Chapter 153 - 152: Frantic Absorption

Chapter 153: Chapter 152: Frantic Absorption

As the scene gradually calmed down, Chairman Wu and his companions began to tally the casualties from the battle. No one showed any joy over their breakthroughs in strength. Even if they felt it, the current atmosphere made it inappropriate to express.

"Boss, we’re sorry. We couldn’t protect the ship," Xu Ming and Professor Ye said, their voices filled with guilt as they walked up to Han Ning.

Han Ning had entrusted the ship to them to guard, but it ended up being sunk by the swarm of snakes. This left the two men feeling deeply defeated.

Han Ning shook his head. "It’s fine. As long as you’re all right, that’s what matters. Being alive is more important than anything else."

He knew that facing a tidal wave of snakes, it would have been incredibly difficult for just the three of them to hold the line. The snakes were cunning; they deliberately targeted the stronger ships to weaken the fleet’s combat power. But if they hadn’t fought back, the ship would have been quickly overturned by the swarm anyway. It was a miserable situation. For instance, of the four ships that sank from Biyun Resort, three were specifically targeted by the Bone Hammer Black Snakes because their firepower was too intense. All of those ships were overseen by Vice President Level Awakened.

His gaze bypassed the two men and landed on Yu Na, who stood behind them. Yu Na looked lethargic, her mental state clearly poor.

"Yu Na, your abilities seem quite formidable."

Yu Na forced a smile that looked worse than crying and replied in a weak voice, "What good is that? We still couldn’t save the ship." She, too, blamed herself for the loss.

"Plans can never keep up with changes. Don’t be too hard on yourselves. Go get some rest first.

"Ahem... I need to start absorbing Energy as well." Han Ning cleared his throat, signaling for them to leave.

He found a relatively secluded corner on the ship and sat down cross-legged. The Awakened passing by naturally avoided him, giving him a quiet space. Han Ning reached his hand out over the side of the ship and waved.

SPLASH!

A massive head emerged from the water. With a curl of its tongue, Snow Cake spat out three fist-sized Crystal Stones.

These were the cores of the three Four-armed Black Snake Leaders, containing surging Energy that far exceeded that of ordinary Elite Black Snakes. Now he had three Four-armed Black Snake Leader Energy Crystal Stones, along with many Elite Black Snake Crystal Stones. The road ahead was uncertain, and with unknown dangers lurking, there was no reason not to improve his strength! Han Ning picked one up and began to absorb the Energy inside.

[Druid growth progress +1000]

[Druid growth progress +1000]

[Druid growth progress +1000]

...

His growth progress soared. A tyrannical wave of Energy Fluctuations spread outward with Han Ning at the center, making him seem increasingly unfathomable.

[Druid Level upgraded to Lv9!]

[New Skill unlocked: Summoned Combat Partner (Basic Level)]

"Oh? A new Skill?" Sensing the knowledge about the new Skill flooding into his mind, Han Ning examined it carefully.

[Summoned Combat Partner]:

Using the Power of Nature to establish Communication with Nature’s will, the Druid can summon natural creatures willing to fight alongside them within a certain range (Current summoning range: 10 kilometers).

Summoning a partner consumes Spiritual Power. The partner’s duration of existence and strength are influenced by the Druid’s Level and Spiritual Power.

Han Ning’s heart stirred, thinking that Summoned Combat Partner seemed like a good Skill. He wondered if creatures afflicted by Black Tide Contamination could be summoned, though he figured it was probably impossible. Based on the description, it was obvious that this Skill summoned partners from nature; he wouldn’t be able to summon Black Tide Creatures.

After breaking through to Lv9, Han Ning did not stop. The Energy of the three Leader Crystal Stones hadn’t been fully absorbed yet. However, upon reaching Lv9, he clearly felt that the absorbed Energy had decayed by another 10 percent. This was within his expectations; the higher the Level, the less effective the Low Tier Energy Crystals would naturally become. He continued to absorb, and Energy flowed continuously into his body.

[Druid growth progress +900]

[Druid growth progress +900]

[Druid growth progress +900]

...

Lv9 (10%) → Lv9 (30%) → Lv9 (60%) → Lv9 (80%)...

When the glow of the three Leader Crystal Stones completely dimmed, turning into fine powder that slipped through his fingers, his growth progress halted at Lv9 (7000/8000).

He was short by exactly 1000 points! Han Ning did not pause for even a moment, immediately grabbing a handful of ordinary Elite Black Snake Energy Crystals from another bag. These crystals were much smaller, and their Energy was far inferior to the Leader Crystal Stones. He tried absorbing one and sighed inwardly, realizing his suspicions were correct. The Energy decay was even more severe. Compared to when he was at Lv8, it had decayed by at least another 60 percent. The progress points provided by a single elite crystal averaged only 30 to 50 points.

If the quality was lacking, he would make up for it with quantity. Han Ning absorbed the Energy Crystals one after another. The blue light constantly flickered, dimmed, and turned to dust. One... two... ten... twenty...

After consuming nearly thirty elite crystals, the final barrier was finally broken!

Lv9 (8000/8000)

BOOM!

A torrent of Spiritual Power, even more violent and pure than when he first broke through to Lv9, erupted within his body. The Life Seed at his chest trembled violently, radiating a brilliant light. In Han Ning’s Spirit Perception, a faint, subtle crack quietly split across the surface of the round and plump Life Seed. A tiny frost-white sprout, condensing extreme cold Energy yet brimming with rich vitality, poked out from the crack.

At the same time, dense, intertwining frost-white patterns resembling leaf veins surfaced on Han Ning’s exposed skin. An intense aura of life and a biting, bone-chilling cold simultaneously spread outward from his body. Instead of clashing, these two completely different energies strangely blended together, forming a unique, oppressive aura. The surrounding Energy seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, beginning to slowly rotate around Han Ning, forming a pale green energy vortex visible to the naked eye.

"Huh? What’s going on?"

"It’s coming from Mr. Han’s side..."

"What strong Energy Fluctuations!"

"Is he breaking through?!"

This sudden anomaly alarmed the nearby Awakened. Chairman Wu, Vice President Zhao, Lin Qianqian, and the others stopped what they were doing, looking toward Han Ning with uncertainty and astonishment. Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, the phantom image of a magnificent ancient tree slowly outlined itself in the empty air behind Han Ning. The entire ancient tree presented an ancient and mysterious frost-white color. Its branches were twisted and vigorous, as if it had endured the baptism of countless years. The leaves shimmered with an interwoven light of emerald green and frost white.

A vast and boundless pressure, seemingly originating from the very origin of the world, shrouded the entire ship with the appearance of the ancient tree phantom. Under this pressure, everyone felt a soul-deep reverence, as if they were facing the eternal existence of nature itself. The phantom of the ancient tree lingered for about ten seconds before slowly dissipating. As the phantom vanished, the massive energy vortex also gradually calmed down, completely retracting inward.

Han Ning slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, a flash of interwoven frost-white and emerald green light darted past. He felt as though his body had been completely remolded by the Life Energy. His muscles were tough and resilient, his bones were dense, and his internal organs were brimming with surging vitality. His Mental Power also felt as if it had been cleansed, achieving an unprecedented state of clarity.