Over the next few days, Yu Xian and the others spent all their time in the training room.
However, they weren't fighting nonstop; they balanced work with rest. Essentially, they cultivated, then fought; after fighting, they rested; once well-rested, they cultivated again, followed by more combat—repeating the cycle continuously.
Since the Aska required comprehensive maintenance and upgrades, their departure had to be delayed by two extra days. Yu Xian used his Star Ring every day to hack into Shui Yuetian's Star Ring, confirming that she was still safe, so delaying a couple of days was no big deal.
Around one in the afternoon, everyone gathered together to rest. Although their combat power hadn't increased by much, they thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of growing stronger bit by bit.
Among those present, aside from Niman—who had rebuilt her cultivation from scratch and possessed an exceptionally solid foundation—the rest were the type who had soared to great heights in a single leap. Even Yu Xian actually had plenty of flaws; after all, his strength had risen too quickly.
Though their daily progress now amounted to only a tiny sliver—a gain of around 0.001—this solid, grounded feeling was something they had never experienced before.
At present, Yu Xian's combat power remained at 300, followed by Niman at 300, Little Nora at 200, Little Huangquan at 100, and Nora at 50.
Judging purely by the numbers, Nora had the lowest combat power, but in reality, her offensive power was the highest. This was primarily because her Power of True Self, the gun World, was immensely potent and could deal true damage with an astronomical multiplier.
If the damage dealt by Yu Xian's ultimate technique, "Limitless World-Collapsing Bubble," was his combat power of 300 multiplied by 10, then when Nora's gun, World, fired a Brave Bullet, its damage was her combat power of 50 multiplied by 500. Furthermore, her attack was of the hyper-concentrated variety, capable of shattering an enemy vastly stronger than herself in a single shot.
This went to show that high or low combat power did not necessarily determine the outcome of a battle.
Of course, the Power of True Self was inherently an ability at the Mighty One level, so having high multipliers was normal. Typical Star Ranks had no access to such absurd power, meaning their strength was naturally still determined by combat power.
After their rest ended, Nora, Little Huangquan, and Niman all began cultivating. Niman taught everyone a meditation method that could boost mental energy, though among those present, only Nora and Little Huangquan actually needed to improve theirs; Niman herself was merely reviewing the old to learn something new.
As for Yu Xian and Little Nora, once the rest period was over, they went right back to feasting.
Obtaining the Blood of Gluttony from Yu Tian hadn't increased Yu Xian's combat power by much—mainly because Yu Tian himself had been too weak—but the ability was still very useful. By eating, he could rapidly amass energy. In just a few short days, Yu Xian had nearly accumulated what would previously have taken him an entire year to build up.
Little Nora had no need to cultivate either. Its Victorious True King Bird bloodline dictated that all it needed to do to grow stronger was eat, eat, eat. It was just that it preferred remaining in its current "little yellow duck" form, which actually slowed down its eating speed.
If it reverted to its true form and gorged itself, its strength would rise even faster. But following Yu Xian felt completely safe, so it had very little drive to push itself, and naturally saw no reason to make life hard on itself.
"Transform, transform, transform, transform, transform!"
Swallowing its last bite of fruit, Little Nora immediately clapped its wings together and activated its Power of True Self again and again.
"If You Don't Want It, It's Mine" was truly wonderful to use: no cooldown, no consumption. As long as Little Nora retained an appetite, it could trigger the skill without limit. In the blink of an eye, densely packed piles of food materialized out of thin air.
Previously, it had harbored some misgivings, worried it might conjure food hiding a monster inside. But ever since they had the Mighty One-level Muse around, it feared nothing.
Just yesterday, it had conjured a fish, and who could have guessed that inside its belly lurked a creature with a fish's head and a human's body? Supposedly, it was some kind of godspawn, terrifyingly powerful. Fortunately, Yu Xian summoned Muse in time to dispose of the monster.
Now, whenever a monster intruded, Muse would flash over at Yu Xian's command and obliterate it with a single punch.
With Muse providing comprehensive protection for the Aska's safety, Little Nora was no longer afraid of conjuring anything dangerous.
Truth be told, what Little Nora feared more now was summoning an egg like Little Nia. Having one Little Nia was already enough of a headache; if it summoned more eggs and hatched more babies, the battleship would probably turn into a kindergarten.
Little Nora knew very well that Little Nia was trouble it had caused. Niman was willing to care for the infant only because of her gentle nature. It was deeply grateful to Niman from the bottom of its heart and didn't want to cause more mischief that would add to her burdens.
The problem was that it couldn't control what appeared. It couldn't just leave its ability unused, could it?
Having eaten from just after one until past three in the afternoon, Yu Xian stopped to rest. He lay on his side on the grass, propping his cheek up with one hand as he watched Little Nora eat.
Yu Xian had realized long ago that watching Little Nora eat brought an intense feeling of contentment.
If Little Nora were to host a mukbang stream back on Earth, it would probably attract massive crowds of fans in no time. Watching it eat was pure joy—a happiness radiating from the inside out, so infectious that even an onlooker could feel the delight filling its heart.
It genuinely loved eating, rather than doing it purely to become stronger.
After that, Little Nora handled the eating while Yu Xian watched in silence. Occasionally, he would hack into Shui Yuetian's Star Ring to check on her condition. Once he confirmed that nothing was amiss, he went back to watching Little Nora feast.
At five in the afternoon, Yu Xian opened his Star Ring once more with a faint smile. But after hacking into Shui Yuetian's Star Ring, he froze.
Have you ever experienced that feeling when, late one night, you sit all alone in your living room, the house so silent you can hear your own heartbeat, and a sudden creeping dread washes over you—as if an unseen third party were lurking in the room with you?
If an actual stranger suddenly appeared in the living room at that exact moment, would you be terrified?
Yu Xian was feeling something very much like that right now, because another person was in Shui Yuetian's room. He stood right in the center, gazing quietly at Shui Yuetian as if deep in thought.
"Who is this guy? Could this be Zhi'er's true face?" Yu Xian thought, fixing his gaze on the man.
When Zhi'er was undercover among the Sea Clan, he wouldn't necessarily have used his true appearance; he could very well have disguised himself to some extent, even altering his flesh and blood.
Reverting to his original look now would make sense.
About five minutes later, the man turned and walked away, passing straight through a wall. As he vanished, the sound of whistling could still be heard.
Yu Xian waited for roughly half an hour. Only after confirming the man wouldn't return did he exit Shui Yuetian's Star Ring. He immediately retrieved pen and paper from his storage ring and quickly sketched the man's appearance.
Gazing at the man in the drawing, his eyes narrowed slightly. Perhaps by uncovering this man's identity, he could figure out where Shui Yuetian was being held.
Chapter 290