810 Reaching the Peak

Kadin was a member of the Musk family and a small captain in Imperial Court, which was also one of the top 10 exploration teams. However, his status in the Holy Disciples' circle was higher than that of Molton as he was younger and had more potential. This guy has been pursuing Laura through Molton since some time ago, but she did not give him a chance. Now that Molton had mentioned it again, it seemed that the other party had not given up.

Laura grew a little hesitant.

Molton also knew that it was not appropriate to mention this now, but there had to be a time to say it. "I'm not going to force you to accept Kadin, but at least give him a chance and try to contact him. In addition, there aren't many ways to help Wang Zhong become a Holy Disciple. One of the methods I know requires Kadin's help… Only Kadin can get the coordinates to the Musk Family's Paradise Island. I'll let you think about it."

Having said that, Molton directly hung up the Skylink and sighed to himself. He could tell that Laura was reluctant and that she did not like Kadin. It was not that he was being heartless; it was just that he had seen too many tragedies. In the Holy Land, love was the most extravagant luxury one could enjoy. People without strength were simply not in a position to experience it; otherwise, they would not only harm others but themselves as well.

As for Kadin, at the very least, Molton knew that he was not an indecent playboy and that he was truly devoted to Laura. In the Holy City, such a powerful and dedicated man was truly a rare commodity. If Laura passed him up, it would be difficult to find a better one in the future.

As for affection… It was actually the most unimportant thing. As long as she was willing to accept him, they could slowly build up their relationship.

...…

On this side, Wang Zhong obviously had no idea about Laura's emotional dilemma. He had been busy consolidating his Soul Power gains for the past three days. In fact, on the second day, he had already felt that his Soul Power had almost stabilized. However, with Wang Zhong's fault-finding character, 'almost' was obviously not good enough. Moreover, the progress of his cultivation in terms of establishing the Soul Core and deepening the microscopic world was raised to a tremendous pace after the enhancement of his Soul Power. As such, he could not afford to slow down at all.

For the past few days, aka 72 hours, he had yet to take a rest. Having entered a trance, he didn't even have the time to check his Skylink. If it hadn't been for Simba, who had been counting down the days to meeting Lan Daier, Wang Zhong would have probably forgotten about the third course of treatment.

Seeing that he was going to be late, Wang Zhong, who had just withdrawn from meditation, hurriedly wiped his face and rushed to the meeting place. This time, the meeting place was not Lan Daier's villa or the restaurant that he had visited before. They were meeting at a remote area near the border of the Teachers' District. There was a lush garden, and Lan Daier was already waiting at its entrance.

In fact, when he first walked into this garden, he could already sense the presence of energy wards around him. In the garden, there were obviously various wards, which had a strong repellency to outsiders. Wang Zhong could vaguely feel the presence of this repulsive energy. Due to his sensitivity toward energy, these forces felt very strong to him. However, strangely, before the forces could engulf him, they were sort of canceled or held back with some kind of signal from Lan Daier.

"What is this place?" Wang Zhong was curious, and today seemed very different from the usual.

"My Gourmet Lab."

A Gourmet Laboratory was something like the private workshop of an alchemist or the exclusive space of a wards master. Other than being a place to conduct experiments, it also stored some precious materials, including some valuable instruments, as well as the most-valuable first-hand experimental data. In simple terms, these were the most important and private places for those who were masters in their subsidiary professions. They would only bring their most trusted people to these places.

Naturally, Wang Zhong knew about this widely known fact. He suddenly grew a little shy about becoming Lan Daier's most trusted person, but he was also rather pleased with himself.

"Now do you know how well I treat you?" Lan Dai then cracked a joke. "Remember to repay me in the future!"

"The entire garden is an experimental area. There are dozens of laboratories located here. The conditions here are pretty good. Not only me, but some other Teachers also use them. Some Great Teachers will also rent labs here. These plants are not purely for decoration but to sustain the wards that have been put up to ensure the safety and privacy of this place. These wards have other functions besides protection — namely, sound insulation. Even if you cause a big explosion, the sound can at most be heard within a hundred meters range. Also, there is a stability ward underground. Even if there is an earthquake outside, we won't be able to feel it in here."

As Lan Daier led the way, she imparted science knowledge to Wang Zhong. There were too many things in the Holy City that Wang Zhong hadn't seen. Also, it just so happened that he was interested in wards recently. Be it protective wards, combat wards, sound insulation wards, or even wards to isolate earthquakes, there was nothing that the wards masters of the Holy City couldn't put up as long as one could think of it.

Wang Zhong watched in awe throughout the entire journey until Lan Daier stopped in front of a big tree. Watching her actions, Wang Zhong knew that there had to be something special about this big tree. However, even after he activated his Mind's Eye, he couldn't see anything weird about it, not even a bit.

Then, Lan Daier took out a runic token and waved it in front of the big tree. The illusion dissipated, and the real house appeared not long after.

It was an illusion?! Wang Zhong was a little surprised. He couldn't see through this strange illusion even with his Mind's Eye; it was indeed something.

As she pushed the door open, the layout inside made Wang Zhong's eyes light up once again.

What came into view was a large living room, with runic wards painted almost everywhere on the surrounding walls as well as on the ground. There were a few which he could recognize, but he could only take a guess for the rest of them. In addition to various protective functions that prevented people outside from snooping, there were many which were related to food, such as the fire runic wards. These wards were powered by energy crystals that were smokeless and almost invisible but could provide powerful fire energy at any time. Another example would be the corner at the left side of the room. It was a large frost runic ward, which was directly being used as a refrigerator. Besides keeping the temperature low, it was sort of like an all-natural environment; therefore, the freshness preservation effect was obviously worlds apart from an ordinary refrigerator. There were many wards that looked similar, and it was too much for Wang Zhong's eyes to feast on.

Also, there were all kinds of precious ingredients, high-end food containers, tableware, and cooking utensils. Solely considering the wine glasses in the transparent cabinet on the right, Wang Zhong saw at least forty or fifty kinds of glasses at first glance. Different utensils would be matched with different wines, and there were truly a lot of knives… Gourmets were knife experts, but these knives looked too high-end; at least half of them were high-end runic knives and were obviously exclusively customized. It was hard to imagine what kind of ingredients needed to be cut with these knives…

Today, Lan Daier didn't speak much. When Lan Daier entered the laboratory, she seemed to naturally enter a peculiar working state. Perhaps it was because of her habit of focusing on work in this place all year round. Compared to her usual self at home, there was no doubt that she appeared much more serious right now.

As they walked to the end of the living room, Lan Daier opened a small door. "Take them off," she said.

"Huh?" Wang Zhong was stunned and he stood there dumbfounded.

"What huh? Take off all your clothes."

What?

He was suddenly brought to this totally closed and private space, a quiet little dark room; both were single… and then she wanted him to take off his clothes?

Before Wang Zhong could react, Simba had already grown agitated in his Soul Sea. "Wang Zhong! Teacher Lan Daier is mine. If you take advantage of her, I will sever all my ties with you!"

"Ahem…" Wang Zhong completely ignored Simba's nonsense as he himself was shocked. The atmosphere was truly too misleading.

"Stop staring. Hurry up and go in after you've removed your clothes."

"Let me out! Let me do it!" Simba was so agitated that his head was about to produce smoke.

Wang Zhong gulped a mouthful of saliva and got a little shy. "Do— Do I have to take off my underwear?"

Lan Daier finally seemed to realize that Wang Zhong had misunderstood, and she couldn't help but want to laugh. She smacked his head peevishly and said, "What kind of dirty thoughts are there in your mind? This is the preparation for this time's treatment! It will allow your body to absorb the energy better. Do whatever you want. Your choice."

Finally, Wang Zhong came to his senses. Although he didn't know what kind of treatment required him to take off all his clothes, it was obvious that he had gotten the wrong idea.

At this time, Lan Daier had already automatically turned around. Frankly, the feeling Wang Zhong had at this moment was a little strange. It was as though he was relieved, but he felt a sense of disappointment as well… Hmm, perhaps he had been looking forward to something previously?

Wang Zhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but fortunately, Lan Daier could not see the rich expression on his face.

He quickly did as Lan Daier said and took off everything, including his underwear. He then slipped inside the little dark room, completely naked. As Wang Zhong slammed the door shut behind him, he quickly calmed himself down.

This was a completely enclosed space, with a one-meter-high gourd-like thing in the center of the room and plugged with a runic seal stopper.

"Wang Zhong, open the gourd, hold the bottom of the gourd with both hands, and control your Soul Power to heat the gourd at five thousand Grassos. Be careful to take it slow and maintain accurate temperature control. Otherwise, the effect of the contents inside will be destroyed."

"What's next?"

"Just absorb the thermal energy of the steam emitted from the inside."

"There is no need to eat it?"

"It is not necessary to enjoy all kinds of food through your mouth. It is also considered a kind of dietary therapy if you see it, smell it, and directly absorb it with your body," Lan Daier said. "The gourd itself is a soul tool with heating effects. It's filled with Kraken fats. It is an all-natural treasure used to enhance and strengthen Soul Power, and it is best suited for Heroic Souls."

It turned out to be Kraken fats… Wang Zhong's expression turned serious in an instant. Even though he knew nothing about gourmet dishes, he had heard of the famous Kraken before.

It was definitely an 8th or 9th rank dimensional creature that resided in some deep-sea worlds in the Fifth Dimension. Oceans had always been an insurmountable barrier for humans, not only on Earth but also in the Holy City and elsewhere in the Fifth Dimension.

Abundant marine resources made it easier for the ocean to produce powerful existences; thus, there were countless 8th or 9th rank oceanic dimensional creatures there. It was just that they were not interested in competing with humans for territory; otherwise, there would be nothing for humans in the Fifth Dimension. Krakens were rather famous among the higher-rank marine lifeforms, especially their fats. Strictly speaking, the fats were not considered food ingredients but an all-natural treasure. It was known as the essence of Soul Power and a holy healing product; no matter how severe one's injuries involving the Soul Sea were, a spoonful of Kraken fats would guarantee one's complete recovery. Additionally, Krakens were extremely difficult to capture; it was simply not within any single exploration team's power to do so, making it seem even more precious.

But Lan Daier actually used such a precious commodity to help him enhance his Soul Power?

"It depends on how well you absorb it. If this goes well, you may reach more than 9,500 Grassos."

This was a relatively bold estimate. The higher one's Heroic Soul Power was, the harder it would be to improve. To increase from 8,000 to 9,500 Grassos was much more difficult than increasing from 5,000 to 8,000 Grassos.

This was truly a precious and rare opportunity… It was such a huge gourd of Kraken fats; thus, it was really difficult to estimate its value. Wang Zhong could feel that this was Lan Daier's painstaking effort, even though she did not mention it. At this time, he grew extremely serious.

Nine thousand five hundred was just Lan Daier's estimate. On the other hand, Wang Zhong hoped that he could reach the maximum peak in one shot.

Ignoring Simba's non-stop rambling in his Soul Sea, he carefully unplugged the gourd stopper; after which, a faint fragrance was emitted from the gourd's mouth.

He took a deep breath, held the bottom of the gourd with both hands, and instantly adjusted his Soul Power delicately to the stable value of 5,000 Grassos as he injected the power into the runes on the gourd's surface.

The red circular runes on the green gourd began to flash immediately. The outside of the gourd still remained cool, but the interior had begun to heat up quickly. The smell of cooked fat replaced the faint fragrance, and a huge amount of white steam spewed out from the mouth of the gourd.

It was time to begin!

The steam in the surrounding area contained rich energy. At first, he was worried whether he would be able to grasp the method of absorbing energy directly with his body as it was his first time, but when he really started, everything seemed to fall into place naturally.

Wang Zhong merely relaxed his body as much as possible. The external heat of the steam was like getting a sauna treatment, making the pores on his entire body open naturally. Then, when he activated his Soul Power, an internal rotation would be formed inside the body, developing traction to attract the external energy to enter the body. Such small tricks in such a detailed process might be difficult for an average person, but Wang Zhong was extremely familiar with them. These small details could often be the determiner for a lot of things.

This process was rather amazing; it was similar to the process of experts at the Heavenly Soul Stage absorbing the power of heaven and earth, opening themselves up and becoming one with heaven and earth. Things of the Dimensional World could not be understood by using Earth's standards; thus, Wang Zhong was constantly changing his mindset and improving himself.

Of course, the nature of the two kinds of forces at work was not the same. One was the natural power of heaven and earth, and the other was the extremely active energy present in Kraken fats. The latter was obviously much easier to absorb.

The relaxation of his entire body — as well as the rapid filling and increase of energy — was only the most basic experience. When he opened his body completely and embraced the outside world, things in his mind, like his way of thinking, would be affected. There would be some subtle changes in the way he understood and viewed the world. Like most Heavenly Souls would, Wang Zhong enjoyed this process. It was just like being immersed in a beautiful ocean, swimming freely in the ocean like a Kraken…

This was also one of Wang Zhong's characteristics. Others might have focused fully on the absorption of energy, for fear of wasting even the tiniest bit of Soul Power. But in fact, this was running after the less important thing. The entire experience and process were actually the most precious wealth one could obtain from this. It was unknown when this kind of knowledge and experience could suddenly emerge and play a vital role in one's advancement.

Contrary to what most people would do, Wang Zhong did not actively try to control his body's cells or his Soul Core this time, and he soon entered a trance. The transmission of Soul Power was stable and slow. At the same time, steam lingered in the little black room, making it look like a fairyland.