Making Waves

The moment the White Snake appeared, Su He felt the entire world crash down on him. It was instantly sent flying.

He woke up abruptly, still in the small lake of Snake Valley, but the moonlight no longer enveloped him.

This was the Green Snake's inheritance, and it had been expelled.

A single dice landed quietly in front of Su He: Five Points!

What a shame. If he could have stayed within the Green Snake's inheritance, Su He should have been able to learn the inherit...

Suddenly, Su He froze.

There was something new in his mind: Stirring Up Waves! As in, stirring up wind and making waves! The inheritance the Green Snake received this time was Stirring Up Waves. Su He didn't see the "stirring up wind" part, only the "making waves" part, and then he obtained this segment of the inheritance.

Stirring Up Waves could control water currents to whip up monstrous waves, but that was the White Snake's ability. Having just received the inheritance, he could only conjure a small splash, no bigger than one made by slapping the water.

Su He could only do this now—he lifted his paw, as if grabbing a ribbon, and scooped up a stream of lake water.

No, this wasn't Stirring Up Waves.

Stirring Up Waves could create massive waves, but it couldn't pick up water like a ribbon. This was... Water Manipulation! The Stirring Up Waves inheritance from the White Snake, rolled a Five Points by the dice, had transformed into a Divine Power akin to Water Manipulation.

Divine Power! Not a demonic art, but a Divine Power, an instinct as natural as eating and drinking. It felt like an innate ability Su He possessed from birth.

There was a fundamental difference between Magic Arts and Divine Powers.

Magic Arts were learned; Divine Powers were innate.

If one had to say, a person's eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating were all Divine Powers, just too common. But from another perspective, to plants, it was miraculous that such a thing could eat!

Divine Powers! Divine Powers were abilities that were naturally possessed; they couldn't be learned or taught.

Humans couldn't teach their Divine Powers to others, just as birds couldn't teach cats to fly.

But Magic Arts could be.

The dice not only improved learning efficiency but also allowed stolen inheritances to advance.

He just didn't know how the advancement multiplier was calculated.

Stolen prey could accurately increase fivefold, in terms of quality or quantity, being real items at the very least. How could demonic arts accurately calculate a fivefold or fifth-power increase? Su He slowly sank to the bottom of the water, pondering in silence. It wasn't until the full moon began to set in the west that the moonlight on the Green Snake gradually dissipated, and it slowly came back to its senses with a bewildered look in its eyes.

The Green Snake glanced at Su He and ignored him. It had become accustomed to this over time; this scoundrel of a turtle often lingered around it.

In the past few days, the Green Snake's eyes had become increasingly intelligent. This was a sign that the Demon Transformation Fruit was nearing full digestion as the hundred-day mark approached, and its spiritual intelligence was beginning to open.

The Green Snake swam down from the tree and into the lake, flicking its tail, stirring the lake water.

It wanted to stir up waves but couldn't.

The Green Snake wasn't discouraged. Demonic arts from inheritances needed to be learned slowly. In the nearly three months since eating the Demon Transformation Fruit, it had received a demonic art inheritance every full moon. The previous two demonic arts took over a month of arduous practice to master. This time, Stirring Up Waves was more difficult.

Especially the "making waves" part, it always felt like something was missing, making it hard to grasp.

Perhaps it wasn't a water snake? The Green Snake could swim, but it wasn't a water snake.

Su He, submerged in the water, turned his turtle head back and forth, constantly observing his body. The more he calmed his mind, the more he could feel the changes in his body, as if the ability to control water currents was integrated into every inch of his skin.

Any water that came into contact with him could be controlled, even the tip of his tail.

Turtles and Water Manipulation—what a perfect combination, far more useful than simply Stirring Up Waves.

He had snatched an incredible inheritance.

Su He poked the Green Snake and crawled ashore, drawing a Water Essence Rune on a stone with his claw.

Talismans were direct manifestations of the essence of all things in the world. Observing a talisman was akin to achieving enlightenment. Having snatched the Stirring Up Waves inheritance from the Green Snake, leaving it a Water Essence Rune was some form of compensation.

At worst, he could bring it some high-quality food a few more times before hibernation.

Su He dove back into the lake, paddling water as he returned to Crocodile Beach.

Whether it was because he had just obtained the Divine Power or was influenced by it, Su He preferred to stay underwater. He controlled the water currents, coiling them around his body like a snake, as if his entire being was merging with the lake water.

Before, he could only paddle with the webbing between his claws. Now, every stroke was accompanied by the Water Manipulation Divine Power. The water he moved seemed to solidify, like pulling on a rope underwater to move forward, more than doubling his speed.

This Divine Power could likely be practiced and developed further. Perhaps in the future, he wouldn't need to paddle at all; a single water wave could carry him across the seas.

Upon returning to Crocodile Beach, the crocodiles' overnight hunt was mostly over. After eating some offerings from the crocodiles, Su He suppressed his inner excitement and forced himself to rest for a while.

He hadn't eaten food with a quality improvement of five or six points recently, but every bit added up, and his body had accumulated a large amount of energy. After accumulating for a while, he could enter hibernation again.

The turtle shell showed signs of loosening and shedding again these past two days. The next evolution was approaching. This time, it would likely be a longer period of hibernation, possibly even merging with his winter hibernation.

The Demon Transformation Fruit was also nearing complete digestion.

The sun was high in the sky, shining on the lazy Crocodile Beach.

Just as Su He thought Yu Lin no longer feared giving lectures and wouldn't come again, two Immortal Swords arrived belatedly. They landed on the bluestone and transformed into two people.

Yu Lin and a young man around twenty years old.

The young man appeared gentle but was somehow unlikable. Su He felt a vague sense of repulsion towards him.

Animal instinct.

Yu Lin landed and pointed at Su He, saying, "Junior Brother Lu, this is the turtle I told you about. See if it has eaten the Demon Transformation Fruit and if it is a beast about to transform into a human?"

The Junior Brother Lu's eyes lit up upon seeing Su He. "Indeed, it is majestic and extraordinary. Let me test it." He took out a small mirror from his embrace. This was a Heavenly Mystery Mirror, specifically used to examine the Demon Transformation Fruit.

If a beast ate the Demon Transformation Fruit, it could also be illuminated by it.

The Heavenly Mystery Mirror showed no reaction—it couldn't illuminate red fruits, as the disheveled old Daoist had said long ago.

Junior Brother Lu shook his head, "What a shame. This is a Mystic Turtle that was about to advance to an exotic beast, but it didn't swallow a Demon Transformation Fruit."

Yu Lin slowly opened his clenched fist, a hint of regret on his face, "Such a pity."

If it didn't transform into a demon, then no one would know about yesterday's social death...

His gaze towards Su He softened again, "Then you are still my Head of Vegetarian Hall."

Junior Brother Lu put away the Heavenly Mystery Mirror and cupped his hands towards Yu Lin, "Since it's not a demon beast, I won't delay your practice lesson any longer. Don't forget to notify me when you start your class, Senior Brother. I'll come to support you!"

Junior Brother Lu knows I'm practicing here! Yu Lin's face flushed red as he cupped his hands towards his junior brother and watched him fly away on his sword.

Yu Lin was silent for a moment, suppressing his shame, and began the day's lesson.

Yesterday, he had only briefly explained runes, serving as an introduction. Today, he started from the very basics, explaining one rune after another.

Although it was just a practice lesson, he treated it with extreme seriousness, as if the crocodiles below the stage were his junior brothers and sisters, not missing a single detail. He even sternly dealt with an incident of students fighting.

Two crocodiles started fighting for some reason. With a point of his finger, he had them hanging upside down on the lake's surface, while he spanked their bottoms with a small ruler.

The class ended relatively early today. Perhaps due to yesterday's practice, he was much more relaxed today. As the evening glow rose in the west, he ended his day's lesson and flew away on his sword.

Night fell once more. A figure slowly emerged from behind the rocks by the shore.

It was Junior Brother Lu, who had flown away on his sword that morning. Now, he frowned as he looked at Su He, approaching him step by step.