Chapter 37: Departure

“This seems a bit different from ordinary Cooking Art,” Xu Feng thought to himself, glancing at Suyi’s technique.

“Alright, a delicious mushroom soup is ready! Everyone, give my cooking a try! Hahahaha!” Suyi laughed heartily, her body trembling slightly with mirth.

Pulling bowls and chopsticks from her body, Suyi ladled out several servings of mushroom soup. Even Wang Ying’s Treant guard got a bowl.

After drinking the soup, a warm current instantly spread from Xu Feng’s stomach throughout his body. Along with the warmth came a strange and wonderful flavor that touched his taste buds, lingering long after he finished the last sip.

However, what surprised him even more was the mechanical voice that suddenly sounded in his ear.

“You have consumed delicious mushroom soup. Spirit Attribute permanently increased by 1 point. Energy recovery speed increased by 50% for the next three days. This effect can only occur once. Repeated consumption is ineffective.”

“This… this soup can actually increase my attributes!” Xu Feng exclaimed in shock.

“What’s so strange about that? You should know my Cooking Art is renowned across the entire universe, haha!” Suyi boasted with a loud laugh, immensely pleased.

Xu Feng’s eyes flashed with pleasant surprise. He quickly checked his own skill panel again. For the first time, he realized that his own good fortune might not be much worse than Wang Ying’s after all.

…

Several more days passed. Xu Feng gradually started trying the Gathering Art on Fish Monsters and practiced Suyi’s Cooking Art daily. His proficiency slowly increased with constant effort.

One day, Suyi suddenly announced, “I sense this planet’s Will is about to awaken. We must leave… today.”

“What? So soon?” Wang Ying gasped in surprise.

“Originally, I planned to continue touring this planet,” Suyi explained slowly. “But for your sake, I must take you away now. Once this planet’s Will awakens… it won’t let you leave.”

Xu Feng felt a pang of reluctance. Spending these days together, he realized he had developed a fondness for Wang Ying. He liked being near her.

Yet, for her future’s sake, he revealed nothing of his feelings.

“If that’s the case, Wang Ying, quickly pack and leave with Suyi,” Xu Feng managed, patting her shoulder, a touch of sadness in his voice. “Remember to study hard and raise your strength when you reach Planet Tataya.”

“Xu Feng, I…” Wang Ying’s face was etched with reluctance and sorrow. “I… I will come back.”

“Ah, of course! This is your home after all, haha!” Xu Feng forced a smile. “You absolutely must come back!”

“Yes. Definitely!” Wang Ying nodded vigorously.

“Good. We should hurry,” Suyi urged. “The nearest teleportation point is still some distance away. Time is short.”

“I’m ready,” Wang Ying nodded, her gaze locked on Xu Feng.

Suyi grasped Wang Ying with one hand and the young Treant Miao Miao with the other. They started walking forward slowly. As they walked, Xu Feng saw the space before Suyi seem to distort and tremble. Suyi pushed onward, stumbling forward heavily as if squeezing through an invisible barrier.

Gradually, Suyi’s and Wang Ying’s figures vanished from Xu Feng’s sight.

…

Xu Feng stood motionless, silently staring ahead.

…

He didn’t know how long he remained there when Earth’s Will abruptly spoke in his ear.

“My child… Earth now stands at a critical juncture between life and death. We… must grow stronger! We must evolve!”

The voice came quickly and left just as fast. After delivering its mysterious message, it fell silent.

But soon after, the mechanical voice sounded again.

“Task One concluded. Based on your overall performance, you gained 1000 Destiny Value. Earth’s Will watches you!”

“Task Two: Collect 100 One-Star Insect Crystals! 16/100. Time limit: 30 days. Reward: Randomly obtain one Bright Gold Grade equipment. Penalty: Randomly reduce one Attribute by one level.”

“What… what is all this?” Xu Feng was dumbfounded. This was completely different from his memories of his past life!

In his past life, there was no such thing as ‘Destiny Value’ at all! He’d just been briefly informed Task One was completed. Given he’d finished it almost immediately after it was issued this time, receiving extra rewards he never got before made some sense.

But what was this ‘Destiny Value’? It wasn’t Fate Points, just ‘Destiny Value’. Worse, there was absolutely no explanation about it in his virtual interface. Where was this supposed 1000 Destiny Value displayed? What good was it?

Furthermore, Xu Feng clearly remembered that Task Two had only required ten One-Star Insect Crystals. He’d already gathered that amount days ago. Surprisingly, the task issued now demanded ten times that number – one hundred crystals! While it wasn’t particularly difficult for him, randomly increasing the quantity felt wrong.

At least the reward had also improved significantly. Previously, it was just a Black Iron Grade weapon. Now? A Bright Gold Grade piece of gear! Xu Feng couldn’t help but recall the Bright Gold Grade one-handed staff Wang Ying once wielded…

“Fine then. First, I’ll need to finish this task,” Xu Feng murmured, taking a deep breath and tightening his grip on his long sword.

By the Resort Lake, Xu Feng purposely drew a group of Fish Monsters all by himself and began the tedious process of grinding them.

Even in his past life, he hadn’t dared to fight alone at Resort Lake. The sheer number of monsters made it easy to get surrounded and trapped. Back then, though, rumors of nearby chests had attracted plenty of people. With so many fighters around, Xu Feng hadn’t feared the Fish Monsters and spent a long time there.

This life, his strength was sufficient for solo grinding here. It brought back memories of those earlier times, making Xu Feng sigh with emotion.

With his Two Star Peak strength, his Black Iron Grade long sword, and his SSS-Grade Divine Grade talent, he could fight multiple battles even when surrounded by a group of Two-Star monsters. Especially since One-Star Fish Monsters were the main force here; Two-Star ones appeared only occasionally.

Xu Feng always prioritized killing any Two-Star Fish Monsters he found. One-Star Insect Crystals barely helped him improve now; it took three or four just to raise a single Innate Attribute Point – hardly cost-effective. Plus, he needed a full hundred Insect Crystals for Task Two. That’s why Xu Feng had been grinding monsters at the Resort Lake these past few days.

“When can I get a Virtual Backpack? This is terribly inconvenient,” Xu Feng thought, eyeing the piles of materials filling the room, feeling genuinely troubled.