It was clear that she had long started the return to the Elven lineage, achieving further "purification."
From appearance alone, anyone seeing her at first glance would think of her as a remarkable pure-blood Elf, rather than a Half-Elf.
Ying had reached Level 7, and her ability to diversify shadows increased from two to five.
This caused a tremendous breakthrough in her combat abilities, and Gauss even felt that the improvement she achieved far exceeded Albena, who gained the Giantification racial talent.
Though Albena’s Giantification was domineering, it was a limited-time ability that would revert after expiration, whereas Ying’s increased shadow clones were constant.
The five elusive shadow clones could give most enemies a headache.
The single 5-in-1 clone, according to Ying herself, had power almost comparable to her own.
As for Serdur, he was the last to return among Gauss’s five-member team, and he also concluded his cultivation session the latest within the Red Dragon Team.
Ivan and other members had returned to the group, yet he hadn’t.
If Gauss hadn’t intentionally checked up on him at the cave where Serdur chose for cultivation, one might fear he encountered some accident.
However, he was indeed quite unusual.
In Gauss’s powerful Dragon Eyes, Serdur’s body temperature had dropped to its lowest, almost blending in with the ambient temperature.
In other words, if a creature with heat vision came along, it wouldn’t notice this living person in the cave.
Despite some curiosity, Gauss felt relieved upon sensing Serdur’s slow but still-beating heart.
He did not approach too closely to conduct a more detailed inspection.
Breakthroughs are not to be taken lightly, much like the transformation of a cocoon into a butterfly; most of the time, it’s when professionals are most vulnerable, and the best approach if anomalies occur at this time is quiet waiting.
Any well-intentioned interference might only result in harm to the person attempting a breakthrough.
This is a lesson learned through countless blood and tears from actual experiences by humans.
Serdur’s whole body was curled up in a spiral shape, resembling a hibernating snake.
Gauss quietly watched from afar for a while before leaving.
Other adventure groups, while interacting with him, also inquired about the timing to open the next layer of the maze during cooperation.
However, he explained it away with the need for the Red Dragon Team to recover.
Others didn’t express excessive urgency, whether this was because they dared not show it before Gauss or because the fourth layer remained unexplored, wasn’t urgent.
Gauss analyzed that it might be a bit of both.
Although Gauss’s battle with the Demon Frog Lord eliminated over ten thousand demons, significantly reducing the maze’s fourth-layer demon population, plenty of other creatures still inhabit the fourth layer.
Some Level 5 demons or Commander Level individuals could resist summoning from the Lord, and these powerful entities often guard some special chests and targets.
Therefore, many areas in the fourth layer are still worth exploring.
Moreover, materials from monster corpses need collection and proper preservation to be transferred outside for sale, which occupies many adventure groups, so currently, the entire swarm on the fourth layer remains because of the Red Dragon Team’s decision.
After checking Serdur’s situation, Gauss continued cultivation with his teammates.
These days, he also carved out time each day to answer cultivation questions from other members of the Red Dragon Team.
It was somewhat like a casual class where any member of the Red Dragon Team could approach him with a personal query.
Upon notification, nearly everyone showed great enthusiasm.
Not just casters, but also Warriors, Rangers, and Wanderers who seem unrelated to Gauss eagerly sought his advice.
Initially, perhaps without high hopes, they approached him out of admiration to interact with Gauss.
Yet, under Gauss’s gaze with golden-hued eyes, they quickly felt their bodies being thoroughly seen through by him.
Gauss then provided suggestions tailored to their personal situations.
Under Gauss’s tutelage, members of the Red Dragon Team found new paths of cultivation.
Though Gauss might not be familiar with their specific professional status and skills, he understands human anatomy.
Taking a Warrior’s Combat Skills for instance, under his powerful eyes, everything was revealed, whether it’s muscle tension during skill exertion or blood flow speed, it was clearly visible to him.
This often allowed him to pinpoint their specific issues quickly, be it posture, exertion techniques, or areas of accumulated daily fatigue.
His "vast knowledge" also swiftly earned the admiration of numerous members.
Where once their admiration occurred subconsciously due to Gauss’s strength, now after demonstrating outstanding teaching abilities, every member benefited from his guidance genuinely admired the younger leader.
Humans are driven by interests.
Even admiration needs to be built upon sufficient benefits to become more solidified.
The Leader’s Certificate merely accelerates this process and is not some brainwashing technique. If Gauss’s inherent image evoked revulsion among others, even the Leader’s Certificate couldn’t secure their loyalty.
A petite girl walked in nervously, heart pounding fast, and her heart rate unconsciously increased upon seeing Gauss’s face ahead.
"Leader, I consulted you about the Colorful Ball two days ago."
"I remember you, you’re Holly, right? Any issues?"
Gauss looked at the timid young woman, instantly recalling her name and the advice he gave her two days ago. Though he hadn’t specifically memorized names, with 20 points of Intelligence, his memory was at a level of photographic recall.
Unless he deliberately cut out certain information, forgetting was difficult.
"Uh-huh." Hearing that Gauss immediately recognized her identity, Holly’s face lit up with surprise and joy, her pupils resembling sparkling stars.
However, she didn’t waste time since many awaited guidance behind her.
She understood that for an ordinary 1st Ring Little Mage like her to receive advice from a powerful leader was a rare opportunity.
Such chances were seldom seen in other adventure groups.
After all, an adventure group is primarily an employment relationship where the upper echelon’s only duty is to distribute the deserved salary to subordinates.
Regarding other cultivation matters, theoretically, it’s unrelated to the adventure group’s higher ups, especially in large adventure groups where this fact is clearer.
With hundreds or thousands of members, if guidance were given to each person, upper management would have no time for anything else, spending their days solely answering inquiries.
Additionally, many wouldn’t want to deal with such troublesome tasks.
Yet, Leader Gauss differs...
She quickly shared the issues she encountered while cultivating the Colorful Ball, then watched Gauss with eager eyes.
Although Gauss hadn’t learned the 1st Ring Spell Colorful Ball, given his magical prowess, he soon identified the doubts Holly faced.
Soon, under his guidance, Holly attempted releasing the Colorful Ball several more times.
What seemed insurmountable challenges for lower-level professionals appeared straightforward to Gauss.