20demayo Chapter 63: Their Individual Situations
Chapter 63: Their Individual Situations
After a brief moment of reflection, Yu Chen quickly regained his composure.
He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the subtle energy flows and sounds in his surroundings, while focusing on the warm and clear connection deep within his consciousness—the guidance left by the soul contract he had made with Gu Yue.
Using this sense, he roughly confirmed the direction of Gu Yue's location.
Before taking action, he quickly reviewed the key information about the primary Ascension Platform in his mind:
In this simulated Soul Beast Forest, the highest cultivation level of Soul Beasts is set at three thousand years, and most encounters are with ten-year or hundred-year Soul Beasts. Generally speaking, without considering those with exceptional talents, the combat strength of a three-thousand-year Soul Beast is roughly equivalent to that of a human Soul Master.
According to known information, the current "guardian" of this area appears to be a dark gold dinosaur bear with a century of cultivation.
This means that there is a high probability that there are no stronger soul beasts in the region.
"The 100-year-old Dark Gold Devilclaw Bear..."
Yu Chen pondered to himself. In his current state, whether he activated "Dragon Bone Mode" and went all out in battle or activated the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's left palm bone, victory should be assured, but the consumption would inevitably be enormous.
The benefits might only be increasing the lifespan of the spirit ring by about ten years and obtaining a right palm bone spirit bone.
Of course, more importantly, his first time entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, he directly confronted and defeated the area guardian, which was too conspicuous even for Yu Chen, who was not exactly low-key.
"That's fine, let nature take its course. If we encounter it, we'll deal with it; if we're not meant to be, there's no need to force it."
Having made up his mind, Yu Chen followed the vague directions given by the soul contract and began to traverse the forest quickly.
He did not deliberately choose a safe path, but instead actively spread his senses, keenly capturing the rustling of grass, the friction of branches and leaves, and the subtle breathing sounds hidden in the silence.
The spirit beasts in this forest are all experience points for Yu Chen.
The figure moved swiftly among the giant trees and vines, creating a faint rustling sound.
Its bright golden eyes calmly scanned the surroundings in the dappled light and shadow, like a top hunter surveying its territory.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, a very faint sound of a branch snapping came from the side and above!
A small, swift black shadow tore through the air, lunging at Yu Chen's neck from the treetops above. Sharp claws flashed coldly in the dark forest—it was a ten-year-old ghost leopard, a hunter known for its stealth and explosive power.
Yu Chen's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't even turn his head to look.
Just as the leopard's claws were about to touch his skin, his left hand suddenly shot out backward and upward at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive! At the same time, fine dragon scales rapidly appeared on his hand.
"laugh!"
Precise and efficient.
The dragon claws, covered in fine, dark scales, were like the strongest pliers, instantly gripping the ghost leopard's vulnerable throat. With a slight squeeze, the sneak attack was over.
It wasn't until Yu Chen's figure continued to leap forward several meters that warm blood spurted from the ghost leopard's neck, and its body fell limply onto the thick layer of decaying leaves.
A faint white light rose from the ghost leopard's corpse and entered Yu Chen's body, bringing a slight cooling sensation.
He continued forward without stopping. But before long, eerie green lights began to appear in the dark forest all around him.
A low, threatening whimper came from all directions.
Six lithe, wolf-shaped spirit beasts with bluish-gray fur slowly surrounded and blocked the way.
They bared their teeth, drool dripping from the corners of their mouths, their greedy eyes fixed on Yu Chen, as if coveting some kind of ultimate delicacy.
The leader was exceptionally large, and its eyes gleamed with even greater ferocity.
"The leader of the Gale Wolf Pack has about seventy years of cultivation, while the rest have no more than fifty years."
Yu Chen made a quick judgment. These soul beasts, known for their speed, were clearly attracted by the bloody scent of the ghost leopard.
"You beast, you have quite a keen nose."
Looking at his still clean, well-defined hands, Yu Chen muttered to himself, his tone tinged with sarcasm.
Faced with the encirclement, he showed no intention of retreating. With a slight tremor of his arms, jet-black dragon scales instantly covered his palms, transforming into ferocious claws.
The next instant, he charged into the wolf pack!
Its movements were as swift as a ghost, its power overwhelming and unstoppable. Each swing of its dragon claws produced a sharp, piercing sound. The speed that the Gale Wolf was renowned for appeared clumsy and sluggish before Yu Chen.
Each flash of its claws precisely takes away a life.
Claw strikes, elbow strikes, and even simple collisions all contain terrifying force.
Within a few breaths, the whimpers and the sound of bones breaking fell silent.
All six Gale Wolves transformed into gradually dissipating specks of light, and more white spiritual energy flowed into Yu Chen's body.
Just then, a piercing and long shriek suddenly came from high above the Ascension Platform, echoing throughout the entire forest.
"Has anyone already been eliminated?"
Yu Chen glanced up in the direction the sound came from, showing little surprise.
The Ascension Platform is fraught with danger, and for first-time entrants, unexpected elimination is commonplace.
Without further delay, he continued deeper into the direction he sensed, actively searching for and eliminating any soul beasts he encountered along the way.
Ten years, a hundred years... As they delved deeper, the strength of the soul beasts they encountered steadily increased, and even the aura of thousand-year-old soul beasts began to appear.
Yu Chen was like a highly efficient harvesting machine; wherever he went, soul beasts were annihilated.
He doesn't pursue flashy fighting techniques; he often uses the most direct and effortless method to deliver a fatal blow, firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Chen stopped and briefly sensed the spiritual energy accumulated within his body after casually dispatching another century-old spotted cat that attempted to ambush him.
"There are over fifty spirit beasts under a hundred years old, and nearly twenty over a hundred years old... The spiritual energy absorbed is enough to increase the age of each of my two spirit rings by more than two hundred years." He estimated in his mind.
"For a first entry, this is already quite a substantial harvest. The absorption of spiritual energy seems to be nearing its saturation point for the current stage."
Blindly hunting is no longer efficient, and the number of ancient soul beasts in deeper areas is increasing, gradually creating an imbalance between risk and reward.
"Then, let's go and meet up with Yue and the others," Yu Chen decided.
"If we help them acquire some more spiritual power, this trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform will be a complete success."
He confirmed the location transmitted by the soul contract one last time, adjusted his direction, and disappeared into the forest again.
the other side.
Outside the Ascension Platform, in the monitoring center.
The huge circular screen was divided into several images, showing the real-time situation of the six members of Class Zero inside the Spirit Ascension Platform. One of the images was fixed on Yu Chen's figure.
"Is this...is this even human?!"
Zhang Yangzi, who was the first to be eliminated and whose face was still a little pale, was staring in disbelief at Yu Chen's smooth and effortless hunting process on the screen, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Unfortunately, no one responded to his sentiments at that moment, and most of the other people in the monitoring room were also drawn to Yu Chen on the screen.
"Gulp..."
Standing next to Wu Changkong, Long Hengxu unconsciously swallowed, his eyes wide open.
At first, he thought Yu Chen was the strongest person in Class Zero and the undisputed face of Class Zero, so Long Hengxu naturally paid more attention to Yu Chen.
She had been closely watching Yu Chen's movements ever since he swiftly and decisively dealt with the first ghost leopard, and thus witnessed Yu Chen's unparalleled performance.
He was incredibly powerful, unlike a two-ring Soul Master at all. He was decisive, calm, and fearless, unlike a child hunting for the first time. He was more like a player leveling up by killing monsters.
"Dance, dance teacher..."
Long Hengxu turned his head, his voice trembling with disbelief, "How exactly did you... raise such a... strange... genius as Yu Chen?"
"It's because Yu Chen himself is outstanding enough."
Wu Changkong's voice was calm and still.
"I'm just a guide. Even without my guidance, as long as he's given the right resources and room to grow, his achievements won't be far behind." There seemed to be a subtle hint in his words.
"I see."
Long Hengxu replied that after serving as the dean of students for several years, he could easily understand the underlying meaning in Wu Changkong's words.
However, Long Hengxu found it quite strange.
It's like the sun has risen in the west!
Wu Changkong, who is usually so strict with his students, actually values one student so much!
I'm afraid Yu Chen's strength and potential are far greater than he has seen!
At this moment, other surveillance cameras were also simultaneously displaying the situation of the others:
Gu Yue seemed to be skillfully leading a massive bear;
Tang Wulin had just finished a brief meditation, and his soul power fluctuations had increased.
Xie Xie was engaged in fierce combat with a scaled beast with a hundred years of cultivation.
Wang Jinxi, on the other hand, had just finished a battle and was catching his breath in a relatively open forest clearing, preparing to recover his soul power.
However, danger often strikes when we are careless.
Just as Wang Jinxi sat down against a big tree and breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt the sky darken slightly. Then, a drop of cold, slightly viscous liquid fell onto his tilted forehead.
"Huh? It's raining inside the Ascension Platform?" He raised his hand and wiped away the drop of "rain" with some confusion, the texture of which felt strange.
Instinctively, he raised his head and looked upwards.
The next second, his pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly!
A huge shadow loomed over him, perched on the thick, intertwined branches overhead.
It was a terrifying monster—with a twisted, ferocious female face embedded in its abdomen, as if it were silently wailing!
Below the human face was a massive spider body covered in bristles, shimmering with a dark luster. Its sharp mouthparts opened and closed slightly, and thick saliva dripped continuously.
"A... a human-faced spider?!"
Wang Jinxi's voice was dry and trembling, boundless fear gripping his throat.
This is an extremely terrifying existence among soul beasts, known for its ferocity, venom, and bizarre attack methods!
Without any hesitation, Wang Jinxi rolled over and pounced out.
He subconsciously raised his left hand to his right wrist, his fingertips already touching the red button on the distress signal device.
But it was too late!
"Pfft!"
Several thick, tough, and pungent white spider silks, as if anticipating his movements, shot down from above and instantly wrapped him tightly from head to toe!
The immense binding force rendered him unable to move, unable even to perform the slightest action like pressing a button.