Chapter 704: Refining The World Fruit, The Commodore Junior Of The Command Headquarters
“Brother Chu, since it’s your first trip here, you must be unfamiliar with this land. Why not enroll as a royal soldier? With that, I can promote you to a commander position.” Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade offered generously.
The bearded brute was not surprised, but the same could not be said for the rest.
“Commodore, I urge you to think twice about this decision.”
“I agree. We don’t doubt Brother Chu’s abilities, but he doesn’t have any combat experience on the battlefield after all. It’d be hard for him to persuade the rest if he is given the promotion.”
“Indeed.”
The commanders showed resistance towards Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade’s offer.
However, Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade glared coldly at his subordinates. “What’s it now? Do I not have the right to confer commandership on someone?”
“Of course not, but commodore…”
“That’s enough. My decision is final.”
Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade looked at Chu Kuangren, and his expression softened. “Well, Brother Chu, are you willing to accept this position?”
Chu Kuangren gave it some thought and shook his head. Then, he chuckled and said, “I’m not interested in being a commander. Besides, I’ve made the decision to become a filibuster. I feel more at ease being able to roam around.”
The filibusters were the weakest soldiers in the Extraterritorial Region.
However, Chu Kuangren felt there were significant advantages in becoming a filibuster. The lack of restrictions aside, there would be greater mobility that came with moving alone. Moreover, he would be able to amass greater combat experiences and enjoy all of the battle loots for his own.
Of course, such a decision could only be made because of Chu Kuangren’s confidence in his own abilities.
“Filibuster? Well, Brother Chu, if you insist, I’ve no choice but to respect your decision.” Despite sounding firm at first, Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade did not persuade Chu Kuangren any further.
At that, Chu Kuangren secretly pouted.
The commodore was so insistent on promoting him.
Yet, he had given up so easily.
Why did he not insist any further?
Chu Kuangren knew Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade was not genuine in offering him the commandership. It was just a test of personality.
Pfft. Chu Kuangren was long used to such trickery.
It did not matter. Chu Kuangren would not have agreed anyway.
“Brother Chu, although you’ve declined the commandership, I must fulfill my duty of hosting you in this stronghold. While you’re here, please make this command headquarters your home,” said Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade.
“In that case, thank you so much for your offer.”
Chu Kuangren agreed. This would save him the trouble of looking for a new place to stay. Besides, what safer place was there in the stronghold than the command headquarters?
“Guards, please show Chu Kuangren to his residence.”
“I shall take my leave then.”
Chu Kuangren left.
In the grand hall.
The commanders heaved a sigh of relief after Chu Kuangren declined the commandership. Although they did not resent Chu Kuangren, promoting a newcomer to commander was sure to arouse dissatisfaction amongst other soldiers. It would be a slippery situation to handle.
“Commodore, what would you have done if Chu Kuangren had accepted the offer?” the bearded brute asked.
“Let him be. I’m fine as long as he’s able to manage his subordinates. After all, it doesn’t take much to rescind the offer either,” said Heavenly Imperial Ghostblade indifferently with a commanding look on his face.
…
In a room within the command headquarters.
Chu Kuangren was meditating.
The spiritual powers of the stronghold were largely similar to those of Firmament Star and the Nine Heavens. After all, the spiritual powers that flooded all three locations originated from the same boundless universe.
At that moment, Chu Kuangren retrieved a green fruit.
It was the World Fruit given by the Seventh Tormentor.
“With this World Fruit, I’ll have tasted three out of the Ten Great Spirit Fruits.” Chu Kuangren chuckled.
Few in this world were as lucky as him.
Most would consider themselves enormously lucky to taste even one of them.
No one would have the privilege of eating these fruits as if it was fresh out from a fruit stall, like him.
Munch munch…
It only took a few mouthfuls before the World Fruit ended up inside Chu Kuangren’s belly. He let out a few burps and licked the juice from the corner of his lips. “Its sourness reminds me of a green apple.”
Then, a surge of mythical energies erupted within Chu Kuangren’s body.
Universal Cauldron Physique, activated!
Soon, the energies of the World Fruit were absorbed by Chu Kuangren.
The Ten Great Spirit Fruits each possessed its unique properties.
The White Spiritual Divine Fruit elevated one’s insight, while the Divine Sycamore Fruit increased one’s cultivation level. As for the World Fruit, it was a rich source of universal energy.
Refining its universal energies had greatly deepened and solidified Chu Kuangren’s understanding of the Heavenly Imperial’s miniverse.
Every consumption of the Great Spirit Fruits has been immensely helpful so far.
This made Chu Kuangren rather excited for the rest of the Great Spirit Fruits.
However, he knew coming across the Great Spirit Fruits was a matter of fate too. It was already immensely improbable that he had come across three different fruits.
However, a man could hope.
After all, who could predict how fate would pan out?
On this day.
Chu Kuangren was observing the entire stronghold with his Emperor Thought.
He was hoping to amass some information.
With his Emperor Thought, he could see everything happening outside the headquarters without physically stepping out.
During the process, Chu Kuangren’s Emperor Thought would occasionally bump into the Emperor Thoughts of other Emperors. After all, he was not the only Emperor in the stronghold. If this happened, Chu Kuangren would typically exchange a few words of pleasantries before moving on.
Just like how one would wave at their acquaintances on the streets.
Suddenly, Chu Kuangren sensed the convergence of a few Emperor Thoughts around the corner. It seemed like they were talking about something.
If those were unfamiliar Emperor Thoughts, Chu Kuangren would not have interfered.
He would not want to create an awkward situation of injecting himself into a conversation with a group of strangers.
However, two of the Emperor Thoughts were familiar to him. One of them belonged to Empress Fei Xue, while the others belonged to Emperor Jin Xuan.
Should he join them?
“Brother Chu, how have you been?”
While Chu Kuangren was hesitating, Empress Fei Xue’s thoughts reached out and greeted him.
“Greetings, Sister Fei Xue.”
“We were just talking about something that might interest you. Do you want to join?”
“Oh, what’s it about?” Chu Kuangren asked.
“Hah, it’s nothing much. It’s just that the commodore junior is returning soon. We’re just thinking of ways to deal with it.”
“Commodore junior? Is he the commodore’s son?”
“Not really. The commodore junior is a ‘she’, and she’s not the commodore’s daughter either. She’s more like his great-granddaughter many generations down the line. Nonetheless, she’s the commodore’s favorite descendant.”
“You see, Brother Chu, the commodore junior is a stellar cultivator. She became a Sage by the age of thirty and an Emperor by the age of forty. As of today, she has reached the Perfected Stage of Emperor Realm, and she’s not even fifty. Such talent is undoubtedly one of the best in all of Firmament Star.”
“She’s that good?”
Chu Kuangren was shocked despite becoming a Heavenly Imperial before the age of thirty himself.
However, it did not stop him from being impressed by the commodore junior’s talent. Reaching the Perfected Emperor Realm before the age of fifty was a significant achievement.
“Absolutely. Because of her remarkable talents, the commodore junior has been harsh on herself from a young age. She also has great expectations for other people, especially the soldiers serving under her forefather. Each time the commodore junior returns, she would put our skills to test, and if we fail her expectations, it won’t be a pleasant time ahead.”
The Emperors were growing anxious.
On the other hand, Chu Kuangren was beginning to look forward to meeting the commodore junior.