Chapter 248: No Need to Be Humble
"Hey, it’s a success!"
Even for Master Veridian, succeeding on the first try was a rare occurrence.
Faye Yardley held out her hand. "Let me have it. What kind of talisman is this? The explosive talisman you mentioned earlier?"
"That’s right, this is it. This one has to be actively triggered. You’ll need to cultivate some Inner Qi through simple breathing exercises first."
As he spoke, Master Veridian handed the talisman to Faye Yardley. He knew his young disciple had taught Faye a simple breathing technique, but he had no idea how well she’d picked it up.
Faye Yardley only seemed to half-understand, but she took it anyway. ’If I don’t get something, I’ll just ask.’ Her current Health Care Scripture was likely a cut above what Gavin Donovan had taught her before.
Having experienced its effects firsthand, she was well aware of the difference between the two methods.
"Master, why don’t you take a look and see if this counts as having cultivated Inner Qi?"
Faye Yardley held out her right hand and began to circulate the energy from her Health Care Scripture.
She had it linger in her right palm for a moment, just as she intended, and in that instant, Master Veridian clearly felt something different.
"Incredible. You truly are a genius for cultivation."
"I’m not a genius, just a little lucky. Besides, if it weren’t for the system, I’d just be an ordinary person."
Silas waved his hand. "No need to be modest. Isn’t everyone playing this, uh, survival game at sea? Everyone has a system. The fact that you’ve succeeded where others haven’t proves you’re skilled. It’s your own ability."
"Hehe, if you put it that way, Master, then I guess I am pretty amazing."
"Haha... We still have a while before we get there, don’t we? We might as well grab a bite in the meantime."
"Master, do you drink? I have some homemade sweet rice wine, you know."
"That would be fantastic! Quick, pour me a cup. I haven’t tasted alcohol in almost two months."
One shouldn’t assume those two months on Aquaria were easy. They weren’t. In fact, they were even harder, because he not only had to look after himself but also had to save as many others as he could.
He was afraid drinking would lead to a fatal mistake, so he hadn’t dared to touch a single drop.
But it was different out here. Everyone was separated by the vast ocean; you only had to look after yourself.
Of course, it was also a bit boring. After all, besides fishing for treasure chests and cultivating, there didn’t seem to be anything else to do.
He’d heard of Dungeons, of course, but he had yet to find a single Dungeon Fragment.
Accepting Faye Yardley’s invitation was a wonderful change of pace for him. Even though he was just moving from one raft to another, the experience felt completely different.
As for the invitation from his second disciple, he’d ignored it entirely. It was mainly due to the faction his disciple had joined and his own position—what could he even do over there? Besides, as far as he knew, the guild Logan Langdon had founded wasn’t accepting any spare members.
He had also temporarily refused his youngest disciple’s invitation. However, after hearing that their guild headquarters had adopted twenty young orphans, he decided he would wait until he had accumulated more resources before paying them a visit.
Willow Yardley took the freshly prepared dishes out of her food storage one by one and arranged them on the table.
Faye Yardley took out the newly brewed sweet rice wine and poured a bowl for each of the three of them.
Drinking this wine from a bowl just felt more authentic.
"Master, this is my sister, Willow Yardley. Willow, this is Gavin Donovan’s master, Master Veridian."
After the two exchanged greetings, Silas said to Faye Yardley, "You’re living too well here! You have fish, meat, vegetables, and even fruit and wine."
Faye Yardley giggled. "The living conditions with Mr. Zephyr Sterling aren’t bad, either. Master, if you want a life like this, just agree to join The First Guild. I can guarantee you’ll have meat, vegetables, and wine for every meal."
"Ah, I’d better not. I’m an old-timer who’s used to being free and unrestrained. Joining a faction, even just in name, always comes with obligations. Too much trouble, far too much trouble."
"Haha! Then let’s have a toast, Master. The free life you want is what I want, too. This one’s to the two of us—to freedom lovers!"
"Alright, to freedom!"
"MEOW~"
Willow Yardley stroked Blackwood’s head, then got another bowl and poured a little bit for him.
As for Eamon and Cole Kensington, they preferred to eat by themselves.
Besides, in Faye Yardley’s eyes, they were both still children. Why would they be drinking alcohol?
This was despite Eamon’s protests that he was already considered an adult where he came from.
But Faye Yardley had simply used his height to declare him a child.
They ate and drank, but not too much. The meal ended after that single bowl of wine.
Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the raft came to a stop just before a region of black seawater.
Faye Yardley took out a small wooden boat, placing it beside the raft, and the two of them jumped down into it. With a meow, Blackwood followed, leaping onto Faye Yardley’s shoulder.
"Blackwood, you want to come too?"
"MEOW~"
"Alright then, let’s go."
They were already close, and the small wooden boat reached the boundary in no time.
Without a word, the Master jumped straight in with a PLOP.
Blackwood jumped in right after him.
Faye Yardley held up the Water-Repelling Pearl. "Whoa, is everyone this intense? I guess this Water-Repelling Pearl is a little redundant."
Putting the Water-Repelling Pearl away, Faye Yardley slipped into the sea as well.
The Master’s swimming skill was practically zero.
In the end, Blackwood had to put a protective shield around him just so he could move properly.
Faye Yardley was at a loss for words. ’If you can’t swim, why jump in so dramatically?!’
She swam effortlessly over to the Master, where Blackwood now stood on his shoulder. "Master," she said, "shall we go down and take a look?"
As she spoke, she took out the Water-Repelling Pearl and pressed it into his hand, adding pointedly, "This is just a temporary loan."
Then she grabbed the Master’s arm and pulled them down into the depths.
As Faye Yardley pulled the Master down, she also slowly maneuvered them away from the black water zone, lest they get halfway down only to be shot back up by the vortex.
After giving the Master a taste of being launched by the vortex like a rocket, they returned to the raft. Faye Yardley wiped her face. "So, Master, what did you think? Pretty fun, right?"
Master Veridian no longer saw Faye Yardley as just an interesting and capable junior. He had many questions, namely how she was able to move so freely in the seawater without any sort of protection.
He understood even less how the black water had such a minimal effect on her.
At first, he had felt fine, but toward the end, he couldn’t suppress the violent emotions welling up inside him. If he hadn’t been actively controlling himself, he was afraid he might have started attacking wildly.
"You’re incredible, little lass. I’m truly no match for you."
"Don’t be so modest, Master. You’re plenty strong yourself, daring to jump into the sea without knowing how to swim at all. I certainly wouldn’t have the guts to do that."
Silas just laughed, unbothered. "Next time I get a chance to enter one of those Dungeons you all talk about, I’ll just redeem a basic Swimming Skill. That’ll save me the trouble of having to learn it myself."