(Thanks to Purehearted Wet Lord for the reward—again and again!)
Although Shadow, the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion cub, was only about the size of a puppy, its eating speed was downright terrifying. The giant serpent's corpse weighed at least several hundred jin, but this little guy devoured it all in less than ten minutes.
Evan Chu couldn't imagine how that tiny belly could fit such a massive corpse. He was left completely speechless.
After finishing off the giant serpent, Shadow trotted over, still looking a bit unsatisfied. Evan Chu noticed that it was holding a Magic Crystal about the size of a pigeon egg in its mouth—its color was bluish-gray, and it was at least twice as big as the others they'd seen.
"Master, this little serpent's meat tastes pretty good, but its level is way too low. It'll only keep me going for ten days. The energy in this Magic Crystal is decent too—Master, can I have it as a reward?"
"If you think it'll help, take it. Judging by your look, you still aren't full. How many of these monster beasts can you eat at once?" Evan Chu asked. This little guy called such a powerful monster 'low-level'—seriously, what kind of beast would actually be high-level for it?
Shadow immediately swallowed the giant serpent's Magic Crystal as soon as Evan Chu agreed, and a faint glow appeared on its body. Evan could clearly feel that it had grown a bit larger than before.
"Master, I'm going to sleep for a bit. Don't call me out unless it's important!" Shadow said, then vanished. But Evan Chu knew it had definitely returned to his arm.
"I honestly have no idea what this thing is made of. Even a monster beast this size can't help it break through—when will it actually be useful to me?" Evan muttered to himself.
"Evan, the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion is an ancient Spirit Beast, and it carries a sacred-beast bloodline. Its breakthroughs will naturally be slow, but once it matures, its combat power will be absolutely terrifying. You should be grateful!" Luna, the Sword Spirit, said at that moment.
"I hope you're right. I have to restore some Chaos Qi, or I'm in trouble if I run into another monster beast or enemy." With that, Evan Chu took out a Starstone from his storage ring and began absorbing it.
Before long, Rhea Yang woke up. Seeing blood everywhere and Evan Chu looking like a man made of blood, she was so shocked she couldn't speak. "Did he really kill the giant serpent? How did he do it?"
Seeing Evan Chu cultivating, Rhea Yang didn't disturb him. Her own injuries were serious too, so she focused on healing herself.
A single Starstone only slightly increased the Chaos Qi in Evan Chu's Earth Star Pellet. By the time he finished absorbing the third Starstone, dawn had arrived. His Chaos Qi was about half-full, but his physical wounds were completely healed.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Rhea Yang covering her face and grinning at him, looking a bit silly.
"Are you alright?" That simple question meant more than a thousand words.
"Much better. You've been here the whole time?" Evan Chu asked, realizing the question was a little unnecessary.
"I was worried someone might come, so I stood guard for you. Moved yet?" Rhea Yang said with a smile.
"Thank you! I really am moved—you didn't take advantage or abandon me when I was down!"
"I'd never leave you!" Rhea Yang blurted out, then realized how ambiguous that sounded. Her face flushed hot, so she quickly added, "It's just that you're so strong—even a monster beast like that couldn't beat you. I only feel safe sticking with you."
Evan Chu stood up and said, "Why was there such a powerful monster beast in the ordinary zone? If any other student had run into it, things could've ended terribly."
Rhea Yang glanced at Evan Chu and seemed to realize something. "You must have some really powerful martial skill, right? Once you use it, you can't recover for a while. Did I get it right?"
Evan Chu nodded. He couldn't reveal the secret of the Lion Spirit Fist, but she was basically correct—a seemingly plain sword strike had cost him dearly. Checking the sky, he said, "We should leave here as soon as possible. The smell of blood will attract other monster beasts and people. We're both still injured, so we need to find a hidden spot to recover. There's plenty of time left anyway."
Evan Chu and Rhea Yang walked slowly along the foot of the mountain. By noon, they discovered a valley and carefully made their way inside.
The valley air was fresh, the scenery beautiful, and everything was peaceful. Except for a few colorful butterflies dancing among the flowers, there was no other sign of life.
At the end of the valley, a thick blue poisonous mist blanketed the area, turning the sky a deep blue. The toxic smoke drifted endlessly but never entered the valley, as if something invisible was keeping it out.
Rhea Yang was the one who warned Evan Chu about the poison, and she also gave him a few anti-toxin pills just in case.
After half a day in the valley, they finally ran into a type of beast—Split-Tooth Rats. Strictly speaking, they weren't really monster beasts since they had no Magic Crystals or shards inside; they were just wild animals, not part of the mission.
Still, their meat was delicious when roasted. Evan Chu and Rhea Yang killed dozens, cooked them, and stored the meat in their rings. That way, they wouldn't go hungry while recovering—especially since Evan wasn't healing wounds, but restoring Chaos Qi.
They got lucky and found a natural cave in the valley. The entrance was small, but the inside was spacious enough to hold dozens of people.
"Let's recover here. I might take a while, so if you wake up before me, feel free to walk around—but don't leave the valley. It's dangerous outside, and I'd worry about you getting hurt!" Evan Chu said seriously to Rhea Yang.
"Okay! How long do you think it'll take you to recover? I still have some Starstones—I'll give you a few!"
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"It's hard to say—maybe a few days, maybe ten. You still have Starstones? Never mind, you should keep them for yourself."
"I have ten low-grade Spirit Stones and three mid-grade Spirit Stones. How many do you want?" Rhea Yang asked.
Evan Chu checked his storage ring with his spiritual sense—he didn't have many Starstones left. Even though Rhea's supply was limited, every extra stone helped. "How many are you willing to give me?"
"I'll give you seven low-grade Spirit Stones and one mid-grade Spirit Stone—how's that? Spirit Stones are really hard to get, and I need some for myself too," Rhea Yang said, laying out her bottom line.
Seven low-grade and one mid-grade Spirit Stone was more than Evan Chu expected. He'd thought she'd give him five at most, but she surprised him with two extra low-grade stones and a mid-grade one.
"Thank you so much, Rhea! I didn't think you'd be so generous!"
"Heh, I've always been generous—but it depends on who I'm dealing with!" Rhea Yang replied with a laugh.