Chapter 54: Changing Tides |
After some casual chatting, Chen Chu and Xia Youhui caught up with the group of girls, the entire gang cheerfully wandering through the sea of lotuses.
By the time Lin Xue and her friends finished taking pictures, it was already noon. The group found a seemingly upscale restaurant nearby for lunch, and Xia Youhui generously covered the bill.
Afterward was free time. Under the scorching summer sun, Xia Youhui, Qi Lei, and Lu Haitao found a lakeside pavilion to fish, while Lin Xue and her female companions disappeared for something else.
Chen Chu, meanwhile, crossed the lake piazza and arrived on a small island. A large tree was planted in the middle, providing shade over a radius of more than ten meters. A lawn was laid beneath the tree, surrounded by the serene beauty of lotus flowers with a gentle breeze blowing.
The place was perfect for a nap.
Just as Chen Chu was about to lie down and rest, however, another figure appeared and sat down beside him—Luo Fei.
She reached into her compact backpack and took out a simple easel, followed by a collapsible drawing board, paintbrushes, and a portable palette. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to contain typical feminine items like cosmetics.
Curious, Chen Chu asked, "I didn't expect you to have this hobby. How good are you at painting?"
The young woman smiled modestly and replied, "It's okay. This has been my hobby since childhood."
The young girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glanced at Chen Chu lying on the lawn, and gently removed her sandals to sit cross-legged. She flattened the paper, and took up her paintbrush, looking ahead to search for inspiration in the scenery.
In a half-dreamy state, Chen Chu slept until past two o'clock before waking up. Opening his eyes, he saw the girl sitting cross-legged beside him, focused on her painting.
The art piece on the easel was in its final stages. The paper canvas was filled with lush green lotus leaves and blossoming white and pink lotus flowers, exuding a lifelike realism.
Even Chen Chu, a layman in the art world, found Luo Fei's painting beautiful.
After watching for a while, he closed his eyes again, albeit not to sleep this time; instead, he shifted his consciousness over to the avatar.
By the rocky riverbank, the black-armored beast, measuring about 1.7 meters in length and resembling a crocodile but more ferocious, slowly entered the water from an underwater entrance. As it continued to grow and slaughter its prey, it became increasingly brutal looking.
Under Chen Chu's control, the beast began hunting for the day’s meal...
"Chen Chu... Chen Chu..."
While Chen Chu's beast wreaked havoc along the river, he faintly heard someone calling him. He diverted some of his attention to open his eyes.
Seeing him awake, Luo Fei shook her phone and said, "Lin Xue asked us to meet up."
"What time is it?" Chen Chu was still a bit drowsy.
"Four thirty."
"So soon?" Chen Chu sat up, only to find a painting handed to him.
The young girl smiled and said, "I'm giving you this as a souvenir for today's outing."
"Thank you." Chen Chu accepted it with a slight pause. When he took a closer look, he realized it wasn't the lotus flower painting Luo Fei had started with.
On the A3-sized paper, there was a blue sky with white clouds, a small island covered in lotus leaves standing in the middle of the lake.
Under the shade of the tree on the island, a young man lay with his hands behind his head, enjoying a nap. Beside him, a girl sat sideways, sketching the beautiful lake scenery on the easel.
The details in the painting, from lotus leaves to the small island, and even the appearance of the young man, were vividly clear, making the two figures appear lifelike on paper.
Chen Chu marveled at it. "What amazing skills."
The girl turned her head, smiled at him from the corner of her eye, and then folded the easel and packed it back into her bag, along with the covered palette.
Ten minutes later, the two joined the rest of the group at the exit and walked out, bringing today's outing to a close.
***
On Monday, Chen Chu went to the homeroom to attend a couple of academic classes per his routine. As soon as he entered, however, he sensed that something was off; everyone was whispering and discussing something in hushed tones.
Chen Chu approached his seat and patted Xia Youhui's shoulder. "Old Xia, what's going on?"
Xia Youhui turned around, looking puzzled, and asked, "Chen Chu, you don't know?"
"Know what?" Chen Chu was clueless.
Speaking in a low voice, Xia Youhui said, "Yesterday evening's news. Kyrola’s officially been overthrown, it’s been completely taken over by local cultivators with connections to the demon cult. They’re claiming to establish a divine kingdom on Earth for Akunus.
"The Federation’s discussing proposals to send troops to suppress the cult. They’re saying military intervention’s probably gonna take place by the end of the month."
"Oh... But these events don't have much to do with us, right?" Chen Chu was a bit puzzled. He hadn’t heard anything about any of this until just now; he didn’t normally follow the news in the first place, and his time last night had been spent either practicing or controlling the avatar as it hunted.
"No, it’s not our business," Xia Youhui said with a nod, "But the atmosphere’s a lot more tense now around the globe. Shouldn't we pay attention to it? After all, we are the future stars of the Federation."
Chen Chu was baffled. "Stars? Seriously?"
Originally, Chen Chu thought that these matters were too distant to have anything to do with students like them. Within just two days, however, with the proposal for military intervention in Kyrola approved by the Federation Congress, rumors started to circulate in the school, claiming that the faculty were debating whether to send some freshmen to Kyrola to participate alongside the Federation army.
Chen Chu didn't pay much attention to these rumors. He simply continued to go to school on time, practice, and feed the armored beast, steadily increasing his strength every day.
Inside a personal cultivation room on October 31st, Chen Chu's muscles slightly swelled, the elephant patterns on his body becoming clearly visible. He exuded an astonishing oppressive aura, just like a furious elephant.
Suddenly, he explosively burst into terrifying speed, appearing in front of the testing apparatus with a gust of wind generated by the movement. His fist, like a cannonball, fiercely struck out.
Boom!
Under the violent force, the air was directly blasted apart. The strength tester embedded in the wall rattled, with the numbers on it fluctuating like crazy.
Finally, they stopped at the terrifying level of 7000 kilograms.
It had been about a month since he had broken through to the Second Heavenly Realm. Despite his slow progress in the Dragon Elephant Art, he had still been able to build his strength through his avatar’s constant growth.
Chen Chu's Physique attribute now reached more than 130 points, and his Strength attribute had broken through to 140, equivalent to fourteen times that of an ordinary person.
With such a formidable physique, his basic arm strength alone reached the level of 1200 kilograms, far exceeding the limit of 800 kilograms in the Second Heavenly Realm.
Adding the amplification of true power and his explosive speed, a full-force punch could unleash a force of seven tons. Even an elephant would be crushed under such a blow, with its skull shattered and body sent tumbling. He was like a fierce, human-shaped beast.
Whew!
Exhaling a breath, Chen Chu slowly calmed his boiling vitality and looked at the data on the tester, revealing a satisfied smile.
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