Chapter 347 – The Seventh Stage, Astonishment, False Feather

“If I had known earlier, I would have absorbed more death energy in the Wailing Ruins…”

Lu Yuan thought to himself.

But this was not something he could control.

Lu Yuan strolled leisurely forward.

There were still traces of death and decay lingering on his body. Wherever he walked, the grass and leaves within a few meters around him withered and died.

In the distance, there was a rustling sound of something moving away-that was the secret realm’s creatures, fleeing in fear of his aura.

Lu Yuan checked his professional panel.

First, he looked at the [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] panel.

The [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] professional level had increased by 1, reaching Level 12. He was rewarded with 1 attribute point and 1 skill point.

On the panel, the experience of several skills had increased. The [Underworld Garment] had the most substantial progress and had reached max level, even extending into a corresponding advanced professional skill: Level 1 [Underworld Armor].

This was the set of sovereign heavy armor Lu Yuan wore during his second transformation. It was more luxurious and exquisite, more heavy and dignified than the underworld garment, and provided higher defense power.

Of course, Level 1 [Underworld Armor] wouldn’t achieve the same effect as it did in Lu Yuan’s previous battle, where he had the massive death energy boost from the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather.

His Level 12 [Death Energy Entanglement] had risen to Level 13.

In addition to representing Lu Yuan’s control over even more vast amounts of death energy, it also meant he could use the death energy more skillfully and make more intricate operations.

“I feel like the [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] might become my second max level profession…”

Lu Yuan glanced over the entire panel. Judging by the proportion of black areas to bright areas, it seemed that about half of the skills had yet to be unlocked.

He delved into the legacy within the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather, wondering if he could independently comprehend a few more skills.

Then, he would spend some skill points to unlock the remaining skills just right.

Using them more frequently would level them up quickly, and then he could consider advancing the profession.

Lu Yuan was quite hopeful about the advanced profession of the [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)].

“It doesn’t matter if it’s strong or not, the most important thing is to look cool. The abilities of the elephant deity system are rough and brutal, and they have no grace in battle. I really don’t like using them at all… I really love the crow deity instead!”

Lu Yuan tried to convey his thoughts into the Crow Dreamscape.

Next, he looked at the [Martial Arts Grandmaster (Extraordinary)] panel.

It had also leveled up, from Level 8 to Level 9, fairly quickly.

In the Deep Valley battle, Lu Yuan spent 6 attribute points, increasing his intelligence points by 2, and saved 1 of the 7 attribute points he had. Now, he had 3 points again.

He had also accumulated 3 skill points.

Speaking of this, after this battle and the various information he had gathered earlier, Lu Yuan roughly evaluated his current combat power.

“After SS, whether it’s modification, new martial arts, or Starry Sky martial arts, they all use the rank of mental light as the combat power standard.

Indeed, mental power is the decisive factor for controlling the amount of energy, regardless of the system, it’s all based on mental power…”

To date, Lu Yuan had experienced combat power from the first-stage to the sixth-stage.

The brown-haired man named Haines, whom he killed three times in the Deep Valley, was sixth-stage.

The pilots of the other three Earth level Mechas were likely fifth-stage.

From comparing the mental powers of opponents across these six levels, Lu Yuan observed that the strength of mental power seemed to double at each stage.

“The mental power of second-stage is twice that of the first-stage, third-stage is twice that of second-stage, fourth-stage is twice that of third-stage… sixth-stage is at least twice that of fifth-stage or more!”

“At an intelligence point of 31, my mental power is stronger than an ordinary second-stage but not as strong as a third-stage.

I know the growth pattern of attribute points; each 1 point increase roughly boosts abilities by about 1.5 times…

When I fought Haines, my intelligence was at 33 points.

Through the [Dual Lotus Rotation. Divine Energy] technique with the secret method of the fusion of two flowers, my mental power surged ninefold, from less than Haines to instantly more than double his.

Thus, my normal state mental power should be fourth-stage, just barely reaching the threshold.

But once I use the secret method of the fusion of two flowers…”

The result made even Lu Yuan himself a bit surprised.

“Seventh stage!”

“I can now reach seventh-stage combat power!”

…

In the silent meeting room, a deep voice broke the brief silence.

“Is the combat power assessment result out?”

“It has been determined.”

“How much?”

The glasses-wearing man responsible for reporting various situations and results paused slightly and then said, “Seventh stage.”

“Hiss-“

As those two words were spoken, the large meeting room filled with the sound of low gasps.

Almost every leader of the powerful factions present showed expressions of shock and awe, their eyes filled with incredulity.

Seventh stage!

In a medium-sized national power or organization, this almost represented the pinnacle of individual combat power.

Even on a global scale, such a level stood among the ranks of top-tier powerhouses.

What’s more, a seventh-stage Hidden Star was rarer and more valuable than a seventh-stage Supernova or other seventh-stage system powerhouses.

Even the head of the Distant Star Federation felt his eyelid twitch slightly at the news.

He stopped his habitual motion of rubbing the metal cufflink on his sleeve, pondered briefly, and then quickly issued commands, “He was injured once under Haines in the past; immediately collect his tissue samples from the site.

Verify his identity.

Also, prepare a detailed potential assessment report on him as soon as possible…”

“Understood.”

The glasses-wearing man nodded and swiftly conveyed the orders.

After the head of the Distant Star Federation made several decisions, he turned his attention to someone at the head of the meeting table.

Dean Cassel.

Dean Cassel from Javier’s Sleepless organization.

Since that mysterious “Hidden Star” exploded with terrifying seventh-stage combat power, instantly killing their side’s Silver Fang with the third demon personality, Haines, in one move…

Cassel had remained silent.

The head of the Distant Star Federation’s eyes flickered slightly, just as he was about to speak.

Cassel, with a calm expression betraying no emotions, spoke first.

“I need reports on the injuries of everyone who fought against him in this battle, a comprehensive analysis of his abilities… and also…”

Cassel paused, then spoke each word clearly and decisively, “Find him. I hope to invoke the access level of ‘Pursuit of Deity’ to find him as quickly as possible.”

The head of the Distant Star Federation was mildly surprised by Cassel’s first sentence, but he wholeheartedly agreed with Cassel’s subsequent statement.

He nodded, lightly drumming his fingers on the table in front of him, and said, “Indeed.

Whether it’s to recover those five mysterious acorns or because of this person himself…”

The Head of the Distant Star Federation looked at the light screen before him, at the playing image of that extraordinarily dazzling figure, narrowed his eyes, and softly muttered, “No one outside the distant stars should or would be allowed to emerge as a second ‘Thunder Spirit Thor’.”

…

“…Currently, reaching seventh stage requires sufficient energy support.”

Lu Yuan showcased genuine seventh-stage combat power in the deep valley because he used his seventh-stage mental power to deeply extract the overwhelming death energy from the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather.

Under normal circumstances, with just his grandmaster body, his seventh-stage mental power could probably only unleash about sixth-stage combat power at best.

“The combat power of a martial arts grandmaster is quite complex, relying on the physical body, mental power, and qi and blood, all three of which are indispensable.

Right now, my other basic attributes are too far from seventh stage. Unless I comprehend the Three Flowers Fusion to achieve a real qualitative change, I can’t firmly attain the seventh stage…”

The nearly flawless martial arts grandmaster system made Lu Yuan believe that a seventh-stage martial arts grandmaster could easily overpower any other extraordinary systems of the same level.

“I wonder if my Ming King Stance can reach the seventh stage. The second perfect limit break [demon] form should certainly stabilize at the seventh stage.”

Thinking this way, Lu Yuan found his combat power to be incredibly strong.

Although he appeared to be just an ordinary fourth stage, in reality, he possessed several seventh-stage trump cards. Any one of them revealed could scare many people to death.

“It seems like I’m getting closer to Yuwen Tong… I’ll need to find time to test Lord Tong’s true strength.”

Lu Yuan thought, as he took out from his nano battle suit the four acorns and a bunch of oak leaves that he had been keeping close to his body.

During his prolonged fight with these items, the incredibly intense evil deity factor and energy fluctuations they emitted had seeped through his skin and pores, making him feel as though his basic attributes were reaching the boundary for another growth spurt.

“It’s worth trading a quarter of the death energy from the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow’s feather for this…”

Lu Yuan picked out the pure golden acorn from the four acorns, the one with the most intense aura, almost scorching to the touch. He held it up to his eyes for a closer look.

The acorn was incredibly exquisite and beautiful; its golden surface was covered with ornate scarlet patterns, emitting a continuous glow, making it look like a stunning piece of art.

Lu Yuan admired it for a while, then made a gesture as if he were about to toss it into his mouth.

“Whoosh-“

A subtle sound barrier-breaking noise echoed by his ear.

A flash of orange-red streaked by, perfectly timed, aiming for the acorn pinched between Lu Yuan’s fingers, but missed its target.

“What an idiot.”

Lu Yuan playfully tossed the golden acorn up and down in his hand, laughing as he looked at the frustrated cuckoo bird not too far away. He tapped his temple mockingly.

“Brain-dead? I told you I can twist your perception, yet you fell for the same move again.”

The cuckoo bird stared at him with a stern face.

“I knew you’d sniff your way over here…”

“You left me during the fight, and now you have the nerve to come back and try to snatch something from me?”

Lu Yuan pointed at the cuckoo bird and scoffed, “Do you have no shame?”

“Cuckoo-“

The cuckoo bird argued loudly.

“I know you’re just a bird, staying wouldn’t have helped. But whether you could help me or wanted to help are two different things.

I find you unreliable. Our cooperation needs to end immediately!”

“Cuckoo-“

“No negotiation.”

Lu Yuan shook his head, “You’ve already got one acorn as agreed upon, I owe you nothing more. That’s it, we’re going our separate ways.”

Lu Yuan waved his hand dismissively, turning on his heel as if to leave.

The cuckoo bird immediately panicked, frantically flapping its wings to block his path, chirping incessantly.

Whenever Lu Yuan moved, the bird would dart in that direction to block him.

After a few tries, Lu Yuan finally “gave in” impatiently, snapping, “Fine, if you give me a Phoenix Feather, I’ll not only continue working with you but also give you this pure golden acorn.”

Lu Yuan had revealed his true intentions.

This was his plan all along, a strategy of retreat to advance.

Though the pure golden acorn was valuable, it was not a legendary level material. Trading it for a legendary Phoenix Feather… absolutely worth it!

The cuckoo bird was silent for a moment.

At last, it let out a reluctant chirp.

“Cuckoo! (Fine!)”

A radiant golden feather emerged from its beak, and Lu Yuan, eyes gleaming with excitement, swiftly snatched it.

The moment his skin touched the Phoenix Feather, a notification popped up on his professional panel.

[Congratulations, you have obtained an extraordinary level material. Would you like to unlock a new profession?]

Lu Yuan’s face, flush with anticipation and joy, suddenly froze.

After a brief pause, Lu Yuan’s expression darkened. He examined the golden feather in his hand more closely, and then, with a cold tone, barked at the cuckoo bird, “This isn’t the feather from before! Are you trying to deceive me?!”