📖 Chapter 961 - Nine Grades of Planet!

17 May, 2023

The little fatty was very fast and approached the Heavenspan Drum almost before he finished speaking. With everyone staring at him intently, the little fatty lifted his right hand, and his Planet Guiding Drumstick appeared. Leaping right up to the giant drum, he swung his arm and struck without hesitation!

Boom!

A muffled sound reverberated through the world. It seemed to cause the vault of heaven to shake, and also made the hearts of all the observers tremble. Wang Baole was no different; as he gasped, he saw the sea of clouds up in the sky dissipate rapidly. Moreover, the originally bright sky instantly turned dark!

“The first beat of the drum opens the heavens. It causes the vault of heaven to turn into a curtain, which swings open and exposes the Planets!” Noticing Wang Baole staring up at the sky, the red-lined paper human cutout beside him spoke up.

A moment later, the little fatty at the drum roared loudly. Flourishing the drumstick in his hand, he struck the drum a second time, and the second beat rang out.

High in the vault of heaven, many Planets suddenly appeared. However, compared to the vast night sky, the number of lights wasn’t many. Perhaps it was less than one-ten-thousandth of the Planets that would usually appear. Moreover, most of them were dim, and it was clear that they were just Mortal Planets.

“The second beat of the drum is the prelude to Planet-guiding. After that, the more times the drum is beat, the more Planets will appear, and your chances of calling a Spirit or Immortal Planet will also increase. If you can beat the drum seven times, then you have the basic qualification to attract Special Planets, and the more you beat the drum, the more likely it is for a Special Planet to appear!

“According to the Starfall Empire’s records, if you can beat the drum more than ten times, there is a chance of summoning the Dao Planet. Of course, that chance is extremely low…” As they watched the little fatty hit the drum, the Starfall Emperor explained things to Wang Baole, clearly hoping that Wang Baole would have the greatest understanding of the Planet-guiding ceremony before he went up to beat the Heavenspan Drum.

Naturally, Wang Baole was extremely grateful for the red-lined paper human cutout’s care, turning to give a deep bow. By then, the little fatty had struck the drum a third and then a fourth time.

The number of Planets up in the vault of heaven continued to increase. By the time the fourth beat of the drum reverberated, the sky seemed to be filled with points of light. If all the points of light were gathered together rather than scattered around, they would already be enough to fill one fifth of the dark sky. Moreover, the intensity of the light that these Planets were giving off was also different from before.

The brighter ones among them were not Mortal Planets, but Spirit Planets. Furthermore, when the fourth beat finished sounding out, even brighter lights appeared, which came from… Immortal Planets!

Wang Baole’s eyes revealed a profound glow. Originally, he had already been prepared to settle for an Immortal Planet. Now that he saw some Immortal Planets appear, his heart pounded. But beneath this pounding was the heat of ambition.

‘I wonder if that little fatty can summon a Special Planet!’ Wang Baole thought. At the same time, the entire Starfall Empire’s attention was focused on this place. Whispered discussions broke out constantly, all guessing whether or not any Special Planets would be making an appearance.

Even the little fatty himself was wondering this. Although he was full of excitement, he was even more full of anxiety. After striking the drum four times, he had already encountered difficulty. The first strike was alright, but by the time he struck the drum for the fourth time, he had already used up almost all the power of his cultivation base. His body felt like it was running on empty.

However, he dared to come out first, so he had naturally made some preparations. Letting out a roar, he raised his left hand and crushed a jade pendant that was hanging around his neck. The crushed pendant immediately emitted a cloud of mist that enveloped the little fatty. His aura surged, and he struck out with the drumstick again.

The fifth beat!

The vault of heaven vibrated, and many more points of light appeared. The scattered Planets already occupied three tenths of the sky, and many more Immortal Planets made their presence known. Unfortunately, no Special Planets appeared.

As for the little fatty, the mist enveloping his body swiftly dissipated, and he barely managed to remain standing. His complexion was extremely pale, as if he had already reached his limit.

"So weak?" Wang Baole was a little surprised when he saw this scene.

“It’s not that this person is weak, but rather that beating the drum is too difficult. The more you strike the drum, the more difficult it becomes. Little friend, do you know what the record number of beats to the Heavenspan Drum is?” The Starfall Emperor glanced at Wang Baole. After seeing Wang Baole shake his head, it continued speaking.

“Ten!” As the Starfall Emperor spoke, the little fatty suddenly let out a shrill roar. As he activated a secret art, his body trembled and began to wither rapidly. In the blink of an eye, his fat had disappeared, and he was barely more than skin and bones. It was only after paying such a price that he managed to carry out the sixth strike.

With the sixth beat of the drum, the vault of heaven shone brightly, and another tenth of it was occupied by the light of Planets. At the same time, one Planet appeared with light surpassing that of all the other Planets!

"Special Planet!!"

Uproars immediately broke out everywhere. The Chosen’s eyes all lit up, but the little fatty seemed to have overexerted himself. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, his body fell to the ground, and the drumstick left his hand. Unable to support itself, the drumstick collapsed and turned into dissipating specks of light.

At that moment, the only Special Planet that had appeared in the vault of heaven suddenly shone. Rays of light descended, covering the unconscious little fatty and lifting him into the sky. Finally, all the Planets in the sky dimmed and disappeared, leaving only that Special Planet hanging high. Looking carefully, it could be seen that within it was the body of the little fatty!

“That fatty actually got himself a Special Planet!!” Wang Baole’s breathing grew heavy, and his eyes revealed intense desire. In his opinion, if even the little fatty could get a Special Planet, then he himself had nothing to worry about.

“That kid’s luck isn’t bad. Although it’s only a Special Planet of the lowest level, he was still fortunate to obtain it.” The Starfall Emperor said slowly. After shooting Wang Baole a glance, it continued to speak.

“Special Planets containing natural laws are generally divided into nine grades. Among them, although the first-grade Planets are still incomparable to a Dao Planet, they have a small chance of advancing to a real Dao Planet. Of course, that chance is infinitesimally small and requires extremely great fortune.

“What that kid obtained is a ninth-grade Planet, the lowest grade. In fact, there is a kind of Planet even above the first-grade Special Planet. I call them… Ancient Planets. Ancient Planets are those that failed to advance to Dao Planet but remain unresigned. For countless years, they’ve continued to attempt to surpass the limits of their grade… In the Starfall Realm, a total of nine such Ancient Planets have appeared throughout the ages.”

“Divided into nine grades? There’s Ancient Planets above the first-grade?” Wang Baole’s eyes flashed, and he was about to ask more about the latter. However, at that moment, the second Chosen from the Outer Domain flew up and went straight to the Heavenspan Drum.

This person was the masked woman, and she immediately attracted Wang Baole’s attention. In fact, among the Outer Domain Chosen this time, she was considered one of the most powerful. The scholarly cultivator and the others immediately paid extra attention.

She wasn’t someone the little fatty could compare to. The moment she approached, the drumstick in her hand blurred, and she beat the drum five times in a single breath!

The countless Planets that had just disappeared from the vault of heaven reappeared in an instant. Although the light of the Planets prevented Wang Baole from seeing the masked woman’s eyes, her demeanor revealed an utmost calm. A moment later, she struck the drum twice more!

With the seventh beat appearing, a storm seemed to sweep the sky, and seven tenths of the sky was instantly covered in the light of Planets. Many Special Planets had already appeared, and some of them were clearly a notch brighter than the others. These Planets were incomparable to the fatty’s ninth-grade one and must have reached the middle grades.

“Fourth-grade!” The Starfall Emperor revealed admiration as it spoke slowly.

“She won’t stop here!” Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and muttered. Indeed, the masked woman was able to beat the drum an eighth time, but this seemed to be her limit. After the eighth strike, the masked woman’s body visibly trembled, and her aura had become extremely weak.

Dazzling light erupted in the vault of heaven, and eight tenths of it was instantly covered by shining Planets. There were already hundreds of millions of Planets in the sky, packed together in dense patches. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the sky was filled with light.

Moreover, there were three Planets that shone brighter than all the others. They hung high in the sky, above the rest of the Planets, and seemed to light up the entire world.

“Second-grade! If she can beat the drum again, all the second-grade Planets will be drawn out, and even first-grade Planets are likely to appear!” The Starfall Emperor’s eyes revealed a profound glow before it sighed softly.

“Unfortunately, she’s reached her limit. Even with the help of external objects, she won’t be able to beat the drum any more.”