The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins
Chapter 97 - 97: Insect Pupae

Zhu Haomiao: "..."

I'll go with the second option. It sounds less crippling...

"So how do I go about implementing the second kind of insight? For example, I've hit a bottleneck with my [Stacked Waves Strength]. What natural phenomenon should I observe to gain inspiration?"

Upon hearing this, Li Cang gave Zhu Haomiao a strange look.

"Do you really need to ask? Stacked waves, stacked waves, go look at the sea!"

Zhu Haomiao: "..."

That makes so much sense. Why didn't I think of that?!

"If there's no sea, a big lake's waves will do."

"If that's not possible, you can fill a basin with bathwater and play with the water in it."

"I had my breakthrough while taking a bath back in the day."

Zhu Haomiao: "..."

Breaking through in the bath, what an obscure term...

"Actually, when you hit a bottleneck, it means your hardware accumulation is sufficient, and you're just lacking a tiny bit of inspiration."

"As long as you have a certain level of understanding and a pair of observant eyes, you can easily capture the inspiration key to open the big door by seeing the big picture from the details."

"Just like the apple that fell on Newton's head back then."

Listening to Li Cang's leisurely words, Zhu Haomiao suddenly felt a surge of eagerness.

I'm so strong right now; quickly, bring me a tub of bathwater!

............

Twenty days later, in the Illusion Realm

Looking at his skin, swollen and blanched from soaking, Zhu Haomiao seriously thought and analyzed, lying in the bathtub, deep in thought.

Where's the promised enlightenment from bathing?

What exactly went wrong?

Could it be that I'm not bathing in the right position?

Instinctively stirring the bathwater, watching the layers of ripples, Zhu Haomiao gained no insight into the world's great truths, only feeling like an immature kid.

After a long period of self-examination, ruling out all possible factors, Zhu Haomiao despairingly realized...

Am I the idiot after all?!

It's bad enough my destiny is lacking, but even my insight is poor?

Could it be that I'm truly a small fry?

No, I shouldn't belittle myself. The best object for observing [Stacked Waves Strength] should be the turbulent sea!

Breaking through with bathwater is simply unreliable!

Exactly!

It's not me; it's Li Cang's teaching that's at fault!

Instantly assigning blame, Zhu Haomiao gathered his spirits, dressed up, and headed straight for the seaside. After spending an afternoon in the sea breeze at the docks of Shanghai, he fell silent once again.

Is Li Cang trying to fool me?

Why don't I feel anything after watching for so long?

It wasn't until the sunset hit the horizon that the dazed-looking young man snapped back to reality, his unfocused pupils slightly sharpening as a flash of insight suddenly struck his mind.

No way!

With my god-given talent, why should I be confined by the "wisdom of mortals"?

Li Cang is just a loud-mouthed oaf. What does he know about breakthroughs!

[Book of Black]!

Add points for me!

Raising his hand for a virtual grasp, the dark and heavy book instantaneously manifested in the young man's hand.

Responding to Zhu Haomiao's will, the [Book of Black] stirred without wind, opening to a special page.

[Sloth]!

His gaze shifted slightly, and a mysterious sensation flowed into his heart, and Zhu Haomiao seemed to understand something, his eyes widening in surprise and delight.

Well, isn't this something!

I just mentioned it casually, and there's actually a way?

Since you're so sensible, I won't hold a grudge about you taking kickbacks from the Imperial Army!

Gazing in delight at the [Book of Black], Zhu Haomiao followed the mysterious sensation, activating the [Sloth] authority.

The next second, responding to the young man's wish, unobservable gray-white threads started to condense and emerge from the void, gradually wrapping around Zhu Haomiao in his astonished gaze, forming a giant insect cocoon.

At the same time, a cultivation technique recorded in the [Book of Black] shone with golden light, emitting a weak seven-colored divine light that fused into the cocoon.

The next second, the cocoon room completed its formation, slowly solidifying from the conceptually soft and fragile material into an evil insect pupa with a metallic texture.

Soon after, the insect pupa contracted, sticking to Zhu Haomiao's skin before phasing out and disappearing.

Right after, the young man felt a large portion of his power "melt" and blend with the faint seven-colored divine light, settling deep into his spirit and body.

Clenching his fist, Zhu Haomiao felt a strong sense of weakness; his six-dimensional attributes were significantly reduced and "disappeared" along with the insect pupa.

Wrong!

They're not gone; it's like a cocooning caterpillar, shrinking and hiding deep in the spirit and body, undergoing some kind of mysterious metamorphosis on a conceptual level!

It took a long time to adapt to the sudden weakness. Zhu Haomiao carefully observed himself and found himself in a peculiar state.

Though not the one-click breakthrough he imagined, which requires time for transformation, his speed of integrating attributes has greatly increased, seemingly similar to when in deep sleep.

This means he may no longer need to undergo prolonged sleep.

Additionally, the cocoon's wrapping seems to have diminished his presence from the aspect of divinity; if he deliberately hides, a transcendent with poor perception would find it hard to discover him!

However... this state isn't without its side effects...

Clenching his fist, Zhu Haomiao felt an expected weakness and powerlessness, along with a soul-deep exhaustion.

So tired... I want to sleep...

Yawning, Zhu Haomiao shook his head to clear his mind, but the vague fatigue persisted, making him drowsy.

Knowing it's the side effect of the [Sloth] authority, Zhu Haomiao forced himself to be alert, put on a hood, and completely melted into the darkness, disappearing amidst the roaring sea wind at the docks.

Dozens of minutes later, a ghost-like shadow arrived at the villa district of the Public Leased Territory. Looking at the patrolling guards and the impeccably secure manor nearby, the lazy eyes under the hood's shadow slowly dimmed, like lifeless stones, hiding all luster.

Simultaneously, a mystic law authority enveloped his body like an invisible veil, cloaking his presence and merging his ordinary figure completely with the environment.

The originally airtight defenses turned full of holes in an instant. Zhu Haomiao vaguely felt that all guards' detection range had been significantly shortened. Unless he got too close, even ordinary transcendent beings would find it hard to discover him!

With a sense of clarity, Zhu Haomiao attempted to sneak into the manor, cautiously avoiding patrol guards, successfully entering the main building.

Meanwhile, in a secret room of the main building, Wilson was staring grimly at a pile of photos on the table, his eyes flickering with a fierce glint.

The next second, a peripheral shadow off to the side noticed an abrupt presence several meters away. Wilson felt a chill run from his tailbone to the top of his skull, every hair standing on end like a spooked cat with fur bristled and whiskers flared.

"Who!!!"