Age of Evolution

Chapter 174 - 174: 174: Space Star Crystal (Guaranteed 1 Update)

Chapter 174 - 174: 174: Space Star Crystal (Guaranteed 1 Update)

Translator: 549690339

This time, the appearance of the rift was much more stable than the previous one, and the glowing edges were becoming increasingly intense, making it seem like it wouldn’t collapse and disappear in a short amount of time.

Of course, this time wouldn’t last too long either, because the spatial barrier was very stable and capable of self-repair. Given time, even a large crack would heal.

Tang Yu didn’t know this; he stared at the flowers, laughing wildly.

“Great! This is fantastic!”

“Zhou Butong, you idiot, you ignorant fool! Can you still brag now? Do you, a pig-like thing, think you’re worthy of owning a Special stargem? Do you think it’s your destiny to possess it?”

“These things are all mine, entirely mine! I won’t even share a single ordinary one with you!”

“With these Star Crystals, I’ll have power, and I won’t have to live under the watchful eye of Little Overlord any longer. What rubbish are the Four Gods of Sky Dome? They’re all trash!”

“And Lin Zhen, that bastard who once humiliated me so much, I’ll make you pay back a hundred times the humiliation you put me through. I’ll put you between life and death!”

“And Su Mingyue, you looked down on me, but just wait until Lin Zhen and Little Overlord are killed by me, you’ll have no one but the strong ones to choose from.”

As Tang Yu spoke, he became somewhat delirious.

It’s natural for people to behave this way. Just like a poor person suddenly becoming rich, they often can’t control their true nature or excitement and do something rather arrogant.

Martial Artists are the same when faced with immense power; few can control themselves, especially Tang Yu, who’s not that old.

He stepped on the shield and rose into the air, laughing as he flew towards the spatial rift. His hand stretched out as if he could grasp the Star Crystal and everything else in no time.

His fingertips were getting closer to the edge of the space-time rift. With just one more step, he’d enter a whole new world, one that would bring him unlimited light and imagination.

There’s a saying: extreme joy leads to sorrow.

And another saying: inches separate heaven and earth.

Just as Tang Yu was about to succeed, he suddenly felt a chill in his chest.

“Hm, what’s this?”

He looked down and saw a golden dagger pierced through his back, protruding from his chest.

Immediately after, his entire body lost its strength in a flash; he could no longer control the shield. Screaming and tumbling, he fell from the sky.

Boom!

His body hit the ground heavily, but he still wasn’t dead. He looked up at the purple rift, stretching his hand out in a futile attempt to reach it.

“Why… why is this happening?” he mumbled.

As the rain poured down, Lin Zhen’s face appeared in his line of sight.

“There is no reason. Tang Yu, you might have always thought of yourself as a good person, but you don’t know that your heart is evil. Faced with small temptations, you always act like an upright gentleman, but when it comes to life, death, and power, you can’t control your true nature. So, your fate was already sealed; I am merely accompanying you on this journey.”

“Lin… Lin Zhen…”

“Goodbye, Tang Yu. I’ve let you live an extra two years. Be content. Now that you’ve fulfilled your mission, you can go without worries.”

As he spoke, Lin Zhen raised his hand, pulling the liquid-metal dagger from Tang Yu’s chest. Blood gushed out, and the rain promptly washed it away, flowing deep into the trees.

Tang Yu’s hand finally lowered, lifeless. His head tilted to the side, marking the end of his life.

With Tang Yu and Zhou Butong both dead, there was no one left around.

Lin Zhen stepped on the shield and soared into the sky.

A bolt of lightning shot towards Lin Zhen while he was in mid-air. Since his body had been enhanced by Lightning Ions, he could sense the strong electric currents in the atmosphere beforehand. Instinctively raising his hand, he threw a flying knife to intercept the lightning. The knife was destroyed in the process.

Another bolt of lightning appeared, and Lin Zhen shot out another flying knife to once again block the lightning.

“Just now, Tang Yu and Zhou Butong didn’t get this treatment when they rose into the air. The power of the lightning has increased so much since then.”

During the short forty-meter distance, Lin Zhen shot out five consecutive flying knives before finally reaching the rift.

Without worrying about the situation outside, Lin Zhen quickly dove in.

Despite his efforts, one of his legs was still struck by a bolt of lightning.

After a loud explosion, Lin Zhen fell into another space, feeling numbness in his leg.

“Ah! Fortunately, I have lightning ions in my body, which greatly enhance my resistance to lightning. Otherwise, I would have a hard time saving this leg right now.”

At this moment, Lin Zhen was too preoccupied to care about his numb leg. Hopping on one foot, he moved forward while observing the surrounding space.

The space here wasn’t large, seemingly only a few hundred meters in radius. Inside, there was a small hill with a small tree growing on top of it. All the star crystals were concentrated on this tree, budding with dazzling flowers.

Looking further into the distance, the purple space seemed to be flowing, with twinkling lights in flux. It didn’t feel nearly as stable as the space on Earth.

“I don’t know where this space came from. Although I have heard some rumors about space before, it’s the first time I’ve personally witnessed a space-time rift, let alone entered one.”

“There seems to be air inside, allowing the tree to survive. The small hill provides nutrients for the tree. I wonder how long it has existed – if it’s the same as the Star Fruit Tree, it must be thousands of years old.”

While deep in thought, Lin Zhen quickly approached the base of the small hill.

Rather than trying to fly, he chose to painstakingly climb, struggling to reach the top of the hill.

Once he got to the small tree, he could see star crystals everywvhere, roughly totaling to about three hundred.

“No matter, I’d better start picking the crystals. I don’t have time to absorb them here, so I’ll just take all the star crystals with me first.”

Lin Zhen went to the special stargem and reached out to pluck it first.

“No, if I start picking the star crystals now, I can’t just leave the others here. Each mature constant star crystal is a priceless treasure. I have to absorb them all.

“But if I pluck all of them, I don’t have a way to store so many star crystals. Am

I supposed to uproot the whole tree and take it with me? If I put them into the

Space Ring, they’ll dissipate within a few hours, which would be a waste.”

Lin Zhen was worried. If he absorbed the star crystals here, the space-time rift would likely close before long. If he took the star crystals with him, he couldn’t absorb them all in a short time, even with the Dark Star as help. Most of the star crystals here would go to waste.

Lin Zhen knew that if he absorbed all of these mature constant star crystals, his Dantian’s capacity could be compressed by at least seven times in a short time.

If he could achieve a seven-fold compression, his time in the Star Fruit Tree would be more manageable, allowing him to face the masters of the Sky Dome, save Su Mingyue, and even quickly leave the Star Fruit Tree without missing the impending Ice City’s monster siege event.

Thus, these star crystals held significant importance tor Lin Zhen and could not be wasted.

But if he was trapped in this space because of the absorption of star crystals, that would be even worse for Lin Zhen. If he couldn’t find his way back, he would be trapped here forever, rendering the absorbed star crystals useless.

Helplessly, Lin Zhen chose a compromise.

He would quickly absorb star crystals within the space-time rift, taking as many as he could. When the rift showed signs of instability and closure, he would leave with some of the star crystals. Although there would still be losses either way, minimizing them was better.

Since he was going to absorb a crystal, Lin Zhen’s first choice was naturally the special stargem.

The moment he saw the special stargem, he knew it was the Space-time Wandering Flower. Possessing it meant gaining the legendary space power that Lin Zhen had always dreamed of.

Without any hesitation, Lin Zhen leaned one leg against the tree trunk and struggled to lift his foot, still a distance away from reaching the flower above.

He didn’t dare to fly carelessly, fearing the stability of the space. Instead, he grabbed the tree trunk, and despite the pain in one of his legs, he began climbing the tree like a child.

Although one of his legs was numb, Lin Zhen’s agility remained sharp as he quickly scaled the tree. The tree swayed a few times but remained steady.

Pushing aside a few tree leaves blocking his view, Lin Zhen carefully avoided the other star crystals as he approached the special stargem.

Finally, he got close. Lin Zhen lowered his head, and the Space-time Wandering Flower was right in front of him.

The crystal was hazy and faintly golden. Black color appeared for a moment, followed by purple, then blue, giving it an unreal, elusive quality.

Even though the crystal was in front of him, it seemed distant. This was the miraculous power of space manifesting itself, appearing as if it could vanish at any moment.

“What a beautiful star crystal! The Space-time Wandering Flower contains space power. Although I don’t know why you’re confined here, you belong to me now.”

Lin Zhen held his breath, raised his hand, and reached for the Space-time Wandering Flower.

Moving as gently as possible, he placed his fingers between the flower’s stamen and the crystal, severing their mysterious connection.

Despite Lin Zhen’s mental fortitude, he couldn’t help but be captivated by the crystal’s beauty.

“That’s great! I’ll absorb it right away, so there are no more delays.”

Lin Zhen picked up the crystal and placed it on his lower abdomen, preparing to absorb it.

But just at that moment, the surrounding space suddenly shuddered.

“Huh… What’s going on?” Lin Zhen froze.

All of a sudden, the space-time rift rapidly closed.

“No good – this Space-time Wandering Flower is the core of the space-time rift! Once it’s gone, the rift will close, and I’ll be trapped in extradimensional space if I can’t get out!”

Lin Zhen could no longer care about the other star crystals. He swiftly put the special stargem into the Space Ring, stepped onto his shield, and sped towards the vanishing space-time rift!

Time was running out! Lin Zhen’s speed soared to its maximum in a fraction of

a second!