Chapter 295 - 129: Gu Xiangzhu: I Gambled My Youth on You, but in the End, You Made Me Lose?

Chapter 295: Chapter 129: Gu Xiangzhu: I Gambled My Youth on You, but in the End, You Made Me Lose?

A full six hours passed.

Zhao Ci let out a long breath, no longer able to suppress the wild joy in his heart. A massive grin stretched uncontrollably across his face.

His strength had now reached the absolute peak possible below the Physical Body Realm.

His flesh, tendons, and bones had all reached the first grade.

All of his Celestial Demon Patterns had been awakened as well.

Although he still had to pass through the Pattern Condensation Stage, awaken his body’s Five Elements Divine Treasures, and establish the generation cycle of the five elements within him.

But in terms of raw combat strength, he had essentially reached the pinnacle.

Most importantly, now that his bones—his final weakness—had been strengthened, he could finally unleash those incredibly powerful High-tier Spear Techniques without restraint.

Now, even if he faced an expert who had already condensed a Flesh Body Divine Pattern, he would be able to put up a fight—and perhaps even kill them!

If he had to go through the Black Fog Space trial again...

He wouldn’t even need to rely on Talisman Paper. With just his spear, he could easily slaughter all one hundred of those men.

Furthermore, with such a solid foundation, he had at least a ninety percent chance of condensing a Celestial Grade Divine Pattern as long as he entered the War God Tower.

A spot in the War God Tower was already a sure thing.

His current merits were more than enough.

Even if he had none, he could simply snatch a few spots during the upcoming Spring Hunt.

He was now supremely confident in his own strength. Aside from the Ninth Prince’s Mansion, Prince Ying’s Mansion, and Ying Rui—whose power was unknown after his promotion—he was confident he could take on any of the other mansions single-handedly.

He even had a fighting chance against Prince Lie’s Mansion.

During the Spring Hunt, as long as he wasn’t ganged up on, he was sure to place well.

’Besides, Zhao Yong and Zhao Xie are at each other’s throats right now, so they probably won’t team up against me... right?’

"Another one at the first grade?"

The cool, feminine voice held a hint of delight.

Zhao Ci turned his head and, sure enough, found Gu Xiangzhu watching him with a gentle smile.

"Xiangzhu, you really came!"

He grinned, rising to his feet and naturally wrapping an arm around her waist.

Their bodies pressed close together.

Gu Xiangzhu’s pulse quickened. By rights, she should have been used to this level of intimacy.

But...

’It felt too natural.’

’A little *too* natural.’

’Her body grew flustered, yet any thought of resisting had vanished completely.’

’I’ll have to do more meditation to calm my mind from now on.’

’Especially after I use the Dream-Inducing Skill to lull Zhao Ci to sleep.’

’His hands are never well-behaved right before he falls asleep.’

Gu Xiangzhu shook her head with a smile. "I hadn’t seen you in a while, so I came to check on you. I didn’t expect you to have forged your bones so quickly. For flesh, tendons, and bones all to reach the first grade... I doubt anyone in history has ever achieved such a feat. My dear boy..."

"Impressive, right? So how about a kiss as a reward?"

With one arm still around her waist, Zhao Ci leaned in and kissed her directly, while his other hand began to sneakily wander upward.

Gu Xiangzhu felt a headache coming on, but she simply responded with equal passion, giving the back of his hand a sharp pinch without any intention of slapping it away.

’She was a little troubled.’

’In the intimacy between a man and a woman, once a line is crossed, it can never be uncrossed.’

’Last time, she had been too aggressive with her Dream-Inducing Skill. Although she’d achieved her goal, it seemed she could no longer stop Zhao Ci’s hands from running wild.’

’If she tried to forbid him now, he would probably just get sulky.’

’But it was fine. He was still well within her limits, and she could completely dispel the effects through mental cultivation.’

’Just consider it the price for taming him.’

’This... this investment is definitely worth it.’

’After all, this young man might very well forge the strongest physical body in history.’

’Other geniuses were all striving for the second grade.’

’Even Xiang Tiange, widely acknowledged as the strongest War God of the last century, had only reached the first grade with his Flesh Soul.’

’Yet Zhao Ci had reached the first grade in all three aspects and even condensed the Celestial Demon Pattern.’

’And right now, this bearer of the strongest physical body had one arm wrapped around her waist...’

’This boy is so aggressive today.’

「After a long moment.」

Their lips parted.

Gu Xiangzhu quickly broke free from his embrace, turned her back, and took a few steps away to rapidly compose herself.

She took several deep breaths before her mind and body could shake off the dizzy, intoxicated feeling.

She turned back with a smile. "Next is the Pattern Condensation Stage. Although this stage doesn’t increase your strength by much, it determines the future direction of your cultivation. What are your plans?"

This "direction" she spoke of referred to his major and minor cultivation specializations.

For most people, besides the Divine Treasures for their major and minor specializations, the remaining Divine Treasures were mainly used to solidify the five elements generation cycle and to select Divine Techniques that better suited them.

Opening one more Divine Treasure would still result in a minor qualitative leap in strength.

However, the enhancement was nowhere near as significant as that from the first two Divine Treasures.

Zhao Ci pondered for a moment, a trace of concern flashing in his eyes. "Given my physical condition, the Divine Treasures for my major and minor specializations should ideally maximize my body’s combat potential. The optimal choices would be the Zhao’s Lung Metal and the Xiang’s Kidney Water."

These were indeed his optimal choices.

The Zhao Clan specialized in Metal, with a minor in Earth.

The Xiang Clan specialized in Water, with a minor in Metal.

Both clans produced powerful warriors, but their methods of achieving that power differed.

The strength of the Xiang’s Kidney Water Divine Treasure lay in its ability to send one’s bloodline into a berserk state, causing a massive surge in strength, speed, and defense. It allowed one to wield heavy weapons with transcendent power, taking the principle of "one force to shatter all techniques" to its absolute limit.

Their approach to the Metal element, however, was to integrate Divine Patterns into their weapons and armor, making them extensions of their own meridians and achieving a state where the wielder and their weapon became one.

This was also very powerful.

But when combined with the potent effects of their Kidney Water Divine Treasure, it produced an effect of diminishing returns—a sense that one plus one equaled less than two. Furthermore, this deficit could be partially compensated for by inscribing Array Patterns.

The Zhao Clan’s Metal, on the other hand, was the ultimate expression of sharpness, offering a significant boost to destructive power.