In essence, according to Cellular Cosmology, being able to return to reality after going into the microscopic world was just the basics. The important thing was to be able to maintain his consciousness. If w.a.n.g Zhong couldn't do that, what use was it even if he could enter the microscopic world?
Once again, it was proved that Cellular Cosmology was right. As w.a.n.g Zhong delved deeper, his mind wasn't as groggy, and he could maintain his consciousness to a certain degree. However, he still needed to practice more to hone his skills. Perfection couldn't be achieved overnight.
"That scared me. w.a.n.g Zhong, can you be more prudent? You should just change your name to Fool." Simba waited until now to come out. Previously, when w.a.n.g Zhong lost consciousness, Simba tried to wake him up, but it was no use. If anything untoward happened, Simba would be trapped inside too.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Wait, you're cursing me because you want one less love rival, huh?"
"You're finally admitting it? As expected, you have ulterior motives towards my Teacher Daier!" Simba pursed his lips in anger.
w.a.n.g Zhong laughed, scratching his head which looked like a bird's nest. He had been sitting at the same spot for the past few days, not moving at all. He was covered in dust from head to toe. "I'm gonna take a shower to freshen myself up."
He checked his Skylink messages on the way and realized there were many people who had sent him messages in the past few days.
There were two messages from the Wanderl.u.s.t Team. Oscar had invited him on a mission, but he had already set off with the team before w.a.n.g Zhong could reply. Grai and Sharmie sent him messages too, but it was just daily greetings, and it wasn't very important stuff. However, the oldest and most recent messages were sent by Laura.
"w.a.n.g Zhong, I've just come out from closed-door cultivation. Want to meet?" That message was sent a week ago, probably just before w.a.n.g Zhong entered Teacher Lan Daier's laboratory. He didn't seem to have had the time to check his Skylink since then.
The other message was sent this morning. "w.a.n.g Zhong, are you there? I need your help with something. Reply if you see this."
Frankly speaking, Laura was considered one of his closest friends among all the friends who entered the Holy City. She was somewhere in between a friend and a close confidante. However, after they entered the Holy City, they drifted apart because of various things, or rather, they just didn't keep in contact that often.
Sometimes, it wasn't that there was any problem between the two people. It was just hard to take a stand when it concerned a family member.
No matter what, w.a.n.g Zhong was still concerned about Laura as a friend. Since she needed his help, he didn't have any reason to refuse.
w.a.n.g Zhong replied to his Skylink quickly before going into the bathroom. When he came out, Laura was already video-calling him on the Skylink, which rang non-stop on the table.
w.a.n.g Zhong didn't hesitate and picked it up while half-naked in his towel. He was using another towel to dry his hair. "Hi, it's been too long."
"Hey! It's… uh… it's been too long." Laura's voice rang from the other side of the Skylink.
w.a.n.g Zhong was obviously in the Holy City this whole time, but he didn't reply to her messages. This kept Laura thinking. It was as if everyone around her changed after she came out of her closed-door cultivation. Frankly speaking, she had already accepted Molton's suggestion wholeheartedly for a chance to save w.a.n.g Zhong, and also, she wanted to try to let go of her feelings.
During these past two days, Laura could feel her feelings for him diminishing. However, she felt herself blushing at the sudden sight of her crush half-naked. Her heart was beating loudly. w.a.n.g Zhong, who had just come out of the shower, still had water droplets on his hair. With the sunlight shining him from outside, he seemed like a beam of sunshine. This guy's figure was still so perfect.
"What do you need help with?" w.a.n.g Zhong wiped his hair casually and put his towel around his shoulders. "No need to stand on ceremony," he said with a smile.
w.a.n.g Zhong had been rather cooped up these past few days. He wasn't a crazy person who liked to torture himself. He needed to be in another environment for the sake of his mental health. It would be pretty nice to engage in battle now. Cellular Cosmology wasn't something for a normal person; the author himself was crazy.
"Ahem… so…" Laura was partially fangirling over him and was brought back to reality at the sound of w.a.n.g Zhong's voice. Why was she like this when she had already decided to let go of her feelings… She coughed twice to cover up her embarra.s.sment and fix her face.
She had already agreed to Molton's suggestion previously; he then contacted Kadin Musk and gained permission. Originally, Laura didn't think it was a must to bring w.a.n.g Zhong on this journey. The main objective was to get that thing from Paradise Island. It would be fine if she brought it back for w.a.n.g Zhong. However, both Kadin and Molton requested w.a.n.g Zhong to be present on this trip.
In Molton's words, it was a training opportunity to go to Paradise Island and a rare chance too. Since they were helping w.a.n.g Zhong, they might as well offer him more help. The odd thing was that Kadin knew about her feelings for w.a.n.g Zhong, yet he still agreed to it. This let Laura change her opinion of Kadin. Perhaps this arrogant guy wasn't as proud and cold as he appeared to be.
"The Holy Disciple rank-advancement compet.i.tion is nearing, and my brother wants to bring me to the Musk Family's Paradise Island to find something to help me in the compet.i.tion. There are not enough people though… w.a.n.g Zhong, can you come over and help? You will get a share of what we find."
Laura had been practicing this speech for a long time, having pondered over it for some time. She knew w.a.n.g Zhong's personality well. He was too proud to accept others' help, so she had to word it carefully. He wouldn't reject her if she asked him for help.
"No problem." As expected, w.a.n.g Zhong didn't hesitate and agreed immediately. He didn't even care what kind of mission it was.
With his current power, why should he worry?
It was great that he agreed. "The aim this time is to get the Heart of the Heart-Eating Ape. It sounds like a little tongue-twister, right? It's a unique Dimensional lifeform on Paradise Island. If you eat it while in the Heroic Soul Stage, there's a fifty percent chance you could reach Peak Heroic Soul Stage instantly." Laura heaved a sigh of relief secretly and explained.
"There's such a thing?" w.a.n.g Zhong was rather surprised and didn't really believe her. With Teacher Lan Daier's power, she had spent her utmost effort on helping him; this was in addition to his unique talent which had allowed him to reach the Peak Heroic Soul Stage. A whatever ape's heart could help you reach the Peak Heroic Soul Stage instantly? If such a good deal existed, there would be no need for the existence of gourmets.
"Are there any side effects?"
"Nope. However, this Peak Heroic Soul Stage power is temporary. Depending on an individual's potential, this power can last for about seven days. This can be considered an interim jump in power."
This made more sense to w.a.n.g Zhong. This only let you have a taste of the Peak Heroic Soul Stage power, and there was only a 50 percent success rate. This didn't have an important effect on your cultivation journey. However, if this was used to deal with the compet.i.tion that was coming in a few days, it would be a divine weapon. This was probably something that Laura's family prepared for her.
"Okay, just send me the details regarding when and where we are meeting. I'll definitely help."
The time and date set was the morning of the following day. When w.a.n.g Zhong arrived, he saw quite a few familiar faces. Other than Laura and Molton, there were three other people beside them who were present during the gathering at Okuyama Domoto's house: Faye, Robben, and Helen. They seemed to be very good friends of Molton and the backbone of the Phantom Squadron.
Upon seeing w.a.n.g Zhong, these people smiled at him but didn't really bother interacting with him. They were here because of Molton and also to watch the drama unfold. All of them knew Molton's intention. Having him as a brother, Laura had a good life indeed.
Molton's clique was not considered to be super popular among the Holy Disciples, but they were doing quite well on the whole. w.a.n.g Zhong had heard Feng mention before that Molton's clique was built on the foundation of the Phantom Squadron, one of the top 10 exploration teams in the Holy City. All of them were part of the backbone of the Phantom Squadron, and Molton was even the squad leader of one of its elite squads. Don't think that it was nothing much to be a squad leader. The hierarchy among Holy Disciples was very strict. Before Oscar founded the Wanderl.u.s.t Team, he used to be a squad leader in Imperial Court, another one of the top 10 exploration teams.
This sort of person wasn't only individually strong, they had people following them too. With power and influence, they were definitely considered to be in the 'promising future cla.s.s' among the Holy Disciples.
"There's only six of us going?" w.a.n.g Zhong didn't think much of it; he was just here to help Laura. No wonder she said there weren't enough people; this was a lack of manpower indeed.
"The main character will arrive soon. Without him, we can't go to the Musks' Paradise Island. w.a.n.g Zhong, there are many factors that will affect your chances of progressing in the Holy City. You can't afford to be willful." Molton laughed, his words seemingly unintentional.
Faye chuckled. "w.a.n.g Zhong, you gotta change your temper. This time, we're telling you this in advance. You can't just say anything you want and offend others like last time. We're asking him for a favor, so don't ruin it for everyone."
"Senior Brother Kadin isn't as nice as Senior Brother Domoto. He's one of the higher-ranked squad leaders in the Phantom Squadron." Although Helen was from the Mystic Sect, she was Faye's best friend and one of the members of Molton's team. She echoed the others. All of them knew who would be the star of the show today, and they were ready to take sides.
Molton merely promised Laura to help w.a.n.g Zhong. However, if he had really wanted to fulfill Laura's wish, with his and Kadin's power, they could definitely form their own team to get the Heart of the Heart-Eating Ape. There were many tools in the Holy City that could have preserved the freshness of the heart, and they could have easily saved one for w.a.n.g Zhong. There was no need for him to come along and be an eyesore, ruining the chances of Kadin wooing Laura. Nonetheless, they wanted w.a.n.g Zhong to come so that Laura could see the truth for herself, as well as to show how powerful Kadin was. Flowers needed green leaves to complement their beauty. Did this dude really think that anyone needed his help on this trip?
"Haha, beware of Senior Brother Kadin whooping your a.s.s." Robben laughed heartily. It was fun to create drama; furthermore, this was under the lead of their team leader. Everyone thought that Kadin would be the correct choice for Laura. Besides, they didn't really like w.a.n.g Zhong. Teaching him a lesson now would be better for him, lest he made another enemy who was crueler than them. At least the people here knew where to draw the line.
Hearing the others march along to their own tune, w.a.n.g Zhong merely smiled. He thought it was a little odd that they talked so much to him. He was just there to help. Well, they had good intentions in general, and also, out of regard for Laura's feelings, he didn't take any offense. Besides, this didn't harm him in any way. However, Laura was made a little uncomfortable by the others' behavior. She gave w.a.n.g Zhong an apologetic glance but didn't rebut them.
Of course, she knew what Molton was trying to say. Nevertheless and frankly speaking, w.a.n.g Zhong would have to bear with some stuff if he wanted to gain power. There was no such thing as a free lunch. If w.a.n.g Zhong really wanted to become stronger, this was something he would have to learn.
While waiting, w.a.n.g Zhong was pondering over his own stuff. Other than the more obvious changes such as the increase in his Soul Power and the construction of his Soul Core, he only discovered more and more about the various benefits of reaching the Peak Heroic Soul Stage these past two days.
Molton and the others seemed uninterested in chatting with w.a.n.g Zhong. Laura seemed to be a little awkward in front of her brother. After waiting for around 10 minutes, the supposed star of the show finally appeared.
It was a blond young man who was rather handsome and had a sunny disposition. He was dressed in a simple outfit, the standard Sparta Clan Holy Disciple attire. However, this outfit seemed particularly striking on his perfect figure. This made w.a.n.g Zhong's eyes light up, not because of his looks, but because of his power. It was hard to see through a person's true power in normal circ.u.mstances, but you could tell a little bit from the person's aura and suss it out from other details. This guy was pretty interesting.
w.a.n.g Zhong narrowed his eyes and sized him up, a little interested in him. There were three people behind Kadin Musk. w.a.n.g Zhong didn't recognize the two bald and bulky men, but the other one was a familiar face.
It was Tianqiong Musk. Before the CHF started, he was predicted to be one of the top 10 experts in the CHF and was hailed as a new star that could revive the Musk Family. However, he seemed to have disappeared after being thrashed by Mario. He had been rather quiet in the Holy City, just like Divian and the others who had blended into the sea of newcomers there. Even until now, w.a.n.g Zhong hadn't heard much of any news about Divian. He only heard from Sharmie that Divian chose to join the Sparta Clan, but Sharmie had never seen her there.
Kadin Musk, Tianqiong Musk, the Musk Family's Paradise Island. w.a.n.g Zhong seemed to understand something. It appeared that these aristocratic family members were still able to enjoy some special treatment in the Holy City.
"Brother Kadin!"
"Hi, Senior Brother Kadin!" Helen sounded a little resentful. As a female Holy Disciple in the Mystic Sect, she had her fair share of admirers in the Holy City, but she only had eyes for Kadin. It was a pity that Kadin fancied Laura.
"Sorry, some stuff cropped up in the team just now, and I got held up, making me late. My apologies for making everyone wait." Kadin Musk's smile was very contagious and charming. He shook hands with Molton first when he walked over. "Brother Molton, you won't blame me, right?"
"Why would I? We just got here as well. Nice timing." Molton laughed heartily. "We'll need your help today."
