Cave Refuge

Dong Tianyu patted Robinson William beside him, his gaze fixed as he asked, "Has your brother mutated?"

Robinson William was also staring intently at Madeline, answering somewhat dazedly, "I suppose so, his appearance has changed a lot."

Originally, Madeline wasn't particularly short, standing around 175 cm which was above average; however, his slightly overweight build made his height less noticeable.

But after this molting growth, Madeline's height had reached at least two meters. His formerly slightly overweight body had transformed into the perfect physique: slim when clothed, robust when unclothed.

As the molting on his body ceased, Madeline shook like a wet Husky, trying to shake off the dead skin clinging to him.

When Madeline had roughly cleaned the dead skin from his body and looked at Dong Tianyu and Robinson William, he suddenly felt like they seemed much shorter.

So, puzzled, he asked, "Didn't I drink the Awakened Potion? Why do I feel like you two are shorter?"

Hearing this, Dong Tianyu helplessly said, "What if it's not that your brother and I have gotten shorter, but that you've gotten taller?"

"I've gotten taller, how could that be? I'm already grown up, my body stopped developing a long time ago. It's not like I drank some super soldier serum like Captain America..."

At this, Madeline suddenly remembered that he had indeed drunk the Awakened Potion passed to him by Dong Tianyu.

Then, Madeline looked at his own hands, which should have been very rough, but now were like the hands of a model in pre-natural disaster advertisements, both the palms and backs smooth and even faintly glowing.

Realizing the changes in his body upon awakening his super ability, Madeline knew transformations had occurred in a good direction by the look on his older brother's face.

Then, Madeline took a full-body mirror from the Storage Space. As he stood in front of it and observed his current appearance, an excited expression spread across his face.

Although he had previously enhanced his looks through Cultivation, all Cultivators slowly improved their appearance as well during the process.

Thus, if just considering the looks of the old Madeline, he could only score about seventy out of a hundred.

But now, the Madeline standing before the mirror, despite being a bit too tall at about two meters, had boosted his overall appearance score well above ninety.

Had Dong Tianyu and Robinson William not witnessed the entire transformation process from the scene, they would never believe that this tall figure was once the slightly overweight Madeline.

Coming back to his senses, Robinson William curiously asked Madeline, "What exactly is the super ability you've awakened? Why has your physique and appearance changed so drastically?"

Hearing his older brother's question, Madeline thought briefly, then began to explain the effects of his awakened super ability, though his tone gradually became a bit melancholic:

"My awakened super ability is called 'Jade Body.' This ability has multiple effects, the most obvious of which you have already seen.

First is the physical transformation, from a Mortal Body to what is now the Jade Body.

After acquiring this physique, I can sense that my Cultivation and absorption of Spirit Energy from the environment has become many times faster.

Even when I'm not actively Cultivating like now, I can continuously feel Spirit Energy constantly flowing into my body.

The sensation is like that of Superman in the DC universe; even if lying still, the body keeps getting stronger."

Hearing Madeline's pretentious words, the two of them actually felt like wringing his heart out right then and there, despite both having obtained the ability to grow stronger even while lying down. Yet, he had the audacity to deceive them with a tone of deep, sorrowful loss.

Truly, his heart deserved condemnation.

Before either of the two could make a move, Madeline took a long breath and then complained to the two standing before him, "Let me tell you, my physique can continue to evolve and become stronger, but to evolve it, I need to continuously absorb a type of energy from the jade."

"In the time before the natural disaster, solving this would have been simple, just spend money to buy jade if you have a lot, or go gamble on stones if you don't, since it's just about absorbing the energy within the jade. This ability would be perfect for checking if those stones contain any jade."

"But now, with the flood upon us, even though jade has become worthless, the amount of jade left in the hands of survivors is exceedingly rare."

"You should know that to evolve my body, I need to absorb a huge quantity of jade stones."

"With just the trifles in the hands of the survivors today, I estimate even if I collect them all and consume every single one, it would likely be difficult to meet the requirements for a physical evolution."

After hearing Madeline's explanation, Dong Tianyu and Robinson William finally understood why Madeline was feeling down. It seemed that Madeline's Super Ability was unfortunately ill-timed. If he had acquired this ability before the disaster, it probably wouldn't be long before Madeline could undergo several evolutions in quick succession.

But, it could also be said that, had the disaster not struck, Madeline might not have even had the chance to obtain this Super Ability.

After fully understanding Madeline's Super Ability, Madeline curiously asked Dong Tianyu, "Why don't you use one of the Awakened Potions now to see what Super Ability you can awaken?"

Dong Tianyu wasn't interested in Madeline's suggestion. After all, the Martial Path they practiced was different. Dong Tianyu was a Cultivator, and he wasn't sure if using the Awakened Potion would affect his future development.

Dong Tianyu wasn't about to do something foolish like sacrificing a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed. He couldn't use it now, but maybe later.

The three continued to chat for a while, but seeing the irrepressible excitement of Madeline and Robinson William, Dong Tianyu knew they were eager to further test out the effects of their Super Abilities.

So, Dong Tianyu decided not to stay here any longer and be in the way. After arranging a meal together the day after next, he left the tent.

Leaving the tent, Dong Tianyu pondered, wondering what was going through Madeline's mind. Awakening a Super Ability was a critical matter why not find a safer place to test instead of sticking to the tent?

Unable to figure it out, Dong Tianyu decided not to dwell on it and went straight home.

At that moment, both Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson were not home, and the house was empty. Thinking that he couldn't just sit at home waiting, Dong Tianyu decided to enter the Cave.

Perhaps due to Walker Violet's management, everything in the Cave was still well-organized. This time, entering the Cave, Dong Tianyu was not in a rush to run to the Hall of Longevity to cultivate, nor did he enter the residential area to role-play.

Dong Tianyu walked to the edge of the Spiritual Spring, looking at the Spiritual Stones that seemed ready to overflow, and directly stored them into his Storage Space.

Then, Dong Tianyu didn't leave, but instead sat down cross-legged by the Spiritual Spring, not cultivating, but merely emptying his mind and meditating there.

When Dong Tianyu opened his eyes again, the Anderson sisters, Walker Violet and Jasmine, had come to his side. Upon seeing Dong Tianyu meditating, they didn't wake him but patiently stayed by his side.

When they saw Dong Tianyu wake up and stand, Jasmine, still like a little girl, threw herself into his arms.

Dong Tianyu, as usual, held her in his arms and then affectionately said, "You're already so grown, why do you still act like before?"