188: Chapter 188 Leveling Up

In the north, at the edge of the Space-Time Rift.

The sky here was grayer than at the Wuji Army camp, the clouds hung lower, and the wind was stronger, carrying an indescribable scent—part metallic, part bloody.

In the distance, that massive Space-Time Rift was like an unhealing scar stretching across the heavens and earth. A dark red light seeped from the rift, staining the entire wasteland a sickly rust color.

The roars of vicious beasts came from all directions—some far, some near, some like a baby's cry, others like the scraping of metal—all blending into a noisy, scalp-tingling background hum.

Qin Ce stood on a low hill, his Nine-Star Insight operating at full capacity.

In his field of vision, the auras of vicious beasts within a radius of several miles were like lanterns—some faint, some bright, some so dim they were almost invisible.

There was no Gold Rank.

The strongest few were only mid-grade silver, scattered in different directions, separated from each other by at least two hills, a dried-up riverbed, and a rocky slope.

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the team behind him.

Twenty-four people stood in five rows, each with their own Pet Beast beside them.

After the battle at Yinpinglu, three days of recuperation in the infirmary, and the series of shocks from Feng Bao being arrested, Qin Ce's rampage at the training ground, and him single-handedly taking down over three hundred people, the temperament of this team had completely changed from when they first left the Wuji Army.

Their eyes were deeper, their stances steadier, and even their breathing rhythms were more synchronized—it wasn't just rapport; it was trust.

They trusted Qin Ce so much that even if he told them to jump into the Space-Time Rift, they would do so without hesitation.

"Groups of five," Qin Ce's voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear. "Each group is responsible for one direction. Lure the vicious beasts over, down to the bottom of this hill. Don't linger in battle, don't fight head-on—just lure them and run. If you can't escape, send a signal, and I'll come to get you."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the five group leaders—Jiang Mo, Lei Gang, Sun Lie, Feng Bao, and a newcomer named Lin Qi, who had performed exceptionally in the battle of Yinpinglu and was promoted by Qin Ce to leader of the fifth group.

"Within the luring range, if there are Silver Rank ones, bypass them. If there are social ones, lure one. If there are speed-types, swap people. If you can't lure them, I won't blame you, but if you lose your life trying to lure them, I won't let you off."

No one laughed.

Everyone knew Qin Ce wasn't joking.

His "won't let you off" meant he really wouldn't.

The five groups dispersed simultaneously, running in five different directions.

Their pace were light, the sound of them treading on gravel and withered grass muffled by the wind, like five silent snakes gliding across the ground.

Qin Ce stood on the hill, watching them depart, then looked down at Tianlu by his feet.

Tianlu crouched by his feet, the nine-colored light on its antlers flickering slightly. Its golden eyes scanned the surroundings like a precision radar.

"You go too," Qin Ce said. "Follow Lin Qi's group. If there's danger, use Lumeng to control them and run."

Tianlu tilted its head, glanced at Qin Ce, then stood up. Its four short legs scurried as it ran toward Lin Qi's group.

After a few steps, it looked back at Qin Ce once more before disappearing behind the rocky slope without looking back again.

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze and patted the Qinglan's neck.

The Qinglan flapped its wings and leapt from his shoulder, tracing a cyan-gold arc in the air before hovering ten meters up.

Its feathers shimmered with a cyan-gold luster under the gray sky, brighter, denser, and more flexible than three days ago. Although its aura hadn't fully recovered to Upper Bronze Rank, the fundamental quality of that aura had changed—it was deeper, steadier, and as restrained as a deep pool. It was accumulating, waiting for the next eruption.

What Qin Ce needed was to make this eruption come faster, fiercer, and more unstoppable.

The first batch of vicious beasts arrived faster than he expected.

Jiang Mo's group returned first.

They lured three Iron-Spine Wolves, Black Iron High-grade. They were fast with a keen sense of smell, the most common social vicious beasts in this area.

Jiang Mo ran at the front, followed by two team members, with three Iron-Spine Wolves behind them, baring their teeth and lowering their heads.

The distance was tight; the closest wolf was almost biting the backpack strap of the last member.

"Captain!" Jiang Mo shouted. There was no fear in his voice, only the crispness of "mission accomplished."

Qin Ce didn't respond.

The Qinglan dove from above his head, three cyan-gold Wind Blades condensing at its wingtips and shooting out in a triangular formation.

The Wind Blades weren't large, only about a palm's length, but they were condensed to the extreme, their edges shimmering with a silver-white light.

They traced three nearly invisible arcs in the air, precisely cutting into the necks of the three Iron-Spine Wolves.

Pff. Pff. Pff.

Three muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

The charging posture of the three Iron-Spine Wolves froze in that instant, and then they crashed to the ground like three collapsing walls.

Blood gushed from the cuts in their necks, seeping into the dry, cracked sandy soil with a faint sizzling sound.

Jiang Mo stopped, looked back at the three twitching corpses, then looked up at the Qinglan hovering in the air, and swallowed hard.

He knew Qin Ce was strong, but every time he saw the Qinglan strike, it still felt surreal.

Upper Bronze Rank Iron-Spine Wolves had no room to even struggle before the Qinglan; they were killed in a single blow, clean and efficient.

"Skin them, take the cores," Qin Ce's voice came from the hill. "Nothing else. Five minutes."

Jiang Mo didn't daze any longer; he crouched down and began to work.

The two team members also crouched down, their movements agile and their knife work precise.

In less than three minutes, three crystal cores and three complete wolf skins had been packed into the military bags.

The second batch came even faster.

Lei Gang's group lured two Storm-Rock Bears, bronze peak. They were large, powerful, and had high defense, but were slow.

Lei Gang didn't run fast, but his Black Iron War Ape did. With their cooperation and the assistance of other members taking turns to lure, they were like a magnet, pulling the aggro of the two Storm-Rock Bears tight.

"Captain!" Lei Gang's voice was rougher than Jiang Mo's, carrying a sense of brute force.

The Qinglan dove again.

This time, Qin Ce didn't use Wind Blade.

He had tried it in the battle of Yinpinglu; the Spider-Web Wind Blade was useless against Gold Rank Pterosaurs, but against Bronze Rank Storm-Rock Bears, it was a different level of crushing.

Spider-Web Wind Blade.

A large cyan net woven from dozens of fine Wind Blades exploded from the Qinglan's wingtips, shrouding the two Storm-Rock Bears from above.

The Storm-Rock Bears weren't very intelligent, but instinct told them this net was dangerous.

They wanted to run, but they were too slow.

The moment the net fell, dozens of Wind Blades cut into their bodies simultaneously—not for slicing, but for binding.

The Wind Blades transformed into fine Wind Cords, binding their limbs, torsos, and necks.

The two Storm-Rock Bears crashed to the ground, unable to move.

Lei Gang stopped, looking back at the two tightly bound Storm-Rock Bears, then at Qin Ce, who hadn't even moved a finger on the hill, his mouth twitching.

He remembered three days ago when over twenty of them fought a pack of Red-Scaled Earth Lizards and were beaten half to death.

Now Qin Ce alone—no, Qin Ce's Qinglan alone—instantly killed two bronze low-grade Storm-Rock Bears as if it were child's play.

"Skin them, take the cores. Take the Metacarpals too; Storm-Rock Bear Metacarpals can be exchanged for military merits." Qin Ce's voice was still flat.

Lei Gang crouched down to work, calculating in his head as he did.

The crystal cores, skins, and Metacarpals of two Storm-Rock Bears were worth at least three hundred military merits in total.

Five minutes.

Earning three hundred military merits in five minutes was something he wouldn't have even dared to imagine before.

The third batch, the fourth batch, the fifth batch.

Group after group returned, batch after batch of monsters were lured.

Qin Ce stood on the hill with the Qinglan hovering above him like an untiring harvester. Wind Blade, Spider-Web Wind Blade, and Tethering Wind Blade—he rotated through the skills, keeping energy consumption and recovery in a delicate balance.

The Wind Mastery talent of the Nine-fold Azure Sky continuously drew wind energy from the air during battle, and the Qinglan's Phoenix Flow condensed, was consumed, and condensed again behind it like a river that would never run dry.

...