295 A Familiar Face (1/2)

As vice dean of the Dao Mountain Mist Academy, he had plenty of things to busy himself with if he wanted to. However, he could carve out chunks of free time for himself if he wanted to as well.

The latter was what Wang Baole was doing. He returned early to his pavilion and continued running through the upgrades of his Numinous Treasures in his head. He finally completed the organization of all his Numinous Treasures late in the night. That was when he commenced the actual crafting and refinement.

After he reached the Foundation Establishment realm, Wang Baole realized that the bottleneck he had encountered in the past during his attempts at crafting fourth-grade Numinous Treasures had disappeared with the advance in his cultivation. That was why he had begun to upgrade and enhance his Numinous Treasures.

This grand project required a substantial expenditure. Fortunately, Wang Baole had adequate savings. He disregarded the cost of the materials and started refining his Numinous Treasures.

He didn't stop his cultivation either. He continued practicing the Lightning Dao: First Volume and could feel the lightning tattoo within his right leg growing stronger. It was ready to release a bolt of lightning with the kick of his leg.

This seemed to have something to do with the lightning mystic techniques he had acquired in the Lightning Domain. He had made some progress with the Lightning Dao: First Volume, but his progress with the Dark Art was slow, which made him anxious. Every time he forced himself to go through practicing the latter, he would feel an agonizing pain in his entire body. It felt as if his blood and flesh were being torn apart. Wang Baole had no choice but to stop.

Why is this Dark Art so difficult to master? Wang Baole could feel a headache coming. He could only set the Dark Art aside and concentrate on the Lightning Dao: First Volume. That was how he spent the next three days.

Wang Baole completed his cultivation three days later. He had perfected the first level of the Lightning Dao: First Volume. He had also exhausted the materials he had on refining his Numinous Treasures and needed to buy more.

Wang Baole went on the Spirit Intranet and did a detailed search on the Martian City. He wanted to locate a store that had a more comprehensive range of materials for sale, then purchase them in one go. The focus of his purchase was to obtain materials for refining his scabbard.

I need a lot more Spirit Stones to refine Armament Sand. Wang Baole's head started pulsing with pain when he thought about how much Armament Sand was required to upgrade his scabbard. It was something he had to do, however. His encounters in the Mystic Luna Realm had taught him how extraordinary his scabbard truly was. He wasn't just referring to the gray mosquito inside the scabbard; he was also thinking about the black and purple mosquitoes. He could almost imagine the extent of power he would have once he could control them.

I have to speed up the refinement process of the scabbard! Wang Baole took a deep breath. He continued his search on the Spirit Intranet, and, after locating a store that fulfilled his requirements, he immediately took out his cruiser and left the academy. He headed for the store.

There were no restrictions on flying in the Martian Colony, meaning many cruisers were dashing about in the city. Wang Baole's cruiser was actually of quite a good make. However, it appeared common in the crowd of cruisers. He lamented at how rich the Martian Colony was again before he caught sight of the store he was heading towards. Suddenly, in the skies ahead, a wave of inscriptions expanded in the air.

Everyone watched as the wave rippled outward. All cruisers caught within the wave malfunctioned instantly. Control of the cruisers seemed to be wrested from the drivers, and they paused and hovered in mid-air.

Wang Baole's cruiser did the same. He froze in surprise and stared ahead cautiously. The people in the cruisers around him seemed unfazed as if this was a normal occurrence. A few did step out of their cruisers, but most simply waited patiently inside.

Sounds of hushed discussions rose in the air.

”What's going on these few days? The Colony Disciplinary Order seems to be conducting more random searches.”

”Guess something must have happened again. I heard a heretic cultivator appeared a while back…”

Wang Baole heard the discussions when he stepped outside. The mention of the Colony Disciplinary Order drew his attention. He soon saw seven to eight pitch-black cruisers dashing past. They exuded a foreboding air, and the pitch-black color had a somber, murderous feel to it. They seemed to be searching for something as they approached. They left after some time.

The wave of inscriptions vanished with the departure of the pitch-black cruisers, and all cruisers regained function. As Wang Baole continued his journey, his eyes fell on the distant pitch-black cruisers; they were glowing with envy.

The Colony Disciplinary Order? That's one of the three key departments on Mars. Wang Baole sighed. It was the department he had looked forward to joining the most. He had done thorough research on the Martian government structure before his trip and knew that Mars had three key departments—the Military Council, the City Administrative Department, and the Colony Disciplinary Order.

The Military Council was the Martian military, the City Administrative Department served a similar function as the Federation government and was responsible for the running of the Martian Colony City, and the Colony Disciplinary Order was responsible for policing and upholding the city laws.