"What are you doing..."
Xu Xin stared speechlessly at Xu Ai beneath her.
Wasn't she supposed to do push-ups? What was Xu Ai doing under her?
"I'll be your cushion, so you won't have to worry about being crushed by the gravity!"
Xu Ai said with a grin.
"But with you like this, I can't do push-ups..."
As she spoke, Xu Xin glanced at her chest. There was no way she could lower herself!
Following Xu Xin's gaze, Xu Ai gave an awkward smile.
"Right... I guess so..."
Well, in that case, they'd just have to switch positions!
Xu Xin was working hard to train in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Chamber.
Ever since Xu Ai and Hen Ren had gone to City 0551, she'd completely let herself go and had no interest in training at all.
That wouldn't do, so the first thing Xu Ai did after returning was make sure Xu Xin got back to training properly!
"Come on, Sis, you can do it."
Xu Ai sat back and leisurely felt Xu Xin's effort.
Why "felt" it?
Because Xu Xin was right underneath her!
Xu Xin wore only her underwear, sweat pouring off her, while Xu Ai sat on her slender waist.
Unlike before, Xu Xin was doing push-ups on a mattress. That was to make sure she didn't get hurt!
Xu Ai had also promised that if Xu Xin couldn't hold on any longer, she'd move out of the way in time. She absolutely wouldn't crush her!
"Push-up number 99! Just one more, Sis, you can do it!"
"Huff, huff..."
Xu Xin took a deep breath and pushed through the final one. Then she quickly rolled over, tossing Xu Ai off.
"Nicely done, Sis!"
"Let me lie down for a bit. I'll train again later."
Xu Xin lay on the floor, gasping for breath. It was obvious that those hundred push-ups had completely worn her out!
"All right. Get some good rest."
Xu Ai nodded. It was fine to rest a while before training again. Her cells would still be tired, so it wouldn't affect her training efficiency.
She switched off the gravity in the chamber, then carried Xu Xin to the bathroom...
A medicinal bath made with restorative Vegetation Spirits as the main ingredient, along with a few medicinal herbs, was excellent for easing fatigue and restoring the mind!
She'd prepared it especially for Xu Xin. Back then, Xu Xin had been able to reach a punch force of 200 kilograms in a month thanks to this medicinal bath!
"Hm? Is that my phone?"
Xu Ai, who'd been soaking in the bath with Xu Xin, got up and picked up the phone to check.
The caller ID read "Luo Feng"...
Xu Ai immediately felt annoyed. She looked at Xu Xin, who was sleeping comfortably, and hung up.
"Sis is asleep. She can't answer the phone. Mm."
Xu Ai got back into the medicinal bath and cuddled up to Xu Xin.
On the other end, Luo Feng was a little confused, but didn't think much of it. She was probably busy with something...
He was still in the Wilderness Zone, though now he was outside City 0551, where defenses had been partially established.
The monsters weren't stupid. Before the defenses were in place, they'd naturally attacked with all their might. But now that the defenses were ready, why would they go and get themselves killed?
Over the past month, Luo Feng's strength had again come very close to Low-level War General. His Nine-Layered Thunder Blade had reached the Fourth Layer. Sure enough, Luo Feng grew fastest when he had something to do...
"This butterfly's made quite a mess..."
Hen Ren sat in a newly built office. City 0551—no, it was called HF Base City now. Although the defenses had been completed, its infrastructure was in a terrible state. After all, tanks and cannons had directly flattened the place.
There were heaps of ruins, and every building had to be rebuilt.
Without the Ancient Civilization Gravity Chamber, Hen Ren's training speed had clearly slowed, so she'd shifted her focus to secret techniques.
"I haven't made any headway with the Devouring Heaven Demon Art, but I should be able to find inspiration in the Golden Horned Beast's Innate Secret Technique, 'Devouring.' Mm, other Star Behemoths should have similar devouring techniques. The Flame Star Behemoth, for instance, can devour stars to speed up its growth."
"But the best reference would probably be a Sector Beast. It can even devour the Universe Origin..."
The Devouring Heaven Demon Art was the first ancient scripture created by Empress Ruthless, and the core cultivation method of her system. It could seize the fortune of Heaven and Earth, plunder the origin of all things to strengthen oneself, and was an incredibly terrifying technique!
At its full potential, the Devouring Heaven Demon Art could even transform an ordinary body into a special constitution! In Swallowed Star, that meant increasing one's Gene Multiplier!
This was the technique Hen Ren most wanted to recreate in Swallowed Star! Nothing else came close! The technique was simply too outrageous.
For now, Hen Ren could only use technological methods to study black holes and refine it. But she was observing them with the naked eye, and had too little data. To observe a black hole in its entirety, she'd be better off venturing into the universe!
Ideally, she'd join one of the Five Great Forces of the Human Race and get her hands on the ultimate manual, Black Hole Evolution. It would definitely be an invaluable reference!
The Myriad Transformation Sacred Art was later upgraded to the Myriad Transformation Immortal Art. It had no fixed form and could change in countless ways, nullifying every technique and weakening an opponent's strength to the utmost!
Of course, Hen Ren had some ideas about the Myriad Transformation Sacred Art, but she was still a long way from mastering it...
Why? It was simple. Changing in countless ways and nullifying every technique seemed to involve reaching a 100,000-fold Gene Level and gaining the ability Formless and Faceless. That would let her transform her divine power into a power system opposite to her opponent's, then cancel it out...
There might be other methods too. Once she joined one of the Five Great Forces of the universe, she'd have a chance to study the matter properly.
The Slashing Heaven Dao, according to its description, could comprehensively increase offensive power, control power, divine power, and more. The likely reference was the Divine Power Burning Secret Technique.
The burning secret technique only became available at a later stage. Hen Ren had no leads on it yet...
One Thought Flower Blooms, Ruling the World was some kind of short-term clone technique. It could create countless clones with the same combat strength, but required a sufficient supply of energy. Otherwise, the clones couldn't fight.
For reference, she could look at Candri, guardian of the Chaos Stele. He had at least 52 clones, but most of them couldn't fight and could only be used for reconnaissance...
Besides these, there were supreme divine arts created based on the Nine Secrets, such as Three Thousand Small Worlds and the God-Crossing Art.
Compared with those divine arts, only the Devouring Heaven Demon Art was within her reach. At least she could observe black holes; the others had no suitable reference...
"Once the Golden Horned Beast appears, I can study the secret patterns it uses when it performs its Innate Secret Technique, 'Devouring.' That should let me make a first version of the Devouring Heaven Demon Art. And there are the secret patterns of its Innate Secret Technique, 'Enhancement'! They should give me a great deal of insight into the Nine Secrets: Jie!"
The Innate Secret Technique "Enhancement" could instantly double combat strength across the board. For example, if someone had 50-fold Body Amplitude and 50-fold Soul Amplitude, using it would instantly raise both to 100-fold!
It was an incredibly terrifying secret technique! Of course, "Enhancement" had its limits. After doubling Body Amplitude and Soul Amplitude, the maximum was only 100-fold.
But even Shirodo, a Universe Overlord, had only 64-fold Body Amplitude. Under ordinary circumstances, "Enhancement" could probably be used even by a Top Universe Overlord!
"Enhancement" was truly terrifying...
The Golden Horned Beast was Luo Feng's greatest cheat. Don't be fooled by the fact that Chaos City Leader considered it only a mid-to-high-level opportunity. In reality, it was absolutely top-tier!
In terms of growth, it had the Innate Secret Technique "Devouring," which let it reach World Lord Level quickly.
In battle, it had the Innate Secret Technique "Enhancement," which doubled the strength of both soul and body. It could fight or flee with ease.
For survival, it had the Innate Secret Technique "Clone," and it could create three clones. Among all clone techniques, that was absolutely top-tier.
Apart from Candri, who was only half-competent, Hen Ren couldn't think of anyone with as many clones as the Golden Horned Beast. And anyone who could match its numbers probably couldn't match their combat strength either!
Moreover, "Clone" could grant the user the innate talents of the being it copied, allowing them to choose according to their needs.
Luo Feng lacked talent in space, so he created a clone of the Mosha Clan, a favorite of the Law of Space. When he needed more divine power, his Nether Sea Clone came into play...
The Innate Secret Technique "Devouring" inspired Hen Ren's Devouring Heaven Demon Art; "Enhancement" inspired her Nine Secrets: Jie; and "Clone" inspired her One Thought Flower Blooms, Ruling the World.
There were treasures everywhere!
"There's no need to reach the point of devouring all things right away. I should first create a cultivation method called the Devouring Heaven Demon Art based on the cultivation techniques. Once the Golden Horned Beast appears, the Devouring Heaven Demon Art should be able to take shape."
Hen Ren continued studying black holes...
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