The Ultimate Divine Class-Chapter 417 - 340 Completely Breaking the Limit Twice, You Have No Sincerity in Cooperation At All _1
"Cooperation?"
Lu Yuan was initially puzzled, but then interest piqued, and a playful expression appeared on his face.
From the start, this Hoopoe had intentionally led him toward a certain part of the primeval forest. After all this time, it turned out the bird needed his help. It should have said so sooner....
"Let’s hear it then. How do you propose we cooperate?"
Lu Yuan halted, arms folded across his chest, and indifferently addressed the Hoopoe before him.
"COO—COO—"
The Hoopoe made "COO-COO" sounds.
Oddly enough, as this sound reached Lu Yuan’s ears, his Spiritual Power analyzed it, allowing him to roughly understand the meaning conveyed.
The Hoopoe essentially said it wanted Lu Yuan to accompany it somewhere, promising handsome rewards upon completion.
Are you trying to entice me with grand promises?
Lu Yuan chuckled and said to the Hoopoe, "We can cooperate, but you need to show some sincerity first."
After speaking, his gaze remained fixed on the golden feather nestled in the Hoopoe’s beak.
The Hoopoe understood Lu Yuan’s intentions. A flicker of hesitation crossed its eyes before it slowly approached, extending its beak toward Lu Yuan’s open palm.
"Well, this is at least somewhat sincere...."
Lu Yuan was about to smile, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw something golden and shiny roll out from under the golden feather in the Hoopoe’s beak.
"Trying to trick me?!"
Lu Yuan’s eyes turned icy, and his fingers clenched tightly, producing a continuous series of sharp cracks.
An orange flash had already darted away, landing several dozen meters distant and watching Lu Yuan.
"Does this count as sincerity?"
Lu Yuan held a baby-fist-sized golden fruit between his fingers.
It was a Treasure.
But it was worlds apart from the Phoenix Feather, a completely different caliber of item.
"What I want is that golden feather in your beak. Don’t bother talking to me about cooperation if you don’t give it to me..."
Lu Yuan bluntly told the Hoopoe.
The latter immediately began cooing in response.
"You need the feather right now, so you can’t give it to me, but you can replace it with similar Treasures?"
Lu Yuan understood the Hoopoe’s meaning. He paused to think for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, I’m not an unreasonable person...."
"COO—COO—"
"Two hundred, then. At least two hundred Treasures no less valuable than this one. If you can provide that many, I might consider not wanting the feather."
"COO?!"
"BANG!"
Lu Yuan saw the Hoopoe nearby visibly falter, clearly taken aback by his words. It staggered and then, without warning, shot off like a bolt of lightning.
"ZAP—"
A white-gold, lightning-shaped burst of Universe Qi erupted in the air. Lu Yuan appeared, looking at his empty hand, regret evident on his face.
"What a pity... I was so close to catching it..."
"COO! COO!"
Not far away, the Hoopoe, having narrowly escaped his "surprise attack," watched Lu Yuan warily, squawking its discontent.
Lu Yuan remained unfazed, responding nonchalantly, "Just kidding. Back to our previous discussion. Two hundred. If you can give me two hundred Treasures, we can continue this negotiation..."
"COO—COO—"
Lu Yuan and the Hoopoe haggled for a long time, speaking in human and bird tongues respectively. They finally reached an "agreement" that both parties could reluctantly accept: the Hoopoe would help Lu Yuan collect at least one hundred Treasures. In return, Lu Yuan would do his best to help the Hoopoe with one task, provided it was within his capabilities.
"Alright then...."
Lu Yuan appeared somewhat unsatisfied with the agreement. He frowned and said, "But I must make one thing clear: if I’m not satisfied with the Treasures you provide, I’ll expect compensation with that golden feather..."
The Hoopoe gave Lu Yuan a "dream on" look. Then, it flapped its wings and eagerly went off to collect Treasures for Lu Yuan.
Once the Hoopoe disappeared into the primeval jungle, the dissatisfaction and reluctance on Lu Yuan’s face vanished without a trace. His mind immediately began to race with calculations. With a brain the size of a walnut, this bird thinks it can outwit me. First, I’ll reap the benefits. If the task this Hoopoe asks of me proves to be too difficult, I’ll just renege on the agreement and flee....
Lu Yuan remained obsessed with the golden feather in the Hoopoe’s beak.
He was sure that the bird was likely hiding plenty of good stuff.
Moreover, Lu Yuan was very curious about the origins of this mysterious Hoopoe, what it aimed to accomplish, and why, out of everyone, it had chosen him. He always had the feeling that the bird was up to something big and was constantly contemplating a chance to "trick" it....
As Lu Yuan was deep in thought, an orange shadow flashed before his eyes.
The Hoopoe returned, flying in front of Lu Yuan and spitting out a few almond-sized golden nuts from its beak.
Each nut shimmered with golden light, exuding a rich aura of Evil God factor and energy fluctuations.
Lu Yuan crushed these golden nuts along with the fruit the Hoopoe had spat out earlier and consumed the mixture.
He felt the blood sphere within him continue to expand. His Strength attribute, the only one of his four Basic Attributes yet to reach the second Break the Limit, seemed to be drawing closer to that milestone.
Having finished digesting, Lu Yuan opened his eyes and questioned the Hoopoe unhappily, "Didn’t we agree beforehand that the Treasures should be at least as valuable as the first one? The ones you brought back this time are too small, not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. They absolutely don’t count as a single Treasure...."
The Hoopoe hesitated, then let out a COO before flying off again.
A short while later, it returned, this time carrying a palm-sized, brilliantly golden leaf in its beak.
The leaf was shaped like a ginkgo leaf. Lu Yuan took it and tugged at it slightly, finding it very sturdy.
He stuffed the leaf into his mouth and chewed it like a piece of dried seaweed. The blood sphere inside his body, nourished by the energy and the Evil God factor, continued to surge and grow.
"RUMBLE—RUMBLE—"
Lu Yuan felt the rumbling in his chest and suppressed the surging Qi and blood within him. Frowning, he said to the Hoopoe, "The item you brought back this time is even worse... It’s flimsy and offers almost no benefit to me. Are you trying to skimp on me? If you continue like this, I think our ’cooperation’ needs reconsideration."
"COO—"
The Hoopoe stared as Lu Yuan finished speaking in "anger." Then, it tilted its head, contemplating, and seemed to understand what Lu Yuan truly wanted.
Leaving behind a "you just wait" look, it flew off again.
"Very good."
Lu Yuan watched the Hoopoe fly away, a satisfied look on his face.
This was much easier than sensing the flow of the Evil God factor himself and seeking out "Treasures." Sitting and waiting for someone to "feed" him while his power rapidly rose was simply too enjoyable.
After that, the Hoopoe repeatedly brought back various "Treasures" to show its sincerity in this "cooperation."
Lu Yuan, meanwhile, kept "nitpicking," deliberately finding fault with the Treasures the Hoopoe brought back and dismissing them as worthless, all while "eating until his mouth dripped with oil"—enjoying them immensely.
"This Treasure is all show and no substance. It looks big, but there’s very little energy inside that’s useful for me. It doesn’t count."
"The item you brought back this time is a suitable size and full of energy, but it’s too ugly. I don’t like these kinds, so this one doesn’t count either."
"Although this Treasure you brought this time is a suitable size, full of energy, and pleasing to the eye, if you break it open and sniff carefully, you can detect a foul smell. I felt unwell after absorbing its energy, and my strength actually regressed... You’ll need at least two more Treasures to compensate for this... So, you still owe me one hundred and one Treasures..."
"BOOM—"
Unconsciously, with the influx of abundant energy and Evil God factors, a drastic change occurred within Lu Yuan’s body.
The blood sphere, which had expanded to its limit, suddenly contracted and collapsed inward, shrinking back to its original fist-size.
However, both the density of the blood sphere and the Qi-blood energy it contained were now several times greater than before.
From its appearance, it showed signs of transitioning from a "blood sphere" to a "Blood Pill."
Grandmaster’s Blood Pill?
Lu Yuan blinked and then instinctively examined his attribute panel.
He found that all four of his Basic Attributes had indeed reached the level of a second Break the Limit.
[Strength: 30 (Break the Limit 2)]
[Agility: 30 (Break the Limit 2)]
[Physique: 30 (Break the Limit 2)]
[Intelligence: 31 (Break the Limit 2)]
Attribute Points: 7
Skill Points: 1
The skills on his [Martial Arts Master (Supernatural)] panel hadn’t changed much, but Lu Yuan had a premonition that when he used these skills now, both their power and his fine control over them would be significantly greater than before.
This was because he could feel a more harmonious and natural quality emanating from his Grandmaster’s Body. The internal "cycle" within him seemed to have become more advanced, more perfect.
In other words, his Grandmaster’s Body had "upgraded."
The more it’s like this, the more I dread breaking it....
Thinking about the conflict and contradictions between the step of opening a Star Cave in the Starry Sky Martial Path and the perfect, harmonious essence of the Grandmaster’s Body, Lu Yuan’s expression became complicated.
He yearned for the grandeur of the Starry Sky Martial Path, yet he couldn’t abandon the allure of the Pure Martial Grandmaster system.
Unfortunately, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Moreover, at this stage, he wasn’t qualified to give up the fish for the bear’s paw.
"COO COO—"
As Lu Yuan was thinking, a series of urgent cooing sounds reached his ears.
Thinking it was the Gugu Bird returning with more "food," he reflexively launched into his usual spiel, "The thing you brought back this time makes me want to vomit just looking at it... We agreed on a hundred Treasures, but so far, you haven’t brought back a single one that satisfies me. A hundred is a long way off...."
Halfway through his speech, Lu Yuan realized that the Gugu Bird carried nothing in its beak or claws this time.
He couldn’t help but frown, saying coldly, "Are you not even willing to make a token effort now? You clearly lack any genuine sincerity for cooperation..."
The Gugu Bird, however, just looked at him and sneered. It let out a COO, tossed out a "Follow me," then turned its rear and strutted away.
Lu Yuan was puzzled, wondering if he had gone too far and offended this Gugu Bird. Though, to be fair, the intervals between its recent trips had been growing longer. It had probably exhausted the supply of "Treasures" in the vicinity. It likely couldn’t acquire those guarded by ancient Evil God creatures. For it to now point the way for him to act personally... was actually not entirely unexpected.
As Lu Yuan mused, he followed behind the Gugu Bird.
He continued deeper into the primeval forest, entering an area unmarked on any map, a "Deep Fog Area."
The concentration of Evil God factors steadily rose, and the air grew progressively hotter and more humid.
The signal on the communicator in Lu Yuan’s hand became intermittent. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
At some point, Lu Yuan suddenly received a message from Lan Chen.
