Improving Bone Structure

After verifying his thoughts, Hong Ming smiled with a sense of relief.

It wasn't a trait of the Stone Crystal Fruit; that was great!

And if it originated from the reef, that was even better!

If it were only the former, he wouldn't be in a difficult spot, but he would constantly worry about losing the trait.

Now, there was no need to be overly anxious.

"I will definitely return!"

It was as if he were speaking to himself, or perhaps to the reef.

After memorizing the location of the reef, Hong Ming swung his body and swam away without looking back.

"Oh no, has that mysterious creature returned?"

On his way back, Hong Ming sensed an unusual fluctuation again and immediately braced himself as if facing a formidable enemy.

He quickly came to a halt, not daring to even breathe deeply, terrified that the slightest noise would invite disaster.

However, he soon realized that this did not seem to be the fluctuation released by that mysterious creature.

The fluctuation not only failed to give him a hair-raising sensation, but it even felt weak.

Most importantly, there wasn't just one fluctuation, but two.

"If it's not that thing, then what could it be?"

Hong Ming was filled with suspicion, his expression shifting.

He wanted to investigate the situation, suspecting it might be a Treasure Fish, but he was wary of that powerful creature and worried about inviting trouble upon himself.

After a moment of hesitation, he ultimately abandoned his greed.

Obtaining the Stone Crystal Fruit was already the greatest harvest; there was no need to invite unnecessary complications.

If there really were Treasure Fish here, it wouldn't be too late to come back and catch them once his strength had grown a bit.

He would just consider it as letting them graze here for now—the fatter they got, the better!

With benevolence in his heart, Hong Ming chose to avoid them.

However, just as he intended to let them be, the others seemed to have discovered him, splitting into two groups to flank him from above.

Upon realizing this, Hong Ming had no choice but to quickly shift his position.

Fortunately, the light here was dim and visibility was low; as long as he stayed far enough away from them, he could remain hidden.

Hong Ming retracted his movements and aura like a hibernating turtle or snake, lying in wait silently.

His perception was pushed to the limit, his gaze fixed intently upward.

When he saw the source of those two fluctuations, he suddenly froze.

It was vastly different from what he had guessed; they were not Treasure Fish, but two human figures!

They had not discovered Hong Ming, but were conducting a carpet-like search as they descended, not missing a single spot, as if they were looking for some treasure.

Hong Ming's eyes were sharp as torches, and he suddenly recognized one of the figures: "It's Huang Chun!"

He was quite surprised; he hadn't expected to run into him here.

An impulse subconsciously rose in his heart to finish the man off.

He stopped himself in an instant; the enemy was many and he was few, so taking action was not a wise move.

At this moment, he was more concerned about another matter: what exactly were Huang Chun and his companion looking for?

Half a quarter of an hour later, the answer was revealed; the destination of their journey was the bottom of the water!

Could it be that they are also looking for the Stone Crystal Fruit? Hong Ming pondered.

He had already thoroughly explored the underwater environment within a hundred-meter radius, and aside from the Stone Crystal Fruit, there was nothing else.

With their purpose so clear, it was nine times out of ten that they were here for the Stone Crystal Fruit.

Unfortunately, no matter how much effort they put into their search, it would all be in vain and a waste of energy.

The Stone Crystal Fruit was already in his pocket!

As for that reef, he didn't believe that two people without a system panel could discover its miraculous nature.

He felt a bit fortunate; it was a good thing he had struck first, otherwise, they would have beaten him to it.

Thinking of this, Hong Ming's mood seemed to brighten.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly paused, a flash of cunning coldness crossing his eyes.

This time, he would not avoid that mysterious creature; instead, he would use the Water Breathing trait to actively seek it out.

Luck was on his side, and it didn't take much time before he found the fluctuation.

The fluctuation was faint, indicating that the two parties were far apart, but it didn't matter; Hong Ming did his best to provoke it.

He deliberately made noise, moving closer and then further away, then further away and closer again, until he finally enraged the mysterious creature.

The opponent, fueled by the monstrous rage of being provoked, charged forward like a wild horse breaking free from its reins.

The speed it unleashed was far superior to that of the Azure Dragon Fish, frightening Hong Ming into a panicked flight.

The direction of his escape was none other than the location where Huang Chun and his companion were stationed.

Fearing he would be overtaken, Hong Ming used the Stone Crystal Fruit to clear his path; the moment it made contact, all water pressure and hidden currents instantly dissipated.

Hong Ming's speed surged dramatically, closing the distance to the mysterious creature.

"What's that noise?"

Huang Chun and his companion, who were busy searching for treasures, sensed the anomaly and looked up in unison.

As their gazes swept across the area, their pupils suddenly constricted; they noticed a massive black shadow approaching like a phantom, as if it intended to swallow them whole.

Glug, glug.

After successfully shifting the disaster of the mysterious creature onto Huang Chun and his companion, Hong Ming brushed off his sleeves and climbed onto the shore.

Quietly slipping away from the Huang Family Water Field, he found a remote spot in the wilderness and took out the Stone Crystal Fruit.

The Stone Crystal Fruit had undergone a change visible to the naked eye.

Previously, it had perfectly lived up to its name, its entire body crystalline like a high-quality pearl, without a single impurity, pure and flawless to the extreme.

Now, however, it had developed thin, wispy patterns that were gradually deepening and thickening.

I cannot wait any longer!

Hong Ming made a prompt decision and swallowed the grape-sized fruit.

The moment the moist fruit entered his throat, it transformed into a surging, icy torrent that rushed through his body.

A massive energy, no less potent than what he had gained from consuming the Treasure Fish, instantly erupted in his abdomen, violently scouring Hong Ming's internal force.

Under the repeated flushing of this energy, Hong Ming's internal force became more refined and pure.

While his internal force was being tempered at a speed visible to the naked eye, his body struggled to withstand the strain.

The chill made him feel as if he had fallen into a frozen pool, and he could clearly sense that his body was struggling to handle the medicinal power of the Stone Crystal Fruit.

Not daring to delay for even a second, Hong Ming immediately assumed the Coiling Dragon Stake stance to cultivate and digest the medicinal power.

[Coiling Dragon Stake +20]

[Coiling Dragon Stake +19]

[...]

He did not know how many times he had practiced; by the time the daylight was about to fade, Hong Ming finally finished, drenched in sweat.

Medicinal power still remained within his body, but it was significantly weaker than before.

At the very least, it no longer posed a threat to his physical condition.

Hong Ming exhaled like an ox as he withdrew his stance, his face devoid of fatigue and filled entirely with joy.

The potency of the Stone Crystal Fruit had exceeded his expectations.

In less than half a day of cultivation, his Coiling Dragon Stake had gained nearly a hundred points of experience.

It was truly a meteoric rise!

"But the Cure-All trait didn't seem to take effect?"

Hong Ming recalled the entire process of consuming the Stone Crystal Fruit and did not notice the trait activating.

He glanced at the description of the trait and immediately understood.

Cure-All only worked on ordinary medicine; the Stone Crystal Fruit was a precious herb and likely did not fall into that category.

Then why was the Treasure Fish effective earlier?

Hong Ming was then struck by a new confusion.

Could it be that in the eyes of the trait, the Treasure Fish counted as medicine, but not a precious herb?

With too few clues to sort it out, Hong Ming stopped overthinking and headed home.

Over the next few days, Hong Ming practiced everything in tandem.

The medicinal power lingering in his body seemed to exert itself endlessly; his strength grew with each passing day, and his Luck surged fiercely as well.

In just three days, his Luck had skyrocketed to twenty-five points.

Yet, Hong Ming was somewhat dissatisfied—not with his Luck, but with the efficiency of his Frost Sky Fist training.

The constraints imposed by his aptitude were far beyond what the Stone Crystal Fruit could compensate for.

The efficiency of his fist technique training remained as slow as a turtle!

"It is time to improve my aptitude."

Hong Ming had long since planned this, and now he put it into action.

He randomly selected a lucky individual within the Preparatory Camp.

[Consumed 21 points of Luck, successfully solidified the "Lower-Upper Aptitude" trait.]