AZI Volume 5 Chapter 33

Having returned to the tent—

"...…"

Long Hua merely stands still without moving.

Already the White Serpent King has returned to him.

Having her vessel look at Long Hua while tilting its head, the Tai Xuan Emperor says—

"Master?"

"…"

(*-laoban, say something!)

"…"

Folding his arms, Long Hua sinks into thought with a solemn expression on his face.

(Setbacks and difficulties were expected, but… I seem to have still underestimated just how twisted that unpleasant bastard is… No, maybe I should have expected this degree of nonsense from him? After all, if he wasn't this twisted, I wouldn't have any hopes of accomplishing my goal. Still...… Ai, no choice but to take my time, and see how things will go. Hopefully, my objective won't be too far from my current starting point.)

As Long Hua is sorting through his thoughts, Tian Cheng withdraws the doll replica of the former back into her storage pouch.

Eventually—

"Ai…"

Heaving a sigh, Long Hua falls onto the sleeping bag.

(Oh, finally back?)

"Honestly that was rather pathetic…"

(Ai, *-laoban, that Hai Zang isn't beatable in your current state; no one will blame you for retreating.)

"Still…-"

(So, how about purchasing some of my wares? Say, that battle armor for example?)

"You can piss right off."

(Was worth a try at least.)

Opening the evolution interface, Long Hua begins to look at what he can hope to purchase.

(Hmm, strength enhancement, speed enhancement, high-speed regeneration, stamina recovery speed, hardened skin?)

Most of these abilities are rather easy to understand; however, among them, there is one that costs six mutation points to acquire.

"Devourer?"

Unable to see the evolution interface herself, the Tai Xuan Emperor asks—

(What's that?)

"The description reads, "able to use any of the natural energies of Heaven and Earth for cultivation, and devour rare materials to strength one's individual abilities." It's the most expensive ability of the bunch."

"Doesn't that mean it's probably a good ability, master?"

"Hmm. Six points though…"

With Hai Zang being active in the first zone, Long Hua figured that he wouldn't be able to farm for additional mutation points for quite some time.

"Hmm…"

Thinking for a while, Long Hua eventually remarks—

"Ai whatever, let's just go with it."

Tapping the interface, and confirming his acquisition of "Devourer," Long Hua immediately experiences an odd sensation coursing through his body.

(There doesn't seem to be any changes to the body… Should I be disappointed, or relieved?)

Shaking his head, Long Hua asks—

"What time is it?"

"You've been away for four hours, master. It's now five AM. Wouldn't you want to rest a bit after everything?"

"Good point."

Agreeing to this, Long Hua attempts to cast dirt removal magic—only to fail.

"Tch."

Having Tian Cheng turn around, Long Hua dresses himself in a comfortable set of sleeping wear, which consists of a white shirt and a pair of dark shorts.

...…

Passing the hours of 12 PM, Long Hua wakes up, and swaps his shorts out for a pair of trousers.

And upon leaving the tent, the first thought that appears in Long Hua's head is—

(Sea, sand, and skin as far as the eye could see…)

Mostly everyone is dressed in some form of beachwear, making the landscape akin to a movie's beach scene, causing Long Hua to remark—

"They do know that they're in the middle of a ruin, right?"

"They all need some way to cut loose after the events of yesterday."

Walking over with a meat skewer in hand, Ye Chen answers as such, while munching on the food.

Regardless of how everyone else looks right now, Ye Chen was still wearing the same attire as usual, to which, Long Hua asks—

"Aren't you going to join them, surnamed Ye?"

"And what about you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua recalls the events from a few hours earlier with Hai Zang.

"Ai."

As Long Hua sighs, Tian Cheng emerges from the tent, and asks—

"Shall I change into something similar, master?"

Glancing at the females in swimsuits, who have all seemingly forgotten about the black crocodilian weapon spirit, Long Hua replies—

"Don't."

Turning to Ye Chen, Long Hua asks—

"So, anything of interest happened while I was napping?"

Thinking about the encounters that he has had on this island so far—specifically, in regards to fully Apotheosized weapon spirits, Long Hua's expression turns solemn.

"Hmm."

Finishing his meal, Ye Chen takes out a towel to wipe his hands, while answering—

"Those fully Apotheosized Sinners, they seem to be avoiding each other. Also, we thought we've taken care of them all yesterday, but more showed up later."

"They need to have come from somewhere. As for where, any leads?"

"None. The hall and the military are looking into it, along with some Guild members. Although… Someone did say that they saw footprints coming out from the direction of the seas, so maybe they came from the seas?"

Hearing this, Long Hua's expression turns a bit odd, as he replies—

"…So, you're telling me—regardless of their animalistic form, whether they be canines or bears, these things are able to live and breathe in the seas? That's a bit…-?"

A similar expression appears on Ye Chen's face, as he replies—

"…There's still quite a lot that we don't know about them, so anything is possible."

"…"

"What's up with you two?"

Simultaneously, Long Hua and Ye Chen turn to the direction of this voice, which turns out to be Li Xue, who isn't in a swimsuit.

Towards Li Xue's question, Ye Chen jokingly answers—

"Conversation between men under these circumstances can only be, which of the ladies on this beach look the best, right?"

Raising a soft chuckle, Li Xue asks—

"Oh? And which is it?"

"…Hmm."

Scratching his nose, Ye Chen looks around in the hopes of trying to find someone to point out, and towards his behavior, Li Xue raises a sigh, and says—

"Forget it."

"…I'm going to give you two some advice."

"Hm?"

Towards the solemn frown on Long Hua's face, both Ye Chen and Li Xue raised an eye, while the former says—

"Dress yourselves in thicker clothes, winter is coming."

"Ah? Even though it's sunny out?"

"Hard to explain."

Animals have their own unique ways of foretelling changes in the weather. Practitioners are able to do the same through honed combat instincts.

"…"

Staring out into the distant seas, Long Hua narrows his eyes, while thinking—

(Was that a mast that I just saw?)