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Chapter 106: Skin Like Steel and Jade, Mutated Crystal Horn Fish

"Indeed, he is outstanding," Xiao Hai praised.

Zhang Hong smiled and said, "Chen Chu, if you have time, you should come to the military camp more often. The achievements of our new recruits might give you some inspiration. I also remember the General's younger brother, Mr. Hong Zetian, seems to be the dean of martial arts at Nantian. So, in a way, we are family."

Chen Chu, somewhat puzzled by his enthusiasm, exclaimed, "I didn't expect the dean and the general to be brothers."

Zhang Hong smiled and said, "It's quite normal. The Federal Army and high schools aren’t entirely separate entities; they are all aimed at nurturing the core strength of humanity, just with different focuses. Many strong cultivators serve in both the military and the high schools. If one day you are interested in the military, you can also join..."

Cough!

Liu Feixu interrupted Zhang Hong and stepped forward, saying, "Chen Chu, your progress is good, but remember to cover yourself with spiritual will after your next breakthrough, to suppress your aura."

As she spoke, Liu Feixu patted him on the shoulder. In an instant, a powerful force of will swept over Chen Chu's body, suppressing the faint aura emanating from him.

The invisible oppressive feeling emanating from Chen Chu immediately disappeared without a trace, making him seem much more ordinary.

Liu Feixu waved her hand at him. "I recall you had quite a bit of spirit depletion when you returned yesterday, and today you've been undergoing more rigorous training. You should head back and get some rest."

I was feeling quite energetic when I came back last night, wasn't I?

Chen Chu felt puzzled, but he also understood that Liu Feixu was urging him to leave. So, after exchanging goodbyes with the other three, he quickly departed.

On his way back, Chen Chu recalled the behavior of the four just now, murmuring to himself, "It seems that I hadn’t completely suppressed my aura."

After the cultivation session, Chen Chu actually had attempted to cover his entire body with spiritual force, to suppress the invisible oppressive aura emanating from him and avoid being detected by others.

It seemed it hadn’t worked, however. He wasn't sure if it was because this breakthrough was too significant, or if his rudimentary method of suppressing his aura was ineffective.

Lost in thought, Chen Chu returned to the hotel. It was already noon, so he headed directly to the cafeteria on the third floor.

Then he noticed that many people were looking at him, his brow furrowing at the sight. What's going on? Could it be that even after Liu Feixu's intervention, my aura still isn’t fully suppressed?

Xia Youhui leaned in curiously and said, "Ah Chu, what did you do? Your skin suddenly looks so good."

"Skin...?" Chen Chu paused.

"Yep," Xia Youhui exclaimed enviously. "You were already handsome to begin with, and now your skin’s become absolutely flawless. Haven't you noticed all those girls drooling over you?"

Chen Chu's skin had become as smooth as jade, exuding a steady and dignified aura like a mountain. His eyes faintly emanated a hint of majesty when open, making him appear handsome and commanding attention wherever he went.

So that's why everyone keeps looking at me. Chen Chu's gaze shifted, and he quickly tried to think of an excuse. "It could be because of that Level 3 Life Crystal, I suppose."

"Level 3 Life Crystals even have a beautifying effect?" Xia Youhui's eyes lit up.

"Not sure, it could also be because of the arts I've been practicing." Chen Chu didn't commit to a definitive answer.

The Dragon Elephant Art did make more sense as an explanation. The introductory information had mentioned that when the art was cultivated to its peak, there would be some visions. Among them was the transformation of the skin into a steel-like hardness and jade-like form.

He certainly couldn't tell Xia Youhui about this, however; in everyone's eyes, he had only recently broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm. To suddenly claim that he had already pushed his art to its limits would be too unbelievable.

He didn’t think too much about the possibility of Xia Youhui exchanging for Level 3 Life Crystals in order to make himself more handsome. He would have eventually started getting those either way, for their actual purpose of physique tempering. Acquiring them earlier wouldn’t really change anything.

After the meal, Chen Chu returned to his room and took out the Energy Crystal, preparing for cultivation.

Compared to the Blue Crystals given to him by Xia Youhui, the energy contained in this crystal, which could normally only be exchanged for by Fourth Heavenly Realm cultivators, was lower both in purity and quantity by one level.

Huff!

As the Dragon Elephant Art activated, a powerful suction force emanated from Chen Chu's body, drawing in the sparse transcendent energy from his surroundings. At the same time, a surge of pure energy from the crystal flowed into his body through his palm, swiftly refined by the majestic Dragon Elephant True Power, with little to no waste.

Once his cultivation entered a steady state, Chen Chu gradually diverted half of his focus over to the Sword Armored Beast.

With his spiritual force growing stronger, his ability to multitask had become increasingly proficient. By now, he could effortlessly operate both perspectives at the same time in everyday situations, only having to focus the majority of his attention when the Sword Beast or his own body was in battle.

At a depth of over sixty meters below the sea surface, the light was dim. The black mutated beast, measuring close to six meters in length, glided leisurely through the depths, meticulously discerning the ripples and scents of the surrounding water as it hunted for potential prey.

At these depths, even the Sword Beast couldn't see too far. Beyond twenty or thirty meters, everything appeared blurry and murky.

The Sword Beast swam for half an hour, but it never encountered any larger mutated fish, only smaller ones one or two meters in size.

It seems that I’ve hunted most of the mutated fish in this area. I need to venture further and deeper to find more. With a flick of its tail, the Sword Beast disappeared into the darkness.

For safety, the Beast had confined its activities within a fifty-kilometer range from the coast for the past week, with the deepest point being only seventy meters.

However, the population of mutated fish in a given area was limited. Due to its continuous hunting in this area, the mutated fish over five meters in length had been mostly depleted.

This time, the Sword Beast swam for dozens of kilometers in one breath before slowly coming to a stop.

Here, over a hundred kilometers from the coast, the seawater was pitch black, its depth unknown, and it could keenly sense that something was amiss. The transcendent energy contained in this water was much richer than elsewhere.

Strange, is there something valuable nearby? The Sword Beast scanned its surroundings, wariness evident in its faint golden pupils. There were no other signs of other marine life around, making the area eerily quiet.

The Sword Beast suddenly looked down toward its lower left, where a massive black figure flashed by, creating significant ripples in the water as it swam.

Interesting. With a flick of its tail, the Sword Beast swiftly chased after the massive black figure.

With its three major abilities in strength, defense, and agility, the SwordBeast was confident that, as long as it didn't provoke any oceanic colossal beasts, it could escape from any mutated fish that posed a threat to it.

Soon, the Sword Beast caught up to the massive shadow at a depth of two hundred to three hundred meters. The powerful water pressure from all directions made it hesitate about going further.

However, at that moment, a faint light emerged from the dark depths in the distance, causing the Sword Beast to approach cautiously.

At a depth of about five hundred meters underwater, a small mountain resembling a volcanic crater rose from the seabed, covered in red and blue corals that emitted a faint glow, bringing a bit of light to the otherwise pitch-black sea around them.

Around the crater, mutated fish ranging from seven to twenty meters in length were leisurely swimming. They resembled giant groupers, with short blue horns on their heads. Their scales and fins were all a clear blue, giving them the appearance of beautiful blue crystals. As they swam, their massive mouths were slightly agape, as if they were ingesting something.

The Sword Beast was nearly drooling at the sight of the twenty or so fish, but it didn't rush forward recklessly. Instead, it stayed back in the pitch-black water, quietly waiting and observing. This was its first encounter with an entire group of mutated fish, and it wasn't sure how these differed from other mutated fish species.

After half an hour, the first of the seven-meter Crystal Horn Fish turned and swam away. The second left, and then the third, followed by the eight- and nine-meter ones. Eventually, only three fish with bodies exceeding fifteen meters remained, continuing to circle around the crater.

The Sword Beast lay on the pitch-black seabed for another half an hour. When it became clear that the three huge fish had no intention of leaving any time soon, it finally gave up on the idea of going over to take a closer look. It retreated along the seabed, moving slowly to avoid disturbing too much water and giving its presence away.

When it was several kilometers away from the crater, the Sword Beast suddenly flicked its tail and swiftly swam toward its upper left, in the direction that some of the seven-meter-long Crystal Horn Fish had gone.

The Beast moved swiftly underwater, covering over ten kilometers in just a short while. It quickly caught up with one of the Crystal Horn Fish at a depth of one hundred meters.

The mutated fish was also hunting. Its target was a group of bonito[1], each over a meter long, with faint signs of mutation on their bodies. The massive creature rampaged among them, continuously devouring its prey.

Occasionally, a faint blue beam would shoot out from the crystal horn on its head, reaching over ten meters away. Any bonito caught in the beam would instantly stiffen as the water around them froze, forming icy structures as thick as an arm and over ten meters long that would be shattered and melted by the turbulent waters.

This scene made the Sword Beast's gaze sharpen. It turned out to be a mutated fish capable of using energy attacks; it had to be at least level 4.

However, as far as the Sword Beast could tell, it also seemed somewhat weak. The aura it’s emitting doesn’t even compare to that mutated fat fish? Strange.

The Sword Beast's eyes revealed a cold and ruthless gaze, and its pitch-black figure silently approached, slowly and noiselessly.

When the distance between the two was less than twenty meters, the Sword Beast's tail suddenly flicked, causing it to burst forth with terrifying speed and tear through the water like a black shadow.

Boom!

The pouncing Sword Beast slammed its claw down on the back of the Crystal Horn Fish's head. In an instant, the water exploded beneath its claw, the terrifying power and speed behind the strike nearly creating a vacuum.

The fish couldn’t even react before half of its head exploded like a watermelon. Blood mixed with white substance sprayed everywhere, dyeing the surrounding water red and emanating a strong scent.

The sight of the black beast against the backdrop of crimson, emanating an invisible ferocious aura, made the surrounding group of bonito panic and frantically flee in all directions.

Thankfully, the Sword Beast wasn't interested in them and their almost nonexistent mutations. It was excitedly grabbing onto the Crystal Horn Fish's body and sinking its teeth into the back with enthusiasm.

Crunch!

Its sharp fangs tore through the fish scales, ruthlessly ripping off large chunks of flesh. Suddenly, the Sword Beast’s eyes lit up; the energy contained within this fish was incredibly rich.

More blood sprayed out as it continued to feed, turning the surrounding water an even deeper crimson.

1. Bonito are a tribe of medium-sized fish that are closely related to tuna. The meat of young bonito is sometimes used as a cheap substitute for skipjack tuna in food production and canning. ☜