Entertainment news played on the television.
A certain female celebrity's bold confession of love for Yu Xian was being accused of clout-chasing.
Yu Xian lay on the sofa watching TV while chatting with Zhenwo Changjing. The two went back and forth, jumping between all kinds of topics, though the conversation gradually wound its way back.
"Auntie, why do beings in Level 1 worlds lack sufficient strength in their bodies and souls?"
"Because of fundamental differences in nature. Even for an Earth, the absolute peak physical condition a human can reach through rigorous training in a Level 1 world's Earth is merely the normal baseline strength of an untrained adult on a Level 2 world's Earth."
"Why is that?"
"The influence of the environment and food, as well as subtle differences in genetics."
"If someone from a Level 1 world lives in a Level 2 world for a while, can they improve their constitution?"
"Regrettably, no."
"Auntie, the Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra is also quite a mishmash. How did Zhenwo Wuchang break through to Star Rank?"
"Do you truly believe the Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra is a mishmash?"
"Isn't it?"
"Every stage of the Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra is exceptionally pure, not chaotic in the least. Perhaps there is a flaw in your understanding. When I speak of disorder and a lack of systematic structure, I primarily refer to the fact that every single one of your abilities is impure, originating from too many diverse sources."
"Having too many sources—that has an impact too?"
"Of course. The power possessed by the Star Rank is unimaginably vast to you—so vast that it cannot tolerate even the slightest impurity, or else it will easily spiral out of control. If we compare this energy to boiling oil, the impurities within your abilities are like cold water. When cold water hits a boiling pan of oil, you should know very well what happens."
"It explodes."
Yu Xian knew how to cook, so he naturally knew what would occur.
When drops of cold water fell into a pot of boiling oil, the water would flash-vaporize, rapidly expanding in volume and resulting in an explosive splatter.
Assuming a Transcendent whose physical and spiritual strength both met the standard successfully ascended to Star Rank, but their entire body was riddled with impurities, they would explode on the spot the moment their breakthrough succeeded.
Therefore, provided physical and spiritual strength met the threshold, most Transcendents also pursued the purity of their abilities. This was also why the vast majority possessed singular, focused abilities—it was not that they did not want flashy variety, but that they simply could not afford to indulge in it.
"Auntie, then... how do you determine whether your abilities are pure?" Yu Xian thought of a question and immediately asked.
Zhenwo Changjing smiled faintly and tapped her finger against Yu Xian's glabella. Yu Xian's eyes widened instantly as the abilities inside his body turned into a vibrant, multicolored jigsaw puzzle.
Whenever he focused on a specific color, he could see the origin of that ability.
The vampire bloodline came from thirteen worlds with vampires that the Abyss had devoured; through the fragmented laws of those thirteen worlds, they had been cobbled together into the vampires of Yu Xian's world.
To put it simply, the vampire bloodline of Yu Xian's world was impure by nature—a shoddy knockoff pieced together from bits and scraps.
One could say that every single vampire ability was impure. In Yu Xian's field of vision, it looked like a crimson glow tainted with numerous tiny green and black flecks. These were the impurities Zhenwo Changjing had spoken of.
If a Star Rank powerhouse attempted to wield abilities so laden with impurities, they would explode on the spot.
Next, Yu Xian looked at his abilities from perfect creature, which were even more complex—far more tangled than his vampire bloodline.
Super Smell originated from a hound carrying the Xiaotian Dog bloodline; the hound's bloodline in turn came from the progenitor of the Xiaotian Dog; that progenitor's ability had come from a Forbidden Fruit; and the power within that Forbidden Fruit hailed from some yokai world.
Well then.
It was an outright counterfeit. It was not a real Xiaotian Dog at all, merely an ability copied from a Star Rank dog demon, which had then been haphazardly mixed with the traits of countless other dogs to produce this concoction.
Yu Xian inspected all of his abilities and discovered that not a single one was pure. Every last one was a patchwork stitched together from disparate sources.
"Auntie, is there really no way to purify them?"
Having surveyed all his abilities, Yu Xian asked, unwilling to accept it.
"Of course there is. Nothing in this world is difficult for a willing heart. There are many ways to remove impurities, but only one is suited to you: diligence makes up for clumsy talent. So long as you continually use any ability, your proficiency will steadily rise. When you master an ability to perfection and control it inside and out, it will naturally become pure," Zhenwo Changjing said with a smile.
Although Zhenwo Changjing's smile seemed completely unchanged, Yu Xian had spent enough time around her to sense a mischievous streak lurking behind it.
He swallowed nervously and asked, "Auntie, roughly how long does it take to fully master an ability?"
"That depends on your talent. Some master it completely with a single glance, while others might fail to master it even after training for a thousand years," Zhenwo Changjing replied.
Evidently, the one who mastered things with a single glance was Zhenwo Wuchang. As for the latter... Yu Xian suspected Zhenwo Changjing was referring to him.
"You seem quite averse to the Star Divine Artifact path of ascension," Zhenwo Changjing noted, smiling at him.
Yu Xian nodded as if it were only natural. "Ascending to Star Rank using a Star Divine Artifact just feels like a crooked shortcut, a bit off."
"'The Star Divine Artifact Ascension Method' is indeed far weaker than the standard path of ascension. In the early stages, one is no match for a true Star Rank at all. However, in the later stages, there is no difference in potential between the two, because there has never been a rule stating one can only have a single Star Divine Artifact," Zhenwo Changjing said with a smile.
Zhenwo Changjing then went on to explain the unique traits of a Star Divine Artifact in detail. A Star Divine Artifact not only stored its host's power, but could also house one of the host's abilities.
Even if the ability contained impurities, so long as the pathways of energy transmission were properly organized, it could still unleash Star Rank might.
A single Star Divine Artifact could anchor one ability, but as long as one forged enough of them, there would be no difference from a standard Star Rank powerhouse.
If the quality of the Star Divine Artifact was high enough, one could even become stronger than a standard Star Rank combatant.
"Auntie, then what was Edward's Star Divine Artifact forged from?" Yu Xian asked after listening to her explanation.
Though he felt a bit reluctant, and was still far from Star Rank, he knew that if he wanted to ascend to Star Rank, his best hope most likely lay in the Star Divine Artifact Ascension Method.
After all, even if he practiced his abilities to absolute mastery, his physical and spiritual strength still might not meet the required threshold.
"Two hundred years ago, Edward Vlad Stoker discovered the corpse of the Mid-tier Demon Commander Autokoma in the Abyss. He brought Autokoma's corpse back and studied it for a hundred and fifty years, finally learning the Star Divine Artifact Ascension Method. Using Autokoma's corpse along with its damaged Star Divine Artifact as raw materials, he refined the embryonic form of a Star Divine Artifact: the Demon Cross.
"Using the knowledge he unlocked from Autokoma, he secretly gathered power all along, and after advancing to Dragon-rank, he saw a shortcut to ascending to Star Rank.
"The talent 'True Ancestor of Blood' allowed him to rapidly amass power, while his three blood scions—Marcus, Gemis, and Orlando—were his closest kin who could untangle and streamline abilities for him. As long as he fused both into the Demon Cross, he could temper the embryonic artifact into a true Star Divine Artifact in the shortest possible time.
"Evidently, he has succeeded," Zhenwo Changjing said with a smile.
So Edward had obtained the method to ascend to Star Rank so long ago and had endured in secret, biding his time for the right moment. What shocked Yu Xian even more was that Nora's father had actually been one of the raw materials Edward used to craft his Star Divine Artifact.
This meant Nora truly had lost her father; he could not resurrect him.
Yet what truly sent chills down Yu Xian's spine was Edward's true nature.
Edward—he was unquestionably a ruthless hegemon. In the past, everyone had vastly underestimated him.
It was not that the Blood Clan had been sensible and accommodating; rather, Edward had needed a 'sensible' Blood Clan to cloak his true edge.
The moment he awakened the True Ancestor of Blood talent, the Blood Clan had already been sentenced to death. Proclaiming the founding of their nation was merely meant to whip the entire clan into an utter frenzy.
In fact, his strategy had been extraordinarily successful.
In Rome Huchen, the vampire population had exploded within a single day.
Freed from clan regulations, the vampires had recklessly propagated blood scions, scrambling over one another to grant the Embrace to ordinary citizens, all harboring grand illusions of a bright future once their nation was established.
In the end, every single one of them had died, reduced to mere sacrifices for Edward's ascension.
Chapter 170