Chapter 21: Shocking! The True Form of Chu Hao!
After a silence that wasn't too long, Lin slowly exhaled a breath. He looked at the floor with his golden eyes and murmured subconsciously, "Good thing obsidian isn't expensive."
He had completely accepted his role as butler.
—That's really impressive. On the other side, looking at the cracked stone floor beneath Number 3's feet, Ying swallowed her saliva, thinking with some envy.
"Of course I can take you, but you need to walk a bit lighter."
Joshua, who had already changed into his formal attire, didn't feel sorry for the floor at all. He spoke to the Artificial Intelligence Girl in a gentle tone.
Choked by this tone, Number 3, who had never heard Joshua speak like this before, had a strange expression on her face—the living metal construct did have expressions. She thought for a moment, then somewhat reluctantly explained, "The output of this body is still a bit unstable. When I step on the floor, I always subconsciously increase the furnace core's output. There hasn't been enough running-in (mohe), and I can't help it."
"Then you need to practice more." The warrior's tone held no hint of blame. He waved his hand casually, and an invisible force gathered all the shattered obsidian in the entire Lord's Manor back into a single piece, restoring it to its original state as if time had flowed backward. Joshua, as if holding a vase, yet forgetting its sturdy nature, said, "You can practice freely around the Lord's Manor, but you need to be careful when you're outside."
Probably still not used to this steel body, the Artificial Intelligence Girl suddenly hopped. Ying and Lin were both baffled, but the warrior could see she wanted to fly into the air like before. But how could a magical projection compare to a construct body made entirely of precious metals? The magical power required to make this steel body, covered in various runic arrays, float was a hundred times greater than making an iron block of the same weight float.
Shaking his head, Joshua simply stepped forward, lifted Number 3, who was only about half his size, with one hand, and then, in the moment the Artificial Intelligence Girl was stunned, placed her on his shoulder. Throughout this process, the warrior was very careful, seemingly paying close attention to his strength. But even with such cautious force, the two-ton construct felt like a light piece of paper in his hands, as if it could drift away at any moment.
Turning his head, Joshua saw the silver-haired girl looking envious. He laughed heartily, then took her hand and said, "Take turns sitting. Let's go now."
Although he said it with a smile, his tone was unquestionable. Both girls subconsciously murmured an "mm," then lowered their heads and said nothing. Joshua turned to look at Lin in the study. The black-haired boy blinked, then immediately said, "Master, have you forgotten? I still need to handle the terrain modification issues in the new city district. I won't be going to the celebration this time."
"Thank you for your hard work." Stepping forward, the warrior touched Lin's head and said easily, "In the future, wherever you want to go, just say it like Number 3 did. There's no need to suppress yourself."
"In this world, there aren't many places left that we can't go," he said.
Soon after, Joshua, Ying, and Number 3 stepped into the Lord's Manor. Although Joshua was still in human form now, it was actually just a shell for external communication. Inside the shell was a high-temperature, high-pressure, indescribable aggregate of high-density matter. Energy movements similar to nuclear reactions provided the energy for this body's daily activities. Due to the excessive density of this body and the overly rapid assimilation reaction of Steel Force, the situation was so complex that once the warrior touched something with his true body, the force equivalent to a mountain would directly shatter it, and then Steel Force would assimilate it. This was a process of self-evolution for a Super Lifeform.
To completely control this power, rather than being driven by it to assimilate, Joshua had to temporarily halt his advancement and focus on analyzing the deeper essence of Steel Force. Before that, he manipulated the free energy and magnetic fields around him to form a thin film, binding his body. If external matter couldn't break through this electromagnetic field formed by Joshua's own power, it could never touch the warrior's true body behind the shell.
This shell was all-encompassing. So, although Joshua appeared to be standing on the ground now, he was actually in a state of hovering flight. There was an imperceptible gap between his soles and the ground. If he stepped down firmly, no matter how solid the ground was, it would be completely twisted and crushed by his terrifying weight—hence his leniency toward Number 3. The Artificial Intelligence Girl was only two tons; his current weight was at least ten thousand times that.
This kind of walking was very inconvenient, and he also had to be careful when touching things around him. That's why Joshua was so cautious when touching Number 3 and others. In his eyes, everything was too fragile. If he let go of his restraints and touched it lightly, everything would shatter. And now he temporarily understood why most Legendary Experts lived in seclusion or only used avatars to act in the outside world. Because their true bodies indeed possessed immense power, and merely existing would affect the survival of those around them.
Joshua was fine for now, but if his mass increased further in the future, the warrior would have to build a new Lord's Manor deep in the Great Aias Mountains. Otherwise, living within the city would pose a huge threat to the hundreds of thousands of nearby residents. If he accidentally let go of his restraints one day, half the city would be destroyed.
Even the flow of a single drop of 'blood' would erode the ground over several hundred square meters. This was the result Joshua obtained after conducting experiments deep in the Great Aias Mountains.
On another note, most of the Legendary Experts the warrior knew didn't have this kind of trouble.
Saint Eagle was a body of light. His true body should be the endless light surrounding the Great Temple at the top of the Far Sea Holy Mountain, and that human body was just his appearance from when he was human, his avatar. In this form, even if he completely let go of his restraints, it would just hang a super-sized sun lamp above the Far Sea Holy Mountain.
Nature Mentor had transformed herself into an ecological zone. Her existence not only didn't cause trouble for the surroundings but could also regulate the local environment and ecology, making barren lands fertile. Focused on making the elves strong, even if her power went berserk, she would just turn into a large Black Forest. Of course, this Black Forest itself was a Legendary-level living entity.
As for Israel, the essence of his power was said to be 'will materialization.' Whether in description or rumor, it didn't seem like a power that would excessively affect the material world. Instead of worrying about that, it was better to worry about the Imperial Emperor forgetting to feed his Flame Abyss Dragon one day. The destruction caused by an enraged dragon would certainly be greater than the damage from his own power going berserk.
This was also the difference caused by choosing different paths. Eagle was the Pope of the Church of the Seven Gods, Nature Mentor was one of the supreme leaders of the elves, and Israel was the Imperial Emperor. They were all leaders of major forces. Their power, while capable of destruction in battle, also took care of other aspects.
The path Joshua chose was the pure path of steel, the most singular path of 'destruction.'
Steel is the material for forging weapons. Although it can also forge farm tools, it is ultimately a man-made object tempered by fire. And anything man-made implies a struggle against this world.
Even a seemingly harmless hoe, in its essence, destroys the original form of the earth, shaping it into the form humans need. Actively sowing, harvesting food, supplying human survival, and developing civilization—the very act itself is a challenge by intelligent human beings, using their wisdom, not as beasts but as the lords of all spirits, against the natural ecology of the entire world.
Battle Qi, life energy, magic power, martial arts, magic, magical energy technology, divine arts—the essence of all power is the same. They are tools for humans to develop themselves and challenge the world. Although Steel Force is the original power at the beginning of creation, once it falls into human hands, it is no exception.
Stepping into the teleportation portal, holding Ying's hand, with Number 3 sitting on his shoulder, Joshua was still thinking about issues related to himself.
The most important of these was offspring.
The warrior's current age was still too young compared to other Legendary Experts. Before him, no one could have imagined that there would be a Legendary Expert in his twenties. Apart from him, even the youngest Legendary was at least forty years old. They might not have had children and grandchildren, but they certainly had bloodlines passed down in the world. How could they be like him, still single?
At the Legendary low-rank, natural reproduction was still possible. But at the Legendary mid-rank, after completely transforming into a high-level lifeform, there would basically be reproductive isolation from ordinary people. Without special means, having normal offspring was impossible—if it was the kind of Void Behemoth that He Er La Si had evolved into, there would be no reproductive isolation. That thing was similar to a dragon, even stronger. It could mate with any lifeform. Note, any. It could even pollinate flowers, thereby giving birth to its own plant offspring. Fungi could also spread spores. It was practically omnipotent. So, as the embodiment of primordial life force, Void Behemoths were also known as biological plagues wandering the Multiverse. Worlds they invaded would eventually be left with only their descendants.
Joshua was certainly not a Multiverse stallion Void Behemoth. Before this, he had never thought about the issue of his own offspring. There was basically no concept of romantic love in his mind. In the warrior's eyes, all life was equal. The difference lay in the combat power value above their heads. This was indeed a fairly high spiritual realm, but it was now causing him some trouble.
In the past few months, at least dozens of nobles had sent him invitations, either implicitly or directly. Of course, Joshua rejected them all without exception. He wasn't a proponent of celibacy; he just wasn't interested in marriage for now. Although this world had been revitalized by the rekindling of the First Flame, Evil Gods and the Abyss were still watching. Without solving these problems, the warrior simply wasn't in the mood.
As for what came after, that could be dealt with later. After the Legendary mid-rank, it wasn't completely impossible to produce offspring. It was just that because the life rank was too high, the conditions for conceiving offspring were too harsh, making it very difficult to succeed.
If it really didn't work, Joshua actually had another option.
At this point, the warrior could already inscribe his own inheritance information within his body. Just like the bloodline inheritance of the Dragon Clan, the warrior could also inscribe his memories and inheritance within his body and then 'split' them off. As long as Joshua reached the Perfect Body Realm, he could, like an Ancient Dragon, drip a drop of blood, and that drop of blood could survive on its own. In a sense, this would be his offspring. He would only need to find a mother to continue gestating it, and it would become a complete lifeform.
But this was a bit too much like an alien, too strange. Joshua found it a bit hard to accept.
While thinking, the warrior stepped out of the teleportation portal again. The azure ripples slowly closed behind him. In a single instant, he had traveled from the Northern Lands to the foot of the Three Mountains in the Imperial Capital, covering thousands of miles in a flash. Joshua subconsciously straightened Number 3 on his shoulder, but the moment he touched her body, a shadow suddenly flashed through the warrior's mind.
"Wait, Chu Hao!"
He subconsciously spoke, murmuring to himself. The Artificial Intelligence Girl and Ying blinked upon hearing this, looked at each other, and found it all a bit baffling.
But Joshua didn't care about their thoughts. He was now frowning, recalling the scene of Chu Hao's birth.
At that time, because he had suddenly lost control of the 'Authority of Creation' in the Ilgena World, a part of the steel had sublimated into a steel element, which was now Chu Hao. This power was directly given by the Steel Serpent. Now it seemed that its essence came from the Origin Steel of the Ilgena World.
The proof was that this power allowed the warrior to grant life to inorganic matter. This form of expression was precisely the primordial life force capable of transforming all things. This power had originally been latent within Joshua's body, but it suddenly erupted at that time. He had originally thought it was just a simple accident. Now, thinking about it, perhaps it was because he had already reached the Ultimate Peak at that time, and the Battle Qi within his body had begun to return to its origin as Steel Force. The two repelled each other, thereby forcing this external power out, resulting in the birth of Chu Hao.
And Chu Hao had possessed intelligence from the very beginning. Perhaps it was because that Steel Force contained part of the information of the Steel Serpent Ilgena and Joshua. In a sense, Chu Hao might really be...
"No, this is still too strange."
Under the strange gazes of Ying and Number 3, Joshua took a deep breath. He shook his head and said, "Let's not think about this for now. Today, we're here to see the celebration."
With these words, the warrior forcibly cleared all guesses about Chu Hao from his mind, completely deleting and formatting them. At the same time, he raised his head and looked around.
It was now noon. The capital of the empire, the Three Mountains region, was bathed in the brightest sunlight since the long winter. On the lush green plains at the foot of the mountains, a silver, ribbon-like river flowed quietly. The spring breeze swept across the riverbanks, where trees had already sprouted new leaves, and one could faintly see wild beasts and their cubs running among them.
Because of the celebration, the Imperial Capital's wide-area space-time anchoring array had been temporarily reduced to only covering the mountaintop. Dozens of teleportation portals leading to various places were neatly arranged at various points at the foot of the mountain. Temporary reception areas were set up to welcome these distinguished guests who could use the portals. The main road leading to the mountaintop was filled with tourists and adventurers from all over the world, all coming to witness the largest celebration of this Northern Empire.
The Mycroft Continent was sparsely populated. In a city, it was common to see several streets completely empty in the evening. But today, the Imperial Capital was a stark contrast. Dozens of times more people than usual were flowing up and down the mountain. One could even see many visitors from distant, rare tribes in the crowd, and even a few of the barbarian's own kin under Joshua's command could be spotted.
Compared to other areas, the area around the teleportation portal connected to the Northern Lands was the most spacious. This was because the space-time turbulence around the Northern Lands had only disappeared in recent years. The teleportation network had been established for less than a few years, and relatively few people were used to using it. So when the warrior and his group walked out of the portal, they naturally attracted the attention of a large crowd nearby.
"Joshua!"
From not too far away, a man's voice came with a hint of pleasant surprise. Shortly after, a golden-haired man, holding the hand of a woman with violet hair, walked out of the crowd and came before the warrior. He originally wanted to open his arms for a hug, but regrettably stopped because of the steel girl on Joshua's shoulder. "You finally made it."
"I'm not late, Brandon, Verdani."
Joshua shrugged and told a dry joke with a straight face: "Justice might be late, but I won't be."