"As expected, I still gotta rely on cheats!"
Xu Cheng sighed emotionally.
In terms of the Sun-Moon Empire's soul tool technology, it would likely take decades to develop space-jumping tech. But now… the system was practically spoon-feeding it to him.
Wait a second!
Xu Cheng suddenly froze.
He seemed to have sensed the presence of abyssal creatures not long ago. Logically, those things were no ordinary opponents. In the original work, they brought massive destruction to the entire Douluo plane. Countless powerful beings died resisting them—calling it a massacre wasn't an exaggeration. After all, their original goal was to devour the Douluo Plane.
So if he wiped them out…
How much would the system reward him?
"Whew…"
He forcibly suppressed his excitement.
If his guess was right, because of Tang God-King's early intervention, those abyssal creatures would probably arrive on Douluo Star four or five years ahead of schedule.
And since they would arrive earlier, their power wouldn't evolve to the level of half-gods like in the original. At most, the strongest among them would only be at the Limit Douluo level.
Wouldn't that be the perfect place to farm EXP?Should he raise them like livestock…?
Forget it.
Xu Cheng shook his head.
He couldn't make the same mistake Tang God-King did—ignoring all risks and bringing disaster to Douluo Star.
That said, he probably wouldn't use divine power (Seven Deadly Sins) to intervene. Instead, he'd treat this as the first threshold the Sun-Moon Empire would need to cross on its journey to the galactic universe…
"If a Sun-Moon Empire equipped with interstellar battleships still can't deal with these enemies, then expanding the nation into the universe is nothing but a joke."
"Is something wrong? I can ask you again tomorrow." Ji Juechen noticed Xu Cheng's changing expression and quickly asked.
"Haha, no trouble at all…" Xu Cheng replied with a beaming smile.
Glancing at the Destruction Sword behind Ji Juechen, his smile deepened. The annihilation power Ji had developed stemmed from the power of destruction—essentially, the very godhood Xu Cheng planned to inherit.
In this area, calling himself Ji Juechen's teacher wasn't arrogance—it was fact.
The power of destruction he'd recently fused into his body was the real deal… the power of authority.
"Boom!"
Ji Juechen's figure was sent flying.
His body, previously cloaked in a black-and-white aura like something from a manga world, faded back into a full-color three-dimensional reality… His overwhelming annihilation domain gradually dissipated.
This was Ji Juechen's self-created domain.
His Destruction Sword was embedded in the wall not far away, humming faintly.
"Huff… huff…"
Ji Juechen's face was pale. He looked in horror at Xu Cheng, who walked out calmly from the settling dust.
A complete contrast.
And in the spectator seats below, only two people remained. Jing Ziyan covered her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief.
She had never seen Xu Cheng fight with her own eyes. Everything she knew came from rumors—disjointed descriptions from other students.
But now...
This guy's a complete monster.
In her eyes, Ji Juechen had never been defeated before. Whether at Shrek Academy or in the Sun-Moon Empire, he had few rivals. Crossing ranks to defeat stronger enemies was his norm. But now...
She saw it clearly.
Defeated in one move?Crushed with overwhelming force, without the slightest chance to resist?!
"Watch closely… this is how you use the power of destruction."
Xu Cheng grinned, slowly opening his palm.
In his pale hand—
A faint purple lightning sparkled.
It was as thin as silver thread, seemingly fragile and ready to vanish at any moment.
Yet Ji Juechen was transfixed, staring at it dumbly.
"BOOM—!!"
As Xu Cheng lightly flicked his hand—
A thunderous explosion roared across the arena.
No, half the arena was simply gone.
All that remained were the students outside, who had accidentally passed by, now staring dumbfounded at the destroyed scene.
"Destruction isn't about size or scale. Brute force with no control is just for meatheads. Destruction is an art. And art… demands precision."
"Uh… Old Jing, how much did all this cost again…?"
Inside the Mingde Hall office.
Xu Cheng scratched his head awkwardly.
"Hmph! No less than forty million if you want to rebuild it." Jing Hongchen snapped.
"What the hell? Forty million?!" Xu Cheng gaped.
"What did you expect? The builders are all soul engineers—do you think they're cheap? Skilled labor isn't easy to come by these days." Jing Hongchen huffed.
Xu Cheng: "…"
Why does this feel so familiar somehow?
"Grandpa! It's not like Brother Cheng did it on purpose." Meng Hongchen pouted.
"Hmph. Just to show off in front of Ji, he blew up the entire training arena? Sure, Xu Cheng had fun—but who's footing the bill?" Jing Hongchen grumbled.
"Put it on my brother's tab?" Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes sparkled mischievously.
"He's going to inherit Mingde Hall anyway. Consider it a test. If he can't even handle this repair, how can he lead?" She shrugged.
Jing Hongchen: "…"
How could someone throw their own brother under the bus like that?
"But… she kinda has a point. Ah Xiao really does lack experience." Jing Hongchen nodded.
"Go get your brother."
"You got it!" Meng Hongchen zipped away.
"Alright, you get lost too." Jing Hongchen waved impatiently at Xu Cheng.
"Actually, there's one more thing, Old Jing." Xu Cheng smiled slyly.
"What is it now?"
"Do you know how to perform space-jumping?" Xu Cheng asked with interest.
"Space what? What are you talking about?" Jing Hongchen looked totally lost.
"Let's say you wanted to go to Shrek Academy—how would you get there?" Xu Cheng asked.
"Fly? Walk? Ride a carriage?" Jing Hongchen was even more confused.
"What if… all it took was a single soul tool array to open a door—and when you step through that door, you're instantly at Shrek Academy?" Xu Cheng smiled.
"Nonsense… how could something like that possibly exi—"
Jing Hongchen laughed helplessly.
But the atmosphere in the room had turned oddly silent.
After a long pause, he slowly turned to Xu Cheng, whose face still wore a faint smile.
His expression gradually grew serious.
"You're not about to tell me… this kind of thing is actually possible, are you?"
"That's right."
Xu Cheng nodded slightly.
"And not just to Shrek Academy. Even to another continent far, far away…"
Of course, this "jump" was more akin to a wormhole.
By using soul power to maintain a formation that created a tunnel between two distant points, the jump time was around a day—but the distance covered could span a light-year.
In other words—
Their current interstellar battleships already had the basic capability for space exploration.
What they lacked was… raw power.
While Level 11 soul tools were strong, their power was still quite limited.
After all, Ye Xishui's Death God Tower was just a Level 10 soul tool, and Elder Kong, even as a Super Douluo, only had a Level 10 soul tool as his core artifact.
This showed that Level 10 was roughly the peak of the continent, around Rank 99.
As for Level 11, Xu Cheng doubted that it could reach demi-god-level strength.
And in the vast universe…
Even in the God Realm, a mere divine officer could wipe them out in a second.
So for now, it was better to grow quietly.
No need to draw attention from the gods and invite unnecessary trouble.
(End of Chapter)