313: Chapter 314 Phoenix Feather's Potential

Inside the attic room, the decor was simple and cozy.

Sunlight streamed through the clean glass windows, casting warm spots of light on the floor. The air was filled with a faint, elegant floral fragrance unique to Elena. On one side of the room was Elena's own soft, large bed, while the space against the wall on the other side was originally empty.

With a slight thought, Lin Muyang took out a spare, equally soft and comfortable large bed from his storage space and gently placed it in the empty spot. Then, using an invisible force, he arranged the three sleeping girls side-by-side on the new bed, adjusting them into the most comfortable supine positions.

Nara, the blue-haired Sea Goddess; Nasha, the short-white-haired Sky Goddess; and Naluo, the long-dark-brown-haired Goddess... The three girls lay quietly on the snow-white sheets, their long hair spreading out like silk, forming a harmonious contrast with the colored gowns and armor they wore. Their perfect faces and porcelain-like, flawless skin seemed to emit a faint Aura under the soft light filtering through the window curtains. Their graceful, undulating bodies pressed enticing indentations and folds into the soft mattress, creating a scene that was tranquil and beautiful, yet carried a hint of mysterious temptation.

Lin Muyang's gaze lingered on them for a moment but did not stay. It wasn't that the three goddesses weren't attractive; on the contrary, their beauty was a perfection that transcended the mundane and reached the level of universal laws. However, Lin Muyang was firm of mind, and more importantly, he would never harbor any unnecessary thoughts or actions before fully understanding their personalities, origins, and allegiances.

Everything would have to wait until they woke up. For now, the most important thing was to figure out the conditions for awakening them.

"They must have been asleep for a long time," Lin Muyang said to Elena beside him, pointing at the three girls' pristine dresses and hair. "But look, there isn't a speck of dust or dirt on them. It seems that as deities, their bodies possess inherent traits like dust-repelling or self-cleaning, or perhaps they are protected by some passive divine field. So, we shouldn't need to worry much about daily cleaning."

"I see," Elena nodded, looking at the three sleepers with a gentle gaze. "I'll come by every day to check on them and see if there are any changes in their Aura or condition. I'll also keep the room tidy and quiet."

"Thank you for your hard work," Lin Muyang patted Elena's shoulder and then turned to leave the attic room.

Standing in the hallway, he pondered the method of awakening the goddesses once more, but still had no clues. Divine power depletion... replenishing divine power? Did they need the power of faith? Or some high-purity world origin energy? Or perhaps a special environment or item related to the authorities they controlled over the sea, sky, and earth?

There were too few clues, so he had to set it aside for now.

"Forget it, I'll go check on Feng Ling first." Lin Muyang shook his head, putting the matter of the three goddesses aside for the moment, and walked in another direction.

A moment later, Lin Muyang arrived at the White Dragon Pavilion where the dragon girl Ao Qingyan lived.

Inside the room, Ao Qingyan was sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat, her eyes slightly closed. Pale green Dragon Qi flowed and pulsed around her like a living thing. Today, she wore a pale green Wide-sleeved Flowing Immortal Dress. Her black hair fell like a waterfall, with only a portion tied up by a simple jade hairpin, revealing her smooth forehead and the graceful curve of her neck. Her cold, exquisite face was serene, as if she had merged with her surroundings.

Sensing Lin Muyang's arrival, the Dragon Qi circulating around Ao Qingyan stalled slightly before slowly retracting into her body. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes—a pair of golden vertical pupils as clear as a cold pool, yet carrying the majesty of the dragon race. Seeing Lin Muyang, the frost in her eyes melted, replaced by a flash of softness. She rose gracefully and performed an ancient salute to him.

"Master."

"Qingyan, are you cultivating?" Lin Muyang smiled and sat down on a bamboo chair nearby. He had entrusted the phoenix egg to Ao Qingyan's care precisely because her residence was quiet and her own Aura was balanced and peaceful, carrying an auspicious intent beneficial to a phoenix's Nirvana.

"Yes, I was just running a circulation to consolidate my surging cultivation base." Ao Qingyan nodded slightly, sat down across from Lin Muyang, and used her slender hands to pour him a cup of pre-prepared clear tea. The tea leaves were a Spiritual Tea specialty of the Eternal Garden, with steam curling up and the fragrance of tea filling the air.

During this trip to the Atlantis World, Ao Qingyan had naturally gone along. She shared a massive amount of experience in the secret realm, and her level had also soared to 130. What Lin Muyang admired even more was that even with such high-efficiency mob grinding and the frantic influx of experience, Ao Qingyan could still multitask, persevering in her unique cultivation—an ancient method of channeling and refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper her own dragon soul and bloodline. This caused her basic attribute growth to be much faster than the other girls who relied solely on leveling up.

According to Lin Muyang's perception, Ao Qingyan's current unequipped total attributes had reached a staggering eight hundred thousand! This value even exceeded many level 300 experts in the Atlantis World! If combined with Lin Muyang's percentage-based enhancement Aura, her attributes could instantly approach the three million mark! And if she transformed into her True Divine Dragon Form, her attributes would undergo another qualitative leap, at which point her actual combat power would reach an even more terrifying level.

It could be said that among all the girls currently under Lin Muyang's command, in terms of absolute, head-on combat power, Ao Qingyan was the undisputed number one. Extremely high attributes meant that her resistance to control skills and damage reduction were both incredibly strong. In many cases, she could indeed use brute force to overcome any technique.

Of course, Lin Muyang had another girl under his command with equally terrifying potential, one who might even be superior in the long run: Feng Ling.

"Feng Ling's Nirvana should be finishing soon." Lin Muyang picked up the teacup and gently blew on the steam, speaking to Ao Qingyan. "Once she completes her Nirvana and breaks out of the shell, her level should jump directly to 100. With the potential of her phoenix bloodline plus the attribute-doubling effect of Nirvana, her basic attributes will likely reach around five hundred thousand."

He paused and looked at Ao Qingyan with a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Although it's still a bit short of your current eight hundred thousand, considering she's only level 100 while you're level 130, her potential is evident."

"Master~" Hearing Lin Muyang's evaluation of Feng Ling, Ao Qingyan's cold face didn't show any envy or jealousy. Instead, she pursed her lips and smiled softly, like melting snow. "Every time she undergoes Nirvana, she consumes a massive amount of precious resources. Especially this time, she used up nearly half of our inventory of high-quality Fire-type Elemental Essence and materials. Paying such a huge price to become stronger than me is only natural."

Her tone was peaceful, even carrying a hint of being happy for her companion. "Moreover, although the phoenix's Nirvana is powerful, after each one, the resources and accumulation time required for the next will increase geometrically. While I don't have such an explosive method of improvement, I have the advantage of steady cultivation and gradual accumulation. Perhaps in the future, I'll still have a chance to surpass her."

Hearing Ao Qingyan's words, which were both rational and carried a slight competitive spirit, Lin Muyang was momentarily stunned. Then, a somewhat strange and slightly amused expression appeared on his face.

"Qingyan," he set down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and looked into her clear golden eyes, asking with a hint of inquiry, "How is... your math?"

"Math?" Ao Qingyan was a bit dazed by this sudden question. A clear look of confusion appeared in her golden vertical pupils. She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then asked uncertainly, "Does Master mean arithmetic? I can handle simple calculations."

"Something like that." Lin Muyang smiled and shook his head, feeling it necessary to educate this cultivation-focused dragon girl on the terror of exponential growth. "While your attributes can be continuously improved through perseverance with no theoretical upper limit, for someone like Feng Ling, who relies on Nirvana to double her attributes..."

He held up two fingers and waved them in front of Ao Qingyan. "One Nirvana doubles the attributes. Two Nirvanas make it four times the original. Three times is eight times. Four times is sixteen times... and so on."

"Do you know what two to the power of ten is?" Lin Muyang asked.

Ao Qingyan shook her head instinctively, a blank expression appearing on her cold face for the first time.

"Qingyan, we're going to do a simple calculation." Lin Muyang's tone slowed down, like a patient mentor guiding her thoughts. "Let's assume that when Feng Ling finishes this Nirvana and reaches level 100, her basic attributes are five hundred thousand. That's just the beginning."

He held up two fingers. "For every 20 levels she gains, her basic attributes roughly double—this is one of the growth characteristics of her phoenix bloodline. So, when she reaches level 120, her basic attributes should be around one million, right?"

Ao Qingyan's golden vertical pupils flickered slightly as she did the mental math, and she nodded gently. This growth rate was staggering, but still within the realm of understanding.

Lin Muyang continued, increasing his fingers one by one. "Level 140, two million. Level 160, four million. Level 180, eight million..." His voice was steady but carried a strange rhythm. "By the time she reaches level 200, according to this simple doubling model, her basic attributes will reach sixteen million."

"Sixteen million..." Ao Qingyan repeated the number in a low voice, a clear look of shock finally appearing on her cold face. This number far exceeded her current understanding of attribute growth speed. From eight hundred thousand to sixteen million—that was a two-hundred-fold difference!

"And we're going to take her from level 100 to 200," Lin Muyang said, seeing the shock in her eyes. "Given the grinding efficiency we verified in the Atlantis World, combined with various Auras and secret realm resources, if we go all out, it might only take a month or two."

He paused and asked the most crucial question. "So, in these one or two months, Qingyan, are you confident that through your own cultivation, you can also raise your basic attributes from the current eight hundred thousand to sixteen million?"

This question was like cold water poured over her head, instantly snapping Ao Qingyan out of her shock over the numbers. She opened her mouth but found she couldn't immediately give a positive answer. The path of cultivation became increasingly difficult in the later stages; improving attributes was like rowing against the current. Increasing attributes twenty-fold in a month or two? That was an almost impossible task unless there was some heaven-sent opportunity. Yet, Feng Ling could achieve this leap through steady leveling and bloodline growth.

The gap became incomparably clear and cruel at this moment.

But Ao Qingyan was Ao Qingyan, after all. After a brief lapse, she quickly grasped another key point of the problem. She shook her head, her clear voice regaining its composure. "Master, your calculation is based on theoretically smooth growth. But Feng Ling's Nirvana is not without cost or bottlenecks. The resources required for her next Nirvana, whether in quantity or quality, will become extremely terrifying. Even with your abilities, Master, it won't be easy to gather them in a short time. She might get stuck at some stage due to a lack of resources and be unable to undergo Nirvana smoothly, which would naturally slow down her growth rate significantly."

"That's true." Lin Muyang nodded approvingly. Ao Qingyan's analysis was rational; she saw the other side of the problem. "Resources are indeed the key. However, as long as we develop smoothly and continue to obtain high-level resources in Atlantis and other worlds we might explore in the future, it shouldn't keep her stuck for too long..." Before he could finish, his gaze was drawn to a sudden movement in the center of the room.