Chapter 7209: A Golden Harvest Ves found it increasingly less acceptable that he still remained stuck as a tier 3 galactic citizen. Although the Red Collective was still too young and lean to elevate any of its members to tier 1, Ves knew for a fact that every department head reached tier 2 galactic citizenship. This was an appropriate status. They were nowhere near as influential as individual god pilots and Star Designers, but their office granted them widespread influence that could change the course of human history. There was no excuse to keep him at tier 3. Not when he commanded the loyalty and obedience of 359 human phase lords. The greatest impediment was the Evolution Witch. She was responsible for blocking her promotion. If she had made a promise about it, then it would be difficult to defy her directive given how much she cared about the matter. Ves hoped that this was not the case. Given Divine Lucie Miyazaki’s history as a radical and a rule breaker, she shouldn’t be as rigid as he feared. He would give the Red Three a few weeks to get their act together and elevate him to a tier 2 galactic citizen. If they still refused to give him what he deserved, then he had no qualms about using the three phalanxes at his disposal to apply leverage. After all, what was the point of gaining so much power if he did not make good use of it? He not only had to demonstrate that he was able to command all of those Ascended Giants, but that he was also willing to use them to his advantage. As Ves continued to talk to Gloriana in her design lab, she gradually filled him in on a number of developments. “There are already inquiries within our clan on how to apply to join the Phase Lord Department.” She told him. “Our infantry soldiers are especially eager to become a part of the exclusive gathering of human phase lords. They do not fully understand what they are getting into, but I doubt that warning them about the changes to their cognition will deflate their enthusiasm by all that much. Each of them have relit the fires in their heart.” While Ves was glad to hear that there were plenty of Larkinsons who were willing to undergo phase lord conversion, he knew that he and the Larkinsons couldn’t afford to rush this process. At the very least, Ves wanted to conduct more research on how to prevent or reduce the brainwashing from the Red Ocean! So long as everyone who managed to raise their phasewater concentration past a threshold mistakenly believed that they were gods, it would be hard for them to remain members of the Larkinson Clan in good standing! Kinship was one of the central concepts of the clan. The Golden Cat was the ancestral spirit of the Larkinsons for good reasons. She may not be the most powerful, knowledgeable or flashiest of spiritual entities, but she embodied the importance of love and family above all others. Ves feared that the Larkinson giants would become so brainwashed by the heavenly authority of the Red Ocean that not even the Golden Cat could set them straight anymore. Once they embraced the allure of godhood and believed with all of their heart that they deserved to rule over mortal humans as if they were slaves, then they could never treat their fellow Larkinsons with genuine love and respect anymore. They would have to be removed from the clan rolls. There was no other possibility. Ves at least managed to stay in the clan because only his alternate personality developed a god complex. Ves would be happy if other Larkinson giants managed to stay true to their hearts in the face of the Red Ocean’s coercive persuasion, but he did not get his hopes up. The standards were too high. Perhaps only 10 percent or so of Larkinson candidates would eventually retain their original personalities. “By the way, Ves.” She said. “Since you have learned a number of new tricks, have you gained any special insights that you want to apply to the Riot Mark III Project? You have become much more proficient in spearmanship than before. Is there anything about the design that we have overlooked? Since we have already delayed the project’s fabrication date, we may as well take advantage of the additional time to apply additional tweaks based on new insights.” That was an interesting suggestion. Ves was not opposed to the idea. He began to lean forward and study the design of the Riot Mark III Project. “On the surface, you have already done a good job of designing it to complement Venerable Rosa Orfan’s aggressive fighting style.” He said. “I can make a few suggestions here or there, but the differences will not be significant enough to justify the additional time and effort needed to alter the design. It is more than satisfactory in my eyes. We can save the subsequent refinements and adjustments when we are ready to start the Riot Mark IV Project in the far future.” “Hm, fair enough. I am glad to hear that a qualified spearman such as yourself has given a positive evaluation as our subject matter expert.” Ves grinned. “The Dark Apostle and I aren’t good enough to call ourselves spearmen. Our second daughter certainly thinks we are not true warriors yet, and I am inclined to agree with her. We have the skills, but not the practical experience that is needed to evolve and optimize our new arts.” His wife frowned. “I can already guess that the Dark Apostle will be eager to remedy his lack of experience by throwing himself onto the enemy at every opportunity. This means that our children and I will constantly have to be worried about whether you will return with injuries… or worse.” He let out a sigh even as he reassuringly patted her hand. “As I have said before, trust in our armed forces. The Bluejay Fleet will become stronger than ever after a bunch of Ascended Giants have joined up. If that is not enough, we can join up with the Premier Fleet again.” “Why are we not doing that right away?” “Because the Saint Commander deserves to run the clan without my interference, whether deliberate or not.” Ves answered in a firm tone. “If we want to transition the Larkinson Clan into a multi-generational institution that can withstand the test of time, then it needs to become accustomed to regular leadership transitions. My prestige within the clan is so high that Casella Ingvar needs space in order to make her mark. It is best if I keep my distance from her for at least a few more years. However, if the new frontier is deteriorating a lot faster than expected, then we can group up again for safety.” The situation had not reached that point. The native aliens or the mutated voribugs would have to achieve great success in their incursions before the Larkinsons needed to consolidate their strength. After a bit more talking, their discussion quietly ended. Both Ves and Gloriana became engrossed with testing and finalizing the Riot Mark III Project. At the same time, they paid close attention to the clock. Gloriana had quietly signaled a desire to meet up in the System Space through a secret code and gesture. They both waited until the right time had come before activating the command to enter the System Space. Their surroundings changed. Ves immediately felt more comfortable as the aches of his true body faded a bit. He did not know why this was the case, but he had no complaints about the effects. “So what do you want to talk about?” He asked. “You still do not remember?” She asked. “Uhhh…” Gloriana let out an exasperated breath. “Follow me, then.” They both climbed up the steps before the female mech designer turned to the clearing that held the Tree of Possibilities. A big change occurred since their last visit. Ves stared with incomprehension as he beheld two rotting corpses. The great Unshakeable King and the mighty Oscillating Fist had fought valiantly in the last hour of their lives, yet both of them had been reduced to collection of bones, sinew and skin. Furthermore, the two phase lord corpses also happened to be tangled and half-buried into the roots of the Tree of Possibilities! “Have your memories recovered?” “No.” Ves said as he tried to reconcile his previous impressions of the polemarchos and the strategos with the disgusting sight before him. “What I do recall is a recent System upgrade to the Tree of Possibilities. I think… I understand now why I insisted on claiming these corpses. The bodies needed to be fresh, mostly intact and killed by me in person in order to dedicate them to this big tree, right?” Gloriana nodded. “Yes. You cannot cheat the System by attempting to dedicate corpses killed by others. It is also too late to submit your kill to the Tree of Possibilities if you delayed for more than a standard day.” No wonder why he tried his best to remain conscious at the time! He must have kept these new rules in mind when he urgently sacrificed the phase lord bodies. “Well, whatever I did has yielded success. Those two golden enlightenment fruits look ripe and ready to be used. Both Ves and Gloriana approached the trunk of the Tree of Possibilities and bowed respectfully. Whether they wanted to show respect to the Tree of Possibilities or honor the ‘sacrifice’ of the two deceased phase lords remained unclear. A sense of solemn dignity emanated from the entire clearing. So long as the Tree of Possibilities was still in the process of breaking down the two giant corpses, the site would continue to come across as a graveyard as opposed to a repository of knowledge. “Let’s see what these golden fruits are all about.” The pair proceeded to study the description of the special golden enlightenment fruits. [The Immovable Flesh Giant Method Golden Enlightenment Fruit] Imparts a multi-disciplinary body training method developed by the Unshakeable King to exercise a human phase lord’s true body. This method relies on a combination of stimulating the lesser Marigal organ, refining the use of the lesser Tarsei organ, contemporary human exercise physiology and a fusion of over a dozen martial arts. Practicing the Immovable Flesh Giant Method may enable a human phase lord to match or surpass the physical durability and toughness of a phase whale of an equivalent rank, but due to the immature, incomplete untested nature of this body cultivation method, the practitioner must be prepared to make frequent corrections and expansions. Requirements: Strength must be higher than 15, Endurance must be higher than 20, Spirituality must be higher than 5. “The Unshakeable Fist’s legacy.” Gloriana whispered with a sense of awe. “This can definitely make you more difficult to kill.” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 [The Oscillating Fist Technique Golden Enlightenment Fruit] Imparts a martial arts technique that can only be exercised by humanoid phase lords. The Oscillating Fist Technique is the culmination of a lifetime of training and fighting by a champion boxer turned phase lord. It encapsulates the essence of many boxing and martial techniques, decades of diligent practice, profound insights, the support of a compatible companion spirit and an unswerving drive to surpass mortal limitations. The Oscillating Fist Technique is completely personalized around its creator. Teaching this technique to other pugilists will lead to poor results as it is too difficult for others to satisfy the same requirements as the creator. Requirements: Strength must be higher than 20, Endurance must be higher than 15, Spirituality must be higher than 10. “This…” Ves trailed off for a moment. “This is more than I could have hoped for. I thought the System would screw us over by extracting one of the Oscillating Fist’s lesser skills, but it went straight for the main prize. This golden fruit… is amazing.” “Then what are you waiting for, Ves? These are your spoils.” He shook his head. “Not so fast, honey. I am not entirely sure that these skills are suitable for me and the Dark Apostle. I already have a prototype combat system in mind that does not entail focusing on defense or rely on fisticuffs to wear down our future adversaries.” “Why not?! You deserve to acquire these skills! If you insist on letting your other self fight on a regular basis, then I would feel much more reassured if he can withstand more attacks and launch lethal attacks even when he is unarmed!” Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! Purchase Privilege for The Mech Touch! Read a varying amount of chapters ahead of regular readers while enjoying a 99% discount on unlocking new chapters! Join The Mech Touch’s unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU