The Abyss was not a vacuum; it was permeated with energy.
This energy was terrifying. It could corrode living and non-living matter alike, mutating everything into bizarre, twisted monstrosities.
Within the crimson Abyss, the Aska flew at near-light speed. Blue energy enveloped its hull. Any corpses drifting in the Abyss that brushed against the ship instantly burst into blue fire, flung far behind the warship in the blink of an eye to disperse as azure sparks.
With every passing second, the Aska had to expend energy to shield its structural materials from being corroded by the energy of the Abyss.
Inside the warship, in the solarium.
Blue skies, white clouds, brilliant sunlight, and a vast expanse of open ground.
Yu Xian stood on the grassy lawn practicing martial arts. Beside him, Little Nora and Little Huangquan mimicked his movements, learning with meticulous focus.
After realizing that anyone could possess their own "signature skill," he had decided to let Little Nora and Little Huangquan discover what abilities suited them best, then practice those diligently and persistently.
Finishing a routine of fist forms, Yu Xian looked at Little Nora and Little Huangquan. The two nodded in unison. "Memorized."
"I know martial intent isn't something you can master overnight," Yu Xian said as he sat down on the grass, speaking to the two little ones. "As long as you remember these fist forms, that's enough. You can ponder them on your own later and find what suits you best."
Little Huangquan nodded. "Big Brother, I'll train hard."
"Me too, Big Brother!" Little Nora chimed in immediately, refusing to be outdone. It went right back to practicing, running through the newly taught fist routine once more.
Yet in its chubby yellow duckling form, no matter how it threw punches, it merely looked adorable, without an ounce of intimidation.
Yu Xian watched with a smile. In truth, he hadn't planned on teaching Little Nora fist techniques at all. He had originally intended only to teach Little Huangquan more knowledge of fist forms, sword techniques, and the like, guiding her in that direction.
But when Little Nora heard about it, it had clamored to join in. Yu Xian brought it along; after all, teaching one or teaching two was pretty much the same.
Still, Little Nora's future lay squarely in its bloodline. Its Victorious True King Bird lineage possessed boundless potential, and according to the remark's hints, it could likely atavistically awaken to even higher tiers. There was absolutely no reason to abandon bloodline power just to pursue martial intent.
Right then, Muse brought over a meal. The moment Little Nora caught the aroma, all interest in practicing vanished.
"All right, let's eat first," Yu Xian chuckled.
"Yay!"
Abandoning all thought of continued training, Little Nora happily sat down on the picnic blanket Muse had laid out, staring expectantly at the platter in Muse's hands.
The Aska had many rooms.
The solarium was essentially a vast prairie alongside a sandy beach and an ocean.
This place was meant for enjoying sunshine, green grass, sandy shores, and the sea. Presumably, when Aska custom-ordered it, he had envisioned having a grand time frolicking here. Sadly, he never even got the chance to board before ownership of the warship changed hands.
Aside from the solarium, the warship featured plenty of odd rooms. For instance, the snow-and-ice room was a literal frozen tundra meant for skiing, while the magma room had a purpose Yu Xian couldn't even fathom.
There were also botanical rooms, virtual reality rooms, and more. Yu Xian, however, was particularly fond of the solarium—after all, he was a Shiny Vampire.
"Yu Xian, could you come by the training room for a moment?" Nora contacted Yu Xian via the ship's local-network version of Qixin, following up with the request.
After agreeing, Yu Xian smiled at Little Nora and Little Huangquan. "Your big boss is calling me over. Enjoy your meal—no need to wait for me."
"Hurry along, Big Brother! I'll eat your share for you!" Little Nora waved him off while munching on a steak, shooing him away.
Rendered speechless, Yu Xian rubbed Little Nora's head and stood up, walking toward the solarium's door. The door wasn't situated at the edge of the room, but right on the lawn, with vast open space extending behind it—clearly employing spatial technology.
He opened the door and stepped out of the solarium into a quiet, cold corridor. Turning left, he walked for about two minutes before arriving at the training room.
As the name implied, this was a room dedicated to training.
However, "training" here didn't mean meditative cultivation, but rather honing real-combat experience.
Not only was it the sturdiest room aboard the ship, but it was also filled with abundant energy constructs that could manifest as different monsters to spar with the user.
Upon learning of this room, Nora had chosen to spend her time training here directly. Later, Niman had come over to train alongside her, even offering guidance and teaching Nora a good deal.
The door slid open automatically.
Yu Xian stepped into the training room. Nora was currently fighting a stone giant.
She sprinted around the stone giant, repeatedly hurling blood-colored spears condensed in her hand toward it, riddling the giant's body with holes.
Yu Xian walked over to Niman's side and continued watching. He noticed that Nora's blood-colored spears were completely different from when he used them himself.
He was in the habit of pursuing sheer size, power, and ferocity. The blood-colored spears he crafted had already evolved into a different form—monstrously thick, tremendously long, and naturally spiraling. As such, they could no longer be called simple blood spears, but rather spiral spears.
Nora's attacks, by contrast, prioritized delicacy, compact size, and speed. The spears she fashioned were diminutive, only slightly thicker and longer than arrows.
Yet these "spears" were blisteringly fast, and Nora could fire them at an extraordinarily high rate. As a result, even without striking a fatal point, the stone giant was already riddled with holes from head to toe.
Yu Xian found this a fascinating revelation. Previously, he had assumed that each person honing a distinct martial intent was their way to grow even stronger during fusion.
Seeing Nora's fighting style now made him realize that fusion possessed far more potential than just that.
While his own combat style was versatile and comprehensive, he still had his limits—at the very least, he disliked fighting in the style Nora favored.
Yet the world was vast; there would inevitably be enemies who were hard-countered by Nora's style.
Thus, after fusing with Nora, they could freely switch who took the lead in the fusion, altering their combat style radically. Surely the enemy would be in for quite a surprise.
If sweeping, heavy blows couldn't win, they could switch to an agile, precise finesse style. If finesse couldn't win, they could even go with an underhanded, treacherous poison style.
There would always be one tailored to the enemy's constitution.
At last, beneath Nora's dense barrage, the stone giant dissipated into energy. Nora stopped and looked at Yu Xian, a smile spreading across her face.
"Yu Xian, I've decided! From now on, I'm going to specialize in this move. Sooner or later, I'll turn it into my signature skill!" Nora declared to him.
Yu Xian smiled. "Keep at it!"
"Then... want to try fusing?" Nora continued.
Yu Xian nodded. "Let's give it a try. In combat, I'll call your name in our mind first before swapping control, so make sure you're ready at all times during battle!"
"Don't worry, I'm already prepared," Nora replied with confidence.
Then the two fused. At the same time, Niman adjusted the training room controls to spawn another monster, smiling. "Both of you, the stage is yours."
Inside the room, a three-headed dragon formed entirely of concentrated energy opened its eyes and let out a deafening roar at Yu Xian. The blast was so fierce that Yu Xian even had to increase his body weight just to keep his footing.
Chapter 261