Chapter 144: Floating Island Hunt

Su Li was startled. He turned and looked back, seeing Gong Xiao emerge, holding a dry towel and slightly tilting her beautiful face as she dried her long, waterfall-like black hair.

Like Su Li, she had showered and changed into clean clothes, but her shower had taken much longer than his.

“How did you know?” Su Li looked at Gong Xiao curiously.

Gong Xiao pursed her lips. “Even a blind person could tell. Your eyes were glued to her, like you’d lost your soul. What is it? Do you really like her?”

Su Li chuckled heartily. “I admire how you can tell such a convincing lie. I was only thinking about the Sea Cow Beast she mentioned. She said its meat is tender, highly nutritious, and has no side effects when eaten. I was thinking that if that’s true, it’s a vital food source that we need to find.”

Gong Xiao scoffed lightly. “Who knows if what she said is true? She might have just made it up to trick us. Besides, there are so many types of monsters. Where are we supposed to go looking specifically for this Sea Cow Beast?”

Su Li pondered for a moment. “She mentioned a Sea Cow Beast nest. I assume there might be a large concentration of these beasts somewhere, otherwise, why call it a nest? The problem is we don’t know the location.”

Gong Xiao smiled faintly. “Then you can use that as an excuse to go to the Golden Convergence Center Building and ask her about it. I think that’s a perfect excuse, and it won’t seem too abrupt. I’m sure she’d be happy to see you; she invited you to visit, didn’t she?”

Su Li looked at Gong Xiao. “Why do I feel like what you’re saying sounds a little odd now?”

“Odd? Aren’t I trying to help you? If the two of you hit it off, I would have facilitated a wonderful match.”

Su Li shook his head. “You’re stretching things too far. I only just met her today. Besides, she didn’t just invite me; she invited all of us.”

Gong Xiao countered, “Don’t play innocent. When she was talking, her eyes were practically fixed on you. She was only being polite to the rest of us, but her focus on you was different. I bet she’s already taken a liking to you.”

As she spoke, she looked Su Li up and down. “Tsk, tsk. I never realized you had this kind of charm…”

Although Su Li knew Gong Xiao’s words were mostly teasing, he felt secretly pleased. He smiled faintly. “I’ve always been charming. You’re just noticing now? How about it? Want to seize the opportunity and make the first move? I’m easily approachable. I promise I won’t resist.”

Gong Xiao’s face flushed. She spat a small curse. “Su Li, you’re shameless! You hooligan! I’m not talking to you anymore.”

She spun around and slammed the door shut in a huff.

“Ah…” Su Li watched her angrily close the door, shrugged slightly, and turned to look out the corridor.

The rain had stopped, but the sky was gloomy. Night was about to fall.

The entire Purple Wind Building was bustling with activity. Ding Longyun was on the 37th floor directing a group of people to move and organize the supplies. Zhong Rongrong, due to her relationship with Ding Longyun, was now in charge of the kitchen on the 34th floor. Zhou Li and Tao Yuezhi worked under her guidance. The three women’s primary job was now managing the kitchen.

Qi Mengyu’s main task was cleaning the 38th floor and looking after Su Li’s daily needs.

It could be said that no one in the Purple Wind Building was idle; everyone had a task.

Over a dozen people, including Luo Jun, were paddling rafts toward the soccer-field-sized floating island. Su Li saw that Luo Jun was leading the group, followed mostly by Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielders and a few Level 4s. Bai Wenwei was also among them.

The floating island was covered in Corpse Beasts and various monsters. The moment the group landed, a fierce battle erupted.

Su Li’s heart stirred. The monsters seemed to love climbing onto this floating island. This was a naturally excellent hunting ground. Luo Jun was leading the group onto the island to hunt monsters and level up.

Su Li’s original plan was to return to the 32-story building to retrieve the supplies. However, since dusk was approaching, traveling at night was unsafe. He would have to wait until tomorrow.

As the sky grew darker, the monsters climbing onto the floating island grew noticeably more numerous and powerful.

A shout of alarm rang out; someone had been injured.

“Retreat—” Luo Jun decisively gave the order to pull back. It was also time for dinner.

The group retreated from the floating island. The monsters did not pursue but continued to occupy the island.

“This is truly a great hunting ground. The number of monsters on the floating island will likely increase even more tonight.” Su Li’s eyes shone. He had already decided to visit the island for a hunt tonight to advance his level and grow stronger quickly.

He had just advanced to Level 6. The power of “Demon Muscles” had also slightly improved. His overall strength had increased by about 600 jin. Compared to before, his strength was even greater. However, the upgrade wasn’t immediately apparent. The truly significant jump would come when he reached Level 7, when “Demon Muscles” would enter its second form, a qualitative leap he eagerly awaited.

With continuous muscle enhancement, Su Li’s power increased, and his overall demeanor quietly changed. Even without activating “Demon Muscles,” his muscles were subtly toned, neither overly exaggerated nor excessively slender. His physique appeared perfectly balanced, and his features had subtly sharpened, making his appearance more striking—the perfect blend of power and aesthetics.

Su Li had a decent appearance to begin with, above average. Now, with his overall temperament improving and his muscles constantly being enhanced, every part of his body became more streamlined. His external appearance was subtly transforming. His entire being was changing, radiating a powerful masculine charisma.

As he continued to grow stronger, this transformation would become even more pronounced.

In fact, as everyone evolved, their appearance and physique subtly improved.

For instance, Gong Xiao was already beautiful. With continuous evolution and leveling up, her face became more refined, and her body seemed to undergo a second maturation, becoming increasingly voluptuous and seductive.

Even the most beautiful woman often has minor flaws on her skin or body, like a mole, coarse pores, or slight imperfections in complexion. But the most astonishing aspect of this evolution was that it could slowly eliminate these flaws. Moles would vanish, pores would shrink, and skin would become increasingly smooth.

Of course, the changes in the others were subtle details. Only Su Li’s transformation was the most obvious because of his extra enhancement opportunity. His changes were nearly double that of others, making him stand out dramatically. When he stood with the group, he looked like a crane among chickens.

Gong Xiao was now almost afraid to look at him directly. Every time she looked for too long, her heart would race. She felt an irresistible pull, unable to take her eyes off him. She felt there was something mysteriously attractive about his face, making him more captivating the longer she stared.

As night fell, the monsters gathering on the floating island grew more numerous and powerful. The people of the Purple Wind Building launched a mass attack.

This was Su Li’s directive. Since he was a Level 6 Spiritual Source Wielder, he needed to kill Level 6 or higher monsters to gain effective Spiritual Sources. The multitude of low-level monsters on the island was useless to him. He preferred to let the others kill them. This would increase the overall strength of the Purple Wind Building. Since their levels would never surpass his own, he didn’t fear them challenging his authority. It was a useful way to win over the crowd.

Hunting as a group made things much easier, especially for the low-level participants. They leveled up very quickly in the early stages.

As they boarded the floating island, Su Li noticed monsters of Level 2, 3, 4, and 5, but Level 6 monsters were scarce.

After reaching Level 5, only killing monsters of the same level or higher yielded effective Spiritual Sources. Killing Common monsters of lower levels was no longer effective.

Su Li was a Level 6 Spiritual Source Wielder. To advance again, he had to kill Level 6 or higher monsters.

Of course, killing Level 5 Elite or Leader-class monsters would also grant him Spiritual Sources, but these types of monsters were far rarer than Common monsters.

The entire 32-person population of the Purple Wind Building moved out, boarding the floating island and launching an assault on the clustered monsters.

The monsters in front of him were too low-level to help him advance, which was frustrating. He focused on severely wounding them and constantly searched the area for powerful monsters that could provide him with effective Spiritual Sources.

The battle lasted over an hour. Everyone, including the four women and Yan Fang, leveled up to at least a Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder.

Four people advanced from Level 4 to Level 5: Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, Ling Tian, and Wang Xiaofei.

Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, and Xu Haishui successfully advanced to a Level 6 Spiritual Source Wielder.

Su Li’s harvest of effective Spiritual Sources for the night was low, only 12, gained from slaying Level 6 monsters and Level 5 Elite Beasts.

During the battle, he repeatedly used his newly acquired special ability, “Silver Armor Coating,” practicing to move it beyond the comprehension stage to mastery.

The “Silver Armor Coating” ability, acquired from killing the Level 7 Leader-class Silver-Armored Giant Beast, was indeed formidable.

(End of Chapter)