Chapter 199: The Five Elements, Ancient Artifacts, and Energy Conservation!

Chapter 199: The Five Elements, Ancient Artifacts, and Energy Conservation!

The commotion here undoubtedly attracted the attention of onlookers, including some mechanical beastmasters who had come to the Mechanical Association.

Within the Mechanical Association, there was a bustling market specifically for purchasing mechanical beast materials and body blueprints, making it a natural hub for people to gather.

At this moment, the commotion at the entrance naturally drew the attention of many.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the two individuals involved.

Among them was Su Ping, without a doubt.

It was evident that the content of their conversation had piqued the interest of many.

The Mechanical Titan glanced at the two individuals and then at the surrounding onlookers before speaking, "If there's a dispute over a transaction, seek the internal supervisor. Don't cause a scene here! And quickly release the person; otherwise, you'll be charged with assault, and I have the authority to expel you."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Master Haotian. Humph, I'll let you off this time, but don't let me see you outside the Mechanical Association again!" The burly man angrily threw the other person out and showed respect to the Mechanical Titan who had stood up again.

Su Ping narrowed his eyes slightly and then looked at the skinny young man.

As expected, in this situation, the young man didn't seem to be in a hurry either.

Su Ping couldn't help but smile at the thought of the two individuals from earlier.

It was intriguing.

No energy consumption, and through a perfect energy cycle, it allows mechanical beasts to recover energy slowly, just like other types of beasts?

Perfect automatic recovery?

Even thinking about it was absurd.

No, this was impossible.

The scientific theories of the previous life proved that it was impossible to create a perpetual motion machine.

The iron law of the first law of thermodynamics is that energy conservation makes perpetual motion unattainable.

Of course, in the Blue Star's extraordinary beastmaster civilization, Su Ping couldn't guarantee that science had no boundaries, and the future might bring changes.

However, from the current perspective, energy supply was also subject to this principle.

For any beast, energy recovery required rest, resources, and food.

This was similar to how mechanical beasts needed to reload bullets or charge their batteries to replenish energy.

Unless it was like Old Sha's Thousand Wood Wolf, which could partially recover energy through solar power.

But undoubtedly, this also utilized solar energy.

Therefore, energy conservation always existed.

And this was even more true when applied to machinery.

Achieving perpetual energy operation in machinery was even more impossible.

At the very least, Su Ping had never even considered such a possibility.

However, while energy couldn't appear out of thin air, there were special cases like Old Sha, where energy could be absorbed and transformed at a minimal cost.

So, what principle did this young man's energy conversion method follow?

A mechanical body without a carrier?

Not only was Su Ping interested in this, but as he watched, some people entering and exiting the Mechanical Association also showed great interest in this scene.

No one considered themselves inferior to others, and many believed they were the lucky ones.

All that was missing was a crucial opportunity.

To many, this seemed like an opportunity.

Su Ping noticed the flickering gazes around him but remained calm. He first observed the short youth who had walked out of the Mechanical Association, followed by some people chasing after him.

Then, he glanced at the angry man who had left.

Finally, he looked up at the massive creature in the sky.

Su Ping waved his hand.

If it were anyone else, Haotian, the Emperor-level Mechanical Titan, probably wouldn't even acknowledge the greeting.

But Su Ping was different.

He was personally brought in by Vice President Wang and had received a special tip.

The Mechanical Titan, who had been stationed at the Demon Capital Mechanical Association for many years, understood the significance of the name 'Sage Sang's junior.'

So,

The Mechanical Titan crouched down, and even then, its body remained tall.

Haotian extended his hand, and Su Ping understood. He leaped into the palm of the Mechanical Titan, experiencing the thrill of a roller coaster ride.

Haotian stood up and held Su Ping in front of him, "Well... cute little friend, what can I do for you?"

This robot wasn't as quick-witted as Fatty, and Su Ping didn't have the time to mock its choice of words.

Su Ping smiled slightly and said, "Senior Haotian, can you help me with something?"

"Oh?"

...

Three minutes later, Su Ping stepped down from Haotian's palm and re-entered the Exchange Factory.

Indeed, the Exchange Factory was bustling with activity.

The overall style of the Mechanical Association was characterized by its rough and lively atmosphere, with stalls displaying their wares.

However, the stalls showcased mechanical bodies made from various mechanical resources and materials.

All sorts of strange mechanical weapons were on display.

There were even some awakened mechanical cores and blueprints.

The value of such a free trading market was unimaginable.

It was no wonder that Haotian, a Mechanical Titan of the Emperor Rank, chose to stay here to prevent any special situations from occurring.

As for Su Ping, he had put aside his earlier thoughts and quickly scanned the area with his eyes, soon spotting the figure he was looking for.

It was none other than that man.

The man hadn't noticed the pair of eyes that had been watching him as he wandered around, examining the items on various stalls.

However, after one or two hours, he hadn't bought anything.

On the other hand, Su Ping had purchased a few small items, including assembly blueprints for ordinary-grade domestic service robots and some special universal assembly materials for mechanical bodies.

However, the distance between the man and Su Ping remained the same, as if he were always following behind.

But Su Ping was now filled with doubt.

It was already past 2 o'clock.

In a while, Sage Sang would come to pick him up, Su Ping estimated.

Did he guess wrong?

Were this man and the skinny youth not accomplices?

No, Su Ping had already made up his mind when he first saw them; they had staged a scene in front of the door.

The situation just now seemed reasonable at first glance, but in reality, it was full of loopholes.

If the man was truly angry, there would be no point in him dealing with the youth himself. As Haotian said, he could directly inform the internal supervisor of the Exchange Factory.

If he was really selling fakes, it wouldn't be as simple as getting a beating.

Going to jail would be a very likely outcome.

The reason for this commotion was quite simple.

If they were selling within the Exchange Factory, on the territory of the Mechanical Association, and something went wrong, they would really go and find the supervisor.

At that time, they would really be in trouble.

Outside, conducting personal sales without third-party supervision, it's a matter of who's willing to fight and who's willing to take the hit.

After realizing the situation was amiss, they naturally wanted to advertise.

As the Exchange Factory, the busiest place in the Mechanical Association, and the timing was just right, in the afternoon when most people had finished their lunch.

At this time, naturally, many people would have some thoughts after hearing such a situation.

So, when most people followed and went to find the youth to see what the so-called mechanical diagram that allows mechanical beasts to automatically restore energy and internally recycle energy is.

Su Ping turned his gaze towards the muscular man.

However, Su Ping had always believed that these two were in cahoots, but after two hours, there was still no movement, making Su Ping truly doubt if he had thought wrong?

However, this thought had just appeared when the man in front of him took out his phone, glanced at it, and then directly walked out of the Exchange Factory with hurried steps.

Su Ping's spirit shook, and he followed the man out of the Association.

Compared to the bustling Exchange Factory, the difficulty of tailing someone in the Mechanical Association's park and outside was truly immense.

Fortunately, Su Ping had prepared.

He turned back and looked at the Mechanical Titan still standing there, as if it would never rest.

The latter seemed to sense Su Ping's gaze and stood there.

Su Ping took out a mechanical badge he had obtained from the Mechanical Titan.

Spiritual Perception Jammer.

Significantly reduces the spiritual force's perception of itself.

After activating this device, Su Ping finally followed the man out of the Association.

The man's steps were hurried.

Not only did his gaze constantly scan the surroundings, but the spiritual force's fluctuations were also extremely intense.

However, after sensing that no one was around, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and entered a small inn far from the Mechanical Association, then walked into a room.

As expected, the man entered the room and saw the youth sitting on the bed, staring at his phone: "How is it? How much did you get?"

"Fck! Bro, we hit the jackpot this time! It's true that the rich folks in Demon Capital love mechanical beasts, and the wealthier ones even more so! It's all true!"

"Do I need to say more? Hurry up and stop wasting words, how much did you get in total?"

The man was also excited, his eyes shining as he sat next to the youth.

The skinny youth didn't waste words either and directly showed the screenshot of his savings on his phone.

As expected, the string of zeros behind the amount directly blinded his eyes.

"Holy shit!"

"Bro, with this much money, we can cultivate our main battle pets to Overlord Third Rank, or even Sovereign Grade! Let's give him 50%..."

The man, referred to as 'Bro', glared at the youth and said:

"Little Bro, don't be so stingy.

Besides, that's Master Shen, an existence within the Mechanical Association.

Usually, people want to give money but don't have the opportunity or the means!"

"Oh... Alright then..."

The skinny youth was still extremely reluctant.

But since his brother said so, he had no choice.

"Hahaha, alright, when we become Overlord Rank or even Sovereign Rank Beastmasters and return to our side, we'll be influential figures too! Now, we just need to think about how to cultivate your pet!"

"Hehe, I've already planned for my Fire Wolf's cultivation. I'm saving up, and recently in Huaiyang Province, a new Evolutionary Form called Ash Wolf Lord appeared. At that time..."

However, just as the two were fantasizing about their bright future,

'Knock knock knock'

The door was knocked on again.

The two were startled, then reacted and opened the door.

They revealed a smile-filled expression:

"Please come in, please."

The youth took out a bottle of mineral water.

Su Ping looked at the two and smiled slightly.

His speculation was correct; these two were indeed accomplices.

"Take out the goods!"

The two looked at each other, and the muscular man's eyelids slightly twitched. Then, a light shone, and a yellow-striped centipede appeared on his body.

“Hey, we're in the Demon Capital!”

Su Ping chuckled:

“I didn't say I'd give it for free. No matter what, I need to inspect the goods first.”

This statement sounded strange, as if he were an addict who had just taken a hit of toxic catnip.

The man glanced at Su Ping up and down. This young lad didn't seem to have graduated yet.

So, he thought to himself:

“Kid, our goods are worth several tens of millions!”

Su Ping smirked and then took out an item.

It was none other than his 'Rich Guy's ID Card', the Natural Essence that Su An Yong had given him.

“Do you know what this is?”

Su Ping had just figured it out through eavesdropping, and these two hadn't seen anything good.

If it weren't for the fact that they had already come here, Su Ping would have turned around and left. These two were not up to par, how could they have any good merchandise?

But since they had come...

As expected, both men shook their heads.

“Emperor Rank Life, Wood Attribute Resources: Natural Essence, priceless!”

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Then, they locked their gazes onto Su Ping.

This was a big fat sheep to be sheared! These beastmasters in the Demon Capital were indeed foolishly rich!

“Hehe, sorry, sorry, it was my mistake, little brother. You saw it too, right? Bro, quickly take out the blueprint's backup and show this guy!”

Blueprint?

Su Ping's heart stirred slightly.

The youth took out a stack of papers, like toilet paper, from it, he pulled out a sheet.

Su Ping's lips curled up.

However, facing the youth's embarrassment, the lad still took it.

He quietly looked it over.

The blueprint wasn't sloppy, but at the very least, it was organized and clear.

Su Ping didn't really care.

After all, with these two's attitude, he didn't expect it to be anything good.

But at first glance, Su Ping's eyes lit up.

Because at this moment, on this blueprint, the largest pattern was an extremely special diagram.

It was similar to an ellipse.

However, this ellipse formed five directions, simultaneously occupied by five fonts and the text within.

And this pattern and font were familiar to Su Ping, and even to any beastmaster or breeder.

This was the foundation of the elements, the Dragon Nation's essence.

Water gives birth to wood, so water gives birth to wood.

Wood gives birth to fire, so wood gives birth to fire.

Fire gives birth to earth...

Earth gives birth to gold...

Gold gives birth to water...

The blueprint also incorporated the five elements' interdependence into the current moment,

'The five elements' interdependence is the way of heaven and earth, so the five elements' energy can be connected in the beast's attributes,

The five elements' energy, in the cycle, can utilize the interdependence's method, and achieve unity.

Ancient text?

Su Ping raised his eyebrows.

Then, he vaguely understood what this blueprint was all about.

Using the five elements' cycle, one could make energy circulate and unleash corresponding energy, thereby restoring one's own energy?

However, how could one ensure the success of equal-value energy conversion?

Perhaps originally, it was ten units of water attribute energy, but after conversion, in the case of earth giving birth to water, upon completion of the conversion, it directly became five units of earth attribute energy.

This was a matter of course.

But in the most important energy circuit diagram, this blueprint only had a vague shadow.

Obviously, next, it was time to pay up.

Su Ping squinted.

He was genuinely interested now.

He hadn't even thought that his luck was pretty good.

The blueprint's five elements' cycle formed energy structure, its sole purpose was to utilize mechanics to create an energy mechanical body.

The best experimental subject was a mechanical beast.

And this Zhang brother was thinking and doing just that.

But for Su Ping, it wasn't necessarily so.

Su Ping's goal was always clear:

That was his own little Paper Man Qian Yi!

These past few days, he had been thinking of giving his little Paper Man a sword of various attributes, and now, he had come across an energy device of the five elements' interdependence.

“Hehe, how about it? Bro, this thing is worth more than its price!”

“How much?”

“28 million...”

Su Ping glanced at them.

Then, he said indifferently:

“I'm not talking about the blueprint you give to others.

I'm talking about the original item you obtained, I want the original item! Speak up, where did you get this thing from? What's the story behind it?”

Upon hearing this, both men's faces changed.

“Original item? What original item? Little brother, don't joke around!”

“With just the two of you, you were able to research such an abstruse five elements' interdependent energy conversion method? From the ancient text on this, it seems you got some high-level guidance?”

“The blueprint we got is just a rough draft,

This five elements' interdependent energy conversion diagram is drawn for manufacturing mechanical energy,

It seems reliable at first glance, but in reality, it's quite difficult to fully implement on a mechanical beast's body, right?”

"I'll make you an offer for the original item. If you're willing to sell, I can give you a very good price!" Su Ping smiled slightly.

He didn't really mind the small sum of money. He was just afraid that these two guys might have missed some crucial information during their transcription, leading to errors in their research direction later on.

However, both men shook their heads, clearly unafraid.

"I know all about you. Are you afraid I'll report you to the authorities?" At these words, the man remained calm and replied, "We haven't done anything illegal. How can you report us?"

Su Ping smiled, as he wasn't fond of using such petty tactics.

But these two men weren't wrong; they hadn't broken the law, merely using others' curiosity to benefit themselves.

So, Su Ping patiently explained, "I don't need to report you to the Enforcement Bureau, and I won't. I'm telling you in advance that I know Vice President Wang of the Mechanical Association!"

As he spoke, Su Ping took out the mental disruptor, "This is the mechanical device given to me by Mechanical Titan Haotian! It can not only disrupt spiritual perception but also has recording and imaging capabilities, as well as defensive life-saving functions! This proves the authenticity of my words."

Upon hearing this, the two men pursed their lips.

"I won't report you to the authorities, but as you just said, Councilor Shen took your benefits and opened a backdoor for you, allowing you to enter the association without being registered members." With these words, the two men's faces turned even paler.

"I can talk to Vice President Wang, and you know what will happen to Councilor Shen. I don't need to say more, right?"

"I'm a reasonable person, but regarding Councilor Shen, I can't say. After all, I don't know him."

"I can assure you that Councilor Shen won't dare to seek revenge on me!"

"But guess what, after he's removed from the Mechanical Association, if you two don't face any consequences, how do you think he'll treat you?"

Hearing these words, the two men were stunned.

They never expected that in their eyes, this young man, who seemed to have a meticulous mind, would be talking about life and death.

Su Ping's smile widened as he continued, "So, you can sell the item you obtained from the secret realm. It naturally belongs to you, and trading it is perfectly fine! I'm giving you an opportunity here!"

The man and the younger brother exchanged a glance, both seeing the unwillingness in each other's eyes, but at this moment, they seemed to have no other choice.

So, looking at the young man before them, who was not very old but had a meticulous mind, the man could only say indignantly, "Kid, you're too despicable!"

Su Ping was taken aback by this description.

In his life, he had never been described like this before.

Despicable? Su Ping was shocked. He had stated the objective facts, and yet it was called despicable?

Had these two guys ever encountered true despicable behavior?

With his background and status, facing these two schemers, he didn't consider himself a proper person. He hadn't directly used mechanical powers to take advantage, which was, in the eyes of outsiders, a just act of removing a threat. It was already quite good.

After all, Su Ping had never intended to eliminate them entirely. In the end, these two men couldn't be considered truly deceitful and evil, so it wasn't necessary to go that far.

Yet, in the eyes of these two men, his words were despicable?

Su Ping's expression turned displeased as he looked at the two men.

"So, are you selling or not?"

"Selling! I'm selling, right?"

Damn it! After traveling south and north for so many years, these two men had indeed encountered such a person for the first time.

Moreover, it was undeniable that Su Ping had convinced them.

Then, the two men took out a small box.

When they opened the box, as expected, an ancient thread-bound book appeared before their eyes.

However, beneath the book, there was also an object the size of a human head.

It was somewhat similar to the eight-trigram compasses used by some feng shui masters in Su Ping's previous life.

But there were obvious differences.

Su Ping narrowed his eyes slightly, but before he could examine it further, the man in front of him handed it over.

He picked up the thread-bound book, and upon opening it, his brows furrowed. It was not only ancient writing but an even older script, many of which he couldn't understand at all.

Clearly, this item was more ancient than the Liang Dynasty, and possibly much older!

Su Ping narrowed his eyes, "How much?"

"One hundred million..." The young man stated an astronomical price.

The man beside him raised his eyebrows slightly, "Three thousand is enough."

The young man beside Su Ping was astonished and turned to look at the other man.

Su Ping was taken aback and looked at the man.

The latter seemed to have calmed down and introduced himself, "I know you're a big shot. A person like you, if not for this matter, we brothers probably wouldn't have crossed paths with you in this life. Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Zhang Chaoqun, and this is my younger brother, Zhang Bufan. Hehe, our brothers, our ancestors were specifically exploring some secret realms..."

Sometimes, we can get our hands on some things, but it's not easy to sell them..."

Su Ping was taken aback and realized that these Zhang brothers were the opposite of the official 'Treasure Seeking Officers' from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. They were actually civilians who explored ancient tombs?

Su Ping narrowed his eyes slightly, "How about this, I don't have much time today, and I won't be staying in Demon Capital for long, so I won't have time to meet you separately. I'm very interested in the item you have. After the New Year, come and tell me the origin of this item!

If I'm satisfied, I won't treat you unfairly!"

"Okay... good!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end