35: Chapter 35 Mid-grade Yuan Crystal, Black Iron Two-Star!
The Bloodwing Bat King's massive corpse lay in the depths of the mine, the smell of blood thick in the air.
With its death,
the remaining Bloodsucking Bats and Sonic Bats, having lost their core, let out a chaotic shriek and scattered, fleeing deeper into the darkness of the mine, not daring to emerge again for a while.
"Finally dealt with..." Shi Lei breathed a sigh of relief, putting away his great shield. His face was pale; withstanding the impact of the Bat King's frenzied state had taken a massive toll on him.
Lin Qing hurried over,
supporting the pale-faced, weak Ming Junxian. She fed him several pills to restore his elemental energy and spirit, her face full of worry. "Captain, how are you?"
Ming Junxian waved his hand, swallowed the pills, and regulated his breathing for a few seconds before his complexion improved somewhat. "It's fine, just a bit exhausted. I'll be fine after some rest. The aftereffects of burning the Divine Seal... an old problem."
He looked at Zhou Heng, his eyes filled with amazement and approval. "Junior Zhou Heng, that final spear strike... brilliant! The timing, angle, power—impeccable! You've reached Awakening Five-Star? Congratulations!"
"It was all thanks to you creating the opportunity, Senior," Zhou Heng said sincerely, his respect for this senior growing.
Burning the Divine Seal wasn't something just anyone dared to use; it damaged one's very foundation.
"As long as the mission is complete."
Ming Junxian smiled and looked at the Bat King's corpse. "Let's quickly deal with the spoils. This big guy is full of treasures; let's not waste them."
Zhou Heng nodded and walked over to the Bat King's corpse. His Omniscient Eye swept over it, and detailed information appeared:
[Material: Bloodwing Bat King (Second-Tier Lower Rank)]
[Monster Core: Second-Tier Lower Rank, contains pure blood, dark, and sonic elemental energies, extremely high value]
[Bloodwing Membrane: Primary material for crafting flight cloaks or sonic-resistance armor]
[Fangs: Can be refined into daggers or armor-piercing arrowheads]
[Heart's Essence Blood: Tempering the body, enhancing vitality and blood activity]
[Sonic Sac (Auxiliary material for crafting sonic weapons or cultivating related combat techniques)]
"Senior, the Monster Core and the Heart's Essence Blood should go to you. You contributed the most this time."
Zhou Heng said while skillfully beginning the dissection.
Without Ming Junxian's desperate strike severely wounding the Bat King, he would have had no chance to deliver the finishing blow.
Ming Junxian was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "Rules are rules. You landed the final blow, so the core is yours. I'll take the Heart's Essence Blood and a portion of the Bloodwing Membrane. That will help my recovery and improvement."
He pointed to the location of his previous injury.
Zhou Heng didn't stand on ceremony either and nodded. "Alright!"
He quickly separated the most valuable materials and stored them in special containers.
The Monster Core in his hand was a dark red crystal, the size of a pigeon egg, with crimson light flowing inside and subtle sonic wave patterns. It contained vast energy.
[Obtained: Second-Tier Lower Rank Monster Core x1 (Blood/Dark/Sonic)]
[Obtained: Bloodwing Bat King Heart's Essence Blood x1]
[Obtained: Complete Bloodwing Membrane x2]
[Obtained: Fangs x2]
[Obtained: Sonic Sac x1]
After dealing with the Bat King, Zhou Heng had a sudden thought, recalling the fragmented images captured by [Memory Reading] at the moment of the kill—
They were memory fragments from the Bat King's life, mostly of hunting, roosting, and... guarding something?
Following the sense of direction from the memory fragments, he walked to a rock wall at the deepest part of the mine.
It was concealed by materials from the Bat King's nest.
He used his dragon spine spear to push aside the foul-smelling dried grass and bones. His [Omniscient Eye] operated at full power, carefully scanning the rock wall.
"There's something..." His eyes lit up. The tip of his spear flickered with lightning as he carefully chiseled at the rock wall a few times.
Crash...
Several rocks fell away, revealing behind them a small, sparkling, translucent vein emitting an incredibly dense wave of elemental energy!
The elemental crystals here were a deeper color, their energy far purer, vastly superior to the Low-Grade Elemental Crystals found outside!
[Item: Mid-Grade Elemental Crystal Vein (Trace Amount)]
[Purity: High]
[Estimated Reserves: Approximately 5 Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals can be mined.]
[Value: Approximately 250-3000 merit points or equivalent academic credits.]
"Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals!" Zhou Heng couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice!
These were resources even those at the Spirit Nurturing Realm treasured!
For those at the Spirit Awakening Realm, they were an even greater boon!
Ming Junxian and the other two looked over upon hearing him, also showing expressions of surprise.
"Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals? This poor mine actually has something this good?" Shi Lei clicked his tongue.
"It's probably the result of the Bat King occupying this spot long-term, its demonic energy nourishing the area, and the slow natural condensation of the vein itself."
Ming Junxian analyzed, looking at Zhou Heng. "Junior, you discovered this. By the rules, it's yours."
Zhou Heng nodded,
and without standing on ceremony, quickly mined the five thumb-sized, radiantly colorful Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals brimming with astonishing energy, carefully storing them away.
This time, he had really struck it rich!
He thought for a moment, then took out the sixty-plus Low-Grade Elemental Crystals he had collected earlier.
He divided them into three portions, about twenty each, and handed them to Ming Junxian and the other two. "Senior, Senior Sister, finders keepers, but we all saw it. This mission succeeded thanks to everyone working together. Consider these low-grade crystals a small token of my appreciation."
The three were taken aback, somewhat surprised.
Twenty Low-Grade Elemental Crystals were also quite valuable. Zhou Heng was being remarkably generous.
Ming Junxian smiled and, without declining, accepted the crystals. "Then thank you, junior. If you need anything in the future, just call."
Shi Lei and Lin Qing also accepted with smiles, their impression of Zhou Heng improving even more.
After resting, finishing up, and cleaning the battlefield, the four quickly evacuated the mine.
Outside, the sky was completely dark. The roars of demonic beasts echoed one after another in the wilderness, making it even more dangerous.
After an uneventful but tense journey back to Golden Sand Town, then driving back to Donghuang Fortress, it was already late at night.
The four headed straight to the Demon Slaying Division to submit the mission.
At the mission settlement desk, the staff member, after verifying the mission completion, showed a surprised expression.
"D+ Rank Mission 'Clear Golden Sand Town Mine No. 3' confirmed complete. Second-Tier Mid-Rank Demonic Beast Bloodwing Bat King slain. Target exceeded."
"Mission reward settlement: Base Merit Points +50, Academic Credits +1500."
"Cross-Rank Kill Bonus: Merit Points +100, Academic Credits +500. Material conversion: Merit Points +800."
"Total obtained: Merit Points +230, Academic Credits +2000."
"Demon Slayer Zhou Heng, accumulated merit points have reached the promotion standard. Rank upgraded to: Black Iron Two-Star."
On Zhou Heng's tactical watch, his personal information updated. Beside the single star on his Black Iron badge, a slightly smaller star quietly appeared.
Ming Junxian's squad also received generous rewards.
"Junior, pleasure working with you! Let's team up again for a mission next time there's a chance!"
Ming Junxian exchanged contact information with Zhou Heng and left with his team members to get treatment and rest.
Zhou Heng looked at the massively increased merit points and academic credits in his account, his heart surging with excitement.
He immediately used some of the merit points to exchange for a small vial of [earth vein thunder slurry]—
This was a liquid energy born from underground thunder veins, incredibly violent. It was a top-tier auxiliary resource for cultivating the [Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison Body], and it was outrageously expensive!
Returning to his long-absent dorm room, Zhou Heng let out a long sigh of relief.
The continuous high-intensity battles and gains had left him mentally somewhat fatigued, but more than that, he was excited.
He took out the gains from this trip: five Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals, a small vial of earth vein thunder slurry, and that second-tier Monster Core.
"Five Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals... more than enough for me to break through to a higher realm!"
A sharp light flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes.
He had just broken through to Five-Star, his foundation solid.
With such massive energy support, he was even confident he could charge straight to Awakening Six-Star, or even touch the threshold of Seven-Star!
"First, adjust my state, then... break through in one go!"
He placed the Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals beside him, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating the [Thunder Breathing Technique].
He started absorbing the sparse elemental energy in the air, calming his mind, adjusting his body and spirit to their optimal state.
The dorm room fell quiet,
with only the sound of Zhou Heng's steady and powerful breathing, and the
heart-palpitating, vast energy fluctuations emitted by those five Mid-Grade Elemental Crystals.