《Dark Blood Path》 CH 1 Two infant demons were leaning on a fatal injury above his abdomen, bit by bit, gnawing on his internal organs. It never occurred to him that after gaining strength thousands of times beyond ordinary people and possessing vitality beyond normal human beings, he, too, would face this nightmarish torment one day. Dying now was a luxury for him! The demon clan was inherently a cruel race, and as a group of high-level monsters with extremely high intelligence, they always enjoy torturing their prey in the cruelest ways. It was their favorite entertainment, and they never get tired of it. It¡¯s just that after three hours of torment, they¡¯d still be fatigued even if they had the vitality of a giant dragon. With one last look at the sky, he cursed this damned world. ¡°It finally ends here. I don¡¯t know if anybody will feel sad after I¡¯m gone. Will anyone notice my disappearance¡­ probably not?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed, but the corners of his mouth hung with a self-deprecating smile, ¡°this is absolutely laughable. In the end, I have nothing. What did I live so long for? It makes no difference if I die. With me or without me, the world has never changed.¡± Feeling that their prey was about to die, the adult demon standing near him roared, and the young infant demon didn¡¯t hesitate, fast like a gust of wind blow, it bit down on his neck. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m not resigned to death yet!¡± This was Xiao Yu¡¯s last thought just before his consciousness faded. ¡­¡­¡­ Bang, bang, bang! A violent knocking sound awakened Xiao Yu; opening his eyes abruptly, he heard voices of men and women chatting beside him, and what was imprinted on his eyes was a familiar yet distant scene. He was inside a spacious classroom. Sunlight shone in from the windows and sprinkled on the smooth floor, making the place light-filled. There was a faint smell of paint in the air. Several exquisite oil paintings were hanging on the walls on both sides of the room. Rows of easels were neatly arranged as well while the students were mixing paints, cleaning their brushes, and preparing for sketching practice. The cause of the knocking sound was Jiang Xiaowen, who was still banging his drawing board vigorously as she said: ¡°hurry and wake up; I seriously admire you. You actually can fall asleep at a time like this? Class is starting soon; why don¡¯t you get up and start drawing like everyone else!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Xiao Yu stood up hurriedly, though he accidentally kicked the bucket beside his feet in the process, the people around him yelled in surprise as the dirtied water splashed all over the place, yet he seemed not to care. He started touching his face and body with both hands as his eyes flickered around while examining his surroundings; he yelled: ¡°Where is this place? Tell me, where are we!¡± One of his classmates with a short temper shouted: ¡°Hey, Xiao Yu, you¡¯re so noisy. Why are you yelling? Did you go crazy?! Isn¡¯t this our classroom?¡± Class¡­the classroom! Is this a classroom? It¡¯s really our classroom! Xiao Yu took a deep breath while staring blankly at his hands. His face was full of disbelief because everything looked exactly the same as it was five years ago. He was a sophomore student at a well-known fine arts domestic school, majoring in arts. This classroom is exactly the ninth class classroom of the art and design department, and the familiar faces here have not changed in the slightest. Why am I here in this classroom? Have I gone back five years in time? ¡°Am I dreaming? No, Impossible; it¡¯s most definitely not a dream. Though it¡¯s been five years, everything looks so real and exactly like it used to be; how can it be a dream!¡± After a moment of shock, Jiang Xiaowen worriedly said, ¡°Xiao Yu, are you alright?¡± Far and Dusty memories flooded like a tide from the depths of Xiao Yu¡¯s mind. ¡°You are¡­ are you Jiang Xiaowen?¡± Jiang Xiaowen was the class monitor of the ninth Class in the arts and design Department, also known as the beauty of the art department. In a school dominated by the same department, she was essentially the school¡¯s flower. Wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, putting together a simple and refreshing ponytail, with adorable and playful slanted bangs reaching her eyebrows, she looked beautiful. Her skin tone was very light. Her long eyelashes, large eyes, pointed oval face, and excellent facial features all added to her beauty. She had a kind of gentle temperament unique to Jiangnan women. Xiao Yu muttered to himself as he closed his eyes: ¡°Jiang Xiaowen?¡­Jiang Xiaowen!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jiang Xiaowen was stunned. She stretched out her hand to touch his forehead, ¡°Is something wrong with you? I¡¯ll help you in requesting for medical leave..¡± ¡°Step aside, and don¡¯t touch me!¡± Xiao Yu appeared to be extremely wary and hostile toward everyone and everything around him. His bright eyes had already turned bloodshot, and he glared at her with a murderous expression, which immediately terrified everyone, as well as Jiang Xiaowen. In fact, the two were from the same city and had known each other long before university; hence they were quite familiar with each other. For three or four years straight, Xiao Yu has been foolishly pursuing Jiang Xiaowen, and all day long, he treated her like a princess. The girl in question, though, currently felt a little uncomfortable. Among all the people who pursued her, Xiao Yu was the one with the best patience and character, and so she had a favorable impression of him. Yet his sudden change in attitude caused the little girl¡¯s vanity to surface, and it was difficult to get used to for a while. A student spoke softly: ¡°Everyone stop talking; Teacher Han is here!¡± When the atmosphere became slightly cold, a beautiful and tall figure walked in from the door of the classroom. Han Kexin, the teacher of their professional course. She was about twenty-six or seven years old. Her skin was plump and firm, her eyes were as clear as spring water, and her body was extremely attractive. Her round and full buttocks encircled by black leather shorts, and her slim thighs clad in black stockings, were all full of enticement. When she walked, her waist and hip swing appeared more exaggerated than that of a model, and her plump buttocks twisted and turned, but it still had a natural feeling to it. There was no overt desire to be coquettish; her whole body was just that charming, and all of her gestures exuded a mature charm. Han Kexin¡¯s facial features were very delicate and beautiful, but in order to make herself look more serious, she usually wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses. However, it could not conceal her naturally enchanting temperament. She was the school¡¯s dream goddess for the majority of the teachers and students. Her appearance was slightly inferior to Jiang Xiaowen, but her perfect devilish figure more than made up for that. Her charming demeanor could bring people an irresistible temptation, and compared with the young Jiang Xiaowen, Han Kexin could inspire in men a richer imagination. Xiao Yu observed her while muttering to himself, ¡°The Bloody Queen Han Kexin!¡± Jiang Xiaowen frowned, displaying an odd expression. Xiao Yu today has a problem; he¡¯s been babbling nonsense. ¡°Students, please return to your seats and settle in for class.¡± Han Kexin didn¡¯t notice the abnormality in the classroom and put down her bag, ¡°Good afternoon, everybody; today, we will complete a typical sketching exercise.¡± Xiao Yu was muttering to himself as he made an effort to remember: ¡°A bouquet of flowers, a vase, a plate, two bunches of grapes, a pomegranate¡­ put them in front of the mirror for painting.¡± ¡°The topic this time is very simple. You can use your imagination to add or change anything to express your ideas.¡± Han Kexin smiled at everyone and removed a number of items one at a time, ¡°A bouquet of flowers, a vase, a crystal plate, two bunch of grapes, a pomegranate, and lastly, a mirror. Well, that¡¯s all. Although the answer seems very simple, everyone should still draw carefully.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked at Xiao Yu in disbelief¡­how did he know? ¡°It really isn¡¯t a dream!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s last hope had been shattered, and his expression abruptly changed. After finally calming down, and despite his classmates¡¯ perplexed looks, he yelled, ¡°everyone, a disaster is going to happen!¡± ¡°No way, is this kid truly insane!¡± Everyone was looking at Xiao Yu as if he was a lunatic. Jiang Xiaowen secretly tugged on his clothes ¡°Xiao Yu, stop talking nonsense, sit down.¡± Han Kexin touched her black-rimmed glasses. This unintentional act of hers was full of seductiveness and charm. She frowned slightly and asked, ¡°Student Xiao Yu, what did you just say? Do you have any thoughts on the subject matter of the drawing assignment?¡± Xiao Yu took three consecutive deep breaths before calming down. He ignored the others, bent down to open his toolbox, took out a sharp utility knife, and picked up a pencil after a little thought. Then he calmly put it in his pocket. Seeing this, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, not understanding what had gone wrong with him. Han Kexin walked down from the podium, ¡°Hey, Xiao Yu, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Xiao Yu glanced at everyone, calmed down in an instant, and said in a low voice, ¡°Listen up, everyone. I don¡¯t care whether you think I¡¯m crazy; all I want to say is that this structure will fall down in ten minutes at most. Quickly leave the teaching building if you don¡¯t want to be buried underneath!¡± As he said this, he dashed out of the classroom at full speed, much to everyone¡¯s surprise. He was thinking about lots of messy things as he ran. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t understand why he, who was supposed to die, not only lived through but also mysteriously returned to the moment before the disaster occurred. ¡°Why is this?¡± Xiao Yu was baffled as to why a person who ought to have passed away would mysteriously travel in time five years back. Simply put, that continent of horrific beasts was a nightmarish place. No one could guarantee that he would be able to see the shining sun the following day. It was already a miracle that Xiao Yu had managed to persevere his life for five years. The disaster took less than ten minutes to occur, and it was too late to make any preparations. Thinking about the situation he will face in the early stages, if more people managed to survive, perhaps his own chances of survival will also increase! Reflecting on this, Xiao Yu took a deep breath and shouted in the hallway, ¡°an earthquake! An earthquake is coming!¡± CH 2 ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Han Kexin was surprised. She looked at Xiao Yu, who was hurrying out of the classroom; concerned that something might actually happen, she hurriedly followed behind him, yelling at the same time: ¡°Stop first, Xiao Yu. Explain what happened in detail. Come on, calm down, please, don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a look too!¡± Jiang Xiaowen felt a little worried for Xiao Yu and chased after him without hesitation. Then, after a brief pause, a few students who had a good relationship with Xiao Yu also rose and followed suit, and a few others chased after them, though they were only there to join the fun. Xiao Yu bolted out from the classroom and dashed down the corridor. He began yelling aloud as he ran: ¡°Earthquake, an earthquake is happening, everyone run!¡± he had a hysterical expression and a ferocious look on his face, with a sharp utility knife in his hand. As a result, nobody was brave enough to approach him. Xiao Yu walked all the way down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Every time he passed by a classroom, He kicked the door open, rushed in, and yelled the same words. From one classroom to another, he kept urging everyone to escape and save themselves from the coming earthquake. After a while, several floors were disrupted, and easily scared people followed suit. The yelling about the earthquake became increasingly loud. Time passed, and the chaos was on the verge of erupting. Eventually, most of the people who didn¡¯t know what was actually happening, after hearing various students all yelling about this earthquake, gradually believed it, It terrified them to death, and so they ran out of the classroom scrambling; the whole teaching building was in chaos, Later, even some of the teachers joined the fleeing group. In just a few minutes, the panic of the earthquake spread rapidly across the entire school like a plague. The two adjacent teaching and dormitory buildings were also affected. Exits and safe routes were opened, and everyone rushed out of the classroom and out of the building. Some security guards and school staff members also came out one after another to help organize the crowd evacuation. More and more people emerged from the teaching building and dormitory, then spread out over a relatively vast area. ¡­¡­¡­ However, the instigator of all of this had already fled to the schoolyard in search of a wide open space. He gently sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath of fresh air while closing his eyes, allowing his body to adjust to its optimal state. He held a wooden stick he picked up from somewhere in his left hand and pressed on it the sharp blade of his utility knife using his right hand; with quick swings, he began sharpening one end of the stick. It didn¡¯t take long for a group of people from Class nine of the art department to catch up. Han Kexin came to a halt. One hand was pressing on her serpentine waist. The other was wiping sweat off her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed as she gasped for air. She was a little angry and softly said, ¡°Student Xiao Yu, you have to explain yourself. What are you trying to do? If you have any dissatisfaction with the school, you could have talked it out with us. Look at the situation now; how do you plan to resolve this?¡± Xiao Yu cut at the stick¡¯s end without raising his head; he said calmly: ¡°no worries, you will quickly realize that doing so is saving your lives.¡± Everyone was speechless for a while. Just when Han Kexin was about to speak, suddenly, for unknown reasons, the original bright sunlight faded, and the surrounding wind blew up. Han Kexin was taken aback, ¡°Why¡­ is the sky changing?¡± Her words have yet to end. Boom! A deafening roar erupted in the sky, painfully shaking everyone¡¯s eardrums. The clear sky got obscured by dark clouds, and the whole world became pitch black in seconds. It became almost impossible to see your own fingers as if the night fell in an instant. Then, almost without warning, thousands and thousands of purple-red thunder strikes spread out all over the dark sky, illuminating their now-dark world, constantly flashing in and out. From time to time, the thunder struck down, and the earth-shattering sound made the ground shake. It was completely a doomsday-like scene. ¡°What happened?¡± A student yelled in horror. There was a slight tremor on the ground; no one had any time to react. The shock intensified sharply in a very short period of time, and the ground continued to crack. The uneven cracks swiftly covered the land, spreading like fast centipedes. Countless buildings began to collapse as the earth shook, and the gray-black clouds turned bloody red, slowly rotating under an unknown force, forming a huge vortex. Numerous thunder lines quickly gathered in the vortex¡¯s core, bursting into dazzling light and covering the entire world. A mighty power, in comparison to it, humans looked as insignificant as ants. The intense light made it hard for everyone to open their eyes, like hundreds and hundreds of deadly snakes hissing at the same time. The piercing sound impaired everybody¡¯s hearing. Everyone lost consciousness at that moment. ¡­¡­¡­ Nobody knew how much time had passed. Jiang Xiaowen regained her ability to think, and her body senses gradually came back. However, her head felt dizzy and painful. She found it difficult to breathe since the air around was filled with dirt and dust. She immediately covered both her mouth and nose with her sleeve and stood up, coughing continuously. Rubbing her eyes and looking around, her expression changed from confusion to shock and finally to fear. ¡°Just now, what happened?¡± Their world has changed, the dark clouds in the sky have long dissipated, and the sky that should have been blue now seems to be covered with a layer of light red color. It was blue with a touch of crimson, which wasn¡¯t normal. Amidst the crackling sound, dust, debris, and numerous small broken stones were constantly falling to the ground, and the hazy surroundings gradually became clearer with each passing second. The ground was in a mess, full of cracks and debris. Most of the buildings completely collapsed, turning into ruins as wisps of bluish smoke drifted from a distance. The wind was howling, and the heat was a little intense. She felt uncomfortable, and the moans and screams from all around were echoing in her ears. The others also regained consciousness one by one as they tried to stand up. They looked at each other, no one spoke, and nobody could believe it. In the blink of an eye, the once peaceful and harmonious campus became in this state now. Xiao Yu sat up again. At this moment, his hair was disheveled, his face was dirty, and several wounds on his arms were oozing blood continuously. But he didn¡¯t care; he quickly waved his right arm and continued sharpening the end of the wooden stick into a spear without the slightest expression on his face. After sharpening the wooden stick, he put it beside him, then took out a pencil and started skillfully sharpening it as well. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Is this really an earthquake? It was terrifying!¡± At this time, the people around stood up one by one, trembling all over, looking around blankly with horror. ¡°See, I wasn¡¯t wrong; you¡¯ve survived.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s tone was very indifferent and calm. Then, without raising his head, he put the utility knife back into his pocket, took out a folded white paper, and spread it out in front of his face; then, holding a pencil, he began sketching something hurriedly, a ¡°Shusha¡± sound was heard as he drew several lines on the paper. Jiang Xiaowen walked over with trembling legs; she really felt that the person in front of her was extremely strange and mysterious, as if it was her first time meeting him today, ¡°Xiao¡­Xiao Yu, how did you even know there would be an earthquake?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really hard to explain. However, I should tell you that this earthquake is just the beginning. In fact, I don¡¯t know if what I did was good or bad. Because compared to the earthquake, what you will face next is the real disaster! Actually, For most people, perhaps dying in the earthquake was a much better end.¡± A student was full of surprise as he asked: ¡°What do you mean by your words? Could there be something more terrifying than what just happened?¡± ¡°No way.¡± Another classmate exclaimed. Now completely believing in Xiao Yu¡¯s words, he hurriedly asked, ¡°What else is going to happen? Tell us quickly!¡± ¡°No time to explain.¡± Xiao Yu threw away the pencil, rolled up the paper, he forced it into Han Kexin¡¯s hand before speaking to her with a grave expression on his face: ¡°Miss Han, I will leave this map to you, so keep it safe. I drew it as simple as I could, but it is sufficient to distinguish various dangerous areas. You must keep it with you as it¡¯s very important. If I die, you can rely on it, and there will be hope of bringing some people out of the forest alive.¡± ¡°Forest? What forest! What the hell are you talking about?¡± Han Kexin felt dizzy; she opened the map and looked at it, then asked with a strange expression: ¡°Forests, canyons, rivers¡­ what, what the hell is this? Where¡¯s all this located at?¡± Xiao Yu stretched out a finger and pointed down to his feet. Han Kexin subconsciously looked around. Almost every building collapsed, and as a result, their field of vision grew significantly bigger. The huge campus was cut in half, and a large part of the campus on the north side could not be seen as if it had vanished, replaced by a lush greenery forest. Looking in the opposite direction, outside the iron fence of the south gate, they could see the road was still there, but the structures behind the ruined Internet cafes and bookstores on the opposite side were all gone. They were also replaced by a vast forest and enormous trees over ten to twenty meters tall! If you look down from a high altitude, the remaining half of the school actually appears in a vast forest, as if it were a small boat floating on a green ocean! A girl yelled in horror: ¡°Why is this happening? Half of the school has disappeared!¡± Xiao Yu replied: ¡°No, it didn¡¯t disappear; it simply appeared elsewhere. The other half¡¯s situation is similar to ours.¡± Han Kexin shouted, ¡°Impossible, this is madness! ¡°There is nothing impossible in this crazy world.¡± Xiao Yu picked up the sharpened wooden stick, patted the dust off his clothes calmly, and said, ¡°heh, teacher and fellow students. Welcome to the Continent of Chaos!¡± The fact that no one knew what to say demonstrated how difficult it was for them to accept this situation. What is this? This is real life, not a movie; how could we have ended up in such a strange place? ¡°What¨C!¡± At this moment, a shrill scream interrupted everyone¡¯s thoughts. ¡°m¡­monsters, help!¡± Xiao Yu frowned slightly, he didn¡¯t expect them to come this quickly, and unfortunately, he believed that more people would die this time around. CH 3 This horrific disaster just occurred far too quickly; any human being, no matter how strong his mental state is, will still struggle to adjust in a short period of time, thus becoming entangled in a vortex of dark thoughts. Xiao Yu experienced it once, and he understood everybody¡¯s feelings. But precisely because he had been through it before, he understood better than anybody that now was not the time to be fearful. And what can you do really? Call the police? Impossible, they were no longer on earth. Nobody even knows for sure if earth itself still exists. And even if it does, there aren¡¯t many human beings on it anymore. ¡°Ji-gu, ji-gu!¡± Accompanied by some strange screams were hundreds of small monsters who emerged from the forest on the edge that separates it from the campus. They stood around 1.3 meters tall, had gray skin, looked withered and emaciated, and had few hairs on their heads, with pointed ears, bulging eyes, and a mouth of full sharp teeth with some yellow-colored saliva constantly oozing from the corners of their mouths. They possessed more skin layers than usual, like a wrinkled old man in his eighties or nineties. A pair of rusty shackles were attached to their feet, barely wearing anything as they held a broken wooden club in their hands. More than two hundred of these creatures came from all directions and steadily approached the campus. As they walked, the shackles on both their legs produced a sharp, rather pleasant contact with the ground. But in the ears of the surviving teachers and students, it was tantamount to the sound of hell. ¡°Ah, those really are monsters!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s pretty face turned pale with fright, and she hurriedly hid beside Xiao Yu, clutching his clothes tightly, her slender white legs trembling. The others all screamed in terror and fled. Some of them responded even worse than Jiang Xiaowen, immediately falling to the ground, already losing control as urine soaked their lower body. Yet nobody had the time to laugh at their embarrassing behavior; after all, dozens of hideous monsters they¡¯d never seen before emerged in front of them, and this kind of scene was terrifying for ordinary people. Han Kexin was the calmest one in the crowd. Although she also looked pale, at least she didn¡¯t lose her ability to think and slowly retreated behind Xiao Yu; her senses told her that being at his side was most certainly the safest choice. ¡°This is different from my previous life. There shouldn¡¯t be this many¡­ Could the reason be that after I altered past events, many individuals who should have died in the earthquake survived?¡± Xiao Yu clenched his sharpened wooden spear tightly. His eyes flashed a glimmer of light, ¡°no problem, although their number is slightly higher, they are just a bunch of low-level goblin slaves.¡± ¡°click, click, click!¡± The goblin slaves coming from all directions slowly approached to a certain distance. Suddenly, a violent and bloodthirsty light burst out from their bulging eyes, and as if they had been injected with anger, they turned crazy and excited and raised their big wooden clubs against the survivors. Rushing toward the teachers and students. The iron chains of their shackles slammed with the ground, producing a succession of sharp noises. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± ¡°No, the monsters are coming; run, run away!¡± ¡°What are they, don¡¯t come near me!¡± The vast majority of people were so frightened that they immediately turned around and ran away. All kinds of shouts, shrieks, and sobs burst out at once. The goblin slaves¡¯ running pace was slower than ordinary people¡¯s, yet they rushed into the crowd quite swiftly. After running for a while, a bold student who was larger than others, with large arms and a broader upper torso, suddenly found himself surrounded by monsters from all sides. He had nowhere to escape; just then, he realized that all of the creatures were mostly skinny, as they didn¡¯t appear to be particularly powerful. A wave of courage surged up in his heart. He then picked up a stone from underneath his feet, trying to lash it on the head of the frontmost goblin. ¡°Go to hell, ugly thing!¡± The goblin slave screamed loudly and waved its wooden club smashing the stone in his hands to pieces. Following the big impact, the student¡¯s arms felt numb. He finally realized that the skinny goblins were not that easy to deal with, but it was already too late for that. The goblin slave moved its arms, and the wooden club swept out at a fast speed, hitting the sides of his face. A bloody mist splashed out, his skull was shattered, and spilled blood mixed with brains flowed everywhere. The goblin slave fell down excitedly, vigorously licking blood and brains from the ground while the rest of the monsters continued to chase the others. ¡°w, what! It¡¯s eating him, help!¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t come over, don¡¯t!¡± A girl who was slower than the others got caught up, and a ¡®bang¡¯ hit her from the back. A sound of bones breaking was heard as her body was thrown several meters in midair and to the ground. She strained in anguish, spitting out blood and innards, but couldn¡¯t rise up. A monster pounced on her, held her head with one hand and bit her white neck with a mouth full of fangs. It easily tore off a large piece of flesh and chewed it. The bright red blood splashed out, instantly covering the ground. The two thousand or so professors and students who survived were overwhelmed as hundreds of creatures pursued and brutally slaughtered them. ¡°Help!¡± ¡°noo, get off, don¡¯t, ah¡ª!¡± The vast majority of people present were normal college students who were spoiled at home and didn¡¯t see much of the world. They were basically powerless; even if some of them had experience with butchering, they would still feel horrified. Under the cloak of intense fear, the sounds of people crying for their parents were heard everywhere. They lacked the courage to fight back, despite the fact that the number of humans was more than ten times that of monsters! Viscera, blood, brains, severed limbs, and corpses were scattered everywhere, forming an image out of hell. People screaming in horror, the monsters¡¯ bloodthirsty roars, the sound of iron chains colliding with the ground, of wooden clubs breaking flesh and bones, with moans of weak people dying, and a bluster of monsters eating human flesh all sounded like a¡ªdevil¡¯s sonata. Horror, panic, despair! Humans were so frail to the point that they almost collapsed! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Han Kexin could clearly see that a small student with glasses had been severely injured. After being blasted away by a single monster, he had a large gaping hole in his stomach. The goblin reached out inside and pulled out a long strip of bloody intestines, then frantically stuffed it into its mouth. The student hadn¡¯t died yet; he was howling in pain, loudly screaming, ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª! Ah¡ª¡ª!¡± She has never seen such a bloody scene in her entire life. The screams were so loud and twisted, sounding like piercing needles, making people feel cold all over their body; their very soul trembling. Han Kexin¡¯s voice cracked: ¡°are¡­are they devils from hell?¡± Xiao Yu smiled faintly, ¡°Hell? How bad can it be? If you can survive for a year, I think you will be more than happy to visit hell instead.¡± ¡°what should we do!¡± ¡°This is just an initial test; everyone must overcome their fear.¡± Xiao Yu held a sharp wooden spear in his hand and took a slow look around him, ¡°Look carefully; their numbers are not that big, only one-tenth of ours, that¡¯s all. Inflexible, with low intelligence, aren¡¯t fast enough; they are actually not that tough to deal with as long as you conquer your fear!¡± Han Kexin also quickly realized this point, then immediately shouted loudly to the people around her, ¡°yes, what he said is correct, everyone, please do not panic, we must unite, all of us!¡± Xiao Yu glanced at her calmly, a hint of admiration in his eyes. Even without his interference, she would have survived the earthquake either way. This gorgeous and stunning woman with both rare talent and great potential that only one in a thousand people possess also owned great wisdom and ruthless methods. In the future, she would win over and control a mighty faction. Just to finally be renowned as ¡°the Bloody Queen¡± Judging from her current performance, Han Kexin¡¯s strength in the future did not come by luck. She had the potential to be a very strong person. Han Kexin yelled, ¡°Be careful; a group of monsters is coming!¡± ¡°We have to face them after all; I hope you can survive.¡± After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he rushed forward. A small group of goblin slaves, perhaps seven or eight in number, was coming towards them. The one running in the front swung a wooden club and slammed it hard on the back of a paralyzed human¡¯s head. Like a watermelon hit by a hammer, his head exploded as blood and brains splashed everywhere, and an eyeball slowly rolled down under everyone¡¯s feet, causing the crowd to scream. ¡°Ji-gu, ji-gu!¡± The goblin slave licked the brains that had splashed onto its mouth, let out an ugly shriek again, then bit off a large piece of flesh from the corpse and tasted it happily. The dark red blood dripped down the corner of its mouth, looking extraordinarily ferocious and fear-inducing. At this moment, a sharp wooden spear pierced through its right eye. It made a gurgling sound and jerked a few times. Mixed up with blood and saliva, the meat on its mouth slid down as its body twitched a few times, then stopped moving altogether. Xiao Yu stomped on the goblin slave¡¯s face and aggressively drew out his spear, causing a stream of black blood to flow out. The goblin fell limply; at that moment, a fingernail-sized ball of light drilled out of the corpse, transformed into a stream of light, and flew toward the middle of his eyebrows. A mysterious force filled his body instantly, dazing him mentally. ¡°Ji-gu!¡± a blood-stained wooden club in the hand of a goblin next to him swept by with a strong wind. Xiao Yu dodged the strike by ducking down, kicking his legs on the ground, and slamming into its body; they both collided and rolled down a few meters. Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed, ¡°Xiao Yu, watch out!¡± The goblin that fell to the ground was about to raise its club to knock the human on top of it into the air, but the opponent¡¯s reaction was unexpectedly faster. With a wave of his right arm, the wooden spear ruthlessly pierced into its wrist. Due to the excessive force, the spear was broken from the middle, and the goblin slave let out a peculiar cry of pain. Then, it opened its mouth angrily, intending to bite him. Xiao Yu resolutely threw away the broken spear, held the face of the goblin, and slammed it hard on the ground; the creature felt dizzy as he quickly punched it in the face. He had absorbed the essence of a goblin; as a result, his strength was a quarter greater than normal. Two fangs were directly knocked out of its mouth. Xiao Yu took the opportunity to roll to the side, picked up the big wooden club of the goblin slave, raised his hands above his head, and smashed it down forcefully. The club, which was covered with a large amount of sticky black blood, was lifted up and smashed down several times on the bloody head of the goblin slave! The goblin¡¯s skull was completely broken as another ball of light the size of a fingernail floated up and shot into Xiao Yu¡¯s forehead. Absorbing a wave of energy again, his strength at this moment has been strengthened by more than half compared to the beginning. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind burst out from the back of his head. Shit! Xiao Yu¡¯s heart trembled. ¡°Eat this!¡± Suddenly, there was a loud shout, and a fat figure rushed over, knocking the goblin slave who was sneak attacking Xiao Yu to the ground. Just as Xiao Yu turned his head, the guy hit the head of the goblin slave with a club. A ¡®click¡¯ sound was heard as its head broke open, and black blood and yellow brains splashed all over the fat man¡¯s face. Xiao Yu saw the man¡¯s appearance clearly, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth: ¡°Fatty, so you also survived?¡± This chubby guy was called Wang Chao, nicknamed Fatty; he was Xiao Yu¡¯s roommate. He was also one of his closest school friends at the time, but in his previous life, Fatty Wang Chao died in the same earthquake, and the reborn Xiao Yu almost forgot about him. This friend of his was extremely hot-headed, so it was easier for him to adapt to this kind of environment. ¡°Damn it; I saved your ass just to get my face covered with this shit. Ugh, I¡¯m going to throw up. Don¡¯t forget; you owe me one. I¡¯m going to settle accounts with you later then!¡± The big fat man Wang Chao stood up, thoroughly wiping black blood and yellow brains from his face, ¡°Where did these monsters come from¡­¡± His words had yet to finish. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes flashed as he fiercely flung the wooden club in his hand toward Wang Chao. The latter was startled and subconsciously closed his eyes. There was a muffled bang in his ears; He turned around to see the club striking a goblin just behind him. Weren¡¯t it for this elegant flying club, Wang Chao would have been beaten to death. ¡°Fucking gray dwarf, how dare you sneak up on this Fatty? I¡¯ll fuck you up!¡± Wang Chao cursed loudly, raised his leg, and kicked the little dwarf goblin to the ground, picked up the wooden club that fell on the ground, and smashed it on its head. One hit, two hits, three hits¡­Wang Chao was so focused on beating it down that he forgot his surroundings. He was usually a simple and careless guy, but once he got angry, he stopped thinking of the consequences, he would rather lose eight hundred just to win a thousand, which was a mad behavior, so no one dared to provoke him. After eight to nine strikes in a row, the goblin¡¯s head was nearly reduced to meat paste, a ball of light the size of a thumb shot into the middle of his forehead, and his fat body trembled violently. ¡°Holy shit, no wonder you are so fierce today; it turns out that you gain experience by killing these monsters. We can actually level up!¡± Xiao Yu had killed three monsters in a row, and his strength was only slightly inferior to one goblin slave. With his rich experience, it was easy to deal with mere goblins. In the blink of an eye, two more died in his hands, absorbing five wisps of energy in a row, Xiao Yu¡¯s power was fully doubled, and he could not lose to any of these monsters. Under the siege of hundreds of goblins, the school teachers and students suffered heavy casualties, but after a period of fear, there were many people who dared to face them just like Wang Chao did. Under everyone¡¯s tenacious resistance, the number of goblins was decreasing one by one. Wang Chao retreated to Xiao Yu¡¯s side, holding a wooden club full of black blood and yellow brains; he pointed in a certain direction and shouted in surprise: ¡°shit, isn¡¯t that Jin shi? He¡¯s alive too. Damn, this big dumb guy is rushing towards us; at least twelve or thirteen dwarves are following behind him!¡± Jin Shi was in the same dormitory as Wang Chao and Xiao Yu. His hair was less than half an inch long, looking almost bald. Jin shi¡¯s character didn¡¯t match his appearance at all. He was caring, helpful, and a very kind person. He was also a sports fanatic. His biggest hobby was working out his muscles. Hence they called him stone man. Unexpectedly, he also survived! ¡°Fatty, stand still. I¡¯ll go and save him!¡± Xiao Yu yelled and rushed towards Jin shi. Wang Chao was shocked, ¡°shit, it¡¯s ok to be brave, but there are more than a dozen of those gray dwarfs chasing him; you can¡¯t do it!¡± (TN: they call him ¡°shi tou¡± which means stone, the reason why they call him that is because his name is ¡°jin shi¡± which means gold stone) CH 4 Jinshi¡¯s father was a painter, and his mother was a graphic designer. He had a good physique and had loved sports very much since he was young; his dream since then was to become an athlete. Yet, due to his family¡¯s stubbornness, he was forced to pick up a paintbrush and learn how to paint. In the end, he was successfully admitted to the Fine Arts College. Contrary to Jin Shi¡¯s status as an art student, he was not bad at all physically speaking. At the sports gathering last year, He won multiple prizes in several events by himself. And so, one or two goblins were no match for him. However, the unlucky Jin Shi stumbled into a goblin¡¯s group and was pursued by more than a dozen goblin slaves all at once. So he had no choice but to escape in a sorry state. ¡°Stone, run over there, hurry! Find a place to hide!¡± Xiao Yu shouted, holding a goblin¡¯s club and rushing towards his friend, throwing a large amount of dust and gravel at the goblins¡¯ faces. They shrieked, covering their eyes, and immediately stopped their pursuit, as Jin Shi raced to a safe place hurriedly. ¡°Ji-gu!¡± The goblin slaves had lost their target, so they directed their rage toward Xiao Yu, and with an ugly snarl, they chased after him. Even if Xiao Yu¡¯s current physique was roughly two times stronger than that of ordinary people, facing more than a dozen dangerous goblins at the same time was impossible. He didn¡¯t give it much thought before turning around and fleeing. More than a dozen goblins wielding wooden clubs chased after him. They had short legs with shackles, and yet although their speed was not that fast, their endurance was astonishing. Even with Xiao Yu circling the square twice, they did not give up pursuit. ¡°Damn it, why are they chasing me so hard? This is really irritating!¡± Just when Xiao Yu began to get headaches as a result of the non-stop pursuit, he suddenly saw a goblin not far away chasing Jiang Xiaowen. The girl was obviously terrified and entered the remains of demolished buildings. As a result, during the chase, the iron chains under the goblin¡¯s feet accidentally caught into a raised rock slab, causing it to stumble down. Jiang Xiaowen was also highly clever, as she seized the opportunity to pick up a large rock and then smashed it hard into the goblin¡¯s head. A loud crash sound was heard. Just then, a ball of light the size of a fingernail shot into the center of her eyebrows. ¡°You can do that?¡± With a plan in mind, Xiao Yu led the dozen goblin slaves into the ruins of a teaching building. He moved very nimbly and rushed to the top of the ruins in the blink of an eye. The dozen or so goblin slaves, though, were considerably duller. They were not particularly intelligent, to begin with, and with all of their attention on Xiao Yu, ultimately, they either stepped into the gaps between the stone columns by mistake or their shackles¡¯ chains got caught within concrete blocks. They roared angrily at Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu rushed down from the ruins, holding a goblin¡¯s club with both hands, and like in the whack-a-mole game, he smashed the goblins¡¯ heads one by one. The immense force shattered their skulls before he absorbed over a dozen balls of energy in the blink of an eye. However, as more essence was absorbed, the strengthening effect decreased. With the last wisp of energy entering his forehead, his physique was about three times stronger than that of an average person. Three times the physique of an ordinary person did not seem to be much at first glance, but it was by no means as simple as the equivalent strength of three human beings. To ordinary people, Xiao Yu now is no different from a superhuman. His speed easily outpaces that of the world sprint champion, and his strength easily surpasses that of the world weightlifting champion. Furthermore, his overall response time has improved significantly. (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) Seeing this, Wang Chao yelled loudly: ¡°yes, that was satisfying! Well done! These dwarf bastards deserve it, fuck them to death!¡± Jin Shi was also shocked, ¡°It turns out that you can deal with a large group of monsters just like this!¡± Wang Chao threw a wooden club at him and said casually: ¡°You idiot, there are not many monsters left; these damned creatures have killed so many of our classmates. Let¡¯s finish at least two of them as revenge!¡± Jin Shi held the weapon in his hand and weighed it. He stared at his friend and shouted: ¡°Okay, Let¡¯s go!¡± The two rushed toward several goblin slaves at the same time. In this scuffle, Han Kexin caused many people to stare at her in awe. The lovely queen displayed a picture of wisdom and ferocity. In the face of this threat, she showed amazing calmness and bravery, second only to Xiao Yu. She knows how to use the terrain to divide groups of monsters and use various obstacles to her advantage. Every attack was precise and fierce. After killing a few monsters and gaining more strength, she became able to deal with goblins easily. Over two hundred goblins were killed. Some of the approximately two thousand instructors and students who survived the earthquake broke through the goblins¡¯ siege and fled into the forest. As for the rest, more than four hundred people died, most of them in the first rows. Those who survived the first wave, Waited and reacted quickly, as even girls were much faster than goblins. After experiencing extreme fear, many daring people aroused the ferocity hiding in their blood and began fighting the creatures in close quarters. Although a considerable number of them were killed, the others who survived and killed monsters became stronger instead. Han Kexin knocked down her fifth goblin so far, and after absorbing its energy, she felt her physical strength improving to a higher level. She was ready to kill the next monster around her when she realized that there was no goblin slave to slay anywhere nearby. In this bloody and cruel battle, the final victory actually belonged to human beings. Everyone looked at the corpses all over the floor. All kinds of internal organs, blood, and brains were scattered all over the place. The teachers¡¯ and students¡¯ bodies were strewn everywhere, with many small goblin corpses among them. Everyone felt a surge of excitement blooming in their hearts. The joy of surviving a catastrophe and the excitement of winning a bloody battle! Everybody was just feeling relieved when a low-pitched horn sound echoed from the forest¡¯s direction, ¡°Woo-!¡± Suddenly More than two hundred skinny goblin slaves holding wooden clubs sprang out from the southern forest direction. Following them emerged forty to fifty sturdier-looking goblin warriors holding short spears in one hand and wooden shields in the other. In the midst of it all stood a massive goblin with blue skin, extremely worn-out leather armor, a wolf fur helmet, and a long machete with holes in it. It was taller than any goblin they ever saw, with its upper half standing out from the crowd. Xiao Yu recognized it immediately; it was the goblin leader! ¡°Ah, there¡¯s another monster!¡± ¡°waah, are we going to die here?¡± A bunch of frail females sounded utterly desperate. ¡°Cry! You girls only know how to cry. Can crying kill monsters?¡± ¡°Kill them; we have nothing to fear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, kill them all; we can become stronger!¡± The same group of red-eyed, reckless males who were shouting picked up the clubs dropped by the goblin slaves. They roared and charged toward more than two hundred goblins. ¡°argh!¡± The goblin leader roared strangely, raised its machete, and swung it around. At its command, more than forty goblin warriors threw the short spears in their hands at the same time, and with a dreadful wind noise, the projectiles shot violently at the crowd. These short spears contained astonishing power; after piercing through one person¡¯s body, they still had some power left as they broke through and killed another one. The group of angry humans rushed up bravely, yet fifty or sixty of them fell down in just one exchange. ¡°Chickoo! Chickoo!¡± The goblin leader slammed the back of its weapon hard, raised its head, and let out a weird cry as if it were a general issuing orders to attack. Just then, two hundred goblin slaves pressed forward at the same time. The blue goblin took the lead, its body bending forward like a fast and powerful cheetah charging ahead. It swung its big machete and slashed down in the air; a three-meter-long cyan light burst out from the damaged blade and swung down with fierce momentum. One student only noticed a flash of blue light, but before he could see what attacked him, the energy wave cut him in half, leaving a shocking knife mark on the ground! The goblin leader kicked its feet on the ground, and its burly body turned into a blue afterimage, rushing into a group of people. Blood and broken limbs flew everywhere, and the people around started crying for their parents as they had no ability to resist. It was simply a massacre. ¡°Damn it, there is actually a goblin leader!¡± Xiao Yu shouted loudly: ¡°Stop fighting; run for your life!¡± Goblin leaders were ¡®First-order¡¯ monsters that had already evolved and gained some amount of intelligence. Its strength was absolutely equivalent to a hundred ordinary goblin slaves. There were also goblin warriors who were significantly more powerful than goblin slaves. Adding the new two hundred goblin slaves to this lineup will most definitely cause them to be wiped out. There was absolutely no need to continue this battle because the number of enemies was too large, as was their fighting power. It may be that a certain goblin tribe is moving in; in that case, there might be even more powerful entities than the goblin leaders, such as goblin soldiers, goblin knights, goblin generals, and even goblin lords. Once those appear, no one could escape. Their defeat would be instant! In fact, there was no need for Xiao Yu to shout at all. The terrifying fighting power displayed by the goblin leader shocked everyone, no one would be stupid enough to court death, so they quickly divided into several streams of people as they fled into the forest. Xiao Yu also rushed into the woods with Jin Shi and Wang Chao in tow, and at least two hundred people followed after him, including several classmates, such as Jiang Xiaowen and Han Kexin, who were also amongst the group. ¡°Ji-gu! Ji-gu!¡± The goblin leader didn¡¯t pursue them, and walked slowly to the middle of the ruins, raised its big machete in the air, and let out a loud roar of victory, indicating that this place would be their new territory. Under its new orders, some goblins continued to hunt down the fleeing humans. The goblin warriors picked up short spears from the ground and threw them again, piercing and killing one human being after another. Some of the unfortunate ones even got pinned into huge trees. There were screams of hell from behind. Escape, escape desperately! Otherwise, only death awaits you! Various plants and shrubs sprouted from the ground in this dense green forest. You could also see some entangled roots of trees exposed from beneath the soil and boulders of different sizes being covered with a layer of moss. Running in this complex and rugged terrain desperately was very exhausting. Even worse, countless venomous insects and snakes were seen lurking around, and several plants were highly poisonous; every single step was full of danger. A climate typical of tropical rainforests. The humidity was extremely high in the forest, as the dense branches blocked out most of the sunlight. Because of the high temperature, the moisture evaporated, and the air felt exceedingly hot, making people feel heavy in their lungs, with irritability and difficulty in breathing. As time went by, the weaker ones fell behind one after the other. After running for dozens of minutes, less than one-fifth of them could keep up. Fortunately, the goblins stopped chasing them. Wang Chao was panting while running before shouting, ¡°I can¡¯t run anymore; fatty is about to collapse!¡± Not far away, Jiang Xiaowen was also out of breath. Nevertheless, she killed two goblin slaves and gained a certain amount of strength; otherwise, she would have been left far behind, considering her physique. ¡°Hold on!¡± Xiao Yu seemed to be highly familiar with the route as he led the group on a constant shuttle through the forest. His brain gears were turning fast; he tried recalling the environmental conditions in the forest and worked out a relatively easy and safe escape route. After all, the monsters here were not NPCs in computer games. They had a great sense of territory, but that didn¡¯t mean that their area of ??activity was constricted only to their territory. These monsters were shrewd and highly mobile; no one knew from where they will appear in the next moment. At this time, a man with glasses on, a thin body, and a nerdy appearance shouted, clearly out of breath: ¡°Xiao Yu¡­ I can¡¯t do it, I really can¡¯t do it anymore. Can we have a rest!¡± he was a classmate named Sun Qichao. He was highly shortsighted, and his glasses were as thick as a beer cap, but he was a nice guy, very cheerful, and very humorous. He often played online games together with them, and he was not bad as a friend. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t give him a reply yet. Suddenly! He felt a strange movement in the dense forest! Xiao Yu clearly saw a gray shadow flashing away from the bushes, and his expression immediately changed: ¡°Run, don¡¯t stop; whoever stops will definitely die!¡± CH 5 Sun Qichao was panting heavily, his pace decreased, and the gap between him and the others became much wider. Eventually, he voiced weakly: ¡°Wait, wait for me¡­ No, I really can¡¯t run¡­ I can¡¯t! Even if I die, I can¡¯t run even if I¡¯m to die¡­¡± ¡°Qichao, hold on!¡± At this time, a girl slowed down and came to Sun Qichao¡¯s side, pulling him to run together. This was his girlfriend, Tang Lei, a student in Class 9 of the Fine Arts School. She didn¡¯t possess a particularly attractive or good figure, but she was cheerful and energetic in their classroom. Everyone had a good impression of her. Tang Lei had killed a goblin slave before, so her physique was much better than that of ordinary people; otherwise, she would have fallen behind, and she wouldn¡¯t have had the ability to help anyone. Sun Qichao turned pale and said, ¡°I can¡¯t run anymore, leave me alone; just run away¡­¡± Tang Lei felt very contradictory in her heart. She was terrified and hoped to run away immediately, but she felt a little sorry for her boyfriend; thus, she fell into a dilemma. ¡°Roar¨C¡° The unlucky boyfriend was about to say something when a terrible roar echoed beside his ears. He looked sideways with a pale face and saw a gray figure rushing out of the woods. Its huge body landed with a muffled bang, and its strong limbs slammed down hard into the ground. As soon as it kicked the earth, a large number of dead leaves and soil were thrown up in the air; it was charging at an alarming speed. His pupils shrank suddenly; he was terrified at the sight of this frightening wolf! A giant gray-furred wolf almost half the height of a man! Tang Lei let out a scream in fright, quickened her steps, and rushed forward without hesitation. In a panic, Sun Qichao had his foot caught by a tree root. He fell to the ground, gnawed a mouthful of rotten leaves and dirt, and dropped his glasses; in which one side had already broken. Being highly myopic, after losing his glasses, his vision became much more blurred. He could only grope around, yet he couldn¡¯t find them. At this moment, he felt a strong wind coming his way, and he instinctively yelled for help: ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, I don¡¯t want to die¡­ Everyone, don¡¯t go, save me, save me¡ªah! Tang Lei, help me, don¡¯t leave me behind!¡± Everyone was running wildly; no one was paying him any attention. Only Tang Lei, who had just run seven to eight meters ahead, hesitated for a while. Then, finally, her heart softened up, and she couldn¡¯t help but take a second look behind. However, at that moment, two giant wolves just happened to throw Sun Qichao down. One of the giant wolves opened its huge mouth and bit Sun Qichao¡¯s arm. Its sharp teeth pierced through both his clothes and muscles, and iron-sharp nails deeply dug into his bones. ¡°Ah¨C! Ah¨C! Help, help!¡± Sun Qichao¡¯s howls became even more terrifying. The giant wolf stepped on his chest, exerting force with its large mouth; a ¡®pushi¡¯ sound was heard as a bloody mist sprung up. An arm and half a shoulder were torn apart, all the bones were shattered, and the bone fragments mixed with blood were sprayed high up in the air, enough to splash all over Tang Lei¡¯s face, who stood far away. Tang Lei¡¯s face turned pale with fright, but she deeply realized that Sun Qichao was already hopeless, and the most important thing right now was to save her own life. So she didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and didn¡¯t care about her feelings at the moment; she just rushed forward as fast as possible. ¡°Save me! Save me! Save me!¡± At this time, another giant wolf also laid on top of Sun Qichao¡¯s body. With its large jaw, it effortlessly bit open his stomach and began eating his internal organs with big mouthfuls. Sun Qichao only howled three times, and his breath quickly weakened. When he died, his eyes were wide open; his face was distorted, full of fear and despair, resentment and unwillingness! Sun Qichao¡¯s tragic death made everyone feel more terrified. Under the threat of death, everyone burst out with amazing potential. People who were on the verge of exhaustion erupted once again with incredible speed, even though their previous pace was not slow by any means. But, after all, they were only human beings; how could they outrun the dreadful jungle beast? ¡°Ahooww¡ª!¡± Along with a loud howling sound, there was a rustling noise in the forest as six to seven gray silhouettes appeared from the bushes behind, and the gigantic wolves chased the fleeing people at breakneck speed. Not long after, a shrill scream sounded out from behind the group. Due to her waiting for Sun Qichao, Tang Lei fell behind and was overtaken by the giant wolves. Two or three wolves surrounded her, and all of a sudden, her flesh and blood flew everywhere, killing her tragically on the spot. In the end, she did not manage to escape. A few seconds later, a similar scream sounded again; the people that fell behind were thrown to the ground by hungry wolves and killed mercilessly. Those screams were like a terrible reminder imprinted in everyone¡¯s hearts, Xiao Yu shouted loudly while running: ¡°We will be in a safe area very soon, don¡¯t look back, run¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, a huge gray shadow jumped up from his left side and flashed toward him. This giant wolf moved so fast that even Xiao Yu didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge. The moment the two wolf¡¯s paws touched his shoulders, he punched its head reflexively, preventing the imminent fatal wolf bite, though he was still pushed down in a nearby bush full of thorns. (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) In an instant, Xiao Yu had the feeling of falling into a pile of needles, and there was a tingling pain everywhere in his body. However, Xiao Yu had a lot of experience. When he was almost thrown to the ground, he immediately put the goblin club across his neck. A sharp claw slashed into his shoulder, and his clothes were instantly torn apart, leaving deep wounds behind. Everyone already regarded Xiao Yu as a life-saving straw, and now seeing him in this sorry state, the escaping team became chaotic. Han Kexin, Jin Shi, Wang Chao, and Jiang Xiaowen all raised the clubs in their hands, intending to rescue him. Xiao Yu fell amidst the thorny bushes, sticking his weapon between the wolf¡¯s jaws; at the same time, he shouted loudly: ¡°You idiots, do you want to fucking die? Leave me alone, don¡¯t stop! Go! Go straight ahead, Don¡¯t look back, never stop!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± The giant wolf bit the weapon and shook its head vigorously, causing the goblin club to be released from Xiao Yu¡¯s grip as it flew high and fell in the distance. The wolf let out a deep growl, showing its fangs, and aimed at his neck, attempting to bite him once again. At this time, Jin Shi had already rushed over, and the almsot two-meter-tall man let out an earth-shattering roar, brandished a wooden club in his hands, and slammed it on the side of the giant wolf¡¯s face with great force, smashing a fang till it was broken. Xiao Yu took the opportunity to exert all his strength and kicked his leg fiercely on the giant wolf¡¯s abdomen. He could hear the sound of bones breaking and the wolf¡¯s mournful cry. As a result of hitting vital organs, the giant wolf struggled on the ground a few times, failed to stand up again, and completely lost its vitality. A ball of essence several times larger than the goblin slave¡¯s emerged, a small part of which was distributed to Jin Shi, and the rest was absorbed by Xiao Yu¡¯s body. The amount of energy he gained was enough to exceed that of five goblin slaves¡¯! Wang Chao pulled Xiao Yu up, and cursed loudly: ¡°Fuck, let¡¯s stick together, damn it, I cannot ignore a brother in a life-and-death situation; I just can¡¯t do such a thing.¡± Jin Shi also nodded beside them and said: ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s stick together. Live together, and die together!¡± ¡°Okay! Fatty, Stone, I owe you one!¡± Xiao Yu stood firmly and took the club from Jiang Xiaowen. He didn¡¯t care about checking his injuries and immediately led the crowd to continue running without further ado. Along the way, a few more people were attacked by giant wolves. In the end, each wolf successfully hunted down one human being, and they did not continue to chase after the others as they had their food. Under the leadership of Xiao Yu, this group of people walked out of this area smoothly, and the trees in front of them gradually thinned down a notch, and several small hills could be seen in the distance. Ten minutes later, everyone stood panting at the foot of a low mountain with sparse vegetation. On the rocky side at the foot of the small mountain, there was a naturally formed cave, which was the closest safe hiding place in Xiao Yu¡¯s memory. Han Kexin took another look at Xiao Yu. He obviously knew that there was such a place in the forest, as he directly led everyone to escape here. Xiao Yu took a deep breath and shouted to everyone: ¡°Everyone, sit here and rest; this area is relatively safe.¡± The remaining thirty or so people were all exhausted, and when they heard his words, they collapsed down in the blink of an eye. A few of them were tense for a long time; their physical strength was exhausted, and now that they relaxed, they passed out on the spot. Even those who didn¡¯t faint were lying on the ground gasping for air due to their severe physical exhaustion. It was nothing short of a nightmare! Xiao Yu sat down on the spot and checked his body. He fell into a thorn bush earlier, causing many scratches and stab wounds to appear on his skin, but these were all flesh wounds and nothing serious. The most severe injury was in his shoulders, which were scratched by the wolf¡¯s claws. The wound was deep, and the bleeding had not stopped. Moreover, the wound showed signs of festering and pus, indicating that it must have been infected. Due to excessive blood loss, Xiao Yu¡¯s head felt a little dizzy, coupled with the severe infection and the wounds all over his body, he could develop a high fever if they were not taken care of in the immediate short term. Moreover, if this lasted for a long while, his situation might worsen! Now that there was no medicine and no doctors, there existed only one way to heal wounds! While everyone was resting, many students that fled came out from the green woods one after the other to join everyone else. In the blink of an eye, from more than thirty survivors to more than fifty, their numbers increased steadily over time. After resting for a while, their physical strength was almost fully recovered. Xiao Yu stood up and stopped in front of the cave; he said to the others: ¡°Everyone, listen to me; this cave is connected to a small underground cave with a large space, which can be used as our temporary shelter. But there is some danger down there. Who¡¯s willing to go down with me to clear it up?¡± Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay; finally, Jin Shi and Wang Chao stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go too!¡± Han Kexin walked out of the crowd. ¡°me too!¡± A clear and sweet voice sounded out, and Jiang Xiaowen stepped forward timidly. Although luck was involved, she still hunted and killed two goblin slaves by herself, and her physique was already slightly better than that of ordinary professional athletes. Xiao Yu said: ¡°Jiang Xiaowen, you don¡¯t need to go; the four of us are enough.¡± Jiang Xiaowen, who was originally weak and timid, seemed to become extremely stubborn after experiencing that battle, ¡°I also want to go!¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and said, ¡°Besides the four of us, you, who had killed two monsters, are the strongest one here. Someone has to stay in order to protect the others, okay?¡± When Jiang Xiaowen heard this sentence, she nodded obediently: ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Yu roughly estimated that four people should be enough for the next task. When he fled here in his previous life, the strongest person at the time only killed five goblin slaves. In terms of intelligence, wisdom, and mental strength, he was quite inferior to Han Kexin, who also killed five. In addition, Jin Shi and Wang Chao both killed four goblins each. Their strength was only slightly weaker than Han Kexin. Xiao Yu himself killed more than twenty goblin slaves, that¡¯s without counting the last gray wolf. With his rich experience and fighting awareness, it should be easy enough to clean up the little trouble down there. CH 6 Humans were actually not as fragile as most people thought. In fact, human beings were a very adaptable creatures. In a harsh environment, it was easier for them to grow stronger. After the bloody battle and the thrilling escape, some of the present people were crying while others were trembling, yet their eyes and demeanor largely changed from the beginning. Survival of the fittest, and the law of the jungle, applied here as well. It had not changed for thousands of years. Humans must go through an adaptation period. As long as they adapted to their environment, they could conquer anything with their wisdom. Xiao Yu led the party into a one-meter-high tunnel. The passageway was slanted downwards; some sections were wide, others were narrow, and the walls were very rough without any trace of manual excavation. It was dark inside, very damp and cold. The four of them moved down step by step, wielding wooden clubs, as the surroundings gradually darkened. People¡¯s dreadful imaginations were best stimulated by darkness. Han Kexin, Jin Shi, and especially the hot-headed Wang Chao were all tense. The latter¡¯s legs shook violently. Hearing his own heartbeat accelerate, he had his nerves stiffening further, and he became as terrified as a bird. ¡°Take it easy; let¡¯s move slowly!¡± Xiao Yu walked in the front, bent forward, and slowly moved ahead. Wang Chao¡¯s fat face trembled, cold sweat streamed down his brow, and he opened his tiny eyes wide, cursing in a low voice: ¡°fuck¡­ fuck, it¡¯s easy for you to say! Fatty¡­ Fatty is a bit claustrophobic! Have you ever been here before? What¡¯s going on down here? Can you tell me first? At least it¡¯ll make us mentally prepared.¡± Xiao Yu continued to advance without haste, ¡°No need, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± The four of them finally walked out of the narrow tunnel. What appeared in front of them was a pitch-black underground cave. The area was not small at all; it was the size of several basketball courts put together. There were several naturally formed holes nearby that appeared to be tunnels; no one knew where these would lead. Sharp stalactites covered the top of the cave, and droplets of water were continually dripping down the ground. Several long and extremely tall stone pillars stood everywhere, the cave surface felt smooth and wet, and the odd moss was spread in every section, emitting a dim light, barely allowing people to discern the condition of the cave. A faint sound of flowing water could be heard as an underground river streamed by just on the right side of the cave. Xiao Yu raised the wooden club in his hand and said to the others: ¡°Don¡¯t get close to that underground river; let¡¯s keep moving!¡± Jin Shi felt his throat about to burn at the sight of the drinkable water, but when he heard his friend¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help scratching his head and asked: ¡°Why? Is the water poisonous?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; the water is not poisonous.¡± Xiao Yu paused and continued, ¡°Remember, never approach a water source carelessly, there exist frequent dangers in the water, and it is often a place where other species are widely dispersed.¡± Han Kexin seriously noted down Xiao Yu¡¯s every word in her mind. At this moment, she was dirty all over, and the black stockings on her slender thighs were squeezed out and damaged, revealing her white skin, the strands of hair reaching her cheeks had clumped due to sweat, sticking lightly on her skin which gave her a different kind of temptation. Just then, she saw a few white objects under a huge stalactite in front of them, and when she focused her gaze, she immediately let out a scream. ¡°Ah, look there¡­ over there, there are bones!¡± Wang Chao glanced at the pile of bones and said disdainfully: ¡°Tch, what¡¯s so scary about dead human bones? Haven¡¯t you seen enough dead people today? Fatty is fucking immune!¡± Xiao Yu picked up a stone from under his feet without looking at them and gently threw it toward the pile of bones. Bang! The stone hit a stalactite above the pile of bones, and the crisp sound echoed out in the silent underground cave. Immediately afterward, a scalp-numbing cracking noise resounded. Then, the four to five skeletons lying on the ground actually moved, their hollow eye sockets lighting up with a dark green glow as they slowly stood up. (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) It was a terrifying scene to behold in this silent, dark underground space. Then, right afterward, a few withered human bones stood up, their eyes glowing with a weird green light, and the bones all over their body started moving. ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s a ghost!¡± Wang Chao yelled. Han Kexin was so frightened that she immediately hid behind Xiao Yu¡¯s back, acting just like a regular woman, not the ¡°Bloody Queen¡± who would dominate the world in the future. Watching that scene, Jin Shi, standing beside them, also paled and took several steps back, almost failing to hold the wooden club in his hand. Xiao Yu seemed to have expected this reaction and said lightly: ¡°it¡¯s just a skeleton of an undead. The skeleton is the weakest one among the undead tribe. Also, this kind of skeleton is the weakest in the skeleton family. It has less strength than a goblin slave. It¡¯s only scary looking.¡± After the five skeletons stood up, they quickly noticed the four people slowly walking towards them, and various crackling noises were heard as they moved. Hearing Xiao Yu¡¯s words, Wang Chao immediately let go of his fear and shouted, ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it just a dead human¡¯s bones? While playing games, skeletons are always the most garbage of monsters. I kill them within seconds. Okay, let¡¯s go!¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°You still have to be careful, don¡¯t get caught by their dry bones. Their attacks have a corrosive effect, and a large piece of flesh will rot away as soon as they touch you.¡± After he finished speaking, he followed Wang Chao as they both rushed toward the enemies. Xiao Yu dashed to a stiff and sluggish skeleton and crushed it to pieces with his club. The fragile skull was directly shattered, and a ray of light the size of a thumb shot into his forehead. Immediately afterward, he delivered a smash to another skeleton beside him, as it also broke down. Wang Chao also waved his wooden weapon as he broke a skeleton in half. He yelled loudly: ¡°Killing like this is much more enjoyable than fighting those little dwarves. These dead bones move too slowly!¡± he felt ecstatic, but he had yet to notice that he didn¡¯t absorb any energy. Although broken in half from its spine, the skeleton with only half of its upper body still had a green glow in its eyes as it reached out to grab his legs. ¡°Be careful!¡± Xiao Yu spun around and swung his club furiously, striking the skeleton¡¯s upper half on the ground, utterly breaking its skull. ¡°Fatty, you almost died just now. These monsters are undead; as long as the fire of their soul is not extinguished, they will not die. So remember to aim for the head when dealing with them!¡± Wang Chao was drenched in cold sweat, but after seeing the skeleton¡¯s energy absorbed by Xiao Yu, he immediately cursed: ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve been robbed out of my experience!¡± Han Kexin and Jin Shi discovered that the skeletons were not as frightening as they had imagined, and they all exhaled a sigh of relief. Han Kexin saw the rows of moving free essence and didn¡¯t want to miss out, so she rushed into the battle with her own wooden club in hand. Jin Shi was surprised for a moment before following suit. The underground cave tunnel contained around fourteen to fifteen bone skeletons. They were pitifully frail and slow to respond. They rose up slowly after being alarmed and were frequently shattered in the process. Xiao Yu only killed four of them and let the others kill the rest as much as they could because after killing more than twenty goblin slaves in a row, the effect became somewhat negligible. The weak skeletons¡¯ soul energy was only half that of the goblin slaves; for him, it wasn¡¯t much, but for others, it still gave out sufficient power. ¡°There are still many dry skeletons in the other passages.¡± Xiao Yu pointed at the five to six tunnels around him and continued: ¡°But we have become much stronger, and the energy of the dry skeletons is no longer useful to us. They will not wake up on their own initiative if they are not disturbed, so let¡¯s save these piles for later.¡± Wang Chao pointed to another pile in front of him and said, ¡°what about this one? Let me deal with it!¡± ¡°Fatty, stop right there, don¡¯t go over there; this one is different from the others!¡± Xiao Yu grabbed his collar from behind and said quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t you have a brain? All the time, we avoided this one on purpose and cleared up the other skeletons; even fools would realize that this skeleton is different from the others.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wang Chao scratched his head and examined the specific skeleton with suspicion, only to discover that the bones of this one were whiter than those of the weak, dry skeletons and were much more complete. It clutched a bone shield in one hand and a blade in the other; its bone blade was filled with gaps. Xiao Yu said lightly: ¡°This is a skeleton soldier, a low-level undead creature. Its strength is similar to that of a goblin warrior, and it is far stronger than ordinary skeletons. So get ready to attack together!¡± The four of them adjusted their posture and rushed toward the enemy at the same time. When they arrived within ten meters of it, the skeleton soldier awakened as usual. A green light glowed in its empty eye sockets; the intensity of the light was much brighter than those of the dry skeletons¡¯, and it didn¡¯t stand up slowly like the normal ones either. Instead, as if there were springs underneath its feet, it jumped up violently, leaping three meters high. The bones all over its body were rattling, and it swung the bone blade slashing at everyone. Wang Chao looked at the skeleton soldier in the air who was slashing at them with its blade and shouted in fright: ¡°What the hell, did we make a mistake! This is insane!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s physical strength had far surpassed the other three, and his reaction time was equally the highest. With a flash of his silhouette, he stepped in front of them, blocking the skeleton soldier¡¯s bone blade with his club. The power of this slash was terrifying. Even though Xiao Yu nullified the majority of the force with a subtle angle, he still felt his hands trembling as the skin of his palm split open, while a large gap developed on the relatively solid wooden club due to corrosion. A green light flashed in the skeleton soldier¡¯s eyes, and its right hand that held the blade suddenly increased in strength. Xiao Yu felt a mountain pressing on him, and the huge force pushed him down on one knee as cracks appeared on the ground beneath his feet. Seeing the strong Xiao Yu like this, the other three people¡¯s faces changed drastically. Realizing this monster¡¯s power, they hurriedly seized the opportunity to attack. ¡°Eat this!¡± Jin Shi strode forward, roared, and swung his club, only to be blocked by the bone shield and forced a few steps back. Wang Chao and Han Kexin hit the skeleton soldier simultaneously. Wang Chao felt as if he had struck a piece of iron instead, and his hands ached, yet only few tiny cracks emerged on the skeleton soldier¡¯s body. Han Kexin was significantly stronger than him, but she concentrated her attack on its tough skull, resulting in few cracks as well. Wang Chao couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°Damn it, this can¡¯t be true!¡± Elementary-level monsters were really powerful! Skeleton soldiers had no senses, felt no pain, and as low-level undead creatures, they had no emotions. So, naturally, they did not feel anger. It just blankly raised its bone knife and struck Jin shi next to it. The latter managed to block the monster with his wooden club. But, unfortunately, he got thrown three meters away by that huge force and fell to the ground. Then it turned around and bashed Wang Chao¡¯s chest with its bone shield, and Wang Chao likewise was flung out as he coughed out blood in midair. CH 7 The skeleton soldier was about to attack again. Xiao Yu shouted loudly, exerting all his strength, and knocked it to the ground with a sweep of his legs; then he smashed the wooden club hard on its face. A sharp crackling sound was heard, and a crack appeared in the skeleton soldier¡¯s skull. He hit the monster so hard to the point of damaging his own nails. Han Kexin let out a girlish shout, hitting the same spot again with her weapon as the crack spread out rapidly. The skeleton soldier leapt up from the ground after making a rattling noise. Its bone blade quickly swung left and right, but Xiao Yu deflected it repeatedly. He evaded every attack with the least amount of risk possible by relying on his vast fighting experience. He even launched one or two counterattacks. However, the difference in strength and speed between the two sides was too big, and the skeleton quickly forced him back. At this moment, Han Kexin also rushed up, but the moment the club in her hand came into contact with the bone blade, she was sent flying. ¡°Crack!¡± The skeleton soldier violently raised its blade, slashing at her. Han Kexin was unable to evade the attack in time. Her face grew pale with fright, and just as she was about to close her eyes and await death, a hand forcefully pushed her body from harm¡¯s way. The moment Han Kexin was pushed away, she clearly saw that the arm that helped her was directly chopped off by the bone blade instead. The blade appeared to be rather dull, yet it was actually incredibly sharp. Blood gushed out from the broken arm in an instant and splashed all over the ground. Han Kexin looked in disbelief at the man who lost his arm to save her life; her heart stirred, and tears shimmered in her eyes as she cried out: ¡°no, Xiao Yu!¡± When it was entirely cut down, blood poured out of Xiao Yu¡¯s severed left arm like a spring, yet he didn¡¯t even flinch. For him, this sort of pain that could cause individuals to pass out never seemed to apply to him. He turned around and struck the skeleton soldier in the head without stopping. The skeleton soldier swung its bone blade and slashed in retaliation. Flexibly dodging, Xiao Yu swung the club at an awkward angle. The soldier¡¯s skull was largely fractured. Just one more strike could extinguish its fire! Despite its low intelligence, the monster still recognized that it was about to perish. As a result, it accelerated the movement of its blade and stabbed Xiao Yu in the chest. At the same time, Xiao Yu raised his wooden club and struck the skeleton soldier in the skull once more. He ignored the stab rushing into his chest; despite being too weak from losing all that blood, he refused to stop his attack. If he missed this opportunity, he judged it would be harder to come by. He twisted his body slightly so the attack would miss all his vital points. ¡®Puchi¡¯, Xiao Yu¡¯s chest was pierced through, and a bone blade emerged from his back. Bang! With a muffled sound, the wooden club hit the skeleton soldier¡¯s head fiercely, and most of the skull was shattered with a bang. The soul fire in its eye sockets flickered out a few times and finally completely extinguished. Ultimately, the skeleton lost all of its strength, and its body instantly broke, scattering broken bones all over the ground. Xiao Yu sprayed blood from his mouth and nose, took five to six steps back, and let go of his weapon as he held the bone blade stuck in his chest backhanded before forcefully pulling it out. Fresh blood instantly stained the clothes on his chest, causing intense pain as it made him sweat profusely, but he never grunted, and even his expression didn¡¯t change much. (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) Jin Shi, Wang Chao, and Han Kexin were all stunned and stood there in silence. They¡¯d never seen anyone with such steady mental strength before! Especially Han Kexin, who felt gratitude and gratefulness toward him. After the death of the skeleton soldier, two balls of essence emerged; one ball of energy the size of a ping-pong ball floated out and split apart automatically. A small strand of which flew into Han Kexin¡¯s body. That energy was not inferior to two goblin slaves¡¯ worth. The remaining nine-tenths turned into a stream and poured into Xiao Yu¡¯s brows. A huge amount of power constantly poured into his body. Xiao Yu felt like a thousand-year-old volcano was about to erupt inside him! This feeling was very familiar; he was about to evolve! Silk strands protruded out from his body, wrapping Xiao Yu into a big glowing cocoon made of silk. Immediately afterward, several pieces of information quickly flashed through his consciousness¡­ he advanced to the elementary level, comprehending one skill: the eyes of insight! After a while, the light cocoon split open, and Xiao Yu emerged. His body was intact, all of his injuries had healed, and even his broken arm had grown back. Xiao Yu clenched his fists tightly, feeling an enormous power in his body. At this moment, he was more than twice as strong as before, and he could exert a thousand catties equal amount of force with a random punch; he also received an innate skill. There were many ways to obtain skills in this world. Innate skills were kind; such skills were often very powerful and practical, getting stronger as they continued to evolve. Most people only had an increase in strength when they advanced, and rarely did they receive innate skills. Wang Chao was stunned and said: ¡°What the fuck, what happened to you? You just got fully revived!¡± ¡°I evolved!¡± Xiao Yu moved his arms around and said with joy for the first time: ¡°I have entered the elementary realm now, and I am already at the same level as that skeleton soldier. So now, even if I fight it alone, I will not lose!¡± Wang Chao swallowed his saliva: ¡°is it actually possible to advance while fighting monsters? Why does this feel similar to a game?¡± Xiao Yu had just entered the elementary level. He recovered from his injury and was full of energy. And so he was also in a good mood as he joked around, ¡°Fatty, you guessed it correctly this time. This world is like a playground, a game created by gods. We, weak humans, are the players, and we must keep on surviving and evolving in this game, to finally become the perfect race in this world!¡± Jin Shi seemed to notice an abnormality in Xiao Yu; he scratched his head and asked strangely, ¡°hey, why did your eyes turn red?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyesight greatly improved after advancing; now, he could clearly see every detail in his surroundings, even in this dark underground cave. He explained slowly: ¡°Everyone¡¯s evolution direction, part, and speed are very different. There are all kinds of strange evolutionary routes. Some are obvious, some are not, and the area I evolved in is my eyes.¡± Han Kexin came over and said to him with a complicated expression, ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± Xiao Yu smiled; in fact, he did that on purpose. Because he was well aware that he had already reached a bottleneck. as long as he killed that skeleton soldier, he would be able to advance smoothly, and all of his injuries would heal by then. It was totally a worthwhile gamble to exchange an arm for the gratitude and admiration of the ¡°Bloody Queen¡±. Physical pain was insignificant to Xiao Yu anyway. However, this woman¡¯s potential was limitless, and so she must remain firmly attached to his side! Xiao Yu did not want to repeat his previous life¡¯s mistakes. Including the ¡°Bloody Queen¡± Han Kexin and the other powerful people who have grown into giants, Xiao Yu has always believed that he was not in any way inferior to them. On the contrary, his battle awareness and pursuit of strength were even more superior. But there were only two things that he was lacking, that is ambition and a long-term vision. In his previous life, Xiao Yu thought that if he was just strong enough, he could survive anything in this world. Because of this idea, he became a lone traveler who broke away from his group. A lone person haunting in dangerous places, a lone person killing all kinds of horrifying monsters, and this lone person¡¯s eagerness for power grew stronger and stronger. A single person¡¯s strength was, in fact, always limited. With the assistance of their comrades and teammates, those who formed forces early on leapt to kill stronger monsters, obtained better treasures, and grew stronger and stronger while he was left behind. It could be said that his downfall was inevitable! Xiao Yu fully grasped this truth after his death. His desire for power remained strong, but humans, after all, lived in factions and should not separate from their group. There must be a few people whom you can rely on, especially strong people! Because he has gone through it before, Xiao Yu had many more advantages that others did not. Hence he would make sure to reap more benefits this time around! Jin Shi pointed to a gray ball of light floating around the body of the skeleton soldier as he asked, ¡°Why is there another energy ball right there? Can it also be absorbed?! It¡¯s huge, and it¡¯s just floating there. Is it that it¡¯s too big to be absorbed?¡± Xiao Yu walked over and grabbed the ball of light; the light gradually dissipated, revealing a sharp bone blade held in his hand. This bone blade was gray and white all over, about three fingers wide and three feet long. It glowed coldly, with a row of tiny serrations on the edge. The hilt was decorated with a spiral pattern and a skull shape at the end. The moment he held the blade, a message was transmitted right to his brain, it was the name of this weapon, and it was called¡ª Blade of withered Bones! ¡°It¡¯s our good luck; we got a weapon this early.¡± Xiao Yu spun the blade gently, and the wind blew by, making their cheeks feel sore. He explained to the three puzzled people: ¡°This weapon is the monster¡¯s soul. I don¡¯t know the details. Let¡¯s just think like this, since it is a game, it would be reasonable for monsters to drop out equipment. This weapon is called the Blade of withered Bones ¨C it¡¯s a gray-grade weapon.¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi looked at each other; both smiled wryly at the same time: ¡°Damn, this is very messed up.¡± Han Kexin questioned, her eyes piercing: ¡°You just said that this knife is a gray-grade weapon. Does this mean there exist other grades besides this one?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said: ¡°Gray weapons are the lowest kind, followed by white, green, blue, and purple weapons in that order. As for whether there are others, I don¡¯t know. Each grade is divided into three tiers: high, medium, and low. This bone blade is a medium gray weapon, but even so, in the eyes of ordinary people, it is a magical weapon that can cut through rocks like mud!¡± Han Kexin asked suspiciously: ¡°I always had this question in mind, why do you know this world so well? Like you¡¯ve lived here before.¡± When Wang Chao and Jin Shi heard this, they immediately had the same thoughts in mind as they too asked, ¡°That¡¯s right, have you ever been here before?¡± Xiao Yu smiled strangely and answered, ¡°If I say I had dreamed of this place, would you believe me?¡± ¡°I believe you!¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes flickered. Holding the bone blade in his hand, Xiao Yu said to the others: ¡°It¡¯s almost safe in here; the people above must be impatiently waiting for us. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± The four of them immediately returned to ground level along the exit passage, and just when they walked out, they were surprised to find traces of battle outside. There were six to seven human corpses on the ground, as well as the dead bodies of six goblin slaves. Apparently, those monsters attacked them. A few humans died, but the total number of people had increased instead of decreasing compared to when they had just entered the cave. After the scattered students in the woods arrived one after another, a total of more than one hundred people gathered together. Among them, the number of girls was more than seventy, and the number of boys was barely above thirty. This was mainly because the school was dominated by arts and design students, which mainly consisted of girls. There were also those who majored in liberal arts. Obviously, if you switch to a science and engineering school, the situation will be much different. This ratio has another aspect to it, which is a personality aspect. The boys were just braver. Facing the attacks of goblin slaves, most girls tend to just run away, as goblin slaves don¡¯t run that fast, so it was very easy to outrun them. However, after the initial fear, a significant number of males choose to fight desperately. As a result of this resistance, various people died, but others grew stronger as well. ¡°Teacher Han!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s skirt was stained with blood as she threw herself on Han Kexin, who just came out, crying loudly. Xiao Yu gave her a rough glance, ¡°Have you guys been attacked?¡± At this time, a female student replied: ¡°A group of students fled here, and six monsters were chasing them. Some of us reacted quickly and helped deal with the monsters. Jiang Xiaowen was extremely brave. She killed two of them on her own.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Xiao Yu glanced at Jiang Xiaowen, who was crying, ¡°Really? I seriously underestimated her this time!¡± Jiang Xiaowen and Xiao Yu knew each other long before going to university. They both learned painting in the same studio. Jiang Xiaowen always gave him the feeling of a lively, beautiful girl with a pure heart. Not only was she very beautiful, but her family¡¯s financial conditions were also excellent. Her father was a well-known domestic company president with hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth. In addition, she was sensible and obedient, so her family couldn¡¯t wait to hold her in the palm of their hands and take good care of her, just like a princess. For those reasons, he didn¡¯t expect a spoiled girl like her would show such courage in the face of danger. People should never be judged by their looks. Perhaps, her potential is higher than I thought! CH 8 Over a hundred students entered the underground cave through the tunnel one after another. The underground cave was pitch black, and its space was not big enough for everyone, so it felt a bit crowded together. But precisely because of this, it gave people a sense of security. After calming down, everyone was overwhelmed by extreme exhaustion, hunger, thirst, and despair. Two-thirds of these people were females, and the cave resounded with cries of every kind. There was a palpable sense of melancholy in the air. However, Xiao Yu didn¡¯t feel anything against that; crying was the best way to relieve mental stress. People would feel much more at ease after a good cry. The most important thing right now was to ensure everyone¡¯s safety, as well as addressing the lack of food and water. In the underground cave, there was a river with drinkable water. There should be no major problems as long as they are careful enough and tie a container to a wooden stick to get the water. Xiao Yu called Han Kexin, Jin Shi, Wang Chao, and Jiang Xiaowen together. They were the strongest amongst the group. Jiang Xiaowen, the weakest among them, had already killed four goblin slaves. Among the remaining people, less than twenty had killed goblin slaves, and only a single one at that. Furthermore, they had known each other for a much longer time, making them the few people Xiao Yu trusted most here. Han Kexin said worriedly: ¡°There are too many of us, and we haven¡¯t eaten for five to six hours straight. If this continues, everyone will starve to death!¡± Wang Chao was the first to stand up, shaking the fat on his body, and said: ¡°Yes, yes, as you can clearly see, I¡¯m the one who can¡¯t bear hunger the most, so we gotta find a way, so I can get something to eat!¡± Xiao Yu nodded: ¡°There are plenty of food sources in this forest. It is not difficult to find edible wild fruits, and even most monsters¡¯ meat is edible. But there are so many dangers around, so we need to make weapons, arm ourselves, and form a small group of combat-ready people! We also need to create a batch of tools. The forest is filled with monsters, the majority of which are not very intelligent. Some simple traps are more effective than direct fighting and can produce better results as well.¡± Jin Shi¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°Ha, why didn¡¯t I think of that? I¡¯ve read some books and am familiar with various types of traps. Though I¡¯ve never tried them out, with so many students, everyone¡¯s wisdom can definitely assist in quickly resolving most difficulties.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked at Xiao Yu, her eyes full of happiness. Allowing her to be here was a kind of recognition for her. She felt very satisfied in her heart and said in a low voice: ¡°This is a good idea, but don¡¯t we need tools for that? No one really has anything in their hands.¡± (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) Xiao Yu said: ¡°There are very few things in this forest besides trees. We can cut them down to make simple tools; we can also start picking up stones and polish them to use as weapons.¡± He put a utility box cutter on the ground, ¡°This utility knife can still be used many times; it should be barely useful for processing a few things. I will ask the others later and try to find some small knives and tools like scissors and lighters.¡± Han Kexin nodded: ¡°Let¡¯s divide the work first.¡± Xiao Yu said: ¡°First of all, we must improve everyone¡¯s physique and fighting power. There are five or six tunnels around the cave, with a lot of dry skeletons to fight. Miss Han, you have to go collect all the goblin clubs we own and, choose a group of people who have never killed monsters before, give them the weapons separately. You personally will lead them to kill those monsters, as the bone piles are limited, and each person can only kill one, try to find people you know or people who seem reliable and honest; no one is allowed to break this rule.¡± Han Kexin nodded. Xiao Yu said to Jiang Xiaowen as well: ¡°Xiaowen, there are some good friends of yours here?¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded: ¡°There are quite a few.¡± Xiao Yu continued: ¡°You can bring them to Miss Han later. I will personally give you the wood and necessary tools, so try and find someone to help process and polish the stones. For the first batch of people to kill the skeletons, make a batch of weapons for them, like short spears.¡± ¡°All right!¡± Xiao Yu set his eyes next on Jin Shi and said, ¡°Stone, Miss Han has a map I drew. I will mark a few places on it later where you can find trees with fruits that are safe to eat. You organize people who have killed goblin slaves and go gather those wild fruits in the forest. If you meet students who have fled here, accept them. There aren¡¯t many monsters in this part of the forest, but you still have to be careful not to go too far.¡± Wang Chao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What about me?¡± Xiao Yu said to him: ¡°You fatty were just injured, and you need to rest. Besides, you are the scariest-looking person among us, with very thick skin to boot. You are responsible for staying and monitoring everyone. Now that there is no law, it is inevitable that some people will go out of line. If you come across such a person, there is no need to show any sympathy; just fix them up. Among these people, except for me, Miss Han, and stone, no one is your opponent.¡± Wang Chao was beaming as he exclaimed, ¡°You really do understand me, hahaha, okay! Leave it to me!¡± Xiao Yu said to everyone: ¡°As for me, I will sneak back to the school and try to find some supplies. Alright, let¡¯s stop here and go focus on our own tasks.¡± Hearing the last sentence, Han Kexin couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go back alone!¡± Wang Chao interjected, ¡°whoa, there is a very powerful goblin over there. Can you beat it?¡± ¡°Well¡­ the goblin leader is a ¡®First-order¡¯ monster, and I¡¯m sure I can¡¯t beat it. Besides, there are two hundred goblin slaves and fifty elementary-level goblin warriors.¡± Xiao Yu paused and continued: ¡°But precisely because of this, I am the best candidate for sneaking back. It is adequate for only me to go. If you follow me, my survival chances will be even slimmer. Please accept my apologies as I mean no offense, but it¡¯s the truth.¡± Han Kexin blushed and nodded in understanding. Wang Chao was unconvinced and wanted to retort, but Jin Shi dragged him away forcibly. Jiang Xiaowen took a deep look at Xiao Yu, ¡°You must be careful; we all need you.¡± Xiao Yu picked up the withered bone blade, stood up, and said, ¡°That¡¯s it; let¡¯s depart now!¡± Xiao Yu easily cut a few trees down in the woods with the bone blade. He chopped them into pieces, processed them roughly, and then handed them over to Jiang Xiaowen, who was tasked to find someone who could polish them carefully. Han Kexin gathered everyone¡¯s goblins clubs together. Despite their short length, these clubs were made of hardwood. They were not too heavy but comparable to iron in toughness. The best weapons for the immediate situation. With Han Kexin, who was second only to Xiao Yu in strength, personally leading the team, killing ordinary skeletons would not be too dangerous. Seeing everything proceeding in an orderly manner, Xiao Yu could finally leave with peace of mind as he exited the cave hurriedly. On the way back to school, he came by a wetland with stagnant water. He stopped there, stuck the bone blade in the mud by his side, reached out and picked up a large amount of foul-smelling mud from there, and then covered himself with it, letting it smear on his face, neck, hands, and body. In this way, his whole body was covered with this foul-smelling substance, which could effectively cover up his body odor, allowing him to travel through the forest more easily. Pulling out the bone blade inserted next to him, a pair of bright eyes slowly opened on that muddy face; the dark pupils on them turned blood red. In an instant, the whole world became a hundred times clearer than before, and everything started moving at a slow pace, considerably slower than normal. The hunt begins! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The forest surrounding the school was littered with goblin activity, and it appeared to have become the goblins¡¯ new territory. Fortunately, there were no higher-level monsters around, and the strongest one was the goblin leader, a ¡®First-order¡¯ monster. Its strength was far above Xiao Yu¡¯s, and he had no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. But although the goblin leader was formidable, there was only one, so Xiao Yu had no trouble evading it. Xiao Yu stood between the branches of a big tree; the dense twigs and leaves covered most of his body, only revealing a pair of poisonous snake-like red eyes staring closely at the bottom. At this time, five goblin slaves slowly walked by, and about five meters behind them was a goblin warrior holding a short spear and a wooden shield. Their eyesight was not particularly good, and as they couldn¡¯t smell any foreign scent, they didn¡¯t have any idea about the human lurking in the trees. ¡°click, click, click.¡± The shackles of the five goblin slaves jingled, and they slowly came right under the tree. Xiao Yu took out a small stone from his pocket and threw it towards another large tree with his hand; the stone fell on the tree trunk with a muffled bang. ¡°Ji-gu!¡± All the goblins were alarmed as they turned to search for the noise¡¯s source. Holding the bone blade firmly, Xiao Yu leaped down, split a goblin slave in half with a wave of his hand, and then quickly cut off another goblin¡¯s head before it could react. At this time, all the goblins had turned their heads toward him. Xiao Yu rushed forward and kicked a goblin slave five or six meters away with all his strength. All the bones in its body were shattered, and three streams of essence were then consecutively absorbed into his body. ¡°Ji-guu!¡± The rest of the goblins screamed as they found their enemy; they attacked him angrily. As a human being with elementary-level strength, Xiao Yu¡¯s speed was naturally extremely fast. At this time, he had the ¡°eyes of insight¡± activated; even though this innate skill was not combat oriented, however, it was more precious than most combat skills. It can allow him to see through his enemy¡¯s strength while also making his eyes sharper, allowing him to readily detect the opponent¡¯s weaknesses, avoid fatal strikes in desperate situations, and even save people from a hail of bullets. The goblin warrior swooped forward, and the short spear in its hand stabbed four to five times in succession, each blow carrying tremendous force. Xiao Yu saw through the attacks¡¯ trajectory as he evaded the short spear like lightning, chopped through the thrusting wooden spear, and cut down the final two goblin slaves after pushing it back. Now only the goblin warrior and he were left. The monster was an elementary-level being, so Xiao Yu did not dare to underestimate it, but with the Bone Blade in hand, he was one hundred percent sure he could deal with it. ¡°argh! argh!¡± The goblin warrior roared twice angrily and rushed forward again, piercing with its short spear swiftly. Thanks to his eyes of insight, Xiao Yu could easily see through the attack¡¯s trajectory. He tilted his head slightly, narrowly avoiding the spear by a hair¡¯s breadth, and grabbed it with his left hand like lightning. He then proceeded to slash down with his other hand right after. Goblin warriors were the elementary level monsters, and their reaction time was in no way equivalent to that of goblin slaves. Its short spear was held firmly, and it could not retreat; hence it raised the wooden shield in time to block the blade. The wooden shield and the goblin club were made of the same material, so former was similarly tough. The sharp withered bone blade penetrated into the wooden shield but could not break through. The two sides were in a stalemate, and they both began to push aggressively against each other. Xiao Yu had just entered the elementary realm; hence his strength was somewhat weaker in comparison. His legs moved back almost involuntarily, leaving two deep marks on the ground filled with decaying leaves, as he simply felt overwhelming strength engulfing him. ¡°bang!¡± The goblin warrior forced him more than ten meters back, and his body eventually came to a halt after colliding with a large tree. Xiao Yu snorted and abruptly yanked back his hand holding the short spear; along with the inertia of the goblin¡¯s body pressing forward, the short spear pierced fiercely into the tree behind him. The full body of the spear sunk deeply, piercing the huge tree that needed two people to hug; even the goblin warrior couldn¡¯t draw it out in a short amount of time. He then took a step forward and knocked it away with a shoulder bump. Taking advantage of the opponent¡¯s shaky footing, Xiao Yu chopped down with both hands holding the blade. The goblin warrior lost its short spear, so it could only use the wooden shield to block. The bone blade struck at the same spot, and the wooden shield broke in two with a bang. The goblin warrior was empty-handed, and a gray-white blade appeared in front of its terrified eyes. ¡°Crack!¡± The sound of bones cracking filled his ears. When Xiao Yu¡¯s last slash landed on its thick head, half of the blade sunk in, and the skull was severed. The goblin¡¯s pupils dilated rapidly, and a tiny line of black blood, like an earthworm, ran down from its own brow. Xiao Yu pulled out his blade, blood gushed out from the top of the goblin¡¯s head, and its body, which had completely lost its vitality, fell to the ground. In a moment, a Ping-Pong-sized ball of essence flew up and merged into his body, which greatly improved his physique at once. Elementary-level monsters gave out a great deal of energy for him. CH 9 After killing the goblin warrior, Xiao Yu used all of his strength to free the short spear that had been lodged in the tree. This short spear was quite sharp, and given the lack of weapons, it could be brought back for others to use. He didn¡¯t immediately rush into the ruins of the school, but he first dragged the goblin¡¯s body into the bushes, covered up the marks of the battle with mud, and after wiping the blood off his body, he sneaked into the woods again to hunt. After more than an hour had passed, the sky gradually darkened. Xiao Yu made his way back to where he had started with four short spears tied to his back. He had successfully hunted down four more goblin warriors, and his strength had increased by one-third compared to when he entered the elementary level. ¡°It¡¯s almost time. Although the goblin leader is not very intelligent, if I kill too many at once, I might be found out. It will be much harder for me to sneak back in the future if all the goblins gather around. The most crucial part is still gathering supplies.¡± Xiao Yu cautiously came to the southern part of the school. There were numerous human corpses scattered around, and most probably, lots of goblins were inside. However, the entire street outside the south gate of the school also appeared together with it when the earthquake happened, so it was relatively safer. According to his vague memories, the shops on the street were mainly Internet cafes, bookstores, copy shops, and supermarkets. Those supermarkets were quite large, and you could find many useful supplies inside them, which were Xiao Yu¡¯s main goal. Darkness gradually enveloped the surrounding fields, but it was not an obstacle for Xiao Yu, who activated his ¡°eyes of insight¡±. He crept out of the woods and into the southern street without making a sound. He discovered several goblin slaves wandering around, and several scrapped vehicles on the road were seen; using them as a cover, he approached the goblins carefully, just then he suddenly burst out with amazing speed, and before they could react, a blade flashed and ended their lives. (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) Xiao Yu wiped the blood off his blade and walked to an overturned BMW car. He looked through the broken window; there were two people sitting in the vehicle. A young man with dyed blonde hair and a seductive woman dressed in hot low-cut suspenders that were torn, with exposed plump breasts. However, the two had hideous faces, their flesh and blood were hazy, and their bodies were so distorted that it was impossible to tell what they originally looked like. The man¡¯s eyes were still wide open, and his empty eyes were full of unwillingness and fear. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t seem to find anything, so he reached into the car and groped for a while, only to find an exquisite windproof lighter, half a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes, a wallet full of cash, and several boxes of condoms. He ignored the condoms and the money, took the pack of cigarettes and the lighter, put them in his pocket, and continued to walk in the direction of the supermarket. He eventually arrived in front of one of the supermarkets. This supermarket had three floors, and half of it was currently collapsed. Fortunately, there was still a part that had not completely tumbled down. This also saved Xiao Yu from digging it out as he walked into the half supermarket to find the things he needed. As soon as he stepped into the supermarket, he smelled a strong stench of blood. Lying on the ground was a woman wearing work clothes from the supermarket. She died in a hideous way; most of the flesh on her neck was missing, and her yellow clothes were completely stained red with blood. There was a big hole in her belly, with most of her internal organs removed, while a string of intestines was still sticking out. ¡°Damn it!¡± Xiao Yu took out the bone blade and looked around, ¡°There must be goblins here who¡¯ve made this mess; I must leave as soon as possible!¡± Xiao Yu first went to a stationery store and found a few brand new large backpacks, then to another that sold furniture supplies, various kitchen knives, fruit knives, ropes, and other such items. He also found a few large bags of edible salt, which all got stuffed into two empty backpacks; he finally moved ahead to the snack area, where all containers were tilted, and all kinds of temporary food were found everywhere on the ground. ¡°Candy¡­and¡­chocolate¡­¡± There were various brands of snacks all over the floor. He grabbed a few handfuls of Alpine candies randomly and then stuffed all the hundred Dove chocolates from the shelf and into the backpack. The large backpack was filled to the brim in a short while. ¡°Jigu! Jigu!¡± Just then, ugly sounds echoed throughout the supermarket. Xiao Yu came to a halt as he stopped stuffing the few compressed biscuits into his bag right away. He carefully removed them and placed them beneath his feet before reaching out and softly closing the zipper of the bag, bit by bit and slowly. A burst of footsteps was heard trudging slowly; judging from the sound of footsteps, they seemed to be walking directly towards the door of the supermarket. Based on Xiao Yu¡¯s experience, those should be three goblins, and as there was no sound of iron chains around, it meant they were all goblin warriors! A speck of sweat slid down Xiao Yu¡¯s brow; while considering an approach to dealing with this, he stuffed a dove chocolate into his mouth and swallowed it quickly without tasting it. Putting on the backpack and leaning over carefully, he saw three goblins holding short spears looking around their surroundings carefully. Their hearing was very sensitive, and they were obviously attracted by the sound he had made before. They were hovering at the door, on high alert. In other words, if Xiao Yu made any movement, they would definitely notice him. Relying on his ability and experience, although it would be difficult to deal with three goblin warriors at the same time, it wasn¡¯t impossible to win. It¡¯s just that there are goblins everywhere, and if he fought here, the opponents would definitely cry for their friends. It was fine if just for ordinary goblins, But once the goblin leader notices, he¡¯ll have to give back all snacks and his life. ¡°Big fucking trouble!¡± Xiao Yu remained motionless, quietly observing the surroundings and calmly lurking in the shadows like a deadly snake poised to strike. ¡°Jigu! Jigu!¡± The goblins cried twice, though they didn¡¯t seem to notice anything out of the norm; they had no intention of leaving and stood puzzled at the entrance. ¡°Creak, Creak, Creak¡­!¡± Suddenly a dragging noise came from the supermarket¡¯s inside. ¡°Jigu!¡± The three goblin warriors were all startled and rushed over with short spears in hand, finding the sound¡¯s source. It turned out to be a kitchen knife tied with a rope and dragged on the floor. During the dragging process, the kitchen knife made a crisp sound when it touched the floor. The goblin¡¯s poor wisdom couldn¡¯t explain this weird phenomenon and instinctively chased the knife as they stopped in front of a shelf full of various iron cookware and kitchen furniture. Almost at the same time. Xiao Yu, who was hiding on the other side of the shelf, let go of the rope and slammed his shoulder against the shelf. With a bang, the huge and heavy metal cabinet fell down, just in time to crush the three goblin warriors who were caught off guard. Xiao Yu jumped up, stepped on the shelf, raised the blade with his hand, and cut off the neck of a goblin warrior; then he lifted the blade again with both hands, stabbed fiercely from one frame straight through another goblin¡¯s heart, the last goblin warrior was reaching out to push away the shelf that was pressing on its body. Relying on its huge force, the heavy shelf got pushed up bit by bit. ¡°fuck you!¡± Xiao Yu, who was standing on the cabinet, did not give it any chance to resist; instead, stomping firmly on the goblin¡¯s face below, he swiped his sword once more to end its life. Three goblin warriors with impressive fighting power were killed without even a chance to fight. These set of movements weren¡¯t by any means quiet, and lots of goblins had obviously been alarmed, as various strange screams were already sounding outside. Xiao Yu quickly jumped down and pulled a short spear from the bottom of the shelf. As for the other two, he had no time to take them. He turned around and picked up the two backpacks he filled on the ground and left the supermarket for the wilderness. A large group of goblins chased him frantically, and there was even a tall figure wearing a wolf fur helmet and holding a big machete in hand. The goblin leader. However, Xiao Yu ended the battle too quickly. From pushing down the shelves on top of the goblins to hacking them to death to grabbing the loot and running away, all took less than twenty seconds. There weren¡¯t many goblins wandering on the street, and the goblin warriors in this area had already been killed by him just now. It could be said that Xiao Yu came and went unhindered. The goblin leader¡¯s speed was incredible, as it arrived on the street in a few leaps, only to discover the invader long gone. Enraged, it raised its head toward the sky and let out a roar. With a wave of the big machete in its hand, a cyan light cut down, and a car was knocked upside down and flew five to six meters away, only stopping after it hit another vehicle. The car was already dilapidated, and there was a frightening sword mark on it, slicing over two-thirds of the vehicle. The power of this one attack was astonishing; the gap between the elementary realm and the first-order level felt overwhelming! In the meantime, Jin shi led over twenty people to search for food in the woods. He followed Xiao Yu¡¯s instructions and found an area where they picked handfuls of fruits that looked just like bananas, only larger in size. They also found several large fruit trees hunched together. Each of the wild fruits was fist-sized, a little bit similar to an apple, possibly colored in green because they were not ripe enough, and they tasted a little sour, barely edible. Jin Shi instructed the people to gather the fruits on top of the trees and had another group stand guard in the surroundings. ¡°Everyone, be careful; something is coming!¡± Xiao Yu rushed over with two big backpacks, waved his hands, and shouted loudly: ¡°Be at ease; it¡¯s me!¡± Jin Shi was immediately overjoyed, ¡°oh, you are back; have you gained anything?¡± Xiao Yu patted his bulging backpacks and said, ¡°What do you think?¡± he looked at him and asked, ¡°So, how is it going on your side?¡± Jin Shi nodded and said: ¡°The harvest was very good. According to your instructions, a large number of wild fruits have been picked and carried back; everyone now has something to eat. We are now in the process of picking a batch to store so that there will be less shortage of food in the future.¡± Xiao Yu glanced at the others and then said: ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, and it¡¯s not safe in the forest. Let¡¯s talk when we get back.¡± Everyone followed him back into the underground cave. Han Kexin was happy to see Xiao Yu return, especially with a large number of supplies. And Jiang Xiaowen smiled for the first time. They gathered and began planning the distribution of resources and their future plans. Han Kexin said: ¡°The amount of fruit gathered by Jinshi today is very large. On average, each person can take one, and there would still be a batch of leftovers. This is thanks to the locations you provided. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know how long it would have taken us to find anything. Though we can only afford everyone¡¯s consumption if we include the food you brought back.¡± Xiao Yu put the two backpacks and five goblin spears on the ground and unzipped one of the backpacks as a batch of knives spilled out. There were five kitchen knives in total, and more than forty fruit knives of different sizes, with several large packets of edible salt. The other backpack contained six to seven catties of various candies, more than a hundred pieces of Dove chocolate, and several packs of compressed biscuits. CH 10 Wang Chao¡¯s eyes lit up as he rubbed his fat hands together and said, ¡°oh wow, so much food; how should we divide this!¡± Han Kexin glared at him with dissatisfaction in her eyes and reprimanded, ¡°Do you only know how to eat? Look at how fat you already are.¡± After a pause, she continued: ¡°These things are hard to come by; I think we need to save some. After all, it¡¯ll not be easy for you to go back.¡± Xiao Yu smiled and casually said: ¡°No need; I have a number of methods to obtain food, and sharing these goods will be a huge boost to our morale. Teacher Han, stone, Fatty, Xiaowen, each of you take three pieces of chocolate first; also, take a few handfuls of candies and divide the rest amongst the others. As for how you do that, I¡¯ll leave it up to you guys to decide. We are now in a dangerous situation, and our top priority is to help everyone out as much as possible.¡± Han Kexin nodded helplessly and then said: ¡°I can ensure that each student will be given half a piece of chocolate and ten candies. We will give more to those who have participated in the work today and save the rest for those willing to work in the future, as special treatment for whoever risks their lives for the group¡¯s sake.¡± Xiao Yu paused for a moment before agreeing with her, ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Chao shouted: ¡°I love you to death!¡± Xiao Yu kicked him away, ¡°fuck off! Oh, by the way, I brought back a few packs of cigarettes. Most people would want to smoke now; you can give it to whoever.¡± Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen peered at him, their gorgeous eyes sparkling with appreciation and a hint of admiration. Noticing their gaze, Xiao Yu smiled slightly and did not say anything. Xiao Yu knew that he was not a savior, nor was he a good person. He didn¡¯t like to do meaningless things, let alone do something that could harm him for the sake of others. However, he considered that a hundred people did not pose that much of a hindrance for him. And as they would not have too much of an impact on him, he judged it better to help everyone here. Some in this group had (Check Our page on Patreon.com/Lorenovels for more..) great potential and may become a force to be reckoned with in the near future. He merely considered it all as a kind of early investment. And even if there had been no need for food, Xiao Yu would still have returned to school to strengthen himself fighting against the goblin warriors; bringing some supplies back was merely a bonus. Wang Chao tore open the package as soon as he received his chocolates. He ate the large piece of chocolate in a few mouthfuls and then ate the other two pieces at the same speed. Then he licked his lips and looked greedily at the others. At this time, Jiang Xiaowen was holding a piece of chocolate in her little hands; she was reluctant to eat it and instead chose to lick it slowly with her tongue, savoring its mellow taste. Then, suddenly feeling a greedy gaze beside her, she shrank away in fright and said, ¡°Big fatty, I won¡¯t give it to you!¡± Wang Chao curled his lips and turned his eyes to Jin shi. ¡°piss off!¡± As a result, Jin Shi, who was usually straightforward and honest, used foul language for the first time. Han Kexin couldn¡¯t help but show a smile, though, after a while, her smile crumbled down, and a deep sad expression appeared on her face, she came to this world inexplicably, and she didn¡¯t know whether she¡¯ll live to see the next day. At this moment, there was a burst of noise outside the cave, mixed with people¡¯s screams and panic. Wang Chao opened his mouth in shock and said, ¡°What¡¯s going on outside? Where¡¯s this noise coming from?¡± ¡°Something bad must have happened.¡± Xiao Yu stood up and said to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and see.¡± When the four of them emerged from the cave and entered the big underground area, they noticed that everyone¡¯s face was pallid, as if they had seen something horrible. After some inquiring, They discovered that the two guys Han Kexin had assigned to observe the situation outside the exit passageway had inexplicably vanished, leaving no trace behind. After learning about the specific situation, Xiao Yu frowned slightly and said to everyone: ¡°Don¡¯t panic; let¡¯s take a look first.¡± With Han Kexin and the others following him, he gathered five to six other people with good strength and walked out of the passage to the forest outside the cave. The night had completely set, and the surrounding fields felt silent and gloomy. ¡°This is¡­¡± Han Kexin picked up a goblin club from the ground, ¡°I made them sit inside the cave to monitor the situation outside, but how did this club fall outside the cave? Sure enough, something must¡¯ve gone wrong! ¡° Jiang Xiaowen was a little scared, ¡°What should we do now?¡± Xiao Yu looked around calmly for a while and muttered to himself: ¡°It¡¯s not normal; the forest shouldn¡¯t be this quiet¡± He turned around and said to the others: ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t all investigate right now, the forest at night is not safe, and so everyone should retreat for the time being. I will search the surrounding area; if I still can¡¯t find anything, then there is nothing we can do.¡± Hiss! At this time, a weird sound could be heard in the wilderness, and suddenly a white thread shot out from the noise¡¯s direction, landing on a person¡¯s face and gluing to him tightly. Before he could react, the long white strands suddenly shrank, and his whole body was instantly dragged into the deep green. Every action was too quick; only a second or two passed, giving others no time to respond. And yet the moment it shot back, Xiao Yu directly flew towards the direction of the white silk. He waved his blade in midair, the blade¡¯s breeze sliced through the weeds half a person tall, and a massive spider appeared in everyone¡¯s line of sight. It was enormous, its body pitch black with numerous white markings, its eight legs coated in steel needle-like hair, and the ends had sharp dagger-like claws. At the sight of it, Jiang Xiaowen screamed, ¡°Monster!¡± The giant spider caught its prey from a long distance by spinning its silk. The moment the person was dragged by the spider¡¯s sticky silk, using its lengthy legs, the enormous monster clutched the fully immobilized person, dodged Xiao Yu¡¯s strike, and leapt up into a nearby rock mountain, quickly climbing up to a high place before stopping. It opened its mouth and bit the man¡¯s skull; a sharp thorn pierced his head, penetrated his skull, and began draining the guy¡¯s brain. The man¡¯s face was distorted as if he was enduring unbearable anguish for ordinary people, while his mouth was wide open, and he still couldn¡¯t utter a single sound. siuu! Suddenly a cold light flashed, and the bone blade was thrown out of his hand and plunged precisely into the spider¡¯s back, getting entirely buried in. The spider hissed and slid down the mountainside, its body constantly writing while purple-black blood spilled out of its rear. When it fought to stand again, Xiao Yu pounced on its back, drew out the bone blade, jumped forward, and cut its skull with his backhand. The giant spider hissed in pain; it stretched out its eight legs and laid down on the ground again. Wang Chao and others also rushed up, brandishing their weapons, preparing to besiege the monster. The giant spider grew agitated, a glint of savagery flashing in its eyes before it aggressively spat forth a massive silk web, which rained down on everyone. The snow-white web caught five to six people, including Wang Chao, making them unable to move. After Continuous stabbing, one of them was cut through his left chest, his heart was immediately punctured, while the other was disemboweled, and it didn¡¯t like he would survive. ¡°Damn it!¡± Xiao Yu hacked the spider¡¯s head several times but still couldn¡¯t kill it. Instead, he let it murder two of his people right before him. A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. When the spider raised its legs again to stab somebody else, he kicked its back and jumped out from the monster¡¯s rear. With a sweep of his blade, he severed the elevated beast¡¯s legs, and it fell down. It struggled in pain, unable to stand up, while thick blood spilled from it. ¡°go to hell!¡± Xiao Yu roared and threw the bone blade again. The gray-white blade got deeply inserted into the head of the giant spider. It got pushed four to five meters, and its huge body fell down; the beast finally died. A wisp of light the size of a ping-pong ball flew out and melted into his body. Wang Chao finally managed to break free from the spider¡¯s webs. Beside him, a guy died after being pierced through the heart, and another man had his stomach gaping, and his intestines flowed out as he struggled for seconds before dying as well. A short time later, the corpses of two other people were found in the surrounding grass. Their bodies were rotten, their faces hideous, their eyes wide open but empty, and there was a hole the size of a fist in their heads. The inside of the skull was entirely empty, as their brains had been completely sucked off. Their bone marrow was also damaged; the giant spider drained their spinal cord dry, leaving nothing behind. Jiang Xiaowen shuddered at the tragic death of those four people, ¡°This monster is so vicious, it actually consumes humans¡¯ brains and spine!¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this kind of spider before. It must have used its silk to drag the night watchmen out of the cave.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked at the four corpses on the ground with a deep and heavy look in her eyes, ¡°I thought everyone would be safe hiding here. I didn¡¯t expect such a thing to happen¡­ Unfortunately, we lost four more people.¡± Xiao Yu disagreed with her: ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid; there is no place in this world that is absolutely safe. Although this area does not belong to the territory of any monsters, it doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t hunt here. There are too many bodies, and the stench of blood will soon draw more beasts. Go gather some twigs and stones to plug the hole, and let¡¯s hurry back inside.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked at her teammates¡¯ corpses on the ground, ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°We have no time to deal with them.¡± Xiao Yu paused, then continued: ¡°actually, there is no way to deal with them. Even if we bury them under the ground, they will be dug out by some monsters with a keen sense of smell. Just leave them there; at night, there will naturally be something to clean them up.¡± Everyone returned to the underground area, and when word spread that monsters had slaughtered four people, the crowd burst into a commotion. The four people who died were all boys, and they were also people with good strength and high courage. This made Xiao Yu feel a slight headache; now, the ratio of males to females in their group has gotten even more out of line. ¡°Everyone be quiet; I have a few words to say.¡± Han Kexin stood in front of everyone under Xiao Yu¡¯s guidance and slowly said: ¡°It makes no difference who you were before, how important you were at school or at home, or how much wealth and social standing you held before¡­all of these have passed. In this world, everyone is equal, and if you want to survive, you must become stronger. So please quit your dependency and forget your fear. We are a group, and if you are weak, you will only hinder everyone else, and then in the end, you will end up being killed and abandoned, nothing more than a pile of rotten flesh just like your dead classmates!¡± ¡°Please, don¡¯t, under any circumstances, ever let your guard down. What occurred today was a cruel lesson.¡± Han Kexin had a certain air and aura, as her remarks startled many people. Next, she declared that everyone would receive chocolates and candies in the hopes of removing the shadow of their four deceased comrades. Jiang Xiaowen and Jin Shi were in charge of distributing the food, while Wang Chao maintained order, and Han Kexin continued to lead others to clear up the skeletons in the tunnels. Things were somehow going on in an orderly manner. Xiao Yu carefully counted the food in stock: 103 banana-like fruits, 98 green fruits, and a few other types of fruits, 98 pieces of chocolate, approximately 18 catties of candy, and other compressed biscuits, which was enough for a day or two of consumption. CH 11 Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, and Jin Shi distributed the remaining candies and chocolates evenly. Everyone had eaten some fruit not long ago, so they were not that much hungry. They gradually calmed down, slowly adapting to their current predicament. Though now that there were chocolates and candies to eat, everyone felt a bit happy, as they ran to receive this unexpected surprise. Each person could receive a small piece of chocolate and some candies, and those who have contributed to the group would receive more. The food that everyone could afford in normal times has become a rare delicacy in the world at this moment. Especially chocolate, which was a high-calorie type of food; if someone felt hungry, a small piece was enough to restore their energy. Wang Chao stood on a higher stone with a short spear in his hand and shouted loudly: ¡°Those are valuable supplies that Xiao Yu worked hard to bring back for everyone. Because the amount is limited, everyone can have his share, but you are not allowed to steal from each other. Everyone keeps an eye on out; if a thief is found, drive him out of here and send him to the wilderness to fend for himself!¡± Some people caused problems during the day, but these kinds of people were easily fixed by Wang Chao, and they quieted down. Unknowingly, Wang Chao established an image of a fierce law enforcement officer among the crowd; as a result, no one dared to mess around. Han Kexin, Jin Shi, and Jiang Xiaowen have also been tacitly accepted as the group leaders by everyone here. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t have much contact with everybody, these four high-level figures did obey him, and that was enough. He was also focused on gaining power and didn¡¯t want to be distracted by minor matters. Jiang Xiaowen was a bit upset because of the incident today, but when everyone got their chocolates and candies, a long-lost smile returned to her face, and she felt quite at ease and content in her heart. She had no idea that in this dreadful environment, she could yet view such a serene sight. At that moment, a couple walked right past her, a pair of a guy and a girl that didn¡¯t stand out much. ¡°Xiaoli, have you received anything? This is dove chocolate!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve already eaten it.¡± The boy smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you like chocolate the most? I¡¯ll give you mine.¡± The girl was very moved, but she immediately refused, ¡°No, you only have this one.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to eat sweet food. If you don¡¯t want it, I will give it to someone else.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Okay, stop the act; take it! Have you heard of that person named Xiao Yu? He¡¯s from the ninth class of second grade. He is incredible; we wouldn¡¯t have survived if not for him; he even went back to school and returned with so much food. Hopefully, if we spend the rest of our lives following him, we can always be together. ¡° ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be together forever!¡± after these words, they held their hands tightly together. Jiang Xiaowen was, after all, a girl with a sensitive and kind heart. This warm scene moved her deeply, and she admired Xiao Yu even more, and at the same time, she felt a twinge of regret and self-blame. In the beginning, Xiao Yu pursued her for so many years, yet she always ignored him. At that time, he must have felt sad and heartbroken. ¡°If I had known that he was such a good person, I wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen held her beautiful little face with her hands as her bright eyes flickered, her expression was a little gloomy, and she sighed quietly, ¡°Sigh, his attitude toward me has suddenly changed a lot. Does he not like me anymore? Or does he only think of me as a beautiful girl¡­ No, I don¡¯t want to be a mere vase. Like Teacher Han, I can share a lot of his burdens! I must work hard!¡± Jiang Xiaowen clenched her fists, her eyes full of fighting spirit. Xiao Yu was sitting in a separate small cavern. He finished eating a piece of compressed biscuit and was getting ready to rest when Han Kexin suddenly ran to him in a hurry, ¡°Xiao Yu, come here quickly; something happened!¡± Xiao Yu was startled, ¡°What happened again?¡± Han Kexin stroked her glasses and said with a smile: ¡°hah, look at you worrying. It¡¯s not a bad thing; actually, it¡¯s something good!¡± Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°What happened then?¡± ¡°When I led a group of people to clear the dry skeletons in one tunnel, a student accidentally found a piece of equipment, but we didn¡¯t take it. It¡¯s still there waiting for you to make a decision!¡± Xiao Yu was taken aback, ¡°Those low-level useless bones can also give out useful stuff? Okay, take me to see it!¡± Han Kexin led Xiao Yu to a long passage. There were broken bones everywhere along the way. After walking for a long time, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of them. They were discussing something; however, upon Han Kexin¡¯s arrival, they all stepped aside one after another with respectful expressions on their faces. It can be seen that Han Kexin¡¯s status among the group was very high. Xiao Yu found a gray ball of light on the ground, and his eyes lit up, ¡°you were right!¡± He stepped forward to pick up the ball of light. The light gradually dissipated, and a simple ring appeared in his palm. Accessory items were extremely scarce, and generally, all had some special use. Han Kexin felt a bit eager but was also a bit proud. After all, the item was gained under her supervision, so no matter what, some credit still goes to her. Xiao Yu put the ring on his finger. At this time, a message flashed in his mind, and he blurted out: ¡°space ring, low gray item. There is about one cubic meter of space inside it, which can be used to store objects, but it cannot hold a living creature. It¡¯s really good; the ring is very precious. Although its grade is low and the storage space is small, it is a great treasure for now!¡± He took out the withered bone blade from his back and concentrated on it. Suddenly, the blade shrunk in size rapidly, and after four to five seconds, it turned into wisps of light, sucked inside the magical ring. And then, right after, the ring shimmered again, and four to five seconds passed before his weapon reappeared again in his hands. Han Kexin opened her eyes wide in shock and said, ¡°This is amazing!¡± Xiao Yu took off the ring and asked, ¡°Excuse me, who got this?¡± At this time, a chubby man with short hair and a rather ordinary face, not tall but very friendly, came out and said, ¡°It¡¯s me; my name is Du Tao.¡± Du Tao? Wasn¡¯t he the president of the school¡¯s students committee? Xiao Yu¡¯s expression changed slightly, and he sized him carefully. Du Tao was also considered a rare talent in his previous life. He wasn¡¯t very strong, but he had great management skills. He was under the authority of a powerful human comparable to ¡°Bloody Queen¡± Han Kexin at the time. Tens of thousands of people in the stronghold were controlled by a single person. Most were pleased with a clear division of duty. If People before compared their leader to an unrivaled king, Du Tao was compared to a virtuous prime minister. Unfortunately, Du Tao lost his life when he once left the stronghold. The powerful man was so desperate to find the killer that he caused mayhem throughout the city, frightening everyone. And yet shortly after that incident, disagreements, divisions, and even internal strife emerged within the army. The forces under the commander ultimately collapsed due to a murderous conspiracy. Xiao Yu looked at Du Tao carefully and said casually: ¡°You got this ring, so it belongs to you.¡± Du Tao hurriedly said: ¡°No, no. I was lucky enough to kill the skeleton to gain some strength. It was all under the care of you and Teacher Han. How dare I take it? Please accept it!¡± Sure enough, he was an intelligent guy. Xiao Yu nodded and said to Han Kexin: ¡°Du Tao used to be the student committee president. He was efficient and very well-received by teachers and classmates in school. Most of the students know him, and he possesses a certain prestige. If he agrees, arrange it so that he will be responsible for our logistics. This way, you can reduce a lot of our burden.¡± Han Kexin turned and asked him: ¡°Du Tao, what do you think?¡± Du Tao had a long-standing suspicion that Xiao Yu was the actual boss. He was obviously thrilled that he was going to be promoted, and he agreed as soon as he raised his head:¡± This is something I excel at. I¡¯ll certainly build a fair management system and handle everything efficiently; you will not be disappointed!¡± ¡°I believe you can do a good job.¡± Xiao Yu patted Du Tao¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Go and kill a few more skeletons. As our logistics manager, how can you convince the people if you don¡¯t have the strength?¡± Du Tao was ecstatic and immediately expressed his gratitude: ¡°Thank you!¡± The space ring was an unexpected harvest. The thing in his hands will be of great use in the future. With a space of more than one cubic meter, it was enough to hold a lot of things. Early the next morning, the group used ropes to attach the knives that Xiao Yu had brought back from the store to several long wooden poles, as they made more than forty simple makeshift spears so that most could have weapons to use. Xiao Yu handed over logistics management and weapon arrangements to Du Tao. The latter did really put his heart into it. With his photographic memory, he could match every name to a person just by memorizing it once. Du Tao quickly drew up a prototype plan based on their current situation and handed it over to Xiao Yu. He segregated several living spaces in his layout, including residential sections, restrooms, and even gathering spaces. Everyone had a job to complete, and there was work to be done every day. Examples of work include creating tools, harvesting fruit, patrolling, and hunting. He compiled batches of people in several hunting lists. He considered a wide range of aspects, and everything seemed quite reasonable. Xiao Yu was very satisfied, ¡°Very good; feel free to come to me if you have any problems.¡± Du Tao hesitated for a while, then suddenly said, ¡°I have another proposal.¡± ¡°Just say it.¡± Du Tao continued: ¡°Now everyone¡¯s fighting power is still weak; most haven¡¯t fully adapted to our environment. Moreover, according to your division of strength levels, most of us may not have even reached the zero-order level. Therefore, there is a greater risk in going out to hunt monsters, so I think it best that you, and Teacher Han, Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao, take turns and lead the team once or twice so that the safety factor will be greatly increased. Like this, the students can adapt to the environment swiftly.¡± Xiao Yu frowned slightly and said, ¡°My strength has surpassed everyone¡¯s by a large margin, and I am not suitable to lead people with no fighting experience. So instead, these kinds of people will be handed over to Miss Han and the others as they take turns leading them, and I will be responsible for leading the four others, including Miss Han, or other future elites, so as to improve the fighting power of everyone simultaneously.¡± Du Tao slapped his forehead and said, ¡°Yes, Why didn¡¯t I think of that? It would be more efficient that way.¡± Xiao Yu said: ¡°Leave this matter for now¡­ Today I will take a group of people to a certain place; you continue your work according to the arrangement on the plan. After we come back this time, Miss Han¡¯s strength should increase greatly. It won¡¯t be too late to make specific arrangements for the hunting plan.¡± Du Tao nodded and said: ¡°Okay, just go ahead; I will take care of the organization here; I promise that you will not have any worries.¡± Xiao Yu said with satisfaction: ¡°I believe you can do it.¡± Du Tao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little moved. After all, he and Xiao Yu had never met before. Not only did he give him such an important position, but he took all the other four trusted elites away with him, showing just how much he trusted him. As the saying goes, ¡®don¡¯t employ suspicious people, and don¡¯t suspect employed people¡¯. This action of Xiao Yu was enough for Du Tao to be recognized as the highest authority in the hearts of everyone. Not long after, Wang Chao, Jin Shi, Han Kexin, and Jiang Xiaowen, each holding a goblin short spear, a fruit knife, and a wooden club led by Xiao Yu, left the underground cave. There was no trace of the corpses left from last night, and everyone¡¯s expressions turned a little weird. After leaving the cave, Xiao Yu led them out and started walking in a certain direction. After approximately forty minutes of walking, the forest in front of them suddenly thinned out, and the dirt on the ground turned black, surprising everyone. Wang Chao couldn¡¯t hold back his thoughts and asked loudly, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why¡¯s the soil here black?¡± Han Kexin bent down and squeezed some soil in her hands, and carefully identified the substance. Then, with surprise in her voice, she exclaimed, ¡°This is¡­ coal?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said: ¡°There is a coal mine across this area where there are numerous tools we require. Be attentive; the mine is dangerous; if you are not careful, you could die!¡± CH 12 The four of them eventually formed a blind trust in Xiao Yu; nothing he said could be considered inaccurate. Now that there was a coal mine nearby, some rough coal could be found, so it was possible to bring some light to their dark, cold underground cave. The air circulation in the underground space and its tunnels wasn¡¯t good. If they had chosen to burn firewood, it would have surely generated smoke and fumes, which could readily interfere with the air quality in the cave, and in the long run, pose a threat to their lungs. Instead, if they ignited a small amount of lump charcoal, the situation would improve significantly, and the warmth would be sufficient. The trees became increasingly sparse, and their vision abruptly expanded when they turned around a huge tree. They could see an open grassland region surrounded by little dark coal mounds, and in the middle was an abandoned mine on a low mountain. The wood above the mine entrance was rotten, covered with moss, and crumbling. Yet this was a minor detail; the most eye-catching thing was those dozens of figures wandering around the mine. Wang Chao grimaced strangely and said, ¡°There are people here?¡± Even a moron could recognize that those roaming figures were not humans. They were all shirtless, unkempt, covered in decay and festering, with maggots growing in their flesh, their eyes entirely white, and their expressions dull. With that mouth full of fangs, they occasionally let out a long beast-like howl, their limbs were very stiff, so they staggered slowly, all looking hideous and terrifying. They were highly similar to human beings, but with those pair of long pointed ears, they definitely belonged to a different species. Xiao Yu explained: ¡°This is a rotten zombie, a monster of the undead tribe. Like the skeleton, the rotten zombie is the lowest existence in the zombie family. However, the latter group is higher in rank than the skeleton family, so the rotten zombie is much more powerful than the dry skeletons. They are slightly more powerful than goblin slaves in terms of sheer strength, and their bodies are exceedingly tough, which makes them difficult to kill, but their largest and most fatal weakness is their speed.¡± ¡°Why do some of them look different?¡± Jiang Xiaowen found that among the dozen or so rotten zombies, there were some other kinds of different zombies mixed in. They looked similar, but they moved much faster with a big shovel in hand. ¡°Those are zombie miners, far more powerful than rotten zombies. I am actually aiming at the shovels and pickaxes in their hands. But they are still elementary monsters, and their bodies are as hard as iron, so with your current strength, even if they stand and let you hit them, I¡¯m afraid you still can¡¯t even leave a scratch. I will deal with these monsters. As for the rotten zombies, you guys deal with them. We¡¯ll split them, so it¡¯s safer; rotten zombies have a sort of poison on their bodies. If you¡¯re scratched, you may be infected, so be careful.¡± Wang Chao shrunk his neck and asked, ¡°Will being infected with an undead¡¯s poison turn you into a zombie?¡± ¡°Fatty, you watch too many zombie movies.¡± Shaking his head, Xiao Yu continued, ¡°their poison won¡¯t turn you into zombies, but it¡¯s very dangerous. If you get scratched enough, you¡¯ll rot and die.¡± Jin Shi couldn¡¯t wait, ¡°We¡¯ve finally met another creature that can help us get stronger!¡± ¡°No more talking.¡± Xiao Yu took out the bone blade, ¡°Let¡¯s go; low-level zombies have very little intellect and vigilance. They will only spot us if we get too close. So don¡¯t draw too much at once.¡± Xiao Yu was the first to rush over. This area was very vast, as big as several football fields, and he easily avoided the wandering rotting zombies in the front row. Then he locked down on a zombie miner with a rusty shovel and slashed down on him with his blade. Zombie miners were elementary-level monsters, and their speed was even slower than other elementary monsters, but their bodies were as hard as steel, and they were quite powerful. Waving that shovel in their hands could simply cut iron like its mud. However, when Xiao Yu triggered his ¡®eyes of insights,¡¯ the zombie miner¡¯s motions became stiff, full of defects and flaws in his eyes, not enough to pose a threat to him. Although the attack did not pose a significant threat, it was quite challenging to dodge. Xiao Yu ultimately sliced off the zombie miner¡¯s head after ten minutes of combat and a dozen consecutive slashes, gaining slightly more energy than a goblin warrior¡¯s worth. With a lot of effort, he barely tore off the large rusty shovel from the hands of the zombie miner. He put it inside the space ring, released the eyes of insight, and stopped to rest and take a look at the situation of the others. The four of them had already engaged the rotten zombies. Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen formed a group. The two charming beauties cooperated tacitly. After attracting the attention of a rotten zombie, Jiang Xiaowen forcefully overcame the fear in her heart and stabbed the monster with the short spear, her eyes closed. The zombie¡¯s body was hard, and the short spear couldn¡¯t fully pierce it much as the flesh resisted, preventing the weapon from moving forward. The zombie¡¯s arms started waving around, trying to attack the girl. Jiang Xiaowen had previously killed four goblin slaves, and her power was not insignificant, albeit she could only hold on for a brief duration. Han Kexin took this opportunity to smash the rotting zombie¡¯s head with a goblin club. After hitting it a few more times, the rotten zombie¡¯s head was bleeding and finally broke open. The two hurriedly ran for a certain distance after the monster¡¯s head was smashed. Then they exchanged roles instantly. Han Kexin held the monster in place with the short spear while Jiang Xiaowen swung the wooden club and smashed it hard on its head, and so on and so forth. One person pierced the wooden spear into the zombie¡¯s body to restrict its movement, and the other smashed the zombie¡¯s head. In this way, one person defended, and the other attacked, as the two successfully hunted and killed several zombies. Wang Chao and Jin Shi, on the other hand, took up wooden clubs and casually charged at the zombies, bashing their skulls. As a result, they were frequently pursued by the monsters. These two would have perished a long time ago if the zombies had been able to run faster after them. The result was quite embarrassing, and the efficiency was not as high as the other girls. ¡°Two pig brains!¡± Xiao Yu wanted to warn them, but he didn¡¯t dare to speak loudly in front of all the monsters nearby, so he gave up and continued to assault the other miner holding the pickaxe. Xiao Yu¡¯s combat experience, along with his keen ¡°eyes of insight¡±, made him nearly unstoppable in this area. In less than an hour, he killed five to six zombie miners while his enemies couldn¡¯t even touch his clothes. Four shovels and two pickaxes were gathered in a short period of time. Those tools would make it considerably easier for everyone to set up traps. Since there were no more zombie miners left outside, Xiao Yu had no option but to enter the mine and continue his hunt. The coal mine was decaying and utterly dark. From time to time, he could hear terrifying howls, which were the distinct cries of zombies. The mine¡¯s interior was relatively dry and extremely deep; no one knew how deep it could reach. According to the memories of his previous life, there was a large number of elementary zombie miners inside, and there was also a type of chained zombie that was in the elementary realm, yet stronger than the zombie miners. In the deeper parts of the mine, it was said you could find a terrible poisonous zombie, a first-order undead. But Xiao Yu has no way of confirming whether that was the end of it or if there were even stronger monsters further down the mine. In his previous life, eight elementary realm warriors who confronted the poisonous zombie all died as seven died underground, while one fled but passed away within a few days afterward. These eight people were the strongest in the team at the time. Xiao Yu, who had survived for three weeks, was still unevolved. And so he was neither strong nor weak in their group; it could be said that he was unremarkable. Even after he left the forest more than three months later, his strength was at most the level of a second-rate expert, and there was no major change in the immediate short term. Later on, he succeeded and established himself amongst the ranks of the top elites on several occasions. Even after a few years, when he gradually left the top of the pyramid, he could still be regarded as a first-rate expert. There were many geniuses who were mediocre at first and died quietly, with no one noticing their talent. Hours passed, and suddenly a roar echoed throughout the mine; the voice was hoarse and piercing. ¡°Aww!¡± A ferocious zombie covered in iron blue blood and wrapped with iron chains rushed down, roaring incessantly. The thick iron chains on its body constantly collided with the ground and the surrounding walls in the process of advancing rapidly. The crisp sound of ping-pong-pong reverberated in the deep mine. It fiercely waved its arms, frantically attacking with its left and right iron chains, whipping past it nonstop. Xiao Yu dodged left and right, swinging the blade with both hands like a whirlwind, repeatedly slicing the iron chains that came his way. The blade clashed violently with the iron chains, creating a flurry of sparks that illuminated the pitch-black mine. Ding! Xiao Yu seized a flaw and slashed hard at the chain on the neck of the chained zombie, leaving a huge gap in it. The chained zombie let out an angry howl and swung its chains again. The force was very powerful, enough to knock down a buffalo. Xiao Yu easily avoided every iron chain blow thanks to his ¡®eyes of insight¡¯. The earth trembled every time those massive iron chains connected with the ground. He slashed the chained zombie¡¯s neck several times in succession, and the chains were cut off. Then, after a short period of entanglement, he seized an opening, kicked his legs on the ground, and leaped up like a cheetah as the elegant bone blade flashed in the air. ¡°bang!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s feet landed on the ground, and his chest rose and fell as he panted slightly. At this time, he suddenly felt a strong sense of dizziness, and the red blood color in his eyes gradually faded, returning to normal pitch black again. It was his fourth time using the ¡®eyes of Insight¡¯ in this short duration, the consumption of his physical and spiritual power was huge, and even Xiao Yu was close to his limit. The chained zombie stood motionless, a big gash plastered on its neck, thick black blood poured out from it, as its head slowly separated from its body, and fell backward to the ground, just right before the headless body covered with chains slowly followed suit. Xiao Yu turned his head, wiped his sweat, and muttered to himself: ¡°In addition to the seven goblin warriors killed yesterday, I have slain more than forty elementary realm monsters in total, and now I can cut off the heads of rotten zombies with just one blow. I have almost reached the level of the late elementary realm, and my strength should be about three times stronger than those who have just entered the elementary realm.¡± Xiao Yu roughly calculated his own strength and looked back at the chained zombie, ¡°I never thought that after rebirth, with the help of experience, combat skills, and my innate skill, my power could improve this quickly!¡± He walked forward and took off the iron chains on the chained zombie, and put it inside his ring; the space ring became full. It was getting late that time, and the deeper he traveled inside the mine, the more uneasy he felt. He had an intuition that if he trekked further, he would meet that poisonous zombie in a short amount of time. There should be a lot of zombie miners inside, but Xiao Yu didn¡¯t want to kill them all at once, so he chose to remain and return when his power was strong enough to face that first-order monster. This site can also be set aside for others to advance. Xiao Yu took a few deep breaths, turned around, and walked back. When he walked out of the mine, he was surprised to find that the rotting zombies outside had all been cleared up. Jin Shi and Wang Chao finally used their head and learned from Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s methods to kill the monsters. ¡°How is your situation? How many rotten zombies have you killed?¡± Han Kexin wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, ¡°I killed ten of them, and Xiaowen killed nine!¡± Wang Chao and Jin shi looked frustrated, ¡°We each killed seven.¡± They were very depressed that they were caught up by that little girl. Han Kexin smiled and replied: ¡°This was actually Xiaowen¡¯s idea; otherwise, we would not be this efficient.¡± Xiao Yu looked at Jiang Xiaowen in surprise and said, ¡°You came up with that strategy just now?¡± Jiang Xiaowen was panting from exhaustion but proudly puffed out her bulging chest and said, ¡°Yes, it was me!¡± ¡°According to this progress, you will be able to evolve in a day or two.¡± Xiao Yu looked up at the sky and said to the others: ¡°That¡¯s it for today; there aren¡¯t any rotten zombies left outside. Not to mention after fighting for so long, everyone should be hungry. Let¡¯s find something to eat first; next, we¡¯ll return to the underground area to share our harvest with everyone. With these tools, we can do various things.¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi used the prepared backpacks to load several loads of coal, and the five of them walked back from the same route. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s mood has changed a lot compared to yesterday, and she often took the initiative to joke with everybody along the way. She was the flower of the arts and design Department and the school flower of the entire fine arts school. She was already exceptionally attractive, but when she smiled, she became even more beautiful while displaying a humble and outgoing temperament. The woods felt very quiet; the lush branches and leaves hiding the sun made it look a bit dark, while the ground was covered with a layer of rotten plants. Several tree roots were exposed from the soil and intertwined with each other as moss grew on them, it was very slippery, and you could definitely fall if you didn¡¯t pay much attention. Everyone needed to be careful with each of their steps. ¡°Wait!¡± Xiao Yu suddenly called out, ¡°something¡¯s wrong.¡± Everyone was surprised as they all came to a halt at the same time, clenching their weapons in their hands, adopting a defensive posture, and becoming conscious of their surroundings. Xiao Yu quickly ran to a large tree in front of him. A lot of excrement was found underneath the tree, exuding a very pungent smell. He frowned and said, ¡°Ogre feces? It¡¯s considerably fresh, so it shouldn¡¯t be from long ago. Could it be that¡­ an ogre tribe lives nearby? If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯re in big trouble!¡± From the shape of the feces, Xiao Yu roughly distinguished the direction the ogre was facing and took a few steps in that direction, as he found a huge footprint on the ground, twice the size of a human being¡¯s. After roughly comparing the size of the soles of the feet, the depth of the footprints, and the average length between the two footprints, he made a judgment: ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s actually an adult ogre warrior.¡± CH 13 Jiang Xiaowen looked around nervously and asked, ¡°I know it isn¡¯t a good thing just from its name. What is an ogre? Is it dangerous?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s expression turned solemn, and he replied in a low voice: ¡°Ogres are very dangerous monsters. They are absolute carnivores; it doesn¡¯t matter what kind of creature you are, as they even eat the dead ones of their kind, they will hunt anything as long as it has meat in it, and they aren¡¯t picky with their food. They know how to capture their prey, like to use the prey¡¯s bones as decorations, and have a certain degree of wisdom. The fighting power of ogres is high, and the weakest one among them is not something we can hope to fight.¡± ¡°That powerful?¡± Jiang Xiaowen showed a hint of fear and said worriedly: ¡°It¡¯s only half an hour away from the cave; this ogre is probably near us!¡± Xiao Yu sighed lightly and said: ¡°If that is the case, we can only consider ourselves unlucky. Ordinary ogre warriors are more powerful and terrifying than goblin leaders. I would rather face three to five goblin leaders than provoke one crazy ogre. The ogre¡¯s range of activities is limited. Let¡¯s go back and mark this location as a restricted area. There are many existences in the forest that are more dangerous than ogres. Choosing to avoid is not a permanent solution to the problem. The most urgent matter is to improve our strength.¡± Han Kexin wore a heavy expression and nodded thoughtfully. Wang Chao said in a low voice: ¡°I think we should leave; I have a bad feeling about this place!¡± ¡°The ogre¡¯s dung is very useful. It¡¯s not easy to find, and now that we have some, we mustn¡¯t squander it.¡± Xiao Yu took off his jacket, wrapped in a large amount of ogre excrement, picked it up, and took it away. At the same time, he explained: ¡°The smell of ogre¡¯s dung is very special. It can scare away ordinary beasts and even make goblins afraid, not daring to approach easily. If grounded into powder and sprinkled on the body, it can also effectively prevent mosquito bites.¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi were unconcerned, but Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t refrain from smiling when they heard this. In the forest, there were several types of insects, ants, and leeches. After a period of wandering in it, their body was covered with itchy red and swollen rashes. They didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer, and after removing the ogre¡¯s excrement, they hurriedly returned and placed it safely inside the underground cave. Du Tao was waiting for their group¡¯s return in the dark and gloomy huge space. ¡°You¡¯re finally back; I was very worried!¡± Du Tao saw a few people coming out of the tunnel. He heaved a long sigh of relief and immediately went up to meet them, ¡°How is the situation? Is everything good?¡± Not only he but more than a hundred students present also breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yu stretched out one hand, his ring glowed, and one after another, shovels, pickaxes and large strings of complete iron chains fell out continuously, and they piled up on the ground in the blink of an eye. Du Tao¡¯s eyes lit up immediately, ¡°My God, how did you get these tools? Shovels and pickaxes are really useful for us; we can use them as weapons and tools.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch these yet, they may be poisonous, and if there is a wound on your hand, it will immediately get infected.¡± Xiao Yu prevented Du Tao from reaching out to pick up the tools, ¡°First, ask some people to take the pile and clean it up before using them.¡± Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen came out and carefully gathered the different tools on the ground and said, ¡°Leave it to us.¡± Xiao Yu nodded; he instructed Wang Chao and Jin Shi to go rest first and took Du Tao to his own cave before asking: ¡°After we left today, has there been any kind of trouble?¡± ¡°Nothing of the sort. We actually have accepted another group of students, and now we have one hundred and twenty-three people in total¡± Du Tao paused and continued to speak with some grief: ¡°However, something unexpected happened; the fruit group that was sent in for today ran into trouble, three people were bitten by venomous snakes, and they died of poison. Their bodies have been buried outside.¡± ¡°Any psychological impact?¡± ¡°Not really; everyone is used to seeing death these days. Most of us have become numb. There were only a few students who were close to the deceased. Their emotions were a little out of control, but they have been appeased for now.¡± After Xiao Yu heard those words, his expression didn¡¯t change much. He opened his mouth and said, ¡°This is a primordial forest. There are poisonous snakes and insects everywhere. Even if you are cautious, it is difficult to avoid danger. But then that guy died for all of us. You should look after everyone with whom he had a good relationship.¡± ¡°I will pay attention to this point. But what I am most worried about now is food. The fruit location is not large in scale, and we have a lot of mouths to feed. That source will be exhausted in a few days. If we don¡¯t find other food sources quickly, everyone will begin to starve. Do you have any countermeasures?¡± Xiao Yu said: ¡°I know a few other locations where we can still gather lots of wild fruits, but no matter how many there are, there will eventually come a day when we finish them all. In the end, we still need to make a living by hunting, but with everyone¡¯s current abilities, it is not enough. From tomorrow onward, instruct everyone to enter the forest to hunt in batches. Speaking of which, how is the tool-making progressing?¡± Du Tao slowly informed him of everything¡­ During the past two days, more than thirty-one people were not idle. After counting, the weapons and tools owned by everyone were: goblin short spears, goblin clubs, shovels, pickaxes, and a large number of simple spears made with fruit knives or sharpened stones. It was also worth mentioning that a few skillful people used ropes and a kind of flexible wood in the forest to make over a dozen wooden bows, using sharpened wooden sticks as arrows, which could shoot to a distance of fifty steps. Their power, though weak, was still relatively useful. Over a hundred and eighty weapons in total, more than enough to equip everyone. Tools and weapons basically met their needs. If only there were a few more elementary individuals on the team, everyone¡¯s safety factor would increase by much, and the group will become more stable. As for Xiao Yu himself, he has already reached the late elementary realm, which was a bottleneck stage, and he required a lot of energy to enter the next evolution. First-order was a watershed; the strength gained when stepping into that stage was not the same as that of the elementary realm! The majority must now learn how to survive in the woods! Xiao Yu was neither a messiah nor a savior. If these buddies were to slow him down, he wouldn¡¯t mind ditching them. Food was essential for survival, and hunting was the greatest method to obtain it in this forest. That¡¯s right, hunting! It¡¯s a skill that everyone should acquire and perfect since it will remain valuable, whether now or in the future. After all, in this Continent of Chaos, there were only two roles that could be played: the hunter and the hunted. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ At this time, Han Kexin and the others brought a batch of thoroughly cleaned shovels in front of them as she said, ¡°All cleaned, there are sixteen shovels in total; the rest are pickaxes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s plenty.¡± Xiao Yu was very satisfied, and after thinking for a moment, he said: ¡°There is still a while before night falls, which is enough time for us to finish some tasks. Du Tao, go find a group of people with good strength, and bring them outside; remind everyone to bring their weapons.¡± Du Tao didn¡¯t know what he had in mind, but he didn¡¯t ask too much and soon found twenty to thirty people who had killed goblin slaves and had strengthened their physical power. The crowd left the cave with shovels, pickaxes, and some weapons as they came to the nearby woods. ¡°This location is quite good.¡± Xiao Yu observed the surrounding environment, ¡°This place is very close to the cave, so it should be very safe. Stone, pass me a shovel!¡± Jin shi threw a shovel at him before he caught it with his hand and said to those around: ¡°have a few people guard around us. The rest start digging with me!¡± Du Tao quickly made arrangements. Eight individuals, each carrying crude bows, arrows, and spears, all climbed several large trees surrounding them. The rest grabbed several shovels and began digging in haste. In the forest, the ground was always covered with a thick layer of branches and leaves, and the soil beneath was relatively soft. Even if there are a few stones here and there, they can easily be shattered using a pickaxe. On the ground, a big pit with a depth of two meters gradually formed. A huge stone was tied up with some ropes and vines and hung on a thick tree trunk, just in line with the big hole in the ground. The crowd found some dry twigs and spread them over the pit, and then spread another layer of leaves on top of that evenly so that, at first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary field. And just like that, a simple trap was made! Xiao Yu handed the shovel to a person beside him, turned around, and gave Du Tao some instructions. The latter nodded and ran towards the cave. Wang Chao wiped the sweat off his face and ended up smearing a lot of mud on his face, though now everyone was dirty, so no one paid him any attention. He looked at the trap that had been set up and said with some puzzlement: ¡°I mean, boss, why put a trap in front of your cave when you said yourself that there are very few monsters around here? Isn¡¯t this a waste of time?¡± Xiao Yu glared at him, ¡°you never think things through; why must we wait for the beast to take the bait?¡± ¡°I think I understand!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face was also dirty like a little tabby cat, yet those pair of beautiful and charming big eyes flickered brightly, ¡°We should take the initiative to locate the beast and lure it into the trap!¡± ¡°Xiaowen is intelligent, after all!¡± Wang Chao curled his lips, ¡°What¡¯s so great about that? Fatty can also figure it out!¡± Xiao Yu watched the people coming and going out of the cave and declared to everyone: ¡°All of you withdraw from here; find a place to hide. I will locate a suitable beast and bring it here. Xiaowen, watch the rope; once our prey falls inside the pit, cut it off.¡± ¡°Okay, be careful!¡± Xiao Yu grabbed a bow and some arrows, turned around, and crept into the deep woods. After wandering for more than half an hour, He was pleasantly surprised as he finally managed to spot a decent animal; it was a lone black-haired wild boar. Through the ¡®eyes of insight¡¯, Xiao Yu judged that it was an elementary beast, tough, with an aggressive nature, red eyes, extremely long fangs, and an estimated weight of four hundred kilograms. Xiao Yu approached it slowly; after reaching a safe distance, he drew his wooden bow and shot an arrow at it. The sharpened wooden arrow flew toward the wild boar¡¯s rear. The shot couldn¡¯t pierce its fur, but it was enough to irritate it. The wild boar turned around, its eyes bloodshot, and it let out an angry growl. It stomped on the ground with its thick limbs and kicked up a large pile of flying leaves and soil as it flew toward him. Xiao Yu turned around and ran. Currently, his physical strength has long surpassed ordinary people¡¯s imagination. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to get rid of the wild boar, but In order for it to keep up, he had to slow down instead. The black-haired wild boar was chasing after him, and not long after, Xiao Yu reached the location where the trap was buried, as he jumped across. Unaware, the beast rushed straight up, and as a result, it stepped on a bunch of fragile twigs with its heavy body. A ¡®click¡¯ sound was heard, and the whole layer crumbled down as the boar fell down with it into the two-meter-deep pit. Jiang Xiaowen used this opportunity to cut off the rope; just then, a massive rock plummeted from the sky and struck the wild boar¡¯s head within the trap. ¡°Kill it!¡± People waiting nearby picked up their weapons and raced out one by one, with short spears and pickaxes in hand, to kill the stunned wild boar inside the big pit. Still, the black-haired wild boar was an elementary beast; after all, it quickly recovered, let out a roar, and raised its forelegs, intending to escape from the trap. Seeing this, Han Kexin held a pickaxe in her hand and hit the wild boar on the head with its sharp point. She felt her hands trembling as if they were hitting a hard rock instead. The wild boar¡¯s head burst open and splashed lots of blood as it got pushed back inside the pit once again. Han Kexin raised her pickaxe again and struck down beside her Wang Chao, and Jiang Xiaowen gave support as well. The wild boar was battered so badly that it couldn¡¯t move anymore. Just then, Jiang Xiaowen managed to pierce its eye with a short spear, killing it instantly. A huge ball of energy floated up, split instantly, turned into more than a dozen beams of light, and shot into everyone¡¯s eyebrows. Among them, Jiang Xiaowen, who gave the black-haired wild boar a fatal blow, and Han Kexin, who hit its head with the pickaxe several times, gained most of the energy, followed by Jin Shi and Wang Chao, the rest also got a little bit as well, but the amount was very small, similar to the amount of a dry skeleton¡¯s. CH 14 Clap clap! Xiao Yu softly clapped his hands, walked over, and said, ¡°Good job Xiaowen, your stab was pretty accurate!¡± Jiang Xiaowen blushed and was a bit embarrassed as she grinned sheepishly: ¡°I actually closed my eyes before stabbing; it was a fluke. But this wild boar¡¯s essence is huge. I acquired double the rotten zombie¡¯s energy!¡± Xiao Yu explained: ¡°That¡¯s a giving. It is an elementary beast after all. Even when split amongst a group of individuals, that¡¯s still a lot of energy.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jiang Xiaowen pointed at the dead boar in the pit, opened her small mouth in surprise, and exclaimed, ¡°Really? That¡¯s an elementary-level monster?!¡± Xiao Yu nodded his head, ¡°It is one, like I said. This wild boar¡¯s charge force is enough to flip a car. Under normal conditions, none of you can be its opponent. However, with the most basic of traps and simple cooperation, it became much easier to deal with. A qualified hunter does not need to be physically strong, but he does need to be wise and use his wits on occasion, any powerful creature can be dealt with; this is the difference between a man and a beast.¡± Everyone silently nodded after hearing his words since they had previously realized this point. However, this successful real-life hunt actually set an example and instilled confidence in everybody here, which gave an impactful meaning to his speech. Xiao Yu said: ¡°Stone, fatty, go lift up the wild boar; today, we have meat to eat!¡± ¡°Meat!¡± The eyes of the people around brightened up when they heard those magic words. Jin Shi and Wang Chao exchanged joyful looks and dashed inside the pit, where they lifted up the massive wild boar. Xiao Yu stretched out his hands and grabbed the wild boar weighing hundreds of kilograms. He picked it up and threw it casually as it dropped down on the ground with a ¡®bang¡¯. ¡°Clean up the blood; it¡¯s too dangerous to start a fire here. We¡¯ll go up that short mountain.¡± After those words, Xiao Yu walked over, picked up the dead boar, and slowly marched toward the mountain. At this time, Du Tao had already called out more than one hundred people from the underground space. They all gathered up in front of the cave, Some of them emerged for the first time since entering it, and when they saw the forest again, they felt terrified. They could all clearly hear the roaring and combat sounds made by that wild boar just now. And so, they couldn¡¯t help but admire Xiao Yu when he lifted it up with just one hand. The cave was placed on a low mountain that was barely over a hundred meters high. It was mostly made up of gray and red rocks, the plants and vegetation were scarce, and when you get to the top of the small mountain, your vision will expand by thousands of kilometers. It was evening, and the sun was already setting while the brilliant sunlight illuminated half of the sky in crimson. The entire landscape was a deep green, like a green ocean stretching towards the sky, boundless, creating the impression of sheer immensity. A river shuttles between the forest and the sea. The river was fairly wide, and on both sides of its banks, there was a special grassland. Even though they were so far away, they could still feel the shimmering water on the river when the sun set. A burst of wind blew from afar, causing layers of waves to form on the green landscape. The wind blasted across the dirty youthful faces with their unkempt hair. Everyone was overwhelmed by nature¡¯s great beauty at this moment, and they couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional ¡ªhow big was this forest? Unimaginably big, unbelievably big! Jiang Xiaowen murmured: ¡°This forest is really huge. Can we really get out?¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± The faintly visible mountains fatigued Xiao Yu¡¯s vision as he clasped his hands and gazed into the distance, ¡°There are other forests just like this one; in fact, here is known as the greenhorn Forest, and it¡¯s only a small part of the chaos Continent.¡± There were quite a few large trees growing on the short mountain, which could fully shade it. The wind was really strong near the mountain¡¯s summit, and the bloody stench was quickly blown away. Even if certain creatures with acute senses could detect it, they would still be unable to pinpoint their exact location. Everyone could now safely look for piles of dry firewood, leaves, and stones to create a bonfire, ready to ignite the flames with a peace of mind. Xiao Yu scrapped the wild boar¡¯s body with his bone blade, took off its fur, and then grabbed a small kitchen knife, skinned it with exceptional dexterity, removed the intestines and internal organs, and quickly chopped the wild boar into pieces. At this point, the fire was kindled, and more than a dozen people gathered around the flames, where the wild boar meat was placed and carefully roasted. Xiao Yu was not only adept at handling wild animal carcasses, but he was also an expert at twisting and roasting animal meat. He attempted to regulate it as much as possible so that every portion of the meat could be uniformly cooked. After a while, the delightful aroma of barbecue pervaded, making everyone swallow their saliva. Xiao Yu stopped rotating the barbecue and said to everyone: ¡°it is almost ready. We only have some salt and no other seasonings, so it can barely be eaten, but let¡¯s make do with it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be first!¡± Wang Chao was the first to stand up; he chose the largest piece of meat and took a big bite without caring about the heat, as he exclaimed: ¡°The outside is charred, and the inside is tender, so delicious. Hah, boss, I really couldn¡¯t tell you had this kind of skill. Does your family specialize in kebabs?¡± Xiao Yu also picked up a meat skewer and ate it unhurriedly, and the others also picked up a skewer of barbecued meat by turns. Han Kevin sat opposite of him, her plump and slender figure full of temptation under the firelight, making the few men there distracted. Her garments were torn in many places with some scratches here and there, and a huge piece of clothing was ripped above her chest, displaying her creamy white skin; she stood up and bent down to take a meat skewer, The two mountain peaks in her chest swayed seductively, which grew more evident under the action of gravity, and a bottomless milky white gully loomed, which was enough to fire any man¡¯s imagination. In contrast, her round buttocks were shaped like a peach under that slim waist. Wang Chao nudged Xiao Yu with his arm and said to him secretly: ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t everyone try to guess teacher Han¡¯s size before? At that time, many people thought she might not have an E cup. Now it seems that everyone has greatly underestimated this teacher of ours. According to my experience, she definitely has an E cup. She is not fat at all, but how could there be so much flesh on her breasts? Damn it, that¡¯s a deadly weapon! Boss, Teacher Han got high standards. I think that amongst us all, the only one she can take a fancy to is you; how lucky! You can experience amazing sex in the future!¡± Jiang Xiaowen, who was sitting not too far away, clearly heard Wang Chao¡¯s statements and exclaimed with disgust. ¡°Dirty fatty!¡± Wang Chao paused, stared at her, and said, ¡°You can call me fat man or fatty, but please don¡¯t add the word dirty, okay? I¡¯m a pure boy with a pure heart, I only spoke objective facts, and no one here did compare you with teacher Han, so you don¡¯t have to feel so sensitive and inferior.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face turned red immediately, and she shouted angrily: ¡°you¡¯re inferior; your whole family is inferior!¡± After Jiang Xiaowen finished speaking, she subconsciously looked at her breasts. Her figure was not bad, her body was petite but exquisite, and her breasts were also bulging and plump, but compared with Han Kexin, she was obviously far behind, and she felt discouraged. Wang Chao laughed loudly, ¡°Hahaha, everyone, look, she got angry from embarrassment!¡± ¡°No!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was enraged to death, ¡°You are the one who has become angry from embarrassment!¡± Just as Wang Chao was about to speak, a ball of hot barbecue meat was stuffed into his mouth all of a sudden, and he immediately yelled loudly. However, he was reluctant to spit out the meat, so he could only fan himself while screaming strangely and swallowed the meat after a while. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Boss, why did you stuff meat into my mouth?¡± Xiao Yu looked at the bonfire; the dancing flames were reflected in his pitch-black eyes as he said lightly, ¡°You can¡¯t shut your mouth even when you have something to eat?¡± Jin Shi smiled and spoke instead: ¡°Boss, if you want to shut fatty up, the best way is to sew his mouth up with wires!¡± ¡°Wow, stone, I thought of you as a nice guy. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so cruel!¡± Wang Chao shouted loudly, shrugged his shoulders, and said, ¡°heh, this is really boring! Shouldn¡¯t we celebrate having our first meal today? Look at you guys; more boring than unmovable gourds. I have a suggestion, let¡¯s hold hands and dance around the bonfire together!¡± Everyone looked at him like he was a monster. Xiao Yu couldn¡¯t help showing a smile and shook his head helplessly. He knew this guy; no matter how miserable the situation was, Fatty could always find some joy in it, making fun of suffering. This was Wang Chao¡¯s style, and in the current environment, this kind of personality was indeed worth learning from. This friend of theirs that was known for being too hot-headed, was actually a good mood regulator. Everyone in the area was laughing and joking, and there was a rare smile on the corner of their mouths. Han Kexin quietly sat on a stone, her eyes, as clear as a pool of autumn water, were calmly staring at Xiao Yu, who seemed to be bowing his head in thought, his eyes extremely calm. Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t argue with Wang Chao, so she simply ignored him, hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and stared at the dancing flames with her big bright eyes. She had a gorgeous face, even Han Kexin was slightly inferior in terms of appearance, a pair of silky legs that were very attractive, as if carved, with a thin coating of fluorescence, and under the firelight, her slim and slender pair of feet appeared even rounder and smoother. However, there were some scratches and cuts on her feet, and they were somewhat red and swollen from running and walking for so long, making others feel pity for the girl. ¡°I don¡¯t know how Mom and Dad are doing right now. Are they both safe?¡± Jiang Xiaowen sighed suddenly. Xiao Yu fiddled with the fire with a wooden stick, ¡°If you live on, you may see them one day.¡± ¡°Really¡­¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen wasn¡¯t sure if Xiao Yu¡¯s statements were serious or just meant to comfort her. She turned to gaze at Xiao Yu¡¯s figure, his messy black hair, his handsome, calm face, and his dark eyes that were full of wisdom. She felt silly all of a sudden, as she had no idea this unremarkable boy would be so attractive right now. ¡°Ah, a snake!¡± At this time, a group of people not far away seemed to be alarmed by something, and several girls screamed in unison to attract everyone¡¯s attention. Xiao Yu sprung to his feet and dashed over there. From a distance, he noticed a two-meter-long black snake not far from the bonfire. It had already lifted its head and swelled up its body, giving the impression that it was preparing to strike. CH 15 The girls around the fire were all frightened and panicked. A few people took up weapons and sticks and got ready to fight, and the big black snake was alarmed, its head raised higher before its cheeks bulged and flattened as it made a dangerous hissing sound. At this time, a person amidst the crowd suddenly stood up, holding a forked stick with both hands, and used it like a snake fork, then precisely pressed the head of the big black snake to the ground. Next, a slender hand stretched out, firmly pinching the snake¡¯s head, and picked it up. ¡°Wow, Yunyun, you¡¯re amazing!¡± Before the girl could feel proud about her feat, the snake in her hands twisted wildly, breaking loose with a burst of force and tumbling to the ground, a second passed before it struck her like a bolt of lightning. Yunyun, the terrified girl, became pale as she realized the fatal snake bite was about to reach her body. Suddenly, everyone perceived a blur in front of their eyes as a figure flashed by, and the leaping snake vanished. Before anyone could react, the snake was already squeezed in Xiao Yu¡¯s palm, and its long body was twisting madly, yet it couldn¡¯t escape, no matter how hard it tried. ¡°What speed!¡± Everyone was amazed, as it was their first time seeing Xiao Yu¡¯s skills. Even Han Kexin and the others were shocked; they didn¡¯t expect him to be so powerful. How fast was he at full speed when he exploded with such speed in just dozens of meters? Wang Chao ran toward this dangerous big snake; his eyes glowed, then he laughed and exclaimed: ¡°What a big snake, I was just worrying that we didn¡¯t have enough meat for today!¡± Xiao Yu looked at the snake in his hand and said to the others: ¡°This is a very venomous snake. It emits a potent neurotoxin that may paralyze muscles, halt your heartbeats in a matter of seconds, and cause your lungs to fail functioning; it can kill a healthy adult within ten minutes. A small drop of its venom is enough to kill ten ordinary people.¡± The girl named Yunyun patted her chest in dread, ¡°It was that poisonous!¡± Xiao Yu sized her up. To put it simply, this young lady was stunning, with a fair complexion, excellent facial features, a small waist, a slim body, a pointy chin, with thighs far less wide than Jin shi¡¯s arms; she was a thin but plump slender beauty. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The girl glanced at Xiao Yu, blushed suddenly, and whispered, ¡°My name is Yunyun; thank you for saving me just now.¡± Yunyun? He had a vague impression of this name; she should be a relatively famous person in his previous life! He thought about it and remembered that in the beginning, she was a very famous individual, even overshadowing Han Kexin, who was just showing her talents at the time, but she died less than a year after leaving the greenhorn forest. Since she died too early, she was gradually forgotten by everyone, and by then, she wasn¡¯t even as much known as Xiao Yu. However, he believed she must have some remarkable talent; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have heard of her name. Her accomplishments were mostly in the early stages, but due to the changes he made, she became an ordinary member of their team, which hampered and delayed her growth. I should find a suitable opportunity to call her out so she can display her potential in battle. Xiao Yu just glanced at her for a while and then withdrew his gaze, ¡°Just now, you looked really skilled at capturing that snake; have you done this before?¡± At the sight of Xiao Yu looking away, YunYun flashed a hint of disappointment on her face, but this reaction was fleeting as she quickly replied: ¡°My hometown is located up a mountain village. When I was a child, I tagged along with my grandfather multiple times as he caught them.¡± Xiao Yu nodded and did not speak. He squeezed the snake¡¯s mouth open, found a container the size of a bottle cap, and pressed its two fangs upon it. Immediately, a light yellow liquid flowed out from the fangs, slowly gathering together. Jiang Xiaowen watched his every movement like a curious cat and asked, ¡°Are you collecting the snake¡¯s venom?¡± Xiao Yu replied: ¡°Venom can kill human beings, as well as other creatures. A hunter should know how to use nature¡¯s biological weapons. This kind of venom is only effective through blood transmission, and so it can be collected and used against our enemies.¡± The venom released by the venomous snake gradually decreased, and after a few seconds, no more liquid flowed out. Xiao Yu crushed the snake¡¯s head and threw it into the fire in front of him. Minutes and seconds passed by as the darkness fully encompassed the surrounding fields. Even thouh the top of the small mountain was relatively safe, accidents were inevitable. For instance, the giant spider they met the other day could easily climb to its summit, so for safety¡¯s sake, everyone didn¡¯t rest there after they were full. Instead, they cleaned up and returned to the underground cave immediately. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Xiao Yu returned to his personal cave. The cavern area was only a dozen square meters, and there were various strange glowing plants growing around. However, this kind of plant could only illuminate a small area, so while it was a little dim inside, it was still pitch black outside the cave, and you could barely see anything. Xiao Yu was cleaning the bone blade, and his keen hearing caught the sound of footsteps approaching slowly, very lightly. A woman¡¯s footsteps. At this time, a clear female voice came from outside his cave, ¡°Xiao, Xiao Yu, are you awake?¡± He put away the blade and replied lightly: ¡°Why are you here? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Thank you for saving me today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­.anything else?¡± A pair of slender and elegant legs stepped into the cave. It was none other than Yunyun, the girl he had met not long ago. She looked like she had specially washed and changed, the dirt on her face was almost cleaned, and she looked amazing. Yunyun seemed a little nervous and apprehensive, but when she saw Xiao Yu, who was sitting in the corner of the cave, she clenched her fists, walked up to him, and said, ¡°A woman coming to you in the middle of the night, what else can it be?¡± Xiao Yu frowned slightly and said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yunyun¡¯s face was flushed; she gritted her teeth and gently took off her clothes. Her white and smooth skin was immediately exposed to him, and the moment that pair of big white rabbits on her chest were released from their binds, they trembled slightly, rippling and swaying. Under the dim light, that exquisite and well-proportioned body was even more alluring. Xiao Yu looked at the beautiful figure in front of him, and his face changed slightly. He had already guessed this woman¡¯s intention just now, but he didn¡¯t expect her to be so direct. Yunyun took a step forward, and her slender legs closed together, ¡°I want to be your woman.¡± Xiao Yu shifted his gaze to the side and whispered softly: ¡°Leave, and I¡¯ll pretend you never came here.¡± Yunyun had not anticipated the other party¡¯s refusal. She quickly said, after being surprised for a few seconds, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to tarnish your reputation. Nobody will spread rumors about you.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s demeanor remained unchanged, and his expression stayed the same. The girl felt a little anxious, ¡°I know that I am not as beautiful as Xiaowen, and I am not mature looking like Teacher Han. But I am still a virgin, and I can give you everything in exchange for a promise!¡± ¡°Promise?¡± Xiao Yu was a little surprised, ¡°What kind of promise?¡± Yunyun¡¯s eyes were firm, and she said with a sad smile: ¡°I am a weak girl, but I believe I am beautiful; I can only survive in this world if I rely on a strong guy like you. This is fair; I will offer you my body, and you will guarantee my safety¡­.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn¡¯t look down on the girl. On the contrary, because of this incident, his evaluation of her grew even higher than before. Yunyun wasn¡¯t young, she was a couple of years older than him, and since she was still a virgin, it meant that she was a good girl who kept herself in check. Now, in just a few days, she could change her thoughts and priorities and give up the things she cherished in exchange for survival. In a sense, this woman¡¯s personality traits might be even more suitable than Han Kexin¡¯s for surviving on the chaos continent. Beautiful women exchanged their bodies for survival. This situation could be seen everywhere in the future. It¡¯s just that they¡¯ve only been here a few days, and most of them haven¡¯t really adapted to this new environment yet. ¡°You should go back.¡± Xiao Yu wiped the withered bone blade and continued: ¡°You don¡¯t need to underestimate yourself. In fact, you have great potential, no worse than Jin shi and Wang Chao. The most important thing is that you become aware enough to attempt and get stronger. It¡¯s better to control your own destiny than to leave it in the hands of others.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Yunyun¡¯s eyes were complicated, ¡°Can I really control my own destiny?¡± Xiao Yu said in his usual flat tone: ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a real pity to give up before trying?¡± ¡°But I¡­¡± Xiao Yu raised his head and looked at her; their eyes met. Yunyun was silent for a long time and suddenly said, ¡°You are a decent person!¡± After speaking, she picked up her clothes and left the cave quickly. ¡°Am I really a good guy?¡± Xiao Yu raised the bone blade, and the glowing blade reflected a self-deprecating smile on his face, ¡°That¡¯s stupid!¡± ¡°Gee, what a pity; I thought I could see some good drama.¡± Accompanied by that teasing voice, a slender and plump beautiful leg stepped in from outside the cave, followed by another one. Han Kexin walked in, crossing her hands in front of her breasts, with a slight smile on her face, her eyes were bright, but there was a strange look in her eyes that she didn¡¯t usually wear. Xiao Yu put down the blade from his hands, ¡°Miss Han, is that you?¡± ¡°Why did you reject such a delicate beauty?¡± Han Kexin paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be innocent. Usually, when I¡¯m teaching in class, you little perverts will look at my breasts, butt, and thighs, in that order, don¡¯t act like you know nothing.¡± ¡°No, I was actually very tempted.¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t try to lie, ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t enjoy this method of exchange, and I don¡¯t have the energy nor the power to shoulder a useless burden.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s a pity.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s face froze for a moment, ¡°lots of girls out there are thinking about how to be with you. To be honest, I occasionally have similar thoughts.¡± Xiao Yu made a rare joke: ¡°If it¡¯s you, I can think about it.¡± When she heard those words, Han Kexin was startled for a moment, but the mature and charming woman quickly recovered, and a flush appeared on her beautiful face. Xiao Yu lowered his head and continued, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk business.¡± Han Kexin shrugged, with a slightly more serious expression on her face, ¡°We¡¯ve been in the woods for a few days already, and now we¡¯re back on our feet. Should we consider leaving?¡± ¡°It¡¯s far too early to talk about this matter. Our power hasn¡¯t yet reached that level. Outside the forest, is not one bit less peaceful; instead, it¡¯s actually far more deadly and dangerous.¡± Han Kexin asked: ¡°Then what are your plans?¡± Xiao Yu thought for a while, ¡°Everyone must advance to at least the elementary level. We also require a few elites with first-order strength. Otherwise, even if we leave, we will struggle to find a foothold beyond the forest. You, Xiaowen, Fatty, Stone, and I will eventually reach that level in the near future. But for that to happen, we need to challenge first-order monsters and strive for breakthroughs. Only in this way can we push everyone with us toward improving their fighting power.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ After a full night of rest, everyone¡¯s mental state significantly improved the next morning. Xiao Yu summoned the four of them to his side early in the morning and began to prepare today¡¯s plans. The group¡¯s current fighting power was too weak, and he needed to help these guys break through to the elementary level as quickly as possible. Therefore they could also, in their turn, assist others in improving their strength and driving the entire team¡¯s progress. ¡°Xiao Yu, I¡¯m ready!¡± Jiang Xiaowen came to report after packing up her equipment, full of fighting spirit, as she asked him, ¡°Where are we going today? Is it that coal mine from yesterday?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and replied: ¡°No, we will not go there since there aren¡¯t many zombies left near the coal mine, and I have basically wiped out all the low-level monsters inside it. Deeper inside, there is a monster that even I am afraid of, and there are ogres there as well, so it is not very safe. Today I¡¯m taking you to a new location where there are plenty of creatures for you to hunt. You must strive to advance to the elementary realm!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s beautiful eyes lit up when she heard the word ¡°elementary¡±, and she nodded her head. He continued: ¡°However, the place we are going to today is much more dangerous than the zombie mine, and the journey will be much longer. The five of us can¡¯t handle this alone, so we¡¯re going to bring a couple of helpers. You can choose some people you know to join the team, though they must be brave and willing to risk their lives.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Xiaowen seemed to think of something, her eyes widened, and she hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, I have a few good friends of mine that really want to go out with us to fight monsters and increase their strength. They have urged me to recommend them several times. I¡¯ll ask them now; they¡¯ll definitely choose to join the team.¡± Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, ¡°Oh? If that is so, then please bring them here for me to see.¡± ¡°Okay, wait a minute.¡± Jiang Xiaowen ran away with a pair of crystal clear feet, and it didn¡¯t take long for her to bring back two beautiful girls over here, ¡°You have all met my friend before, and this is my sister Yunyun whom I just met recently!¡± Yunyun stared at Xiao Yu, and the two gazed at one other; she couldn¡¯t help but think about yesterday¡¯s events as her pretty face flushed, and she quickly bowed her head, afraid to look at him. CH 16 Surprisingly, the good ¡®sister¡¯ she was talking about was actually Yunyun. However, it was highly likely the latter deliberately and purposefully approached the innocent Jiang Xiaowen so as to use her to get closer to Xiao Yu. What a little crafty woman. It was originally Xiao Yu¡¯s wish for YunYun to join the combat team anyway, and since she took the initiative on her own, it saved him the effort. The other friend she brought along had short hair, a quiet look, exquisite facial features, and delicate eyebrows. She could also be regarded as a beautiful woman. ¡°This is Xu Jing.¡± Jiang Xiaowen took the short-haired girl¡¯s hand, introducing her, ¡°This is my best friend; she was the only one living with me in the dormitory back then.¡± Xu Jing nodded slightly and smiled shyly, ¡°I heard that you need some people. Li Dapeng and I want to join in together. Is that okay?¡± Jiang Xiaowen added, ¡°Li Dapeng is her boyfriend. Both of them are very brave, and they want to go together. He and Xu Jing are very good; we shouldn¡¯t leave them behind!¡± Xiao Yu nodded, ¡°No problem, but think about it some more; this is not an adventure game. This operation is very long and way more dangerous. I can¡¯t guarantee you coming back alive.¡± Xu Jing¡¯s eyes were extremely bright and firm despite her calm demeanor. ¡°Senior Du Tao¡¯s words have convinced me. I have also discussed this with Dapeng; instead of hiding in the dark underground cave, it is better that we fight. We¡­¡­We have both made up our minds! Even if we are to die, we will die together!¡± It seems that Du Tao has not been idle these last few days; his psychological work on the group is very successful. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t have any abnormal expressions and nodded slightly, allowing her to join, but there was still a lack of people. Finally, under the introduction of Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and Han Kexin, more than a dozen joined one after another. Du Tao also recommended a few, who he found more than capable after sizing them up. Just like that, a team of thirty people was formed, Xiao Yu finally met Xu Jing¡¯s boyfriend, and this guy named Li Dapeng also satisfied him. There are already too many people; it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to bring more, it¡¯s just that the more people there are, the easier it is to encounter trouble. He thought as he found the thirty people to be really a lot, not to mention the lack of adequate weapons for everyone. Under Du Tao¡¯s arrangement, the rest of the group continued their daily tasks by making tools, gathering fruits, and setting up traps in the surroundings. After that brief period of embarrassment she showed at the beginning, YunYun immediately recovered, as if she had completely forgotten what happened yesterday. She was walking with Jiang Xiaowen and followed the team leaving the cave, Shuttling through the forest without stopping, nervous, and looking around vigorously. ¡°Pa!¡± They had just taken a few steps outside the cave¡¯s entrance when something dropped from the sky on a person¡¯s head, and the person who was hit cried immediately. Everyone looked up and saw a few gray monkeys on top of a tree, sitting leisurely on branches, nibbling the wild fruits in their hands. When they saw the gaze of everyone looking toward them, they were immediately alarmed as they backed away. Their gray fur stood up, showing their teeth and hissing in intimidation. ¡°Ignore them; not every creature in the forest is aggressive, and these monkeys are not a threat to us.¡± Xiao Yu said to the others while walking: ¡°Actually, animals around can show you signs, often conveying some very useful information. The monkeys are lazily eating wild fruits, and there is chirping in the treetops. All of this may indicate that there is no immediate threat nearby; nevertheless, everyone needs to remain cautious.¡± At his words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yu moved in front of the team, brandishing the withered bone blade and clearing a path. They frequently saw exotic animals and weird vegetation along the way. Every time Xiao Yu comes across some familiar poisonous insects, he catches them one after the other, introduces their habits, explains their venom¡¯s characteristics, and how to capture them, all based on his previous life experience. He simply taught everyone some survival skills in the forest, as well as some poisonous herbs and the identification method of edible wild fruits. Everyone moved on at a slower pace for about an hour, cutting and chopping thorny shrubs all the way. Xiao Yu came to a halt, took out a sharp fruit knife, and stabbed it into the large tree beside him. A fingernail-sized bug was on the tip of his knife as he drew it out. Even with close observation, it was almost hard to discern, ¡°This particular kind of forest bloodworm has a steel needle-like head that unknowingly enters blood vessels to suck its victim¡¯s blood, which may equal to five times its body weight! At that time, it will exert a strong anesthesia Toxin, making the victim insensitive to pain so they can¡¯t detect it. When they become full, they will lay eggs inside the human body; the eggs hatch in the body and the larvae newborns also grow up by sucking blood, and then they lay eggs as well, as the cycle repeats itself until the body dries up. The worms will come out of the corpse at that time¡­¡± Everyone¡¯s scalps went numb listening to his words, and they couldn¡¯t help but look around. ¡°Aaah!¡± Jiang Xiaowen let out a scream. Wang Chao, in front of her, was lifting up his clothes to wipe off his sweat. When he heard her cry, he turned his head in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What is it? Were you that amazed by fatty¡¯s figure?¡± Everyone gasped when Wang Chao turned around. His back had some large bumps that protruded. His entire back was covered with these dark red lumps, which felt like they were sprouting out of his skin. This scene made their skin itch; those were clearly the bloodworms they had just heard about. There were as many as twenty to thirty of them, and none of them had grown to be more than half the size of a ping-pong ball. No one knows how much blood they already sucked. Xiao Yu stopped Wang Chao from catching them with his hands, took out a lighter, and burned them one by one until all twenty-eight blood worms burned and fell to the ground. Wang Chao was so enraged that he stomped on them all. With a burst of heartache, he couldn¡¯t help but feel down when he saw his blood all over the ground: ¡°No wonder I felt a little dizzy just now. I actually lost so much blood; damn it!¡± Xiao Yu checked Wang Chao¡¯s back, frowned, and said, ¡°There may be some eggs left!¡± ¡°Then what should I do? Can I still be saved? Boss, what is that thing in your hand? What are you doing? Something¡¯s smeared on my back¡­ Ah, shit, why the hell is it so painful?! ¡° Xiao Yu crushed several plants and applied their juice on Wang Chao¡¯s back, ¡°The juice of this plant destroys bloodworm eggs inside the skin. The plant has a minuscule amount of muscle toxin, which is harmless but causes little ache and pain to your skin.¡± Wang Chao yelled in pain, ¡°I feel hundreds of needles piercing in and out of my body, ah! It hurts so much fatty is gonna die!¡­ Is this the little pain you talking about?¡± Xiao Yu cleaned his hands and said lightly: ¡°You must endure. If the egg hatches in your body, you will die.¡± Wang Chao¡¯s face turned green from the pain, and he was sweating profusely. He could only walk with the support of two other people. But before they took two steps forward, the guy named Li Dapeng yelled in a panic, ¡°Wait, Xiao Yu, come and take a look; a classmate has fainted!¡± A man in the team fell down without warning. Li Dapeng tried to support him, but the man violently convulsed as if he had an epileptic seizure, and before long, his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears were bleeding continuously. Everyone encircled him in shock, but they had no idea what had happened to the guy, and they had no way to save him. In the blink of an eye, the blood flow accelerated, and the ground was dyed red. Everyone just stood there, watching him lose his breath steadily till he lost all vitality and died. The strange thing was that he had no visible wounds all around his body. After inspection, Xiao Yu found a row of thin wounds on his left thumb, and he made a judgment: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t eating some kind of highly poisonous poison, then it was definitely the cause of a highly poisonous caterpillar piercing his skin. I¡¯m aware that such caterpillars exist in the wild. According to the symptoms of bleeding, they are extremely similar; it uses a toxin that hinders blood coagulation and causes internal bleeding, as well as rapid organ failure. It is so strong that it is nearly impossible to save.¡± Most of the caterpillars in the forest were very small, and their color was not particularly eye-catching, as they blended in with their surroundings, but they were mostly highly poisonous. If you accidentally touch it and get pricked by its thorns, you won¡¯t feel anything, but death has already fallen upon you. The forest was full of dangers, and they had no time to bury the body. Even if it was buried, it would still be discovered by certain critters and monsters with great senses of smell, so he simply removed his weapons and equipment and hid the body inside a bush. The tragic death of this boy made the others more cautious, as if they were trekking on eggshells, not daring to touch anything lightly. ¡°No need to be nervous; our destination is near. We are within the territory of a specific group of monsters. And normally, no other powerful monsters would be around.¡± Xiao Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, ¡°We were really lucky this time. We weren¡¯t attacked by any kind of beast along the way, though one person accidentally died.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was holding a wooden spear and was about to speak, but then she started hearing a strange croaking sound from all around her. It sounded a bit like a frog, and it was a very unpleasant noise. She shrank her neck nervously and took a step back timidly. ¡°You all wait here, stone; stay and take care of Fatty.¡± Xiao Yu turned to Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen and said, ¡°Miss Han, Xiaowen, come with me, grab your weapons, and keep your voice down.¡± The crowd dispersed quickly and crouched down on the grass while Jin Shi helped Wang Chao, who was sweating buckets, to sit down beside him. The trio crept into a one-meter-high patch of grass. The rough edge of this grass made it easy to cut the skin, and when the three of them emerged through the other end, they all had scars on their bodies. A shallow cut appeared on Xiaowen¡¯s face, causing her discomfort and irritation, with blood oozing from it. She was almost terrified; after all, as a woman, appearance was akin to her life, especially for a beautiful woman like her. Fortunately, the cut was very shallow and would most likely not leave a scar behind. From a distance, Han Kexin could see several wooden structures in the dense forest, and there was even a row of wooden walls surrounding them. Several strange-looking creatures were roaming around in the surrounding. They were 1.34 meters tall and looked similar to goblins, only significantly thinner. They were bald, with no hair, and their skin was greenish. Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen both looked at Xiao Yu simultaneously, waiting for his timely explanation. ¡°This kind of monster is called the green goblin, and its strength is weaker than that of goblin slaves.¡± Xiao Yu pointed to the wooden wall and continued, ¡°This is a small goblin village. There are one or two hundred goblins here. As far as I know, there is only a ¡®first-order¡¯ goblin among them. However, it is one of the weakest existences among ¡®first-order¡¯ monsters within a hundred miles around, though you must be careful. Let¡¯s clear out the green goblins in the outside first, then gesture for the others to come over.¡± Jiang Xiaowen gripped the goblin¡¯s short spear and cast a brief glance at him, ¡°then, shall we attack directly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± Han Kexin observed through the gaps in the grass, ¡°Look, there are perhaps thirty or forty goblins outside, and they aren¡¯t far apart from each other. It is impossible for us to kill them one at a time. Furthermore, if we gain the attention of others in the village, especially that ¡®first-order¡¯ goblin, it¡¯ll be our end instead.¡± Xiao Yu smiled with confidence, ¡°Miss Han, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not an idiot, and I won¡¯t let you die.¡± Han Kexin blushed, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that.¡± Xiao Yu took off his backpack, ¡°gray goblins and green goblins have many similarities. They are omnivores, but they prefer to eat meat more and are easily attracted by the smell of blood. I brought their favorite food! Here are the bits that you didn¡¯t get to see yesterday. Some of the wild boar viscera I stored was specifically reserved for today, but before baiting them, we need to add a couple of new ingredients.¡± ¡°You want to poison them!¡± Jiang Xiaowen shouted, but probably realizing that her voice was a bit loud, she immediately covered her mouth and looked around nervously. After realizing that no one was alarmed, she whispered in a low voice: ¡°No wonder along the road you introduced to everyone so many poisonous snakes, toxic insects, and dangerous vegetation while collecting their poison. It turns out that at this moment, all of this can come in handy!¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t deny her words and crawled forward till he reached a certain distance and came to a relatively conspicuous open space. Three large pieces of wild boar viscera wrapped in coal balls were taken out. A pile of wild boar intestines and offal appeared in front of his eyes as he quickly diluted the various poisons collected along the way with some water, stirred them evenly with the viscera, and sprinkled the viscera everywhere using a stick. ¡°Let¡¯s hide; goblins have a keen sense of smell. They will come over soon!¡± The three immediately hid in a nearby bush, waiting in ambush. About five minutes later, a group of green goblins was attracted by the smell. There were about seventeen of them, and the majority were goblin slaves holding wooden clubs; they were ordinary monsters. However, two of them were relatively strong and held a large axe full of gaps in their hands. These were elementary green goblin warriors. ¡°Gu gu gu!¡± The goblins who wandered here immediately found animal offal all over the ground and rushed up to eat it with excited screams. There were still a lot of cinders on this offal, but the goblins didn¡¯t care and ate it with relish, to the point that two goblins nearly fought over the same string of intestines. Jiang Xiaowen looked nervously yet excited at the goblins chomping down on the poisoned meat. And soon afterward, a couple of goblins began to froth from their mouths and collapsed while convulsing. The other goblins continued to eat as if they didn¡¯t notice anything; however, one by one, they all gradually dropped down to the ground. ¡°Haha, it worked, stupid monsters!¡± CH 17 Most of the goblins died, and only three remained as they stood there in a daze, two goblin warriors and one goblin peon. (TN: from here on out, green goblin slave will be called goblin peon) The goblin warrior had a strong physique, and the poison had less effect on it, as the speed of poison spreading in its veins was relatively slower. Although it didn¡¯t fall down immediately like the others, it still staggered around and couldn¡¯t stand steadily. As for the other goblin peon, nothing happened to it as it looked around in a daze. Of course, it wasn¡¯t immune to poison; it simply wasn¡¯t fast enough to grab any food at all. Xiao Yu leapt forward without warning, his speed unfathomable, and a blade light was drawn out from his right side. The blade light cut across the goblin peon¡¯s neck before it could react, and green blood spurted from its throat. The goblin¡¯s head flew high before it could even notice where the attack came from. ¡°Gu gu!¡± The light of the blade burst through the peon¡¯s neck and then proceeded straight toward the goblin warrior. Sensing something was amiss, it lifted an axe to intercept the attack; however, Xiao Yu moved the blade down, as it strangely twisted over and missed the edge of the axe. The goblin warrior couldn¡¯t hold back its momentum; it staggered and almost fell down. Xiao Yu quickly kicked the handle of the axe in its right hand, causing the axe to fly away, and then struck the goblin into distance with the hilt of the withered bone blade. The monster stared wide-eyed at its empty hand before a blow to its head knocked it to the ground. Xiao Yu swung his blade and slashed at the other goblin warrior who was staggering toward him. Its strength was far inferior to Xiao Yu¡¯s, not to mention that its strength and reaction ability were greatly reduced due to poisoning. It staggered back as it also lost its axe. ¡°Why are you standing there? Kill these two elementary monsters immediately!¡± Waking up from their daze, Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen reacted and then rushed forward with their short spears. They each faced an empty-handed goblin warrior. Green goblin warriors were a little bit weaker than the gray ones, to begin with; now that their weapons have been blown away, and with them being poisoned by different types of venoms, their combat effectiveness has been further reduced, as they were forced to retreat by the two girls. Han Kexin shouted with a sweet voice and pierced the goblin warrior¡¯s chest using her sharp spear, piercing its heart as a huge ball of essence melted into her body. In an instant, she felt a tremendous energy gushing out of her, and the pores all over her body loosened comfortably. As a result, she couldn¡¯t help but let out a moan of ecstasy that could melt bones. ¡°She didn¡¯t evolve¡­¡± Xiao Yu frowned slightly when he saw this, ¡°still needs some more?¡± The other battle between Jiang Xiaowen and the goblin warrior was also coming to an end, and the signs of poisoning on the monster became more and more apparent. Under Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s pressure, little by little, the goblin¡¯s shoulders, abdomen, chest, and even its neck had stab marks gradually appearing on them. Finally, in one attack, the short spear in her hands pierced the enemy¡¯s vitals. Jiang Xiaowen, who successfully hunted down an elementary-level monster, also received a huge boost in energy, but it was obvious that she, too, wouldn¡¯t evolve. Among the four elites in the group, Han Kexin, who was the strongest one, failed to advance, so this outcome was expected. However, they weren¡¯t that far away from the elementary realm, as they only needed half a step to advance. Jiang Xiaowen clenched her fist happily, ¡°Wow, I feel like my strength has at least doubled, and I can now confidently take down a large buffalo with a single punch. Thank you, without your assistance, I would not have been able to defeat this monster. ¡° ¡°That was impressive; I learned another trick from you.¡± Han Kexin also showed a joyful smile, but she felt somewhat regretful that she failed to advance. Xiao Yu glanced at her, ¡°You still have a lot to learn.¡± He turned around and whistled before remarking in a low voice: ¡°The goblins on the ground are not dead yet, come out and clean them up, don¡¯t waste this opportunity!¡± More than thirty people came out of the grass one by one and slaughtered the half-dead goblin peons on the ground. These goblins were too weak and lost much of their essence. For Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen, this amount of energy was nothing, but for others, its strengthening effect was extremely obvious. ¡°I¡¯m getting stronger; I¡¯m really getting stronger!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xu Jing was standing with an ordinary-looking young man. Following her remarks, Li Dapeng held her hands, his face full of excitement. ¡°Xiao Jing, we¡¯ve all become much stronger now. We don¡¯t need to be afraid of these monsters anymore!¡± ¡°Um, though, it¡¯s all thanks to Xiaowen. If it wasn¡¯t for her recommendation, the two of us might not have had this opportunity!¡± ¡°We must repay her in the future.¡± As the goblins were killed one by one, there was a sound of excitement and ecstasy in the whole crowd. Yunyun was also lucky enough to get the essence of a goblin peon. She obviously felt that her strength and senses had been greatly enhanced, and a gleam of joy flashed in her eyes. Xiao Yu walked up to Jin Shi, looked at Wang Chao, who was being supported over, and said, ¡°Fatty, can you still fight?¡± Wang Chao experienced a lot of pain but finally got better as he said, ¡°Fatty has never suffered such grievance since he was a child¡­but I¡¯m almost recovered!¡± At this time, a sound came from a distance, and the remaining goblins outside the village were finally attracted by the sound of fighting they made. Seeing this, Xiao Yu sneered. This would save him from lurking near the village to personally kill them. Since they approached them, leaving the settlement¡¯s vicinity, the goblins inside the village far away would definitely not be able to hear them. Xiao Yu rushed into the dozen enemies like a whirlwind; he cut off their legs, making them lose their fighting power so that others could easily kill them. Although the energy gained was far less as a result, however, for those who had only killed one or two monsters before, there was still an obvious increase in strength for them. It¡¯s just that there was no elementary-level creature in this group; otherwise, Han Kexin or Jiang Xiaowen could finally evolve. Thirty individuals cleaned up the goblin corpses on the ground before lurking in front of the settlement, attentively observing the goblin village. The wall of the goblin settlement was a row of broken logs inserted into the ground, no one knew how many years old they were, but most of the wooden piles were already rotten and covered with a thick layer of green moss. In some places, various fungi grew there, and green vines entangled around the logs while many unknown small wildflowers bloomed on them. There were still some large trees around the settlement, and a few simple-looking stone and wooden dwellings could barely be seen between those trees. These houses were, of course, exceedingly primitive. The so-called ¡®stone dwelling¡¯ was just a shelter formed with large stones. ¡°Gu gu, gua gua¡±, a strange frog-like cry came from the inside. The sound had a very high frequency and was quite dense, indicating that there were still many goblins left in the village. The collected venom is running out, so we can¡¯t continue using the same strategy. Xia Yu thought as he noticed the darkness of the night slowly approaching. The forest at night was very dangerous; they had to return before that. That being the case, they must kill all these goblins before night envelops the forest. Xiao Yu observed the surrounding terrain and chose to ambush the goblins in front of the main gate of the settlement. More than thirty people quickly divided up the work, digging pits to make traps and smearing the remaining poison on their weapons. Everything was arranged in an orderly manner. Xiao Yu used the bone blade to cut off two-thirds of the trunks of six large trees on their periphery. So that, as long as there was a strong impact from behind, the big tree would fall in an instant. Some deep pits were dug and then covered with layers of twigs and leaves, waiting for goblins to take the bait. All the people held weapons in ambush. Fourteen people took simple bows and arrows and climbed into the limbs of several big trees with lush branches, waiting to shoot their prey. ¡°I¡¯m going to lure the goblins over here; everyone, make sure to conceal yourselves.¡± When everything was ready, Xiao Yu gestured to everyone, then he strode to the front of the Goblin village and cut off several wooden logs one by one with his bone blade as he quickly made a gap in the wall of the village, which Immediately attracted the attention of a large number of goblins, they all had the same thought, What is happening? As they rushed over The ugly frog-like croaking sound immediately echoed out non-stop, and dozens of green-skinned goblins emerged from their wooden house, rushing at Xiao Yu with wooden clubs and axes. Xiao Yu killed more than a dozen goblin peons one after another before seven to eight goblin warriors appeared, brandishing their axes and chasing after him. Whit his current strength, it was still a bit difficult to deal with eight goblin warriors at the same time. Other than the goblin warrior, there was also a ¡®first-order¡¯ goblin in the village, so he dared not act recklessly as he turned around and ran. He rushed toward the woods where the crowd was waiting in ambush, directly followed by the horde of monsters. The goblin habitation was just around two hundred meters away from the woods where everyone was hiding. ¡°Push the trees down!¡± Xiao Yu ran just to the outside of the woods and shouted. Just then, the sound of cracking was heard, and the six large trees that had been cut down in advance fell forward one after another under the force deliberately exerted by the crowd. As a result, dozens of goblins were immediately crushed underneath. However, there was a large number of them, and soon another batch appeared and continued the chase. Forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters¡­ Xiao Yu suddenly stretched out his hand and shouted, ¡°Fire the arrows!¡± After hearing his orders, the people lying in ambush on the trees immediately let go of the bowstrings that had been tense for a long time, and more than a dozen wooden arrows flew out of the woods, shooting down at the goblins who entered their range of fire. There were at least six or seven arrows shooting down; the dense projectiles even encircled one goblin warrior. ¡°Well done!¡± These sharpened wooden arrows, combined with a simple wooden bow, were not powerful enough to kill most goblins. However, because of the highly poisonous substance smeared that could destroy lungs, there was basically no possibility of survival for any goblin who got shot. ¡°Ji Ji gua gua !¡± One goblin warrior was clearly agitated as it hurled an axe that landed on one of its assailant¡¯s chest. The force pushed him, and he flew out of the tree, colliding with another tree five meters away; his body was bloodied and mangled before he died on the spot. Everyone¡¯s hearts trembled, and they immediately hid their bodies and dared not be careless. At the same time, another wave of arrows was fired, and seven goblins fell. Before the fight officially started, the goblins lost nearly thirty from their ranks, and even one goblin warrior died thanks to that mixture of poison. But the other monsters didn¡¯t care about their companion¡¯s death; they just kept screaming strangely and continued to charge forward, with the intent of tearing Xiao Yu to shreds, chasing him to the ends of the earth. In the end, they had yet to run a few steps before they lost their footing as they stepped into the buried traps. More than twenty goblins fell into big pits one after another. These pits were not deep enough to crush their skulls, but every pit was filled with poison, and another group of goblins was wiped out in the blink of an eye. The remaining group of goblins reached the middle of the ambush area. Xiao Yu abruptly came to a halt, twisted his head to slaughter this last batch, as he caught them off guard, and continued to cut down numerous monsters one by one. He was like a sharp dagger stabbed deep into the clump of goblins. ¡°kill!¡± At this time, there were shouts of killing everywhere. Han Kexin and the others rushed out from all sides, armed with poisoned weapons, to encircle and suppress the surviving monsters. The influx of people from all directions caused chaos, and the goblins were split into multiple groups all at once as the intense melee battle started. CH 18 They all had plain wooden spears made of large wooden sticks and fruit knives. Although these makeshift weapons were a bit crude, they were still practical, especially when fighting those small skinny goblins. The spear length of two meters was enough to suppress the monsters easily. Followed by a rushing sound, Yunyun came out from the bushes where everyone was hiding. At this point, she was very nervous and excited at the same time. Her face was flushed, her gorgeous eyes were filled with an unfathomable frenzy, and her heart was racing as if she was going to die in the next second. Her heart skipped beats like it was about jump out of her chest, proving just how terrified she felt, yet she still strode forward recklessly. Yunyun never thought that one day she, too, would confront such monsters head-on. The crowd met with the goblins as the battle was on the verge of breaking out. The strange screams of the goblins and the heated cries of humans intertwined together. Yunyun didn¡¯t find a suitable target at first, but it didn¡¯t take long for an ugly goblin peon to approach her, screaming strangely, and rushed towards her immediately. Its speed was not fast, but its appearance was very scary. Yunyun was terrified, and at this moment, she had a strong urge to turn around and run away, yes! Escape, escape as far as possible, escape from here, escape from this battle, escape from this group of terrifying monsters¡­ But just then, a chilly and calm voice reappeared in her consciousness. ¡°You don¡¯t need to underestimate yourself. In fact, you have great potential, no worse than Jin shi and Wang Chao. The most important thing is that you become aware enough to attempt and get stronger. It¡¯s better to control your own destiny than to leave it in the hands of others¡­ Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a real pity to give up before trying?¡± Can I really take charge of my own destiny like he said? Such thoughts crept her mind. She understood that if she retreated here today, she would be greatly disappointed with herself. Yunyun¡¯s heart was suddenly agitated. She let out a loud cry and mustered up the courage to charge forward. The goblin peon¡¯s club was a bit short and could only reach her if she got closer. Yunyun calculated the distance carefully, then swung her arms with all her effort, and the fruit knife that was connected to the end of the makeshift spear cut across the goblin peon¡¯s chest, leaving a shallow wound. The wound was obviously not lethal, but the severe poison already surged through the goblin¡¯s body along its veins. Now, she only had to carefully evade its attacks while keeping a safe distance from her opponent. Then after a dozen seconds passed, the goblin peon couldn¡¯t keep its balance anymore. Using the wooden spear in her hands, she fought from a distance making sure to avoid most of its attacks, and finally, with a lethal strike, the wooden spear penetrated its throat, severing a major artery, and green blood flowed out like a fountain, staining her garments green. ¡°I¡¯ve done it; I really killed a monster!¡± Yunyun absorbed the essence, and then slowly, she felt the obvious increase in her strength. Her confidence and courage soared immediately, and she could clearly feel the high tension in her chest and the violent beating of her heart. Her face flushed again, and her whole body was covered with thick sticky green blood, but she felt no discomfort; there was even a vague sense of weird pleasure she had never felt before. She quite liked this kind of feeling, though if she was not careful, she may get addicted to it and have her life at risk. The sense of life and death was really exhilarating and exciting, and even more exciting was the joy and pride one felt after defeating his foe, as well as the increase in strength accompanied¡ªThis was the thrill of battle! Yunyun¡¯s breathing got heavier as her eyes gradually changed. Again, she quickly located the next goblin peon that was alone. Only this time, she no longer had that initial fear and instead rushed forward to attack! In general, the strength of the people present was not bad, and it was easy for each person to take on one or two goblin peons by themselves. As a result, the tide of battle swiftly shifted in their favor as one goblin after another got poisoned, and one goblin after another fell down amidst ugly howls. On the human side, as the goblins fell, their strength gradually increased, and more and more people, like Yunyun, completely got rid of their fear of monsters. Only a significant transformation will aid you after entering this environment, and the more you struggle, the braver you become, and the greater your fighting spirit will be. Xiao Yu killed several goblin peons in a row, and only then did he confront a goblin warrior. Being in the late stage of elementary level, his speed and strength were several times higher than the opponent. After six or seven rounds of exchange, the goblin warrior was sliced by his sword. The three warriors around, probably aware of his strength, gave up on chasing the other humans and attacked him instead. In an instant, Xiao Yu¡¯s black eyes turned blood red. He then waved his blade like a whirlwind, deflecting every blow. After a few strikes, he found his enemies¡¯ flaws, used two blade strikes to slice the throats of two of them, and the third goblin warrior soon found itself at a disadvantage. At that moment, Han Kexin just stabbed a peon to death with her short spear and was passing by his side. Xiao Yu shouted, ¡°Miss Han, right here!¡± he cut off the goblin warrior¡¯s right arm after finishing his sentence, seized its neck with his left hand, and flung it over there. The goblin warrior was thrown directly toward Han Kexin. ¡°Thanks!¡± Han Kexin gave her thanks and pierced the flying goblin with her spear. A ball of energy burst out and split into two halves, most of which was sucked into her eyebrows. A surging force erupted from her body in an instant, like a volcano that had been suppressed for thousands of years, as golden rays of silk protruded from her body, and her figure quickly got wrapped inside a golden cocoon. She was finally going to evolve! Wang Chao and the others all showed some envy in this scene. At this moment, a goblin warrior in the distance swung out an axe and threw it at Han Kexin, who was going through advancement. Xiao Yu kicked his feet on the ground and shot at the golden cocoon like a cannonball, blocking in front of her with a wave of his blade and deflecting the axe. After that, he cut down another two peons who were planning a sneak attack. Jiang Xiaowen took this chance to sneak up on the goblin warrior who had thrown the axe. She pierced its back with a spear from behind and pushed its body forward a few steps before pinning the monster to a huge tree. The goblin warrior¡¯s face was distorted as it let out a loud howl of pain, even though its vitals were unharmed. Jiang Xiaowen wasn¡¯t timid anymore, yet she still became pale with fright at the sound of this roar and unintentionally released her grip from the spear, retreating a short distance. The goblin warrior grasped the short spear with both hands and was about to pull it out. ¡°Kill!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s heart hardened, then she reached out behind her back and pulled out a wooden club. She clenched her teeth and rushed forward, waving her hands around and hitting the goblin on its skull with the weapon as powerful blows stormed the monster. Just then, under the full force of the club, a ¡®bang¡¯ sound was heard before the goblin¡¯s head exploded. Jiang Xiaowen shouted again, then swung down with her arms and landed another blow, finally breaking the goblin¡¯s head altogether. A ball of energy the size of a ping-pong ball was sucked into her forehead. After absorbing all that power, golden threads of silk stretched out from all around her body, wrapping Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s entirely. She also evolved! Another advancement in the team! There were only two to three goblin warriors left. Wang Chao and Jin Shi each led four others to entangle them. Although those goblins were powerful, they were no match for this number of people. Jin Shi and Wang Chao¡¯s suppression caused many injuries to surface in the monsters¡¯ bodies, and the poisoning effect heightened bit by bit. They would have fallen over long ago if they had been ordinary goblin peons instead. As the goblins were eliminated one by one, their essence was separated into various portions and absorbed, and everyone¡¯s fighting spirit steadily rose, especially with the addition of two more elementary realm experts to their team, which was undoubtedly encouraging. With their low intelligence, the remaining goblins finally realized that if they continued, there would be nothing for them but annihilation, and they started retreating. Just when everyone thought victory was in their hands, a loud and deep cry reverberated from the goblin village, and the sound spread throughout the sky above the forest. Originally running away in fear, all the goblins suddenly became active once again. At the entrance of the Goblin village, four extraordinarily strong goblin warriors appeared, leading dozens of peons, and they were slowly coming out. On the shoulders of the four Goblin warriors, there was a wooden log, carrying one each, as they all supported something together. It was a plain wooden board, and a different sort of goblin was seated on it. Its body was very burly, almost as big as an adult human, wearing a simple red linen robe, without any weapons on its body, as a pair of ferocious eyes gazed at everyone. Xiao Yu was startled then he spoke, ¡°This is the flame goblin!¡± Han Kexin¡¯s golden cocoon burst open, and she walked out amidst a layer of looming red mist. The wounds accumulated over the past few days were all healed, and her skin became much white and softer. Her black hair that reached her waist had turned into a beautiful pink color, her body looked even more enchanting and graceful, her pair of watery eyes were full of light, as if she was teasing people at every moment, and her face became more charming and seductive¡ªshe was three points more beautiful than before. But under her seductive appearance, a ferocious aura was lurking. Everyone present could vaguely smell a bloody scent in the air, and even the goblin warriors present were slightly taken aback and stopped their movements. Was the bloody queen who was famous throughout his previous life and stunned the world with her beauty finally about to appear? Han Kexin¡¯s current strength has increased several times compared to before! Wang Chao was stunned at her transformation, ¡°Is this really our teacher Han? Why did her appearance change so much!¡± She looked like she was reborn, and she carefully started exploring every change in her body. Her coquettish pink eyes shimmered, and there was an indescribable charm in them; then, her attractive rosy lips moved slightly as she murmured: ¡°This is the elementary level power?¡± She looked at Xiao Yu again, smiled, and said charmingly, ¡°Xiao Yu, thank you for protecting me just now.¡± ¡°Roar¨C!¡± The flame goblin seemed to be extremely angry as it let out a loud roar. The goblin warriors and the other peons seemed to have received the order to charge and rushed toward their enemies at the edge of the forest. At this time, its tall body flew down from its seat, and the moment its feet landed on the ground, it raised its right hand, and with a ¡®bang¡¯, a ball of jumping and flickering flame materialized right from its palm. CH 19 The Flame Goblin wielded a wave of scorching hot flames. The raging flames shrunk and constricted, eventually condensing into an uneven fireball in the palm of its hand. One second passed before it raised its hand and forcefully threw the fireball, only for the scorching flames to magically fly out in the air with a loud whistling sound, and they bombarded their target at an extremely fast speed. ¡°Be careful!¡± Xiao Yu hugged Han Kexin¡¯s soft, slim waist and flung both of them aside with all his effort. Boom! He could feel the burning air rushing towards his face as a ring of flames three meters high surged into the sky. In a second, a massive tree nearby was turned into scorched wood. Xiao Yu¡¯s sleeves and back were stained with fire, causing him blistering anguish. He rolled on the ground numerous times, barely extinguishing the flames. Just nearby, two unlucky goblins were immediately shrouded in the fire and turned into two goblin-shaped fireballs as they ran around screaming before they fell down in a short time. Right afterward, a burned smell of flesh enveloped the area! Han Kexin¡¯s delicate arm was also burned; however, the unusual thing was that the burn mark healed swiftly and completely without leaving any trace behind. Wang Chao and Jin Shi were all dumbfounded. What a shocking power, they thought. Under the blow of the flame goblin, a whole large tree was burnt and got scorched black. Who could resist such a terrifying attack? The most horrifying aspect is that in order to defeat its enemies, it didn¡¯t hesitate to kill its friends as well. So if they ever got entangled with some gobbling warriors, the monster would most probably leave no way out for them. Peng Peng! The Flame Goblin didn¡¯t give anyone a chance to breathe. This time, it raised both its hands at the same time, and flames rose from its left and right palms successively. It let out a piercing roar and instantly flung the two flaming balls into the woods. Two clusters of brilliant flames pierced the air, rushed into the forest with a whistling sound, and headed towards Xiao Yu, who was in the middle of extinguishing the fire on his body. Everyone could barely see the flame trail flashing by. The attack was too fast! Almost like a rocket launcher! Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes widened, and the shapes of two flames were reflected in his red eyes. Under the observation of his eyes of insight, everything in the world became in slow motion, and the attack slowed substantially. The two flaming balls kept changing shapes, constantly intertwining with each other as they flew toward him. It was cumbersome to say, yet everything happened in an instant. And the moment the flames crossed each other again, he bent his knees and jumped up, passing through the gap between the two balls of fire within a hair¡¯s breadth. In the eyes of everyone, only a short moment passed. Amidst the loud noises, the terrible flames expanded, and the tongues of fire several meters high pointed directly at the sky. One unlucky guy happened to be enshrouded by the explosion, and he couldn¡¯t even groan before his body instantly turned pitch black as he got blasted to pieces. In a blink of an eye, bits of charred black flesh were scattered in all directions, with smoke coming out of them. Xiao Yu fell to the ground, and his face and chest felt hot. Although he escaped the attack just now, he was still burned to a certain extent. And because he used the eyes of insight intensively for that moment, his eyes felt sour, his brain dizzy, and his spiritual power was exhausted. But he didn¡¯t stop for a moment; instead, he kicked the ground, jumped like he had springs on his feet, then he lifted the bone blade and flew towards the flame goblin. If he hesitated in the face of these attacks, he would die. It could only be dealt with if he hurried to engage in melee combat. Boom, boom, boom¡­ Flame Goblins had strong attacking power, but melee combat wasn¡¯t their forth. Only by getting close could he have a chance to kill it. However, the Flame Goblin already saw through the other party¡¯s intentions; it roared and bombarded him with hot flaming balls like a machine gun. Xiao Yu faced the ensuing bombardment of flames, and his eyes of insight played a crucial role at that moment. He appeared as if he had shifted into a flexible and vibrant dragon, dodging and evading quickly between the fireballs. At this sight, the monster felt irritated. After all, the opponent¡¯s insight could almost be described as heaven-defying. No matter how hard it attacked, it just couldn¡¯t hit him. Its dense and violent attacks were all avoided by him, and now it had to retreat and attack simultaneously. The two fast-moving figures chased after each other quickly, flames burst out everywhere they passed, and the trees and grass were all burned up as the billowing smoke obscured everyone¡¯s vision. Seeing this, Han Kexin pulled out a short spear before another goblin blocked her way. She thrust her spear into its body, rushed over quickly, and grabbed the spear protruding from behind the goblin¡¯s back, and then under everyone¡¯s watch, rushed into the thick smoke without looking back, following Xiao Yu¡¯s figure. While Xiao Yu was fighting fiercely with the flame goblin, the fight on the other side was also ongoing. The goblin warriors led a group of peons in a close-quarter battle against Jin Shi and others. At this critical juncture, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s golden cocoon finally burst open. Long purple hair as smooth as silk fluttered out, and an angelic and innocent face appeared in front of everyone. Behind her petite and slender body, a pair of huge butterfly-like wings stretched halfway up. They were transparent and covered with luminous light purple lines; her entire body was shrouded in a hazy halo¡ªsimply a dreamlike beauty. Evolving completed! Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s eyes had also turned to a beautiful light purple, while a pair of huge translucent butterfly wings flapped gently twice on her back as if she was adjusting to her new extra organ. Suddenly, a goblin warrior nearby swung an axe attacking her. Jiang Xiaowen was startled, her wings flapped quickly, and a violent air current carried her up as her delicate body soared high into the air. The goblin warrior roared and raised its hands, ready to throw its axe right at her. ¡°Oh!¡± Jiang Xiaowen panicked but then recalled the innate skill she had just recently learned when reaching the elementary stage. Her huge butterfly wings flapped vigorously, and they sprinkled countless shiny lights that looked like pollen on the ground below. After the goblin warrior was covered in the pollen-like substance, it felt heavy and dizzy all of a sudden. ¡°Go to hell, monster!¡± Jiang Xiaowen shouted in her sweet voice, and while flapping her wings, she swooped down in an instant, holding the short goblin spear in both hands, and pierced the goblin¡¯s body at once, as she rushed far away with it. The weirdest scene was that the goblin warrior barely resisted, allowing the short spear to pierce its body. Even when it was dead, it had a strange smile of satisfaction on its face, as if it was living inside a wonderful dream. Wang Chao yelled: ¡°Damn it, there are too many of them. We can¡¯t beat them all; it¡¯s good that you¡¯re here to help!¡± Jiang Xiaowen shook off the goblin on her short spear. Her beautiful butterfly wings flapped lightly, and she flew over quickly, waving her slender right arm, the goblin she was carrying turned into a black shadow and fell straight down, landing directly between Wang Chao and a goblin warrior, cleverly separating them at the same time she yelled loudly: ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and the others were gradually beaten back by the four warriors, and her rescue came too timely. The two quickly retreated. Jiang Xiaowen descended into the mortal world like a beautiful fairy and floated in front of the goblins. She used her power again, and countless shiny lights flew over with every flap of her butterfly wings, covering the four monsters entirely. Those four nasty beings hadn¡¯t walked more than a few steps before staggering back as if intoxicated, with drunken and content grins on their faces. After using her ability, she suddenly felt a strong sense of dizziness, and she fell from midair down to earth. The pair of huge glowing butterfly wings significantly dimmed. Not far away, Yunyun hurried forward to support her, ¡°are you okay?¡± Jiang Xiaowen pressed on her dizzy head, shook her face, and said: ¡°it¡¯s okay, it seems like I overused my innate skill, and my spiritual power was a bit exhausted. Where are Xiao Yu and teacher Han? Are they okay?¡± Yunyun looked at the goblin village shrouded in flames and smoke in front of them, ¡°They went after a goblin who can shoot fire.¡± Jin Shi and Wang Chao took the opportunity when the two goblin warriors were staggering back in a daze, and they quickly stabbed the monsters¡¯ vitals. After absorbing that huge amount of energy, the two finally felt a volcanic eruption in their power as they got wrapped in countless golden silk threads and into a big cocoon. Advancement! Two people were evolving at the same time! ¡°Attack; if we last until the two of them advance, we will win!¡± The morale of the crowd rose again while Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s beautiful purple eyes gazed at the goblin village shrouded in flames and smoke in the distance as she clearly heard explosions coming from the inside, ¡°I don¡¯t know if Xiao Yu and teacher Han are going to be alright. Are they currently fighting with that first-order monster¡­it will be fine. Xiao Yu is so strong; how could he lose?¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi emerged from their cocoons not long after. Both of them had remarkable changes. Jin shi was currently a big guy standing over two meters in height. After evolution, his height rose by 20 centimeters, and his physique was three times broader than before. As if a wild giant had risen in the world. There was a heated atmosphere all around him. His hair was completely gone now, his forehead became bright and shiny, and his skin darkened a lot, turning bronze. The most noticeable change was on his right arm. Jin shi¡¯s right arm was utterly deformed and did not resemble a human¡¯s. It was more than double the thickness of the left arm. Everything from the tips of the fingers to the shoulder, as well as a portion of the pectoral muscles, has turned bluish-gray. Like an arm carved from stone! Wang Chao¡¯s changes were likewise much exaggerated. His fat body swelled further, his skin turned bright red, his entire eye sockets glowed with crimson light that made people palpitate, his bones crackled, and his entire body was full of explosive power. Jiang Xiaowen was stunned, ¡°They appear to have changed significantly. These two also acquired innate skills!¡± She once heard Xiao Yu explain innate skills. Not everyone could get them when they advanced. Only a select few with with special potential could own a unique power and skill right after evolving. And ninety percent of said people could only manifest very common abilities after entering the elementary level, such as physical body enhancement, agility enhancement, and the like. CH 20 Boom, boom, boom! The violent fireballs erupted one after the other, scattering flames over the sky and burning the wooden structures and trees. Under normal circumstances, the forests in the continent of chaos would not easily catch a large fire because most of the vegetation on it has an ability, where as long as the trees were ignited, they will emit a substance while burning. This substance had the capability to be quite helpful in extinguishing large fires, whereas a huge amount of thick smoke will be created throughout this process, which was both blinding and pungent, but also easier to suffocate in. At this moment, most of the goblin dwellings were shrouded in thick smoke and flames. The flame goblin roared and shot hot fire all around; explosions rang out one after the other, burning additional dwellings and trees. However, it was clear that the monster¡¯s power wasn¡¯t endless. After all, the more this monster continued on its nonstop rampage, the more it weakened energy-wise, and its attack frequency was getting lower and lower. In addition, there was dense smoke all around the place, severely blocking its vision, and only one or two nimble figures could vaguely be seen scurrying around. ¡°Roar!¡± The flame goblin put its hands together, parted up a huge fireball, roared, and threw it fiercely in the human¡¯s direction, instantly burning a wooden house to ashes. After that attack, the goblin panted slightly; it was already very tired and looked dispirited. There was a deep bone wound on its chest, and red blood was constantly oozing from it. With a surprise assault just now, that outrageous human with strong evasive abilities got close to it once, and a slash injury was left from that time. Fortunately for it, it reacted promptly, and at that key moment, a concentrated group of lesser flames condensed to force the opponent back; otherwise, it would¡¯ve been a tragedy. The burning flame was gradually extinguished, yet the smoke was getting thicker and thicker. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Xiao Yu was sitting in a certain corner amidst the thick smoke, holding the bone blade in his hand and breathing hard. Many areas of his body were burned black, particularly his right arm, which had nearly decaying skin, emitting a kind of burnt scent in the air. This was already the fifth time. He got repelled by the fierce attack of the flame goblin for the fifth time. If he didn¡¯t have a rich combat experience or the assistance of his eyes of insight, he would have died eight or ten times over. The Flame Goblin did not appear to be as feeble as he had expected. Although it lacked the strength of the goblin leader, it was nonetheless incredibly tough to deal with. He felt dizzy after inhaling a lot of smoke, and he felt suffocated. Xiao Yu took two deep breaths; his blood-red eyes quickly faded and turned pitch black again. He had to save the last bit of his strength and launch one last attack. In his current state, another failure would mean losing the battle. The roars outside subsided, as did the flame goblin¡¯s attacks. It possessed a certain level of intelligence and knew that the opponent was now resting, and it didn¡¯t want to burn all its remaining strength because its current circumstances were not much better than Xiao Yu¡¯s. ¡°How could you be injured to this point?!¡± Han Kexin fumbled to Xiao Yu¡¯s side and was immediately taken aback by his state. Although Xiao Yu¡¯s injuries were not serious, they looked far scarier. He looked like black charcoal, though his core wasn¡¯t harmed. He remained calm and adjusted his breathing, trying to recover as much energy as possible for the next assault. He opened his eyes and started Looking at Han Kexin with surprise as he asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± She smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Actually, I have been watching the battle between you and the goblin for a while now. I originally thought that I could help you after entering the elementary realm. But¡­you are so fast, my eyes can¡¯t even keep up with you. I couldn¡¯t interfere at all.¡± Xiao Yu said lightly: ¡°there is no need to feel discouraged. Everybody¡¯s talents are different. My innate ability, ¡® eyes of insight¡¯, is suitable for high-paced battles. What¡¯s more, as a late elementary being, my physique is two or three times stronger than yours. My speed and power are also a notch above yours.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes flickered, ¡°Can you continue fighting in this state? Why don¡¯t we just retreat for now? You know ¡®As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood¡¯.¡± (Idiom meaning that they can always come back to defeat it) ¡°Don¡¯t worry; everything will be fine. I¡¯ll be rational about it. Even if I can¡¯t win, I¡¯ll conserve every last ounce of power to escape.¡± Xiao Yu took two more deep breaths before rising, his scarred body supported by the blade, ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer, the monster can recover faster than me, and the surrounding environment is getting worse by the second. So it¡¯s not favorable to drag it on like this. Stand farther away so as not to be affected. Once I attack, the fire goblin will go berserk again, and this whole area will be dangerous.¡± Han Kexin clenched her fists and suddenly thought of something, ¡°Perhaps, I can help you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, you have just entered the elementary level, and our opponent is a first-order monster. Therefore, you have almost no chance of fighting it.¡± ¡°I really can help you!¡± Han Kexin looked at him. Her beautiful eyes fluttered, and she hastily turned around and left without saying anything. Xiao Yu was stunned for a while as he gazed at her bewitching back, then his eyes grew blood red once again, and he approached the flame goblin slowly. The goblin that was resting became alert; its intuition was extremely acute, making it nearly impossible to launch a sneak attack against. Xiao Yu pushed a boulder out from beneath his feet and kicked it up. In the heavy smoke, the boulder flew quickly toward the monster. Hearing the sound of the boulder bursting through the sky, the flame goblin produced a burst of flame in its palm and waved its arm. The boulder was blasted apart in mid-air, and the shattered stones flew all over the sky. Right then, something unexpected happened. Just as Xiao Yu was about to rush out, a swift figure one step ahead dashed towards the creature from the side¡ªit was Han Kexin! What the hell! Was she crazy?! Xiao Yu was taken aback. The flame goblin spotted a figure approaching it. Right then, it let out an enraged growl, amassed a fireball with both hands at the same time, and hurled it at her with great force. The fireball burst into the air, transforming into a terrible tongue of flame that sprayed toward Han Kexin. A shocking scene happened afterward. The woman actually walked forward inside the scorching flames. As a result, her clothes were burnt off in an instant, her delicate skin suddenly became charred, and her flesh and muscles showed signs of carbonization. The originally lovely and beautiful woman almost became a humanoid charcoal! The monster was overjoyed; it had finally killed this tricky human being! But then the most incredible thing happened. The charred humanoid figure continued onward, hugging the flame goblin with its scorched black hands tightly as a hoarse voice came out from her sore throat. ¡°Kill it¡­¡± The Flame Goblin was terrified, it felt a dreadful strong wind coming from its rear, but it couldn¡¯t escape or turn around, as the nearly burnt figure in front of it had great strength, and her hands firmly clasped its body like iron tongs. A grey bone sword slashed down, and a massive head flew up, its eyes filled with horror and disbelief. Han Kexin let go of her arms, stretched out her coal-like hand, and placed it on the goblin¡¯s severed neck. That hoarse voice sounded again, ¡°Blood sacrifice!¡± before all the blood in the monster¡¯s body was absorbed by her instantly like a flood. The monster¡¯s original burly body shriveled and turned into a mummified corpse! Unimaginable changes took place in the scorched Han Kexin. Her almost carbonized body swelled up, while a large number of cracks appeared on her burned black skin, turning into black powder and falling down to the ground. Her long pink hair spread out again, and her tender white skin exuded charm once more. Her body began healing rapidly at speed visible to the naked eye. After about twenty seconds, a plump, mature body full of infinite temptation appeared in front of Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes. At this moment, Han Kexin lost all her clothes and stood there completely naked, shrouded in a thin layer of bloody mist. Even without the support of a bra, her pair of huge proud peaks remained firm and defiant. Her hair looked as pink as the bloody forest, her buttocks plump and round, and her legs round and slender, full of temptation. Even Xiao Yu felt his heart beating at that sight; nevertheless, he was still more surprised by Han Kexin¡¯s terrifying ability. ¡°Only at the low elementary level, and she possesses such heaven-defying power, the power of the bloody queen, she wholly deserved her reputation¡­¡± ¡°Ah, it hurt like hell just now; I almost fainted from the pain¡­ What? Were you surprised?¡± Han Kexin, now fully recovered, walked towards Xiao Yu step by step, then she put her soft little hand on his chest, ¡°I¡¯ll help you heal your wounds, hold still, and don¡¯t move around.¡± A pink and delicate arm hooked into his chest, and the bloody mist which had enveloped Han Kexin slowly surrounded Xiao Yu, moistening the wounds on his body. After a while, the bloody mist dissipated, and his wounds healed by more than half. Without the veil of the bloody mist, her fiery seductive body was completely exposed in front of his eyes. Han Kexin realized that her entire body was still nude and quickly covered her breasts, but she could only hide a tiny bit. Then, seeing Xiao Yu looking straight at her, she suddenly smiled, moved her hands away, pushed her chest slightly forward, and spoke with a charming voice that could melt bones: ¡°What do you think? Does my body look good? You have seen everything, so you should take responsibility!¡± Her tone was brimming with coquettishness. Sure enough, her personality also began to shift toward that of the Bloody Queen! ¡°Your innate skill¡­¡± ¡°This trick is called blood sacrifice.¡± Han Kexin showed a charming smile, ¡°I can extract power from blood. This power can not only temporarily boost my physical strength, but it can also be used to heal wounds. It can even help me regenerate severed limbs. Of course, this healing power can be used on others as well, but its effect will be much worse. How is it, my powerful skill that is.¡± Xiao Yu sighed and replied sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s very strong!¡± If Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes of insight could keep him stay alive on a battlefield filled with bullets, then Han Kexin¡¯s ability could make her unbeatable on the battlefield altogether since she was practically immortal as long as there was blood nearby! Of course, there was a limit to strong abilities. After all, Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡± could not be used infinitely. But while he didn¡¯t know how often she could use it in a single day, he knew that the more her strength grew, the more she could use it. Han Kexin¡¯s potential was indeed limitless! After the flame goblin died, three balls of light floated up. And since Han Kexin didn¡¯t cause any direct harm to the goblin, all the energy was absorbed by Xiao Yu, as he clearly felt his power rapidly increasing and finally stopping at a critical juncture. He actually reached the peak elementary level. Just a little more, and he can advance into first order! Han Kexin removed the flame goblin¡¯s ragged robe and donned it on her body. Her figure looked very plump in those garments. A part of the chest area was cut open by Xiao Yu before, and now that she was wearing it, you could see the skin tone of her chest from that gap¡ªa lovely pink and white color. ¡°Xiao Yu, we struck it rich!¡± Han Kexin was a little excited, pointing at the two light balls on the ground and saying: ¡°Two items dropped.¡± Xiao Yu picked up one of the white light balls, the light gradually dissipated, and a red ring appeared in his hand, ¡°Blast Flame Ring, a medium white equipment, can release a ¡®Blast Flame¡¯ spell once, and after each use, the ring needs to absorb energy for forty-eight hours before it could be used again.¡± ¡°Medium white rank? Your bone blade is a medium gray rank weapon. Isn¡¯t this ring very powerful?¡± ¡°Indeed, there are different ranks of magic, and this blat flame one is second-rank, and its power cannot be underestimated. At this stage, there are almost no existences that can take a blow from a flame explosion and remain intact. This ring can be used for a long time. The only disadvantage is that it requires lots of energy, and its replenishing speed is too slow. We can only use the blast flame spell once every two days, and this period is way too long.¡± Han Kexin aimed at the other ball of light, ¡°Take a look at this one too!¡± Xiao Yu picked up the light ball, and the light gradually dissipated. There was a light red prismatic crystal the size of a thumb on his palm. Now he couldn¡¯t calm down anymore, and his face showed surprise, ¡°This¡­ this is a crystal of inheritance. This is a treasure that is hundreds of times more valuable than a single piece of equipment. It carries a special skill that can be learned through it.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t skills comprehended when we evolve? Can they really be learned that way?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°Innate skills are one kind. In truth, there are several types of skills and numerous methods for acquiring them. For example, crystals of inheritance carry skills of creatures that passed away, and if you fuse with those crystals, you can quickly master their power¡­ Let me see what¡¯s recorded in this one.¡± Xiao Yu closed his eyes, immersed himself in it for a moment, and thought carefully, ¡°Fire Missile! This skill is called Fire Missile. It¡¯s a first-rank type of magic.¡± Fire missile! Han Kexin looked at the flame goblin¡¯s body, ¡°Could it be its ability to throw fireballs!¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°The flame goblin dropped this crystal of inheritance, so obviously, the skill it bears should be one of the abilities it previously used. Also, this monster¡¯s abilities are rather straightforward, so it should be that one.¡± CH 21 Han Kexin was overjoyed and said, ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Quickly master the skill to shoot those flames in midair.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and said: ¡°Owning a crystal of inheritance does not mean you can obtain the inherited skill for sure. In fact, many inherited memories and powers will inevitably be lost in the process of fusing. The more missing elements there are, the more incomplete the attained power is, and the skill¡¯s authenticity and growth potential will decline drastically. When the individual¡¯s level is too low, the fusion will fail, and a valuable crystal will be lost. Sometimes this will even bring unexpected dangers to the inheritor, so for that, we must be fully prepared before mastering the skill.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Han Kexin nodded slightly. As the fire became more and more intense, Xiao Yu and Han Kexin tucked the crystal and blast flame ring away and left the goblin settlement. They returned just in time to witness Jin Shi smashing a goblin into a meat paste with his massive, stony arm. At the same time, Wang Chao¡¯s obese body flashed past like a ghost, and his huge arms grabbed the body of another goblin. His eyes glowed scarlet, and he let out a beast-like roar. The monster was torn in half, and green blood and various organs were spilled all over the ground. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Both Jin Shi and Wang Chao have evolved, and they seem to have gained very good and rare innate skills.¡± With The death of the last goblin, Jin Shi, Wang Chao, and Jiang Xiaowen all breathed a sigh of relief. Jin shi¡¯s rocky right arm gradually shrank and smoothed, finally becoming normal in proportion and size, and the fierce beast-like light in Wang Chao¡¯s eyes gradually dissipated, and his red skin gradually faded, returning to its original color. However, even though the two of them removed their innate skills, Jin shi¡¯s height and baldness stayed the same, and his explosive muscles and their smooth texture set him apart from the rest of the people. As for Wang Chao, his skin still maintained a slight red tint even after deactivating his skill, which was very different from normal humans and could be recognized with a closer look. Jiang Xiaowen was the first to see the two individuals emerging from the goblin settlement. She swiftly waved her huge butterfly wings in delight. Light flowed between the translucent wings¡¯ flaps, which were crystal clear and exceedingly beautiful. However, Jiang Xiaowen was too weak to fly at the moment. She fluttered her wings twice, transforming them into rays of light that were absorbed into her body. Almost the whole goblin village was wiped out as a result of this battle. Only five people were killed on the human side, while the rest had some minor injuries. Nonetheless, their harvest was huge. Each individual had at least slain five to six goblin peons among this group of people, and their overall strength has achieved a qualitative leap. Due to this battle, they have fully turned into qualified warriors. However, Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao benefited the most. Not only did they successfully advance to the elementary level, but they also gained unique and rare innate skills. Needless to say, Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡± skill was the rarest among them; the value of this ability alone was indispensable to their group. As for the other three people, their abilities were different but were not in any way inferior. Jinshi¡¯s ability was called ¡°partial rock formation¡±. He could control a part of his body and turn it into hard rock at will, thereby greatly increasing his strength and defense and achieving a significant gain in fighting power, making his survival odds even higher. Wang Chao¡¯s ability was called ¡°Rampage¡±, which was a well-known skill in Xiao Yu¡¯s previous life, commonly known as ¡°Berserk¡±, which could double his strength and speed within a short period of time, allowing him to gain incredible power; however, there were flaws in this ability. In the berserk state, Wang Chao would fully lose his sense of pain, his thinking ability would degrade, and he would rely more on his instincts to fight. On the other hand, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ability was unique. She could manifest a pair of huge butterfly wings out of thin air and had the ability to fly at low altitudes for a short while. At the same time, she had the ability of ¡°Dream Dust¡±. Allowing her to shower her enemies with all kinds of beautiful fantasies and all kinds of illusions. People with weak mental strength would instantly fall into a wonderful dream world that they cannot escape. After Xiao Yu learned of Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s innate skill, he was deeply surprised. This ability was largely different from Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡±, but it was not inferior to the latter. It was hard to guard against when used in battle. In a fight between two experts, even a split second of delay might be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Hence, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ability was enough to make her invincible among her peers. Through the evolution of several people, Xiao Yu could vaguely see the shadows of some powerful creatures living in the Chaos Continent. For example, jin shi was vaguely evolving toward the ¡°Mountain Giant¡±, and Wang Chao was vaguely evolving toward the ¡°Behemoth¡±. Though Han Kexin, her ability did not belong to ordinary creatures. He was afraid that only the king of the demon clan living in the abyss world could possess such terrifying power. As for Jiang Xiaowen, her innate skill was also extremely rare, only similar to that of a legendary high elf, ¡°Flower Fairy, ¡± who was good at performing charm and illusion. Although Xiao Yu had never seen her before, from the rumors, those skills were quite similar to Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s. Although the shadows of some powerful creatures could be seen on these people, those were only similarities. Monkeys and Behemoths, dwarves and giants, lizards and giant dragons¡­ They all shared the same bloodline, but the difference in strength and appearance was quite huge. This is due to the fact that there were several forks in the evolutionary path, and each step made may result in a completely new evolutionary route. Nobody, including Xiao Yu, can predict what anyone will evolve into in the far away future. Everyone cleared up the goblins¡¯ bodies and picked up all undamaged weapons, as they accidentally found a few pieces of equipment that had fallen by a stroke of good luck. The result this time around was very good. Xiao Yu held a gray ball of light in his hands, and the light dissipated. In the palm of his hand, an axe appeared; its handle was relatively short, less than three feet long, the blade was the size of a wheel, and its whole body was colored green. It was a low gray weapon named the ¡®green battle axe¡¯. The best candidate to use this axe at the moment was undoubtedly Wang Chao, with his berserk skill. His close combat strength will increase, especially if he could wield a strong weapon like that, and his destructive power would be unimaginable. In addition to the battle axe, there was another piece of equipment on the ground nearby. It was a huge shield, a medium gray piece of equipment, about three feet in diameter, covered in a blue color, with a goblin pattern on one side of the shield. The information he gained as he touched the weapon was: ¡®Goblin Shield¡¯, special effect: in exchange for spiritual power, the shield can instantly double in size. There was no doubt that this piece of equipment belonged to Jin shi with his ¡°partial rock formation¡± innate skill. It was like both weapons dropped, especially for them, and like this, Wang Chao and Jin shi¡¯s power took a huge leap forward. Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen didn¡¯t have any equipment yet, but Xiaowen¡¯s ability was quite special. With her wings, her speed was better than most people, and her special ability was enough to deal with any enemy of the same level. On the contrary, Han Kexin has the weakest fighting power among them. Although her blood sacrifice was powerful, it cannot directly affect combat. So Xiao Yu temporarily handed over the Blast Flame Ring to her. This ring can launch a flame explosion every two days. The explosion was so powerful that it could pose a considerable threat to monsters of the first-order and even kill them if used properly. Possessing a powerful life-saving attack, coupled with her own innate skill, her ability to survive would undoubtedly rise. They searched through the entire goblin village and found a dozen animal skins, a large number of wild fruits and some meat, a few rough iron pots, clay pots, and more than a dozen dismembered corpses in a small area that was still intact. Those few corpses must have been human beings that were captured alive by goblins while passing by. Over the past few days, everyone¡¯s clothing has been severely ruined. Those animal skins have been dried in the sun for a long while, and with some simple processing and trimming, they could be made into basic clothing. ¡°Everyone, come quickly; we found a few survivors over here!¡± One student was searching inside a simple wooden house in the corner of the goblin village when he found four people who were passed out. Two of them looked different, with relatively strong physiques. The younger one was in his twenties, and the other was a middle-aged man in his forties. Both of them were wearing tattered police uniforms. ¡°This person seems kind of familiar. I¡¯ve seen him on TV before.¡± Jiang Xiaowen touched her forehead, pointed at the middle-aged policeman, and said, ¡°He¡¯s the captain of the criminal police division. He has caught lots of bad guys!¡± Xiao Yu searched through the man¡¯s garments for a while before pulling a 92-type pistol with empty ammunition from his clothes, ¡°You were right; he¡¯s a policeman. When passing by here, they must have run out of bullets; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been caught that easily. Wake him up first, and we¡¯ll talk.¡± Wang Chao splashed some water on the faces of the passed-out people. The young cop was the first to get soaked by the cold water, his body shivered slightly, and his eyes slowly opened up. However, the first thing that met his eyes was a huge figure with slightly red skin. He thought it was some kind of monster again, and he got scared before letting out a cry. ¡°Wake up.¡± Wang Chao grabbed him by his collar with one hand, lifted up the fearful guy, and made him stand straight, ¡°Boss, what should we do now?¡± Xiao Yu stepped forward to look at the policeman and asked, ¡°Where are you from?¡± At this time, the middle-aged policeman also came to his senses. He was much calmer than the young guy. His eyes swept over the crowd and finally stopped on Xiao Yu, ¡°You¡­ are you human?¡± Wang Chao cursed loudly, ¡°What bullshit!¡± The young police officer showed ecstasy, ¡°Are you really human? Could it be that those green monsters all have been wiped out by you?! Fantastic, great! Captain Huang and I are the advance team sent by the XX police station to go out and find rescue. A group of my colleagues is trapped in the police station, and they are facing a horde of monsters; please¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have figured out the current situation yet.¡± Xiao Yu interrupted him and said word by word: ¡°There is no rescue!¡± The young policeman showed horror on his face, ¡°nonsense! There must be rescue; there must be!¡± At this time, the other two people also woke up, and probably because they were frightened, they started yelling as well. Only the middle-aged policeman remained calm. He looked at Xiao Yu, whose clothes were scorched black, and his skin was burned in many places, and then he glanced at the others, all of whom were wounded and dressed in rags. He went silent for a long while, and it took him a long time to cool down and say one sentence, ¡°My name is Huang Liming, the captain of the Police crime division. Are you also human beings who survived that disaster?¡± Without the veil of the bloody mist, her fiery seductive body was completely exposed in front of his eyes. Han Kexin realized that her entire body was still nude and quickly covered her breasts, but she could only hide a tiny bit. Then, seeing Xiao Yu looking straight at her, she suddenly smiled, moved her hands away, pushed her chest slightly forward, and spoke with a charming voice that could melt bones: ¡°What do you think? Does my body look good? You have seen everything, so you should take responsibility!¡± Her tone was brimming with coquettishness. Sure enough, her personality also began to shift toward that of the Bloody Queen! ¡°Your innate skill¡­¡± ¡°This trick is called blood sacrifice.¡± Han Kexin showed a charming smile, ¡°I can extract power from blood. This power can not only temporarily boost my physical strength, but it can also be used to heal wounds. It can even help me regenerate severed limbs. Of course, this healing power can be used on others as well, but its effect will be much worse. How is it, my powerful skill that is.¡± Xiao Yu sighed and replied sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s very strong!¡± If Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes of insight could keep him stay alive on a battlefield filled with bullets, then Han Kexin¡¯s ability could make her unbeatable on the battlefield altogether since she was practically immortal as long as there was blood nearby! Of course, there was a limit to strong abilities. After all, Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡± could not be used infinitely. But while he didn¡¯t know how often she could use it in a single day, he knew that the more her strength grew, the more she could use it. Han Kexin¡¯s potential was indeed limitless! After the flame goblin died, three balls of light floated up. And since Han Kexin didn¡¯t cause any direct harm to the goblin, all the energy was absorbed by Xiao Yu, as he clearly felt his power rapidly increasing and finally stopping at a critical juncture. He actually reached the peak elementary level. Just a little more, and he can advance into first order! Han Kexin removed the flame goblin¡¯s ragged robe and donned it on her body. Her figure looked very plump in those garments. A part of the chest area was cut open by Xiao Yu before, and now that she was wearing it, you could see the skin tone of her chest from that gap¡ªa lovely pink and white color. ¡°Xiao Yu, we struck it rich!¡± Han Kexin was a little excited, pointing at the two light balls on the ground and saying: ¡°Two items dropped.¡± Xiao Yu picked up one of the white light balls, the light gradually dissipated, and a red ring appeared in his hand, ¡°Blast Flame Ring, a medium white equipment, can release a ¡®Blast Flame¡¯ spell once, and after each use, the ring needs to absorb energy for forty-eight hours before it could be used again.¡± ¡°Medium white rank? Your bone blade is a medium gray rank weapon. Isn¡¯t this ring very powerful?¡± ¡°Indeed, there are different ranks of magic, and this blat flame one is second-rank, and its power cannot be underestimated. At this stage, there are almost no existences that can take a blow from a flame explosion and remain intact. This ring can be used for a long time. The only disadvantage is that it requires lots of energy, and its replenishing speed is too slow. We can only use the blast flame spell once every two days, and this period is way too long.¡± Han Kexin aimed at the other ball of light, ¡°Take a look at this one too!¡± Xiao Yu picked up the light ball, and the light gradually dissipated. There was a light red prismatic crystal the size of a thumb on his palm. Now he couldn¡¯t calm down anymore, and his face showed surprise, ¡°This¡­ this is a crystal of inheritance. This is a treasure that is hundreds of times more valuable than a single piece of equipment. It carries a special skill that can be learned through it.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t skills comprehended when we evolve? Can they really be learned that way?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°Innate skills are one kind. In truth, there are several types of skills and numerous methods for acquiring them. For example, crystals of inheritance carry skills of creatures that passed away, and if you fuse with those crystals, you can quickly master their power¡­ Let me see what¡¯s recorded in this one.¡± Xiao Yu closed his eyes, immersed himself in it for a moment, and thought carefully, ¡°Fire Missile! This skill is called Fire Missile. It¡¯s a first-rank type of magic.¡± Fire missile! Han Kexin looked at the flame goblin¡¯s body, ¡°Could it be its ability to throw fireballs!¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°The flame goblin dropped this crystal of inheritance, so obviously, the skill it bears should be one of the abilities it previously used. Also, this monster¡¯s abilities are rather straightforward, so it should be that one.¡± CH 22 Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°We are the students and teachers of the Fine Arts School; where are you from?¡± A young man with yellow hair interjected with a shout: ¡°Could you give me something to eat first? I haven¡¯t had anything for two days straight, and I¡¯m starving to death!¡± Xiao Yu mentioned behind him, and Jin Shi immediately put a fruit basket underneath their feet. All the people there showed surprise. Except for the middle-aged police officer named Huang Jianmin, everyone else seemed to have forgotten their fear and rushed to snatch a piece immediately. Gnawing on the fruits as if they hadn¡¯t eaten for a few lifetimes. Huang Jianmin didn¡¯t criticize their actions; instead, he just sighed and said: ¡°It turns out that you were students from Fine Arts Academy. Xiao Chen and I are police officers from the XX Police Station in the same city as you. These two were detained for some things at the time and sent out to join our team due to insufficient manpower. At that time, the streets near the police station were suddenly surrounded by a large number of monsters, and a group of us fought to death. We fled originally looking for rescue, but now the situation outside is really¡­ You were right; there will probably be no more rescue.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the advance team? Only two people?¡± Huang Jianmin shook his head and said: ¡°No, originally, there were more than forty people, but some of us were attacked by monsters and killed on the way. We managed to get here using our pistols, but the ammunition got exhausted in a short amount of time, so we were easily captured by a bunch of green monsters. Every day several people get dragged out by those monsters, and those who were dragged away never came back.¡± Hearing this, Xiao Yu realized that the pile of bones they found before should be the leftovers of those people. He nodded slightly and asked him a succession of questions: ¡°How many people are locked in the police station, where is it located, and how much time it takes to reach?¡± ¡°The earthquake caused all buildings to fall, resulting in several casualties. Some of us were killed in the monster¡¯s onslaught, but we gathered the two hundred survivors nearby. However, it has already been several days since then, and before we left, everyone got besieged by monsters. So now it¡¯s hard to say how many of them survived.¡± Huang Jianmin pondered for a moment and continued: ¡°The location of the police station is probably in the southwest direction, and it will take about five hours to reach there.¡± Hearing this, the young police officer Xiao Chen immediately stood up and said: ¡°Captain Huang, there are more than a hundred people in the station waiting for us to return. Most of our colleagues are killed. Now you are the spiritual pillar of everyone. Without your leadership now, how can we go back? The gangsters who escaped from the detention center will definitely cause trouble, so we must go back immediately!¡± The two young guys eating fruits gave the young police officer, Xiao Chen, a dirty look when he finished speaking. One of the two had dyed blond hair with several tattoos on his arms, while the other wore earrings and had a weird hairstyle. Obviously, they were the same type of people as those ¡°gangsters¡± Xiao Chen just mentioned. ¡°Our physical condition is very bad, not to mention the lack of weapons. So we can¡¯t go back in this state¡­.¡± Huang Jianmin was very calm and looked at Xiao Yu, ¡°What do you think?¡± As if he grasped a life-saving straw, Xiao Chen exclaimed, ¡°Yes, you have lots of people, and you also have weapons, so you must send us back to the police station.¡± Xiao Yu refused without hesitation: ¡°This is absolutely impossible. The station and our current shelter are in two different directions. Most of our people are injured, and their fighting power has declined. It will take us a period of time to recuperate and recover. Not to mention the distance to the police station is too far away, and it¡¯s also getting late now. Nobody knows what type of danger we¡¯ll face if we don¡¯t arrive before nightfall.¡± Xiao Chen¡¯s face turned red in an instant as he grabbed Xiao Yu and roared loudly: ¡°There are more than a hundred people over there, more than a hundred people that are surrounded by monsters. They have no food, no water; they can¡¯t even last for a few days; you have to go and help them out!¡± ¡°Please do not speak to me with an ordering tone. You should understand that no one can defend themselves in this world. And we have no obligation or ability to rescue those people.¡± Xiao Yu let him grab his collar and said calmly, ¡°I will not easily put my teammates in danger!¡± Huang Jianmin persuaded: ¡°Calm down, okay? This young friend isn¡¯t wrong at all. If it were me, I would do the same thing. It is irrational to put more people in danger in order to save others. A long-term rescue plan is needed!¡± The harsh reality left him utterly deflated as he replied back, ¡°Okay, alright, if you don¡¯t want to go, I¡¯ll go!¡± After he finished speaking, he turned around and ran outside the wooden house. Huang Jianmin gave the crowd an apologetic look, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Xiao Chen has a hot temper. In fact, there is one precise reason why he is in such a hurry. His fianc¨¦e is still at the police station, and they both have a very good relationship. If not for these unfortunate events that befell us, the two of them would¡¯ve married in two months. You are also young men and women so in this matter of young love you¡­ sigh, I hope you understand; I will go and bring him back.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll set off in about twenty minutes, so I advise you to catch up.¡± Xiao Yu responded lukewarmly, then turned around and addressed the others: ¡°Pack up your things, rest a little bit and restore your strength; also help bandage anyone with injuries; we are almost ready to depart. Also, It¡¯s getting late, make sure to hurry up; we don¡¯t have much time to waste.¡± Huang Jianmin thanked him and chased after Xiao Chen immediately. The dyed hair and earring hoodlums stayed with them. They weren¡¯t stupid, as they realized they would naturally have a better chance of surviving if they stuck with this large group of people. Everyone packed their belongings and brought the newly gathered weapons and food, preparing to retreat toward the underground cave. Now, tools, weapons, food, and the like could temporarily meet everyone¡¯s needs. As they were resting, Xiao Yu recovered from most of his injuries thanks to Han Kexin¡¯s treatment. The two hoodlums with dyed hair and earrings sat together, eyeing everyone with treacherous looks on their faces. Naturally, their eyes frequently fell on Jiang Xiaowen and Han Kexin, as well as other first-class beauties like Yunyun. ¡°Damn, I had no idea we¡¯d be able to escape and survive in this disaster! But in a shitty world like this, even if we remain alive, we have to worry about our survival all day long. I don¡¯t want to remain here even for a single day.¡± ¡°Some say good fortune will fall upon you if you survive a disaster.¡± The hoodlum with earrings swept his eyes over the crowd, ¡°Look, there aren¡¯t many people on this team, yet there are quite a few beauties around, and some of them are so attractive that even TV celebrities can¡¯t compare. We got lucky this time, and we shouldn¡¯t waste such an opportunity. Since we may die, why not have some fun first.¡± His friend with dyed hair nodded in agreement, ¡°The two girls with purple and pink hair, in particular, are truly out of this world. It¡¯s strange since their hair doesn¡¯t seem to be dyed; how could it be like this?¡± The guy with earrings responded: ¡°Be careful, though; the members of this group don¡¯t look to be easy to deal with.¡± At this time, Xiao Yu glanced sideways at the two of them. Although they were far away, he could still hear their conversation clearly, but he didn¡¯t give this much attention. Those two hoodlums were much weaker than goblin slaves, let alone Han Kexin or Jiang Xiaowen; even Yunyun¡¯s strength was far superior to theirs. They would be seeking their own death if they dared to try anything with the girls. These two were your typical hooligans. They were held in the detention center due to violence. They survived the earthquake at the beginning of the disaster, and they were fortunate to survive the monsters¡¯ onslaught. After exploring this world, they quickly got rid of their fear. However, they still had some lingering worries after escaping from death¡¯s door, and they didn¡¯t dare to be as brazen as they used to be; otherwise, based on their original temper, the two might not be this docile. Ten minutes passed before Huang Jianmin returned to the crowd with a slumped Xiao Chen. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Yu saw that everyone had recuperated, and he got up and started walking back toward the cave. Every time they entered the woods, it became a matter of life and death for them. Even someone as powerful as Xiao Yu could not ensure that he would return to the underground cave alive. The woodland was far too large. There are numerous creatures hunting for food in the deadly forest, as well as many beasts that roam around in an erratic manner. Death will come anytime while you are here, and the longer you stay, the more dangerous it will be. Xiao Yu originally led the crowd toward the goblin village because it was a gathering place for same-race monsters, making the surrounding environment relatively safer. Fighting here was easier since it was difficult to catch the attention of other kinds of monsters. Furthermore, the goblins¡¯ strength and intellect weren¡¯t that high, making it unquestionably one of the best options for honing and improving the humans¡¯ side strength. Xiao Yu and Han Kexin walked in front of the team, opening up the way, while Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and Jiang Xiaowen were in charge of guarding their rear. The party moved slowly towards the underground cave, retracing the same way they came from. The lush forests felt quiet, which was surely not a good omen. Everyone was tense, although there were a few people who remained oblivious. The hoodlum with the earrings walked for more than an hour as he gradually got used to the surrounding environment. When he saw Xiao Yu, the leader, walking far away in the front, he became more courageous and approached Jiang Xiaowen bit by bit. ¡°Little beauty, what¡¯s your name? Where are you from?¡± Jiang Xiaowen frowned but did not answer. The dyed hair guy was hesitating at first, but at the sight of his companion¡¯s actions, he walked over, not to be outdone, ¡°You¡¯re such a boorish guy, don¡¯t scare the little sister. Hey, don¡¯t be afraid, we just want to make friends. Now that it¡¯s dangerous everywhere, knowing a few more people may help you in the long run.¡± The dyed hair hoodlum¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t bad. He had good skin and was once loved by several young ladies. To him, changing girlfriends felt like changing clothes. Jiang Xiaowen was disgusted and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your help, thank you.¡± Dyed hair didn¡¯t feel discouraged at all; instead, he continued with a smile: ¡°Little sister, you are too wary. This is a different era, where we human beings are definitely doomed. We all live day by day, and maybe one day, we will also succumb to death in the end. Just think about it, many wonderful things in the world are left unenjoyed, so why not have it easy before you die, especially for a weak girl like you who will find it hard to survive in the future, though if we become friends, we¡¯ll try to protect you.¡± Jiang Xiaowen became a little angry, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, Xiao Yu will undoubtedly lead us to safety, and I don¡¯t need your protection!¡± The hoodlum with the earrings laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around.¡± Jiang Xiaowen glanced at the figure at the front of the group, ¡°He will, definitely.¡± ¡°Little sister, don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± When the second guy reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, a large arm gripped his wrist. In an instant, he felt as if large iron tongs were clamping him, and he nearly fainted from the pain. A giant bald-headed man standing two meters tall appeared in front of him, his forehead shining like a light bulb. ¡°Ah, what are you doing? Let go!¡± ¡°Hey, Jiang Xiaowen, for this kind of people, you only need to shut them up with your fists. Since you look so weak, if you don¡¯t act at all, others will think you¡¯re easy to bully.¡± Wang Chao also came over to their side, reached out, and patted stone¡¯s back, ¡°Stone, this guy is really treacherous; just break his flailing arms to help him remember what happened today.¡± The two hooligans were taken aback. Those two were far away before, yet they came to their side in the blink of an eye. What terrifying speed! Jin Shi nodded, ¡°Good idea.¡± Then, after speaking, he suddenly exerted some force on his hand. ¡°aah¨C!¡± The dyed hair guy let out a painful cry, and the sound startled everyone immediately, but at the moment of the scream, something else was alarmed, and there was a faint strange noise in the surroundings. Although weak, the sound couldn¡¯t hide from a seasoned hunter like Xiao Yu. He felt a sense of crisis looming almost instantly, his eyes grew blood red, and just then, he spotted a green shadow flashing by in the forest at an astonishing rate. Even his eyes could not perceive the entire thing. That speed¡­ was too fast! ¡°Danger! Everyone get down!¡± CH 23 A green shadow materialized from behind numerous trees as it ran to the frontmost of the crowd at lightning speed, making no sound of breaking through the air in the process. Most people reacted promptly to Xiao Yu¡¯s warning, but the rest were stunned for a few seconds and did not fall down in time. Everyone felt a strong gust of wind before a student¡¯s head, who was a bit late to respond, got slowly detached from his body like a dead leaf falling from a tree. When the head hit the ground, his eyes remained wide open, as though he couldn¡¯t believe this was happening until he took his last breaths. Everyone there felt chills at that sight; the person who was healthy and full of energy only moments ago was beheaded in an instant. They didn¡¯t even get to see the attacker¡¯s appearance clearly. At this time, there was a brisk sound of ¡°bang!¡±, and with that momentum, the monster carried on its charge before it hit the trunk of a large tree not far away. From the direction of the sound, a weird-looking creature was facing the big tree. It had a strange appearance; its body was green all over and similar to a monkey, only lacking a tail; its knee bone was sickle-shaped, similar to that of a praying mantis, and colored in dark green. It also had a bird¡¯s beak and greenish-gray bat-like wings. Its body size was about the same as that of an eleven or twelve-year-old child, with a pair of sickle-like arm blades that were somewhat disproportionately long, though the edges looked quite sharp. At this moment, the monster lying on the big tree was surrounded by several people, while its pair of sharp arm blades were inserted into the tree trunk, and so its back was facing everyone there, but then its head turned 180 degrees, peering at them before it let out a peculiar screech. Xiao Yu¡¯s face changed, ¡°Shit! This is the saber-armed beast; it¡¯s very fast. Everyone be careful¡­¡± Before he could finish his words, the saber-armed beast jumped down from the big tree with its wings folded, flying away like a bullet. Wang Chao reacted first as he let out a beast-like roar. His eye sockets became scarlet, and his skin turned red instantly. A steam of rage burst out, and he swung his giant wheel-like axe with both hands and slammed it hard at the saber-armed beast. Hoo hoo! After going berserk, his strength has been greatly enhanced, and the giant battle axe created a violent wind, blowing leaves and toppling the bushes nearby. The speed of the Saber Armed Beast was faster than he had imagined. Almost the moment he raised the axe, it flew past him. Wang Chao¡¯s cognitive abilities had deteriorated due to his berserk skill, but in exchange, he developed a beast-like intuition, and the moment his attack failed, he felt a sense of danger around before he twisted his body out of harm¡¯s reach. Still, he couldn¡¯t avoid it all as the sharp blade managed to slash across his shoulder. A deep wound was left behind, and his blood spattered. ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s so fucking fast!¡± Wang Chao¡¯s voice sounded like a wild beast¡¯s howl, but in his berserk state, he lost all sense of pain, and he didn¡¯t hesitate for a second as he instantly lifted up his battle axe to attack again. The saber-armed beast jumped up, dodged the axe blade, and rushed toward Jiang Xiaowen. At this time, Jin Shi, standing beside her, rushed forward. Partial Rock formation! Jin Shi lifted his right arm before it doubled in size and gradually transformed into hard rock. The massive fist struck down, causing the whole ground to shake. The beast was still able to evade, and its sickle-shaped blade left a fracture in Wang Shi¡¯s arm, but it didn¡¯t hurt him much. Jin Shi waved his backhand, and the Saber Armed Beast was hurled away, its pair of short grey wings spread out as it came to a standstill in midair. At that moment, the hoodlum with the earrings gaped in shock as a sharp blade cut through his mouth immediately. ¡°Go to hell!¡± With a roar, Jin shi waved his enormous arm and hammered it again. Though it didn¡¯t harm the beast, the attack did keep it from assaulting Jiang Xiaowen once again. Taking advantage of this opening, she used her ability and, with a gentle shout, spread out her magnificent butterfly wings and rapidly withdrew backward. ¡°squeak¨C!¡± The Saber Armed Beast chased after her with its feet barely touching the ground. At this time, Xiao Yu held the bone blade and rushed forward like lightning, and the two shadows, both reaching extreme speed, collided head-on! Boom! Xiao Yu¡¯s speed was slightly slower than that of the Saber-Armed Beast, but his overwhelming force sent it flying as it fell deeper into the forest. The beast rolled over and leaped up, sprinting up to a large tree next to it in two or three strides. It had only been a few seconds after the beast appeared till now, and everyone had already reacted. Several people with bows and arrows instantly pulled their bows and fired at it, but the speed of such slow makeshift weapons could hardly threaten it. Xiao Yu ran quickly, stepping straight through several tree trunks at 90 degrees with both his feet, raced forward and slashed at its face, and the beast could only dodge awkwardly. Xiao Yu trailed behind it like a shadow, and the two nimble shadows moved and fought between the trees, causing the people below to watch the branches and leaves falling continuously, but they couldn¡¯t interfere in the battle at all. Puchi! Xiao Yu¡¯s strength was not much different from that of the Saber Armed Beast, but with his ¡°eyes of insight¡±, it was nearly impossible for him to lose in a close combat battle against an opponent of the same level. After a few moves, He ripped open the beast¡¯s belly with a single wave of his blade, releasing a vast number of internal organs, then hacked off the monster¡¯s neck with a lightning-fast backhand strike and knocked its body off the tree with one kick. ¡°Are they even human beings?¡± Huang Jianmin opened his eyes wide, looking at Jiang Xiaowen, who was hovering at a low altitude, Jin Shi, who had a massive rocky arm, Wang Chao, who had red skin, hair sticking up, and a ferocious expression on his face, and lastly, Xiao Yu, who slayed the terrifying monster with a few blade strikes. When the body of the Saber-Armed Beast fell to the ground, Xiao Yu also landed in front of everyone and shouted loudly: ¡°run, saber-armed beasts live in herds!¡± Everyone turned pale when they heard his words. It was already difficult to deal with one on its own; a swarm of the same species was a disaster for them. When Han Kexin cast her eyes on the woods, she saw several shadows difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, ¡°It¡¯s too late; everyone steps back. They are already upon us, lots of them!¡± As soon as her words fell, seven to eight green shadows sprang out from behind the large green forest and landed one after another on several big trees nearby. A sharp squeaking sound echoed out in their surroundings, and the monsters all paused for a moment and immediately attacked. Xiao Yu gripped his bone blade and shouted loudly: ¡°Block them!¡± The crowd gathered together back to back, pulled out their weapons, and resisted furiously; the four of their experts, including Han Kexin, stood at all four different corners while Xiao Yu fought everywhere, repelling one beast after another. Holding a huge shield in his left hand, Jin Shi blocked the attack of a saber-armed beast, and his rocky right arm directly sent it flying. Jiang Xiaowen took two steps forward, jumped ahead, and spread her wings. Flying a few meters above the ground, she pierced one with her short spear, swung her hands, and the saber-armed beast got thrown to the ground. Han Kexin immediately rushed forward and reached for the injured saber-armed beast with one hand. ¡°Blood Sacrifice!¡± Blood gushed out from the wound quickly, and Han Kexin sucked it all up in a blink of an eye, and this peculiar beast completely turned into a mummified corpse before dying. A grayish object appeared around the body, which was obviously a piece of equipment. Han Kexin was overjoyed and immediately went for the light ball. At this time, another beast charged over, and before she could react, her short spear was broken with a single slash. Han Kexin hurriedly retreated toward the crowd. The Saber Armed beast chased her and was about to slash at her with its sickle-like blade, but just as it jumped up, it was shot down by a swift arrow flying from the middle of the group, and Yun Yun immediately took this opportunity to stab the falling monster with her own spear. The people around it did not waste this chance, as various weapons got thrown at it. A huge ball of energy flew out in dozens of strands and was quickly absorbed by the crowd. Their strength suddenly gained a significant boost. ¡°squeak!¡± Just then, one saber-armed beast charged from behind, piercing a guy¡¯s chest with its sharp blade. Then, however, the beast¡¯s silhouette flashed, and it rapidly retreated, carrying the man on its back. ¡°Help, I don¡¯t want to die; I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± Before he could finish his words, the sound of flesh being sliced resonated in everyone¡¯s ears. Several creatures rushed out, their razor blades severing the victim into dozens of pieces. ¡°Dapeng¡ª!¡± A delicate girl screamed with heartache. Although she knew it was too late, she subconsciously took a few steps away from the team, and before the others could stop her, a saber-armed beast nearby attacked her from the side. One of her friends immediately grabbed her clothes from behind, trying to drag her back. But the sickle-like sharp blade cut deeply into her white neck. Although she avoided the fate of being beheaded, she still received a huge fatal wound. When the girl was dragged back, her head almost fell completely into the person¡¯s arms, and a huge and hideous incision appeared on her neck. Almost a third of her neck was cut open, and bright red blood sprayed out, splashing the person¡¯s face all over. With such an injury, there was no doubt that she would die. The girl¡¯s originally beautiful face was already stained red with blood, and her limbs were twitching. Distraught, Jiang Xiaowen rushed to support her body. She held her friend¡¯s hands tightly and couldn¡¯t help but shed tears from her eyes, ¡°Xu Jing! How could you do this? Didn¡¯t we promise to leave this forest together?¡± Xu Jing¡¯s main artery and vocal cords were severed, and she could not make any sound. Her consciousness faded gradually, and she took a long last look at Jiang Xiaowen. There wasn¡¯t much pain in her eyes, but instead, there was a hint of some comfort at the sight of her friend and also a sense of relief as if she was relieved from a heavy burden. She probably felt really tired from all of this. It was also a source of fulfillment for her to be able to die with the one she loved. Then finally, her pupils dilated, and her vision dimmed before she passed away. The girls had a long chat two days earlier, supporting each other as they imagined a hopeful and beautiful life together. She couldn¡¯t accept it at all. This bloody body in front of her was her dearest friend, who had been with her for several years, her best friend! Xu Jing died; she actually died here. Sadness, misery, and grief broke the girl¡¯s, fragile heart. ¡°Damn monster, I¡¯ll fight you to death!¡± She cried, intending to rush forward to avenge her friend, but just then, a large, bloodied hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her away with great force, and without stopping, swung a long grey blade up, deflecting a sneak attack by another saber armed beast. Xiao Yu appeared beside her, his long sword coated in blood, he had already slain two saber-armed beasts, and he had a nasty wound on his right arm and chest. ¡°Dead, Xu Jing is dead¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen was devastated, her countenance all numb, but when she saw those deep yet bright red eyes, her delicate body trembled slightly, and her eyes regained part of their clarity. Xiao Yu said in his usual flat tone, ¡°If you care for her, then continue on for her sake.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and her heart was covered with dark emotions. She looked around at the monsters who were injuring and beating back her friends, and her tear-stained tender face was quickly covered with a layer of murderous rage. Finally, she let out a piercing wail, ¡°Live¡­I will live on!¡± A gust of wind blew out from her beautiful wings, and there were countless tiny light particles in the wind, falling down like dandelions and slowly covering those creatures. Immediately afterward, several saber-armed beasts got enveloped, and their bodies swayed back and forth. Xiao Yu supported Jiang Xiaowen, who fainted instantly due to the overuse of her skill, ¡°don¡¯t attack, there are too many, retreat immediately!¡± CH 24 ¡°You go first.¡± Xiao Yu handed the unconscious Jiang Xiaowen to Han Kexin, ¡°Hurry up and take her to a safe place.¡± Without hesitation, everyone fled along the same route. While Xiao Yu, Wang Chao, and Jin Shi were responsible for blocking the rest of the monsters who were less affected by Xiaowen¡¯s skill. Wang Chao span with the huge battle axe in his hands as it let out a series of violent wind sounds. As a result, the saber-armed beasts nearby did not dare to approach easily. Jin shi¡¯s right hand quickly turned into rock, and he held a huge shield in his left hand, resisting the attacks of multiple beasts by himself. The saber-armed beast was a peak elementary-level monster. It was tough to deal with if you were on your own, and so as the two of them complemented each other with one attacking and the other defending, they could barely resist one or two monsters with their cooperation. Finally, Xiao Yu forced some of the injured monsters to flee, and the three of them retreated when the others had run far enough. Saber-armed monsters were more threatening inside the forest, and they just wandered around, as they had no sense of territory, relying on their agility and ferocious nature to roam and hunt in the woods. In addition, they were creatures that lived in groups, ranging from as few as five or six to hundreds or perhaps a few hundreds. When this huge number of monsters approached, it would feel like locusts were crossing the border; even first and second-order monsters would have to avoid them temporarily. This bunch of saber-armed beasts numbered around fifteen. If Xiao Yu was in his best condition and Han Kexin and the others wholeheartedly assisted him, they could barely deal with the monsters, though at least half of the others would die. And so, it was not a rational decision to fight it out, especially now that Xiao Yu¡¯s body was covered in scars while his usage of the ¡®eyes of insight¡¯ was nearing its limit. Fortunately for them, the monsters¡¯ assault just now was mainly to obtain prey; they did not just kill for the sake of killing as some other creatures do. Therefore they will not pursue their prey as aggressively. Especially after killing four individuals, the monsters were too hungry to give up the prey they had just slain just to chase the others. Everyone escaped as smoothly thanks to the monsters¡¯ hunting practices, and the crisis was finally resolved, while the over twenty people had already run more than ten miles away. Wang Chao released his berserk state and sat down, panting. He had almost a dozen scratches on his body, many of which were potentially fatal. Jin Shi had several injuries as well, but his situation was much better. ¡°Blood Sacrifice!¡± Han Kexin inserted her hand into the body of a sika deer the others had hunted, sucking out all of its blood in an instant. Countless blood particles surrounded her, forming a red mist. When she drew her white hand, the blood covered Wang Chao and penetrated into the wound on his body. The gaping wounds were gradually closing, and alhough they did not completely heal, they did stop bleeding, at least. Xiao Yu supported Han Kexin, who was standing unsteadily, ¡°This is enough, don¡¯t force yourself; you are also at your limit.¡± Han Kexin asked: ¡°In the battle just now, we lost four more people. There are probably some saber-armed beasts on the path toward the cave. What should we do now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already getting late, and we don¡¯t have any other choice.¡± Xiao Yu turned around and said, ¡°Captain Huang, how far are we from the police station? To avoid those creatures, we can only go there first.¡± When the policeman surnamed Chen heard this, he became overjoyed. After the battle just now, he and Huang Jianmin thoroughly understood the fighting power of this group of people. The weakest among them was probably several times stronger than ordinary people, and the strength of the four individuals, including Han Kexin, with their unusual special techniques, was even more powerful than that. As for Xiao Yu, his ability was certainly very strong, although he could not gauge what it was; even so, it can be inferred that this person¡¯s strength was significantly greater than the other four. He was the strongest of them all, so it came as no surprise that he could become their leader. This is simply a group of monster-like people! Huang Jianmin thought before he started identifying their position. He then pointed in a certain direction and said, ¡°If we take this route, it will take us about three to four hours.¡± Han Kexin frowned and said: ¡°There are lots of people waiting for us in the cave; if we don¡¯t go back in time¡­¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and replied, ¡°We simply have no choice. The battle just now made too much noise, and some nearby monsters will definitely get attracted to this place. That area is no longer safe. Even if we take a detour and connect with the original road, we¡¯ll still be in danger. We can only try to find a relatively safer place to hide for now, as to let everyone rest. Also, there must be some firearms and ammunition in the police station, which can help us repel most monsters. Don¡¯t worry; the cave has enough food to last them for several days. I also believe in Du Tao¡¯s abilities to control the situation.¡± Han Kexin sighed, ¡°This seems to be our only option.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t much time to waste; let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Yu sliced off the two deer legs and a few chunks of deer meat with a kitchen knife and placed them in the space ring. Then, he carried Jiang Xiaowen, who was still in a coma on his back. After resting for a while and recovering their stamina, they immediately set off in the direction of the police station. Right now, they had to race against time since the wilderness was scariest underneath the darkness of the night. Because if they delayed till nighttime, there would be countless creatures haunting them, creatures even more terrifying than saber-armed beasts. There wasn¡¯t much water or food left as the thirsty, tired, and weary individuals trekked through this super gloomy wilderness. Moreover, several people¡¯s wounds have been suppurated, making them feel dizzy and weak. If this situation persists, their conditions will deteriorate rapidly. However, that was nothing compared to what he was most worried about, which was getting lost! Though it still happened. In the beginning, everyone was still moving in the right direction, but as time passed and dusk gradually fell, the surrounding fields slowly dimmed. At this time, it was not that easy to judge their direction. It was a challenging procedure to go through the forest, to begin with, and oftentimes, because of some impassable obstacles or dangerous creatures, you get forced to change your route, and the more you change it, the more unfamiliar the forest gets. Gradually Huang Jianmin started to suspect that something was wrong. The night was like a shadow that lingered and confused everyone¡¯s hearts. The roars of unknown beasts have been dimly echoing in people¡¯s ears, making them feel extremely nervous. Han Kexin was already sweating hard, with a few strands of pink hair contracted by sweat on her forehead. Her pale face was bloodless, and her whole body was covered in dead leaves and scattered twigs. There was a green spear-like weapon in her hand, approximately seven feet long, relatively thin, and shaped like a green bamboo. It had some aesthetic appeal to it; however, the tip was incredibly sharp, indicating that it was a deadly weapon made especially for battle. It was the reward she got after slaying a saber-armed beast. Xiao Yu found a low-lying safe area and spoke, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon. We can¡¯t get to the police station in time, so it¡¯s better to find a safe place to hide for now. This place is not bad; we¡¯ll spend the night here first. You all fill your stomach and get enough rest.¡± At this time, everyone was exhausted, and no one raised any objections. Xiao Yu and Wang Chao cut down several big trees and laid them around the low-lying land as a screen for cover. Then they started a bonfire. They used a few broken pots previously found in the Goblin village to fill water, put a few pieces of sliced ??deer meat, sprinkled a handful of salt, added some non-toxic fungi and wild vegetables, and then brought everything to boil directly above the fire. Xiao Yu deliberately went off to the woods and found a plant with huge leaves. This was a perennial plant, similar to Plantago, but with larger and stronger leaves that can be cut off with a sharp knife and stacked into small containers which can be used as bowls for the meat soup. This was already a rare delicacy in this cruel and wild world. With the smell, it didn¡¯t take long for Jiang Xiaowen to wake up as well. ¡°Are you awake?¡± Han Kexin, who was taking care of Jiang Xiaowen, helped her up by supporting her back, ¡°Drink some soup so that your physical strength can recover faster; it¡¯s a bit cold at night; drink some to get a little warmer.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was very weak and obediently drank a few sips of soup. The taste was light and a bit fishy, ??but it was not bad. She leaned on Han Kexin, her voice hoarse: ¡°Is it dark already? Teacher Han, why are we still in the forest? Where¡¯s Xiao Yu? Why can¡¯t I see him?¡± Han Kexin pointed to Xiao Yu, who was making the soup, ¡°He¡¯s there. Don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ll be fine. You¡¯ve overused your skill today, and your spiritual power has been largely consumed. You must take a good rest to recover.¡± When Jiang Xiaowen saw Xiao Yu, she felt a little safer. Just then, Han Kexin¡¯s voice came to her ears again. ¡°Xiaowen, I have something for you.¡± ¡°Ah, this is¡­¡± Han Kexin handed a long green bamboo-like spear to Jiang Xiaowen, ¡°This is a medium gray weapon. It is on the same level as Xiao Yu¡¯s withered bone knife. You have the advantage of flying, and you¡¯re much faster than me. This weapon should be more valuable in your hands.¡± Jiang Xiaowen shook her head, ¡°No, how can I take it?¡± Han Kexin stretched out her right hand, showing a red ring on her slender white finger, ¡°I have this. This is a white weapon. It is very powerful, and it is enough for me.¡± Xiao Yu put the last batch of meat soup into a bowl made of folded leaves and distributed it to everyone. He picked dozens of huge green leaves and returned with them to the low area. Then he took out some candies and chocolates from his space ring and distributed them to everyone. These snacks were high-calorie delicacies that could restore bodily strength rapidly. The green leaves helped cover everybody¡¯s scent, which could only hide them from a small number of night hunters, but most monsters with heat sensor organs or extremely sensitive sense of smell could still find them. Nonetheless, that was all he could do, and their fate was now in the hands of God. Maybe nothing wrong will occur overnight, and they will see the dawn of the next day again and, luckily, survive. And perhaps after this night passes, the people here will all turn into cold corpses and be buried inside monsters¡¯ bellies. Anything could happen¡­¡­ When the night totally engulfed all the land, there were bursts of insects in the surrounding woods, and there appeared to be a few monsters fighting in an unknown location in the distance, with a distinctly audible roar echoing throughout the forest. The twenty or so individuals sheltering in the low area were covered in thick and huge leaves, yet they couldn¡¯t sleep no matter what. Policeman Xiao Chen tightly held a beautiful heart-shaped crystal necklace, looking at the night sky through the gaps between the dense sticks and leaves. Huang Jianmin was resting next to him but couldn¡¯t sleep as the faint moonlight shone on an object in his hands, a somewhat damaged photo of a charming cute boy who was only six or seven years old and smiling¡ªit was his only son. Jin Shi, who was slightly injured, as well as other relatively healthy individuals, were all in charge of the night watch. They dared not to be careless, and their nerves were always tense. Even the slightest disturbance made them nervous. Fortunately for everyone, the night seemed to pass peacefully. CH 25 Seconds and minutes passed by, and eventually, the surrounding forest fell silent. Deeper into the night, the exhausted people finally began to fall asleep slowly due to the piled-up fatigue. Holding a huge round shield, Jin Shi was lying on his side behind a big tree trunk that fell sideways. It was already midnight, which was supposed to be Xiao Yu¡¯s time to keep watch, but he didn¡¯t go wake him just yet, and in fact, he didn¡¯t want to. Jin Shi knew very well that Xiao Yu was definitely the most injured and the most tired one amongst them. He needed to rest now since no one else could lead this bunch of people out of the wilderness but him. Beside him, five other people were responsible for the night watch, and four of them already fell asleep as they couldn¡¯t keep up, but Jin Shi didn¡¯t blame them, and he just let them rest. He was still holding into the big shield, and he tried harder to perk up, listening to the movement around him with bated breath, not daring to slack off in the slightest. The forest shrouded in darkness felt a bit cold. The full moon hung high in the dark sky, casting a dim frigid glow and bringing a thin coating of light with it. The trees and leaves slowly swayed with the wind while the ground got mottled with a light shade. Watching all of that, Jin Shi¡¯s consciousness began to wobble slightly before he realized it, and then he instantly pinched his legs hard to keep himself awake. At this time, the second-night watchman who was seated next to him gently rose up from his kneeling position, habitually stuck his head out, and took a few glances outside to see if anything was amiss, but this time just as he pushed his head out, he was greeted with a weird scene. And without warning! Puchi! A thorny pink rope-like object shot straight through his eye socket, blood burst out, and with a huge penetrating force, the attack made a small hole in the back of his head. The unlucky man couldn¡¯t even scream; he convulsed a few times and then fell silent. Jin Shi, who was half lying on the bottom, just happened to see the scene where his teammate¡¯s head got pierced, as red and white matter flew all over the surroundings. The thick blood even splashed over his face, and the warm liquid full of bloody smell instantly dispelled his drowsiness. His eyes widened, and he let out a loud roar. ¡°monsters¡ª!¡± A horde of hideous monsters appeared upon them; they were a swarm of grey lizards the size of wolves. One of the lizards spit out a two-meter-long pink tongue laced with thorns, piercing the man¡¯s eye socket and immediately breaking his skull. Choochoo! At the exact moment when Jin shi alarmed everyone with his roar, the monster¡¯s tongue suddenly contracted and brought the lifeless corpse over to its side. The massive reptile opened its jaws wide, showing a mouth full of teeth, as it smashed the whole skull with a single bite. Several lizards around also quickly surrounded the copse, desperately grabbing for its organs. Jin shi¡¯s thundering shout had already exploded within the woods, and everyone awoke and stood promptly upon hearing his voice. They then hurriedly picked up their weapons, taking a defensive stance. Jin Shi slid over, leaped, and stepped with both feet on the fallen tree trunk. At that moment, he merely saw a blur in front of his eyes when two long shadows flashed toward him like lightning. Jinshi reacted in time, doubled his goblin shield in size, and blocked the two spurting tongues; then, he roared and jumped toward the lizards. When they saw him, those monsters panicked and attempted to flee. However, his rocky right arm landed firmly on one grey lizard, pushing it down and causing the earth to quake. A depression was formed in the muddy ground, and the monster¡¯s internal organs were all squeezed out. ¡°They¡¯re not that powerful!¡± Jin Shi was relieved, but when the following sight came before his eyes, the glimmer of hope that flashed in his heart instantly vanished. Countless red orbs emerged slowly in front of him in this pitch-black forest; he tried to count them but couldn¡¯t, one pair, two pairs, ten pairs, one hundred pairs¡­ and in the blink of an eye, thousands of pairs of red eyes lit up in batches, covering the whole space around them. Just looking at such a scene made him break out in cold sweat. The rest all armed themselves with short spears and wooden shields and were prepared for battle, but when they also saw the surrounding situation clearly, they were all stunned; some gasped and gulped as they felt a sense of despair. With such a large number, how do we even fight? ¡°Fatty, stone, help me build obstacles.¡± Xiao Yu picked up a huge tree trunk more than twenty meters long that could only be carried by two people and swept it around, sending several lizards flying. Han Kexin¡¯s voice sounded beside him, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t defend; let¡¯s kill them!¡± ¡°There are too many, and there is no way for us to break through, so we have to hold them in place.¡± Xiao Yu waved the huge tree trunk and retreated quickly, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, these lizards are just large in number, they are not difficult to deal with, just block them, don¡¯t let them approach!¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi swiftly retreated. They each grabbed up a large log over twenty meters long, swung it several times, and smacked the lizard, trying to approach them. Then, the three of them spread out in a triangle shape before placing the large trees as obstacles; the others stood in the middle of the triangle back to back. Xiao Yu scrutinized the lizards coming from all directions like a tide and ordered loudly: ¡°make two circles, the inner circle kneel down and hold your spears, the outer circle, Hold on to your shields!¡± Han Kexin quickly gave out instructions: ¡°they will come soon! Everyone do as Xiao Yu said, hurry up! Wang Chao, Jin Shi, you two come back, Xiaowen, you stand inside.¡± Under the organization of Han Kexin, the crowd quickly divided into two groups. The first group formed a circle and stood behind the broken logs holding wooden shields, while the second group of people stood inside the circle, squatting down with their spears, and the triangle-shaped broken logs surrounded everyone there. More than twenty people with wooden shields and spears formed an iron-like defense. Xiao Yu, Wang Chao, and Jin Shi each stood in a corner. Hundreds of lizards emerged from all directions, surrounding the crowd, but they did not choose to attack directly. Instead, they circled around the triangular-shaped small army as if looking for the best breakpoint; however, the defense of the bunch of people in front of them was very tight, as everyone huddled behind their wooden shields. ¡°Hiss!¡± More than a dozen lizards couldn¡¯t take it any longer and charged up first, spewing out their long tongues with a mighty piercing power in midair. A few muffled sounds were heard, but the attacks were successfully repelled, and sharp short spears blasted out from the gaps in the barrier, quickly piercing through those creatures. These gray lizards were considered powerful monsters. Their individual strength was several times stronger than that of goblin slaves. Though they were not elementary-level creatures, they were numerous, cunning, organized, and much more difficult to deal with. One lizard let out a furious roar and came to a halt. Hundreds of grey lizards that did not retreat despite the difficulties also came to a standstill. It was the calm before the storm¡­ The immediate still atmosphere felt suffocating. Hundreds of lizards lined up neatly, their crimson eyes fixated on the twenty human beings in front of them, while their long tails twisting and slapping the ground frequently, ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang! ¡°The crisp and dull bangs shook off a huge batch of dead leaves, and the noise sounded terrible, like the beating of a war drum. Jin Shi asked, ¡°Fuck, what does this mean? What are they doing?¡± Xiao Yu said calmly: ¡°They want to overwhelm us in terms of momentum, intending to make us collapse before the fight or have a loophole in our defense so that they can take advantage of it.¡± Wang Chao yelled, ¡°These motherfuckers, they¡¯re actually using tactics!¡± Hundreds of grey lizards the size of wolves flicked their tails and slapped the ground, producing repetitive and dull noises, yet the group of more than twenty humans stood still. Finally, the lizard leader grew agitated, and the sound of its tail smacking the ground shifted from slow and rhythmic to rapid and chaotic. Holding the bone blade in one hand, Xiao Yu informed everyone: ¡°Get ready; they are preparing to attack!¡± ¡°hiss¨C!¡± The grey lizards that had stopped moving forward rushed in like a wave, and the enormous charge engulfed the wooden barrier, producing a harsh, loud noise upon impact. Still, none of the individuals present were ordinary, and their power was greater than that of ordinary people. Moreover, they were several times stronger than before, so they could barely withstand the onslaught. Then once again, several short spears stabbed from the gaps in the shield barrier, puncturing and killing a dozen gray lizards at once. All the gray lizards that were stabbed to death were immediately dragged back by their companions as they started eating them, and then seven or eight of the same kind surrounded them, gnawing the corpses to pieces in the blink of an eye. When she saw this scene, Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback, ¡°They¡¯re actually eating their own kind!¡± Xiao Yu replied loudly: ¡°It¡¯s normal. This kind of reptile has a very strong reproductive ability. Dozens of lizards can multiply to thousands in just a few years. This strong reproductive ability leads to cruel competitiveness within their species. Weak, seriously injured, or even dead lizards will be devoured by stronger ones with no remorse. They won¡¯t stop hunting until they¡¯re all full, so we must continue to defend. When the majority of them are full, they will naturally retreat; only then will we be safe!¡± Han Kexin: ¡°What a terrifying race!¡± Xiao Yu said lightly: ¡°No, everything is done for survival!¡± A dozen or so others submerged in the turbulent lizard swarm in a blink of an eye, and even the dregs were gone. The lizard swarm relaunched a fierce attack, and dozens of hundreds of lizards rushed forward bravely. The wooden barrier shook violently as a result of the huge impact. While bolt-like tongues, which were as fast as bullets, struck the shields repeatedly, some of them breached the gaps between the wooden shields to strike the people within. Han Kexin pierced a lizard with her short goblin spear and immediately drained it dry with ¡®blood sacrifice¡¯. A mysterious bloody mist covered the surroundings, allowing the wounds of several people to heal quickly. The lizards that were stabbed after failing their attacks were immediately dragged and captured by their own kind. Some of them were still wailing in agony, but their companions didn¡¯t care; they viciously gnawed on the injured weaklings as a ¡°click¡± sound resounded in everybody¡¯s ears, which was the sound of bones being crushed. CH 26 The creatures launched another vicious assault, and the crazy grey lizards smashed the wooden shield furiously as their dreadful hissing sound resonated across the forest. They were like a troop of soldiers marching forth one after the other, undeterred by death. ¡°spears!¡± Xiao Yu observed the interval between the lizards¡¯ attacks and judged the best time to counter them. Then, under his command, a row of short spears pierced through the bodies of a dozen lizards. These lizards had been gravely hurt, and almost immediately, others of their kind bit their tails from behind and pulled them back before a new batch rushed up. The number of dead monsters increased, and more and more lizards got devoured by their comrades as time went by, but their aggression had not weakened at all: instead, it had grown even stronger. On the humans¡¯ side, though, everyone¡¯s physical strength was being rapidly consumed. A student shouted with difficulty: ¡°I can¡¯t hold on anymore!¡± ¡°I¡¯m exhausted too!¡± In the end, during this collision, the police officer surnamed Chen could not withstand the force of the impact. He was weak and couldn¡¯t endure the continuous bombardment, before his wooden shield got shattered, and a lethal tongue stabbed deep into his chest. Xiao Chen showed a look of horror while blood flowed out from both his nose and mouth, he threw away the wooden shield and short spear and grabbed the tongue full of thorns trying to pull it out. Still, before he had time to exert any force, the tongue contracted, shrinking and pulling him over, and multiple lizards immediately jumped upon him. Huang Jianmin shouted angrily: ¡°Xiao Chen, no!¡± When Xiao Chen was hauled out, a gap appeared in their defense. Seeing this, everyone hurriedly wanted to make amends, but it was already too late, and instead, they exposed more flaws in their panic. Unfortunately, the gray lizards didn¡¯t give up on this opportunity; they gathered quickly and charged toward the gap. At this critical moment, a voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Miss Han, quickly use your blast flame ring!¡± Han Kexin didn¡¯t hesitate when she heard that voice, and she immediately raised her hand as the explosive red light started blooming from the blast flame ring. The air seemed to heat up in an instant, and countless tiny red light spots materialized out of thin air before a magical force began pulling them together into In Han Kexin¡¯s palm. In less than three seconds, the red light spots condensed together to form an orange-red fireball the size of a football, which slowly compressed and constricted until it became only the size of a fist. Thumb-sized bumps emerged on the surface of the fireball, which emitted a significant amount of light and heat, making it look very unstable. ¡°go!¡± With a command from her mind, the irregularly shaped crimson fireball roared and flew out, tearing up the darkness and leaving behind a red parabola of light before landing in the middle of that group of charging lizards. Amidst the earth-shattering boom, everyone was shocked and felt their ears ring. The blazing fire burst forth a bunch of light and heat in an instant, and that small patch of the forest illuminated like it was daytime instead. The explosion left behind a five-meter-diameter deep pit. Dozens of grey lizards in that area were annihilated by the blast of flames and shock waves, and dozens more were injured. The majority of them were sent flying after suffering varying degrees of damage. The strong wind, mixed with the hot air, rolled in while everyone¡¯s ears were still buzzing, and they didn¡¯t know how to react. Except for Xiao Yu, who already expected this level of power, everybody else opened their eyes wide, and their faces were full of shock. Even the creator of this piece of work, Han Kexin, never imagined that the destructive power of this small ring on her hand was three points higher than that of a rocket launcher; different types of emotions filled her heart. She was shocked, as she thought tremblingly: ¡°Xiao Yu didn¡¯t use such a powerful ring, but gave it to me to defend myself¡­ Does this mean he cares about me?¡± After releasing all that power, the blast flame ring lost its luster and quickly dimmed down, as it became no different from an ordinary ring. It required two days¡¯ worth of energy to be absorbed before it could be used again. This was the only flaw in magic items. Although their power was incredible, the interval between each use was far too long. When the after-effects of the explosions subsided, there was a brief silence before the lizard bunch erupted once again, frantically biting their injured and dead companions, and the situation became chaotic. Seeing this, Xiao Yu raised his long blade and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s time to attack. Everyone follow me!¡± Several lizards charged toward him at the same time, then he leaped out like a cheetah, his blade flashed in the air, and all of those lizards shrieked in pain. They were all chopped in half when they landed. However, when the monsters discovered this lone human being, they got more excited and violent, and as if their vitality had been replenished, they attacked him one after the other. Under the constant attacks, even Xiao Yu felt great pressure. Jinshi roared and rushed out while holding a large shield in his left hand. His other hand got enveloped by a rocky layer, and with his current football-sized giant rock fist, he began smashing these monster one after another into meat pastes. Most of the lizards¡¯ attention was diverted by him. Taking advantage of this, Xiao Yu dashed in front of Xiao Chen, chopping the surrounding lizards to death with a few blade strikes. However, even though it had only been a few seconds, it was too late; the corpse on the ground had already been torn apart, and no one could save him from death. ¡°Kill!¡± Wang Chao went into his berserk state and rushed out with his huge battle axe, followed by Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen. They simply put down their wooden shields, took up their weapons, and engaged the lizards in a ferocious battle. Their fighting power was excellent. In regards to one or two lizards, none of them would feel any kind of pressure, and when they cooperated, they became even stronger. They covered each other¡¯s backs as they started to breeze their way through the monsters. Everyone displayed incredible bravery by risking their lives in battle. The majority of the lizards were already satiated since they had consumed a large amount of their own kind, as a wisp of fear began to slowly develop in their hearts, especially after being subjected to that unstoppable flame technique¡¯s assault. Thus their momentum gradually diminished in the face of this new wave of human counterattack. No one knew which monster took the lead first before the group of lizards turned around, retreating into the woods. The few lizards that hadn¡¯t eaten enough were still fighting, but their number was no longer big enough to pose a threat. On the other hand, the humans continued to absorb wisps of essence and grew more courageous as they fought. In the end, it didn¡¯t take long for the remaining lizards to be completely wiped out. Even though the battle was intense, it ended surprisingly well, and only the hot-tempered policeman surnamed Chen was killed. At this point, he was almost turned into a pile of rotten meat. His left leg was almost completely gone, his right leg was covered in wounds that revealed parts of his bones, a gash had been formed in his abdomen, and several internal organs had been torn, while an intestine had been pulled out half a meter away from his body, the flesh on half his face was gone, but his eyes were still open, looking very miserable. He couldn¡¯t speak anymore, and there was a lot of fear in his eyes. Huang Jianmin sighed and said, ¡°Xiao Chen, don¡¯t worry; as long as I¡¯m alive, I will never see Wang Yan being bullied by others¡­¡± Xiao Chen¡¯s bloody face twitched a few times, and he moved his right hand out from underneath his body with difficulty. The blood-stained crystal necklace was thrown aside. It was a very beautiful crystal necklace with a heart shape; in the photo inside, you could find him and a beautiful woman smiling together. Facing the attack of the lizards, he desperately used his body to protect the necklace with everything he got. The necklace was left undamaged, he glanced at it for one last time, and his eyes were full of tenderness, nostalgia, and reluctance¡­ However, these last movements of his completely consumed the last bit of vitality he had left, and he slowly closed his eyes, never to open them again. Huang Jianmin picked up the necklace from the bloodied ground, clenched his fists tightly, and said in a low voice filled with grief: ¡°Xiao Chen was a good comrade. He was an upright man who hated evil to the core. He had a good relationship with all his colleagues. What a pity.¡± After a pause, he looked at the crystal necklace and into the photo inside it before sighing again, ¡°This is his fianc¨¦e Wang Yan. The two had been together before they started working. Their bond has always been very deep. His colleagues were much envious of him and had been persuading them to get married a long time ago. But because Xiao Chen¡¯s family was quite poor, he was afraid that she would suffer some hardship if she did follow him, so he delayed their engagement until last year when his financial situation improved. The two were about to get married, yet this kind of thing happened¡­ Now that Xiao Chen is dead, I don¡¯t know what to tell the poor girl.¡± After listening to Huang Jianmin¡¯s words, the others sighed internally. As if he didn¡¯t hear anything, Xiao Yu sat on the ground unmoved; he just closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. Han Kexin said to Xiao Yu: ¡°This place is all clear, though over a hundred monsters have been killed, no equipment has dropped.¡± Xiao Yu told her: ¡°It¡¯s hardly unexpected, given the limited likelihood of equipment emerging.¡± Han Kexin said again: ¡°Well, although there is no equipment, we found some things that I have never seen before.¡± She stretched out her hand, holding three smooth black stones in her palm, each of which was only half the size of a thumb and round in shape, ¡°I thought these were crystals of inheritance, but later found out that I was wrong, it seems to be something called a soul gem.¡± (TN: if you¡¯re wondering how she knew, it¡¯s most likely because when they hold into a weapon/equipment,¡­ etc., information about said item immediately enters their brain) ¡°Soul gem?¡± Xiao Yu picked up one stone and examined it a couple of times, showing a hint of surprise, ¡°Sure enough, this is really a soul gem! Great, this thing is a precious treasure, and it¡¯s very useful.¡± Han Kexin asked: ¡°It looks just like a normal stone, though. Is it really useful?¡± Xiao Yu took one soul gem and held it in his hand, and at the same time, raised the bone blade and said, ¡°Of course it is. Look carefully at my blade, and you¡¯ll realize its worth.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s gaze was drawn to the bone blade. After a few days of use, the blade had several small dents on it, and the surface, which had been drenched in various shades of blood, was also scratched and burned. This sharp weapon became like this in just a few days, illustrating just how intense Xiao Yu¡¯s battles were! Xiao Yu held the soul gem, and the gem shimmered, emitting a trace of a jet-black gas. This gas seemed to have a kind of spiritual power as it gradually covered the blade, then a magical scene happened, the dents and holes on the blade were reassembling at speed visible to the naked eye, and a cold light bloomed on the blade again, as if it had never been damaged before. At the same time, the size of the soul gem slightly decreased as well. CH 27 Xiao Yu continued explaining, ¡°This is a mystical gem that possesses soul power. It is utilized to replenish the loss of spiritual power and your capability to use innate skills. Furthermore, it can repair any equipment and can also be absorbed by your body which can help regain most of your strength.¡± ¡°That is to say, after using our skills to their limit. When absorbing the power of the soul gem, can we quickly restore that missing spiritual power, thereby restoring the ability to use our skills once more?¡± ¡°You can treat it like a magic potion you heard of in games.¡± Xiao Yu nodded, ¡°In addition to repairing weapons and restoring spiritual power, soul gems can also be used to recharge most magic items. Such as the Blast Flame Ring. Under normal conditions, this ring needs forty-eight hours to recover its energy, but if it is charged with the power of the Soul Gem, it can greatly shorten its recovery time. However, recharging magic items consumes a lot of energy, so it¡¯s not cost-effective. So unless you absolutely need to, it¡¯s best not to use it too lightly.¡± Han Kexin exclaimed: ¡°wow, this small stone actually had so many uses; I think it will probably become our most crucial consumable in the near future!¡± ¡°Soul gems are practical consumables. In fact, with future development, soul gems may be used as world currency. This lower soul gem is more than enough to exchange for a piece of a low gray weapon.¡± ¡°What, it is that valuable?¡± Han Kexin opened her eyes wide. In her impression, weapons were very precious, rare treasures. ¡°So, we can get three pieces of gray equipment?¡± Xiao Yu did not deny it, ¡°yeah, but obviously, soul gems cannot be used as currency for transactions in the immediate short term. These three soul gems appeared just in time, as our spiritual power consumption is huge. Those soul gems will help us.¡± Finally, Xiao Yu grabbed one of the three lower soul gems, Han Kexin took one, and Jiang Xiaowen received the remaining one. The three of them all had a significant amount of energy to refill. They could quickly replenish their consumed spiritual power by extracting power from the soul gems. The lower soul gems were absorbed in a matter of minutes. The three immediately recovered about 30% to 40%, which was enough for Xiao Yu to maintain the ¡°eye of insight¡± for half an hour and for Han Kexin to use two blood sacrifices. In contrast, Jiang Xiaowen could barely use ¡°Dream dust¡± once. Tens of minutes passed as the surrounding burning flames faded away. Nobody wanted to linger here for too long, so they just packed their belongings, ate a small half-piece of chocolate, and set off before dawn could fully arrive. After the night¡¯s long battle, the strength of this team has risen to another level. The weakest among them had already killed six to seven monsters. While a few prominent individuals, such as Yun Yun, have already killed fifteen or sixteen. She only needed to face an elementary-level creature to have her chance at evolution. If there were one or two elementary monsters for her to kill, another elementary being would definitely be born in this team! As a result, while there were frequent surprise attacks by monsters along the way, most of the time, other individuals were able to deal with them without the need for Xiao Yu and the others to intervene. They didn¡¯t meet any kind of elementary monsters along the way, so Xiao Yu and the other four didn¡¯t bother to do anything and left the rest of the team to deal with the minor trouble. It is worth noting that Huang Jianmin was not a weakling anymore. After fighting last night, his strength grew rapidly, and he was in the middle tier of the group. The weather was relatively cold on this day, with heavy clouds stacked high in the sky, hiding the hot sun, while the forest felt less stifling. Such climate was ideal for traveling, and after approximately three hours of walking, Huang Jianmin finally found the region in the woods where the police station was located. ¡°This is the mark I left behind.¡± Huang Jianmin found a cross-shaped mark on a tree. He pointed to the woods in front of him and said, ¡°This time around, I am certain. If we walk in this direction, keeping our current pace, it will take us about twenty minutes to arrive. But it¡¯s been so long that I¡¯m unsure how the people there are doing and whether monsters have already besieged them.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep on. However, slow down as much as possible, and don¡¯t be careless. ¡° Xiao Yu led everyone through the forest, and within five minutes of marching, Jiang Xiaowen suddenly noticed something strange, ¡°guys, Look, in front of us, something is lying on the ground; it looks like a monster!¡± Everyone was startled before Xiao Yu, and the others rushed over immediately. There was indeed a corpse on the ground. It was a two-meter-tall one-eyed ape with a menacing face, a muscular torso, gray-black hair all over its body, and a set of razor-sharp claws. It was of no threat, though, since it was no longer alive. Jiang Xiaowen was a little surprised, ¡°Xiao Yu, How could there be a dead gorilla over here?¡± ¡°This is not a gorilla.¡± Xiao Yu squatted down to check, ¡°It is called the one-eyed ape, and it is a non-elementary monster. Its strength is relatively high among same-level monsters. The corpse is still warm; it shouldn¡¯t have been dead for long.¡± Jin Shi asked: ¡°How is the monster¡¯s corpse still here? This is too abnormal. If it was killed by other creatures, they would¡¯ve dragged the body away or just eaten it directly.¡± ¡°The carcass is pretty much intact, with no trace of bite marks.¡± Xiao Yu inspected the injuries on its body, ¡°There are several gunshot wounds, but the power of the bullets cannot kill this kind of monster. The deadly wound that killed it is in its heart, as if it was punctured by some type of sharp weapon, pierced back and forth, neatly, certainly the work of humans, yet causing such clean damage is difficult even for me.¡± ¡°Even you can¡¯t do it?!¡± Several people were shocked by his statement. Huang Jianmin suddenly noticed that everyone¡¯s eyes were focused on him, and some of them even looked a little unfriendly. He quickly explained: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that; I am also very puzzled by this matter!¡± ¡°You did not inform us of this¡­.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes turned hostile, and she interrogated him, ¡°There are obviously very powerful experts in your team. Are you not simply deceiving us into following you so that we might fall into your trap?¡± ¡°Absolutely not, I swear, believe me!¡± Huang Jianmin was also quite puzzled. ¡°Although there were many individuals sheltering there, the majority of them were refugees, mostly old people, children, and women. While most young and strong men were with me in the advance team, just a few remained behind, responsible for protecting the others. But every single one of those people was far weaker than any one of you, let alone being as strong as Xiao Yu. I can absolutely guarantee this!¡± Jin Shi pointed to the one-eyed ape on the ground, ¡°They can shatter this monster¡¯s heart and puncture its exceedingly tough body back and forth this neatly; none of us can do this. That person¡¯s offensive power is clearly greater than ours; how do you explain this?¡± ¡°I apologize; I have no explanation!¡± Huang Jianmin¡¯s expression remained unchanged in the face of all these inquiries, ¡°But everything I said is true, and there is absolutely no deceit in my words. I can¡¯t help it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was kneeling down, looking at the corpse, before she stood up and said, ¡°I believe Uncle Huang Jianmin. He used to be the captain of the crime division, and he chased all kinds of bad people. Moreover, he led our city¡¯s vanguard to eradicate those gangsters! I don¡¯t think he means us any harm.¡± ¡°No need to argue anymore.¡± Xiao Yu stood up, ¡°We currently lack the energy to turn around and go back. Now that we¡¯ve arrived let¡¯s just go in and take a look; we¡¯ll eventually find out what is happening here. A mere one-eyed ape¡¯s corpse being pierced isn¡¯t enough to deter us. Or have you all forgotten the power of the blast Flame Ring?¡± Everyone nodded their head as they felt more secure in their hearts when they were reminded of the ring. At this stage, there were very few people who could reach the elementary stage, but if some were lucky enough and got a certain magic item, they could indeed exert superhuman attacking power. If the other party killed the one-eyed ape-man with the help of this certain magic item, then everything could be explained. Thus, nothing could pose a threat to them as magic items needed time to be used again, just like the blast flame ring. The power of the blast flame ring was several times stronger than the opponent¡¯s, and even though it was still recharging its energy, it could still be used again at the expense of one soul gem. Han Kexin was still worried, but that was all he could say to assure her. The group walked for more than ten minutes, discovering more signs of human activity. Finally, it seemed that they were about to reach their destination, and through the dense foliage, they could vaguely see the ruins of several buildings. Everyone bypassed a couple of large trees, and they finally saw the ruins of those buildings. Even a road full of cracks was brought here together with several streets and stores, including bakeries, fruit shops, and so on. Therefore there should be plenty of food in the area around them. They were overjoyed at the new discovery, but everyone¡¯s expressions shifted when their gazes were drawn to the trees next to the ruins. There were seven big trees in total, and on each big tree were four to five corpses bound by thorny vines. Each one of them has a twisted face and a pained expression. The blood flowed and turned into a rich crimson color. There was a mix of men and women, as well as old folks and children. All kinds of people were hung, but they had one thing in common: they were all stripped naked. They had all been tormented, and their bodies were covered in wounds and bruises. Some victims had their hands and feet hacked off while they were still alive, and a few chunks of flesh pulled off. A flock of odd blackbirds descended on the bodies, eating flesh and blood with relish. The people below that watched this scene felt their scalps go numb. Among the dead was a little girl, about twelve or thirteen years old. She died not long ago, and her corpse was mostly intact, but her skin had been ripped apart, her small breast was covered in teeth marks, her lower body was wounded and bleeding, and it was clear that she had been bound to death after suffering incredible humiliation! Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t bear it; she hid behind Xiao Yu and didn¡¯t dare to look up anymore. ¡°Bastards, animals!¡± Huang Jianmin¡¯s eyes turned red when he saw this, and he roared angrily, ¡°What the hell happened while I was away!¡± Han Kexin warned: ¡°The people here are really twisted; everyone be careful!¡± At this moment, footsteps sounded nearby, and five to six men rushed over, holding various handmade crude weapons, while the two leaders in front were holding Type 64 pistols, pointing them towards Xiao Yu and the others. ¡°Stop right there; who are you guys!¡± When they heard that sound, everyone clenched their weapons and braced themselves for battle. CH 28 ¡°Li Ming? How could it be you? Didn¡¯t I instruct you to take care of everyone before I left?¡± Huang Jianmin recognized one of them as his former subordinate and admonished him with bloodshot eyes, ¡°hurry up and tell me what the hell is going on!¡± ¡°Captain Huang? You didn¡¯t die?!¡± Li Ming¡¯s expression changed slightly; he put down his pistol and said, ¡°You took good care of me in the past, and I will always remember your kindness. Now I¡¯ll pretend like I have never seen you; please leave here immediately. Otherwise, you will all be dead once the head finds out.¡± Huang Jianmin replied with a livid face, ¡°What do you mean by that? Who is this head!¡± Li Ming frowned, ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions, and trust me, this time, I¡¯m taking a big risk by letting you go. This is for your own good; hurry up and leave.¡± ¡°Hmph, what a brave dog; who gave you the right to help anyone?¡± A strong voice came from behind them at this instant, and a big man with a thick black face came over, ¡°Remember, your dog¡¯s head is only temporarily attached to your neck; if the boss so desires, he may remove it at any time.¡± Hearing this voice, Li Ming trembled with fear, and his face turned pale, ¡°third¡­third head!¡± The black-faced man walked up to Xiao Yu and the others, followed by a group of individuals as he casually looked around. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened, and he smirked, speaking arrogantly: ¡°God is really kind to me. I was getting tired of playing around with those dirty hags; I didn¡¯t expect him to send so many beautiful women my way. But we don¡¯t have any extra nutrition to feed all the newcomers, so there is no need to keep the useless ones.¡± Wang Chao had the most explosive temper among the group as he spoke fiercely. ¡°You are courting death!¡± ¡°These poor people were all killed by you.¡± Jiang Xiaowen stood up angrily, holding the green spear in her hands, ¡°Damned evil guys, don¡¯t you have any humanity?¡± ¡°Oh, what a beautiful girl! Heh, that¡¯s right, I killed them all.¡± The black-faced man was unaffected, his eyes lit up, and he said arrogantly: ¡°Listen up, little girl, this uncle here is in a good mood today. I¡¯ll give you one chance; put down your weapon, and don¡¯t think about running away. Do you see that woman tied over there? She was my favorite. However, I didn¡¯t expect that she still had a beautiful daughter hidden from me and she actually wanted to run away with her.¡± He said, pointing to the hanged little girl they saw before, ¡°This is what happened to that pair of mother and daughter. In front of that dirty bitch, we took turns fucking her daughter for the whole night and then put the two of them together, hanging on a tree, staring at each other, screaming and bleeding, before dying in agony.¡± Jiang Xiaowen trembled all over, ¡°You are demons!¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡± The black-faced man grinned, ¡°Anyway, society is no more, and no one has control over our actions. Now, our fists should do the talking. As long as you serve us nicely, I will definitely let you eat and drink, but if you are not obedient, you¡¯ll end up like them!¡± Following his statement, there was a few seconds of silence, and everyone stood motionless, all staring at him oddly. The black-faced guy assumed that even if this bunch would not be obedient, they would at least get scared, but everyone¡¯s reaction was far from the intended result, and he couldn¡¯t help but be enraged: ¡°you really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you!¡± ¡°Are you done?¡± At this point, a rather hoarse voice rang out, and everyone hurriedly stepped out of the way, revealing an unremarkable young man, his clothing burnt black and his body bruised, as if he was about to collapse at any second. The black-faced man immediately stretched out his hand and drew the pistol from his waist, but before he could pull the trigger, a long gray-white blade flew towards him, piercing his chest, and kept flying upside down more than ten meters away along with his body, before he got nailed to one large tree. The black-faced man¡¯s subordinates were stunned, and they lifted their guns to fire at Xiao Yu. Just then, a massive rocky arm swept across, blocking Xiao Yu¡¯s whole body. Bang, bang, bang, bang! Four bullets successively struck the solid rocks one after the other, leaving only a few dents behind yet causing no significant damage. ¡°What¡­¡­¡± They were all stunned after seeing Jinshi¡¯s huge arm, which was completely turned into stone, left unscathed. Just when they were about to shoot again, they suddenly felt a strong wind blowing from behind, and the roar of some kind of beast echoed in their ears as a brutal aura enveloped them instantly. They all turned around to see a massive figure with red skin, red eyes, and pointy hair charging toward them. It was the same fat man who was standing amidst the crowd just now. ¡°So fat, yet so fast!¡± This thought popped up in their mind at the same time, and it was also the last thought they had in their lives. Wang Chao grabbed his huge battle axe the size of a wheel, stepped forward, and spun in a vast semicircle. The ax¡¯s hefty yet razor-sharp edge slashed all four individuals in an instant. Pata! At the same moment, the type 64 pistol arced across the air as it fell from the black-faced man¡¯s grasp, making a small noise, awakening the remaining enemies from their daze ¡°Tch, flimsy trash!¡± Wang Chao¡¯s voice sounded like the roar of a wild beast, and his red eyes swept across the others, who were immediately frightened before they fled in all directions. At this instant, Xiao yu¡¯s group picked up and threw their short spears, and the projectiles flew accurately as they struck and killed the fleeing people, with only one of them managing to get away. Yunyun raised her short spear and was about to shoot the last person, but Xiao Yu held her wrist, ¡°Keep this one alive; let him report back.¡± Xiao Yu walked up to the big tree and pulled out the bone blade stuck in the chest of the black-faced man as the latter fell down. When he threw the blade just now, he avoided the guy¡¯s vital points. This man was a hair¡¯s breadth away from the elementary realm, and he only needed to take one more step before he would¡¯ve evolved. Hence, His vitality was much stronger than that of ordinary people. This was why he did not die immediately and was groaning in pain, wriggling with difficulty on the ground. ¡°How many of you have entered the elementary level?¡± Xiao Yu asked a question. ¡°Two¡­ just two.¡± ¡°What abilities do they have, and what magic items do they own?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes, choosing not to ask any more questions. He gave Han Kexin a look, then turned and walked away. ¡°So weak.¡± Han Kexin approached him with her lovely twisting buttocks, extended out her palm, and slowly placed her hand into the gash on the black-faced man¡¯s chest. ¡°You like to torture people, don¡¯t you?¡± The black-faced man could barely speak, while out of breath, ¡°Forgive¡­forgive me.¡± Han Kexin showed a charming smile, moved her red lips lightly, and spit out a few words, ¡°Blood sacrifice!¡± The moment her voice fell, the black-faced man let out a terrifying scream, and Han Kexin slowly transformed the blood in his body into energy. His arteries burst one after another, transforming a large amount of blood into a long red steam, which rolled endlessly throughout his body, ripping his muscles bit by bit, and the blood-red mist tore his skin and muscles as blood continually flowed out. This method of torment was ten times worse than Ling Chi¡¯s. Maybe even a hundred times worse! (TN: Lingchi. It¡¯s a form of torture and execution in ancient China.) Everyone watched that scene coldly, and no one tried to stop her. After several days of fighting, they had already matured psychologically. This kind of scene could not shock them as no one felt any hint of pity for this evil doer. Even Huang Jianmin thought that the black-faced man deserved what he got, and only Jiang Xiaowen, who had the kindest personality, felt a little uncomfortable with this way of killing. Han Kexin sucked up the blood of the black-faced man, and with a hint of satisfaction on her face, she licked her rosy lips with her sweet tongue and said, ¡°Well, It¡¯s a fantastic sensation, Human blood is indeed the tastiest after all, this feeling is captivating.¡± Jiang Xiaowen observed Han Kexin¡¯s satisfied expression, and she suddenly felt that her familiar teacher was gradually becoming unfamiliar. She used to be a gentle and mature young university female instructor, but as her strength grew, her personality changed subtly as well, she could now torture someone to death without changing her expression, and her desire for blood appeared to get stronger and stronger¡ªAkin to a drug addiction. ¡°The other side has two elementary experts. They can break through to the elementary realm in such a short period of time, so they must have had their own adventurous tales. Do not underestimate anyone; also, we are not in our best shape, so we must be careful.¡± Han Kexin smiled and confidently said: ¡°There are differences between elementary warriors. After we entered the low stage of the elementary level, we gained those rare supernatural powers. I think it¡¯s quite difficult for normal elementary humans to deal with us, let alone you, a quasi-first-order warrior.¡± Xiao Yu remained noncommittal but just reminded her, ¡°Although that is the case, you still have to be careful.¡± Wang Chao released his berserk state and picked up the guns from the ground. Those weapons were of little significance to him, so he passed them over to Huang Jianmin and the others, then he looked at the pale Li Ming and hooked his fingers, mentioning for the guy to come over. ¡°Come here!¡± ¡°Yes, Yes!¡± Li Ming hurriedly went toward the crowd of people. Wang Chao asked in a domineering tone: ¡°Good, let me ask you, what¡¯s the current strength of your two leaders? What are their abilities? And what kind of weapons do they have?¡± Li Ming stammered and barely formed a full sentence, ¡°They are very, very strong¡­abilities, weapons¡­. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Li Ming almost burst into tears, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. They surround themselves with dozens of their subordinates, and they only bring these people with them ever since they occupied this place. I¡¯m merely one of the numerous slaves under their command. I don¡¯t have the qualification to know anything¡­¡± Huang Jianmin came over and asked, ¡°what about the others?¡± ¡°After you left, we resisted several attacks from monsters, and by that time, there were only over a hundred people left. This group of villains took us by surprise and launched a sneak attack killing more than thirty of our people. After we were captured, many have resisted. Among them, Police Officer Ma stated that he would rather die than obey and ended up being tortured alive. He died in immense pain!¡± For a moment, Huang Jianmin felt dizzy; that guy was his most trusted and closest friend! Li Ming went on to say: ¡°Deputy Chief Zhou organized a group of his colleagues and originally planned a counterattack secretly, but it failed. Everyone that resisted got nailed to a tree, and he himself had his ears cut off, his eyes gouged, and his limbs severed, and all of that happened in front of our eyes. ¡­Also, Wang Yan, Wang Yan, she¡­¡± Huang Jianmin felt his heart skip a beat, and he clenched his fists: ¡°What happened to Wang Yan? What did they do to her? Tell me!¡± Li Ming gritted his teeth, with hatred in his eyes, ¡°Wang Yan went to the head¡¯s bed without any notice and used her body to please him. She revealed deputy chief Zhou¡¯s plan. That whore is now free of worries after she gained the head¡¯s approval!¡± Huang Jianmin¡¯s face turned blue and white, and his expression was very ugly. He held the crystal necklace in his pocket tightly: ¡°Xiao Chen made such a big sacrifice for her, yet this woman turned her back on him in mere days¡­¡± ¡°The world has changed.¡± Xiao Yu said in his usual flat tone: ¡°let¡¯s not waste time. If they are well prepared, they might inflict us with some unnecessary casualties; let¡¯s advance now.¡± CH 29 There were few cracks in the walls and a handful of gaps in the ceiling in one of the few preserved buildings in the area; this residence appeared drab but was mostly intact. The room was small in size, yet many large beds were placed side by side, with more than a dozen bodies crazily wrestling on top of them; their clothes were strewn all over the floor. The men¡¯s growls and the women¡¯s moans were echoing out nonstop inside the small room. At this moment, morality seems to no longer exist. Instead, people were under the control of their most primitive desires, enjoying themselves to their heart¡¯s content as an air of depravity and obscenity surrounded the room. A big one-eyed man was lying on the side of the bed, pressing his hands on two soft white thighs. His movements were very crude, and he kept kneading and rubbing with big force, leaving a lot of bruises and red marks on the woman¡¯s body. However, she didn¡¯t dare to protest; instead, she had to respond forcefully to the other party¡¯s movements with a flirty smile on her face for fear of making him feel even the least bit unhappy. ¡°Boss, your strength has greatly increased after you killed that one-eyed ape today. At this point, there should be no one in this world who can be your opponent.¡± A middle-aged man with a gloomy look sat on a chair not far away. He was entirely naked while holding a turquoise orb in his right hand. A nude woman was sitting on top of him. This woman had a great figure, with protruding chest and buttocks, she was both elegant and beautiful, and her long flowing hair was much attractive and pretty smooth to the touch, and while in his arms, she behaved like a gentle kitten. The middle-aged man thoroughly caressed the woman¡¯s plump body, but his gaze never left the turquoise orb in his hand, ¡°This is only the beginning; I will surely use this artifact to gain even more benefits. Then one day, I will have this world within my grasp!¡± ¡°With your high ambition, Boss, our group will undoubtedly thrive under your protection.¡± The middle-aged man smiled, ¡°As long as you stay loyal to me, you will lack nothing, be it women or wealth; everything will be in our hands. By the way, the third head¡¯s strength has reached a bottleneck. Today, help him break through to the elementary level; then, there will be an extra elementary-level expert in our team. Our position will be far more secure by then. As you already know, there are a lot of people in that group who refuse to follow my orders.¡± ¡°Head leader, second head, something bad happened!¡± A person rushed in from the door awkwardly and said, ¡°The third head is dead; he was murdered!¡± The middle-aged man and the one-eyed man¡¯s faces changed drastically, ¡°The third head was killed?!¡± The others in the room immediately stopped their actions and stood up. The middle-aged man¡¯s original gloomy face darkened even more, and he said coldly: ¡°I don¡¯t believe any of the people below have the strength to achieve this. After all, I restricted their actions so they could only do labor work and patrol. Not to mention, every group of workers is being monitored, and none of them took part in monster hunting. Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to gain that much strength all of a sudden. Was it a collective rebellion?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not one of the workers.¡± The man swallowed hard before continuing, ¡°The third head just took his subordinates to check the situation of the patrol team, but we unexpectedly encountered a group of outsiders, and those outsiders killed him!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± an icy glow shone in the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes as he snorted coldly, ¡°I would like to see who is so brave, daring to kill my people!¡± The middle-aged man patted the woman in front of him lightly, and she obediently hopped off his lap. He decided to put on his garments but did not wear ordinary clothes; instead, he wore an armor full of black scales. The others in the room also put on their clothes and picked up their weapons, ready to fight. But right afterward, there was a sudden burst of gunfire outside the building, mixed in with the sound of screaming. The battle had already begun. The middle-aged man and the one-eyed man didn¡¯t dare to be careless, and when they rushed out with their followers, they found the guards outside fighting fiercely with another group of people, most of whom had been killed by now. The majority of those fighting his guards were familiar faces. They originally came here as refugees and were compelled to surrender due to the ruthless oppression of the invaders. When they encountered Xiao Yu and others, about half of them responded positively to Huang Jianmin¡¯s call and started fighting fiercely against the guards. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be happening!¡± Seeing this, the one-eyed man couldn¡¯t help being furious, ¡°I will kill them all!¡± Whoosh! A short spear blasted out of the woods more than a hundred meters away; its speed was simply incredible. The middle-aged man¡¯s and one-eyed man¡¯s faces changed. Their reaction time at the elementary level was much higher than that of ordinary people, as they executed evasive movements in time, and their figures flickered to avoid the attack. The goblin¡¯s short spear missed the two but penetrated through another man¡¯s torso, then stabbed a second person and flew backward with him, struck the third person, and skewered him as well, and they all flew several meters in a row before stopping. When the others saw this, they crouched down in search of cover, with fearful expressions on their faces. The one-eyed man had an ugly look, ¡°What a strong force¡­he must be an elementary warrior!¡± ¡°Everyone fall back!¡± The middle-aged man yelled loudly, and the guards who were fighting got rid of their opponents and retreated back. The other party didn¡¯t intend to pursue them. There were more than fifty strong men under him, after all. The women had been imprisoned, while the rest who chose to fight only amounted to seventy or eighty people. In other words, only a small number of people chose to rebel. It seems that the bloody methods he employed still had a certain deterrent effect. The middle-aged man cupped his fists and said coldly: ¡°friend, why don¡¯t you show up so we can talk face-to-face?¡± ¡°What a joke, you think I wouldn¡¯t dare. I want to chop off your dog¡¯s head after all.¡± Wang Chao swaggered out of the woods with a huge battle-axe on his shoulder, and beside him stood Jin Shi, a two-meter-long bald-headed giant. Looking at the exaggerated appearance of the two, the middle-aged man¡¯s intuition told him that these people were definitely elementary experts. With his secret treasure in hand, he was sure of victory, but he was cautious by nature and dared not be careless as he carefully studied the two of them. ¡°My name is Wang Yunfei. I don¡¯t know how to address you two?¡± ¡°Tch, you don¡¯t deserve the name, Wang!¡± Wang Chao looked disgusted, ¡°make sure to remember, your master¡¯s name is Wang Chao.¡± Jin Shi said: ¡°Don¡¯t waste our time; come on!¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Wang Yunfei was actually much more confident than the two of them, but he just didn¡¯t want to waste the energy of his artifact in this pointless battle, ¡°We don¡¯t know each other at all, so why fight to death? If all you desire is women and food, we can make a deal instead.¡± ¡°Okay, if you guys are ready to hand over all the food and get out of my face, I might be in a good mood and will let you go for now!¡± Wang Yunfei snorted coldly: ¡°you are making a big mistake!¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to talk about.¡± Wang Chao smirked, and he let his huge axe fall downward before it hit the ground through gravity and shook the surrounding terrain, ¡°I just thought of an interesting way to do things. Since there are two of you, and there are two of us, why don¡¯t we have a one-on-one death game?¡± Wang Yunfei said disdainfully: ¡°Since you want to die so much, I can help you!¡± Jin Shi moved his arms around and said, ¡°Who knows who will die first.¡± ¡°Boss, let me go first!¡± The one-eyed guy took a step forward; the weapon he wielded was a wolf claw that covered most of his right arm. The claws were four feet long and sharp with a chilling glow. ¡°Your weapon is not bad.¡± Wang Chao stepped forward out and picked up the battle axe again, ¡°Allow this fatty to test its power for a while!¡± Everyone else moved a few steps back to make space for the two of them. Far away and deeper in the woods, Xiao Yu was sitting on the limbs of a large tree. His blood-red eyes were examining everything closely through the gaps of the foliage and dense leaves. Then his gaze eventually landed on the green ball in the middle-aged man¡¯s hand before his brows wrinkled slightly. Jiang Xiaowen was quite puzzled as she asked him, ¡°There are five of us and only two of them. We clearly have the upper hand in this fight; why don¡¯t we attack together?¡± ¡°I can see through the strengths of those two, both of which are at the low elementary realm, and one of them is even close to the middle stage. It should not be so simple for them to evolve and obtain such strength in this short period of time.¡± Xiao Yu said. : ¡°Letting Fatty and Stone show up can give them the idea that they¡¯re only facing two enemies. If they have any other ability we don¡¯t know of, they will use it now without reservation. With fatty and stone¡¯s strength, even if they can¡¯t win, they can still escape. Then if we seize that opportunity and launch a surprise attack, we can surely achieve better results.¡± ¡°However, the guy who reported back to them saw you and teacher Han make a move. Even if he doesn¡¯t realize it right away, he will still notice something is amiss eventually. It¡¯s hard to guarantee that he won¡¯t tell them at that time. ¡° Xiao Yu smiled slightly, ¡°no need to worry about that.¡± ¡°why?¡± ¡°Because dead people can¡¯t talk.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was stunned for a moment, and then she suddenly came to her senses before staring at the person who was shot and killed by the short spear at the start of the battle, ¡°incredible! Your attack just now wasn¡¯t aimed at those two but instead at him. Ultimately assassinating the person who has seen us before he could utter a single word!¡± Han Kexin was also very surprised: ¡°You¡¯re really careful.¡± At this point, Wang Chao and the one-eyed guy had already exchanged several blows. The one-eyed man charged forward like a cheetah. The wolf¡¯s claws tore through the air and clutched at Wang Chao. Surprisingly, even before the claws could reach him, the violent wind produced by the attack shredded his garments, leaving a few shallow scratches on his skin. Wang Chao laughed loudly and swung his huge axe in a circular pattern, repelling his opponent. Then he swung the giant ax with both hands, aiming for the one-eyed man¡¯s head. The latter hurriedly dodged as the thick ax blade left a deep mark on the ground. The two battled ferociously against each other. Wang Chao¡¯s play was pretty open, with no defense at all, as he was only attacking. However, the one-eyed man was more nimble and did not dare to fight tooth and nail against him. He attacked using guerilla tactics, dodging left and right. The strength of the two sides was about the same, and it was quite difficult to discern the victor for the time being. But Jin shi knew that victory would ultimately go to Wang Chao. Since the one-eyed guy wasn¡¯t holding back at all and was using all of his strength in this fight, as he appeared to have no innate skills. Wang Chao, on the other hand, has yet to show his true power. He could draw a stalemate against the guy only by exerting his normal strength. Once he entered the berserk state, his strength would more than triple, and his surging fighting power could instantly overwhelm the opponent. Jin Shi grabbed his short spear with his right hand and his large shield with his left: ¡°Hey, you over there, it¡¯s going to take a while for the other two. Let¡¯s not wait anymore!¡± Wang Yunfei was clad in a set of black scale armor as he held a turquoise orb in his right hand; he looked at the opposite party deeply and replied, ¡°As you wish!¡± CH 30 Wang Yunfei approached him calmly. The turquoise orb in his palm shrank rapidly until it got completely sucked into a ring in his finger, after which a long two-handed sword five to six feet long materialized out of thin air in his hands. Its edge shone like a dazzling mirror, and it was obviously not an ordinary weapon. ¡°Oh, a space ring? That sword is also pretty good.¡± Jin Shi showed a look of surprise, ¡°You really had your own adventures and amassed plenty of treasures.¡± Wang Yunfei snorted coldly, ¡°You should be concerned about yourself.¡± Without any hesitation, Jin Shi pushed on the ground with both legs, and the soil sank deeply before his massive figure lunged up. Holding a large shield in his left hand to block and wielding one goblin short spear in his right hand, he stabbed straight at Wang Yunfei with that momentum. The latter dodged quickly, then swung his sword back in retaliation. Dang! The two-handed sword slashed against the goblin shield, and the dull sound caused the eardrums of the surrounding people to ache. Several small cracks formed on the earth beneath Jin shi¡¯s feet, and his left arm felt numb from the shock, but he did not stop at all. Wielding the short spear, He swept across but was stopped by Wang Yunfei¡¯s horizontal sword strike, and the two fought intensely against each other. In terms of pure physical strength, Wang Yunfei was somewhat stronger than Jinshi. However, the latter used to be a sports fanatic who enjoyed all kinds of athletics, as he even practiced martial arts such as ¡®Xing Yi Quan¡¯ and ¡®Sanda¡¯ during his school days. Therefore, his grasp over defense and body coordination was far superior to regular people¡¯s. Thus with these advantages in hand, he faintly overwhelmed the other party in this melee battle. But, most importantly, he, like Wang Chao, did not use his innate skill just yet. After more than a dozen exchanges of blows, Wang Yunfei was ultimately wounded in the shoulder by a spear attck from Jin shi. The scale armor deflected most of the impact, but the spearhead still managed to pierce through his shoulder. If not for the armor, his arm would have become completely useless. He screamed in agony and slashed the short spear furiously with his long sword, severing it instantly. Jin Shi took advantage of this moment to advance, and the goblin shield slammed into Wang Yunfei¡¯s chest, knocking him several meters away. ¡°Jin shi, catch!¡± A fine Arts academy student in the crowd tossed his goblin short spear into the air, and Jin Shi reached out his hand to catch it. Wang Yunfei stood up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said with a gloomy expression: ¡°You got some skills, but your strength is insufficient. If you two don¡¯t stop here, don¡¯t blame Wang for being cruel!¡± Jin Shi laughed out loud, ¡°You talk a lot for someone who¡¯s about to die. Too bad you run of luck today!¡± A ruthless look flashed in Wang Yunfei¡¯s eyes, and he made a difficult decision before thrusting the big sword down forcefully, inserting its tip into the ground. Right afterward, the turquoise orb reappeared in his left hand amidst a brilliant bloom of light; while he stood motionless on the spot, coldly looking at the charging figure of Jin shi, he neither reacted nor dodged. ¡°He put down his weapon¡­ what¡¯s his plan?¡± Jin Shi felt something was wrong as he remembered Xiao Yu¡¯s warning. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t want to throw away this opportunity. The short spear stabbed toward his opponent¡¯s head quickly, but the momentum was much weaker than before, enabling him to withdraw at any moment. ¡°Die!¡± Wang Yunfei roared savagely, and the orb in his hand burst into a blinding golden light, which was followed by a harsh howl ringing in everyone¡¯s ears. Right afterward, they could see a stream of golden sand emerge from thin air and whirl around him. A sand tornado with a diameter of one meter and a height of three erupted in an instant, and light cyan wind blades whirled around it, totally enclosing Wang Yunfei inside. When the short spear struck the tornado, the spear¡¯s body was immediately shredded by the tearing force of the sand and the slashing waves of the wind blades, as though a piece of frail paper got torn apart. The weapon simply could not resist such power! Jin Shi¡¯s complexion changed drastically. He immediately stopped, staggered a few steps back, and stared blankly at the half-shattered short spear in his hand, revealing a trace of astonishment and bewilderment. His right arm was also injured to some extent, with half of it being wounded and scratched. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t reacted, my arm would have become completely useless!¡± ¡°Your reaction is quite fast!¡± Wang Yunfei chuckled lightly, ¡°now you can¡¯t hurt me at all; however, you forced me to use this artifact which is¡­.unforgivable; all of you are going to die here today!¡± Deeper in the woods, on top of a tree branch, a rare look of odd excitement got plastered on Xiao Yu¡¯s usual calm face as he observed that scene just now, then he murmured to himself.: ¡°This is¡­ the stabilizing wind bead. Could this person be the ¡®Great Sand Emperor¡¯ Wang Yunfei!¡± Despite Wang Yunfei¡¯s introducing himself earlier, his voice was difficult to be heard here due to the distance. But Xiao Yu quickly confirmed his identity when he observed the abilities of that orb. In his past life, he was a tremendously powerful man known as the ¡°Great sand Emperor¡±! This person¡¯s name was Wang Yunfei, the guy¡¯s actual strength could barely be squeezed into the world¡¯s top echelon, but with a stroke of good fortune, he managed to acquire the ¡°Book of Sand¡±, one of the six mystical books that existed on the continent of chaos and contained magical powers beyond belief. The earth-shattering abilities of the book were enough to make his strength skyrocket to the point where it became on par with Han Kexin, the renowned ¡°Bloody Queen¡±! In the future, the ¡°stabilizing wind bead¡± would play a crucial adjunct role in obtaining the ¡°Book of Sand¡± and its powers. While In the early stage, it was a treasure that combined both attack and defense and was quite useful! Xiao Yu stood up and said to the people around him: ¡°Get ready, fatty and stone are definitely no match for that man, we¡¯re going to block his path¡­.¡± Han Kexin: ¡°what¡¯s your plan?¡± Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°My eyes of insight can see through the power of all weapons and skills. This stabilizing wind bead¡¯s defense is impervious to all attacks below the first-order level. We have practically little chance of succeeding in a frontal assault. But, as far as I can tell, the protection just above the head area is pretty weak, and that will be our only opportunity.¡± Wang Yunfei looked at Jin Shi, whose face was full of astonishment, and with a playful expression, he laughed and said: ¡°Why did you go quiet after being so arrogant just now? I thought you were very strong, but it turns out you¡¯re all talk. I can¡¯t squander this artifact¡¯s energy any longer; the next move will end your life!¡± Jin Shi snorted, ¡°Tch, cut the bullshit!¡± Even though he said that, he had experienced the amazing power of the ¡®stabilizing wind bead¡¯ firsthand, so he didn¡¯t dare to be the least bit careless. Holding the bead in both hands, Wang Yunfei roared out, ¡°Sand Spear!¡± As soon as his voice fell, the air around him fluctuated in the form of waves visible to the naked eye. A violent whirlwind of sand, along with cyan wind blades, rose from the surroundings and gathered above his head to form a long rotating spear of wind and sand. Wang Yunfei waved down his hands forcefully, and the light of the ¡®stabilizing wind bead¡¯ blazed before the sand spear shot out with a frightening whistling sound. Wherever it passed, the air twisted, and the flying sand filled the air. The momentum of this attack was simply astonishing. The attack was too fast; it was impossible to dodge with his current speed! Jinshi thought quickly, and he held the goblin shield across his chest. With an ear-piercing screech, the sand spear landed on the shield, and its momentum didn¡¯t stop as it continued to fly for over ten meters away. In mid-air, the shield pushed back against his chest with great force. Then suddenly, there was a crisp crackling sound, and a gap appeared in the goblin shield before the sand spear pierced through and finally struck Jin shi¡¯s chest! ¡°Stone!¡± Seeing this, Wang Chao didn¡¯t dare to hide his innate skill anymore and directly entered the berserk state. His strength and speed were greatly improved in an instant, and right afterward, he smashed through the defense of the one-eyed man with an axe slash, and the attack cleaved his chest. In a splash of blood, Wang Chao turned and walked away without looking back at his opponent, dragging the battle ax and rushing towards Wang Yunfei. He held his weapon tightly with both hands and slashed toward his waist, only to be blocked by the other party¡¯s tornado sand barrier. Wang Chao didn¡¯t linger around, and after he failed his first blow, he immediately retreated and pulled up Jin shi that was lying on the ground. ¡°Second head!¡± Wang Yunfei noticed that the one-eyed man had been knocked down and then looked at Jinshi, who was lifted up by his companion, and he was shocked, ¡°How is this possible? How is it that he can live after being hit with such an attack?¡± Jin Shi was supported up by Wang Chao as dust and gravel fell down from his chest, which was mostly rocky shaped. He now had a thick layer of stones on top of his chest, as if he was wearing a rock vest. However, a hole the size of a fist emerged on the rock particles on his body at this moment, and the encircling surface was covered in fractures, with traces of blood oozing from it. That blow was extremely powerful. Not only did it break the goblin shield, but it almost shattered his partial rock-strewn body. Without the goblin shield¡¯s help in absorbing most of the force, he would have probably been in a critical situation, even with the help of his ¡®partial rock formation¡¯ ability. ¡°That bead is extremely powerful; we can¡¯t beat him. Let¡¯s go!¡± Jin Shi and Wang Chao looked at each other in blank dismay and immediately ran toward the forest without hesitation. Seeing this, the others followed them in a hurry. ¡°Hmph, since you¡¯re here, don¡¯t think about leaving. Just stay here forever!¡± Wang Yunfei knew that the power of the stabilizing wind bead¡¯s attack just now was almost close to the first-order level, and it was enough to kill most monsters below the first-order. Yet unexpectedly, he still failed to kill the opponent. However, he soon discovered that Jin Shi and Wang Chao¡¯s bodies had undergone tremendous changes, and he marveled at their unusual abilities, which made him even more determined to kill them both. The ¡®stabilizing wind bead¡¯ was an artifact with a great amount of power, but the energy contained in it could not be recovered by itself. In a sense, the more you use it, the lesser its energy reserves until there will be no power left altogether! Hence, If these two individuals were allowed to escape, it would be like allowing a tiger to flee his cage, which may bring him some unknown troubles in the future! ¡°Wind Blade!¡± Wang Yunfei raised the bead high in the air, and a cyan-colored wave of energy quickly condensed above his head and into a three-meter-long cyan wind blade before it flew toward the two of them. The speed of the sharp wind blade was three points faster than the ¡°Sand Spear¡±. However, the moment the wind blade was formed, Wang Chao felt a sense of danger with his beast-like intuition. At that instant, he pushed Jin shi¡¯s body forward and retreated backward with that momentum as the cyan wind blade flew out from between the two of them and shot into the distant forest, cutting off several massive trees in quick succession. Wang Chao and Jin Shi felt chills run down their spines after witnessing the incredible strength of the wind blade. The two speeded up and rushed into the woods. Wang Yunfei frowned and finally gritted his teeth, ¡°Follow me; we must kill them all. No one should remain alive!¡± After speaking, Wang Yunfei was the first to give chase. Xiao Yu closely observed his movements and raised a short spear with his right hand. The moment Wang Yunfei rushed into the woods and was about to attack with his wind bead once more, Xiao Yu swung his right arm violently, and the short spear came out through the gaps of the dense twigs and foliage as it shot straight at the opponent. To Wang Yunfei, The two were already within his striking range, and he became certain that he could kill them both, but then another whistling shriek rang out in his ears. His face turned ugly, and he immediately slumped down to the ground as the short spear flew over the top of his head. The spear body trembled slightly after its end got embedded in the trunk of a large tree right behind him. ¡°Not good; it¡¯s an ambush!¡± Wang Yunfei¡¯s expression changed drastically, ¡°everyone, fall back!¡± (TN: Wang Yunfei doesn¡¯t have an innate ability, and neither does his friend. That¡¯s why he was shocked by those transformations) CH 31 The moment Wang Yunfei understood the situation he was in, a nimble figure flew out of the trees on his left, brandishing a short goblin spear in one hand, piercing him like lightning. The speed of it simply gave him no time to turn around, as he barely dodged the attack before the others behind him rushed up to his aid. Han Kexin¡¯s sneak attack failed this time around; the short spear in her grasp trembled slightly, and she raised her head and flung away two of his subordinates before turning around and stubbing Wang Yunfei once again with her weapon. She had never learned martial arts before, yet her combat talent was strangely superior to Jin shi¡¯s. Who would¡¯ve thought that a few days of tempering was enough to awaken some of her fighting prowess? At this moment, her short spear twisted quickly and viciously, assaulting her opponent. After being pierced by Han Kexin¡¯s short spear, Wang Yunfei withdrew several times in quick succession. Feeling that the last wave of attacks was almost over, he seized the opportunity, and the stabilizing wind bead in his hand glowed brightly as a wind blade immediately took shape, ready to shoot out. Wang Yunfei then felt the foliage over his head sway before he looked up. A slender figure with huge wings stretching out from her back plummeted down from the sky, and a green bamboo-like spear descended straight from midair to stab at him. ¡°So many experts!¡± His heart trembled, and he released the wind blade upwards. Jiang Xiaowen pushed her body to fly backward as quickly as she could. The sharp wind blade brushed past her, forcing her to stumble, and she dropped from midair six or seven meters down. Han Kexin seized the opportunity and fully charged like a cheetah, clutching a short spear backhandedly and ready to stab him. A swirling gust of wind rose from under Wang Yunfei¡¯s feet, and a large amount of golden sand and small wind blades appeared out of thin air, forming a short tornado of sand and wind. Just like that, she was slashed by the violent wind in several spots on her body. Some of the wounds were even terrible gashes with bones protruding out of her skin, but thanks to her innate ability, everything healed as quickly. Wang Yunfei believed that danger had already passed, and just as he was about to release the tornado barrier and retreat, another short spear came at him from the dense woods. His face changed, and he continued to release the power of the stabilizing wind bead as the spear landed on the tornado of sand just before it twisted and shattered into small pieces of wood. Xiao Yu came to a conclusion: ¡°it turns out that when you use that sand vortex to shield your body, you can¡¯t move around much. The skill isn¡¯t as invincible as I first thought!¡± He came out of concealment and appeared right in the area of the forest where Wang Yunfei retreated to. He soared into the air, drew a short spear from his back with his right hand, and hurled it down. Following a brittle noise, the goblin short spear was mangled into rubble as expected, turning into countless sawdust and floating all over the surroundings. Through his eyes of insight, Xiao Yu could clearly see a few wood shavings blowing from the top of the tornado as they gathered around the tornado¡¯s eye and dropped down, and a few of them even fell on Wang Yunfei¡¯s hair. A gleam of light flashed in Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes. As he expected, the ability¡¯s defenses were imperfect. The protection at the top of the head was relatively weak, and there was an area the size of a fist that had no defensive effect whatsoever. It¡¯s just that the shape of the vortex was changing at every moment, so let alone mastering its changing flow, it was difficult for regular people to even discover this flaw. However, this was not the case for Xiao Yu. Wang Yunfei¡¯s figure burst out of the sand tornado, and it vanished before escaping toward the forest¡¯s edge. Han Kexin gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Damn it, his defense is really powerful; we can¡¯t even touch a strand of his hair!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine; let me deal with him.¡± Xiao Yu was standing on a tree branch and said, ¡°You go deal with his remaining subordinates.¡± after he spoke, he leapt up from that tree like lightning, and from one tree to another, he kept hopping with light steps while approaching his enemy. Running in frustration, Wang Yunfei never imagined he would be defeated so humiliatingly while wielding a powerful artifact in his hands like the stabilizing wind bead. He couldn¡¯t care less about his subordinates at this point. He believed that as long as he had the wind bead in his arsenal, he would always be able to make a comeback. If the beautiful women were gone, he could seize them, and if his subordinates were gone, he could recruit them. But if his life was gone, it would be game over for him. He engraved this humiliation deep in his mind. Wang Yunfei sped up and ran wildly, with just one objective in mind: to survive, recover his power, and return for vengeance! After running for about ten minutes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief since he couldn¡¯t hear any sound behind him at all. Those people couldn¡¯t catch up with me. But at this moment. A flat voice came from his front side, ¡°You are too slow; I have been waiting here for a long while.¡± Wang Yunfei was startled by the unexpected sound and came to a halt. A man was sitting on a large tree in front of him. His clothing was charred, and his hair was messy; he was playing with a long gray blade in his hands, but his red eyes were focused on him. Wang Yunfei had never faced Xiao Yu openly, but his instincts told him that the guy in front of him was undoubtedly several times stronger than the others from before! He revealed a look of hatred and yelled out, ¡°We don¡¯t have any resentments against each other; why do you want to kill me this much?¡± ¡°There are no reasons for killing in a world where the powerful prey on the weak. Weakness is a sin in and of itself.¡± Xiao Yu sneered, ¡°When the people you killed begged you for mercy, did you spare them?¡± ¡°Weakness itself is a sin?¡± Wang Yunfei¡¯s expression changed slightly when he heard his words, showing a strange smile, ¡°Hmph, you are quite the character!¡± Xiao Yu jumped down, landed on both feet, and continued: ¡°Actually, with the power of your artifact, if you fought with everything you got, you may have had a chance to defeat us. It¡¯s a pity that you chose to run away in order to save up on the energy of the orb. Wasting that opportunity.¡± Wang Yunfei sneered: ¡°why does it matter? Isn¡¯t before the same as now?¡± ¡°There is a big difference.¡± ¡°Oh, and why do you think so?¡± ¡°If you remained and fought with everyone earlier, I might¡¯ve been worried about protecting the others. But now things are different. I can fight with no reservations, and I¡¯ve seen through all of your tricks. You¡¯ll never have a chance at winning.¡± Wang Yunfei snorted coldly and didn¡¯t say anything, but the light of the stabilizing wind bead in his palm bloomed, and a cyan wind blade took shape in front of him, shooting out with a whoosh sound. Xiao Yu¡¯s blood-red eyes reflected that light blue wind blade; as he slid his feet back slightly, and like a leaf getting blown by the wind, he softly shifted one step to the left; the wind blade almost whizzed past his face, and a few hairs were cut off and fell down, yet Xiao Yu was left unscathed, his expression remained unchanged, and he didn¡¯t even blink his eyes. Boom, boom, boom! The sound of a large tree crashing to the ground came from behind him, but he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to gaze at Wang Yunfei opposite to him without changing his expression. Wang Yunfei¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Even Wang Chao, who had previously depended on his instincts to dodge the wind blade, only achieved that feat because, at the time, he relied on his beast-like intuition after entering his berserk state, in which luck played a big part in preserving his life. You must be aware that the speed of the wind blade approaches the speed of sound, making it nearly impossible for elementary beings to dodge it, let alone evade it easily, like Xiao Yu did. What a terrifying man! Wang Yunfei¡¯s face was drenched with cold sweat. ¡°It takes a certain amount of time for the wind blade to condense. When the process is complete, I can more or less figure out the trajectory of the blast. This kind of direct attacking method is easy to see through, so your skill is useless against me.¡± As soon as Xiao Yu finished speaking, he vanished, leaving behind an afterimage on the spot, and by the time Wang Yunfei came to his senses, he had already appeared by his side and slashed at him with the bone blade. Xiao Yu¡¯s strength was several times higher than Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and the others. Ever since he defeated the Flame Goblin, his power has increased significantly, and he was just a hair¡¯s breadth away from advancing to the first-order level. Hence he was not someone Wang Yunfei could hope to fight on equal terms. After all, the latter wasn¡¯t even in the middle elementary level. Wind and sand blew up in all directions, forming a violent tornado, instantly enveloping Wang Yunfei inside. Xiao Yu kicked his legs on the ground with haste and shot his body backward like a bullet for more than ten meters away. The bone blade in his hand pierced into the earth and dragged out a long line on the ground to force himself to stop. At that instant, four to five crisscrossing wind blades and one sand spear flew continuously out of the tornado shooting straight at him. Xiao Yu dodged left and right, evading the attacks one by one, as the surrounding huge trees got sliced off with a booming sound, and a large green area tumbled down in the blink of an eye, with one of the big trees almost falling on top of his head. ¡°die!¡± The ¡®tornado¡¯ emitted an enraged roar, and five wind blades condensed and shot toward him one after the other. Xiao Yu flipped over and leapt onto the trunk of a large tree that had fallen behind him, then using it as a springboard, He flew into the air like a cannonball well over ten meters high. Almost immediately, the trunk of the large tree was swept by those numerous wind blades, neatly breaking it into five to six chunks. Wang Yunfei¡¯s vision in the tornado was greatly obstructed to begin with, adding to that the dust and wooden rubble in the area all made him unable to locate his opponent in the short term. Suddenly, a long gray-white blade descended from the sky and landed on top of his head. Wang Yunfei lifted up his head as he noticed something unusual looming on top of him. His face became pale right when he looked up, and he was about to scream before the gray-white blade penetrated through his mouth¡­ The wind and sand vortex disintegrated in an instant, and the rolling air gradually subsided. Wang Yunlong¡¯s eyes were wide open, and a gray-white blade that was piercing through his mouth protruded from his back. After a few seconds, his dead body collapsed down, and the turquoise stabilizing wind bead slipped out from his grasp. It rolled down to Xiao Yu¡¯s feet before coming to a halt. ¡°Yunfei, the great sand emperor, in this unknown place, I discreetly put an end to your life.¡± he picked up the orb from the ground, with a strange look on his face, ¡°the Wind bead, with its help; it will be much easier to obtain the ¡°Book of Sand¡± in the future. Wang Yunfei, with his ordinary talent, could stand amongst the top experts of this world, all with the help of that book¡¯s mystical powers, even becoming comparable to Han Kexin of then. If I have that book, I will definitely be able to use its power to the extreme. ¡° In addition to the The ¡°Book of Sand¡±, which was one of the six mystical books on the continent, there was also the ¡°Book of Flame¡±, ¡°The Book of Sea¡±, ¡°The Book of Forest¡±, ¡°The Book of Light¡± and ¡°The Book of Darkness¡±, which all did exist in this world as the prophecy stated. The six mystical books were, in essence, just one. No one knows their origins, let alone their scribe. It was said that the original book was compiled by the laws of space and time at the beginning of this world. It was also believed that as they were once simply just one, the original book was considered too powerful to be tolerated by the gods. As a result, it was forcibly scattered into six volumes and left in various parts of the chaos continent. The ¡°Book of Sand¡± depicts the power of sand and wind. ¡°Book of Flame¡± the power of fire and lava, ¡°Book of Sea¡± the power of flowing water and sea, ¡°Book of Forest¡± the power of forest and earth, while The ¡°Book of Light¡± symbolizes light and hope, and the ¡°Book of Darkness¡± represents darkness and destruction. According to the prophecy, when the six volumes come together, power beyond imagination will be formed! Xiao Yu now has the chance to obtain the ¡°Book of Sand¡± after he had obtained the Wind Bead. In addition, he also knew the whereabouts of the ¡°Book of Flame¡± and ¡°Book of Forest¡±. As for the other volumes, they were never discovered till the moment of his death. Xiao Yu held the Wind bead in both hands, carefully feeling the power contained inside it. This artifact was a powerful magic item; moreover, it was a unique item as it was special and had no grades. He could use those three skills, ¡°Sand Tornado¡±, ¡°Wind Blade¡±, and ¡°Sand Spear¡± which were all first-rank magic abilities, not any weaker than the ¡°flame missile¡±, especially the sand tornado, which integrates both attack and defense, and its power could not be underestimated. In addition, there was a special effect of isolating wind and sand. However, this was a passive effect and not an actual skill, so it does not need to be activated and does not consume any energy. The stabilizing wind bead had one big flaw, though, and that is it cannot restore energy on its own, and the energy in it will dwindle over time unless supplied by those valuable soul gems. A low-level soul gem could only replenish it for one ¡°Sand Spear¡± attack, for two ¡°Wind Blades¡±, or a few seconds of a ¡°Sand Tornado¡±, which was too wasteful. When the energy is all depleted, the wind bead will almost lose its entire value and will essentially turn into a mere ornament. CH 32 Xiao Yu removed the black scale armor from Wang Yunfei¡¯s corpse. This was a high gray equipment called the ¡°Black Python Scale Armor¡±. He looked carefully at the surface of the scale armor, as there were several mysterious symbols engraved on the surface. This was a piece of magic equipment. An unranked magic circle with the blessing of ¡°physical protection¡± was engraved on it. It could mitigate part of the force and reduce the damage dealt when its user suffers a physical attack from an elementary being. When Jin Shi fought Wang Yunfei, despite using all of his strength, he was only capable of carving a small hole in the armor, showing how powerful the blessing actually was. Furthermore, Yunfei also possessed a medium gray space ring that was three times bigger than Xiao Yu¡¯s own ring, and it had a space of three cubic meters. Inside of it was a medium gray two-handed sword, two lower soul gems, and a pile of food and water. The struggle on the other side was also over, and there was no uncertainty about the battle¡¯s conclusion. Wang Yunfei¡¯s remnant forces had completely collapsed under the joint force of four elementary experts. All of his original guards were killed without exception. Twenty to thirty people who had resisted with weapons were all disposed of, and the rest surrendered or were captured. Most of them were women who were forcibly detained by Wang Yunfei and his subordinates, and they numbered over twenty people as they awaited their verdict. The captives were gathered together, crying and begging for mercy. Among them, Huang Jianmin found a gorgeous woman with long flowing hair and a good figure. When she was caught, she only had the time to slide on a piece of underwear as she looked flushed; obviously, she had a ¡®great time¡¯ before the battle started. This person was Wang Yan; she looked around in panic and happened to meet Huang Jianmin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Li Ming, go and bring me Wang Yan!¡± Huang Jianmin gave his subordinate an order. Li Ming¡¯s eyes glowed with malice as he glared at Wang Yan. It was precisely because of this disgusting woman that sold her body, divulging the deputy chief¡¯s plot in order to please Wang Yunfei and causing many of his colleagues, as well as innocent people, to die tragically. He came over to her side, yanked her hair, and tossed her out to her knees toward their captain. Wang Yan raised her head with disheveled hair and cried: ¡°Captain Huang, please, for Officer Chen¡¯s sake, don¡¯t kill me!¡± Huang Jianmin was much calmer before, but when he heard this sentence, he immediately flew into rage, ¡°You still have the face to mention Xiao Chen¡¯s name; don¡¯t you have any shame?!¡± ¡°Do you think I wanted this?¡± Wang Yan argued loudly, bawling her eyes out: ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t take the initiative to go to Wang Yunfei, he would not let me go, and I will still be held captive in the end, so I might as well make an effort to win his favor. All I desired was to live and live better; what¡¯s wrong with that?¡± ¡°Fine, however, even if you¡¯re right!¡± Huang Jianmin said coldly with a livid face, ¡°How do you explain the death of deputy chief Zhou!¡± Wang Yan¡¯s beautiful face became ugly and distorted, and she shouted: ¡°It¡¯s not my fault; he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for him at all! Originally, he would¡¯ve remained alive as long as he followed the orders. But the stubborn guy only wanted to revolt and escape, and he revealed the contents of his plans to me, implicating me as well! If Wang Yunfei had found out about that, I would¡¯ve also died! And I didn¡¯t want to die; I just wanted to live!¡± Seeing her hysterical look, Han Kexin shook her head, while Jiang Xiaowen showed deep helplessness and bitterness. Whether it was Wang Yunfei or Wang Yan, they were all just ordinary people. Wang Yan was even a policewoman that held a sense of justice in her heart. But in a matter of days, human nature has become so twisted. The bloody, violent, and vividly portrayed dark side of people¡¯s hearts were now all part of their harsh reality. She was happy she had chosen to follow Xiao Yu, who was calm, decisive, and wise, and who had a hint of kindness concealed beneath his frigid fa?ade. ¡°Originally, I promised Xiao Chen to take good care of you.¡± Huang Jianmin sighed deeply, ¡°this is the first time in my life that I will have to break my oath.¡± Wang Yan displayed dread on her face, ¡°You¡­you want to kill me!¡± Huang Jianmin spoke slowly: ¡°You did these horrible things and killed so many of our people. Even if I want to let you go for Xiao Chen¡¯s sake, do you think anyone else will forgive you? You must atone for your sins.¡± Wang Yan yelled in horror: ¡°No, you can¡¯t do this!¡± At this moment, Li Ming came out, took out his Type 64 pistol, and grasped the trigger, aiming the muzzle right at Wang Yan¡¯s head. He shot her directly in the forehead, despite her crying and loud cursing. After a bang, the situation quickly calmed down, and the remaining women huddled together in a bundle and were trembling. Seeing Wang Yan being shot down, Han Kexin didn¡¯t feel any kind of emotion. Instead, she looked around and murmured, ¡°I have no clue what is happening on Xiao Yu¡¯s side; the treasure in that guy¡¯s hands is very powerful. Can he really deal with him?¡± When Jiang Xiaowen heard this, her heart trembled slightly, and she got a bit anxious. She had already developed a kind of dependency on Xiao Yu, and she couldn¡¯t imagine what they would do if something really happened to him. Jiang Xiaowen clenched her fists and said: ¡°He will surely win. Even that flame goblin with such power has been defeated by him. I believe Xiao Yu must be the strongest person alive; he will never lose!¡± She tried to reassure herself in order to comfort Han Kexin. After about a few minutes, Xiao Yu came out slowly. The moment his figure appeared, everyone felt relieved. Han Kexin saw an extra ring in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand, and she already knew the result of the battle, so she went up to him and asked, ¡°How is the situation, are you injured?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Xiao Yu passed her the ring, ¡°You keep this with you for the time being and pass it on to Du Tao when we return. He is in charge of our logistics and domestic affairs, and the ring will make his job much easier. After all, it¡¯s the same as the other one we own. Well, is everything done over here?¡± Han Kexin nodded and explained the matter briefly. After inspection, all of the hostages who should have been executed were killed, and the majority of the remainder were women who had been captured, and they were likewise coerced into joining with no other choice. This time, a total of thirty-seven members joined the team. Wang Yunfei murdered the children and the old folk, as well as some women. Only an elderly guy in his seventies survived because he was the vice president of a well-known Chinese medical institution, and his medical abilities were excellent and valuable, especially in this world. Almost all of these newcomers were in their twenties and thirties, and they all engaged in different industries, which was a great supplement to the team. It¡¯s just that they were new members, and Xiao Yu had no idea about their temperament. And so he couldn¡¯t fully trust any of them just yet, and neither did he trust the old doctor, so he left Huang Jianmin to handle the situation for the time being. The second head¡¯s weapon was called the ¡®wolf claw¡¯, a medium gray piece of equipment. Although its attacking range was much limited, its sharpness was still higher than that of the bone blade. Among them, Han Kexin was the most suitable to use this weapon. With her ability, it could definitely exert a terrifying effect. Xiao Yu distributed more than half of the food he obtained. Everyone was craving a full meal these days, and they were all starving. When a large amount of bread and water were distributed, the people all cheered. Xiao Yu sought a quiet spot and promptly fell asleep. But he slept deeply this time around. He has long been used to controlling the level of sleep according to his environment. Xiao Yu only woke up after three to four hours of slumber, his spirit had recovered by a lot, and the heavy fatigue he felt in his body had also subsided. At this time, a voice came from outside the house, and Jiang Xiaowen walked in, holding some vacuum-packed food and drinks, ¡°Xiao Yu, Teacher Han asked me to bring you some food. You have been fighting so fiercely for several hours straight, and you didn¡¯t eat anything. You need nutrition; otherwise, your body will not be able to bear it.¡± There was deep concern in her tone. Xiao Yu shook his head lightly to wake himself up and said, ¡°Thanks, just put it there.¡± Jiang Xiaowen piled up some food and drinks on a wooden table. Xiao Yu picked up a bottle of orange juice, unscrewed the lid, and drank it all; then, he tore open a vacuum-packed spicy ham sausage and swallowed it in a few mouthfuls. It has been a long time since they enjoyed food like this. Jiang Xiaowen observed from the side, secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva, but despite her best efforts to hide it, she couldn¡¯t escape from Xiao Yu¡¯s sharp eyes. Xiao Yu said, ¡°did you eat anything?¡± Jiang Xiaowen was a little flustered, lowered her head, and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°yes.¡± At this time, another person walked in from outside the door. With a thin frame, delicate skin, a fiery figure, and a coquettish face, who else could it be if not Han Kexin? As soon as she came in, she saw Xiao Yu holding food in his hand; she was slightly taken aback and said, ¡°Huh, I was just about to deliver food to you, but I didn¡¯t expect someone to be one step ahead of me.¡± A puff of red flashed on Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s cheeks. Seeing this, Han Kexin suddenly understood what happened and teased her on purpose: ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this orange juice, fresh jelly, and ham sausage the ones Xiaowen likes to eat? I remember that when the food was distributed, all of these should have been given to Xiaowen. How did they get here?¡± Jiang Xiaowen stood up and stammered to explain: ¡°No¡­ I was full, this¡­ this is the leftovers, so I gave them to Xiao Yu. ¡° ¡°Come here, you silly girl.¡± Han Kexin walked in with a smile on her face and rubbed her head, ¡°Were you afraid that I would forget about your classmate Xiao Yu¡¯s share? Don¡¯t worry; even if I forget, the others will never do.¡± Han Kexin knocked into the space ring once and took out some food, ¡°Eat; staying hungry is bad for your health.¡± This time Jiang Xiaowen didn¡¯t say much and directly took the food from her hands. When the food was previously distributed, it was entirely divided up, and nothing was left. And so she only ate a bit and cleverly kept most of the food for Xiao Yu. But now that she knew that they had more than what was shown, she reached for a bottle of fruit juice right away, grabbed it, and gulped it down. However, she drank the juice too rapidly and choked on it by accident, as her face became bright red, and she coughed continuously. Han Kexin patted her on the back lightly and said with a smile: ¡°Everyone could see how capable you were when you acted as the class monitor, but now, why do I feel that you are becoming more and more stupid? If your good friends see you now, they will definitely be surprised.¡± When Jiang Xiaowen heard this, her countenance immediately turned sorrowful¡­.after all¡­. her best friend had tragically died before her eyes. Han Kexin realized she had mentioned something inappropriate and quickly changed the subject: ¡°Xiao Yu, everyone has rested and regained their strength. Shall we go back?¡± Xiao Yu nodded: ¡°There are still more than ten hours till nightfall, so there is plenty of time for us to go back. Let¡¯s pack up and set off immediately.¡± Suddenly there was a rush of footsteps outside the residence, and Jin Shi¡¯s burly body squeezed in, ¡°teacher Han, so you were here? Great, Xiao Yu is also awake; there is an important matter.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Jin Shi¡¯s expression turned solemn: ¡°Someone saw Wang Yunfei!¡± ¡°No way; isn¡¯t he dead?!¡± Both Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen were shocked, and they yelled out simultaneously. They couldn¡¯t comprehend how a dead person could be brought back to life. CH 33 Xiao Yu stood up with a serious expression on his face and said calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t panic; explain what happened clearly.¡± Jin Shi swallowed his saliva, took another deep breath and said: ¡°A party of three of our people was established at the time to monitor the surrounding area; they finally headed west, where the accident occurred. They were attacked, and two were killed while one got injured. According to the person who escaped back, the attacker was Wang Yunfei!¡± Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed, ¡°He actually came back to life!¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Xiao Yu said calmly, ¡°It is too early to draw any conclusions. There are several ways of reviving the dead, after all. Some exceptionally rare and valuable magic items, for example, have the ability to postpone death or even revive the dead. However, these precious artifacts are mythical treasures that can never appear in this forest. It is also possible to become an undead, but turning into one of the undead tribe requires a special opportunity and a unique environment, and it takes a long amount of time to transform. This place obviously does not meet those conditions.¡± Han Kexin thought for a while and asked in confusion, ¡°Since neither of the two situations is viable, what is the real reason?¡± Xiao Yu cast his eyes on Jin Shi and asked, ¡°Did Wang Yunfei have any particular traits or changes when he appeared?¡± Jin Shi nodded his head, ¡°Yes, according to the statement of the one who fled, Wang Yunfei¡¯s appearance has changed significantly, and a large portion of his body has been deformed and alienated. His speed rose exponentially, and those two victims were almost instantly taken down.¡± Xiao Yu frowned and paused for a minute before responding: ¡°I believe he is indeed dead. However, it is still unclear why he came out to kill our people. Let¡¯s go to the scene and see for ourselves.¡± Under Jin Shi¡¯s lead, several individuals rushed to the site of the incident, which was encircled by Wang Chao and others. The two victims were fifty meters apart, and the grass was stained red with blood. One of them was someone Xiao Yu knew perfectly well; it was actually the yellow-haired hooligan who was bothering Jiang Xiaowen back then. This kind of scum was an unstable factor for the team. Xiao Yu had long desired to eliminate him. He just had never been able to find a good motive or opportunity to do so. He really had no idea that Wang Yunfei would provide him with so many treasures during his lifetime and resolve this issue for him after his death. His mouth curved into an ironic smile. The two men perished in a similar manner; both had their skulls crushed and their hearts devoured, but their bodies were mostly unharmed. Xiao Yu carefully observed the two corpses, but he still couldn¡¯t deduce how their enemy came back to life; he shook his head and said: ¡°Although I can¡¯t figure out the specific reason, one thing is clear, normal people don¡¯t consume raw human hearts, Wang Yunfei has already passed away. It must be because of some kind of change that he ran out to kill, though he may still be wandering around. This place is not suitable for long stay. Grab your belongings, and let¡¯s depart immediately.¡± Everyone departed ten minutes later with all the new equipment and weaponry. A dozen 64-type handguns and three 79-type submachine guns were discovered in the police station as they got seized and were evenly distributed among some weaker individuals. At this stage, firearms may still be useful, but after a few months, those kinds of weapons would be thrown aside. Their power wasn¡¯t enough to kill those powerful monsters, and the sound the gun produced was too loud, making it easy to cause trouble for their wielders, and as time passes, most people will gradually realize that killing monsters with gunpowder weapons could not help them in obtaining essence of energy, which greatly reduced the value of these modern technologies. (TN: so apparently, only weapons from this world could help you gain energy unless I¡¯m wrong) Time moved slowly, and the atmosphere was tense. Without a compass, they could vaguely judge their direction as they walked their way through the forest. Walking by feel carries a substantial amount of risk because even a minor error in judgment in this huge forest might lead everyone to deviate from the intended path. Xiao Yu had a feeling that there were a few pairs of cold and vicious eyes staring at him in the surrounding woods. It¡¯s not that no creatures were encountered along the way, but the majority of those beasts fled in fear at the sight of their big strong group. The great majority of monsters have a certain amount of intelligence, and they will always make simple judgments regarding whether or not to attack. No creature will throw away his life against impossible odds. Hence these monsters that dared to conceal and wait for a chance to launch a surprise attack were not to be trifled with. Han Kexin and the others were aware of the oddity surrounding them and turned to Xiao Yu with questioning eyes. Xiao Yu whispered to them: ¡°There may be something in the woods; quicken your pace so we can get rid of it.¡± His Words spread out quickly, and the entire team immediately became vigilant when they learned that monsters were lurking around them. Unknowingly, they moved forward faster and faster until they were all jogging hurriedly. The beasts in the forest finally couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. With a roar, a colorful leopard leapt out and rushed towards the most conspicuous of them all, Jin shi! But obviously, the monster chose the wrong target. The bald guy roared and swung his shield in the air, slapping the leopard to the ground. He raised his right leg, which instantly turned into rock, and stomped the leopard¡¯s head directly into the soil. ¡°Roar!¡± In a split second, the roar of leopards resounded everywhere. And the Leopards came out in packs from between the bushes and dense trees as they peered icily at their large group of people. Xiao Yu shouted: ¡°do not engage them, run!¡± The crowd immediately began to run frantically while the leopards continued to emerge one by one, their number quickly growing. They shuttled through the woods at an extremely fast speed, chasing the escaping human beings. Xiao Yu deliberately retreated to the team¡¯s rear to block the leopards who were catching up and repelled them one by one. And just like that, after sprinting for more than ten minutes straight without any serious harm to the group, the leopards seemed to have received an order at once, and they all stopped their chase, still roaring but not advancing. Wang Chao was puzzled and said, ¡°Why did they stop chasing us all of a sudden?¡± Xiao Yu replied: ¡°Don¡¯t be careless; there must be something that forced them to stop; be wary of your surroundings.¡± Everyone grew alert when they heard this, and as everyone was looking around while cautiously retreating, someone pointed to the front and stated, ¡°Look, everyone, this tree looks bizarre!¡± Everyone gazed up to see an enormous tree through the thick foliage and twigs over their heads. It was approximately one hundred meters tall, with a crown that resembled a gigantic umbrella, as well as several nests that were scattered across its long limbs. Each bird¡¯s nest was around three meters in diameter and built of very sturdy vines and mud. ¡°What is that?¡± Wang Chao still focused on the leopards behind him as he looked up at the enormous tree, ¡°It looks like a bird¡¯s nest; why don¡¯t we go scoop up two bird eggs and try them out? I really miss the taste of poached eggs!¡± Han Kexin said: ¡°I think those leopards were frightened by something in here; the atmosphere around is strange; it¡¯s best that we leave.¡± Xiao Yu also had the same thought as her, but he didn¡¯t have time to speak before¡­ ¡°Squeak¡ª!¡± A loud and long shriek, as sharp as a needle, erupted from high above, and so many people couldn¡¯t stand it as they covered their ears. While the leopard, who had been stalking them like a tiger, was suddenly scurrying away like a mouse that saw its predator. More than a dozen giant eagles flew over from a distance, their speed was extremely fast, and their wings spread out over five meters in length at the same instant. The feathers around the wings were completely golden yellow, glistening underneath the sun, and had a metallic texture to them. A pair of huge claws were clutching monster corpses of different sizes. Their eyes were extremely keen, as they could precisely pinpoint the humans below through the gaps in the dense vegetation. One giant eagle flung aside the meal in its claws amidst bursts of restless and furious long chirps. It swooped down with its wings flapping furiously. Before the giant eagle even arrived, everyone in the woods felt a violent hurricane hit them, and the branches and leaves above their heads shook violently. At that moment, innumerable green leaves began to fall down, and a massive figure came from above the trees, and as it descended downward, its gigantic claws were grabbing toward everyone. The Fine Arts students were the most attentive of this bunch, and they all scurried around without being reminded. On the other hand, the dozen new members were caught off guard and had little time to respond. The intense pressure of the plunge crushed their internal organs. The People in the vicinity hurriedly came to their rescue, but the giant eagle flapped its wings, and a strong blast of wind blew them away. When they realized what had happened, the beast had already flown away. ¡°What a burst of speed!!¡± Xiao Yu was startled, ¡°The giant eagles are all monsters in the late stage of elementary level. You are not its opponents. Quickly find cover and hide!¡± At this time, another gust of wind slammed again as the branches and twigs were violently swayed, and a huge figure rushed out, attacking no one in particular. Seeing this, Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes flickered, and his body flew toward the monster like a bullet. He met the giant eagle in the air, swung the long blade in his right hand, and blood sprayed, as dozens of large feathers scattered out one by one into the air, their color was red from being tinged in the blood, and they gave out a beautiful picture to the green forest. After the giant eagle was wounded, it fled into the skies, crying out in agony. These giant eagles were harder to deal with than the previous Saber-armed beasts! Everyone immediately spread out to look for cover. Some hid in tree holes, some hid in bushes, and they all found a place to conceal their bodies. Only Jiang Xiaowen was looking for a good location while being at loss. Xiao Yu quickly rushed up and threw her to the ground. He dodged a giant eagle attack from behind him, then picked her up and hopped into a small hole formed by the tangled roots of an old tree. ¡°Hush, don¡¯t make a sound; just hide for a while.¡± It was very difficult to squeeze two people into this small space. Therefore, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s two slender legs were clamped around Xiao Yu¡¯s waist, and her pointed chin rested on his shoulder. The two of them almost hugged each other tightly. The girl didn¡¯t notice this at first, but when her emotions calmed down, she immediately realized that their posture was a bit too ambiguous. After Jiang Xiaowen realized this point, her heart pounded nonstop as a roller coaster of emotions surged in her body, making her feel a bit shy, nervous, and a little eager and thrilled. She could even feel Xiao Yu¡¯s warm breath on her neck, the temperature of his body, and his steady and powerful heartbeat, giving her a sense of security. Right then, she felt an unexplainable sense of pleasure for some reason, and her face flushed even more after she perceived these embarrassing thoughts. Xiao Yu sensed that the other person¡¯s body temperature was gradually rising, and her breathing grew more rapid. Her entire soft body was glued to him, especially those supple, elastic, and plump breasts of hers. Between gasps of air, he could smell a refreshing scent that made people feel invigorated. This smell was very natural; it wasn¡¯t the effect that any perfume, let alone the so-called female body fragrance, could produce; it was most likely due to Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s special physique. Flower fairies were the most beautiful race in legends. Jiang Xiaowen has really awakened a certain degree of flower fairy blood, and her temperament and looks were now undergoing tremendous changes that exceeded human boundaries. CH 34 Even Xiao Yu¡¯s heart was slightly throbbing at this point, but he showed no signs of abnormality on his face. After all, he wasn¡¯t an average man; he knew how to control his emotions and suppress his urges. In this world, there were only two types of strong warriors. One is a person who is bound by their convictions and may offer everything, even their life, for the people or things they value. They believe in miracles, and those miracles have the power to make them stronger and, therefore, unstoppable. The second kind is a person who lacks empathy and worries, as well as emotional and spiritual sustenance. To him, a true warrior does not require emotions but weapons, as weapons were their most unshakable beliefs, and triumph was their ultimate conviction. This kind of person can really put everything down in a fight, will go forward indomitably, just to win, and they were often unbeatable. In his past life, Xiao Yu was fully the latter type and was likewise leaning towards the latter currently. In truth, there were only four people on the team who could be considered his buddies, and their strength was far from enough. ¡°Xiao Yu, we¡­ How long are we going to stay like this?¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s heart was beating fast, and she was embarrassed by the situation, so she broke the quiet first to distract her focus. The shrill eagle shrieking persisted incessantly, causing their eardrums to throb. They could hear the howling gale every ten seconds, accompanied by the sound of crushed branches and foliage. Even after everyone hid, the monsters did not give up on attacking them. Xiao Yu turned his head and looked out; then he saw a giant eagle landing not far away and above their heads. He shrank his neck back and said: ¡°Those giant eagles will attack everyone to protect their baby birds; all we have to do is wait quietly until they become sidetracked. That¡¯s when we get out.¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded her head slightly and uttered a single ¡°okay¡± She seemed to grow used to his touch, and she was no longer as tense as before, as her rigid body relaxed gradually; she also closed her eyes gently. However, the rosy glow on her cheeks never faded. The outside movement progressively ceased during the previous twenty minutes or so, and after another ten minutes had passed, there was finally complete stillness outside their hiding spot. Jiang Xiaowen was relaxed, and she laid her body on Xiao Yu¡¯s. Her breathing was even, and she made no sound as if she was asleep. Xiao Yu patted Jiang Xiaowen on the back and said, ¡°let¡¯s go out; it should be safe for now.¡± Jiang Xiaowen suddenly opened her eyelids with some difficulty and said with a hint of regret in her tone: ¡°Ah, so fast?¡­ Oh, okay.¡± She struggled to get her hand out, clung to a tough tree root, and slowly scuttled outdoors. Xiao Yu climbed out immediately after her. The outside forest felt unusually quiet, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves and sticks. Looking up, they saw a bloody corpse hanging on the branch of a big tree not far away. It was one of the two people taken away by the giant eagle¡¯s first attack. The corpse¡¯s body had a hole in its chest as it was launched from a great height and landed on a large tree, dangling between a big bough. The majority of its skin had been peeled off, and it was largely covered in blood, making it entirely unrecognizable. The other corpse, though, was missing, and no one knew where the giant eagle threw it. ¡°Miss Han, Fatty, Stone¡­¡± Xiao Yu cried out in a low voice, but the others nearby heard him, and the people who had been hiding came, one by one, out of their cover. ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± ¡°All of our group is here.¡± Han Kexin counted all the students of Fine Arts school, then turned her gaze to Huang Jianmin and asked in a low voice, ¡°what about the people from your side?¡± Huang Jianmin checked his people over and over again with a strange expression on his face. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Huang Jianmin replied solemnly: ¡°in addition to those killed by the eagle, two other individuals are missing¡­¡± Han Kexin: ¡°how¡¯d that happen? Could they have suffered a mishap?¡± Everyone decided to wait and search for the two¡­and in less than two minutes, a person pointed to a certain tree hole; his expression changed drastically: ¡°Ah, I found one here!¡± Everyone walked over and saw that hiding inside the tree hole was a young woman, just under 30 years of age, average in appearance, but was unfortunately dead. Her skull had been punctured by someone or something, and the clothing on her chest had been ripped open, displaying one full breast on the right and a bleeding hole on the left side of her chest, where her heart had been removed. ¡°Wang Yunfei!¡± Everyone thought of that name at the same time. Another man¡¯s body was discovered in less than five minutes. His manner of death was very similar to the woman¡¯s, as he also had his heart gouged. Now they were certain that the one who murdered him in secret was the resurrected Wang Yunfei. The terrible deaths of numerous individuals darkened the mood, and everyone now believed that a creature who rips people¡¯s hearts was secretly lurking around them, and the idea sent chills down their spines. Huang Jianmin said with a gloomy expression: ¡°Unexpectedly, this beast is still hunting us!¡± Han Kexin spoke up: ¡°If it follows us back to the underground cave, there will definitely be more casualties in the future. We must eliminate it as quickly as possible.¡± Jiang Xiaowen also looked worried, ¡°But he¡¯s so good at sneaking around that we can¡¯t even detect him.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t he like to engage in sneak attacks?¡± Han Kexin said, ¡°We can definitely lure him out. What do you think, Xiao Yu?¡± ¡°if he still maintains some intelligence, it¡¯ll be problematic, but let¡¯s give it a try.¡± Xiao Yu agreed with her thoughts, nodded his head, and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll act as the bait.¡± After everyone left that dangerous location, Han Kexin and the others took the lead and walked forward, leaving Xiao Yu 500 meters behind them. He appeared to be alone and looked defenseless without any weapons in his hands. Then after walking like this for about half an hour, Xiao Yu keenly noticed a black shadow flashing past in the surrounding woods¡­ Sure enough, it couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and was about to make a move. This also fully shows that although this Wang Yunfei was vigilant, it had no previous memories whatsoever; otherwise, it was impossible for the real ¡®it¡¯ not to know how powerful Xiao Yu is. Wang Yunfei was still lurking and did not launch an attack yet. Perhaps it was instinctively aware that this prey posed great danger, so it did not act for a long time. The beast appeared to be still lingering as each minute and second passed while it still had no intention of making a move. Xiao Yu scowled before he purposefully tripped over a tree root, losing his balance and falling to the ground, intentionally exposing a mistake. Wang Yunfei was startled and eventually stopped watching as it saw him about to fall to the ground, and as though an arrow on a readied crossbow was unleashed, it rushed out, heading like a flash toward his direction. Xiao Yun, who was about to tumble down, instantly slapped his left hand on the ground, causing his body to spring back up. His eyes turned red as he pulled the bone blade from the space ring with his right hand, then he quickly flipped over and slashed across with his weapon. Dang! A dull noise resounded throughout the woods as a sharp blood-red blade collided with the withered bone blade, and a huge force surged around, blowing a lot of dead leaves away from them. The two sides were evenly matched. However, in truth, Xiao Yu was passive in this exchange and did not rely on his speed at all. Therefore, he believed himself to be slightly stronger than his opponent. The person who appeared was indeed Wang Yunfei, but his body was utterly deformed, with his left hand being twisted into a red curved sickle-like blade, and his right hand much thicker and blood-red in color, while the surface area of his arms got covered with numerous raised blue veins, five of which were half a foot long. Most of his skin appeared like it melted, turning bright red and looking hideous and terrifying. In spite of everything, His new form really made it easier to dig out people¡¯s hearts. Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and said, ¡°It turns out that he was infested by a Heart Eater; no wonder he came back from the dead!¡± Wang Yunfei died a long time ago, and what was in front of him was a monster that was in the process of transforming into a heart eater. Heart eaters were not genuine demons. Nonetheless, they had a hint of demon blood, at least. They weren¡¯t weak and were very cruel and cunning by nature, and their favorite type of food was creatures¡¯ raw hearts. Fortunately for him, this heart eater has not yet matured; otherwise, Xiao Yu would definitely not be its opponent with his current strength. ¡°Roar!¡± The Heart Eater roared, and the five sharp claws on its right hand flashed like lightning toward Xiao Yu¡¯s chest. The claws left a few scratches on the black scales of his armor but couldn¡¯t penetrate through. When the beast failed its first attack, it hurriedly turned around and fled with a deep snarl, as it didn¡¯t want to keep fighting. But how could Xiao Yu let it go so easily? He instantly gave chase, but the Heart Eater¡¯s speed was equivalent to his, making it quite difficult to catch up. Xiao Yu put the bone blade back into the ring, took out the stabilizing wind bead, and summoned a Spear of Sand before he launched it at the escaping back of the Heart Eater. The beast¡¯s senses were sharp as it immediately dodged away, but then a sharp cyan wind blade immediately landed on its left arm, severing it off completely. The Heart Eater let out a heart-piercing scream, its speed suddenly increased by a notch, and it disappeared from his sight in an instant. Han Kexin and others had already heard the sound of fighting and finally caught up, ¡°He really showed up?¡± Xiao Yu put the wind bead back into the space ring, and with a serious expression on his face, he said: ¡°Yes, and I fought against it; what happened is that a heart eater parasite infested Wang Yunfei¡¯s corpse. It is weaker than me in terms of strength, but its speed is almost the same as mine, which means I can¡¯t stop it if it wants to escape. But this time, it was severely injured, and it will never recover without a long time of rest, so it will not be following us. But you still have to be careful in the future; now, it is just a new parasitic heart eater, so its power is still very weak. However, this kind of monster grows very fast, and it won¡¯t take long before it possesses the strength of a first-order monster.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ There were already many dangerous existences near the cave¡¯s vicinity to begin with, such as the goblin leader in the ruins of the school, the poisonous zombie in the depths of the abandoned coal mine, and the unnerving forest ogre whose exact location was still a mystery. Now another trouble was added to their never-ending list of troubles, yet now in the form of a parasitic heart eater. Everyone¡¯s situation could be described as precarious. The following trip did not involve any accidents. They explored the woods for five to six hours straight before finally discovering the mark left behind when they started this venture. Following the mark, everyone returned to that familiar forest and found the short mountain leading to the underground cave. Unexpectedly, while heading there, they actually bumped into a group of people who went out to collect wild fruits and plants. Almost all of these people were women. It was normal, though, since there were very few males in the underground cave, they were forced to arrange for females to collect food in this perilous environment, and the males actually became even fewer after some of them were taken away by Xiao Yu. So whether they liked it or not, girls must also start participating in food gathering and even hunting. ¡°Teacher Han, Xiaowen, it really is you! You are finally back!¡± A girl in charge of leading the team said happily: ¡°Senior Du Tao will be very happy to hear this news.¡± Han Kexin inquired ¡°did anything happen while we were away?¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s normal; it¡¯s just that when all of you didn¡¯t come back, everyone became worried.¡± She glanced at Huang Jianmin and others, ¡°These people are¡­¡± ¡°We met them on the way, and they¡¯ve joined our group now.¡± Han Kexin paused for a moment, ¡°let¡¯s go back first.¡± The girls immediately ceased harvesting fruits and brought everyone back to the underground cave. There have been a few tweaks here and there during their absence. For instance, the entrance to the underground cave was sealed with a mossy stone, and wooden spikes were placed around it to keep some creatures out. Despite Xiao Yu¡¯s departure, Du Tao really maintained order in the underground cave and did not disappoint him. CH 35 Back in the underground cave, no significant changes were detected. However, everyone inside was busy; some were making tools, and others were repairing weapons, cleaning, and processing supplies. The division of work was very thorough and orderly. Du Tao was undoubtedly a rare talent when it came to administration. In the days following their departure, he not only prevented others from panicking but also rallied and organized the people, from hunting and gathering to fair distribution of food to creating makeshift tools and weapons¡­ he organized everything and left no logistical task unintended. Even if Xiao Yu returned a week later, not much would have changed as long as no unforeseen event befell the group or the cave. The situation could improve steadily rather than deteriorate. Du Tao found that the number of people that returned was less than a dozen, and it was evident that the others would never return. He felt a little sad, but what was encouraging was that each one of these individuals who returned had undergone earth-shattering transformations. The strength of the weakest among them was not much different from Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s when she first left with others. While Han Kexin and the others three, being the strongest bunch of the group, all advanced to the elementary level. The team became much more solid with this lineup. Du Tao double-checked Huang Jianmin¡¯s new group¡¯s information. To his amazement, this collection of individuals included police officers, nurses, doctors, laborers, and chefs, just enough to fill the team¡¯s vacancies. In order to celebrate the return of everyone and welcome all new members that joined them, Du Tao decided to take out the stored meat and fresh wild vegetables. With the iron and clay pots they found in the goblin village, they could finally get rid of the burden of eating roasted meat every day. After all, it was mostly undercooked, stale, charred, and black, and it caused many to lose their appetites at first sight. This night, though, was different, as people gathered around the bonfire and enjoyed a tasty, fragrant stew. Huang Jianmin and the others were still a bit apprehensive at first, for fear that they had escaped the wolf¡¯s den just to enter the tiger¡¯s mouth, but after the night had passed, their dangling hearts felt at ease, and they fell in love with this place, willing to stay in the team permanently. After everyone had settled down, they spent the next two days recuperating and regaining their energy, resting in the underground cave all day long except when they had to go out hunting and gathering wild food. Xiao Yu¡¯s injuries were entirely healed thanks to Han Kexin¡¯s help, and his body had adjusted to its best condition after a full day of rest. He now felt that it was the best moment to fuse with that crystal of inheritance. Xiao Yu changed into light, clean clothing, went to a somewhat secluded cavern and asked Jiang Xiaowen to guard the cave¡¯s entrance. Jiang Xiaowen was happy to help and asked, ¡°How long will it take you to gain the skill?¡± ¡°It takes a few hours to fuse, and I may go into a deep slumber to do so. I really don¡¯t know for sure, but since this is not a high-level inheritance, it won¡¯t take long.¡± Xiao Yu paused and reminded: ¡°Remember that interrupting someone during that process is completely forbidden; if disturbed, there will be serious consequences ranging from wasting all prior efforts to seriously hurting or even crippling the individual.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face turned pale, ¡°it¡¯s that serious?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said: ¡°Well, now my well-being is completely in your hands.¡± Jiang Xiaowen felt like a big responsibility was dropped on her shoulders, but at the same time, she also felt appreciated, ¡°Thank you for trusting me, don¡¯t worry and just leave it to me. I will never let anyone disturb you!¡± Xiao Yu smiled slightly, turned around, and walked in; then he sat cross-legged in the center of the cave, holding the prism-shaped inheritance crystal in the palm of his hand, slowly closed his eyes, and concentrated his spirit bit by bit. Then, as if it had come to life, the sparkling crystal that he was holding in the palm of his hand started to emanate light and heat while slowly increasing in temperature. Almost at the same time, Xiao Yu felt as if a steel needle was piercing into his brain, and the intense tingling pain made him dizzy, and he almost lost consciousness. This was the spiritual power left by the flame goblin. This power would repel people¡¯s spiritual power and cause great pain in their souls. This was the pain that must be endured in the process of absorbing any crystal of inheritance, and sometimes it can even be dangerous and cause severe mental trauma. Fortunately, the power contained in the inheritance crystal was not very strong, while Xiao Yu¡¯s spirit was far more tenacious than most people, so once the momentary dizziness passed, he instantly returned to normal. Still, that spiritual force was like a sharp needle embedded in his mind, and Xiao Yu braved the anguish and continued to sink his consciousness into the radiant crystal in his palm. The inheritance crystal was melting into the palm of his hand, and at the same time, the light in it became brighter. Xiao Yu was not in a rush and took it in slowly. Despite this, a violent force, as well as a vast quantity of knowledge and information, were constantly integrating into his body system, though a large portion of that dissipated before it could be absorbed in time. When Xiao Yu¡¯s spirit was immersed in the inheritance crystal, a burning red flame emerged in his consciousness, and the flame gradually diminished during the fusing process, leaving behind a light translucent red glow in his core. The flame was the fire origins¡¯ power of the flame goblin. After absorbing it, it instantly increased his fire elemental power. While the red glow left behind in his body was the ¡°inheritance seed¡±, which contained all the information about the ¡°flame missile¡± ability, and was the key to mastering this skill thoroughly. People who come into touch with inheritance crystals for the first time sometimes overlook the significance of inheritance seeds and instead absorb only the origins¡¯ power, which can have immediate benefits. But this is a very unwise choice. Although the origins power of the crystal may immediately get you the skill without much difficulty, the skill itself will then lack the ability to continue to develop and increase in strength without the seed¡¯s help. Following Xiao Yu¡¯s method, the power acquired in the end will be reduced, but in the long run, inheritance seeds will generate more origins power and can even continue to grow the skill towards its limit. As such, the benefits obtained will be far greater than that of the former method. Ignoring the dissipating energy of the fire element, Xiao Yu did not hesitate to infiltrate his spiritual power into the emitted light red spots, pulling them out bit by bit and melting them into his spiritual consciousness. He just felt an incomparably pure power seeping in from his palm and eventually lingering in the black sea of his consciousness, transforming into a speck of bright light, then floating there like a star in the night sky. At this time, one-third of the energy of fire had dissipated. Xiao Yu seized the opportunity to absorb the remaining little bit into his seed, then the warm power again flowed into his body along the palm of his hand, finally enveloping the inheritance seed in his core before transforming into a dancing flame once more. Time passed, and the inheritance seed had been completely assimilated in his body, while only about one-third of the origins flame power had been absorbed. His overall fusion rate was about 58%. It would be considered extremely effective if the fusion rate exceeds the 50% mark. Most people couldn¡¯t achieve that, while very few people have heard of anyone who could reach an 80% absorption rate. It was an unrealistic number that only a handful of people could possibly achieve. The crystal in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand became dim and gradually fractured all over before it shattered with a clear sound. After the process was finished, He felt stuffed in his own body, and there was a strong warm current flowing from within him like he was a balloon that was pumped with gas. He immediately realized the problem; his body had not fully absorbed all the energy. Xiao Yu controlled his body to digest the new energy little by little, which required both patience and conviction. It took around two hours of time for the warm current to gradually subside and be totally absorbed into his system. However, just as the last trace of power was being digested and his body was about to calm down, something unexpected happened. Another shocking power erupted in an instant, exploding like a volcano! Xiao Yu was shocked since this sensation was quite familiar to him, and the phenomenon that occurred later confirmed his conjecture even more¡­. Streaks of golden threads stretched out from his body organs, intertwined and wrapped around him, finally forming a big golden cocoon. Jiang Xiaowen was standing outside with her fine-looking green spear in her hand, her expression remained serious, but as a powerful golden light flashed from the cavern, she grew startled. Then, worrying that Xiao Yu might be in danger, she hurriedly walked inside to have a look. A look of ecstasy instantly appeared on her face, and she immediately covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming: ¡°Great, Xiao Yu is finally evolving into the first order!¡± She stood there watching him when a break emerged in the golden cocoon about five minutes later, and a tongue of fire blasted out of it. Fortunately, Jiang Xiaowen reacted quickly and dodged to the side; otherwise, the flames would have scorched her black. The golden cocoon entirely broke open as Xiao Yu¡¯s figure emerged. The clothing on his body were burnt to ashes underneath the scorching flame energy, revealing him to be¡­ totally naked! Xiao Yu changed significantly after advancing into the first order. He grew taller and stronger than ever before. He didn¡¯t have nearly as many muscles as Jinshi, but they were well-proportioned and dense, just like a leopard. You could tell his body was full of explosive power. Fortunately for Jiang Xiaowen, who saw everything, Xiao Yu still had his eyes closed while his whole body was glowing reddish; he had already fallen into a deep slumber at this moment. She breathed a sigh of relief while her heart was still agitated, then she ran out of the cavern blushing. Not long after, Han Kexin and Jinshi both came back from hunting. The former immediately went to find Jiang Xiaowen; then she approached the cavern with a smile on her face: ¡°Today¡¯s harvest is excellent. Aside from a pile of wild fruits, we also killed a deer and a couple of sizable hares. Those rabbits are enormous. Each one actually weighs around fifteen to sixteen pounds.¡± ¡°Hush!¡± Jiang Xiaowen hurriedly made a silence gesture with her fingers, pointed inside the small cavern, and whispered: ¡°Xiao Yu is still absorbing the inheritance crystal; he now requires quiet. Let¡¯s not disturb him.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Han Kexin brought over dozens of meat skewers as well as a charred roasted rabbit leg that was wrapped in a large green leaf, then talked in a quieter voice, ¡°I roasted this with my own hands. I just added salt, then Du Tao found a type of wild pepper in the forest, collected it, and dried it to make wild pepper powder, which we added to the meat. In addition, it was smeared with animal oil for roasting, and the flavor is much more aromatic.¡± she said all of that, then handed her a bottle of juice and continued: ¡°There isn¡¯t much left of the beverages we brought back. I saved a bottle just for you. Here, it¡¯s your favorite orange juice.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiang Xiaowen scooped up the roasted rabbit legs. They were all dripping with hot oil and steaming, then she plucked a small piece of rabbit meat, chewed a few bites gently, and murmured, ¡°Teacher Han¡¯s cooking is tasty and smells amazing.¡± ¡°Of course, I put a lot of effort into roasting this.¡± Han Kexin took out a meat skewer and then sat down next to Jiang Xiaowen, ¡°We rarely have this much free time. Should we chat?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was happy as she ate: ¡°What matter does teacher Han want to talk about?¡± ¡°Xiao Yu.¡± Han Kexin softly pushed back a few strands of her smooth whitish-pink long hair. This unintentional act of hers was full of infinite temptation and appeal, leaving even the innocent Jiang Xiaowen dumbfounded, ¡°He used to be unremarkable in class, so I always wonder what kind of man he used to be. I heard that he pursued you for a long time. Is this actually true? Can you tell me about it?¡± CH 36 ¡°Xiao Yu, he¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen put down the roasted rabbit leg from her hands as she seemed to be quite interested in this topic, blinking her pair of beautiful eyes repeatedly: ¡°He and I used to be classmates in high school, and we even learned painting in the same studio. Xiao Yu used to be a quiet guy with an introverted personality, and he acted nervous often while interacting with girls. However, he is known in class for his cool head and will not take the initiative to disturb others. He has never been angry, in my opinion, and he sometimes does not become angry even when he is harassed, and he wouldn¡¯t complain to the teachers if he is exploited or suffers some injustice. He is very enthusiastic, willing to help others, and works hard; plus, he is always the first to perform the assignments given in class. All in all, he was someone who accepted life as it goes.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes sparkled slightly, ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that Xiao Yu was ever such a person. Compared to what you¡¯ve described, he now looks like an entirely different person.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right!¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded her head and continued with interest in her tone: ¡°Although he now speaks less and feels a little distant, he is still very good to us and doesn¡¯t regard us as a burden. He will also not mistreat anyone, and when incidents occur, the current Xiao Yu remains cool-headed, while his ability to fight is the best, allowing him to provide people with a sense of security. I believe he is far better than the previous lackluster Xiao Yu¡­.¡± ¡°You actually gave him such a high evaluation, hehe. Could it be that class monitor Xiaowen finally fell in love? Why didn¡¯t you choose to accept his confession from the start?¡± Han Kexin covered her mouth and smiled softly, causing Jiang Xiaowen to blush and feel a little frustrated at the same time. Jiang Xiaowen sighed quietly and held her lovely petite face with her two small hands, as her crystal-clear purple eyes seemed somewhat troubled, ¡°My family is very strict, so how can there be a chance for me to fall in love? Also¡­. I was still too young, I just wanted to focus on my studies, so I wanted to consider this kind of thing later on in life, and that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t think much about it. He was also immature at the time and had no idea how to impress girls at all. Yet now¡­ He has changed a lot, and he never looks at me like he used to. He surely doesn¡¯t like me anymore.¡± As she continued talking, her eyes started to grow dim. ¡°You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, Xiaowen, and even a rock would be tempted by you. So don¡¯t say that. Instead, you should have more faith in yourself.¡± The girl blushed and said, ¡°I¡­ how can I be that good¡­. actually, if we¡¯re talking about enticement, Teacher Han, on the other hand, is not only exceedingly attractive, but also has a nice body, very mature, calm and capable, and also very feminine. Everyone believes that if there is a lady in the world who can entice Xiao Yu, it must be you.¡± When Han Kexin heard her say this, she felt a minor tremor in her heart and peered at her with a half-smile, ¡°You silly girl, when did you get so good at talking? I¡¯m not as good as you say.¡± Jiang Xiaowen pursed her lips and hesitated to speak, looking quite adorable. When Han Kexin saw this, she broke out laughing and whispered something to her in a hushed voice. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s expression froze, and her cheeks became red again; then, she meekly looked down with a delicate and bashful look on her face. The two women sat side by side in front of the cave, eating delicious roasted rabbit meat and chatting for several hours straight, with the conversation being almost entirely centered on Xiao Yu. The noises of two ladies covering their mouths and smiling coquettishly echoed from time to time in the dim environment as they talked about various past events. Han Kexin lazily stretched her waist, and her graceful, alluring figure slowly reclined; then she stood up and dusted out her round buttocks before saying: ¡°I had a lot of fun chatting today, but it¡¯s getting late, and I can¡¯t just sit around and do nothing. I will go first to see if Du Tao has anything that needs my help. I¡¯ll leave Xiao Yu¡¯s guarding duty up to you then.¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded, ¡°Okay. Just go.¡± Han Kexin smiled slightly, turned around, and walked away. She hadn¡¯t gone far before she heard a loud sound from the direction of the entrance, accompanied by people¡¯s screams. She was taken aback, and she immediately took out her weapon and rushed over, fearing that something may have happened over there. The space in the underground cave was a bit chaotic, everyone came and went in a hurry with weapons in their hands, and everybody had a solemn and nervous expression on their faces as if they were facing a great enemy. In the middle of it all, Du Tao was shouting loudly to maintain order, trying to organize the panicking people. Though his own expression was a bit anxious. Looking around, he yelled, ¡°Where did teacher Han and Jiang Xiaowen go? Did nobody see them? You guys, go and find them for me!¡± He barely finished his words when almost immediately he heard someone shouting back at him: ¡°Here, Teacher Han is here!¡± Han Kexin heard the commotion, then ran over to his side and asked with a serious look, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Teacher Han, you¡¯re finally here, something bad! Something bad has happened!¡± Du Tao answered her quickly, ¡°one of our scouts found a group of goblin warriors wandering nearby. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯ve found this location yet. Still, our circumstances are dire. So I am now gathering people to go eliminate this group.¡± ¡°Goblins? How did they appear here?¡± Han Kexin¡¯s expression suddenly became solemn, and she immediately asked, ¡°How many are there? And what type of goblins?¡± Du Tao replied: ¡°According to the people who came back to report, there are about a dozen goblin warriors and hundreds of goblin slaves. Most of them came from the school. We¡¯re not sure if there are other types of goblins in the vicinity. But what I¡¯m most worried about is whether the goblin leader has also been dispatched¡­ What about Xiao Yu and Jiang Xiaowen? If the goblin leader appears now, I¡¯m afraid only you lot can fight against it.¡± ¡°Xiao Yu and Xiaowen can¡¯t join the battle for the time being; we¡¯ll deal with the goblins first.¡± Han Kexin said: ¡°Whatever the case may be, our top priority is to eliminate these goblins as soon as possible, whether it be for the sake of the cave¡¯s protection or for the sake of our future. Then again, we will have to return to the school¡¯s wreckage sooner or later, as there are a lot of supplies waiting for us over there, so we need to reduce the goblins¡¯ numbers as much as we can.¡± Du Tao agreed with her and said, ¡°I think so too.¡± Han Kexin: ¡°You just organize a team for me, and I will go out immediately.¡± He quickly organized a group of strong individuals before Han Kexin led them out of the cave. She noticed both Jin Shi and Wang Chao guarding the entrance with a dozen people each. When they learned that Xiao Yu and Jiang Xiaowen could not participate in the following battle, the three teams immediately headed toward the forest after meeting up. Within about ten minutes of traveling, they went up a low slope that was filled with overgrown thorns, and they finally came across the numerous goblins roaming around the forest, though the monsters were over 200 meters away from them. Thankfully, Du Tao¡¯s information was relatively accurate. There were exactly a dozen goblin warriors in total, with a hundred or so goblin slaves. After they discovered them, the other party also noticed their presence, as they were more sensitive than human beings could ever be. The goblins were taken aback for a moment, roaring a couple of times before raising their weapons, intending to slaughter everyone on the short hill. Jin Shi exhaled a sigh of relief. He let go of the strain on his heart and smiled confidently: ¡°Fortunately, the goblin leader isn¡¯t among them.¡± ¡°The surroundings are too quiet; something feels weird about this forest; I think there are more goblins around us than we might think.¡± Han Kexin took in their surroundings and muttered: ¡°Everyone, be careful.¡± ¡°Teacher Han, no need to be paranoid about it! It looks fine to me. Isn¡¯t it just a bunch of gray-skinned dumb dwarves?¡± Wang Chao took out his wheel-sized green battle axe from his back and continued, ¡°Let fatty be the vanguard; I¡¯ll first start by crushing the skulls of a couple of those damn dwarfs!¡± ¡°Wang Chao, don¡¯t be impulsive. Defense isn¡¯t your forth.¡± Han Kexin immediately stopped him, turned toward Jin Shi, and said, ¡°They¡¯re on their way, Jin Shi; you go.¡± Jin shi nodded, lifted the goblin shield, and his right arm got completely covered in a rocky layer before he roared and charged toward the monsters. Several goblin warriors attacked him, and their short spears caused various dull noises in the forest as they landed on top of the goblin shield on his hand. The sound of the spears and shield clashing together was harsh, but he ignored it before he attacked the monsters with his other hand, and the massive rock-strewn huge fist shattered the goblins¡¯ formation. Jin shi stood alone against the charge of the majority of the goblin warriors, and he successfully repelled the first wave of their attack! At this time, Wang Chao went berserk in an instant, leaping from the slope to the ground, his obese body turning into a fast and deadly leopard as he pounced on them. The green battle axe on both of his hands slammed against a goblin warrior¡¯s wooden shield, but before the other party could react, that huge force cut through both its shield and torso as it was sent flying seven or eight meters away. Just then, several other short spears stabbed him from all sides. However, Wang Chao reacted quickly, and his massive axe swung around in a circle, parrying all attacks. ¡°kill¨C!¡± Everyone rushed down from the low slope to fight with the goblins. Most of these people were the elite brought back by Xiao Yu. They had gone through several battles of their own, and their speed and strength were several times higher than ordinary people. In fact, their combined fighting power was enough to surpass each one of Han Kexin¡¯s and the others. They could instantly kill regular goblin slaves in just one exchange and even battle against the stronger goblin warriors and stall them for a while. All in all, their fighting power was quite good. Han Kexin joined the fight as well. The weapon enveloping her hands was the wolf¡¯s claw, which had a fairly limited attacking range yet was extremely sharp. After a few blows were exchanged, one goblin warrior was fatally wounded by her weapon, and right afterward, Han Kexin instantly used her ability and inserted the claw directly into the bleeding wound. As a result, the goblin warrior¡¯s body was sucked dry, and the blood absorbed was converted into a bloody mist through her blood sacrifice skill. Inside the red mist, her strength and speed increased greatly, and her fighting power immediately rose to a higher level. Although there were lots of goblins, their intelligence was too low, and their combat tactics were limited and full of flaws. On the human side, Han Kexin and the others were the main force, while dozens of other individuals with good strength cooperated with each other to fight slowly as they reduced the number of monsters bit by bit. Yunyun was among this crowd of people and had already stabbed four or five goblin slaves to death by herself. At this time, a goblin warrior nearby charged forward with a spear. The girl parried quickly and was almost stabbed by the opponent¡¯s weapons. She knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight it head-on, so she made a quick decision and turned around and fled. Jin shi, who saw this rushed from the side, roared, and blocked the goblin warrior¡¯s path with his large goblin shield. His huge rocky arm suddenly stretched out and slapped the monster on the head. With a bang, the poor goblin was immediately shot down underneath the soil, with only half its body exposed to air as it struggled to get out. ¡°Great opportunity!¡± Yunyun¡¯s eyes lit up as she seized the opportunity to kill the constricted goblin with her spear. Then after one fatal stab straight to the head, she received most of the essence and was now only a half-step away from advancing! ¡°Just one more, just one more, and I can evolve like the others!¡± Meanwhile, a muffled horn sound resonated across the woods at this time. Everyone in the crowd had heard this sound before and were all astounded¡­. there¡¯s no mistaking it; back when they came to this world, this was the exact sound they heard just before the goblin leader appeared before them. Which meant¡­.the goblin leader had finally emerged! (TN: ¡®fighting power¡¯ is a term that is repeated throughout the novel; essentially, it means the overall strength of the individual while combining all factors: strength, speed, and skills¡­) CH 37 The most worrying scenario still happened. Han Kexin quickly calmed down. She charged forward, grabbed and tore a goblin¡¯s throat, then shouted loudly: ¡°The goblin leader is on its way. We are not its opponents; let¡¯s retreat first, then we¡¯ll make a plan once Xiao Yu wakes up!!¡± After hearing her words, no one dared to linger around, yet the goblins refused to give up. They grew more agitated when they heard the horn¡¯s sound, actually increasing the frequency and intensity of their attacks and pressing forward step by step. The battle earlier was too intense, and the human beings fought fiercely against the goblins in melee fights consuming lots of their energy. But currently, the monsters grew more active as if the horn sound held miraculous powers, causing their might to also grow higher than before, and many were caught in this siege, finding no chance to escape for the time being. A shadow crept over everyone¡¯s hearts as they were all aware of how powerful the goblin leader was. At this point, all they could think about was getting out of there as soon as possible, they had no intention of fighting any longer, and their morale plummeted drastically. As a result, goblin warriors were impaling several humans to death every few seconds. Han Kexin spotted a person who was on the verge of evolving and just needed to defeat one or two more elementary monsters to advance. During his escape, he was besieged by goblins from all sides and ended up dying with three to four short spears embedded in his body. She couldn¡¯t help but feel heaviness in her heart. These were the team¡¯s finest elite members. Under Xiao Yu¡¯s leadership, they turned into surviving warriors who had gone through several life-and-death battles. Every death now was a huge loss to the entire team. What would she tell Xiao Yu if they were all dead? Han Kexin made a decision, gritted her teeth, and resolved herself, ¡°Fight!¡± She abandoned her intentions to retreat, waved her right arm, and the strong wolf claw¡¯s winds directly chopped a goblin rushing toward her into pieces. Right afterward, a goblin warrior surged forward to attack her. However, Han Kexin¡¯s plump and delicate body was as swift as springs. And to evade the onslaught, she leapt and flipped over, her slender legs then hooked on the branches of a big tree, and her sharp wolf claw in her dangling arm quickly swung around. The blood on the monster¡¯s throat bloomed, and it roared in agony before it fell to the ground. Han Kexin swung her legs, floated higher, and ripped apart another goblin as she dropped down. Wang Chao witnessed Han Kexin¡¯s heroism with his own eyes while his companions nearby fell one by one. He, too, couldn¡¯t endure it any longer and bellowed, ¡°Since we can¡¯t run, let¡¯s kill some of them!¡± Jin Shi also made up his mind, stopped, and shouted to the people around him: ¡°we will stall them for a while; you guys run now before it¡¯s too late.¡± Then he lifted his huge rock fist and blasted into the crowd, directly smashing a goblin slave¡¯s skull to pieces. The wooden clubs and short spears fell on his rock-strewn arm in retaliation, leaving some small marks and cracks, but they couldn¡¯t cause any serious damage at all. ¡°eat this!¡± Jinshi growled and knocked multiple goblin warriors to the ground with one charge of his shield. Everyone else took the opportunity to turn around and flee; only Yunyun stayed where she was, unmoved. At this moment, she felt her heart in turmoil because she knew that she was only half a step away from that level, the realm that she so envied the others for. She only needed to kill one more goblin warrior; yes! Only one more to achieve evolution. What Xiao Yu said was not wrong; she could really control her own destiny. A surge of courage erupted in this slender and beautiful girl. At this point, she even forgot the threat and fear brought by the goblin leader. She desired power, so she decided to take the risk and remained for a chance to kill an elementary monster! Yun Yun lurked by and locked onto a goblin warrior, launching a sneak attack from the side. This goblin warrior, though, was quite different from the others. It looked taller and stronger, the short spear in its hand was sharper, and the wooden shield it grasped was much bigger and thicker, with a few spikes on its surface. If Xiao Yu had been here, he would¡¯ve immediately recognized it to be an elite goblin warrior, which was a very strong elementary monster, twice as powerful as an ordinary goblin warrior! Once the elite goblin warrior heard a short spear thrusting toward its back, it became enraged, and then it twisted its head fiercely and easily knocked Yun Yun¡¯s spear off. As soon as it repelled the attack, it shot its hands back, and the short spear it grasped plunged into its assailant instantly. Yun Yun¡¯s slim and delicate frail body was pierced from the middle of her chest as red liquid gushed out, and the blood-stained spear tip protruded directly from her back. ¡°H¡­.how?¡± Yunyun¡¯s eyes widened. And her beautiful eyes were full of unwillingness while she muttered to herself, ¡°¡­ so close, I was so close.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± A whistling noise resounded through the forest. Everyone was stunned, and as they looked back, they saw a scorching flame shooting throughout the woods, leaving a brilliant trail behind before precisely bombarding the elite goblin warrior¡¯s body, blasting a big hole in its chest. Yun Yun was also wounded by the strong explosion, but it was this impact that brought her some time and gave her hope for survival. Yunyun¡¯s chest was pierced through, and the injury in her chest was definitely deadly. She could only survive for so long, thanks to her strong physique. She stumbled forward and exerted all of her remaining force to thrust out with a spear attack, stabbing into the severely wounded monster. The elite goblin warrior couldn¡¯t move away, and its heart was directly pierced through its chest before a massive amount of essence floated up and flew toward her. Eventually, the energy in her body reached a bottleneck, and it was compressed and burst out. Golden silk threads stretched out, instantly wrapping her seriously injured body into a big golden cocoon. Then, as the threads were gradually covering her vision, she saw a familiar figure not far away at the last moment. A man who was neither tall nor muscular but was still extremely powerful. ¡°Xiao Yu¡­¡± She evolved! Another person in their team was advancing toward the elementary realm! Han Kexin looked in the direction where the fireball came from, and then she spotted the two figures of Xiao Yu and Jiang Xiaowen. She couldn¡¯t help showing surprise and joy and shouted, ¡°Xiao Yu, Xiaowen!¡± Jiang Xiaowen raised her right hand, waved her green spear, and shouted back: ¡°Teacher Han, Xiao Yu, and I are here to help¡­¡± Before she finished speaking, her expression suddenly froze as she noticed an incredibly agile figure leaping out of the trees. The big machete it held was enveloped by a blue light aura; the monster then dragged its hand back and immediately shot a two feet long blue light, which directly struck Han Kexin. Jiang Xiaowen shouted: ¡°Teacher Han, watch out!¡± Whoosh! Before Jiang Xiaowen finished speaking, she felt a strong wind blowing by her side. When she turned her head to look, she was surprised to find that Xiao Yu, who was originally standing by her side just now, was no longer there. He rushed tens of meters away instantly and at an unimaginably fast speed. A goblin warrior attempted to stop him, but just as it lifted its short spear, it was cleaved in half by a blade strike with no delay. How did Xiao Yu make that move?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t even see it clearly. Was this the speed a first-order warrior possesses? Her thoughts were racing. A distance of more than one hundred meters, Xiao Yu, covered it in a blink of an eye, but he was still a bit far. The goblin leader¡¯s light streak had already been launched, and it was about to chop Han Kexin in half. He was still at least ten meters away¡ªwith a single worry in his mind. At this rate, I won¡¯t catch up! At this juncture, Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes of insight had exceeded their limit, and he felt a bang go in his brain as if a bomb had exploded within. Both of his pupils constricted abruptly, revealing a slew of bloodshot red eyes. ¡°Bullet time!¡± His new innate skill was fully activated. For a brief while, Xiao Yu¡¯s ears went mute, and he was unable to hear any kind of sound. He had the strange feeling that his mind had entered into an unheard-of ghostly state. The feeling as if the whole world was moving away from him¡­ Even his own breathing and heartbeats were not perceptible by his senses anymore, and a strange scene then happened. The motion of everything around slowed down substantially until the entire world looked like it almost came to a standstill. Everybody¡¯s expressions were completely frozen, and their actions had slowed from ten to a hundred times, becoming almost completely immobile. Everything was frozen in time! Xiao Yu¡¯s body was practically frozen in time and space, yet his thoughts were still racing. He attempted to move his body, but it seemed like a heavy mountain was pressing down on him, and even moving his fingers required a great deal of effort. Now, he was in a strange state, and everything around him was quiet. He felt like a weightless astronaut in an unnatural space, taking one step at a time¡ª one step forward, two steps, three steps¡­ The machete of the goblin leader in midair was falling at an extremely slow speed, and the cyan light was approaching Han Kexin¡¯s head bit by bit. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes dilated. The redness in them grew rapidly, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his eyelids. He gritted his teeth as it took all the strength in his body to forcefully swing the weapon that seemed to weigh a thousand catties. The sharp blade wind slowly rose upwards, greeting the falling cyan blade light, and the two forces collided in midair. Bullet time lifted! The whole world returned to normal, and Xiao Yu could once again feel his breathing, heartbeats, and all kinds of noises resounding in his ears. At that instant, an overwhelming force came crashing down against him, causing his hand to hurt. His wrist must have been sprained as he realized how terrifying the goblin leader¡¯s strength was! Boom! Right afterward, the long machete collided with the gray-white blade, and the two beings with first-order strength clashed head-on. The two huge forces met in midair, creating sparks together, and the center of the clash formed the heart of a hurricane as blasts of harsh breeze continued to erupt in all directions. The bushes and foliage swayed, and the fallen leaves on the ground were swept into the air and shattered one by one before floating away. In the eyes of Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and the others, Xiao Yu¡¯s already extremely fast speed suddenly increased by several times, and he moved to Han Kexin¡¯s side almost instantly, swinging his blade to repel the attack of the goblin leader. It was incredible! Jiang Xiaowen had her eyes wide with amazement as she exclaimed, ¡°This is nothing short of a miracle!¡± Bullet time ¨C Xiao Yu¡¯s new innate skill. When the eyes of insight are used to their limit, a powerful skill will then be activated. The effect of the ability is to instantly make the brain¡¯s cognitive and calculating abilities much more powerful than before, all while exerting the biggest impact from the eyes of insight, generating an effect that briefly halts time. Where his consciousness could roam freely, forcing his body to perform various actions. This ability was both useful and terrifying. It is plausible to say that using ¡°bullet time¡± suddenly while fighting against an individual is akin to pressing the pause button in a game. Although it only lasted for a short period of time, it was enough to make many twists and turns in that brief period, with the potential of shifting the tide of battle altogether! Because to others, it was only a short moment that cannot be discerned, while Xiao Yu perceives a considerable amount of time passing, enough to see all of the opponent¡¯s flaws clearly. He can also move a few meters forward beyond the limit of his body, breaking through his stationary state and giving others the impression that he is teleporting. (TN: so the difference is that eyes of insight can make him see things clearly, allowing him to see flaws, dodge, etc. but still within his body¡¯s capabilities, bullet time can make him see things slower and even move his body, so they are two different skills, but bullet time is still an evolved skill of the eyes of insight.) CH 38 Xiao Yu panted heavily, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. His limbs felt numb, and he experienced a slight hint of weariness. His eyes were burning as if chili pepper water had been poured into them, while two clear blood lines trickled down from his eye sockets. When he used ¡°bullet time¡± earlier, the strain it generated was as intense as the skill itself, and as a result, he had to expend a lot of physical energy to uphold it. Xiao Yu almost passed out, even when he used the skill while being in his best condition. Nevertheless, he braved through the fatigue, flung aside the opponent¡¯s machete with all his power and swung the long blade with one hand hacking toward the goblin leader. The monster was very confident in its abilities, so after it had its attack blocked by that bone blade, it was greatly shocked and outraged, and then it easily parried the blade and counterattacked. Xiao Yu dodged hurriedly before a ball of flame almost instantly ignited in his left hand and blasted toward the opponent. The goblin leader slammed its machete against the projectile to repel it, and the fireball exploded violently as the flames scattered everywhere, causing the monster¡¯s sparse hair and chest to ignite in fire while a piece was blown out of its leather armor, making it scream in pain. Taking advantage of the small victory, Xiao Yu pursued and fought it off several times in a row like lightning. Sparks flew from the collision of the blades, and the dull sound of iron against iron slamming into one another echoed out in the forest. The goblin leader suddenly sprang up in the air, and a sharp blue light streak fell on top of his head. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t dare to receive it head-on and dodged to the side. All of the dead leaves and sticks below were blown aside, leaving a deep, several-foot-long sword mark on the ground. After the goblin¡¯s last attack failed, it immediately turned around and jumped more than ten meters away, slapping off the lingering flames on its head and chest as they dissipated. The two sides fought one another in a split second, and everything happened too quickly. Han Kexin came to his side, put her hand on his hair before she wiped off his sweat, and said helplessly, ¡°Once again, I owe you my life.¡± Xiao Yu was panting hard, holding the blade in one hand and covering his aching eyes with the other, and said with some difficulty: ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up for long. When we fight later on, I won¡¯t have time to care about other people, so protect everyone and watch out for yourself.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Why are they bleeding?¡± ¡°No worries, it¡¯s just that my body can¡¯t quite handle this new skill yet.¡± Han Kexin saw Xiao Yu¡¯s determined expression from the side, and for some reason, her heartbeats sped up by a bit. Following that strange feeling, her hands closed together, and the red mist around her body immediately rushed towards Xiao Yu, greatly relieving his physical fatigue, while the tingling sensation in both his eyes weakened a lot. Amidst the commotion around the woods, one monster after another emerged from behind the trees, as several goblin warriors and goblin slaves rushed out to join the battle, and eventually, all of the goblins from the school wreckage were dispatched over to this side of the forest. The most likely scenario was that the food nearby had been exhausted; therefore, this group of goblins set out to explore new territory, although they didn¡¯t expect to encounter everyone else from before. Jiang Xiaowen flew over with her pair of beautiful butterfly wings and sprinkled countless shimmering light particles over the charging monsters, which immediately made a dozen goblin warriors rushing in front of them stand still. At this time, Du Tao and Huang Jianmin also appeared, and they brought with them a large number of people to join the fray. Several of which were armed and shot wildly from a distance. The sound of gunfire resonated across the woods, and the goblin slaves immediately collapsed down, while as many goblin warriors got injured. The monsters were startled and enraged, and they charged up with ferocity, stepping over their companions¡¯ dead bodies to reach their enemy. Both sides struggled fiercely against each other, and this conflict quickly escalated into a decisive war between goblins and human beings. Huang Jianmin watched as a small number of goblins surged up toward their area. Armed with the submachine gun they retrieved from the police station, he pressed the trigger and repeatedly shot, as blood spattered from those monsters before they fell down. Most of them had already lost their fighting power in the melee fights, and they died with one shot on the spot. He put in a new magazine, pulled the trigger, and fired at another group of monsters not far away. Although the power of this kind of firearm was not as potent, it was more effective against large-scale groups of monsters below the first order. They had brought a total of three submachine guns and more than ten pistols from the police station. After several rounds of shooting, one-third of the goblins all suffered varying degrees of damage. Huang Jianmin realized that the continued use of firearms might eventually backfire. After all, the goblins and humans were already facing each other in melee combat; hence, he was afraid to injure one of their companions. Add that to the fact that there were not many bullets left in their arsenal, so he ordered the others to also change into melee weapons and join the battle. Xiao Yu recovered a little after a short period of healing; then, he suddenly spotted the goblin warrior chasing a student. His left palm immediately sparked a fireball and immediately launched it toward the goblin warrior. ¡®boom¡¯ The explosion seriously injured it, and the raging flames enveloped its whole body in the blink of an eye, as it turned into a flaming figure rolling around in agony. The flames eventually dissipated, revealing a scorched black goblin warrior. In that brief while, he slashed four to five goblin warriors to death in quick succession, relieving everyone¡¯s pressure. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± The big machete in the goblin leader¡¯s hand was full of bluish light, and a brilliant light streak slashed across. That student swung his spear to defend himself, and in an instant, the short spear in his hands was destroyed like a piece of paper. He fell back before he could even utter a word, and his body was split in half in the air as it flew away. The lower body fell five to six meters away, but the upper body flew more than ten meters away and landed amidst a patch of grass while his blood and internal organs got scattered all over the ground. The monster let out a long roar once again and jumped up into the air before dragging out another blue light streak, launching it toward Jin shi, who was locked in battle with two goblin warriors not far away. The goblin leader¡¯s attack was too fast, and Jin shi couldn¡¯t dodge it in time, so he could only bite the bullet and hold the goblin shield to resist. Just then, he felt like a huge mountain was pushing down on his shoulders; his left arm was utterly frozen by the impact, and his legs sank deeper into the ground; his mouth was wide open as he spewed a mouthful of blood. The pain he felt was intense. The goblin leader didn¡¯t have much time to break through Jin shi¡¯s defenses as it heard a whistling sound coming toward its face. It was well aware of the danger and swiftly turned over to dodge. A raging fireball tore through the air and flew straight at it, merely missing by a few millimeters. Right after the goblin evaded the fireball, and before it could even land from mid-air, an extremely fast figure raced rapidly, jumping up on the way while kicking a tree trunk and shot towards it like a bullet, reaching it in a split second before he slashed at its head with a long blade. Sparks flew out into the air as the goblin leader blocked the fast attack with a horizontal swipe. A powerful force pushed it out of the sky, and its legs slid several meters on the ground before stopping. At this time, there was an explosion sound from behind, and the fireball finally exploded upon impact with a big tree, resulting in a burst of flames. Red eyes gazed at the opposite party as the blood in the corner of Xiao Yu¡¯s eyelids congealed. The goblin leader¡¯s expression grew vicious, and the large machete in its grip swung a blue ray of light in the direction of its enemy. The extremely fast figures chased each other as blue sword lights intertwined with red flames, and the trees were chopped and burned as they passed by. The fight grew much more heated! The goblin leader had a very tyrannical strength. Xiao Yu was barely on par with the monster, even with the help of his eyes of insight. He had just recently joined the first-order ranks, after all, so for the time being, victory didn¡¯t lean on anyone¡¯s side, and the face-off slowly turned into a war of attrition. Unfortunately for Xiao Yu, nearly half of his spiritual power was squandered as a result of using his ¡°bullet time¡± skill in the beginning, and if he kept fighting in the same manner, he couldn¡¯t possibly win. On the other side of the battlefield, Wang Chao forcibly smashed a goblin¡¯s wooden shield with an axe, cut off the opponent¡¯s arm with a swing of his weapon, and then cut off its leg with another chop. He grabbed its head with his big hand and threw it back before he rushed forward with his weapon and cleaved the goblin warrior to death. After all of the continuous battling, his strength increased by more than a quarter. Not only he but also several other individuals had an increase in strength. At the moment, regular goblin warriors were relatively weak, as they were no longer able to pose a threat to Han Kexin and the others. So with their help, the people on the team could also contend against them in hopes of advancing. After all, the appearance of a few more elementary fighters would be very helpful in improving the overall strength of the team. The number of goblins was decreasing rapidly, and the Wang Chao, Jin Shi duo had already retreated before they rushed directly towards the goblin leader, one on the left and one on the right, attacking it respectively with a rocky arm and a green battle axe. The goblin roared angrily and slashed at the two of them with a blue light streak. Jin Shi quickly blocked it with his shield, and Wang Chao also held the giant ax in both hands to resist, but the slash was too strong, and the two were sent flying as soon as they came into contact with that energy. Falling back into distance. Before the goblin leader had time to withdraw its machete, a fireball flew towards it. The monster blocked once again with its weapon horizontally, only this time it was too late, as a blade quietly came from the side and pierced its shoulder armor, sinking several inches deep into its flesh. In a fit of rage, the goblin angrily extended out its left hand and grabbed Xiao Yu¡¯s blade so he could no longer move around. At the same time, allowing the sharp blade to slightly cut its hand before it launched out another blue ray of light with its right hand cutting across. Xiao Yu resolutely gave up the withered bones blade and quickly backed away. His chest was slightly nicked by the blade¡¯s tip. Thankfully, the black scales armor received and absorbed the majority of the force, and he only sustained minor flesh wounds. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t care about his bloody chest. With a thought, the light of the space ring suddenly flashed, and the stabilizing wind bead appeared in his hand, gathering two light blue wind blades and shooting toward the enemy. After it spotted the two fast wind blades flying towards its body, the goblin leader swung the large machete in its hands and slashed at the wind blades fearlessly. Suddenly a hurricane erupted, and the extremely powerful wind blades were split in half, while the goblin leader staggered back six to seven steps in a row and it almost fell to the ground. Xiao Yu used the power of the wind bead again to materialize a sand spear, and with a wave of his hand, it shot out with a whoosh. At the same time, a fireball was condensed in the palm of his other hand and was thrown toward the opponent at a tricky angle. The goblin leader awkwardly dodged the powerful sand spear but was still directly hit by the fireball. Its flank got covered in blood, and its leather armor was completely broken apart. The monster was severely injured by this blow, and when it saw its own subordinates falling down one by one, it became furious. A violent and bloodthirsty light shone from its eyes, and its skin swelled up rapidly. Seeing this, Xiao Yu¡¯s expression changed greatly, ¡°this is bad; it¡¯s going berserk!¡± He swooped down, rolled, and picked up the bone blade that had fallen to the ground, preparing to slash at the goblin leader again, but the latter¡¯s onslaught had already followed him. Xiao Yu was already inferior in terms of strength, to begin with, and now that the goblin had doubled in speed and power by activating its ¡°rage¡± skill, how could he resist? Xiao Yu didn¡¯t dare to and tried his best to avoid the fast and fierce attack. His eyes reflected the blue light of the machete as it was getting closer and closer, almost falling on his face. His pupils shrank suddenly, and he murmured to himself: ¡°it¡¯s too fast; I can¡¯t dodge!¡± CH 39 Bullet time! Xiao Yu was not an indecisive individual; especially when it came down to his own life and death. He immediately used his new innate ability without hesitation. Suddenly, there was a ¡®bang¡¯ noise in his head, and he found himself back in that ghostly and mysterious state. His breathing and heartbeats stopped, and as if he had entered the mystical underworld, everything around him was calm and still. The goblin leader¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and its face was ferocious. Its figure was originally extremely fast; however, the blue machete light that was previously difficult to distinguish with the naked eye was now approaching him at a slow speed. At this moment, it was no more than ten centimeters away from his head. Xiao Yu resisted the intense pain tearing through his body, exerted all of his strength, and kicked his legs down. Then, as if he were traveling in a weightless space, he flew up to one side lightly and slowly, avoiding the deadly attack. At the same time, he forced his right arm to move, and the blade on it slowly slashed at the goblin¡¯s left shoulder. The goblin leader actually reacted, and its weapon turned slowly, and the blue light streak slightly changed direction. Xiao Yu felt a stabbing pain in his head, and the bullet time was lifted. In the next moment! The blue machete light streak and the gray-white sword collided together. Xiao Yu flew upside down like a kite with a broken string amidst the exceedingly loud noise of the collision. He fell to the ground, rolled more than ten meters, and then hit a big tree before stopping. The tree seemed like it was smashed into pieces by a cannonball! All of that took time to describe, but none of the individuals there had the ability to react. Even Han Kexin and the others couldn¡¯t tell what had happened. They only saw the flash of the blue machete, and Xiao Yu was sent out flying. Acting in the bullet time state, I can temporarily break through the shackles of my body¡¯s limit and forcibly increase my speed to three times the normal limit. I didn¡¯t expect that the goblin leader in the berserk state would have the ability to barely react¡­ Xiao Yu¡¯s condition was very bad at the moment. In the state of bullet time, breaking through the limit of his body to move will not only consume a lot of spiritual energy but also hurt his body, and a heavy blow at this time will undoubtedly make the situation even worse. Due to the enormous strain, several veins ruptured during that state, and blood splintered out of his pores. When Xiao Yu sat up, he almost turned into a bloody figure, and his eyes felt so painful that it was difficult to open them. There was tearing pain everywhere in his body. The blade in his hands felt strange, and when he lifted it up, he heard a cracking sound in his ear. The bone blade split from the middle, and the upper half of the grayish-white blade fell to the ground and got stuck into the soil. The goblin leader¡¯s blow severed the weapon abruptly, and he sensed a wave of stiffness in his right arm, as well as unusual wrist pain. His arm was most likely broken. On the other hand, the goblin leader had a stab wound on its left shoulder. The cut was quite deep, severing blood vessels and even reaching the bones, and its goblin¡¯s unique crimson blood spilled outward. Even though it had managed to knock Xiao Yu into the air, it was still seriously injured as well. And under that injury, its speed ??and momentum were slightly weaker than before, yet, with it being in the berserk state, the goblin was still far stronger than normal. The large tree deformed by Xiao Yu was still shaking and gave no time for him to breathe, it was about to fall when he heard it creak, and he immediately swung his half blade and chopped it off. Xiao Yu dropped the broken blade, slammed the ground with his left hand, and awkwardly flung himself back to avoid a sudden attack. The goblin missed its target, raised its machete, and slashed once again. He was forced into an unavoidable situation, and just as he clenched his teeth and resolved himself to fight it to the death, a short spear engulfed in flames shot at them, forcing the goblin leader to halt its movements and back away from that powerful flaming projectile. The short burning spear flew past the goblin, and the blow was taken by a nearby goblin warrior instead. Its chest was pierced with a fist-sized hole, and the internal organs inside were completely scorched by the blazing hot flames, with not a drop of blood flowing out. The short spear continued to pierce through two goblin slaves before being lodged in a large tree, where the flame quickly spread. Xiao Yu, who was about to use bullet time again, was greatly surprised as he really decided to risk his life in that instant. Fortunately for him, the attack came in a timely manner. Looking in the direction of the short spear, he happened to see a slender, thin and beautiful figure¡ªit was Yunyun. Did she evolve? The short spear was obviously thrown by her, and it looks powerful. It should be an attack-oriented innate skill. ¡°Fuck you, eat my axe!¡± Wang Chao, who was lying on the ground, saw that the battle situation was not looking good for Xiao Yu, so he flung his huge axe out. As soon as the goblin reached toward the axe and parried it in the air, it felt a figure flying over its head again. Jiang Xiaowen fell from the sky with the green spear in her hands and stabbed toward the monster. At the same time, Han Kexin launched a surprise attack from behind. Shiny dust particles flew down from the air, and the goblin leader was taken aback as the blood-red color in its eyes quickly receded. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ¡°Dream dust¡± ability actually got rid of the monster¡¯s ¡°rage¡± skill, and just when it grew dazed, the sharp green spear pierced fiercely into its chest. Jiang Xiaowen was overjoyed, thinking that her sneak attack had succeeded! However, dream dust was a kind of mental attack after all, and the effect would be greatly weakened for existences whose mental strength was higher than her own. As a result, she had a moment of distraction. During this split second, the goblin leader grabbed the green spear that was about to pierce its heart and vigorously yanked it out. After spinning in a half circle, the monster threw her directly into the bushes amidst the girl¡¯s screams. Then, Jiang Xiaowen fell straight down upon colliding with a large tree. Han Kexin was covered in a blood mist as she hustled forward, her wolf claw weapon twirling, its cold light flashed, and she attacked from different angles, yet each one of her attacks missed. Her combat experience was not rich, and she was completely suppressed in only three to five rounds of exchange. Finally, the goblin slashed out with its machete, and she was slashed to the ground as she cried out in pain. Anyone else who suffered that kind of injury would¡¯ve surely died, but Han Kexin immediately urged the blood mist around her to rush towards the wound, healing it up in an instant. Xiao Yu stood up, holding the wind bead in his hands, and a cyan wind blade flew towards the goblin leader who was about to give Han Kexin a fatal blow. The goblin cut the wind blade down directly, and in a fit of rage, it decided to deal with this major threat first. So it rushed towards Xiao Yu yet again with a kick of its legs. ¡°Miss Han!¡± Xiao Yu yelled, then his and her eyes met, and the two completed eye contact in an instant, reading the hidden meaning from each other¡¯s eyes. Han Kexin, who fell on the ground, stretched out her hand and pointed it toward the goblin leader, whose back was now facing her. The ring on her slender finger began to glow red. Blast flame! The goblin slashed down with its weapon, only this time Xiao Yu didn¡¯t dodge. Instead, he immediately released the power of the stabilizing wind bead, and a powerful gust of wind flared up around him, forming a small vortex of wind and sand. The ¡®wind and sand tornado¡¯ had so many small wind blades twisting and turning inside it, and the goblin leader couldn¡¯t dodge it in time. Numerous wind blade cuts appeared all over its body in the blink of an eye, and just when it was about to retreat, a scorching wave of heat suddenly came from behind. It was startled, and when it looked back, it saw that the massive fireball was close at hand; it was enraged but couldn¡¯t dodge. It could only defend with the machete. ¡°boom¨C!¡± Amidst that deafening explosion, the flames soared into the sky, and the ground was dug out by the force of the explosion. The goblin leader, who was covered in bruises and scars, was tossed out like a piece of paper and directly fell upon the wind and sand tornado. The blades around the tornado started piercing its body in the air. The wind and sand tornado gradually dissipated, and Xiao Yu, who was covered in blood, held a two-handed sword in his hand, and the sword fully pierced through the monster¡¯s heart. Xiao Yu was feeling extremely tired as he fell down on his butt. Han Kexin also breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°it¡¯s finally dead; you killed it!¡± Four to five balls of light appeared, and one of them was a huge ball of essence. It floated out and was divided into several parts, which were mainly absorbed by Xiao Yu and Han Kexin, while Jiang Xiaowen also got a bit. Han Kexin absorbed one-third of that essence of energy, and the total amount of that energy was no worse than a dozen elementary monsters¡¯ worth. In one leap, she, who was only in the early stage and a step away from the middle stage, directly entered the late elementary stage, and her strength more than doubled. After Xiao Yu absorbed the rest, his power became much more consolidated. The goblin leader was finally killed, while seventy to eighty goblins were also slaughtered. The rest dared not stay and fled in all directions, hiding deep in the woods. The goblin warriors were almost entirely dead, and the remaining goblin slaves could no longer pose a threat, so they didn¡¯t bother to chase them down. In this battle, more than 180 goblins were eliminated, with 14 causalities on the human side. After Jiang Xiaowen got thrown away by the goblin leader, she was scratched in many places, her tender skin was cut, in which blood flowed out, and her hair was messy, full of dirt and dead leaves. She was still dizzy from her head hitting that tree, and there was a large bruise on her forehead where a large bump bulged, while a small trace of blood was hanging from the corner of her mouth. She almost shed tears from the pain, but these were all just minor wounds, and she didn¡¯t suffer from a fatal injury. ¡°Xiao Yu, why are you covered all in blood?¡± Jiang Xiaowen staggered over, then looked at Xiao Yu¡¯s horrifying appearance and hurriedly said to Han Kexin, ¡°Teacher Han, treat Xiao Yu first!¡± Han Kexin walked over to his side and carefully helped him up before pushing the blood mist to heal his body. Xiao Yu stretched out his right hand, ¡°Please, heal my arm first.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s right arm was almost useless; even with the recovery ability of the elementary level, it would still take from five to eight days for it to fully heal. But that period was too long, and without his right arm, his fighting power will be greatly reduced. Han Kexin understood what he meant and immediately urged the blood mist to heal his arm little by little, ¡°Your newly acquired innate skill appears to be extremely dangerous; you have gravely pushed your body this time.¡± ¡°Exchanging some pain and injuries for the power to break through the limit is a good deal.¡± Xiao Yu felt that his arm was slowly recovering, and he turned his gaze to Yun Yun, ¡°You also have successfully advanced, and your ability looks quite powerful. Congratulations, Yun Yun.¡± The girl looked joyful, and raised the short spear in her hand. Her right palm then turned red like ruby and began steaming slowly toward the weapon. This type of flame was very strange; it only burned the spear¡¯s exterior layer and didn¡¯t burn or harm the short spear¡¯s body. ¡°My ability is called ¡®fire elemental enhancement¡¯, which can impart firepower to objects, resulting in increased destructive power, but the duration is very short, only lasting for a few seconds, and can only be used for a single projectile attack, unable to be sustained in a prolonged melee fight.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Fire elemental enhancement?¡± This skill had extremely high destructive power, the same as rampage and rock formation. In his previous life, most people obtained these precious skills through rare inheritance crystals. And even after five years had passed, that skill remained as much valuable. Yunyun was undoubtedly very fortunate to get it in the early stage. Han Kexin¡¯s face gradually turned pale, and Xiao Yu felt that his arm had almost recovered, so he let her rest: ¡°You have reached your limit, don¡¯t push yourself any further. Let¡¯s pack up the spoils and head back.¡± (TN: the two-handed sword is most probably the weapon Wang Yunfei used before he died) CH 40 Let alone mastering such a powerful skill like the ¡®rage¡¯ ability, ordinary first-order monsters were not even that much strong or tenacious. However, this time, the goblin leader they faced was a lord-type monster. Such monsters were typically many times more powerful than normal creatures of the same level, and killing them was much more difficult. However, risk frequently equals outcome, and the rewards obtained from this victory was extremely valuable. After a round of searching, a total of thirteen lower soul gems and six intermediate soul gems were obtained. It should be known that a single intermediate soul gem was equivalent to a whooping ten lower ones. However, in this battle, they gained a lot of other treasures that totally overshadowed the soul gems. Xiao Yu carefully picked up the few items dropped by the goblin leader and unsealed the first ball of light. It was a strangely shaped horn made of giant beast bones, and it was quite worn, with many small cracks and mottled blood stains. The totem painted on the horn can be vaguely seen, exuding a faint mysterious power. Xiao Yu immersed himself in it in order to learn more about the item. ¡°Broken Goblin Horn¡±, a low white equipment, holds the concentrated power of the goblin spirit and contains strong magic power. It can be used to diffuse ordinary beasts when blown, and its special ability is summoning an elite goblin warrior for a period of thirty minutes, needing a 24 hours amount of energy to be absorbed before it can be used again. Like the blast flame ring, this was also a magic item. While summoning-type magic items were pretty rare, elite goblin warriors were also quite strong elementary monsters. Xiao Yu examined the horn. He knew that summoning magic items were very rare and precious, but currently, this horn was not very interesting to him, so he passed it over to Du Tao and said: ¡°Your fighting power is still lacking; this horn can make up for that, so take it for now. It is entirely up to you how you use it.¡± Du Tao quickly took the horn and held it in his hands. An elite goblin warrior¡¯s strength was quite impressive, and with this horn, his safety in the wilderness will be greatly improved from now onward. Xiao Yu cracked open the second ball of light, and a black token appeared in the palm of his hand. The token¡¯s surface was smooth and engraved with long clear lines as it bore a goblin¡¯s head. Seeing this, Xiao Yu suddenly stopped moving; his face was filled with astonishment and joy before he burst out laughing. ¡°Black iron goblin Token¡±, a low white item made by a high-level goblin craftsman, using high-quality black iron material to forge the token. Its effects are unknown. ¡°What are you smiling at? Is this thing strong?¡± Jiang Xiaowen stared at the goblin head on the token curiously, ¡°The drawing on it is so ugly, is this black token also a magic item?¡± ¡°No, this isn¡¯t one.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°However, in a sense, this token is more precious than any item or piece of equipment we obtained, and no amount of currency can hope to purchase it. That¡¯s just how much valuable and useful a proof of qualification is.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked puzzled: ¡°Proof of qualification?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said: ¡°There is a group of high-level goblins on the continent. Very mystical and mysterious. They will be carrying some special commodities with them, such as rare and valuable magic items, unique potions, tools, and so on. People call them goblin merchants; however, these goblins all have weird traits. They will not trade with people unless the latter has a special relationship with them or they have one of these tokens on hand. Each token has only five purchase rights. Different tokens hold different treatment levels, and the level and quality of the items that can be bought with them will also be different. Above the Black Iron Tokens, there are the silver Mithril Tokens, then the fine Gold Tokens, and so on and so forth.¡± Wang Chao held a contemptuous and disdainful expression on his face, ¡°Tch, why should we trade with those damned dwarves. When I chop them off all one by one, won¡¯t we get everything they own?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°what we have faced till now are low-level goblins; they are just monsters with weak bloodlines. High-level goblins are completely different. We are talking about a civilized race with extremely high intelligence, they are good at making magic items, and their strength is very powerful; anyone who wants to provoke them must first deeply think about the consequences.¡± Han Kexin was taken aback, ¡°There are actually intelligent races on this continent?¡± Xiao Yu nodded his head, ¡°yeah, well, no civilization has ever been established on the continent yet, and though rare, some intelligent races do exist. Except for the elusive goblin merchants, other intelligent races often live in inaccessible locations in the form of tribes. Still, their society remains pretty loose without uniting as a single force. However, even after surviving in the continent of chaos for several years, it is difficult to spot one of these creatures. They are usually very powerful and often reject foreigners, so few people are willing to take the initiative to communicate with them. ¡° Han Kexin¡¯s eyes were bright, and she smiled slightly: ¡°You are really familiar with this land.¡± Xiao Yu laughed it off without explaining any further. The others didn¡¯t ask too much, either. They surely gossiped about it within their circle of friends, but it was very difficult for everyone to survive till now, and no one cared where the information came from anymore. As long as he could lead everyone to live, that was enough for them. Xiao Yu unsealed the third light ball, and following a loud bang, a clear low hum was heard, and a gleaming cold blade appeared in front of his eyes. The blade was cyan blue in color with a smooth surface, shining like a pool of spring water. This weapon had the same shape as the blade of withered bones, only two points longer. The blade was three fingers wide, and together with the handle, the weapon was four and a half feet long in total. Both handle and blade were seamlessly integrated, with no gaps between them. ¡°Luminous Beast blade¡±, peak white grade, formed from the spirit of an elite goblin leader, containing most of its abilities. Pouring spiritual power into the weapon can produce a blade light streak with huge destructive power that can cut iron like mud! ¡°What a beautiful weapon.¡± Jiang Xiaowen immediately said with a smile: ¡°Xiao Yu, good for you, you got a new blade!¡± Xiao Yu held the cold handle of the blade and waved the weapon lightly. A half-meter-long cyan light cut a deep mark on the ground. He couldn¡¯t help but praise it: ¡°It really is a good weapon! I didn¡¯t expect to get a weapon a hundred times stronger than the bone blade so soon after it was destroyed.¡± Han Kexin also smiled and said: ¡°With this blade in your hands, it¡¯s like adding wings to a tiger!¡± The Luminous Beast Blade could exert the same ability as the goblin leader¡¯s, which was the ability to launch a cyan ray of light toward opponents, but its power could not compare with the latter. Even so, it was still an incredible treasure, as it could enlarge the range of his attacks. Furthermore, using the blade¡¯s inbuilt sharpness to cut precious metals would feel like you were cutting mud instead. All in all, the goblin leader gave out three different items, among which the horn was relatively weak and could basically be disregarded. Although the token was largely useful, it had no use in the immediate short time. As for the other goblins, they also produced some items and equipment here and there. For instance, they found a ¡°Goblin Leather Armor¡±, which was a peak gray piece of equipment with a First-rank defensive magic circle engraved on it. They also got their hands on a ¡°Goblin Short Bow¡±, a medium gray weapon. Xiao Yu found their grades to be a bit low, but still, they were both good treasures. He considered handing over the goblin leather armor to Jiang Xiaowen. Her own ability belonged to the mental attacks category, and it consumed a lot of spiritual energy to use. since she had not directly improved her own skill set, and her combat ability was still relatively low, the goblin leather armor could offer her some degree of protection, as the armor itself can¡¯t even be pierced with a submachine gun¡¯s heavy shooting, and its defense was adequate, able to withstand most basic magical attacks, and it can also shield her from physical attacks, providing her with substantial protection. Seeing Xiao Yu handing over the goblin leather armor to herself, Jiang Xiaowen immediately took it and discovered that it was of a slightly higher grade than the black scale armor he was wearing. Her heart then was filled with a hint of sweetness. The shooting power of the goblin short bow was far superior to the simple makeshift bows they had previously crafted, and its power was comparable to that of ordinary rifles. Xiao Yu handed this weapon over to Yunyun without hesitation. Her ability to enhance objects with the element of fire was meant for shooting projectiles, after all. With her skill, the power and range of the arrows will be more than doubled. Even Xiao Yu had to avoid those shots. There was no doubt that Yun Yun was a natural archer. The girl took the short bow and played with it fondly; after all, it was the first real weapon she ever owned. Xiao Yu said regretfully: ¡°Unfortunately, we found no inheritance crystal. If we got our hands on the rage skill, our strength could at least be doubled.¡± When Wang Chao heard this, he grinned and said, ¡°You are really greedy; you actually want to imitate fatty¡¯s berserk powers? Just be content with what you have!¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and asked everyone to get ready as the people there started to pack their weapons and belongings. The earlier battle erupted suddenly, leaving them with no time to prepare. Consequently, more than a dozen people died in total, but everyone was already used to death. Except for the deceased¡¯s friends and close classmates, the others did not feel much grief, but in the end, they all braved through the days in joys and sorrows together, so people still felt some heaviness in their hearts; and just like that, everyone took their time and dug a simple hole where they quickly buried them. Even if the monsters came and dug them out again, it didn¡¯t matter since they just wanted a show of respect for their dead friends. Jin Shi¡¯s goblin shield was severely damaged, and it took him two lower soul gems to repair it. Wang Chao¡¯s axe was also damaged, and together with Xiao Yu¡¯s black scale armor, another lower soul gem was consumed. At present, they still have fifteen lower and seven intermediate soul gems in their possession. These types of consumables were quite valuable and should not be used carelessly. Xiao Yu¡¯s Withered Bone Blade, for instance, was broken, and to repair it, a total of at least three lower soul gems were required, which was too inefficient, so he had to give it up. Back in the underground cave, Xiao Yu no longer had any strength to walk on his own, so he was helped back to rest in his own cavern. It took Han Kexin a few tens of minutes to absorb a lower soul gem and recover nearly all of her spiritual power. In the meantime, Du Tao instructed someone to capture an animal specifically for its blood, and they used it for ¡°blood sacrifice¡± as Han Kexin transformed all of its blood into red-colored particles, which surrounded her body before she treated Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and Jiang Xiaowen in turns, then she filled some water in a container and walked towards Xiao Yu¡¯s personal cavern. Xiao Yu was lying on the cold ground. Every inch of his skin ached like it was going to tear; his eyes felt so hot that he couldn¡¯t open them as he covered them with both hands. He felt nauseated and dizzy due to mental exhaustion, and all kinds of unpleasant feelings overwhelmed him as a result of his preceding body neglect. Even a tough warrior like him was unable to move at this point, lying on the ground like a corpse. ¡°Miss Han?¡± Xiao Yu overheard some footsteps approaching, then he pressed his left hand on the ground reluctantly, sat up halfway, and opened his eyes; he could only see a vague figure shaking left and right, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Your injury seems to be more serious than I thought.¡± Han Kexin sat cross-legged beside Xiao Yu and whispered in his ears with her attractive rosy lips: ¡°Lie down; I¡¯ll treat you in a moment. I¡¯ll help you take off the scale armor; this has an impact on the treatment¡¯s efficacy.¡± Xiao Yu nodded and closed his eyes. Han Kexin carefully took off Xiao Yu¡¯s armor, and at the moment, he was not wearing any clothes. His body was mostly covered in thick blood that was about to congeal, and her heart trembled slightly at that sight. Ever since her power awakened, Han Kexin has been extremely sensitive to blood. Whenever she saw it, she would feel an inexplicable rush of excitement in her heart, as well as a sense of hunger that made her hair stand on end. However, this time was different, there was something in Xiao Yu¡¯s blood that intrigued her, but when she saw him covered in blood from head to toe, she felt uncomfortable and distressed. CH 41 Xiao Yu felt a pair of warm and soft, trembling little hands gently caressing his back. A cool feeling then gradually permeated his body as the particles of blood were slowly moisturizing the wounds on his skin, and the pain began to fade away, making him feel very comfortable. Han Kexin¡¯s pretty face slightly flushed as she touched his firm and well-proportioned muscles, adding a hint of shyness to her already charming and enchanting figure, which made the woman even more tempting. She was twenty-six years old this year, neither young nor old, and since her family was extremely wealthy, she was truly remarkable in both style and beauty, resulting in her being proud and aggressive. Although there were many suitors trying to please her in every way, only a few could capture Han Kexin¡¯s interest. She was picky about men to the point of being too strict, and she hadn¡¯t had regular contact with guys for more than half a month and had seldom held hands with someone of the opposite gender. So how could she remain calm after having such intimate contact with him? Hmph, I already let him see my whole body. What is there to be shy about? In any case, the world has changed. It doesn¡¯t matter what happens between us now. Han Kexin secretly thought with a red face and cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yu, whose calm and handsome face was covered in blood and mud. Suddenly, a warm current flashed in her heart, and she spoke softly, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m truly grateful for what you did today. Actually, if it hadn¡¯t been for saving me, which consumed nearly half of your spiritual energy at the start, greatly affecting your fighting power, I don¡¯t think you would¡¯ve struggled against that goblin leader as much, so¡­ Thank you.¡± Xiao Yu still had his eyes closed and didn¡¯t talk back. ¡°Why are you not saying anything?¡± Han Kexin frowned, then raised her eyebrows and smiled; her charming appearance could still be seen in the dark cave, ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve saved me from a life-threatening injury. Why do you care so much about me? Aren¡¯t you already in love with somebody else?¡± Xiao Yu opened his eyes, and his clean and charming face was close at hand, and she gazed at his face in awe. He had darkish eyebrows, a straight nose, and rosy lips, with a natural mystery hanging between his eyes. He truly was a natural charmer. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes just landed on those bright pink eyes of hers, and Han Kexin immediately became embarrassed when she was looked at by those pair of deep, unwavering eyes, and her face was slightly flushed, and she immediately looked away. . Han Kexin¡¯s reddish cherry mouth curled up, ¡°I was just joking; why are you looking at me like that?¡± Xiao Yu closed his eyes again and said calmly: ¡°Miss Han¡­¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Han Kexin interrupted him suddenly and said with a sweet smile: ¡°Don¡¯t call me Miss Han this, Miss Han that all day long. It really feels awkward; it¡¯s better if you were to call me big sister. But I guess you won¡¯t use that. Well, if not, you can just call me Kexin. It¡¯s fine; I don¡¯t mind anyway.¡± Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and said, ¡°It just feels weird when I call you like that, and if that gossiping Wang or Xiaowen were to hear it, I¡¯m afraid there would be a big misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Bah, you don¡¯t know how many people want to call me that, but I still don¡¯t agree.¡± Han Kexin then thought to herself. This kid doesn¡¯t appreciate me, is he actually made out of wood? Han Kexin turned her eyes away and said, ¡°Well, Let¡¯s not bring up that fat pig. His mouth is spewing nothing but shit all day. About Xiaowen, though¡­¡± the tone of her voice suddenly shifted, and she said: ¡°speaking of her, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s feelings for you are growing stronger by the day. It¡¯s not normal. The girl worships you more and more and almost regards you as a savior. She is timid and likes to keep her thoughts to herself. So please, don¡¯t make her sad. ¡° Xiao Yu was not blind; how could he fail to see Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s affection? Even Han Kexin herself had emotions toward him beyond the normal type. It was to be expected, though. In this dangerous environment, death was a constant threat. Everyone would desire to rely on a capable individual at all points in time, especially one such young and handsome guy like Xiao Yu with both power and charisma. Xiao Yu has struggled between life and death for five years straight, and his temperament has changed drastically from the beginning, but regardless of how indifferent he appeared to be, he was still a young man in his twenties. Facing the stunning beauty of both Jiang Xiaowen and Han Kexin, he was somewhat tempted. But when it came down to forcibly having his way with a woman, and turning her into a mere tool for venting, just to be discarded at the end. Honestly speaking, he couldn¡¯t do such thing. Having experienced one past life, he has seen too many things that ordinary people couldn¡¯t imagine, as well as too many unimaginable dangers and tribulations. He knew that unless a person had enough confidence and ability to protect himself and his beloved woman, he shouldn¡¯t develop feelings for anyone because when those feelings become shackles and constraints in the form of burdens, it will be catastrophic to both parties. Han Kexin injected the last bit of energy she had into Xiao Yu¡¯s body, and the blush on her face had yet to fade. She exhaled lightly and said, ¡°I can only heal you up to this extent. Your injury is more serious than I expected; you will probably need multiple rounds of treatment to fully recover. To get better, please try not to overuse your abilities in the coming days to avoid aggravating the injury. Get up and walk around first; as long as you don¡¯t push yourself too hard, I think you should be fine.¡± Xiao Yu stood up, with his arms accidentally touching Han Kexin¡¯s plump breasts, which felt soft and curvy, and his waist also came into contact with the other party¡¯s full buttocks, and he could clearly feel the roundness in them. A ripple formed in his heart, and his expression changed slightly, but Han Kexin didn¡¯t seem to notice. Xiao Yu withdrew his hand, walked back and forth a couple of times, and moved his joints before he nodded his head, ¡°Sixty to seventy percent of the injury has been healed; it should no longer pose a hindrance to me.¡± ¡°I can only help with physical injuries. As for the spiritual ones, you¡¯re on your own.¡± Han Kexin put her hand on her waist, and under the dim light of the strange moss inside the cave, all of her curves looked stunning, ¡°I don¡¯t care; you have to comply, so take care of yourself and don¡¯t risk it!¡± Her tone was rather strong, but the concern in her voice was evident. Probably aware that something was wrong with her tone and attitude, Han Kexin blushed and hurriedly said: ¡°I mean¡­ you are the determining factor in whether we can leave the forest or not. Everyone appreciates you, so I can¡¯t let anything happen to you.¡± ¡°Alright, I got it. I heard you. I just need to rest.¡± Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and continued, ¡°But now that the goblin leader is dead, we should prepare to go to school as soon as possible. The supplies there are most important to us, so let¡¯s move some of them first over here.¡± Han Kexin nodded in satisfaction, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Well, it¡¯s getting late right now, so let¡¯s do that tomorrow.¡± ¡°Xiao Yu, Teacher Han, you were all here.¡± A lark¡¯s like melodious voice rang out, and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s lovely and slender figure appeared, ¡°Teacher Han, take a look. Does this leather armor fit well on me?¡± Jiang Xiaowen had already put on the leather armor, and in this new getup, she looked petite and delicate. With her bulging breasts, slender waist, and round buttocks, she was really beautiful and charming, which made people¡¯s eyes light up. The leather armor was especially soft and comfortable to wear. The colors and patterns in it were also elegant. What¡¯s more, it was given to her by Xiao Yu himself; hence, Jiang Xiaowen appreciated it a lot. Han Kexin¡¯s eyes brightened up, ¡°so beautiful, it was just made for our Xiaowen!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was delighted, but then she suddenly remembered something and said depressingly: ¡°Although this leather armor is good, it¡¯s a little inconvenient¡­ my wings, my wings are all blocked, and I can¡¯t use them at all.¡± ¡°The equipment is of low grade, and the size can only be roughly adjusted to fit the user¡¯s body shape. If the equipment was of green or higher grade, it would¡¯ve automatically adapted to the individual¡¯s figure.¡± Xiao Yu walked over and said: ¡°But there is nothing for you to worry about; I will directly use my blade to open two slits for you so that the wings can be used normally.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was a little worried and said, ¡°Ah, will it be damaged?¡± Xiao Yu stretched out a hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing; just take it off quickly.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face turned bright red, ¡°What, Take it off¡­ take it off?¡± Xiao Yu was slightly taken aback, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take it off; I can¡¯t take it off.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was blushing as her voice faltered: ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have any clothes on underneath, if I take it off¡­¡± Han Kexin looked at her delicate and cute appearance and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°Silly girl, why don¡¯t you go back and change quickly.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Jiang Xiaowen blushed and left hurriedly, and after a while, she changed into normal garments and went back to the cavern. Then, Xiao Yu helped her in cutting a few narrow slits in the back of the leather armor so that her wings could be used normally. On the second day, after a full night¡¯s sleep, everyone left the cave, slowly making their way out of the woods, and heading straight toward the school¡¯s ruins. They were attacked by some low-level monsters along the way, but no one was hurt, and everything went smoothly as they reached their destination. The campus and school¡¯s ruins were a complete mess. Dust and leaves had been spread across the street outside the east gate, while the broken vehicles were swaying here and there, and the ground was full of cracks and gaps, with dead bodies and human bones all over the place. The region seemed unusually silent and desolate. At that sight, all the teachers and students in the group felt a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. They used to be just regular teachers and students, strolling around campus while carefree of troubles, some going to study, and some using their phones. Who would have envisioned that everything would change drastically and that the peaceful life they led before would now be completely destroyed? Finally, after days of life-and-death struggle, they returned here, all looking at that familiar place, as they remembered how they often bickered and fought with their classmates over trivial matters, how they got mad and jealous over their significant other, and how they complained about the poor food in the cafeteria. All of that now seemed so ridiculous. People really don¡¯t appreciate some stuff until they lose it! When they returned, everyone felt as if they were in another world. We finally came back! Xiao Yu sighed and instructed them, ¡°Okay guys, stop being dazed, hurry up and get to work¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, his sharp senses suddenly caught a shadow rushing out of the woods, ¡°Wait, something is moving over there!¡± Boom! At that moment, a giant gray-haired wolf jumped out of the woods and stepped over a small car as the impact made a muffled noise. The entire car shook when its large, thick paws covered in gray hair stomped down. The huge wolf¡¯s head was twitching while its ferocious eyes were looking around, and its nasty fangs were protruding from the corners of its mouth, along with a thread of saliva hanging from it. Suddenly, its keen sense of smell caught a strange scent, and its eyes suddenly cast toward the direction of everyone. ¡°Aw¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!¡± A long and loud howl echoed across the forest. ¡°Be careful; there are more!¡± Everyone hurriedly picked up their weapons and took a fighting stance. In the blink of an eye, a large pack of wolves ran out of the woods. There were more than twenty of these beasts, and the number was still increasing. They were just growling at everyone, and they didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of launching an attack for the time being. ¡°It actually turned out to be those wolves,¡± Wang Chao sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many people died at their hands when we fled back then. It¡¯s about time we took revenge.¡± CH 42 Du Tao was the first to take action, as he took out the goblin horn from his side and stimulated the magic power inside it. An invisible force gradually condensed into an elite goblin warrior holding a shield and a short spear. Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, and the others thought it was pretty intriguing and couldn¡¯t help but take a second look. Meanwhile, Du Tao picked up the horn again and put it in his mouth before blowing it vigorously. The horn¡¯s low pitch sound reverberated instantly, causing all of the giant wolves nearby to pause their actions. One of the goblin horn¡¯s functions was to drive away wild animals. Xiao Yu initially thought it to be a completely useless and cheap ability. He didn¡¯t expect it to have some small effects right here. The forest wolves were affected by the sound of the horn, and the elite goblin warrior was actually the one to charge up first. The wooden shield on its hand knocked a ¡®blood wolf¡¯ into the air, and then it followed by a short spear attack and pierced through the body of another, easily killing it. After the beast died, all the energy was naturally absorbed by Du Tao. Suddenly, the previous blood wolf recovered and rushed up towards the elite goblin warrior, but before it could pounce on the latter, a bright flaming arrow pierced right through its body, and its fur was scorched black all of a sudden. Moreover, the arrow¡¯s body was half submerged inside, as the internal organs of the beast got severely damaged. It was clear who the shooter was¡ªthe newly evolved Yun Yun. She was holding a short, delicate bow in her hand and had a quiver on her back that contained twenty to thirty makeshift arrows. She had a beautiful appearance and a slender figure, with a pair of sharply pointed ears, as she stood far away quietly. Her slender fingers slowly stretched the bowstring back, making her look like the elf archers from the legends, she concentrated as another three arrows were fired in quick succession, but only one of them hit the target. Her archery techniques would seem to have a big room for improvement. The elite goblin warrior took the opportunity to kill the fallen down wolf with a single spear stab. The beast was actually in the late elementary stage, and Du Tao absorbed the majority of the essence released by this powerful being before he killed another blood wolf. And then, Du Tao, whose strength had already reached a threshold, actually advanced immediately! The pack of wolves with only one last blood wolf amidst their ranks finally charged up together. Neither Xiao Yu nor Han Kexin made a move, but with the help of the elite goblin warrior as well as Yun Yun, an elementary expert with a strong innate skill, the battle was overwhelmingly on the humans¡¯ side. The wolves were apprehended in the blink of an eye while one of the taller students killed the pack¡¯s last blood wolf as he also managed to advance toward the elementary realm. In this swift battle, two more humans advanced. Everyone was overjoyed, as more and more people were on the verge of evolution in their ranks, some only needing to kill one or two elementary monsters. Xiao Yu expected that they would all become elementary warriors shortly after, and when the number of elementary beings grows in the team, those individuals will, in their turn, assist others in entering the elementary stage faster, allowing the team¡¯s overall strength to snowball. In about five minutes, the evolution phase was finished. However, Du Tao and the big guy have not changed much from before the advancement. After asking, they found out the former had obtained ¡°brainpower enhancement¡±, and the big guy who was called Zhao Dahai had obtained the talent of ¡°strength enhancement¡±. Xiao Yu was a little disappointed, but he shrugged it off immediately. After all, very few people can get those powerful innate skills. In contrast, more than 90% of the survivors would only get talents such as ¡°brainpower enhancement¡±, ¡°strength enhancement¡±, ¡°agility enhancement¡±, ¡°physical body enhancement¡± and the like¡­.This kind of enhancement talent is just an increase in strength, which belongs to the passive category as it¡¯s not a skill that can be actively used. It was a common talent that most people had, with no special use to it, and people very seldom accepted it as a skill since this type of talent could simply be considered an outcome of advancement. After giving it some thought, Xiao Yu felt at ease. After all, powerful innate abilities were scarce. He already expected Yun Yun and Han Kexin to materialize them because of their previous lives. Yet, Jin Shi, Wang Chao, and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s innate skills came as a surprise. Nevertheless, Du Tao¡¯s ¡°brainpower enhancement¡± was also a relatively rare talent, which can significantly enhance the brain¡¯s computing power and processing ability. For most people, this was a bland talent that served little purpose in combat, but it was incredibly more useful in Du Tao¡¯s hands. Du Tao lacked combat talent and wasn¡¯t suited to be a fighter. Hence it would have been much better for him to get this talent instead, as he was better suited for other roles like becoming a manager or a strategist. When Zhao Dahai heard that his talent was very mediocre, he couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter about it. Xiao Yu patted him on the shoulder and said: ¡°No need to worry; people with strength enhancement talent will be much stronger than others of the same level as they continue evolving, becoming stronger and stronger as their power grows. Ultimately, their abilities can reach a level where even Wang Chao¡¯s berserk skill can¡¯t compete. Who can stop you if your strength is powerful enough to obliterate the ground with your punches? ¡° Zhao Dahai¡¯s eyes lit up, and the simple and honest big guy nodded his head repeatedly. Xiao Yu took out the two-handed sword from his space ring and threw it at him, ¡°It¡¯s useless to keep this weapon with me; It is best suited for your use.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you, Xiao Yu¡­Boss!¡±. Zhao Dahai¡¯s face was flushed with excitement. He had long envied Xiao Yu and the others¡¯ magical weapons that could cut through iron like its mud, so how could he be unhappy now that he also had one all of a sudden? Even the other guys enviously looked at him. The wolves did not bring them any new harvest, so Xiao Yu stopped searching and instructed Du Tao and Zhao Dahai to lead a group of people each to stay nearby and keep watch while the rest went in search of supplies. Unconvinced, Wang Chao approached him while they were walking down the road: ¡°So, boss, is my ¡®rampage¡¯ skill really not as powerful as that ¡®strength enhancement¡¯?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and explained: ¡°Technically, yes. After the second order, in terms of pure strength, people with strength enhancement can surpass those who are also in the second order and enters the berserk state. Of course, their speed is much lower. But the key point here is that you materialized the berserk skill only at the elementary realm, and you have yet to show your true potential, so you don¡¯t have to be discouraged.¡± He didn¡¯t bullshit either of them because, in his previous life, it was not uncommon for people to rank among the top echelon with only ordinary talents. And although Wang Chao¡¯s skill was widespread, that did not imply it was weak. After all, compared to skills acquired through crystals of inheritance, the most distinctive feature of innate skills is that they improve with the increase of strength and can even evolve into other skills. The critical thing to note is that any type of skill or talent is equally powerful when used to the extreme as long as the individual¡¯s strength is sufficient. Wang Chao looked in a daze at a half-collapsed internet caf¨¦ shop and suddenly grinned, ¡°Hey, Stone, Xiao Yu, don¡¯t you guys miss this place. I still remember how not long ago, we played World of Warcraft here all night. By the way, this place has not been totally wrecked. So should we move two computers back? Even if we can¡¯t play, it¡¯ll be good as a souvenir.¡± ¡°Hey, you retard.¡± Jin Shi glared at him, ¡°stop acting suspicious, and get to work quickly.¡± Wang Chao shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re really no fun!¡± Everyone immediately went their separate ways to look for supplies. Xiao Yu led more than a dozen people into the supermarket located before the school gate. Goblins have passed through this location several times already. They¡¯ve left evidence of their outings, which could be seen from the piles of trash and broken furniture thrown all over the place. However, they were still a predatory race, and being only interested in raw meat, they left most stuff unharmed. Despite that, there was still plenty of sealed canned meat left untouched by those dumb monsters. Which meant plenty of supplies to help sustain their group during these difficult times. They found all kinds of high-calorie food, such as chocolate, candy, potato chips, juice, canned food, instant noodles¡­ And all kinds of basic cooking ingredients like cooking oil, rice, salt, soy sauce, vinegar¡­ These few past days, with so many dangers to worry about, the group was always on the lookout for signs of illness or injury, and even when it came down to food and water, they were always careful not to overindulge. Although there were wild fruits in the woods, most were not fully ripe, so they tasted sour and bitter. Occasionally, they enjoyed barbecued meat, but it¡¯s not something they often do since most people don¡¯t have the skills to grill meat, and there was no oil and no seasoning to boot, so it was not very appetizing. Plus, the meat was often overcooked or half-baked, making the crowd hate it over time. Now that a large amount of food and daily necessities were right in front of them, everyone had drops of tears in their eyes. These things were far too important at the moment; their lifestyles could finally be improved. The contents in Xiao Yu¡¯s space ring had been emptied, and he filled in a lot of oil, salt, canned food, biscuits, chocolate, and then some pots, bowls, cutting boards, etc. After the space ring was completely full, Xiao Yu found two more backpacks, each filled with a variety of essentials, and he carried four backpacks in total with his hands, and a lot of things were hanging from his body, trying to bring back as much as he could at a time. Jiang Xiaowen used the green spear as a makeshift shoulder pole and managed to hang in a lot of things. She carried two barrels of edible salt in her hands and carried in a big bulging backpack, where she filled two stocks of northeast rice, several large bottles of juice, and lots of snacks. The total weight of the bag was at least a few hundred catties, but with her current strength, that was nothing. Han Kexin, Wang Chao, and the others also gathered what they were tasked with from various places. There was a branch of the famous common people¡¯s hospital inside the university and two pharmacies on the street outside. Han Kexin was mainly responsible for collecting some commonly used medicines, while Wang Chao and Jin Shi brought with them many barrels of gasoline and gas tanks, and lastly, Yun Yun and Huang Jianmin searched and brought back different practical tools. ¡­¡­ ¡°Team leader, we got very lucky this time. We actually found another pile of ruins. There must be a lot of goods in all of these stores. This is a great achievement. The boss may even reward us with some nice beauties this time around!¡± While everyone was scattered around, all busy with their task at hand, nobody noticed a group of thirty to forty haggard men suddenly appearing from the forest. These men were all battle-hardened, as they were all covered in dirt and blood. They must have encountered many fierce fights throughout their journey here. The ability to survive in the forest and sustain your life was no simple matter. Apart from great luck, it also takes incredible strength and courage to do so. ¡°Looks like someone was ahead of us.¡± A young man with half an ear missing looked at the corpses of several forest wolves scattered around and said after a pause: ¡°Sun Daxiang, take a closer look; there are only wolf corpses on the ground and no human corpses. It shows that the opponent¡¯s strength is not weak. In my opinion, it is better to report to the boss first and let him decide our course of action.¡± The Sun Daxiang he was talking to was a strong middle-aged man who served as the team leader of this bunch. His power ranked as the strongest among them, reaching the middle stage of elementary level. He immediately snorted and said mockingly: ¡°Xu Li, you know shit, if we just go back and report to the boss, it will be at least a few days before he brings someone over. Who knows if there will be anything left for us at that time? Moreover, if we solve the trouble ourselves, we will get more rewards. Actually, these wolves may have also been slaughtered by other monsters, or they just fought against each other; needless to say, brothers, follow me.¡± Xu Li¡¯s expression was a bit ugly, and he snorted and said, ¡°No good. I think at least a few people should be left behind, so in case something happens, they can leave and report back.¡± Sun Daxiang was a reckless man who relied solely on brute force to accomplish things, so he waved his hand impatiently: ¡°alright, alright.¡± (TN: Wang Chao¡¯s rampage is the skill¡¯s name, they only prefer to call it berserk) (TN: obviously, strength enhancement and the likes are not skills but more like passive skills, so I¡¯m calling them talents from now on) CH 43 Sun Daxiang led his men slowly through the street outside the campus¡¯s east gate. The sun shone brightly, which felt a bit dazzling. The ground was littered with fallen leaves and glass shards as they reflected the view of several people walking down the street, all holding machetes, iron bars, hammers and other weapons in their hands. Suddenly the crowd heard footsteps coming from the side of the road. Thinking it was a monster appearing, everyone was startled, but what followed the sound was the figures of Du Tao, Zhao Dahai and others. Both groups were stunned and looked at each other with surprised expressions. Then, there was a long breath of silence in the air. Sun Daxiang breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°It turns out they¡¯re only a bunch of human beings; you scared me for nothing.¡± Xu Li frowned and said, ¡°What should we do? Should we leave first to notify the boss and have him send someone over?¡± Sun Daxiang snorted disdainfully, ¡°What are you scared of? God, you¡¯re so cowardly! They don¡¯t appear to be particularly strong; we will give them a warning, and if they don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for them, then¡­ humph!¡± Du Tao immediately dispatched one of the group members to inform Xiao Yu and the others, and then stepped forward on his own, with a kind smile on his face, and said: ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to meet you here; can you tell us where you came from? But first, let us make acquaintance. Then, of course, if you want to join us, I can speak on behalf of our team and extend a warm welcome to everyone.¡± ¡°Pooh, shut the f**k up!¡± Sun Daxiang came out with a machete in his hand and shouted loudly, ¡°We¡¯ve taken over this place now, so get the hell out and leave everything. Otherwise, don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless!¡± Upon hearing this, Du Tao and the others all changed their expression. Obviously, It was impossible to talk about peace with this group of people. Zhao Dahai growled: ¡°Who are you? This is our school. We took it back with great difficulty. Now It belongs to us. Why should we leave it for the likes of you?!¡± ¡°Zhao, don¡¯t be impulsive.¡± Du Tao embarrassedly smiled, with a reconciling expression on his face: ¡°Don¡¯t be impulsive, brothers. I understand survival is difficult for everyone, so we are willing to share supplies and make new friends. How about that?¡± ¡°F**k, are you sending beggars away?¡± Sun Daxiang showed disdain, then he suddenly spotted a beautiful young girl among the other party, his eyes lit up, and he said with a smirk: ¡°Everything here belongs to us, and those ladies over there will also have to stay. Our brothers haven¡¯t tasted a woman for days straight! As for you, if you don¡¯t want to die, then get the f**k out of here!¡± Sun Daxiang¡¯s subordinates noticed the girls in the group, and their eyes lit up with excitement. All eager for some good time. Du Tao¡¯s narrowed eyes gleamed with an unnoticed chilliness as he smiled and said, ¡°In this case, we have nothing to talk about.¡± His tone was a bit cold. ¡°What the hell, don¡¯t you understand human language?¡± A burly man stood out, ¡°The team leader gave you a chance to leave, so f**king leave, don¡¯t be ungrateful!¡± When Zhao Dahai heard this, he was furious and shouted angrily: ¡°You are bullying us far too much!¡± The big sword in both of his hands slashed fiercely across the burly man¡¯s shoulders, blood spattered, and one arm was directly cut off amidst the other party¡¯s screams. Zhao Dahai swung his sword and slashed again, and before the unlucky guy had time to retreat, his body was cut in half by the blade. The blood directly dyed him red as he turned into a bloody figure. The strength of an elementary warrior was several times stronger than that of people who were about to evolve and five to six times stronger than ordinary people. When exerting all of his power, he can easily break through a thousand catties¡¯ amount of strength. Moreover, with the talent of ¡°strength enhancement,¡± his strength can reach levels beyond ordinary people¡¯s imagination. Sun Daxiang was surprised and enraged as he yelled: ¡°You dare to attack my people; you¡¯re seeking death! Kill them all!¡± A flaming arrow shot right through his chest just as he finished speaking. The impact made him fly several meters away in midair before he fell heavily against the ground. Sun Daxiang stared wide-eyed at his wound and opened his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t say anything. His throat was dry, and he could only let out a hoarse sound of agony as he felt like he was hit in the chest by a rocket instead, and the internal organs in that area all had been burnt to a crisp. ¡°Team leader!¡± Xu Li and the others were overcome with fear before they decided to help him. They ran toward his body sprawled several meters away; however, they found his eyes bulging out strangely and a burnt smell of flesh permeating the air. The guy was already dead. Even though Sun Daxiang was hotheaded and arrogant, he was still an elementary level warrior, yet he still got shot to death by just one single arrow. How mighty was this archer? Xu Li looked up and was shocked to find that many figures appeared from both sides of the street, surrounding them tightly. His face changed, and he spoke loudly: ¡°Not good; everyone, scatter and inform the boss!¡± Du Tao sneered and said, ¡°You want to leave? Is it still possible for you to do so?!¡± Zhao Dahai shouted angrily, trampled a person to the ground, and charged at Xu Li. The latter swiftly swung his machete and engaged the opponent in a close quarter twice, pushing the opposite party back. Zhao Dahai then realized something. So he is also an elementary level; the good news is that he lacks any powerful innate skills, so he should possess an ordinary talent like mine! Xu Li was not much better than Zhao Hai in terms of strength. Still, because of his ¡°Agility Enhancement¡± talent, his speed was better than the opponent¡¯s by a few points. Along with his relatively rich combat experience, he could defeat most of his enemies within a few moves. But after a few blows were exchanged between them, his wrist went numb from the shock, and several large gaps appeared gradually in the machete. He was aware that the other person¡¯s weapon quality and strength were much more excellent than his own, but he thought the gap was manageable. Now he knew that he might not be able to defeat this guy even if he gave it his all. So, why would he continue to fight? He immediately found a chance to escape, turned around and fled without hesitation. As an elementary level warrior with ¡°agility enhancement¡± talent, his speed was astonishingly fast, leaving the other party by a large margin in the blink of an eye. However, just when he thought he could escape. Suddenly, he had the feeling of being thrown high while his whole world was spinning. When his view stabilized, He could see a headless body running forward, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder¡­ Why that figure looked so familiar? ¡°Could it be, that¡¯s my body¡­ No, That¡¯s impossible¡­¡± Xu Li¡¯s headless body continued running six to seven meters forward before it collapsed hard on the ground. The head tumbled and moved, rolling far away. His eyes were still wide open, filled with surprise and disbelief. He couldn¡¯t believe it until the moment he died. The cyan light of the sword in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand gradually faded as he stood by the side. Looking back, he saw Wang Chao, Han Kexin, and Yun Yun joining the fray while the outsiders were brutally murdered in turns. This was not a battle but a massacre; their fighting power was on another level compared to theirs. Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t stand the bloodshed, even though she knew they were a gang of thugs like Wang Yunfei, which were also the first to show hostility toward them. She also knew that if they showed mercy, endless troubles would come to bite them back. But she couldn¡¯t accept the guilt of killing her kind with her own hands, so she neither stopped them nor took action from start to finish. The battle was over in a matter of minutes, and Du Tao didn¡¯t even have enough time to order the group to leave someone alive for questioning. ¡°These people should belong to a larger group based on how they address each other.¡± Du Tao said with a sullen expression: ¡°The one who Yun Yun shot just now was their team leader, and there is a ¡®Boss¡¯ with a higher status according to what he said. I believe this should be a powerful organization, and everyone should be wary of it.¡± Wang Chao said disapprovingly: ¡°He¡¯s nothing more than a punching bag. I¡¯ll have no trouble dealing with five or six of his kind. I guess their boss wouldn¡¯t be that bad, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything to be worried about.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t underestimate anyone. Du Tao is right.¡± Xiao Yu said slowly: ¡°The world has changed. This cruel and dark environment often unveils the dark side of people¡¯s hearts. Some of them are so evil that we really must guard against them. Strength represents everything in this world, and improving it is especially crucial. I won¡¯t offend others if they don¡¯t offend me, and I¡¯ll strike back if someone does! In the future, exercise caution, and be on the lookout for suspicious activities.¡± Du Tao nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange some people to look around the area for signs of other humans¡¯ presence.¡± ¡°Anyway, if enemy soldiers come, a general should stop them. Plus, with our strength, we shouldn¡¯t be afraid of them.¡± Xiao Yu continued: ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there; let¡¯s get to work and try to empty out all these supermarkets within a day.¡± (TN: full idiom: ¡®if enemy soldiers come, a general should stop them, and If flood waters come, the earth should stem it¡¯ meaning there¡¯s always a solution to a problem, and to take measures as the situation calls for) ¡°yes!¡± Leaving Du Tao and the others to clean up the corpses, the others quickly dispersed to carry the remaining supplies. Every minute and second ticked by, while having to take everything required more than a dozen trips back and forth as they finally emptied the two small supermarkets near the school gate, along with the surrounding snack bars and restaurants, which were also taken care of. Food, water and supplies, basically everything that could be collected, was taken away back to the cave. Dusk finally arrived on their last back trip. The setting sun sprinkled upon the forest¡¯s surface, coating the deep green wilderness with a layer of golden shade as the forest became dark and cold. Everyone had been working hard all day, but they were not tired. On the contrary, they were all smiling and full of enthusiasm. Wang Chao was carrying a lot of stuff on his back, while a cigarette was dangling from his mouth, and the eyes on his big fat face were narrowed into slits. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s so f**king cool to be able to take as much as you want without paying for anything.¡± Jin Shi also laughed and said: ¡°we got so much food, and we only have over a hundred people. I don¡¯t think we can starve even if we sit and do nothing for three months straight.¡± Just as Wang Chao was about to open his mouth to make some jokes, he felt the ground underneath was no longer there. His feet gave away before he staggered and almost fell. After regaining his footing, he cursed loudly: ¡°This road is really making it harder for us. Wait, why is there a big hole in the ground?!¡± He looked down and carefully gazed beside his feet; he was a little surprised and asked the others, ¡°Hey, why does the shape of this pit looks like a big foot?¡± Jin Shi didn¡¯t believe him: ¡°Foot? How can there be such a pit.¡± He walked over and looked down before speaking with a surprised look on his face, ¡°strange, it does look like a foot. It should be a foot, but it¡¯s so large that it can¡¯t be human.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jiang Xiaowen was mildly intrigued as she squeezed over, ¡°Hey, those are footprints! Why does the shape look so familiar though¡­ I remember, these are the footprints of an ogre. Ah! Not good, an ogre is here?!¡± Xiao Yu overheard their chatter long ago, but at that specific word, he immediately stopped in his tracks, approached the footprints, and took a closer look. He raised his head and spoke with a solemn expression: ¡°Xiaowen is right, this is the footprint of an ogre, and it is less than five minutes away from the cave. Its area of ??activities has already reached over here. Everyone should know that the fighting power of the ogres is far stronger than that of a mere goblin leader by several notches. Our current situation is difficult, and I am still not its opponent.¡± When Jiang Xiaowen heard this, she was a little scared and said hurriedly, ¡°Then what should we do?¡± ¡°There is nothing we can do for the time being. After all, we can¡¯t defeat the ogre, and we can¡¯t leave or give up the cave for the time being. We can only try to be careful when going out.¡± Xiao Yu saw Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s two willow leaf eyebrows knotted in a frown, so he continued: ¡°You should be aware that there are almost no long-term safe havens in this world. There are dangers everywhere. One can only survive by adapting quicly.¡± CH 44 Xiao Yu followed the ogre¡¯s footprints and roughly judged its direction. After looking around for a while, he pondered and said: ¡°There are no other traces in this area. I believe this ogre was out hunting, and it only passes by here occasionally. You don¡¯t have to worry too much because the ogre is a monster who practices a fairly similar daily pattern. It will only come out to hunt after the weather is cooler, usually in the afternoon or evening. In the future, try to avoid going out during this time period. We should also limit our outdoor activities in cloudy and rainy weather to avoid being discovered by wandering ogres. In this way, the likelihood of us bumping into one is extremely low. The good thing is because ogres are now frequently appearing in the vicinity, other monsters will not dare to approach, so our living environment is somewhat safer.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it was; that scared me to death.¡± ¡°Oh, I get it.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s like a blessing in disguise.¡± The others also started chattering, and it was evident that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After listening to Xiao Yu¡¯s confident tone of voice, Jiang Xiaowen also said with confidence: ¡°Well, although I don¡¯t know how powerful that ogre is, but since even you are no match, then I must not be even a good appetizer for it. I feel much better now that I think about it that way.¡± Xiao Yu looked around, feeling a little worried. Finally, he said in a low voice: ¡°Let us not linger in the forest any longer and return to the cave as soon as possible. These footprints are very fresh; the ogre looks to have only left a few minutes ago. It will be complicated if it comes back and finds us.¡± Nobody dared to question Xiao Yu¡¯s words. After all, it was difficult to imagine such a powerful individual like him being afraid. And they all came to one conclusion ¡®What a frightening monster it must be¡® Thinking of this, they quickly picked up their pace and reached the foot of the small mountain in a hurry before they entered the cave one by one. Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief as they returned to that dark, damp underground area, finally feeling some safety. Du Tao was in charge of directing the storage of supplies. He stood at the exit of one cavern and shouted to everyone: ¡°Caverns No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 are already full. Everyone, please transport all the remaining supplies to No. 8 Cavern. You can rest when you put everything away; all of you have worked hard today. After a simple count, today¡¯s distribution will be carried out, and afterwards, how about we celebrate tonight!¡± Everyone was grinning and obviously happy about the food that evening. Cavern No. 8 had a space of seven to eight square meters, and it was used as a storage room for its ample space. A large amount of food had now been neatly piled up inside. When the last batch of supplies was also arranged, the cave would finally be completely filled up. With so much food and supplies piled up like a hill. Everyone felt happy and at ease from the bottom of their hearts. Xiao Yu sat on a somewhat smooth wide slab, unscrewed the water bottle¡¯s lid in his hand, and drank a few gulps. Then he stared at the quietly flowing river not far away in a daze as if lost in thought. He saw the people around him chatting happily and smiling, making jokes and playing while working simultaneously. He suddenly felt a trace of inexplicable sadness and loneliness in his heart. I¡¯m not sure why, but there always seems to be a gap between me and everyone, probably because I died once and my thoughts and psychology have largely changed, or is it because I was isolated for far too long before, always travelling on my own, that now I feel a little uncomfortable with my current lifestyle? ¡°Look, guys, what do you think of my new outfit?¡± Wang Chao deliberately cleaned up his body from dirt and sweat, dressed in costly clothing he found at the store. He put an expensive cigarette in his mouth while wearing a jumble of luxury items that matched his fat body, as he looked quite attractive, with a bit of a nouveau riche temperament surrounding him, ¡°I couldn¡¯t previously afford these goods, but now I can have as many as I want. Of course, I was slightly jealous of those rich people at the time. But now that I¡¯m wearing these things on my body, I don¡¯t feel anything special; I actually overcame my desire for luxury.¡± Xiao Yu put down the bottle in his hand, smiled at that sight and said calmly: ¡°A wealthy man with a family fortune in the tens of billions might as well be buried in a beast¡¯s belly as we speak. But, on the contrary, some poor farmers that have been doing manual labor all day long could now be surviving tenaciously, with enough strength to live. So what if you¡¯re wealthy? The world now relies on strength to speak and the bigger fist reign.¡± Jin Shi walked over, wearing a long-sleeve shirt: ¡°That¡¯s right, fatty is unreliable, insisting on wearing soiled brand-name clothing, jewellery, and cell phones. Those things are no longer useful and aren¡¯t even as real as this piece of candy.¡± So he said before swallowing it. ¡°I just like them, and it¡¯s none of your business.¡± Wang Chao curled his lips and said: ¡°Boss, Du Tao announced earlier that we would have a big feast tonight. Everyone had already arrived; how could we do without you? Let¡¯s go right away! ¡° Today was indeed a day worth of celebration for the entire group. The very least they could do was pick a good location near the cave¡¯s entrance and set up a few large iron pots in an open area before they started preparing large amounts of wild vegetables, leafy greens, meat, and so on, as they poured everything in those big pots. Jiang Xiaowen and Yun Yun sat together beside a large pot, arguing about how much seasoning to add. They¡¯d never cooked before, and they could have done a better work cutting those vegetables. Fortunately, the several people brought along with Huang Jianmin were professional chefs with excellent skills. With their help, they could barely finish everything. Du Tao was very generous today, and he ended up distributing to everyone a bunch of snacks, drinks, and two bags of rice and noodles. ¡°Xiao Yu, you¡¯re here.¡± Han Kexin suddenly appeared before the trio. She looked completely different in that pair of black tights and jacket, along with her high bust and thin willow waist, which swayed back and forth. On top of those tights, she also wore short jeans on her lower body, covering her round hips and slim thighs, ¡°Don¡¯t just dilly dally all day. Do you know how busy I was? All of you should come and help the others.¡± Xiao Yu smiled helplessly before he rose up. Half an hour later, Xiao Yu, Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, Wang Chao, Jin Shi, Du Tao, Yun Yun and all other important figures sat together. ¡°Cheers!¡± Du Tao picked up a bottle of beer, raising it up. ¡°Bottoms up!¡± To celebrate, Xiao Yu and the others raised their bottles to touch his before they gulped down a few swigs; even Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, and Yun Yun each drank a bottle of beer in celebration. Wang Chao and Jin Shi had a good capacity for alcohol, so they directly picked up a bottle of the famous luxurious ¡®Maotai¡¯ drink. Xiao Yu¡¯s drinking capacity was not lower than the other two, but he was used to maintaining a clear mind at all times, so he avoided the likes of that high-strength liquor. Several people put some chopped venison, wild boar meat, and various leaves and wild vegetables directly into the oversized boiling pot. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s lovely crescent-shaped eyes were gazing at the pot amid a pile of snacks with a smile all over her face; her face was flushed, but she couldn¡¯t tell if that was caused by the heat or from being tipsy by the alcohol. She was eating lots while holding a bag of potato chips. It was the first time she had eaten snacks so merrily. Before all of this mess, she would have never eaten so recklessly, all to maintain her figure. ¡°The meal is ready!¡± Bowls of white rice were served in front of them. Many people looked at the white rice and almost cried. They could hardly remember how long it had been since they had eaten rice, and they didn¡¯t even dare to hope they could eat delicious rice once again. However, everyone¡¯s heart was filled with a strong sense of joy at that moment. Jiang Xiaowen picked up a piece of fresh and tender venison and put it in her mouth. It was both salty and spicy and tasted delicious. She was about to pick up another piece when she saw Wang Chao, that big fat guy, using a large mesh spoon to scoop up half of the meat and veggies inside the pot. He put them neatly in his bowl before eating them like a storm. ¡°Damn fatty!¡± Jiang Xiaowen muttered in dissatisfaction and quickly put a few pieces of meat into Xiao Yu¡¯s bowl, ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give this to you; eat it; it¡¯s very delicious. If you don¡¯t grab a few, some incompetent fat ball will eat all the tasty food!¡± Wang Chao grinned when he heard her words, ¡°Oh dear, no need to rush; what you are worried about, are you afraid the boss will eat less? Little girl, you¡¯re really considerate. Ah, forget it, master fatty won¡¯t bicker with you anymore.¡± He said before he took another handful of meat and vegetables from the big pot, ¡°I was going to give it to the boss originally, but since someone is so concerned about him, let¡¯s give this to stone instead.¡± After he finished speaking, he poured the meat and vegetables from the spoon into Jinshi¡¯s bowl, and the latter was not polite at all; he directly accepted the food cheerfully and started eating. Angry and embarrassed, Jiang Xiaowen stared at the two of them with wide eyes; she moved her lips, yet still not knowing what to say, she could only snort in frustration as she grabbed a handful of potato chips before placing them in her mouth, and chewed with all her strength as if she was chewing Wang Chao instead. When they saw this scene, Xiao Yu and Han Kexin smiled, feeling warm inside. Wang Chao noticed that the other person was giving him a dirty look. He looked up and casually said, ¡°I¡¯m not as much ignorant, especially compared to a little girl who has yet to grow hair.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was furious, ¡°I¡¯m not a little girl!¡± Wang Chao unscrewed a bottle of Baijiu with a ¡®pop¡¯, took two gulps, then looked at her provocatively and said, ¡°Well, if you dare to take two full gulps, I¡¯ll take back what I just said.¡± He was aware of Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s extremely low alcohol tolerance. She used to occasionally feel lightheaded whenever she was given a half-glass of beer during one of their class outings. The cunning Wang Chao was just deliberately provoking her. Indecisive at first, Jiang Xiaowen scowled. However, when she met Wang Chao¡¯s playful look, she immediately turned her gaze over at Xiao Yu, puffed up her cheeks, and said one word after another: ¡°I¡¯m going to drink it; I¡¯m not a little girl. You just watch me; this is nothing!¡± After finishing her sentence, she immediately raised the Baiju bottle and drank it in large gulps. Her little face turned bright red in an instant, and she coughed forcefully, spilling the liquor all over the ground. Seeing this, Wang Chao laughed out loud. Yunyun patted Jiang Xiaowen on the back, glared at Wang Chao, and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you keep up your mouth shut?¡± Wang Chao rolled his eyes. Everyone was solely devoted to enjoying themselves that night, eating and drinking with relish as they laughed and cracked jokes together. It was the happiest moment for everyone since the disaster day. Jiang Xiaowen, who had never consumed alcohol before, also drank a lot of beer, but because her physique was much better than before, she didn¡¯t feel much discomfort. Yet Under Wang Chao¡¯s provocation, she bit the bullet and drank a small half bottle of Baiju. When she was being sent back to rest with the help of her friends and Han Kexin, she was a bit intoxicated, and she started mumbling. Han Kexin supported Jiang Xiaowen on one side as the girl repeatedly muttered in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m not a little girl¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Yu, why are you ignoring me¡­ Does Xiao Yu not like me anymore¡­ ¡± and so on. Eventually, strange and perplexed eyes turned back toward Xiao Yu, who was following them from behind, making him feel slightly embarrassed. Letting everyone have a good time could relieve some of their psychological stress, but the celebration time has finished, so there can be no slack afterward. On the second day, Du Tao divided everyone into several combat groups, each led by a few elementary team members, entrusted with hunting monsters in turns. Xiao Yu also occasionally took the elites of the team to some areas where elementary monsters were densely distributed. (TN: the liquor he drank is called baiju it looks like sake and soju, a distilled colorless liquor) CH 45 Early in the morning, the woods were shrouded in a dense mist. A young man with disheveled hair, a pale face, and many scars shuttled quickly between the trees. As if drunk, he swayed from side to side while running unsteadily; his right arm was drooping low and broken, and there was a deep wound on his back, with blood soaking half of his shoulders and rear. The guy¡¯s focus was hazy, and the only thing on his mind was to flee as quickly as possible. He continued to run, covered in damp forest dew as if he had just been fished out of the water and appeared quite scruffy. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± While running, the young man heard a low growl from behind, and then a nimble and agile figure sprang out of the woods; it was a leopard! When the young man running for his life heard that roar, he immediately became terrified. He lost his energy and his last ounce of strength before directly falling to the ground with a thud. However, desperate for survival, he gritted his teeth and crawled forward with one hand. The leopard had already charged in front of him, with one paw firmly lodged on his back, making it impossible for him to move anymore. ¡°Don¡¯t¨C!¡± The young man howled in terror, seeing as the leopard was about to kill him. Suddenly, the area around became noisy, and a group of people came out. When the young man raised his head, he noticed a tall figure in the middle of the group. His desperate eyes were filled with hope again, and he yelled with a heart-piercing loud voice, ¡°It¡¯s me, Boss. Please, save me, please save me!¡± Whoosh! The tall figure rushed up like a gust of wind, waving his arms across. Right afterward, the leopard shrieked and flew upside down. Its body in the air was cut in half neatly before its two body portions gradually fell to the ground. The monster¡¯s limbs were still twitching. The tall, middle-aged man glanced at the young man on the ground and said lightly to his subordinates, ¡°Help him up.¡± Two youths quickly walked out and helped the fallen young man stand to his feet, then handed him a bottle of clean drinkable water. The young man being so thirsty, quickly took the water and drank it in big gulps before wiping his mouth as he looked at the boss gratefully. That tall figure faintly spit out one word, ¡°Speak!¡± The young man hurriedly answered: ¡°all dead; Team leader Sun Daxiang and vice team leader Xu Li are both dead!¡± The tall man was taken aback for a moment and then asked calmly, ¡°How did they die?¡± The young man quickly recounted the previous incident between Sun Daxiang, Du Tao, and the others in the school¡¯s ruins, as well as the detailed description of the opponent¡¯s fighting power, the supplies there, and the number of women in the opponent¡¯s team. The young man said through snot and tears: ¡°If vice team leader Xu Li hadn¡¯t left the two of us to watch the situation from a distance, we might have died there too. Zhao Er and I rushed back to report, but a monster caught us on the way here. Unfortunately, Zhao Er died, and I was seriously injured. Boss, you must avenge us!¡± ¡°Sun Daxiang¡­ah, forget it; the real pity is that Xu Li also died.¡± The tall man paused for a moment and continued: ¡°I will send people to search that area, and I will definitely find that group!¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± The young man was overjoyed, ¡°Boss, if you personally act, you will surely kill them all and avenge our brothers.¡± The tall figure glanced at him and said lightly: ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you; you go first and have a good rest.¡± The young man was very moved, ¡°Yes¡­¡± but he couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence¡­. His head slipped off his neck and fell neatly on the ground. His neck was perfectly slashed with a wave of the tall figure¡¯s arm, and a lot of blood gushed out from his throat. The guy¡¯s corpse fell as well, but his two eyes were still wide open, filled with shock and confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t need trash that can¡¯t fight back. So you can rest here forever.¡± The tall figure turned his back on the headless corpse without even looking at it, then looked around and said to everyone: ¡°are all teams already back?¡± ¡°Boss, we have all returned. Unfortunately, the first-order monsters our entire group was sent out to hunt the other day caused us to suffer major losses. Five elementary warriors were killed, and three teams went missing. Now that Sun Daxiang and his followers are also dead, we still have seven teams left!¡± The tall man clenched his fists, ¡°Spread the word; everyone should concentrate their efforts on searching for those who killed Sun Daxiang. My strength is already close to the peak of the elementary level. However, the recent losses in our ranks have been too severe, and there isn¡¯t enough cannon fodder in the team, so we need to recruit more, and we also need that sum of supplies!¡± ¡°Boss¡¯s strength has vastly improved, and you still retain incredible skills. So dealing with them should be simple.¡± ¡°When this matter is resolved, Benefits will fall upon you. I¡¯m not going to be stingy with the seized women and food!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ After several days, everything in the underground cave proceeded in an orderly manner under Du Tao¡¯s close monitoring. Six people have already stepped into the elementary level, three among whom had agility enhancement, two had strength enhancement, and the last one acquired physical body enhancement. Adding Han Kexin and the other six elites in the team, there were already thirteen elementary warriors and one first-order warrior in the group. There was no doubt that Xiao Yu was the strongest in the entire group; being the only first-order warrior there, he was directly followed by Han Kexin, who was close to the peak elementary level. Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao were all at the middle elementary level, and the rest were all at the early stage. According to Du Tao¡¯s calculations, the entire team had 123 members. And except for the thirteen elementary warriors and the one first-order warrior, those who strayed away and were weaker than others have also been supported in the past few days. Due to the efforts of Han Kexin and others, their overall fighting power has reached two to three times the strength of ordinary people. Somewhere near the cave, in the middle of the forest, Xiao Yu stood straight on the grass, holding a blade in one hand. He was dressed casually, and his face was washed clean of dirt. He appeared to be very fresh and tidy for the first time in a while. Standing opposite to him were Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and Jiang Xiaowen, who, on the contrary, were all dirty and disheveled. Wang Chao was the worst of them all; his face was beaten black and blue, and his original expensive clothes were in tatters and were now no better than a beggar¡¯s attire. Jin Shi wasn¡¯t doing much better, and even the delicate Jiang Xiaowen had large bruises on her face. Xiao Yu stuck the luminous beast blade on the ground and said lightly, ¡°This time, I won¡¯t use my weapon.¡± Wang Chao¡¯s chubby face started shaking. ¡°You don¡¯t even need a weapon, do you? You¡¯re far too arrogant. So today, I must let you know how powerful fatty is.¡± Jin Shi also stared wide-eyed, ¡°that¡¯s really insulting!¡± Xiao Yu stretched out his wrists, ¡°Stop talking nonsense; come at me all at once.¡±. Wang Chao went straight into the berserk state and charged up first, while Jiang Xiaowen flapped her wings and gradually flew into the sky as Jin shi rushed from the side. Xiao Yu first dodged Wang Chao¡¯s axe and held the latter¡¯s wrist with his left hand. He then elbowed him like lightning with his right arm and followed the attack with an inch-close punch before he turned around and punched him hard on the face. Wang Chao was knocked back several meters before his back collided with the charging Jin Shi. Xiao Yu then rushed and kicked them both with his leg, and the two piled on top of each other and flew out. Right afterward, Xiao Yu jumped up, grabbed Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s long spear with one hand, and yanked her down from the air as she came crushing hard on the ground. The impact almost made her shed tears from the pain. Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°You guys are still too weak; I can take you on all day without my eyes of insight.¡± Wang Chao cursed loudly before yelling in frustration: ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. Aren¡¯t you aware that we can¡¯t keep up with your current speed? To me, it simply looks like you¡¯re bullying us hardworking elementary newbies with your first-order strength.¡± Xiao Yu said: ¡°You must learn how to deal with stronger opponents, or you will never be able to break through to the next level. Also, your combat skills are so lacking that you don¡¯t even know how to cooperate. So from now on, I will increase the training time by one hour every day. Like that, your fighting power can improve.¡± Wang Chao cried mournfully: ¡°One extra hour will be added, my God! Just kill me already!¡± Jin Shi patted him on the back with a bitter expression, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, seeing as you won¡¯t die anyway, just let Teacher Han heal you after every training round.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, Miss Han¡¯s combat talent is significantly higher than all of yours.¡± Xiao Yu stopped for a moment and said, ¡°In the case that I don¡¯t use the eyes of insight, she already can endure and exchange with me five to six moves in a row. Defeating her isn¡¯t as easy.¡± Jiang Xiaowen had a nosebleed and a bruised forehead. When she heard this, however, an intense light flashed in her eyes, ¡°I¡­I will definitely work harder and not let you down!¡± Xiao Yu nodded in her direction, ¡°That¡¯s good¡­well, that¡¯s it for today; let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi both cheered simultaneously. This devilish sadistic training is finally over. Not long after returning to the cave. Han Kexin, who was in charge of leading the hunting team for the day, finally came back. She treated the several people who got injured during the hunt, as well as Wang Chao and the others, before heading directly toward Xiao Yu¡¯s cavern, where he was resting. Han Kexin told him with some puzzlement: ¡°According to your request, we took turns leading different teams in the past few days, and we have already helped the weaker people amidst the group grow their strength. Now, except for the newbies, the others have all reached the late zero-order stage. They can evolve as long as they kill two to three elementary-level monsters. But for some reason, since I have been out hunting recently, the number of elementary monsters we¡¯re encountering is getting less and less. Of course, we always encounter one or two elementary monster leaders, with dozens of strong ¡®zero order¡¯ monsters sneak attacking us, causing a great deal of trouble and even hurting our people; however, that does not help the team¡¯s overall growth. Xiao Yu, do you know any good gathering place for elementary level monsters nearby?¡± Xiao Yu was cleaning the bright edge of his blade, and he smiled wryly after hearing her words, ¡°What you¡¯ve experienced is a situation commonly faced in wild hunts. But, as far as I know, it¡¯s not easy to find a suitable gathering location of monsters; after all, you must embark on a long expedition, and you may face great dangers along the way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way to go, huh¡± Han Kexin grumbled, ¡°but following our current rate, most people can become elementary warriors in about a month.¡± ¡°This progress is already fast.¡± Xiao Yu nodded lightly and suddenly thought of something: ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that there is nowhere to go. On the contrary, I have long thought of a place where there should be a heightened density of elementary monsters.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Oh, and where is that?¡± Xiao Yu said: ¡°That location is the previous zombie coal mine that you have been to. The trip will take us about half an hour, and since it is that close, there shouldn¡¯t be any danger.¡± Han Kexin was a little surprised: ¡°Really? Didn¡¯t you slaughter all the zombies in the mine back then?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head: ¡°That¡¯s wrong; although I left some elementary zombies around the mine area to allow some of you to advance, there is actually a more important reason why I want to go back. In the depths of the coal mine, there is a mighty existence. At that time, I wasn¡¯t its opponent at all, and to not disturb it, I had to stop the hunt abruptly. But the situation is completely different right now; this time around, when we go to the zombie mine, that thing will be our first target!¡± (TN: zero order means people who has yet to evolve, I didn¡¯t want to use the ¡®zero order¡¯ term throughout the chapters for a reason but don¡¯t worry it was only mentioned two times before, I¡¯ll keep using this term from now on) CH 46 In the early morning of the next day, the sky looked entirely blue and cloudless, and the sun hung high, shining a round of dazzling rays of light, sparkling a bright luster that flowed across the earth. The wilderness was scorching and humid, and the sounds of birds, insects, and wild beasts kept coming and going, making it lively. Xiao Yu led more than forty elite members out of the cave, trekking in the jungle for over half an hour. After walking in the humid and hot woods for a while, everyone became soaked from the forest dew, looking like they had just been fished out of the water. This particular expedition had been one of the smoothest, if not the best, for the group. Probably due to the recurring passing of ogre monsters, forcing the surrounding beasts to flee for their lives, they encountered no monster attacks on the way. As a result, they arrived at the zombie coal mine area without any incidents. The forest was tranquil. A few small black coal mounds stood silently in front of the dilapidated mine, surrounded by sporadic weeds, possibly because even weak beasts were reluctant to feed on them. Most of the zombies killed at the beginning were still festering on the ground in front of the mine, as many disgusting maggots had already been bred from them. A few carrion-eating birds were pecking at the corpses, and occasionally, when a zombie passed by, they flapped their wings and shrieked before flying away in fear. Han Kexin mused as she surveyed the zombies wandering around the entrance of the mine from a distance, showing a somewhat stunned and puzzled expression, ¡°Strange; I remember that when we left last time, the zombies outside were basically all cleared out, but now their numbers seem to have increased again.¡± Upon noticing this, Wang Chao intervened, saying, ¡°Boss, this world shouldn¡¯t be entirely similar to a game, right? Where monsters will always respawn?!¡± ¡°Nonsense, of course not.¡± Xiao Yu carefully looked up at the zombies and slowly spoke: ¡°they all came out from the mine. The majority of the undead wandering around at that time were zero-order rotten zombies, while most of the monsters over here are essentially all zombie miners; and the two others over there are chained zombies, which are stronger elementary monsters.¡± ¡°This big fat guy is so dumb; his brain is like a vase, and he only asks silly questions, it¡¯s best if we ignore him.¡± Jiang Xiaowen repeatedly nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice before changing her tone of voice, as she said: ¡°However, Xiao Yu, your eyes are so sharp. You can actually still see everything from such a distance.¡± Jin Shi patted him on the shoulders and said, ¡°Fatty, you should try and say a few words less.¡± Wang Chao shrugged his shoulders, ignoring Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s sarcasm. Xiao Yu turned his head and said to Yunyun, ¡°Is it possible for you to shoot a zombie¡¯s leg at a distance of 100 meters?¡± Yun Yun felt nervous as those deep-black eyes stared back at her, yet she was very clear about her archery skills, so she said with little confidence, ¡°I¡­I can try.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Xiao Yu continued, ¡°you can practice your archery slowly; today, you will be entrusted with attracting the monsters.¡± Yunyun nodded and took an arrow from her quiver before walking forward on her own. When she got to a certain distance, she set the arrow, drew the bowstring back, and aimed at the leg of a wobbly and staggering zombie miner. The arrow in her hand burst into flames, and as soon as she let go of the bowstring, the arrow completely turned into a flaming projectile and flew out. It did, however, miss the target by at least five to six meters. The arrow pierced the ground and was instantly devoured by the blaze of fire, turning into a heap of ashes. She blushed and quickly drew another arrow and shot it, but it also missed. When the third arrow was fired, it finally struck the zombie miner in the leg. The zombie miner groaned strangely and limped towards her, its decaying hands clutching a pickaxe. The monster was slow, to begin with, and now that it had been hit in the leg by an arrow, with the flames scorching a significant portion of its lower limbs, it became even slower. Seeing the zombie approaching, Xiao Yu sent a person from the team with late zero-order strength, ¡°We will not assist you; you must rely solely on your strength to defeat it. If you fail, you will not be given a second chance. Unfortunately, this also means you will miss an important opportunity to advance to the elementary realm.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The guy was especially respectful toward Xiao Yu. He quickly responded, gripping a goblin¡¯s short spear in both hands, and rushed up to engage the charging monster. The zombie moved very slowly, but thanks to its tough body, it was difficult to hurt or kill with ordinary weapons, and it took him a lot of effort to finally knock it down and kill it with a spear stab after battling for half an hour straight. He then directly absorbed the essence through his forehead as his strength entered the peak of the zero-order level. Yunyun took up the bow and arrows from her quiver to draw the monsters back in and fired her shots before directing the remaining team members to defeat the aggregated creatures. This battle was not only intended to be a round of training for Yun Yun¡¯s archery, it also was meant to hone everyone¡¯s combat skills, since the speed of these elementary zombies was neither fast nor slow, and they were constantly moving around randomly, making them undoubtedly one of the best moving targets. In addition, they were unresponsive and had a poor perception of their surroundings. Therefore, Yunyun could assertively shoot arrows and draw them in. The movements of zombie miners were relatively stiff, and their attack patterns were not particularly sharp, which made them more of a good combat practice for others as well. It took everyone an entire morning to clear out all the zombie miners wandering around the mine. However, most of the group members completed their battles successfully, and four individuals even advanced to the elementary realm. Unfortunately, they all developed average common talents. The good thing, though, was that Yunyun¡¯s archery skills had clearly improved after a whole morning of practice. After that intense battle, everyone decided to take a break and eat some food to regain their energy. The lunch consisted of two pieces of bread, a can of luncheon meat, and a bottle of water. Everyone had about the same meal, including Xiao Yu. After lunch, they sat down and rested for a while before making their back way into the mine. Trekking through the dark coal mine, people would hardly see their own fingers. Han Kexin¡¯s bunch, with their exceptional physiques, were fine, but the others would be powerless over here. Xiao Yu assumed the role of exploring the mine to attract zombies thanks to his practical ability to see through the darkness. Not long after heading deep into the dark and dim coal mine, he found a chained zombie wandering by. He immediately attracted its attention before cutting off one of its legs, forcing it out. The chained zombie was relatively strong; hence, this time around, two people were arranged to deal with it simultaneously, and after a fierce fight, the two successfully killed the monster. The group then repeated this consecutive action six to seven times in a row, allowing three people to advance smoothly. Xiao Yu entered the coal mine for the eighth time, but the number of zombies there became much more scarce than before. He walked in deeper than ever till the point where the air was becoming foggy and blurry, and it was almost difficult to breathe in, yet he still didn¡¯t see a single zombie in sight. Nevertheless, he had a dangerous sense of foreboding in his heart that if he continued in this way, he might finally come across that mighty existence. The surrounding terrain gradually changed. There was more and more black coal, and the passage narrowed down while the traces of man-made construction ceased to exist. Now, it looked more like a natural cave than a mine. ¡°The mine is connected to an underground space, and there are undead creatures over there. Was this the reason?¡± Xiao Yu broke a lump of black coal from the wall, ¡°only, the terrain here is really strange.¡± At this moment, several roars loudly echoed from the darkness up ahead. Although the voice was not loud, it was filled with terrifying killing intent. Xiao Yu¡¯s hair stood on end as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on his back, and his heart began to beat a little faster. The luminous beast blade in his hand suddenly burst into a cyan light, and he took a few steps forward. Then as fast as lightning, a pale bone arrow shot out from the front! Xiao Yu walked forward without blinking his eyes. He, who had seen through the attack trajectory long ago, just tilted his head calmly, and the bone arrow missed its target by a hair¡¯s breadth and directly plunged into the hard rock wall behind him. Half of the arrow¡¯s body sank into the wall, and numerous cracks appeared on the surrounding stones. Four skeletons appeared in his line of sight. Their bones were large and complete, with a green light gleaming in their eye sockets and a pale bone bow grasped with their crackling hands. These were skeleton archers, monsters with peak elementary strength, not enough to threaten Xiao Yu. The creepy roars he had heard previously came from a container that resembled a coffin standing amidst the four skeleton archers. The container itself appeared to be part of some exotic wild plant, with a swath of purple leaves wrapping around it and a purple fruit hanging in the middle as vines climbed all around. Suddenly an arm stretched out from the ¡®coffin¡¯. The arm was thick, covered with purple-red hair, and its nails were long and sharp, glowing coldly. Xiao Yu¡¯s expression changed, ¡°So the poisonous zombie was actually here!¡± The four skeleton archers all pulled the strings of their bone bows at the same time before a strands of white mist gradually gathered all around the strings, quickly turning into four pale bone arrows, and the arrows were instantly shot out of the bows the moment they let go of their hands. Bullet time! The pupils of Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes shrank suddenly, and the four arrows that had already left their strings abruptly stopped in the air, moving slowly at a speed similar to a snail¡¯s. Right then, Xiao Yu sprang up with his blade, the weapon¡¯s energy light flashed continuously, and the arms of the skeleton archers, as well as their bone bows, all shattered almost immediately by a cyan streak of light. The ¡®coffin¡¯ in the middle shook for a while, and a burly body rushed out. In the blink of an eye, a dense purple-red mist surged out, covering almost the entirety of the area. ¡°This is¡­ the poisonous fog! In such a small space, I won¡¯t be able to hold on!¡± Just as Xiao Yu covered his mouth, a nimble claw grabbed straight toward his face. He swung his blade to block it, then turned around and ran away. The powerful poisonous zombie stalked him like a ghost and closed in quickly. In front of the mine, Han Kexin and others were standing more than 200 meters away and waiting. Unfortunately, Xiao Yu¡¯s excursion this time was taking too long. Still, just as everyone was wondering when he would return, suddenly, they felt the ground around them vibrating slightly. Then there was a ¡®bang¡¯ noise in the surroundings as a large amount of strange purple-red fog spewed out from the mine entrance, among which were two figures chasing one another at extreme speed. ¡°This is the poisonous zombie, a first-order monster; all of you, back away!¡± Xiao Yu yelled and dashed into the forest as the poisonous zombie followed him. The monster was shrouded in a thick poisonous fog, rendering it impossible to see its true form. It just left behind a trail of poisonous fog wherever it went. As a result, the grass and vegetation withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, while the insects and small animals died on the spot. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s pretty face suddenly changed, and she exclaimed loudly: ¡°What a scary zombie!¡± ¡°Everyone be careful.¡± Han Kexin reminded loudly: ¡°Some things are coming out!¡± Four pale skeletons rushed out of the mine through the poisonous fog. They were the skeleton archers whose arms and weapons were cut off by Xiao Yu. But even though they lost their right hand and weapons, they were still fierce. Seeing that Xiao Yu had run away, they quickly rushed to kill everyone else. The skeleton archer¡¯s left arm struck a person who had just entered the elementary level. The short spear in his hand broke apart immediately, and the impact sent him flying four to five meters back, seriously injuring him. No one dared to underestimate these guys anymore. Wang Chao went berserk for the first time in this battle and engaged a skeleton archer head-on. Everyone else also did not dare to be careless and flocked up to fight these four peak of elementary level monsters. Han Kexin ordered loudly: ¡°All zero-order members retreat; everyone else entangle them!¡± The body of the skeleton archer was as hard as steel. People below the elementary level would need a magic weapon in hand. Otherwise, they can¡¯t harm it. Even those who had just entered the elementary level were not much of a help. Only the few who had entered the elementary level for a while and only those with proper equipment could harm the monsters. CH 47 The purple-red poisonous mist changed shapes like a ferocious abomination, splitting into several strands and penetrating the wilderness. A faint purple-red color gradually surged in the woods, along with a foul and pungent stench. Xiao Yu could feel his eyes burning, his throat dry, while a wound several inches long appeared in his abdomen. The lingering breeze of his blade suddenly split the poisonous fog, allowing Xiao Yu to see the poisonous zombie¡¯s appearance for the first time. The monster was entirely covered in purple-red hair, had only one eye left, and its lips were split to the base of its ear, revealing an eerie grin with a mouth full of fangs as it ejected a purplish liquid from the gaps in its teeth. Xiao Yu backed away and retreated, flashing more than ten meters away, before the venom fell straight on a large tree, corroding the tree trunk in an instant. The sprayed venom was like a barrage of bullets, quickly piercing holes in the surrounding branches, leaves, and trees, and the residue of bluish smoke that flew from it felt choking to breathe in. Xiao Yu discovered that his dizziness was gradually getting worse. And he was already holding to the extreme; if it were someone else instead, he might not be able to hold on anymore. The deadly poisonous zombie had excellent strength. Though tricky to deal with, it could not compete in terms of fighting power with the goblin leader. However, its body¡¯s resilience was on par with steel. Xiao Yu slashed down with a single-blade strike, leaving only a shallow wound on its skin. The zombie itself was wrapped in a thick layer of purplish fog, and the surrounding area of the hazy fog felt extremely pungent and stinging, making him feel dizzy while standing unsteadily. ¡°Roar!¡± The zombie wrapped in the thick coating of that poisonous fog slapped down fiercely with its pair of sharp claws. Xiao Yu turned around to avoid it, and the blade moved on with him. A batch of spiritual force poured in, and a three-foot cyan light slashed out, heading straight toward the monster¡¯s chest area. ¡°It¡¯s about a hundred meters!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s blood-red eyes quickly scanned their surroundings as he discovered that the purple fog was covering a circumference of about 100 meters in that part of the forest. He then judged that the fog could only last for ten minutes. Xiao Yu looked down at his right hand again; His skin had turned bluish-purple. Unfortunately, during that previous attack he made, it got covered with a trace of the poisonous zombie¡¯s extremely thick fog coating. The monster roared ¡°Agh! Agh!¡± twice in a row as more poisonous foggy mist spewed out from its body, and its claws waved like a whirlwind, frequently attacking from all directions. Xiao Yu held his blade in one hand, and his entire body was motionless, except for his feet, which moved back slightly, like a leaf fluttering along the gust of wind, easily avoiding every attack. ¡°Its movements are stiff, and its speed is average at best, but its poison is too potent; I won¡¯t stand a chance in close combat!¡± The poisonous zombie failed more than a dozen attacks in a row. Then, finally, it grew agitated and restless before it kicked its legs on the ground, and the purplish fog shot up with it into the sky as it clawed upward. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes shone brightly, and a ball of dancing flames shot up from his left hand, bombarding the zombie¡¯s chest. The fire ignited the purple-red hair on the monster¡¯s body, and the zombie howled in agony. Xiao Yu used a few seconds to gather around his spiritual power, then threw a second fireball with his right hand, which exploded on the head of the zombie, causing it to stagger back a few times. He then bolted out of the area covered by the purple mist like lightning. On the other side of the battlefield, Han Kexin led the others in fighting with the four skeleton archers who had lost their right hands; two of them had already been eliminated, and the remaining two were struggling against Wang Chao and Jin Shi¡¯s fierce attacks. He judged that it wouldn¡¯t take long for the team to kill them. Before Xiao Yu had time to look closely at their specific situation, the poisonous zombie had already caught up with him, as had its foul and pungent stench. Xiao Yu kicked his legs on the ground and quickly retreated. He then condensed and threw a fireball in mid-air, hitting the monster directly. Right afterward, he put the luminous beast blade back into the ring and immediately removed the stabilizing wind bead as a cyan wind blade blew away the oncoming figure enveloped in thick poisonous fog, leaving only a shallow wound behind. The zombie was pushed back a few meters, and it roared angrily and was about to charge up again when a mighty sand spear shot at its body, causing it to fly back against its will before colliding with a large tree from behind. The Sand spear rotated forward, and the vast force even pierced through the big tree behind, as sand and wood fragments scattered across the forest, leaving a bloody wound on the body of the poisonous zombie, but failing to pierce through. ¡°It¡¯s so tough!¡± Xiao Yu sighed, but he didn¡¯t stop his actions. Instead, he threw a fireball to suppress the zombie and pinned it down in a round of different attacks. The monster wasn¡¯t resisting anymore; however, the power of the wind bead was slowly running out. Just nearby. Wang Chao swung his huge battle axe in an arc and split the scarred skeleton archer in half. Jin Shi immediately took advantage of that opportunity and smashed the fallen skeleton¡¯s skull with his rocky fist. In contrast, the other skeleton archer was defeated under the joint attack of Jiang Xiaowen, Han Kexin, and everyone else. After they finished with their foes, everybody started watching the battle on Xiao Yu¡¯s side. When dealing with the monster, he was not in a hurry, and his timing was impeccable. He always timed his attacks to coincide with the opponent¡¯s charge and used long-range attacks to batter it consistently. As a result, the enemy¡¯s body was battered and covered in bruises, and it could not get any closer since the opponent had tightly suppressed it. However, Han Kexin realized that the attacks¡¯ damage was largely minimal. She quickly touched the ring in her hand and walked toward the poisonous zombie. When the distance was acceptable, she slowly raised her right hand, and the ring in her fingers glowed. But, suddenly and without warning, Xiao Yu charged headlong toward the zombie. When the monster saw this, it roared and swung its claw across as the poisonous fog rushed over to meet that blow. Wind and Sand tornado! The stabilizing wind bead released all of its remaining power, forming a tornado of sand and wind, completely blocking the purple fog, and strapping most of the monster¡¯s body to the edge of the rotating vortex, as countless small wind blades immediately cut all over its body dozens of times over. Numerous minor wounds and scratches started to appear on its festering skin. The moment Xiao Yu¡¯s figure disappeared inside the tornado, the poisonous fog dispersed, and it hadn¡¯t had time to gather around the monster. Xiao Yu used his bullet time skill, and everything came to a halt in an instant. He slowly raised the blade and slashed vigorously toward a massive wound on the poisonous zombie¡¯s neck. This wound was caused by five to six wind blades hitting the same spot in quite succession, nearly severing one-third of the creature¡¯s neck. At this time, Xiao Yu used all of his strength in that blade strike, and this time the iron-cutting blade completely cut off its head! In an instant, the purplish fog that had previously engulfed everything around it receded like a tide and slowly vanished into nothingness. The headless body of the zombie fell straight down with a thud. The ring in Han Kexin¡¯s hand gradually dimmed, her mouth widened, and her face was flushed with surprise, ¡°That¡¯s¡­so amazing, really amazing!¡± An extremely tricky and challenging first-order monster was killed just like that. After Xiao Yu absorbed the vast energy of the poisonous zombie, his strength skyrocketed, and almost at the same time, two white balls of light fell out amidst the scattered blood. Han Kexin walked over and said, ¡°You defeated it too fast; I didn¡¯t even have any time to intervene!¡± Holding a pale dagger in her hands, Jiang Xiaowen happily ran over and said, ¡°Look, Xiao Yu, some nice pieces of equipment have been harvested from the skeletons.¡± Several pieces of equipment fell out from the battle against the skeleton archers, which included a high gray bone dagger with a corrosive effect. Besides that, a high gray bone bow also dropped. However, this one had the function of naturally condensing bone arrows when the bowstring was pulled back, which could solve the issue of insufficient arrows. The dagger was given to an elementary warrior with the talent of ¡°Agility Enhancement¡±. In contrast, the bone bow was directly given to Yunyun, and the goblin short bow that she had barely used for the last two days was reserved for another strong individual. Xiao Yu walked toward his spoils of war and unsealed those two white balls of light, which appeared to be an ancient scroll and a purple claw. ¡°Poisonous Zombie summoning Scroll¡± medium white grade, consumable type magic scroll, which can summon a poisonous zombie to help in battle; the summoned creature stays on the battlefield for a period of one hour. Poisonous Zombie, a first-order monster, skills: ¡°Poison fog Shield ¡°, ¡°Poison Fog Shroud¡±, and ¡°Venom Spray¡±! This magic scroll was a one-time use item, but it could summon a powerful poisonous zombie, which can still be helpful in different situations. ¡°Toxic Claw¡±, low white grade, highly toxic with blood clogging powers. Xiao Yu said as he handed the claws over to Han Kexin. ¡°Your own weapon happens to be a claw as well, so this one is just for you; just use one for the main hand, and one for the secondary.¡± Han Kexin held the claw and liked it immensely. Although it was relatively weak among white grade weapons, it was still a piece of white equipment nonetheles, and its power was far better than that of the gray equipment she used. This evening, in addition to that magic item and that piece of equipment, there were also five soul gems. The harvest this time around was quite big. Jiang Xiaowen looked at the mine, ¡°There seems to be some residue smoke of that poisonous fog in the cave, but there should be no zombies inside.¡± Xiao Yu lifted his eyes to the sky and said: ¡°It¡¯s getting late right now, and the sun is already setting. It is time for the ogres to go hunting, and we can¡¯t stay in the woods for long, lest we bump into them. So, Let us go back and have dinner first.¡± The others nodded their heads in agreement. All of a sudden! The ground shook violently as an earth-shattering loud noise came from the coal mine¡¯s direction, and the pile of rotten wood at the mine¡¯s entrance cracked one after the other. The stones inside were scattered along with the dust and gravel while the mine itself started showing signs of collapsing. Wang Chao turned pale with shock: ¡°What¡¯s happen, is it another earthquake?!¡± ¡°Roar¨C!¡± A deep and terrifying roar came from the depths of the mine, the sound was full of infinite anger and murderous intent, startling a large flock of flying birds in the distance. Everybody felt as if they were in an ice field. Except for Xiao Yu, the others all felt numb in their limbs, and they found breathing to be extremely difficult, as if a boulder was pressing against their chests. What kind of existence exhibits such an impact with just a single roar? ¡°Something is coming out!¡± Han Kexin looked in the direction of the mine, her face covered with sweat, and she took a few steps back before stopping, ¡°Could it be¡­ Could it be an ogre?!¡± ¡°Impossible; how could an ogre live in such a tight space?¡± Xiao Yu swallowed hard and shouted, ¡°Whatever kind of existence it is, we are not its opponents; let¡¯s get moving before it shows up!¡± Everyone finally woke up from their daze, and without hesitation, they turned around, and ran towards the forest. The underground shaking became increasingly severe. When everyone reached the trees of the woods, a powerful breath of death suddenly erupted from the mine entrance, where a vast figure squeezed out. From afar, Xiao Yu noticed a hideous monster staggering up. Its body was huge and hunched, but even so, it was still about 1.8 meters tall, with highly thick limbs, and its claws were half a meter long, looking like a pair of blades instead. In addition, it had a huge mouth full of sharp teeth, four fierce scarlet eyes, and a head of sparse gray hair hanging down. This monster seemed to have just woken up from a deep slumber. It slowly walked out of the mine and up to a zombie corpse, then it slowly opened its bloody mouth and bit the dead creature. One bite consumed a large chunk of flesh, including the bones, and the skin and flesh were all swallowed into its stomach. It was actually eating the zombies! Xiao Yu immediately had a flash of recognition¡­Damn it; it¡¯s a ghoul! CH 48 Flame goblins, goblin leaders, poisonous zombies, ghouls, and ogres were all first-order monsters. But they were very distinct from each other, and their strengths were all wholly different. For instance, the flame goblin was a monster at the low stage of the first order and was the weakest among all the first-order monsters they had encountered until now. Poisonous zombies and goblin leaders were both monsters in the middle stage of the first order; on the other hand, ghouls were monsters in the late first-order and were stronger than the last two, while the ogres were the strongest of them all and were an existence at the peak first order. With Xiao Yu¡¯s current strength at the low first-order level, fighting against monsters of the middle first-order was already breaking his limits; if he attempted to confront those beings of the late first-order, he was just looking for death. Ghouls were relatively high-level undead creatures. They were also part of a large group that could be classified into three kinds, ranging from low to high: iron-armored ghouls, silver-armored ghouls, and golden-armored ghouls. At the same time, their strengths were in the first-, second-, and third-order levels, respectively. This particular ghoul was just the lowest of its kind, an iron-armored ghoul. If it evolves into a silver-armored ghoul, its skin will turn shiny silver. From that, it can evolve into a golden-armored ghoul, where its skin will turn bright golden, and by then, it will become almost invulnerable to fire and water magic attacks and evolve to be much more powerful than ever. The ghoul should have spotted everyone running away, but it didn¡¯t seem to care about the humans and instead focused on the corpses scattered around. The armored ghoul¡¯s teeth were razor sharp; even the zombie¡¯s body, which was as hard as rock, felt like a fragile potato chip in its mouth, which it devoured with glee. It had a voracious appetite and consumed two zombie corpses in only ten minutes. The armored ghoul, however, still needed more. The dead body of the poisonous zombie drew its attention, and its four blood-red eyes revealed delight and acute hunger. The armored ghoul crept forward slowly, stopping in front of the dead body of the deadly poisonous zombie before grabbing its head and hurling it down into its mouth. This dramatic scene occurred against the backdrop of a ¡®Ka Ka Ka Ka¡¯ burst of scalp-numbing crackling noise. The poisonous zombie¡¯s head, which was as tough as a steel statue, was crushed into meat paste just like that. The ghoul roared in excitement, opened its bloody mouth, and gnawed off the poisonous zombie¡¯s arm, chewing it with relish. The poisonous zombie was a first-order monster. After devouring its body, a powerful force of death was immediately absorbed by the armored ghoul, and right then, a delicate silver scale materialized on the back of its body, and a more powerful dark force seeped out; the monster¡¯s aura was now three points stronger than before! Xiao Yu hid in the dense forest, paying close attention to everything happening there. Then a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes ¡°are those signs of evolution? If it just consumed more corpses of first-order monsters, this iron armored ghoul can directly advance into a silver armored ghoul.¡± The ghoul appeared to be a little unsatisfied after consuming the poisonous zombie¡¯s lifeless body. Whereas then, it abruptly turned its head, and its eyes pierced the forest like a sharp sword, locking onto Xiao Yu¡¯s figure, hiding in the forest¡¯s depths. ¡°Shit!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s heart trembled. He didn¡¯t expect the ghoul to still feel his presence from so far away. Then, without even thinking about it, he turned around and ran. The armored ghoul let out a low growl, and a football-sized black energy ball quickly gathered in front of it, compressed into the size of a ping-pong ball in an instant, and shot into the woods in a stream of light. Too fast! Xiao Yu only felt a strong energy fluctuation. However, when he looked sideways, the pitch-black ball of energy had already swept over. Boom! A violent explosion ensued in the emerald-green forest. The raging dark power swept out, covering an area of more than ten meters in radius. The black energy engulfed the area like a big upturned hand, crushing all the grass, leaves, trees, and stones into powder in an instant. The dark energy spread throughout the area, and the plants withered rapidly. ¡­¡­ In the woods, Han Kexin and the others waited. Each one of them felt lingering fear as they remembered the ghouls¡¯ terrible deterrence. Nobody knew how powerful the ogre was; it was only a hazy concept. But the horror of the ghoul has been personally engraved into their soul, and it was not something that any of them could hope to fight. There was a violent, loud booming noise not far from their location, and everyone couldn¡¯t help but worry for Xiao Yu. Wang Chao suddenly yelled, ¡°Be careful; there are human figures in the woods behind us!¡± Yunyun directly drew her bowstring and shot an arrow into the woods. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t shoot. It¡¯s me!¡± The bushes swayed, and a student jumped out like a cat whose tail was stepped on. Fortunately, Yun Yun¡¯s archery skills were not accurate enough; otherwise, if the arrow struck him, then it would be truly too unfair to die like that, ¡°Teacher Han, it¡¯s me!¡± Han Kexin recognized this individual as a cave dweller and an older member of their group. Her heart skipped a beat because he was sweating profusely and covered with blood. Then, realizing that something might have transpired, she hurriedly inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What brought you here? What happened?¡± The student shouted with a panicked look: ¡°something bad happened, the cave¡­the cave has been attacked, you guys should go back quickly!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces changed drastically. Jin Shi hurriedly stepped forward and asked, ¡°What are you talking about? Please explain clearly. Who is attacking our cave?¡± ¡°It¡¯s intruders from the outside. They stood guard at the cave¡¯s entrance and tried to smoke everyone out, aiming to force Senior Du Tao and the others to suffocate and leave the underground cave. We were out hunting when we came across this incident, but there were too many of them, so we came here looking for you. Please go back quickly; the situation is extremely urgent. Senior Du Tao and the rest are trapped in the cave and cannot get out!¡± Wang Chao was furious when he heard those words: ¡°Fuck, such a thing actually happened. Those guys are tired of living!¡± Han Kexin also said with a determined expression: ¡°We have to go back; after all, it is impossible to provide Xiao Yu with any help by just staying here. Not only do we have all our supplies back in the cave, but it is also our foundation and backbone. So we will go back first to defeat the intruders, then choose our next course of action!¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go back and kill them!¡± ¡°They actually dare to invade us. Let¡¯s slaughter them all!¡± The crowd didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and rushed towards the cave aggressively. At the entrance of the underground karst cave, about 130 to 140 individuals were standing densely; it was difficult to count their exact number due to their close proximity, but almost all of them were men of different ages; the older ones were in their forties or fifties, and the younger ones looked to be only in their teens. They were igniting a lot of dry wood and hay and throwing it into the cave with ferocious and distorted grins on their faces, stirring up a storm of heat and smoke that quickly filled the cave entrance, and a strong and pungent smell was constantly coming out. Their leader was a tall, middle-aged man, looking at the cave with cold eyes while a sneer hung on the corner of his mouth, ¡°Hmph, burn these ignorant people!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± A shout arose from behind, and Jinshi, who was more than two meters tall, having that burly body of a little giant, rushed over. Four to five of the invaders waved various weapons in an attempt to stop him, but he pushed them back six meters away with a wave of his large hand. They all vomited blood and collapsed on the ground, fully unconscious. Jin Shi¡¯s bravery astounded everyone, and more people hurried up to block his path. At this moment, an agile and obese figure flashed past, and three individuals were sliced off from their torsos, instantly killing them on the spot. Han Kexin¡¯s face was a little gloomy, and her cold eyes swept over everyone in front of them, ¡°Hmph, You all are looking for death!¡± Everyone was surprised to see Han Kexin speaking as hundreds of eyes full of wicked intentions roamed up and down her exquisite body. The head of this group also popped up, and there was a look of surprise in his eyes. ¡°What a sexy lady¡­ my name is Zhang Kai.¡± He quickly composed himself and stepped forward. ¡°Your people murdered one of my team leaders and over twenty of my subordinates barely a few days ago. I¡¯m sure you recall that incident.¡± Jiang Xiaowen shouted angrily: ¡°Nonsense, it¡¯s obvious that they wanted to steal our things and attacked us first, so we had to strike back!¡± Zhang Kai did not expect to meet another beautiful woman who was even more lovely and gorgeous than the other mature lady. His eyes then quickly swept across the crowd, and apart from these two, there were also quite a few other girls with great looks. ¡°It seems that I came to the right place this time around.¡± Zhang Kai originally had the idea of expanding his manpower and plundering all the supplies, but he didn¡¯t expect to plunge into a pile of flowers instead. However, he found that Wang Chao and Jin Shi were both strong and unyielding, and it would be too troublesome to fight them head on, so he made a quick decision and said: ¡°Well, even if my people were at fault first, you slaughtered them still, so, you owe my brothers an explanation. But considering that your strength isn¡¯t bad, I¡¯m willing to put our concerns to rest as long as you lay down your hands and join us. From now on, our resources can be shared, and everyone will work together to create a harmonious team. How about that?¡± ¡°Horseshit!¡± Wang Chao cut one of the other party¡¯s elementary warriors in half and shouted arrogantly: ¡± You bunch of trash really think you¡¯re worthy?¡± Zhang Kai¡¯s face darkened, ¡°Very well, you asked for it; kill them all!¡± A weird transformation developed in Zhang Kai¡¯s body as soon as he finished speaking. His already tall body was raised significantly further, and his entire figure gave off slender man vibes. Then, as he stood up straight, his clothing began to flutter from the winds surrounding him, and like a whirlwind, he blasted off the ground, heading right toward Wang Chao. About a hundred of his subordinates, led by about eight to nine elementary warriors, excitedly launched an attack against everyone. Wang Chao clenched his battle axe tightly and slashed at Zhang Kai, but the opponent slipped behind him and swung his sickle-like arm to chop at his neck area¡ªthe attack was too fast! ¡°Rampage!¡± Wang Chao¡¯s skin bulged as if he was inflated from the inside. His eyes became crimson red; his speed soared exponentially, and he became a blur, cutting through the air in a way that defied the laws of physics. Even so, he was still hurt as an injury that was not too deep emerged on his skin while blood continued seeping out. Zhang Kai coldly sneered, ¡°It turns out that you had a unique, innate skill as well. No wonder you were so pretentious earlier. But your strength is far inferior to mine!¡± Zhang Kai rushed up as soon as his words fell; his speed was so fast that it was difficult for his ennemies to react. Although Wang Chao had gone berserk, his speed was still far behind that of his opponent, who appeared to have vast combat experience. And so, many cuts appeared on his body after a few face-to-face exchanges. Seeing this, Jin Shi hurriedly rushed to help him; the goblin shield on his hand was lifted and blocked an attack before his giant rock-like arm blasted out as Zhang Kai dodged nimbly. Wang Chao staggered back. There were many wounds on his chest, shoulders, and thighs. However, he couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice in his heart. If it wasn¡¯t for Xiao Yu¡¯s recent intensive training, which significantly improved his combat skills, he might have already been killed by the opponent in those few rounds of exchange! Han Kexin yelled and rushed into the crowd. A bloody storm blasted through wherever she passed, and almost no enemies were left surviving in her path. Anyone she killed was quickly drained of blood, turned into a dry mummy as their blood accumulated over time and turned into a bloody mist wrapping tightly around her body. As a result, Han Kexin grew braver as she fought, killing fourteen to fifteen people in a row before confronting several team leaders who were all elementary level warriors. Han Kexin was only attacking carelessly, and any wounds that appeared on her body got healed in an instant while the few people she beat were steadily retreating. Zhang Kai was taken aback; these people¡¯s fighting power was far higher than he had initially expected, and a number of them actually endowed unique, innate skills! CH 49 Han Kexin and the others unexpectedly returned, distracting Zhang Kai¡¯s group and preventing their original plan of setting off the smoke inside the cave from being carried out. Du Tao discovered the situation outside the cave with ecstasy. He and the others were becoming dizzy from all the smoke, so when he knew their teammates were coming back to rescue them, he became more energetic and informed the rest, ¡°Zhao Dahai. Prepare to fight alongside the others, everyone; let¡¯s get rid of these damned men!¡± Zhao Hai raised his two-handed sword and shouted loudly: ¡°Brothers, kill them all!¡± He took the lead and rushed out of the cave, waving his two-handed sword and chopping down the few people guarding the cave¡¯s entrance. His movements were quick and fierce as he made his way toward the exit, leaving no one standing in his path. Du Tao and others rushed out one by one, and the two sides fought fiercely against one another. As the sun gradually moved down, the entire woods got covered by nighttime as it felt unusually quiet, yet the bursts of shouting and killing were exceptionally sharp in this part of the forest. The two sides were having one of their fiercest battles since they came to this world, where everyone got involved, including Jiang Xiaowen. The number of people from both sides was roughly equal, and each side suffered casualties, but Han Kexin¡¯s fighting power was clearly far superior to Zhang Kai¡¯s subordinates. The cave was their basis for survival. Once occupied, not only will they lose all their supplies, they will even be forced to find another shelter elsewhere. Which was tantamount to slow destruction; this war can only be won and not lost. With this mentality in mind, they fought off the enemy invading their homeland; each one of the cave dwellers bravely defended the underground cave with all their might. The number of people brought by Zhang Kai was rapidly dwindling as the siege intensified. In less than five minutes, their manpower was reduced by a full third. ¡°Damn it, why are these guys so powerful!¡± Zhang Kai was shocked and furious, especially when he saw some of his elites falling. He had carefully built his army to be the strongest in the region, and seeing them weakened so quickly was a massive blow to his pride. He became even more furious, but he was entangled tightly by Jin Shi and Wang Chao, so he could only watch helplessly as his subordinates died one by one. Nurturing this large number of elites came at the expense of many more cannon fodder sacrifices. It was hard to imagine that the people in front of him were stronger than them in every aspect. ¡°If this goes on, even if the opponent¡¯s vitality is seriously injured, few people will be left under my command. So this is totally not worth the effort.¡± Zhang Kai pondered for a while before gritting his teeth and shouting loudly: ¡°you guys are indeed vicious; Brothers, withdraw! We¡¯ll come back another day to settle all accounts!¡± This one order of his caused the invaders to lose all morale and they left more than thirty corpses behind before fleeing, along with Zhang Kai himself. But how could Han Kexin, Du Tao, and others let such a hidden danger get away? ¡°Kill them all, don¡¯t keep anyone alive!¡± Yun Yun shot and killed two people from afar, while Han Kexin, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao rushed forward with the whole group. Almost two hundred people were shuttling their way through the woods. Some of the escaping outsiders fell behind and were killed by those who chased them down with knives and spears in hand. Zhang Kai¡¯s stomach was churning with remorse; if he had known how difficult it would be to deal with this bunch, he would not have gnawed on this steel plate at the expense of his own forces. However, when he saw the opponent killing his weaker followers one by one, he became ruthless. ¡®As long as the elite part of the team survives, it is not difficult to rebuild a group of this size again¡¯ he thought to himself. To him, the majority of these people were nothing more than expendable cannon fodder. Therefore, he always ordered them to rush forward and attract the attention of high-level monsters when hunting. Since so many people were bound to die anyway, he thought of this incident as though they had merely encountered a high-level monster during one of their hunts. Just as he was comforting himself, something that no one thought of suddenly happened. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± A roar that could only be described as earth-shattering echoed from nearby. It sounded like a shock wave as it rolled throughout the forest. The roar¡¯s howling wind shook the long grass and trees in its path, and the enormous force even peeled off the bark of some large trees in the surroundings. Zhang Kai¡¯s team was startled by the cry, and more than half of them collapsed instantly, their bodies twitching, bleeding from their seven orifices, struggling painfully as they completely lost their fighting power. Zhang Kai¡¯s vision also turned black, and he staggered and almost fell to the ground. Han Kexin and the others were far away, so they were the least affected, but they could still feel the shockwave of that howl, and everyone felt as if their chest had been smashed by a massive hammer, while a few people with weaker strength directly vomited blood as a result of the shock. ¡°This is bad¡­¡± Han Kexin turned pale, ¡°Don¡¯t chase after them; everyone retreat!¡± Boom! Boom! Boom! Accompanied by the dull sound of three consecutive loud footsteps, a huge monster appeared from the woods. It stood 3.5 meters tall, had bluish-black skin, and appeared rough and primitive. The monster was dressed in jagged and torn animal hide and wielded a massive wooden mace covered with wolf teeth in its big hand. It burst out with incomparable ferocity and violence, and like a wild giant, its head was enormous, with half-fist-sized eyes, two huge curved fangs, and a single horn growing on its head. Han Kexin had never seen anything like it before, but she knew exactly what it was right away. Her face was pale, and she swallowed slowly, her seductive red lips starting to tremble slightly as she mumbled, ¡°Ogre¡­ it¡¯s the Ogre!¡± Zhang Kai¡¯s legs trembled as he was enshrouded by the Ogre¡¯s aura, making it difficult for him to stand straight. He was actually quite powerful, but he was merely a person at the peak of the elementary realm, not even in the first order. Facing the might of this monster at the peak first order, how could he resist? Without it having to lift a finger, he already understood how terrifying this monster was. Before anyone could react, the Ogre depicted a bloodthirsty expression as it swung that massive mace with both hands, bombarding the ground heavily. Then, they saw a huge force collapsing the ground in front of the Ogre before blood-red energy visible to the naked eye morphed into a straightforward shock wave, which swept toward everyone in an instant. If Xiao Yu had been there, he would definitely recognize this attack. It was the signature skill of the ogre warriors, ¡°Fury wave!¡±. The raging shock wave swept across the ground for fifty to sixty meters in the distance. Everywhere it passed, the trees toppled, getting instantly crushed into wooden dust as if they were paper instead, leaving behind a long gully more than one meter wide and half a meter deep underneath the ground. Everything in front of them was destroyed! Zhang Kai turned his head with cold sweat all over his face and found that one of the team leaders beside him was standing there blankly. The left half of his body disappeared, and his other half was slowly falling down. ¡°Damn¡­ what kind of monster is this?!¡± Zhang Kai was scared out of his wits. Finally, the threat of death forced him to escape from the aura of the Ogre; he instantly activated his ability, bent his body slightly, and jumped seven to eight meters away. At this moment, he could no longer care about other people; as long as he could escape in one piece, that¡¯s all that mattered! Almost all at once, the other survivors also got up as if they had just awoken from a nightmare, uttered terrified screams, and began fleeing frantically in all directions. The Ogre¡¯s body flickered and appeared in front of one of them, and the wooden mace smashed on top of his head, turning him into meat paste. Then it rushed towards another person, and the mace hit him head-on. Under that huge impact, the unlucky guy¡¯s body was torn apart into pieces that flew all over the sky. After killing a few people, the Ogre shook its huge head and locked its eyes on Han Kexin and the others who were fleeing toward the cave. That huge figure, then, jumped towards them like wind and lightning. They had no chance of winning, absolutely no chance of winning. Even if Xiao Yu was here, nothing would change. If anyone had doubts about Xiao Yu¡¯s words before, they now fully understood that he never exaggerated the tale. Probably to avoid causing panic, he often mentioned the powers of the Ogre without giving them a detailed description. Now that this mysterious monster had finally appeared in front of them, everyone was deeply shocked. ¡°What to do¡­ what to do¡­¡± Han Kexin felt a strong wind blowing from behind her, she clenched her red fists, and her attention was drawn suddenly by the blast flame ring in her hand, ¡°If there is anything that can threaten it, then it must be this ring. The blast flame spell can kill even goblin leaders, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to cause some damage to the Ogre!¡± When Han Kexin turned around, the monster had already rushed behind the crowd and was about to smash down with its massive mace. However, the ring in her hand shone brightly, and a ready-to-burst blast flame spell exploded on the Ogre¡¯s chest. Boom! Dazzling flames bloomed, and scorching air waves swept across. The Ogre roared loudly, and as if it were a mountain that was pushed down to kneel, its massive body fell on its back with a plop. The surrounding trees had all been blown to bits and were engulfed in raging flames. However, the Ogre had only been pummeled for less than two seconds before it stood up with its hands supporting its body and shook its head dizzily. It discovered that its invulnerable skin was burned and full of blood. Although this was only a minor injury, it was enough to enrage the irascible Ogre. The monster spread its arms and roared to the sky, ¡°Roar!¡± Its deep, booming sound echoed through the dark night, sending chills down the spine of everyone who heard it Han Kexin was in despair. She never expected the Ogre, who was bombarded by the mighty powers of the blast flame ring, to sustain only minor injuries. No wonder it was so taboo for Xiao Yu. You must know that the blast flame spell is a second-rank magic attack. In theory, it should cause damage to second-order monsters, which was enough to kill most first-order monsters in one fell swoop. However, their immediate situation was dire; the monster in front of her was simply too powerful for anyone to confront at this stage! The Ogre¡¯s eyes suddenly turned blood red, and its skin turned crimson. Even the best painters in the world couldn¡¯t make out this kind of color. The red was pure, viscous, and bright¡ªlike nothing they had seen! Bloodlust! One of the most powerful abilities of the ogre tribe; only a small number of ogres with excellent blood and talent could possess it. It was actually quite rare to appear on a low-level ogre warrior. The effect of the bloodlust skill is to greatly enhance the strength of the body in a short amount of time, whether it be speed, strength, or spiritual power, the strength of the increase is by no means any less than the Rampage ability! When the Ogre was in the process of going berserk, a sharp, cold light tore through the void and struck at its body. Following that sharp tearing sound, a long wound was cut on the monster¡¯s body. Xiao Yu appeared, his clothes torn and his mouth bloody, but his eyes were as bright and determined as ever. The moment his feet landed on the ground, he jumped again and slashed at the Ogre¡¯s neck with his weapon. The cyan light of the luminous beast blade left another wound on the opponent¡¯s body before he immediately retreated more than ten meters away. Wang Chao exclaimed, ¡°Boss!¡± ¡°Leave!¡± Jiang Xiaowen stared at Xiao Yu, who was hurt badly but still wanted to protect them; her eyes were moist, and she shook her head stubbornly, ¡°I won¡¯t go; I want to fight with you!¡± Xiao Yu shouted loudly: ¡°Leave quickly; if you don¡¯t go, it will be too late!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a creepy roar resounded from the depths of the woods. That was not the cry of an ogre, but its power was not much weaker than the latter¡¯s. Han Kexin stared in horror, wondering if it could possibly be a¡­ ghoul! Those two strong and outrageous monsters, are they going to collide right here? Han Kexin¡¯s heart moved, and she raised her head to meet that pair of blood-red eyes. His eyes were devoid of panic as if nothing in the world could scare them, always oozing calm, wisdom, confidence, and composure¡­ That instant eye contact made Han Kexin calm down quickly. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go!¡± Han Kexin grabbed Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s hand. ¡°We¡¯ll only hold him back by staying here!¡± (TN: I think that the ¡°rampage¡±, ¡°bloodlust¡± and ¡°rage¡± of the goblin leader all come under the berserk state skill, just different names with slightly different effects) CH 50 We¡¯ll only hold him back by staying here! This sentence was like a thorn, piercing a sensitive spot in Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s heart, causing her to feel a twinge of pain. The girl vowed silently in her heart: ¡°I must become stronger; I will never hold him back!¡± Han Kexin dragged Jiang Xiaowen and directed everyone else out of this area. With a wave of its wooden mace, the reddish ogre rushed up like a gust of wind, knocking down several trees in front of it. Xiao Yu used his bullet time skill to appear on the back of the monster; he let out a low growl and slashed a big wound on the monster¡¯s rear. The ogre spun around and struck him with its weapon, and the moment the mace was about to hit him, he took a quick step back to avoid the blow, but the exceedingly sharp wind felt like a genuine blade. Xiao Yu¡¯s arms and garments were cut in rapid succession, with numerous scars on his face. Boom! The ogre moved forward and swung its huge mace down, which weighed at least a thousand catties. Xiao Yu disappeared from his place and appeared six to seven meters away. The wooden mace immediately struck empty ground, and the destructive power of that force instantly broke the land into a large crater. The shock wave shook the trees on the other side, peeling off their outer barks. At that moment, Xiao Yu rushed forward, gripping the blade with his right hand and covering his eyes with his left, braving through the strong wind and countless wood fragments flying in his direction as he leapt up, piercing the ogre¡¯s throat with incredible momentum. Blood was already flowing from his eyes while the blade pierced several inches deep into the monster¡¯s flesh. Xiao Yu immediately retracted the weapon and jumped away, avoiding an attack from the ogre as a fireball quickly condensed before hitting the opponent¡¯s face. The creature was blown away and staggered two steps back; the flames faded, revealing the ogre to be left nearly unscathed, save for a layer of black coating on its face. Xiao Yu dashed tens of meters away, taking advantage of this brief window of opportunity. Xiao Yu was well aware that he was not the ogre¡¯s opponent; even ten of him would lose if they were to engage in a head-on battle. Now that he had successfully attracted the monster¡¯s attention and anger, he didn¡¯t dare linger around. He immediately turned around and sprinted away. The ogre slashed left and right with waves of its hand, and the towering trees along the way were cleanly chopped and fell to the left, right, front, and rear, generating a significant number of obstacles. ¡°Roar!¡± The ogre turned a blind eye to the fallen trees in front of it and rushed forward with a whoosh of its huge body. Those massive trees were destroyed as if hit by heavy artillery and shattered from their core one by one. The monster caught up to Xiao Yu in a matter of a few seconds. It swung its massive mace and slammed down heavily, performing its signature skill, ¡°fury wave!¡±. A tremendous blood-red shock wave swept through the forest; the wave was faster than the speed of sound and had devastating momentum as it crushed everything in its path. Xiao Yu clenched his teeth and tapped his toes firmly against the ground¡ª¡ªBullet time! Once again, he disappeared in mid-air and reappeared a few meters away. But, unfortunately, he was already exhausted from using his bullet time ability in quick succession. That skill was a powerful ability that could instantly triple his explosive charge, but due to its frequent use, his body could not handle all of that load. As a result, his spiritual power was also depleted, leading his fighting power to be greatly reduced. A large number of vessels ruptured in Xiao Yu¡¯s body. At this moment, he had no idea that his eyes were bleeding, that his lips and nose were bloodstained, and that a long line of red liquid was flowing from his pores simultaneously. Without looking back, he chopped off a big tree, kicked it hard, and the tree flew towards the ogre behind him while he continued to charge forward using that momentum. The speed of the ogre was not slow, to begin with; after using its bloodlust ability, it grew unimaginably faster. It broke the enormous tree hurtling toward it with ease, and swung the wooden mace again as it got closer to Xiao Yu in a burst of speed. The red, violent energy slowly gathered around the mace¡¯s head. Fury wave! Xiao Yu grabbed a long vine stretching in the wilderness and swung his body aggressively, jumping upward to avoid the terrifying shock wave that annihilated everything around him. His body, covered in blood, flew straight to the sky and then fell at an alarming speed. The ogre merely raised its head as it noticed a figure falling straight down toward it; the figure was holding the handle of a blade with both hands, and the edge stabbed at its shoulder, penetrating its callous skin and piercing it deeply. When Xiao Yu saw the ogre turn its head toward him, a stern look flashed in his eyes. He gripped the blade¡¯s handle tightly and pressed down with all his strength; the weapon pierced another inch deeper, and now that he was firmly attached to the ogre¡¯s body, he leaned on the blade as his lower body rose in the air, before delivering a powerful kick to the ogre¡¯s face. ¡®wham¡¯ The kick of a first-order warrior was nothing to scoff at. Even the ogre staggered back from the blow while a crack appeared in one of its fangs. But at the same time, the monster reached out and quickly grabbed him from behind with its left hand. The ogre¡¯s grip was firm; however, Xiao Yu had already withdrawn his blade. He then took full advantage of that opportunity to clamp the ogre¡¯s right arm with his legs before stabbing the monster¡¯s left wrist with his weapon, as a large amount of blood gushed out wildly. His clothes and flesh were cut apart as a muffled scoff escaped Xiao Yu¡¯s throat. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes were completely soaked in blood, his hair was disheveled, and he totally looked like a vicious, unrivalled demon god. His whole body exuded an incomparably disheartening aura as he slashed at the ogre¡¯s throat again. However, the monster was too resilient, and this hasty blade strike could not cut through its tough skin, leaving behind a mere superficial wound. Roar! The ogre¡¯s strength was beyond Xiao Yu¡¯s current power. As a result, he was easily flung out and destroyed a couple of large trees on the way. However, he quickly regained his balance in mid-air and landed on his legs as he stabbed the soil with his blade, dragging a long mark on the ground, eventually coming to a halt after colliding with a large tree with his back. He immediately took a deep breath. However, this simple action caused many of his wounds to rupture even further, and his lungs convulsed before he felt a splitting pain covering his body. Xiao Yu¡¯s vision went slightly dark, his feet grew unstable, and he became a little shaky as he started assessing the condition of his body¡­. Multiple fractures were found throughout his body; the damage varied from serious concussion to internal injuries to severe bleeding and mental and physical weariness. With such a terrible injury, he would still reach his limits even if he had ten times the vitality of ordinary people and even if he was the strongest warrior in the world! ¡°This isn¡¯t good!¡± Countless leaves, broken branches, and fallen trees littered the ground, and Xiao Yu stood on that mess as he turned his head to look back, ¡°Damn, why is that guy not here yet?!¡± Regardless of his complaints, the ogre didn¡¯t give him any chance to breathe. Instead, it lifted its weapon once again, and the violent force of destruction took shape, hitting the ground with a forceful impact. At this critical juncture, a vast figure suddenly rushed out from one end of the woods. It had a hunched back, thick limbs, and claws half a meter long that looked as if they were blades; four ferocious scarlet eyes gazed at the scene, and its sparse grey hair moved with the wind as it opened its huge mouth, revealing a complete set of sharp teeth. A black energy ball suddenly condensed and formed right before its jaws as it breathed out. The Ghoul! This guy had finally arrived. There was a smile hanging on the corner of Xiao Yu¡¯s mouth. At this moment, the ogre, the ghoul, and he stood in a straight line. The ogre¡¯s wooden mace swung down heavily and hit the ground. The entire forest was shaken, and the red energy condensed into a line, rushing forward like a crushing tide. ¡°Bullet time!¡± Xiao Yu disappeared on the spot and appeared a few meters away. His body could no longer bear the burden, and he fell heavily. Under the strong momentum of the previous forward charge, he rolled and crawled for more than ten meters away. Then, gritting his teeth, he pushed his hands against the ground, jumped up, and leapt out into the wilderness. Boom! The ogre¡¯s ¡°fury wave¡± missed him and instead directly struck the ghoul behind, and the latter was forced to retreat more than ten meters away. Although it had already shown signs of evolution, it wasn¡¯t a real silver-armored ghoul. At most, it stood at the peak of the first order, so its current strength wasn¡¯t that different from the ogre¡¯s, and that blow managed to injure it to a certain extent. Still, the iron-armored ghoul was enraged as it condensed a batch of dark energy, gathered it into a small ball, and launched it in a deadly counterattack against the ogre! The earth was shrouded in dark energy, and everything within a ten-meter radius of the ogre¡¯s vicinity was blasted into sediments, leaving a big bowl-shaped pit on the ground. The ogre howled in anguish as the dark beam struck its invulnerable skin, shredding it as a dozen wounds were on the verge of splattering blood. ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The ogre warrior was angry, and so was the armored ghoul. Ogre warriors had low intelligence, to begin with, and when combined with the negative effect of the bloodlust skill, they became a war machine. That single blow from the ghoul was enough to offset the total amount of damage done by Xiao Yu altogether. In comparison, ghouls were far more threatening than him. Ogres, in general, will abandon low-threat targets in order to confront new ones with higher threats. The ghoul originally came chasing Xiao Yu but was hit by the ogre warrior for no reason and was also quite angry at the moment. They all stared at each other with fierce eyes and roared violently at the same time. The two monsters charged head-on, like two locomotives running at full speed, colliding heavily against each other and creating a ring of dust around them. The ogre struck the ghoul in the back with its weapon, releasing that red, violent force of energy. Half of the ghoul¡¯s body sank into the ground, its bones were broken, and its seven orifices started bleeding. However, the ghoul refused to show any weakness at all. Although that mace attack severely injured it, its two sharp claws held the ogre¡¯s body tightly, and the sharp claw blades even cut into the other party¡¯s skin. It opened its bloody mouth and bit into the ogre warrior¡¯s abdomen. The ghoul¡¯s teeth previously could break the head of the incredibly hard, poisonous zombie like it was fried beans, showcasing their sharpness. With this bite, a massive portion of flesh was torn off the ogre¡¯s midsection, faintly exposing the intestines and internal organs inside. The struggle between the two beasts had fully started. The ogre didn¡¯t chase Xiao Yu anymore, so the pressure he faced was greatly alleviated; he sighed in relief and quietly retreated into the woods. His vision was hazy, and he felt pain all over his body. But he didn¡¯t groan in pain from start to finish, and he crawled forward until he reached a tree hole, curled up in it, and sat with his knees shut. He then closed his eyelids and started breathing slowly. Although his vision was temporarily impaired, his hearing could also gauge the battle situation between the two monsters. He was now entirely cut off from the battleground, and all he could do was wait for the battle¡¯s outcome between the two guys. And if both of them got injured, he might luckily be able to¡­ act as the fisherman and reap all the benefits. If he succeeded, the spoils would be heavenly. He thought about all of this as he waited for the outcome, his heart pounding in anticipation. After all, those were two existences at the peak of the first order! CH 51 Be it the armored ghoul or the ogre warrior, they were both the most powerful entities that anyone had confronted at this stage. Each one was catastrophic, enough to make any powerful human being fearful. The more these two monsters fought, the bigger their momentum became. The two sides had almost similar strengths, and both exhibited fiery temperaments. In this fierce conflict, they¡¯d gladly injure themselves with 3,000 scars just to inflict 800 wounds on the enemy. They were reckless, practically putting their lives in danger. . The armored ghoul raised its pair of steel claws, leaving a deep wound on the ogre¡¯s body. The latter swept out with its wooden mace and sent the ghoul flying several meters away. When it descended, its solid hind legs slammed onto the ground. After stopping its body, it rushed forward again, only to be hit by the ogre¡¯s oncoming mace attack. ¡°Aw¡ª!¡± The ghoul¡¯s cheekbones were shattered, its eyes were bloodshot, and it roared angrily. Dark energy spewed from its mouth, bombarding the opposition¡¯s chest. The ogre¡¯s crude clothing instantly turned to ashes while the black energy beam burned and pushed against its body. Its flesh withered and rotted quickly, and a massive chunk of meat in the chest area turned pitch black. Finally, the ogre bellowed, raised its wooden mace, and swept it down. The blood-red energy shock wave collided with the black beam of light, and the two opposing forces canceled each other out. The ogre¡¯s power was superior, and the red wave streak broke through the black beam of light, but the remaining power was meager, and it barely caused the ghoul to stagger back a few steps. The ogre raised its mace and charged forward with thunderous strides. The ghoul was fearless, lifting its hideous face to brazenly meet the attack. The two frightening monsters engaged in a violent and deadly melee battle once again. Boom! One of the ghoul¡¯s arms was broken. Aw! The ogre¡¯s kneecap was crushed, and almost the entirety of its leg was slashed. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Initially, neither party gained an advantage over the other. However, as time passed, the battle tide began slowly shifting. Even with signs of evolution emerging around its body, the armored ghoul had roughly the same strength as the ogre warrior, but the latter bore the boost of its bloodlust ability. Unfortunately for everybody, the increase in its powers was more than marginal. And even the iron-armored ghoul, with its robust undead body and savage fighting style, could only hold on for a while; afterward, it gradually lost its standing, and the ogre warrior¡¯s onslaught remained just as fierce as before. The howls of the ghoul became weaker and weaker. At this moment, half of its head had been smashed and caved in; one eyeball was dangling from its cheek, and several teeth had been busted. In addition, it had a broken and fractured right arm and a bent spine, and six to seven ribs were also broken and deformed. Nonetheless, it did not choose to retreat. Instead, it pushed its left claw out, dug into the ogre¡¯s abdominal wound, grasped the intestines and viscera within, and shook them violently. Its blade-like fingers cut through all the internal organs inside. The ogre warrior howled in agony, then it clutched its wooden mace in both hands and struck the ghoul¡¯s lone left arm, snapping it. Another attack was launched, as blood spattered on the ghoul¡¯s gory back. Its fractured bones protruded through its skin, and the bone dregs mixed with pitch-black blood spilled all over the ground. Xiao Yu had his eyes closed and wrapped his hands over his knees. He was quietly listening as the conflict developed. Judging from the battle noises, the ghoul is in a difficult situation. He thought as he stretched out his hand with difficulty, and the light of the space ring in his finger flickered before an ancient scroll materialized in his hands. With a single thought, the scroll slipped from his grasp and unfolded itself in the air. The densely packed magic engravings on the scroll all lit up at the same time and flew out quickly, forming a complicated magic array pattern in the air that moved around as if alive. A tall figure emerged from the magic circle, accompanied by strong magic fluctuations; the figure progressed from hazy to clear and finally fully formed before him. It had sharp claws, purple-red hair, and bore a cold gaze¡­ This monster was precisely the poisonous zombie of the middle first-order realm! ¡°Whether we can win this gamble depends entirely on you.¡± Xiao Yu controlled the poisonous zombie¡¯s movements, and its body moved up and down a few times. Following a low growl, poisonous smoke began to seep out of its body, and it jumped up from the ground and rushed into the woods, silently sneaking toward the middle of the battlefield. Through the sight of his summoned creature, he realized that the outcome of this battle was already predetermined. The ogre warrior would undoubtedly prevail! Just as it was about to die from all of those terrible injuries, the ghoul suddenly leapt up in a last desperate attempt to bite the ogre¡¯s throat. However, a powerful strike was delivered by the ogre warrior from below, and the ghoul¡¯s jaw was immediately smashed, as were most of its teeth, and its corpse got hurled high like a ball flying in the air. Then, in the distant woods, a loud bang was heard as a large crater was formed on the land far away, where the ghoul¡¯s corpse had plunged down. The ogre¡¯s neck arteries had been ripped off, and blood was gushing out of the wound wildly, but it didn¡¯t seem to care. Instead, it limped over to where the ghoul had landed, dragging its legs as it walked over. The ghoul was lying on its back on the ground, its body twitching slightly, slowly dying, unable to stand up ever again. The ogre raised the wooden mace and smashed the ghoul¡¯s head into pieces. Unfortunately, this last blow seemed to exhaust the remaining bit of its strength, and the bright red color covering its body rapidly faded away, turning into a normal bluish-black. Puchi! Suddenly and without warning, a burst of venom shot from the sides, landing directly on the ogre¡¯s body. When the highly corrosive venom touched its skin, a large amount of smoke immediately surfaced. The poisonous zombie¡¯s venom was no joke, however, under normal circumstances, the zombie¡¯s venom spray would not be able to do much harm to the mighty ogre, but in this case, where its body was entirely scarred, the poison could enter its veins quickly through those numerous wounds. The poisonous zombie jumped out of the bushes, and its gushing fog covered all directions at once. A pair of sharp claws pierced fiercely into a wound on the ogre¡¯s body while the poisonous fog instantly flew past and surrounded the monster. The ogre warrior bellowed, knocking the poisonous zombie a few steps backward; the latter swiftly regained its footing before charging forward again, and its claws tore open another wound on the ogre¡¯s body. The latter swept its wooden mace at the zombie, which flew tens of meters in midair and knocked down two large trees before stopping. The monster then strode forward, and the zombie spewed another stream of venom, spraying toward the opposite party in a rounded shape. The ogre couldn¡¯t avoid being drenched in venom as more and more blue smoke came out from its skin. After inhaling that weird gas, it grew dizzy, and its strides became a bit erratic. The ogre tossed aside its mace and scooped up the legs of the zombie that had fallen to the ground. The poisonous zombie exhibited no signs of weakness and struck the opponent with its claws, leaving two gashes on its torso. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± The muscles of the ogre¡¯s arms bulged, and it suddenly made a tearing stance while exerting all of its strength. The left half of the zombie¡¯s body was ripped apart, along with its leg, and just like that, the steel-tough body that Xiao Yu could barely harm was directly torn in half, and the purple-black poisonous blood of the dangling corpse splashed down the ogre¡¯s face. The monster forcefully threw the remnants of the poisonous zombie on the ground, raised its vast foot, and stomped it down heavily. The land collapsed underneath that force, and the zombie¡¯s corpse was kicked on the head and broken into pieces, turning into a pile of meat paste. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± The ogre warrior had been poisoned to the core. Its awareness started to waver, the images in front of it blurred and became illusory, and its limbs grew weaker and weaker. But it stood tall as it picked up the wooden mace from the ground, stretched its arms toward the sky, and let out an earth-shattering howl as if declaring to the world that it was the victor. However, the roaring stopped abruptly. As a long gleaming blade pierced a specific wound on its chest area at that moment, the entire blade was almost entirely sunk in, leaving only a tiny section of the sharp edge exposed, reflecting an eye-catching cyan cold light. Xiao Yu held back the blade¡¯s handle with his right hand, pushed it with his left, and let out a deep howl as he exerted all his strength; then suddenly, the last half of the blade pierced into the ogre¡¯s body as well, completely piercing its heart. The monster lifted one arm, its eyes wide open, ready to turn the man in front of it into mincemeat. However, what was usually a simple action, turned out to be impossible; after all, it was severely poisoned at the moment, had lethal injuries, and was already powerless. The arm that was extended with difficulty couldn¡¯t strike down anymore. Its vast body remained motionless in the ground as if petrified but slowly fell backward after a few seconds went by. Then, with a blunt bang, the ogre¡¯s huge and burly body fell on its back, stirring up a layer of dust in the vicinity. It was finally dead! This mighty monster died in Xiao Yu¡¯s hands. Xiao Yu could be said to have put all his eggs in one basket. To succeed in this surprise attack, he forcibly used ¡°bullet time¡± once again, ignoring all consequences as he squeezed each and every drop of energy from his body. Now he didn¡¯t even have the strength to pull out his blade; he just turned over and fell to the ground, looking up at the sky and panting heavily. Night has already descended, and the last smear of golden light in the sky has yet to fade away, but the stars loomed in the sky, making for a beautiful scene. Xiao Yu absorbed a tremendous amount of energy after the ogre warrior perished, and his power was already close to the middle first-order stage. His strength had grown by a whole lot compared to before, though at this moment, even flexing his finger had become a lavish dream. If a monster happened to pass by at this moment, it would be disastrous for him; even a zero-order beast would be enough to end his fragile life. But, if this actually happened, he¡¯d have to acknowledge that he was unfortunate indeed; after all, most beasts and wild animals had long evacuated the area in fear of the two monsters, so there was no use in fretting about it. Xiao Yu closed his eyes, calmed down, and adjusted his breathing. Then he took out a single soul gem from his ring, holding it in his palm to absorb its energy and regain some of his lost spiritual power. The tearing pain tormented his nerves while he rested there as minutes and seconds passed by. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ About twenty minutes later, Xiao Yu opened his eyes again. The blood in his eyes had already congealed, his eyelids felt quite dry and heavy, and his hazy field of vision was covered with a layer of red. Then, suddenly, a muffled sound came from the surrounding woods. Worried that something was amiss, Xiao Yu crawled forward with difficulty, ignoring the feelings of exhaustion and pain, stretching out his shaking right hand toward the luminous beast blade and clutching its cold handle with his palm. The blade was firmly stuck inside the ogre¡¯s strong muscles, and Xiao Yu could not free it since he was still too feeble to push his body. A big black bear with a body size of more than three meters came out cautiously and walked around the messy field. The lingering, bloody air of the battlefield made it fearful. However, after hesitating for a while, it slowly stepped in. Either because the beast confirmed that the ogre on the ground was already dead or because it noticed Xiao Yu struggling to draw out his blade, it suddenly grew courageous and crept over there slowly. It¡¯s over; this is an elementary creature! Xiao Yu despaired as he watched the beast¡¯s figure grow close CH 52 In his heart, Xiao Yu was terrified. He clutched his left hand, trying to condense a flame missile, but only a few sparks spilled out of his palm, after which there was silence. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless. Even though he used a high-level soul gem to recover his lost energy, twenty minutes alone were not enough to regain much power; he couldn¡¯t condense a trace of spiritual power at all, and even a small flame missile couldn¡¯t be used. The black bear slowly approached, and it came closer and closer to the point where Xiao Yu could smell its foul stench. He opened his blood-stained eyes and glared viciously. The beast stared at those pair of murderous eyes, and its hair stood on end all over its skin before it backed away several steps in dread. As the saying goes, ¡°a centipede dies but never falls down,¡± Xiao Yu used his momentum to frighten the black bear. However, this was only a temporary effect, and unless he could somehow regain his strength, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the opponent at bay for long. It would only take a moment for the black bear to notice the anomaly, and then he¡¯ll be doomed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die right here, am i?¡± Xiao Yu had a crazy notion in his head. He was first ambushed by a dreadful ghoul, then pursued by an enraged ogre. Then he brought together those two formidable creatures at the peak of the first order and somehow compelled them to murder each other so as to reap all the benefits. He¡¯s done all those unimaginable deeds, yet here he is, feeling helpless in the face of a mere elementary monster. The irony. The black bear circled Xiao Yu several times, getting closer and closer as it found the other party to be of no threat. Finally, no longer hesitating, its massive legs kicked the earth, and it flew forward. Whoosh. Right then, a flaming arrow shot out from the woods and struck one of the black bear¡¯s eyes in the air just as it was about to leap on Xiao Yu. In an instant, that powerful fire element burned the beast¡¯s brain tissues into scorched matter, and the bear¡¯s hefty weight slammed heavily against Xiao Yu¡¯s, almost preventing him from exhaling. Ignoring the weight, Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. A group of people hurried out of the woods. It was the bunch of Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and the rest. Du Tao, Yun Yun, and Huang Jianmin were also there; almost everyone came back for him. Moments ago, as the sounds of the battle gradually subsided, they set out to look for Xiao Yu. In truth, most of them had already given up hope, yet seeing his dead corpse with their own eyes would¡¯ve been one of their greatest nightmares¡­ This part of the forest had been utterly wrecked; trees were falling here and there, the ground was littered with shattered wood, the earth had been stripped of a layer, and the tree roots were tilted around, revealing the soil beneath. None could fathom just what kind of battle had taken place! Jiang Xiaowen rushed forward and kicked the black bear¡¯s body away before she picked up Xiao Yu who was laying on the ground and reached out for his nose to feel his breath. His gasps were so weak that she could hardly feel them. Jiang Xiaowen turned pale with fright and quickly touched his carotid artery. After about a few seconds, a look of joy appeared on her beautiful, petite face. Han Kexin looked at Xiao Yu¡¯s horrific appearance, which was wholly covered in bruises, and asked tremblingly, ¡°He¡­ how is he?¡± Jiang Xiaowen hastily shouted to the others: ¡°Xiao Yu is alive; he is still alive, but he is seriously injured, Teacher Han; come and treat him quickly¡­ Great, he¡¯s still alive!¡± she cried again and again then eventually ended up choking and wept with joy. Xiao Yu¡¯s consciousness did not fade yet; he was aware that his upper body was being embraced by a lovely little lady exuding a sweet fragrance while his head was inadvertently resting on the other party¡¯s round chest, but no one cared about this right now. Moreover, Xiao Yu was in severe pain all over his body; his senses were numb, and he couldn¡¯t feel any tactile sensations. Han Kexin sucked up the ogre¡¯s blood, transformed it into healing power, and infused it into Xiao Yu¡¯s body. The ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡± skill could transform all creatures¡¯ blood into healing power. Different types of blood had different impacts as well. For instance, the blood of high-level monsters contains a more powerful life force, and its healing effect is much higher than that of low-level monsters. The ogre has not been dead for long, and the life force in its blood has not been entirely lost. Hence, its effects were very obvious. In an instant, Xiao Yu felt his injuries heal by 10 to 20%; by then, he could barely open his eyes as he moved his mouth, ¡°Water¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen immediately removed the water bag hanging around her neck, unscrewed the lid, and directed it toward Xiao Yu¡¯s lips. The latter then drank two sips tasting sweet and delicious mineral water. Jiang Xiaowen should have added the sugar powder they used to make orange juice in her own water bag. The girl then spoke nervously, ¡°How are you feeling? Do you feel better?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and didn¡¯t speak anymore. Wang Chao looked at Xiao Yu, who was bruised and covered in blood, and said with both admiration and awe, ¡°You truly deserve to be our leader; you¡¯re like immortal Xiaoqiang, persevering in the face of adversity; if I had been hurt like this, I¡¯m sure I would have died a long time ago.¡± (TN: Immortal Xiaoqiang is a character in a traditional martial arts novel of the same name.) Jiang Xiaowen gave him a stern look and said, ¡°Peh peh, what is this fat ball saying? Even if you die a hundred times, Xiao Yu will still be fine!¡± Du Tao quickly arranged for a few people to come over, ¡°Zhao Dahai, it¡¯s not convenient for Xiao Yu to walk now, so find some people to carry him back.¡± Jin Shi immediately stepped forward and said, ¡°Let me do it.¡± Saying this, he quickly carried Xiao Yu on his back. Jiang Xiaowen pulled out the luminous beast blade, still stuck on the ogre¡¯s corpse, and handed it back to him. Xiao Yu suddenly pointed toward the six to seven balls of light floating on the ground, swallowed his saliva, and said dryly, ¡°The harvest¡­ don¡¯t forget our harvest!¡± Everyone smiled as they stared at the balls of light hovering on the ground. Those were treasured items dropped by that ghoul and ogre pair. There were lots of pieces¡­ and among them, there was a green light ball that had never been seen before! It was a green-grade item! Nobody has seen anything green-grade yet. So everyone waited in anticipation, curious to know if it was a piece of equipment, a magical item, or something special. Wang Chao was the first to rush over. He immediately went for the green light ball on the ground, and the light faded away as a crystal with a green halo appeared in his palm, ¡°holy stone of origins?¡± he shouted, ¡°What the hell is that!¡± Xiao Yu, who was initially a bit sluggish, felt more energetic when he heard those words, and his spirits improved slightly, pushing him to ask, ¡°What did you say?¡± Wang Chao handed the crystal over to him and said, ¡°It seems to be something called ¡®the holy stone of origins¡¯.¡± Xiao Yu gazed at the crystal for a while and said happily, ¡°The holy stone of origins is used to enhance the origins¡¯ power of inheritance skills so as to improve their powers.¡± He paused to take a breath and continued, ¡°This is a treasure that can be encountered but not sought after. It is far more rare than the crystals of inheritance themselves. Take my Flame Missile, for example; it is a first-rank magic skill, which is equivalent to a white-level item attack spell.¡± He thought for a moment and said, ¡°If I were to use this green-grade stone, it might evolve into a green-grade skill, turning into a second-rank type of magic, considerably strengthening the skill¡¯s powers.¡± Han Kexin and the others took turns picking up the remaining items. ¡°Mace of Rage,¡± a high-grade white weapon transformed from the soul of an ogre warrior, can only be wielded at full power by those with violent tempers; injecting spiritual power can result in a small-scale violent shock wave; the ability can be used once every 20 minutes. Xiao Yu nodded and said, albeit a bit weakly, ¡°Good¡­ This is a magic weapon. Only Wang Chao, with his rampage ability, can fully wield this weapon¡¯s abilities. So here it is, take it and use it to the best of its powers.¡± Wang Chao was thrilled and quickly gained control of the mace. This mace was six feet long and entirely forged of metal. The spikes blazed with a frigid, crimson light, and the handle felt rather heavy in his hands. Wang Chao immediately went berserk. Surprisingly, the mace turned red along with him at the beginning of his berserk state. He swung the mace with both arms, and following that heavy slash, a blood-red shock wave rushed out in a straight line for more than ten meters, leaving a long mark on the ground as a tree that was on its path got utterly destroyed and shattered into pieces. ¡°Its power is amazing!¡± Du Tao gulped. Han Kexin agreed with him and said, ¡°This is the same ability as the ogre warrior¡¯s. Although it appears to be a weaker version as its power and scale are not a tenth of the ogre¡¯s. Nonetheless, it¡¯s also quite powerful.¡± After receiving this mighty weapon, Wang Chao¡¯s face flushed, and he was quite delighted as he passed over his old battle axe to a familiar elementary warrior in the group. The other treasures were tidied up one by one as well. ¡°Ghost cloak¡±, peak white grade equipment, engraved with a first-rank ¡°magic defense¡± and a second-rank ¡°spiritual resistance,¡± both respectively capable of repelling first-rank magic attacks and second-rank spiritual attacks. The cloak is also engraved with a first-rank blessing, ¡°Feather Fall¡±, which can help the wielder negate 5% of his body weight. ¡°Wind ??????Boots¡±, peak white grade equipment, engraved with a first-rank ¡°Physical Protection¡± and a first-rank ¡°Swift?????? Movement¡±, which can increase the movement speed by 5%. ¡°Ring of spikes¡±, a medium white-grade magic item, can cast the second-rank earth attribute spell ¡°Earth Spike¡±. After each use, the Ring of Spikes needs 48 hours to replenish its energy. ¡°Ogre Transformation Potion,¡± a high white-grade magic potion, transforms the user into an ogre after use, yielding strength, agility, speed, and spiritual power enhancement. Acquired skills: bloodlust, fury wave, the effects last for a 30 minutes period. ¡°Ghost Cloak¡± and ¡°Speed ????Boots¡± both had significant strengthening effects on Xiao Yu, while the ¡°Ogre Transformation Potion¡± was also a very precious magic potion. Once used, it could increase his fighting power to that of an adult ogre warrior, which was enough for Xiao Yu to be invincible within the first-order realm, and could be used to turn the tide of the battle at a critical moment, which was why he politely accepted them. The ¡°Ring of Spikes¡± was a magic item with great uses, but keeping it would be meaningless for the current Xiao Yu, so he gave it to Jiang Xiaowen as a lifesaving piece. In general, these spoils of war all proved to be valuable, especially Wang Chao¡¯s ¡°Rage Mace,¡± ¡°Holy Stone of Origins,¡± and the ¡°Ogre Transformation Potion,¡± all of which were extremely useful at this point in time. Finally, Xiao Yu returned to the cave and was nursed back to health for two days straight. His injuries had ultimately healed, but he had barely regained control over his body. It¡¯s just that the loss of spiritual power required more rest and recuperation. The trauma of losing all spiritual power had no effect whatsoever on the use of the holy stone. After Xiao Yu had a good night¡¯s rest, he couldn¡¯t wait to sink his consciousness into the stone of origins and start extracting that powerful source energy. ¡°Flame Missile¡± was a first-rank magic ability; consequently, its potency was limited. In his sea of consciousness, that small, glowing light was the inheritance seed of this specific skill, and the surrounding flames were the fire¡¯s origins¡¯ power. Xiao Yu slowly absorbed the power of the ¡°holy stone of origins¡± and injected it into the bright inheritance seed. The pure origins¡¯ energy was constantly absorbed and transformed into more and more source flame energy. The flames¡¯ entwining around the inheritance seed increased in size gradually, and the floating balls of fire that were initially the size of a ping pong ball turned into football-sized fireballs in a short time¡­ CH 53 Xiao Yu felt comfortable and rejuvenated as he emerged from his personal cavern. Finally, after nearly ten days of rest, his body fully recovered. He wore a ¡°ghost cloak¡± wrapping around his neck, fully enclosing his black python-scale armor. The entire cloak was black, with delicate-looking purple patterns around the edges. For his feet, he was wearing a pair of metal boots with some magic patterns engraved on their soles that could effectively increase the user¡¯s movement speed¡ªthey were precisely his newly acquired ¡°wind boots¡±. One of these two pieces of equipment could reduce his body weight, and the other could increase his movement speed. As a result, Xiao Yu felt much lighter after wearing them, and his speed increased significantly. People were coming and going in the underground cave space, making the surrounding air feel very lively. These days, like before, a number of survivors have passed through their location on numerous occasions, but Du Tao did not accept them like he did in the beginning. Instead, he was pretty selective, allowing only a select few to come in and join them, as he was wary of the unknown troubles, strangers could bring with them; hence, he only chose people who seemed to have good character; his judgment was all based on the other party¡¯s occupation, origin, age, gender, and first impression. The cave currently had an exact population of 123 individuals, consisting of: one first-order warrior, forty-one elementary warriors, and nineteen peak zero-order warriors. As for the rest, they were all in the middle to late zero-order levels. The team¡¯s overall strength could be described as extremely powerful; I¡¯m afraid in the entire forest, only a handful of groups could hope to match us. People who saw Xiao Yu walking greeted him one after another, with some immediately asking him for his insight on combat techniques, putting on a highly respectful attitude. After all, he was not only the ultimate boss in everyone¡¯s eyes but also the guardian and guide of the entire team. Even in such a cruel world, everyone could yet get along well with each other. Xiao Yu was pleased; however, he had no idea how long this situation could last; all he could hope for was that it would continue in this fashion for the time being. The continent was just too cold and cruel for its own good. Humanity¡¯s survival would be substantially improved if individuals could lower their selfishness, reduce the infighting, and just grow together in peace and harmony with one another. Because he had gone through this before, Xiao Yu knew very well how human beings might as well be much more dangerous than monsters in many different cases. Jiang Xiaowen came from the entrance with a green spear in her hands, followed by her good sister Yunyun. The two were surprised when they saw Xiao Yu not far away and quickly lowered their heads, sneaking to the side. ¡°Yunyun, Xiaowen!¡± Xiao Yu called them out. ¡°Ah! I¡­ we¡¯re here; what¡¯s the matter?¡± Jiang Xiaowen and Yunyun, who were stooping down, straightened their backs simultaneously, with a hint of nervousness in their tone. Xiao Yu walked over slowly; the two dared not turn their heads, leaving only a slender, delicate, curvy back facing him. Their garments were ragged, and a number of parts had been slashed, revealing their creamy white skin. The wounds were still bleeding and were relatively fresh, clearly having occurred not long ago. ¡°What have you two been doing? Turn around and let me see.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s tone was quite gentle, but it carried a trace of authority that could not be ignored. Jiang Xiaowen bit her lower lip, sighed, looking quite frustrated, and, like a child caught doing something bad, she slowly turned around with her head down, not daring to look at him. Although she was in a similar state, Yunyun was not as nervous as her friend but still felt a bit guilty. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s gorgeous face was covered with scratches, and she had a serious cut on her shoulder that was still bleeding. Yunyun¡¯s small and slender legs were also covered with wounds, and she had a scratch on her forehead. Xiao Yu looked at the two of them for a long time, which made them feel quite uncomfortable, and then spoke lightly: ¡°I had previously heard from Miss Han that recently someone was disobeying the group¡¯s arrangement and kept going out to hunt monsters secretly. It turned out to be you two.¡± Jiang Xiaowen blushed, grabbed Yunyun¡¯s hand, and said quickly, ¡°Don¡¯t blame Yunyun; she just tagged along with me, and we¡¯ve only gone out once or twice. I¡¯m sorry. If you want to punish someone¡­ punish me.¡± ¡°Why are you sneaking outside and taking such a risk?¡± Jiang Xiaowen replied honestly: ¡°I¡­ I want to become stronger¡­ So if we encounter a powerful monster once again, I can help you instead of holding you back¡­¡± Xiao Yu changed his tone and asked, ¡°Well, what kind of monsters did you encounter today? How did you guys get hurt?¡± Upon hearing this, Yunyun replied excitedly: ¡°We were lucky; we actually encountered two elementary monsters. Although they were a bit troublesome to deal with, we managed to defeat them both thanks to the cooperation of Xiaowen and me! ¡° ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°Xiaowen¡¯s power is approaching the late stage of the elementary level, nearly matching that of Han Kexin. It¡¯s now slightly higher than both Fatty and Stone¡¯s. Yunyun has also made significant progress; you two, keep it up.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s eyes lit up, and she said with surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t you blame me for going out without permission?¡± Xiao Yu shrugged: ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. Du Tao is in charge of the hunting plan. If you want to apologize, you can go to him.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was very happy and said with a beaming smile, ¡°Ah, really? Xiao Yu, You¡¯re so kind; thank you.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, you¡¯d better keep a low profile; otherwise, if someone else follows suit and sneaks out to hunt monsters, ignoring the orders, everything will be messed up.¡± Xiao Yu thought for a while and added, ¡°Also, be safe.¡± A warm current flowed through Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s heart, and she nodded her head repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice: ¡°Mmm! Mmm!¡± With some embarrassment in her tone, Yunyun hurriedly stated: ¡°If our injuries are not healed in time, some ugly scars could be left. Therefore, let us first seek treatment from Teacher Han.¡± Xiao Yu nodded: ¡°By the way, inform Miss Han that my injuries has already being healed and I am going outside for a while.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback, ¡°You¡¯re going out again? Where? Is it dangerous?¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s just a trip back to the zombie coal mine. Since a ghoul was lurking in the depths, I believe the place should not be as simple as it looks. Perhaps we overlooked something; additionally, the most powerful monster has already been vanquished, so there should be no danger.¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s eyes swirled, revealing a captivating smile on her face before she widened her pair of lovely big eyes, ¡°Xiao Yu, I want to go with you, can I?¡± Stars were shining in her deep purple eyes, and her cute and charming appearance made it hard for others to refuse her. Xiao Yu thought for a moment, then finally nodded, ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing this, Yun Yun hurriedly said, ¡°Wait. ¡®There won¡¯t be more with me, and there won¡¯t be less without me¡¯, so just take me with you too.¡± After Xiao Yu agreed, Yun Yun was overjoyed and pulled Jiang Xiaowen away. About ten minutes later, the two girls came hurrying back. Both of them put on new clothes and tied their hair into ponytails. Their skin looked clean again, without any trace of injury. The three left the cave and headed towards the zombie mine, arriving at their destination in only ten minutes as they encountered no kind of trouble along their way. The coal mine was dilapidated; the ground was littered with zombie corpses, and there was a rotten stench in the air. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s heart was a little fuzzy after she entered the pitch-black mine; she clenched the spear in her hands and carefully studied her surroundings with her beautiful eyes. Xiao Yu arrived back at the original location where he first confronted the poisonous zombie and plucked a purple fruit from the venomous vine that was growing there. The zombie¡¯s presence here exactly near these vines was quite unusual, and he judged that the birth of the poisonous zombie was most likely related to them. So the fruits growing on the vines were definitely valuable, and Xiao Yu wasn¡¯t going to be courteous; he immediately tossed them inside the space ring one by one after plucking them off. Yun Yun, walking in front, noticed something and hurriedly notified the others, ¡°There is another route over here; the ghoul must have emerged from below!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go down and have a look.¡± They proceeded through a small and steep passageway, and about three to four minutes later, their field of vision abruptly cleared up, revealing an immense underground space. The traces of artificial construction here were very obvious. The area was the size of a basketball court, and a tall, altar-like structure stood in its center. Underneath the altar, bones were strewn all over the place. Moreover, there were seven to eight metal cages scattered around the site. Although every cage had been unlocked, nothing remained inside. ¡°This could be a secret research room, probably for the study of undead creatures,¡± Xiao Yu speculated, ¡°I¡¯m not sure why it was abandoned for so long. Some of the organisms used for research were also discarded, but among them, the ghoul¡¯s strength was the greatest; it devoured all other undead creatures before falling into deep slumber, though it was jerked awake as a result of our arrival.¡± Jiang Xiaowen picked up an ancient magic scroll on the ground beside the sacrificial table. She wiped the dust off it with her sleeves, and her spiritual power sunk in to gather informations about the item. A second later, she opened her eyes wide with a look of amazement on her face. ¡°I found a good thing!¡± she shouted to Xiao Yu, waving her hands back and forth. ¡°Sealed Half-Abomination Scroll,¡± a peak white magic scroll containing a half-abomination that failed to synthesize! ¡°Abomination?¡± Xiao Yu was a little surprised, ¡°This is a relatively advanced creature of the undead tribe, even more powerful than ghouls. That explains it; this place must have been used to produce abominations.¡± Yunyun asked: ¡°Monsters can also be produced?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said: ¡°The so-called ¡®abomination¡¯ is actually a man-made monster synthesized with magic using the arms, feet, heads, and organs of various monsters. An evil ritual then is required to awaken it and turn it into an undead monster. The power of an abomination is difficult to assess. It is usually determined by the ingredients employed in the ritual. Even the weakest abomination, however, can have strength between the middle and late stages of the second order. Only, this sealed one is a half-abomination, so it¡¯s probably no worse than a ghoul in strength.¡± Jiang Xiaowen smiled: ¡°I see¡­ That¡¯s a pity; it would¡¯ve been great if it were a complete ¡®abomination¡¯.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy; the scroll is already in your hands.¡± Xiao Yu thought of something and reminded her: ¡°Also, you need to pay attention; there is a difference between sealed scrolls and summoning scrolls. The latter has a time limit, whereas summoned beings can be controlled by the summoner for a certain time before it vanishes. However, once the sealed scroll is unlocked, the monster will exist indefinitely, and it will not discriminate between friend or foe; it is more hazardous to use and is extremely difficult to respond against, so you must exercise caution.¡± Jiang Xiaowen stuck out her tongue, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯m not going to be polite; with this scroll in hand, I can go out hunting without worry!¡± ¡°Well, good. If you two search hard, you may find something useful.¡° Yunyun soon discovered a pile of soul gems, where they unearthed over a hundreds of lower soul gems, more than a dozen intermediate ones, and three upper soul gems as well. Xiao Yu was overjoyed with this large finding. He also accidentally found a bracelet inlaid with gemstones on a bone hand under the altar, and he immediately walked over to take it off. (TN: ¡®There won¡¯t be more with me, and there won¡¯t be less without me¡¯ this is another idiom, meaning adding one more person to the team doesn¡¯t have much of an impact.) CH 54 ¡°Bracelet of Spiritual Power¡±, a low green magic item, can store the wielder¡¯s spiritual power and release the skill ¡°Instant Spiritual Power Regeneration¡± Xiao Yu froze for a moment before revealing a surprised expression. This type of item that could help him store his own spiritual power was extremely valuable; it was something that could be encountered but not sought for, and Xiao Yu felt as if he had just hit the jackpot. After a year or two, this low-grade green item may as well be worth more than a blue grade equipment. Of course, they were not the only supplements of energy. In general, soul gems contained spiritual power that might be utilized to replenish an individual¡¯s energy, but the recovery process was far too slow; it took approximately an hour or two to start exhibiting symptoms of recovery; therefore, they could not be used during fast-paced battles. On the other hand, magic items with the capability of storing spiritual power were very different. Throughout the day, the wielder can slowly transfer energy into the item and store it. Then, during tough times, he can instantly draw this stored spiritual power from it to supplement his consumption, which is extremely practical! I must say, my luck is pretty good! When Xiao Yu put on the bracelet, a green beam of light surged across his body from head to toe. Only then did he realize that the bracelet had somehow shifted, and its size had been adjusted to fit his arm. He could see fluctuations emanating from his wrist as the object mingled with his body, creating the feeling of being connected to both his flesh and blood. When equipped on the body, any equipment above the green grade will immediately make various adjustments based on the user¡¯s physical condition to adapt to the usage of all individuals; this adjustment was necessary because people¡¯s bodies will change dramatically as their power increases. Jiang Xiaowen, for example, has translucent butterfly wings; Zhang Kai has praying mantis-like arm blades; and Jinshi has a body length of more than two meters¡­. Furthermore, green-grade and higher equipment will automatically connect to the user¡¯s spiritual power, and the equipment can be disarmed at any time following the user¡¯s will. Xiao Yu closed his eyes and began injecting energy into the bracelet. The gemstones on the bracelet gradually brightened, and when nearly 50% of his whole spiritual force was infused, a wave of resistance drove it back, and it was no longer feasible to pour in any more spiritual power. However, this also meant that Xiao Yu¡¯s energy could be increased by more than half in a split second. ¡°My strength is close to the middle first order; even if I were to step into the late first order, the increase in spiritual power could not be more than that.¡± Nobody could underestimate a 50% recovery; this was an unimaginably huge increase. When two individuals with equal power and ability engage in combat, an extra point of spiritual energy often makes the difference between victory and defeat. Xiao Yu¡¯s mood vastly improved. He, Jiang Xiaowen, and Yun Yun scoured every nook and cranny in the underground space, only this time, they came up empty-handed. However, on this trip alone, their harvest of soul gems was tremendous, and with a bracelet of unfathomable value and a scroll used to summon a powerful half-abomination, it could be said that they came across an incredible treasure trove. They grabbed everything and returned to the underground cave along their original route. Xiao Yu returned to his cavern, sat cross-legged, and took out a crystal clear green stone from his ring. After a week of absorption, this ¡°Holy Stone of Origins¡± shrank to one-fifth of its original size. ¡°I must fully absorb the holy stone of origins today!¡± With such thoughts in mind, Xiao Yu held the holy stone with both hands and sank his mind into his sea of consciousness. He could see that the blazing power of the origins flame was ten times stronger than before as it floated and surrounded the white light of the inheritance seed, and with the continuous injection of pure origins power from the holy stone of origins, the inheritance seed was slowly undergoing some subtle changes as well. Just like that, four hours passed by. Xiao Yu sat cross-legged on the spot and remained motionless; the green crystal-like stone in his palm was slowly shrinking before it got completely absorbed into his body. Almost when the ¡°holy stone of origins¡± was completely absorbed, the white inheritance seed in his sea of consciousness finally underwent an earth-shaking transformation. First, rays of intense light shot out from the inheritance seed, and it seemed to have grown in size as if it had become some kind of higher-level entity, and then the white light quickly faded away and was immediately replaced by a brighter and more conspicuous green light. The leap from ¡°white grade¡± to ¡°green grade¡± was simply a substantial breakthrough! Xiao Yu read the information in the inheritance seed and couldn¡¯t help but show a gratified smile on his face. The power he had acquired was well worth consuming a whole piece of that precious holy stone of origins. The flame missile ability! has evolved into the blast flame ability! After the skill¡¯s substantial upgrade, the newly formed magic was called ¡°Blast Flame¡±, a second-rank fire attribute magic with great lethality. Xiao Yu was very clear about the power of the ¡°Blast flame¡± skill, which was enough to threaten all monsters below the second order. However, as second-rank magic, the consumption of spiritual power was five to six times that of the previous first-rank, ¡°Flame Missile¡±. Furthermore, with his current strength, he needed to consume 20% of his total spiritual power each time it was used. Therefore, he had to be more mindful when using it, as too frequent use could cause his energy to deplete quickly, and even in the best of circumstances, four or five consecutive uses were most likely the limit. However, relatively speaking, ¡°Blast Flame¡± was much safer than ¡°Bullet Time¡±, as this innate skill consumed spiritual power in proportion to the length of time it was employed, and although it could break through limits, the strain it entailed was likewise immense. In the phase of bullet time, Xiao Yu could burst with three times his standard explosive power, which could easily lead to significant harm or even a breakdown! This explains why Xiao Yu¡¯s regular use of ¡°bullet time¡± not only weakened his spiritual power but also caused lesions to appear in his muscles and bones, rendering him paralyzed for a while, and the burst of his capillaries and blood vessels also resulted in severe bleeding. Xiao Yu exited the cavern just as lunchtime arrived. Han Kexin and the others greeted him in the open space at the cave¡¯s midsection. Jiang Xiaowen, who offered to help with the making of noodles, was stirring the food in a big pot with a large spoon in her small hands. By her side stood a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties; he was sprinkling water from time to time and adding lots of seasoning whilst the appetizing noodle aroma wafted throughout the underground area. The middle-aged man was called Sun Dazhu; he looked very rough, with dark skin and a thick beard all over his face. He was one of the best cooks in the underground cave, only slightly inferior to Xiao Yu in barbecuing. However, as long as he had ingredients in his hands, he could fry, boil, and grill them, and they should turn delicious right away. Now he has become the go-to chef for Du Tao, Han Kexin, and others. Sun Dazhu wasn¡¯t only an excellent cook but also a skilled elementary warrior of the physical body evolutionary type. Given that he was honest and trustworthy, people in the underground cave welcomed him wholeheartedly. ¡°Xiao Yu, here! Come and eat!¡± Jiang Xiaowen beckoned Xiao Yu over and brought up a large bowl of steaming hot noodles topped with a few poached eggs, green onions, slices of ham, and two cans of beef chili sauce. All of the cave dwellers sat down together and started enjoying the meal. ¡°Yunyun and I found these eggs in the forest,¡± Jiang Xiaowen explained, ¡°there were many bird nests to be found.¡± The girl was probably thinking that digging out bird nests was disgraceful, as she had an embarrassed smile on her face. There was a charming and seductive smile on Han Kexin¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s already been a whole month, and now our situation is getting better and better.¡± She said this while dipping her chopsticks in hot sauce and gently stirring the noodles with her white, slender fingers. ¡°I believe everyone has finally adapted to this way of life, which is honestly not as simple as it sounds.¡± Du Tao nodded in agreement and said: ¡°In the past month or so, driven by everyone¡¯s growth, the group has also achieved remarkable progress.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be satisfied with the status quo. It¡¯s unrealistic for us to live in this dark underground cave forever.¡± Xiao Yu paused and said, ¡°Since everyone¡¯s strength has gradually improved, we must consider leaving the forest.¡± He stirred the noodles in his bowl and explained, ¡°You must understand that the sooner we leave the forest, the sooner we¡¯ll reach the continent of chaos, which will be very beneficial for our future growth.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s eyes lit up, and she asked, ¡°Have you already started considering this?¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t hide his thoughts from Du Tao and Han Kexin, ¡°It¡¯s too early to start; we may need another month to prepare. However, you just have to do your best and train those with less strength in the coming days. Make it so everyone can eventually advance into the elementary realm.¡± Han Kexin set the bowl down and asked, ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering if we need to adjust the division of labor.¡± Xiao Yu thought for a while and continued: ¡°In the near future, there will be no danger in the surrounding region. After all, we are gaining more and more elementary warriors in our ranks, and we now possess the power to fully dominate this area; unfortunately, the warriors who have long advanced are finding it difficult to grow.¡± He thought for a moment and continued, ¡°I believe the elite team should go farther to battle stronger monsters; this will help them grow their power and remove some obstacles for the team¡¯s eventual evacuation from the forest so as to provide an early path. After all, there is an increasing number of people in our group, and it is too dangerous for everyone to venture into the woods.¡± Du Tao nodded thoughtfully, ¡°I¡¯ll think about this matter carefully before making arrangements. But, of course, we can¡¯t arrange for people to hunt farther away without a plan. For that, I need a forest map as detailed as possible.¡± In his previous life, Xiao Yu spent nearly half a year in the greenhorn forest before leaving with his team. Unfortunately, the forest itself was too vast, and more than 90% of the area was left unexplored. As a result, he felt hazy about the forest situation and only knew the broad picture. What¡¯s more, during the time when I left the forest, I was often chased by monsters and lived in hiding. Four years had already passed, and I can¡¯t recall many locations. ¡°Ten days, just give me ten days, and I¡¯ll draw you a good enough map!¡± ¡°Are you going to explore it on your own?¡± Xiao Yu did not deny Du Tao¡¯s words since he had already made that decision. The current him was much more powerful than before, and with strength close to that of the middle first-order level coupled with his rich fighting experience, he was perfectly capable of moving throughout the woodland. And, since the surroundings are vague, why not explore and make a complete map? Moreover, with his current power, growing stronger is becoming more and more of a challenging task. In this part of the forest, there were few first-order creatures he could kill. Thus, if he had just remained in the cave all day long, only leading the team to hunt from time to time, then it would truly be a waste of his fighting power. People could only gain treasures by going out to take risks! There was no shortage of geniuses in this world, nor was there a shortage of lucky individuals with their own adventurous tales. To keep up with their counterparts, however, those people also needed to take risks and strive for progress, so he has to accumulate more advantages in the early stages! (TN: The blast flame skill is the same one in Han Kexin¡¯s ring.) CH 55 Xiao Yu began packing his belongings that day, bringing hundreds of pieces of chocolate, compressed biscuits, canned food, and some clean drinking water. He also carried three upper-level soul gems, twenty intermediate-level soul gems, and fifty lower-level soul gems, in addition to several supplies and tools. Finally, he remembered to leave some vacant space in his ring, and the items he no longer needed were left in the cavern. When Wang Chao, Jiang Xiaowen, and others heard that Xiao Yu was planning to go on an expedition, they all strongly demanded to follow, but they were instantly rejected. After all, Xiao Yu knew that the larger the gathering, the easier it was to stir havoc. Moreover, his survival experience and fighting power were far beyond anyone in the group so he could go readily on his own; bringing additional individuals with him would only cause the expedition to slow down. Before departing, Xiao Yu pointed out some areas where elementary-level monsters were spread substantially. Moreover, the distance between them was relatively wide, making them perfect for the elite team led by Han Kexin to hunt. Therefore, they could increase their fighting power by hunting elementary monsters in the days following his departure. He foresaw that after his inevitable return, a couple of them would reach the peak elementary level. On the morning of the following day, Xiao Yu left the underground cave and bid farewell to everyone. Then, with a leap, he flew into the woods, turned into a hazy shadow, and shot quickly between the branches of the trees like lightning. Xiao Yu opened his eyes of insight, shuttled through the gaps in the branches of trees like a whirlwind, and moved at full speed, traveling twenty to thirty kilometers in just ten minutes; even the speed of a moving car wasn¡¯t much faster than him. Besides, Xiao Yu was trekking through a forest with a highly complex landscape. If the terrain was replaced with simple, flat surroundings, his speed might already have become comparable to that of a bullet train. Before the drastic change in their environment, only superhumans in those various movies, TV series, and the like could achieve this state. Even if ordinary humans could reach such speed, their bodies would be unable to handle it, and the wind¡¯s velocity and pressure would shred them to bits. However, relying on his exceptional insight and the strong physique of a first-order warrior, he felt no strain while shuttling at such a high speed in this complicated environment. He came across some monsters along the way, but before they could respond, a tremendous gust of wind blew through the woods, and his dark form raced through without leaving a single trace behind. Xiao Yu spent a whole day running back and forth for hundreds of kilometers, killing several tough monsters along the way. He took notes on the geography and surroundings of this area, as well as the sorts of monsters that may appear, among other things. Finally, he buried himself in a large tree hole at night to rest for three or four hours before resuming the task at hand. For the next six days, Xiao Yu spent his time exploring and beheading countless monsters along the way. He only encountered first-order monsters twice, but they were merely in the early stages of the first-order level. They were solely ordinary monsters with no powerful skills, not even as powerful as the Flame Goblin. Xiao Yu injured them severely with his blast flame skill, then quickly killed them with a few blade swings. Over the past several days, he¡¯d harvested a few intermediate and lower soul gems, four to five gray-grade items, and two white-grade items. The majority of them, however, were useless items and standard equipment. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Seven days have passed since Xiao Yu left the cave. Unexpectedly, thick clouds engulfed the sky, turning everything in the surrounding area bleak and gloomy. It didn¡¯t take long for it to rain heavily as raindrops the size of beans fell into the woods and hit the foliage, crackling the earth like fried beans. The ground was muddy, potholes quickly got filled with water, and the downpour washed away all traces and odors. Monsters were going to have a difficult time finding food in this environment. Six people in ragged clothing appeared in the woods, holding spears, knives, axes, and all kinds of weapons in their hands. In order to avoid the sudden rain, they found a giant tree and encircled it tightly, squatting down underneath it to prevent themselves from being soaked. One of them complained: ¡°how unlucky, I didn¡¯t even get to kill a single prey before it rained, and I got drenched.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Another person added, ¡°The food I saved for the last few days is practically gone. Heizi offered to lend me this low-grade gray weapon in exchange for half a catty of meat daily. If this continues, I will eventually starve; at that point, I can only bring my wife out to pick up some guests.¡± ¡°Hah, even if your wife¡¯s willing to sell herself, no one is willing to buy that!¡± ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡± The joke of a skinny young man wearing glasses was met with a burst of laughter from the group; feeling pleased with himself, he turned toward one of them: ¡°Though Chenfeng, I really don¡¯t understand how you can have such a beautiful little sister yet you still risk your life to go hunting every day? If it was mine instead, hehe.. ¡° The guy, who was called Chen Feng, scowled, showing deep disgust, and declared, ¡°I¡¯m different from you.¡± ¡°Tch, you still hold onto your meager pride in these difficult times.¡± The guy snorted, then suddenly changed his tone of voice: ¡°But I don¡¯t think you can protect her for long, your strength is not bad among us, but it¡¯s not worth shit back in the camp. Your sister was spotted by ¡®black bear¡¯ when she went out that day. Given that guy¡¯s twisted personality, she might get doomed like the others.¡± ¡°Indeed, even if I don¡¯t have any skills right now, everyone knows that women, and particularly those with excellent looks, aspire to be attached to a guy with capability, and as long as she has food to eat, she will be grateful and won¡¯t mind being beaten or abused occasionally.¡± Another person interjected in a hurry, ¡°But who exactly is the black bear? Everyone knows that he has never been compassionate. This sick sadist has murdered at least eight, if not ten women, one of whom is even a gorgeous female celebrity. If your delicate sister ever gets caught by him, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be able to endure even a few days of torture.¡± Chen Feng clenched the spear in his hand; a cold light flashed in his eyes, but then he froze¡­ Yes, Black Bear is a big giant in the camp; no one dares to offend him, and almost all the women he likes don¡¯t have a good ending. I¡¯m afraid my sister is in grave danger. But what should we do? Even if I let her stay in the house all day without going out, she won¡¯t be able to hide forever¡­ Should we leave? But where can someone with the meager strength of a late-stage zero-order go with a twelve- to thirteen-year-old girl? Chen Feng clenched his fists and thought in his heart, ¡°It would be great if I could become an elementary warrior. Then, if I also evolve, I will be respected by everyone in the camp. Even if Black Bear wants to make a move, he would foremost consider the first leader¡¯s opinion¡­.¡± The others saw Chen Feng¡¯s worry and uneasiness, and none of them spoke up to comfort him; instead, they all gloated over his misfortune and laughed out loud. However, at this moment, no one noticed a green python with a thick form coiling on a tree trunk above their heads, its huge head drooping silently and slowly. At the same time, raindrops trickled down its smooth skin as a forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, and its set of scarlet eyes stared down at the unaware prey. The six individuals were still conversing when the green python¡¯s body glided slowly. Half of its body slowly extruded from the three, bending into a deadly ¡°U¡± shape, foreshadowing the python¡¯s assault. ¡°Agh¡ª!¡± A miserable scream sounded out. The green python¡¯s speed was too swift; it rushed down and bit the head of that chattering, skinny guy in the blink of an eye. Everyone in the vicinity made a move and jumped to its flanks one by one. They all drew their weapons and charged at the python. However, the creature¡¯s scales were too hard and sleek, and their attacks had no effect. With a sweep of its giant tail, two others spurted blood and flew for more than ten meters. The majority of the bones in their bodies were shattered, and they died on the spot. ¡°It¡¯s an elementary monster!¡± A man yelled, turned his head, and ran away. Chen Feng also knew how powerful this monster was, so he didn¡¯t dare stay any longer and immediately fled as well. The green python wrenched the escaping guy¡¯s neck with its mouth and leapt out like a dragon rushing down the sea. At the same time, its long body entangled and violently squeezed two others. The bones of the unlucky men were completely shattered. Five of the six people were slaughtered in less than a dozen seconds. When Chen Feng, the sole survivor, saw this, he almost dropped his sword and ran away to save his life. But, unfortunately, the green python didn¡¯t seem willing to let go of any prey; its massive body darted back and forth, dashing toward him in the blink of an eye. His mind almost went blank, and he couldn¡¯t help but think of his young sister. I¡¯m going to die; what can little Shuang do without me? ¡°No, I vowed to look after her before my parents died. She is the last living member of my family. I can¡¯t let her get into harm¡¯s way; I can¡¯t let my sister fall into the hands of that damned black bear!¡± ¡°Fight!¡± Chen Feng gritted his teeth; his current countenance was distorted, and his pupils were covered with blood as he was about to get overtaken by the green python. He clenched his weapon, turned his head, holding the spear with both hands, and stabbed fiercely at the monster¡¯s head. However, the green python¡¯s body was too slippery, and the not-so-sharp spear tip slid directly away from it without causing it any harm. The green python leapt up, and its huge head rushed towards him fiercely. Just then, a cyan light flashed! Chen Feng held his breath; his eyes widened, and his face turned pale in fright. When the green python jumped up, he believed death was already shrouding him. However, he never expected this unimaginable scenario to occur at this critical moment¡ªa ray of cyan light came from nowhere and fell on the body of the green python, and without any resistance whatsoever, it easily slashed through and resumed onward. That level of sharpness was akin to using a knife to slice tofu! The green python crashed to the ground, its upper body separated from its lower body. However, the incision was very smooth, and it did not die immediately. Instead, like an earthworm that had been cut in half, it writhed and flailed while both ends struggled till its last breath, as a large area of land got dyed red in the blink of an eye. ¡°What just happened?¡± Chen Feng stared blankly at the green python, which was gradually growing quiet. Then, a ball of energy rose from its corpse and shot out in a stream of light. He then woke up from his daze. It turned out to be a human being, but who was it? At this time, a flat and indifferent voice came into his ears, ¡°In such a desperate situation where no survivors are left, you can still fight back vigorously. Your momentum is not bad, but your strength is insufficient.¡± Chenfeng turned to face the sound, and he could see a young man approaching him; the latter looked about twenty years old of age and was quite good-looking as he donned a black scale armor and a black cloak. The young man was also holding a long blade, three fingers wide and four-foot-long, in his hand that shined like a pool of autumn water. However, the most impressive thing about him was not his getup nor his sword, but those pair of deep piercing eyes that turned out to be a peculiar blood-red color; he looked to be wise and calm, with sharp eyes that could see through everything. ¡°You¡­ who are you? Why have I never seen you before?¡± ¡°Why do you believe you should have seen me?¡± Xiao Yu spoke, his gaze narrowing slightly. Chen Feng was stunned for a moment, ¡°Your strength¡­ is too amazing; you shouldn¡¯t be an unknown individual. I¡¯ve been in the camp for a long time yet never heard of you.¡± Xiao Yu suddenly said, ¡°I see. Where is your camp? Can you take me there?¡± CH 56 ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you¡¯re not from the camp!¡± Chen Feng subconsciously took a few steps back; it should be this way. After all, he killed the formidable green python with a single move; I¡¯m afraid in the entire camp, such power could only be attained by the first leader. Even the latter may not have killed the beast as easily as he did; cutting the green python in half seemed insignificant! The luminous beast blade in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand shrank quickly. He put it into the ring on his finger and said in his usual indifferent tone, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not an evildoer; I just want to find a place to rest, probably stay for half a night, then leave.¡± ¡°This is the space ring that only the first leader owns.¡± Chen Feng instantly realized in his heart that the unfathomable outsider in front of him could as well be able to help him out of his current predicament, and he quickly agreed: ¡°Of course, there is no issue; you saved my life after all; I will guide you there.¡± Xiao Yu nodded in satisfaction, ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Chen Feng cast his eyes on the corpses of his companions, or, to be precise, on the items they left behind, especially that low gray weapon lying beside a guy¡¯s corpse. ¡°I don¡¯t care for weapons of this caliber.¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t even look at them, ¡°If you want that item, take it away.¡± Chenfeng was overjoyed, and he immediately took the gray equipment as well as some food and valuables that were originally carried by the others. Only then did he lead Xiao Yu to the direction of the camp. The so-called camp was the ruins of a residential area with several streets outside, which were restored and rebuilt by a group of survivors. The site was vast, and the base¡¯s total population was over 3,000, which would be considered a massive team in the forest. Over the past few days, Xiao Yu has traveled to various human gathering sites. Four or five hundred individuals were already considered a massive number, which was far inferior to this place. Xiao Yu was amazed at the size of this camp; however, he also knew that the survivors from all around the world had acquired enough strength to travel further in the forest; hence, the trade would expand, and eventually, numerous camps like this would emerge throughout the forest. According to Chen Feng¡¯s description, there were a few smaller gathering sites within a hundred miles of the camp¡¯s surroundings. The campground was equivalent to a typical corner used as a trading center, where weapons and food could be bought and sold. Usually, the population flow is relatively large, though it was mainly occupied by the more powerful forces. Everyone usually goes about their business, but once monsters or outsiders threaten them, they retaliate brutally. When the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements learn that the main camp is under assault, everyone rushes directly toward the camp and joins forces with the leaders to repel the invaders. They¡¯ve been through many similar situations over the past month, but nothing has resulted in the main camp getting destroyed. After a few minutes of travel, Xiao Yu finally arrived at the settlement. It was indeed the remnants of a residential neighborhood, and the surrounding walls were relatively intact. By the entrance, the camp had built a protective fence out of wood and stones, where a small group of armed individuals were patrolling and inspecting the vicinity. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t pay any attention to the people coming in and out of the settlement, and he entered it smoothly. Most of the houses in this area have already collapsed, and people have created simple shelters out of stones, raincoats, tarps, and other waterproof materials. However, Xiao Yu saw that not far away, there were also a few relatively clean and complete garages, cleared all around, with small handles on their side, which were obviously residences of people of higher status. It was still raining as he walked through the settlement, and Xiao Yu noticed how desperate and impoverished people¡¯s lives had become. Some sallow, skinny, and unkempt people with sunken eyes were huddling together in a small corner where the raindrops were relatively scarce, looking around with caution and vigilance at the people passing by. Unfortunately, Xiao Yu has seen this kind of expression too many times in his previous life. He¡¯s been living in the underground cave for over a month, where everyone got along perfectly well. It nearly caused him and the people there to forget that the social system had disintegrated and that morality and order had already ceased to exist. There were relatively few conflicts under Du Tao¡¯s strong administration, making the underground space one of the few pieces of pure land remaining. Chen Feng said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t expect everything to be in order here; bad things happen all the time. The leaders can enjoy the best dwellings, food, and even beautiful women at their leisure. Many people do not obey the administration, but these people usually do not meet a good end. The vast majority of individuals can only silently allow themselves to be enslaved and oppressed by the powerful forces in the camp; eventually, everyone gets enraged but is afraid to speak up.¡± Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked up and down at this unremarkable young guy and wondered in his heart, why did he tell me all these things? Is he planning to raise my defenses against the camp administration in order to make something happen? This person is not as simple as he seems. Xiao Yu followed along quietly. Chen Feng came to a halt in front of a small cabin made of wood and canopy as he opened the cover slightly, ¡°This is my home; please go in and have a seat.¡± He stepped in first and said, ¡°little sister, we have a distinguished guest today. Cook the meat I brought yesterday for our friend.¡± ¡°Big brother, you came back so early today¡­ What did you say? A guest?¡± A weak, clear girl¡¯s voice rang forth, full of doubts and bewilderment. This was the first time the little girl had heard the term ¡°guest¡± over the past month. Her brother has always kept her from going out in public for fear of being noticed. So why did he bring someone back for the first time today? Xiao Yu entered the room. The small space measured no more than five to six square meters and was divided into two halves from the middle. The floor was littered with bottles, jars, and other random items. Raindrops dripped over their heads, and the ground was already wet. He turned around just in time to see a tiny and frail figure standing inside. Chen Feng quickly introduced them: ¡°This is my younger sister Chen Shuang, and this is¡­ oh, I don¡¯t know your name yet.¡± ¡°My name is Xiao Yu.¡± Chen Shuang was only thirteen years old and resembled a porcelain doll with a delicate face full of childishness. Yet, her skin showed morbid paleness due to not being exposed to the sun for too long, and coupled with long-term malnutrition, her constitution became a little frail. Nevertheless, the little girl supported herself as her hands leaned on the wooden wall, while her beautiful eyes were full of timidity as she seemed much afraid of strangers. She exhibited a sense of frailty and weakness. Xiao Yu took a dirty towel and wiped the rain from his hair. Chenfeng moved a low stool and said, ¡°Please sit down.¡± Xiao Yu returned the towel to him and sat down politely. The little girl¡¯s fear couldn¡¯t help but fade away a bit. After all, Chen Shuang was a child with a pure heart; while Xiao Yu had delicate facial features, didn¡¯t appear to be a bad person, and looked to be quite easygoing overall. She obediently pulled the meat from the corner, cut a huge chunk, took a bundle of dry firewood, and headed toward the stone stove piled high with stone bricks, ready to kindle a fire for cooking. She took out a lighter and flicked it around in vain; probably due to the humid air, no flame appeared. Xiao Yu couldn¡¯t watch her struggle anymore, so he stood up and walked towards the stove, ¡°Let me do it.¡± Chen Shuang was slightly taken aback. ¡°Please move out of the way,¡± Xiao Yu urged the girl before grabbing a handful of firewood as a bright flame rose up from his palm, heating the surrounding air by several degrees and instantly igniting the firewood when it came into contact with the fire. Xiao Xiao Yu dispersed the flames in his hand and threw the burning firewood into the stove. Chen Feng and Chen Shuang had never seen such a magical thing before, and they all stared wide-eyed at that scene; they had never seen someone who could spray flames from their hands. The firewood ignited as soon as it came into contact with the ball of fire, and the surrounding damp air evaporated in a matter of seconds. The flame¡¯s temperature was unimaginable, yet his palm was not harmed in the slightest. Chen Shuang opened her eyes wide, ¡°Big brother, you know magic?¡± Xiao Yu explained calmly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than a skill. How long have you been in camp?¡± Chen Feng struggled to move his eyes away from the burning stone stove, then looked at Xiao Yu, albeit more respectfully, ¡°My sister and I were here when the camp was initially built, and we were the first batch of inhabitants in this place.¡± Xiao Yu asked again: ¡°was it always just the two of you?¡± When Chen Feng and Chen Shuang heard these words, they were overwhelmed with painful memories and were silent for a moment before saying: ¡°This ruined neighborhood was where my sister, parents, and I used to live. My mother perished due to the disaster¡­and to make ends meet, my father and I went hunting. We met a group of monsters on an excursion more than ten days ago. Dad urged me to escape and covered me as I ran away, and he¡­ died as well, leaving just two of us, brother and sister.¡± Xiao Yu had grown accustomed to life and death stories and had long become numb to them. However, Chen Feng¡¯s expression also didn¡¯t change much, even though he looked just seventeen or eighteen years old and had yet to graduate high school. Living these days with a younger sister was already difficult, and he didn¡¯t want to bring up their sorrow again. There was a long breath of silence, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Chen Feng recovered from his grief and asked, ¡°Brother, where are you originally from? Is it a gathering site nearby?¡± ¡°I come from a faraway place; I don¡¯t think you have been there before.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, ¡°By the way, are you familiar with the surrounding landscape?¡± Chen Feng thought for a while, nodded, and said, ¡°I should be quite familiar, actually. In order to find a suitable hunting ground, I always paid close attention to the latest relevant news. Therefore I am pretty familiar with the surrounding landscape.¡± ¡°Really? This will help me save time.¡± Xiao Yu removed a piece of paper from his space ring and unfolded it, ¡°I¡¯m creating a map; tell me all the familiar regions around here.¡± Chen Feng took a look at the map, and he was pretty surprised. The drawings were extensive and detailed, all made on huge pieces of paper using a simple pencil. The lines were neat and clean, looking like a professional artist himself did the work. With a single glance, the entire scene was clear and visible. Chen Feng could make out the roads, rivers, mountains, and even the tiniest details of settlements, but what surprised him was that, based on the map, Xiao Yu did come from a very distant place, at least thousands of kilometers away. (TN: for anyone wondering how he is very good at sketching like I was, I just remembered that he is a student of the fine arts academy, meaning he should be decent at sketching, I guess) He actually traveled so far on his own? Chen Feng didn¡¯t dare neglect him and told him everything he knew. Not long after, the boiling meat stew was ready. Chen Shuang served Xiao Yu slowly with a broken bowl, giving him nearly half the meat. Next, the brother and sister took a bowl each that included a few bones while the rest got left in the pot. ¡°I¡¯m only staying for one night before leaving. So you don¡¯t have to be too polite.¡± Xiao Yu took out five cans and a few pieces of chocolate from his ring, then removed a piece of gray middle-grade equipment. ¡°Think of it as a reward for helping me improve the map.¡± Two cans of fruits, three cans of beef, and a few large pieces of chocolate¡ªthat was a huge temptation! Chenshuang, after all, was a little girl, and her eyes immediately lit up when she saw the five cans of food and chocolate. But, first, she stared at her brother timidly and didn¡¯t dare take the food by her hands. Although canned food and chocolates were also tempting for Chen Feng, they could instead be exchanged for several catties of animal meat, which was enough for the siblings to eat for a week or two. However, the gray medium-grade weapon was more valuable in comparison. He hesitated for a while, but then, seeing no reason to hold back given Xiao Yu¡¯s abilities, he reached his hands out to grasp the food. Suddenly, a large stone flew in from the outside and plopped into the pot. The iron pot shattered and tumbled to the ground. The boiling soup splattered everywhere, forcing little Chen Shuang to cry out in pain! Chen Feng had a grim expression on his face, ¡°Damn it; they¡¯re here again!¡± But in his heart, he secretly added, ¡°Perfect, you arrived just in time!¡± CH 57 Xiao Yu stood up, dropped the food cans and the gray weapon in his hands, and returned a puzzled look. Following some whirring noises, he saw two stones flying in rainwater; he casually slapped them and knocked the flying stones aside like he was driving away annoying flies. Little Chen Shuang curled up in the corner; the hot stew burned her hands, and her face was full of panic and fear. Seeing this, Xiao Yu frowned slightly. Chen Feng raised his spear and rushed out, cursing loudly, ¡°You bastards, what are you doing!¡± The rain had subsided a bit, and a few people who looked like hooligans stood outside with smirks on their faces. One of them came over and said, ¡°Boy, why didn¡¯t you remove the large stones in front of your doorstep? My older brother almost tripped and fell! This won¡¯t do; you must compensate us for our injuries!¡± ¡°You poor wretch, most likely cannot afford to pay for anything. However, I think your younger sister is quite pretty; why don¡¯t you compensate us with the girl?¡± Chen Feng¡¯s face was livid, but just as he was about to attack, Xiao Yu came out, glanced at them, and said, ¡°Are you in trouble?¡± ¡°Kid, who are you?¡± One of the local ruffians glared at him viciously and cursed: ¡°I advise you not to meddle in our business; if you mess with our boss, Neither the Yama king nor I will be able to protect you from death! So get the fuck out of here!¡± ¡°They are black bear¡¯s subordinates,¡± Chen Feng said quietly as he approached Xiao Yu. ¡°Black bear wields considerable power and is one of the few forces in control of the camp. So it will be a big nuisance if he gets involved. But, big brother, this is our problem. It has nothing to do with you; I can deal with them completely. So you should not get involved; the less trouble, the better.¡± (TN: the less trouble, the better, meaning other people¡¯s business should be avoided as much as possible.) On the surface, he¡¯s asking me to disassociate myself from this matter, but in actuality, isn¡¯t he just deliberately provoking me to get involved? This kid is a little cunning. ¡°Wait!¡± Another ruffian looked at the black scale armor Xiao Yu was wearing and shouted: ¡°You were also in the room, so you should also be held responsible for our injuries. I want that armor on your body. If you¡¯re sensible enough, you¡¯ll take it off right away, lest these uncles and I hold you accountable. Hurry and do it on your own.¡± The other people there also noticed the armor on Xiao Yu¡¯s body that was slightly worn out and had yet to be repaired, but it was unmistakably a piece of equipment; when they realized that point, all of them displayed different expressions of astonishment. They¡¯d never seen Xiao Yu before, so he couldn¡¯t be one of the leaders¡¯ subordinates. He was most likely a lucky guy who managed to obtain a piece of equipment by chance. People like him had the perfect background to deal with. Everyone was jealous of Xiao Yu, and they couldn¡¯t help but raise their eyebrows¡¯ A piece of equipment can be exchanged for a substantial amount of food.¡¯ They had many people, and there was even a well-known figure in the camp shielding their backs, so they had nothing to worry about. ¡°That¡¯s right, take it off immediately. This is for your own good; don¡¯t push me to do something you would regret!¡± one of them exclaimed. Chen Feng shouted angrily, ¡°You lot are simply bullying us too much.¡± ¡°Hmph, so what? This uncle wants to bully you!¡± The local ruffian picked up a machete, glared at Xiao Yu fiercely, and shouted: ¡°Boy, are you deaf? What is it about my words that is hard to understand? Take the armor off!¡± Xiao Yu regarded the arrogant and domineering few indifferently. He lightly shook his head before suddenly raising his knee and kicking the guy with such strength that sent him flying into the air; his entire chest got caved in deeply, his bones were broken, and he flew upside down more than ten meters away, crashing heavily onto the ground as he died without voicing a single groan. ¡°How about now?¡± Xiao Yu asked, standing as if nothing had happened. ¡°You guys still want my armor?¡± His eyes swept across the dumbfounded people, and all of them were scared away by that simple gaze. They took a few steps back, horrified and stunned, as they looked palely at their companion lying in the distance with a distorted chest. ¡°You, you¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Go and tell the boss!¡± The few hooligans were so frightened that they staggered multiple times as they fled back. After running for a certain distance, one of them shouted loudly: ¡°Kid, you are vicious! Just you wait, you¡¯re dead, you¡¯re already dead!¡± Xiao Yu frowned, ¡°Why are there always such idiots in this world?¡± Xiao Yu mused. While speaking, he slowly stooped down to pick up a pebble, clamped it between his fingertips, and flicked it hard right toward the guy who was running and cursing. The small stone flew through the air with a swoosh and directly hit the back of the fleeing idiot¡¯s head; a cloud of blood burst out from his temples, his eyes dilated, and he collapsed in disbelief. Only one person remained alive. After seeing this, he got scared out of his wits and ran even faster. Chen Feng had not expected Xia Yu to be so ruthless; ¡®he didn¡¯t say much nonsense and killed them directly.¡¯ Chen Feng thought in his heart, then stared blankly at the guy fleeing in a hurry and said with some concern, ¡°If you let him go, he will definitely go back and report to his boss.¡± Xiao Yu replied indifferently: ¡°Forget it; isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± When Chen Feng made eye contact with him, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, he hesitated and said: ¡°You¡­ I don¡¯t understand what you mean?¡± Xiao Yu went up and patted him on the shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s alright; let¡¯s not bring this up. Murdering a few people is nothing to me. I didn¡¯t exert much effort in this mess you¡¯re involved in.¡± He paused before continuing, ¡°Black bear, right? I had no clue you had a problem with folks like that, but I¡¯m not interested in finding out the reasons. I¡¯m only planning on staying here for one night. Then, like the others, if he comes after you and me, I won¡¯t mind giving him a free ticket to hell. Whether he is a black bear or a white bear, I will surely turn him into a dead bear.¡± His tone was full of incomparable confidence. Inside the camp, Xiao Yu murdered Black Bear¡¯s subordinates. This incident will likely not end there and might even escalate further. Because of this, Xiao Yu may be forced to confront the black bear himself. Chen Feng had no idea how powerful Xiao Yu was, but the strength he had displayed till now should be enough to deal with his foe, and as long as the black bear got eliminated, the siblings¡¯ crisis would be resolved! Chen Feng was now torn between excitement and despair. Although there was a chance to slay black bear with Xiao Yu¡¯s hands, the incident also put the brother and sister in a bind. If somehow black bear isn¡¯t killed and doesn¡¯t appear before them, he wouldn¡¯t expect Xiao Yu to take the initiative and head toward the opposite party¡¯s doorsteps. On the other hand, if the latter pats his butt and walks away the next day, the Chen siblings would be in a miserable situation. ¡°Sister, are you okay?¡± After the little trouble was settled, Chen Feng walked back and lifted the small Chen Shuang, who was shivering in the corner. ¡°Brother, did all of the bad guys leave?¡± Chen Shuang was so frightened that her face grew pale, her hands were red and burned, and a blister formed in her palm. After seeing her state, Chen Feng¡¯s eyes lit up with resolve, and he was no longer bothered. If black bear did not die, he and his sister would suffer greatly. Since that was the case, the guy had to die regardless, and now that he has the opportunity to use Xiao Yu¡¯s power to eradicate this threat, he should at least try! ¡°Don¡¯t worry; they have been driven away by brother Xiao Yu.¡± Chen Shuang was a little scared and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Brother, why do those bad guys keep bothering us these days? We didn¡¯t offend them at all.¡± Chen Feng faked a laugh and said, ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know either.¡± How could Chen Feng explain to her that black bear purposefully sent people to cause them trouble, destroying their peaceful life, so that he would give up and obediently offer up his own sister? Black Bear¡¯s strength was not trivial, but he was not the only huge force in the camp, let alone the strongest. There were camp regulations that both sides had to adhere to, and the latter didn¡¯t want to get in trouble with the other leaders, so he constantly dispatched his subordinates to harass the siblings; otherwise, how could Chen Feng be left unscathed despite their ordeals? However, obviously, with black bear¡¯s temper, he would eventually act in person even if Chen Feng refused to give in. The other leaders might voice their dissatisfaction with his behavior, but they wouldn¡¯t be too harsh on him, and everything would be forgotten within a day or two. Chen Shuang walked up to Xiao Yu politely, bowed timidly, and said: ¡°Brother Xiao Yu, thank you. Me and my brother have caused you a lot of trouble.¡± Xiao Yu calmly looked at the pale and weak face of the little girl. He then stared down at the blisters on Chen Shuang¡¯s hands, shook his head, and removed a few ointments from the space ring before handing them to her. ¡°Brother Xiao Yu, this is¡­¡± Chen Shuang said curiously. Her expression changed when she lifted it up and took a closer look. Xiao Yu closed his eyes and said softly: ¡°those are anti-inflammatory medications; they are quite useful for burns. Of course, common medications are useless for me, so just take them.¡± Although Chen Shuang didn¡¯t venture out much, she was still aware of the importance of medicines and drugs in this new world. Before her father died, she grew weak and fell ill once. ¡®That time, my father and older brother ran all over the camp with twenty catties of high-quality fresh meat and exchanged them for only two ordinary anti-inflammatory drugs.¡¯ The value of medicines was sky-high. How could Chen Shuang accept it? Seeing his sister hesitating, Chen Feng hurriedly accepted them in her stead: ¡°Thank you, big brother.¡± Chen Shuang¡¯s eyes immediately turned moist, ¡°Brother Xiao Yu¡­¡± Ever since the world had changed, no one had ever been so kind to them except their father. In the end, Chen Shuang still accepted the ointments. After the stones rained and destroyed the food, the three didn¡¯t eat anything. ¡°Big Brother, our pot is broken, and the soup has been spilled.¡± Chen Shuang inspected the broken pot and looked at the soup all over the floor, feeling slightly distressed. She then spotted the bones and cooked meat scattered all over the ground, and she grabbed a bowl and started gathering the spilled food on the floor. She also started picking up the pieces of meat, ¡°Fortunately, even though it is a bit dirty, it can still be eaten after we wash the meat with water. But we don¡¯t have much food left, and we need a new pot tomorrow, so we can only eat this for now.¡± Xiao Yu handed over the bowl of stew that Chen Shuang had previously given him and the food and chocolate that he had taken out, then sat cross-legged to rest and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you guys eat. I¡¯m not hungry.¡± Chen Feng and Chen Shuang were naturally embarrassed, but the siblings were starving, and seeing that Xiao Yu had no desire to eat, they dug in first. Chen Feng took good care of his younger sister, leaving most of the meat to her; he just drank some stew and didn¡¯t let a shred of meat remain on his side of the bowl as he picked the pieces up with his hands and ate everything. It wasn¡¯t hard to understand how difficult their life was. One is an older brother who is still in high school, and the other is a younger sister who is only in junior high. Their fighting power was low; however, the younger sister was charming and gorgeous, stirring up trouble for them. Xiao Yu doesn¡¯t mind helping others if he can. Moreover, this settlement was thousands of miles away from the underground cave, so currently, he just needed to take care of his own problems; that¡¯s all he needed. Nobody knew what would happen in the future, but the current Xiao Yu sympathized with this pair of siblings. Their power was insufficient to survive in a world where the strong preyed on the weak. A ripple of emotion arose in Xiao Yu¡¯s heart as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the brother and sister happily slurping the stew. Then some long-forgotten memories buried in his subconscious surfaced at the back of his mind. Specifically, two ordinary and plain faces blazed. What was familial love like? He already forgot. That memory was aroused unexpectedly at this moment by this pair of brother and sister. The figures of my father and mother have long faded from my memory, and their appearance is somewhat blurred. I only vaguely recall getting escorted to the police station when I was six years old because I couldn¡¯t find my way back home due to playing far away. When my parents found out about that incident, they both rushed back by train. They didn¡¯t sleep a wink for two days straight in order to find me. When I was nine years old, I fell ill and developed a high fever of nearly 40 degrees. My mother was still waiting in the hospital at two o¡¯clock in the middle of the night, praying by herself in a low voice all night long¡­that voice still lingers in my ears. When I was eleven years old¡­ The past is still vivid in my mind, but I will never see them again in this life. CH 58 The rain was still pelting down. It had been pouring for hours and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. Most of the survivors in the camp got into simple tents built with waterproof fabrics. They had all grown used to the ever-present downpour, but they still wished it would be over soon. Somewhere deep in the camp, there was a fully intact store; within this store, in a relatively spacious and clean room, stood a long table surrounded by several chairs, upon which a group of people sat encircling it and were discussing an important issue. ¡°Just for that insignificant thing, so many innocent people are being sent to their deaths?¡± A middle-aged man stood up and reprimanded the others sharply. This individual was around 45 years old, with straight brows, a shaven face, a tall figure, slightly gray temples, and a majestic demeanor. At this time, with lingering anger on his countenance, he looked at everyone present, his eyes filled with intense disgust and disdain as if he were ashamed to be with them. A man sitting next to him said, ¡°You are the oldest and the strongest among us, so we highly respect you. But Zhao Changping, even as the first leader, I don¡¯t think you can have it your way this time since the matter concerns everyone¡¯s interests.¡± Zhao Changping said resolutely: ¡°Black Bear, you don¡¯t need to say any more! Let this matter go; don¡¯t mention it again; even if I were to die, I would never agree!¡± ¡°Zhao Changping, do you think this is still a peaceful and prosperous era? Times have changed! That spring is essential for us, so we must get it no matter what!¡± The reprimanded guy grew fearless and scornful, and he turned his head and shouted to the others: ¡°Camp leaders, do you agree with me?!¡± ¡°Black Bear is not wrong.¡± Finally, after a brief period of contemplation, an older man stated, ¡°What he said is plausible. There isn¡¯t much water left inside the spring. Those monsters have grown more vigilant since the last time we snatched a bit. We can only make use of our people to serve as cannon fodder, and only by distracting the monsters can we have a chance to attack!¡± ¡°Yes, there is not much water left in the spring, and we have no time to lose!¡± ¡°Not on your life!¡± Zhao Changping glared angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t bring this up again; if someone does anything secretly behind my back, then don¡¯t blame Zhao for being ruthless. I¡¯m directing my words to everyone! Especially you, Black Bear! Don¡¯t think I¡¯m ignorant of the beast like deeds you¡¯ve been doing in plain sight! You¡¯d better restrain yourself; don¡¯t let me learn about these incidents next time; otherwise, I¡¯ll pull off your skin!¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Black Bear was furious as he sprang up, slapping the wooden table. The immense force crushed the table into pieces. ¡°Zhao Changping, who do you think you are? Do you think you are the savior because of your strength? If you have the ability, go forth and slay all those monsters! I¡¯ve had enough of your shit; don¡¯t force us to turn our backs on you!¡± Zhao Changping looked at him indifferently and said coldly, ¡°Do you want to fight?¡± Black bear¡¯s face turned red and blue, and he said through gritted teeth, ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of you!¡± Zhao Changping drew his long sleeves and strode forward with a defiant look as he spoke, ¡°Very well, then please come and teach me a lesson.¡± ¡°You, you¡­¡­¡± As soon as Zhao Changping and Black Bear stepped up, ready to battle, the rest of the room instantly came forward to persuade them not to fight. Zhao Changping was dragged back by the people behind him, while the other leaders urged Black Bear not to engage him anymore. Though, of course, he knew in his heart that he was not Zhao Changping¡¯s opponent, so he went down to save face. The enraged black bear gritted his teeth and yelled, ¡°Retarded like a rotten stone.¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m a rotten stone, that¡¯s better than being a rotten egg.¡± Zhao Changping laughed mockingly, ¡°Black Bear, are you going to beat this stone with an egg?¡± ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll remember this.¡± The veins on Black Bear¡¯s forehead twitched; he stomped his foot vigorously and shouted at his subordinates, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°A man of honor knows that there are things that must be done and things that must not be done.¡± Zhao Changping stood up, glanced around at the other leaders, and remarked indifferently: ¡°I, Zhao Changping, am only an ordinary military veteran, but all I want is to be honest, and open in my actions, with a clear conscience in mind. This concludes the debate. As of now, I don¡¯t want it brought up.¡± The leaders looked at each other in blank dismay, and some even gave Zhao Changping a harsh glare. But unfortunately, due to the other party¡¯s strength, they had no choice but to shake their heads and leave the meeting room with a sigh. ¡°Company Commander.¡± A young man walked up to Zhao Changping with a helpless expression on his face and said in a low voice: ¡°Company Commander, you have offended all the big shots in the camp today. Their eyes hide malice; I¡¯m afraid they will want to retaliate. ¡° Zhao Changping stood with his hands behind his rear, his back straightened up like a javelin, as he said in a low voice, ¡°Leave them be. No matter what, I will remain true to my beliefs and principles; what differentiates a man who has lost his values and beliefs and has no bottom line in doing things from the monsters outside? Regardless of what others say, I, Zhao Changping, cannot be such a person!¡± ¡°Yes, company commander!¡± A trace of respect flashed in the young man¡¯s eyes, and he respectfully responded, ¡°Let¡¯s have the dozens of our brothers fight it out with them and see who is afraid of whom!¡± Zhao Changping sighed and lightly shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t I also wish to get rid of these pests? It¡¯s just that each one of them has a significant number of elementary warriors in their ranks, and these individuals are the camp¡¯s form of protection. If we murdered their leaders, they would undoubtedly turn against us. At that point, whether we win or lose, we would have ultimately consumed the camp¡¯s power, fighting each other; what shall we use to repel the monsters¡¯ invasion at that time?¡± ¡®Young ones are reckless.¡® He knew that a violent solution would only beget more violence, so he looked for an alternative. ¡°Be patient.¡± Zhao Changping patted his subordinate on the shoulder. Then, a cold light flashed in his eyes, ¡°Soon, this group of scumbags won¡¯t be having a good ending.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ With a gloomy expression, Black Bear returned to his personal dwelling. The house¡¯s exterior was somewhat damaged, but the interior was still in good condition, and there wasn¡¯t much leakage on rainy days. When the door opened, all the subordinates following him came to a halt and stood outside his doorstep. The room was not small at all, with many daily necessities scattered around, while numerous makeshift wooden cages surrounded the room, each housing a naked woman. Black Bear used to be a security guard, earning a few hundred dollars each month. Coupled with his irascible personality and ugly looks, those glamorous and high-quality beauties never glanced at him whenever he strolled down the street. Some were even embarrassed to walk alongside him. The current Black Bear felt a great sense of accomplishment and pleasure whenever he saw a beautiful young woman screaming and begging for mercy while obeying his commands like a dog. But, gradually, he began to change from simply satisfying his urges to abusing and tormenting women as his mentality grew increasingly twisted. He began to enjoy torturing ladies, especially those with a noble temperament who acted superior, and he used various methods to commit violence, torture, and humiliation. Eventually, whenever he saw a beautiful woman crying underneath him, he felt an inexplicable sense of joy. There were a total of six cages in the room; those were his newest collection. He was thrilled whenever he returned and found them trapped in a cage, trembling, and staring at him with fearful eyes. But everything was different today. Zhao Changping had gone too far. Based on what Old Wan Gu said today, the former knew something about his evil deeds. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be loathing Black Bear to that extent, and he would most likely take action sooner or later! His strength was overwhelming; if he indeed chose to fight it out with him, the other leaders may not necessarily stand by his side to assist in dealing with Zhao Changping as a means of self-protection. With this in mind, Black Bear flew into an uncontrollable rage; he raced up to unlock the frontmost cage, yanked a woman¡¯s hair, pulled some strands out amidst her screams, and then took out a whip and began beating the poor woman. Her screams echoed throughout the room; she was naked, crying, and pleading for mercy as she crawled on all fours to escape. However, Black Bear just chuckled, then he chased her and whipped her crawling body nonstop. When the other caged women saw this, panic flashed across their lifeless and numb faces, and they wept silently. Probably feeling that it wasn¡¯t enjoyable enough, Black Bear opened all the cages and let all the women rush out, brandishing his whip in a circle and whipping them around. He laughed loudly and waved his arms more vigorously upon hearing the women¡¯s high-pitched pleas as if he were a superior enslaver thrashing his poor slaves around the room. After a long period of flogging, the maniac grew a bit exhausted. He was about to get naked to resume the violence when he grabbed a bruised woman. Suddenly, a rush of footsteps was heard outside the room¡¯s entrance, followed by a stammering voice, ¡°Brothers, please let me inside; I want to see the boss!¡± Several people standing outside pushed the man out and warned, ¡°The boss is working on some business; if you disturb him, it won¡¯t end well for you!¡± This person had a rough appearance; his clothes were tattered, and his face was full of dirt. He was precisely the ruffian who had escaped from Xiao Yu. His entire body was drenched, and his clothes were covered in mud as he stood both flustered and terrified; he was at a loss for what to do, so he ignored their words and shouted loudly, ¡°Something bad, something bad happened, let me see the boss!¡± Those henchmen were Black Bear¡¯s guards, and their status among his subordinates was relatively high. Usually, he would let them go in to have a meal after they finished their work, but now that he was eager to enjoy his time with his collection, he instructed them to stay outside as he didn¡¯t like to be interrupted. However, after hearing the chaos, he got angry and scolded from the room: ¡°Who¡¯s screaming at my house? Get the fuck out of here!¡± The ruffian suddenly gritted his teeth, pounced on the door, and yelled loudly, ¡°Boss, something bad happened! Something bad happened!¡± The several henchmen guarding the door grew annoyed and were on the verge of beating him up when the door suddenly opened with a bang. Their Boss emerged, and the ruffian hurriedly sprang up to meet him. Black Bear punched him in the stomach and growled, ¡°Why are you howling while I¡¯m this angry? Have you completed the task assigned to you?¡± ¡°Today¡­ today, I went there with a few brothers because I wanted to teach that kid a lesson,¡± the local ruffian knelt on the ground, sweating profusely and covering his stomach as he squeezed out a few words. ¡°But who knew he¡¯d get a helper¡­¡­and that helper murdered two of our brothers!¡± Black Bear scowled and roared, ¡°Murdered?! Those who dare murder my people in the camp shall all be hung upside down.¡± He spat those words out and yanked the person on the ground like a chicken, ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes to call everybody over here. I¡¯m curious to see which formidable figure would dare challenge me! Now go!¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! I¡¯m going; I¡¯m going.¡± The thug fell heavily to the ground once again, and ignoring the large bump protruding from his head, he quickly got up and staggered in one direction. CH 59 Xiao Yu closed his eyes and relaxed his body as half an hour passed by. Then, after consuming food, the two siblings relaxed a bit and laid down to rest as well. At this time, footsteps were heard from outside, and many people were walking toward the Chen siblings¡¯ dwelling. The footsteps were hurried and ominous, followed by a deafening roar from outside, ¡°Who murdered my subordinates? Get the hell out!¡± ¡°What to do? They¡­ they¡¯re here again!¡± Chen Shuang was so frightened that her face turned pale, while Chen Feng remained calm and turned his eyes to look at Xiao Yu. ¡°They actually arrived so fast?¡± Xiao Yu opened his eyes, slowly stood up, patted his trousers, and went out, calmly opening the entrance¡¯s curtain as he saw forty to fifty people standing tightly outside the small house. The large group of people was led by a powerful, dark-skinned man wearing several pieces of equipment. The loud noise outside also attracted the nearby inhabitants¡¯ attention, and their gazes simultaneously landed on the dark-skinned guy; their eyes were filled with dread and contempt. It was obvious that they had long resented this Black Bear guy. When Black Bear saw the corpses on the ground, he instantly realized these were the men he had previously dispatched, and his countenance turned ferocious. The ruffian that had escaped hid behind him, pointed at Xiao Yu, and shouted: ¡°Boss Black Bear, there¡¯s no mistaking it; it¡¯s this guy; he killed our people.¡± Xiao Yu looked at the burly man with a slightly playful gaze and said slowly, ¡°You are the renowned Black Bear? In the late stage of the elementary realm, your strength is not bad.¡± Black Bear¡¯s eyelids twitched, he became cautious, and he said in a low voice, ¡°Who are you!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to know who I am.¡± Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°I killed those two people; what are you going to do to me?¡± ¡°Very good!¡± with an angry tone, Black Bear laughed loudly. Most people in the camp were aware of his power, so he wasn¡¯t surprised when the other side pointed it out directly. Then he spoke through gnashed teeth: ¡°How dare you be so aggressive in this master¡¯s domain? I, Black Bear, do not mess around!¡± As soon as his words fell, more than a dozen individuals with different weapons leapt to their feet and approached Xiao Yu; all of them were elementary warriors. Black Bear had already learned about Xiao Yu¡¯s fighting abilities through his subordinate, so he immediately sent the most elite bunch of his team. Xiao Yu sneered, ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± Black Bear roared angrily, ¡°Kill him and dismember his body into pieces! I ought to drink this kid¡¯s blood tonight!¡± When he gave that order, more than a dozen individuals surged forward, weapons drawn. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t even bother to use his eyes of insight. Facing a stabbing spear, he took a great stride forward, extended out his hand to seize it, and sent it back. The other end of the spear penetrated the charging man¡¯s heart before protruding from his back; Xiao Yu then immediately pulled out the spear with his hand and swung it out in a vast semicircle like a wheel, slamming another man¡¯s neck severely. The guy¡¯s cervical spine was directly shattered, and he fell to the ground, dying on the spot. The spear spun and returned as he gripped it in both hands and stabbed it forward with great ferocity. After piercing through two individuals, the spear linked the two holes together, stirring up a cloud of blood, and the bodies piled up and got launched backward. He then hurled the blood-stained spear with one hand, and in a split second, he killed another person. ¡°Damn it!¡± Black Bear fiercely glared as he watched half of his elite warriors collapse in two to three seconds. Then, eventually, he couldn¡¯t remain still any longer; his muscles expanded all over his body, and a layer of thick black hair sprouted from his skin. Finally, he almost changed into a real enormous black bear, and he pounced on Xiao Yu with a beast-like roar. ¡°No wonder he¡¯s called Black Bear; it turns out he was also a guy with an innate skill.¡± Xiao Yu was a little surprised; the transformed black Bear was much faster and stronger than before, and he could hear a tiger-like roar as the opponent¡¯s two thick palms swiped toward his face. Xiao Yu nimbly avoided the attack, then retreated several steps in a row. After withdrawing to a certain distance, he suddenly rushed two steps forward, kicked the ground with his left foot, twisted his body midair, and swept across with a fierce whip kick. Following Black Bear¡¯s transformation, his speed and strength have improved greatly, as has his response time. However, facing this powerful kick, he could only choose to block. Black Bear crossed his arms in front of his chest, using them to block the kick; however, his two arms were kicked off with a boom, and his massive body flew away like a kite with a broken string, landing more than ten meters away. Even Black Bear, who possessed shape-shifting innate ability and was nearing the peak of the elementary level, couldn¡¯t compete with Xiao Yu, not to mention those subordinates of his who were only in the early and middle stages of the elementary realm. Xiao Yu had no intention of showing mercy to his opponents, and like a hungry wolf infiltrating a flock of sheep, he made one move at a time, brutally and ruthlessly slaughtering them one by one. In the blink of an eye, the ground was littered with corpses. The blood had mingled with the rainwater and was slowly flowing out. It was a scene of utter carnage, and it sent a chill through the hearts of those who were witnessing it. Xiao Yu stepped on the puddle all the way and walked to the side of the sprawled guy amidst splashes of mud and water; the latter crawled forward with difficulty, sweating profusely. Xiao Yu shook his head at the wretched figure underneath his feet; he raised his leg and stepped on his back, forcing him to lie on the ground as he could no longer move. Finally, Xiao Yu remarked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, ¡°It only takes one kick to leave you in this state; your ability is only so so, well, Is that all you have? It¡¯s a pity, though; I haven¡¯t even started warming up yet! Since that is the case, let me send you off.¡± Black Bear yelled in horror, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t kill me¡­¡± Xiao Yu turned a deaf ear to the other party¡¯s pleas for mercy. Then, accompanied by a cold glow, the light of the space ring flickered, and the bright, cyan luminous beast blade materialized in his hand. The onlookers were all stunned. Xiao Yu took a step forward, and his body was filled with strong murderous intent. Who would have imagined that someone would have the audacity to murder a camp leader inside his domain? This was a crazy action that would simultaneously enrage every armed force in the whole camp. No one could protect him if Black Bear was actually slain. However, just as Xiao Yu lifted the blade and prepared to slash it down, something unexpected happened, and a booming shout emerged from the front, ¡°This brother has something to say; please hold your hands!¡± Zhao Changping¡¯s voice was not too loud, but it was full of majesty and undeniable momentum. Chen Feng, who was at first filled with secret delight, suddenly displayed a shocked expression. He immediately recognized this individual as the camp¡¯s first leader¡­ the strongest man in the entire facility. Chenfeng¡¯s thoughts rapidly surged. Black Bear, then¡­ But just as a sudden terrible idea emerged in his head, something unexpected happened. Xiao Yu was unconcerned; he didn¡¯t even bother to look up at the other party; instead, he raised the blade and slashed down mercilessly. The sharp edge neatly cut off black Bear¡¯s head, and it rolled far away as a large amount of bright red, warm blood gushed out from the neck area, quickly dyeing the rain-soaked ground red. Black Bear¡¯s head rolled a few meters away and stopped; his pair of frightened eyes stared straight at the sky, where thousands of drizzles were falling. He couldn¡¯t believe this was all happening until the point when he died. The surroundings became silent; only the rustling of the rain hitting the leaves and the whistling of the wind could be heard. The mighty black Bear died inside the camp just like that! Zhao Changping stood there dumbfounded, wondering, Who is this young man, and why have I never seen him before? He¡¯s pretty decisive in murdering and attacking; if he says it, he will act on it, showing no hint of mercy! All of Black Bear¡¯s subordinates were shocked, and after a brief period of silence, all of the surrounding residents smiled¡­ This man, who had long plagued the camp, could finally be deemed dead! Xiao Yu walked over, raised his leg, and kicked Black Bear¡¯s headless corpse far away like a ball. A drizzle of rain slid down the smooth edge of the long blade in his palm, which was pointed toward the ground at an angle. The weapon had not a single drop of blood on it. Xiao Yu had finally rid the camp of the man who had long been a thorn in their side, while Black Bear¡¯s lingering gaze forced his remaining henchmen to take two steps back in dread. At this time, Zhao Changping emerged from the crowd, looking at Xiao Yu with piercing tiger eyes, in which there flashed a somewhat complicated expression that included surprise, anger, as well as admiration. Xiao Yu also sized him up; he couldn¡¯t see through this person¡¯s strength at all; he had to be a first-order expert! Furthermore, Zhao Changping¡¯s face was quite familiar. He must have been a fairly famous person in his previous life, but he couldn¡¯t recall who it was for the time being. Zhao Changping broke the silence after a few seconds, ¡°Who are you? I¡¯ve never seen someone like you before!¡± Xiao Yu said lightly, ¡°My name is Xiao Yu. I just happened to pass by this camp; it¡¯s normal if you haven¡¯t seen me before.¡± Zhao Changping narrowed his eyes, ¡°Then why did you kill him?¡± Xiao Yu just smiled and said, ¡°Because I wanted to, that¡¯s reasonable enough.¡± When the people nearby heard those words, they all gasped, and Chen Feng frowned deeply, worrying about Xiao Yu¡¯s safety. He was fully aware of the latter¡¯s strength, but Zhao Changping was the strongest person he had ever seen, certainly not a fuel-efficient lamp, and his strength might not be inferior to Xiao Yu¡¯s. Moreover, so many experts in the camp would rush over as soon as they heard the news; no matter how strong Xiao Yu was, he was still alone. (TN: not a fuel-efficient lamp; it means that this person is not simple, shrewd, and capable, has many tricks, and is very difficult to handle ) ¡°What a brash young man!¡± Zhao Changping snorted bitterly; he himself was unsure whether he was happy or angry as he pulled a long sword from his ring, ¡°Since there is nothing else to say, I, Zhao Changping, would like to learn just how powerful you are.¡± Zhao Changping? The ¡°Thunder War God¡± Zhao Changping?! Hearing this, Xiao Yu¡¯s calm expression began to waver, and he thought to himself, Boy, no wonder he looks so familiar. This guy turned out to be my previous life¡¯s famous ¡®Thunder War God¡¯ Zhao Changping. His strength is not inferior to that of ¡°Bloody Queen¡± Han Kexin; in terms of pure combat abilities, he¡¯s even better! This was a remarkable big shot. He was powerful and proud, distinguishing clearly between kindness and hatred. Moreover, he was an admirable man. Thunder War God has grown to this point; Xiao Yu never thought he would have the opportunity to fight against him at this stage. Xiao Yu¡¯s fighting spirit couldn¡¯t help but arouse; the corners of his mouth rose slightly; he smiled and said curtly, ¡°Good, it¡¯s rare to meet someone who can give me a good fight. However, It¡¯s just too inconvenient to battle here since I can¡¯t go all out, so why not you and me leave the camp and fight it out?!¡± Zhao Changping¡¯s expression softened as he heard these words and felt a hint of admiration for Xiao Yu. He couldn¡¯t use his abilities because he feared hurting others nearby. However, this battle must be fought. After all, Black Bear was killed under his watch, and the latter¡¯s subordinates will almost certainly feel aggrieved if he does not deal with the situation appropriately. Therefore, a fight outside the camp was exactly what he wanted. Xiao Yu turned around, kicked his legs on the ground, and shot out like an arrow off its string. ¡°So fast!¡± After voicing out his surprise, Zhao Changping caught up with him. CH 60 Dark clouds were surging, thousands of tiny raindrops were continuously falling from the murky sky, and the wind howled as the soaked branches and leaves swayed back and forth, making a strange rustling noise. At this time, two hazy shadows were pursuing each other at extreme speed, jumping and shuttling rapidly throughout the treetops. Xiao Yu¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as he stepped on a wet tree trunk, turned around sharply, and drew out his blade. The cyan light of the luminous beast blade shook the surrounding area, tearing the void as tiny drops of water flew from the tip of the blade. The sharp light of the weapon cut through the raindrops heading for his opponent. All the leaves in front of him were crushed, and the weapon¡¯s wind swept up the broken leaves and raindrops from the sky and showered them on Zhao Changping, who was following him closely. The latter hovered in the air for a few moments before stopping his forward momentum, and his body fell quickly, eventually stepping on the trunk of another large tree. Zhao Changping looked at Xiao Yu with surprise in his eyes and said, ¡°You are a first-order warrior.¡± Xiao Yu said lightly, ¡°You too.¡± Zhao Changping showed a curious smile and said, ¡°You are really arrogant, but you have the ability to be so. I just chased you down at full speed, yet you don¡¯t look tired. Your strength should have reached the middle stage of the first order.¡± Zhao Changping was also a first-order warrior, albeit at the low stage, as it didn¡¯t look like it had been long since he advanced. Xiao Yu¡¯s strength was close to the middle stage of the first order but not quite there just yet. The main reason why he was much faster than Zhao Changping was that he could instantly identify the right angle for leaping and ejecting with his eyes of insight. Furthermore, the ghost cloak could reduce his weight to a certain degree, and the wind boots could boost his movement speed; just now, amidst the chase, he was only using 70% to 80% of his full speed. ¡°If you want to fight, fight; there¡¯s no need to spout nonsense.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Zhao Changping was not angry and raised the four-foot-long sword in his hand, ¡°This sword is called the ¡®rock cleaving sword¡¯. a white-grade weapon. It is very sharp, so you have to be careful!¡±. This Zhao Changping is quite an interesting character; he actually introduced his own weapon before starting the fight, just like a hero. Xiao Yu¡¯s strength was just a bit higher than Zhao Changping¡¯s, but the famous ¡°Thunder War God¡± innate skill was by no means inferior to his own; he dared not have any thoughts of underestimating the enemy. Zhao Changping wanted to say something again, but he couldn¡¯t say a word. The figure of Xiao Yu in front of him suddenly flickered, turned into an afterimage, and disappeared as many water droplets flew around. A sharp whistling sound came from the side. Zhao Changping¡¯s face changed, he squatted down, and the sharp cyan blade slashed across the top of his head, splitting the thick tree trunk in half as it fell down with a bang. ¡°so fast!¡± It was also the first time that Zhao Changping met someone as powerful as Xiao Yu, and his heart suddenly became full of fighting spirit. He held the sword in both hands and met the blade as it fell on his head. When the two weapons collided, a surge of air raced in all directions, blowing away the wet leaves. Following a rattling sound, the immense power crushed the branches beneath Zhao Changping¡¯s feet, and he plummeted tens of meters in height. Xiao Yu leaped and landed on a nearby big tree, lying on the straight trunk at ninety degrees like a spider; he suddenly exerted force in his lower body, and his feet left two deep footprints on the trunk, propelling himself forwards. He then shot out like a bullet at Zhao Changping, who was falling in the air. However, although the latter was in midair, he reacted quickly and swung his sword to block the attack. With a clang of iron hitting iron, Zhao Changping was pushed away by a huge force. Xiao Yu stepped on another big tree and swung his blade again to slash at his opponent, who had yet to find his footing. Zhao Changping was taken aback. This young man is really powerful; he has perfected the angle and timing of his attacks. Holding back is impossible. He didn¡¯t hesitate, and he roared. The long sword made a strange shrill sound before striking Xiao Yu, who was approaching from the skies. Xiao Yu¡¯s pupils contracted instantly. Feeling something amiss in his heart, he immediately withdrew his blade and retreated, Zhao Changping¡¯s sword edge barely brushing past his clothes. Xiao Yu¡¯s field of vision instantly turned dark, and he nearly collapsed. His opponent immediately took the opportunity to swing the long sword that was making a buzzing noise and stab him again. Xiao Yu dared not block, and he dodged in a hurry. He could feel an electric current covering his whole body. He has electricity on his sword! Xiao Yu was keenly aware of that feeling just now; it was precisely the feeling of being shocked by an electric charge. Zhao Changping really deserved the title of ¡°Thunder War God¡±. This must be his innate ability. It was indeed thunder and lightning. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Yu might not be scared. Still, in the current setting, where water shrouded everything, Zhao Changping could be said to have chosen the right time and place, as the power of his skills could be maximized over here. His abilities were simply impossible to guard against. Zhao Changping¡¯s long sword was still humming slightly, and occasionally he could see a trace of an electric arc flashing across the sword. Suddenly more electric arcs appeared on both sides of the weapon, and the other party suddenly accelerated and rushed toward Xiao Yu in a flash. Wielding a long flashing sword, he chopped down. Before the long sword could even reach his body, Xiao Yu was engulfed by a tremendous electric current that covered his entire body; his hands and feet instantly turned numb. Xiao Yu took a step back, and while avoiding the attack, he swung his blade and slashed at a tricky angle. Zhao Changping was fearless; he held his sword to block Xiao Yu¡¯s weapon. The energy contained in the long sword, full of lightning power, was incredible. Xiao Yu had no doubt that once his blade touched the lightning sword, even if the powerful electric current did not make him faint, it would at least make him lose his fighting power for an instant. In a battle between two experts, even a small delay could be fatal. Xiao Yu shook his hand, and the blade flipped flexibly to miss the edge of the sword barely. A cyan light then extended out from the blade and slashed at Zhao Changping¡¯s chest. The latter was wearing white-grade armor with a first-rank ¡°physical protection¡± magic circle engraved on it. The cyan blade cut the armor, leaving a deep gash, but Zhao Changping was left unharmed. On the contrary, as a result of this strike, Zhao Changping seized a gap, and the long sword blessed with lightning power scurried up and down like a dangerous poisonous snake, seeking an opening to inflict a lethal blow on its opponent. What Zhao Changping didn¡¯t expect was that the opponent could always see through his own attacks in an instant, causing his strikes to fail repeatedly, which made him feel both amazed and frustrated at the same time. Zhao Changping¡¯s ability was ¡°Lightning Mastery¡±, which was similar to but much more powerful than Yun Yun¡¯s ¡°Fire Elemental Enhancement¡±, and the ability could persist for an extended period in battles. After more than a dozen rounds of exchange, the two sides had reached a stalemate, with neither side having the upper hand. Xiao Yu dodged a slash again, but Zhao Changping didn¡¯t stop. Instead, he immediately raised his sword and stabbed again, making the electric current covering Xiao Yu¡¯s body much more potent, leaving his hands and feet numb. This situation was obviously not favorable for Xiao Yu, so he gritted his teeth and forced the other party to pull and jump back; he took several leaps, retreated twenty to thirty meters, and stood on a tall tree with both feet. Zhao Changping laughed out loud. However, just when he was about to leap out and attack Xiao Yu again, he noticed that the latter had suddenly lowered his right arm, which was holding the blade, and gently lifted his left hand as an incomparably hot energy started condensing in his palm. When Zhao Changping saw this, his eyelids twitched slightly, his heartbeat quickened, and he didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. The force of the scorching flame swiftly accumulated to form a head-sized burning fireball that rotated at high speed. Layers of burning energy spread in all directions, and a coating of rainwater quickly evaporated into mist in the surrounding area. Next, the fireball shrank violently, compressing and folding into a ping-pong ball-sized fire. Then, under the control of Xiao Yu¡¯s spiritual power, the fireball blasted out of his palm and flew in an arc through the air, right toward Zhao Changping. Zhao Changping¡¯s complexion suddenly changed. He felt an unprecedented sense of crisis and jumped away with all his might. The fireball exploded right where he was standing moments ago. The sound of the violent explosion was deafening, and layers of hot air waves set off a furious gust of wind that raged amidst the trees and caused a large number of leaves to be blown off one after the other. A large crater with a radius of several meters was blown out on the ground. The area was covered with hot air and steam, making it foggy. The ¡°Blast Flame¡± skill was a second-rank fire attribute magic. Although Zhao Changping was not hit head-on, he was still affected. His armor, which was engraved with first-rank ¡°physical protection¡±, was damaged in many places, and he himself suffered some minor injuries. ¡°Amazing!¡± Zhao Changping turned pale, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such powerful magic!¡± Xiao Yu said flatly: ¡°Your ability is also good; I¡¯ve never been at a disadvantage in melee combat, yet I wouldn¡¯t dare confront you in close quarters.¡± Zhao Changping took a deep breath and said, ¡°Young man, your strength is indeed incredible; you¡¯re much more powerful than I imagined!¡± His tone suddenly changed, and he continued: ¡°I can probably guess the reason why you¡¯ve killed Black Bear. Actually, I don¡¯t blame you for doing so because even if he didn¡¯t die in your hands, I would¡¯ve sent him to hell on my own. However, Due to Black Bear¡¯s status and my position, it was always difficult to find a reasonable excuse and timing to finish him off; in a sense, I should thank you.¡± Xiao Yu showed a weird expression, ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you trying to reach an agreement?¡± ¡°Why not? Even though I have the best conditions for my powers, I still couldn¡¯t do anything to you. My strength is indeed not as good as yours.¡± Zhao Changping was very calm and added, ¡°But at the same time, even if I lose against you, it will be difficult for you to kill me. I fought you merely to put up a show for Black Bear¡¯s henchmen lest they start causing problems in the camp. I don¡¯t believe you are a true villain, though this kind of meaningless battle was really worth it; perhaps we can cooperate.¡± Xiao Yu was a little surprised and said, ¡°What kind of cooperation?¡± Zhao Changping nodded and said, ¡°This camp is full of filth, similar to Black Bear. They and their followers wreak havoc all day long, stealing food and raping women. They are worse than beasts and the root of the disaster; unfortunately, I arrived at the camp later, so my foundation is insufficient to take action; therefore, please step forward and help me eradicate this bunch.¡± Xiao Yu: ¡°Benefits?¡± Zhao Changping suddenly showed a treacherous smile, ¡°As a reward, I will inform you about a hidden treasure. Perhaps, with our combined might, we can obtain it.¡± CH 61 Xiao Yu grew a little interested, ¡°Treasure? Intriguing, to say the least. I don¡¯t know what it is, so please go into detail first.¡± Zhao Changping walked forward and explained as he reinserted the sword into his ring: ¡°Black Bear¡¯s henchmen were the ones who first found this thing. Somewhere in the nearby forest, there is a mystical spring. The spring water has some extraordinary powers. After drinking it, not only can the body heal from all injuries, but it can also effectively strengthen the body; its effects are comparable to those of a panacea, which are very miraculous.¡± Could it be the fountain of life¡­ Xiao Yu¡¯s heart trembled slightly, but he said calmly on the surface: ¡°There is such a good thing, yet you guys didn¡¯t take it; instead, you¡¯re inviting me to share a portion. The way I see it, I¡¯m afraid there are some setbacks to getting this water.¡± Zhao Changping didn¡¯t try to hide anything and said calmly, ¡°That is correct. Near the spring, there is a swarm of mighty monsters. Those monsters became more vigilant since Black Bear¡¯s subordinates found this spring and brought back some water. They are tightly surrounding the spring as we speak, and they are very powerful, with at least two first-order monsters amongst them. Therefore, we had no means of assaulting them, so we could only wait and watch.¡± Xiao Yu had some understanding of Zhao Changping¡¯s character; the latter should not be deceiving him. Furthermore, Xiao Yu also knew a thing or two about the fountain of life. This type of spring could only form in regions with an abundance of life, such as the depths of the forest, where the powerful energy of life gradually concentrates into the spring¡¯s water over time. This water had an excellent healing effect, making it a unique holy material for healing. However, its most important function was that it could enhance and improve people¡¯s physiques. While in the hands of an alchemist, this water could prove to be a good ingredient for crafting various potions, and it was practically a rare treasure that could only be found by chance. The formation of a fountain of life begets the concentration of the essence of life in a specific location. Because its existence is so enticing to all living organisms, there ought to be monsters guarding nearby. Zhao Changping¡¯s depiction of the situation was very plausible. After giving it some thought, Xiao Yu judged that there should be no issue. Getting the Fountain of Life was a great opportunity, and he didn¡¯t want to miss it. However, since there were more than two first-order monsters in the vicinity of the Fountain of Life, he knew he¡¯d struggle to beat them without Zhao Changping¡¯s support. Hence, cooperation was his only choice. ¡°Okay, I agree.¡± Xiao Yu agreed first and then asked, ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± ¡­¡­¡­. At this moment, the camp was in chaos. Black Bear, one of the people with the highest status inside the facility, was beheaded and killed in broad daylight, along with a dozen of his elite subordinates. This was unquestionably tantamount to dropping a bombshell inside the camp as everyone started spreading the word. The regular inhabitants of the camp all rejoiced because the biggest villain in the region, Black Bear, had finally been killed. Still, several people were also extremely upset about the incident, especially the remaining subordinates of Black Bear and the leaders of several other factions in the camp. Once Black Bear died, the position of his subordinates was significantly impacted, and they would most likely have to change ¡¯employers¡¯. The leaders of the other factions were even more worried, fearing that Zhao Changping would seize full control over the camp in the near future. This level of anxiety was justified. After all, no one would dare to holler at Zhao Changping after Black Bear disappeared from the picture. Though he had not been a resident of the camp for very long, Zhao Changping had already earned the respect of his fellow camp inhabitants. Now that the overall balance of power has been considerably weakened on the leaders¡¯ side, as long as Zhao Changping calls, people will follow. His strength was unrivaled; no one in the settlement could face him. If there was an actual battle, the odds of the leaders¡¯ victory were only around 30 to 40%, even with the combined might of all factions¡¯. We can only hope this strange outsider is strong enough to kill that damned Zhao Changping¡­ Wait, what if Zhao Changping dies and the outsider comes back? It¡¯s best for both sides to suffer severe injuries and then die together! Unfortunately, the development of things was often disappointing, and the ideal picture was not realized as Zhao Changping reappeared dozens of minutes after leaving the camp, and he actually came back alone. Seeing this, Chen Feng had a strange expression on his face, secretly worrying for Xiao Yu¡¯s safety. This time, the incident occurred solely because of him; he was using Xiao Yu to eliminate the threat that shrouded him and his sister. However, although the other party knew he was being used, he still moved forward to kill Black Bear, which confused Chen Feng. He could not understand why Xiao Yu would take such a risk to help him, although he knew that the latter had a kind heart, which was why if the other party got gravely hurt or killed due to this incident, Chen Feng would be haunted by his guilt. Zhao Changping returned, but to the others¡¯ surprise, he came back injured. His armor was torn, and his body was covered with wounds. His face looked pale as he cut a sorry figure. Zhao Changping¡¯s subordinates raced over after hearing the news; they were all astonished to see this and hastened to help him rest. ¡°He has already left; I lost the battle.¡± This piece of news came as a bombshell in the camp. When the leaders of the other factions heard the news, they were even more surprised and speechless. Someone as powerful as Zhao Changping was not the other party¡¯s opponent? It¡¯s difficult to fathom just how powerful this outsider was. That night, except for Zhao Changping, the leaders of all four factions in the camp sat together, with seven to eight trusted subordinates standing beside each of them. At the same time, someone was sent to guard the door as if they were discussing something very secretive and vital. A man in his thirties was the first to speak: ¡°Although Brother Black Bear is dead, Zhao Changping was also seriously injured in the battle with that man. So this may be a God-sent opportunity for us. How much fighting power does he have left after those serious injuries? Previously, even if we joined forces, we may not have been his opponents. So how about we take this opportunity to kill that bastard, Zhao Changping? The entire camp will then be under our rule. Food, equipment, and women¡ªeverything will belong to us; how wonderful is that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless; things are not that simple.¡± An older-looking man stated, ¡°No one can say whether that strong man from outside will come back or not. Even the mighty Zhao Changping is in that state after facing him, not to mention us, with our strength below that of Black Bear¡¯s. If this person turns back to give us an unexpected blow, no one can stop him in the camp. Only Zhao Changping can deal with him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree with you.¡± Another person said: ¡°That guy severely injured Zhao Changping, meaning their powers should be about the same; otherwise, the latter would have been killed rather than injured. Yet as we can see, now that Zhao Changping was seriously injured, the outsider still didn¡¯t chase after him; therefore, there is absolutely no way he was left unscathed after that battle. Perhaps he is hiding somewhere to recover from his injuries. If we seize this chance to eliminate this Zhao Changping and dominate the whole camp with our collective strength, we will be able to accomplish our objectives. Then, hunting and slaying monsters will certainly enable us to grow swiftly, and at that point, even if that man returns, we may not necessarily be afraid of him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Sooner or later, Zhao Changping will try to deal with us; I can¡¯t rest easy till he¡¯s dead!¡± ¡°Death in the hands of an outsider or death in the hands of Zhao Changping both lead to the same ending. Therefore, to avoid such a fate, we should adopt this plan and try to kill Zhao Changping first. Then, perhaps by adhering to the so-called ¡°seeking wealth in peril,¡± we may achieve the first-order realm and become the camp¡¯s local emperors, after which no one will be able to stop us!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯m in!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± After some discussion, the four leaders finally made up their minds to get rid of Zhao Changping. However, just as they were about to discuss the specific plan, there was a crisp sound, and the door was suddenly slammed open. No stars or moon could be seen in the dark sky, and it was still pouring buckets. A man suddenly emerged from the darkness, carrying a four-foot-long blade as bright as autumn water. In the dim glow of the small fire inside the room, the blade glowed coldly, striking fear in the hearts of onlookers. Everyone in the room changed their countenance. They discovered that the two elementary warriors guarding the door had already collapsed amidst a pool of blood; they had long since turned into corpses. These two were elementary warriors, yet they couldn¡¯t even utter a sound before they got killed. Is it possible that this person is¡­ The four leaders had the answer in their hearts, but they still asked in fear, ¡°Who are you!¡± ¡°The one who will kill you!¡± After some patching, Xiao Yu looked like he had several wounds covering his body. He glanced coldly at the men in the room, and with a cruel smile on the corner of his mouth, he jumped up and rushed in as the blade light directly covered the leaders. Screams came and went as blood splattered across the room. The four influential leaders of the camp had already been beheaded after just a few rounds. ¡°He¡¯s back; he¡¯s back! First Leader Zhao Changping, help us!¡± Everyone else screamed in horror and fled out of the room, one after another. Xiao Yu knocked down one or two people and let the others leave. The shrill howl echoed throughout the camp in the darkness of night, and the entire scene devolved into chaos. Zhao Changping appeared as expected, brandishing a long sword and fighting Xiao Yu directly for hundreds of rounds. The two extreme figures were pursuing each other through the night. The shadows of a sword and a blade flashed erratically, and everyone was impressed by the battle between these two masters as they showed marvel and awe on their faces. Previously, Xiao Yu had already beheaded the leaders of the four forces; the purpose of this trip had been achieved. It looked like both Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping were fighting very fiercely, but in fact, neither of them took any serious action, and it was just for other people in the camp to see. Finally, after more than ten minutes of fighting, Xiao Yu left the camp and fled into the nearby woods. Right after the death of Black Bear, the leaders of the four factions were killed at the same time. Only Zhao Changping remained, so the other factions could be recruited openly and aboveboard. Relying on his own strength, Zhao Changping would not be afraid of the five faction leaders at all, but once he started a fight with them, there would have been serious collisions between the several forces. The deaths of their subordinates will immediately reduce the overall strength of the settlement, making it more challenging to fight the monster invasion. Zhao Changping tolerated Black Bear and others precisely because of the broader picture. The sudden appearance of Xiao Yu was undoubtedly an unexpected opportunity. He murdered all leaders, wounded Zhao Changping, and even fought that battle in public, all of which led to widespread panic in the settlement. Everyone directed their hatred against Xiao Yu, and then, under the pressure of the threat he represented, they had no other option but to turn toward Zhao Changping. As a result, the forces in the camp were unexpectedly united, and their overall strength did not suffer too much loss. If Zhao Changping could control everyone, things would be easier to handle. Furthermore, if he gradually started getting rid of the black sheep amidst them, this settlement would be truly under his grasp, and the entire camp would develop harmoniously as a result. Exactly what he wanted to see. CH 62 With lightning speed, Zhao Changping gathered all the manpower of the five factions, including Black Bear¡¯s, before he sealed off the camp and waited. However, Xiao Yu never appeared in the settlement again, so he left the territory early the following day with a group of his most skilled subordinates under the guise of chasing the outsider. After leaving the forest and walking for half an hour north, a figure jumped down from the tree trunk above their heads, placed his feet on the ground, and stood straight in front of the crowd. Right then, an indifferent voice devoid of joy or anger came into their ears, ¡°Zhao Changping, you are too slow.¡± Zhao Changping waved his hand, all of his subordinates laid down their weapons, and he moved forward with a smile on his face, ¡°There was no other way; it is hard to control the actions of those guys. So I had to stabilize the situation first, lest there be chaos.¡± Xiao Yu noticed that all the wounds on Zhao Changping¡¯s face had healed and said meaningfully, ¡°Your wounds healed quickly.¡± Zhao Changping smiled sheepishly, took out a small bottle from his space ring, and threw it over, ¡°I always repay kindness and never owe someone favors. This operation is just a cooperative partnership between us. As for the remaining half of the bottle, I was going to gift it to you anyway. So consider it your reward for doing me a major favor yesterday.¡± Xiao Yu caught the small bottle, and he could see that half a bottle of liquid remained in the glass bottle, which was crystal clear, so clear that it could hardly be described in words. However, if you looked closely, you would find that the liquid exuded a faint fluorescence. This liquid was the legendary ¡°water of life¡±, Its quality wasn¡¯t bad, and its value was probably no worse than any white-grade equipment, considering it was only half a bottle. ¡°Have you brought enough people?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s sharp eyes swept over the crowd, and everyone there felt as if they were being seen through to their core, ¡°Their strength is not bad, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re reliable or not.¡± ¡°You can rest assured about this.¡± There was an air of confidence in Zhao Changping¡¯s tone, ¡°Almost all of them are long-time veterans of the armed military forces and have been dear friends and brothers of mine ever since we met. Therefore, there will be no problems, so let us leave now.¡± Xiao Yu had almost forgotten about Zhao Changping¡¯s former identity. He was a retired soldier, or a military commander to be more precise, and his subordinates all had a solid relationship with him as comrades in arms. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t waste time and followed him to the northern woodland. It rained for over half a day yesterday; the woods were wet, the humidity was high, and the terrain was muddy, making it quite challenging to move around. Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping were both first-order experts, and the latter¡¯s fourteen comrades were all elementary warriors. The subordinates¡¯ quality was exceptional, much above what regular people could measure, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at the location Zhao Changping described, as they all stood close by. They knelt down and picked up the mud and decaying leaves from the ground, smearing them thoroughly on their faces and bodies to mask the odor. When Zhao Changping turned his head to look at Xiao Yu, he found that the latter had almost turned himself into a clay figurine; his techniques in camouflaging were very sophisticated, no worse than those of trained scouts like them. Naturally, this made him somewhat suspicious of Xiao Yu¡¯s background. Despite his young age, he was flawless in all aspects, whether it be mental quality, combat skills, or the ability to survive in the wild. Could he be a monster that the special forces have secretly honed? Sixteen individuals proceeded to make their way carefully through the woods, and it didn¡¯t take long until they spotted their target for the first time. Three green creatures were strolling side by side. The average height of these monsters was more than 2.2 meters. They had dark green skin, pointed ears, exposed fangs at the corners of their mouth, and very ferocious faces. The creatures wore tattered animal hide and held a rusty spear in both hands. The monsters that were supposedly guarding the fountain of life turned out to be forest trolls! Trolls were a vastly large race, mainly including forest trolls, jungle trolls, sand trolls, frost trolls, flame trolls, and dark trolls. Low-level trolls were the same as goblin warriors in that they were pure beast-like monsters. Still, the high-level ones, similar to the high-level goblins, had a very high intellect and were generally an intelligent species. What Xiao Yu and the others spotted were just a few low-level forest trolls. This was a race that lived in the forest. Their bodies could bear the growth of plants to a certain degree, and their skin would inevitably get covered with a thin layer of lichen shortly after birth, giving them their characteristic green skin. ¡°Those are forest troll warriors, elementary-level monsters that are relatively strong and are a bit difficult to deal with.¡± Zhao Changping glanced at Xiao Yu, ¡°There are many such creatures nearby; we must kill them quickly; otherwise, we will have no choice but to retreat if similar monsters get alarmed.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes turned blood red in an instant, and he whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the one on the far left for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Zhao Changping took out his long sword from the space ring, ¡°Get ready¡­ three, two, one, move!¡± The two simultaneously rushed out of the bushes where they were hiding and outflanked the monsters from both sides. Zhao Changping swung his lightning-covered long sword and stabbed into the body of a forest troll warrior from behind as the creature started twitching violently. Xiao Yu appeared on the other side and cut off another forest troll¡¯s head cleanly. The third forest troll had already turned and lifted its spear, preparing to attack him. Xiao Yu took a step forward, swung his blade, and slashed upwards. The spear in the forest troll warrior¡¯s hand was split in two; a blood-red gash formed first from its abdomen to the top of its head, and the belly area split apart with a boom. All of its internal organs gushed out, and its throat was also ruptured, leaving it unable to make a sound. It struggled for a while before it fell to the ground. Zhao Changping drew out his long sword at that moment. The fourteen people in the woods immediately rushed up, tacitly carrying the trolls¡¯ corpses, and threw them into the bushes to hide them. The group continued to travel deeper into the woods, circled the forest, and encountered many groups of forest troll warriors, all of whom were killed by the two of them. The total number of dead monsters reached more than twenty. Fortunately, since they had a high-quality combat team, everything was done quietly; otherwise, if their enemies got alarmed, those twenty trolls in the forest¡¯s depths may have posed a greater threat than ordinary first-order monsters. Xiao Yu¡¯s face was smeared with mud, and only a pair of beast-like eyes could be seen. He crept silently into the midst of the forest, like a deadly snake seeking its prey. Then he came to a halt, raised his hand, and made a gesture; all the people behind him stopped immediately. Five trolls appeared in front of them at the same time; among them were three forest troll warriors, while the other two were more dexterous trolls that looked slightly thinner. They held a thin javelin in their hands and tied several javelins on their backs. These are troll headhunters, a monster with peak elementary-level fighting power. ¡°Five; very troublesome.¡± Xiao Yu turned to look at Zhao Changping, ¡°I will deal with the two thinner trolls and leave the rest for you.¡± Zhao Changping nodded, ¡°No problem, Everyone, get ready¡­..move!¡± The two of them sprang out from the bushes, and Zhao Changping¡¯s fourteen subordinates followed suit. However, the troll headhunter had a considerably quicker response time than the troll warriors. While the two of them were still in the air, both monsters turned their heads as two pairs of fierce eyes stared at the two humans, and they simultaneously launched a javelin with their right hands. Sou sou! A flash of light glowed in Zhao Changping¡¯s eyes brightly, and without warning, he clenched his left hand, gathered lightning in the palm of his hand, and pushed forward. Instantly, seven to eight tiny electric arcs poured out in a circular pattern, sputtering in the forest as bursts of blue smoke emerged on the grass, trees, and ground. The lightning surged and struck the javelin mid-air, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks and smoke. The attack even covered the bodies of the three troll warriors, and they were completely engulfed in it as they got paralyzed by the electric current and couldn¡¯t move. The two troll headhunters were also affected. Xiao Yu cut off the head of a dizzy troll headhunter before his feet landed. The other troll headhunter turned its head and ran away while opening its mouth as if preparing to call for their companions. It must be held back from calling for help! Xiao Yu¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly, ¡°Bullet time!¡± Suddenly the whole world fell into a state of stillness, and the movements of everything came to a halt. Xiao Yu took three to four strides forward as though he were in a gravity-less space, then he swung his right arm, and the blade slashed across the troll headhunter¡¯s throat. The troll headhunter¡¯s eyes were wide open, as was its mouth, but it couldn¡¯t scream out again. Zhao Changping and his companions saw an unusual scene. Xiao Yu¡¯s body vanished and reappeared five meters away almost instantly. It was an incredible feat as if he had moved through space and time, and by then, the troll headhunter had already been beheaded. So when they saw this move of his, everyone assumed it was teleportation. The three troll warriors who were paralyzed and unable to move were also killed in an instant under the collective assault of Zhao Changping and his comrades. Then they quickly removed the bodies and cleaned up the battlefield. Zhao Chang came over and looked at Xiao Yu with a strange expression on his face and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to be still hiding your strength. You didn¡¯t give it your all when you fought me that day; it looks like you still had the ability to increase your speed by several times instantly. This should be one of your skills.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s muscles were a little sore from using the bullet time ability, but he retorted calmly: ¡°That lightning palm discharge is not weak at all.¡± Zhao Changping said with a wry smile, ¡°Although I also held back, even if I were to use this move as a surprise attack, with your amazing speed, you can easily evade it. I originally thought I could fight you, but now it seems that my strength is indeed not as good as yours.¡± Though he said those words, he was still a carefree individual who wasn¡¯t really bothered by such things. At this point, his gaze was drawn to a white ball of light floating quietly on the ground. A little surprised, Zhao Changping said happily, ¡°Our luck is really good; it¡¯s actually a white item.¡± The ball of light was opened, revealing an ancient scroll woven of what seemed to be animal hide. It was a bit worn out and had to be a couple of years old. Complex magical symbols appeared on it, but they lacked magical power. So it was obviously not a magic scroll. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes stayed on the scroll for a moment, his expression moved slightly, and he said: ¡°This is a blueprint for an alchemy recipe.¡± Zhao Changping agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems to be¡­ the method of refining a first-grade potion of curing?¡± CH 63 On the Chaos Continent, a prevalent group will soon emerge known as alchemists. They were a mysterious and helpful bunch that could be further subdivided into potion brewers, magic scroll makers, blessing engravers, and so on. No matter where they went, any one of them would be immensely popular, and all major forces would unanimously offer them olive branches and generous treatment. Battle-wise, they may not be powerful, but according to their skill set, they could receive top-notch treatment. Alchemists might singlehandedly boost the strength of a group since they could make a wide variety of consumables, such as magic potions and powerful magic scrolls, as well as impart unique attributes or abilities to equipment. Xiao Yu explained: ¡°This is a recipe for a magic potion. You can use spiritual power to infiltrate it and obtain a spiritual imprint. After collecting enough materials, you can then craft a potion of curing. But the premise is to become an alchemist, which on its own requires an ¡°Alchemist¡¯s Flame¡±. This blueprint is now worthless, but any alchemy blueprint is very valuable. It can be sold for a substantial sum at a later period when the timing is right.¡± ¡°What, this thing can¡¯t be used for now?¡± Zhao Changping was a little puzzled and generously threw the blueprint to Xiao Yu, ¡°Since it isn¡¯t worth much at the moment, I may as well give it to you; after all, you seem to know much about it.¡± Xiao Yu pondered a bit and then removed five lower soul gems from his space ring. An alchemy recipe blueprint was very expensive. After a few months of obtaining this first-rank potion of curing recipe, let alone trading it for five lower soul gems, you may be unable to purchase it using fifty lower soul gems. It was more expensive than some peak white-grade equipment. Zhao Changping had a few soul gems on hand, but not nearly enough to restore everyone¡¯s equipment. He was considerably less wealthy than Xiao Yu; hence, those five lower soul gems at this time were a considerable sum for him. He gladly handed over the alchemy blueprint recipe, oblivious to its worth. Xiao Yu placed the potion recipe inside his ring as the sixteen individuals resumed their mission. They killed almost a dozen trolls along the way before collecting a few gray items and two pieces of equipment, but nothing particularly noteworthy. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t care about such gear, so he left Zhao Changping¡¯s comrades-in-arms to distribute it amongst themselves. The trolls in the surrounding area had been mostly cleared, and everyone could now safely proceed to the location containing the Fountain of Life. With no time to lose, Xiao Yu and the others moved out at once, cautiously making their way through the forest¡¯s winding paths. At the end of their path was a short mountain, only tens of meters away and about the same height as a standard six-story residential building, with a very strange shape. Three massive fissures separated the mountain into four sections. The middle section was cranked into an indentation, where bursts of refreshing air constantly emanated outward. Around the Fountain of Life were bright wildflowers, green grass, verdant vegetation, and lush trees, which refreshed the spirits of those who approached, as even the air was full of vitality. There were as many as twenty ugly forest trolls entrenched next to the fountain of life; unfortunately, they were all forest troll headhunters. Amidst them, two trolls looked peculiar, one of which was extraordinarily tall and burly, holding an exquisite green spear in hand with sharp eyes and an imposing demeanor. This creature was a forest troll chieftain, a monster in the middle stage of the first order, though its strength was not as great as that of a goblin leader. The other was a forest troll witch doctor with wrinkled skin and short stature, wielding a green magic wand. It was also a middle-stage first-order monster and most likely a magic-type monster. When Zhao Changping and others moved closer, Xiao Yu suddenly informed them: ¡°Don¡¯t go any further; there¡¯s a trap ahead!¡± He pointed to a particular buried spot and explained, ¡°This is a trap; stepping on it will result in an explosion.¡± He pointed to another place, and everyone looked in that direction. A strange staff was stuck on the ground, with an orb-shaped object at the top. But, If you look carefully, you will find that it is an eyeball that was turning back and forth while closely monitoring the surrounding area. The staff was highly concealed as it blended in with its surroundings, so ordinary people could not tell it apart. Xiao Yu continued: ¡°This should be the spell the troll witch doctor used for surveillance. The monitoring radius should also cover the Fountain of Life; it¡¯s almost impossible to approach it stealthily! At this point, storming in looks to be our only option!¡± Zhao Changping frowned and said, ¡°Two powerful first-order monsters might not be so easy to deal with. It would be difficult for me to defeat any of them with my strength.¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°The more than twenty forest troll headhunters surrounding them are not weak either. Just with one volley, our numbers would be reduced by half. Their javelin weapons, however, are limited; therefore, we must first strive to deplete their armaments. Then, let the other people engage in close quarters with the monsters; this way, the forest troll headhunters¡¯ advantages won¡¯t come into play.¡± Zhao Changping pondered for a moment, ¡°Then you and I will launch the first round of attacks first.¡± Xiao Yu pointed to the forest troll chieftain and said, ¡°When the fight starts later, you are responsible for holding it back. I will take care of that forest troll witch doctor.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it!¡± Zhao Changping sprang up as soon as he spoke; he slipped to the sides, jumped up without hesitation, and rushed toward the fountain of life with a loud roar. His left hand waved vigorously, and more than a dozen small flying arcs and thunderbolts smashed into the trolls in an instant. The jumping thunderlight shuttled back and forth amidst the monsters. The majority of the troll headhunters were engulfed in the lightning; their corpses burned black as smoke surfaced from their bodies. Angry roars sounded in the forest. The troll headhunters lifted their javelins in unison, ready to launch them. But, unfortunately, Zhao Changping lacked Xiao Yu¡¯s level of insight, so when twenty to thirty mighty troll headhunters threw their weapons at the same time, he felt as if dozens of sniper rifles fired at him simultaneously, which posed him a great threat. If he didn¡¯t act, he could die on the spot. When the trolls¡¯ attention was centered on Zhao Changping, a ping-pong-sized fireball came out from the opposite side of the forest and landed precisely in the middle of the monsters. The powerful magic attack detonated, and three to four troll headhunters were blown to pieces on the spot; a large number of the surrounding trolls were also severely injured before succumbing to death, and the remainder were blown to the ground, their wounds not light. With a single move, Xiao Yu created havoc in the surroundings. Although more than twenty javelins were thrown, they were all crooked and not very sharp. Zhao Changping avoided most of the blows, and although one javelin grazed his shoulder, the wound wasn¡¯t severe. However, these weapons were all smeared with paralyzing poison. And at the moment of his injury, he felt his entire arm grow limp and weak as if he had been injected with an anesthetic. Even so, Zhao Changping¡¯s hands kept moving as the lightning surged from his fingertips and condensed again in his palm. Then, in a heartbeat, more than a dozen arcs of lightning descended down, and the forest troll headhunters wailed in pain. ¡°Roar!¡± The forest troll¡¯s chieftain let out an angry roar, and its burly body rushed toward Zhao Changping in the blink of an eye, brandishing a spear and pressing down with fierce momentum. The latter swung his lightning-wrapped long sword to repel the attack. Still, because he wasn¡¯t as strong as his opponent, coupled with the poison slowly running through his veins, he was at more of a disadvantage, and with a bang, he got sent flying several meters away, causing him to tumble to the ground. Fortunately, the forest troll chieftain was also hurt. The electric current on the long sword hit it straight on, making its whole body twitch and convulse as it became paralyzed, which stopped it from taking advantage of the situation. The forest troll witch doctor finally made a move. It raised the staff in its hand, waving it back and forth, and a green beam of light started radiating from it before the light passed through all of the wounded troll headhunters. Right then, something magical took place¡ªalmost all of the wounds on those injured trolls healed in the blink of an eye. Right afterward, the now-healed monsters turned their heads toward the direction where Xiao Yu was standing while roaring and threw their strong javelins. It used its healing spell! Xiao Yu abruptly jumped out of the woods without waiting for the spell to be used a second time. The javelins hurtling toward him were shot down one by one as he swung his long blade like a whirlwind. Finally, his feet landed on the ground; he kicked ferociously and flew up again. A cyan blade glow flashed, and a streak of light shot directly toward the forest troll witch doctor. The latter dodged awkwardly before it thrust its hand into the ground as four to five thorny roots appeared from beneath Xiao Yu¡¯s feet and quickly tried to entangle his body. Xiao Yu¡¯s knowledge of the troll witch doctor¡¯s tricks, combined with his incredible insight, allowed him to react and dodge the moment it cast its magic. He directly cut off all the roots that surfaced with his blade; otherwise, this move could¡¯ve truly restrained him. He knew that even a few seconds were enough to get him killed. The fourteen combatants brought by Zhao Changping also rushed out at this time, each holding a weapon and ready to launch a round of charges against the forest trolls. The formation of the forest troll headhunters was utterly disrupted by Zhao Changping and Xiao Yu¡¯s previous attacks. Now that this team of veterans had intercepted them, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage. The roar of the forest trolls echoed throughout the woods, and after a while, another group of forest trolls appeared in the vicinity to join the battle. Of course, Xiao Yu and the others did not search every corner and cranny of the nearby woods, so they weren¡¯t surprised to find these new incoming monsters, but as more and more forest trolls responded to their companions¡¯ calls, everyone on the human side realized that this battle had to be resolved quickly; otherwise, they would get surrounded by hundreds of monsters, and by then it would be too difficult for them to escape. The forest troll witch doctor¡¯s fighting power was not strong, but it frequently casted healing spells, which put tremendous pressure on others; hence, killing it became the most urgent thing. The forest troll witch doctor retreated steadily as Xiao Yu slashed left and right, trying to end its life quickly. However, it was still unwilling to remain passive in this exchange as it waved its staff around, causing the soil underneath its feet to surge, and several sharp roots shot out straight, stabbing toward Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu took a step forward, his body bending slightly, and persisted in going through the gap between the thorny roots. Then, finally, his blade¡¯s light flashed, and the tree roots fell to the ground in sections before he sliced at the forest troll witch doctor¡¯s head. Dang! The blade landed on a translucent barrier. Following a dull sound, Xiao Yu felt his arm tremble, and the energy barrier collapsed. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the forest troll witch doctor staggered a few steps back before it cried out. Xiao Yu had already taken out two of its most powerful spells, and he could clearly see the surprise in its eyes. Upon hearing its call, several troll headhunters rushed to block the witch doctor¡¯s path. Without any hesitation. ¡°Bullet time!¡± Everything around him came to a standstill in an instant. ¡°Blast Flame!¡± Casting the blast flame skill usually requires a certain amount of time. However, in the ¡°bullet time¡± state, the time needed for the ability to be prepared was naturally significantly reduced. From the onlookers¡¯ perception, Xiao Yu amassed a ball of blazing flame energy and hurled it toward his opponent in the blink of an eye. It seemed almost impossible to believe, but from the start of the action to its conclusion, it had only taken a few seconds, and the moment the bullet time skill was released¡ªboom! There was another earth-shattering explosion! CH 64 The moment the blast flame ability exploded, the troll headhunters who were acting as shields in front of the troll witch doctor were blasted to shreds on the spot, with blood and flesh flying all over the sky. Although the explosion was somewhat mitigated by its minions and the energy barrier, the troll witch doctor wasn¡¯t completely unharmed. The explosion¡¯s airwaves sent it high into the air, where it tumbled down like a broken sack, falling tens of meters away, covered in wounds and oozing blood, as one of its arms had been blown off. The troll witch doctor struggled for a few seconds before raising its staff, about to cast its healing spell, but how could Xiao Yu allow it this opportunity? He immediately strode forward, and just as the spell was about to be released, he swung his hand down and cut off the raised staff. Immediately afterward, the arm clenching the staff was chopped off with a single blade strike. Now that the opponent was armless, it lost all its fighting power, and with a final chop, dark green blood gushed out and stained the earth green as the head of the forest troll witch doctor slid to the side. Xiao Yu exhaled a breath of relief, panting slightly due to the constant use of ¡°bullet time¡± and ¡°blast flame¡± skills, which had depleted his energy. However, owing to the presence of the ¡°bracelet of spiritual power¡±, he didn¡¯t have much spiritual power overdrawn. After fully absorbing the massive energy of this first-order monster, Xiao Yu felt his entire body strength and overall spiritual power expand. He then turned his head to observe Zhao Changping¡¯s situation. Almost breathless, the latter was gradually driven back by a flurry of onslaughts from the fearless troll chieftain. More and more trolls appeared from the neighboring forest, and they were now up against over forty monsters. While resisting the attack of the forest troll chieftain, Zhao Changping was also preoccupied with dealing with the other forest trolls, who were constantly on the attack. The severity of the situation was evident. As for the other fourteen individuals, despite their frequent cooperation, they could barely fend off the siege of such a large number of mighty trolls, and several of them had already been hurt. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, swiftly killed the troll witch doctor, which raised everyone¡¯s morale. He immediately rushed to support Zhao Changping. However, right then, four troll headhunters locked on to him, shouted loudly and ran brazenly towards his side. One of the trolls who rushed to the front raised a thin javelin and stabbed toward his heart area. Xiao Yu dodged the stabbing javelin like lightning and held the weapon with his left hand. The javelin slipped from the headhunter¡¯s grasp, then with a whoosh, the weapon pierced its own chest and punctured its back as it flew a few meters and plunged deep into the chest of another forest troll, sending the latter sailing five meters in the air before coming to a halt. The tyrannical troll¡¯s body crumpled before him like a piece of paper. Xiao Yu¡¯s body moved lightly when two troll headhunters stabbed him in the same instant, one from his left and one from his right. He withdrew like lightning, then took a 360-degree spin and whipped one of the trolls hard. The cracking sound of bones breaking could be heard on its back. The troll was launched forward and collided with its companion as the thin javelins in their hands pierced each other¡¯s bodies. Before landing, Xiao Yu planted his left arm on the shoulder of the last forest troll and swept its head in the air with a whip kick. The troll headhunter was kicked to the point where its head started bleeding. Xiao Yu took advantage of the opportunity to chop off the monster¡¯s weapon and then sliced its throat with a single blade swipe, beheading it quickly and without much effort. All the trolls that stood in his way were killed swiftly and without exception. The disparity in fighting power was too large, and there was no doubt about the battle¡¯s outcome. In the event of a sneak attack, Xiao Yu could completely eradicate troll headhunters with a single swipe of his weapon. As for the enemies he faced head-on, they could barely last a few more rounds of exchange. All the troll headhunters nearby were chopped to the ground instantly. Xiao Yu hauled the four-foot-long luminous beast blade straight towards the troll chieftain, reaching extreme speed and covering a distance of tens of meters almost instantly. The blade struck mercilessly across the monster¡¯s back. When the troll chieftain sensed danger looming around it, it immediately retreated to the sides. Xiao Yu¡¯s speed, however, was faster than expected, as the latter only took a step forward before the cold blade flashed by, and then on top of the monster¡¯s back, a large gash was cut; blood gushed, revealing a deep visible bone. ¡°Roar¨C!¡± The troll chieftain was enraged following Xiao Yu¡¯s successful assault, and it turned around with a loud growl. Its bloody spear plunged down with incredible momentum. Xiao Yu already anticipated the attack as he leapt away, and the place he was standing a second ago got pierced by that spear attack. A tremendous force poured into the ground, blowing a large hole in the land with a boom. Xiao Yu had yet to take a firm stand on the ground when the troll chieftain wielding the long green spear spun violently and stabbed the weapon into the void in front of him. A swirling energy, difficult to discern with the naked eye, surged out toward Xiao Yu. Seeing this, Zhao Changping warned loudly: ¡°Be careful; that move is quite powerful!¡± For Xiao Yu, the latter¡¯s warning was unneeded. After all, as his strength improved, so did his ¡°eyes of insight¡± ability. Currently, not only was it stronger than before, but he also had sharper eyesight. Moreover, the skill also developed some other functions. For instance, he could clearly see through his opponent¡¯s attacks¡¯ power. He instantly drooped down, letting the spiral wave of energy fly over the top of his head as it landed on a big tree behind him. Then, with a loud bang, the tree seemed to have been struck by something; wood shavings scattered around, the bark got peeled off in an instant, and one-third of the tree trunk was crushed. The troll chieftain rushed over like a hungry tiger and stabbed Xiao Yu¡¯s face with a swipe of its spear. The latter abruptly jumped up, then stabbed the monster with his weapon. The tip of the blade touched the end of the spear, and the body of the spear quickly slid against the blade¡¯s edge, making a sharp friction sound. Xiao Yu moved forward, and his elbow struck the troll chieftain¡¯s chest like lightning, breaking its bones. Sparks splattered in all directions as the spear brushed against the blade, resulting in a shower of light and heat, and as a result, that strong blast tore a large hole in the stomach of a troll headhunter who was trying to sneak attack. Xiao Yu clasped the troll chieftain¡¯s thick right arm with his left hand, and the latter waved its hand angrily and pulled him up, intending to throw him away. He suddenly let go of the monster¡¯s hand and fell in the air before he kicked the troll with both feet. The first kick shattered the monster¡¯s fangs, and the second crushed its nose flat. Dark green blood flowed out from the troll chieftain¡¯s nostrils. It staggered back, but just as it took one step backward, a shining long sword pierced its body from behind. At the same time, a single, deadly blow was delivered as Xiao Yu fell down. The troll boss¡¯s body was cut in two, slanting downward from the left shoulder to the right abdomen. The mass of energy was divided in two, most of which was absorbed by Xiao Yu. Zhao Changping laughed loudly and threw four to five thunderbolts with his hand, smashing and burning five nearby forest trolls into charcoal, ¡°Have fun, everyone; kill them all!¡± The two first-order human warriors immediately joined the elementary-level battle. Together with the fourteen high-quality, elementary-level warriors, the remaining forty or so forest trolls were swiftly disposed of. Although the monsters continued to stream out of the woods to replenish their numbers, their rate was significantly slower than the slaughter rate. After the corpses of seventy to eighty forest trolls were finally spread on the ground, there were no more trolls in the woods, and just like that, hundreds of powerful elementary monsters and two first-order monsters were wiped out. Five of Zhao Changping¡¯s fourteen subordinates were seriously injured, but none of them died. Their overall strength increased significantly as a result of this battle. This fight was simply epic! ¡°Thank you for your help; even if I had brought three times as many people as I have now, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have succeeded!¡± Zhao Changping seriously bowed to him and added, ¡°We¡¯ll divide the spoils of war and spring water evenly.¡± Xiao Yu had no objection. Everyone started searching for spoils, while Xiao Yu went straight toward the fountain of life. This strange low mountain was exceedingly sturdy, as even the havoc just now did not do much harm to it. A groove the size of a washbasin was located in the middle of the area, and what emerged from it was precisely the sought-after water of life; however, it was only half full, and not much water was left. After taking out some clean small bottles and filling them up, sixteen bottles were filled, and Xiao Yu bluntly took away his own share, which was eight bottles of the ¡°water of life¡±. The combat items harvest was likewise rich, with a total of six white-grade items and eleven gray-grade items. Among the six white-grade items, four were equipment, one was a magic scroll, and the other was an alchemy recipe blueprint. ¡°Entangling Roots¡±, a medium white-grade magic scroll, can release a second-rank magic attack of entangling roots. The magic covers an area of twenty square meters, restraining and binding all life forms. This scroll was a very practical piece with an extensive range and wide area of action. It could often be used in critical situations, such as when chased by a large horde of monsters. Although it had no lethality, it could effectively help people escape danger. Zhao Changping¡¯s eyes lit up when his eyes fell upon the magic scroll. The strength of a second-rank magic attack was remarkable enough to restrain all first-order monsters for a certain period. The value of this scroll should be great. The other item was not a scroll, nor was it a magic item. ¡°Troll¡¯s Power¡±, a first-grade alchemy potion recipe Xiao Yu was very surprised, ¡°It¡¯s actually another recipe?¡± Zhao Changping was also very puzzled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say this stuff was rare? It only took two days for two recipes to drop from these trolls. If you want it, I will give it to you. These blueprints are useless for us, but of course, we have no objection if you want to choose something else.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the recipe.¡± Xiao Yu grabbed the blueprint without reservation. The ¡°troll¡¯s power¡± was also a first-grade potion, but its value was several times higher than that of the first-grade ¡°potion of curing¡±. In the future, it could easily be sold for a staggeringly high price, and even if you had the funds, you wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to acquire it. Because consuming the ¡°troll¡¯s power¡± potion resulted in significant increases in strength for a fixed period of time, which was a decisive factor that directly impacted the outcome of a battle. The ingredients for the ¡°troll¡¯s power¡± potion were relatively easy to find, with the most crucial part being the blood of a first-order troll witch doctor. Xiao Yu saw that the blood of the witch doctor hadn¡¯t drained yet, so he took out two bottles and filled them to the brim. Zhao Changping didn¡¯t show much interest in other items except for the ¡°Entangling Roots¡± magic scroll that he wanted dearly. Xiao Yu agreed without hesitation, which pleased the other party since, in the latter¡¯s view, the potion recipe was the least useful, while the magic scroll was the most useful of these items. After all, one was a potion recipe that was currently useless, and no one knew if they would live long enough to use it. The other was a practical scroll that could unleash strong second-rank magic, saving people from danger at critical moments and preserving the whole team¡¯s strength. Faced with such choice, Zhao Changping didn¡¯t hesitate to give up the former and choose the latter. CH 65 Each person took one of the two special items. Whereas four white pieces of equipment remained. Xiao Yu contributed the most to this operation, and considering his strength, he would not be short on gray-grade items. Originally, Zhao Changping intended to give him four of the six white-grade items and keep the rest for himself. This suggestion, however, was instantly rejected by the latter. Xiao Yu had already taken the potion recipe with the highest actual worth among all these goods, and that piece alone was enough to cover up the value of everything they had gained. He didn¡¯t want to take advantage of the other party too much. It would have been fine if he were an ordinary person, but Zhao Changping was anything but ordinary; with his extraordinary talent and great potential, he wasn¡¯t the least bit inferior to Han Kexin. In the future, he will grow into the famous ¡°Thunder War God¡±, valuing righteousness and friendship while clearly distinguishing between kindness and grievance. I¡¯ll have him owe me a favor for today. In this way, it will be much more convenient to ask for his help in the future or for a cooperation opportunity. After some back and forth, Xiao Yu only took two pieces of white equipment, while the remaining two white equipment, the magic scroll, and all of the gray items belonged to Zhao Changping. The two pieces of equipment he got were a spear and leather pants. ¡°Splitting Air Spear¡±, a medium white-grade weapon, contains the power of air and can release the unranked magic ¡°Splitting Air Wave¡±, which can be used once every ten seconds. This weapon is not bad. The spear was white-grade equipment, which could be regarded as a very advanced weapon at this stage. Although the unranked magic ¡°Splitting Sky Wave¡± was a bit weak, at least it added a skill. If launched against a strong monster, even if it doesn¡¯t die, it will still lose a layer of skin and suffer some minor injuries. So at worst, the skill could cause some damage, and since the interval was relatively short, It could be used more frequently, harassing the opponents during battles. ¡°forest leather pants¡±, white middle-grade equipment engraved with unranked ¡°physical protection¡± and first-rank ¡°magic defense¡±. Xiao Yu just lacked a pair of pants. So this piece of equipment came in a timely manner. The physical defense was relatively weak, but the resistance to magic was not bad¡ªat least, it could significantly reduce the damage inflicted by first-rank magic attacks. ¡°The Fountain of Life needs a certain opportunity to form another water spring. I don¡¯t know exactly when, but there will be no water in the short term.¡± Zhao Changping couldn¡¯t help but feel a twinge of pity and suddenly changed his tone and said to Xiao Yu: ¡°What are your plans for the future? Are you still wandering alone in the woods? Why don¡¯t you join us? A powerful guy like you must be well-liked by everyone.¡± Xiao Yu smiled slightly, ¡°I killed five prominent people in the camp; if I join you guys, aren¡¯t you afraid of them making trouble?¡± Zhao Changping laughed, ¡°Retaliation? None of these guys are good birds. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they comprise the camp¡¯s backbone and its stability must be ensured, it would already be kind of me not to slaughter them all. However, even if they all add up together, they can¡¯t match up to one of you; if anyone dares to speak up, chop them off.¡± Xiao Yu asked again: ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you can¡¯t beat me; aren¡¯t you afraid that I will take over your place?¡± ¡°Hahaha, although I haven¡¯t been with you for a long time, I can somewhat gauge your character. Although your killing methods are fierce, you have your own set of beliefs and bottom lines. There are so many treasures, and we are all injured, yet you are willing to peacefully share the spoils even though you are unscathed, which is enough to explain everything.¡± Zhao Changping paused and continued: ¡°With your strength if you really want to be the emperor of a country, it is a very simple matter. If you are willing to join the camp, I will give up my position and let you lead everyone.¡± Xiao Yu was surprised, but he still shook his head lightly. Zhao Changping was slightly taken aback and spoke in a puzzled way, ¡°What? Do you still want to keep going on your own?¡± ¡°No.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and said, ¡°Actually, I already have my own team.¡± Xiao Yu summarized the events that took place following the disaster, the fact that he was a college student from a specific city, and what happened after the drastic changes that led to him venturing out on his own. Only then did Zhao Changping understand. ¡°This is the map you drew? It looks really good. You¡¯ve traveled hundreds of kilometers through the woods in less than a week. Amazing!¡± Zhao Changping examined the map drawn by Xiao Yu with a look of surprise on his face, ¡°I also often dispatch my people to explore the forest, and we are incessantly creating a map of the surroundings. Our maps can just complement each other. ¡° Xiao Yu was a little surprised and followed Zhao Changping out of the woods. . He disguised himself and followed the other party back to the camp. The latter quickly found the map he was talking about. After looking at the several drafted papers, Xiao Yu noticed that they differed from his own, yet somehow still provided complementary information. These people were originally trained scouts. The map they drew had the look and feel of a military map, and the artwork was very meticulous. Some terrains were also specifically marked, with detailed descriptions that were several times clearer than Chen Feng¡¯s narration. Referring to Zhao Changping¡¯s map, the map in Xiao Yu¡¯s hands became much more complete. Zhao Changping pointed to the edge of the map and said: ¡°Rows of continuous mountains started to emerge from this point, and the creatures there grew exceedingly strong. I¡¯ve gone there numerous times and almost failed to come back at one point. Many of my comrades perished there, and that¡¯s where the drawing of the map ends.¡± Xiao Yu nodded, saying, ¡°Those mountains mark the forest¡¯s edge. There must be an abundance of strong creatures lurking there. If you are not strong enough, it is best not to go there carelessly so as not to cause unnecessary casualties.¡± ¡°The forest¡¯s edge?¡± Zhao Changping was slightly taken aback and somewhat dubious. Endless mountains surrounded this forest. The mountains were undulating, towering into the clouds, very steep, and challenging to climb. Many entrances and exits were scattered around these mountains; as long as it was the edge of the forest, regardless of whether it was east, west, north, or south, you could take any direction to leave toward the continent. However, the place was guarded by extraordinarily strong creatures, and as the first group of humans to venture out of the woods trying to open a route, they had to be careful. After all, a bloody battle was inevitable! However, battles in this world were directly linked to people¡¯s interests. The fiercer the struggle, the richer the rewards; the more dangerous the creatures, the more lucrative the spoils. This statement, however, only applied to individuals who brave through challenges in order to obtain prizes designed exclusively for those who defy death. On the other hand, people who were afraid of danger and choose to retreat could only fall behind others and be trampled underneath their feet. They lose their dignity and standing as they fall behind. Xiao Yu soon completed updating the map; he put down his pen, unfolded the map to double-check for inaccuracies, and then remarked with great satisfaction: ¡°Finally, I have drawn a clear map of this path. Although it only represents less than one percent of the entire forest area, the path is clear enough.¡± He paused and said to Zhao Changping: ¡°In this case, my mission has been accomplished, and I have to set off today, so I won¡¯t be staying here any longer.¡± Zhao Changping was slightly surprised, ¡°Leaving in such a hurry?¡± Xiao Yu nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I promised my group that I would return within ten days; that¡¯s why I¡¯m leaving.¡± He rolled up the map and stood up, but suddenly thinking of something, he stopped and added, ¡°By the way, there was someone in your camp called Chen Feng; I believe this person shows some promise, although he is still a bit immature at the moment. You may as well try to nurture him a little. Perhaps he will one day become one of your right-hand men.¡± ¡°Chen Feng?¡± Zhao Changping thought about it for a moment. ¡°This name is rather unfamiliar; he should be an unknown figure in the camp. Well, if you insist on leaving, I won¡¯t stop you; then¡­until we meet again.¡± Xiao Yu cupped his hands slightly, ¡°till we meet again.¡± Zhao Changping escorted Xiao Yu out of the camp. The latter jumped into the woods and quickly disappeared from his sight. At this time, a younger confidant came over and said, with some emotion in his tone, ¡°Company commander, this man is mighty. Fortunately, we have allied with him; otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous. Though I¡¯m not sure whether we¡¯ll get another opportunity to meet him in the future.¡± Zhao Changping gazed in the direction Xiao Yu was going, his eyes deepening as he remarked quietly, ¡°He is so terrifying at such a young age; based on his abilities, we will surely meet again¡­I only hope that at that time, we will be friends rather than foes.¡± This unexpected encounter and cooperation with Xiao Yu profoundly impacted Zhao Changping, the future legendary ¡°Thunder War God¡±. ¡°Bloody Queen¡± Han Kexin, ¡°Great Sand Emperor¡± Wang Yunfei, ¡°Thunder War God¡± Zhao Changping. These three people were all well-known figures in his previous life. Moreover, they were all pinnacle powerhouses sitting at the pyramid¡¯s peak, as tens of thousands of people looked up to them. Among them, Han Kexin, who used to be a pinnacle powerhouse, is now one of his subordinates, Wang Yunfei, who was once respected by thousands of people, have been killed by him, and Zhao Changping, who was once known as the God of Thunder and War accidentally became half of a friend of his. Xiao Yu¡¯s rebirth has already had a significant impact on future generations. Since the map was finished, Xiao Yu no longer needed to stop to observe or draw, and his running pace increased to the extreme. He only stopped to confirm the direction every now and then before continuing at breakneck speed, rushing toward the underground cave. However, he was not idle on the way back. Occasionally, he would stop and kill some primitive leader-type monsters. These creatures almost always dropped various kinds of items. He had slain several said monsters along the road as he obtained over a dozen pieces of equipment. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ On the other side of the forest, near the underground cave. Wielding a massive mace in both hands, Wang Chao slammed a blood-red shock wave and blasted a peak elementary giant wolf nearby into shreds. Then, panting slightly, he took a few steps back, laid his butt on the ground, wiped his sweat, and cursed loudly: ¡°Fuck, that broken bear almost exhausted this fat master. Stone, the boss, should return soon, right? I¡¯ll fetch some fresh bear meat back; why don¡¯t we go back and roast it for him to eat?¡± Jin Shi was covered in wounds, his shield was damaged, and he clutched a massive Warhammer in his right hand, ¡°You¡¯re right; roughly speaking, it¡¯s about time for him to come back.¡± Wang Chao laughed, ¡°At that time, he will definitely be shocked upon seeing our strength!¡± Jin Shi also nodded in agreement, ¡°In less than ten days, the four of us all became warriors at the peak of the elementary level; Yunyun also has the strength of the late stage of the elementary level, while Zhao Dahai, Du Tao, Huang Jianmin and the others have all grown by much as well.¡± CH 66 Dozens of crude oil lamps were kindled within the underground cave, providing a soft, orange-hued light that illuminated the interior. Jiang Xiaowen reclined on a rock, holding a canned peach in her left hand as she forked a piece of peach flesh from the can with her right. Those lovely amethyst-like eyes of hers grew dazed as they gazed straight in the direction of the cave¡¯s entrance; she had long lost her appetite for the peach. ¡°Come back to your senses!¡± Yunyun waved her hand in front of her friend¡¯s eyes and made a funny face, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve been sitting here in a daze since early in the morning. Aren¡¯t you bored?¡± Jiang Xiaowen immediately put down the can of peaches in her hand, held Yunyun¡¯s hand, and said worriedly: ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­ Yunyun, today is already the tenth day since his departure; why hasn¡¯t he come back yet? He¡¯s a man of his word, so I can¡¯t help but worry that something may have happened to him along the way.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, it¡¯s not even noon yet.¡± Yunyun couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it; Xiao Yu is such a strong man. What troubles in the world could hinder him? Just go check on that pair of fat and bald guys; they¡¯re much less concerned about it than you are.¡± Looking in a certain direction, Jiang Xiaowen curled her lips. A big fat man and a burly bald-headed giant were sitting on the floor, having a drink and chatting happily. Wang Chao was holding a burnt yellow rabbit leg, and his mouth was full of greasy food. Jin Shi also tore a piece of barbecued meat and ate it. Jiang Xiaowen snorted angrily, ¡°Hmph, two heartless guys!¡± On the other side, Han Kexin was sitting in front of an oil lamp, holding a pen in her hand, seemingly about to note something on the paper. Although she looked calm on the surface, the tip of the pen in her hand wasn¡¯t moving at all, and the ink dripped slowly and soaked the paper. She smiled wryly, shook her head, finished writing quickly, then sighed in her heart before raising her head. Under the light of the oil lamp, her eyes were a little drowsy. She couldn¡¯t explain why, but she felt an emptiness in her heart ever since Xiao Yu left as if she had lost her backbone. Han Kexin was a very strong lady from an upper-class family. She took good care of herself and never asked her family for a penny. As a result, she never imagined that one day she too would have such a strong dependence on someone, even¡­ attachment. ¡°Xiao Yu is back!¡± An excited voice rang out from the direction of the cave¡¯s entrance. Han Kexin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn¡¯t pretend to be calm anymore. She even knocked over the oil lamp when she stood up, causing it to tumble down as she stooped down to pick it back up and finally walked toward the entrance. Jiang Xiaowen cheered and rushed forward like a gust of wind. She looked beautiful, with that sweet and lovely smile on her face, ¡°Welcome back, welcome back. Did everything go well? Were you hurt?¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t answer her questions directly; instead, he glanced at Jiang Xiaowen and smiled in satisfaction, ¡°you have grown a lot stronger in the few days that I haven¡¯t seen you; you really didn¡¯t let me down.¡± Hearing Xiao Yu¡¯s praise, Jiang Xiaowen beamed with joy and puffed out her chest proudly. ¡°What¡¯s there to be proud of? ¡®You gave her some paint, and she already wants to open a dyehouse¡¯.¡± Wang Chao walked out of the crowd and provocatively remarked, ¡°Boss, just ignore her. The three of us have stepped into the peak elementary level before this little girl. She is the slowest person at the table, and even Stone, who specializes in defense, was faster.¡± Jiang Xiaowen blushed and retorted angrily: ¡°What are you talking about? Would you have such a fast speed if you hadn¡¯t relied on the mace that Xiao Yu gave you? That baldy was also lucky to get a white-grade Warhammer; otherwise, how would I have lost to him?!¡± Wang Chao shrugged his shoulders, ignoring her. Jiang Xiaowen puffed up her cheeks and glared at him angrily. ¡°You two, just spare me from this.¡± Xiao Yu immediately removed the prepared ¡°Splitting Air Spear¡± from his ring, ¡°This is a weapon I obtained during this trip that¡¯s been specifically reserved for you to use. It¡¯s not too shabby.¡± Jiang Xiaowen held the long spear in her hands and felt its weight; she sunk her spiritual power into the weapon, and her face suddenly showed ecstasy, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a white-grade weapon. This is so good!¡± She squinted her eyes and glared straight at Wang Chao, ¡°Hmph, I will never lose to a certain fat ball again.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± Wang Chao deliberately made a face at her before patting Xiao Yu¡¯s shoulder and saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go! Stone and I have already prepared a big meal for you as a welcome party; let¡¯s eat to our fill!¡± Just as Xiao Yu walked a few steps forward, a soft, youthful figure appeared in his line of sight¡ªit was Han Kexin. Upon seeing Xiao Yu, a glimmer of joy appeared on her face, but she immediately asked seriously, ¡°The map¡­Was it drawn yet?¡± Xiao Yu handed her several large sheets of drawing paper he had removed from the space ring. ¡°the forest is too large for it to be drawn in full detail, but with these pieces in hand, we at least have a clear path. Of course, there are various dangers and hurdles along the way, but I made sure to cross the areas that need to be avoided so that we can have a rough idea about the coming journey.¡± Han Kexin sifted through the map and exclaimed with a face full of surprise, ¡°My God, you actually traveled such a long distance in merely ten days; the size of the forest is enormous!¡± Xiao Yu asked, ¡°By the way, how was the situation in the cave while I was gone?¡± Han Kexin replied: ¡°It¡¯s all right. Everything is proceeding as usual. The only thing worth mentioning is that the four of us have attained the peak elementary level. The majority of the remaining students have stepped into the elementary level, while the few people remaining are likely to advance in five days as well.¡± Du Tao went on to say: ¡°At the moment, the number of casualties on our side is relatively low, while outsiders occasionally join in, and our overall number is on the rise. We eliminated two low-level monster gathering sites in the past ten days. Basically, the road ahead of the danger zone is all cleared.¡± Xiao Yu was very satisfied, ¡°Very well, from now on, we can finally start thinking about leaving the forest. You begin planning and preparing for the long journey out of the forest. We have sufficient supplies, so we don¡¯t need to cut down on food consumption. Everyone should eat well for the next few days, and then we¡¯ll start moving after we¡¯ve garnered all of our energy.¡± This sentence made the other people who heard the news secretly happy. Nobody knew who made the first cheer, as everybody followed suit and cheered loudly. It was a remarkable moment, and even the most stoic of them couldn¡¯t help but raise their voice in celebration. Surrounded by the crowd, Xiao Yu took a seat, and various types of food were served one after the other as he shared a drink with everyone there, celebrating the news of the upcoming journey. On the following day, Du Tao gathered the people who had not advanced to the elementary level and instructed them to follow Yun Yun, Wang Chao, and Jin Shi¡¯s lead as they headed toward the forest to hunt monsters. The rest of the people, including Du Tao himself, all came to Xiao Yu to receive some combat training. The majority of them reached the elementary level only with the help of others and have not undergone any harrowing life-and-death battles. Whether it was combat experience or fighting awareness, they were lacking in both fields. Xiao Yu acted as an instructor for the next couple of days. He summed up his experience and some combat skills and passed them on to others. As for how much they could learn, it depended entirely on everyone¡¯s understanding. Of course, this was within his scope of consideration. Everyone went through theoretical study, mental training, and actual combat training for a whole week. Xiao Yu was indeed a warrior with rich experience in life-and-death battles. What he imparted was his own personal experience and insight on how to survive a battle, which greatly benefited everyone else. However, there were certain things that words failed to convey as they could only be grasped through experience. No matter how profound their understanding and comprehension were, people who have not been challenged by blood and fire trials still cannot be considered true warriors. Xiao Yu taught people how to fight and gave them experience in the field. He also split people into different groups and gave them targeted training, just like marching and fighting in ancient times, organizing them all on different squads to make future operations and commands easier to issue. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ After a week of training, the one hundred and sixty-one people in the underground cave have all become elementary warriors! At this moment, four people were at the peak stage of the elementary level; six people were at the late stage of the elementary level; forty-nine people were at the middle stage, and the rest were all at the low stage of the elementary level. Xiao Yu divided the whole group into three combat teams, each of which had undergone different types of training. The first team was called the ¡°Tiger Squad¡±; it was entirely composed of people who possessed ¡°strength enhancement¡± talents. The team was composed of a total of fifty-four members. Xiao Yu instructed the squad to become the main fighting unit of the group, as they should charge forward like tigers and tear apart all enemies standing in their path. The leader of the first team was Wang Chao, whose forth was attacking and assailing. While Zhao Dahai, the first person to develop ¡°strength enhancement¡± talent upon advancing to the elementary level, served as the squad¡¯s vice team leader. He stood currently at the late stage of the elementary level, and his fighting power was one of the greatest among all strength-type warriors. His prestige was likewise pretty high. The second team was called the ¡°Iron Bear Squad¡±, all composed of ¡°Physical Body Enhancement¡± talents, with a total of forty-six members. Xiao Yu instructed this squad to be their group¡¯s core unit, to be calm and sturdy like hard iron but, when required, to transform into a fierce bear and brutally shatter their enemies into mincemeat. The leader of the second team was Jinshi, whose defensive power was unparalleled. The vice-team leader was the group¡¯s number one chef, who was quite popular with everyone; coincidentally, he was a physical body type warrior standing in the late stage of the elementary level. After being nominated as the squad¡¯s vice team leader, no one had any objections. The third team was called the ¡°Goshawk Squad¡±, which was entirely composed of people possessing ¡°Agility Enhancement¡± talents, with a total of forty members. Xiao Yu instructed this squad to be the team¡¯s scouting unit, doing all kinds of tasks, from clearing the path to exploring the way to searching for traps to launching surprise attacks. All of them had to be as sharp and swift as eagles, charging in and crushing any opponent in the blink of an eye. Xiao Yu hesitated for a long time in choosing the leader of the third team and finally handed it over to Jiang Xiaowen but simultaneously appointed Yun Yun and Huang Jianmin as vice team leaders. Jiang Xiaowen indeed had good innate skill and strength, but she lacked in both temperament and drive. Yunyun was a bit clever and good at scheming, while Huang Jianmin was an old crimes policeman and was extremely careful; the two could make up for her shortcomings, especially since both of them were in the late stages of elementary level and had a fairly strong power. In addition to the three combat teams, there was another command unit consisting of only nine individuals. These nine people all had ¡°Brainpower enhancement¡± talents, and the commander-in-chief was naturally Du Tao. Xiao Yu was the group¡¯s leader, and Han Kexin was the deputy leader! From this moment onward, this small team had officially taken shape! CH 67 More than a hundred individuals of all genders and ages, tall, short, fat, and thin, lined up neatly in three rows before the entrance of the underground karst cave, each carrying a massive backpack with different weapons they were skilled at handling as they fastened a saw-bladed fruit knife to their legs. They wore tailored raincoats and long overshoes, and their faces were smeared with a particular substance to protect them from the humidity as well as to provide camouflage. At the same time, they were carrying daggers and a short rope that ran around their waists. Although their whole garb was unusual, their imposing demeanor was reminiscent to that of Special Forces. People in different teams had different equipment. His big round belly bulging out, Wang Chao stood up with a huge mace in hand and shouted loudly, ¡°Reporting to the leader, the Tiger team has assembled!¡± Jin Shi immediately stood up, his face dyed black, and his bright forehead as well. Holding a shield in his left hand and a hammer in his right, his body stood like an iron pole, and his frame was like a bell, ¡°Reporting to the leader, the Bear team has assembled!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath her leather armor and tight jeans on her lower body. Her round buttocks were fully outlined. Her light purple hair was tied into a fresh ponytail. Holding a spear in her hand, Jiang Xiaowen walked forward with a heroic spirit. Shouting loudly, with a glossy and sweet voice, ¡°Reporting to the leader, the Hawks have also all arrived!¡± Xiao Yu wore black scale armor on his upper body, green leather pants on his lower body, and was carrying an extra-large backpack. Standing before the three rows of the Tiger, Bear, and Hawks teams, he glanced at this batch of individuals, examining their fresh looks as he nodded in satisfaction. His patient teaching these past few days had not been in vain. The training received by the three teams largely differed, all in the hope of making the greatest use of their respective strengths. Of course, he would never have imagined that the Tiger, Bear, and Hawk teams he selected and founded on a whim would one day have a significant impact on the later generations. Du Tao came forward with eight of his subordinates and informed Xiao Yu: ¡°The supplies have been transferred, and basically everything has been brought over; we are ready to set off at any moment.¡± ¡°mhmm, alright.¡± Xiao Yu turned his head and glanced at the crowd; finding that most of them had expressions of reluctance on their faces, he spoke, ¡°We have lived here for more than two months. Everyone may already regard this place as home. Still, I want you to understand that if you are satisfied with the status quo and don¡¯t think about improving, you will eventually be eliminated. Remember this: no region in this world can be considered a safe haven. Rights and status do not warrant mediocrity. It¡¯s a harsh world we live in, but only for the weak. When you attain a certain height, you will find this world to be wonderful. So grab your weapons and struggle alongside me to become the mightiest force this continent has ever seen!¡± Wang Chao was the first to shout, ¡°Let¡¯s follow the leader and get out of this forest!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get out of the forest!¡± Everyone shouted excitedly. Xiao Yu raised his arm, and a flaming ball quickly condensed in the palm of his hand. He flicked it lightly and shot it into the cave¡¯s entrance. Boom! A major quake shook the ground; the low mountain trembled, and a large number of cracks spread all over it. A violent air flow surged out from the entrance, and numerous stones tumbled down, quickly closing the cave as a series of crashes rang out in everyone¡¯s ears. Xiao Yu¡¯s expression was indifferent; he waved his hand lightly, turned around, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Everyone gave one last glance at the collapsed cave with a hint of disappointment before turning away and silently following Xiao Yu down the road. A spark of determination flashed through their eyes, and they followed his movements with firm footsteps. From this moment onward, the adaptation phase was truly over. Life on the continent of chaos had only just begun! Xiao Yu did not fool anyone; everyone¡¯s fighting power had largely grown from the beginning, and there were few first-order creatures left in the forest. If they remained here, they could live a comfortable and peaceful life for a year or two, but their strength would stagnate, making any kind of progress unlikely. Then a few months later, when the energy of the underground dark world began to seep out little by little, the monsters in the forest would be gradually demonized by the dark power, turning into creatures ten times more terrifying than they were currently. At that time, the people who remained would definitely be unable to contend against them. Even if they somehow survived; a few years later, the dark race of the underground world will pour out from the fissures in the earth, and the forest will turn into a mere playground and base camp for the demons at that time. The survival of the whole human race would be seriously threatened, and those who remained in the forest would not have a chance of making it out alive. Even if they escaped from the forest by a stroke of luck, at that time, their strength would already be far behind that of the humans who braved the dangers and set out on their own, and they would lack a firm foothold. One hundred and sixty-one people all set out; the Tiger squad stood in the front, the Bear squad in the rear, and the Hawk squad was scattered around, responsible for scouting and monitoring the surroundings. Du Tao¡¯s command unit was located in the heart of the entire team; that way, the allocation of manpower could be mobilized according to the immediate situation. Not long after leaving the cave, everyone encountered their first wave of monsters. Some of the Hawks on the left side were the first to spot these creatures, making quite the ruckus. The members of the Hawk team nearby reacted quickly, and they all moved closer to eradicate the monsters with lightning speed. These were just a group of relatively strong zero-order monsters, while each of the Hawks was an elementary warrior with ¡°Agility Enhancement¡± talent. As a result, they were all wiped out before they could break through the encirclement. The Tigers and Bears barely got a glimpse of the creatures. Everyone ventured deeper into the woods, encountering intermittent creatures that fled before they started fighting. All the way down, they met no surprise or danger. Everyone¡¯s strength was not weak, and their marching pace was good. By noon, they had traveled more than forty miles away from the cave. They chose a relatively spacious place to stop for a short rest, and after filling their stomachs, they continued on their way. When darkness fell, they had already traveled over a hundred miles from the cave. From their morning departure until the evening, they spent at most ten hours on the road, stopped for lunch, and covered 10 miles per hour without any major incident, and despite the harsh terrain, they had made excellent progress. Their pace was remarkable even amid the complex and changing landscape of the forest, not to mention on flat fields. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Under the cloak of darkness, the whole forest went silent. Only the faint buzzing of insects and the roars of one or two beasts could be heard from unknown, distant places. Xiao Yu chose a low-lying land suitable for camping in the wild and called on everyone to cut down all the surrounding trees to widen their field of vision and prevent sneak attacks. Five to six bonfires were kindled, and the people finally settled down, removed their galoshes, and rubbed their sore feet. At this time, Sun Dazhu, the renowned cook and vice-leader of the Bears served bowls of delicious mushroom, meat, and egg soup. Everyone was weary and hungry after a full day of walking. Hence, this bowl of delicious soup with its mouthwatering aroma almost caused everyone to forget their exhaustion and enjoy the moment. A bear¡¯s carcass was brought up, and many individuals skillfully scraped off its fur, sliced it into small chunks, coated it with oil and salt, and cooked it on skewers. While a few skilled Hawk Scouts were sent to guard the area while the remainder rested in peace. ¡°We have arrived at this point.¡± Du Tao held the map drawn by Xiao Yu in his hand and explained, ¡°Based on our current pace, it may take us a month to get out of the forest. After all, more than ten dangerous areas you marked on the map stand in our way. One of them is the swamp woodland we¡¯ll be traveling through tomorrow.¡± Xiao Yu replied: ¡°Based on our strength, there is no place in this forest that can be difficult for us to live in, but we must not be careless. After all, the forest is vast and packed with fearsome beasts. If we are not cautious, we may encounter terrifying creatures like the ogre warriors. At this moment, a Hawk team member in front shouted aggressively, ¡°Be careful, there are monsters!¡± This voice immediately alerted the crowd, and everyone picked up their weapons and stood on guard while the Bear team quickly spread out, taking a defensive position. There was a loud sound of fighting up ahead, and it looked like a few Hawks who were on guard watch duty had already engaged the monsters. Du Tao jerked up immediately before hastily giving out a series of orders, ¡°The Bears form an iron barrel formation; Wang Chao, lead some people to face the enemy, and mention for the Hawks to retreat first.¡± The people gathering around the bonfires finally saw the monster¡¯s appearance. It was a creature with a distinct appearance. Its body was somewhat similar to that of a human, but there was a layer of hair on the surface of its skin. Its most unusual feature was the dog head attached to its neck. These weird creatures moved quickly and emerged from all directions, their shadows swaying in the dark night, and it was difficult to distinguish their numbers for a while. This creature was a kobold monster, quite powerful, standing at the peak stage of the zero-order level. An ordinary elementary warrior would find it hard to deal with two to three of them simultaneously. Following whimper sounds, a Kobold leader with elementary strength led a swarm of kobolds, brandishing a long rusty knife and rushing to murder the humans. Yun Yun stood far away, yet still shot a rocket-like arrow that formed a fist-sized hole in the monster¡¯s chest. Her slender fingers pulled the bowstring repeatedly, and the projectiles, with their astonishing power, drew sparkling trajectories in the night sky, shooting and killing five to six kobolds one after another. There was a bustle of figures in the forest, and kobold monsters rushed out one by one. They were quite nimble, jumping back and forth between the tree trunks, their shadows everywhere, making her unsure which one to attack first. With a howl, several kobolds plummeted from the sky, hacking at Yun Yun with the long knives in their hands. Yun Yun¡¯s melee combat skills were lacking, and it was quite dangerous for her if the enemies got too close. Fortunately, the Hawk watch guards stood around her as they drew their weapons to repel all incoming monsters. ¡°You go back first!¡± A dozen members of the Tiger team led by Wang Chao arrived at that moment; however, in the face of the swarm, the latter didn¡¯t even bother to use his rampage skill. Instead, he simply swung his huge mace across the air, creating a violent wind, before the two frontmost kobolds succumbed instantly, getting smashed into meat paste on the spot, and the flesh and blood got strewn all over the sky. The pressure on Yunyun was substantially alleviated following the arrival of the Tiger team, and she immediately led her squad back into the Bear team¡¯s protection ring. The kobolds launched surprise attacks from all over the campground at turns, but the Bear team¡¯s iron barrel formation kept them at bay. All were blocked outside as they couldn¡¯t breach in. After a few minutes, the kobolds had left dozens of corpses without causing a single casualty on the human side. Wang Chao was wearing a big raincoat covered with bloody and mangles pieces of flesh as he came back to report: ¡°Hahaha¡­ These creatures are so weak. This fat master has wiped out most of them, though some have escaped. I¡¯m afraid they will come to harass us again; should I hunt them down?¡± Du Tao had seen the kobolds¡¯ might; none were weak, and there were quite a lot of them. Five kobold leaders in the low and middle stages of the elementary level were amongst this swarm. Yet, such a large group of monsters with good fighting power did not bring any casualties to the team; this gave him a good reason to believe that they could take on the forest. Part of this is still due to the clear division of work among the three teams and the fast response to danger. ¡°No need; they are of no threat. If you actually rush to chase them, you may encounter real danger.¡± Xiao Yu returned from the woods and explained, ¡°Kobolds are monsters that dwell in packs, so there should be a lair nearby.¡± CH 68 The following day, the Hawk scouts that were dispatched discovered a thicket with a huge number of kobolds roaming around. This area was most likely a kobold lair. These monsters¡¯ vision was mediocre, but their sense of smell was extremely acute. If they approached even closer, the Hawk scouts would be spotted, as the specific situation inside the lair remained unclear. Xiao Yu immediately ordered, ¡°Call everyone back; then we¡¯ll head over there.¡± Moments later, the crowd appeared before the thicket, where a large number of kobolds were found. There was no discernible difference between this area and the rest of the woods, save that the trees here were very sparse due to the frequent appearance of monsters. Numerous trees had gnawed teeth marks on their bark, and the grass had many trampled imprints. Kobold¡¯s excrement could be seen everywhere, and there was a somewhat pungent stench in the air. After walking a few steps, they could see some ferocious Kobold warriors wandering aimlessly throughout the faraway trees. Some were patrolling, and some were just searching for food. However, since they were attacked at night yesterday, most people couldn¡¯t see the appearance of the kobolds clearly, and now that these strange, dog-headed figures with fur and paws had appeared before them, everyone carried an odd look on their faces. Suddenly, Wang Chao¡¯s eyes lit up as if he had seen something really intriguing, and he pointed in a specific direction and said, ¡°Look, this is really interesting!¡± Everyone glanced in the direction he pointed as they saw a kobold lying on the ground while another was lying behind it, constantly moving back and forth, both focusing on the affair of passing down the family line in broad daylight. Kobolds were indeed not very strong creatures, but their breeding ability was extremely strong. Their reproductive cycle was short, and each litter could give birth to several offsprings. Most girls in the crowd blushed and secretly called Wang Chao a hooligan. Wang Chao, however, was still admiring it with great interest, letting out a wicked smirk from time to time. There was a slight rustling sound amidst the grass, and a rabbit rushed out. Two kobold monsters nearby spotted it, got frozen in the spot, and reacted almost immediately as they bit the knife in their mouths, speeding towards the rabbit on all fours and barking weirdly. After a brief chase, they eventually caught up with the small hare, took the long knives from between their canines, and sliced the rabbit in two with one chop. The two kobolds took a chunk each, scooped up the bloody half rabbit, and shoved it into their mouths, chewing the meat with relish. Then, attracted by the smell, the surrounding kobolds also gathered around, hoping to get a taste of the flesh. Xiao Yu ordered everyone: ¡°Stop looking; those are the beasts that attacked us; kill them!¡± Yunyun immediately pulled back her pale bone bowstrings and shot an arrow into the crowd of kobolds. Whoosh! A rocket-like blazing arrow, accompanied by the sound of piercing through the air, flew straight at a kobold warrior who was chewing the rabbit¡¯s flesh and blood, leaving a fist-sized hole in its upper torso. The flesh and internal organs around the wound were completely scorched, instantly killing the beast. Jiang Xiaowen flapped her wings and swooped down from the sky with a spear in both hands. She stabbed her target before the other kobolds could react, and the monster hung lifelessly from the spear¡¯s body. ¡°Aoohou, aohhou!¡± At this moment, all the other kobolds were alarmed, and a series of strange howls could be heard in the woods, followed by dozens of kobolds. The surrounding Hawks swarmed them up before the opponents could even react. The intense battle was over in a matter of seconds, and the wounded kobolds threw aside their helmets and armor and fled in a sorry state. Xiao Yu and his group kept killing. The woodland was teeming with monsters, mostly Kobold warriors and Kobold leaders. Their power, however, was not enough to pose a threat to everyone at the moment. In contrast, the Hawks led by Jiang Xiaowen swept the forest without hindrance, while the others basically had no chance to make a single move. Deeper inside the woods, a village made of wood and vines stood in sight in a remote corner. Wang Chao said carelessly, ¡°This is the lair of those dog heads? Unfortunately, the monsters along the way were all too weak. I hope there is a guy with enough strength that can give us a good fight; otherwise, it will be too boring.¡± This place was clearly a Kobold settlement. The fence was constructed of sharpened hardwood. There were no dwellings in the interior. Instead, there were merely lots of nests built using animal bones as struts and animal skins as coverings. However, the monsters were plentiful, with no less than three hundred Kobolds living there. The human invasion caused chaos in the village. Hearing their companions call for help, the kobolds in the settlement reacted quickly and rushed out with their weapons. Under Du Tao¡¯s command, the Hawks retreated and spread out to both sides to form a circle. The Bears rushed forward to meet the first batch of attacks. When humans and the monstrous beasts collided, swords were flung, and flesh and blood were torn. The Bears easily repelled the Kobolds¡¯ initial charge. After resisting, the Tiger team behind them launched a fierce attack, cutting a bloody path through the kobold swarm in an instant, like a sharp knife cutting into a watermelon. Finally, the Hawk team members on both wings launched a pincer attack, leaving the Kobold ranks in disarray. Most of the monsters were Kobold warriors, with forty to fifty elementary Kobold leaders among them; amidst this bunch, though, was one wearing leather armor, held a chain hammer, and had a peculiar red fur¡ªit was a first-order Kobold chieftain. It bravely led the kobolds to rush out as the chain hammer in its hand danced wildly. Among the Bears, only Jinshi could stop its charge, so he confronted the monster as soon as it stepped near. The kobold chieftain swung the chain hammer, hitting Jinshi¡¯s goblin shield before it shattered with a bang. Unfortunately, the gray shield couldn¡¯t withstand such a powerful blast and was blown apart into pieces. Jinshi also staggered a few steps back; his left arm was bloody and badly injured. This is the strength of a first-order monster! Jin Shi felt awe in his heart. It was his first time facing a first-order monster, but he didn¡¯t expect to lose so badly with only one move. Although only a thin line separated him from the first order, there was a substantial gap in strength. So he didn¡¯t dare to be careless anymore, and then right afterward, he let out a deafening roar, swung his Warhammer with his right arm, and smashed it against the beast without hesitation. The kobold chieftain quickly forced his chain hammer to rotate and swung it down as it landed on the other party¡¯s chest. Another blast rang out, and following a loud bang, Jin Shi¡¯s body flew upside down for six to seven meters, only to be caught by Sun Dazhu, the Bears¡¯ vice-leader, finally coming to a halt. Jin Shi¡¯s face was pale, and he vomited a mouthful of blood. The clothes on his chest were completely torn, revealing his rocky chest inside. A large amount of rubble was constantly falling, and a large number of cracks appeared as dark red blood oozed from the gaps in his rock-strewn chest. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s really powerful; I couldn¡¯t harm it at all!¡± Just as the kobold chieftain howled in triumph and was ready to follow its assault, Wang Chao rushed up like a hurricane and smashed down with a blood-red mace in hand that hid astonishing force. The monster was aware of the severity of the blow, so it didn¡¯t dare take it head-on. Instead, it quickly took two steps back and raised the chain hammer to push Wang Chao back. However, before it could repel him, several wind gusts blew from its rear. The Kobold grew startled and wanted to dodge, but it was too late; Han Kexin¡¯s toxic claws proceeded to lodge on its body, leaving four deep and long scratch marks, while the claw¡¯s toxin had already spread throughout its body. The Kobold chieftain was poisoned, but the effects would not show in the short term. In a fit of rage, it emitted a blood-curdling roar, and its red eyes stared viciously at Han Kexin. But just as it was about to deliver a crushing blow to Han Kexin, a slender and frail figure fell from the sky and pierced its head with a spear. The Kobold was forced to stop its attack against Han Kexin, and the angle of its chain hammer swing shifted and hit the tip of the falling spear. An explosion rang out, and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ¡°Splitting Air Spear¡± was knocked away without a second¡¯s delay. Still, the moment it got knocked away, a great force gushed out from the spear¡¯s end before hitting the monster head-on, directly blinding one of its eyes. At that moment, a large amount of glowing light dust dropped and coated the Kobold; suddenly, the monster fell into a trance and stopped moving altogether. ¡°kill!¡± Seeing that only a small piece of his shield remained, Jinshi roared and rushed forward with the Warhammer in both hands. He slammed the weapon on the head of the kobold chieftain fiercely; blood spattered instantly, and he raised the Warhammer again. With a violent blow, the kobold chieftain¡¯s skull was ultimately broken as red and white matter fell to the ground, getting mangled together. Jinshi took in most of the essence of this first-order monster, and his strength finally reached a critical point, bursting out in an instant¡ªhe advanced! Unexpectedly, the first one to evolve was Jinshi, who specialized in defense. Wang Chao lifted his berserk state and shouted in bewilderment, ¡°It actually got done in by stone!¡± Jiang Xiaowen picked up the Splitting Air Spear, her body covered in injuries, as she pouted, ¡°Big baldy, you got lucky this time!¡± Han Kexin just looked at this scene and smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. A few others showed envy, but that emotion was fleeting, and they didn¡¯t stop their attacks at all. Since the kobold chieftain was dead, the battle could be considered over. Wang Chao and the three others quickly spread out and took up arms to support the others. Han Kexin bore sharp steel claws on both arms. Her fighting skills were outstanding, and her nimble figure quickly shuttled between the kobolds, rolling up waves of blood, bones, and flesh. Her moves were vicious and deadly, allowing the kobolds¡¯ attacks to fall upon her body without care. Simply attacking with no regard for defense, while the piled wounds on her body all healed instantly. Moreover, her power and speed grew as more and more blood mist pooled around her. Even Wang Chao was slightly inferior in terms of killing speed. The kobolds were soon defeated; their corpses scattered around in all directions. Jinshi eventually emerged from his cocoon, and his formerly burly figure became even more majestic. His whole body was as dark as ink. A thick covering of pitch-black rock coated his arms, thighs, chest, abdomen, and head. There were two small black craters in each of his eyes, making it so the others couldn¡¯t see the eyes, which made him look a bit more fearsome. Taking a step forward, the ground shook slightly. Another first-order master was born! Sitting in the distance and watching the play, Xiao Yu, who has never made a move from beginning to end, nodded in satisfaction. Jinshi had advanced to the first order, developing a new innate skill: complete rock formation! Wang Chao hit Jinshi in the chest. He yelled and covered his hands before groaning in pain, ¡°Wow, damn it, that¡¯s so fucking hard!¡± Jinshi chuckled, and a dull, hoarse voice sounded from inside the rocky layer, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a big change within my body either. From now on, I won¡¯t be afraid even if I face an attack of the same intensity as a kobold chieftain!¡± Xiao Yu shook his hand, and the luminous beast blade appeared in the grip of his palm. He swept out and lightly slashed at Jin Shi¡¯s shoulder, leaving a single, shallow cut that didn¡¯t harm him in the slightest. At that sight, he couldn¡¯t help but show surprise. ¡°It¡¯s really tough!¡± Xiao Yu was clear about the luminous beast blade¡¯s sharpness. Jin Shi¡¯s rocky body should have an equivalent hardness to that of a steel statue, and his physical strength was no less than that of a poisonous zombie. Even if Xiao Yu wanted to deal with him, he reckoned it would require much effort. This was the hallmark of innate skills. In general, as the wielder¡¯s power increased, all innate abilities grew stronger and stronger. For instance, Jin Shi¡¯s rock formation, which had the toughness of hard stones, was now comparable to steel. This was the clearest proof. CH 69 Jinshi¡¯s new innate skill, ¡°Complete rock formation,¡± was undoubtedly an evolution of ¡°Partial rock formation,¡± but it could never completely replace the latter since Xiao Yu uncovered a flaw in the ability. Jinshi¡¯s legs and feet would become stiff and rigid once his whole body had been rockified, and his flexibility would then be reduced by at least 30 to 40%. Although his defensive power would substantially improve, that state was relatively unfavorable in combat. After Xiao Yu discovered this, he immediately instructed: ¡°Although complete rock formation is your new best defensive skill, you must not rely too much on defense. Combat skill development is also extremely important. No matter how powerful your defense is, it cannot be employed to take down your opponent. After all, the best defense is a good offense.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand!¡± Jinshi lifted off the rockified state and returned to normal. His body, however, was bigger than before, his skin tone looked darker and more glossy, and his head was still shining, as he had practically no hair remaining. With a height of around 2.3 meters, standing in front of Xiao Yu, who was only 1.8 meters tall, it was like an adult and a child were confronting each other. But from the expressions of the two, Xiao Yu looked more like an adult, while Jin Shi looked like a child being taught. Xiao Yu rummaged through the kobold chieftain¡¯s corpse for a while, discovering an intermediate soul gem and two other items, including a piece of white-grade equipment, which was the kobold chieftains¡¯ chain hammer, called ¡°Kobold Hammer.¡± The chain was roughly five feet long, with an iron ball full of iron spikes dangling from the end, which resembled a meteor hammer. This white-grade item was very ordinary in every aspect, and not many people could use this kind of weapon, so he put it away first. The other one was ¡°Explosion Blessing Spell¡±, a white-grade magic scroll that buffs weapons with a first-rank explosion magic attack; its effect lasts for one minute. Using this scroll to bless his weapon should cause an explosive effect with every one of his attacks, similar to when the kobold chieftain hit a target with its chain hammer. Although the duration was limited to one minute, you should be aware that this is a first-rank explosion blessing, which is tantamount to applying a bombardment effect to each of his attacks for a whole minute straight. The increase in power was not insignificant. When Xiao Yu battles against an opponent, he can fight with all his might, and within a minute, he can attack hundreds of times with his high-paced combat speed. If every attack held an explosive effect, how many people could block it at this stage? How many people could survive his onslaught? It was plausible how strong that power could be. This scroll was undoubtedly heaven-defying! I didn¡¯t expect a mere kobold to drop such a rare blessing scroll! Wang Chao and Jin Shi eagerly led their squad members to the kobold lair. But not long after, they both reappeared with disappointed expressions. Wang Chao yelled, ¡°Damn it, these dog-headed monsters are too weak; we haven¡¯t found anything good after searching for a long time.¡± Xiao Yu probably also guessed this, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you didn¡¯t find anything; don¡¯t delay the journey; let¡¯s go! There is a swamp land ahead of us; it is a dangerous area, and we must go through it before nighttime.¡± Han Kexin had seen this area marked by Xiao Yu on the map. There were many similarly marked areas on it. These places either had a unique geographical environment or were home to some troubling monsters. They would undoubtedly incur more significant losses if they did not pay attention. After everyone left the Karst cave, they felt they were in a completely new world. They had faced various creatures and fought several battles, each time fighting valiantly. Everyone¡¯s confidence grew higher than before, which was a good sign. Still, Han Kexin was a little worried, for fear that everyone was too confident for their own good. It was a terrifying world they lived in! After all, what filled the woods were not the trees, but monsters! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ After annihilating the kobold camp, Xiao Yu and his companions resumed their journey. They strolled through the lush forest for almost an hour before arriving at a swampy woodland. This part of the forest¡¯s overall geography was low-lying, and the water storage capacity was adequate, resulting in high moisture in the soil, which generated a swamp. The trees here were relatively sparse, each one rising from the ground with a huge crown that resembled a large umbrella that covered the sky as several people stood encircling them. The ground in the woods was full of rotten soil, and the exposed roots of decayed trees were covered with moss and fungi. As a result, there were various small puddles everywhere. The small ones were only the size of a washbasin, while the big ones were comparable to a pond. This was stagnant water; therefore, it was filthy and unclean, yet they could clearly see several small insects, both red and yellow, rolling and swimming inside it, as well as a significant number of yellow or green algae floating on the surface. There was a gray mist in the air, as well as a foul smell that many people found repulsive. Xiao Yu snorted, stepped into the muddy swamp, and a swarm of bubbles surrounded him. His entire thigh was submerged in the water. He walked forward two meters slowly in the mud before turning his head to face the others and nodding his head, ¡°No problem; everyone should be able to cross.¡± When he stepped back, most of his lower body was covered in rotten and foul-smelling mud, and some worms could still be vaguely seen wriggling on his clothes. Everyone¡¯s countenance changed, especially the girls. After walking all the way, their bodies were already covered in mud, and the stench was unbearable. Unexpectedly, there was a swamp that had to be crossed, and the entirety of their lower half would be submerged in it. Their expressions changed at once, but it was absolutely necessary to go since this was the shallowest spot in the whole area and some deep swamps were just bottomless pits into which people would definitely perish if they fell. Everyone cast envious glances at Jiang Xiaowen. She was floating around effortlessly in the air, flapping her two transparent purple butterfly wings while they had to slog through the marsh. Among the group, only she remained clean from the mud and dirt. Many boys offered to carry the girls over the swamp, and there were even a few couples among them, but even if they weren¡¯t boyfriend and girlfriend, they didn¡¯t seem to mind the arrangement. Everyone searched for partners; even Wang Chao and Jin Shi found a girl they liked as everyone assisted one another in crossing the swamp. Even though the boys carried the girls on their backs and walked through waist-high mud, it was still arduous, and the girls weren¡¯t completely unscathed from the foul mud. Especially since there were far more girls than boys on this team, and many young ladies who couldn¡¯t find a partner had no choice but to secretly complain about their bad luck; after all, the plan couldn¡¯t be delayed, so they had no choice but to cross on their own. ¡°Xiao Yu, this river is too dirty; do you think you can carry me across¡­¡± When Xiao Yu was about to depart, a voice suddenly came from behind him. Looking back, it was Han Kexin. Everyone immediately glanced at the two with envy. Of course, as long as it was a man in this environment, he would most likely envy Xiao Yu. As for the girls, Xiao Yu¡¯s strength has already been deeply rooted in their hearts. So it came as no surprise that the majority of the ladies in the underground cave had previously harbored secret feelings for him. After all, most would dream of relying on a strong man like Xiao Yu. Of course, everyone was just envious, and none of them had any malicious thoughts. After all, Han Kexin was the person with the second-highest level of power or authority in the group, and with her high prestige, no one dared to carry her on his back. Needless to say, for Xiao Yu, the only females in the team who dared to ask him for his help were probably Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen, who had known him for the longest amount of time. Jiang Xiaowen was originally proud of her wings, but when she saw Xiao Yu carrying Han Kexin on his back, she felt that they were really getting in the way! Han Kexin lay on Xiao Yu¡¯s shoulders; her legs hooked on his abdomen, and her warm body was tightly pressed against his. Even with a layer of black scales standing between them, Xiao Yu could still feel the other party¡¯s plumpness and the amazing elasticity of her delicate figure. He deliberately remained quiet and kept moving forward. Han Kexin¡¯s hands softly gripped the other party¡¯s neck, and being carried by a guy in front of everyone made her cheeks a bit heated. After a while, they eventually crossed the swamp area, but before they went any farther, they saw a long marshy river in front of them, at least a few hundred meters wide, flowing from west to east in a long stream, with many herbaceous plants growing around. Now that there was yet another obstacle to cross, they quickly located a shallow area and began to cross the river like before. Han Kexin felt a twinge of happiness in her heart. After all, lots of girls also came here on the backs of other boys, and after a period of adaptation, her courage also grew, and her hands gradually gained a tiny bit of strength, letting almost the entirety of her big breasts rest on the other party¡¯s head. With Han Kexin on his back, Xiao Yu was the first to go down, practically half-swimming and half-walking forward, and the people behind him got down the marshy river one after another and followed slowly. Initially, everything was in order, and the group had already walked a dozen steps in the river. However, at the end of the line, in the middle of the marshy river, a Hawk member was slowly strutting before he suddenly felt a strong pull coming from his feet, and his whole body was dragged into the filthy river in an instant, leaving only bubbles behind. When Xiao Yu was ready to cross the river, he heard a frantic call for rescue, ¡°Help!¡± Before he could react, the voice died off quickly and abruptly. A large hole emerged unexpectedly in the middle of the river, and the muddy water in the surroundings started covering it to fill it up. The person who was standing there just now is gone! ¡°Not good. Speed up and go ashore!¡± Xiao Yu yelled. Everyone hurried to the shore as quickly as they could, but at that moment, another person was attacked and dragged down the river, only this time, it was a member of the Bear squad. When Jiang Xiaowen approached in the air, the only thing left at that place was a hole that was clogged up by mud and water. She could only stare at it blankly, and she had no way of doing anything. Everyone stepped ashore one after another while Jiang Xiaowen was still flying around on the marshy river, sweating anxiously, but she didn¡¯t know how to rescue her companion, who was dragged away. Xiao Yu knew that those two people were most likely already dead, and he didn¡¯t want Jiang Xiaowen to have an accident, so he immediately shouted, ¡°Xiaowen, it¡¯s dangerous over there; come back!¡± Jiang Xiaowen hesitated, then the marsh underneath her suddenly erupted at the moment of her hesitation, revealing a weird-looking creature before a green, acid-like liquid shot straight at her. Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed, flapped her wings, and quickly flew backward. The swamp suddenly bulged with countless moving big buns, which were rapidly approaching the shore. Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, wondering what kind of monster they were facing. Seeing this, Du Tao immediately shouted: ¡°Don¡¯t stand still; backup! Everyone back up! The Bears form a line of defense!¡± CH 70 The murky river produced by silt and sludge surged, and a large number of green bubbles burst out of the water, followed by green figures crawling above the dirty, muddy water. The figures seemed to have no fixed shape. Their bodies could be thick or thin, round or flat. Xiao and the others could see a mass of colloidal jelly form in the blink of an eye, but they couldn¡¯t distinguish the monster¡¯s facial features. Through their translucent bodies, they could see the internal conditions of these creatures, although their body systems were still in the process of digesting. Fish, birds, water plants, and the like, as well as the two individuals who were dragged down just now, have been dismembered, and their limbs have emerged in the bodies of five to six monsters simultaneously, displaying symptoms of digestion. When Jiang Xiaowen saw these extremely dirty, disgusting monsters appearing like a mass of mud, she felt nauseated for a while, and her expression turned very ugly. Seeing this, a member of the Hawk team immediately took out his bow, pulled the bowstring, and shot an arrow at one of them. The monster¡¯s reaction seemed to be quite slow; it didn¡¯t dodge, and it didn¡¯t even react at all as it let the arrow submerge right into its body. Then a surprising scene happened. The arrow was shot directly into the monster¡¯s body and lingered there. The hole in the monster¡¯s skin gradually mended, and it crawled onward as if nothing had happened. The arrow swimming inside its body was squeezed out bit by bit until it emerged from behind and dropped to the ground. ¡°Shit, why didn¡¯t I spot them when I came here? These are swamp slimes!¡± Xiao Yu recognized these loathsome monsters with one glance and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t engage; these are elementary monsters; physical blows almost have no effect; they use acid attacks, so maintain a distance of at least 50 meters!¡± Du Tao was stunned. He never thought there would be monsters with such strange shapes in this world, but he didn¡¯t dare slack as he commanded the three teams in a hurry, ¡°All teams, hear me out. The Tiger and Hawk teams retreat first, and the Bear team erect your shield cover; don¡¯t let them get close!¡± Slime creatures were exceedingly tricky elementary monsters to defeat since they had a semi-liquefied body and no definite shape, making physical attacks nearly useless. In the early stages, this was a dangerous monster; even Xiao Yu would fall into a perilous predicament once he got entangled amidst a bunch of these creatures at the same time. The region was inundated with slimes; there were about a hundred of them! This low-level slime monster had almost no intelligence and relied entirely on instinct to take action. It fed mainly on aquatic plants, plankton, small fish, shrimp, and birds, although it also occasionally hunted larger species that were passing by. They reproduced the subsequent generation by dividing, and their reproduction rate was heavily dependent on the nutritional situation. No one knew how many slimes could be found in this swamp land since, in this small region alone, there were about a hundred of them. Over a hundred slimes washed ashore at the same moment; clusters of green, transparent objects were seen slithering ahead at a not-so-slow pace. The crowd did not dare to confront the enemy, so they withdrew and retreated to normal terrain. Of course, these people had no trouble running and getting rid of the slimes. However, this area was riddled with bottomless bogs; if they didn¡¯t pay attention, they would join the land of the dead. The slimes¡¯ pace was slow, but they were unaffected by the swampy landscape, as they were able to simply slither through it without sinking, and the area itself was favorable to their activities. Seeing that the slimes were approaching, Xiao Yu first thought of the blast flame ability, which could indeed take down many of these creatures as they were susceptible to magic attacks. But keep in mind that this location was positioned atop a long, swampy mud river overflowing with methane gas. A great number of slimes were churning, and all of the gas from the mud got expelled and filled the whole area. Everyone hasn¡¯t gone very far, so if a fire-attributed skill like ¡°Blast flame¡± or ¡°fire elemental enhancement¡± was hastily used, no one knew how grave the consequences would be. Xiao Yu gave up on the idea of using the blast flame skill, took out the luminous beast blade, turned around, and shouted to the others: ¡°I¡¯ll lure them away, Miss Han; lead the others to escape!¡± After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he rushed towards a slime, and the blade cut the monster into two halves, but the two separated entities gradually converged and became one. The bodies of several slimes split open at the same time, releasing streams of acid from inside. Xiao Yu deftly avoided the acid attack. The acid spilled over the ground in an instant and corroded it into huge holes. Several slimes were slashed in half in a couple of hops. These attacks, however, were not harmful to these monsters at all. In other words, the damage he caused was basically zero. He spotted more and more acid erupting from all directions. Their acid attacks were incredibly corrosive and could easily dissolve both gold and iron, yet when sprinkled on other slimes, they would do little harm. Several slimes got aggroed by him, but the majority remained indifferent and continued to surge at the receding humans. Obviously, Xiao Yu¡¯s slashing had no effect on them, and since they didn¡¯t feel endangered, they naturally pursued other enemies. Xiao Yu gave up using the luminous beast blade and instead took out the stabilizing wind bead and held it in his hand. He couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice; thanks to previous preparations, he allowed the Wind Bead to absorb the energy of twenty lower soul gems in the past couple of days. So now he could use wind blades and sand spears more than a dozen times, with at least five to six wind and sand tornadoes to use for special circumstances. The cyan wind blade condensed into shape and shot out quickly; three slimes who lined up perfectly in front of Xiao Yu, as if waiting for their execution, were cut one by one by the wind blade. Right afterward, a sand spear condensed and flew out, piercing through four slimes one after another. They all emitted a weird noise at the same time before dissolving. Like the sand spear, the wind blade was a magical attack created entirely from wind-attributed energy. Since both have the effect of a magic attack, they could inflict a lot of damage on these tricky slimes. The slimes¡¯ bodies that were hit twisted a few times and finally collapsed, turning into a disgusting, viscous green liquid that scattered all over the place. The stabilizing wind bead attack was successful, but Xiao Yu felt no delight since the number of slimes was too great, and the remaining power in the wind bead could only attack a dozen more times, which was far from sufficient. Nobody knew how many slimes dwell in this region, and it took time to replenish the wind beads¡¯ power using soul gems. But under their current circumstances, that was impossible. Fortunately, Xiao Yu¡¯s two assaults ultimately made the other slimes fearful. These monsters had no intelligence, yet, out of instinct, they were all hell-bent on eradicating this menace. Then, more than a hundred slimes instantly turned around, stopped chasing the others, and started pursuing Xiao Yu instead. Xiao Yu picked a different path from the others and sprinted, but before he got far, a vast swamp formed in front of him, and slimes erupted from it one after the other, wriggling and approaching his side. There were swampy slimes in all directions, and streaks of green poison blasted out, making Xiao Yu¡¯s escape almost impossible. Finally, a jet of acid landed on his back, and the sound of Zizi¡¯s corrosion could be heard as the acid burned his clothes and skin. The strange liquid nearly entirely pierced the black scale armor, corroding a hole in its black scales. Xiao Yu was well aware that the slime¡¯s acid did more than just corrode. It was also highly poisonous, which made his heart skip a beat. There were more and more slimes gathering around him, and just as Xiao Yu was worrying about how to escape, a beautiful figure flew over his head before countless shiny grains of dust sprinkled down one after another, instantly making all the slimes fall into a state of sluggishness. ¡°Xiao Yu, quickly throw that bead to me!¡± Xiao Yu forcefully hurled the stabilizing wind bead in his palm into the air without a second¡¯s hesitation. The slimes were still sluggish as Jiang Xiaowen grabbed the wind bead in the air. Her dream dust ability was a mental attack type, and the lower the opponent¡¯s mental strength, the more obvious the effects. However, even though slimes were resistant to such attacks, the skill was enough to keep them dazed for at least ten seconds without moving. And if they couldn¡¯t take advantage of this long period of time to flee, they should just die. At that time, numerous sharp wind blades sprang from Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s hands, and a dozen slimes hooked together were ripped apart, giving Xiao Yu a breach to break through. Jiang Xiaowen felt that she was finally helping Xiao Yu for once, so she shouted proudly, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Yu bolted without a second thought. Then, just as he believed he¡¯d escaped, there was a disturbance underneath his feet, and the air bubbles in the whole swamp area began to roll. The murky water immediately splattered around, revealing an enormous, red-colored giant slime. The gigantic red slime was too large; it stood five meters high, appearing like a small house standing in front of him; its translucent body was full of undigested animal remains, and there was even a human-faced spider monster that had just been devoured and currently in the process of being digested¡ªthis spider was a first-order monster. This slime could even swallow a first-order monster, proving that it was at least a first-order monster as well! Moreover, it was a terrifying existence, completely immune to physical attacks. The moment the giant red slime appeared, a violent mental wave spread in all directions, and all the slimes that were unable to move due to Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s mental attack woke up. Not only that, but under the influence of the giant slime¡¯s mental strength, their original green bodies abruptly turned red, and their speed increased by several times at once. It was clear that the giant red slime was a powerful force, and all other slimes seemed to submit to its power. Jiang Xiaowen realized that her ¡°Dream Dust¡± mental attack had failed. She gritted her teeth, soared to a reasonable height, and launched a sand spear at the giant slime. The mighty sand spear was one of the strongest first-rank skills contained in the bead, and it quickly transformed into a stream of sand and engulfed the giant slime, leaving a large hole in its gigantic body, though the hole seemed to be insignificant in comparison to the monster¡¯s whole body. Boom! At that moment, Jiang Xiaowen had no idea why her brain blazed with a roar, and she plummeted from the sky as her vision went dark. ¡°Damn it. It used a mental attack!¡± Xiao Yu covered his aching head. He was not skilled in mental skills; hence his resistance to mental attacks was far lower than Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s. However, the ¡°ghost cloak,¡± which was engraved with a second-level mental resistance, coincidentally lowered the mental damage by 80%, and the giant slime¡¯s mental wave attack had little effect on him. Right then, like a cheetah, Xiao Yu dashed through several swamps, leapt, and embraced Jiang Xiaowen, who was about to fall into the water, and landed in a safe place. Countless streams of acid shot out in unison, and the slime¡¯s boulder-like massive body was also moving towards them. The advent of the giant slime resulted in additional methane gas being produced, and the blast flame skill could no longer be employed. Xiao Yu couldn¡¯t help frowning; it seems that a fierce battle is inevitable! CH 71 Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face was still a touch pale as she recovered from the slime¡¯s wave of mental attack. She was shocked to discover Xiao Yu holding her by the waist and soaring about, evading the deadly acid attacking them from all sides, and she felt a bit bitter in her heart. She originally wanted to assist him and relieve the pressure against the swarm of monsters, but she didn¡¯t expect herself to become a burden in the end. ¡°Hold on tightly; I will fly a short distance and bypass this area.¡± ¡°Can you do it?¡± Xiao Yu was skeptical. Jiang Xiaowen could fly, but she couldn¡¯t stay in the air for a long time. In addition, flying with heavy loads was significantly more difficult. Xiao Yu was well aware of this point. Never mind flying with another person, Jiang Xiaowen could hardly stay in the air for half an hour on her own. However, the girl gritted her teeth and stated with resolve, ¡°No problem!¡± Xiao Yu was not a whiny person, and since she looked confident, he directly chose to believe in her and immediately changed his posture, embracing Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s slender waist. His face was nearly touching her ample and firm breasts. The girl in question, though, didn¡¯t care about this and, with no time to spare, focused on her beautiful butterfly wings that shone brightly as she flapped them with vigor, creating a powerful gust of wind. She managed to fly higher tremblingly, avoiding a barrage of acid with difficulty, before leaping across the swampy area and finally stopping about four to five hundred meters away. Jiang Xiaowen was panting non-stop and imminently collapsed in Xiao Yu¡¯s arms the moment she landed as if she had lost all her strength. However, the threat persisted, and the giant slime charged in like a massive tank, absorbing and consuming all the monsters in its path. Xiao Yu finally realized why the red slime possessed such formidable spiritual power. It was likely that it had grown by devouring other slimes, accumulating their spiritual energy over time. Individually, a slime¡¯s spiritual power was weak. Still, as more and more were consumed¡ªten, one hundred, and then up to a thousand of them¡ªtheir combined force became formidable, amounting to a significant spiritual force. Jiang Xiaowen panted heavily and whispered, ¡°What to do? Should we continue running away?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes turned blood red, ¡°We have no choice but to engage it; can you still fight?¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s complexion recovered slightly; she nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯m feeling better.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll engage it in melee combat. Your role is to distract and divert its attention continuously. Don¡¯t get directly involved in the fight. This slime¡¯s mental attacks are extremely potent,¡± Xiao Yu instructed as he retrieved a magic scroll from his space ring. He unfurled the scroll, revealing countless intricate magic symbols that lit up and imbued his blade with a strange power. ¡°We only have one minute!¡± The magic scroll in question was specifically the Explosive Magic Scroll they obtained after defeating the Kobold chieftain! Xiao Yu was compelled to use the magic scroll just half a day after obtaining it. Although the blast flame ability could not be used for fear of a massive explosion happening in their vicinity, the explosive magic wasn¡¯t a fire-attributed attack and wouldn¡¯t cause any explosions due to its very nature. Furthermore, its duration was limited, so there was no room for waste. Jiang Xiaowen gritted her teeth, pushed through her exhaustion, and stretched her wings once more. She used the stabilizing wind bead to condense a cyan wind blade before launching it toward the giant slime. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu was already in front of the monster, slicing into it with a powerful wave of his weapon. There was an explosion, and a huge hole was blasted out of the giant slime¡¯s body. At the same time, the wind blade struck, leaving a long gash and causing a torrent of red, viscous liquid to spill out. Xiao Yu swiftly swung his blade and retreated in one swift motion. The blade glinted as it cut through the air, and with a thunderous roar, several ordinary slimes burst apart into a revolting and gooey mess. He then sprang up and planted himself on the back of the giant slime, bringing his weapon down with a mighty slash. The resulting explosion blew apart a large chunk of the creature. Suddenly, Xiao Yu was struck with a sharp, needle-like pain in his brain. The giant slime had focused all its energy on attacking him alone and, with one powerful mental attack, had managed to knock him from his feet. Then, in an instant, he lost all five senses, and the giant slime pounced and was about to devour him whole. But before it could, a ¡°sand spear¡± pierced straight through its body, passing through it back and forth, leaving a big hole. This brief pause allowed Xiao Yu to recover his footing. Seeing that the situation was not good, he immediately used the bullet time ability; his body disappeared on the spot before appearing in the opposite direction. His battle blade got deeply implanted into the slime¡¯s body, dragging out a huge gash four to five meters long, and amidst the subsequent explosions, the slime¡¯s body collapsed into one big lump. Forty seconds left! Xiao Yu battered several ordinary slimes, then pivoted to unleash a fierce assault on the giant slime. The barrage of explosions was relentless, breaking apart the giant slime¡¯s body piece by piece. Meanwhile, Jiang Xiaowen assisted him from the air, leaving the creature unable to defend itself in the immediate short time. Twenty seconds were left. Only half of the giant slime¡¯s body crumbled. Ten seconds to go. The giant slime¡¯s body continued to crumble, with each cut depleting a significant portion. However, Xiao Yu felt something was amiss¡ªthe monster was proving more challenging to defeat than expected. Despite the constant bombardment, its mental strength had not weakened, and its mental attacks remained just as sharp as before. Five seconds! Four seconds! Three seconds! Xiao Yu severed another chunk of the giant slime before being engulfed by a fierce mental wave that rendered him unconscious, devoid of his senses. Although Jiang Xiaowen released the last bit of the wind bead¡¯s power in time to repel the monster, it seemed to have been too late as the glowing magic symbols on the luminous beast blade had already started to diminish. The effect of the explosive blessing scroll was gone! We still couldn¡¯t end its life? The giant slime lacked feelings of anger; it just instinctively perceived the presence before it as a threat and that the opponent necessitated elimination at all costs. Despite its diminished size, its body was still the size of a car. It opened a massive maw from its jelly-like form, ready to devour the person before it in one fell swoop. Xiao Yu used the bullet time ability and reappeared a few meters away; he was out of breath and gazing fixedly at the giant slime. Xiao Yu felt defeated. Despite his best efforts, he failed to defeat the giant slime, and he barely consumed part of its body¡ª its core remained intact, and its mental strength was as strong as ever. In contrast, he was badly hurt and couldn¡¯t muster the strength to fight. I didn¡¯t expect to be forced into this state by a single slime. The massive slime surged forward, with Xiao Yu¡¯s back facing a seemingly bottomless swamp area. He was trapped, with no escape in sight. The stabilizing wind bead in Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s hands grew dim; its power was already depleted. Biting her lips, she frantically searched her clothing before discovering a pouch carefully sewn within. Then, ripping open the thread, she retrieved an ancient scroll. ¡°We have no other option; let me summon the half-abomination to deal with this filthy monster!¡± Jiang Xiaowen made a decisive decision and quickly unrolled the scroll as a bright light burst forth. Without hesitation, she hurled the shimmering scroll, emitting powerful magic waves, toward the giant slime. Just as Xiao Yu dodged the slime¡¯s attack, the glowing scroll landed on the monster¡¯s body and was promptly ingested within, leaving its fate unknown. Boom! A terrible dark energy erupted from the monster¡¯s body instantly, and the slime was quickly torn apart by the huge force generated at the moment of summoning. A large number of magic symbols were assembled rapidly in the air, gradually forming a magic circle. In the next second, a burly and huge body appeared from the center of the magic circle. A dark aura enveloped the surroundings, and the temperature dropped by several degrees instantly. After releasing the sealed monster, the sealed scroll closed automatically and flew straight back into Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s hands. A monstrosity that words could not describe appeared in front of them. It measured more than four meters tall and had just one head. The front side of its head had a hideous and horrible human face, while the backside of the head had the face of a beast with two jaws, similar to that of a bear. It also had four eyes and was covered in stitches all over its body. Two arms protruded from its left and right, clutching four different weapons: an iron rod, a machete, a sickle, and a hammer. In addition, a hand was sticking out of its belly, holding a slaughter knife. The legs of two different creatures were supporting its body¡­. Overall, this monster appeared horrifying, as if six or seven different types of monsters were ripped into shreds and stitched back together. The half-abomination! Jiang Xiaowen actually summoned the half-abomination! Although this was an abomination that failed to synthesize, its strength was not inferior to that of the ogre warrior, and it was certainly not an entity against which they could contend at this stage. Its emergence right here simply represented a disaster! Jiang Xiaowen summoned the Half-Abomination here, primarily because the swampy terrain with a radius of hundreds of miles could greatly restrict the monstrosity¡¯s movement, rendering it unable to chase and kill the fleeing humans, and used it to draw the attention of other slimes, allowing everyone to safely leave this swampy forest. It was a good idea, but was it worth it to unlock a sealed scroll for a mere slime? This was a half-abomination, a monster almost unbeatable below the second order, which meant that it was an invincible entity at this stage. Originally, it was meant to be used while battling large creatures like the ogre warrior to maximize its effectiveness. Nonetheless, the half-abomination had already been summoned, and with its summoning power alone, it crushed the majority of the slime that Xiao Yu had been unable to break down for an extended period of time. The giant slime that was blasted by the half-abomination¡¯s force lost almost the entirety of its body, leaving just a little chunk, about half the size of regular slime, wriggling around. Its whole body was crystal clear, like a ruby, suggesting that this was the core part of the monster. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t care about this; instead, he was already planning his escape. Against the giant slime, he might still be able to fight, but against the powerful half-abomination, he had no choice but to flee. However¡­ Just as they were ready to bolt out, something happened that neither Xiao Yu nor Jiang Xiaowen expected. The burly and sturdy half-abomination, full of the aura of death and destruction, stood motionless as if petrified. Its eyes were empty, the ones on its front were looking straight ahead, and the ones on the back of its head were looking straight behind. Jiang Xiaowen was a little puzzled, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Could it be that the summoned half-abomination is an idiot? Its aura is so strong, but why doesn¡¯t it move?¡± Xiao Yu studied the vegetable half-abomination for a while before realizing that it was indeed an utter failure of an abomination. It was shockingly devoid of feelings and thoughts. Despite having half-abomination energy in its body, it had no fighting power and acted like a vegetable whose thoughts and emotions had practically ceased. In other words, this half-abomination was nothing more than a doll that couldn¡¯t fight. At most, they could throw it out to scare their enemies. The slime was intimidated by the aura of the half-abomination, but the latter didn¡¯t seem to be of any threat after a while had passed. As a result, the slime instinctively engulfed it, attempting to devour the monstrosity¡¯s body. But how could Jiang Xiaowen let it succeed? She flapped her wings and flew down in the air. The ring of spikes on her slender finger was shining with dazzling earth-attributed yellow light. The earth shook, and a seven to eight-meter-long spike rose from the ground, piercing through the giant slime with only its core remaining. CH 72 The earth spike had the same level of magic power as the blast flame ability. It carried not just a piercing physical attack but also extremely powerful earth-attributed magic power. Following the violent impact on the giant slime, the whole core part crumbled instantly, turning into dust-like particles that were scattered one after the other. Finally, a huge ball of energy emerged and was fully absorbed by Jiang Xiaowen. Xiao Yu was feeling quite depressed. He struggled hard for a long time but didn¡¯t inflict the slightest damage to the red slime; hence, he didn¡¯t receive one bit of the monster¡¯s essence of energy, which Jiang Xiaowen was now being showered with. Then, as expected, after the girl absorbed all the energy of the giant slime, she immediately advanced to the first order. Two minutes later, when the light cocoon cracked, Jiang Xiaowen appeared. Her whole body was shrouded in a faint halo; her skin was crystal clear, with a charming luster radiating off her skin; her facial features seemed to be more refined than before, and the butterfly wings on her back were two points larger. Moreover, the wings, which were as thin as a cicada¡¯s, were now translucent, with many luminous lines running through them, looking like an exquisite handicraft¡ªso beautiful that they were dazzling. Her appearance became more refined than before, and there was a subtle charm hanging between her brows, but her charm was very pure and natural. Jiang Xiaowen spread her wings, flew up lightly, transformed into a purple shadow before shuttling back and forth twice in the air, and then landed gracefully, slowly descending down in front of Xiao Yu like a goddess of war, a look of joy plastered on her face. As soon as her feet landed on the ground, she jumped up excitedly. Xiao Yu felt a gust of fragrant breeze coming towards him, embracing him warmly. ¡°Great, I finally advanced! Thank you, thank you!¡± Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s delicate body trembled slightly, then she raised her blushing face to look at Xiao Yu and took two steps back in embarrassment, ¡°Sorry, I¡­ I was just so happy, that¡¯s why.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head, then asked the most crucial question, ¡°Did your innate skill evolve?¡± Jiang Xiaowen suddenly remembered and exclaimed, ¡°Yes, the new innate skill I¡¯ve acquired is¡­ mind manipulation!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s expression changed drastically; he almost thought he heard wrongly, ¡°What did you say?¡± Jiang Xiaowen replied timidly, ¡°It¡¯s mind manipulation¡­what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually mind manipulation? You are truly gifted in mental evolution.¡± Xiao Yu took two deep breaths and said, ¡°You know, this is a very powerful skill; your potential is by no means inferior to Miss Han¡¯s!¡± In the company of Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen has always had low self-esteem. Han Kexin was charming and sexy, with a plump and gorgeous appearance that made her look more feminine; however, other than her appearance, she was also shrewd and competent. Back in the underground cave, she was regarded as second in command, right below Xiao Yu. Now, she was the deputy leader, second only to him, showing how much Xiao Yu valued her. Now that Xiao Yu had evaluated herself in the same league as Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen immediately felt a sense of accomplishment. Jiang Xiaowen was pleased, but her gaze shifted, and she caught sight of an ugly and menacing monster¡ªthe half-abomination. ¡°Ah, no matter how strong this summoned monster is, it won¡¯t fight, so what¡¯s the use of keeping it around?¡± ¡°This half-abomination is a failure among failures.¡± A burst of light flashed through Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes, and he said hurriedly, ¡°No, it still has its worth, and it can actually be very valuable!¡± Jiang Xiaowen asked suspiciously, ¡°Oh, what do you mean?¡± Xiao Yu said to her: ¡°Perhaps it is worthless to other people, but it is very useful to you. You can control it with your mind manipulation innate ability!¡± Jiang Xiaowen opened her mouth wide, ¡°Huh? Do you mean to control this big monster? Can I really do it?¡± Xiao Yu nodded in agreement, ¡°In theory, mind manipulation only works on individuals with weaker mental strength. Controlling those with strong willpower becomes less likely. The half-abomination¡¯s mental strength is much higher than yours, so it¡¯s reasonable to assume it would be difficult to control. However, this monster has no thinking ability, just a carcass with no power. If you try to control its mind, it won¡¯t make any resistance, so it is entirely possible to succeed! In any case, there is no danger, so you may as well give it a try.¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded in understanding and approached the towering half-abomination, who was four meters tall. Despite her small stature, she stood firmly in front of the monster. She took a deep breath and focused on the massive eyes of the creature. Her spiritual power was like an intangible thread, infiltrating its thoughts, trying to manipulate its will. Xiao Yu watched her every action with a frown. He was curious to know whether Jiang Xiaowen could succeed in controlling the half-abomination. After a while, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s face was covered with sweat, and her eyes were feeling sore, but she remained motionless in front of the creature. She clenched her teeth and strengthened the output of spiritual power. Suddenly, the half-abomination¡¯s eyes moved. Xiao Yu noticed this scene, and there was a hint of joy on his face, ¡°Sure enough, she succeeded.¡± The half-abomination, who was initially motionless like a statue, turned its neck slightly, then raised its arms, stomped its feet, twisted its waist¡­ and began to trot around Jiang Xiaowen and Xiao Yu at every moment. Jiang Xiaowen wiped off the sweat from her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯ve succeeded; I¡¯m currently controlling this big monster!¡± Xiao Yu explained, ¡°Mind manipulation makes every action of the target fully controlled by the user. The half-abomination was originally at the peak of the first order and is only half a step away from the second order. But, unfortunately, mind manipulation is a complete mind control skill as it utterly erases the target¡¯s self-awareness, making obedience to all commands mandatory. However, there are certain drawbacks to having perfect mind control. Although you have total control over every bit of its actions, you are not a half-abomination, so you cannot exert its full power; you must first gradually familiarize yourself with its abilities.¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded her head repeatedly and directed the half-abomination to run and leap. She was clearly having fun manipulating it. Xiao Yu said to her: ¡°The others must be impatiently waiting for us. Use the sealed scroll to seal it again, then we will depart right after.¡± Sealed scrolls were largely different from summoning scrolls. The creatures summoned by summoning scrolls are created by magic rather than being actual lifeforms. After being summoned, they would heed the summoner¡¯s commands and disappear when the magic power was exhausted. On the other hand, sealed scrolls carry real monsters that would not vanish, but as a drawback, they were not within the summoner¡¯s control. The scroll in Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s hand was especially used to seal the half-abomination; after consuming the power of two lower soul gems, the seal was reopened, and the monster under her control had not the slightest resistance, as an anti-summoning formation composed of countless magic symbols appeared right underneath its feet. Then, in a burst of light, the half-abomination disappeared into thin air. The magical symbols flew up one by one and returned to the unrolled scroll, which dropped to the ground and was scooped up by Jiang Xiaowen. The giant slime dropped several intermediate soul gems and three white light balls, which were obviously three white-grade items. Xiao Yu opened the first one and found that it was a fist-sized, soft, jelly-like substance. After further examination, it turned out to be a living thing; its whole body was red like a ruby, and it had no fixed shape. Upon touching a wound on the palm of Xiao Yu¡¯s hand, the shapeless body moved slightly. Xiao Yu felt a surge of pain, only to realize that the wound had been split apart and the blood on the skin had been drained out. The creature wriggling on his palm was initially sluggish like mud, but with a gleam of luster on its ruby-like body, a spiritual connection was formed. Xiao Yu could feel a tinge of delight from the little guy¡¯s spiritual power. Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback, ¡°Ah, it looks like the disgusting monster we just defeated, but it looks much better and cuter!¡± ¡°This is an infant monster!¡± Xiao Yu was very shocked and pleasantly surprised as he gently squeezed the slime in his hand into a ball, ¡°This is an extremely rare mutant slime that inherited its mother¡¯s ability to devour and absorb, as well as the ability to use mental attacks. The slime we met before was that powerful because it mutated and devoured hundreds of slimes!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was a little dazed, ¡°Is this an infant slime? It doesn¡¯t seem to have any fighting power at the moment, but I¡¯m worried it¡¯ll come after us as it grows up.¡± Xiao Yu held the slime in his hand, ¡°The monster is still in its early stages and is very precious and rare; it has already established a spiritual connection with me, and it will never betray me; after all, the connection is equivalent to accepting me as its master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! I got a big monster, and you tamed a little monster,¡± Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed. It¡¯s just that this little guy is too weak, so it can only be kept as a pet for now.¡± At this stage, infant monsters could be encountered but not sought for. Any monster at its newborn stage was incredibly valuable since it had enormous growth potential and had the potential to develop into a formidable comrade-in-arms who would never betray its owner in the future. However, raising a monster was not an easy process. They could not absorb essence of monsters and must ingest soul gems on a daily basis. The bigger their strength, the greater their consumption, and once the food runs out, the monster would dry up and die. As a result, many people often ruined themselves in the process of raising an infant monster. Currently, the little guy was starving. Xiao Yu took out a bunch of lower soul gems from the space ring and handed them over. The mutated slime immediately rushed forward, wrapped the soul gems in its tentacles, and swallowed them one by one. Then it began to extract the power from them. Soul gems were nothing more than nutrition. If it feeds on soul gems alone, it will definitely not be able to enter the elementary stage until after a month and a half has passed. Fortunately, the mutant slime had the rare ¡°devour¡± skill, which could allow it to grow quickly by devouring other creatures. Xiao Yu took the second ball of light and opened it to reveal a lovely red necklace. ¡°Ruby Necklace¡±, a peak white grade item, is engraved with a first-rank ¡°Mental Amplification¡± blessing, and its function is to enhance the effect of mental attacks. Items that can enhance the strength of mental attacks are scarce. It was obviously wasted on ordinary people, but it was undeniably a rare treasure in the hands of those who could use mental attacks, especially at this stage. Relying on the first-rank, ¡°Mental Amplification¡±, the current effects and power of Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ¡°dream dust¡± and ¡°mind manipulation¡± would increase by at least a quarter! CH 73 Since Xiao Yu had no understanding of mental skills, keeping the necklace was pointless. As such, he immediately handed it over to Jiang Xiaowen without hesitation and said, ¡°You are lucky; this necklace can greatly increase your mental attack strength. The increase is no less than having the attack power of the middle first-order level in advance.¡± Jiang Xiaowen swiftly donned the necklace around her neck, and a warm sensation swept throughout her entire body. The radiant red ruby sparkled beautifully, reflecting her delicate features. She beamed with joy and shyly expressed her gratitude. Xiao Yu unlocked the final ball of light, revealing a red ring named the ¡°Ring of leaching¡±. This was a high-grade white ring¡ª a magic item. Its abilities left Xiao Yu astounded. Unlike Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°blast flame ring¡± and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ¡°ring of spikes,¡± which could release second-rank magic spells, this magic ring had even more powerful capabilities. Wearing the ring of leaching gradually drains the opponent¡¯s life force while killing. When that life force reaches a peak, it triggers the release of the rare, unranked spell ¡°Minor Healing.¡± Despite being an unranked spell, this ability possessed uncommon healing properties. The most striking feature was that the ring of leaching did not need to absorb energy to be used like the other items. Instead, when the stored life force accumulated was sufficient, the spell ¡°Minor Healing¡± would be automatically released. Although its effects may not be overwhelming, the ¡°Ring of Leaching¡± could still prove to be a lifesaver during bloody struggles. Upon releasing over a dozen ¡°Minor Healing¡± its impact would be undeniably significant. Xiao Yu immediately wore the ring of leaching. After packing up the spoils, Jiang Xiaowen offered to transport Xiao Yufei in search of their companions. She was already a first-order expert with improved flying abilities, able to fly alone for longer distances with much ease. When Xiao Yu hugged Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s small waist, she developed a slight blush on her face as he nuzzled his face into her neck. Despite this, she pretended not to be affected and vigorously flapped her wings, taking off from the area. It didn¡¯t take long for the two to find the other people¡¯s footprints. They searched in that direction and found that Han Kexin and the others were besieged by dozens of slimes, struggling to repel the swarm. As soon as Jiang Xiaowen flew down, her powerful spiritual power covered an area of tens of meters in range. The slimes¡¯ fragile spiritual power couldn¡¯t bear such a mighty spiritual invasion, and they were all controlled by Jiang Xiaowen instantly, as they all started retreating. Han Kexin was wondering why the aggressive slimes suddenly backed away, and when she saw the two flying over, she exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Xiao Yu, Xiaowen, you two are back¡­ Hey, Xiaowen, I feel like you have changed so much. Wait! Have you already¡­¡± Jiang Xiaowen did not hide her power, and she puffed out her chest and nodded proudly: ¡°With Xiao Yu¡¯s help, I have broken through to the first order.¡± When they heard her remarks, everyone was delighted since it meant adding another first-order expert to the team, making the journey ahead of them much safer. Han Kexin was astonished and was about to inquire more before Xiao Yu interjected, ¡°You guys talk about the details later, Xiaowen!¡± Jiang Xiaowen understood, closed her eyes, and used mind manipulation as dozens of slimes stopped in their tracks, unable to move forward. Xiao Yu unleashed the mutated slime on his shoulders. As it approached the frontmost slime in its path, it penetrated its body, devoured and absorbed the latter¡¯s power frantically, and assimilated it into its body; the opposite slime withered to death in the blink of an eye. The mutated slime crawled out slowly; its body seemed to have grown a little bigger, and it jumped at the next slime¡­ Five or six minutes later, the mutated slime was surrounded by dozens of slimes. Absorbing all of them would merely double its original size, as full assimilation would have resulted in its growth to the size of a giant slime, making it difficult to carry. Instead, under Xio Yu¡¯s instructions, it delicately consumed only power and little substance from the other monsters, causing them to shrink and die in the process, as it focused on retaining its core form in the process. After absorbing more than thirty regular slimes, Xiao Yu¡¯s mutated slime¡¯s spiritual power reached the elementary level. Han Kexin was stunned, her mouth agape in surprise. Jiang Xiaowen cleared her confusion, explaining that the slimes they were facing were controlled using her mental innate ability. She also delved into the backstory and powers of the red muttd slime, leaving Han Kexin with no further doubts. In one day, two individuals advanced in a row. Sure enough, your strength will stagnate if you remain under the cave¡¯s protection all the time. Only those who dare to take risks will grow stronger! Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s mind manipulation was quite powerful, especially when dealing with slimes with feeble spiritual power. She could control a large group at the same time, but the mind manipulation skill consumed a lot of spiritual power. As a result, once the mutated slime digested more than thirty slimes, her spiritual power consumption was relatively high, and she could no longer control this large group of monsters. However, the mutated slime already had the strength of an elementary being, and it was capable of devouring the remaining slimes even without Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s assistance. Under the cover of darkness, a group of humans emerged from the swamp forest. They had witnessed the extraordinary power of both Jiang Xiaowen and the mutated slime and were relieved to have made it out alive. The mutated slime consumed a significant number of slimes. As a result, its strength had reached the middle stage of the elementary level, and it had already reached a certain level of fighting power. It developed three skills in total: ¡°toxic acid spray¡±, ¡°mental shock¡±, and ¡°mental sting¡±. The mutated slime¡¯s acid was stronger than ordinary slimes, and its attacking range was slightly longer as well. It could roughly cover fifty to sixty meters in distance. ¡°Mental Shock¡± was a range-based mental attack spell that can simultaneously affect multiple targets within a specific range, whereas ¡°mental sting¡± targets a single individual, focusing all its power into a single, greatly amplified mental strike. Slimes were nearly impervious to physical attacks, but they were exceedingly vulnerable to magic attacks and couldn¡¯t fight readily. However, if they were hiding in the dark, they might suddenly launch a mental assault on their opponent, which could generate unimaginable results. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Accompanied by a mournful wailing shriek, a fire-breathing wild boar was stabbed by multiple weapons simultaneously and died on the spot. The surrounding vegetation was scorched black, emitting wisps of smoke. The scene was chaotic; the ground was covered with dirt, blood, and weapons. Five to six corpses of fire-breathing wild boars lay on the ground. A group of Bear warriors held shields looted from the kobolds in their hands, with scorched marks on their skin. They had obviously been attacked by several fire-breathing wild boars, but they defeated them successfully. Wild boars were powerful creatures at the peak of the elementary level, providing ample energy to boost everyone¡¯s strength. However, their significance lies in the fact that they serve as a hearty dinner. Xiao Yu threw the mutated slime down and let it devour the carcass of one of the fire-breathing wild boars. At the same time, the rest were stripped of their fur, grilled over a fire, and cooked to perfection. The delicious aroma of the roasted boars filled the air. Xiao Yu used a knife to cut off one of the wild boar¡¯s front legs. Then, holding the ten-pound roasted pork leg in his hand, he tore off a large piece of charred meat and chewed it in his mouth. Looking back, it appeared that as his strength grew, so did his food intake. The mutated slime had already begun feasting on the remains of the wild boar. Its ruby-like red body flowed like liquid, enveloping the boar¡¯s massive form and wrapping it inside. The slime has swelled significantly, now housing the dissolving remains of the fire-breathing wild boar, and everyone could see the creature¡¯s fur dissolving little by little. As time passed, the slime kept consuming more and more; but it seemed like it¡¯d take an entire night to fully digest its meal. The talent of devouring was a formidable skill, indicating limitless growth potential for any monster that possessed it. Typically, only high-level beings are able to exhibit this ¡°Devour¡± ability, with slimes being a unique exception. The awe-inspiring Devour ability allowed slimes to engulf their prey and absorb their life force, gradually dissolving them into nothingness. Han Kexin sat in front of the fire, her garments a bit tattered, her milky white skin looming, and her devilish form bloody. She looked at the slime that was devouring the wild boar¡¯s corpse and couldn¡¯t help but sigh: ¡°This little guy¡¯s strength has grown too fast, reaching a height at which many people struggle for a month or two to reach in just one day.¡± ¡°The rate at which the mutated slime grows is heavily dependent on my strength. After all, as my strength increases, so will the materials I can provide for devouring. But, of course, the main reason it can grow so fast today is that it devoured a large number of its kind, as the power of the same kind is always the easiest to absorb.¡± Han Kexin suddenly stated, ¡°Since it¡¯s your battle pet, I believe it has great potential.¡± At this moment, while everyone was eating, Wang Chao¡¯s ghostly howls could be heard not far away, ¡°Ah-ah, you¡¯re so fucking annoying! You merely stepped into the first order a few days before me; what¡¯s there to be proud of? If you¡¯re really strong, try controlling the boss or stone¡­ Stop it, ah! Stop it!¡± He rolled on the ground, writhing in misery with a mournful expression, making all kinds of funny moves. Jiang Xiaowen stood nearby, wearing a smug look on her face. While Yun Yun standing beside her couldn¡¯t contain her laughter, holding her belly as she added fuel to the fire from time to time. Thanks to her newfound mind control abilities and the increased spiritual power from the necklace, Jiang Xiaowen was more than capable of using mind manipulation on Wang Chao, who was still at the elementary level. Wang Chao had accumulated eight lifetimes of bad luck. He got into trouble with a little girl who liked to hold grudges. And today, he has been teased to death, getting tossed around miserably. ¡°Apologize!¡± ¡°Okay, I apologize, I apologize! Auntie, I was wrong!¡± Yunyun intercepted, ¡°Xiaowen, he¡¯s underhandedly cursing you!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly said: ¡°Auntie? Am I that old?¡± ¡°Good, Good¡­ you are ruthless, truly ruthless¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jin Shi couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, ¡°Jiang Xiaowen, Fatty also admitted his mistake; if you continue on like this, it would be too unfair.¡± ¡°Huh, you two are on the same team.¡± Jiang Xiaowen squinted her beautiful eyes, stared at Jinshi, and at some point clasped a scroll in her hand, ¡°Big baldy, if you have any opinions, just talk it out with my half-abomination!¡± Jin Shi¡¯s expression changed. On the way over here, Jiang Xiaowen once summoned the half-abomination, and its terrifying fighting power was still fresh in his memory. So he quickly spoke, with a bitter face, ¡°Okay, okay, just go on, just go on; this fat guy deserves it¡­¡± Wang Chao was furious, ¡°Bloody hell, what a traitor you are!¡± Xiao Yu walked over and said, ¡°Stop making trouble; everyone should have a good rest since we have to leave tomorrow.¡± His words were obviously helpful, as Jiang Xiaowen immediately stopped her actions, stuck out her tongue playfully, and obediently sat down to rest. Han Kexin voiced enviously, ¡°Xiaowen and Jinshi have advanced in succession, and they all have developed exceptional abilities. I¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll be able to advance or what will happen to my abilities once I do. But I¡¯m really looking forward to it!¡± The whole group rested overnight without encountering any unusual situations. Early the following day, they all set off to continue trekking through the woods, eager to reach their destination. CH 74 After leaving the swamp forest, Xiao Yu led the crowd through three relatively dangerous areas, which they had to traverse with great caution. Although the journey was not smooth sailing, there were no major hazards along the way, and another group of monsters, comprised of several batches of elementary monsters, was successfully repelled. The entire team has been through repeated battles, and their strength has grown substantially, yet since the dangerous encounter in the swamp forest, they haven¡¯t met another first-order monster. The majority felt relieved about this. After all, if a first-order monster appeared, nine times out of ten, it would deal considerable damage to the team. Only Han Kexin and Wang Chao felt disappointed as they were eager for another chance encounter against a first-order monster as soon as possible. Especially Wang Chao, who yearned to prove himself after being teased to death by Jiang Xiaowen. Upon seeing Jiang Xiaowen, Wang Chao was like a mouse meeting a cat. He did everything in his power to steer clear of her way, too intimidated to talk much. He also refrained from showing off anymore. Only by reaching the first order would he regain his lost dignity. Fueled by this newfound determination, Wang Chao was now more eager to become stronger, brimming with an unparalleled fighting spirit. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ This continent of chaos was devoid of any civilization, and there was no evidence of intelligent life in its forests. For thousands and thousands of years, this world had followed the most primitive law of the jungle¡ª¡±the strong preys on the weak.¡± When humans arrived here, many were doomed to fail, and only a select few survived, possessing exceptional adaptability, survival skills, and a touch of luck. These survivors had the chance to become stronger than ever. Tall, ancient trees towered overhead, their lush foliage blocking the sun¡¯s rays. Over a hundred people, dressed in tattered clothes, hurried through the jungle¡¯s dense branches and trees. They¡¯ve been trekking through the sweltering forest for ten days straight after leaving the underground cave. The grueling journey had taken its toll; even the cleanest among them, Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen reeked of the many sweaty, bloody battles, big and small, fought along the way. If any of them were taken back to the modern world, he or she would be regarded as a beggar, a native savage, or something of the sort. After a ten-day jungle survival journey, everyone had gained extensive experience and knowledge in survival skills. They could distinguish between poisonous plants and edible fruits, knew the safest sources of water, and had become skilled hunters. They were no longer the same frail people they used to be. Jiang Xiaowen led Huang Jianmin, Yunyun, and other members of the Hawk Team to open the way ahead, clearing away some small obstacles along the road. The Hawk team¡¯s standing had greatly risen since she became a first-order expert, as her fighting power was second only to that of Jin Shi and Xiao Yu. It was true that Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s combat strength may not be on par with Jinshi¡¯s, but she more than made up for it with her mental prowess. Her dream dust ability could disorient a small number of elementary monsters, and her mind manipulation could control most of them. With her leading the way, as long as it wasn¡¯t a first-order monster that came in, almost without exception, she could effortlessly stop any incoming danger. Because of Jiang Xiaowen, the Hawks also killed the most monsters. The two vice-leaders, Yun Yun and Huang Jianmin were already at the peak of the elementary realm. Therefore, the overall strength of her team was inclined to outperform the other two teams. Jiang Xiaowen was pleased with the situation. She always had a childish attitude, and her lighthearted approach prevented her from overthinking things. The Hawk squad, one of three teams, was given to her by Xiao Yu. So she aimed to make the Hawks stronger than the Tigers and Bears in order to earn his recognition. And as the strength of the Hawks grew, it heightened the competition between the Tigers and Bears and raised the fighting spirit of the entire team. More than a hundred people continued walking in the forest. Suddenly, a human cry sounded from the forefront. Jiang Xiaowen was stunned for a moment, and Huang Jianmin quickly made a gesture so they could hear the other party¡¯s footsteps. Three frantic figures burst from the woods, wounded and panicked. Some unseen terror was pursuing them. The largest of the three, a burly man with a scraggly beard, spotted Huang Jianmin, Yun Yun, and several others in front of him while running before frantically waving his arms, shouting loudly, ¡°Run away! A monster¡¯s after us!¡± Huang Jianmin cast a cursory glance across the running individuals. Upon discovering that one of the four individuals was a woman, with a crying eight- to the nine-year-old girl behind her, he firmly stated, ¡°Go and help them.¡± Without hesitation, three Hawk team members quickly rushed out in three directions, covering the three adults. When he saw the others running toward them, the burly man waved his hands even more forcefully and said, ¡°Don¡¯t come here, don¡¯t come here!¡± ¡°Roar¨C!¡± Following a few powerful roars, three towering, earthy yellow beasts with long spears emerged in everybody¡¯s field of vision. Although they looked a bit like bears, they walked upright on two legs and stood three meters tall. Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s eyes locked on them, and she swiftly summoned her spiritual energy to take control of one of the monsters. She then manipulated it to turn its head and collide with the other two, causing them to tumble into a heap and halt their pursuit. Yunyun fired a rocket-like flaming arrow piercing through a monster¡¯s chest. Several members of the Hawk team swiftly rushed over, armed with swords and spears, and easily took down another giant bear. Then the monster under Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s control directly slapped a palm on his head, committing suicide on the spot. Jiang Xiaowen exhaled deeply. This monster had reached the peak of elementary level, and its mental strength was quite powerful, making it difficult to control. The four survivors were shocked as they clearly witnessed the formidable strength of the bear monsters firsthand, yet the other party effortlessly defeated them. Right afterward, a group of nearly a hundred individuals emerged from the woods, each of them exuding an aura of exceptional power. It was evident that they were not ordinary people, and the survivors were immediately dumbfounded. Yun Yun looked at the furbolgs¡¯ corpses on the ground and immediately shouted: ¡°Uncle Sun, today¡¯s food is settled; quickly come and cook them for us.¡± Sun Dazhu, the renowned chef and vice-leader of the Bear team, immediately stepped out, taking two assistants to deal with the furbolgs¡¯ bodies. A young girl, around eight or nine years old, was among the three rescued individuals. She watched in horror as people appeared from all around them and clung to the scruffy, bearded man, leaning against him with a look of fear on her face. Huang Jianmin stepped forward and soothed her fear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t hurt you.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you for saving us.¡± The scruffy-bearded man, who appeared savage-looking, was relieved upon seeing that the group before them was mostly made up of women with youthful faces. They did not look like malicious people, so he somewhat relaxed his vigilance. The little girl lying on his back lifted her head, revealing a dirty yet delicate face. Her large, black and white eyes were highly alert, scanning her surroundings. ¡°What a cute little girl,¡± Jiang Xiaowen thought as she felt warm in her heart. She took out half a piece of chocolate from her pocket and offered it to the child. ¡°Little sister, would you like some?¡± The little girl stared straight at the chocolate; her face was still full of tears, but her eyes were full of longing. But she didn¡¯t dare reach out to take it. Jiang Xiaowen said with a smile, ¡°Come on, call me big sister, and I¡¯ll feed it to you.¡± The little girl called out sweetly, ¡°Big sister.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was very happy and gave the chocolate directly to the little girl. The man with the scruffy beard finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to introduce himself: ¡°My name is Tian Hongguang; this is my daughter Tian Tian, my wife Sun Qian, and my brother-in-law Sun Fei. ¡° Huang Jianmin asked, ¡°Are there just a few of you?¡± Tian Hongguang shook his head and said, ¡°We were originally ten in total, but a group of bear monsters caught up to us, and we couldn¡¯t fight back. Most of us didn¡¯t make it, but thankfully we encountered you, or we would have been turned into meatloaf by those bear-looking monsters.¡± Huang Jianmin inquired about the matter with Du Tao as he gave back a report, and the latter agreed to let the team of four smoothly join their group. Their power was neither big nor small. Except for the little girl, the other three were all elementary warriors, ranging between the low and middle stages The arrival of the four was just a minor event. Everyone took a break as planned, and the Hawks went out on a scouting mission to investigate the area. They discovered a few bloody corpses and encountered some wandering furbolgs, which they defeated before returning. Tian Hongguang was once an affable office worker with a bright personality and a very easygoing disposition. His wife, on the other hand, had common facial features and remained wary of the others, only caring about her daughter. Moreover, she was not very talkative. In contrast, Sun Fei, Tian¡¯s brother-in-law, had a cheerful and optimistic personality, which allowed him to quickly blend in with everyone, especially since he was around their age. As an elementary warrior with agility enhancement talent, Sun Fei was drawn to the Hawks, and after he noticed that the said team was mostly comprised of young and beautiful girls, he entertained the idea of joining their ranks. Everyone stopped to rest for a while. They had trekked hundreds of kilometers these days and were already feeling quite exhausted, so they slowed down their pace a bit to take a break. The group¡¯s chef, Sun Dazhu and Xiao Yu, roasted the tasty bear meat and quickly distributed it among everyone. Sun Fei just took a bite and immediately shouted excitedly, ¡°This is the most delicious barbecue I¡¯ve ever eaten! Brother Xiao Yu, Uncle Sun, you both are really amazing; I may as well ask you to teach me some culinary skills.¡± Sun Fei might not be very competent, but he had a way with words. Unlike Wang Chao, he didn¡¯t come across as audacious, which still allowed him to make others feel good. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t say anything. Sun Dazhu chuckled and said, ¡°Times have changed. What¡¯s the point of learning this now? It¡¯s better if you were to pick up some combat skills from Xiao Yu.¡± ¡°Fighting is fighting, but eating is also very important.¡± Fei Fei paused and continued, ¡°Uncle Sun, I heard that you used to be a chef. Look, your surname is Sun, and I am also surnamed Sun. We have strands of destiny linking us, so you might as well pass on those culinary skills to me, and with two chefs, everyone will definitely eat more food.¡± Sun Dazhu had no reason to refuse him, so he accepted the guy as an apprentice. It rained heavily that night, and the sound of thunder resonated in the dark sky. The relentless rain made washing off the dirt and grime on everyone¡¯s bodies easy. But the ground was soaked and offered no safe refuge. In the end, they stumbled upon a few large tree holes previously inhabited by furbolgs and managed to squeeze in as over a hundred individuals barely managed to settle down. Han Kexin was positioned next to Xiao Yu in one of the several large holes. The cramped space, filled with over a dozen people, brought the two of them close together, nearly embracing one another. They could distinctly feel each other¡¯s body warmth in these close quarters, and their faces were just a few inches apart. Everyone remained silent as they listened to the sound of heavy raindrops pelting the leaves with great force. The furbolg tree holes were littered with decaying leaves and bones, exuding a pungent, fishy odor. On top of that, everyone felt wet and uncomfortable, making it difficult for anyone to sleep. CH 75 The wind persisted, and the rain fell incessantly throughout the night. As the sun rose on the next day, the air was significantly fresher. The jungle was damp with waterlogged leaves, and the earth was blanketed in muddy puddles. After walking for some time, the people were utterly drenched. Still, after over two hours of travel, they were greeted by a revitalizing breeze that caressed their youthful faces, providing a much-needed energy boost. Then, as they rounded a few large trees, the view ahead abruptly opened up. ¡°How strange! I can distinctly hear the sound of water!¡± As they walked, many people started hearing the sound of running water. Before long, a serpentine river appeared in their field of vision, winding from west to east like a white dragon shuttling through a green ocean. The river was an impressive 200 meters wide, its currents slightly tumultuous from the recent downpour. Yet, despite the heavy rain, the water remained crystal clear, and the wind created ripples on its surface. The sun¡¯s rays danced upon the water, giving it a dazzling and breathtaking sparkle. The grass on the river¡¯s banks appeared to glow even brighter after the rain, and delicate flowers dotted the landscape, begging to be left untouched. Jiang Xiaowen clasped the hand of little Tian Tian; both of them were taken aback by the beautiful scenery before them. ¡°So beautiful!¡± they both exclaimed in unison. While everyone smiled at the sight of the beautiful river, Xiao Yu was distraught. After a heavy overnight rainfall, the river had greatly expanded in width and flow. On their last crossing, he had gathered logs from the forest, cut them into pieces, and used them as stepping stones to easily reach the opposite shore. But unfortunately, not everyone possessed his mastery of the task. No one knew what would appear in the deep river. Hence, crossing the river impulsively would be too risky. Of course, Jiang Xiaowen could effortlessly fly to the other side, but the task of transporting a hundred people across a 200 to 300-meter-wide river would exhaust her after just three to five trips, requiring half a day to recuperate. The feat of transporting everyone there was near impossible and presented an insurmountable challenge. Xiao Yu devised a plan; then he instructed Jiang Xiaowen to lead Yun Yun across the river first while he attended to the task. A massive tree was chopped down, its branches were trimmed, and the trunk was planted straight on the riverbank. Jiang Xiaowen located another trunk and placed it on the other end as well. The ropes brought by the individuals were taken out, and some sturdy vines were used to knot them together into a long rope connecting the two banks. The people held onto the rope, suspended ten meters above the river, and crossed to the other bank, making the journey safer and less strenuous than constructing a raft. A group of fifteen individuals slid across the rope to the other bank, followed shortly by another fifteen¡­.. and in less than ten minutes, the majority had safely arrived at the opposite side. Xiao Yu glanced around; there were less than 20 people left, so he declared: ¡°There¡¯s no need to split into smaller groups; let¡¯s proceed as one.¡± One by one, everyone clambered up the tree trunk and started sliding towards the opposite bank. Xiao Yu and Han Kexin were the last two to make the journey. A gentle breeze blew by, and with the clear blue sky overhead and the pristine river flowing beneath their feet, the scenery on both banks was picturesque. However, everyone¡¯s hearts hung in the air as they slowly inched across, gripping the rope tightly and feeling the slight swaying of the tree trunks. But just as the first person reached the midpoint of the river, the people on the opposite bank suddenly found that the river was violently churning. Huang Jianmin was shocked and yelled, ¡°There is something in the river; be careful!¡± Crash! The river¡¯s surface erupted suddenly, sending water droplets glittering in the golden sun like shards of silver jade. Right then, they caught sight of a silver, exotic fish with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, rocketing out of the water and snapping its jaws towards one of their companions. The monster was over one meter long. Jiang Xiaowen unleashed her spiritual power violently, taking control of the exotic fish. The fish hovered over a person¡¯s leg but didn¡¯t attack and instead plummeted back into the water. Almost at the same time, another exotic fish emerged, but Yun Yun quickly took it down with a well-aimed arrow. Right afterward, Jiang Xiaowen spread her wings and soared toward the river. Du Tao had already seen a large number of shadows swimming in the water; his face changed drastically, and he shouted, ¡°Quickly speed up!¡± His voice was still echoing when the sound of splintering water resounded one after another. A dozen huge, exotic silver fishes leaped up from the river, unleashing a barrage of silver water arrows from their jaws. The power of these arrows was intense and as fast as bullets. Two people in the group were simultaneously hit by multiple shots. When the water arrows struck, they plummeted into the river with a scream. Xiao Yu acted impulsively, diving into the river without a second thought. A cyan light flickered beneath the water¡¯s surface, splitting the flow and staining the clear water with bright red blood. In a matter of moments, over a dozen exotic fishes, cut into several pieces, floated to the surface. Meanwhile, several people on the rope had safely made it to the shore. Xiao Yu found the two injured people in the river, pulled them out, and quickly pushed them to the bank. Someone yelled, ¡°Not good; something is coming!¡± At this juncture, The river suddenly erupted, spewing water everywhere, and a large black-tailed beast covered in scales could be seen flashing away. Then, a massive wave rose up, towering over ten meters high, and crashed down with immense force, obliterating the rope above the river. The impact was so strong that even those on the bank had to retreat several meters, fearful of the surging waters. The force of the big waves hit Xiao Yu like a giant bear¡¯s slap, causing him to swallow a few mouthfuls of water. The huge wave finally subsided, and everyone on the shore was shocked to see the rope hanging over the river had snapped. The waves swept everyone into the river, causing backpacks, packaged food, and other supplies to float away. The people who fell were scattered everywhere in the water, frantically swimming toward the shore. Du Tao yelled out, ¡°Hurry up and save our people!¡± After uttering those words, he urgently wanted to jump into the water. Xiao Yugang popped his head out of the water, took a quick gasp of air, and upon hearing Du Tao¡¯s call, he immediately shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone retreat; don¡¯t go into the water!¡± Jiang Xiaowen flapped her wings and lingered in mid-air, barely avoiding the huge waves just now. She didn¡¯t know who to save. When she saw Xiao Yu floating up, she quickly shouted, ¡°Oh no, where did Teacher Han go? She can¡¯t swim!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s heart trembled, his eyes darted across the water, and he couldn¡¯t see Han Kexin¡¯s shadow, ¡°This is developing badly!¡± he thought to himself. With no time to dive and rescue, Xiao Yu suddenly felt the water beneath him surge upward. A massive object was swimming towards him from the bottom, causing the current to churn. Acting quickly, Xiao Yu swam to the side, trying to avoid the unknown creature. At this time, the water flow became more and more turbulent. Jiang Xiaowen flapped her wings and flew down to catch a student who fell into the water. Suddenly, the river¡¯s surface surged once more as a massive black body broke through. Its blood-stained jaws were about to chomp down on Jiang Xiaowen, who, shocked, quickly dodged away. The monster fell back into the water with a loud splash, creating a huge ripple that pushed Xiao Yu out seven or eight meters away. Xiao Yu took a deep breath and plunged into the river. The monster thrashed about, churning up the sediment at the bottom of the river and making the once clear water murky. Finally, Xiao Yu caught a glimpse of the monster¡¯s appearance in the water. It looked like a snake with two thick forelimbs, one eye, and razor-sharp teeth and was covered in black scales. It was most likely a first-order monster with a body length of about fifteen meters. The exotic basilisk slithered slowly along the river bed, turning its head towards the people on the shore. Then, surging out of the water, it was preparing to launch a surprise attack. Without even thinking about it, Xiao Yu waved the luminous beast blade and flung it out. The blade sliced through the water, striking the head of the swift monster basilisk with a surprise attack. The momentum of its sprint was abruptly halted as a surge of bubbles burst from its mouth, and a spray of black blood spewed from its wounded area. With anger in its solitary eye, the basilisk turned its head to glare at Xiao Yu. Then, it opened its mouth with ferocity, and the water gathered and spewed out fiercely, forming a cone-shaped spiral wave. Unfortunately, being in the water severely hindered his movements, making it nearly impossible for him to move as swiftly as he wanted. Xiao Yu¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly, and everything around him seemed to freeze. He kicked his legs, propelling his body several meters away from the spiraling water wave. Yet he couldn¡¯t avoid the full impact. The black scale armor on his body was torn apart, and his red blood immediately tinted the surrounding waters. Several individuals were rescued from the river and brought to the shore. At this moment, the anxiously waiting crowd heard a sudden explosion and saw a cone-shaped water column surge out of the river before bombarding the nearby forest. The spiral cone of water ground down the trees, sending wooden chips and droplets scattering throughout the sky. ¡°What a powerful attack!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback and grew deeply worried. ¡°Is Xiao Yu battling this creature in the water? Can he really win in such an environment? And where is Teacher Han? She¡¯s been underwater for so long, and she can¡¯t swim¡­¡± Xiao Yu charged toward the strange basilisk. With a swift backhanded grip, he grabbed the blade lodged in its body, dragged it forward, and inflicted a deep, long wound. The basilisk furiously flicked its tail, sending Xiao Yu flying over ten meters away. As Xiao Yu was flying upside down, his gaze shifted, and he spotted a human figure sinking more than ten meters away¡ªit was Han Kexin. Without hesitation, he disregarded the exotic basilisk and raced to her side. He embraced her waist and activated ¡°bullet time¡±, kicked his legs, and propelled himself towards the water¡¯s surface like a missile, with water surging all around him. Boom! The river broke apart, and by the time Xiao Yu burst out, he was already more than a hundred meters downstream, separated from the rest. Han Kexin was still conscious and clung tightly to Xiao Yu. The moment they emerged from the water, she coughed up a large mouthful and took two deep breaths. However, at that moment, the exotic basilisk pursued them like a shadow. It burst out of the water, creating a massive wave that engulfed them both and pulled them back into the water once again. Moments later, Xiao Yu and Han Kexin emerged further down the river, only to be swept away by the massive waves. Fighting in water was inherently disadvantageous for human beings. Not to mention the added strain of having to rescue Han Kexin. In this battle, Xiao Yu was completely in a passive position! Jiang Xiaowen wanted to intervene but was unable to. Her poor swimming skills and the ineffectiveness of mind manipulation against the exotic basilisk made her entering the water useless. She could only grasp at her heart and wait patiently. The exotic basilisk chased Xiao Yu away, prompting Du Tao to make a quick decision and send in a rescue team to save those who fell into the river. Not long after, most of the people who fell into the river just now were rescued, and only two people were still missing. The intense battle in the water raged on, and Xiao Yu was feeling increasingly disadvantaged. The monster basilisk moved fluidly like a fish in the water, while he was limited in every turn. only exerting 10% of his fighting power. As a result, he could only fend off the attacks and retreat, exhausting his physical strength without delivering any substantial blows to the monster basilisk. CH 76 The exotic basilisk recondensed the water stream and unleashed a tumultuous spiral wave. Xiao Yu used his eyes of insight to discover the danger in time. He judged the direction of the attack and awkwardly evaded the spiraling cone of water. Then, propelled by the force of the attack¡¯s current, he and Han Kexin surged out of the river, and the two could finally take a breath. The exotic basilisk chased them all the way, and when they turned to look back, Du Tao and the others were nowhere in sight. They were unaware of how far they had traveled down the river. ¡°Release me; you should be able to flee on your own. This beast seems most effective in water combat, and once it touches land, it may not pose much of a threat to you.¡± Han Kexin was thoroughly submerged, yet she remained composed, taking only a few deep breaths as soon as she emerged from the water and promptly holding her breath upon re-submerging. Her demeanor remained remarkably calm throughout. She noted that Xiao Yu was no match for the exotic basilisk in an underwater battle and quickly thought of a way out. However, Xiao Yu remained expressionless and spoke nonchalantly, ¡°Don¡¯t fret about it; I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Han Kexin, who knew Xiao Yu well enough, was not surprised by his words but was still deeply moved. Despite being pushed to the brink of despair, he refused to give up on others and spoke with such conviction that no one could refute. This unwavering spirit was why Han Kexin trusted him completely with her own life. Xiao Yu withdrew his blade and embraced Han Kexin with one arm. Then a scorching heat radiating from his other hand quickly generated a cloud of steam that enveloped them both. Crash! The blooming waves splashed broken beads of water everywhere! The exotic basilisk, resembling a dragon, slithered swiftly through the water with its long body. It recklessly traversed with ease, moving at an extreme speed as it left a trail of foamy waves behind. Suddenly, as it approached, it burst out, causing a deafening roar that sent ripples through the river. A massive wave rolled up, and the giant black basilisk, like a mythical monster, bellowed endlessly while riding the waves. This might have sounded cumbersome to say, yet everything happened in a matter of seconds! The ten-meter tall wave was like a collapsing city wall while the ferocious half-exposed basilisk surfing in the water bared its teeth and claws, ready to devour the two of them in one bite. Facing the confrontation, Xiao Yu stood expressionless, with one arm holding Han Kexing and the other hand conjuring a steaming fireball. The steam rose and enveloped the area, giving off an aura of serenity as if a fairy had descended in this land¡ªcalm and fearless, contrasting sharply with the raging wave. ¡°Roar!¡± Impatient from the long chase, the exotic basilisk gathered water droplets in its mouth, ready to launch its final attack along with the massive wave. At that moment, a red mass flew out of the water and attached itself to the monster¡¯s head like an octopus, covering its only eye¡ªit was the mutated slime. The moment the mutated slime succeeded in its surprise assault, it immediately sprayed a stream of highly toxic acid into the monster¡¯s eye. The highly corrosive acid directly targeted the basilisk¡¯s most vulnerable parts, causing it to scream in agony and halt its attack. Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes flashed brightly, and with a light wave of his right hand, the blazing fireball spun in the palm of his hand. Then, under the control of his spiritual power, the flaming ball was unleashed, and it flew straight toward the exotic basilisk. The next second¡­ The huge waves grew overwhelming, and the rushing water flowed over the sky, drowning everything in an instant! This was no ordinary wave; it held potent, water-attributed magic power. As a result, both Xiao Yu and Han Kexin felt as though they were trampled by a rhinoceros, their bones on the verge of breaking. Han Kexin, who was slightly weaker, almost passed out. There was a brief moment of stillness. ¡°boom!¡± A deafening explosion echoed through the river, causing the turbulent waters to overflow on both sides, flooding the grasslands and woods. The violent fire attribute power spread in layers, causing a huge amount of water vapor to rise in its wake and shrouding the forest in smoke, creating a fairyland-like appearance. Taking advantage of the turbulent current, Xiao Yu finally retreated to the shore. His heart was finally at ease when he jumped out of the water and stepped on the ground with both feet. But, while he breathed a long sigh of relief, Xiao Yu also felt sore all over, experiencing a burst of unusual fatigue. Han Kexin was taken aback. Despite facing such extreme adversity, he remained calm and composed. In the previous battle, he had discreetly unleashed the mutated slime early on and was evading purposefully, appearing to retreat in a sorry state, but in reality, he was biding his time for the perfect opportunity. He wouldn¡¯t act unless necessary, but when the time was right, and the exotic basilisk was caught off guard, he struck with ferocity, turning the tide of the battle in a single blow! Xiao Yu was entangled with the monster basilisk in the water for half an hour, used bullet time several times at critical moments, and then used the blast flame ability; the spiritual power stored in the spirit bracelet was nearly depleted, and the blow of the heavy wave exhausted him, basically rendering him immobile for a second. Looking at the steaming river surface, which had a lot of minced meat floating on it, as well as scale pieces and even a forelimb of the exotic basilisk, Han Kexin inquired, ¡°Is it dead?¡± Having yet to absorb the essence, Xiao Yu felt a sense of unease, and his expression changed involuntarily. Finally, he warned, ¡°Be careful; it might still be alive!¡± As if to confirm his words, just as he finished speaking, a black figure emerged from the river, which had barely started to calm down. The one-eyed beast lunged at Xiao Yu in anger¡­.though now blind, it could still pinpoint their direction, meaning it relied on more than just its eyes to target its prey. Xiao Yu was taken aback, he was unarmed at the moment, and it was too late to take out the blade from the ring! Han Kexin quickly made a decisive decision at that moment and pushed Xiao Yu away with both hands. She stepped forward and faced the giant basilisk head-on. The ring in her hand shone a brilliant red as the monster swallowed her whole. boom¨C! A dull and powerful explosion echoed as the head of the exotic basilisk suddenly bulged, and a massive hole was blasted through a certain spot on the back of its neck. It let out a mournful cry as half of its body plunged into the water and the other half crashed heavily onto the shore. The ground shook, and dark red blood flowed from under its body, quickly coloring the surrounding grass a deep red hue. A stream of energy flew out of the corpse and was absorbed by Xiao Yu. A flash of light appeared in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand as he unsheathed his blade and slashed open the beast¡¯s massive jaw. Han Kexin was inside, her body covered in wounds and looking mangled and bloody, close to losing her human form. But, unfortunately, she failed to advance. This was mainly because part of the basilisk¡¯s energy had been absorbed by Xiao Yu, hindering her progress. Xiao Yu helped her up and said worriedly, ¡°Miss Han¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t die.¡± Han Kexin moved her long eyelashes, opened her eyes, and smiled faintly. Her face was smeared with blood and as pale as paper. On the other hand, her smile was full of a very peculiar charm, and Xiao Yu¡¯s heart was mesmerized by a type of amorous emotion, which made his heart quiver. ¡°Blood Sacrifice!¡± The exotic basilisk blood was immediately absorbed, and Han Kexin¡¯s bloodied state, which might have killed an ordinary person seven or eight times over, healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Her naked body, which could make any man¡¯s heart race, was fully shown to Xiao Yu in about two minutes of time. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Han Kexin was still very weak and could only walk with Xiao Yu¡¯s support, ¡°Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t evolve.¡± Xiao Yu comforted: ¡°There will be future opportunities for advancement; you don¡¯t need to risk your life.¡± Han Kexin shot him a flirty yet resentful look and spoke, ¡°Who is willing to risk their lives? If not for you, would I have done so? Hmph, what a heartless guy!¡± Xiao Yu smiled bitterly before realizing a problem. Han Kexin¡¯s body was still stained with blood, but her hot and delicate figure was completely naked in front of him, with straight, beautiful legs, plump and round buttocks, and a small, serpentine waist highlighting her curves. Her bulging, proud, and full snowy peaks were within full view as well. Her face was pale and haggard, giving people a feeling of weakness and frailty, but she acted coquettish like a wilting flower that could bloom at any moment. It was challenging for any living man in the world to keep a tranquil heart amidst such circumstances. Right then, Han Kexin noticed a slight shift in Xiao Yu¡¯s gaze and detected evasiveness in his demeanor. Then, leaning forward deliberately, she spoke with a mix of anger and amusement, ¡°I have stripped naked in front of you for the second time¡­ You are the only one who has seen my body. If I can¡¯t get married, you have to take responsibility.¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s upper body submerged into the water, but because he felt too heavy and battered, his body weighed down on his swimming abilities. At this moment, he was nearly naked; their bodies were in close proximity as he tried to maintain his balance. Xiao Yu gazed at the quivering chest in front of him, taking in the majestic fullness, and felt his own heart quicken. This woman is growing more and more flirtatious and daring. Xiao Yu rummaged through the remains of the exotic basilisk and discovered several intermediate soul gems and three pieces of equipment. The first item was named ¡°Water Driving Robe,¡± a middle-grade white piece of equipment engraved with a first-rank ¡°Magic Defence¡±. It featured a passive skill that allowed the wearer to swim freely in water, much like a fish. Han Kexin had already washed all the dirt and blood off her body with water, and when she walked up naked, Xiao Yu directly threw the robe over and asked her to put it on. The second item was a piece of armor called ¡°Basilisk Scale Battle Armor,¡± a middle-grade white piece of equipment engraved with a first-rank ¡°Physical Protection¡± magic circle and an unranked ¡°Power Rebound¡± magic circle. It was a formidable armor, far superior to the one Xiao Yu had previously worn but lost in the last battle. Without hesitation, he put it on immediately. The third item was a ring called ¡°Waterwall Ring,¡± a middle-grade white magic item that could cast a second-rank ¡°Water Barrier¡± spell, covering a three-square meter area. In areas abundant with water, such as near rivers and lakes, the range of the barrier could double or even triple in size. Like Han Kexin¡¯s ¡°Blast Flame Ring¡± and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s ¡°Ring of spikes,¡± this ring required recharging after 48 hours of each use. This was a unique defensive magic item with a second-rank ¡°Water Barrier¡± spell, capable of resisting formidable second-rank magic attacks like the blast flame skill, making it a lifesaver in critical moments. Han Kexin donned the Water Driving Robe, an aqua-blue garment made of an unknown smooth and refreshing material. The robe was adorned with intricate magic lines and was perfectly suited to women, accentuating their figure. Despite the loose fit, Han Kexin¡¯s curves, particularly her prominent bust, were still noticeable and tantalizing to the imagination. Xiao Yu gazed at her a bit longer. Han Kexin immediately beamed a sly smile and asked, ¡°Am I beautiful?¡± Xiao Yu turned his head away, ¡°Xiaowen will arrive shortly; let¡¯s go to the other side and wait.¡± CH 77 Xiao Yu and Han Kexin crossed the river directly to the other side. The mutated slime was left in place by Xiao Yu and entered the corpse of the basilisk, devouring and assimilating it from the inside. This first order monster boasted immense power within its massive body. By devouring it, the mutated slimes would not only amplify its strength but also enhance its spiritual power. However, while it may not advance after assimilating that power, it has the potential to reach the peak of the elementary level. After a wait of around five minutes, Xiao Yu caught sight of Jiang Xiaowen soaring in the distance. Her flight was elevated to great heights, which was a double-edged sword¡ªwhile it made her quite conspicuous for others, it also made her a tempting target for monsters. But Jiang Xiaowen was too preoccupied with anxiety to be concerned about the danger. Her only priority was to locate Han Kexin and Xiao Yu swiftly, disregarding her own safety. Xiao Yu and Han Kexin stood on a spacious, unoccupied plain and signaled toward the sky. Upon spotting their gesture, Jiang Xiaowen beamed with happiness and promptly descended. ¡°Xiao Yu, Teacher Han, was the monster killed by you? Are you both okay?¡± Jiang Xiaowen burst into tears, patted her chest, and said, ¡°I was so worried; very worried.¡± One was her beloved; the other was a constant caregiver and protector. The former was her sweetheart; the latter was a mentor, a companion, and like family to her. Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t bear the thought of anything happening to either of them. Upon seeing that they were both safe and unharmed, she finally relaxed and let go of the worry weighing heavily on her heart. Not long after, Du Tao led the others to meet up with them. The basilisk had been defeated, the crisis had been fully resolved, and the disaster of the river crossing had finally come to an end. However, two of their own were nowhere to be found, and it was likely that they¡¯d met their demise. Death was once a distant and enigmatic concept, but since arriving in this world, the constant demise of their companions has made it all too close and almost tangible. Everyone¡¯s perspectives and attitudes towards life underwent profound transformations, a change that shook them to their very core. Xiao Yu and Han Kexin¡¯s spiritual power was greatly exhausted, and many people were injured, so the team was forced to stop and rest temporarily. Thanks to the basilisk¡¯s presence, all the nearby monsters were likely scared off, presenting the perfect opportunity for everyone to wash their grime-covered bodies in the water. Sun Dazhu and Sun Fei took advantage of this and caught a few large fish, which they cooked into two pots of broth. The fish was pollution-free and untainted¡ªa product of nature. Prepared by the skilled hand of Chef Sun Dazhu, it was a feast for the senses, its taste incomparably delicious. Out of everyone except for little Tian Tian, Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s appetite was usually the smallest. But this time, her behavior was surprising, as she polished off two entire bowls of fish broth to her satisfaction. Han Kexin smiled and said, ¡°Xiaowen, when did you become such a glutton?¡± ¡°The fish broth is delicious.¡± Jiang Xiaowen blushed slightly and rubbed her head with her small hands while sweetly saying, ¡°I¡¯ve always had a fondness for fish; it¡¯s been a childhood favorite of mine.¡± The little girl, Tian Tian, voiced out in a melodious, cute voice: ¡°It turns out that sister Xiaowen is a cat!¡± Yun Yun and the rest followed suit, as the entire group erupted in joyful laughter. In truth, however, there was nothing particularly humorous about the situation. but perhaps due to them wanting to release their pent-up stress that had been building up over time, they let out a cathartic laugh that helped lighten the atmosphere. Everyone had learned to embrace Wang Chao¡¯s approach to finding joy amidst hardship. The loss of two team members weighed heavily on everyone¡¯s hearts, but they couldn¡¯t reveal their sorrows. Ready for departure, Xiao Yu called out to the mutated slime. Upon its return, the slime had significantly grown in size. Its absorption of the basilisk¡¯s power caused its body to become more translucent, with a seemingly gentle flow of water visible within. Xiao Yu¡¯s heart moved, and he used his mind to communicate with it. Sure enough, the mutated slime had learned a new, unranked water-attribute magic skill called ¡°Water arrow.¡± Even though the unranked magic skill was insignificant, Xiao Yu was still very pleasantly surprised to discover that the mutated slime could acquire its opponents¡¯ abilities to a limited extent after devouring them. This only highlighted the vast potential of his battle pet. Its capabilities were far beyond what he previously expected, with almost limitless potential. Xiao Yu took out two soul gems and threw them toward the mutated slime to replenish its lost energy. The team set off down the road once again. Du Tao retrieved the map, scrutinized it closely, then announced, ¡°We¡¯ve covered one-third of the journey after crossing the river. Ahead lies the Black Forest, another dangerous area teeming with wandering monsters. Everyone should stay alert.¡± After everyone had washed and rested, they felt energized and began to trek towards the dark forest that Xiao Yu had previously traveled through and marked on the map . The Black Forest was not extensive, and Xiao Yu could traverse it in just ten minutes at his full pace. However, this forest was abundant with highly toxic black blood oak trees, which prompted him to exercise extra caution and make special records and marks. The black blood tree secretes highly poisonous substances, and a single sting from its thorns could lead the body to be paralyzed in an instant, while the heart would stop beating in a short time, ultimately leading to death. The Black Forest was unlike any other forest, with sparse tree growth due to the long-standing poisonous substances. The soil around these trees was highly toxic, so there was no vegetation, only rare poisonous weeds that were valuable for alchemy and, thus, were mostly harvested by the team following Xiao Yu¡¯s instructions. The forest was thinly populated with trees, allowing sunlight to penetrate in narrow beams, creating stripes of light and shadow. The tall trees rose from the ground, with broad umbrella crowns that spread out. The leaves and branches were all a gloomy, gray-black hue, giving the woods a somber and dreary atmosphere. Just as she rounded another tree, Jiang Xiaowen was taken aback as she encountered a group of behemoth creatures before her. Their grotesque and unsightly appearance startled her and filled her with a sense of dread. The creatures were a group of giant spiders, each the size of a car, with striking purple-red bodies covered in sharp, upright fluff. They appeared to be highly dangerous. The spiders¡¯ bodies were dotted with numerous small holes, tightly packed like a hornet¡¯s nest. When several human beings appeared all of a sudden, the spiders also found them at the same time, and the monsters reacted almost instantly and ran to chase and kill them. Jiang Xiaowen attempted to use her mental power to control one of the spiders, and her spiritual power enveloped the surrounding area. However, as soon as she penetrated a spider¡¯s spiritual consciousness, she encountered a strong, violent force that repelled her mental power. This demonstrated that the spiders had formidable mental strength and were capable of resisting Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s mind manipulation. Dream Dust! Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s attempt to control the spider failed, so she swiftly spread her wings, releasing a shower of luminous light particles that enveloped the spiders. The sudden light stunned the monsters, halting their movements for a few seconds. Yunyun on the side immediately shot an arrow, piercing the eye of the leading spider. The arrow¡¯s immense power burned the creature¡¯s head to charcoal and killed it instantly. Xiao Yu happened to see this scene when he arrived and immediately shouted: ¡°Don¡¯t move forward; these spiders have very powerful poison; whoever touches them will die!¡± The members of the Hawk team, poised to attack, were taken aback as the spiders broke free from Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s spiritual illusion and were no longer in their trance state. Right then, a burst of purple poisonous smoke spewed from the monster¡¯s body, emanating from their numerous small pores, covering their whole bodies, and accelerating their speed to cover all directions. Seeing this, Xiao Yu frowned and immediately shouted: ¡°Everyone, fall back; don¡¯t engage them in close quarters. Xiaowen, summon the half-abomination to fight; their poison won¡¯t work on it.¡± Hearing Xiao Yu¡¯s order, Jiang Xiaowen immediately took out the half-abomination sealing scroll, untied the silver thread on the scroll, and urged it to fly into the air with her spiritual power. The scroll released a flurry of magic symbols that coalesced into a shape. A violent dark energy exploded in the forest, and the burly, half-abomination¡¯s figure materialized amidst the summoning array. The figure¡¯s fearsome aura caused the nearby poisonous spiders to pause and retreat. Under Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s control, the half-abiomination¡¯s body rushed straight up like a cannonball. Its speed was incredible, and the two poisonous spiders had little time to escape being attacked by the monstrosity. With a boom, the half-abomination¡¯s body squeezed against the two spiders and slammed them into a tree. When the half-abomination burst out of the black blood oak tree, a large hole appeared in the tree, and the two poisonous spiders were crushed into meat paste, their limbs separated. The half-abomination let out a deafening roar from both of its mouths, causing everyone¡¯s eardrums to hurt as the sound wave reverberated throughout the area. The spiders, intimidated by its force, quickly scurried away and avoided confrontation. The monstrosity lifted one of its arms, brandishing a hammer, and slammed downward with immense power, hammering the ground heavily. Boom! A surge of powerful dark energy burst out from the ground, striking and instantly obliterating three poisonous spiders with its violent impact, leaving behind only fragmented bits of flesh and charred legs scattered about. As the hammer descended, the arm wielding the slaughter knife made a swift slash. The red energy transformed into a razor-sharp blade and shot forward, striking the two poisonous spiders square on. The immense force instantly reduced them to shreds. The half-abomination had five arms, and it could release different combat skills at the same time, which made it even more powerful and terrifying. Tian Hongguang, Sun Fei, and several newcomers were awestruck by the half-abomination¡¯s formidable combat abilities. They couldn¡¯t fathom how Jiang Xiaowen, a seemingly delicate and soft-spoken girl, could wield such a fearsome and monstrous creature and control it freely. In truth, the half-abominations¡¯ strength far surpasses what is currently being displayed. After all, Jiang Xiaowen was not fully proficient in controlling it yet, and could only unleash a fraction of its fighting prowess, only manfesting a power roughly equivalent to the middle-stage of the first order realm. If the half-abomination were to unleash its full power, it would become a terrifying existence at the peak of the first order, several times more powerful than it is now. However, Jiang Xiaowen hasn¡¯t used the half-abomination for a long time and lacks complete mastery of the mind manipulation skill. nonetheless, Xiao Yu was already very satisfied with her current level of control. With time, Jiang Xiaowen will grow more familiar with the big guy¡¯s fighting style and strength, gradually unlocking its true power. After the battle was over, they started picking up their spoils as usual. . For the following time, Jiang Xiaowen used the half-abomination to clear their path, making progress all the way down unhindered. However, the half-abomination was not a self-sustaining machine and required a significant amount of energy to maintain its movements and activities. As a result, it had to be replenished with numerous soul gems, and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s prolonged control also greatly depleted her spiritual power. She eventually had to recall the half-abomination as she could no longer sustain its usage. CH 78 The Black Forest might not cover a vast expanse of land, yet it could pose some challenges. Fortunately, the half-abomination swept all obstacles along their way; therefore, they all had a smooth journey, encountering no difficulties on the path. However, the edges of the Black Forest painted a different picture altogether. Adjacent to a vacant lot, the land appeared barren and almost desolate. Perhaps due to its proximity to the forest, the vegetation struggled to thrive here, and as a result, the ground was littered with gravel, while clumps of withered, yellowed weeds scattered here and there. Towards the end of the barren terrain, a small-scale ruin stood in the distance, consisting of about a dozen dilapidated buildings. Some of the structures still had homemade, rudimentary canopies, while outside lay scattered tricycles and motorcycles in a state of disrepair. In the vicinity, a group of middle-aged laborers could be seen, each of them wielding saws and straining to cut through the wood. As they heard a rustling from the nearby woods, they immediately looked up and spotted Xiao Yu and his entourage making their way towards them. These workers quickly ceased their labor, casting uneasy glances at each other and arming themselves with weapons such as axes. It turns out that the area is inhabited after all. Though the small size of the settlement could explain why Xiao Yu missed it during his initial exploration. Upon closer inspection, the place resembled a modest county or a small town, with the tallest buildings no more than three or four stories high, their simple and unrefined exteriors belying any indication of a bustling metropolis. The local people have notably dark skin and give off the distinct impression of being farmers, perhaps because they were accustomed to physical labor. The standoff persisted for several minutes as the opposing sides sized each other up. Eventually, more than a hundred people emerged from the other side, including a dozen or so women and children. Among them was a dark-skinned, gray-haired man, who appeared both short and stout. Fixing his gaze upon the opposing party, he bellowed out a warning: ¡°This is our territory. What are you doing here? Leave immediately, and don¡¯t attempt any deceit, or we will not hesitate to treat you harshly. You¡¯ve been warned!¡± The man¡¯s pronunciation was notably non-standard. As both Xiao Yu and Jiang Xiaowen hailed from the south, they could deduce that the man was speaking in a regional dialect common to that area. While some of his words were difficult to comprehend, the tone of the man¡¯s voice was unmistakable in its hostility. Indeed, the others in his party shared in his animosity, evidenced by their rising tempers and quick acquisition of weapons¡ªincluding those dropped by monsters, as well as basic tools such as hoes and hatchets. Du Tao quickly stepped forward with his hands held high, seeking to reason with the hostile group. He assured them that he and his companions were merely passing through and had no intention of causing any trouble. The locals appeared to be somewhat skeptical, but after noticing that most of the newcomers carried bulky backpacks, they began to let their guard down. Gradually, their expressions began to soften, and they seemed less convinced that the outsiders posed any immediate threat to their territory. Just as he was about to speak, a poor farmer yelled, ¡°If you¡¯re just passing through, then pass through. We don¡¯t accept strangers camping out here for the night. You should leave immediately!¡± Du Tao smiled wryly and shook his head, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go now!¡± Xiao Yu had no intention of lingering anyway, so he decided it would be best to avoid wasting time with further conversation. He quickly led his companions into the woods on the other side and continued on their way. As he observed the group moving briskly away, the man, who had earlier appeared to be a hardened poor farmer, was slightly taken aback. He questioned them, ¡°Are you truly just passing through here?¡± Wang Chao rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Nonsense, look at you; you are so poor. Even if fatty wants to steal something, he wouldn¡¯t come here!¡± The man with the appearance of a poor farmer looked back at his companions and gestured for them to lower their weapons. He then spoke with a mischievous smile, ¡°My name is Zhou Fu. So, you are really just passing through? Where are you headed?¡± Wang Chao was a little impatient, ¡°None of your business, you wanted to drive us away just now; are you going to hold us back now?¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Zhou Fu laughed dryly for a while, ¡°No, no, we¡¯re very familiar with this area. We can guide you for a certain distance, and it will be much safer for you along the road.¡± Wang Chao grew annoyed upon hearing this: ¡°Are you guys still worried that we won¡¯t leave?¡± Zhou Fu¡¯s wrinkled, dark old face broke into another mischievous smile, with a hint of cunning flashing in his bright eyes. Du Tao quickly intervened and tried to calm the situation. He politely smiled at Zhou Fu and said, ¡°We didn¡¯t lie to you, old man. But if you could show us the way and help us avoid some dangers, we would be sincerely grateful.¡± Zhou Fu readily accepted Du Tao¡¯s request and promptly signaled seven or eight strapping young men, each clutching a weapon, to lead the way. Du Tao and the others were taken aback by their prompt action, as they did not expect the farmers would really do what they said. However, with local acquaintances leading the way, many dangers on the path could be avoided. Hence, no one had any misgivings, except for Xiao Yu, who narrowed his eyes slightly. Xiao Yu¡¯s intuition told him that this seemingly honest old farmer was not trustworthy. If Zhou Fu and his group were really concerned that they would not leave, then he must be wary of them, fearing that they were a group of evildoers. That being the case, how could he dare to lead the way with only six to seven people? This raised suspicions in Xiao Yu¡¯s mind. If they were truly a group of evildoers, shouldn¡¯t the other party be afraid that they could overpower them? Moreover, there was a risk that they, Xiao and the others, could suddenly turn around and attack Zhou Fu and his group on the way, and then go back to their gathering place. But he only thought about it and didn¡¯t say anything out loud. Under the guidance of Zhou Fu, the group of over a hundred people walked into the forest at a much faster pace. Not a single monster was spotted along the way, and after walking for about an hour and a half, they finally reached a particularly dense part of the forest. Zhou Fu and the others were a little tired, so they sat down on a tree root to rest At that moment, Fei shouted in excitement, ¡°Look! There¡¯s a huge fruit tree ahead with so many fruits! Tonight, not only can we savor Master Sun Dazhu¡¯s delicious food, but we can also taste the freshness of these fruits. Hahaha! Wait here, I¡¯ll go pick them right away.¡± As he spoke, he ran towards the fruit tree in the woods. As Fei exclaimed in surprise, everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to the large fruit tree in front of them. It stood tall, reaching over 20 meters with a crown that resembled an umbrella. The tree was huge, and its branches were adorned with attractive red fruits that hung from them in abundance. Xiao Yu cast a suspicious look at the fruit tree and noticed something strange about it. He then turned to Zhou Fu and saw the group of people quietly retreating. Realizing something was amiss, Xiao Yu quickly shouted, prompting everyone to run back. ¡°Sun Fei, stop!¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s face changed as if he had come to his senses, and he shouted hastily. Fei ran towards the big fruit tree and exclaimed, ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll pick some right away!¡± He arrived at the bottom of the tree as he kept chattering, ¡°It¡¯s so hot in here, eating a few wild fruits can satisfy our hunger¡­.¡± Without warning, a huge tree root burst out of the ground like a long spear, directly piercing Fei¡¯s chest and coming out from behind, abruptly interrupting his words. Everyone was shocked, and Tian Hongguang and his wife even cried out in horror. Fei¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and before he could even react, two more roots pierced his body, followed by a third and a fourth¡­ and then more than a dozen more in quick succession, turning him into a human pincushion. No blood flowed out, because in an instant, all his blood was sucked clean, leaving only a withered corpse behind. In a sudden turn of events, the big tree came alive as hundreds of roots and vines began to move, quickly surrounding everyone from all directions. Green vines and barbed roots flew through the air like countless branches, with ferocious arms that made people feel fearful. ¡°A dryad! This is a monster in the late stage of the first order!¡± Xiao Yu took out his blade and said angrily, ¡°Damn it, that old bastard really wants us dead. Everyone, fall back!¡± He formed a blazing flame in his left hand and extended it towards the dryad, unleashing a scorching fireball that blasted through the forest. As he did, hundreds of tree roots and vines entwined quickly to form a thick net that blocked the blast flame skill and caused it to explode with a loud bang, shattering the net into pieces. However, the dryad itself appeared to have suffered little damage. The Dryad, infuriated by the attack, leaped into rage. The ground trembled as numerous green vines emerged from beneath, wrapping around a large group of people in an instant. Sharp, pointed branches and roots shot towards everyone, with some aimed directly at Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu engaged, and the cyan light of his blade danced to chop up all the roots attacking him. Yun Yun shot a rocket like flaming projectile, and the powerful arrow penetrated deeply into the dryad¡¯s body, causing it to suffer serious injuries. As the flame power burned a large part of its body, the dryad realized that Yun Yun posed a significant threat and retaliated by mobilizing more than a dozen roots to shoot at her. Yunyun reacted quickly and took several steps back, while several members of the Hawks on both sides stood up and brandished their weapons to help her defend. However, during this process, one of the Hawks was accidentally caught by a swinging tree root that penetrated his left chest and pierced his heart, draining him of blood and killing him on the spot. Meanwhile, Yunyun was hit in the back by another swinging branch, which broke two of her ribs, and she spat out a mouthful of blood before falling to the ground. Fortunately, someone behind her had quick reflexes and grabbed her, pulling her out of harm¡¯s way just in time. The wooden root meant to impale her instead pierced the ground where she was standing moments before. The three teams witnessed the immense power of the dryad and they didn¡¯t dare to fight any more. They retreated one after another. Meanwhile, Han Kexin¡¯s sharp claws moved swiftly like the wind, forming a sharp mesh of cold light that sliced apart any vine roots that tried to approach her. Although her combat skills were not weak, she was still at the elementary level. After Xiao Yu took on the bulk of the Wood Demon¡¯s attention, Han Kexin¡¯s abilities were only enough to defend herself. Jiang Xiaowen, Jin Shi, and Wang Chao acted quickly. However, Jiang Xiaowen had used up too much spiritual power in the Black Forest not long ago and could no longer summon her half-abomination. Instead, she wielded a long spear and unleashed a fierce gust of wind with impressive momentum, which descended from the sky to smash the dryad. Jin Shi and Wang Chao stood side by side as Jin Shi entered his state of complete rock formation. He roared and charged towards the dryad, with vines constantly whipping his body, yet leaving no injuries, and thorns of tree roots being blocked by his hard body. He was the fastest one who managed to approach the dryad. Jinshi raised his warhammer, preparing to strike the dryad, when suddenly, five to six vines fell from above, tightly binding his right arm. Then, a large number of tree roots burst out from beneath his feet, wrapping around him like a rice dumpling, leaving only his eyes visible between the vines. Two small tree roots then pierced toward the only weak point in his body¡ªhis eyes. Seeing this, Wang Chao roared and hastily unleashed a blood-red shock wave from his mace, which blasted Jin Shi away. This level of damage could not harm Jin Shi, but it was enough to break all the vines wrapped around his body. CH 79 Legend has it that the dryad was an incredibly rare and unusual monster, not a mere tree but an evil life form with the power to extract energy from the earth and manipulate nearby flora. The Dryad¡¯s strength lies in its ability to control all the plants within a certain range, turning them into formidable weapons. In a sense, the energy of the dryad was endless, giving it an attack range that extended far beyond its physical reach. As such, defeating this creature was no less challenging than taking down the forest ogre they encountered before. Xiao Yu had heard about some extremely powerful high-level dryads that had the ability to control a vast radius of hundreds of miles and could even establish their own kingdoms. Within this range, all the plants become their own weapons and soldiers. Anyone who enters the forest will be immediately attacked, and many people have been killed without even knowing where the dryad was or what it looked like. This dryad was young and though it might not be as strong as the high-level ones, it was still rare and difficult to encounter in the early stages. The attacks that everyone was facing were not actually coming from the dryad itself, but from the plants that had been assimilated and controlled by it. These plants were like weapons of the Dryad, and they were attacking everyone with hundreds of roots and branches. Jinshi suffered a big loss against the monster and quickly retreated, not daring to approach it easily. Despite his incredibly high defense, his eyes were vulnerable. And while his defense was impressive, his movements were relatively slow, and his attack power wasn¡¯t strong enough to effectively deal with the dryad¡¯s endless onslaught of roots and branches. Xiao Yu cut through thorns and thistles all the way, dodging all of its heavy attacks, and rushed towards the dryad. His blade glowed with a cyan light as it left a deep gash on the trunk of the monster. However, the incision healed almost instantly, leaving Xiao Yu astonished. As expected, the dryad was capable of extracting vitality from the surrounding plants and the earth, making it almost invincible! The dryad¡¯s body trembled, and an outline of a face suddenly appeared on its trunk. It looked like the wrinkled face of an old man, with an open mouth and a fierce stare. The image was blurry, which made it even more ferocious. From the gap between the two eye-like shapes, a purple demonic fire suddenly burst out. ¡°This is bad!¡± At the same time as this thought appeared in his head, Xiao Yu¡¯s pupils suddenly shrank, and he entered the bullet time state. The entire world went silent in an instant, as if everything had stopped operating at once. Hundreds of tree roots and branches hung in mid-air like hair strands, frozen in time. On the trunk of the dryad, a powerful force was being condensed in front of the ugly face with the vague outline. It was a burning and boiling energy, similar to a flame, but with a greenish hue, and some purple-black energy was faintly mixed in it. Xiao Yu¡¯s pupils shrank suddenly as he entered ¡°bullet time,¡± sensing the dangerous situation unfolding before him. As the jetting flames rushed in, they were reflected in Xiao Yu¡¯s blood-red eyes. His original forward momentum quickly converged, and he stomped on the ground with his toes. He moved sideways lightly, as if he were an astronaut in space. The flames approached little by little, but at the last moment, Xiao Yu found a subtle gap to avoid the flames. Bullet time lifted! The green flames that had just spewed out transformed into a shooting beam, growing extremely fast in an instant. It streaked across the ground with a flick of a finger, leaving a long green trail in its wake. Finally, it landed on a big tree, causing a strange phenomenon to occur. The big tree was neither burned nor smashed, but rather, its entire form was covered in green energy, which instantly decomposed it into thousands of fragments. The tree completely disappeared from its place, leaving no trace behind. Curse magic, instant disintegration! Xiao Yu¡¯s face turned pale, as he never expected the dryad to use such an ability. The Instant disintegration ability was an incomparably deadly curse magic attack that, on hitting the target, broke it into fragments that could not be distinguished by the naked eye, thus causing it to completely disappear from the face of this world. Curse magic had a unique characteristic that distinguished it from other types of magic. The most significant feature was its success rate. For instance, in the case of the instant disintegration skill, this ability¡¯s success rate was not 100%. Although it could make some powerful enemies disappear from the world in an instant, sometimes when it hits the target, the latter could remain unscathed. In such cases, the curse fails, and the magic does not work at all. However, under normal circumstances, the success rate of the instant disintegration skill was extremely high when used against opponents of the same level of strength. Even when facing an opponent one level higher, there was still a 30¨C40% success rate. Hence It was definitely a heaven-defying ability. Xiao Yu broke out in a cold sweat as he quickly threw a blast flame towards the dryad. He shouted urgently, ¡°Stop fighting; this guy is too dangerous, let¡¯s retreat!¡± With that, he swiftly turned around and started running away. Dryads were legendary monsters, and the most terrifying thing about them is that they are the darlings of the earth and the forest. They can continuously extract power from the earth. In an instant, the monster re-condensed its power, and a green flame-like energy rushed out. It collided with the blast flame fireball, and the green energy instantly enveloped the fireball. Under the powerful curse power of the instant disintegration ability, the blazing flame turned into sparks all over the sky and dissipated in the air. The dryad didn¡¯t even stop for a second, and its energy gathered again¡ªinstant disintegration skill! Xiao Yu¡¯s body was inevitably hit by the green flames, and they covered him in an instant as he thought to himself, ¡°It¡¯s over; this time I¡¯m dead!¡± After this thought crossed his mind, Xiao Yu was struck by a sense of bewilderment. He soon realized that his body was unharmed, and he had no missing limbs. Strangely enough, despite the initial impact of the green flames, they vanished quickly, dissipating in less than half a second, as if the attack had never happened. Did the curse attack fail? But how come! Given that they were at the same level of strength and the fact that the dryad was at least at the late stage of the first order, while he was still a little short of the middle stage of the first order, the success rate of the instant disintegration ability should have been extremely high. This skill was typically considered a third-rank magic attack and was usually only possessed by third-order monsters of the Lord Dark type. Hence, its success rate against opponents of the same level was about 90%. Was it merely luck? Xiao Yu refrained from dwelling too much on this and concentrated on escaping as he knew time was of the essence. However, he was suddenly interrupted by yet another instant disintegration attack. Frustrated, he cursed under his breath, thinking that even with boundless energy, the creature should have a limit. After all, instant disintegration was no ordinary skill; even for a first-order monster like this one, it should require a substantial amount of time and effort to condense such a vast amount of energy. This dryad was actually the same as a cannon! He immediately used Bullet Time to quickly dodge! Another instant disintegration! Xiao Yu managed to evade the attack but couldn¡¯t afford to stand still for even a moment as he was quickly met with another burst of green flames. His heart skipped a beat for a split second, but to his relief, he discovered that he was left unscathed, just as he had been the last time. ¡°Damn, my luck is too good!¡± The dryad was unable to launch a third attack as Xiao Yu had already moved beyond its range. Quickly seizing the opportunity, Han Kexin, Jiang Xiaowen, and Wang Chao swiftly followed suit, ensuring that they too were well beyond the reach of the forest under the dryad¡¯s control, allowing them to escape smoothly. Soon enough, Xiao Yu reunited with Du Tao. Wang Chao yelled angrily: ¡°Motherfu**er. We¡¯re all in this sorry state because of that old bastard.¡± Jiang Xiaowen was equally furious. Zhou Fu¡¯s deception had resulted in Sun Fei¡¯s senseless death, as well as the loss of one of the Hawk¡¯s members. Clenching her fists in frustration, she exclaimed, ¡°What was the point of attacking us? We were clearly leaving, weren¡¯t we?¡± Han Kexin placed her hand on Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s head and patted her slightly, before explaining, ¡°Xiaowen, you tend to see people as being too simple. This time, we were deceived by their facade. We thought they were harmless, but it turns out they were a group of wolves in sheep¡¯s clothing. From the very beginning, they had their sights set on our supplies, so they cunningly led us into the dryad¡¯s woodland, with the intention of attacking and killing us. They likely plan to take our supplies for themselves using some method.¡± ¡°What a vicious guy!¡± Du Tao said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault that things transpired like this.¡± Xiao Yu chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s not entirely your fault. I was also at fault for being careless this time. After all, they appeared to be a group of simple country folk, with many elderly, women, and children among them. Their strength seemed negligible, and I didn¡¯t think they posed much of a threat to us. Although there were a few hints here and there, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to them until it was too late.¡± Wang Chao shouted loudly: ¡°Let¡¯s go back immediately and kill them all. All of them!¡± As the group returned to the settlement with a sense of urgency, they discovered that it was completely deserted. All the makeshift shelters that had been erected were still standing, and even the stoves and iron pots that had been used for cooking were left behind. Only a few supplies and weapons appeared to have been taken. The corpses of more than 20 women and children were lying here and there on the ground, as well as those of some young men who took up arms to resist. These people obviously left in a hurry, but they did not forget to leave behind their burdens. Xiao Yu speculated that during their battle with the dryad, Zhou Fu had not strayed too far and had instead kept a safe distance to observe from afar. After witnessing the impressive fighting prowess of Xiao Yu and his group, they likely realized that the monster was not powerful enough to defeat them. However, they also feared that their enemies might turn the tables and launch a counterattack. In anticipation of this, they had hurriedly returned to the settlement, rallied their group, and fled the area as quickly as possible. Wang Chao was filled with anger. However, with no outlet to release his frustration, he vented his rage by smashing an iron pot into pieces with his mace, stomping his feet, and shouting, ¡°These cunning bastards! Fatty¡¯s so mad. Boss, let me take a few people and catch up to them. I¡¯ll make sure to wipe them all out!¡± Xiao Yu shook his head and replied, ¡°Given their cunning nature, they most likely split into multiple groups and fled deep into the forest. We might not be able to catch them, so it¡¯s better to let it go.¡± Zhou Fu may have had a simple and honest appearance, giving the impression of a hard-working farmer, but he was actually an old fox who possessed a decisive and ruthless character. His swift and resolute decision to abandon the camp and to murder any women, children, and elderly that were present in such a short period of time was indicative of his cunning and shrewd nature. With such scheming and determination, Zhou Fu has the potential to become a tyrant in these troubled times. Wang Chao was very puzzled and said, ¡°Let it go? What do you mean by that?¡± Xiao Yu raised his head and fixed his gaze on a certain direction in the forest with intense eyes. ¡°Zhou Fu? I remember that name!¡± he exclaimed. He then turned to face the others and issued a command, ¡°Destroy everything here and collect wood and dry branches from the woods. We will set fire to the forest!¡± Everyone else was surprised, ¡°What are you talking about, you want to set fire to the forest?¡± Xiao Yu spoke calmly with his hands behind his back, ¡°Indeed. Although we suffered a loss, we can also see it as a chance. The dryad is a rare monster that we couldn¡¯t afford to let it go. It¡¯s invincible in its territory, but if we set fire to the forest and burn its home, its power will be weakened to the minimum. Moreover, Zhou Fu and his group couldn¡¯t have gone too far, and we can still cause them trouble if we set fire to their escape route.¡± Without any hesitation, everyone immediately began smashing everything in the entire gathering place. They then went into the woods separately to find some flammable items, taking out all the fuel they carried and pouring it on the dry firewood and hay. They threw everything into the woods and carried out dozens of ignitions at once. The plants in this world secrete an anti-combustion substance during the burning process, which could effectively prevent the spread of fire and avoid the outbreak of large-scale forest fires, but small-scale fires could still be created. Today, the wind direction was favorable, and the fire quickly grew in size. Trees were set ablaze, and the flames began to spread northward, engulfing more and more trees in its path. Thick smoke billowed, obscuring half the sky. After setting the fire, Xiao Yu led his people back to the black forest in the south direction CH 80 As the flames raged on, they voraciously devoured the forest, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing upwards. Fanned by the relentless north wind, the inferno gradually spread further afield with each passing moment. And when night fell, the flames seemed to burn with even greater ferocity, illuminating the sky with a faint crimson hue that could be seen as far as the eye could see from the Black Forest. The surrounding woodland, spanning tens of miles in all directions, became engulfed in a thick and pungent cloud of smoke that hung heavily in the air. The smoke was especially thick in the north, where the wind carried it away in large, cotton-like waves, shrouding everything in its path. Zhou Fu and the others didn¡¯t escape into the Black Forest but were instead heading north in a certain direction. Unfortunately, luck did not seem to be on their side tonight. Even if the raging flames did not reach them, the thick, suffocating smoke would certainly make it difficult for them to breathe, causing them to choke and struggle for air. By midnight, the ferocious blaze had ceased its relentless advance and began to gradually diminish. As day broke, the fire had finally been quenched, leaving behind a smoldering aftermath that would take a day and a half to cool down completely. Only then did Xiao Yu lead a group of people into the ravaged woods. The area spanning more than ten miles was now a desolate, charred wasteland. As they walked on the still-warm ground, they were greeted by the sight of pitch-black, smoldering wood emitting thin wisps of green smoke. The ground was now covered by a thick layer of black ash, which was stirred up by the slightest breeze, creating an eerie snow-like effect. With a single, deft blade strike, Xiao Yu expertly severed a long, scorched tree that had been obstructing his path. From a distance, he spotted a towering, majestic tree that somehow managed to remain standing amidst the devastation wrought by the inferno. During the height of the blaze, everyone had been focused on burning this area, yet miraculously, the dryad still managed to emerge unscathed. However, its once-lush green leaves had turned a sickly shade of yellow and were now wrinkled and covered in soot, no longer radiating the vibrant life they had just a day prior. Without the surrounding plants to draw upon for strength and vitality, the dryad¡¯s combat power had been severely diminished. It was now no more formidable than an average monster in the latter stage of the first order. Even so, the late-first-order was not an existence that anyone could underestimate, especially given the dryad¡¯s ability to wield the terrifying and macabre ¡°Instant Disintegration skill.¡± This curse magic had the power to instantly obliterate any strong opponent, leaving no trace behind. One moment of carelessness could result in one¡¯s immediate demise, with no hope of survival. Jiang Xiaowen summoned the half-abomination with her scroll, and everyone else was ready to attack, waiting for Xiao Yu¡¯s orders. Turning to Jiang Xiaowen, Xiao Yu spoke, ¡°The dryad possesses a powerful magic that is incredibly fast and difficult to dodge. For safety¡¯s sake, I¡¯ll launch the first attack. Xiaowen, have half-abomination toss me over to its location, and the rest of you can launch a coordinated assault once I¡¯ve engaged it.¡± With an eye towards minimizing casualties, Xiao Yu urged his team to unleash a barrage of swift and aggressive attacks, hoping to bring the fight to a swift conclusion. With a mighty leap, Xiao Yu soared through the air, while the towering half-abomination stretched out its massive hands to grab hold of his legs. With a deep roar, the creature spun around with all its might, then hurled Xiao Yu towards the dryad like a shooting star. The power of the half-abomination was immense, propelling Xiao Yu towards his target with incredible force. However, the Dryad was ever vigilant and quickly spotted the intruder. Its hideous face materialized on the trunk of the tree, and in a flash, green flames gathered, coalescing into a potent ¡°Instant Disintegration skill¡± that was aimed directly at Xiao Yu. ¡°I already knew that you would use this trick!¡± A shimmering, water-blue ¡°Water Wall Ring¡± appeared in Xiao Yu¡¯s hand, its glow almost blinding. In the very next second, an enormous amount of water gushed forth from it, forming a protective barrier that enveloped him completely. This was the second-level water attribute defensive magic known as the ¡°Water Barrier¡±. As the green flames of the Dryad closed in on the barrier, it looked as if it would be consumed in an instant. However, the barrier held strong, withstanding the onslaught of the flames. Finally, the Dryad¡¯s magic dissipated, leaving only a fine mist in its wake. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yu emerged from the water vapor, brandishing his blade. He plunged it deep into the face of the monstrous entity on the trunk of the tree. With a fierce thrust, Xiao Yu¡¯s four-foot blade was completely submerged into the trunk of the dryad. The bright cyan light of the blade protruded from the other side of the trunk, indicating the depth of the cut. Suddenly, the entire tree shook violently. Then, with lightning speed, a blood-red root covered in thorns emerged from the ground, stabbing fiercely towards Xiao Yu. Sensing the danger, Xiao Yu deftly stepped onto the trunk with his right leg and drew his knife. In a single motion, he flew through the air, blade raised. As the blade and root collided, a shower of sparks burst forth. ¡°kill!¡± Jiang Xiaowen spread her wings and flew up, Wang Chao entered his berserk state, while Jin Shi with his complete rock formation, Han Kexin, and the half-abomination all rushed towards the dryad together. After releasing the instant disintegration skill, the dryad seemed to be exhausted. It was still able to extract power from the earth, but at a very slow pace. Red liquid flowed out from the piercing incisions on both sides of its body, resembling fresh blood. more than a dozen slender, blood-red roots covered with thorns suddenly broke through the ground, resembling ferocious centipedes as they attacked everyone. These were all the roots of the dryad¡¯s body, as hard as iron stones. Jin Shi rushed to the front and was caught off guard by a tree root that suddenly rushed out and hit his body, sending him flying more than ten meters away. The power of the roots was evident, showing how formidable the dryad still was. Without a chance to react, some people amongst the group were quickly pierced by the tree roots, and their bodies began to shrivel and wither. Meanwhile, the damage sustained by the dryad was healing at a seed visible to the naked eye Everyone was stunned for a moment and stopped, not daring to rush carelessly. Seeing this, Xiao Yu shouted: ¡°Everyone else backs off, only us are able to deal with it!¡± The half-abomination let out a fierce roar and swung its blood-red sickle, creating a red slash that cut through the air and struck the dryad¡¯s body. Simultaneously, Xiao Yu launched a powerful blast flame skill that resulted in a thunderous explosion. The trunk of the dryad shattered into countless pieces, and bright red liquid rained down on the ground like blood. The damage caused by the attack was severe, and more than half of the monster¡¯s trunk was blown to pieces. Four tree roots shot straight at the half-abomination, tightly binding its huge body, and then blackish energy gushed out from the half-abomination¡¯s body and was directely absorbed by the dryad along the roots. Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed in shock: ¡°No, it is absorbing the power of the half-abomination!¡± Using bullet time, Xiao Yu vanished from his spot and reappeared next to the half-abomination, delivering a forceful strike. The sound of metal clliding with metal filled the air as all four long and slender tree roots snapped off, releasing a large amount of sour and putrid liquid from the fractures. ¡°Miss Han, Xiaowen, attack with magic!¡± As Han Kexin and Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s rings glowed simultaneously, a sudden burst of flames erupted from the dryad¡¯s torso, accompanied by a massive thorn that shot up from the ground and pierced the creature¡¯s body from front to back. The dryad writhed in agony, its body trembling violently as if it were a flesh-and-blood being that could feel pain. Xiao Yu didn¡¯t give it a chance to relax and bombarding it with a blast flame. The two flame explosions had caused the dryad¡¯s massive torso to shatter, leaving the ground littered with a black, blood-like substance and stripped of its bark to reveal what lay beneath. Much to the surprise of everyone present, the interior of the creature was filled with writhing flesh and blood. To be more specific, it was a hybrid of a plant and a beast! Among the plant tissues and flesh tissues, there was something beating like a heart; obviously this was the dryad¡¯s key point. Xiao Yu was preparing to attack. Whoosh¡­Suddenly, Amidst a series of piercing sounds, over a dozen slender tree roots shot up into the sky and rapidly headed towards Xiao Yu, aiming to puncture him. Reacting swiftly, Xiao Yu swung his blade like a whirlwind, the sharp light of the blade creating an airtight shield around him. The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed through the air as he expertly parried hundreds of attacks in the blink of an eye, each one falling futilely as his defense remained unbreakable. Observing that there were no gaps to exploit, the dryad swiftly withdrew a few more roots and redirected them towards Jiang Xiaowen, targeting her with ferocity. However, the half-abomination under her control let out a deep roar and positioned itself in front of her, blocking all incoming attacks. The creature¡¯s massive body trembled with exertion as it held its ground against the oncoming assault. Seizing this opportunity, Jiang Xiaowen deftly stepped onto the creature¡¯s shoulder and, with a swift wave of her right arm, hurled her Splitting Air Spear towards the dryad. The spear tore through the air, hurtling towards it with a deafening roar. Just as it was about to strike, a tree root suddenly swept over and deflected the weapon, sending it careening off course. In the blink of an eye, the same root turned and lunged towards Han Kexin, who narrowly avoided the attack but was grazed by the sharp spikes lining the surface of the root. Ahh!¡± Jin Shi, whose whole body turned into rock, rushed up again, jumped up and grabbed the tree root stabbing at Han Kexin, while simultaneously using his free hand to block another tree root. The intense fight had taken its toll on Jin Shi, as he endured five to six whips on his body, causing chunks of rock to break off and form a fissure on him. However, despite the beating, he quickly regained his composure and backhanded the incoming tree roots with incredible strength, gathering them all in his arms. The dryad retaliated by forcefully slamming its roots back at Jinshi, but he clung on tightly. The impact sent him hurtling forward, leaving a deep, long mark on the ground beneath him. Struggling to keep his grip, he let out a loud shout, ¡°Hurry! I can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡± With a quick flip, Han Kexin leapt over Jin Shi and struck the beating heart of the monster with the toxic claw on her right hand. However, as the purple blade of her claw made contact with the demon¡¯s heart, a tree root suddenly impaled her from behind. The attack left Han Kexin severely wounded and frozen in place. Despite the injuries, the heart that she had torn open with her poisonous claws pulsed with life and broke free from the surrounding tissues. It transformed into a burst of light and swiftly shot out from the demon¡¯s body, fleeing away. As soon as the dryad¡¯s heart was removed from its body, the roots of the tree collapsed lifelessly. The dryad¡¯s heart was undeniably intelligent, and in the current state of panic, it dared not approach Xiao Yu, who was the strongest. As a result, it had no choice but to focus on breaking through by targeting Wang Chao, who appeared to be the weakest of the group. Obviously, the dryad underestimated Wang Chao¡¯s fighting power. In a berserk state, Wang Chao¡¯s speed skyrocketed and doubled, and he swung his mace with tremendous force towards the flying heart dryad. The heart, which had already been severely injured by Han Kexin¡¯s toxic claws, shattered under the impact of Wang Chao¡¯s strike, leaving only a small half remaining. The damaged heart soared into the sky, accompanied by a steady stream of blood gushing out. Already for this sake, is there any reason to let it escape? Xiao Yu gathered flames in his hand and hurled it upwards, resembling a magnificent display of fireworks bursting into the sky. The shattered heart of the dryad was completely engulfed by the blazing flames, which caused hot air waves to sweep across the area, stirring up dust all over the ground. Before long, five to six balls of light descended from the sky, and three strands of essence split and got absorbed by Xiao Yu, Han Kexin, and Wang Chao, respectively. Xiao Yu had dealt the dryad a fatal blow, which resulted in him receiving the most energy from the fallen enemy. The energy content was immense, not inferior to that of a monster in the middle stage of the first order. And Xiao Yu¡¯s strength had a slight increase . After Wang Chao and Han Kexin absorbed the essence of the dryad, they both advanced! A few minutes later, the two broke out of their cocoon. Han Kexin¡¯s appearance had undergone some changes, but not significant ones. Her long pink hair had grown down to her waist, and her facial features had become more refined and beautiful. Despite these changes, the coquettish expression between her brows remained unchanged. However, there was a new air of arrogance about her, as if she were a high-empress looking down upon all the sentient beings in the world. Wang Chao was consumed by an overwhelming sense of murderous intent, making him appear as if an unmatched deity of death had descended upon the world. His skin seemed to liquefy as a layer of blood-red condensed on the surface, enveloping his entire body. The intensity of his aura was so great that he appeared like a vicious demon god, striking fear into the hearts of all who gazed upon him. CH 81 Xiao Yu heaved a sigh of relief as the two of them advanced smoothly. First order warriors were the strongest power at this stage, and among their group, it was occupied by only five members, each of whom could be considered a top master. Among them, there was even a warrior in the middle stage of the first order. The rest of the team consisted of individuals in the middle to late stages of the elementary realm, with a few even reaching the peak elementary level. Such a formidable team was a rarity on the entire continent of chaos. If they were to venture onto the continent, they would undoubtedly be able to establish a strong foothold in no time. Han Kexin got a new innate skill, ¡°Blood Transformation.¡± while the new innate skill Wang Chao developed was ¡°Rage Body¡±. As Jiang Xiaowen touched down on the ground, she made her way over to Han Kexin. The two women exchanged a gentle embrace, and Jiang Xiaowen said with asmile. ¡°Congratulations, Teacher Han!¡± He balled his fists and savored the explosive power that coursed through his body. As he struggled to catch his breath, his chubby face reddened with excitement. He couldn¡¯t help but burst into a hearty laugh, exclaiming, ¡°Hahahaha¡­ This fat master is now at the first order! I¡¯ve finally made it!¡± In reality, what he truly meant was that he could finally break free from the oppressive grasp of Jiang Xiaowen. Jiang Xiaowen glanced at him and said, with a pooh, ¡°Fatty, what are you shouting about?¡± With his newfound strength, Wang Chao was filled with confidence. He held his head high and spoke with pride, ¡°Now that we¡¯re all at the first order, your old tricks won¡¯t work on me anymore! What do you want? Do you think i¡¯m still afraid of you?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Jiang Xiaowen narrowed her eyes slightly. Amidst the deafening sound of footsteps, she strode over with the half-abomination. With a smile, she said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to beat my bodyguard first!¡± Wang Chao felt his heart skip a beat as he was stared down by the ugly and towering half-abomination. Despite his newfound strength, he knew he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against this guy in a fight. He took two steps back, trying to distance himself from the imposing figure. Finally, he closed his mouth and averted his gaze, snorting in disdain and showing his disinterest in engaging with her. Xiao Yu gathered all the light spheres that had been dropped by the dryad. To his amazement, the dryad had left behind a total of six items, out of which two light balls were green, indicating that they were of green grade, which was quite impressive. It was no wonder that dryads were considered to be exceptionally rare creatures, as the items they dropped were even more valuable than those of ghouls and ogres. Xiao Yu opened the first green light sphere, which turned out to be an alchemy scroll. It contained a second rank recipe called ¡°Spiritual Potion¡±. The Spiritual Potion was an incredibly valuable potion. Consuming just one bottle could restore spiritual power several times faster than absorbing soul gems, whch would make it one of the most sought-after potions in the coming two years. Almost every skilled expert would purchase it at a high price and carry one or two bottles on their person in case of emergencies. Spirit Potions were not affordable for the average person, as they were quite expensive. In fact, the ingredients needed for the potion were not particularly rare. However, the alchemists who possessed the knowledge of how to create the spiritual potion could be counted on one¡¯s fingers throughout the entire continent. This scarcity of alchemists directly resulted in the high price of the potion, which remained consistently high for a long time. The handful of alchemists who knew how to make the Spirit Potion made a substantial amount of money from it, and were included in the ranks of the most renowned alchemists on the continent. This is a hard-to-find recipe! As soon as Wang Chao laid his eyes on the seemingly useless and broken recipe, his face fell with disappointment and frustration, and the expressions of the other people were no different. Little did they know that this recipe would be almost equivalent to a cornucopia in the future, and its true value would be immeasurable. Even a hundred pieces of green equipment would not be able to match its worth! Xiao Yu carefully put the blueprint into his ring, and then unsealed the second ball of light. It was a crystal of inheritance for curse-type second-rank magic¡ª¡±Instant disintegration skill¡±! All of a sudden, everyone almost had their eyes popping out in shock. Unexpectedly¡­ it unexpectedly dropped a crystal of inheritance precisely for the instant disintegration skill! Xiao Yu could clearly recall that ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± was a third-rank curse magic. But now, in his hand, was an inheritance crystal for second-rank magic, which left him feeling puzzled. However, after thinking about it, this could also explain why the dryad tried to use the instant disintegration attack twice on Xiao Yu, but both attempts failed. It was possible that, due to its lower grade, its success rate had dropped significantly. Regardless of the circumstances, ¡°Instant disintegration¡± has always been incredibly powerful magic that defied common sense, and it was also an incredibly rare ability in his previous life. Even until the end, few people were able to master this magic. Currently, Xiao Yu has the opportunity to fuse the crystal of inheritance of the ¡°Instant disintegration¡± skill, which was undoubtedly a great opportunity! Wang Chao and the others strongly urged Xiao Yu to absorb the inheritance crystal immediately. However, Xiao Yu refused to do so because he knew that after accepting the inheritance, he would enter a dormant state for a certain period of time. Hence, he needed to find a safe enough place to absorb it. Xiao Yu unsealed the remaining four white light balls. The first item was a ring, but not just any ordinary ring¡ªit was a space ring with a capacity of 30 square meters, ten times larger than the one he currently wore. The second item was a long, blood-red whip that measured over two feet in length, and resembled the root of a dryad. ¡°Vampire Whip¡±, a high-grade white weapon, has the special effect of absorbing blood, holding the same ability as the dryad¡¯s roots. Han Kexin¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the weapon, and she hurriedly said, ¡°Great! This weapon is tailor-made for me. Although the claws are both sharp, their attack distance is too short. I need a longer ranged weapon. Please give me this long whip.¡± Xiao Yu also had the same intention in mind, and handed the whip to her without any hesitation. The third item was a small, transparent green stone, about the size of two fingernails. It was crystal clear and shiny, like jade. ¡°Century Old Dryad Essence¡±, magic item, it holds the essence of a dryad condensed from absorbing the vitality of the earth and the forest. Carrying it can significantly increase the recovery speed of mental power. This was an extremely valuable alchemical material. The fourth item was a leaf as emerald as jade. ¡°Century Old Dryad Leaf¡±, magic item, this is the most important leaf of the dryad. It contains powerful magic power, and it can reduce the effects of curse magic. It is also an extremely precious alchemical material. Xiao Yu had heard of dryad essence and dryad leaves before. Dryad essence could be used in alchemy and had a 15% chance of increasing the quality level of the finished product. In the other hand, the role of dryad leaves was to increase the success rate of alchemy by 30%. These two items were rare and precious treasures that were hard to come by in this world. This battle not only allowed them to level up, but also resulted in obtaining a valuable batch of items, including the inheritance crystal for the ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± skill, which could be considered a great treasure. Unfortunately, the corpse of the dryad couldn¡¯t be consumed by the mutated slime. Otherwise, if it had swallowed a late-stage first-order monster, the mutated slime would have been one step closer to reaching the first-order. Dryads also drop a large number of soul gems, more than ogres and ghouls combined, which was a great boon. The loot included six upper soul gems, while the intermediate and lower soul gems added up to nearly a hundred. All the harvested soul gems, except for the upper level ones, were distributed amongst everyone. Soul gems had multiple uses, such as repairing equipment, replenishing consumed spiritual power, or recharging the abilities of magic items, thereby reducing the time interval between uses. These gems were valuable materials that everyone had to reserve. Although the unexpected encounter resulted in the loss of five team members, it also led to the death of a dryad and the creation of two first-order fighters. All things considered, it was a blessing in disguise for the entire team. Xiao Yu took a day of rest, and the next day everyone continued on their long journey. The group had already covered nearly half of the distance from the cave to Zhao Changping¡¯s camp, and they had completed one-third of the journey to the forest exit. Based on their current pace, they estimated that they would arrive at Zhao Changping¡¯s camp in approximately half an month. Xiao Yu planned to stay in the camp for some time, fuse the ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± crystal, and then join forces with Zhao Changping to attack the entrance of the forest and enter the continent of chaos. The team was led by five first-order masters, making it easy for them to overcome any dangers that they encountered on their journey. Additionally, there were a few more fighters who were at the peak of the elementary level. Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t come across any first-order strong monsters in the past few days. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. The sixteenth day after killing the dryad. Han Kexin shouted out, and the blood-red whip fiercely lashed out, hitting the back of a monster that looked somewhat like an orangutan. A large amount of blood was instantly drawn out and absorbed, and it was transformed into a blood-red mist-like energy through ¡°Blood Sacrifice.¡± She stretched out a finger, and the blood-red mist energy instantly gathered at the tip of her finger, condensing into a sharp red cone. Under the control of her mental power, the cone shot out straight and easily pierced the bodies of two monsters. A monster holding a vine swung down from the trees behind, wielding a hammer to sneak attack Han Kexin. Han Kexin didn¡¯t even turn her head. The blood mist swirling around her body condensed into a shield shape in front of her, blocking the monster¡¯s heavy hammer strike. Then the shield decomposed into a misty form and transformed into a large hand shape, fiercely grasping the monster¡¯s neck and throwing it away. The large hand then transformed back into blood mist and turned into countless small blood-red needles, raining down on the monster and shooting it like a beehive. Han Kexin¡¯s ability ¡°Blood Transformation¡± was incredibly powerful. Once she reached the first order , she gained the ability to transform blood energy into various forms, both offensive and defensive, making her incredibly versatile. This ability even made Xiao Yu a bit envious, she was truly living up to the title of ¡°Bloody Queen¡±, her potential was beyond compare. Not far away, another battle was also ensuing. Several monsters just raised their weapons when a blood-red shadow flashed by and sent one of the monsters flying. The other two monsters didn¡¯t have time to react, and the red shadow flashed by again, sending another monster flying. The last monster finally reacted, but the blood-red shadow appeared again, and the wolf-toothed mace blasted it more than twenty meters away, almost turning it into minced meat. Wang Chao stopped in his tracks. His body seemed to be covered in a sticky layer of blood, but upon closer inspection, one could see that tiny scales had grown all over his skin. Behind his buttocks, there was a long tail swaying, and his fangs were visible outside of his mouth. Two bone spurs protruded from his shoulders, making him look extremely ferocious. This was his new innate ability, Rage Body¡±. It was a powerful shape shifting talent that enhanced strength and speed even more than the ability to rampage(berserk). However, once transformed, Wang Chao often cannot control his emotions, which were filled with slaughter, and loses control. If this ability was used together with his berserk skill, Wang Chao would completely lose control and turn into a monster. This situation had occurred once before, almost bringing disaster to the team, but fortunately, Xiao Yu forcibly restrained him, and no chaos was caused. The others were also fighting fiercely with the monsters. Each of them had experienced numerous battles, and the situation of the battle was completely one-sided. In less than ten minutes, more than a hundred low-level monsters were completely defeated. Afterwards everyone started gathering their spoils. . The group did not stop and continued to move forward. Du Tao said, ¡°If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to reach the campsite you mentioned by tonight.¡± Xiao Yu nodded slightly, secretly thinking in his heart, ¡°It¡¯s been almost a month since we last met. I wonder how Zhao Changping is doing now.¡± CH 82 The dim evening sky was stained with blood-red hues as the sun set, casting its final rays upon the edge of the forest. There, a perfectly round, fiery-red orb shone brilliantly, radiating a magnificent golden glow. Its beauty was magnificent yet subdued, not overwhelming to the senses. The half-sky lit by the setting sun contrasted vividly against the vast green expanse of the earth, creating a stunningly picturesque scene of majestic mountains and magnificent landscapes. A newly constructed five-meter-high earthen wall surrounded the entire camp, with only one exit that was heavily guarded by many people. Seated atop the wall, Chen Feng enjoyed the cool breeze of the evening, feeling content and relaxed. As a young team leader, he now managed a team of more than twenty people. Despite his young age, he possessed the strength of a middle stage elementary warrior, and his subordinates respected him greatly due to his power. In fact, many people did not know that just over a month ago, their captain was just a nameless figure in the camp, constantly worried and fearful for his sister¡¯s safety. It wasn¡¯t until that day, when that mysterious and powerful warrior appeared, that his fate began to turn. After he single-handedly killed Black Bear, one of the high-ranking and influential leaders in the camp, that man disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again. Soon after the man¡¯s departure, the leader of the camp had a conversation with Chenfeng, and the latter greatly admired his character, leading to his promotion. This was how Chenfeng attained his current status. He was now the captain of over twenty elite warriors in the camp, but his sister, Chenshuang, was unexpectedly discovered to possess a special talent. The leader was delighted and made an exception by enlisting her in the elite squad, where she now held a position. This made even her brother, Chenfeng, envious, as the elite squad was a place where every warrior in the camp dreamed of joining. It was led by several first-order experts, and every member was very capable. ¡°My sister has joined the elite squad, and I can¡¯t lose to her,¡± Chenfeng clenched his fist and thought to himself, ¡°As long as I continue to work hard, I should be qualified to join the elite squad. The next selection of members for the squad is approaching, and I must seize that opportunity!¡± Chen Feng was thinking about it, when suddenly a subordinate shouted nearby, ¡°Who are you!¡± All the camp guards responsible for guarding the entrance were alarmed and gathered with weapons at the ready when a group of about 150 people emerged from the forest ahead. Each step they took was agile and nimble, and although their clothing was tattered and ragged, their eyes were particularly bright and sharp, like a leopard stalking its prey in the jungle. Chen Feng was startled. The other party¡¯s footsteps were well-ordered and disciplined. Though silent, they exuded an invisible aura of lethality, like a newly unsheathed knife poised to pierce through anything in its path. Such a formidable presence was something that tChen Feng had only witnessed in the camp¡¯s elite squad, and compared to the team before them, even the elite squad seemed to pale in comparison. Who are these people? Chen Feng hurriedly asked someone next to him to go and report back to the camp, then stepped forward and loudly called out, ¡°I have never seen you before. Who are you and where did you come from?¡± ¡°Zhao Changping is truly skilled. The camp is in much better condition than when I last came.¡± The large group then split apart, and Xiao Yu walked out with large strides, taking a few glances at Chen Feng before nodding and saying, ¡°Long time no see, Chen Feng. You have also grown stronger.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s you!¡± Chen Feng was a bit uncertain. Xiao Yu¡¯s appearance had changed somewhat, with long, unkempt hair and altered attire, making it difficult to recognize his face. However, when he met Xiao Yu¡¯s sharp and deep gaze, he no longer had any doubts. Overwhelmed with surprise, he exclaimed, ¡°Brother Xiao Yu! It¡¯s really you!¡± Xiao Yu nodded lightly and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Zhao Changping? I want to see him!¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Chen Feng immediately nodded and turned to his subordinates, saying, ¡°What are you all still looking at? Put down your weapons; don¡¯t just stand there. Quickly clear the way for Brother Xiao Yu.¡± ¡°Team leader, this is against the rules!¡± ¡°Forget about the rules!¡± Chen Feng immediately grew irritated. ¡°Brother Xiao Yu needs to go in. Do you think that the few of you can stop him? Quickly move aside!¡± With their team leader speaking in such a manner, the others had no choice but to move aside and let Xiao Yu and the others enter the camp. There were fewer people in the camp compared to a month ago, but many wooden houses had been built, and they could see many soldiers patrolling. All aspects of the camp were incomparable to what they had been before. After receiving the news, Zhao Changping brought his elite squad of one hundred men and rushed over, coincidentally crossing paths with Xiao Yu. Zhao Changping¡¯s elite squad of one hundred men was carefully selected over the course of the past month from a group of several thousand people in and around the camp. The entire team consisted of only one hundred members, and they strictly adhered to a system of adding and subtracting members. In other words, anyone who defeated a member of the elite squad in a fair fight could join the squad. The squad was always comprised of exactly one hundred people, no more and no less, with each member being the best of the best. However, how could the other three combat teams of Hawks, Tigers, and Bears that Xiao Yu personally led be any less exceptional? Today, the two best teams at this stage met together. Zhao Changping stretched out a hand, ¡°Long time no see.¡± Xiao Yu reached out and shook his hand, ¡°Long time no see.¡± He glanced at Zhao Changping for two seconds, then looked at the two men next to him, a smile appearing on his lips, ¡°Three first-order warriors, and you yourself are about to reach the midle first-order.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already a midlle first-order warrior, and you¡¯ve brought such an incredible team!¡± Following a wry smile, Zhao Changping swept his gaze over Han Kexin and the other three elites. He didn¡¯t have Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes of insight, but his intuition told him that these four people were extremely strong, and even if compared to himself, they were not much weaker, probably all at the low stage of first-order. In addition, the strength of the other people also amazed him. Except for the little girl among them, anyone else had the qualifications to join his elite team. Damn, what kind of team is this? Located near the edge of the forest, Zhao Changping had to deal with a lot of powerful monsters and their gathering spots, which allowed him to cultivate and train the most cutting-edge team of this stage. On the other hand, Xiao Yu led over a hundred people across thousands of miles of forest, encountering constant danger and battles along the way, finally honing his team to their current level. With constant guidance and training, each member had excellent combat skills, and Xiao Yu was confident that he could pull out any one of the three teams to compete with the entire hundred-man elite team of Zhao Changping. ¡°You must be tired after traveling so far. I¡¯ll arrange some accommodation and some clean water. You can rest after washing up.¡± Xiao Yu nodded lightly, and suddenly asked, ¡°It seems that this place has become much more deserted.¡± Zhao Changping looked somewhat solemn and said, ¡°Yes, the monsters outside have become increasingly active recently. In the past month, the camp has been attacked more than a dozen times, with some of the attacks being particularly brutal. One of them resulted in many casualties when the monsters broke into the camp. Those who are still alive are mostly warriors.¡± Xiao Yu was a little surprised, ¡°There is actually such a thing?¡± Zhao Changping seemed somewhat worried and said, ¡°It¡¯s been seven days since the last attack, and I¡¯m afraid that the next one will be even more intense. It¡¯s really not the best timing for you to arrive, but with your help, we shouldn¡¯t fear the monsters anymore.¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t worry too much. After all, in a camp with only a few thousand people, there were eight first-order warriors and three to four hundred elementary-level warriors. Safety was definitely not a problem. The most pressing task was to absorb the inheritance crystal as soon as possible, master the ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± ability, and then plan to break out of the forest. Zhao Changping arranged a quiet place for him. After cleaning up and resting for half a day, Xiao Yu finally took out the green crystal of inheritance and began to receive the skill. In his sea of consciousness, the Instant Disintegration skill appeared as a gray air current that was enveloped by a shining green inheritance seed. Following the old method, Xiao Yu first absorbed the inheritance seed and then absorbed the curse¡¯s origins¡¯ power. The entire process took about four to five hours. The inheritance seed was completely absorbed, and a part of the origins¡¯ power dissipated, with an absorption rate of around 65%, which was already very good. This ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± skill was an incomplete inheritance. The real ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± skill was a third-rank magic that was effective against monsters below the fourth order. However, this one was only effective against creatures below the third order. The success rate was also much lower. Even if the crystal was completely absorbed, the success rate of cursing an opponent with comparable strength was only about 60 percent. However, since Xiao Yu did not fully absorb the entirety of the origins¡¯ power, this success rate was further reduced to only about 40 percent. And the success rate of cursing an opponent whose strength was higher than his own was even more negligible. Regardless, the ¡°Instant Disintegration ¡± skill was a powerful magic ability. It had its own advantages, even if the inherited information was incomplete. Furthermore, if it were third-rank magic, with Xiao Yu¡¯s current power, he would definitely not be able to master it. However, second-rank magic consumed relatively less spiritual power, so Xiao Yu could barely use it with his first-order power. After the inheritance was completed, Xiao Yu fell into a deep sleep phase. When inheriting the ¡°Flame Missile¡± skill, he slept for a whole day. Flame Missle was a first-rank ability. Hence, this time, the duration of his sleep should be even longer. For two days, Han Kexin and others took turns guarding his residence. Zhao Changping warmly welcomed the others and, at the same time, recalled the elite troops that were sent out in order to rest and prepare for Xiao Yu¡¯s awakening. He was only waiting for that moment so that he could launch his army and advance northward to jointly attack the edge of the forest! Two whole days and nights have passed, but Xiao Yu was still in a state of deep sleep and has yet to awaken. At this time, Wang Chao and Jin Shi were wandering around the campsite. Suddenly, various kinds of roars and howls echoed from the surrounding forests, and heavy footsteps were approaching the campsite. The people in the campsite realized what was happening and shouted in horror, ¡°The monsters are attacking, the monsters are attacking!¡± Wang Chao and Jin Shi looked at each other in shock, not expecting the monsters to attack the camp at this moment. They quickly gathered the members of their respective teams, organized their equipment, and prepared for battle. At this time, shouts and sounds of fighting echoed from all sides of the walls, indicating that the monsters were already engaged in battle with the people. Zhao Changping sensed the severity of the situation and immediately led his elite troops to join the fight. The monsters attacked in the dead of night with such grand momentum. The scale of the attack was probably greater than all previous ones! ¡°The boss is still sleeping; we must defend the camp.¡± Wang Chao raised his wolf-toothed mace and shouted to the members of the Tiger Team, ¡°Everyone, grab your weapons; we are going out to fight!¡± Jin Shi also shouted, ¡°Kill!¡± Zhao Changping led his elite team to the north gate, where the camp entrance was located. Wang Chao and his team rushed towards the southern wall, while Jin Shi was in charge of defending the western wall. As they climbed up the wall, everyone gasped in shock. Thousand of monsters of different shapes and colors charged out from the forests in all directions, their numbers beyond imagination. Among them, one or two first-order monsters were even mixed in! If it weren¡¯t for the sudden addition of Xiao Yu¡¯s team, the camp would have been lost for sure. An unimaginable battle was about to start! CH 83 It was difficult to count the number of monsters, with nearly a thousand in each direction. One-third of them were elementary level monsters with strong fighting power. Each group of monsters was led by one or two first-order monsters. They were of different species and possessed different combat styles, making them even more difficult to deal with. All they could do was defend the camp and block the monsters¡¯ attacks. A group of one-eyed ape-men rushed to the wall, and the fragile earth wall was completely vulnerable to their punches. They immediately opened a passage, and a large number of monsters rushed in one after another. Wang Chao unleashed his berserk state, roared, and jumped off the wall, blocking the group of incoming monsters. With his wolf tooth mace, he smashed three one-eyed ape-men into minced meat, and the strong force blew down a large number of monsters. On the other hand, the Tigers¡¯ vice team leader Zhao Dahai led the other team members to rush over, and in one round of attack, they annihilated dozens of monsters. The bravery of Wang Chao and others boosted the morale of the camp guards who came to assist. However, the dozens of monsters that were eliminated were nothing compared to the huge monster horde. The monsters kept rushing and fighting against the humans from all directions, and the deafening cries of battle resounded through the night. In just a few minutes, more than a hundred monsters had fallen. After crushing more than 20 monsters, Wang Chao finally confronted a first-order monster that charged towards him. It was a blood-red, one-eyed ape-man with immense strength and agility, making it quite formidable. Even with his transformation, Wang Chao could only fight it on an equal footing. Finally, Zhao Dahai came to his aid, and together they managed to hold it off. The number of monsters was several times greater than that of humans, so this battle was destined to be very difficult. Just as the battle began, several sharp and ear-piercing screams suddenly came from the sky. Under the night sky, a group of bird-like monsters were flapping their wings and flying towards them, numbering about a hundred. The strange-looking birds had wingspreads of about three meters and weren¡¯t particularly huge. They had black feathers and long, sharp claws, yet these monsters were almost indistinguishable from ordinary birds, except for the fact that they had a woman¡¯s face attached to their necks. Their faces were quite charming, with blue eyes and pointed ears, but they looked out of place with their bird body. The feathers of the frontmost harpy ahead were bright and pinkish, and its body size was three points larger than the other harpies. It was a first-order monster. ¡°Watch out! There are monsters¡¯ reinforcements!¡± Han Kexin looked at the flying birds as she heard sounds of fighting all around her. She felt uneasy as she thought about Xiao Yu still sleeping in the house she was currently protecting. So she turned and declared to Jiang Xiaowen beside her, ¡°You go and help the others; I should be able to handle it here. Don¡¯t let the monsters break in!¡± Jiang Xiaowen hesitated for a moment, then nodded and spread her wings to fly. About a hundred strange harpies circled back and forth in the sky, the flapping of their wings disturbing people¡¯s minds. The harpy leader swooped down first, opening its mouth to emit a piercing scream that made everyone present feel dizzy. The other harpies followed suit, their talons flashing like lightning as they grabbed people on the ground, lifting them up a hundred meters in the air before dropping them back down. ¡°It¡¯s actually using mental attacks!¡± Upon hearing the screech of the harpy¡¯s leader, Jiang Xiaowen abruptly stopped mid-flight and hurled her spear towards the creature while fiercely flapping her wings to rush towards it. The harpydodged the incoming spear, but Jiang Xiaowen had already arrived and grabbed the spear in midair, using its momentum to slam it heavily onto the creature¡¯s body. The harpylet out a pitiful cry and was thrown several meters away, with more than a dozen pink feathers fluttering down from the sky. Upon witnessing this, Han Kexin couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Well done, Xiaowen!¡± The leader of the harpies was enraged and conjured up one wind blade after another, which Jiang Xiaowen fearlessly dodged with her agile and evasive maneuvers. Countless specks of shining dust flew out from between her wings, sprinkling the sky with sparkling dots. Over a dozen harpieswere covered by the ¡°dream dust¡± mental attack and swayed as they plummeted from the sky, before getting killed by the humans below. Although the monster was not a particularly powerful monster, it was exceptionally cunning and skilled at mental attacks. Jiang Xiaowen and the monster had been fighting in midair for a long time without a clear victor, and neither could gain the upper hand over the other. As Han Kexin looked around and noticed that all the surrounding walls were guarded and that Jiang Xiaowen was holding the leader of the harpyin the sky, she judged that the situation was stabilizing for the time being. However, before she could sigh in relief, the ground suddenly shook, and dirt rolled up from several places inside the camp. Out of the ground came monsters with scales all over their bodies, resembling rats but the size of water buffaloes. They were monsters that could burrow underground! Han Kexin felt the ground shake behind her and turned around in alarm. Two enormous rodents burst out of the soil and slammed into the shoddy wooden hut, causing it to collapse immediately. ¡°No!¡± Han Kexin swung her whip around the neck of the drilling rodents, tightened it, and the spikes on the whip penetrated into the neck of the drilling rodent. Blood was instantly extracted and transformed into misty energy. ¡°Squeak!¡± The leader of the harpies, who had been battling fiercely in the air with Jiang Xiaowen, suddenly found a target on the ground. It gave up entangling with Jiang Xiaowen and swooped down. Its huge claws reached into the rubble of the wooden house and grabbed Xiao Yu, who had not yet awakened. Jiang Xiaowen and Han Kexin saw this and exclaimed in unison. The latter reacted quickly and shook her whip, wrapping it around the feet of the harpies¡¯ leader. The monster screamed, spread its wings, and flew toward the sky. Han Kexin¡¯s strength was not enough to pull the harpy, but she held on tightly and was also brought into the air. Jiang Xiaowen saw that Xiao Yu was caught and grew anxious, rushing after them. Unexpectedly, the harpy leader turned around and unleashed a blow of wind blades. This time, Jiang Xiaowen couldn¡¯t completely avoid these attacks. A wind blade left a wound on her shoulder, causing her to fall from the sky and land on the ground. Although she wasn¡¯t seriously injured, she watched helplessly as the harpies¡¯ leader took Xiao Yu and Han Kexin away. Jiang Xiaowen looked at them being taken away and cried out in despair, ¡°Xiao Yu, Teacher Han!¡± Dozens of burrowing rodents appeared from inside the camp, causing chaos among everyone. Meanwhile, the scene of the harpy leader taking Xiao Yu and Han Kexin away was seen by many people. Wang Chao, Jin Shi, and others were in a state of panic, which caused cracks in their defense, allowing more monsters to enter the camp. Their formation was disrupted and they were forced to retreat. The camp was completely overwhelmed. Zhao Changping had no other choice but to shout, ¡°We can¡¯t hold the camp anymore, everyone follow me and break through to the north!¡± Wang Chao was both anxious and angry. At this critical moment, he couldn¡¯t care less about the consequences and entered the ¡°rage body¡± state. His whole body emitted a red light and heat, as if he were a burning iron. He completely lost his reason and had only one thought in mind: to fight his way out. Like a demon god, Wang Chao charged forward in a burst of red light; every swing of his wolf-toothed mace resulted in a spray of blood and minced meat, and a large group of monsters were defeated by him. His ferocity was terrifying. Jin Shi also unleashed his most powerfull state, his whole body turning into rock. All attacks seemed to have no effect on him, and his warhammer smashed countless heads to pieces. The hammer was covered in a mixture of red and white substances, while the half-Abomination beside him advanced like a meat grinder. Zhao Changping couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Xiao Yu¡¯s subordinates are all fearless warriors!¡± ¡­¡­¡­ Han Kexin held a whip in one hand and had already been brought to an altitude of over 200 meters by the harpies¡¯ leader. Her position was a blind spot for attacks, and the monster could only try to shake her off by constantly flapping its wings. However, Han Kexin firmly held onto the whip and refused to let go no matter how much it shook. The blood mist surrounding her churned and transformed into a blood-red, sharp blade, which fiercely stabbed into the monster¡¯s body. The harpy let out a mournful cry and suddenly dove down, carrying Han Kexin through a forest. Han Kexin was scraped by countless tree branches and suffered many injuries, but any wounded area instantly healed and recovered on its own. Seeing that Han Kexin still refused to let go, the harpies¡¯ leader was both angry and fearful, and it let out a long cry, summoning dozens of ordinary harpies¡¯ to rush over. Han Kexin¡¯s ring shone brightly, and burst of flame exploded in the midst of the incoming harpies¡¯ flock, instantly blowing them to pieces. She continued to absorb the scattered blood through ¡°Blood Sacrifice¡± to convert it into her own energy, and then transformed it into a long spear to once again stab into the abdomen of the harpies¡¯ leader. A large amount of blood gushed out of the wound, staining the harpy¡¯s originally beautiful pink feathers red. Its charming face was filled with pain and anger. It opened its mouth and let out a piercing scream. Han Kexin was subjected to a mental attack; her vision went black, and her hand almost let go of the whip. Fortunately, her willpower was stronger than the average person¡¯s, and she quickly recovered. She relentlessly controlled the blood-formed sharp blades and spears, crazily stabbing into and out of the harpy¡¯s body, dealing more than a dozen heavy blows in succession. Han Kexin fiercely battled with the monster, gradually gaining the upper hand. As a result, the harpies¡¯ leader drifted lower and lower, and its cries became weaker and weaker. Han Kexin found that the height was just right. So she gathered all her strength, manipulated the long spear transformed from blood, and launched one last attack with all her might. The blood spear pierced through the back of the harpy, completely penetrating it. The monster suffered a fatal injury, and its power rapidly dissipated. It fell diagonally from the air, passing through a dense forest, and finally fell into a not-so-deep stream in the woodland with a splash. Xiao Yu fell into the water. Stimulated by the icy creek, he opened his eyes suddenly and sat up. He felt sore all over, as if his bones were falling apart. He took a glance at the dying harpies¡¯ leader beside him, and then saw Han Kexin, who had fallen not far away and was covered in injuries, exhausted. He immediately understood what had happened. ¡°Squeak¡ª!¡± The harpy leader was dying, and she glared at Han Kexin with resentment, and a huge wind blade quickly took shape. However, a ball of green flames was faster, as it shot before directly landing on the harpy¡¯s body. The blazing green fire instantly enveloped the body of the harpy leader, and in the next second, the monster turned into millions of specks of dust that drifted in the air, leaving only three dropped light balls. Xiao Yu had been asleep for three days and was supposed to wake up tonight, but he was still disturbed by the ruckus and woke up. Hence he would suffer some mental injury to some extent. The spiritual power consumption of the ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± skill was even greater than that of the ¡°Blast Flame¡± skill. As soon as he used it, he immediately felt a splitting headache and almost passed out. Han Kexin struggled to walk over and helped Xiao Yu up, asking with concern, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t guard you well and you were awakened early. How do you feel? Are you okay?¡± She understood the dangers of absorbing a crystal of inheritance. After all, during the process, it was essential to avoid disturbance. However, now that Xiao Yu had been awakened by an external force, it was uncertain whether there would be any problems. Xiao Yu indeed felt a bit groggy and confused. He waved his hand with some effort and said, ¡°I have completely fused the inheritance. I just woke up a little earlier than expected and suffered some minor mental injuries. As long as I rest for some time, there shouldn¡¯t be any bad repercussions .¡± CH 84 The implications of mental injuries could vary greatly; for example, excessive use of skills leading to this state may only result in minor injuries as this is merely caused by overexertion, which would automatically recover with time and rest. However, some mental injuries were more serious as they were directly linked to a person¡¯s spirit, which often leads to very serious consequences and various complications, such as growing demented, becoming a vegetable, or even brain death¡­ Han Kexin dared not be careless. She carefully stepped on the cool stream water and supported Xiao Yu to the grassy bank. She stared at his pale face with concern and treated him with all her remaining strength. ¡°I know my own situation. I¡¯m fine. You really don¡¯t have to worry too much¡­¡± Xiao Yu opened his eyes and met Han Kexin¡¯s gaze, and he couldn¡¯t continue his sentence. Her movements were gentle, and under the moonlight, her bright pink eyes revealed a deep affection, like a wife taking care of her sick husband. Xiao Yu suddenly felt a bit confused. Is this really the same person who had dominated the world in her past life, the ruthless and infamous Bloody Queen who was known throughout the continent for her beauty and ruthlessness? Han Kexin picked up the two balls of light dropped by the Strange Monster. It was easy to encounter danger in the wild at night, so she carried Xiao Yu on her back and followed the stream until they found a relatively safe small cave. Han Kexin killed a bear living inside, left the body outside, and the two of them stayed in the cave temporarily until they recovered before searching for others. Xiao Yu took out a bottle from his space ring, and the liquid inside emitted a faint glow, illuminating the dark cave. Xiao Yu drank a few drops and handed the bottle to Han Kexin. ¡°This is the fountain of life¡¯s water, which can speed up your recovery process.¡± Han Kexin followed suit and drank a few drops. She felt instantly rejuvenated, and her fatigue disappeared almost instantly. ¡°It¡¯s really amazing!¡± Xiao Yu half leaned on a rock, calmed down, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? What happened back in the camp?¡± Han Kexin confided in Xiao Yu about the monster attack and expressed her concern, saying, ¡°The situation in the camp may be extremely perilous at the moment. I¡¯m not sure if Xiaowen and the others can make it out safely. Even if they do manage to escape, what about everyone else?¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s expression remained stoic, devoid of any signs of joy or sorrow. He closed his eyes and leaned against the boulder, stating, ¡°I have faith in Xiaowen, Fatty, and stone¡¯s ability to protect themselves. There¡¯s no point in worrying, and we can only resign ourselves to fate.¡± Han Kexin vigorously shook her head, indicating her reluctance to ponder further. ¡°Let me see what useful things that bird dropped first,¡± she announced as she untied the first light ball left by the harpy. It contained a magic scroll called ¡°Blowing Rain Blades,¡± a white medium-grade item capable of summoning a second rank ranged magic skill that could unleash a devastating ¡°Blowing Rain Blades¡± attack with a range of 50 meters. Xiao Yu spoke slowly: ¡°Magic skills in scrolls are usually large-scale magic attacks. This scroll is very useful. You don¡¯t have to give it to me, just keep it for yourself.¡± Han Kexin stated, ¡°50 square meters, what a huge range of attack. If this was used back at the camp where we got surrounded by monsters, it would have definitely dealt a heavy blow to them.¡± Han Kexin put the scroll into her space ring and then unsealed the second light ball. A red, spherical object appeared in her hand, emitting a strange fragrance. It was called ¡°Succubus Bird Essence.¡± Xiao Yu explained, ¡°These are items formed from various emotions or desires of monsters. They are typically only useful in alchemy or refining. Due to the special emotional energy they contain, they are highly unstable. Keep it safe, as it will come in handy in the future.¡± Han Kexin found the pink sphere to be warm and comfortable to hold in her hand. Before Xiao Yu could finish speaking, driven by curiosity, she used her finger to poke the essence ball, which felt like white jade. To her surprise, the light poke caused a hole to form in the essence ball, causing it to suddenly expand. ¡°What happened? I only gave it a light poke!¡± she exclaimed. Xiao Yu was shocked and urgently said, ¡°This is the solidified embodiment of emotions, a highly unstable substance. Quickly get rid of it!¡± Boom! He hadn¡¯t finished his explanation when Han Kexin was about to throw the essence out of her hand. However, the succubus bird essence had already expanded to its limit and exploded first, engulfing Han Kexin and Xiao Yu in a pink mist. The process was so quick that they didn¡¯t even have time to react. They both inhaled the gas with a strange fragrance, and a hot feeling instantly erupted from their hearts and spread throughout their bodies. Xiao Yu opened his eyes wide and said, ¡°It¡¯s actually desire!¡± As a lustful bird demon by nature, the combination of emotion and desire made the essence naturally become an embodiment of lust and desire! ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to break it!¡± Han Kexin panicked. She felt her body becoming increasingly hot, panting softly as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why do I feel dizzy and my body feels so numb?¡± Xiao Yu gazed at Han Kexin¡¯s gradually blurred eyes and rushed to cover her mouth and nose, shouting loudly, ¡°Hold your breath!¡± Han Kexin¡¯s face flushed; her beautiful eyes, like autumn water, were blurred, and a vague hint of resentment flashed through them. She thought to herself, ¡°He really is made of wood. At a time like this, he still doesn¡¯t realize my feelings?¡± As Han Kexin¡¯s eyes grew increasingly hazy, Xiao Yu began to feel a strange sensation in his body. After all, the succubus bird was a first-order monster, and its essence contained its desires and emotions, which were enough to affect any warrior. He didn¡¯t know how long he could control himself. The pink, misty substance wasn¡¯t just inhaled through breathing; it acted like a living thing, actively attaching itself to the body and seeping in through the pores. ¡°No, we have to get out of here!¡± At that moment, Han Kexin embraced Xiao Yu, and her gaze, filled with a faint hint of resentment, locked onto him. He was taken aback for a moment, then felt her soft and alluring lips press against his. Xiao Yu retained a trace of consciousness and instinctively wanted to push her away. But as he extended his hands, he accidentally touched the two peaks on her chest, which were far too full to be grasped by just one hand. He felt a fire burning uncontrollably within his body. Han Kexin had completely succumbed to the moment, or perhaps it was her intention all along to do something with Xiao Yu, so she never resisted at any point. Her soft body pressed tightly against him, her long legs wrapped around him like an octopus, and she let out a series of low gasps and moans that made his bones feel weak. In a moment, his clothing were taking off and her lingerie was half off, revealing her flawless and seductive body. With her last bit of consciousness, Han Kexin whispered softly, ¡°Xiao Yu¡­¡± Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes widened. Even though he was a strong warrior, he was still a man, a young man in his twenties, with a strong and vigorous body. In the dark and damp cave, the air was filled with a bewildering scent. In the end, the two young bodies intertwined with each other. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next morning, the sun rose from the horizon, casting a golden layer of brilliant light over the entire forest. The gentle breeze was very cool. Inside a small mountain cave, Han Kexin lay on Xiao Yu¡¯s shoulder like a docile kitten, completely naked. Xiao Yu¡¯s hand rested on her smooth back, while his other hand pressed against her plump and round buttocks. At the end of her straight and smooth legs, there was a faint hint of redness. She looked peaceful and satisfied in her sleep, her face flushed with a drunken glow. Xiao Yu regained consciousness before her, looking at the enchanting and bewitching beauty in his arms before feeling a slight stir in his heart. He never imagined that he would unexpectedly establish this kind of relationship with Han Kexin. After about half an hour, Han Kexin woke up from her slumber with a gentle stir. As she opened her eyes and locked gazes with Xiao Yu, a hint of shyness flashed across her beautiful face. She lifted her soft arms, hooked them around Xiao Yu¡¯s neck, and twisted her supple body like a snake, offering her two red lips and moving her tongue in a seductive manner, captivating him completely. ¡°Hmph, why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± After the hot kiss, Han Kexin held onto Xiao Yu tightly and whispered, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m dead.¡± Xiao Yu gently caressed her silky smooth skin and said, ¡°Miss Han¡­¡± Han Kexin looked up, her eyes like rippling spring water revealing a deep sense of resentment. Her charming and enchanting demeanor seemed as if she could melt away completely, body and soul. ¡°Why do you still call me Miss Han?¡± she asked. ¡°Okay¡­ Kexin.¡± Xiao Yu shook his head inwardly, then said with a serious expression, ¡°Although this was an accident, from now on, you are my woman!¡± ¡°I was afraid you¡¯d change your mind. From now on, when we¡¯re alone, you must address me like this, or else I¡¯ll be upset with you.¡± Han Kexin breathed a sigh of relief and had a look of happiness on her face. ¡°Of course, Kexin is willing to be your woman, to be with a strong man like you. From now on, I am yours, and I am so happy. No matter what happens, I will only be with you in this lifetime¡­ You can¡¯t get rid of me.¡± Xiao Yu lightly patted her and said, ¡°Alright, put on your clothes, let¡¯s go.¡± Han Kexin looked slightly surprised and asked, ¡°Go where?¡± Xiao Yu replied, ¡°Because of the spiritual essence we absorbed last night, my mental injury has already healed, and my fighting power has fully recovered.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± Han Kexin hugged his neck and sat on Xiao Yu¡¯s lap, charmingly throwing a flirtatious look, ¡°So, shall we do it one or two more times?¡± Any man who gets his hands on this seductive beauty will probably be unable to resist. However, Xiao Yu resisted the temptation and furrowed his brows, saying, ¡°Stop fooling around, Fatty, Xiaowen, and the others are still in danger. We need to find them.¡± Han Kexin¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s name. That¡¯s right, yesterday, due to the influence of the spiritual essence combined with the underlying feelings she had for Xiao Yu, she was only focused on basking and venting her desires, forgetting about everything else. Jiang Xiaowen also had deep feelings for Xiao Yu, so how could she explain their relationship to her when she returned? Han Kexin was feeling a bit of a headache. Although she felt guilty for Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s sake, Xiao Yu was someone she would never let go of, no matter what. Similarly, Han Kexin couldn¡¯t bear to hurt that kind and lovely girl. The only solution was to keep it a secret for now. In any case, with Xiao Yu¡¯s personality, he would never publicly display any intimate behavior towards her. Jiang Xiaowen might not even notice, and they could keep it hidden for as long as possible. At worst, she could even try to matchmake them. In these times, it was quite normal for a powerful man to have multiple women or for a powerful woman to have several men, so someone like Xiao Yu was not unusual in that regard. ¡°Besides, our intimacy was purely accidental. I didn¡¯t deliberately try to seduce him.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡± After comforting herself, Han Kexin¡¯s sense of guilt slightly subsided. She slowly left Xiao Yu¡¯s embrace and stretched out her graceful and charming body, with skin as smooth and delicate as jade, like the most perfect work of art in the world. Her beautiful and stunning face, despite the hardships of the night, added a touch of soft charm to her already alluring demeanor. This queen, who was high above others, now wore a gentle and affectionate gaze. ************ TN: the harpy in this chapter is called succubus bird, but in the previous chapter they called it human faced bird which is essentially a harpy especially since it called to have woman head that¡¯s why i made that translation. CH 85 Xiao Yu and Han Kexin sneaked back to the camp and discovered that there were a large number of monsters wandering around the place. It was evident that the camp had been taken over. They didn¡¯t linger and followed the traces left by the crowd when they broke through, finally finding everyone about ten miles away. With only a little over four hundred people left out of the original one thousand and three hundred in the camp, it was clear that the battle had been fierce. Wang Chao laid on the ground, covered in injuries and unable to move his limbs. Even moving his little finger felt excruciatingly difficult. In the escape last night, he had activated his ¡°rage body¡± ability with ¡°Rampage¡± and charged at the front of the team, creating a bloody path. As a result, he sustained the most severe injuries. Although Jin Shi¡¯s Rock Defense was extremely resilient and he had barely been injured during the battle, he was now completely exhausted and had no strength left. Jiang Xiaowen and Zhao Changping had also suffered tremendous spiritual exhaustion and were currently sitting on the ground, using soul gems to recover. Most of the other team members were injured, sitting, lying down, or leaning against trees, all feeling weak and occasionally groaning in pain. Yun Yun was skilled in long-range attacks and had been at the rear of the team during the breakout, so her injuries were relatively minor. She was the first to notice movement in the woods and immediately grasped her longbow, ready to pull the string and shoot an arrow in that direction. Xiao Yu¡¯s voice came through, saying to her, ¡°Yun Yun, it¡¯s us. Don¡¯t shoot.¡± Yun Yun recognized Xiao Yu¡¯s voice, and a hint of joy appeared on her face. ¡°Xiao Yu, Teacher Han!¡± Jiang Xiaowen quickly stood up, looked in that direction, and recognized Xiao Yu and Han Kexin walking side by side. She let out a long sigh of relief and went to meet them, calling out, ¡°Are you both okay? That¡¯s great! That¡¯s great!¡± Suddenly, she looked at Han Kexin with a puzzled expression, sizing her up and down. Han Kexin felt a little guilty and forced out a smile. ¡°Hehe, Xiaowen, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Xiaowen frowned and said, ¡°Why do I feel like you look a little different than usual, Teacher Han?¡± Han Kexin¡¯s heart raced, and she glanced at Xiao Yu, who didn¡¯t show any reaction. She then stammered, ¡°Different¡­in what way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Jiang Xiaowen said, shaking her head. Han Kexin immediately changed the subject, ¡°Are you all okay? Is this all that¡¯s left? How could the casualties be this high?¡± Jin Shi, Sun Dazhu, Huang Jianmin, and Du Tao were all still alive. All the original inhabitants of the underground cave cheered together as Xiao Yu and Han Kexin returned safely and unharmed. This was a huge encouragement for them. Xiao Yu approached Zhao Changping and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Just a minor injury, but this time we dragged you down with us into this mess,¡± Zhao Changping stood up with a bitter smile. His face was pale, indicating that he had consumed a lot of his spiritual power. His armor was shattered in many places, and there was a deep wound on his chest. His shoulder armor was also broken, and half of his body was stained with blood. He smiled bitterly and said, ¡°The camp is destroyed, and most of the people couldn¡¯t escape. My elite one hundred-man team sustained heavy casualties.¡± ¡°Jin Shi. How about our losses?¡± Jin Shi reported on their casualties: ¡°The Tiger team has 35 remaining members, the Bear team has 42, the Eagle team has 39, and there are only four people left in the command unit. We suffered heavy losses in this battle. Fatty is also seriously injured, and I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be able to recover in the short term.¡± Xiao Yu examined Wang Chao, who was covered in blood and lying motionless on the ground, and frowned slightly. ¡°Did you go berserk while in that transformed state again?¡± Wang Chao seemed to have no strength left to speak. His throat moved, and he hoarsely said, ¡°Damn it, do you think I wanted to? The situation was critical¡­ I had no choice!¡¯¡± Xiao Yu took out half a bottle of the water of life and poured a small amount into his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s alright now. The water of life is a sacred item for healing, and it can also help restore spiritual power. Just rest well for a day, and everything will be fine.¡± He handed the bottle to Han Kexin and said, ¡°Let every seriously injured person have a sip.¡± Zhao Changping¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the large bottle of water of life. He had given most of the ones he had obtained to his subordinates and only had one left that he didn¡¯t want to use unless it was absolutely necessary. He never expected Xiao Yu to be so generous and immediately took out half a bottle to share with everyone. The water of life had excellent healing effects, and even a small drop could have a significant healing effect and help restore physical and spiritual power to some extent. Zhao Changping said, ¡°Everyone is hungry, and most of our supplies are still back in the camp and haven¡¯t been taken out.¡± Xiao Yu explained the situation in the camp he just saw. ¡°I just infiltrated the area near the camp for inspection. After the monsters captured the camp, they dispersed into the surrounding forest and are now scattered and relatively sparse. We, four hundred people, have the ability to kill our way back to the camp!¡± Jiang Xiaowen was a little surprised. ¡°Kill our way back?!¡± Zhao Changping grinned. ¡°Last night we killed monsters in the hundreds, if not thousands. There¡¯s a lot of loot that we haven¡¯t had time to collect, and a large number of monsters are still there, including many first-order creatures. It would be such a waste to miss such an opportunity to improve our strength and gear. I also agree with the plan to kill our way back to the camp!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s act in the evening when everyone has recovered,¡± Xiao Yu said, nodding his head. After being treated with the water of life, everyone¡¯s condition improved significantly, and they were able to recover after just ten hours of rest. Han Kexin even went out of her way to specially heal Wang Chao, allowing him to regain most of his fighting power. With the camp as their central point, the surrounding area was swarming with monsters. However, this time, the monsters were scattered more sparsely than during the previous night¡¯s intense surge, making it much easier for Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping to eliminate them. The two leaders divided their troops into two groups and set out to eliminate the monsters from different directions. As they ventured further into the forest, they soon came across the first group of monsters¡ªa herd of bull-like creatures covered in scales and boasting three horns on their heads. These elementary level monsters numbered around forty, and although not particularly large, they possessed astonishing strength, capable of knocking over a locomotive with their sheer force. Fortunately, their meat was delicious and could serve as a valuable source of food. ¡°Don¡¯t just look; kill them.¡± Xiao Yu gave an order, and the crowd rushed forward. Han Kexin flicked the whip from a long distance away, and with a bang, the whip directly knocked a scally bull to the ground. Most of the scales on its body were broken, and the injury could not be endured. Swiftly, the blood was absorbed by the whip, and transformed into blood-red energy by Han Kexin. Others had already come into contact with the scale armor bulls, and most of these monsters were killed on the spot when they collided. Jiang Xiaowen controlled a scale armor bull, then stepped back and handed the spear in her hand to the little girl Tian Tian, ¡°Tian Tian, this bull is under my control, go and kill it!¡± ¡°Okay, thank you, big sister!¡± Despite Tian Tian¡¯s young age, she had been working hard for several days and had already killed some monsters with the help of Tian Hongguang and his wife. She took the splitting air spear and ran over to fiercely stab it into the neck of the motionless scale armor bull, causing blood to gush out. The little Tian Tian was quite afraid of blood and she staggered back several steps. Before long, the scale armor bull died due to excessive blood loss. After absorbing that essence, Tian Tian advanced to the next level. In just a few minutes, dozens of scale armor bulls were completely wiped out. Although their strength was not very high, their meat was extremely delicious and tasty. Xiao Yu now had a thirty-square-meter space ring, which naturally needed to be filled with more things to avoid wasting the empty space. Tian Tian completed her advancement and underwent some changes. This doll-like girl first grew taller; her ears became pointed, and a strange green magic symbol appeared on her smooth forehead. ¡°What happened, Tian Tian?¡± Tian Tian was a bit dazed, and after a moment, she patted her little head and said, ¡°There are so many changes happening.¡± She stretched out a small hand and placed it on the ground. Just as everyone was puzzled, wondering what she was doing, a green vine suddenly rushed out of the ground ahead, entwining around a small tree as thick as a bowl. It suddenly tightened and compressed, exerting tremendous force on the trunk, which broke into several pieces, causing the entire tree to collapse. Jiang Xiaowen exclaimed happily, ¡°It¡¯s actually an innate skill. Tian Tian, you¡¯re amazing!¡± Tian Tian giggled foolishly and quickly thanked Jiang Xiaowen, saying, ¡°Thank you, big sister. Thank you, big sister.¡± Xiao Yu and Han Kexin exchanged a surprised look, each showing a hint of astonishment. Jiang Xiaowen simply liked this little girl and wanted to help her advance, as having basic strength would provide some self-protection. However, what they never expected was that this act would add another elementary warrior to the team who possessed a special innate skill. Tian Tian¡¯s elementary innate skill was called ¡°Strangling Vines¡± a skill that could summon several flexible and strong vines to bind and strangle the target. Tian Tian awakening to her special talent brought the most joy to her parents, Tian Hongguang and his wife, as many members of the team had been dissatisfied with their presence. Tian Tian had been slowing them down, and because of her, Tian Hongguang and his wife were always hesitant to fight and never fought with all their might. But now that they had discovered she had a special talent, they could naturally gain more respect and increase their status, and their situation would be greatly different. In less than two hours, they had killed over four hundred monsters and obtained around twenty pieces of equipment and items, all of which were divided among everyone. By the time Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping met up, it was already dark. Zhao Changping asked right away, ¡°Did you guys encounter any first order monsters?¡± Xiao Yu replied, ¡°No, we didn¡¯t.¡± Zhao Changping wore a solemn expression as he spoke, ¡°As expected, they¡¯re all concentrated in the center. There are about eight to nine of them, so be careful when attacking.¡± The two groups made their way back to camp, collecting a lot of loot along the way¡ªabout a dozen items in total¡ªwhich were shared equally between the two sides. The camp came into view in the distance, but it was completely destroyed. The fence that Zhao Changping had labored over had completely collapsed, and all of the wooden and stone structures inside had been destroyed. A large number of monsters had gathered there, and human remains were scattered all over the ground. Many of the monsters were still chewing on human limbs and severed arms. Zhao Changping¡¯s fists clenched in anger as he exclaimed, ¡°These damned monsters!¡± Xiao Yu had already grasped the luminous beast blade and scanned the camp with his eyes. Even in the dark night, he could still see the appearance of each monster. He paused on several first-order monsters for a few seconds, then focused on an ugly creature with blue scales and six eyes. ¡°The other first-order monsters are easy to handle, but this one is particularly tricky. It¡¯s a formidable foe in the late stage of the first order level.¡± ¡°What can we do? Let¡¯s kill them all, and I¡¯ll take care of this one!¡± Xiao Yu declared. ¡°Okay, I trust in your strength.¡± Zhao Changping nodded. The long sword in his hand began to flicker with lightning, which was particularly striking in the dark night. ¡°Kill!¡± With a leap into the air, Xiao Yu lit a ball of green flame in his left hand and hurled it at the six-eyed monster. The monster, in the late stage of the first order, roared and stood up just as the flame landed on its body. In the next instant, the monster disintegrated into thousands of dust particles, which disappeared into the air without leaving a trace. Only three balls of light were left on the ground. That fierce monster was killed in one attack! CH 86 Zhao Changping was still preparing to witness Xiao Yu¡¯s battle prowess, as he would be fighting against a late stage first-order monster with only his middle-stage first order strength. But when he saw the scene before him, he almost couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°Damn, are you even human?!¡± Zhao Changping exclaimed dramatically. ¡°You can use this move to defeat all the monsters without us even lifting a finger!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Xiao Yu replied, ¡°Using it once consumes 60% of my spiritual power, and its success rate is not very high. Its use depends heavily on our luck.¡± Xiao Yu didn¡¯t expect to actually kill that late stage first order monster with just one move. ¡°Enough talk, let¡¯s kill the rest!¡± When Zhao Changping learned that each use of the skill would consume a large portion of Xiao Yu¡¯s mental energy and had a success rate limitation, he felt slightly relieved. But even so, this was still an incredible move that allowed him to kill a tough first-stage late monster without it making a single move. ¡°kill!¡± Zhao Changping swiftly led the charge, accompanied by two seasoned first-order experts, who dashed forward with their weapons held high. In one swift motion, Zhao Changping soared into the air, wielding his sword and unleashing a barrage of lightning bolts that struck the monsters like venomous serpents, reducing them to ashes. With his left hand, he hurled a lightning ball that exploded with a brilliant burst of thunder, illuminating the dark night with the golden glow of a thousand dancing snakes. Dozens of monsters fell to their demise in the wake of his attack. The two first-order warriors were no less ferocious, carving a path through the monsters with their razor-sharp weapons, drenched in blood and fearless like valiant warriors. Upon landing, Zhao Changping sprang up again, thrusting his long sword into the heart of one monster and, with a single fluid motion, slicing through the neck of another. His sword glimmered with a dazzling brilliance as he expertly dispatched wave after wave of monsters, leaving no nearby enemy standing. Within moments, he had vanquished five to six monsters and even engaged in a fierce battle with a first-order monster, whom he ultimately overpowered with his ¡°lightning mastery¡± skill and his unparalleled combat skills. Han Kexin¡¯s face showed a hint of surprise as she praised, ¡°This Zhao Changping is really skilled. Although not as good as Xiao Yu, he is still quite impressive.¡± Without much hesitation, she charged forward alongside the other three. A group of monsters immediately swarmed towards them, but Han Kexin¡¯s whip transformed into a hundred phantom images that either split the monsters in half or dismembered them. The blood sprayed from the monsters was absorbed by Han Kexin as the ground quickly filled with mutilated bodies, with limbs, heads, and organs scattered everywhere. Han Kexin was also a talented fighter. Since acquiring the whip as her weapon, she had become increasingly proficient and now could unleash the pinnacle of her skills. Not to be outdone, Wang Chao, Jin Shi, Jiang Xiaowen, Yun Yun, and the others also joined the fight without any hesitation. The monsters were caught off guard by the sudden attack, and the group of eight first-order warriors, including Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping with his three skilled subordinates, advanced like an unstoppable force, with six of them possessing powerful innate abilities. Together, they broke through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter. ¡°Let¡¯s also charge!¡± Zhao Changping¡¯s elite team and the surviving warriors from the camp all joined the fray. Among them, a frail, delicate, and beautiful figure stood out¡ªChen Shuang. She appeared just as fragile as before, as if a strong gust of wind could easily knock her over. However, she carried more than a dozen long spears on her back, and, upon rushing towards the enemy, she slowly raised her arms. An invisible force pulled out the spears from her back one by one, suspending them in mid-air. Chenshuang pushed her slender white hands forward, and the spears were launched into the swarm of monsters in unison. One of the elemntary monsters couldn¡¯t evade them all, and was turned into a hedgehog on the spot. At present, Chen Shuang had reached the peak of the elementary level, and her exceptional talent made her the most valued member of the elite team formed by Zhao Changping. It was Xiao Yu¡¯s recommendation that initially brought this talented individual to Zhao Changping¡¯s attention. However, Xiao Yu had no idea that Chen Shuang possessed such extraordinary abilities; he had merely recommended the cautious and clever Chenfeng at the time. As the saying goes, one intends to plant flowers but ends up with no blooms, while unintentionally planting willows leads to shade. Chen Shuang¡¯s innate skill was ¡°Telekinesis¡± enabling her to move objects with her mind. She moved her hands back, and the dozens of long spears that had pierced the monster¡¯s body were pulled out and all stabbed another monster. Since the first-order experts had suppressed the first-order monsters, the group of other monsters had no leaders and they scattered in all directions. The humans were mercilessly attacking and devouring them in batches, reducing them to pieces. Yunyun chose not to engage in close combat with the monsters, instead staying at the back of the group and occasionally releasing arrows, almost always hitting their target and killing one monster with each shot. However, not long after, she pulled back her bone bow and condensed a bone arrow on the string, aiming at a first-order monster that was being suppressed and retreating by the half-abomination. With a sudden release of her hand, the arrow shot out, wrapped in flames, and hit the monster¡¯s fatal spot, killing it instantly with no chance to defend or dodge. After absorbing the essence, Yunyun advanced! Xiao Yu wielded his four-foot-long luminous beast blade, and the low stage first-order monster facing him retreated step by step. In just over ten moves, he severed both of its arms and made it lose its fighting power. Xiao Yu kicked it out, and the cook, Sun Dazhu, rushed up and finished it off with a single blow. That¡¯s how he advanced as well. As several first-order monsters were killed, the monsters realized that the situation was not good and began to flee. As more and more monsters fled, the morale of the group grew stronger. Finally, when Zhao Changping killed the last first-order monster, the monsters were completely defeated. The battle turned out to be much easier than anticipated, and it was fought beautifully. Compared to the previous night, there were fewer monsters in the camp and the surrounding areas. After successfully capturing the camp, a good number of monsters dispersed after eating and drinking. Additionally, the group approached slowly and carefully, without alerting all the monsters at once, allowing them to fight effectively and easily. Three more first-order warriors joined the team, namely Sun Dazhu, Yunyun, and a member of Zhao Changping¡¯s subordinates. Sun Dazhu, the vice captain of the Bears, was a warrior with ¡°physical body enhancement¡± talent. After reaching the first order, his physical strength became incredibly astonishing, and his endurance and physical strength surpassed those of any other first-order warrior. He could even cut himself, and the bleeding and scabbing would stop in about ten seconds, demonstrating his unmatched recovery speed compared to other types of warriors. After reaching the first order, Yunyun¡¯s innate skill evolved into ¡°Berserk fire elemental blessing!¡± which makes the arrows she fires explode with astonishing power. They had killed more than six to seven hundred monsters, and the ground was littered with various monster corpses. The pungent smell of blood made everyone feel nauseous. In fact, on average, not many items drop from each first-order monster, but when you add up all the loot left behind by the monsters, it becomes very abundant. Today, combined with last night, they obtained more than forty items in total, as well as a large number of soul gems, which were distributed among the two teams of Xiao Yu and Zhao Changping. Xiao Yu¡¯s team was slightly stronger and contributed more in this battle, so they received over 60% of the loot, and all the equipment was given to the members of the three teams. Xiao Yu had a ring that automatically absorbed life force and continuously released the ¡°Minor Healing¡± spell, so he didn¡¯t receive even the slightest injury in this battle. There weren¡¯t many valuable items among the loot, so he just picked a random one. It was a magic ring dropped by the six-eyed monster, killed by his ¡°Instant Disintegration¡± ability. ¡°Ring of Paralysis¡± a white high grade magic item, can release the second-rank spell ¡°Paralysis¡±. This item was incredibly potent. In battle, one could suddenly use its paralysis technique, rendering the opponent¡¯s body motionless. Its impact would surely catch the enemy off guard. Perhaps due to the prevalence of first-order monsters, mostly at the elite level, their drops were not abundant. The paralysis ring proved to be the most practical item among all the loot. Xiao Yu instructed his team to gather all the monster corpses outside the camp and pile them up. Some of the monster body materials could serve as alchemical ingredients, so he collected all that could be salvaged, and then tossed out the mutated slime. This would be a great feast for the slime, allowing it to dine heartily tonight! Zhao Changping had collected all the weapons left in the camp, and while all the meat and food had been consumed, there were still plenty of fruits remaining. In contrast, the packaged and canned foods brought by Xiao Yu and his team remained untouched. ¡°There are still a few houses left that can accommodate people, and some temporary tents can be set up overnight,¡± Zhao Changping instructed his men to search the camp. ¡°However, the camp has been severely damaged, and nearby settlements are likely to be unsafe. So whether we¡¯re ready or not, we have no other choice but to set out and attack the edge of the forest!¡± Xiao Yu had no intention of staying in the camp for long, so he responded nonchalantly, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Wang Chao couldn¡¯t help but yell, ¡°Hurry up and give me a place to sleep, fatty is almost exhausted!¡± Zhao Changping and Xiao Yu instructed their subordinates to retrieve spare tents, tarpaulins, and other materials to set up some temporary shelters. Xiao Yu¡¯s tent was pitched in the northwest corner. Although it was small, he slept alone, and the space was more than sufficient. As Xiao Yu lay in his tent, he closed his eyes and allowed his body to rest. He knew that the next day would bring forth greater challenges as he ventured into the mountain area at the edge of the forest. The dangers ahead were more difficult and perilous than what they had faced before. In the dead of night, the only sounds that could be heard were the faint footsteps of the patrol guards Zhao Changping had assigned to keep watch. Apart from that, the silence was only broken by the occasional chirping of insects. The stillness of the surroundings was almost eerie. Suddenly, Xiao Yu¡¯s tent flap was gently pulled open, and a shadowy figure slipped inside. The intruder moved cautiously, making no sound as they approached him. Startled awake, Xiao Yu¡¯s reflexes kicked in, and he reached for the blade at his side. With a flash of cyan light, the tip of the weapon was pressed against the figure¡¯s neck. However, when he recognized the person¡¯s face, he lowered his weapon and whispered, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Damn, still so alert even while asleep, just like a wild animal.¡± Han Kexin muttered, gently stroking the skin on her neck that had been pierced. The wound instantly healed, and she crawled on her knees into the tent and glanced outside before closing the tent flap. Then she pounced on Xiao Yu, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a passionate kiss. Xiao Yu was somewhat taken aback, ¡°Kexin, you¡­ are too daring!¡± ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not afraid, why should you be?¡± Han Kexin sat on top of Xiao Yu¡¯s lap with her shapely buttocks and her sturdy, rounded thighs wrapped around his waist. She immediately removed her blood-stained clothes, revealing her devilish figure and fragrant skin, causing Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes to momentarily blur. She pounced on him again, ¡°To be honest, since yesterday, my mind has been filled with what we did in the cave last night¡­ Oh my god, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve become so shameless. I couldn¡¯t sleep all night, so I came to find you¡­¡± With a wry smile, Xiao Yu delicately held Han Kexin¡¯s slender waist, embracing her as he slowly turned her over. Han Kexin was a rare beauty, her natural charm unmatched. Though he had experienced it before, her delicate body writhed under his strong pressure, causing her to moan in pleasure. Her round hips resembled a full moon, and her waist was as slender as a snake. Her twin peaks, like powdered jade, were enough to drive any man wild. After their wild encounter yesterday, Han Kexin and Xiao Yu had abandoned all inhibitions. CH 87 After a few rounds of lovemaking. Han Kexin lay softly in Xiao Yu¡¯s arms, her breathing slightly hurried, her face slightly flushed, with a satisfied and happy expression. Her eyes were narrowed, with a hint of tingling in her beautiful eyes. Her plump and straight legs were slightly bent, like a gentle kitten. Xiao Yu gently stroked the stunning beauty in his arms, and after a while, he spoke. He tried to change his usual cold and plain tone to make his voice sound a little more gentle. ¡°Kexin, you should go back now.¡± ¡°No, I want to stay a little longer.¡± Han Kexin pouted like a little girl, hugging Xiao Yu tightly, making her ample bosom press against him even tighter. Her voice was soft and gentle as she said, ¡°I never knew what it felt like to truly fall in love with someone. But these days, you¡¯ve let me experience this feeling¡­ I don¡¯t know when it started, but I¡¯ve become dependent on you. Whenever I see you hurt, especially when you get hurt for my sake, my heart aches. Unconsciously, I can¡¯t help but guess what¡¯s on your mind. Every time I see you frown, I feel so sad, and I really want to share some of your pressure and worries¡­¡± Xiao Yu remained silent, listening quietly to Han Kexin¡¯s words. Suddenly, Han Kexin smiled and spoke in a soft and gentle voice, ¡°Even though what happened yesterday was an accident and I lost something that had been precious to me for over 20 years, I didn¡¯t feel unhappy at all. In fact, I felt incredibly happy, like I¡¯ve never felt before. It feels so good to be your woman, Xiao Yu.¡± Xiao Yu felt a bit at a loss for words. He had very little experience with matters of love and relationships. Hearing Han Kexin express her feelings so openly, he wanted to say something sweet to make her happy, but he couldn¡¯t find the right words and hesitated to speak, so he remained silent. ¡°You¡­¡± Han Kexin seemed to sense Xiao Yu¡¯s embarrassment and couldn¡¯t help but laugh coyly. Then she continued, ¡°No wonder Xiaowen said that you¡¯re like a goose and don¡¯t know how to make to impress girls at all. But I like you just the way you are. Speaking of Jiang Xiaowen, how do you plan to handle your relationship with her?¡± Xiao Yu furrowed his brow slightly and said with a helpless tone, ¡°Let¡¯s put this aside for now. We shouldn¡¯t let Xiaowen know about what¡¯s happening between us. Our upcoming adventure will be very dangerous, and I don¡¯t want it to emotionally affect her. If something goes wrong because of this, it will be terrible. Xiaowen¡¯s abilities are not inferior to ours, and she will become a strong person in the future. However, she still lacks experience. After we leave the forest, I will find the right opportunity to talk to her and tell her about our relationship.¡± ¡°You big idiot!¡± Han Kexin exclaimed with frustration, but there was also a sense of relief and happiness in her tone. After all, no matter the era or the woman, no one likes a man who embraces them while still thinking about other women. Although Han Kexin had the heart to accept Jiang Xiaowen, she was glad that Xiao Yu had prioritized her safety and emotional well-being. ¡± Han Kexin deliberately wore a stern expression and spoke in a low voice, ¡°When it comes to fighting, you are an undisputed genius, but why are you so clueless in other aspects? Xiaowen is such a good girl, can you bear to let her leave with a broken heart and tears? Even if you can be that ruthless, how can I face her in the future? Am I really the kind of person who steals someone else¡¯s sweetheart from them?¡± Xiao Yu furrowed his brows but remained silent. Han Kexin continued, ¡°You may hate me in the future, and I¡¯ll carry a burden in my heart as well. So, in my opinion, you should take Xiaowen as well.¡± Xiao Yu couldn¡¯t help but imagine Jiang Xiaowen¡¯s cute and adorable appearance, and he let out a sigh, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later. Regardless, it¡¯s not the right time to think about these things given the current situation.¡± ¡°Stop acting helpless, you¡¯re going to have the advantages anyway,¡± Han Kexin said with anger. ¡°I, Han Kexin, have always been a proud woman. I cannot bear to share a man with other women. I would rather die than do such a thing.¡± She embraced Xiao Yu and sighed, ¡°But then I met you. You are calm, strong, and wise, and you have fascinated me. You have also saved me many times, even at the risk of your own safety. We have a special relationship, and my heart will always belong to you. No one can change that.¡± ¡°Kexin, you actually don¡¯t have to do this,¡± Xiao Yu said, feeling touched. He once again questioned whether the person in his arms was really the cruel and ruthless Bloody Queen from his past life. This was clearly a fairy who could melt even iron men! Han Kexin raised her head, her beautiful eyes shining with a unique brilliance. ¡°I believe that with your abilities, you will accomplish great things in the future and become a renowned and legendary hero. Of course, only such a man is worthy of being loved by Han Kexin, and deserving of my wholehearted devotion! But at that time, I¡¯m sure there will be many women around you. I don¡¯t want to interfere with how many women you have in the future, but please don¡¯t neglect me.¡± Xiao Yu hugged Han Kexin proactively and spoke softly, ¡°I never thought of becoming a hero, but I will never allow anyone I care about to be hurt. Now, let¡¯s go to sleep. You¡¯re thinking too much.¡± Feeling the strong embrace, Han Kexin¡¯s heart was overwhelmed, and her eyes became slightly moist. ¡°Xiao Yu¡­¡± she whispered. This was clearly a fairy who could melt even iron men! Xiao Yu took the initiative to kiss those two warm and soft red lips, and Han Kexin was already deeply moved. She closed her eyes and responded to Xiao Yu, and after a moment, their bodies intertwined with each other. It was just before dawn. Han Kexin put on her clothes and left Xiao Yu¡¯s tent sneakily. Two hours later, people started to come out of their tents one after another. Han Kexin¡¯s face was rosy, her eyes shining, and she looked energetic and full of vitality. After a few intimate encounters, the shine between her eyebrows became more and more florid, and she occasionally sent signals to Xiao Yu. Jiang Xiaowen, relying on her keen intuition as a woman, noticed the changes in Han Kexin¡¯s temperament and appearance¡­ as if she had become even more beautiful than before. She couldn¡¯t help but scrutinize her with a suspicious look, but no matter how she tried to speak, Han Kexin remained silent, leaving Jiang Xiaowen no choice but to give up. Xiao Yu glanced at Han Kexin, and she winked at him in return. Jiang Xiaowen approached them and warmly greeted, ¡°Xiao Yu, good morning! How was your night?¡± Xiao Yu met her pure and clean gaze and suddenly felt a little guilty upon hearing the question. ¡°Uh¡­.it was alright, I guess,¡± he replied with his usual calm tone. Behind Jiang Xiaowen, Han Kexin made a silly face before quickly returning to her usual composure and politely greeted Xiao Yu. Taking advantage of everyone¡¯s distraction, she secretly threw a flirtatious look at him. Xiao Yu couldn¡¯t help but feel amused, but he couldn¡¯t show it. Instead, he said calmly, ¡°a whole night had passed, I wonder how my mutated slime has been doing. Follow me and let¡¯s take a look.¡± Jiang Xiaowen nodded eagerly and exclaimed, ¡°With so many first-order monster corpses around, I wonder how much progress it has made! I¡¯m really looking forward to it!¡± Xiao Yu led the group to the spot where the monster corpses were piled up, not far from their camp. As they approached within 200 meters, they came across the corpse of a wolf. This wolf was not killed during last night¡¯s battle, and it was still quite a distance from where the monster corpses were piled up. However, there were no visible wounds on the wolf¡¯s body. Instead, blood flowed out of its mouth, nose, ears, and all seven orifices, indicating that it had died suddenly due to a powerful mental attack. This wolf was a strong elementary level monster, and it was likely drawn by the smell of blood during the night. Unfortunately, it was killed by a mental attack before it could reach its intended target. As they continued walking, they stumbled upon over a dozen monster corpses along the way, with more than half of them being beginner monsters. It must have been the mutated slime! As they arrived at the site where the monster corpses were piled up, a surge of excitement filled Xiao Yu¡¯s mind. He could feel a spiritual connection between him and the mutated slime, and as they drew closer to each other, they could sense each other¡¯s presence. The mental fluctuations of the mutated slime were filled with excitement and joy. The corpses of various monsters were piled up like a hill, creating a gruesome sight before their eyes. The corpses of several first-order monsters in the middle were already missing, and the Mutated Slime¡¯s body, like a red gemstone, had expanded several times over, and in its semi-transparent body, one could faintly see a large amount of bone fragments that had not been completely digested. Mutated slime, first-order trait: physical attack immunity. Skills: 1, mental shock. 2, mental sting. 3, toxic acid spray. 4, water bullet. 5. Transformation: Frost Slime. It really advanced! And it had now a total of five skills! The first three skills are the ones it originally had. The fourth skill ¡°Water bullet¡± evolved from the elementary skill ¡°Water Arrow¡±. As for the fifth transformation skill, that was something Xiao Yu didn¡¯t know about. ¡° Mutated slime, transform!¡± Xiao Yu commanded it with his mind. A rush of cold air burst out of the body of the mutated slime, and its red, semi-transparent body underwent a slight change. It slowly differentiated its limbs and head, transforming into a humanoid form about 1.5 meters tall. Its body was smooth, without features, and then a surge of cold air spurted from within. Its gelatinous body instantly solidified, and a thick layer of light blue ice wall appeared on the surface of its body, enveloped in a cold mist. Frost Slime, first order, skills: 1. Cold breath, 2. Poisonous ice spear, 3. Transformation: Liquid Slime. The Frost Slime raised its right arm and slowly extended a crystal-clear blade from each hand. The Frost Slime had no arms; these two weapons grew directly from its body. A purplish-red liquid flowed along the smooth blade and dripped off one drop at a time. Strong! Very strong! Xiao Yu¡¯s eyes brightened. He knew that this time he had hit the jackpot. The potential of this slime was truly incredibly strong, and he could foresee that, given time, it would undoubtedly become his most capable and loyal ally. Han Kexin took out a whip from her storage ring, and with a hard flick, it cracked loudly and extended out, leaving a long mark on the ground. She winked at Xiao Yu and volunteered, ¡°Let me test its strength, shall I?¡± Xiao Yu took two steps back and said, ¡°Be careful.¡± Jiang Xiaowen looked at Xiao Yu and then at Han Kehin. She pouted her lips, feeling like something had changed between them.