"…"
Dressed in a white bathrobe, Long Hua sits on top of the bed with a deep frown, as he contemplates a strategy to deal with Sha Chen.
Sitting to the side, Tian Cheng says—
"Seems like master will have to deal with this Sha Chen alone."
Heaving a sigh, Long Hua replies—
"Seems like it. Hmm."
(The Machina Frame should still be usable to some degree, but…)
Knowing what the Tai Xuan Emperor intends to bring up, Long Hua says—
"I didn't even manage to catch a glimpse of this Sha Chen… At least the first time I returned from the hunting grounds, I got to see Hai Zang before leaving, so I knew what to expect. But this Sha Chen...…"
Turning his thoughts around, Long Hua begins to think about why Sha Chen might have been considered a failure by the unpleasant individual.
"…Hai Zang is an aquatic monster, but it shouldn't be limited to the seas alone when it has those fins. Sha Chen… Maybe it's a creature that thrives in the desert? But it's unable to function well outside of that environment?"
Tilting her head, Tian Cheng asks—
"Doesn't that mean that master would need to change the entire environment into something else to even stand a chance?"
"…"
Knowing how unpleasant that individual is, this might actually just be the case, causing Long Hua's expression to darken, as he replies—
"…Something like that would require me to be well pass the Nascent Soul realm. Hmm, maybe I can try again after I acquire mastery over the earth element?"
Bringing up the evolution interface, Long Hua begins to look through the abilities that he can purchase—to make this fight against Sha Chen easier.
"Strength enhancement, speed enhancement, high-speed regeneration, stamina recovery speed, these are all safe bets and no-brainers to take."
Without any hesitation, Long Hua purchases these abilities, bringing his total mutation points down to thirty-two, and with it—
"Hm?"
A series of notifications followed, informing him that all the purchased abilities had been automatically upgraded to the next level—being two.
(These are all basic abilities… Is it because I used the body strengthening elixir beforehand?)
Scrolling further down the interface, Long Hua sees the upgraded versions of these same abilities, which had an "III" label attached to them.
As for the other abilities, almost all of them are currently blacked out—to say that they are unavailable to him.
"Hmm."
Going further down, Long Hua looks to the actual evolution options, which are also currently blacked out. And tapping onto one of the darkened options—
"…Unlocking conditions?"
Looking at the unlocking conditions for each evolution, Long Hua sees one requiring strength to be at a certain level, another demands a certain level of speed, while a third requires him to specialize himself with damage recovery.
"…"
Continuing to look through the options—with some of them being more focused on the manipulation of very specific natural energy of Heaven and Earth, the paths that could be taken seemed endless, causing Long Hua to feel a headache.
"This is…?"
Scrolling down a bit more, Long Hua sees all the evolution options converging into a single option that is labeled with three question marks.
"…"
Seeing this, Long Hua thought—
(Is this perhaps…? The evolution that possesses all the other paths' traits combined into one? Wouldn't this be the most obvious "ultimate lifeform," but then…? Whose definition of the ultimate lifeform is this unknown option based off of—mine or his?)
Looking at the evolution option that is labeled as "???," uncertainty fills Long Hua's heart.
"…"
Mulling over his uncertainties, Long Hua decides to upgrade his four basic abilities to level three—reducing his total mutation points down to sixteen.
And with these basic abilities upgraded once more, more ability options unveiled themselves.
"…"
Blinking his eyes, Long Hua sees one of the new abilities labeled as sword Dao proficiency, and reading through the descriptions, he readily decides to purchase it—reducing his mutation points down to eight.
As a result of him having proficiency in this ability beforehand, it is automatically upgraded to level three.
"…"
Closing his eyes, Long Hua immediately feels this ability's effect, as he waves his finger—drawing out a total of five flowers, with a sixth that is barely visible to the eyes.
(Such a drastic effect… I see. Mutation points are basically the forceful way to upgrade my individual abilities. Under very specific circumstances, these abilities can be upgraded without using them. Hmm, seems like my best bet would be to use mutation points to acquire an ability, then upgrade this ability without relying on mutation point spendings.)
Pausing his thoughts, Long Hua raises a sigh, while shaking his head in a depressing manner.
(…What am I thinking? This is the Leng Bing Realm, not the outside world. So long as I'm stuck here, I'm forced to rely on mutation points to upgrade these abilities… Ai, I wonder what my original self was…-)
Thinking back to his original self—who had appeared in front of "Long Hua" as a "God," Long Hua's outward expression turns solemn.
(Why is it that I have lost my memories of my original self? Was it done by my original self because I had a very specific purpose in mind at the time, which required it to be done? If it's related to that unpleasant bast…-)
Opening his eyes, Long Hua—for a brief moment, seems to have realized the answer, but in the next instance, the answer slips from his mind.
"...…"
Confusion and clarity interchangeably flash from Long Hua's eyes, causing his expression to turn somewhat strange.
Eventually—
(This answer aside… Am I actually going against my original self's intent by using this system?)
(*-laoban, say something, don't just leave things at a cliffhanger.)
"…Hmm. Something, something, I'm tired."
Falling back on the bed, Long Hua wraps his arms around Tian Cheng's waist—thoroughly intent on sleeping the day away tomorrow.
...…
Within the dreamscape, the Tai Xuan Emperor frowns.
"He seems to have realized something, but since he won't talk… Tch."