Cosmic Devouring Crystallization

172. Cosmic Devouring Crystallization

"You two, time's up." At the entrance of the Martial Abbey, a middle-aged man in plain clothes come to a stop and spoke softly.

"Sorry, we'll leave right away." Arnold Stark gave the man a polite bow and led me outside.

After leaving the Martial Abbey, he whispered, "Everyone here represents the finest from different States, including the capital. Though many are from great families, their lineage means nothing once they enter this place—they're all simply disciples of the Martial Abbey."

He gestured toward both sides of the Martial Abbey. The offices flanking the towering central hall resembled ears on either side of the building.

"On the left is the Vampire Hunters Registration Office, and on the right is the one for H.A.R.M. The people waiting in line are waiting for Martial Abbey Cleansing." As he spoke, many people noticed my attire and turned their attention toward my youthful face.

Several people in colonel's uniforms standing in front of the H.A.R.M. Registration Office stepped aside and said, "General, please go ahead."

The Vampire Hunters lined up on the left exchanged knowing smiles. A young H.A.R.M. general visiting the capital could mean only one thing—the Martial Abbey Cleansing—which meant these colonels would have to wait even longer.

At this moment, I shook my head calmly and said, "No, thanks." Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, I turned and walked into the Vampire Hunters office. The crowd was stunned, and several colonels smirked, saying, "Keep smiling."

"Hmph." The Vampire Hunters scoffed. "His rank means nothing in here."

While H.A.R.M. generals on the right side would typically receive priority for cleansing, the Vampire Hunters operated differently—they awarded priority based solely on merit.

Before he could finish speaking, a surprised voice rang out from inside the office. "Ten times?" The expressions of several Vampire Hunters shifted, and forgetting their dispute with the H.A.R.M. side, they quickly squeezed into the office.

Arnold Stark placed the prepared gilded registry and a digital token on the table. Opposite him stood a woman who silently plugged the token into the database server. After successful authentication, she looked at the screen, then checked the gilded registry, which took up an entire page recording this young man's achievements. The information on the registry matched that in the database perfectly.

"Have all the other Vampire Hunters in Cascadia retired? Ten Martial Abbey Cleansings..." She shook her head in amazement.

Ten times on his first visit? Is this meant to be a Cleansing or a bath?

"Understood. I'll make the arrangements right away," the woman said with a slight nod.

"One moment—first get General Kane a copy of the Cosmic Devouring Crystallization technique," Arnold Stark interjected.

Upon hearing this, the woman fell silent once again after just regaining her composure. Her finger traced over the record of killing the harmonizing Moonfeather as she glanced at me standing quietly beside her.

She found it difficult to reconcile the black armor and impressive achievements documented in the record with someone seeking a crystallization method.

"Have all the Wave Realm martial artists in Cascadia become this powerful?" The woman massaged her temples. If not for recognizing the distinctive earthworm-like handwriting of someone she knew, she would have suspected Cascadia was so desperate they had come to defraud the Martial Abbey of rewards.

After verifying the vampire blood contained in the silver bell, she turned and headed to the back room.

The Martial Abbey was one of the safest locations in all of New Terra, making it the ideal storage site for martial arts techniques, elixirs, and treasures—which greatly simplified access to these resources.

The other onlookers breathed a collective sigh of relief upon learning that this young H.A.R.M. general still needed to learn a crystallization method—that's a prerequisite for Martial Abbey Cleansing. However, before they could fully relax, they sensed something wasn't quite right.

Like the woman, they too fell deep into thought.

I ignored the ghostly expressions of the people around me. The Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection gave me high combat power despite my low realm level. Rather than helping me blend in, this stark contrast only drew more unwanted attention.

Fortunately, once I mastered the crystallization method, this awkward situation would never arise again.

After a moment, the woman returned and set a thick martial arts manual on the table. "General Kane, please remain at the Martial Abbey for now. I'll arrange your Martial Abbey Cleansing whenever you're ready."

"Thank you." I accepted the crystallization method but refrained from using the panel.

Having just arrived in the capital, with mysterious beings in the adjacent hall, I thought it unwise to draw too much attention to myself.

I should wait at least five days—just like with the Harmonious Quartet and Shadow Touch—to stay consistent with everyone's expectations of me.

The woman had told me to remain at the Martial Abbey. As it turned out, the accommodations were a community of houses situated behind the Abbey.

People occasionally came and went through the central square of the community. Though they were not dressed in uniforms, their attire were similarly simple and modest.

Likely because they were in the capital city, these people made no effort to conceal their aura.

From what I could sense, there weren't any exceptionally powerful individuals present. Most were Crystal Realm martial artists, though their numbers exceeded those in the entire Cascadia.

"That's the residence of the Martial Abbey disciples, ours is over here." Arnold led me turned left on Abbey Lane.

Alonge side Abbey Lane, stood a few houses. They were in noticeably worse condition than those of central square—not because of different designs or furnishings, but because the rooms appeared unused and covered in dust.

"Just make do with these accommodations. The houses aren't used often since most people only come to the capital to collect their rewards and leave immediately—unless they need to wait for Martial Abbey Cleansing."

Arnold explained, then he added, "We could stay at a hotel, but as a new H.A.R.M. general, it's best to avoid appearing extravagant—people are quick to gossip."

Arnold and I got to work and cleaned up two rooms in the house.

"It's not bad at all," I said, having little concern about accommodations as long as there was good privacy.

When I broke through the First Realm, my living conditions were even worse. If not for Rose Hightower helping with the cleaning, my home would have been nothing more than a filthy doghouse.

I entered the room, settled at the table, and gazed with deep satisfaction at the thick crystallization manual.

I must say, H.A.R.M. excelled in their documentation. The Melting Sun Furnace manual was also this thick. It filled with meticulously detailed and thorough annotations. It put those old Templars in the Cloud Citadel to shame with their intentionally cryptic teachings.

As I slowly opened to the first page and examined the obscure words written there, my relaxed expression suddenly froze...

As it turned out, the manual wasn't thoroughly annotated—it was just incredibly lengthy. Each page contained as much information as the golden page that had recorded the Will Embodiment of Sword.

I glanced toward the next room and asked, "Was the manual of your crystallization method this thick too?"

"What are you talking about?" Arnold raised an eyebrow and said enviously, "I saved up for a long time, and even then I only had enough to exchange for a mid-grade crystallization method—barely twenty pages total. You think everyone's as talented as you and General Patani, daring to learn New Terra's number one crystallization method?"

Damn it… I was misled. I turned my gaze back to the Celestial Devouring Crystallization Technique again.

Aisha Patani's nonchalant attitude had led me to believe this was just an ordinary crystallization method, not that hard to learn.

I gritted my teeth and turned the pages one by one.

The tightly packed, minuscule letters—though each familiar on its own—combined to form something as impenetrable as an ancient cipher.

Only after I finished reading the final page did a line of text appear on the panel.

[Crystal Realm — Cosmic Devouring Crystallization (angelic grade) : (untrained)]

To my surprise, this was another "angelic grade" martial art—and unlike the Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection, which focused on body tempering, this was a true realm ascending martial art.

I sighed and apologized to myself in my heart: "I'm sorry, bro."

With a mere thought, I channeled a massive amount of absorbed lifespan into this technique.