Dark Moon Era

Chapter 414: The Advancing Path

At night, Tang Ling sat in front of his table and took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

In order to complete the first spirit body array that night, after he completed his daily smithing work, Tang Ling luxuriously relaxed completely.

Like Boss Huang, Tang Ling did nothing for a couple of hours and took a two-hour nap in order to rest his body to its prime. He even took a bath from head to toe. The whole preparation process felt ritualistic.

It was already midnight. Other than the crashing waves outside the window, it was quiet.

On top of Tang Ling’s table, the body array pen and the required materials were all prepared.

“Let’s begin.” Tang Ling took one last deep breath. He picked up the body array pen and started the first step—basic drafting.

This body array pen was a present from the Ninth Ruins, and according to Boss Huang, it was difficult to appraise the level of a miscellaneous item because the Purple Moon era had yet to come up with a unified appraisal standard for these items.

Why was that?

Firstly, these items were rare. They were probably exclusive items released by the Dream Domain and only a handful of special scientists could make them.

Secondly, these items had limited use, so non-professionals could not judge the difference in usage or effect properly.

In summary, it was difficult for the world to come up with a unified standard.

Nevertheless, Boss Huang’s comment on Tang Ling’s body array pen was quite positive and he mentioned that it was good.

The body array pen could withstand a large amount of energy and had a high transmission rate for energy. Otherwise, given how sophisticated the body array that Tang Ling wanted to draw was, a common body array pen was not fit for the job.

Boss Huang also had a glance at the spirit body array, and although he was not an expert in this, he was able to advise Tang Ling from the perspective of energy.

With that in mind, Tang Ling proceeded with the first stage of the basic drafting.

The first stage was the easiest, at least, for Tang Ling who had Precise Instinct. All he had to do was carve the complete shape of the body array on his chest.

Why his chest though? Why such an important part of the body? And why would he carve it on his chest?

It was because Tang Ling decided to make this spirit body array a permanent one after some serious thought.

Firstly, the effect of the spirit body array was long-term. If he treated it as a one-time consumable body array, it would be a huge joke.

Secondly, the materials required for this body array were rare and expensive. If he made it a one-time consumable body array, he could save a lot of materials this round, but in the long run, repeatedly carving the body array would be costlier than a once-off permanent carving.

Indeed, after reading the manual for the spirit body array, Tang Ling realized that it was possible to make this body array a one-time consumable type. The required materials and drawing patterns would be different as well.

However, after some serious comparison, he decided to take the risk to carve it permanently.

There was also a downside. The permanent body array had harsh requirements and it was uncertain how many layers he could complete in the future. If he got stuck after the first layer, compared to other body arrays, the effect of this first layer of the spirit body array would be insignificant.

Regardless of that, since Kun looked highly upon increasing the spirit even by a little, Tang Ling dared not take it for granted or give up on trying.

The first carving process proceeded smoothly. Aside from his Precise Instinct, he was able to actually copy and paste the body array in his first drawing.

Tang Ling had been practicing this for a long time and he forced himself to remember it to the point that he could draw it even with his eyes closed. What could go wrong with such familiarity?

After the first step, he used the body array pen to carve a bloody shape on his chest. Blood was dripping off his body because there was a requirement in terms of the depth of the lines.

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A surface wound was painless to Tang Ling. He simply wiped the blood off with a clean handkerchief and picked up a section of the nerves of a Level 5 mutated insect’s antennae with a pair of small tweezers.

The nerves were very fine to the point that they were almost invisible to the naked eye, but supermen existed in this era, did they not? Even the common Purple Moon Warrior-to-be possessed ultra vision, let alone Tang Ling.

On top of that, the common folks of this era already possessed superior vision compared to the people of the old civilization.

Even so, Tang Ling still used his Precise Instinct for insurance sake. He carefully planted the nerves into the carved lines on his chest, and while he was at it, he infused a small amount of his energy into the nerves through a special method.

This particular step demanded a great deal of his attention. Planting the nerves in the body array was considered one of the most uncommon methods among a myriad of them, but Tang Ling did it perfectly.

By the time the nerves were planted in the correct position within the carved line as per instructions from the bamboo scroll, 40 minutes had passed.

Tang Ling’s regenerative ability was as disgusting as always. A part of the wound had started to scab over and he had to carefully pry it open again.

Even he had to admit that it was torture, but the pain was not much of a worry and he did not even reveal any pained expression. As long as he could complete it, the little torture was nothing.

After the second step, the third step would be applying the body array solution that he prepared into the body array itself.

This step required his energy to be constantly lively and vibrating. Only then could the body array solution be dissolved into pure energy and enter his body.

The requirements for this step were steep, and without a good body array pen, it was almost impossible to complete this step. Besides that, if any mistakes were done in this particular step, there would be a chain reaction and the mistake would destroy the previous efforts, then everything must be redone.

Therefore, Tang Ling purposely focused on energy vibration during his practices over the past weeks.

Now, being skillful was an understatement for Tang Ling’s technique. He practiced day and night to ingrain the process into his muscle memory, so now, he could vibrate his energy whenever he wanted.

Even so, Tang Ling dared not be careless. He took a break before he carefully took the body array solution that he had cooled in the cooling liquid. If he failed, he would have to buy the materials again and it would cost him more than a thousand Black Sea coins.

Tang Ling could not do anything without money and the thought of being broke was devastating. Therefore, he could not afford to fail!

Even though the Level 9 vicious beast blood was only required at the last step and it was not possible for him to waste it, he still could not afford to fail.

The body array solution emanated a chilly presence. Even though it had been cooled for many days, it was not frozen. Instead, it looked rather energetic.

Tang Ling dipped the body array pen into the body array solution and started his first stroke of drawing.

The first stroke looked like he was just drawing over the carved line with the body array solution. In fact, the energy in the pen must be vibrated for at least 15 times to fuse the body array solution into the body array. The more vibrations there were, the better it was.

Tang Ling did not go after the perfect outcome. He vibrated the energy 15 times before he landed the first stroke. He then carefully added several more vibrations until the stroke dried off.

The fusion result turned out to be decent and it boosted Tang Ling’s confidence. He suppressed his excitement and continued with the second stroke, the third stroke, and so on.

An hour later, Tang Ling was halfway through the third step. The body array solution had covered at least four-fifths of the formation.

However, he was also exhausted from the extreme concentration, and his forehead was covered in sweat. He drank the spirit nourishment drink that he got from Boss Huang, which he bought on credit, as he took another break before he continued drawing.

After 20 minutes, the most crucial step was completed. The formation transformed from a bloody one into a jade-colored pattern with profound and exquisite beauty.

The pattern was invigorating to look at, but anyone with sharper senses would notice that this formation had yet to flow because he had yet to carve the crucial nodes.

The requirements for the nodes were extremely high. Not even a millimeter difference was allowed. There were nine nodes in total and failing any single one of them would put his efforts to waste.

Tang Ling felt less pressured in this step since it was basically the same as the first step. The only difference was that the nodes were not fixed in a particular position. He had to follow the theory behind the formation and search for the energy flow route to select the node within a particular range.

With his Precise Instinct, he had practiced drawing this body array many times now. He bore the theory in mind and he would never make a mistake selecting the node.

In less than ten minutes, he had successfully carved all nine of the nodes.

Up until this step, the body array was only a little shy from completion. The last step would be bringing the nodes to life.

How should he do that?

The remaining body array solution must be fused into the nodes and the last node should be fused with the Level 9 vicious beast blood.

The last obstacle that Tang Ling had to face was fusing the Level 9 vicious beast blood.

Without further ado, he carefully fused eight of the nodes with the body array solution first.

After that, he carefully took the bottle of Level 9 vicious beast blood and poured half a drop out. The half drop of blood was glittering under the light, and when it touched the air, he could feel a tiny energy field around the blood.

If the blood was not preserved using a certain method, the energy would slowly evaporate into the air. Tang Ling realized that the bottle Kun had given him was actually another great item.

He now fully understood how precious the Level 9 vicious beast blood was.

He once thought that a Level 9 vicious beast would be huge and one could procure at least a few barrels of blood from a single beast. As a matter of fact, at the moment of death, most of the Level 9 vicious beast blood would transform into ‘useless’ blood whereby its value would be similar to the Level 5 vicious beast materials.

Only the blood extracted from the spine and the heart could be considered as true Level 9 vicious beast blood. The blood that was extracted from the spine and several special spots of the heart must be preserved quickly and refined using a special method in order to transform the blood into blood essence.

The blood that Tang Long had in his ring was the blood essence of a Level 9 vicious beast, so it was even more precious than Tang Ling’s Level 9 vicious beast blood.

Of course, he was clueless about that. He also did not know he had proudly wasted half a drop of Tang Long’s Level 9 vicious beast blood essence in the impulsive battle that did not happen.

All he knew was that he must complete the last step as soon as possible. Otherwise, the energy from the half drop of blood would fade away.

The difficult point for this last step would be the constant energy vibration. He must vibrate his energy ceaselessly until the blood was fused into his body array.

As for how long would it take to fuse? Not even the manual stated a specific time. It only said that the time varied depending on one’s body.

How long would his body take to fuse the blood? Tang Ling was clueless and did not have confidence. Was his body strong because of the Perfect Genetic Chain?

There was a simple theory that stated that it was difficult for two powerful elements to coexist.

However, he had made it up to this step and was only half a drop shy from success, so he would never give up.

Without a second thought, he cleaned the body array pen and dipped it into the half-drop of blood. He pointed it at the last node of his body array.

Five minutes, ten minutes...

Tang Ling’s face was as red as a beet. Unfortunately, his guess was correct. It was difficult for the Level 9 vicious beast blood to completely fuse into his body array.

He had to vibrate his energy continuously for ten minutes. His energy pool was not a problem since he had accumulated a lot in the past weeks. The toughest part would be the concentration. He had to fully concentrate on vibrating the energy and it exhausted his mind to the limit.

He could feel the energy from the Level 9 vicious beast blood releasing and starting to fuse, but how long more until he achieved success?

Tang Ling dully held on.

Time was no longer a concern to him. His nose started to bleed on his beet-red face and everything in his room started to become blurry. Slowly but certainly, his blurry sight turned dark and Tang Ling finally reached his limit.

Everything before his eyes blacked out.

He felt a cooling feeling at his chest, but the feeling did not spare him from the exhaustion.

Thud!

The pen fell from his hand and his head slumped on the table.

The last thought that Tang Ling had in his mind was, ‘Did I make it?’

...

Did Tang Ling make it?

He did. From the moment he opened his eyes the next day, he knew he had made it.

Every time he exhausted his spirit and despite getting enough rest, his head would remain heavy and swollen the next day.

This time around, Tang Ling did not feel tired at all. Instead, he felt energetic. His brain even felt cool and refreshing. However, his hands and legs were a little sore since he laid down on the table for the whole night.

Tang Ling was not bothered by the aching and soreness as he ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror to check the formation on his chest.

The green formation line was complicated, mystical, and had an exquisite beauty to it. The green lines were lively as if it was glowing.

As he savored the feeling, he could feel the energy flowing smoothly. It was ebbing with a tiny amount of soothing energy while his mind was in a constant refreshed and comfortable state.

I did it!

Tang Ling clenched his fists and danced in joy. He believed he had achieved something great.

It was indeed great. If Kun knew that Tang Ling had succeeded in the first layer of the body array, he would be shocked because the kid had taken the risk without taking any supplement to replenish his spirit. Even for a body array master, some kind of supplement to replenish his spirit was needed in the process.

Other than the final step, which somehow knocked Tang Ling out, he had carried out the entire process smoothly.

One thing worth noting was that it had only been half a year since Tang Ling was introduced to body arraynology. Tang Ling might have shown a lot of potential in almost everything, but actually, it was all because of his Precise Instinct.

Even Kun once doubted the talent ability. What was the criteria for a living being to even have a chance to possess this talent ability? The Perfect Genetic Chain? Or a near-perfect Genetic Chain?

It was a question without an answer because how many living beings with the Perfect Genetic Chain or near-perfect Genetic Chain were there?

Tang Ling did not want to answer such a deep question. He was just grateful that the tiny boost of spirit that Kun mentioned was not that tiny after he experienced it

This was actually Tang Ling’s ignorant side showing. Even if his spirit was considered rich when compared to his peers, he was no match for those who had broken through their genetic locks, not even a Rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior.

Breaking the genetic locks would mean breaking the ceiling, thus it would be another all-rounded enhancement to one’s ability. After reaching that stage, the enhancement from the body array would be limited, but it would remain powerful since it was able to accumulate through the years.

However, with Precise Instinct, the accumulation of energy might not be able to keep up with Tang Ling’s growth speed in the future.

“Great! I must make more progress while I am at it!” After completing a major goal, Tang Ling moved on to the next, which was to make money.

He briefly cleaned himself up and went out to meet Boss Huang.

“No way! I don’t agree! No can do!” Boss Huang slammed the table and bolted up in his study room, glaring into Tang Ling’s eyes

Tang Ling must be joking when he asked the boss to lift the limit of his daily one-hour free time. He even requested to be away for a day or two once in a while. How could the boss agree to that?

I’m losing a great deal here! This kid has been broke lately! He borrowed 20 Black Sea coins from me and even took some items like the spirit nourishment drink from me on credit! I must get back my interest! Though...the drink isn’t valuable at all.

But he must smith hard for all the money he owes me! How dare he ask for such a ridiculous request!? Is he this shameless?!

Tang Ling was not nervous at all when the boss furiously glared at him. He raised his hand and put up two fingers. “20%. How’s that?

“What 20%?” The boss wanted to reject whatever excuse Tang Ling had, but his eyes grew big after a second thought.

“No way, I want 30%! As a parent, it’s only reasonable!”

Tang Ling was speechless. He knew Boss Huang understood that he wanted to go out and earn more money, yet the boss required him to hand over 30% of his earnings!

“20%! I’ll stay back and finish whatever smithing job there is, and if I can’t, I’ll give you 30% instead!” Tang Ling did not step back. Instead, he moved his face closer to the boss.

“No! If you finish your job, 20%! If you don’t, 40%! No negotiations!” Boss Huang moved his grumpy face closer.

The two of them glared at each other without backing down.

“Deal!” Tang Ling was exhausted from the negotiation. He did not want to waste his time arguing with the boss anymore.

“Okay, deal!” Boss Huang acted like he was losing a great deal as he slowly fell back into his chair.

“Go to the black market. Register yourself as a mercenary. If you want to get missions that can earn more money, find the missions from the Floating Ice Black Market. They are really worth it.”

Since the boss was getting a share, he gave Tang Ling some useful advice. Otherwise, the kid would not earn that much.