Swallowed Star Volume 6 - Chapter 16: THE RUIN’S REWARD

VOLUME 6 CHAPTER 16: THE RUIN’S REWARD
After one year and three months of hard work, he finally broke out of this crystal house.
The crystal house with a huge hole in its wall suddenly let out a ‘CHICHI’ sound. Soon after, it completely transformed into a dreamy light and then merged into the dark brown tree branches on the ground.
“xxxxxxx…..” a familiar sound rang in the maze.
“After one year and three months, I finally hear this sound again” Luo Feng lowered his head and looked towards his tactical communications watch, which quickly translated into——
“Congratulations. You pass the death mission test!”
“Please go along the tunnel in front of you and keep going forward. See me to retrieve your rewards for completing the mission”
While the sound was still reverberating, the solid wall formed out of the dark brown tree branches in front of Luo Feng started to make an opening. A tunnel that was three to four meters wide was formed. The tunnel was dark and there seemed to be a dreamy light at the end, the same kind of light that the ‘crystal wall’ was letting off.
“I finally succeeded. So it’s time to get my reward?” Luo Feng turned around to put his bag on. And then his soaring shuttle flew up.
“Go!”
With a leap, he landed on the soaring shuttle.
Whoosh! The soaring shuttle swiftly flew along the tunnel and quickly arrived at a palace shining with light! As if it was a gorgeous palace where angels lived, the dreamy light in here never disappeared. The palace itself was around a few dozen meters wide, it was like the size of a gymnasium.
“Meet him? Where?” Luo Feng looked around him.
It was all empty!
Suddenly——
A huge amount of light came together and quickly formed a blurry, tall person. It focused and became a crystal person with a bald head.
“The light formed a person?” Luo Feng was a bit nervous. Everything that has happened in this archaeological ruin has long surpassed human capability! Even the most powerful fighter is nothing in this archaeological ruin! Naturally….. Luo Feng would be a bit nervous in front of this crystal person.
“xxxxxx……” the bald crystal person smiled as it talked. Its face was extremely detailed. If it was a real person, they would probably be quite beautiful.
Luo Feng’s tactical communications watch immediately translated: “Hello, Luo Feng”
The bald crystal person took a glance at the tactical communications watch. After that, one of the flowing lights of the palace instantly shot into the tactical communications watch. Luo Feng couldn’t help but to be shocked, as he could tell from the tactical communications watch’s display that this ‘bald crystal person’ of the archaeological ruin was currently deleting a massive amount of information from the tactical communications watch.
“Relax” a slightly metallic sound left the bald crystal person’s mouth.
Chinese?
Luo Feng looked at the person in front of him with shock.
“Don’t be so shocked. I have observed how the humans on this planet have evolved. The evolution in your language, culture, history, everything. Of course, I understand your words and languages” the bald crystal person slightly smiled, “To help you accept me, I’m talking to you in the form of a person”
Luo Feng calmed down.
Yeah, who knows how long this archaeological ruin has been around for. It isn’t weird that they know exactly how the world has progressed.
“Humanity’s technology is still in a primitive state” continued the bald crystal person, “I know everything about you guys. Because of that, I am able to call out your name ‘Luo Feng’. Before you entered here, I called out to you once”
Luo Feng froze.
Yeah, one year and three months ago, he was called ‘elite student Luo Feng’ when the death mission activated. At that time, he thought the translation software added that in. Now that he looks at it, the archaeological ruin indeed knew his name.
“Because you activated the death mission, I called out your name directly” said the bald crystal person, “If you failed the test, then you will die. That way, the news won’t go out. And if you passed the test, you have the right to enter Yun Mo planet and become a member of Yun Mo planet. You will also know that I am observing this planet”
“Yun Mo planet?” Luo Feng froze.
The bald crystal person slightly nodded: “Knowing is the same thing as not knowing”
“And now, I’ll give you the rewards for passing the test”
The bald crystal person waved his hand. Momentarily, a few objects from the depths of the palace were carried over by a colorful light. There were four objects in total: a black vest, a silver armguard, a book that seemed to shine with a bit of starlight, and a hexagonal shaped metal card. These four objects hovered in front of the bald crystal person.
“The first thing is what you people call the black god set” the bald crystal person pointed at the black vest.
“The second, this silver armguard-shape thing is a mini quantum computer!”
“The third, is a technique for controllers, 《Soaring Sky》”
“The fourth, is a card that lets you enter Yun Mo planet”
The bald crystal person touched the last hexagonal shaped metal card. There were two complicated words on it. He sighed: “I’m following the program that my master set, but sadly, even if you get this card, you can’t get the people of Yun Mo planet to come get you. Which means, you can’t enter Yun Mo planet”
“Why?” Luo Feng’s mind was in a mess right now, “And what is this Yun Mo planet?”
“Yun Mo planet is a mysterious place in the vast universe” the bald crystal person looked at Luo Feng, “Sadly, I can’t contact Yun Mo planet, and you can’t contact Yun Mo planet via the card. According to the program in this base, I must give you this card. However, you can’t use it anyway”
Luo Feng was shocked…..
Sounds like this Yun Mo planet is a mysterious and powerful organization in this universe! They set up this archaeological ruin a long, long time ago and observed everything that was going on here. They would pick out the elites and grant them access to Yun Mo planet. However, it seems like this archaeological ruin can’t contact Yun Mo planet.
Yun Mo planet is probably in trouble! Or maybe it has been destroyed!
Nothing is eternal. No matter how powerful or mysterious the organization is, it won’t last forever. This archaeological ruin is in perfectly fine condition, so if contact cannot be made, the fault must lie in Yun Mo planet.
“You can’t use this Yun Mo card, and you already know the usage of this black god set”
“And this mini quantum computer is something that every genetic fighter and spirit reader wants. It is extremely useful” said the bald crystal person, “Not only can it perform every function that your tactical communications watch can, it also has various other functions. The most important one is that it can evaluate a target’s strength”
“Evaluate strength?” Luo Feng was shocked.
“Put it on” said the bald crystal person, “And then seep your spiritual force into it”. As he said that, the silver armguard flew towards Luo Feng.
“Okay”
Luo Feng first took off the armguard that was originally on his left arm and then put on this silver armguard. Right when a bit of his spiritual force went into it, the silver armguard quickly attached itself to his skin. On the surface of the silver armguard appeared a huge amount of pictures and words, which were all in Chinese.
“The mini quantum computer also has a translation function” said the bald crystal person, “The translation software in your tactical communications watch will leak out too many of this ruin’s secrets, so I already deleted lots of information about this ruin from your tactical communications watch, including the controller’s basic 312 moves”
Luo Feng nodded.
Who cares if it was deleted? Who knows how many times he has bitterly practiced those basic 312 moves over the course of a year and three months. He has those basic 312 moves memorized backwards and forwards.
“Press the most bottom left button on the ‘mini quantum computer’ and then point the ‘mini quantum computer’ towards someone to evaluate their strength” said the bald crystal person, “You can also control it with your voice”
Luo Feng lowered his head and looked. The so called most bottom left button was just a button formed by a few markings, since the entire surface of the mini quantum computer was smooth and flat. Luo Feng slightly pressed down onto the bottom left button and then pointed the mini quantum computer to himself. Momentarily, a few words appeared above the mini quantum computer—— “Battle strength: Spiritual force (Student level 9). Genetic energy (Student level 9)”
“What does student level 9 mean?” Luo Feng looked at the bald crystal person.
“Since you are already part of Yun Mo planet, you have the right to know about this” said the bald crystal person, “There are an infinite amount of life forms in this wide, vast universe. Most of the life forms have the strength of ‘student level’. The so called student level, using the terminology of your world, basically means an average civilian”
Luo Feng froze.
An average civilian….. he’s just a regular person? Just a civilian?
“The student level is split into nine different levels. Level one is the lowest and level nine is the highest. Level one is equivalent to your beginner level warrior level and level nine is equivalent to your advanced level wargod level” smiled the bald crystal person, “The strongest fighter on your planet, ‘Hong’, has received a few inheritances from a few archaeological ruins. That’s how he came to know about the nine different levels. Maybe because he thought those nine levels didn’t sound good, he changed them to ‘warrior, warlord, wargod’. However, across the vast universe, this level is labeled as ‘student'”
Luo Feng took in a deep breath.
“Above the student level is the star traveller level! Only after reaching the star traveller level can you be called ‘genetic fighter’ ‘spirit reader’. Before the star traveller level, you’re just a student with no right to be called a genetic fighter, spirit reader” after the bald crystal person said this, Luo Feng was speechless.
He is called an invincible wargod, but it turns out he doesn’t even have the right to be called a spirit reader.
“The star traveller level is also split into nine levels!”
“On your planet, existences surpassing the wargod level are star traveller level fighters!” said the bald crystal person.
Luo Feng came to a realization: so all those mighty and great representatives are star traveller level fighters.
“After becoming a star traveller level fighter, you can wander around in space and at least keep your stomach full. You have the basics to survive” smiled the bald crystal person, “But your planet doesn’t have the technology to allow you to wander around in space”
“What about strength?” Luo Feng asked, “How powerful are they?”
Luo Feng was curious as to how powerful the existences surpassing the wargod level, Hong, and Thunder God were.
“Most of them are at the star traveller level one stage, only a few of them are at the star traveller level two stage! Two of them are at the star traveller level three stage” said the bald crystal person, “The most powerful fighter, ‘Hong’, is at the star traveller level six stage. And ‘Thunder God’ is at the star traveller level seven stage. The two of them are much more powerful than the rest”
Luo Feng froze.
Hong is at the star traveller level six stage? And Thunder God is at the star traveller level seven stage?
“Wait, Hong should be more powerful than Thunder God” Luo Feng couldn’t help but to say.
“I am talking in terms of level, which is the power of their body, genetic energy, and spiritual force. That is not their true battle power” said the bald crystal person, “Hong’s fitness level and genetic energy is indeed weaker than Thunder God’s. However, true battle power doesn’t just rely on fitness level or genetic energy”
“Like you!”
The bald crystal person looked towards Luo Feng, “Your spiritual force is at the student level nine stage! But, your battle ability amplifier is 16! Your genetic energy is at the student level nine stage with a battle ability amplifier of 3.5!”
As of now, Luo Feng can simultaneously control 16 throwing knives at maximum power.
“Both at the student level nine stage, but is a battle ability amplifer of two and ten the same thing?” the bald crystal person looked at Luo Feng.
Luo Feng froze.
Yeah……
The mini quantum computer only looks at the basics of your body. When he first came here, his spiritual force could control six throwing knives, but now he can control 16 throwing knives. The difference in power is gigantic, but the test still labels him at the student level nine stage.
“Student level nine stage, battle ability amplifier of 16”
“Is equivalent to a star traveller level one stage, battle ability amplifer of 4” said the bald crystal person, “Most star traveller level one fighters have battle ability amplifiers of three to four, so your current battle power can compare to most people at the ‘star traveller level one stage’, which is your so called existences surpassing the wargod level!”
The bald crystal person pointed at the hovering book with a bit of starlight shining from it: “However, you have an instruction manual teaching an attacking method for controllers, 《Soaring Sky》. This 《Soaring Sky》 teaches you how to use the weapon for controllers, the soaring shuttle. In the past, you didn’t even understand how to use the soaring shuttle and actually used it as a regular throwing knife. That is a disgrace to this weapon built for controllers”
“What is a controller?” asked Luo Feng.
“The fighters in the universe are split into genetic fighters and spirit readers. These are the two large categories. Genetic fighters are further split into smaller categories, and so are spirit readers. You are in the ‘controller’ type category of the spirit readers. Using the words of your planet, it is simply telekinesis”
Luo Feng was shocked. It looks like the universe has long established a perfect system about training.
“Spirit readers in the star traveller level all wish for a weapon for spirit readers! Who would’ve thought you actually obtained one” said the bald crystal person, “So you are quite lucky. Even though that ‘Hong’ knows about the treasure, one, he isn’t a spirit reader, and two, he doesn’t have the manual that teaches him how to use the soaring shuttle. So that’s why he gave it to you”
Luo Feng was overjoyed. No wonder Hong seemed a bit reluctant and said that he purposefully lowered it to 30 stars.
Even spirit readers of the star traveller level wish for a weapon like this, and he actually got it.
“If they don’t have a weapon built for them, how much of their strength can they actually use”
“And now that you have the soaring shuttle and the instruction manual 《Soaring Sky》, you can unleash the soaring shuttle’s true potential”
“Without the soaring shuttle and instruction manual, you can already compare to a star traveller level one’s battle power”
“But with them, it’s like giving wings to a tiger. Your strength will increase dramatically. As to how much it will increase, it depends on how well you can use the soaring shuttle!” said the bald crystal person.
Luo Feng’s heart rate accelerated.
Even though he hasn’t broke through to the star traveller level yet, with his battle ability amplifier, soaring shuttle, and the 《Soaring Sky》 instruction manual, the usual existence surpassing the wargod level won’t be his opponent.
“Usually, you need to be able to control 12 throwing knives at maximum power to break through to the star traveller level”
“But you are talented, as your brain vigor is 21. So your breakthrough requirement is higher than the normal person’s. You need to reach 16 throwing knives to be able to have a chance to break through” said the bald crystal person, “Right now, you can break through at any time. I left the method for your breakthrough in the mini quantum computer. Take a close look at it when you get back”
Luo Feng was excited. No wonder the crystal house’s toughness setting was set so that he needed 16 throwing knives to break it open. He had to reach 16 throwing knives to be able to break through to the ‘star traveller level’.
“You are the first person on earth to become a member of Yun Mo planet in the past five thousand years” said the bald crystal person, “But you can’t get proud. In terms of battle power, that ‘Hong’ is way more powerful than you. He has his own domain already! You can say that he is invincible in the star traveller level”
“As the first person in five thousand years to become a member of Yun Mo planet, even though you can’t enter Yun Mo planet anymore, I still hope for you to surpass them and become the strongest fighter” said the bald crystal person as he looked at Luo Feng.
—–
TL note: Not sure if it’s going to be explained in the future (not explained in the next 10 chapters at least), but using my knowledge from what I’ve seen elsewhere, Hong’s domain essentially creates a ‘space’ that is his. When people are in his domain, they feel like they are powerless before him and are sinking into darkness (as shown almost everywhere Hong appears previously)