Taking the Core: Extreme Long-Distance Vision and Sound Wave Perception

Chu Xiu's breathing quickened, and his heart pounded.

If every Spirit Beast had a Core inside it...

Then even without his Martial Soul or Soul Power, he could hunt a few more Spirit Beasts and live comfortably on this Deserted Island with the abilities their Cores gave him.

Hunting Spirit Beasts was risky, though.

He would be better off finding more harmless Mutated Plants and improving his physical condition first.

"Hey, what are you two sneaking around over there for?"

Ning Rongrong's voice came from behind them.

She might not admit it aloud, but she had already come to think of Chu Xiu as hers. Naturally, she kept a close eye on her man when he worked alongside another woman.

Seeing Shui Bing'er and Chu Xiu chatting and laughing, Ning Rongrong immediately assumed they were fooling around.

But when she came closer, she realized she had misunderstood.

"What's that?"

Ning Rongrong stared at the Owl Core in Shui Bing'er's hand. It was too perfectly round to look natural, and the gray on its surface seemed to flow. That made it stranger still.

Shui Bing'er knew she had fallen for Chu Xiu after Ning Rongrong had.

Strictly speaking, Ning Rongrong and Chu Xiu weren't a couple, but Shui Bing'er still felt ashamed, as though she were the other woman.

So when Ning Rongrong confronted her, Shui Bing'er naturally backed down.

She said gently,

"Chu Xiu says it's a Spirit Beast's Core. I've never seen one before, either."

"A Core?"

Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. "Impossible! How could a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast produce a Core?"

Qian Renxue came over from behind them, frowning slightly.

"Why not? This place can even suppress Martial Souls. It wouldn't be so strange for an ordinary Spirit Beast to have a Core."

Of everyone there, Qian Renxue was the most knowledgeable.

Even Spirit Hall had no spare Cores, but she had at least heard of them since childhood and read accounts of them.

She was certain the gray sphere before her was a Spirit Beast Core, a thing of legendary rarity.

And yet...

She was Spirit Hall's Angel Young Master, and even she had only heard of Cores. Who exactly was Chu Xiu, to recognize one at a glance?

Chu Xiu suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. He turned and found Qian Renxue studying him. He knew at once that she was questioning his identity again.

"Ahem. Sister Xue, don't look at me like that. I admit I've kept a few things to myself. The truth is, my Body Martial Soul is my eyes. I can spot anything unusual without using Soul Power."

Chu Xiu repeated the story he had told Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong.

Body Martial Souls were relatively rare.

And since the Body Sect did not yet exist, nobody paid them much attention. Qian Renxue accepted his explanation without much trouble.

"Anyway, we only have one Core. Who gets it?"

Chu Xiu looked at the three women.

Shui Bing'er answered without hesitation. "You killed the Owl. Of course the Core should be yours."

Ning Rongrong snorted. "Did you need to say that? Even if he offered it to you, would you have the nerve to take it?"

Shui Bing'er gave a rueful smile and sighed softly without arguing.

Qian Renxue said, "I had nothing to do with getting this Core. If they both think it should go to you, take it."

Chu Xiu had expected that answer. He wasted no time.

"Then I won't refuse."

He took the Core from Shui Bing'er, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole without chewing.

Qian Renxue had no time to stop him. Her expression turned tense.

He's far too reckless. Cores can be consumed, but their properties have to match the user's Martial Soul. Otherwise, the user will die.

I can only hope Cores here work differently from those on the continent.

Qian Renxue kept those thoughts to herself.

Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er knew little about Cores, so neither realized taking one could be dangerous.

The three of them watched Chu Xiu swallow the Core and sit cross-legged on the ground.

About five minutes later, Chu Xiu opened his eyes.

Gray mist circled the edges of his pupils. His vision had grown far sharper; he could even see motes of dust in the air.

Looking farther away, he could easily make out seashells on the beach a kilometer away.

He could see clearly into the dim forest, too.

A rustling reached his ears. Chu Xiu closed his eyes again and found that sound alone formed a three-dimensional image in his mind.

Dozens of meters away, a school of small fish swam through the sea.

A hundred meters away, beneath fallen leaves in the forest, a centipede crawled.

A kilometer overhead, a swift bird-type Spirit Beast flashed past.

"Hell yeah!"

"This is incredible!"

Chu Xiu could barely contain his excitement.

Having never used his Martial Soul, this was the first time he had experienced an ability beyond an ordinary person's.

"What happened? What's so incredible?"

Ning Rongrong asked eagerly.

But once Chu Xiu described the Core's effects, her enthusiasm vanished.

"That's all? An ordinary hundred-year reconnaissance Spirit Ring would do more."

Qian Renxue immediately disagreed.

"Could this place be so unusual that it's weakened the Core's effects too?"

Chu Xiu had not considered that.

If she was right, wouldn't his Extreme Long-Distance Vision and Sound Wave Perception become even stronger once he returned to Douluo Continent?

The thought gave him a little thrill.

Dinner was once again a few apples, plus a small piece of Owl meat for each of them.

After eating and drinking their fill, Chu Xiu claimed he had eaten too much and needed a walk to help him digest. He told the three women to rest while he took the first watch.

Once Qian Renxue and the others were asleep, Chu Xiu headed toward the forest.

With Extreme Long-Distance Vision and Sound Wave Perception, his awareness reached more than ten times farther than before. He was no longer limited to what lay ahead; he could hear what was behind him as well.

Even at night, he was not worried about running into danger.

"Just as I thought."

After scouting the beach and the edge of the forest, Chu Xiu came to a conclusion. "This Deserted Island must have some hidden rules."

"The area around the beach is probably a safe zone. Apart from a few mosquitoes and other bugs, almost nothing else comes near it."

"The outer forest is the beginner area. Only ordinary animals live there, with venomous snakes and insects posing the greatest danger."

"Deeper in the forest, near the foot of the mountain, Spirit Beasts start appearing."

"As for the mountain farther away..."

Chu Xiu strained his eyes. With Extreme Long-Distance Vision, he could just make out two Spirit Beasts fighting halfway up the mountain, a kilometer away.

One was a bear, the other a wild boar. Judging by their size, both were hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts.

Neither could use its innate abilities. They were fighting with nothing but the strength of their bodies.

Even so, their sheer physical power was terrifying.