Chapter 827: Divine Manifestations
The Demon Race had been integrated into the Empire for over two hundred years.
With the aid of advanced gene-adjustment technology, half-demons, quarter-demons, three-quarter demons... all sorts of mixed-blood beings had come into existence. Of course, most of them weren’t particularly well-regarded.
After all, both within humanity and within the Demon Race, there remained groups stubbornly fixated on bloodline purity, who were quite unfriendly towards these mixed-blood "mongrels."
Huli, however, was not one of them.
It didn't care about bloodlines or races.
Because it had eaten many kinds of humans, and many kinds of demons.
In its eyes, the difference between various humans and various demons was merely a slight variation in taste when eaten. If you added some cumin or spicy and numbing spices, they all smelled equally delicious when cooked.
However, it distinguished very clearly between what was food and what was not.
For instance, these junior disciples, in its eyes, were not food, but rather juniors acknowledged by their teacher.
"Brother Huli, what exactly is this Black Magic? I've never heard of this system before..."
After eating and drinking their fill, Yu Xinyue took out the "Introduction to Black Magic" from his storage ring and asked Huli, who was leisurely picking its teeth with a steel pick, a relaxed expression on its face.
Just now, in the vehicle, he had secretly flipped through the book given by their teacher and discovered that it described a path he had never heard of.
"Black Magic is a magnificent achievement, jointly developed by Teacher and several other existences, capable of changing the destinies of billions of people!"
When mentioning Black Magic, Huli displayed an almost fanatical reverence.
"The foundation of Black Magic is an entity called the Boundless Magic Net, jointly established by Teacher and a few others.
Anyone who cultivates Black Magic, as long as their mental power can touch the Boundless Magic Net, can become a spellcaster by leveraging its power.
Compared to the previous threshold where spellcaster aptitude was one in a hundred, about three percent of people possess enough mental power to touch the Boundless Magic Net."
"Three percent... doesn't sound like that many?"
"Junior Disciple, do you know how many people there are in this Empire, and how many superhumans?" As a fervent fan, Huli, who had initially been filled with worship, immediately darkened when he heard his junior disciple's slightly questioning remark about the greatness of Black Magic.
"Fifty-three trillion, eight hundred twenty-one billion Imperial citizens; one hundred thirteen billion registered cultivators," Qingtian said, having quickly pulled up the information on a search engine.
According to Imperial law, all cultivators must register with local government departments and possess confirmed legal certification to operate within the Empire.
Those without permits are, in principle, not allowed to manifest their powers within the Empire. Violators will be fined or even imprisoned depending on the societal impact.
Due to legal restrictions, unregistered cultivation is practically impossible within the Empire, so unless one has grand ambitions, they will obediently register.
"Three percent of fifty trillion is one hundred fifty billion."
"..."
There were indeed ways for mortals to embark on the cultivation path within the Empire; there were many types and quantities available for purchase in stores across the land.
But most of them were expensive; even the cheapest Xuanhuang Fruit would cost an ordinary person more than half a lifetime's savings to buy one.
Moreover, it was common knowledge that acquired cultivators, compared to innate cultivators with natural aptitudes, generally cultivated slower and had lower ceilings.
There were too many cases of people spending half their life's savings on a gamble, only to remain at the zero-tier level until death, unable to live a few more years, merely amusing themselves by shooting a few small fireballs.
With that money to squander, it would be better to buy more elixirs that preserve youth and prolong life, and happily live a few more days.
However, this Boundless Magic Net sounded like something free, something anyone could try their hand at to see if they could reach it.
Millions versus free – the threshold was completely different.
"But why have I never heard of such a magnificent Boundless Magic Net before?" Du Nai pressed on.
"Because Teacher is still improving the Boundless Magic Net; he doesn't plan to promote it widely before it's completely finished. Currently, the effective range of the Boundless Magic Net is limited to this Grand Thousand Flagship only.
If you leave this place, you won't be able to connect to the Boundless Magic Net, so pay attention."
After hearing this, Yu Xinyue understood.
Guinea pigs.
But it didn't matter.
He also knew that given his aptitude, his original path was already a dead end, and he had even planned to retire after completing this mission.
This Black Magic, no matter what, was a True Immortal's legacy, and it had so many powerful backers supporting it; there was no reason not to embrace it.
"Alright, try to get started within the next few days and catch up with everyone's pace as soon as possible," Huli said, downing another bottle of wine.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!" x4
To get started with Black Magic, one only needed their mental power to touch the outermost layer of the Boundless Magic Net. Ordinary people with relatively abundant mental power had a certain chance of success, let alone the four of them, who were all three-tier cultivators. That's why Huli said they should aim to get started within a few days.
...
"You really weren't easy to find..." In an ancient castle within the 1453rd Grand Thousand Flagship, a young man in green stood silently at the castle's highest point.
"Ye De Xian..."
"Speaker Ji Er Ke Fu..."
"Don't say that, I'm not the Speaker anymore, that kid Hou Lin is."
"It looks like you're truly gravely wounded, even your Dharma Body needs to be placed in the Moon Coffin for repair."
"No choice. I only learned later that fellow Ke Mo had already awakened two Divine Manifestations when he achieved True Immortality."
"Dual Divine Manifestations... no wonder..."
As True Immortals within the Empire delved deeper into their own studies, they discovered that after achieving True Immortality, they might awaken a special ability named Divine Manifestation.
Divine Manifestation abilities were often extremely powerful, mostly related to space-time, and for True Immortals, Divine Manifestation abilities were like instinct, with very low activation costs and terrifying boosts to combat power.
However, not all True Immortals would awaken Divine Manifestations.
Almost all currently discovered Divine Manifestations appeared randomly. Some would suddenly have a flash of insight, entering a state of enlightenment, and upon reawakening, their own Divine Manifestation would be born.
Others, though they watched with envy and attempted various methods to replicate the process, still gained nothing.
There could be a significant gap in combat power between a True Immortal with Divine Manifestations and one without.
Let alone a monster with Dual Divine Manifestations.
"You said... he... would he have Divine Manifestations?"
After the concept of Divine Manifestations emerged, this question naturally followed.
Because Bai Mo had never mentioned Divine Manifestations from beginning to end.
Given his personality as a naming fanatic, it seemed rather illogical.
"I don't know," Ji Er Ke Fu said. "But does he still need them?"
"..."
After all, the immense gap between the seventh-stage and eighth-stage could not be bridged by the addition of one or two Divine Manifestations.
PS: Promoting a book, "Otherworld Conquest Handbook", the subject matter is very interesting...
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