"Based on this prompt, leveling up to 6 only brings some basic ability improvements, and the Spirit Source Technique only gets a minor boost. So the gap between level 5 and 6 isn't big—a strong level 5 could even beat a level 6. But it seems level 7 is different."
According to the recent information prompt, once the level reaches 7, the Spirit Source Technique will enter its second form, bringing a qualitative leap in power.
It's easy to imagine that a level 7 Spirit Source user would experience a stunning surge in strength, making levels 5 and 6 incomparable.
This hint excited Su Li, and he looked forward to reaching level 7 soon. He was curious about how powerful the second form of "Demon Muscles" would become.
From the shattered blood-red crystals below, besides the Spirit Source, a blood-red orb flew out and merged into Su Li's chest.
"The blood crystal is the energy core of the Blood Crystal Beast, a treasure. When fused with Spirit Source, you will obtain... insufficient Spirit Source, cannot fuse. Requires a level 8 Spirit Source user to successfully fuse."
Su Li had just felt a thrill, wondering what the fused blood crystal would grant, only to be immediately told that his Spirit Source was insufficient and fusion was impossible—it required a level 8 Spirit Source user.
This made Su Li want to curse.
"Killing the Blood Crystal Beast definitely gave more than nine Spirit Sources, but I was just nine short of leveling up. The remaining effective Spirit Sources were wasted and don't count."
Once you level up, any excess effective Spirit Sources reset to zero. He still needed a full ninety Spirit Sources to reach level 7, and from level 7 to 8, the required number would likely exceed a hundred. Calculating this, Su Li figured he'd need at least two hundred effective Spirit Sources to reach level 8 and unlock the blood crystal.
"Two hundred—it's not a small number, but it doesn't seem huge either. With some effort, I can get it."
Su Li smiled, climbed up the giant pit, and quickly got out. Above, Ding Longyun and the others had been urging him, watching as he stood alone at the bottom of the pit, the water rising deeper while he just stood there dumbly.
Ding Longyun suspected that the backlash from the "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" might have stunned his mind.
Jiang Shuijue and her two companions hadn't left. After Su Li killed the silver-armored giant beast, Jiang Shuijue grew curious about him and wanted to recruit him.
Although killing the silver-armored giant beast didn't necessarily mean his strength surpassed theirs—since battles involve many factors like counters—it was clear that Su Li was powerful and a rare talent.
Su Li climbed out of the pit and saw the towering Purple Wind Building ahead, less than thirty meters from the floating island that was the Blood Crystal Beast's corpse.
"That was close," Su Li exhaled deeply, wiping the rain from his face. He noticed the rain was gradually easing.
"Hello, Su Li." Jiang Shuijue smiled warmly.
Su Li nodded to her, grateful. "Thank you three for your timely help. Without you, we couldn't have stopped the Blood Crystal Beast."
He felt a strong liking for these three who came to assist, especially Jiang Shuijue, whose smile was very friendly.
"As I said, we're all fellow humans. Now that the city has turned like this, with monsters everywhere, we should unite and help each other."
Jiang Shuijue paused briefly before asking, "You mentioned Tao Bingjun left earlier. Who's in charge of Purple Wind Building now?"
She looked at the group before her, noticing that the leaders she'd seen once before at Purple Wind Building were all gone. She had a vague idea of what happened, but she didn't mind, as she had no good impression of Tao Bingjun and his crew.
Su Li smiled and looked around before replying, "Purple Wind Building is mainly run by us now. You're from Jinhui Center Tower—who's in charge there?"
Jiang Shuijue didn't answer, but Gu Mingfeng beside her chuckled, "Jinhui Center is under Sister Jue's command. What she says goes, and we all follow her."
Su Li was surprised. "I see. Would you three like to come into Purple Wind Building for a bit? Standing out here in the rain isn't pleasant."
Su Li extended an invitation. Jiang Shuijue's eyes flickered as she glanced at the many rafts around Purple Wind Building, loaded with supplies. The rafts were being re-docked, and people were moving goods back inside.
"I think you all must be busy now, so I won't intrude. I'll visit another time. Of course, you're welcome to come to Jinhui Center whenever you like."
"Sure, definitely." Su Li smiled, and Ding Longyun added, "Absolutely. Jinhui Center is only about five kilometers from here—just a short trip."
"Right, our raft drifted off somewhere. We'll need to borrow one from Brother Su."
"No problem." Su Li signaled Xu Haishui, who hurried toward Purple Wind Building.
Su Li and the others accompanied Jiang Shuijue's group to the edge of the floating island, where Xu Haishui waited with a paddle and raft.
Meanwhile, Bai Wenwei paddled another raft over to pick up Su Li's group.
"Earlier, Miss Jiang mentioned Tao Bingjun. Do you know him?" Su Li asked curiously.
"Yes, we met once." Jiang Shuijue replied flatly, seeming reluctant to elaborate.
Gu Mingfeng interjected, "We were out looking for the sea cow beast's lair and ran into two groups—one was Gao Shupeng from Golden Eagle, and the other was Tao Bingjun and his people. He had a few with him, like Wang Zhensheng and some fat guy I forgot. There was a minor clash between the three sides, but no one was sure of victory, so it fizzled out. Tao Bingjun's group had foul mouths and no manners, so we really disliked them."
Su Li nodded slightly, uninterested in the conflict but curious about their search for the sea cow beast's lair. He hesitated to ask, as it might involve privacy, but Ding Longyun bluntly inquired, "What's a sea cow beast? Why were you looking for its lair?"
Jiang Shuijue and her companions were visibly taken aback, then Jiang Shuijue smiled. "The sea cow beast has tender, nutritious meat with no side effects. With food scarce, finding its lair could temporarily solve the food problem. Word has spread—don't you know?"
Su Li and the others shook their heads. Ding Longyun laughed, "Now we do."
They chatted as they walked to the edge of the floating island, where Jiang Shuijue's group boarded the raft.
"We'll take our leave." Jiang Shuijue bid farewell to Su Li. Though she wanted to recruit him, she held back, thinking the timing wasn't right. For now, she'd built a good connection, which might prove useful later.
The three departed on the raft as the torrential rain turned into a fine drizzle.
Su Li and the others returned to Purple Wind Building. Bai Wenwei was directing everyone to move supplies from the rafts back to the 37th floor.
After the scare, everyone felt a sense of relief.
Su Li took a shower and changed into clean clothes. When he came out, all the supplies had been moved back inside, and the rain had finally stopped.
Looking down from a height at the floating island less than thirty meters from Purple Wind Building, Su Li thought that if more Blood Crystal Beasts appeared and were killed, merging their floating islands together could create land.
Whether drawn to the floating island or not, many monsters had climbed onto it to rest—some advanced corpse beasts, others different kinds of Spirit Source beasts.
Su Li recalled Jiang Shuijue's mention of the sea cow beast, a Spirit Source beast that could be eaten without side effects.
"Maybe it's not just the sea cow beast; we've only discovered it so far. Too bad I haven't encountered one."
Su Li pondered. Purple Wind Building housed over thirty people. Spirit Source users had big appetites, consuming a shocking amount of food daily. Though they'd gathered supplies earlier, without a steady food source, serious problems would arise soon.
"For now, drinking water isn't a big issue. Yan Fang is making more water purifiers. Once they're done, that problem's solved. The main concerns are food and fuel."
Earlier, Tao Bingjun had sent people to collect supplies everywhere, scouring the area around Purple Wind Building. They'd found a few gas canisters, enough for now, but it wouldn't last long. They needed other solutions, and food was the top priority.
Su Li had focused on gathering supplies before, and with just Ding Longyun, Xu Xuehui, and a few others, the stock lasted a while. But now that he was in charge of Purple Wind Building, with over thirty mouths to feed daily, the situation had changed. Collectible supplies were limited—they'd already searched this area thoroughly, and going farther was the only option.
Jiang Shuijue's words gave Su Li a new idea.
"This world suddenly flooded beyond reason, and mysterious Spirit Sources appeared, allowing humans to evolve, along with countless Spirit Source beasts. There must be some logic to it. If some of these beasts are like the livestock we used to raise—pigs, cows, sheep—then the food problem is solved. I need to look into this."
Just then, a voice interrupted: "What are you thinking about so deeply? Is it Miss Jiang Shuijue?"