194: A giant spider that's no longer afraid of water!

"Alright, everyone, eyes on me! Look at me! I have an announcement to make!"

By the seaside, Huo Xi held his hands high, drawing the gazes of Hu Tao, Lumine, Paimon, Shenhe, and Guizhong.

Huo Xi cleared his throat and gave his first summary: "First of all, because I devoured Osial, I am now completely unafraid of water! Applaud!"

*Clap clap clap.* Several of the girls clapped cheerfully.

Then Lumine spread his hands: "That's it?"

Paimon also put his hands on his hips: "You called us to a deserted place, I thought you had obtained some powerful force to show us!"

"Oh, you're so impatient. Isn't not being afraid of water an advantage?" Huo Xi turned and stepped onto the water's surface, walking forward a few steps under everyone's surprised gazes: "Look, I can stand on the ocean!"

"This is good, this is good!" Hu Tao clapped. Huo Xi was her mount; rounding it off, didn't this mean she could also stand on the ocean?

Guizhong also had a look of surprise: "Then has young Huo Xi's biggest weakness—not being able to swim—also been resolved?"

Huo Xi looked smug: "Exactly! I can breathe and speak freely underwater now!"

Paimon clapped: "Demonstrate it! Demonstrate it!"

Lumine pressed his ear: "Big Brother Skirk also said he wants to see your demonstration. Oh, it's not Skirk who wants to see it; it's the others in the Domain Hall watching."

Huo Xi snapped his fingers: "Just you watch!"

Then, the water surface beneath his feet no longer provided support, and with a whoosh, he dove into the water!

"Oh!!!" Everyone exclaimed, then began to watch Huo Xi's next move closely.

Half a minute passed.

A minute passed.

Five minutes passed.

Everyone realized something was wrong.

Lumine rushed to the shore and peeked underwater, quickly pulling back. He shook off the water, wiped his face, and looked back at everyone awkwardly: "The ground beneath our feet was generated by Huo Xi using a Noble Phantasm; it wasn't formed naturally."

"So?" Hu Tao asked back.

Lumine used his hand to gesture a slope: "Usually, a beach is like this, with a sloping sandy area so people can stand."

Then, he held his hand vertically: "But the one Huo Xi conjured appeared directly, so it's a cliff."

Everyone: ... Guizhong had an expression like he'd eaten a bitter melon: "So what you mean is, the boy..."

"Yes, it seems he's sunk to the bottom."

Everyone: ... In the Realm of a Thousand Stars, Yunli covered her face heavily: "Oh my God, how could he... He's just no longer afraid of water; doesn't that mean he still can't swim at all?"

Clara quickly comforted her from the side: "Don't worry, little Yunli. Wasn't he always this abstract before?"

Hyacine also agreed: "Yeah, and with so many clearances on him, there must be a water-type one!"

Only Eunectes, the tribal chief who had come to join the fun, was considering more realistic issues: "If we have children in the future, they won't become this abstract too, will they?"

In the end, the omnipotent Guizhong hand-crafted an underwater respirator on the spot, and then the omnipotent Lumine dove in, searching for Huo Xi in the water.

Finally, he found Huo Xi deep on the seabed. When Huo Xi saw Lumine coming, he suddenly began to glow, and Lumine followed this light to find him.

Deep under the sea, a man and a woman looked at each other in silence.

Lumine pointed upward, meaning: "What are you doing hiding down here? Why don't you go up?"

Huo Xi flailed his limbs a few times, floated up, and then sank back down. He spoke directly in the water: "I was thinking, since I already bragged so much, wouldn't it be impolite if I didn't swim up? But I've been trying for a long time, and I still can't swim."

Lumine's expression twisted. He reached out and gestured wildly; judging by the bubbles constantly rising from the respirator, it seemed he was cursing quite colorfully.

"You, an alien who swallowed a God whole, are stuck at the bottom of the sea because you can't swim up—it's embarrassing just to talk about it!"

"You have so many Authorities; couldn't you just pretend to swim and have a water-type Authority push you from behind?"

But getting him out was more important. Lumine signaled for Huo Xi to either go up himself or hold onto him tight so he could swim him up. Obviously, Huo Xi chose the latter.

After Huo Xi grabbed Lumine, Lumine began to swim upward. Before they had even gone a hundred meters, he suddenly stopped. He looked at his chest, then at Huo Xi, and reached out with a Great Desolate Imprisoning Sky Finger.

"What the hell are you grabbing?"

"Oh, oh, sorry. Autopilot kicked in." Huo Xi let go awkwardly. He couldn't help it; it was a habit.

After swimming a bit longer, Lumine hauled Huo Xi out of the water.

As soon as Huo Xi reached the shore, Shenhe suddenly rushed over and knocked him to the ground.

Shenhe's reasoning was simple: back in the Realm of a Thousand Stars, after Huo Xi had "drowned" from being pinned down by a group of girls, Skirk told him that Huo Xi was afraid of water. The Giant Spider form this time confirmed it.

Since then, he had naturally studied emergency rescue intensely, and this was the result of his studies!

Shenhe pinned Huo Xi down and, under his astonished gaze, pressed his lips against his.

In the air, the sound of suggestive sucking continued. Huo Xi's eyes widened more and more. It was only then that the stunned girls snapped out of it and rushed forward to pull the two apart.

Finally, Shenhe was pulled away, a silver bridge of saliva stretching through the air.

Huo Xi looked at Shenhe in shock: "You, what are you doing?"

Shenhe looked down expressionlessly: "Artificial respiration."

"Artificial respiration?!" Huo Xi's expression became even more stunned. He touched his lips and muttered softly, "But why do you use your tongue for artificial respiration?"

Shenhe: ?!

"That's how it was drawn in the book."

"How was it drawn in the book?"

"Like this: compress the chest, then hold the forehead, lift the jawline until it's perpendicular to the ground, and then kiss."

Huo Xi: ... The girls: ... Paimon frowned and asked, "But in your actions just now... where was the chest compression?"

Shenhe looked at Paimon: "Isn't it the same if I sit on him?"

Paimon: ?

Huo Xi also felt something was wrong: "Did you read the words when you were looking at the book?"

Shenhe tilted his head: "What words?"

"Rescue books have explanatory text! Under each picture, it says what that step specifically does. For example, chest compressions aren't just holding down; they have a rhythm. And artificial respiration requires blowing air, not using your tongue."

Shenhe: ?!

"I didn't read them. I thought just looking at the pictures was enough."

Everyone: ... "How about we skip this part for now?"

"True, he can learn to swim anytime later."

Shenhe secretly leaned in close to Huo Xi and asked, "Can I still practice artificial respiration in the future?"

"Come find me secretly to practice later." (Whispering)

"Okay." (Whispering)

And so, Huo Xi began the second part of his showing off.

He pulled Guizhong to his side: "Ta-da! This is the one I summoned, the God of Dust, Guizhong!"

Guizhong waved his sleeve: "Yahoo! Although I don't consider myself Guizhong, everyone can call me that for now. I'll give myself a new name later~"

Huo Xi patted his chest: "As for me, I now have the clearance to read the Ley Lines. I can summon the deceased from the Ley Lines and then use items they owned in life to perform an Incarnation!"

After speaking, Huo Xi looked at Shenhe and Hu Tao: "Shenhe, Hu Tao, I've taken some liberties. For Shenhe, I hope to take you to find the truth of your childhood before deciding on anything else. And as for you, Hu Tao..."

Saying this, Huo Xi waved his hand to the right. A Servant summoning circle appeared on the ground, and two figures wearing WangSheng Funeral Parlor clothes appeared on the beach.

Hu Tao looked at the two figures, covering her mouth with her small hands, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Grandpa... Dad..."