After exchanging a single blow with Mrs. Yun, Su Ze felt it hadn’t even scratched the itch.

After all, Mrs. Yun was getting on in years; he couldn’t just go all out on her. Plus, they were in the middle of a city and had to consider the potential environmental damage.

’I need to find an Overlord and have a proper fight to figure out what level I’m at now...’ Su Ze knew that no one at the Butterfly Transformation Stage could force him to use his full power. To test his true strength, he had to find a Saint-level Overlord.

And it couldn’t be a Spiritual Power-type Overlord.

Su Ze felt he was a natural counter to Spiritual Power-type evolvers. Even a Saint-level Overlord of that type would most likely be utterly crushed by him.

First, his Unyielding Will skill was a god-tier ability for resisting spiritual attacks. When Unyielding Will was active, his resistance to spiritual attacks scaled with his physical strength—and Su Ze’s body was now at the level of a Saint-level Overlord.

That alone was enough to make him immune to any spiritual attacks from peers of the same tier.

Furthermore, his Spiritual Power had undergone a qualitative transformation inside the Divine Dice. The "quality" of his Spiritual Power had reached the Saint-level Overlord tier, meaning it was on par with that of a Spiritual Power-type Saint-level Overlord. The only difference was the "quantity."

In other words, Su Ze’s current Spiritual Power was comparable to that of a typical non-Spiritual Power-type Saint-level Overlord. If he were hit by a spiritual attack from a Saint-level Overlord of that type, even if he didn’t defend, he would only be affected or sustain some spiritual damage. It wouldn’t be fatal.

With Overlord-tier Spiritual Power combined with an active Unyielding Will, Su Ze estimated that a Spiritual Power-type Overlord’s attacks would be useless against him.

Once their spiritual attacks were rendered ineffective, a Spiritual Power-type Saint-level Overlord was like a tiger without claws or fangs—nothing more than a kitten.

Therefore, Su Ze surmised that he could now defeat a Spiritual Power-type Saint-level Overlord in a direct confrontation.

’The likes of Zhou Wenshan and Amida are probably no match for me!’

As for a "gatekeeper" non-Spiritual Power-type Overlord like Mrs. Yun, he’d have to have a proper, all-out battle to know if he could win.

...

After absorbing the fifth-order extract, Su Ze settled in at Dongli University to focus on its digestion, while Liou Wenxin threw herself into researching an "enhanced Swan Dance."

In the later stages of her research, the enhanced Swan Dance was mostly complete, and Su Ze and Mr. Ya began acting as Liou Wenxin’s guinea pigs.

Based on their feedback from practicing the enhanced Swan Dance, Liou Wenxin made the final adjustments to the highly difficult training regimen.

Finally, after more than ten days, Swan Dance 2.0 was born!

Swan Dance 2.0 added many difficult movements to the original version, raising the regimen’s overall difficulty by a huge margin and significantly increasing the barrier to entry.

For one, many of the difficult movements and power-channeling techniques could only be performed by evolvers at the Butterfly Transformation Stage. For another, some of the aerial maneuvers required a Flying Skill to complete. In other words, you couldn’t even practice Swan Dance 2.0 without the ability to fly.

Of course, the increased difficulty and higher barrier to entry came with a significant boost in effectiveness.

Swan Dance 2.0 was more than twice as effective as the 1.0 version!

However, the practice also put an extreme strain on the body. Even someone like Mr. Ya, at the Peak of Butterfly Transformation Stage, had to switch back to Swan Dance 1.0 after two consecutive hours just to let his body catch a break.

Only someone with a monstrous physique like Su Ze, with his body of steel, could practice Swan Dance 2.0 all day without rest.

After Swan Dance 2.0 was developed, Liou Wenxin didn’t rush to submit it to the Dongli government. For the time being, only Su Ze, Mr. Ya, and Mrs. Yun knew of its existence.

This, however, was a source of some distress for Su Ze. After Swan Dance 1.0 was popularized throughout Dongli, he no longer had to worry about social suicide from dancing in public. But now, many of the moves in Swan Dance 2.0 were even more cringeworthy than the original...

Dancing on the ground was one thing, but now he had to fly into the sky and dance while doing 360-degree spins.

It was impossible for him to practice in the privacy of his room anymore.

Su Ze looked up at Mr. Ya spinning in circles in the sky. He was striking poses as he flew, looking like a fluttering moth trying its best to imitate a butterfly.

"Mr. Ya, you’re so flamboyant!"

Su Ze shook his head, put on the Hundred-Change Mask, and transformed into the likeness of Mrs. Yun. He then flew up into the sky to join Mr. Ya as a pair of lovebird-like fluttering moths.

With the help of Swan Dance 2.0, combined with the fifth-order natural medicines like Ten Thousand Miles Ginseng that he had recently started taking, Su Ze’s progress in digesting the extract advanced by leaps and bounds.

However, even with top-tier resources, a top-tier training method, and his own considerable talent for rapid digestion, he estimated that at his current pace, it would still take at least half a year to completely digest the fifth-order pufferfish extract.

His speed was already shocking; the fact that he could digest a vial of a fifth-order, B-grade extract in just half a year would probably frighten many people if word got out.

It just went to show how incredibly difficult fifth-order extracts were to digest.

And this was only a B-grade one. An S-grade extract would take even longer.

’Do I really have to shut myself away and train for half a year?’

Su Ze did the math. It had only been a little over half a year since he’d transmigrated. The thought of being cooped up at the university for six months straight, doing nothing but taking potions and dancing every day—he really couldn’t stomach it.

He wasn’t the type to sit still, after all.

’This isn’t some immortal cultivation,’ he thought. ’I need to find something to break up the monotony.’

But he didn’t dare go wandering in the wilderness. The last time he went out with Chen Suifeng, he’d ended up being hunted by a mob. Su Ze had already made up his mind: ’Until I reach the Saint level, I’m not leaving Lin Hua Continent!’

’Maybe I should take Mr. Ya and go visit Prince Atago in the Great Desert Kingdom? Or I could pay a visit to the Lin Family in the Sovereign Country...’ Both Atago and Lin Luo had kept in touch with Su Ze, repeatedly inviting him to visit.

Just as Su Ze was debating whether to go, he suddenly heard a piece of news from Mrs. Yun.

"The Great Desert Kingdom dug up an alien spaceship in the desert."

"What?!" Captivated by this shocking news, Su Ze immediately pressed for details.

"It just happened this morning. For now, only the top echelons of the various nations are aware. It’s still a secret to the general public, and even I don’t know many details..." Mrs. Yun proceeded to tell Su Ze everything she had learned.

The Great Desert Kingdom is a major oil-producing nation, and the spaceship was discovered by accident during an oil survey. Its location is in the southeastern part of the kingdom, near Miracle Oasis.

The spaceship is enormous, comparable in size to a palace, with an exterior the color of jade. It has only a single entrance, but the main door is shut tight, and so far, no one has managed to get inside.

"A massive vessel like that... judging from its technology, craftsmanship, and structure, you can tell it was definitely not built by us humans on Blue Star. It must be from another planet," Mrs. Yun said. "A ship from an alien civilization is a matter of great significance for every country. I’m sure all the major powers will be making their moves soon."

"What about the Sovereign Country? Any news from them?" Su Ze asked.

"The Sovereign Country will definitely get involved, but it takes time for the news to reach them and for their leaders to issue orders. That whole process is slow, which is why the other nations have to move fast. Once the Sovereign Country makes a move, they’ll take the lion’s share of any benefits. The other six kingdoms will be lucky to get the scraps," Mrs. Yun said with a laugh. "The Great Desert Kingdom already has a team urgently trying to breach the entrance. As long as they can get inside before the Sovereign Country’s people arrive, whatever they can salvage is pure profit."

"What about us in Dongli? Are we doing anything?"

"Dongli isn’t far from the discovery site, so proximity gives us an advantage. Plus, we’ve always been on good terms with the Great Desert Kingdom. Our leaders have already reached an agreement to explore the ship together."

"Mr. Gu Chengguang is already gathering a team and preparing to lead them there personally."

"If the discovery site is near Miracle Oasis, doesn’t that mean it’s also close to Luofan? That bunch of lizardmen will definitely try to get involved."

Miracle Oasis was situated right at the border of the Luofan Country, the Dongli Kingdom, and the Great Desert Kingdom.

"When have they ever passed up an opportunity like this? Even though the ship is in the Great Desert Kingdom’s territory, those shameless lizardmen will definitely force their way across the border," Mrs. Yun scoffed.

"Can I go with Mr. Gu?" asked Su Ze, his restless heart already stirring.

"You? Mr. Gu actually considered bringing you along, but he gave up the idea for your own safety, considering how many enemies you have," Mrs. Yun said.

Su Ze nodded, but he hadn’t completely dismissed the idea.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Prince Atago to ask about the situation. As the prince of the Great Desert Kingdom, Atago was sure to have more comprehensive information.

Atago replied quickly: "Our attempts to breach the door with technology have failed. We’re now preparing to use brute force. If we can’t get the entrance open before the people from the Sovereign Country arrive, all our efforts will be for nothing."

He wasn’t hiding anything, as news of the spaceship had already spread and was no longer a secret among the various national leaders.

Besides, if they couldn’t open the entrance on their own, the Great Desert Kingdom was prepared to join forces with other countries to try, even including the Luofan Country, with whom they had a poor relationship.

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

Su Ze then had a thought. ’If the ship’s location is near Miracle Oasis, then the Oasis Commerce Association must have heard the news too. Will they make a move?’

So, he sent another message to Ju Han, asking if she knew about the spaceship.

A moment later, Ju Han replied.

[Ju Han: The Mother Tree says the spaceship you mentioned was once one with her. It is a part of her.]

Su Ze: !!

He remembered the Mother Tree saying she was part of a wondrous artifact. ’Does that mean this so-called spaceship is also part of that same artifact?’

’A spaceship and a tree... what kind of artifact could they possibly form together?’

Su Ze found it strange, but he immediately sent another message. [Su Ze: Then the Mother Tree must know how to open the ship’s main door, right?]

[Ju Han: The Mother Tree asks if you wish to enter the spaceship.]

[Su Ze: If the Mother Tree needs me to go, I will not hesitate!]