Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

Chapter 190 My Cousin's Amazing Gift: So Many Acquaintances at Sea?

"cheers!"

Ebony wine glasses clinked together above the table, splashing golden liquid onto the orange-red roasted chicken.

The wine droplets slid down, while steam rose upwards.

Xia Fa was already a little drunk. He hadn't expected that the extraordinary wine served at Princess Shark's banquet would be so potent.

Not to mention him, even Prince Justinian and Avalon, these two angelic overlords, were somewhat drunk.

Prince Justinian tilted his head back, downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, and immediately picked up the wine bottle next to him, poured himself a full cup, and drank it down.

When he was drunk, he was nothing like his usual debonair self, and the warm and gentle smile that made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze was gone from his face.

The prince of the Kingdom of Augu remained drunk, drinking one cup after another in silence.

It's said that when people get drunk, they reveal their true selves.

Xia Fa was secretly curious. It seemed that this prince, who was of noble status and powerful strength, was not as happy as he appeared on the surface.

Of course, Avalon was even more extravagant than Prince Justinian.

Avalon's thin arm was wrapped around Shafa's neck, and the posture made them look quite close.

"Xia Fa, come, let me toast you!"

A voice reeking of alcohol rang out. This usually aloof and proud mechanical genius, the number one mechanical genius of the Augu Kingdom for a century, was now flushed and reeking of alcohol, making him even more unrestrained and boisterous than a pirate.

"Xia Fa, I'm not bragging, but when you go to the Earth God Kingdom in the [Silver White Universe], just mention my name. At least for those at or below the demigod level, my name still carries weight."

Avalon patted his chest, looking quite smug, and exhaled a strong smell of alcohol.

He was so thin and frail that one might even worry that he might slap himself until he lost his breath.

"I'll be twenty-nine next year, and I've met all sorts of people—humans, demi-humans, humanoid supernatural beings... you name it. But to be honest, Xiafa, I've never met anyone quite like you. Come on, let's have another drink!"

Xiafa felt a little amused and exasperated, but seeing that Avalon was already drunk, he couldn't say anything and could only drink another cup with Him.

He never expected that beneath Avalon's naive, aloof exterior lay such a hidden side.

On the other hand, Avalon's words were all from the heart, which touched Xiafa a little.

In particular, since he was only an insect-level being on the surface, Avalon had no need to deliberately curry favor with him, and Avalon was not the kind of person who would flatter others.

In fact, this angel-level overlord showed no respect to anyone, even killing five demigods under the Howling Emperor's command without hesitation, destroying them along with their ships.

But the fact that Avalon could show such an attitude towards her made Xiafa feel quite good.

Actually, there were only five people at this table.

The demigod-level captain of the Red Pork Pufferfish

Prince Justinian and Avalon, both angels
And James, the golden-sworded angel,

In addition to myself,
According to rank and status, I should have been the first one to get drunk.

But as soon as he took the first sip, he felt that this extraordinary liquor, which looked like beer but was far spicier than vodka, was directly transformed into a continuous stream of supernatural power within his body.

It even stimulated the burning sensation in his cells, causing it to grow slightly.

However, this seems to be a one-time effect; it only provides a slight burning sensation, about the thickness of a hair, and then it has no further effect.

But perhaps for this reason, his body's ability to absorb this extraordinary wine was pushed to its limit, which is why he remained in a slightly tipsy state instead of getting completely drunk.

On the other hand, the strange current that he actively activated, which covered the cerebral cortex, also had a significant effect.

Otherwise, Xia Fa estimated that he would have been the first one to get drunk and pass out at the table long ago.

This wine is so potent that even extraordinary individuals can't withstand it.

Thinking this, he turned his head and saw that the captain of the Red Pufferfish was fast asleep on the table, his whole body reeking of alcohol.

He only drank two glasses of that golden liquid.

James was already drunk, more so than Prince Justinian and Avalon, and his speech was becoming increasingly incoherent:

"Drink! Let's drink together!"

"This...this Cardan wine...was specially brought out by the chief to entertain everyone. Normally, even I...I...the first mate, the third mate, and I...can't even get a sip!"

"Haha...Come on...let's have another drink!"

The second mate of the Shark, an angelic being, was already nearly dead drunk, but he was still trying to gulp down the golden liquor.

Cardan wine...

Upon hearing the name, Xia Fa finally understood why this wine had such a strong aftereffect.

This could certainly not be the wine brewed by Cardan, the elder of the Augustus family who recognized him as his godfather. In fact, Cardan is the name of an extraordinary fruit.

The Cardan fruit is a renowned and extraordinary fruit that can greatly increase a person's courage, strength, stamina, and mental stability in a short period of time.

Cardan's name actually comes from this extraordinary fruit.

A single Cardan fruit costs around 12,000 gold pounds and is only the size of a strawberry.

Unexpectedly, Princess Shark is so extravagant that she's willing to use Cardan fruit to make wine...

"I remember that brewing wine with extraordinary fruits is an ancient and highly skilled craft, isn't it? The slightest mistake can lead to failure, and wasting a whole barrel of extraordinary fruits is the least of your worries. If handled improperly, it could even cultivate monsters..."

Xia Fa has seen similar descriptions and records in many books on mysticism.

I wonder what kind of extraordinary wine Benedict, as a doll girl skilled in brewing, will be able to create with these extraordinary fruits...

Gumbling--

The sound of fine wine going down his throat rang out from beside him. Xia Fa turned his head and saw Avalon, who had downed another large glass of Cardan wine.

But Avalon still seemed unsatisfied. He picked up a golden bottle and began to blow into it. His cheeks visibly swelled up, then immediately shrank back, his throat bulged, and all the liquor went down into his stomach.

"Aha--"

He actually drank more than half a bottle of Cardan wine in one go, let out a satisfied sigh, and casually wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Avalon's clear, innocent eyes, like those of a baby, were now hazy and dreamy, as if covered by a thin film.

He had been holding Xiafa, but his hand inexplicably slipped, and he collapsed onto the table, still muttering to himself.

"To be honest, actually... I kind of regret going into the Earthly God Kingdom. There are just too many perverts in there. Damn it, it's made me... I've even started to feel inferior..."

His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, and finally, he too drifted off to sleep.

thump! thump!
Another muffled thud sounded, and before that thud had even ended, another muffled thud followed immediately, almost one after another, on the table.

Xia Fa looked up and saw James the Golden Rapier and Prince Justinian, who had also passed out drunk at the table.

Suddenly, he was the only one still awake at the round table, while the other four were all fast asleep.

Xia Fa shook his head with a chuckle, noticing that there was still more than half of the extraordinary feast left on the table, all of them rustic yet delicious dishes.
The dishes included whole roasted tuna, smoked dried ribbonfish, and spicy squid—all supernatural creatures, some even possessing demigod-like status.

Xia Fa, of course, didn't stand on ceremony, picked up his knife and fork, and began to eat heartily.

Today's voyage had been fraught with danger, leaving him both mentally and physically exhausted. He desperately needed this delicious food to replenish his energy. He stuffed food into his mouth one by one, and combined with the several bottles of Cardan wine he had drunk earlier, Xia Fa felt his stomach growing increasingly full, and his extraordinary power accumulating within him.

After this meal, when we get back to the ship, I'll have to get some exercise; I can't let this go to waste.

Just as Xia Fa made this decision, suddenly, the scenery around him blurred.

Before he could react, his vision blurred, and when it cleared again, he was almost startled.

It turned out to be a treasure room.

The towering ebony bookshelves, hundreds of meters high, were filled with all sorts of secret treasures, sealed artifacts, extraordinary fruits, extraordinary metals, and even secret contracts, a truly dazzling sight.

Xia Fa glanced around but didn't see any overlord-level secret contracts. He then cautiously surveyed the environment of the treasure room.

Clearly, he seemed to have been "teleported" here by some powerful secret ability or treasure power.

To his surprise, he had been completely unaware of it beforehand and had no power to resist at all.

If we're talking about who on the Shark Gang could pull off this feat, without a doubt, it could only be the Shark Princess.

Suddenly there was a strange noise above his head. Xia Fa looked up and immediately saw a pair of delicate white feet dangling in the air.

It was Princess Shark. At this moment, her petite body was sitting on the top of the bookshelf in front of Xia Fa, her small hands resting on the crossbeam of the bookshelf, supporting her body, and her gaze from behind the mask looked down at Xia Fa.

"Are you full?"

The clear, cool, and authoritative voice rang out. Although it was crisp and clear, it did not make anyone dare to show the slightest disrespect.

Now that they were closer to Princess Shark, Xia Fa felt that she looked exactly like Auf, except for her hair and eye color.

However, under these circumstances, he certainly couldn't just admit it rashly, so he had to respond first:
"We've almost finished eating. Thank you for your hospitality, Princess Shark."

Princess Shark did not respond to him, but simply raised her little hand.

A wisp of light flew from her hand and landed in Xia Fa's arms.

"Okay, I've brought the things. That's all."

The clear, cool, and dignified girl's voice rang out, and Xia Fa felt the surrounding scenery blur again. When he came to his senses, he found himself... in a bedroom!

This is clearly a guest room on the Shark, because the floors, walls and ceilings are all made of familiar ebony, and it is unknown what kind of extraordinary tree it is.

The guest room contained only one bed, which was quite small, but the blankets and pillows were as white as snow and smelled pleasantly of sunshine.

Considering the conditions at sea, this is indeed a very good treatment.

"Is this so that we can eat and drink our fill, then get a good night's sleep and rest?"

Xia Fa chuckled, surprised that the Shark Gang had provided such attentive hospitality.

Unfortunately, he was teleported too fast and didn't even have time to ask Princess Shark a few questions or subtly probe whether she was indeed Auf.

But as long as we're at sea, there will probably be opportunities in the future.

"Truly worthy of being called the Overlord, he teleported me here and there so easily, and I didn't even have the power to resist..."

Thinking back on what had just happened, Xia Fa once again deeply felt the power of the Overlord.

After regaining his composure, he sprinkled a handful of live iron powder, which spread throughout the small cabin. Then, using the secret abilities of [Bending Manipulation] and [Time Concealment] from the Gate of Stars, he casually distorted space and time.

After making these basic preparations, Xia Fa sat on the bed and took out the so-called "old friend" who had given him the item.

It was a metal sphere.

However, unlike the metal spheres of Avalon that can transform into mechanical creations or motorized armor, it is a hollow metal sphere specifically designed to hold things.

This metal sphere has a rough surface and a silvery-gray luster. It is divided into two halves, with a stopper at the junction.

Xia Fa pinched the stopper between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers and pulled hard.

With a "pop," the surrounding air was sucked into the gap, and the metal sphere bounced away.

Inside the hollow metal sphere lay a letter and... a necklace?
Xia Fa was genuinely surprised. Who was this old friend, and why was he giving her the necklace?
The chain of this necklace is made of shadow gold and is engraved with countless tiny, regular patterns in a highly aesthetically pleasing manner.

At the end of the chain hangs a small silver axe.

But this small silver axe was clearly not made of ordinary silver; it was made of an extraordinary metal that Xiafa had never seen before.

Despite his status as a signatory to the Silver Throne, he couldn't immediately identify what kind of extraordinary silver metal it was.

It is neither mithril, nor star silver, nor red silver, nor silver of destruction, nor silver of explosion, nor silver of destiny... and so on.

Compared to the chain engraved with secret text, this small silver axe appears very simple, without any words or patterns on it, just like a student's first attempt at crafting, plain and unadorned.

Xia Fa held the necklace in his hand and played with it for a while before putting it back into the metal sphere. Then, he opened the letter.

Upon seeing the first line of the letter, Xia Fa was stunned, as if many fragments of memories were flooding his mind.

[Shafa, this is Locke. I'm sorry to contact you in this way, but recently, my cousin told me that he divined your voyage...]

"Locke..."

In the fragments of memory, Locke is his cousin, the youngest son of his uncle Titchich.

Uncle Titchich had two sons: Hercules and Locke.

The eldest son, Hercules, was more than ten years older than Shafa and was Shafa's older cousin.

As for Locke, he was only two years younger than Xia Fa, so he was naturally his cousin.

"Cousin Hercules... actually went to sea, and, at least, became an angel?"

Shaffer noticed that in the letter, Cousin Locke addressed Cousin Hercules as "He".

This clearly means that Cousin Hercules has at least become an angel.

Moreover, given that Cousin Hercules is referred to as an "old friend" by Princess Shark and is willing to help her, there is even a possibility that Cousin Hercules is the ruler.

Xia Fa grew increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. He was somewhat unclear about what his cousins ​​had gone through.

All I remember is that when I was a child, around ten years old, my Uncle Tetsch's family changed their business from running a bar to doing shipping and foreign trade.

Cousins ​​Hercules and Locke, of course, could only go to sea with their father, Uncle Titchich.

From then on, he lost contact with his two cousins ​​who had played together and had a good relationship since childhood.

But Xia Fa never expected that, more than a decade later, her cousin would have become an angel and established himself at sea!

Moreover, he even gifted himself this necklace!
Xia Fa's curiosity grew even stronger.

Is Uncle Titchi still alive?
Whose ship are Hercules' cousin and Locke's cousin on?

Hercules' cousin is at least an angel, so he's probably loyal to some pirate emperor, right?

He lowered his gaze and continued reading the letter.

But immediately, Xia Fa's pupils contracted as he saw news that he had never expected!

(End of this chapter)