63: Walking alone in the hustle and bustle

The team slowly advanced through the muddy swamp.

The battle ahead grew increasingly fierce.

Li Hu's great axe brought a腥風, cleanly splitting the head of a Rank 6 Swamp Crocodile in two. The splattered blood stained his resolute face, making him appear full of wild charm and drawing screams from several female classmates in his team who admired strong individuals.

Su Qingxue's battlefield was more elegant.

She simply floated quietly in mid-air, her ice crystal staff, with each casual flick, conjuring a storm of ice crystals filled with the aura of death, freezing several fearless Swamp Multi-headed Snakes in place, unable to move. Her 'followers,' who already admired her immensely, then swarmed forward to easily harvest them.

The entire training team was immersed in a fervent atmosphere of passion, excitement, and teamwork.

Everyone was giving their all for points, for experience, and to showcase their strength in front of teachers and classmates.

Except for Lin Feng.

He maintained his unhurried, almost leisurely demeanor, silently trailing at the very end of the main group.

He seemed to be separated from the commotion ahead, from the battlefield of blood and fire, by an invisible world.

While others cheered for defeating an elite monster, he quietly squatted down and placed a mud-covered Obsidian, unearthed from the mire, into his backpack.

Ding! You used Gathering Skill (Lv6) on 'Swamp Obsidian,' success! Double收益! Your talent Earth Force proficiency +20! Your Physique attribute permanently +0.04!

While others argued red-faced over the distribution of a dropped 'white-grade' equipment, he quietly walked past them and gently picked a Soul-Soothing Grass, emitting a faint glow, growing in a hollow of a dead tree.

Ding! You used Gathering Skill (Lv6) on 'Soul-Soothing Grass,' success! Double收益! Your Spirit attribute permanently +0.04! Your talent Soul Insight proficiency +20!

...He was like the purest, most focused Gatherer.

Nothing in the outside world, neither the intensity of battle nor the ridicule and disregard of others, could disturb him.

His world contained only this vast swamp and the Materials that, in his eyes, emitted various enticing glows.

And the skill proficiency of his Gathering Skill, which had been stagnant for a long time, was slowly climbing at a steady and firm pace through these seemingly ordinary 'gatherings.'

95%... 96%... 98%...

"Lin Feng! What are you doing?!"

A roar filled with anger and impatience suddenly came from the front of the team.

It was Instructor Lei Yan, the instructor leading the team.

He had just directed several elite students to repel a wave of monsters consisting of dozens of Swamp Corroders. Turning back, he found that the 'key protected individual' who should have been close to the teacher had once again strayed from the main group. He was squatting alone by a poisonous pond a hundred meters away, staring at a strange purple flower growing in the center of the pond.

"Didn't I warn you?! Don't act on your own! Don't touch anything you don't recognize!" Instructor Lei Yan's veins bulged with anger, "That's a Highly Toxic Corpse King Flower! Its pollen is enough to poison an adult Swamp Crocodile to death within three seconds! Are you trying to die?!"

"Immediately! Get back here!"

Instructor Lei Yan's roar attracted the attention of all the surrounding classmates. They all turned their heads to look at the young man who had once again become the 'focus,' their eyes filled with undisguised schadenfreude.

"This guy is such an idiot! He even dares to touch a Highly Toxic Corpse King Flower!"

"Teacher Instructor Lei Yan must be furious with him, right? If it were me, I would have kicked him out long ago!"

"Just wait and see, he's definitely going to get a severe scolding."

...However, facing Instructor Lei Yan's almost 'exasperated' roar, Lin Feng simply stood up calmly from the ground.

He didn't immediately return, nor did he show any expression of fear or panic.

He just looked at Instructor Lei Yan from a distance, then slowly said in an equally calm, emotionless tone:

..."Teacher."

"...Its 'gathering' value is very high."

After speaking, under the shocked and disbelieving gazes of everyone, he slowly extended his right hand. From several meters away, using his Mental Energy tentacles, which he had already mastered to perfection, he gently brushed the Highly Toxic Corpse King Flower that was emitting deadly poisonous mist!

Ding! You used Gathering Skill (Lv6) on 'Highly Toxic Corpse King Flower,' success! Double收益!

Your 'Poison Resistance' permanently +1.0%!

You obtained Epic Alchemy Materials — 'Corpse King Flower Stamen' * 2!

You obtained a large amount of skill proficiency!

Ding! Your skill 'Gathering Skill' proficiency is full, Rank increased to Lv7!

Your Gathering Skill has gained a new characteristic — 'Purification'!

Purification: When you gather items containing 'negative' energy (such as: severe poison, curses, grudges, etc.), there is a certain chance to 'Purify' them, converting them into pure, harmless energy, and slightly increasing the收益 of this gathering...

As that series of joyful System notifications frantically scrolled through Lin Feng's mind, the Highly Toxic Corpse King Flower, which had originally been emitting deadly poisonous mist, slowly withered and faded at a visible speed, finally turning into a handful of pure, completely non-toxic dust.

Lin Feng simply withdrew his hand calmly, as if he had just done something insignificant and utterly simple.

Then, he turned around and, under Instructor Lei Yan's stunned, 'seen a ghost' gaze, and amidst the petrified, bewildered, and incredulous expressions of all the surrounding classmates, he unhurriedly walked back towards the main group.

On his face, that calm, unperturbed, and unflappable expression remained.