Chapter 82: Opening, Handing Over

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Opening, Handing Over

"Alright!"

Zhou Han’s eyes lit up. Without time to look back and see who had launched the attack, he brandished his saber, flickering to the side of the Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodile in front of Ji Zhixing.

The Blood Crocodile, fully focused on attacking Ji Zhixing, was caught off guard by Zhou Han’s strike. More than half of its head was severed, leaving only a sliver of flesh and skin attached.

Blood spurted wildly as its massive body crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before falling still.

"ROAR!"

Following the successive deaths of the two Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles, an even louder roar erupted from the Blood River in the distance. The sound was deep and resonant, carrying a terrifying pressure that made their eardrums ache.

The group looked over in horror.

Deep within the Blood River, an enormous Single-Horned Blood Crocodile was rising from the water. This Blood Crocodile was significantly larger than the three they had just fought. Its Scale Armor was a deep, dark red, faintly shimmering with a metallic luster. Its single horn was twice as long as the others, the tip as sharp as a spear, emitting a chilling gleam.

"Tier Two Peak? There shouldn’t be any Blood Beasts touching the threshold of Tier Three in this place, right?" Zhou Han’s expression changed drastically.

The giant crocodile moved with extreme speed, rushing out of the Blood River in the blink of an eye and lunging fiercely toward them.

"Go!" Ji Zhixing shouted loudly, moving swiftly alongside Zhou Han to store the corpses of the two Tier Two Blood Crocodiles on the ground into the Genetic Furnace.

Then, the three joined forces, fighting as they retreated.

Tie Shan raised his shield at the very front, while Zhou Han and Ji Zhixing flanked him on either side. Their long saber and long rod swung continuously to block the pursuit of the remaining Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodile.

This Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodile was quite strong, but against the combined assault of the three, it was ultimately outmatched. Soon, it took a heavy strike to the head from Ji Zhixing’s rod and a slash to the neck from Zhou Han’s saber. Had it not retreated quickly, it likely would have followed in the footsteps of the other two Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles.

"ROAR!"

After taking consecutive blows, it let out a low growl, no longer daring to pursue as it slowly backed away.

Seeing it retreat, the other Blood Crocodiles didn’t dare to advance either. Taking advantage of this, Ji Zhixing and the other four quickly picked up their pace, retreating into the narrow passageway behind them.

"Phew! We’re safe!" Tie Shan rested his shield on the ground, veins bulging on his forehead as he panted heavily. "When those three Tier Twos rushed us all at once, I almost couldn’t hold them back."

"That last, largest one was at least at the Tier Two Peak, maybe even touching the threshold of Tier Three," Zhou Han said, wiping sweat from his face with a solemn expression.

"It definitely hasn’t reached Tier Three!" Ji Zhixing shook his head. "If it had Tier Three strength, it would’ve charged straight at us and we wouldn’t have been able to stop it. It wouldn’t have been hiding in the back the whole time."

He had seen a Tier Three Genetic Beast before. Just thinking about that Land-Traveling Ancient Whale from Shi Lake still sent lingering shivers down his spine.

Hearing Ji Zhixing speak, Xiao Mingyue immediately turned her gaze toward him, urging, "Never mind that! Hurry up and refine the Tier Two Single-Horned Blood Crocodile from earlier and see if you get a Blood Crystal!"

"And mine, too." Zhou Han also brought out the Tier Two Blood Crocodile he had stored in his Genetic Furnace, placing it on the ground. "I won’t give you the ordinary Blood Beasts, but it’s better for you to refine a Tier Two Blood Beast like this. It’d be too much of a waste if I did it.

"However, for one Tier Two Blood Beast, you have to compensate me with two thousand genetic coins. Remember to give it to me when we get back."

"No problem!" Ji Zhixing’s eyes lit up, agreeing without hesitation.

Refining one Tier Two Blood Beast would yield him at least two Tier Two Blood Crystals, worth twenty thousand genetic coins, with a chance of producing other items as well. Giving Zhou Han a two-thousand-coin compensation meant he was making a massive profit.

"Refine."

He sat cross-legged, activating his Genetic Furnace to begin the refinement process. The others watched him with anticipation.

Time ticked away, second by second. Over ten minutes later, the first refinement was complete.

Ji Zhixing swept his consciousness over the Furnace Space. Two Tier Two Blood Crystals, along with two fist-sized Genetic Source Stones.

This would be considered an absolute surprise for anyone else. But for him, it was just business as usual.

He didn’t say a word and continued refining the second beast. Xiao Mingyue and the others didn’t rush to ask, but judging by his expression, they guessed he probably hadn’t gotten any good loot this time.

Another ten or so minutes passed. After the second refinement was complete, his consciousness swept through the Furnace Space, and a spark of joy flared in his heart.

Aside from two Tier Two Blood Crystals and Genetic Source Stones, a potion vial had appeared in the Furnace Space. The vial was dark red overall with a smooth, warm texture. It contained a viscous liquid, and a faint, blood-red light could be seen swirling within.

"A Blood Attribute Gene Development Potion..."

As Ji Zhixing’s consciousness touched the potion, a stream of information flooded his mind.

"Blood Attribute Gene Development Potion: Can be used to develop or enhance blood-attribute genetic abilities."

"Not bad at all," he thought. "A Blood Attribute Gene Development Potion like this can sell for about thirty thousand genetic coins, which is roughly equivalent to three Tier Two Blood Crystals."

He opened his eyes.

"How did it go?" The others immediately crowded around and asked.

Meeting their gazes, Ji Zhixing took out a Tier Two Blood Crystal and waved it in front of them. "Pretty good. It yielded one Tier Two Blood Crystal."

He didn’t bring out both crystals, let alone mention the potion.

"Nice!" Their eyes lit up.

"It actually dropped?" Zhou Han said in surprise. "Your drop rate from refining Tier Two Blood Beasts is this high, too?"

"Just good luck." Ji Zhixing smiled.

"This kind of luck..." Tie Shan shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Actually, if it only drops one Blood Crystal, we’re definitely taking a loss." Ji Zhixing looked at Xiao Mingyue. "That Scroll you used earlier must have been quite expensive, right?"

"It was a Tier Two single-use attack Scroll. I still have a few on hand," Xiao Mingyue shook her head. "As for the price, it’s about sixty to seventy thousand genetic coins.

"However, these single-use attack Scrolls are similar to Genetic Equipment. They must be refined beforehand and take up a certain amount of load-bearing capacity, so you can’t throw out too many of them in a fight."

"This... doesn’t seem like a loss after all," Ji Zhixing thought, his mind stirring slightly. Considering his recent haul, if he calculated it carefully, he might have even made a profit.

But he didn’t voice this aloud. If he did, the group would probably look at him like a monster. Besides, whether he made a profit or not, Xiao Mingyue was definitely taking a loss. But looking at her, she probably didn’t care about such a minor deficit.

"Alright, enough about that." Seeing the others looking at her, Xiao Mingyue changed the subject. "Let’s talk about our next move. Do we keep staking out these Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles, or change locations to hunt?"

"I think we should check out a new spot first." Zhou Han checked the time and said, "That Single-Horned Blood Crocodile that came out later might be a bit too tough to handle.

"There are less than two hours left until the academy publishes the leaderboard. We might as well hunt some ordinary Blood Beasts first and get Ji Zhixing on the board.

"With his drop rate, I feel like he might even be able to compete for the top ten."

"Then let’s leave here for now!" Xiao Mingyue nodded. "Once Su Qing breaks through to Tier Two, we’ll come back and try to wipe out all these Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be quick!" Su Qing clenched her fists, speaking confidently. Having fused with the Tier Three Flame Spirit Butterfly gene, her cultivation was already stuck at the Tier One Peak, only a hair’s breadth away from breaking through.

The group turned around and headed out of the Spider Cave. Soon, they followed the winding cavern passages back to the surface.

Blood-colored sunlight spilled from the sky, illuminating the dark red vegetation and casting the entire Blood Beast Secret Realm in a bizarre atmosphere.

"Let’s go that way." Zhou Han pointed to a stretch of rolling hills in the distance. "The terrain over there is wide open; there should be plenty of Blood Beasts."

The group headed in that direction, vigilantly observing their surroundings as they walked. It wasn’t long before a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

"Something’s there!" Tie Shan raised his shield, stepping to the very front.

A robust, blood-colored wild boar charged out of the bushes. Its tusks flared outward, and its blood-red eyes locked onto the group.

"Go get ’em, Zhixing," Zhou Han said. "The leaderboard is opening soon. Just kill it and refine it immediately to see how many Blood Crystals you can get. Aim for a high rank; you can just compensate us later."

"Agreed," Tie Shan said.

"I have no problem with that either," Su Qing nodded.

"Thanks then!" Ji Zhixing didn’t decline the offer. Wielding the Tide Listening Rod, he strode forward to meet the blood-colored wild boar head-on.

"Void Shatter!"

With a single swing of his rod, the blood-colored wild boar’s head completely shattered, and it crashed heavily to the ground.

Ji Zhixing stored the corpse into the Genetic Furnace. While refining it, he continued searching for other Blood Beasts alongside the rest of the group.

Over the next hour or so, they continuously tracked down traces of Blood Beasts in the area. Blood-colored wild boars, Blood-colored Giant Rats... they found and killed one Blood Beast after another.

None of the others refined their kills, handing them all over to Ji Zhixing.

One, two, three...

He quickly refined nine Blood Beasts. Then, he took out four Blood Crystals and showed them to the group.

"You have two Tier Two Blood Crystals and twenty-two Tier One Blood Crystals now, right?" Xiao Mingyue asked.

"That’s the total," Ji Zhixing nodded.

"That’s so many." Zhou Han’s eyes gleamed. "For this amount, anyone else would have to refine over two hundred Tier One Blood Beasts to get it.

"Ordinary students definitely can’t compete with you.

"Only the students in the genius class who have broken through to Tier Two can hold a candle to you. And even then, they’d have to kill a significant number of Tier Two Blood Beasts."

Hearing their words, Ji Zhixing felt a bit of anticipation in his heart. He wondered what rank he would get.

The leaderboards published by the academy included not only the final overall leaderboard but also a Day One leaderboard. Securing a spot on the Day One leaderboard also granted certain rewards.

First place on Day One would earn a reward of two hundred thousand points. For the top ten, the reward decreased by ten thousand points for each rank down. Therefore, as long as he made the top ten, he would reap a considerable reward.

"Huh? It’s them!"

Just then, Zhou Han’s gaze shifted toward the distance. Ji Zhixing and the others followed his line of sight, immediately spotting a few familiar figures. It was none other than Chen Wenjie and his gang, the ones who had stirred up trouble when they first entered the Blood Beast Secret Realm.

On the other side, Chen Wenjie, Han Shuang, and three unrecognized students were walking over from a distance. They had clearly seen Ji Zhixing’s group as well.

Chen Wenjie’s expression changed, his footsteps coming to a halt. He and Han Shuang exchanged a glance, both seeing wariness in the other’s eyes.

"Let’s go," Chen Wenjie muttered in a low voice, leading his group to turn around and leave without a shred of hesitation.

"Looks like they’re scared of you, Ming Yue," Su Qing smiled at Xiao Mingyue.

"Ignore them," Xiao Mingyue shook her head, her tone flat. "As long as they don’t look for trouble, I couldn’t be bothered with them."

Ji Zhixing watched the receding figures of Chen Wenjie and his group, feeling no ripples in his heart. "There will be plenty of opportunities to slowly settle the score with those guys later on," he thought.

"Hmm?"

Just then, the space in front of them suddenly rippled slightly. A blood-colored vortex materialized out of thin air before each person. The vortexes weren’t large—about the size of a large bowl—but they clearly contained spatial energy, rotating slowly as if leading to another dimension.

"We can hand in our Blood Crystals now! Hurry, hurry!" Seeing the blood-colored vortexes, Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up, and she immediately urged Ji Zhixing beside her.

As for herself... With only one Blood Crystal in her hands, she was definitely keeping it as a souvenir.

"So these blood-colored vortexes are the channels the academy uses to collect Blood Crystals?" Ji Zhixing thought. With a thought, he retrieved the Blood Crystals he intended to submit from his Genetic Furnace and tossed them into the vortex.

After he finished throwing in the Blood Crystals, the blood-colored vortex slowly dissipated.