The sun was hanging low on the sky when my talk with Eve finally concluded While neither of us would have any qualms on just leisurely wasting the time by speaking about small nonsenses, there was still a lot of work to do.
At first, I promised Pengu that I would help out one of his kin to condense its energy. While our hunting back then got interrupted, I still gathered quite a bit of the precious animal parts filled with the energy. While yes, I made them into bedding for a short while, but that wouldn't change their properties! More than that, I could even consider it a first compacted, highly-energetical snack for demonic beasts!
When I will get over with this part, we will need to think about some sort of lodging for the night. Even if Cultivators didn't necessarily need such comforts, all the time I'm spending with Eve makes me want to pamper her, thus disabling the option of just lying on the grass, covered by the air alone!
As for the later actions, we obviously need to venture deep into the training grounds to let me gather as much experience points as possible. From what we know at this moment, increasing my energy by the system doesn't influence Eve's cultivation for as long as we won't raise it together. Since I can comprehend the most natural way to breakthrough by improving my wisdom stat, there is no need to rush things up!
For most people, growing up is always the highest priority. Greater cultivation means greater strengths that directly translates to better treatment and higher influence in one's social group, but in our case, breaching the mortal realm cap could do us more harm than good! After all, I never forgot Stella's word how this participation token allows one to take part in the tournament part designated for his respective level! If we recklessly keep increasing our cultivation, we could very well end up disqualified from the tournament altogether!
Even if that wouldn't influence our growth almost at all since reaching higher realms of power would open a way in some kind of sect to grow even higher for sure, I want to get the reward from the tournament and use it as a gift for Stella's sect for all the good that she either did or at least tried to do for me!
Thanks to the separation of system and cultivation benefits, I could keep growing even if Eve still stayed at the spirit attainment level. While I'm not sure if breaking my level bottleneck won't cause our cultivation to surge as well, considering how Bonger stressed several times already both by notification and its action that it does not consider cultivating a viable way of growing for me, I think there is only a small chance such a thing will happen.
Leaving Eve with an easy task to gather quite a bit of freshly cut young trees, some straw and flat stones, I managed to make only a literally few steps before a familiar figure appeared right in front of me. I don't want to think that Pengu observed us through our entire discussion, but I can't neglect that possibility, even if it doesn't change much. While it grew stronger that when I first met it, the magical beasts have it a lot harder when it comes to progressing their growth. The only way someone would be able to extract information from him would be actually finding out I had some ties with it, helping him to cultivate at least a few levels and only then would they hear what I said in the case that Pengu actually heard it.
The amount of trouble and insane luck that one would have to go through to actually learn this crucial information about me are simply impossible to happen in reality. In the end, all that matters is that I didn't need to wait long for my cute little friend to appear and guide me towards its friend.
As soon as I reached the proximity of the second tyrannical poetic penguin, my entire self started to compress under the immense pressure of its aura. Considering how I didn't have such a problem from operating in the proximity of Pengu, that was yet another showcase fo might used to repeal and scare off any potential enemies!
The moment we arrived, Pengu simply waved its fin at me, asking me to stay in place for a moment. While I was quite uneasy about this monstrous presence, it's not like I could do anything about it. No matter from which perspective you look at it, this kind of trade is beneficial for all the parties included. While I make an offering of stuff that is mostly useless to me, I get to enjoy the benefits of an insane amount of attribute points! While the cap for my current level of growth is two hundred points, I have no idea how will it change after reaching this thirty-fifth level.
After waiting for a moment while watching Pengu screeching its untypical 'hee-haw' sounds that made me think of donkeys, it suddenly stopped 'talking' and pointed its beak at me before nodding it a few times.
Since it finally came to get the deal over with, I simply came, bowed slightly to the immense penguin that could barely tilt its head so much to actually see me. After patting the highest point of its belly for a moment, I placed the edge of my windslord on it and looked upwards, as if waiting for the approving nod.
SLASH!
As soon as the enormous beak of Pengu's friend or family moved up and down, I cut its belly open and smashed my entire arm inside only to start absorbing the energy from its blood like a madman.
In that instant, a familiar feeling of being reinvigorated appeared, as a single notification showed right in front of my eyes, but in a difrent for this time!
Instead of just showing what happened, I saw:
"Blop!"
"Host is absorbing the energy from the tyrannical poetic penguin!"
"Amount of energy absorbed: X"
With the X constantly spiking higher and higher!
One hundred!
Two hundred!
Five hundred!
Even when the numbers keep growing like the reading of a body scale when an earthy feminist accidentally steps on it, I actually ignored them! With my full attention focused on the shrinking size of Pengu's brother, I couldn't be bothered by my personal benefit! If I dare to make a mistake here, not only will I lose my cute little friend, I may even make him my enemy!