Chapter 553 - 445: A Blessing in Disguise (Part 3)
Chapter 553: Chapter 445: A Blessing in Disguise (Part 3)
There was no day or night in the cave, and Flora Bloom had no idea how much time had passed. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the silent cave, followed by a conversation that reached her ears.
"Family Head! The Seymour family is being too tyrannical! We of the Vaughn family saw that damn native base first, so how could we just let them snatch it away? That place is huge and spacious. We shouldn’t have given it up!"
"What do you know! The Seymour family has deep ties with the Rook family of the Ancient Star Nation. This time, the Rook family’s team is led by their Third Elder. That man, Rong San, has a Wind Ability at the Second Level of the Planet Level. We are no match for him!"
"So what if they’re the Rook family from the Ancient Star Nation? There are about a hundred of us. You’re telling me we can’t beat thirty-odd people?"
"Are you an idiot? Do you think numbers matter in a fight between superpower users? A single Cosmic Level user could single-handedly wipe out more than half of the superpower users in our entire Vaughn Universe Sector. A War God can destroy an entire star region with a wave of their hand.
A single Planet Level user can take on a hundred Nebula Level users. Besides, that Rong San didn’t just reach the Planet Level. I’ve heard he’s been stuck at the Second Level of the Planet Level for a long time, which means he’s probably not far from its peak."
"Ah! Th-then... what do we do? Just swallow this humiliation? When has our Vaughn family ever been treated this way in the Vaughn Universe Sector!"
"Sigh... There’s nothing we can do. We just have to train harder. That place has so many natives. Even though the Rook family is powerful, they’ll have a hard time subduing that many people at once.
These Earthlings may only seem to be High-level, but there are a great many of them. We’re not getting involved in this mess."
"Hey, have you guys noticed? There’s something strange about this place!"
A clear female voice suddenly cried out in surprise. Judging by the sound, the speaker was a young woman no older than eighteen.
"Family Head! Look, there are so many plants and fruit trees growing in this cave!
And the fruit is so sweet..."
The sound of footsteps scattered as people seemed to be looking around the cave.
A moment later, it was the same female voice.
"Ah! Family Head, I... I... I!"
Another flurry of footsteps.
"Qingqing, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me, why is your face so red! Say something! Stop eating!"
A man’s worried voice was accompanied by muffled sounds from the girl called Qingqing.
"Ah Qing? What’s wrong?"
"I... I... Hey, Senior Brother, don’t snatch my fruit! Family Head, I... I leveled up!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Qingqing, how did you suddenly level up?"
"I remember you just reached the First Level of the Nebula Level not long ago. We haven’t had any energy stones for you to consume on our journey, so how did you suddenly level up?"
Everyone started chattering at once, completely baffled.
"Have you guys noticed? The life qi here is unusually abundant!"
"It seems so..."
"And look at these plants. Do you all remember what it was like outside the cave? It was barren, with only a few scattered patches of grass, mostly just clumps of weeds. So how can there be such a rich life force inside this cave?"
"That’s right! There weren’t nearly this many grasses and trees outside!"
"The flowers, grasses, and trees here have actually grown by breaking through solid rock, and they’re so lush. There must be some kind of treasure here!"
"Family Head, I... I leveled up too!"
"Me, I leveled up too!"
"I think... I did too..."
"I..."
Of the one hundred and one members of the Vaughn family who had come, everyone except for the Family Head, Leopold Vaughn—who was at the First Level of the Planet Level—had gone up a level.
And while Leopold Vaughn’s level hadn’t increased, this abundant life force was seeping into his body, even slowly healing an injury he had sustained decades ago.
The previous Family Head had seen his potential and talent, allowing him to take over as Family Head at a young age. However, some in the family objected, and a secret assassination attempt left him with extremely severe injuries.
His injuries had damaged his Sea of Consciousness, causing his Superpower Level to increase at a crawl. The family was already discussing replacing him as Family Head.
He had been provoked into leading this expedition by certain people within the family. But also, he owed the old Family Head a debt of gratitude as heavy as a mountain, so leading this treasure hunt was also his way of contributing to the family.
’I thought for sure that after this mission, I’d be stripped of my title as Family Head and they would choose someone else.’
’But I never expected to find a place like this.’
’If my injuries can heal, with my talent and hard work, I could reach the peak of the Planet Level in less than half a year. At that point, no one would dare to object to my position as Family Head again.’
His heart thumping with excitement, he walked toward the area where the life qi was densest, plopped down on the ground, and began to absorb it.
"There’s a dense concentration of Life Essence Qi here. The lushness of these plants must also be due to its influence.
This is a rare opportunity. A treasure like Life Essence Qi is something you only encounter through a great stroke of fortune. Have everyone gather here and cultivate on the spot."
"Family Head, shouldn’t we find the treasure that’s emitting this Life Essence Qi?"
"There’s no rush. The Sterling family stole the base we chose, so we’ll just build a Vaughn family base here. We’ll center it around this mountain."