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*****
The copied Heavenly Beasts were directly stored by Su Wen in a manner similar to his previous methods.
His vast "Heavenly Beast Library" ensured that he was no longer a stranger to the skills of the Boundless Mainland. In fact, during his travels, he had managed to master numerous skills along the way. To Su Wen, researching cultivation techniques was, in essence, researching skills.
Originally, Su Wen's Copy Soul Skill was limited to duplicating soul skills themselves. It was a consumable ability that didn't grasp the underlying principles, such as the specific circulation routes of the target's soul power; it was merely a forceful, superficial duplication.
However, as he continued to develop his abilities, his understanding of the principles of copying deepened. His duplication of the skills of soul beasts and soul masters no longer stopped at the surface level. Instead, he began to translate and replicate the target's soul power circulation pathways. Consequently, the duration for which he could hold these copied skills improved significantly, allowing him to preserve them almost indefinitely.
Now that he had arrived on the Boundless Mainland, everything had changed once again. The circulation of Heavenly Energy here differed from the circulation of Soul Power on the Douluo Continent. This was an indisputable fact. Different types of energy inherently possessed different characteristics.
Even with an identical structural pathway, the effects of circulating Soul Power versus Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi would differ—though they remained broadly similar. Likewise, the effects of circulating Heavenly Energy versus Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi through the same structure were different, yet also shared commonalities.
Of course, the "Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi" mentioned here referred to the elemental energy belonging to each of the two respective planes. When the same structure was used to circulate the Yuan Qi of these two different planes, the resulting effects were vastly different. Consequently, the circulation structures for Heavenly Energy and Soul Power were entirely distinct.
This made many of Su Wen's original abilities complicated to implement. He first had to convert his own mental strength, using it to simulate his Soul Power, in order to execute his soul skills through his established circulation routes.
However, with the acquisition of the Heavenly Beast Library, he gradually moved past this limitation as time went on. Researching Heavenly Energy cultivation techniques was effectively researching the circulation routes of Heavenly Energy. Guided by the Heavenly Beast skills he had acquired, Su Wen experienced the skills firsthand and then simulated them within his body using Heavenly Energy, thereby mapping out the effects of various Heavenly Energy circulation pathways.
Nevertheless, Feituo City was still just Feituo City.
Even though it ranked among the top five in the Fei Li Empire, Feituo City was not considered a truly major city on the scale of the entire continent. The Heavenly Beasts kept within its Skill Storing Palace were ultimately ordinary, and their levels were generally low. In the Feituo City Skill Storing Palace, the highest-level Heavenly Beasts reached only the Zong Stage (Master Stage), with none reaching the Wang Stage (King Stage).
The Skill Storing Palace of the Boundless Palace, however, was a different story.
Or rather, it wasn't that they kept King-level Heavenly Beasts in captivity, but that beasts of this caliber inhabited and thrived on Heavenly Jewel Island itself. The Skill Storing Palace maintained a cooperative relationship with them. For a certain price, the Palace could act as a liaison for outsiders to contact these Heavenly Beasts and store their skills, while the beasts received offerings and tribute from the Palace.
After all, upon reaching the King Stage, a Heavenly Beast was no longer an ordinary creature. They occupied the pinnacle of power, comparable to the top echelons of Heavenly Jewel Masters. Even within the Boundless Palace, the number of Heavenly King-level masters was limited.
Furthermore, some King-level Heavenly Beasts were capable of taking human form. Once transformed, they possessed Heavenly Jewels, and their cultivation became largely similar to that of human Heavenly Jewel Masters. Therefore, beyond the King Stage, the distinction between humans and Heavenly Beasts was no longer so pronounced. It wasn't that the concept of race vanished, but rather that their biological origins no longer restricted them to the same degree.
Su Wen entered the Skill Storing Palace.
Upon inquiry, he learned the local rules for skill storing. Finding the terms acceptable, he began his journey of skill acquisition accompanied by a member of the palace staff.
The staff member was utterly speechless today. He had encountered a real eccentric—a customer who only looked but never touched. Su Wen had inspected every single rare Heavenly Beast in the facility, yet he never actually stepped forward to store a skill.
Had it not been for the customer's generous tips, the staff member would have had ample reason to suspect he was being toyed with, a grievance significant enough to report to the higher-ups.
"Big brother, the ability Su Wen possesses is truly miraculous. He can use the power of book pages to guide an opponent's Heavenly Energy circulation, thereby allowing them to master corresponding skills."
It was common knowledge that the attributes of an Elemental Jewel did not strictly represent a Heavenly Jewel Master's affinity for all elements. Some simply had a slightly lower affinity that failed to manifest during awakening. Beyond innate affinity, if one simulated energy circulation, there was a chance to master weak skills of other attributes.
However, such structural simulation was usually considered subpar. Most high-level Heavenly Jewel Masters would simply use their Heavenly Energy to stimulate the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to mimic various elemental skills. The problem was that the power was extremely low—pitifully so. They couldn't even be called true "skills," but rather a crude stimulation of elemental energy. If one forced out enough fire-elemental Yuan Qi with enough violence, it became a fireball... but that was all.
Using Heavenly Energy circulation to replicate attributed skills was less convenient than the aforementioned method and didn't offer a significant boost in power, so it hadn't been studied extensively.
Naturally, the Boundless Palace had conducted research in order to expand attribute possibilities. Unfortunately, they were still a long way from replicating genuine skills.
Su Wen, however, had directly replicated the "Fire Demon Tyrant Body" skill. This was a true skill—not a simulated effect, but something that could be genuinely utilized in high-level combat, provided one practiced it deeply enough.
"I am certain that as long as one masters the circulation route of the Fire Demon Tyrant Body and practices it diligently, even a Heavenly Jewel Master without the fire attribute can essentially gain an extra fire-attribute skill of the same level," Shangguan Tianyue said, clearly impressed by Su Wen's recorded pages.
Shangguan Tianyang nodded, trusting his brother's judgment implicitly. However, that didn't mean he lacked reservations about the transaction.
"Second brother, you shouldn't have limited the deal to just the book pages."
"I know. Cultivating skills of other attributes to temper one's affinity is only the first step. To truly expand the attributes of a Heavenly Jewel, other steps are required. But this is a step our Boundless Palace must research ourselves. We cannot rely on external help for this anymore," Shangguan Tianyue replied after a brief silence.
Mastering a skill of a different attribute and actually expanding a Heavenly Jewel to include a new attribute were two entirely different concepts. Transitioning from the former to the latter required a breakthrough in core technology. If the Boundless Palace had to rely on Su Wen even for this, they would be far too beholden to him.
If there was a first time, there would be a second, a third, and a fourth. Eventually, they might find themselves begging at his door. Such dependency was addictive! Core technology could not be held in the hands of another.
"Sigh. Second brother, you must realize that the difficulty in attribute expansion isn't the tempering of affinity. Even if we can't master skills of other attributes, haven't I used my own Heavenly Energy to temper the bodies of lower-level masters? External attribute erosion can also change a body's attributes."
"What we lack... is the key to Awakening."
The technology that could touch, and even fundamentally alter, the essence of a Heavenly Jewel! That was the crux of the matter.
"Big brother, I agree," Tang Xian spoke up. After a moment's hesitation, she prepared to mention the matter regarding Zhou Weiqing. That, too, was a case of attribute expansion caused by the encroachment of an external power.
(End of Chapter)