183: Black Serpent's strength
After spending five minutes,
Little Hei transformed into a being with a snake tail below and the upper body of a handsome man, even going so far as to condense twelve-pack abs for himself.
Only after Little Hei transformed into the snake demon of his own perception did he feel at ease.
Otherwise, if it had taken on such a bizarre appearance, it would have been genuinely nauseating to look at.
"Yes, this is the look."
"So troublesome! What difference does the appearance make?"
Though complaining verbally, Little Hei looked in the mirror and indeed found this form much more pleasing to the eye than the previous one with human legs and a snake body.
However, compared to the earlier snake head, this form was considerably uglier.
'Ding, gained Little Hei's favorability, lottery tickets +200.'
Sure enough, once you start a conversation, completing tasks is hardly difficult. Thankfully, you're a kind-hearted snake; otherwise, I'd have roasted you.
"By the way, Big Brother Hei, where are we going?"
"I'm going to kill a Seventh-Rank to practice. You follow along."
Upon hearing 'Seventh-Rank,' Su Chen immediately began feigning weakness:
"I'm only Third-Rank. Won't I get caught in the crossfire and die? Just the shockwaves from your battle would shatter me."
"You can solo a Sixth-Rank, yet you tell me you can't watch a Seventh-Rank fight? And don't think I don't know."
"Know what..."
Could this snake have seen through that I've already reached the Sixth-Rank Realm?
"I know your strength is at the Fourth-Rank. Pretending in front of me is useless. You were only able to kill that Sixth-Rank back then because of the Divine Artifact in your hand.
Without that weapon, you could never have achieved that."
"Big Brother Hei's lesson is correct. To be honest, my strength is indeed at the Fourth-Rank. Winning back then was just luck."
I thought you had seen through my Realm, but you were just bluffing! You dishonest snake.
"Big Brother Hei, have you broken through to the Ninth Stage?"
"Just one step away. I'm currently at the Peak of the Eighth Stage, half a step from a Breakthrough, but I just can't cross that threshold."
Su Chen nodded and quickly caught up.
It seems the Breakthrough failed, and he's looking for someone to spar with to regain the feeling for it.
This is a rare opportunity. I must complete the tasks during this time; otherwise, don't even think about going back to Cultivate... This time, it's just the two of them acting together. Xiaoqing gave the location but didn't follow.
They happened to pass by a place where a Sixth-Rank Esper was trapped, and Little Hei wanted to use this Sixth-Rank for practice first.
Xiaoqing's Clone descended from a tree and released the trapped Sixth-Rank Esper.
"Stand far away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire and killed, but don't leave my line of sight."
"Understood!"
Little Hei reverted to his original form, and Su Chen quickly flew away, arriving at a small hillside about a kilometer away.
High Rank battles are of the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering variety. Just think of how Xia Weiyu, without holding back a few days ago, destroyed an entire forest.
If they dragged the fight out slowly, the destruction would be even greater.
Su Chen observed from a distance, also wanting to use this fight to analyze Little Hei's specific strength.
After just a few exchanges, Su Chen realized this snake posed no threat to him—it was too weak.
Peak Eighth-Stage strength, an SSSS-rank Talent, yet he couldn't defeat a Sixth-Rank Esper after half a day and even got injured several times. With this level of strength?
No wonder the Breakthrough failed; the problem lies here—his inherent strength is too weak.
His current Eighth-Stage strength is probably just built up through accumulation.
Of course, it's also possible Little Hei wasn't fighting with his full strength, merely toying with this Sixth-Rank to practice and find his rhythm.
If this were the past, he might have glanced at such a battle, but now that he himself is Sixth-Rank and can instantly kill those of the same tier, this kind of fight really doesn't spark the slightest interest.
Watching them fight is less interesting than watching ants climb a tree.
Around this time, Xia Weiyu and the others should be getting off work to rest. Although he couldn't go over, he had left the female puppet there.
It was for convenient communication with them in case of emergencies.
"Su Chen, you went out with that black snake?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Do you know about that ruin entrance? Wen Hemo's people also saw that entrance and have already started discussing whether to go in.
Should we stop them?"
Su Chen didn't expect them to move so fast; they wanted to enter right after he left.
"How many want to go in?"
"Six people. Wen Hemo is currently discussing it with Long Hanjie, but Long Hanjie hasn't agreed.
I overheard this; Long Hanjie hasn't mentioned it to us either.
He probably wants to go in too but has reservations."
"Su Chen, since Wen Hemo and the others are discussing it with Long Hanjie, he definitely has the idea of entering as well.
If you return late, they will absolutely go in."
"Su Chen, if you ask me, just eliminate them. People who bite the hand that feeds them shouldn't be kept!"
"Don't worry about them.
If they really want to go in, don't stop them.
Since this black snake can leave the exit unattended, he naturally has confidence. A Fourth-Rank and a few Third-Ranks thinking they can seize the array eye is truly wishful thinking."
"I'm not concerned about them, just worried about you.
The black snake warned that if we cause any trouble, he'll kill you first as a warning."
Su Chen watched Little Hei's fight, who had regained the upper hand relying on his stamina advantage. He continued controlling the female puppet and said:
"It's fine. This snake is no match for me."
After giving instructions here, Little Hei's battle was also nearing its end. Although he won, it wasn't an easy victory.
It was more like an 80-20 split, and he suffered quite a few injuries.
Su Chen quickly went over, simultaneously taking out two healing potions: "Big Brother Hei, have some to recover from your injuries."
"No need."
Seizing the opportune moment, Su Chen began to flatter:
"Big Brother Hei's strength is truly eye-opening. To defeat a Sixth-Rank without even using your Ability...
Relying solely on this Physical Body, Big Brother Hei is already nearly invincible..."
Faced with Su Chen's praise and flattery, Little Hei, a snake who had never experienced the harsh realities of society, naturally couldn't resist. He instantly felt elated.
'Ding, gained Little Hei's favorability, lottery tickets +500.'
"Actually, I only narrowly won..."
"Big Brother Hei is far too modest! Your capabilities are beyond comparison for someone like me.
Having the fortune to call you 'big brother' in this lifetime fills me with immense honor!
Watching your performance in battle just now, I realized all the doubts I had during previous fights have been resolved. Big Brother Hei must have also noticed my shortcomings and intentionally got injured just now to guide me, right?
It must be! I, Su Chen, truly find it hard to accept such immense kindness..."
Little Hei didn't know what to say. Getting injured earlier was genuinely because he failed to dodge. How did it become intentionally getting hurt to guide you?
'Ding, gained Little Hei's favorability, lottery tickets +500.'
Little Hei didn't expose it; after all, he also had to save Face. "Let's continue, let's find the next one."
"Let's rest a bit longer."
Su Chen was somewhat reluctant. If they went now, there would be no time to chat with Little Hei—all opportunities to earn lottery tickets he didn't want to miss.
Little Hei also wanted to rest a bit to recover from his injuries, but after Su Chen said that, he had to save Face too.
"No, Cultivation is important. Superficial wounds are not worth mentioning."
Seeing persuasion was futile, Su Chen had to reverse his approach again:
"Admirable. Big Brother Hei is so diligent for the sake of Cultivation, unlike us who Cultivate only sporadically.
The wind is transparent, the rain goes drip-drop, the water flows, but my admiration for Big Brother Hei is eternal..."
'Ding, gained Little Hei's favorability, lottery tickets +500.'
"You praise me too much, too much. Let's continue, let's find the next one!"