himself, then with those three as a foundation, condensing an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit seemed possible.
A flicker of astonishment passed through Li Guang's gaze as he stared at Lu Changsheng. If it really was an immeasurable divine ability, then... for Li Guang, this was actually an opportunity, an opportunity of the highest order.
If he got on good terms with Lu Changsheng, then he could probably take control of the Li Clan. And the odds were quite high!
"I'll lend it. Four hundred thousand spirit stones, I'll lend them! Brother Lu, wait a moment for me. I'll sell off some treasures here at the Li Clan Merchant Association and gather the full amount for you, no question!" Li Guang made his decision on the spot.
He was utterly decisive. Since he had already resolved to contend for it, he would not hesitate in the slightest. And Li Guang understood very well that his hopes rested on Lu Changsheng.
The stronger Lu Changsheng was and the more astonishing his performance, the heavier Li Guang's words would become within the Li Clan. The two of them could be considered bound at this point, and they would either rise or fall together.
Li Guang decided to "lend" Lu Changsheng four hundred thousand spirit stones, without so much as mentioning anything about any repayment. The meaning behind his actions could not be any clearer.
Li Guang finally left, leaving Lu Changsheng alone in the room. A glint of sharp light flickered in Lu Changsheng's gaze as he stared meaningfully at Li Guang's departing figure.
"Li Guang must have sensed something..." Lu Changsheng murmured under his breath.
Li Guang was no fool. With a little careful thought, he could in fact guess one or two things. After all, even though the immeasurable divine ability was a legend that many had never seen, the legend was so widespread that many had heard of its various traits.
First and foremost, a hundred drops of Heavenly Spirit Water. That trait was far too obvious.
In truth, Lu Changsheng could have kept it hidden. He could have played it safe and developed slowly, saving up the Heavenly Spirit Water drop by drop. But that pace was far too slow, and Lu Changsheng saw no need for it.
An immeasurable divine ability relied on innate talent and Perception. His Perception was higher than others, but so what? Once he secured these four hundred thousand spirit stones, Lu Changsheng could gather a hundred drops of Heavenly Spirit Water and transform one of his Dao Fruits.
Once it transformed, it would become an immeasurable divine ability. With Lu Changsheng reaching the Divine Ability Realm, who could oppose the might of an immeasurable divine ability?
Even if he could not be invincible and crush everyone before him, protecting himself would certainly be no problem.
Sometimes, one could not be too overly cautious in cultivation. A martial artist had to fight for certain things! What ought to be contended for had to be contended for! Lu Changsheng had never forgotten the true essence of the Martial Dao.
He was nearly ready to advance to the Divine Ability Realm, so naturally, he would not act timidly and shrink back. To stand open and upright was the true way!
For instance, Lu Changsheng had let slip just the faintest hint of an immeasurable divine ability, and Li Guang immediately took it to heart, jumping to his own conclusions. He had even moved at once to spend a fortune courting Lu Changsheng.
Four hundred thousand spirit stones. Had Li Guang not "lent" them to Lu Changsheng, how long would it have taken Lu Changsheng to save up that amount?
Time passed bit by bit. Lu Changsheng waited quietly. His Sense Domain was perceiving the situation outside at every moment. Though he was not afraid, one could never be without caution against others. He had to be prepared.
About a quarter of an hour later, Li Guang came, and he came alone.
"Brother Lu, sorry to keep you waiting. Here are the four hundred thousand spirit stones. Count them." Without hesitation, Li Guang took out a spatial bag and handed it to Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng took the spatial bag and looked it over carefully. Inside it was densely packed with spirit crystals, nearly four thousand of them, which amounted to four hundred thousand spirit stones!
"Good. You're too thoughtful. I'm deeply grateful for these four hundred thousand spirit stones." Lu Changsheng was very satisfied.
This was a huge sum even for a Divine Ability Realm expert, let alone a Dao Foundation martial artist. For a Dao Foundation martial artist, it was an astronomical figure.
Lu Changsheng still had 350,000 spirit stones on him. With the 400,000, he now had 750,000 spirit stones in total.
"Brother Lu, how many drops of Heavenly Spirit Water do you intend to buy? My earlier promise still stands. The price for you is nine thousand spirit stones per drop of Heavenly Spirit Water," Li Guang asked in a low voice.
Lu Changsheng pondered over it. He had used thirteen drops of Heavenly Spirit Water before, and Li Guang had gifted him another five, the equivalent of eighteen drops.
"Eighty-three drops of Heavenly Spirit Water," Lu Changsheng said.
Li Guang's heart shook. "Eighty-three drops? That comes to 747,000 spirit stones."
Sure enough, Lu Changsheng had most likely condensed an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit! Otherwise, why would he buy eighty-three drops of Heavenly Spirit Water all at once?
"Alright." Lu Changsheng took out the required amount directly, leaving himself with only three thousand.
However, Lu Changsheng did not feel the slightest pang. Regardless of the many spirit stones he had, what use were they if they could not raise his strength? Spirit stones were only really useful when spent on raising one's strength and realm.
Actually, Lu Changsheng felt like eighty-two drops would be enough, but it was always best to prepare a little extra, even if it was only going to be one extra drop. Unfortunately, Lu Changsheng did not have enough spirit stones. Otherwise, he would have prepared at least eight or ten more.
The more Heavenly Spirit Water, the better. Even if the Mental Black Hole Dao Fruit did not need so many drops of Heavenly Spirit Water, the other two Divine Ability Dao Fruits could still make use of those extra drops.
1. "躺平" translates literally to "lie flat" but is most widely known culturally as the "Tang Ping" movement. In English, it describes a personal rejection of societal pressures to overwork and over-achieve, opting instead to do the bare minimum to survive and avoid the rat race ☜
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