Yan Xiaobao, still conscious, began to worry about the effect the red fog controlling his body might have on him. Would it attack his friends again? Would it perhaps go after Zhou Long? However, as soon as Yan Xiaobao tried to resist, the red fog silently disappeared, allowing his body to return to normal, and his consciousness once again reclaid control over himself.
To his astonishnt, Yan Xiaobao looked down at his hands, but no matter what he did, his body now obeyed his commands. Nothing from the red fog seed to disturb him deeply. Even the serene cloud within his Dantian Cave didn’t require guidance—it simply rested docilely.
Yan Xiaobao stepped back, away from the decapitated head of the Horned Snake lying on the ground. Leaving the beast behind, he felt a surge of pride. It had been a long and grueling battle; when the snake began to thrash around, the entire formation of experts was slaughtered, yet Yan Xiaobao’s friends all survived. This filled Zhou Long with a mix of excitent.
"You did well today," Zhou Long said, patting the white-haired boy’s shoulder. He believed the intent to kill during the match was akin to bloodlust, but this ti, it was malicious—even shocking Zhou Long. He beca convinced that this young man was indeed connected to General Frozen, a rising master.
"I’ll take the beast’s core and horn," Zhou Long declared, as golden light flickered from his hand. He severed the horn cleanly and deftly extracted the beast’s core.
"Once you’ve taken what you want from this creature, I need to return to the city. After that, co to the Dragon Company headquarters to find . I’ll be issuing a quest I’ve planned, but since you all helped so much, I’ll make sure to repay you."
With that, Zhou Long cast one last glance at the spot where the strata expert lay buried beneath rubble, then shot off into the distance without looking back.
"Alright then," Yan Xiaobao sighed in relief once Zhou Long disappeared into the distance. "Let’s begin scavenging materials from this beast." The black blood suddenly shimred in Yan Xiaobao’s hands as he patiently began to strip its scales, removing them one by one from the serpent’s massive body.
Although Yan Xiaobao wished to remove every valuable material from the snake, he soon realized it would be impossible to take everything. In the end, he shared all the fangs with Xu Biao. Everyone received so scales for free, while Yan Xiaobao managed to acquire thousands of scales. He devoured so much of the snake at that it astonished people—he even stripped bones from beneath the protective layer of skin under the scales. Its skin was tough; while penetrable, it still offered considerable defense.
After gathering all the items, Hui Yue He carried them away, though Yan Xiaobao reluctantly had to leave behind the remaining materials. His storage stone had reached its capacity, leaving no room despite sounding like a blessing murmured in his companions’ ears.
The journey back to rcenary City took several days longer than the trip there because they were no longer following Zhou Long’s frenzied pace. Instead, they traveled leisurely, stopping each night. Yan Xiaobao beca thoroughly engrossed in refining the materials he had obtained from the giant snake.
Upon reaching rcenary City, Yan Xiaobao and his companions headed to the rcenary Guild, where they once again settled into a smaller courtyard.
Although Yan Xiaobao rembered they would need to visit Zhou Long soon, he tried to delay as much as possible. He refused to go anywhere until he finished refining the items and drying out the at.
The primary reason Yan Xiaobao avoided Zhou Long was his persistent sense of unease regarding the man. During the battle, it was evident Zhou Long could have ended it sooner, but he let the beast wreak havoc for an extended period, even leaving most of the fighting to Yan Xiaobao—not to ntion allowing the beast to kill formation experts and Little Poppy.
That man likely hoped to accomplish sothing through Yan Xiaobao’s involvent. The white-haired boy didn’t know what it was and felt unsettled that Zhou Long might have obtained whatever it was he desired.
On the one hand, Yan Xiaobao wished to stay far from the man. It was obvious Zhou Long was scheming...
On the other hand, Zhou Long represented a free ticket to the next tunnel. He was clearly connected to the Dragon Army headquarters, and following him into the tunnel would likely prove effortless.
In the end, Yan Xiaobao couldn’t decide what to do. Ultimately, he realized there would be no harm in hearing Zhou Long’s proposed quest. Setting his mind with a determined expression, Yan Xiaobao packed up all the finely-harvested materials, including the remnants of the Horned Snake and its bones, before heading toward the Dragon Army’s office where Zhou Long had said he’d be waiting.
As Yan Xiaobao walked through the small town, he no longer wore his cloak. However, nurous eyes turned toward him nonetheless. So stared at him because of his peculiar appearance, while others gazed at him in awe, recalling his performance during the competition. Although Yan Xiaobao hadn’t won first place, he was already regarded as one of the city’s prominent cultivators.
Yan Xiaobao began delving more deeply into cultivation, gradually understanding why Lan Feng had chosen this place as a training ground.
While King-ranked experts existed in the Demon Residence Cave, they were extrely rare; the majority were either Master or Grandmaster-ranked.
After making inquiries, Yan Xiaobao learned that in the next cave, most experts were ranked as Master practitioners, alongside so high-level specialists.
On average, two caves housed Duke-ranked specialists, while the final caves consistently contained experts of average rank or higher.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m
User Comments
0 comments from readers