Yu Xian tinkered with it until school let out, but he still couldn't come up with a good solution.
The main issue was that the Blood Shield Art was rather complex. Unlike the Mirage Clone Art, which could be taken apart and reassembled at will, it was the type of spell where missing a single bolt caused the whole mechanism to stall.
Furthermore, aside from resizing it, there was simply no way to alter the shield's shape.
Walking home alongside Nora, Yu Xian couldn't stop pondering how to bolster the bubble's defenses, already tempted to abandon the Blood Shield Art altogether.
"You seem exhausted today. Did you run into some trouble?" Nora couldn't help asking when she saw that he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings as he walked.
Yu Xian sighed. "There's a spell I want to modify, but I can't seem to tweak it. It's proving pretty tough."
"I don't understand spells, but when you run into a wall, sometimes you can just set it aside for a while. Maybe things will work themselves out when the time comes," Nora consoled him with a smile.
Yu Xian couldn't help chuckling. "True enough. I won't dwell on it for now. By the way, have you gotten started on cultivating your internal arts?"
"Haven't you noticed? I've been secretly practicing every day!" Nora flashed a sly smile, looking just like a big white goose that had successfully snatched a bite of food.
The Sunflower Sunward Divine Art could only be practiced during the day. Nighttime cultivation progressed terribly—worse than just sleeping, in fact. After trying it once, she hadn't bothered practicing at night again.
"How does it feel?" Yu Xian asked curiously.
Nora thought for a moment before answering, "It feels like soaking in a hot spring, and my body temperature is about ten degrees higher than before. Other than that, I haven't noticed anything special yet."
"A rise in body temperature? That should be a good thing," Yu Xian said immediately, thinking of his own situation.
After ingesting a large amount of Silver Blood, his body temperature had risen as well, followed by an increase in his physical fitness. He figured Nora was experiencing something similar.
This proved that Nora was indeed growing stronger.
Nora pressed her hand against Yu Xian's cheek, blinking as she asked, "Does my hand feel hot?"
"Not hot, just a bit warm."
Feeling the soft touch against his cheek and seeing Nora's smile, Yu Xian couldn't keep from grinning.
Then, struck by a sudden idea, he reached out and pressed his hand to Nora's cheek. "What about mine? Is it warm?"
"So cold!" Nora hurriedly pulled away, feigning disgust.
Yu Xian used his Silver Blood to raise the temperature of his palm and chased after her, pressing it against her cheek once more with a laugh. "How about now?"
"Huh? Why did it get so hot?" Nora looked at Yu Xian in surprise, her cheeks flushing rosy red.
Yu Xian merely laughed without offering an explanation, provoking Nora into chasing him with a flurry of goose-like swatting.
After that, the two dallied and laughed all the way home. A trip that should have taken five minutes ended up stretching over half an hour.
Once he saw Nora safely to her door, Yu Xian teleported back to his own house.
After taking a shower, he opened the refrigerator and took out some fresh beef, planning to whip up a plate of stir-fried beef.
Ever since he became able to eat again, he had no intention of mistreating himself. He had bought plenty of meat to freeze so he could cook for himself whenever he didn't feel like dining out.
In truth, his cooking wasn't bad at all.
In the past, he had taught himself quite a few dishes to care for his father. While he might not measure up to professional chefs, his skills were definitely superior to an ordinary person's.
Besides, with his Super Taste, as long as he sampled his food along the way, there was no chance it would turn out poorly.
Half an hour later, he carried the plate of stir-fried beef and a bowl of white rice into the living room. Finding it a bit too quiet, he turned on the television, connected to the Qilin app, and checked for any major internal news.
[A flying zombie has appeared again in West Gemini Mountain and is currently being hunted. All members below Eagle rank must not approach West Gemini Mountain.]
[The Combat Division has added six more captains. The conferment ceremony will be held in Yanjing.]
[The nationwide screening for brain-hugging neural worms has concluded. All victims currently controlled by brain-hugging neural worms are under surveillance. The Scientific Research Department will develop medicine as soon as possible to save every victim.]
[Regarding weapon application guidelines: All qualified members may apply. Special thanks to the weapon supplier, Comrade Codename Salty Fish.]
...
...
Yu Xian's expression turned somewhat peculiar. What kind of blessed feng shui land was West Gemini Mountain for flying zombies to keep cropping up there? It was downright chilling.
Furthermore, he had assumed Qilin had abandoned the screening for brain-hugging neural worms because of the incident with Deimos. To his surprise, Qilin had quietly and discreetly cleared up the situation across major cities nationwide.
Yet what surprised him even more was that Qilin hadn't immediately executed those parasitized by the brain-hugging neural worms; instead, they sought to save them.
In truth, the hosts infected by the worms were indeed not dead yet.
Their nervous systems had merely been overtaken by the worms, but their brains remained alive. Their sensory intake was simply hijacked by the parasites, misleading every action they took.
If there was a way to save these people, Yu Xian also believed it was worth striving for rather than slaughtering everyone in one fell swoop.
"Hope the Scientific Research Department pulls it off!"
Yu Xian shoveled two mouthfuls of rice, silently wishing them luck as he ate.
As for that last piece of news, even though he had sold the extraordinary weapons and equipment to Qilin at standard market price, extraordinary gear was perpetually in short supply. If taken to the open market, many of those items would fetch far more than market value.
On top of that, the quantity of weapons and equipment he sold was enormous, greatly relieving the supply pressure on logistics. That was why the logistics department had singled him out for thanks.
He tapped into the notice. Sure enough, numerous comrades in the comments were expressing their gratitude to Salty Fish.
Seeing all the thank-yous lifted his spirits.
Finishing off the food in a few brisk bites, Yu Xian prepared to resume his journey.
Even though last night's travels had been somewhat tiring, a bit dull, and even a little dangerous, curiosity about the unknown and anticipation for the scenery ahead outweighed everything else.
He had grown rather fond of the feeling.
In a flash, he appeared at the position marked the previous night, then steered the bubble forward.
Dusk had not completely fallen. The setting sun cast a crimson glow across the horizon, the scarlet clouds like fire blazing across the sky. The dusk-tinted mountain peaks faded in and out of the shifting light like slumbering beasts.
Yu Xian calibrated his navigation, made a slight correction to his flight path, and then began taking photos with his phone, recording every scenic view in sight.
Yet just as he was reviewing the photos he had taken, a green blur streaked up from the ground at blinding speed.
A blood shield formed in an instant, only to be cleaved in two by a single slash.
*What a massive mantis!* Yu Xian thought in shock once he got a clear look at his assailant.
The very next second, as the mantis swung its scythe once more, Yu Xian shifted into another nearby bubble. Right before his eyes, the bubble he had just occupied was sliced clean in two.
"Appraisal!"
Yu Xian seized the opportunity to activate his skill.
The next instant, the mantis's attributes materialized before him.
------
Name: Slashing Mantis
Codename: None
Race: Monster
Gender: Female
Age: 30
Lifespan: 0
Rank: Low-tier Eagle
Faction: Hostile
Abilities:
[Iron-Cleaving Strike: Utilizes its razor-sharp scythes to easily slice through even solid steel.]
[Frenzied Flurry: Swings its dual blades at maximum speed, cleaving everything in its vicinity.]
[Summary: A supreme blade master among insects.]
------
*It's actually Eagle rank!*
Furthermore, it was plainly a glass cannon with high attack and low defense—no wonder it could split his bubble with a single slash.
At that moment, the Slashing Mantis lunged in pursuit once more, its razor-sharp scythes glinting with a chilling sheen.
"Tch, overestimating yourself. Courting death!"
Seeing that the Slashing Mantis refused to relent, Yu Xian furrowed his brows slightly.
He flicked his wrist and launched a bubble. As it flew, it rapidly expanded while the space within churned into a chaotic distortion.
Caught completely off guard, the Slashing Mantis plunged headlong into the chaotic space bubble. As though caught in an immense, crushing vortex, its body held out for less than a second before detonating into a swirling mist of green blood.
It had come fast and died fast—a crisp, clean end.
Looking at the green blood inside the bubble, Yu Xian suddenly grew curious. If he absorbed this creature's blood, could he unlock a new skill tree?
Then again, wouldn't that turn his chaotic space bubble into a blender?
Chapter 85