Chapter 8: Steel Body
A distant war was about to erupt, but at this moment, Joshua was contemplating his own path of advancement.
The cultivation methods of the Mycroft Continent and the Grandia Continent, though differing in many ways, were fundamentally similar. From the lofty perspective of a warrior, he could clearly discern the differences and commonalities between the two.
The First Flame ignited Chaos, bringing existence into the Void. The Origin Steel shaped the world, thereby giving rise to all things. But just as one person is born short and another strong, the Steel Force possessed by each world at the dawn of creation was unequal. These different quantities and qualities of creative force gave birth to countless distinct worlds, and also influenced the distribution of free energy available for intelligent life within each world.
Of course, this did not mean that possessing more Steel Force represented a higher energy density in that world. In reality, some worlds with abundant Steel Force manifested as boundless forms like endless star rivers, diluting their energy density to an imperceptible degree. Conversely, some worlds with poorer initial Steel Force, because they manifested as a round heaven and square earth, or as small worlds with only one or two stars, ended up with extremely high energy density and produced a great number of Transcendent Beings.
Joshua did not know whether the Mycroft World or the Grandia World was larger. But in the Mycroft World, aside from one continent, there was also a vast, boundless ocean. Beyond the sky hung numerous secret realms and demi-planes, such as the Boundless Heaven where the gods resided. Aside from being unsuitable for ordinary life, its sheer vastness was no less than the entire Mycroft Continent.
The Grandia World, however, lacked these extras. It only had one continent. Therefore, its free energy—that is, the density of Elemental Force—should be somewhat greater than that of the Mycroft World.
Yet Joshua did not feel that the energy density of the Grandia World was particularly high. However, he had already found the reason.
That was the ore 'Prime Crystal', the lifeblood of all Transcendent Beings in the Mana system.
According to the warrior's speculation, at the dawn of the Grandia World's creation, the vast majority of excess energy condensed into countless ore-like energy crystals, the so-called Prime Crystals. These were buried deep underground, forming enormous mineral veins. To put it bluntly, these Prime Crystals were like the world's excess 'fat'. Though useless, compared to the Battle Qi and Arcane Power derived from human cultivation on the Mycroft Continent, they were a more primitive energy, closer to the essence of Steel Force.
Purely in terms of combat power, Mana was not stronger than Battle Qi or Arcane Power. However, it could grant those who cultivated it various special traits.
Transcendent Beings of the Grandia World used this energy to change their life essence. Therefore, their life force and soul were fused from the very beginning due to this special power, making them difficult to dissipate. This was why, in the Grandia World, people and beasts who died thousands of years ago could leave behind Wraiths, or even residual Heroic Spirits, which, when awakened by some force in the present day, could still retain a portion of their former power.
Holding the Saint Stone Seed, Joshua continuously absorbed its surging energy. This fragment of a Saint Stone, possessing Water and Ice attribute Mana, should theoretically be difficult for someone like him, who possessed Fire attribute Battle Qi, to absorb. However, the warrior's realm was so high, and his control over energy so precise, that Joshua could easily reverse the attributes of most ownerless energy, converting it into something he could use.
As the warrior continuously analyzed the essence of Mana, dissecting this energy composite that resembled a mixture of life force and Arcane Power, his own Battle Qi and life force increasingly approached the essence of Steel Force. Joshua watched, bit by bit, as his Power Liberation level steadily rose, now reaching 45%. This meant that even if he went to another different alien world, unlike Grandia and Mycroft, his Power Liberation level would still be 45%.
"It's about enough."
Feeling he had reached his current limit, Joshua stood by the edge of the lake. He temporarily stopped absorbing energy from the Saint Stone fragment, then tentatively extended his left hand. Crimson Battle Qi flames surged, causing a fist-sized fireball to appear out of thin air in the warrior's palm.
Though small, this fireball was incredibly bright. It emitted a blazing white light, sending waves of intense heat mixed with light radiation spreading in all directions. Its heat was so high that the surface of the nearby lake began to boil and evaporate, and the area within several kilometers was as bright as day.
Joshua stared at the fireball in his hand, as if this light, surpassing the sun, did not exist.
This was not a secondary flame produced by burning his own Battle Qi, but rather the intense heat generated by his attempt to directly accelerate the movement of material particles. Within this small fireball, energy particles in the air were impacted by the high-energy particle stream from the warrior's Battle Qi, creating a phenomenon similar to the self-detonation of a Fusion Core Star.
"Strange."
Dispelling the fireball in his hand, Joshua muttered to himself in slight confusion. "Although my Power Liberation level is only 45%, based on my current performance, I've recovered at least over 60% of my power."
Being able to roughly control a phenomenon similar to the self-detonation of a Fusion Core Star was the realm Joshua had reached during the Mad Dragon War at the Far Sea Holy Mountain. At that time, the warrior's combat power was about 60% to 70% of his future peak state, that is, after his battle with He Er La Si. This meant that although the warrior had only liberated 45% now, his actual strength could equal 60% of his peak.
*—This should be a comprehensive improvement brought about by a deeper understanding of Steel Force.*
After pondering for a moment, Joshua roughly understood the reason. Through his analysis of Mana and Prime Crystals, his body and internal life force had begun to transform towards the fundamental Steel Force.
Clenching his fists, faint currents of electricity and flames flickered around the warrior's fists. Joshua found that he could now vaguely perceive and manipulate the nearly infinite, extremely tiny material particles surrounding his body. These material particles were the most basic existence, second only to Existence Force and Steel Force. Once he could perceive these material particles, the warrior immediately felt that everything around him was vastly different from before.
Scanning his surroundings with a glance, Joshua had an illusion—there were countless cracks and gaps between all things. Even his own body, which could be called a thousand-tempered, adamantite-level tough flesh, was full of flaws and loopholes on a microscopic level, completely vulnerable.
Joshua already understood why his power was restricted after coming to the Grandia World—because the material particles composing his body were too loose, making them easily influenced by the surrounding environment.
Because he came from a different world, the density of the warrior's body and the way its material particles operated had subtle differences from the native lifeforms of this world. This severely affected the energy circulation within his body. There were two ways to change this situation. One was to assimilate with the local lifeforms as much as possible, fully adapting to this world. The other was to continuously perfect and reinforce oneself, achieving a body and realm like the 'Origin Steel', indestructible and imperishable.
"I am currently at the Ultimate Realm. My body has long been honed to a Transcendent level. Ordinary matter and energy particles cannot reinforce my body."
Joshua looked thoughtfully at the Saint Stone Seed fragment in his right hand, still emitting a magnificent light, and silently thought to himself: "Prime Crystals of the Saint Stone Seed's level are too precious, hard to come by. But at the very least, I need something equivalent to the Cloud Diamond that Ya Lei En gave me to have any effect."
Continuously absorbing one Cloud Diamond and one Saint Stone Seed fragment had increased the warrior's Power Liberation level by nearly 10%. Although this kind of improvement became more difficult in the later stages, it was indeed a method. Joshua had even already organized a cultivation method in his mind for converting Battle Qi and life force into Mana, and then further sublimating Mana into Steel Force. However, this method had not been tested and was purely theoretical.
"Perhaps I should find some time to let the locals here try out this cultivation method of mine."
"But for now, the Fourth Sage's Relic is the priority."
His body slowly rose. Joshua did not rely on Battle Qi to propel himself, but simply used his own energy magnetic field to levitate against gravity. He recalled the face of the red-haired girl that had appeared earlier due to the resonance of the Azure Orb, along with her body full of scars. The warrior shrugged. "Looks like she's in a bad state, but at least she's alive, which is fortunate."
The worst-case scenario Joshua and Eagle had discussed was that the inheritor of the Fourth Sage's Relic had already died. Because the last person capable of inheritance had perished, the relic resonated spontaneously, calling for other inheritors to take it away. Now it seemed that although the female inheritor was indeed in a sorry state, her injuries were only superficial, nothing serious.
Without lingering further, the warrior ascended into the stratosphere of the Grandia World, several kilometers high.
Then, a streak of crimson lightning tore through the night sky, speeding towards the west of the continent.
Half a day later, a pitch-black shadow arrived at the lake where Joshua had previously stayed.
Loz, the Shadow of Change, seriously examined all the remaining traces. Fortunately, due to the residual power of the warrior, no Wraiths had respawned within several kilometers during the latter half of the night, and most of the clues had not been destroyed.
After exploring every patch of soil nearby, this black humanoid had roughly reconstructed the scene that had occurred here not long ago.
"Need to report immediately."
Mana runes condensed, and the message was sent instantly. Without any time or mind for shock, Loz knew that dealing with this powerful alien existence was definitely not something for a half-baked being like itself. To eliminate this unstable point, it would likely require the personal intervention of the High Commanders.