Chapter 52: Estuary |
"Unfortunately, Chen Chu, it seems like your primary and saber art don't complement each other. And your saber techniques are just at the beginner stage, not even breaking through the first level yet. If they had, with your explosive strength and agility, your power would be even greater."
At four in the afternoon, in the thirty-third floor reading room, Luo Fei expressed some regret as she held a scripture of the Great Compassion Mantra.
The Dragon Elephant Art focused on strength and defense. The Insightful Blade, on the other hand, relied on comprehension instead, which made it challenging to fully leverage to his advantage. The fact that his saber techniques were only at the beginner stage didn’t help, either.
The Black Tortoise Earthly Art, on the other hand, came with a shielding defense technique. Because he could fully focus on his defense, Xia Youhui saw a significant rise in power just by breaking through.
Similarly, others who practiced high-level arts also had matching combat skills. After breaking through to the Second Heavenly Realm, their strength far surpassed the ordinary.
In response to this, Chen Chu just gave a small, indifferent smile. "That's okay. I'm already satisfied with my current strength. After all, there's no such thing as absolute perfection. Even if I want to, I can't change the status quo. I’m fine with steady cultivation."
Luo Fei complimented, "Chen Chu, I find your mentality suitable for the path of cultivation."
"Oh, you're too kind. You're not bad either, quietly breaking through to the Second Heavenly Realm," Chen Chu replied.
"Why do our praises for each other sound like we’re talking business?"
Luo Fei chuckled, lowered her head, and continued reading.
Seeing this, Chen Chu also smiled, casually flipping through a book. Whether out of habit or for some other reason, he enjoyed this time every afternoon. With a beauty by his side, each engrossed in reading without disturbing each other, the atmosphere made him relaxed and content.
Feeling the warmth of the sun on his body through the window, Chen Chu's consciousness shifted. At the riverbed more than thirty meters deep, eyes opened in the mud and sand.
Having grown to a length of one and a half meters, and now as thick as a human waist with its armor, the beast released a string of bubbles. Swinging its tail, it sent silt rolling as it kicked up from the bed.
With its heavy armor, towering back fins, sturdy limbs, and red feather-like horns on the sides of its head that spread out like wings, the armored beast looked even more ferocious now.
After devouring all of the mutated fish in the surrounding area within the past few days, Chen Chu directed the beast to follow the current and swim more than a hundred kilometers away to the estuary.
As they approached, the width and depth of the river increased, and in such conditions, there were more fish, such as...
In the distance, a fierce mutated fish, more than two meters long, shot towards the beast at an astonishing speed, and a big mouth full of fangs fiercely bit its neck.
Normally, these mutated fish relied on the kinetic energy generated by their explosive speed to tear their prey apart. But today, there was only a crisp cracking sound as its jaws collided with the beast’s thick scales. The massive force of the bite rebounded, causing half of the fish’s lower jaw to shatter upon impact.
Boom!
Waves rolled as the beast swept its front paw, smashing the fish’s head with terrifying force. Instantly, it collapsed and shattered, blood and white substance splattering around.
With the increase in both size and defense, the beast’s weight had also reached an astonishing level. It could generate immense explosive strength, but it was still affected by gravity and water resistance; it was simply too slow to keep up with more streamlined fish. It had to hunt in a different way—tempting the enemy to close in to attack, then shrugging that off with its superior defense and counter attacking for an instant kill.
Under the rushing river surface, as the beast tore at and chewed its prey, rich blood spread through the water. Many small fish, one or two fingers in size, swarmed towards the scent.
This was a common sight whenever the beast hunted. Even if it resulted in the beast catching and swallowing down some of these smaller fish, they couldn’t stop their cravings.
Just as the beast was finishing off its meal, it suddenly stopped, looking into the distance.
In the murky river water about a dozen meters away, a massive dark shadow swam. It seemed to be observing the beast, emitting a faint but dangerous aura.
This was the first time the beast had experienced such a feeling since being released.
Its muscles tensed as it let go of the fish head it was holding, and the red horns on its head spread open, signaling its readiness to attack.
However, it seemed that the creature, about six meters long, could also sense that the beast wouldn’t be easy to deal with. After circling around twice, it disappeared back into the depths of the water.
Only when the fish was completely gone did the vigilance in the beast's eyes slowly fade. I didn't expect such fierce fish this close to the estuary. Looks like I need to be more careful.
Lost in thought, Chen Chu directed the beast to swim towards the shore a few miles away, preparing to settle down. While there were fish that gave off a sense of danger here, the food was also abundant, which would easily satisfy the avatar’s needs. Naturally, Chen Chu didn’t want to leave.
On the way to the shore, the beast hunted another mutated fish that resembled a sea wolf, more than two meters long.
Satisfied and full, Chen Chu directed the beast to dig a new hole in the riverbank. He then slowly withdrew his attention, only to notice the girl opposite him was watching him.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Chen Chu touched his cheek.
Luo Fei looked away and whispered, "Nothing. It's just that it's getting late, and I saw you daydreaming, so I was thinking about whether to wake you up."
"It's almost six o'clock already?" Chen Chu glanced at the clock on the wall, sighing.
Luo Fei suddenly asked, "By the way, Chen Chu, do you have time this Sunday?"
Chen Chu was puzzled. "Why? Is there something going on?"
Luo Fei nodded slightly, "While practicing this afternoon, Lin Xue mentioned that the lotus flowers at Bright Moon Lake have all bloomed. She’s planning to organize everyone to go for a trip this Sunday. Right now, it’s just the five of us in the club and her sister Lin Yu. She asked me to see if you'd like to come."
Faced with this question, Chen Chu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he smiled and looked at her. "So, do you want me to go?"
Luo Fei pretended to be indifferent as she softly said, "I think you can go and take a look. We've been practicing since the beginning of school, and everyone is a bit mentally exhausted. I think this could help us relax, and improve our cultivation as a result. What do you think?"
Chen Chu nodded. "You make a good point."
The girl's eyes flicked over. "So, will you go?"
Chen Chu nodded affirmatively. "Yeah. After all, even if I don't give respect to the class monitor, I have to give respect to you, Luo Fei."
Hearing this answer, the girl just smiled, and she turned her head without responding.