Xu Haishui was very clever and behaved obediently. He knew it would take some time to fully earn their trust.
Su Li went downstairs, retrieved the steel rod the bald man had used, and handed it to Ding Longyun. The rod was about a meter long, more practical than the short axe he currently held.
Gong Xiao, now armed with the military spike, gave the baseball bat to Xu Xuehui.
Su Li asked about what special abilities Xu Haishui had mastered, only to be surprised to learn he hadn’t mastered any at all.
“You’ve reached level 4 but couldn’t kill any elite-type monsters?” Su Li found it hard to believe.
Xu Haishui gave a bitter smile. “I’ve been following Chen Xiangyu and his group these past few days. They only let me handle ordinary monsters; the stronger ones were never left for me. So even though I’ve reached level 4, I haven’t gained any special abilities. Everyone knows now that killing powerful monsters can grant special abilities, but because of that, whenever a strong monster appears, the capable guys snatch it up first. It never gets to us. They claim it’s to keep us from taking risks, but really, they just want to grab those abilities and grow stronger themselves.”
Su Li let out an “mm” and nodded slightly. He hadn’t expected it to be like this.
“But reaching level 5 is a whole different story.” Xu Haishui’s face lit up with excitement. “I heard Chen Xiangyu say that once you hit level 5, you can awaken a ‘Source Art.’ He said this Source Art is far more powerful than the special abilities gained from killing monsters. His ‘Steel Skin’ was a Source Art he awakened at level 5.”
Earlier, when Su Li had used the “Peeping Rune” to observe Chen Xiangyu, he’d noticed a detail about Chen Xiangyu possessing a Source Art. At the time, he hadn’t known what a Source Art was, but hearing Xu Haishui’s explanation now made it clear.
“You’re saying that reaching level 5 allows you to awaken a Source Art? It’s like a special ability but much stronger, right?” Su Li grew curious about this Source Art, especially since Chen Xiangyu’s “Steel Skin” had been truly monstrous. If Xu Haishui hadn’t known his weakness, killing him would have been nearly impossible.
Xu Haishui said, “Chen Xiangyu mentioned that going from level 4 to level 5 is a qualitative leap. The change is huge—several level 4s working together couldn’t take down a single level 5. Su… Su-ge… you’re not level 5?”
Just now, Su Li had said they’d all reach level 5 together, and Xu Haishui had assumed he meant only himself, Ding Longyun, and the others, excluding him. Now hearing Su Li’s words, it seemed he didn’t even know about Source Arts. This shocked him—was Su Li really not a level 5 Source Artist?
He had always thought Su Li’s ghostly footwork was his Source Art.
Su Li shook his head. “I’m level 4, just like you.”
Xu Haishui took a deep breath, stunned, then his eyes gleamed with excitement and tension.
If Su Li was truly only level 4 and could still defeat a level 5 like Chen Xiangyu, then if he reached level 5 and underwent another qualitative leap, just how powerful would he become?
For the first time, Xu Haishui felt genuine hope—the hope of saving Zhang Ying.
“Su-ge, you’re incredible. A level 4 beating a level 5 Chen Xiangyu…” The more Xu Haishui thought about it, the more amazed he became, and he kept taking deep breaths.
Su Li remained calm, not letting it go to his head. “You said earlier that beneath every building, there might be a powerful monster hiding, drawing other monsters to it, eventually forming a monster nest. If that monster is killed or leaves, the nest’s monsters scatter too?”
“Yes,” Xu Haishui nodded, then looked at Su Li, unsure why he was asking this.
“I understand.” Based on the changes around him over the past day, Su Li confirmed the accuracy of this guess and formed a plan in his mind.
“Everyone, eat something and rest a bit. We’ll set off from here soon.”
Ding Longyun brought out a pot of freshly cooked rice. “Set off? Where to? Didn’t we say we’d go to the Zifeng Building after reaching level 5?”
Su Li said, “Not the Zifeng Building. We’re going to find monsters to hunt. Otherwise, how will we level up?”
Ding Longyun let out an “oh.” “I thought we were heading straight to the Zifeng Building. That scared me, heh heh.”
Gong Xiao smiled slightly. “I didn’t know Brother Ding could be scared too.”
Ding Longyun said, “Man, four level 5 Source Artists, each as tough as that Chen Xiangyu. Think about it—besides Su Li, who here could take one on?”
Gong Xiao nodded. “True. So even if we plan to go to the Zifeng Building, we need to be cautious and think it through. No rash moves.”
Su Li said, “All of this depends on us reaching level 5 today. Let’s eat quickly. We need to make the most of our time.”
No one dawdled. They finished their meal hastily, each grabbing their weapon, and followed Su Li to a balcony on the thirtieth floor that had been damaged by a Nightmare Beast. Outside the balcony, the raft was waiting.
Su Li said, “Wait here for me. I’ll go check the water and be right back.”
Ding Longyun’s eyes lit up. “Going into the water? Take me with you.”
Su Li shook his head. He still didn’t fully trust Xu Haishui and needed Ding Longyun and Gong Xiao to keep an eye on him. If Ding Longyun came with him, only Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui would be left, and he wasn’t comfortable with that.
Refusing Ding Longyun, Su Li leaped into the water, gripping his machete in his right hand. He dove quickly, following the building downward, passing the submerged twenty-ninth, twenty-eighth, twenty-seventh floors…
As he descended, he peered into each floor. He saw some Corpse Beasts and a few Sea Spiders, but both were sparse—nothing like the dense swarms he’d encountered before when entering the water.
“Just as I thought. With the Corpse Mother dead, the monsters here have gradually scattered. No wonder tossing down a corpse only attracted a few stragglers.”
Su Li checked five floors in a row and found the same situation. He decided not to go deeper and instead surfaced, choosing not to waste more time here.
He came and went quietly, not disturbing the few resting monsters, and soon broke the surface with a long exhale.
“What did you find?” Ding Longyun asked eagerly.
Su Li climbed back onto the raft. “The monsters down there have mostly dispersed. Only a few remain, not enough for us to reach level 5. Everyone, get on. We need to head elsewhere to find monsters.”