How Did the Reborn Empress Become My Bootlicker? - Chapter 18:

Chapter 18: Powerful Body! Five Times the Source Energy! Invincible at the Same Stage!

“The teacher during our last combat class mentioned the Ferocious Beast Garden. He said it’s divided into [quantity tickets] and [time tickets].”

“[Quantity tickets] only allow you to challenge a fixed number of ferocious beasts, and the session ends once you’ve defeated them.”

“[Time tickets], on the other hand, let you challenge as many beasts as you want within a set period. There’s no limit… but the price is more than ten times that of [quantity tickets].”

“Even so, many wealthy martial artists are eager to buy them. It’s because real combat is the best teacher. Compared to martial hall instructors, the ferocity of beasts is the best whetstone for sharpening combat power…”

Su Yuan muttered softly, eyes gleaming. The Ancient God Bloodline not only strengthened his physique, but also filled him with boundless energy. Every cell in his body craved strength and longed for battle.

So, he made up his mind.

After absorbing the remaining Source Crystals and ferocious beast blood nutrition extracts, he would go to the Ferocious Beast Garden to vent.

…

Sitting cross-legged, Su Yuan held a Level-1 Source Crystal in each hand and began silently circulating the Heavenly Origin Cultivation Method, drawing out the Source Energy from within the crystals.

Just like the first time Source Energy entered his body, both crystals visibly lost their color at a speed the naked eye could follow…

…

An hour later, only 2 of the Level-1 Source Crystals from his daily resource pack remained.

This absorption speed was terrifying—it far exceeded the standard range of even gifted individuals and could make even monstrous prodigies feel inferior.

Su Yuan stared at the two remaining crystals in the box, his expression thoughtful.

“According to ‘Introduction to Martial Arts,’ during the Awakening Stage, a martial artist can typically absorb 20 Level-1 Source Crystals before reaching the limit of Source Energy their body can hold.”

“But counting the one I absorbed at school, I’ve already taken in 9 crystals. By that logic, I should be around halfway full… yet judging by the feeling in my body, it seems I’ve barely reached one-tenth?”

The Awakening Stage was the preparatory phase before becoming a martial artist. In this stage, one had to absorb external Source Energy and store it within the body.

Once the body could no longer hold more, absorption had to stop. The stored energy would then be compressed into a Source Aperture, which marked the completion of the 1st stage.

There were 9 stages in total, meaning the process of [Source Energy Entry → Condensation into an Aperture] had to be repeated nine times.

Only when all nine Source Apertures were complete could one begin breaking through to the 1st stage of cultivation.

“The Ancient God Bloodline has drastically increased my physical strength. That means I’m like a bottomless pit now, and the amount of resources I need is five times more than a normal person. As I progress, that multiplier might even increase.”

“The downside? Massive resource consumption.”

“The upside? Simple and brutal—four words—Invincible at the Same Stage!”

“This is just the Awakening Stage, yet each of my Source Apertures will contain five times the energy of an ordinary person’s!”

“Not to mention the higher realms!”

“And the downside? Not a problem at all.”

“If you want the horse to run fast, you have to feed it well…”

“With someone like Madam Shangguan, the ultra-rich sponsor, I don’t need to worry!”

Thinking this, Su Yuan directly absorbed the remaining two Level-1 Source Crystals!

Right after, he gulped down all three of the Level-1 Ferocious Beast Blood Nutrition Extracts in one go!

With a powerful physique, he had nothing to fear!

“Awesome!” Su Yuan wiped his mouth and tossed the three empty vials into the trash.

This kind of aggressive absorption, if done by someone else, might not cause an explosion, but it would definitely result in severe internal injuries.

But for Su Yuan—still not enough!

So, he picked up his phone and dialed the number Madam Shangguan had given him.

The call connected quickly. Madam Shangguan’s voice came from the other end, “Hello? What’s wrong?”

“Director Shangguan, I’ve used up today’s SSS-grade resource pack. Could you send over more resources? Source Crystals, ferocious beast meat, nutrition potions—anything will do.”

“……”

Madam Shangguan was silent for a few seconds, then said, “If I’m not mistaken, the SSS-grade daily resource pack includes 10 Level-1 Source Crystals.”

“Based on standard absorption speed, that would take 20 hours to finish. Even if you’re a genius and can absorb three times faster than normal, you’d still need nearly 6 hours!”

“It hasn’t even been that long… and you’ve already absorbed them all?”

“Yeah.”

Hearing that, Madam Shangguan gasped. Then she muttered to herself, “Incredible… truly worthy of an SSS-grade body enhancement Talent… I really feel like this time we might see the return of ‘Qi’…”

“You stay home. I’ll send someone to deliver more cultivation resources to you. But be careful with your pace. Don’t go too hard all at once.”

Su Yuan laughed, “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

“Also, if possible, could you include some combat skills? I want to familiarize myself with them before the experimental training starts. Just in case my combat ability isn’t up to par.”

Madam Shangguan thought for a moment, then agreed, “Sure. Your SSS-grade resource privilege includes the right to select combat skills… but the nation has a rule—even with SSS-grade resource support, you can only access up to A-grade combat skills.”

“Higher-grade skills can only be learned in top academies or through military service by exchanging merit points.”

“You can think of it as a way for the country to recruit and win over top-tier talents.”

Su Yuan naturally understood.

Even the so-called daily resource pack was part of that strategy.

After all—

Once you get used to a life of abundant cultivation resources every day, how can you go back to being poor and dry?

As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but the other way around is hard!

All levels of resource benefits end once you reach the 3rd stage. Beyond that, the country won’t just hand out resources—you’ll have to contribute and earn them yourself.

It’s essentially a transaction.

Fair and just. Nothing to complain about.

“Alright then, A-grade combat skills it is.”

“Okay, I’ll send you the list of available skills shortly. Just pick the ones you want and send them back to me.”

“Got it.”

…

A few minutes later, Madam Shangguan sent over the list of selectable combat skills.

Su Yuan filtered them by category and made his choices.

Three combat skills—one each for offense, defense, and movement. He picked the ones most suited to himself.

Before Awakening, the school offered practical combat classes. Based on each student’s preference and strength, they practiced different weapons.

Su Yuan’s best weapon was the spear.

Not a handgun, but a long spear.

In today’s world, despite advanced technology and the existence of firearms, their effectiveness against high-level opponents was limited.

For example, pistols and rifles had little to no effect against martial artists above the 3rd stage.

Even the upper limit of hot weapons—nuclear bombs—were ineffective against experts above the 7th stage.

But cold weapons were different.

Forged from various super alloys or crafted from the bodies of high-tier ferocious beasts, cold weapons wielded by high-stage warriors could unleash unimaginable destructive power.

So, truly powerful martial artists were all masters of cold weapons.

Among the eighteen traditional weapons—the nine short and nine long—the spear ranked first among the long weapons and was known as the King of Weapons.

Su Yuan found it the most natural to use.

Very soon, he had finalized his three combat skills:

[A-grade Combat Skill: Nine-Slaying Spear]

[A-grade Combat Skill: Singularity Source Shield]

[A-grade Combat Skill: Shadow Flash]