17: Chapter 17 An Unexpected Incident

"Holy crap, is this my dream coming true? My luck is pretty good!"

"Xue'er, wipe out all those bugs!"

"Okay!"

Lin Mengxue flapped her dragon wings and sped toward the Iron-skinned Centipedes.

As if sensing the bone-chilling cold, the Iron-skinned Centipedes turned back in unison.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss—"

The swarm of Iron-skinned Centipedes let out a sharp, chattering screech.

Instead of being intimidated by the Frost Dragon's pressure, they roared and charged forward.

Despite the massive difference in size, these Iron-skinned Centipedes actually dared to risk their lives in a counterattack.

"I respect you for being such tough guys!"

Chen Yi marveled inwardly.

But this way, it saved a lot of trouble.

Without needing any instructions from him, Lin Mengxue already knew what to do.

She took a deep breath and released her Breath of Ice.

An extremely frigid aura surged toward the swarm of Iron-skinned Centipedes at an incredible speed.

*Swoosh—*

With just one move, more than half of the Iron-skinned Centipedes were frozen into ice sculptures, eventually shattering into countless shards scattered across the ground.

However, the remaining Iron-skinned Centipedes were still not deterred by this terrifying scene and continued their assault.

But without exception, they all became souls lost beneath Lin Mengxue's feet.

"We're rich! With so many magic beast crystal cores, it should be enough for you to Breakthrough to the second Rank!"

"But my stomach is still quite full right now; I can't eat anymore."

"What are you thinking? I didn't say to eat them now. There's still some time before sunset, let's collect more crystal cores!"

"Okay!"

---

After three hours of hunting, the sun finally set completely.

Lin Mengxue landed in front of a massive hollow tree.

After crushing the two Demonic Beasts nesting inside, it became a very natural area to spend the night.

Leaving the Demonic Beasts' corpses outside the tree hollow could effectively prevent other Demonic Beasts from approaching.

Chen Yi took out an Alert Stone, set it up outside the tree hollow, and then took out all the magic beast crystal cores.

Among them were 396 Rank One magic beast crystal cores and 150 Rank Two magic beast crystal cores.

"Come on, start eating! Eat the Rank One magic beast crystal cores first. If you feel like you can't eat anymore, remember to say so in time."

"Mhm!"

Lin Mengxue without any hesitation, grabbed the magic beast crystal cores and stuffed them into her mouth.

Meanwhile, Chen Yi's hand remained on Lin Mengxue's cheek, assisting her in refining the magic beast crystal cores.

She seemed to be having a blast eating.

A faint blue light flickered in Lin Mengxue's eyes, and her hands grabbing the magic beast crystal cores simply wouldn't stop.

She wasn't even satisfied with taking them one by one anymore; she was grabbing them by the handful!

Finally, an hour later, she had swallowed a total of seventy-seven magic beast crystal cores.

Truly worthy of being a Dragon; she can certainly eat!

Lin Mengxue clutched her bulging stomach and let out a loud burp.

"Phew, I'm full!"

"I didn't expect that little mouth of yours could fit so much; I couldn't tell!"

Hearing this, Lin Mengxue's face instantly turned bright red.

She gently tapped Chen Yi's chest, expressing her dissatisfaction with a pout, "Can you not be so dirty-minded?"

Chen Yi laughed and explained, "How am I being dirty? Really! You're the one whose mind went to the gutter! Besides, you were the one who asked for it last night—"

"Alright, stop! Quickly help me refine the spiritual energy!"

Chen Yi chuckled, then picked up Lin Mengxue and began to guide the energy for refinement.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Over the next three hours.

Three powerful auras shot into the sky; Lin Mengxue successfully achieved a Breakthrough to Rank Two, Stage Two.

Chen Ye also benefited from Lin Mengxue's Breakthrough, successfully reaching Rank One, Stage Nine.

However, there was no excitement of Breakthrough on Lin Mengxue's face; instead, it was replaced by deep confusion.

"That's strange. Normally, with so many magic beast crystal cores, I should have been able to Breakthrough to Rank Two, Stage Four or Five. Why did it feel so forced just to reach Stage Two?"

Hearing this, Chen Yi immediately asked the System.

He then explained, "The more powerful the Bloodline, the more spiritual energy is required for each Breakthrough! In the early stages, it might not be very obvious, but as the Rank increases, this gap will grow wider and wider."

After hearing this, Lin Mengxue had an epiphany, "So that's how it is. But with Brother Chen Yi's ability, it doesn't matter if we consume more spiritual energy."

"Well then, now that you're full, do you want to do some exercise?"

Hearing this, Lin Mengxue's cheeks turned red once again.

Isn't this in the wild—

But on second thought, wouldn't it be quite nice to experience this feeling once in a while?

"Is the Alert Stone all set up?"

"Don't worry, if anyone approaches, we'll notice immediately! However, if you make too much of a commotion, I can't guarantee anything~~"

"I won't! But remember to be gentle when you hold my dragon horns, they're very sensitive—"

---

The next morning.

After Chen Yi and Lin Mengxue changed their clothes, they continued their hunting journey for the day, with the goal of accumulating more magic beast crystal cores.

Of course, Chen Yi wasn't doing this to make money.

Lin Mengxue herself was a little rich girl from a wealthy family; at least in the short term, they didn't need to worry about money.

After a Spirit Beast Girls breaks through to Rank Two, she can still gain spiritual energy by devouring Rank One magic beast crystal cores.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a limit on the purchase quantity of Rank One magic beast crystal cores.

The System had explicitly told him that the more powerful the Spirit Beast Girls' Bloodline, the higher the spiritual energy required for a Breakthrough.

Especially in the Late Stage, the spiritual energy required for each level-up would likely be more than ten times that of an ordinary Spirit Beast Girls, which would be a significant expense.

Now, while they had the time, collecting as many magic beast crystal cores as possible was the priority!

Half a day passed, and Chen Yi and Lin Mengxue's harvest was bountiful, having collected nearly five hundred Rank One magic beast crystal cores and over two hundred Rank Two ones.

In addition, she had eaten quite a few more magic beast crystal cores over the half-day.

Lin Mengxue successfully reached a Breakthrough to Rank Two, Stage Three, and Chen Yi also successfully reached Rank Two, Stage One.

A Breakthrough to Rank Two in just five days after the contract—I ask you, who else?

"Brother Chen Yi, are we staying in the tree hollow tonight, or going home? Acquired is the Final Assessment."

"Let's go back and rest for a day! I feel like the Demonic Beasts in this area have been mostly wiped out by you. Once the leeks are harvested, you have to wait a while before you can harvest them again!"

"Mm, okay!"

But just as Chen Yi mounted Lin Mengxue and prepared to leave Fengyue Canyon.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the distant forest.

At the same time, the ground began to tremble slightly, feeling like a minor earthquake.

"Xue'er, if you're hungry, this commotion is a bit too much, isn't it?"

"Brother Chen Yi, I don't think now is the time for such jokes—"

Accompanied by a bone-chilling wind, Lin Mengxue took to the air and flew above the forest.

Instantly, the two of them understood what was happening.

Not far away, a Stone Giant, whose body was a full two and a half sizes larger than Lin Mengxue's Dragon form, was charging toward them with an invincible, crushing momentum.

Wherever it passed, trees fell one after another, and the earth trembled continuously.

Various Demonic Beasts were also entrenched around the Stone Giant.

Calling it the King of Demonic Beasts wouldn't be an exaggeration at all!

[Demonic Beast: Forest Giant]

[Difficulty: 8-Star (Beast King)]

[Rank: Rank Four, Stage One]

[Attributes: Earth, Wood]

[Skills: Vine Whip, Trample, Crushing Fist]

[Description: A special mutant formed by a Stone Man devouring various wood-attribute Demonic Beasts. It possesses great strength and amazing defense.]