Heavenly Jewel Change

Hey guys, I'm excited to let you know that Physician's Odyssey is now out of sneak peek and available for everyone to read, with 60 chapters to start!  This is a modern wuxia novel that is part of our big 2019 kickoff to more genres.  Authored by Smoking Pipe Bro and translated by Wuxiaworld veteran Thyaeria (who is also working with us on The Great Ruler and Tales of Demons & Gods), this Zongheng novel brings us the story of the brilliant physician Su Tao.  Su Tao is a medical genius, but just wants to maintain...

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Her voice changed midway through her previously-confident words. Zhou Weiqing’s Dual Legendary Hammers had somehow vanished, and as he charged towards her he instantly used one of his supreme techniques.

It was the legendary ‘Something Something’ Dragon Claws. [1]

Dreamwake’s transformation wasn’t complete. Although her legs were nearly in full dragon form, her upper body was still mid-transformation. Zhou Weiqing’s clawing ‘attack’ made her feel so humiliated she could die. Worse, she could sense an incomparably powerful devouring ability sweep out from Zhou Weiqing’s two hands. A dense stream of Heavenly Energy rapidly began to sweep out of Dreamwake’s body and pour into Zhou Weiqing’s, and her Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s True Form transformation actually came to a halt.

Zhou Weiqing grinned cheekily at Dreamwake, up close and personal. “Everyone has a few protective abilities up their sleeves. If you actually managed to finish your Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s True Form, I probably wouldn’t be a match for you. However, this transformation takes a bit too long. The ‘invulnerability’ only prevents me from harming you, but it doesn’t prevent me from touching you. Right?”

Dreamwake’s eyes bulged out as she stared at Zhou Weiqing, unable to speak. Not only did her chest feel numb from his ‘claws’, what was even worse was that she could sense how the Heavenly Energy was being sucked out of her body faster and faster. The Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s True Form was actually unable to keep up with the rate at which she was losing energy. It wasn’t sustainable. Worst of all was that she wasn’t just losing a six-Jeweled cultivation base, she was losing her natural Heavenly Energy!

Zhou Weiqing himself was shocked by what he was absorbing. Dreamwake’s Heavenly Energy was far more terrifying than he had imagined. A vast sea of Heavenly Energy was flooding into him, and it rapidly transformed into Saint Energy before then being converted into that astral, starry Saint Energy halo of light.

Just ten seconds of sucking made Zhou Weiqing feel as though his Saint Energy had improved far more than it had during his previous month of cultivation.

Heavenly Emperor! She was actually a Heavenly Emperor, not a Heavenly King! Zhou Weiqing was thoroughly stunned.

Dreamwake was stunned as well. The Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s True Form vanished, and even the Consolidated Equipment which had merged into her Tenebrous Demon Dragon’s True Form vanished. The powerful Devour skill’s sucking power was causing her to lose Heavenly Energy at an incredible rate.

“Y-you…” Suddenly, a terrifying burst of energy swept out of Dreamwake’s body. Zhou Weiqing felt his entire body tremble. His Devour skill was forcibly interrupted as he was sent flying backwards for several hundred meters before slamming into the ground.

Even if he had used all his power and reinforced it with Saint Energy, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to stably Devour the energy of a Heavenly Emperor, to say nothing of right now when his cultivation base was suppressed to the six-Jeweled stage.

Dreamwake quickly covered herself with a set of long robes. After losing the Demon Dragon’s True Form, she had become completely nude. After dressing herself, this mighty Heavenly Emperor powerhouse actually collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as her entire body shuddered uncontrollably.

Zhou Weiqing lay on the ground, feeling stunned. Although Dreamwake had sent him flying, she had simply knocked him a way instead of actually releasing enough energy to kill him. Although the fall was a severe one, given his physical strength it wouldn’t result in him suffering any severe injuries.

A twenty-nine year old Heavenly Emperor? How was this possible? He had stunned Dreamwake many times today. Finally, Dreamwake had stunned him as well.

No wonder the four Grand Elders of Xuantian Palace and Master Nie Han had all treated her so respectfully. Her cultivation base had actually reached an incredible level!

The empty space gradually fell silent. No sound could be heard save for the two of them panting.

Dreamwake’s arms were folded protectively in front of her chest, her graceful body trembling nonstop. That strange, indescribable feeling continued to spread out from her chest and into every part of her body.

Kill him. I should kill him. But she wasn’t able to summon any power at all and had no real desire to kill him. Her entire mental state was quite unsteady.

Zhou Weiqing lay there, huffing and wheezing, without rising to his feet. He didn’t wish to endure the fiery rage of a Heavenly Emperor, nor would he try to incite Dreamwake by mentioning how she had gone against her oath.

They quietly lay there for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. Finally, Dreamwake recovered her senses and slowly rose to her feet. As she stood straight, her slender figure couldn’t help but sway one more time.

She glared at the distant Zhou Weiqing, who remained lying on the ground, then viciously tossed a black crystal at him. In the next instant, her body turned illusory then vanished without a trace.

As soon as Dreamwake vanished, the distant Zhou Weiqing quickly clambered back to his feet. He hurriedly switched to a different set of clothes, then adjusted himself. He didn’t want Bing’er to notice anything suspicious. After doing all of these things he picked up the black crystal which Dreamwake had given him, then looked at his arms.

Heavenly Energy poured into the black crystal. Light flared, and when it vanished he had once more reappeared within the sixth level of Xuantian Castle.

Dreamwake had long ago vanished without a trace. After secretly celebrating the ‘fun’ he just had, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. This time, he had thoroughly offended her. It would clearly be quite difficult for them to regain their previous camaraderie. Still… it hadn’t been completely fruitless. At least he now knew just how powerful Dreamwake really was.

A Heavenly Emperor powerhouse, one which was able to use the Tenebrous Demon Dragon Transformation! Zhou Weiqing knew that if Dreamwake used all her power, she would have the ability to cause the very heavens to shudder.

In truth? Our dear little Zhou Little Fatty, always so confident in his own talent, had been badly rattled and disheartened. A twenty-nine year old Heavenly Emperor! He himself knew that unless he encountered more marvels, there was no way he could reach that stage so soon.

He returned to his room. Shangguan Bing’er hadn’t been training; this entire time, she had been waiting for him to return. Zhou Weiqing’s duel against Dreamwake didn’t take too long, and so he actually came back quite quickly. Even though he had cleaned himself up a bit, he still looked rather bedraggled.

“What did she summon you for?” Shangguan Bing’er eyed him, puzzled.

Zhou Weiqing let out a bitter laugh. “To kick my ass. She wanted to test out my power… or perhaps she felt jealous of me when I revealed my six Attributes in front of the Tenebrous Demon Dragon. Or perhaps she is suspicious of us.” He didn’t dare to tell the truth.

Shangguan Bing’er didn’t suspect the truth. She said, worried, “Are you alright?”

Zhou Weiqing shook his head. “I’m fine. She just wanted to test my power, and so she battled me while keeping her power down to the six-Jeweled level. However… she’s even more powerful than I had suspected. A Heavenly Emperor… a twenty-nine year old Heavenly Emperor!”

“What?!” Shangguan Bing’er was shocked as well. “That means there are at least six Heavenly Emperor powerhouses here, plus that Heavenly God Tenebrous Demon Dragon. This level of power completely eclipses our Heaven’s Expanse Palace!”

Zhou Weiqing nodded. “It does seem to be the case. They have been the sole rulers of the Xuantian Continent, after all. It makes sense that something like this occurred. However, you don’t need to worry. We’re from the Boundless Mainland and we’ve given them nothing to be suspicious about. So long as we don’t attack, we can continue to stay here in peace. It seems we’ll need to be extra, extra careful when dealing with this Terror Sea Dragon.”

Shangguan Bing’er nodded, deeply convinced. “Little Fatty, Father and Uncle both said that our safety is paramount. They should have already completed their preparations for Zhongtian City. Your safety is what really matters right now. It is better for us to return empty-handed than for you to take on too much risk.”

Zhou Weiqing chuckled. “It’s too early to say such things. We still have plenty of time. Let’s take things one step at a time. Staying here a bit longer isn’t a bad thing for us. This place has all the atmospheric energies we need, which is beneficial to our cultivation. Just now, I Devoured some of Dreamwake’s Heavenly Energy. Let me first digest it all.”

He returned to the bed and sat down to meditate. With but a thought, he entered his state of cultivation. This was one of the benefits of having Saint Energy. He didn’t need to worry about suffering from any cultivation deviations. The Saint Energy in his body circulated naturally, and Zhou Weiqing was able to clearly see how at the core of his Dantian, the starry Saint Energy had increased in amount. The starry light within the cores of his thirty-six Death Acupuncture Points had clearly strengthened as well.

Indeed, Devouring was the fastest way to improvement! During the final moments of his battle against Dreamwake he had only been given a brief moment of time to Devour her energies, but she was still a true Heavenly Emperor! That brief instant had granted him an enormous benefit.

Devouring the Heavenly Energy of a Heavenly Jewel Master was completely different from devouring that of a Heavenly Beast. Even the most powerful of Heavenly Beasts would have a hint of impure bestial elements in their Heavenly Energy, no matter how vast and distilled it was. After absorbing it, he would have to repeatedly filter and expel all of those impurities. In addition, Heavenly Beasts trained in a completely different way. Thus, after their Heavenly Energy was filter out only a small fraction would be available for Zhou Weiqing to use.

Dreamwake was different. She was a genuine Heavenly Jewel Master who had reached the Heavenly Emperor stage. The Heavenly Energy within her body was so pure, Zhou Weiqing had to sigh in awe. Although it was of a different Attribute from Zhou Weiqing’s Saint Energy, after he Devoured it he didn’t need to filter it at all. He simply needed to convert it into a replenishing source for his Saint Energy.

[1] The ‘real name’ of this technique is ‘Titty-Squeezing Dragon Claws’. It comes from an old Hong Kong quasi-satirical martial arts TV series that had some really ridiculous techniques in it.

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