Gu Ning returned to the cabin, ready to use White Stones to upgrade his technology.
But before that, he wanted to check what he had managed to snatch from the treasure rain.
There were three items in total.
Pet Quality Upgrade Card (Purple):Use to upgrade a pet's quality. The higher the pet's current level, the lower the success rate.
The first item gave Gu Ning a huge surprise—it was a purple-grade treasure, and a rare one at that, capable of improving a pet's aptitude.
In this world, aptitude essentially determines a creature's individual strength and growth ceiling.
Gu Ning held the upgrade card in his hand, weighing who to use it on.
If he used it on Little Blue, it could be easily upgraded to purple grade with a high success rate—almost guaranteed.
But if he used it on Huohuo, the risk of failure would be higher. However, if it succeeded, he would gain another legendary-tier combatant.
After thinking it over, Gu Ning decided to use it on Huohuo. After all, purple upgrade items were hard to come by. He would prioritize Huohuo now and improve Little Blue when more items came along.
The second item was a blueprint.
Crisis Detector Blueprint:Detects hostile creatures within a 300-meter radius and sounds an alert.
Construction Requirements: Iron ×30, Copper ×30, Broken Circuit Boards ×20, Glass ×10
Quite a few materials were needed—and Gu Ning didn't have any Broken Circuit Boards, though he did have a few pieces of glass.
Seeing the glass reminded him that he hadn't yet used his window blueprint.
Gu Ning took it out and used it directly.
A glass window instantly appeared on the wooden wall of the cabin, where raindrops began to patter against it with a rhythmic sound.
This detector would be incredibly useful. Gu Ning decided to craft it as soon as possible.
He opened the trading channel and checked—no one had listed the required items. So, he created two buy orders:
100 White StonesLooking to buy: Glass ×10
200 White StonesLooking to buy: Broken Circuit Boards ×20
After posting, Gu Ning also sent a message in the chat channel:
"Anyone got glass or broken circuit boards? I need them. Check the trade listings."
With that done, he moved on to inspect the third item: a small transparent glass tube containing some azure liquid.
Azure Sea Dragon Blood (Blue):Use to gain the bloodline of the Azure Sea Dragon Clan.
Requirements: Base attributes must each be above 50 points.
What the hell—there's something like this?
If he drank this, wouldn't he become a dragon? Gu Ning thought to himself.
No, not exactly. He'd just gain a dragon's bloodline—not truly become a dragon.
He stored it away. He couldn't use it yet—at the very least, he needed to be around level 6 or 7 to meet the conditions.
Next, Gu Ning opened the [Technology] panel.
He found Ship Diving Tech (Weakened) and chose to upgrade it.
Spending 3000 White Stones, it reached level 2, which gave him two hours of submersion time per day.
Then, he opened Multi-Oar Linked Propulsion Tech and spent 1000 White Stones to upgrade it to level 2.
Ever since witnessing the Azure Sea Dragon King, Gu Ning's desire to establish his own territory had grown stronger. He wanted to travel faster and reach the island sooner.
If it weren't for energy limitations, he would've leveled up propulsion tech even further.
Other tech upgrades could wait—for now, they wouldn't help much.
Then, Gu Ning purchased the required materials to upgrade his wooden boat:
Wood ×500
Iron Nails ×800
Copper ×50
He selected "Upgrade."
Wooden BoatLevel: 5 (Length: 30 meters, Width: 9 meters)Facilities: Core Cabin, Large Living Room, Small Living Rooms ×2, Storage, Toilet, Fishing DeckPropulsion: Multi-Oar Linked PropulsionTechnology:
Ship Drainage Tech (Level 2)
Ship Thermal Tech (Level 1)
Ship Automation Tech (Level 1)
Multi-Oar Linked Propulsion Tech (Level 2)
Ship Diving Tech (Weakened, Level 2)Special Ability: Diving
A large and a small room were added, and the boat was extended by 10 meters, though the width remained unchanged.
Also, the central chamber was now called the Core Cabin—likely a setup for future ship upgrades.
Gu Ning walked out of the Core Cabin.
Molly and the other three commoners started to rise to greet him, but he waved them off and told them to keep fishing.
"Molly, you'll move into the small cabin tonight. The other three of you can take the large cabin."
"Yes, Lord," they all replied.
Gu Ning nodded, glanced at the oars, and noticed there were now four more. That must've been due to the propulsion tech upgrade.
Then he went to the small cabin, where he found Windsor and Huohuo. The moment he entered, a wave of heat hit him.
Windsor's soaked dress clung tightly to her, outlining her curves—Gu Ning dared not describe the details for fear of breaking the peace…
He pulled himself together. Molly wouldn't be around tonight, so he could finally spend some quality time with Windsor.
"Ahem, hold up for a sec," Gu Ning said, interrupting Windsor and Huohuo.
They stopped. Windsor looked flustered when she saw him and quickly dried her clothes. Huohuo happily flew over and hugged Gu Ning's head.
Gu Ning picked her up, then took out the Pet Quality Upgrade Card and used it on Huohuo.
The card transformed into a beam of purple light that enveloped Huohuo. She closed her eyes as her aura fluctuated.
Gradually, her body grew to about 40 cm—twice her original size. A fiery crest appeared on her smooth white forehead.
That small, delicate face now radiated a touch of regal elegance thanks to the new marking.
Gu Ning was overjoyed—he had succeeded. Huohuo had become another legendary-tier combatant by his side.
When Huohuo opened her eyes, she looked at him gleefully and rubbed her tiny face against his cheek, even more affectionate than before.
Then Gu Ning took out two Spirit Essence Fruits and handed them to Windsor and Huohuo.
Afterward, he checked Huohuo's stats.
Huohuo / Fire Elemental Sprite (Gold Grade)Level: 6Strength: 43Agility: 42Defense: 40Skills: Fireball, Burning Body, Fire Bind, Flame Shield
Huohuo had gained +2 Strength and +1 Agility.
More importantly, because of the quality upgrade, she acquired a new skill: Flame Shield, and her grade tag changed from purple to gold.
While the attribute gains weren't huge, her growth potential now far exceeded what it was at the purple level.
Gu Ning turned to Windsor.
"Windsor, how much did your stats improve?"
"My Agility increased by 2 points, and Defense by another 2," Windsor replied happily. After all, the Spirit Essence Fruit could only increase up to 4 points total.