189: Chapter 189 The Reappearance of the Rhombus-Shaped Crystal

Three hours later, the fifth group returned.

Lin Qi ran at the very front with Tianlu perched on his shoulder; the nine-colored light on its antlers was significantly dimmer than when they had set out.

Lin Qi was leading a Silver Low-grade Thunder-Mane Wolf. It was fast, had high attack power, and possessed long-range lightning skills—exactly the type of creature his group wouldn't have dared to touch originally.

However, by using Lumeng, Tianlu only needed to influence the Thunder-Mane Wolf for a mere 0.1 seconds during its linear lightning charge to allow Lin Qi and the others to dodge past it.

Relying on this single advantage, they had actually managed to run back with their lives on the line.

By the time the Thunder-Mane Wolf broke free from the control once more, it was less than two hundred meters from the hill.

"Captain! Silver Rank!" Lin Qi's voice was trembling; the journey had been far too thrilling.

Qin Ce's eyes narrowed.

His Nine-Star Insight had locked onto the Thunder-Mane Wolf the moment it appeared.

Silver Low-grade, lightning element, speed-type, long-range attacks, no obvious weaknesses.

If it were three days ago, he would have had Qingluan use Flowing Cloud Wave Roll; a Silver Rank Wind Blade formed from nine Phoenix Flows would have been enough to harvest it.

But now, he had a new plan.

To make Qingluan evolve faster, he, as its Beast Tamer, also needed to grow.

He discovered that his own strengthening had a much greater impact on his Pet Beast than he had imagined.

This was because after coming out this time, due to the restorative growth from being Reborn, his strength had increased by 20%, while Qingluan's strength had surged by 40%.

Therefore, whenever he had the chance, Qin Ce wanted to keep himself under the growth effects of being Reborn as much as possible.

He jumped down from the hill and walked toward the Thunder-Mane Wolf. His pace was fast, utilizing Qingluan's Roaming Dragon.

Seeing the human walking toward it, the Thunder-Mane Wolf lowered its head and let out a low growl from its throat. Its mane stood on end as lightning crackled through the fur, and the dry heat in the air grew more intense.

It opened its mouth, and a bolt of lightning condensed deep within its throat before shooting out toward Qin Ce.

Qingluan dived from above him. The Wind Blades at its wingtips struck the moment the lightning was fired, aiming for the Thunder-Mane Wolf's eyes.

The Thunder-Mane Wolf instinctively closed its eyes, causing its lightning aim to falter. The bolt grazed Qin Ce's shoulder and struck the hill behind him, exploding into a shower of gravel.

By the time the Thunder-Mane Wolf opened its eyes again,

Qin Ce was already right in front of it, less than three meters away.

The Thunder-Mane Wolf's pupils constricted violently.

It wanted to retreat, but it was too late.

Qin Ce's right hand pressed onto its head as Qingluan's wind energy surged into his body through their contract.

Seven Kills Chaos, Ku Mantra.

The force of the Ku Mantra passed through Qin Ce's palm, deep into the Thunder-Mane Wolf's skull, and then spread through its entire body like a virus.

Blood, energy, and vitality were seized as if by an invisible hand and drained away bit by bit.

The Thunder-Mane Wolf's body began to tremble—not because of pain, but because that force was rampaging inside it, dismantling every muscle, every bone, and every meridian.

It wanted to struggle, but its limbs wouldn't obey. It wanted to howl, but its throat could make no sound. It could only stand there like a tree drained of moisture, withering from root to tip, from inside out.

In less than ten seconds,

The Thunder-Mane Wolf's body went limp, collapsing onto the ground like a pile of mud.

Its eyes were still open, but its pupils were dilated, and its breathing was so faint it seemed it could stop at any moment.

Qingluan descended from the sky and pierced the Thunder-Mane Wolf's throat with a claw, ending its suffering.

Qin Ce withdrew his hand, the backlash of the Ku Mantra still lingering in his palm—his fingers were trembling slightly, and his meridians stung like needles. The Ku Mantra harmed both the enemy and the user; this was the price of the Seven Kills Chaos.

However, the energy from being Reborn was already repairing the meridians damaged by the backlash.

This was Qin Ce's goal; the Reborn state had once again begun to repair and evolve him.

He looked down at the Thunder-Mane Wolf slumped on the ground, mentally evaluating the fight.

Silver Low-grade, took ten seconds.

Much easier to deal with than a Gold Rank Pterosaur, but the consumption wasn't small either.

If he faced Silver Rank beasts consecutively, his body might not be able to hold up.

But within three encounters, there would be no problem; the repair speed of being Reborn was sufficient.

"Skin it and take the core. Keep the crystal core separate." Qin Ce turned and walked back to the hill, his steps slightly slower than when he went down.

Over the next ten days, Qin Ce led the Seventh Squad on a frantic sweep through the radiation zone of the northern space-time rift.

Five groups in five directions acted like five combs, plowing through the beast nests on the wasteland one by one. Iron-Spine Wolves, Storm-Rock Bears, Thunder-Mane Wolves, Sand Land Poison Scorpions, Wind Blade Falcons, Rock-Armored Turtles, Shadow Cats, Frost Pythons...

As long as it was a beast below Silver Rank, they would lure it over and Qingluan would harvest it.

Occasionally encountering Silver Rank ones, Qin Ce would take action himself, rotating between the Ku Mantra and the Reverse Mantra. Each time he endured the backlash, and each time he was repaired by the Reborn effect, his meridians became wider, tougher, and smoother than before.

The speed of task completion was astonishingly fast.

On the tenth day of Qin Ce leading the Seventh Squad on their frantic leveling spree in the northern wasteland, the situation in the north shifted drastically once again.

Zhenhuang Pass.

The place where the second pillar of light had once shone showed signs of movement again after ten days of silence.

A rhombic phantom, identical to the one over the Wuji Army, suddenly appeared in the sky.

A surge of energy shot from afar, piercing through the clouds and the air to accurately sink into that rhombic phantom.

The thin layer of golden liquid at the bottom began to increase.

The liquid level rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Then, the rhombic phantom stopped flickering and trembling, hanging quietly above Zhenhuang Pass, looking exactly like the phantom above the Wuji Army camp.

Zhenhuang Pass now had a phantom as well.

And with the stabilization of this phantom, the location where the third ruin pillar of light had appeared—

Above the area on the eastern side of Beimang Mountain, which had been cordoned off and built over with barracks by the Wang family—an anomaly began to occur.

The sky was like a lake surface wrinkled by the wind, with ripples visible to the naked eye spreading out.

At the center of the ripples, a point of light was condensing.

The point of light, bearing a faint golden luster, emerged from the void like fruit growing from a tree.

The point of light grew larger, brighter, and more solid.

A rhombic crystal fell from the sky.

Inside the barracks, the Wang family members had long been prepared after seeing this.

The moment the light appeared, the barracks' defensive formation was activated.

A golden light dome enveloped the entire camp, isolating it from outside sight and perception.

The moment the crystal fell, the outer patrol had already established three cordons; no one was allowed to approach.

No one fought for it.

No one dared to.

Within a ten-mile radius, there wasn't a single living person besides the Wang family.

In less than an hour, the crystal was lying on Second Elder Wang Chong's desk.

Wang Family Main Base, Inner Residence.

Second Elder Wang Chong sat in a grand armchair, with a sandalwood box placed on the table before him.

The lid was open, and the crystal inside lay quietly on velvet; it was jade-white, translucent, with a faint silver luster around its edges.

He reached out, picked the crystal up from the box, and held it in his palm.

Second Elder Wang Chong stared at the crystal for a long time.

After the liquid appeared in the Wuji Army's phantom,

The crystal at Zhenhuang Pass appeared.

After the liquid appeared at Zhenhuang Pass, the crystal on their Wang family's territory appeared.

So, the activation of energy in the previous crystal would trigger the appearance of the next one.

The question now was, how did the liquid inside the crystal increase?

Second Elder Wang Chong's fingers moved away from the crystal. He didn't think further on it. The answers to these questions would surface sooner or later.

He turned his head to look beside him.

There, a thin figure stood respectfully.

It was Wang Zhuo, once the number one person below Starlight in Wind Ridge City, the prodigy of the Vice City Lord Wang family, and a twenty-five-year-old Quasi-Starlight.

Currently, he stood by Second Elder Wang Chong's side, wearing dark grey combat fatigues with the collar open, revealing a section of his thin collarbone.

His cheeks were hollow, his cheekbones protruded, and his eye sockets were sunken; his whole being was like a tree drained of moisture—haggard, shriveled, and lifeless.

Nearly a month had passed since the end of the beast tide.

During this month, Wang Zhuo had hardly stepped out of his door.

Those meridians eroded by the Ice Soul Spirit-Devouring Insects had already been mostly repaired under the Wang family's top-tier resources.

Though he hadn't returned to his peak state, with another month or two of recovery, he could at least restore seventy to eighty percent.

What had truly wounded him was the scene of Qin Ce defying the odds to kill the Raven King as a Bronze!

Second Elder Wang Chong looked at Wang Zhuo for a long time.

Then he handed the crystal to Wang Zhuo.

"Wang Zhuo," Second Elder Wang Chong's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about today's weather, "I am giving you this opportunity once again. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Wang Zhuo's body trembled slightly, and a fierce, determined glint reappeared in his eyes.

He was the number one person below Starlight in Wind Ridge City!!!

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