212: Heading to Horse King Hill

Gourmet Hotel, inside Nakiri Erina's suite.

Kobayashi Rindō was sprawled ungracefully in the soft sofa, her arms tightly clutching the constantly struggling Wall Penguin cub—Youyou. She buried her face deep into Youyou's fluffy, warm belly, letting out a satisfied sigh: "Mmm... so soft..."

"You! Youyou!" Youyou was being squeezed so hard it could barely breathe, its round eyes filled with despair, yet it couldn't escape the "clutches" of this red-haired witch.

Nakiri Erina sat not far away, the screen in front of her scrolling with dense data obtained from the Gourmet Casino. Although the content regarding cooking techniques didn't make up the largest portion, the sheer volume made it an incredible information bank.

Kobayashi Rindō playfully treated Youyou like a cushion, turning it around in her arms, causing the little guy to let out dissatisfied "Youyou" protests. She happened to look up and noticed that although Nakiri Erina was staring at the screen, her brow was slightly furrowed, her concentration tinged with a hint of distraction.

"Hey, Erina," Kobayashi Rindō partially loosened her grip on Youyou, letting it crawl away panting, while she tilted her head toward the desk. "You look like you have a lot on your mind. Is this data that hard to understand?"

Hearing this, Nakiri Erina looked away from the screen and sighed softly, her sigh carrying obvious worry: "It's not the data... it's Lin Luo, he hasn't come back yet."

"Oh, that." Kobayashi Rindō waved her hand dismissively, scooping the trying-to-escape Youyou back into her arms. "Didn't we hear from that blue-haired kid, Toriko, that Lin Luo would be back later? Besides, his strength is so monstrous, what danger could there be? He'll definitely show up alive and kicking before long."

"Just how long is 'before long'?" Nakiri Erina's voice lowered, her fingertips unconsciously tapping on the desk. "That's the Gourmet World; not many people come out alive."

"Oh, you're so annoying!" Kobayashi Rindō got a bit impatient with her worried look and rubbed Youyou's head vigorously. "This isn't like you at all!"

Nakiri Erina was taken aback by this sudden comment and looked at her helplessly: "How am I not like myself?"

Kobayashi Rindō rolled her eyes and let go of Youyou, allowing it to finally escape her clutches and scurry under the sofa.

She sat up straight, pointed at Nakiri Erina, and said in an exaggerated tone: "Young Miss! I'm talking about the high-and-mighty 'Gods Tongue' Nakiri Erina of Tōtsuki, who is almost heartlessly indifferent to anything outside of cooking! Look at you now, worrying and being restless over a man... in this world, you don't look like the 'Queen' from the academy at all!"

"It's, it's not that exaggerated..." Nakiri Erina's cheeks flushed slightly as she retorted with a lack of confidence, her voice trailing off.

At Tōtsuki, she was a lonely Genius, an heir, and a judge; emotions and concerns were strictly isolated from the pure world of cooking. But here, in this world where crisis and miracles coexisted, meeting, standing alongside, and even the worry of being separated from Lin Luo were quietly changing her.

She stopped looking at Kobayashi Rindō's teasing eyes and turned her gaze back to the data, trying to fill the gaps in her thoughts with that difficult knowledge.

Kobayashi Rindō looked at Nakiri Erina's feigned concentration, curled her lip, said nothing more, and lay back on the sofa to stare at the ceiling.

In her golden eyes, the laziness faded, revealing a bit of deep thought.

Lin Luo... that man.

Thinking of their first meeting in the Gitar alley, and his crushing prowess in the Casino... he was ridiculously strong, yet not a cold-blooded monster. He would stand up to powerful enemies for them, and casually handle the huge sum of money he won, saying he wanted to "save the poor."

Contradictory, mysterious, and truly strong.

Different from those guys at Tōtsuki, and different from the scum in Gitar.

Nakiri Erina had changed because of him.

"Tch." She clicked her tongue softly. Why was she thinking about that guy? That monster definitely wouldn't die; he might even be living it up in the Gourmet World.

It was just... her golden eyes glanced at the gray sky outside the window.

When would he be back?

This thought landed softly; even she didn't realize that beneath that bit of deep thought lay a faint concern, much like Nakiri Erina's.

Eighth Continent!

Rain Continent!

The earth felt as if it were undergoing a never-ending magnitude eight earthquake; every heavy impact from the sky made the entire land tremble violently, with a non-stop roar.

The clouds in the sky were like a crazy switch had been flipped; "mounds" over a hundred meters in diameter, resembling small mountain peaks, were crashing down one after another from the thick, leaden clouds!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment each "small mound" made contact with the ground, it erupted with the terrifying power of a meteorite impact! The earth was smashed into deep craters, shockwaves kicked up circular waves of soil, and a massive wave of dust instantly swallowed the area hundreds of meters around the impact point.

However, the air on this continent, which was exceptionally heavy and viscous due to the constant influence of the Horse King's breathing, acted like an invisible wall, quickly stopping and suppressing the further spread of smoke and dust.

Lin Luo, standing in a relatively safe area, looked up at this cataclysmic scene that defied common sense, his eyes unable to hide his astonishment: "Mountain Range Rain?"

Amidst this apocalyptic falling scenery, an even more massive figure was weaving and soaring through the densely falling "Mountain Range Rain" with staggering agility!

It was a super-giant pelican! Its body length was immeasurable, its wingspan blotted out the sun, and its fluid form created a sharp contrast of motion and stillness against the heavy, falling mountains.

The Mountain-Swallowing Pelican aimed at a hundred-meter mound whistling downward. Its massive beak, like the most precise catching net, calmly scooped the heavy mountain out of the air, holding it easily in its mouth, and then flapped its wings to fly away, disappearing into the misty rain and falling rocks.

"The world is vast; there's nothing too strange for it," Lin Luo whispered, watching the direction where the giant bird had disappeared.

Swallowing mountain ranges like pecking at grain—this had already surpassed his past limits of understanding "living creatures." The vastness and wonder of the Gourmet World challenged common sense with every revelation.

And this further strengthened his determination to seek out the true Dominator of this continent.

Since he had set foot on this "Rain Continent" by chance, wouldn't it be too much of a pity not to see the ruling king of the entire continent? It could even be said to be a wasted trip.

"The Hill of the Horse Kings is the place where Horse King Heracles resides."

This place name and information didn't come from nowhere. Before deciding to go deep into the Gourmet World, Lin Luo had applied for permission to review IGO's internal data regarding the Gourmet World, specifically the Eighth Continent.

However, with his level at the time, the information he could obtain was extremely limited. To the Human World, the Gourmet World was still a forbidden zone whose full picture was difficult to glimpse; the types of singular creatures recorded were few, and detailed information was even scarcer.

Only the data regarding the eight kings—the peak rulers who respectively governed the eight continents of the Gourmet World—was relatively "more abundant."

This wasn't surprising; for experts with the qualifications and strength to set foot in the Gourmet World, knowing the existence of the eight kings and their general habitats was almost essential common sense and a baseline for survival.

IGO didn't hide much in this regard either; basic information was public or semi-public at a certain level.

Therefore, Lin Luo at least knew that the ruler of the Eighth Continent was Horse King Heracles, who resided on the Hill of the Horse Kings. As for more specific intelligence, it was beyond what his temporary permissions could reach.

But knowing the location and the target was enough for Lin Luo at this moment.

"eight feet," Lin Luo turned around, his eyes sharp with light, "Let's go to the 'Hill of the Horse Kings'."

eight feet nodded, white light flowing.

Rushing from the edge of the continent to the core, Lin Luo went all out, but every step in the Gourmet World held killing intent; the "relatively safe" Eighth Continent was also difficult to traverse. Falling mountains, sudden acid rain, ambushes by strange beasts... danger lurked everywhere.

Thanks to eight feet's power, Lin Luo refined and devoured all the beasts he killed along the way. Not only did he quickly replenish the energy consumed from crossing the Black Sea, but he also continuously tempered his own Physical Body through constant "feeding." His Meridians widened like rivers, his Qi and blood became as heavy as mercury, his bone and muscle strength soared, and his resistance to harsh environments rose sharply.

Inside his Dantian, the Five-Color Core had expanded from the size of a pigeon egg to that of a baby's fist, pulsating and rotating on its own, driving the energy tides throughout his body. Its color was deep, and its power was immense.

Now, even if he didn't intentionally exert force, the Aura he naturally emitted was enough to scare away many sensitive denizens of the Gourmet World.

Having just swallowed a refined meatball to replenish his stamina, he hadn't traveled far when—

BOOM—!!!

A terrifying earth-shattering Aura, like a materialized tsunami, came crushing down! It was heavy and majestic, as if the weight of all the mountains on the continent were pressing down at once! Lin Luo's speeding figure suddenly stalled, and he was actually pinned in mid-air, unable to move an inch!

Below, an indescribably massive hoofprint was deeply etched into the earth. Where the hoofprint lay, the ground was cracked like a spiderweb, life was extinguished, and even the soil shrank in fear under that residual anger, turning into permanent wasteland.

The Horse King's hoofprint!

Just a casual stomp by its master in a fit of rage, the lingering resonance of that fury, had formed the storm of pressure that now enveloped heaven and earth, making even Lin Luo feel suffocated!

Horse King Heracles... just a hoofprint left by an emotional outburst was already this terrifying!

Lin Luo surged the energy within his body, the Five-Color Core and eight feet's white light intertwining to the extreme, before he managed to stabilize his form in this wave-like Aura and slowly fly down to the edge of the hoofprint.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a more direct sense of oppression came. The air here was stagnant and heavy, and every inch of space was filled with the Horse King's destructive rage and supreme kingly pressure.

"Pressure... materialized mental and willpower impact..." Lin Luo whispered.

The next moment, he completely released his Divine Sense!

Buzz—!

His massive and condensed Divine Sense was no longer guarded, directly facing the mental storm composed of the Horse King's rage and kingly majesty!

BOOM!!!

An impact ten times, a hundred times stronger than what his Physical Body felt, acted directly on the core of his Divine Soul!

Lin Luo let out a muffled groan, his body trembling violently, and his face instantly turned pale. But instead of backing down, he actively guided his Divine Sense to strike and resist that mental power originating from one of the eight kings, which could almost crush a Soul!

He wanted to perform the most extreme refinement of his Divine Sense under this unequal mental duel!

Every head-on collision between his Divine Sense and the pressure brought near-collapsing pain and dizziness. But his Divine Soul core was protected and stabilized by eight feet's power, ensuring his Origin was not damaged. Meanwhile, the Divine Sense he projected to resist was like an iron ingot under a divine hammer, being forcibly forged, condensed, and stripped of Impurities in these destructive impacts!

Intense pain! Numbness! Clarity! Then intense pain again!

It cycled over and over, like hellish torture.

Under the pressure of this kingly rage, his Divine Sense was like hundred-refined steel being repeatedly folded and forged; its toughness, purity, and resistance to mental shock were transforming and sublimating at an incredible speed!

He could feel his perception becoming sharper in the pain, his ability to analyze energy fluctuations and capture the existence of will improving, and even the stability and penetration of his Divine Sense when extended were significantly enhanced.

Time passed in the midst of intense pain and refinement.

When Lin Luo's Divine Sense no longer feared this level of pressure impact, his whole body was as if he had been fished out of water, soaked in sweat, and his spirit was extremely exhausted, but his eyes were as clear and deep as a cold well.

eight feet, who had been quietly guarding by his side, raised her hand at the right moment and released a warm and peaceful milky-white beam of light that merged into Lin Luo's body. Wherever the light passed, it smoothed out the muscles convulsing from excessive resistance, soothed the extreme mental fatigue, and nourished his nearly withered mind.

After a few breaths, Lin Luo exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and his breathing finally stabilized.

He didn't stay any longer; after a brief period of regulation, the light in his eyes condensed.

He took a step forward!

His figure transformed into a condensed five-color stream of light, no longer showing any sluggishness, as he actually flew through the thousand-meter-long area of the Horse King's hoofprint that radiated terrifying pressure, as if entering an uninhabited land!