Chapter 525 - 292: Advancement! Thunder Ash World Master
"I see." Su Chen had a general idea of what was happening. The flow of time in the environment was changing, but his own personal timeline remained the same.
The amount of tempering he would normally endure in ten minutes was now compressed into one.
’That makes sense,’ Su Chen mused. ’If it were that easy to manipulate time, couldn’t someone just advance their profession in an environment like this?’
"Therefore, under these circumstances, you may not be able to withstand an acceleration of the simulated environment by ten times or more."
Su Chen understood. "Let’s take it step by step, then. Increase it one-fold at a time, and I’ll see when I can’t take it anymore."
"Understood." As the Copper Spirit’s voice faded, the surrounding environment began to accelerate. The number of fiery serpents multiplied, their attacks growing faster and faster. The dark clouds overhead burst like an iron curtain, and lightning spears rained down.
One-fold, two-fold, three-fold. For now, he felt no pressure.
Four-fold, five-fold. His body began to ache with a stinging pain.
When it reached seven-fold, Su Chen shouted, "Stop."
By now, the lightning crashed down and the flames surged at an incredible speed. His entire body felt as if it were being pricked by countless needles. Illusions constantly flickered at the edge of his vision, some even bearing familiar faces.
’This is far beyond the limit a Tier Five Professional could withstand. If my various Enhanced Abilities weren’t constantly reinforcing my body, I would’ve collapsed long ago,’ Su Chen thought, clicking his tongue in amazement.
He then took out his Secret Artifact and merged it into his body. Since this process didn’t use an Enhanced Ability, the expenditure was not particularly high.
His physical strength increased significantly, and the stinging pain vanished. Su Chen let out a breath of relief before saying, "Continue ramping it up."
Eight-fold, nine-fold, ten-fold!
This was the absolute limit of what the Creation Copper Heart could achieve. Any faster, and it would no longer be able to distort the perception of a profession’s Pseudo-Spirituality.
A continuous CRACKLING and SIZZLING filled the air. Fiery serpents burrowed into his eyes, ears, and nostrils, while molten lightning poured into his pores, completely submerging him.
A normal refinement process would take at least half a year, but under these conditions, it would only require eighteen days. For Su Chen, that wasn’t a particularly long time.
...
"Sir Su Chen, the time you set has elapsed. Do you wish to extend it?"
The Copper Spirit’s voice suddenly rang out. Su Chen’s eyes snapped open, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
He could clearly sense that both his body and his Spirit Core had grown far more resilient.
Still, a trace of exhaustion lingered in his eyes. Even when he was out advancing his profession, he would never train for this long in a single session, always taking occasional breaks.
"Tsk. That was only eighteen days. Having to endure that for half a year would be genuine torture."
Su Chen sighed at the thought, but his emotion quickly turned into an irrepressible sense of anticipation.
He rejected the Copper Spirit’s suggestion to undergo his professional advancement there, hastily leaving the Creation Copper Heart. He returned to the Floating Island and stepped into his training room.
"Finally, the Main Profession Fusion. Let’s see just how special it is."
Su Chen centered himself, his gaze sharpening. ’Thunder Ash World Master, ascend!’
In that instant, Su Chen’s vision went black. It felt as if someone had viciously swung a thick iron rod from behind, smashing it squarely against the back of his head.
A sharp CRACK echoed from deep within his ears. It was no illusion. He could clearly perceive his Spirit Core shattering, piece by piece, like crystal struck by a sledgehammer as cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.
’This...’ Su Chen’s heart leaped into his throat. ’The Spirit Core is the most critical thing of all. If anything goes wrong... the consequences are unthinkable.’
However, the shattered fragments of his Spirit Core didn’t dissipate. Instead, they began to seep into his body, fusing with his limbs and bones.
Darkness flooded his vision. Su Chen gritted his teeth, fighting to stay conscious.
A raw, savage power surged through him, scouring and reforging every cell, every meridian, and every bone in his body.
The transformation erupted all at once. His muscle fibers tore and re-fused, his bones stretched and reformed, and his blood vessels boiled and expanded in the intense heat.
The pain of this transformation far surpassed that of any previous professional advancement or promotion. His Spiritual Power and his very cells were being violently mashed together.
Su Chen’s breathing was ragged. The slightest movement felt like it was stirring a billion red-hot steel needles, which then stabbed and scraped through his insides.
BOOM!
Blazing Flame Thunder erupted around him, tearing through the training room. As time went on, Su Chen’s deathly pale face gradually calmed. Behind him, a hazy, sacred, and majestic figure began to manifest.
[Fusion of Thunder Flame Monarch and Red Thunder Master into Thunder Ash World Master: Success!]
[Secret Artifact Master Enhanced! -- Controllable Secret Artifacts: +1]
[Secret Technique Master Enhanced!]
[Spiritual Power Enhanced!]
[New Professional Ability exhibits an affinity with Calamity Fire Thunder Body, Majestic Appearance, Crimson Thunder Core, and Thunder Instant Flame Strike. Now fusing...]
[Fusion successful! Acquired Professional Ability—Reflected Venerable: Reflect the image of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator onto yourself. I am the Venerable, and the Venerable is me!]