Super Gene Optimization Fluid

Fuchen's words earned him a side-eye from Xia Fei. He had no idea as to the reason why, but when Fuchen learned about the bad blood between Xia Fei and an unknown woman, whom he had yet to meet, the elder became quite excited. He did not ask for Xia Fei's opinion, either, and immediately made the decision to head for the Tarot Galaxy where the Aurora Clan was located.

It might be because he realized that he had been too abrupt, but Fuchen chuckled and explained, "Don't be mistaken. It just so happens that I'm heading for the Tarot Galaxy, too; I figured that we could go there together. Aren't you interested in taking a look at the clan your grandfather hailed from? The Aurora Clan is famous for its gracious and gentlemanly conduct. Besides, the Tarot Galaxy is different from this region where the Golden Eagle 19 is; it's a realm of powerhouses that you can barely imagine. Be it your desire to treat your injuries or to keep cultivating, the conditions there are more conducive for both."

Hearing that they were about to return to the Tarot Galaxy, Radix popped out from the fiendish blade, Nirvana. He seemed to be waiting for Xia Fei's decision. Having been away from home for a really long time, Radix was truly hoping that he could go back.

Xia Fei frowned slightly. No matter the reason for Fuchen's sudden decision to head to the Tarot Galaxy, the two conditions laid out were not things he could refuse.

For starters, he could not leave Fuchen just yet. Reality had proven that relying on food supplements to recuperate was a miraculous yet effective treatment, and there were countless injuries that Xia Fei had sustained on his body from fighting since day one. If he failed to treat them once and for all, there might come a day in the future where these injuries would all accumulate, reaching past the limit that Xia Fei could manage and endanger his life.

Besides, the Tarot Galaxy was in the Alpha Universe's core region, where experts were as numerous as trees in a forest. To a warrior like Xia Fei, cultivating and training were not the only things he needed. He required first-rate guidance and first-rate opponents, too. Only then could he rapidly advance and promote.

While being a Spiritualist was great, being a warrior was still Xia Fei's real calling. Once his injuries were fully healed, he hoped that he could make progress with both his Law of Speed and Law of Primal Chaos. Especially with the double Lightspeed that grand ancestor Xia Gucheng had demonstrated. Xia Fei was really looking forward to achieving that overwhelming combat strength himself.

Xia Fei said with a smile, "The journey will be very long, so having a companion for the trip isn't a bad idea, but the Inverse's encirclement…"

Fuzhen did not think anything about it. "The Inverse are very powerful, but you're just one person right now. Are you planning to seek death by throwing yourself at them? Besides, since the Cosmic Gate has already been sealed, there's no way for the Inverse to break it in a short time no matter how strong they may be. The people whom you care about are safe; rather, they'd have been more in trouble if you had brought them along. After all, the Alpha Universe isn't paradise, so letting them stay home is more ideal."

Xia Fei nodded. He did have such concerns, but now that he had thought about it, the state of the Cosmic Gate being sealed was for the best. The Alpha Universe's Soul Arts were simply too strong, and the Law Realm was still not ready to join a universe fraught with danger.

"Alright, then. We shall be on our way early tomorrow morning." Xia Fei nodded.

Radix waved his arms wildly, evidently very thrilled over this development.

Returning to his room, Fuchen sighed. He sat down on the sofa and chewed a flavorless plant seed.

A gourmand like himself needed to clean his mouth and teeth constantly to ensure that his sense of taste was in peak condition. This seed did precisely that, and Fuchen would always be chewing one whenever he had the time.

"You don't seem to be composed today," echoed a voice.

Fuchen wore a delicate bracelet on his left hand, and an old man like him wearing such a thing could puzzle anyone, but Fuchen was a Spiritualist, and that bracelet was a soul weapon. As for the voice that had just spoken, it belonged to none other than the immortal soul residing inside that bracelet.

Just like Radix who lived in Xia Fei's Nirvana, Fuchen had his own dedicated soul, able to assert control over the soul weapon at critical junctures. Investigation, combat—they were capable of doing all. Any Spiritualist or soul practitioner enjoyed having this kind of do-it-all weapon at hand, though it was not easy to obtain a loyal yet strong soul.

Fuchen pouted and stated solemnly, "There's no way that you can remain calm, either. You've witnessed Xia Fei's potential yourself: He's a healer! Ever since that old coot died, I haven't come across another Orthodox Spiritualist of Healing even once!"

The voice responded after a pause, "Because Xia Fei is an Orthodox Spiritualist of Healing, you don't want someone enacting daemonic arts on him? That still doesn't make sense. Unless you have the desire to take him in as your disciple, there's no reason for you to take such a huge risk and help him.

"To think that after remaining incognito for so many years, you still can't discard the customs of taking in a last and favorite disciple. Weren't you planning to impart those things to Basalt and Lingxing?"

Fuchen replied, "While it's true that Basalt and Lingxing are my good disciples, I don't know where either of them is right now. As for Xia Fei's issue, I guess that it's best to take it as it comes. The young man is proud, with a dislike for taking the conventional route. Even if I want to accept him as a disciple, he may not agree."

That voice said, "Xia Fei is quite the monster—a monstrous way of doing things matched by his monstrous potential."

"So you've taken a liking to him, too?" asked Fuchen with a glint in his eyes.

That voice became hesitant. "Like, but I can't make sense of him. Only a ghost can tell just what he's capable of achieving."

Fuchen smiled. "Don't forget; you're a ghost..."

...

Alpha Universe, super express ship, The Mammoth.

This was no warship but rather a luxury liner, which traveled to various parts of the universe. This enormous vessel, with its wide deck, was as large as a mothership, able to accommodate tens of thousands of passengers at the same time while affording them a great view of the stars and some of the best-tasting food.

Xia Fei and Fuchen were rather lucky, for they were just in time to board this luxury liner, which cruised all across the universe. The Mammoth circled the entire Alpha Universe, and each trip would take at least three years and six months. This time, it just so happened to be docked on Golden Eagle 19 for replenishment. The two hurriedly bought tickets and got on board.

Pointing to this gigantic white liner in the distance, Fuchen was thrilled. "The Mammoth isn't fast, but it provides a first-class dining experience, as it caters to the cosmic elite. Countless immaculate delicacies from all across the universe can be found here. We're in for a treat by taking this ship for our trip to the Tarot Galaxy."

Xia Fei surreptitiously rubbed his spatial ring. Eating delicacies meant faster recovery, but it also came at a price: an expenditure of astronomical proportions.

The twenty million pearls that Xiang Beiyang and Fei Xingye had given him was not a small sum by any means, but after this period of feasting, he had actually spent 3.4 million pearls already! Xia Fei was afraid that if this carried on until they reached Tarot Galaxy, he would end up penniless.

Though Fuchen had never once spent a pearl, he was not in the least bit hesitant about spending Xia Fei's. Without missing a beat, he went ahead and booked not just the Duke Suite—a room decked out and furnished lavishly as if it were a palace, costing fifteen thousand pearls a day. This meant that the accommodations for boarding this The Mammoth, which would take three months to reach the Tarot Galaxy, would cost Xia Fei 1.35 million pearls. He felt quite pained when he understood this.

Checking in a super luxurious suite, of course, meant they would be in for quite an opulent experience. Xia Fei and Fuchen clambered on board via the VIP channel, an entire row of beautiful ladies bowing to them as they passed by, each with eyes full of eagerness and expectation, hoping for them to catch these VIP passengers' eyes.

Originally, these ladies working in this sort of luxury liner did not plan on having this 'sparrow to phoenix' transformation, though really, they often <anno data-annotation-id="6c5bae85-4883-2403-0f24-ff682678b50a">turned into chickens rather than phoenixes.</anno>

After tipping the staff who led the way a hundred pearls, Xia Fei closed the door and examined the room. He had seen plenty of rooms as luxurious as palaces before, so he did not find anything special about this one.

"Isn't it fine to just book a normal room? If we had saved money on this front, we could've eaten more food. Why stay in a deluxe suite?" Xia Fei shrugged in inquiry.

Fuchen chuckled and reclined on the soft yet ample couch, explaining, "Of course, it's important for us to eat good food, but I have my reasons for booking a luxury suite. There are many things that money can't buy."

Going by Fuchen's style of doing things, he would often priotize eating whenever he was somewhere new. Not only would he dine, he even picked only the most expensive and best-tasting food for consumption.

Perhaps Fuchen was ill at ease to eat minus table etiquette in front of others, so he had requested for Xia Fei to book them a private room instead of heading to the open-air restaurant, which could accommodate several tens of thousands of people all at once.

Under the shocked gaze of the staff, Xia Fei and Fuchen completed the first big meal of the day with seafood.

From over-a-meter-long Black Crystal Lobsters to super small catfish soup, made with ten thousand tiny catfish, the meal they had was extremely decadent; even the bottle of sherry served with the food cost seventy thousand pearls.

Of course, this meant that Xia Fei's purse was reduced by a corresponding 610,000 pearls.

Xia Fei furrowed his brows and sighed. "I say, eating like this will have us starving even before we reach the Tarot Galaxy."

Fuchen used a white ivory toothpick and rebuked disapprovingly, "With me around, there's nothing to fear. Wait till I bring you to see what's fun around this ship, then you'll know why it's worth it to spend so much. This is just chump change; don't worry about it. Besides, these are all beneficial to your body."

Xia Fei was speechless. Though he had wasted a lot of money eating with Fuchen like this, the fact of the matter remained that his injury had been recovering quickly.

It seemed like they were just blindly eating everything when, really, it had been Fuchen's sophisticated arrangement. What to eat, how many, what first, and what next. Each aspect of their gourmet journey was specially tailored for Xia Fei's healing process, and it was anything but simple.

This was why whenever Fuchen mentioned that what they ate was good for his recovery, Xia Fei would always be hard-pressed to refute him.

Exiting the restaurant, Xia Fei and Fuchen visited the casino and the nightclub, and then they wound down a parlor, which offered a full body massage, lightening Xia Fei's purse by thousands of pearls.

"Food benefits the body, but what has gambling got to do with it?" asked Xia Fei, dissatisfied.

Fuchen maintained his disapproving attitude. "This is all preparatory work. Relax. You'll be joining the most interesting game in the Alpha Universe."

Xia Fei pouted. They feasted and had a massage; now, Fuchen wanted to start playing a game? He had never led such a debaucherous life, and he was doing it all at once today.

Helplessly, he followed Fuchen to a spacious hall and was instantly rooted to the spot.

What he saw was a large battle simulation hall, with plenty of semi-circle structures like small rooms. Warriors would enter and connect to the simulation system, allowing them to fight one another!

In the middle of this hall were even screens showing the ongoing battles of these warriors, with the largest displaying the most interesting fight.

Brilliant colors flooded the screens, as these fights were carried out with great intensity! All sorts of strange combat techniques and arts were being used; it was a dazzling array of displays that nearly left Xia Fei feeling spellbound.

"This…" Xia Fei croaked.

"That's right. It's the legendary soul battle!" declared Fuchen with a glimmer in his eyes.

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="6c5bae85-4883-2403-0f24-ff682678b50a">The concept of the sparrow to phoenix transformation is similar to ugly ducking to goose parable or snow white transformation. Meanwhile, chicken is a slang for prostitute.</li></ol></annotations>",