Chapter 630 - 3: Never Mind Then

’Unfortunately, there’s no invincibility frame for transforming in real life. Even for me, there’s a small window of vulnerability when I switch to my True Body. Switching back and forth frequently is basically just handing my weaknesses to the enemy.’

As this thought crossed his mind, Su Zhou walked pensively toward his destination—the Shao Family’s Old Mansion on the outskirts of the city—while mulling over a solution. ’But if I could use my Personal Space as the place to switch forms, then it would be perfectly safe.’

Living things could enter Su Zhou’s Personal Space. Otherwise, the Wisdom Tree wouldn’t be able to live so comfortably inside, to the point that it was too happy to even think about leaving. A few times, Su Zhou had wanted to move it outside for some fresh air, but he was always refused.

"No! Outside! Don’t like!"

The Wisdom Tree’s tone and attitude at the time were exactly like a shut-in who refused to go out for fresh air, content to just immerse itself in its own world. "The air outside is foul! So dirty!"

"You need to get used to clean environments, but you also need to get used to filthy ones! Otherwise, how can you call yourself a well-rounded Divine Tree! Get out here!"

In response, the "old father" Su Zhou could only forcibly uproot it, letting the Wisdom Tree experience the vastness of the outside world while wailing, "No! I’m going to get... dirty..."

The result, of course, was that the Wisdom Tree realized its mistake. Staying in a fixed, safe area would only make it more delicate; true growth could only be found in the harshness of the natural world. Understanding this, it was extremely grateful to Su Zhou and thanked him several times. And Su Zhou, the great "Good Person," magnanimously said there was no need for thanks, as it was what he ought to do.

If even a Divine Wood could live so comfortably in his Personal Space, Su Zhou could naturally enter it himself. In fact, a Personal Space with its own internal elemental cycle was a complete sanctuary, a small world entirely isolated from the outside. When fully sealed, it could be self-sufficient for a very long time.

However, there was one condition: he had to leave behind spatial coordinates in the outside world.

Otherwise, when he came out, his position might have a certain degree of deviation. It wouldn’t even be surprising to end up tens of kilometers deep inside the Earth, in the mantle or even the core.

Using his Personal Space as a place to switch forms wasn’t impossible. Su Zhou had indeed been inspired after Yara’s reminder, but it was a skill that required frequent practice. So, he filed the idea away in his mental to-do list as a new training objective.

Having sorted this out, he arrived at the entrance of the Shao Family’s Old Mansion.

Shao Qiming’s car was parked at the gate, which meant he was inside.

Su Zhou rang the doorbell, and the main gate quickly opened.

He strode forward, the wooden floorboards creaking under his feet. Entering the mansion, Su Zhou could see the main hall was filled with stacked parcels and supplies of all sizes, which Shao Qiming was busy sorting and organizing.

"How’s it going, Qiming? Are you ready?"

Su Zhou asked casually as his eyes swept over the contents of the packages. Most of it was military-grade combat equipment, such as Sound Bombs, high-performance explosives, Night Travel Clothes, bulletproof vests, some auxiliary Exoskeleton Components, spy-grade listening devices, and a drone of a rather unique design.

This drone was particularly strange. Its surface shimmered with iridescent light, and it seemed to have an optical camouflage function. It was quite high-tech. The story was that its external armor was based on the scales of some chameleon-type Spirit Beast, which was why even Su Zhou had to look closely to make it out.

After all, one of Shao Qiming’s Attributes was light, so he could bring out the full potential of optical camouflage.

Clearly, it was all standard equipment, nothing unusual for a student from Qinxing Academy’s Practical Combat System. Su Zhou glanced at it once and paid it no further mind.

"Not yet, but I’m almost there."

Shao Qiming was clearly aware of Su Zhou’s schedule. He was currently modifying the drone and just gave a brief reply, "It’s an Otherworld, after all. This is my first time, so I want to be as prepared as possible."

"Being well-prepared is a good thing. I have no idea how much time has passed in the Divine Wood World, or what dangers might be lurking there."

His friend had always been this way, so Su Zhou understood Shao Qiming’s caution.

While Shao Qiming was modifying the drone, Su Zhou took out the Blade of Annihilation and examined it closely in his hand.

"Blade of Annihilation..."

Muttering to himself, Su Zhou gazed at the Divine Blade in his hand, the one that had accompanied him as he cut down many powerful foes. A hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes. ’The material for this Divine Blade is just ordinary flaming iron essence, imbued with some Molten Qi from a Volcano and the will of Annihilation Nirvana from a Great Monk who had passed on. That’s why it can slay souls and destroy the Undying nature of the Divine Wood.’

’At this point, the Divine Blade’s power is no longer sufficient to keep up with me. I’m about to reach the Commander Middle Stage, but the blade is still fundamentally an Extraordinary High-tier weapon.’

Su Zhou had many reasons for returning to the Divine Wood World. Seeing how the world he had saved had changed was naturally one of them. But beyond that, besides helping Shao Qiming experience the Divine Wood Power firsthand, Su Zhou also planned to let the much-wiser Wisdom Tree see what one of its own kind looked like in its mature form, to help it build up its own foundation and experience.

Another goal was to integrate the Desire Power dwelling within the Blade of Annihilation to increase its strength.

Although the material of this Divine Blade wasn’t top-tier, its foundation was excellent. Su Zhou believed that as long as he learned the Qi Forging Divine Weapon Technique passed down by the Grand Master of the Five Weapons Sect who had forged this blade, he could use other materials to enhance it. Besides, in the Extraordinary World, materials weren’t the only source of enhancement. By integrating the Desire Power of countless people on this blade, he could easily strengthen it to a level close to the Soul Weapon Realm of a High-level Commander.

Su Zhou had already sorted out the Desire Power from the Reincarnation World. However, he hadn’t been able to perceive Desire Power back when he was in the Divine Wood World, so he couldn’t guide it. That power remained tangled on the Divine Blade, unusable. Therefore, Su Zhou felt he had two choices: either return to the Divine Wood World and give up on this thread of Cause and Effect and Desire Power, or re-organize and fuse it in his own world, integrating it perfectly for his own use.

With a casual swing, Su Zhou didn’t use a single bit of Spiritual Power, yet the entire old mansion’s temperature instantly rose by several degrees. This made Shao Qiming, who was off to the side, look up and click his tongue in admiration. "Nice blade," he commented, before lowering his head again to continue engraving Runes and modifying the drone’s rotors.

’I hope the Grand Master’s Qi Forging Divine Weapon Method hasn’t been lost to time. Given the magnanimity of the Hundred Schools Alliance back then, they probably wouldn’t hoard it to the point it disappeared. When the time comes, I’ll trade my modified Thunder Technique or Gale Shield Technique for it.’

Of course, Su Zhou didn’t plan on getting it for free. He would never trade away any legacies from Zhengguo, but the improved versions of the Five Extremes Divine Thunder True Technique and the Whole Body Mist Armor, which originated from the Divine Wood World anyway, were fair game for trade.

After a while, Shao Qiming nodded at the drone in front of him with satisfaction. He stood up and lifted the specially modified drone—which was at least half the size of a person—with one hand. "Alright, modifications complete. I’ll just tidy up a bit, and then we can get ready to go."

"Hey, why does this thing have micro-rocket pods on it? Dude, are you preparing to go to war?!"

Su Zhou had noticed two new, dense honeycomb modules abruptly added to the underside of the drone and was taken aback. "Aren’t these the micro high-performance assassination rockets that only special forces are equipped with? I heard they can even be loaded with radioactive metal warheads like polonium, or even bioweapon warheads... Who the hell authorized this for you?"

"You." Shao Qiming raised a hand and pointed at Su Zhou, his answer concise.

"Oh, so it was me..." Su Zhou’s face lit up with understanding, and he nodded slightly. "Then we’re good."

Despite saying that, Su Zhou clearly sensed that something was off. "I’ve noticed it from the start—Qiming, you seem a little down. Are you too nervous?"

"A little."

There was no reason to deny it. Shao Qiming frowned slightly, then sighed. He shrugged, his voice tinged with resignation. "Actually, I started worrying ever since I found out that time flows at a different speed in the Divine Wood World compared to our world."

As he spoke, the young man looked deeply troubled. "Su Zhou, have you ever thought about it? Connecting two worlds with different rates of time flow is actually something of immense significance... and also incredibly dangerous."