Chapter 224: The White Ogre's Surprise
Earth.
Toriko and Komatsu returned. The Tiny Shell really was convenient. Traveling back and forth took almost no time. You could come back whenever you wanted.
"The Streaming Light Mermaid?"
The White Ogre inside Toriko's body sensed a familiar aura and popped up with interest.
"Is it delicious?" Toriko asked curiously.
"A God Ingredient from the Final Land. It existed even before the Gourmet Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. It can be called the pinnacle of taste."
"The Streaming Light Mermaid is a very special God Ingredient. Its cooking method is unknown."
"Don't be fooled by its harmless appearance. It can destroy a star system with ease."
There was only one Streaming Light Mermaid. The teardrop she produced... no one knew it was a tear. Not many powerhouses had ever even come into contact with her.
Toriko was shocked. To be able to get this kind of acknowledgment from the White Ogre... she really was amazing.
"If the cooking method is unknown, does that mean you guys can't beat her?" Toriko asked.
"That's not necessarily true, but the Streaming Light Mermaid's speed is unmatched. If anyone has ill intentions, they won't even be able to see her shadow," the White Ogre said.
There were beings stronger than her, yes. But beings who could catch her? None.
"Hisashiburi, Kenji. How was your trip?"
"It hasn't been that long. Only about half a year has passed here, right?" Kenji said, checking the calendar. "As for the trip, it was pretty good. I saw my master and the others, and now I have one more passenger."
Toriko nodded and said, "I still haven't seen the old man. I don't know where they ran off to."
"My master is in the Bacchus Galaxy."
"I haven't seen Uncle Ichiryu and the others either."
Hearing where Jiro was, Toriko nodded, completely unsurprised. "As expected." As the fixed NPC of the Bacchus Islands, once he got to space, Jiro would of course become the fixed NPC of a similar place. If he went to the Bacchus Galaxy in the future, there was a high probability he would run into Jiro.
"Komatsu, how did you feel after going to space once?"
"Mr. Kenji, space is just too dangerous," Komatsu said, exhausted. The Eight Kings on Earth were already big enough, but on the grand stage of the universe, they still didn't amount to much. There were countless creatures as massive as planets. He felt like his heart was about to reach its limit.
"Komatsu, man up! Don't lose face!" Toriko said, patting Komatsu's shoulder. "With me here, what are you afraid of? Don't you trust me?"
Komatsu was silent. Mr. Toriko, I really don't trust you. You were the one who wanted to challenge that massive thing, the Space Taipan. He had been terrified at the time. He had really thought he was going to die. Thank goodness Toriko had held back in the end; otherwise, they might never have returned to Earth.
He didn't know that it was the Ogres inside Toriko who had stopped him. A Capture Level of over 500,000... even if they took over the fight, it would be very difficult to defeat the Space Taipan.
Dude, don't. Who starts a summit battle right out of the gate? Although they could protect Toriko, it just wasn't necessary. Shouldn't he farm some experience first? Go practice on some creatures in the tens-of-thousands Capture Level range. Don't just immediately challenge something in the hundreds of thousands.
Toriko had only been talking; he hadn't really planned on challenging the Space Taipan right now.
The Ogres inside Toriko: Heh, we believe you.
This glutton definitely wanted to taste the Space Taipan; otherwise, he wouldn't have even had the thought of challenging it.
"The White Ogre said this mermaid is a God Ingredient," Toriko said, looking at Streaming Light curiously. Although he knew she was an ingredient, with a face so indistinguishable from a human's, even he, a glutton, couldn't bring himself to attack (or eat) her. He was not his appetite itself. Although he didn't care about the species of an ingredient, he was still human.
"!"
Hearing this, Streaming Light became wary. Are they thinking of eating me?
"Mermaid's Tear. Want to try some?"
Kenji took out his fish course. The quantity was so large he couldn't even eat it all. Even if he ran out, he could just show Streaming Light some more "healthy and positive" videos, and he could harvest more.
Streaming Light: ? How can you be so selfish!
"So it's her tears," the Ogre inside Toriko said, a bit surprised. The Streaming Light Mermaid's speed was too fast. Even if someone wanted to capture her, they wouldn't get the chance, so of course, they wouldn't know what the specific ingredient was.
"Then I won't be polite!" Toriko wasn't coy. They were all family here.
[Cautious Hero]: "Thank you for your intel, Kenji. I have now cleared this S-rank world."
Seiya, whose level cap was now LV999, had trained in the Unified Divine Realm until he was strong enough to defeat the final Demon Lord, made his preparations, and then charged directly into the Demon Lord's castle. Ristarte and the others were just the cheerleading squad.
[The Champion]: "Seiya, that world where you failed in your past life... are you still planning to go?"
The world where Seiya had failed due to his carelessness had a difficulty of SS-rank. The Demon Lord's power had also increased to a terrifying level.
[Cautious Hero]: "I'll wait until I've trained with the Sword God a bit more."
Although this generation's Seiya was cautious, his deep-seated hatred for that Demon Lord could not be resolved. First, he would train to LV999, and then he would go to that world for revenge. The Sword God will just have to suffer a bit.
[Little Monster]: "I feel a little sorry for the Sword God."
[The Destroyer]: "He's just an experience pack for the hero."
[Star Forger]: "If you need it, we can all provide a drop-in carry service."
The God of Destruction in the Unified Divine Realm had a level cap of LV999. That world that had defeated the hero had become a demon world; there was no guarantee the Demon Lord's level wasn't horrifyingly high.
[Cautious Hero]: "If I can't handle it, I'll ask."
[Shadowkhan Queen]: "Although my combat power isn't great, I can lend you the Horse and Dog Talismans."
Seiya's character was fine. There was no problem in lending him the Talismans.
[Stank]: "That being said, the twelve talismans are too overpowered. How was Shendu, who possessed such power, ever stripped of them?"
[Shadowkhan Queen]: "Old Man said something about black chi and positive chi maintaining a balance. If the balance is excessively tipped, some kind of... correction... will occur."
[Dian Mei Ruan]: "That has the flavor of 'Equilibrium'."
As a member of the Genius Club, she knew about the Equilibrium faction. They claimed to maintain the balance of the universe, but they could also be called shit-stirrers, a bunch of obsessive-compulsive patients.
[Lifts-Bemstar-With-One-Hand]: "Where there is light, there is darkness. This is indeed a balance."
The Land of Light was already powerful enough, but there was no shortage of races and factions that posed a threat to the universe.
[A Mere Mortal]: "Equilibrium... it feels a bit like the Heavenly Dao, but it is inferior to the Dao."
The Dao is formless, all-encompassing. It does not forcefully intervene in the myriad things, but allows them to develop along their normal trajectories. "Do nothing, and yet nothing is left undone." Equilibrium doesn't even pretend. For the sake of the balance it believes in, it forcefully intervenes.
[Star Forger]: "Equilibrium is just an old schemer hiding behind the scenes. There are no records of it making a direct move."
Equilibrium dissolves its own will into the logical framework of the universe's operation, maintaining the balance and stability of all things. Its will has dissolved into the universe... Kenji was a little curious. Does the divine body of Equilibrium still exist, or did it dissolve along with its will?
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