After finishing the last bite, Lin Xia licked his lips with lingering satisfaction. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's completely dazed expression of "Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?", he could not help but burst out laughing.
Lin Xia walked over to Zhu Zhuqing and crouched down so their eyes were level. Then he gently rubbed her smooth black hair.
"Did I scare you?"
His voice carried a teasing warmth, filled with reassurance.
Zhu Zhuqing stiffly nodded. Her eyes were still blank with confusion as she pointed at him, then at the broken mineral fragments on the ground, clearly wanting to ask something but not even knowing where to begin.
"Zhuqing, don't be afraid."
Lin Xia gradually stopped smiling, his expression turning serious. He pointed at his mouth and teeth.
"Look, I'm perfectly fine. My teeth didn't shatter, right?"
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze instinctively shifted to his teeth.
Those two rows of teeth were neat and white. Under the starlight filling the mine cave, they even seemed to shine faintly with a jade-like luster. Forget cracks, there was not even the slightest scratch on them.
That only deepened her confusion further.
"That's because my body is well, a little special."
Lin Xia carefully chose his words, trying to explain in a way she could understand.
"Do you remember my Martial Soul? Larvitar. It naturally feeds on all kinds of minerals, absorbing their energy to grow and evolve. And me…"
He paused briefly before deciding to reveal part of the truth.
"It seems I inherited or perhaps obtained, a similar ability. My body, just like the little guy's, can directly absorb the essence energy contained within minerals and convert it into my own strength. To me, these energy-rich ores are basically…"
Lin Xia thought for a moment, then picked up a smaller fragment of Illusory/ Phantom Star Glazed Crystal shimmering with starlight and waved it gently before Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.
"They're like the precious herbs and medicinal pills you normally use to replenish Soul power and strengthen the body. The only difference is that my 'medicinal pills' are stones."
"Eating stones to become stronger?"
Zhu Zhuqing finally managed to digest this unbelievable concept, though her small face was still filled with shock.
She looked at Lin Xia, then at Larvitar happily eating nearby, then at the endless sea of "stones" surrounding them.
A far more terrifying thought suddenly surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
Her face instantly turned pale. Her eyes filled with horror and absurd disbelief, as though fate itself were mocking her. Even her voice trembled.
"Th-Then in the future will I also have to eat stones to become stronger?"
The thought alone made her feel nauseous and panicked. Imagining herself chewing hard, cold stones crack crack crack like Lin Xia and Larvitar.
The image made her scalp crawl.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's frightened little face and eyes on the verge of tears, Lin Xia froze for a moment before suddenly bursting into hearty laughter.
He laughed so hard tears nearly came out, vigorously rubbing Zhu Zhuqing's head.
"You silly girl! What are you even thinking about?"
Lin Xia said while trying to suppress his laughter.
"This is my special ability! Completely unique! Nobody else, including you can directly eat minerals like this. If an ordinary person tried to force it down, forget becoming stronger, their Soul power would immediately go berserk, their meridians would shatter, and well, just like you worried about, broken teeth would be the least of their problems."
Lin Xia pointed at the tiny wound on Zhu Zhuqing's fingertip, then at the incomparably hard cave wall.
"See? Even your finger got cut by it."
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head to look at the tiny drop of blood on her fingertip, then looked again at Lin Xia's perfectly unharmed teeth. Finally, she let out a long sigh of relief, her pale face regaining a bit of color.
Thank goodness, she didn't have to eat stones…
This was honestly the best news she had heard all day.
Although Lin Xia becoming stronger by eating stones still felt unbelievably magical and shocking to her, at least she herself would not need to undergo such a terrifying "cultivation method."
Watching her relax, Lin Xia's gaze softened as he added:
"So, Zhuqing, you don't need to worry about this. Your cultivation path is different from mine. You have your own talents, your own Martial Soul, and your own road to walk. Finding the method that suits you and continuously tempering and improving yourself, that's what truly matters."
Lin Xia spoke seriously.
"Just like this Illusory Star Glazed Crystal. To me, it's 'food.' To you, it would be poison. Everything in this world has its own purpose, the key lies in how it is used."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded as though she only half understood, but the fear in her eyes had completely vanished, leaving behind only amazement toward Lin Xia's special ability and curiosity about this magical star ore vein.
Carefully, she reached out again and lightly touched a smaller piece of Illusory Star Glazed Crystal, feeling the gentle yet immense energy contained within it.
"Alright, since we found it, we can't let it go to waste."
Lin Xia stood up and looked at the priceless ore vein before him, his eyes gleaming brightly.
"Little guy, stop focusing only on eating and get to work! Dig out all the highest-quality core crystal ores with the densest starlight for me! Be careful not to break them!"
Lin Xia directed Larvitar.
"Larvitar!"
Receiving the order, Larvitar immediately became full of energy. Its little claws moved even faster, like the world's most efficient mining picks, precisely and efficiently stripping away large chunks of top-grade Illusory Star Glazed Crystal from the core region before carefully piling them beside Lin Xia.
Lin Xia personally joined in as well. With his immense strength combined with his precise perception of mineral structures, his efficiency was equally astonishing.
One piece after another of dreamlike, star-glimmering ore was rapidly excavated and stacked together, gradually forming a small mountain radiating astonishing energy fluctuations.
Inside the mine cave, starlight flowed endlessly while energy mist drifted through the air like a dreamscape.
Zhu Zhuqing quietly stood to the side, watching Lin Xia and Larvitar busily work.
The starlight of the cave gently shone upon her, dispersing some of the lingering gloom in her heart. She silently engraved Lin Xia's earlier words deep into her mind.
"Find the method that suits you. Continuously temper and improve yourself… Everything has its own purpose…"
Perhaps Lin Xia-gege was telling her that even when facing the Zhu Family's cold fate, she still had to find her own strength, her own path capable of breaking the rules.
Her small hand unconsciously tightened around the corner of her clothes. Within her eyes, alongside amazement, there now seemed to be the faintest trace of contemplation.
Meanwhile, deep within the imperial palace of the Star Luo Empire, inside the Star Crown Hall that symbolized supreme authority.
The Dai Tianxing, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly furrowed his brows slightly.
Beneath him, within the massive cultivation formation constructed from countless precious gemstones, the silver runes representing the power of the stars flickered faintly and without warning, like an almost invisible pebble falling into a calm lake.
Dai Tianxing slowly opened his eyes. Deep within those eyes filled with endless majesty and the weight of countless years, an extremely faint trace of confusion flashed past.
His fingers unconsciously stroked the cold metallic patterns on the armrest of the throne as his gaze seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of palace walls, casting itself toward the distant northern lands.
"The power of the stars why has it suddenly become disturbed?"
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