162: The hunt is about to begin!!!

"Lucia, you will take the lead on this matter. You must ensure that Galakron successfully advances to the Overlord Realm before the Myriad Beast Sea opens."

Lucia stood up, bowed slightly, her face showing an undisguised smile of triumph.

A victorious curve appeared on her lips: "Guild Master, rest assured. Galakron is already at the peak of 200th-Tier Awakening Level, just one step away from becoming an Overlord. With the resources of our Merchant Guild poured into it, I have a ninety percent certainty of helping it break through."

She raised her right hand and lightly tapped her fingertip in the void.

Buzz—!

A new light screen unfolded in the center of the deliberation hall, replacing the complex data stream.

"The observers I dispatched to the Shadow Kingdom are constantly monitoring Galakron's movements."

Lucia's voice was tinged with boasting.

"As it happens, it is preparing for a hunt. All the Directors can now witness firsthand the... majestic bearing of our future 'partner'."

She deliberately emphasized the words "partner," sweeping her gaze across the room, as if saying: See? Choosing Galakron is the wise move; it's far more reliable than the Kraken that Lan Xin, that bitch, keeps hyping up!

The image on the light screen gradually became clear—

However,

The anticipated scene of Galakron tearing the sky and crushing all things did not appear.

The moment the image stabilized, the entire circular deliberation hall fell into a dead silence... Half an hour ago, Shadow Kingdom, Reef Wasteland.

Twisted black reefs pierced the dark red, barren ground like the skeletons of giant beasts.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur mixed with decaying seaweed. The viscous Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost solid, several dozen times richer than on Blue Star.

A legion of thirty thousand soldiers stood silently on the wasteland, like a silver-white torrent of steel.

The warriors were clad in silver-white vibranium heavy armor, wielding cold, gleaming weapons, while the Ice-Descended Giant Bears beneath them exhaled chilling white mist, freezing the ground beneath their feet.

"Hiss—Roar!"

Bearman King Enuke forcefully twitched his massive bear nose, a look of intoxication on his face.

"Damn it, the Spiritual Qi in this wretched place smells potent! It's at least several times richer than back home! No wonder those fish brats always call us a barren backwater!"

Chen Feng stood at the very front of the military formation, emanating a sharpness like a drawn sword. His energy fluctuation had clearly reached 130th-Tier Awakening Level!

Hearing this, he smiled:

"Old Bear, don't just enjoy the smell. According to our preliminary scouting report, the vibranium reserves in this sea region are less than one percent of Blue Star's."

Upon hearing this, Enuoke's massive bear face instantly drooped, and he grumbled in a muffled voice:

"No way?! The Spiritual Qi is so rich, but the mineral deposits are so poor? What bad luck!"

He turned his head to look at Chen Feng, his bear eyes full of envy and jealousy. "And you, kid! How did you jump straight to the 130th Tier upon awakening?! If I had known the Master's serum was so potent, I, Old Bear, shouldn't have rushed to awaken back then. I lost big time!"

Chen Feng laughed heartily, but his gaze involuntarily fell upon the small figure in the center of the formation, his eyes filled with reverence:

"It has little to do with me personally; it is the grace of His Highness Kraken. I merely benefited from long accumulation. Don't worry, either. Once His Highness completes his awakening, his new serum will be enough to allow the strength of all our awakened warriors to take another leap!"

Mentioning the awakening,

Enuoke's copper-bell-sized eyes were also filled only with reverence. He lowered his voice and scratched his head with a bear paw:

"But... the Master's awakening is truly a damn bottomless pit. Young Sister Lan Xin emptied the treasury just to get three awakening stones. One is enough for an ordinary person, but the Master, on the other hand, threw two in and didn't even hear a peep... That's why the last one went cheap to you. Speaking of which, Old Chen, as the first human on Blue Star to awaken, doesn't it feel absolutely fantastic?"

Chen Feng took a deep breath, feeling the surging, roaring power within him, and heavily patted the vibranium armor on his chest, producing a dull clang.

"The feeling... is indeed better than ever before. But all of this stems from His Highness."

His gaze focused once again on the center of the military formation.

"Miss Lan Xin speculates that Ordinary Level awakening stones are likely ineffective for His Highness now; he might need the legendary 'awakening essence.' That thing... is priceless."

"Afraid of what?!"

Enuoke glared. "Following the Master, once we flatten this Shadow Kingdom, what treasures won't we get our hands on?!"

In the center of the military formation,

Su Chen's small body sat on a protruding reef, his tiny hand propping up his chin, his young face filled with a depression that didn't match his appearance.

Two awakening stones!

Just gone without a sound!

Didn't even make a ripple!

Look at Enuoke, look at Chen Feng—they finished the job with just one... What kind of situation is this?!

He irritably kicked the small stones beneath his feet.

awakening essence... that thing clearly isn't common goods. Where is he supposed to find it?

Forget it, he wouldn't think about it anymore.

Su Chen shook his head, and coldness reappeared on his young face.

First, he would dismantle this Shadow Kingdom, and then, whatever he lacked, he would make the Star Sea Merchant Guild cough it up!

With a thought, he summoned the System Panel that only he could see.

The information stream detailing the gains from annihilating the Shadow Expeditionary Force flowed past:

[Ding! Successfully devoured Scale Lord Golosh (150th Tier) of the Shadow Scale Clan Expeditionary Force, successfully obtaining A-Rank Talent "Lightning Incarnation"! (The original B-Rank Lightning Control evolved into A-Rank) Strength attributes permanently increased by 23,000 points!]

[Ding! Successfully devoured Abyssal Demon Whale (150th Tier) of the Shadow Scale Clan Expeditionary Force, successfully obtaining A-Rank Talent "Water Resonance"! (The original B-Rank Water Resonance evolved into A-Rank) Physique attributes permanently increased by 23,000 points!]

[Ding! Devoured 8 Legion Commanders (101st~115th Tier) of the Shadow Scale Clan Expeditionary Force, permanently increasing attributes by 88,000 points. (22,000 points for each of the four dimensions)]

[Strength: 200,000 (Abyssal Intake +45,000)]

[Agility: 170,000 (Abyssal Intake +22,000)] (Can be boosted by 75%)

[Physique: 190,000 (Abyssal Intake +61,000)] (Can be boosted by 50%)

[perception: 170,000 (Abyssal Intake +22,000)]

[Talents: Abyssal Sea God (Unique Level), Space Control (A-Rank), Ice Incarnation (A-Rank), Incarnation of Water (A-Rank), Lightning Incarnation (A-Rank), Agility Resonance (B-Rank), Earth Resonance (B-Rank), Physique Reinforcement (C-Rank), Venom Control (C-Rank)]

Sweeping his gaze over the soaring attributes and evolved Talents, the depression in Su Chen's eyes lessened slightly.

Although devouring Ordinary Level creatures no longer yielded attributes or evolution points,

however,

the "gifts" from high-tier powerhouses were still generous.

Just Golosh and the other 10 Awakening Level powerhouses,

provided him with a total of 134,000 attribute points,

which was truly terrifying!

Golosh and the Abyssal Demon Whale directly contributed two A-Rank Talents, causing his strength to skyrocket.

It seemed that if he wanted to continue growing stronger quickly, his hunting targets must be locked onto Awakening Level existences... or even higher tiers.

He raised his small head, looked toward the outline of the massive kingdom shrouded in shadow at the edge of the wasteland, and a cold curve appeared on his lips.

The prey was right ahead.