Chapter 523 - 489: Sacrificial Altar: Death
This crystal was originally a fragment that had broken off a much larger crystal in the Tomb Star Realm. The deathly aura it contained could give S-rank death-attribute skills a chance to evolve.
It later underwent Shi Ming’s infinite upgrades.
After its infinite upgrades, the Silent Crystal, though it still looked like the same dark shard as before, now possessed its full functionality.
By holding this item near the concealed First Civilization Cosmic Country, one could use the crystal’s connection to the Tomb Star System to enter a state of silence, bypass the joint seal of the pseudo-gods, and return to the First Civilization Cosmic Country.
This Star Domain was complex.
If it was truly related to the Tomb Star Realm, it was bound to be monitored by pseudo-gods—and most likely more than one.
After arriving in this Star Domain, Shi Ming had maintained extreme secrecy and investigated many places.
Only here, for the first time, did the Silent Crystal show a faint reaction.
This reaction was extremely subtle.
It was like a fickle woman’s teasing—faint and fleeting. Whenever he tried to probe it in detail, it would vanish without a trace. Even with his Spiritual Power, Shi Ming found it difficult to peel back the layers and perceive its true nature.
He could only sense an occasional resonance.
He was unable to make any further progress.
He quietly marked this location as the first anomaly worth exploring in detail. He had already used his Eye of Destiny for the day, and to have gained this much while exploring a planet potentially under the surveillance of pseudo-gods was a rare find. It deserved to be treated with caution.
"Ah Da, we’ve arrived."
Ah Da was a term the people of the Red Wood Tribe used for guests who had traveled from afar.
At the end of the winding path, the view suddenly opened up before Shi Ming. There stood a remarkably sturdy wooden hut. Its design was simple, but the materials were carefully chosen, using the hardest Iron Blood Wood from the tribe’s nearby jungle. The joints weren’t fastened with nails or mortise-and-tenon work; instead, they were tightly bound with tough ropes woven from animal hides. The craftsmanship was solid.
The wood could last for ten years without rotting.
But the ropes needed to be replaced every year.
Dried beast meat and hides hung under the eaves. A plot of land had been cultivated in front of the small hut, planted with some unknown crops. Beyond it, dozens of similar wooden huts were scattered throughout a large expanse of forest. This was just one of the scattered communities of the Red Wood Tribe. With the altar as an off-center hub, an area with a radius of roughly ten kilometers belonged to the Red Wood Tribe.
This reminded Shi Ming of Earth’s Stone Age.
The evolution of civilization truly had its universal parallels.
...
...
...
The morning dew had not yet formed, and the "Burning Star" in the south had not yet risen, when Shi Ming heard the sounds of training coming from outside the hut.
He also caught the scent of cooking smoke.
He got up.
The sky was still dark.
But this was of no importance to either the person training or to Shi Ming. The former was long accustomed to the surroundings from their daily practice; the latter didn’t care about so-called light and dark, as in a certain sense, there was no great difference between the two for him.
WHOOSH!
The Bone Saber, swung with a recklessness unique to youth, cleaved domineeringly through the air.
’Not bad strength, but the technique is crude.’
’In this tribe, the combat skills of young and old alike were developed through hunting. There’s no systematic training. Even to someone from my past life who knew a little about martial arts, the openings in their style are as numerous as the holes in a sieve.’
’Forget about the Fighting Techniques I’ve mastered, or even established systems like Quert of Constantinople’s Ancient Rome combat, the Vortex Country’s jujutsu, and Tielo Boxing from the Endless Ocean. Any basic introductory martial art from a random school would be enough to completely overwhelm him.’
Shi Ming watched without saying a word.
Only when the young man named "Huo Zhuang" finished his training and took a big gulp of water from a stone bowl did Shi Ming walk over.
’I can’t just live here for free. It’s only right to offer some pointers.’
’This planet is an anomaly. Only by blending in with the natives can I integrate from within, investigating its secrets as an insider. It will also allow me to avoid any major actions that might attract the attention of the pseudo-gods.’
"Your weapon isn’t your enemy. You don’t need to put so much tension in your grip."
"Also, drop your shoulders and relax. Like this."
"You don’t have to draw your saber, but your presence must be formidable!"
Shi Ming picked up a branch and stood there casually.
A sliver of dawn broke over the edge of the distant jungle, its light slanting across his shoulder and gilding the fine hairs on his animal-skin clothes with a fiery edge. It made Shi Ming feel like one who passes the flame, adding a strange sense of ceremony to the moment.
"Watch closely."
"I will only demonstrate this once."
The branch in Shi Ming’s hand became a weapon.
As Huo Zhuang watched with rapt attention, he felt as if the nearly withered branch had become the most powerful divine weapon in the world. Even his own newly forged Bone Saber wasn’t a tenth as sharp. It seemed every muscle in this distant guest’s body, every movement of his arms, contained the explosive power of a nimble leopard. The very air bent to his will, and even the Burning Star, poised to rise, seemed to serve only as his backdrop.
’He was right.’
’If this man were the proper age, he could definitely become a true warrior, earn the king’s favor, and receive a divine revelation!’
’No, he *is* a true warrior.’
"My saber technique has three key principles. The first is: grip your saber firmly; there is power in stability."