67: Chapter 67 Earth Dragon Essence Blood! Shocking the entire audience!

This was the spot where the Ironclad Earth Dragon had burst out from the ground upon its arrival.

There, a deep, rough earthen hole about two to three meters in diameter remained; the walls of the cave still bore traces of freshly overturned soil and the distinctive musky scent of an earth dragon.

It was clear that its lair must be connected to this tunnel.

Without the slightest hesitation,

Jiang Yun recalled the significantly exhausted Wind Thunder Cloud Sparrow into his Beast Taming Space to recover, then leaped lightly into the pitch-black hole with a single bound.

Above the plaza,

the massive light screen clearly captured Jiang Yun's unusual move, immediately sparking a wave of astonished discussion.

“Huh? What is he doing jumping into the hole?”

“Instead of seizing the time to hunt Vicious Beasts for points, he's running off to crawl into a hole?”

“Could he be planning... to raid the Ironclad Earth Dragon's nest?”

“With a Vicious Beast of this level, there might actually be treasures inside the cave.”

“Treasure hunting?! He's going treasure hunting in a race against the clock? That's completely playing outside the box!”

Most people couldn't understand why, at a time when the points ranking was so intense,

Jiang Yun would waste precious time on something with such an uncertain payoff.

On the high platform,

Principal He Tiangang's mouth couldn't help but twitch as he watched Jiang Yun dive headfirst into the hole.

“This kid always acts unexpectedly! Everyone else is desperately earning points, but he's fine just going to loot the corpse and scavenge gear...”

However, based on the various surprises Jiang Yun had brought before, a faint sense of expectation also grew deep within He Tiangang.

Principals Shi Pang and Lei Lie snorted with unsightly expressions upon seeing this.

They had learned their lesson this time and didn't open their mouths to mock him so easily,

lest they get slapped in the face again in a moment.

More and more spectators began to catch on,

their curiosity thoroughly piqued.

“An Ironclad Earth Dragon! That's an incredibly powerful species of Vicious Beast; there might really be good stuff in its nest!”

“Exactly! There might be rare Ores it collected, or companion Spiritual Plants!”

“Jiang Yun might actually find a treasure!”

The crowd's mood quickly shifted from confusion to intense interest and anticipation.

Unfortunately, the Phantom Light Jellyfish's sub-bodies seemed unable to go deep underground; the light screen's image could only stay at the dark entrance of the hole, unable to follow and film the scene inside.

This added a layer of mystery, making everyone itch with anticipation, eagerly waiting to see what Jiang Yun would bring out from inside.

After extending downward for over a dozen meters, the tunnel suddenly opened up, and a rather spacious underground cave appeared before Jiang Yun's eyes.

The cave was about half the size of a basketball court, and the air was thick with the smell of damp earth and the earth dragon's unique scent.

The cave walls were jagged, the ground relatively flat, and the skeletons of unknown beasts were piled in the corners.

Jiang Yun's gaze was like a torch as he scanned carefully.

The light inside the cave was extremely dim, with only a few scattered, glowing exotic plants providing illumination.

After surveying the area,

his gaze finally settled on the deepest part of the cave.

There was a thick stalactite hanging from the ceiling, and directly below it on the ground was a naturally formed shallow pit.

The pit wasn't large, roughly the size of a palm, but inside it had accumulated a small pool of thick, dark-red liquid.

Even from a distance,

Jiang Yun could clearly feel the pure and majestic energy aura emanating from that liquid.

The liquid in that shallow pit was definitely extraordinary.

“There really is a treasure!”

Jiang Yun was delighted and stepped forward quickly.

He squatted down, a faint, imperceptible blue light flashed in his pupils, and his [Manifestation of All Things Entries] talent activated.

Information about the liquid before him instantly surfaced.

【Item】: earth dragon essence blood

【Rank】: Bronze Rank

【Effect】: Contains pure earth dragon essence and earth attribute Origin energy. Any beast that absorbs it will see a significant increase in strength (effect doubles for earth attribute beasts), with a low probability of inheriting the Ironclad Earth Dragon's passive Innate Talent Skill [Earth Dragon Armor].

【Description】: Formed from the long-term habitation of a Bronze Rank or higher Ironclad Earth Dragon, condensing the Dragon Qi of the earth veins and its own blood essence; used for nurturing offspring, it is extremely rare.

“earth dragon essence blood! And it can even grant a passive defense skill with a certain probability!”

Jiang Yun was ecstatic.

This was simply an unexpected surprise.

This earth dragon essence blood wasn't picky about a beast's attribute.

That meant any beast could absorb it.

Whether given to the Fire Dragon Fish or the Wind Thunder Cloud Sparrow, it could increase their strength and even give them a chance to inherit a defensive passive skill.

If they successfully inherited the skill,

it would undoubtedly greatly enhance their defensive capabilities.

Jiang Yun beamed with joy and unhesitatingly took out a jade bottle specifically for holding spiritual liquids from his storage ring.

With a thought,

he established a connection with the Fire Dragon Fish inside his Beast Taming Space.

He had it use the Water Control Art to draw the earth dragon essence blood into the jade bottle.

The Fire Dragon Fish in the Beast Taming Space received the command.

The puddle of earth dragon essence blood was drawn as if by an invisible hand, turning into a thin stream that was precisely injected into the jade bottle without a single drop being spilled.

After carefully putting away the jade bottle filled with essence blood,

Jiang Yun was satisfied and quickly returned the way he came.

Walking along the path,

he thought to himself that in the future, whenever he killed a Vicious Beast, he should go and raid its home.

Who knows when he might encounter some rare treasure.

Soon,

Jiang Yun's figure leaped out from the hole.

His figure reappeared on the light screen in the plaza.

The gaze of the entire audience instantly focused on him.

They all noticed the irrepressible joy on Jiang Yun's face, his eyes bright and the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

“He's out! He's out!”

“Look at him! He definitely found something good!”

“Absolutely! He can barely hide that grin! He must have hit the jackpot!”

“A treasure from a Bronze Second Tier Ironclad Earth Dragon's nest! It must be at least a Bronze Rank resource, right?”

“More than that! It's even possible for a Silver Rank treasure to appear! It's worth a fortune!”

“Yeah! I remember years ago a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer hunted a Bronze Rank Vicious Beast and found an Amethyst Rank treasure in its nest! That incident caused a sensation in C City!”

“Since this guy is so happy, his haul must be significant!”

“Damn! I'm so jealous! When will I ever have this kind of luck?”

The plaza suddenly erupted into a frenzy, with discussions and speculations being heard incessantly.

Envy, jealousy, and curiosity were all intertwined.

Many Beast Tamers at the Bronze Rank and Silver Rank levels felt an irrepressible gleam of greed in their eyes upon hearing about Bronze Rank or even Silver Rank treasures.

Just as some ill-intentioned gazes were secretly sizing him up,

atop the high platform,

He Tiangang suddenly stood up, his gaze like lightning as he scanned the entire field.

The pressure of an Amethyst Rank Expert was released without any concealment.

Then, his voice spoke out like a great bell:

“Everyone present! Jiang Yun is a Genius student that my Qingquan No. 1 Middle School has put all its efforts into cultivating! Any resources he obtains in this competition through his own ability and by risking his life belong to him personally! This is the Opportunity he deserves!”

His tone suddenly turned cold: “If anyone dares to covet or seize them by force after the competition, they will be an enemy of Qingquan No. 1 Middle School! An enemy of me, He Tiangang! I will pursue the matter to the end and will never tolerate it!”

As he spoke,

the terrifying pressure caused those with greedy thoughts to turn pale instantly, and they quickly reined in their minds.

They didn't dare have the slightest malicious intent.

Immediately afterward,

the Mayor also slowly rose and spoke solemnly:

“What Principal He says is absolutely correct. The talent and strength Student Jiang Yun has shown are the future hope and pillar of my C City. Protecting the growth environment of local geniuses is the unshirkable responsibility of the City Hall. Any attempt to sabotage this environment will be seen as a challenge to the future of C City. On behalf of the City Hall, I will never allow it!”

Two major figures speaking out in succession to protect him

completely deterred all the petty people.

Everyone was amazed; Jiang Yun's performance today had truly attracted the attention and protection of C City's top brass.

Naturally, no one would dare to plot against Jiang Yun anymore.

Inside the Misty Forest,

as for the matters of the outside world,

Jiang Yun was naturally unaware.

However, he encountered trouble just as he came out of the hole.

As soon as Jiang Yun emerged from the hole,

still immersed in the joy of obtaining the earth dragon essence blood and thinking about finding his next hunting target to gain more points,

his path was blocked by two uninvited guests.

These were two students wearing the Panshi Middle School uniform.

One tall and one short, with arrogant expressions.

Their beasts—a snarling Flame Hound and a Vulture circling in the sky—were staring at Jiang Yun with ill intent.

The tall student took a step forward.

He shouted arrogantly: “Hey! Kid, be smart and hand over the beast cores on you and the stuff you just found in the hole! Lest we have to do it ourselves and make things ugly for you!”

Clearly, the two had been attracted by the commotion earlier.

They had waited until Jiang Yun entered the hole,

specifically squatting outside,

waiting for Jiang Yun to come out, intending to rob him.

However,

when Jiang Yun turned around and let them see his face,

the two were first stunned, then their faces showed even more exaggerated mockery and excitement.

“Oh ho!”

“And here I was wondering who it was. So it's you, you toad! Jiang Yun!”

The short student sneered.

The tall student was even more full of disdain:

“Truly, you can wear out iron shoes searching and never find it, only for it to fall right into your lap! We were just worrying about not being able to find you, and here you are delivering yourself to us? A Black Iron Eighth Tier trash like you dares to covet the Eldest Young Miss Su? Obediently hand over the beast cores and the things you got in the cave, then get out of the competition grounds yourself, otherwise we'll give you a taste of some physical pain!”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Yun frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He wondered if the students from Panshi Middle School and Leiting Middle School were all this arrogant.

Were they really this brave?

His gaze swept over the opponent's beasts.

The information was immediately clear at a glance.

The beasts of these two guys before him,

one had just recently promoted to Black Iron Ninth Tier,

and the other was at Black Iron Ninth Tier Peak.

With this kind of strength,

stealing beast cores?

Handing over treasures?

Making him get out of the competition?

His originally good mood from obtaining the earth dragon essence blood

was instantly affected by these two guys...