4: Chapter 4: Strengthening Independence
The monster's blood and the gray mist were the same color, staining Fang Yuan's right foot gray.
Fang Yuan stopped, his long blade sweeping around as he approached the two Little Spiders that were closing in.
The two Little Spiders bent their eight legs slightly, then like springs, they leaped three meters into the air, appearing above his head.
Puff~~!!
Two soft thuds sounded as two one-meter-wide white spider webs suddenly shot from their abdomens.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan merely dodged to the side, easily avoiding the two spider webs. He stood on the ground, long blade in hand, silently waiting for them to descend.
The moment the two Little Spiders neared the ground, Fang Yuan's long blade slashed again. With two swishes, the two monsters fell by his hand.
[Killed Little Spider]
...[Devoured Little Spider Origin, Physical Body strengthened by 1%]
Fang Yuan
Rank: Black Iron Level Three (0.3%)
True Spirit Talent: [Source Devour]
"The enhancement from the Devouring ability is actually independent of Rank. In the future, as long as I continue to devour the Origin of monsters, won't my strength be able to exceed the scope of my Realm?"
After killing three Little Spiders, Fang Yuan stood still, pondering the information from the system prompt.
After devouring three Origins, his strength increased by nearly ten points, though it wasn't a significant boost compared to his original three hundred points.
However, he noticed the difference: this increase in strength wasn't significantly related to his Realm.
If it could keep increasing, fighting across Rank gaps in the future wouldn't be impossible.
Professionals can rapidly increase their Rank by killing monsters. Generally, they need to kill a hundred monsters of the same Rank to advance one Rank.
For someone like Fang Yuan, killing a monster one Rank higher yields only one-tenth of the energy compared to killing a monster of the same Rank. This means he would need to kill a thousand monsters one Rank lower.
"Let's go meet up with Lin Zhizhi first."
Looking around at the gray mist, Fang Yuan recalled their earlier agreement. He turned and headed towards the designated meeting point to the west.
He had no intention of hiding, simply walking boldly down the hazy streets.
The Haishi Void Realm is divided into three stages, lasting a total of Nine Heavens.
The first is the "Calamity Descends" stage, which lasts three days. Monster Ranks generally won't exceed Black Iron Level Four. Today is only the first day, and any monster reaching Level Three can be considered a boss.
With Fang Yuan's current Black Iron Level Three strength, he could boldly traverse the streets, which would conveniently attract monsters to attack him.
He needed to hunt them to raise his Rank and strengthen his power to cope with the two later stages of the Void Realm.
By the second stage, the monsters in the Haishi Void Realm would possess at least Black Iron Level Three strength, and the strongest monsters might even exceed Black Iron Level Seven.
On the final day, the Haishi Void Realm might even give birth to terrifying Black Iron Rank Ten monsters.
Therefore, even if Fang Yuan currently possessed Black Iron Level Three strength, if he gave up hunting monsters to increase his power later, he would only be able to survive in the Void Realm with his tail between his legs.
Within the gray mist, it was a paradise for monsters. Every hundred meters or so, several strange monsters would emerge, blocking Fang Yuan's path.
Of course, facing his formidable power, they all, without exception, became experience packages... Near the Huang's Convenience Store.
The petite Lin Zhizhi's fists glowed black as she repeatedly hammered the body of a Little Spider on the ground.
After dozens of her punches, the large spider was pounded into a pulp.
"I hope that guy Fang Yuan can safely make it to the convenience store."
After successfully killing a Little Spider, Lin Zhizhi immediately turned and hurried back into the convenience store, closing the door behind her.
Her Awakening location in the Haishi Void Realm was only a little over a kilometer from their agreed meeting point. Coupled with her Awakening of the Bronze Rank [Iron Fist] Talent, she arrived here in just half an hour.
More than an hour had passed now. With the convenience store as a relatively safe shelter and a source of food, she had been able to maintain her Peak combat strength, having killed over a dozen Little Spiders.
At her current speed, it was entirely possible for her to advance to Black Iron Level Three by the second day.
Lin Zhizhi cautiously observed the outside while nibbling on food to restore her stamina.
The resources available here were a major reason for choosing this convenience store as their meeting point.
The Void Realm was no different from the real world; everything here was real. For the Nine Heavens duration, ample food was essential.
Within the gray mist, two blurry figures cautiously approached Huang's Convenience Store.
"That's a convenience store. As long as we hide inside, we can definitely survive the Nine Heavens trial."
Liu Feng looked up through the gray mist at the convenience store sign ahead. The moment he saw the information on it, he happily whispered to his companion beside him.
"Keep your voice down. Do you want to attract monsters?"
To one side, Wu Jiang, holding an assault rifle, lightly tapped Liu Feng with the gun stock. The movement was gentle, and his voice even lower, fearing he would cause a commotion.
Faced with his companion's reprimand, Liu Feng dared not complain. He still needed the assault rifle in the other's hand as his last resort to protect himself through these Nine Heavens.
After the reprimand, Wu Jiang's mood improved slightly. Although he had an assault rifle, his mood had been very poor before.
This was simply because he had awakened the Black Iron Rank [Eagle Eye] Talent, which was only barely related to combat. How could he, who had been quite expectant, be in a good mood?
It was even worse than Liu Feng's [Swift Foot], as the latter's Talent at least provided some enhancement to the Physical Body.
[Eagle Eye] was simply a useless Talent, completely failing to meet Wu Jiang's expectations. He was holding a gun, not trying to be a true gunman.
Having awakened this useless Talent, Wu Jiang could only hope to safely get through the Nine Heavens, at least still possessing a Talent, so as not to become one of the lowest-ranked useless citizens.
The two quietly approached the convenience store. Just as they reached out to push the door, they found it tightly shut.
"This is my territory. You two, get lost."
A cold voice from inside the convenience store reached their ears, and the sudden sound made them freeze.
Inside the convenience store, Lin Zhizhi, hidden somewhere, looked coldly at the movement from the front door. Seeing that it wasn't Fang Yuan, she had no intention of letting anyone else in.
In times of calamity, the human heart is the most terrifying existence to guard against. Any unfamiliar person could bring a fatal threat.
Her relationship with Fang Yuan was different, and since everyone could safely leave alive, it basically ensured that neither side would harbor ill intentions.
"You inside, open the door quickly! I have a gun in my hand!"
Wu Jiang's face darkened, his irritation swelling. He whispered angrily towards the dim corner inside.