Although Lilith could see the worry in Bai Zemin's eyes, and also noticed how his mood dimmed considerably, for the first time since they met she had no words of encouragement for him.
In the past month, no matter what the circumstances were and no matter how dark the path Bai Zemin had ahead of him seemed, she was always similar to a spotlight that became his guide and illuminated every step he took with a smile.
But concerning the Firmament Fragments, even Lilith knew little or basically nothing. The only thing she knew about it was what she had learned after joining The Demonic Army, and even then it wasn't much aside from basic information.
"Firmament Fragments use Soul Power as a source of energy." Lilith quietly analyzed as she looked intently at Bai Zemin to make sure he understood every word she said. "The problem is that such Soul Power needs to be provided by a living existence, after all, Firmament Fragments are just that, fragments of a constellation left behind by a supreme existence that once reigned over all other living beings. You understand what I mean by this, don't you?"
Bai Zemin nodded and said in a heavy voice, "Constellations are basically remnants left behind by existences like the Ice Goddess Skadi, so that the universe will never forget her existence. As for Firmament Fragments, they are part of the will left behind by such beings.... This means that Firmament Fragments use the Soul Power that entities like the Ice Goddess Skadi left within them but which will gradually deplete until it disappears."
"Correct." Lilith nodded with glittering eyes. "The Soul Power that entities like Ice Goddess Skadi left inside the Firmament Fragments is so much that even after hundreds of thousands, millions, and even billions of years for the strongest ones, the Firmament Fragments should be able to handle the slow loss of Soul Power... However, since that Soul Power is not infinite, they naturally need to receive more Soul Power from another source or they will disappear forever."
"The spatial rifts..." Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes and a glint of wisdom flashed in his pupils.
Lilith smiled slightly and nodded, "You understand quickly. It is correct. When a Firmament Fragment is on the verge of disappearing and losing its strength due to the depletion of Soul Power stored in its interior, the constellations open a spatial rift and attract countless universal powers in an attempt to obtain a new source of Soul Power."
Now even without Lilith continuing to explain Bai Zemin had already managed to get a great picture of how things worked.
"That's why you said earlier that the spatial rifts opened by the constellations only happen once in a lifetime per constellation, isn't it?" Bai Zemin sighed gloomily.
Lilith nodded again and pointed out, "Precisely. Because that rift is the final effort to obtain a holder to provide them with Soul Power, if no being manages to overcome the trials and receive the Firmament Fragment's approval, then the constellation will be sealed forever along with the Firmament Fragment with no power within it."
Basically, the Firmament Fragments needed the soul evolvers in order to continue to exist and extend the will of existence that left them in this universe to begin with. In exchange for receiving the constant nourishment of Soul Power, the holder of a Firmament Fragment would receive a great boost of power and the ability to utilize some of the power of that existence left behind in the form of will.
A win-win situation without a doubt... However, Bai Zemin's concern only grew even more after understanding all of this.
"Sirius Heavenly Wolf's constellation probably used an astronomical amount of Soul Power to find their best candidate, namely you, and an even larger amount to try to communicate with you." Lilith calmly analyzed and gently tapped her succulent red lips with the tip of her index finger before continuing.
"Even for one of the most powerful Firmament Fragments, performing such actions would undoubtedly shorten its timespan by a large portion. We may be worried for nothing, and there might still be a lot of time left. But I think you'd better hurry up and seize every opportunity you have to level up or else there's a chance that Sirius' Will will vanish forever."
Bai Zemin kept silent. He was already basically doing everything he could and really didn't know what else to do to become strong faster.
In about 1 month and 1 week, he had gone from being nothing to an existence that was about to reach level 50 and obtain a job more advanced than his current one. This progress could be considered monstrous no matter how one looked at it, which was completely natural considering the terrifyingly high number of First Order beings Bai Zemin was forced to face and defeat; even an evolved Second Order beast!
He was even enduring day and night all sorts of anxieties and worries, trying to resist the constant annoyance he felt at having to take care of so many survivors at the same time; all for the sake of gaining that minimal boost of overall power and becoming more powerful in the long run as well.
The amount of time he slept could be considered meager at best.
Still, he was not a person who liked to complain or look for excuses. Therefore, he looked up at the brightest star in the sky and said resolutely, "All right. I'll think out something."
No buts, no hesitation, no delay. Lilith looked at him with a proud smile and nodded: "That's how a man should be. How could that little woman named Wu Yijun resist a hottie like you?"
Bai Zemin rolled his eyes and refrained from commenting on this matter, wisely deciding not to enter into a discussion that was of no importance to him at the moment. Therefore, he began to carefully digest all the new knowledge he had just received and also to analyze in detail the new things he learned about Lilith a few moments ago.
With him immersed in his own thoughts, Lilith also kept silent and continued to look up at the distant starry sky. Her eyes contained complex emotions while a small inaudible sigh slipped from her hot red lips.
She too needed time to think about the many things that were slowly changing.
* * *
The night passed without any major inconveniences.
Bai Zemin did not close his eyes at any time except to blink and even when he was thinking or analyzing countless matters in his mind he did not forget his main objective; to protect the safety of Shangguan Bing Xue, who for the next 24 hours would be passed out and completely vulnerable.
The mana inside Shangguan Bing Xue's body was constantly shaking fiercely as her soul slowly began to assimilate the lightning-like energy contained in the treasure fruit she consumed earlier. When that lightning-like energy were completely digested and assimilated by the mana, she would finally be able to awaken and obtain the active skill Second Order Lightning Movement level 5 as a reward without consuming a precious slot for external active skills.
Although the moon had descended and the sun ascended, it was still several more hours before Shangguan Bing Xue would open her eyes again. After all, she had consumed the Lightning Fruit the day before just as the sun was slowly setting in the distant horizon.
Therefore, until the late afternoon hours, Bai Zemin would have to stay by her side to prevent any unwanted contingencies from happening.
The current Shangguan Bing Xue was so weak that probably even the weakest survivor could kill her with a headshot. This was because she did not necessarily possess the passive skill Bronze Skin that would protect her from minor and intermediate caliber shots just like Bai Zemin.
If something bad happened to her during this period of time, not only would she lose all the trust she had in Bai Zemin after experiencing so many battlefields and situations together, but Bai Zemin would also likely lose a powerful and valuable ally.
Since such things were unforgivable, he stayed in her room all night and basically all the next day.
A maid tried to enter the room but was directly chased out by Bai Zemin. Instead, little Xiang Feng walked in soon after with a tray containing several dishes of hot food recently prepared for him.
Xiang Feng stayed for a while with Bai Zemin, chatting about many different things, before leaving to keep her mother company.
At around 18 PM, it had already been about 24 hours since Bai Zemin had been in Shangguan Bing Xue's room protecting her.
Just as he was wondering when she would wake up, he felt a slight fluctuation of mana inside the room that caught his attention and made his muscles tense as he abruptly stood up.
However, the next second he finally relaxed and a faint smile rose on his no-longer-normal face.
The delicate eyelids adorned by thin eyelashes matching the silver hair of the beautiful woman who had been lying in bed keeping exactly the same position for 24 hours quivered gently for a moment before finally beginning to move upward slowly.
Her blue eyes were unfocused and her body was hot, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Before Shangguan Bing Xue had time to think and remember what had happened, a message flashed across her retina.
[Congratulations! You have learned Second Order active skill Level 5 'Lightning Movement']!
Shangguan Bing Xue closed her eyes again and sighed in her heart after reading the description of the skill and understanding what it could do.
Just like that, in just 1 day, she obtained an incredibly powerful skill just by eating a strange fruit that mutated due to the world's mana. Even her strongest skill, Ice Maker, was only a First Order level 5 skill at the moment but it was already so powerful. Shangguan Bing Xue could not finish imagining how powerful the Lightining Movement skill was.
Even a person far weaker than her, Cai Jingyi, managed to wound the Second Order Archaic Bear and make one of its claws explode thanks to her cunning and thanks to the power of several grenades. Just based on this alone one could imagine how terrifying the skill was if it was utilized in the right way at the right time.
Shangguan Bing Xue realized that what Bai Zemin gave her was a gift too great for words to describe. What he had done in giving her that precious fruit was not very different from giving her a huge life preserver, and she was aware of this fact.
When she opened her eyes once again, she immediately saw Bai Zemin standing by the window about three or four meters away from where her bed was.
He was still wearing his black combat armor and from her position Shangguan Bing Xue could see the top of the leather couch slightly pushed inward, indicating that not long ago a person had been sitting there. But more importantly, she realized that in order to leave a mark that had not yet completely disappeared, a person would need to sit in the same position and in the same place for many hours in a row.
"You were here all this time?" She asked calmly. Even she herself had not noticed that her usual indifference had softened slightly when she spoke this time.
Bai Zemin did not look at her. Instead, he watched the sunset through the window as he unhurriedly replied, "Since you entrusted your life to me with so much faith in me, it's the least I can do... That aside, since you're already awake I'll go first. I still have things to do."
He didn't wait for a reply and walked straight to the exit.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3