Chapter 75: The Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform—Guanzi Fang, You May Ascend to Divine Status!

Fan Dayong and Chen Long were indeed not shy in the least. They showed not a trace of the arrogance one might expect from sons of high-ranking officials, and they were far more polite than Fan Chengcheng. Once they learned that Zhang Chu had advanced to a two-star martial artist, they began calling him “Brother Zhang Chu” with every other sentence, their tone warm and intimate.

At one point, Zhang Chu couldn’t help but wonder if, like Fang Danan, these two had hidden intentions—if they might use this opportunity to cause him trouble. Yet, to his surprise, their conversation flowed easily, and the three found common ground. Chen Long, the only son of the current Martial Administration Bureau Director, had no shortage of treasures stashed in his storage ring; the most impressive was a bottle of fifty-year-old Daughter’s Red.

They ate roasted meat and drank fine wine. Gradually, their camaraderie deepened, and the boasting began. After a few rounds, they were calling each other brothers. Seeing the moment was ripe, Zhang Chu seized the chance to speak his mind. “Brother Long, Brother Dayong, your fathers are the director and deputy director of the Martial Administration Bureau. Can you really not pinpoint the location of the Thought Power Pearl?”

The main purpose of entering the Star Beast Tree Hollow was to elevate his cultivation realm. With only one day left, finding the Thought Power Pearl and advancing to three stars was his sole path.

“Brother Zhang Chu, it’s downright embarrassing,” Chen Long said, his cheeks flushed from drink and his words slurred. “Our Binzhou Martial Administration Bureau might be the most pathetic bureau on the continent. My father, at least, is a Spiritual Realm cultivator, yet he can’t even trace the exact location of the Thought Power Pearl inside the Star Beast Tree Hollow.”

Oh?

Hearing this, Zhang Chu pondered. Having spent years in his previous life working overtime, he’d encountered all sorts of people and had become adept at reading others. He believed Chen Long’s words were sincere.

“Brother Zhang Chu, Chen Long’s right. Before we entered, we tried to gather information from every possible angle. To find the Thought Power Pearl left behind by a Spiritual Realm cultivator, you must locate the Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform.”

The Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform?

This was the first time Zhang Chu had heard of such a thing. It sounded… quite formidable.

Fan Dayong and Chen Long took turns explaining. Half an hour later, Zhang Chu finally understood. “So, the Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform is actually the core of the Star Beast Tree Hollow!”

The Star Beast Tree Hollow originated a thousand years ago, when a Level 9 Spiritual Realm cultivator refined a ten-thousand-year-old wisteria tree, creating the space. It was intended to offer high-level martial artists a unique training ground.

But five hundred years ago, when the continent experienced a sudden awakening of spiritual energy, a heavenly power descended. Not only did a wave of gifted individuals appear, but this heavenly power exerted a strong suppressive effect on dual-force warriors.

To protect dual-force warriors from being harmed by the heavenly power, ninety-nine Level 9 Spiritual Realm cultivators joined forces. Using their supreme arts, they transformed the Star Beast Tree Hollow, enabling it to shield its inhabitants from the effects of the heavenly power.

There are now 999 Star Beast Tree Hollows scattered across the continent. From then on, every fifty years, during the three days when the heavenly power descends, the Martial Administration Bureau and local Martial Research Institutes each dispatch six dual-force warriors into the Tree Hollow, allowing them to avoid the influence and enhance their cultivation realm.

The Thought Power Pearl is the spiritual energy sphere nurtured by the core of the Star Beast Tree Hollow. If a dual-force warrior consumes it, they gain the chance to step into the Spiritual Realm. The Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform, as Fan Dayong and Chen Long described, is the very core of the Tree Hollow. Where the core lies, traces of the Thought Power Pearl can be found.

“If what Fan Dayong says is true, then in the past two openings of this century-old Star Beast Tree Hollow, no one has ever found the Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform, let alone the Thought Power Pearl,” Zhang Chu mused, troubled.

The two companions were now so drunk they could barely stay awake, making further questioning impossible.

Zhang Chu sat alone beside the campfire and activated his locator wristband. The projected map revealed the vast expanse of the Star Beast Tree Hollow, with a radius of at least three hundred kilometers.

To find a Fishing Platform only a few feet across in such an immense dimensional space was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“It’s shaped like a fishing platform!”

“Less than a hundred meters in radius.”

“There’s a wisteria tree a hundred meters tall.”

“But I’ve never seen anything like it in the Star Beast Forest!”

Half an hour later, Zhang Chu wandered through the Star Beast Forest, casually slaying a few one-star and two-star beasts that crossed his path. All the while, he pondered Chen Long’s last description of the Fishing Platform.

Fan Dayong and Chen Long were dead to the world, impossible to rouse. Zhang Chu could only set up the high-energy electric defense grid himself, intending to take advantage of the night and explore the forest.

Even if the Fishing Platform remained elusive, he could at least hunt more star beasts and absorb the energy from a few thousand-year-old trees to boost his martial and spiritual power.

Later that night, a bright moon hung in the sky. Zhang Chu sat atop a crooked, thick tree, rummaging through his storage ring for something to drink. He’d eaten too much meat and drunk too much wine, feeling somewhat dehydrated.

With a thought, a pile of items appeared in his lap. Cola, Sprite, 7-Up, plain water…

Wait!

Something about these objects seemed oddly familiar.

Just as Zhang Chu reached for a bottle of Sprite, his eye caught the glint of a badge. In the moonlight, it shone brilliantly.

To be honest, since becoming a martial artist, he’d accumulated plenty of badges. He picked it up and examined it under the moon.

“Damn!”

“Is the design on this badge… the Spiritual Realm Fishing Platform?”

A chill ran through Zhang Chu’s body, and he felt the effects of the Daughter’s Red wine vanish instantly. He quickly switched on the shoulder lamp.

On the back of the badge was the panoramic map of the Star Beast Tree Hollow he’d just seen on the locator. The front, etched with intricate lines, matched Chen Long’s description of the Fishing Platform exactly.

A platform floating above the sea, crowned by a wisteria tree soaring into the clouds. “That gourd-shaped object hanging from the wisteria—could that be the Thought Power Pearl?”

“When did I get this badge?”

Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Chu rifled through his memories, replaying scenes in his mind to recall its origin.

“Damn!”

“I remember now!”

“At Canglong Mountain’s Level 6 forbidden zone, the Level 6 exotic beast zoo.”

“Pipe Fang, a four-star dual-force warrior!”

This badge was given to him by Pipe Fang just before he left, with the words, ‘You’ll need this someday.’ At the time, Zhang Chu hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was merely an identification token to show he was Pipe Fang’s disciple—a bit over the top.

With a thought, Zhang Chu infused the badge with spiritual power.

In an instant, the badge glowed purple and shot into the air, speeding deep into the Star Beast Forest.

“Old Pipe, you’re a genius. When I leave the Star Beast Tree Hollow, I’ll bring a pig’s head to Canglong Mountain and thank you properly!”

Zhang Chu no longer cared about Fan Dayong and Chen Long. The path of martial cultivation was a solitary bridge—opportunities must be seized.

Besides, the badge was flying so fast that it had already vanished hundreds of meters away in the blink of an eye. There was no time to call the others.

“Silver Flash!”

Zhang Chu’s muscles surged, triggering the Grade 1 lower-rank movement technique, Silver Flash. He launched himself after the badge…

And barely a minute after he left, in the spot where he’d just stood, Su Mingyue descended gracefully, alone and accompanied by an electronic dog at her feet. “I just detected Zhang Chu’s scent here—how did he disappear in an instant?”