Chapter 1369
Chapter 1369 - 1355: The Way of Hosting Guests
1,375 words
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7 min read
"Still in the north?"
Lu Ping’an retracted the needle that pointed towards the north and swung continuously, only able to gaze at the distant target.
After confirming that the Eye of Truth also failed to find the target, the traditional "Divine Power Trait Sense" radar was a mostly reliable method in the majority of situations.
It actually directed not towards Divinity, but "the strongest Contamination"... In most cases, if there were Deities, Divine Artifacts and such around, it would definitely point to them first.
Although its lack of stability was common knowledge among professionals, this also brought about an ultra-wide range of sensitivity, it always managed to find something... But from another angle, it often led professionals straight to the strongest evil entities in the area, mindlessly following it could be deemed a "Death compass."
"...I have a bad feeling about this."
Having eliminated an Assassin, Lu Ping’an could have relaxed a bit, but something didn’t feel quite right.
"Isn’t it just a piece of God’s Relic..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t take it too seriously, having consumed fragments of the World Origin, while he valued that fragment which gathered the Authority of a Deity and the World Rules, he hadn’t regarded it as a treasure.
"...Wait, this isn’t Mercury 42. Uh, have I been too indulgent in the Exotic Realm? A single Rule-level weapon on Earth could crack open skulls, the fragments left by the Great Gods... they would fight tooth and nail over them."
Lu Ping’an sighed. The "rat race" on Earth was even more ridiculous... In the Foreign Domain, becoming a Deity would earn world support, while on Earth, it would surely entail a series of Divine Wars and fierce struggles. Any incident involving "Rule-level" was a big deal.
Countless Quasi-rules searched for opportunities to break through the Rules, those seeking Ascension as Strongmen invested fortunes into the competition.
And the local environment’s limitations on Lu Ping’an became increasingly apparent... His army of Magic Plants might not be usable here at all, most Magic Pets thrown into the fray weren’t even good enough to be cannon fodder.
Even if he forcibly linked various "parts" of Life... the losing heat state of other Life Forces also brought him severe negative effects.
It was at this point that Lu Ping’an realized he too had the weaknesses of a regular Life system professional.
𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
If the Life system lost the advantage in numbers... a Beast Tamer without a beast swarm was but a high-level foot soldier.
Unless one could, like Big Cat, forcibly punch through everything, without your own "community," the solo combat power of the Life system was only a fraction of the whole, which was to be expected.
And it wasn’t just the Life system that was affected...
Lu Ping’an ignited the Holy Fire again. This time, with his eyes closed to sense it, he noticed that its birth rate and intensity were much weaker than when he was in the Eastern Country.
And when evaluating the consumption, it had at least doubled... Although the overall consumption was still small, the cumulative impact was significant.
"Although the Holy Fire is top-notch, leaving its ’source of fire’ to burn independently, naturally requires combating ’low temperatures’..."
In fact, Lu Ping’an in this environment could still light fires at will, which, in the eyes of a true Fire Controller, was already ridiculously impressive.
"...But from another perspective, this might be a blessing."
Looking at the ice and snow before him, Lu Ping’an suddenly lost his urgency.
Taking this special trip, his first priority wasn’t even to seize that piece of Divine Heritage... Already having not digested the World Keystone fragment, his desire for it was likely far less than other High-Tier Professionals.
"Perhaps, it’s time I prepared for my examiners..."
Lu Ping’an’s first target was actually that Ghost Shadow-like Assassin.
This time, Big Cat was so "docile" and "friendly" because, in the end, Lu Ping’an had taken on her karma, shouldering the consequences for her in all aspects.
This karma wouldn’t simply disappear... Just like when Kitten appeared that day, Wanjing’s Mother Goddess cult suddenly vanished without a trace, and the Archbishop who used to visit no longer had a contact method.
Were they avoiding Chris? Or rather, did Chris still exist, and were they truly at ease?
Those who had offended Chris, those who feared her, those who had once obeyed her, those who hoped to crush her to make a name for themselves... Heaven knew what Lu Ping’an would face after picking up this cause and effect.
But some things were unavoidable. This time, upon his return, Lu Ping’an’s fame soared. As one who possessed double-digit Rule-level combat power, he was bound to get in touch with Chris; otherwise, his meteoric rise would be inexplicable.
Lu Ping’an had to prove... prove that he had enough ability to protect everything he owned, prove that he could shoulder more investments and goodwill, prove that he had the hope to go even farther than Big Cat!
"Let’s begin..."
This time, Lu Ping’an was in no rush.
After all, he knew that whatever was meant to come, would come eventually... and in the Demonic Region of Siberia of this world, it was already suited for high-tier professionals to settle their debts of gratitude and grudges.
"... Let’s start with the adjustment of the Magic Plants first."
Since most "weapons" couldn’t be used here, then I would cultivate new ones.
A Gardener, who reached higher levels, unavoidably had to adapt to the environment, modify it, and fuse with it...
"How inconvenient life can be..."
Under Lu Ping’an’s command, a Rule-level Exploration Team set off. This time, their targets were not assassins or hunters; in fact, they had all received Lu Ping’an’s "avoid combat" orders.
"We found some pine trees; do we bring back their seeds and logs? They are clearly demonized."
"This damned place, raccoons have grown into polar bears, polar bears... I think I saw a surface aircraft carrier, someone come and help me drag it back."
"Uh, I have many animals here... this damned place even has snakes, I think I’ve fallen into a snake pit, my God, it’s huge!"
Setting aside some bizarre responses, our lone strongmen indeed brought back a large amount of materials for Lu Ping’an.
Naturally, he began to "farm" on the spot... catalyzing a large quantity of Magic Plants and updating them, "grafting" them with his own Magic Plants to adjust for factors more adaptive to the local environment.
This was not only for battle but also for enriching his "arsenal."
Normally, other Gardeners would spend months per round, but for Lu Ping’an, as long as he had enough points, producing results was just a matter of constant "high-stakes betting."
"... Investment."
This time, looking at the mutating Demon Wolf before him, Lu Ping’an pondered.
As one of Quasi-rule status, he had already broken many limits. This time, the potent "Life Source Force" and "Anti-cold Factor from Demonized Polar Bear" were directly embedded into his own Demon Wolf’s body, forcing its evolution and mutation.
But the next moment, all that was left on the ground was a pool of flesh.
There was already a pile of such "flesh garbage," and it seemed more consumption was needed to achieve results.
Soon, the icy and snowy ground behind him had become a new botanical garden... various cold-resistant Magic Plants were entrenched there, resembling a newborn snowland Demonic Region.
And yet, this was still just a beginning.
"The materials are a bit short... let’s go collect the Extraordinary Demonization Varieties from the local restricted areas."
The closer he came to being a true Rule-level Gardener, the more Lu Ping’an realized that this profession seemed to be particularly adept at carrying its own "environment"... now that there was no environment, then I would create my own.
Since the "guests" were coming, he, as the temporary "host," naturally had to entertain well.
"Let’s see what interesting things can be bred from the local Super Dangerous Demon Species..."
— End of Chapter 1369 —