80: Chapter 80 Recovery

Rewind time to thirty seconds ago.

The three Silver-rank Ravens had shot Qin Ce down, watching as the blood-soaked human fell from the sky.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in their blood-red eyes.

Mission accomplished.

That annoying little bug was finally dead.

As for that blue bird—

They looked up at the figure above that was frantically trying to come to the rescue, their eyes filled with mockery.

A Black Iron Peak Pet Beast, trying to save its master?

In its dreams!

Who permitted it?

They wanted it to watch its master die.

At the same time, they could effortlessly drain its vitality and stamina.

Wait for it to be exhausted, wait for it to fall, and wait for it to become their extra meal tonight.

However, in the next moment—

That blue figure suddenly stopped.

It hovered in mid-air and roared toward the sky!

That roar was completely different from before—extremely angry, extremely desperate, but also extremely clear and resonant, carrying an indescribable pressure from the depths of its life source!

Immediately after, a blinding blue light erupted from its body!

The light was so intense that the three Silver-rank Ravens instinctively squinted their eyes.

When they could see clearly again—

The Qingluan's aura was completely different. Its physical form had also undergone a transformation.

Black Iron Peak—

mid-grade bronze!

The pupils of the three Silver-rank Ravens shrank suddenly!

A breakthrough?!

At a time like this?!

But before they could react, the Qingluan had already moved.

It simply flapped its wings gently—

Whoosh!

That blue figure was so fast that only an afterimage remained!

Triple speed!

Wind-type Roaming Dragon!

The three Silver-rank Ravens didn't even see how it moved before they realized it had already broken through their encirclement!

No, it wasn't just a breakthrough—

In the instant it broke through, the Qingluan also released a Wind Blade toward the Upper Bronze Rank raven below that was preparing to attack and toy with the falling Qin Ce.

It was just a light movement.

A Wind Blade shot out from the tip of its wing.

The Wind Blade looked no different from before—same size, same shape, same blue color.

But its power...

Was completely different.

Because the moment it flew out, the dissipating aftermath of the wind-elemental attacks released by the three Silver-rank Ravens—energy that should have vanished into the world—seemed to receive a summons and surged frantically toward that Wind Blade!

A single Wind Blade was actually gradually growing larger and stronger!

As the palm-sized Wind Blade flew, it was as if countless invisible Wind Blades were converging!

The wind energy gathered into a blue torrent, turning into a massive celestial blade that slashed toward that Upper Bronze Rank raven!

Caw—!!!

A shrill scream rang out.

The Upper Bronze Rank raven, which Qin Ce and the Qingluan had struggled desperately to even scratch, was like paper under this strike—

It was torn in half!

Blood gushed and feathers flew, staining half the sky red!

The remaining Upper Bronze Rank ravens were scared out of their wits and fled frantically, no longer daring to approach Qin Ce.

As for those three Silver-rank Ravens, they were now completely stunned.

They stared blankly at the blue figure and their shredded companions; for the first time, fear appeared in their blood-red eyes.

This attack power?!

This change after leveling up?!

Just what kind of monster was this?!

But the Qingluan didn't pay them any mind.

With a flap of its wings, it dove down—

Chasing after the falling Qin Ce.

Its speed was incredibly fast; before the three Silver-rank Ravens could even recover, it had already rushed to Qin Ce's side.

It extended its talons and firmly caught him by the shoulders!

Qin Ce's face was covered in blood, and his consciousness was extremely blurred. But the moment he was caught, he still struggled to open his eyes and saw that familiar face.

“Xiao... Qing...”

His voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

The Qingluan let out a soft, long cry and gently nudged his face with its beak.

Then, it looked up at the three Silver-rank Ravens that had finally reacted and were diving down frantically.

In its crimson-gold eyes, there was no anger, no killing intent.

Only indifference.

The kind of high-and-mighty indifference used when looking down at ants.

With a flap of its wings—

Whoosh!

The blue figure turned into an afterimage again and soared into the sky!

The three Silver-rank Ravens chased desperately, flapping their wings with everything they had, pushing their speed to the limit—

But they discovered in despair that the distance between them, far from closing, was actually growing wider!

One thousand meters.

Two thousand meters.

Three thousand meters.

Four thousand meters.

Five thousand meters.

When the Qingluan reached an altitude of six thousand meters, the three Silver-rank Ravens had stopped at around four thousand meters.

They looked up at the shrinking blue figure above, their blood-red eyes filled with shock and resentment.

But no matter how unwilling, how angry, or how frantic they were—

They couldn't catch up.

Scarcely three minutes had passed.

Everything had undergone an earth-shattering change.

...

Ravens, after all, were not creatures born for high altitudes.

But that blue figure continued to fly upward.

Six thousand meters.

Seven thousand meters.

When the Qingluan reached an altitude of eight thousand meters, it finally stopped.

It looked down at the pursuers who had turned into tiny black dots, then glanced at the weakly breathing Qin Ce in its talons.

Then, it slowly closed its eyes, hovering in the sky as it began to absorb the surrounding wind energy.

[Wind Mastery · Spring Wind Transforming into Dew] activated.

Countless invisible strands of wind energy surged from all directions into the Qingluan's body, and through the contract link, they were transferred into Qin Ce.

That energy turned into something like wisps of warm dew, circulating through Qin Ce's body, bit by bit repairing his damaged meridians, injured organs, and lost blood.

Qin Ce's breathing gradually stabilized.

His face was no longer so pale.

The wounds began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

After an unknown amount of time—

He finally opened his eyes.

What met his gaze was that familiar blue and those worried golden eyes.

“Xiao Qing...”

Qin Ce's voice was still a bit raspy, but it was much stronger than before.

The Qingluan let out a soft, long cry and rubbed its beak against his hand, its eyes full of joy.

It released its talons, letting Qin Ce land on its back.

Qin Ce sat on the Qingluan's back, panting heavily; he raised his hand and clenched his fist.

His strength had returned.

Though not at his peak, he could at least stand up again.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, slowly sat upright, and looked down at his body.

The two puncture wounds on his right shoulder and left leg had scabbed over.

The scratches and wounds on his chest and back had turned into faint scars.

He closed his eyes, feeling the new power within him—

It was the energy fed back to him after the Qingluan's breakthrough.

The Bronze Rank energy flowing through his meridians was more than ten times purer than it was at the Black Iron stage. With every breath, he could feel the surrounding worldly energy slowly surging into his body—this was a passive ability from the Qingluan's breakthrough.

“Wind Mastery” brought more than just an upgrade for the Qingluan.

As the contractor, he also shared a portion of the talent's power.

For example, a keener perception of wind energy.

For example, a faster recovery speed.

For example, pure and surging vitality.

And through the contract, he could also clearly sense the Qingluan's current state—

mid-grade bronze peak.

Nine-fold Azure Sky Second Stage · Wind Mastery, fully unlocked.

Its speed, agility, attack power, and endurance were all more than a level higher than before.

“Xiao Qing,” Qin Ce said softly, “you did it.”

The Qingluan turned its head, looking at him with eyes like the firmament, filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and a hint of faint pride.

It let out a clear, resonant cry that echoed at eight thousand meters, piercing through the clouds and carrying far into the distance.

Qin Ce smiled.

He reached out to stroke the Qingluan's neck, then closed his eyes to carefully experience the new power within him.

Bronze Rank.

He had finally broken through.

No, to be precise, the Qingluan had brought him up to this level after its own breakthrough.

This was the characteristic of the Beast Taming system—before the Star-Glow Rank, a Beast Tamer's level increases in synchronization with their strongest Pet Beast.

The moment the Qingluan broke through to the Bronze Rank, he had officially stepped across the threshold of the Bronze Rank as well.

Qin Ce sank into his spiritual sea, feeling the Soul Talisman that had become much more solid.

The Soul Talisman was surrounded by swirling blue wind elements, the power fed back to him by the Qingluan.

He could feel that his mental strength was at least twice as strong as before, and his sensing and control of the wind element had reached a new level.

If his previous control of wind elements was like a person trying to grab sand with their hands, where much would always leak through the fingers—

Then now, it was like turning that sand into water, which could be guided and manipulated at will.

Qin Ce opened his eyes and raised his right hand.

With a thought, a Wind Blade condensed in his palm.

This Wind Blade was more condensed than before, its edges shimmering with a faint metallic luster, and the energy fluctuations it emitted were more than twice as strong.

But he did not release it.

He dispersed the Wind Blade, then closed his eyes to continue sensing the new power.

In his mind, various pieces of information about Wind Mastery surfaced again.

Wind-Star Shift, Phoenix Flow, Spring Wind Transforming into Dew, Roaming Dragon... and Flowing Cloud Wave Roll.

Every effect was powerful enough to make his heart race.

Especially the synergy between Wind-Star Shift and Phoenix Flow, which meant that in battle, he could absorb the enemy's wind-elemental attacks to constantly stack his own energy, then release an even more powerful attack in turn.

All of this made Qin Ce eager to try.

This time, they were no longer the prey.

This time, they were the hunters.