Chapter 579 - 41: Crimson Demon

"A Record of Grandpa’s Words. September 2016 Musings."

A short while later, Rafael and Su Zhou began discussing the current situation with the Demon Realm’s Space-Time Sect in a room at the temporary hospital.

Of all the Transcendents who had personally experienced the battle against the Continuous Prayer Meeting, only Rafael had avoided serious injury, as he had only been controlling Sealed Spirit Beasts rather than fighting on the front lines. The others, such as ’Giant Beast’ Oger—one of the "twin heroes" alongside Heroic Spirit Warrior Yuneiro—and Arcane Master Yilsen, both at the Extraordinary Peak, were still receiving emergency treatment at the Harmony Bureau headquarters.

Therefore, to get a clear understanding of the situation, Su Zhou had flown over immediately after getting off the plane to discuss the current state of affairs with Rafael.

And the conclusion of their discussion was ’not good at all.’

"The Tiers of the Spirit Summoning Association are completely different from our traditional Cultivation methods. It’s hard to imagine where they obtained so many bizarre Cultivation techniques. Not only is their advancement speed astonishingly fast, but their methods are also incredibly refined, as if they’ve been honed for countless years."

Rafael said this with great emotion. "Over the past few decades, I often clashed with their Commanders while fighting the Spirit Summoning Association. Back then, I always had the upper hand."

"But in this last battle, I discovered that the comprehensiveness of their legacy surpasses even my own as a Sealing Envoy! Can you understand how strange that is?"

’Of course I can,’ Su Zhou thought, nodding repeatedly to show he was listening. ’They all borrow power for their Cultivation and possess legacies from the Clans of Great Beings. Those things have been polished in Otherworlds for tens of thousands of years, if not longer. Of course their legacies are perfected.’

This was Su Zhou’s thought, and he nodded repeatedly to show he was listening.

As he spoke, Rafael suddenly froze. He looked up at Su Zhou, who was listening intently.

’Wait a minute... Speaking of bizarre Cultivation methods and ridiculously fast advancement, isn’t the guy right in front of me even more absurd than the Spirit Summoning Association?’

At that moment, he once again sensed that inexplicably dangerous ripple emanating from Su Zhou, a feeling that seemed to question his very soul...

"Professor Su, tell me, have you... advanced to another Tier recently?"

Rafael asked cautiously, terrified of hearing him answer ’yes.’ It wasn’t that he was jealous; it was mainly because an old man’s heart wasn’t strong enough for such a shock.

"Ah, not yet."

Su Zhou replied casually, causing Rafael to let out a slight sigh of relief. But then Su Zhou quickly added, "I just had an Awakening of a new Divine Technique, that’s all."

"HISS—"

Instantly, Rafael’s breath hitched, and he sucked in a sharp gasp.

A Divine Technique is the Power of Essence. As a powerhouse at the Extraordinary Peak, Rafael had long had his own ideas for a Power of Essence. His idea was to use his own flesh as the sealing medium, infusing it with the power of numerous sealed items, and even Spirit Beasts, to transform it into his True Body.

By dividing his limbs and torso into five parts, sealing the ultimate power within each, and then using a Secret Technique for Five Stars Unification, he could ascend to the heavens in a single step, directly obtaining terrifying destructive power comparable to a Commander of the Middle Stage, or even High Tier!

The only problem was that in his daily life, he would have to keep his body sealed in separate parts, which would severely restrict his freedom. That was why Rafael still hadn’t made the Determination to take that step. After all, if he really went through with it, his title would probably become something as tongue-twisting as ’Rafael, the Sealed Sealing Master.’

In short, Rafael had decades of accumulated experience, but even so, crossing the threshold between the Extraordinary and Commander Tiers was an incredibly difficult task that required countless hours of contemplation. And yet, Su Zhou, not even twenty years of age, had already grasped a Divine Technique and advanced to the Commander Tier. The fact that he could freely separate that Divine Power Technique called ’Curse Detection’ showed that Su Zhou was no instinct-driven user who didn’t understand his own power. On the contrary, his analysis of his Divine Technique was exceptionally thorough!

And now, he had even grasped a brand-new Divine Technique?

"Professor Su, Professor Su!"

Right on cue, Selos fed him the perfect line, "Was comprehending this Divine Technique difficult?"

"It’s not a question of whether it was difficult or not. Even for me, comprehending a second Divine Technique required the help of an extremely precious Divine Object."

At this, Su Zhou seemed to recall the searing pain of his Soul being torn apart during the Awakening of the Fire of Sin a short while ago. He sighed with feeling, "It was incredibly arduous."

’Even Su Zhou found it arduous?’

Hearing this, Rafael felt a little more at peace with himself.

Of course, he had no idea that it had taken Su Zhou less than three and a half minutes in total. But even so, it had only been a little over two months since the end of the Beast God Realm mission. For Su Zhou to have advanced again in such a short time was truly astounding to him.

’Not even those freaks from the Spirit Summoning Association are as fast as Su Zhou!’

Rafael immediately felt apologetic for his earlier thoughts. He had originally thought that Su Zhou was just like those people from the Spirit Summoning Association, his power always taking sudden leaps forward.

But now, it was clear. The Spirit Summoning Association was worthy of being compared to Su Zhou in Cultivation speed? Compared to this Monster, those guys were practically crawling!

Realizing this, a wave of enlightenment washed over Rafael. "Ah, yes. So that’s how it is."

’It’s not that my Cultivation speed is slow, but that Su Zhou is just too fast. Even the Leader of the Spirit Summoning Association, who clearly has issues and is likely using some radical Secret Technique, can’t compare to him. So how could I possibly keep up?’

’What does it have to do with an ordinary Sealing Envoy like me if other people are using cheat codes?’

Having figured this out, Rafael suddenly felt his Soul become clear. ’There’s no need to compare myself to others in this regard. I just need to walk my own path, one step at a time!’

"Grandpa, are you all right?"

Selos, who had just taken out another new notebook to ask for Su Zhou’s autograph, noticed the ethereal, detached expression on her grandfather’s face as he sat in his wheelchair. "Do you need to rest for a bit?" she asked, a little worried.

"I’m fine. I’m still full of energy!"

Rafael snapped back to his senses. He laughed heartily and then said to Su Zhou, "Let’s go. We’ll head to the Seal perimeter around the Demon Realm first. There are still remnants of the battle there."

"Although we were hit by a surprise attack, we have the Space-Time Sect on Earth’s side firmly under control. In a way, we’ve already sealed the Spirit Summoning Association inside the Demon Realm. There’s no way they can escape."