145: Chapter 145 Heart of the Tide
When Lin Fan opened his eyes again, what met his gaze was a grayish-blue sky.
He was lying on a beach, with Shen Shuang's combat jacket cushioned beneath him and his head resting on Yu Nian's folded backpack.
"You're awake?"
Shen Shuang's voice came from nearby. She was squatting on the sand, holding a notebook and writing something down.
Yu Nian was sitting on a reef, arms crossed as he dozed off.
Xu Tao stood at the highest point of the island, facing the sea, his right eye glowing slightly as he kept watch over the surroundings.
Lin Fan propped himself up and rubbed his temples.
His head was still a bit dizzy, and his spiritual power had only recovered by twenty to thirty percent, but at least he no longer felt completely hollowed out.
"How long was I unconscious?"
Shen Shuang didn't even look up.
"Half an hour. Spiritual power overexertion; it's nothing serious."
She finished her last stroke and closed the notebook.
"Abyss Eye, Rank 71 Emperor Spirit Armor Beast, Seven-Colored Antler Coral. Habitat: Deep-sea hydrothermal vent regions. Extremely aggressive, unable to come ashore. Requires specialized personnel to handle."
She put the notebook into her spatial ring, stood up, and brushed the sand off her knees.
Lin Fan glanced at the sea surface. The Seven-Colored Antler Coral had already sunk, and the water was as calm as if nothing had ever happened.
He felt his backpack; the heart of the tide was still there, hard and pressing uncomfortably against his back.
"Captain, I'm sorry. I was the one who insisted on going down, and I almost got you all into trouble."
Shen Shuang glanced at him.
"What do you think we came to the Secret Realm for?"
"Patrolling and pioneering means getting a clear picture of the situation inside the Secret Realm. Which area has what Armor Beasts, their Rank, their habits, and whether they pose a threat—all of it must be recorded. If we can deal with it, we do; if we can't, we record it and send specialists back later."
She paused. "This Seven-Colored Antler Coral you discovered, a Rank 71 Emperor Spirit Armor Beast, is a ticking time bomb in this sea area. It didn't catch us today, but someone else might encounter it tomorrow. By recording it, the military will send higher-ranked Armor Masters to handle it. This is our mission, not just your personal business."
Lin Fan opened his mouth to say something, but Shen Shuang had already turned toward the inflatable boat.
"If you've rested enough, get up. The mission isn't over yet."
Yu Nian jumped down from the reef, stretched, and patted Lin Fan's shoulder.
"The Captain is right; this is our job anyway. You helped us find a big one; we're the ones who should be thanking you."
Xu Tao walked down from the high ground and spoke up, which was a rare occurrence.
"Next time you encounter something like this, let us know in advance. It helps us be mentally prepared."
His voice was still muffled, but there was no blame in his tone.
Lin Fan climbed up, tucked Xiao Kun into the beast pouch, and brushed the sand off himself.
"Let's go. Continue the patrol."
The subsequent tasks went unexpectedly smoothly.
The ninth island, the tenth, the eleventh... all the way to the seventeenth, they didn't encounter any more high-ranked Armor Beasts.
Lin Fan followed them, responsible for scanning the islands and the sea with his left eye to detect potential dangers in advance.
Xiao Kun stayed quietly in the beast pouch, occasionally poking its head out, flapping its wings a few times, and then shrinking back in.
Its condition was much better than when they first contracted. Nourished by the spiritual power of the jade nectar and Abyssal Squid tentacle meat, along with Lin Fan's spiritual nurturing, its flame of life had shifted from weak to stable.
After patrolling the seventeenth island, Shen Shuang marked 'No Anomalies' on the map and closed her notebook.
"Mission complete. Returning."
The inflatable boat turned around and headed toward the Secret Realm exit.
Yu Nian took the helm, Xu Tao stood at the bow, and Lin Fan sat at the stern.
The sea breeze blew over, carrying a salty, fishy scent.
Lin Fan leaned against the gunwale, looking at the distant horizon.
moon-erosion stone, star-fall sand, heart of the tide—the three Materials were finally gathered.
Xiao Zhuang's evolution into a Lunar Flood Dragon was just one final step away.
He looked down at the contract mark on the back of his hand, then touched the beast pouch at his waist.
"I'll evolve you both when we get back," he murmured. Xiao Kun's tail wagged as if in agreement.
One week later.
Lin Fan sat before a stone table in his backyard, with three jade boxes and a beast pouch laid out in front of him.
Inside the jade boxes were the moon-erosion stone, star-fall sand, and heart of the tide; inside the beast pouch was Xiao Kun.
Xiao Zhuang was coiled slenderly around his left wrist, its vertical pupils staring at the Materials as it flicked its tongue.
Tongtong perched on his shoulder, wings folded, as the colored light it shed fell onto the stone table like scattered starlight.
Little Rabbit squatted by the stone table, its hexagram eyes fixed on the beast pouch, ears standing straight up.
For these seven days, Lin Fan had hardly left the house.
He had taken Xiao Kun out of the beast pouch, feeding it jade nectar three times a day along with mashed Abyssal Squid tentacle meat, while also nurturing it with his own spiritual power.
Xiao Kun's condition improved day by day. Its wings went from limp to powerful, and when it swam, silver-white light trailed through the water like it was flying through the air.
Its scales grew brighter, the deep blue patterns became more pronounced, and every flap of its wings stirred up ripples in space.
Three days ago, Xiao Kun had fully recovered its health. It swam around in the pond in Lin Fan's backyard, occasionally flying out to circle the yard twice before landing back in Lin Fan's palm to nuzzle his finger.
At the same time, he had already planned out the evolution path for Xiao Kun.
heaven spirit superior — Twin-Winged Spirit Kun.
And during this period, he had already gathered its evolution Materials.
Compared to Xiao Zhuang's evolution Materials, Xiao Kun's were relatively easy to collect. Through various channels, he had successfully gathered everything.
Tonight, he intended to let them evolve together!
...
That night was a full moon, a date Lin Fan had specifically chosen.
Lin Fan stood in the backyard of the shop, looking up at the sky; the moon was round and bright.
He took out the two sets of evolution Materials and placed them on either side of the stone table.
Lin Fan did not hesitate.
He reached out his fingers, injected spiritual power, and activated both sets of Materials simultaneously.
First was the moon-erosion stone on the left.
The stone lit up, and silver-white moonlight surged from between the dark gray cracks. The light condensed in the air, gradually forming a miniature lunar disc.
It wasn't a real moon, but a 'pseudo-moon' woven together by the moon-erosion stone and star-fall sand.
The star-fall sand transformed into countless silver-white specks of light, arranging themselves around the pseudo-moon like a miniature galaxy. The galaxy rotated slowly, as if the entire night sky had been moved into the backyard.
The heart of the tide floated up, its deep blue light patterns throbbing violently as the power of the tide surged into the pseudo-moon like a flood.
The pseudo-moon turned from silver-white to deep blue, and then from deep blue to deep purple—the color of Lunar Power.
The simulated Moon-Fall Celestial Phenomenon began.