Chapter 98 - 97: Obtaining Treasure, Greatly Increased Strength

Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Obtaining Treasure, Greatly Increased Strength

"Ji... Zhixing?"

At the moment they saw Ji Zhixing, Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang immediately froze in place as if immobilized, forgetting even to breathe.

They had planned everything perfectly. They lured the pack of Blood Wolves over and hid beneath a camouflage cloth to watch the show, assuming their scheme was flawless. Yet, just as they were about to leave, they ran into the person they least wanted to see. Staring at Ji Zhixing, the camouflage cloth in Chen Wenjie’s hands fell to the ground with a SLAP.

"You two..."

Ji Zhixing was also slightly taken aback when he saw them. He hadn’t expected to run into Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang here. But a moment later, realization dawned on him.

When he and Xiao Mingyue approached earlier, they clearly saw a patch of rocks over there. In the blink of an eye, Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang had walked out from it. That patch of rocks then shifted, turning into a tattered cloth. Combine that with the sounds of battle coming from afar and the fact that Zhou Han and the other two were currently under siege... Everything clicked together in his mind.

"Very well," Ji Zhixing said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness. Without a shred of hesitation, he immediately drew the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod.

"Wave Surge!"

The long staff swept horizontally, cutting through the air and bringing forth waves of deep, echoing tidal sounds. He put his full strength into this strike, holding nothing back.

Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang were not weak. But at this moment, they were so startled that they didn’t react until Ji Zhixing swung his staff. By the time they tried to dodge, it was already too late. They could only gather their Genetic Source Power to shield their bodies, watching helplessly as Ji Zhixing’s staff swept over and slammed into them.

THWACK! THWACK!

The two were sent flying into the air, simultaneously coughing up mouthfuls of blood, their faces turning deathly pale. Fortunately, they both carried the protective power left by the school, which helped offset a portion of the attack. Otherwise, Ji Zhixing’s strike might have literally blown them to pieces.

"You!" Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang glared at Ji Zhixing, seemingly wanting to say something. But the next second, accompanied by a ripple in space, their figures rapidly vanished from the Blood Beast Secret Realm.

"Since those two were here, could it be that the Blood Beasts besieging Zhou Han and the others were lured over by them?" After Ji Zhixing drove the duo out of the Secret Realm, Xiao Mingyue walked over. She bent down, picked up the camouflage cloth from the ground, and examined it in her hands.

"Very likely," Ji Zhixing replied, his gaze shifting into the distance. "Let’s ignore that for now. Saving them takes priority."

Without delay, the two immediately accelerated, rushing down toward Zhou Han’s group.

BOOM!

Ji Zhixing took a step forward. With a thought, his body violently shot upward.

Gigantification!

His height skyrocketed to two point seven meters. His Boulder Body activated simultaneously, covering his entire form in a grayish-white, armor-like stratum. The Nine-Tiered Tide Rod appeared in his hands, its three-meter-long body exuding a faint blue glow. Like a Giant Spirit God, he charged down the hill.

As his body grew, the Fallen Feather Moon-Treading Boots on his feet expanded with him. Even the illusory crow feathers that flew from the soles of his feet when he stepped became much larger. Flocks of grayish-black feathers drifted through the air, supporting his heavy body and allowing him to sprint as lightly as the wind.

"Ji Zhixing!"

At the base of the distant cliff, Zhou Han, who was leaning against the rock face to fend off the Blood Beasts’ attacks, seemed to hear something and looked up. When he saw it was Ji Zhixing, his eyes immediately lit up, and a surge of wild joy welled up in his heart.

"It’s Ji Zhixing, and Xiao Mingyue!"

Hearing his words, Tie Shan and Su Qing followed his gaze. When they saw Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue rushing over together, expressions of delight instantly surfaced on their faces.

"Kill! Hold on!" Tie Shan bellowed in a low voice, viciously bashing his shield to send a pouncing Blood Wolf flying. The three went all out, resisting the surrounding Blood Beasts’ assaults to buy time for Ji Zhixing’s arrival.

Wielding the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod, Ji Zhixing sprinted over rapidly. Soon, he reached the bottom of the slope and clashed with the Blood Wolves besieging Zhou Han’s trio.

"Sweeping a Thousand Armies!"

He swung his long staff horizontally. The massive, three-meter-long staff swept past with a howling gust of wind. Instantly, four or five Blood Wolves were sent flying, crashing into the distant rocks with broken bones and snapped tendons, splattering blood everywhere.

Xiao Mingyue, trailing beside him, continuously waved her hands. Flame Spirit Birds flew from her palms one after another, flapping their wings and diving into the pack of Blood Wolves. These Flame Spirit Birds were entirely crimson-gold and the size of a palm. Upon landing on the Blood Wolves, they exploded violently, blasting the wolves into mangled flesh and filling the air with the stench of scorched meat.

Hearing the commotion behind them, the Blood Wolves at the front turned their heads one by one. A Tier Two Blood Wolf stood in the center of the pack, its blood-red eyes fixated on Ji Zhixing as it let out a low howl.

The next moment, it charged straight out of the pack. Like a streak of dark red lightning, it arrived in front of Ji Zhixing and swiped at him with its claws. Its claws were as sharp as blades, carrying a piercingly cold glint as they aimed straight for Ji Zhixing’s throat.

"Undercurrent!"

Seeing the Blood Wolf’s incoming strike, Ji Zhixing’s mind shifted, and he executed the Undercurrent stance from the Nine-layered Tide Staff Technique.

He thrust his staff forward. The long staff appeared slow, but it was actually as fast as lightning. As the tip of the staff sliced through the air, there was no sound of tearing wind—only the heavy, muffled sensation of a surging undercurrent. This strike was incredibly heavy, directly colliding with the Blood Wolf’s claws.

BANG!

The staff and claws met, producing a muffled, thunderous boom. In the next instant, the Blood Wolf’s claw was obliterated by his thrust, sending blood and flesh splattering in all directions.

After bursting the Blood Wolf’s claw, the long staff in his hand didn’t stop; it continued moving forward. The strike accurately pierced the Blood Wolf’s head, directly blowing its skull apart.

"Is this the power generated by a Tier Two Five-Star Staff Soldier, stacked with the Gigantification ability and my various talents?" Ji Zhixing marveled inwardly.

He could clearly feel that the strength of this strike was more than a tier higher than when he used the Tide Listening Rod. The inherent quality of the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod, the power boost from Gigantification, the augmentation of the Boulder Body, the Innate Staff Heart, and Staff Soldier Divine Mastery... Everything stacked together to elevate the power of his strike to terrifying heights.

ROAR!

With the death of this Tier Two Blood Wolf, the remaining wolves instantly revealed expressions of terror. Some retreated with their tails tucked between their legs, while others let out uneasy whimpers. Especially as Ji Zhixing continued to advance, swinging his staff again and again—almost every strike killing one or two Blood Wolves—the pack finally broke.

The Blood Wolves began fleeing in all directions.

Ji Zhixing ignored the fleeing wolves. He took large strides forward, charging straight toward the other Tier Two Blood Wolf among the pack. When that Tier Two Blood Wolf saw him approaching, a trace of fear flashed in its eyes. It immediately turned and fled at blinding speed.

But Ji Zhixing was even faster.

Wearing the Fallen Feather Moon-Treading Boots, illusory crow feathers flew from the soles, supporting his body and allowing him to cover immense distances with every step. In just a few paces, he caught up to the Blood Wolf.

"Sea Burial!"

From behind, he smashed his staff downward. The long staff hurtled toward the Blood Wolf’s back with a heavy, rushing sound.

The Blood Wolf violently twisted its body, narrowly dodging the strike. The staff smashed into the ground, sending shattered stones flying and leaving a massive crater in its wake. But just as it dodged, Ji Zhixing swung his staff upward, executing the Rising Tide technique. The long staff flicked up from below, accurately sweeping across the Blood Wolf’s abdomen.

This time, the Blood Wolf had nowhere to run. It was directly blown apart by his strike, scattering blood and organs everywhere as its carcass was sent flying far away.

At the foot of the cliff, Zhou Han and his companions, who were still tangling with the two remaining Iron Armor Blood Beasts, were dumbfounded by the sheer might Ji Zhixing displayed.

They knew Ji Zhixing was strong. Previously, when Ji Zhixing was only at Tier One, his strength was already roughly equivalent to a Tier Two Genetic Cultivator. But they had never imagined that upon breaking through to Tier Two, his strength would surge to such an absurd degree. Those two Tier Two Blood Wolves had been blown to pieces in just a few strikes.

"His staff seems to have changed," Su Qing observed carefully, noticing that the long staff in Ji Zhixing’s hands was different from before.

"It’s not just his staff; his staff technique has changed too," Tie Shan noted in a muffled voice. "He was using the Tingchao Staff Technique before, but the power of this current set of techniques is clearly much greater."

"And Xiao Mingyue, she seems to have broken through to Tier Two as well," Zhou Han added, his gaze falling on Xiao Mingyue in the distance as she continuously released Flame Spirit Birds.

Those Flame Spirit Birds were a full size larger than before, and their flames were even more scorchingly hot. Every explosion claimed the life of a Blood Wolf.

The group fell into a stunned silence. They didn’t know what had happened to the pair in such a short period of time. How could their strength have jumped up by so much all at once?

While the three were lost in their thoughts, Ji Zhixing had already turned around and charged at the other Blood Wolves. He chased them relentlessly for over a minute. Together with Xiao Mingyue, he hunted down and killed the vast majority of the Blood Wolves. Only a small fraction managed to escape.

"Phew..."

Ji Zhixing returned, leaning on the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod and gasping for breath. After consecutive high-intensity battles, his physical stamina and source power consumption were far from minor. However, he didn’t stop. Instead, he stepped forward once more, charging at the two remaining Iron Armor Blood Beasts on the battlefield.

These were two Tier Two Iron Armor Blood Beasts. They had also wanted to flee, but Zhou Han and the other two had kept them pinned down, preventing their escape.

"Wave Surge!"

Ji Zhixing rapidly advanced, sweeping his long staff horizontally. With a single strike, a Tier Two Iron Armor Blood Beast was sent flying, crashing into the rock face before sliding down.

"Dark Surge!"

He thrust his staff, the resulting wind thick and forceful. With the cooperation of Zhou Han and the others, he slew the remaining Tier Two Iron Armor Blood Beast on the spot.

"That was too fierce!" Once all the Blood Beasts were dead, Zhou Han and his companions immediately gathered around, looking at Ji Zhixing in absolute disbelief.

Su Qing pulled Xiao Mingyue aside, asking her what was going on.

"Where did you two go over the past couple of days? How did you get so strong right after coming back? And that staff of Ji Zhixing’s, where did he get it?"

Xiao Mingyue smiled and said, "Don’t rush, don’t rush, I’ll tell you in a bit. We’ve killed so many Blood Beasts, we better hurry up and refine them.

"If we wait too long, we won’t be able to refine Blood Crystals from them."

"Right, right, hurry up and refine," Zhou Han also hurriedly agreed. "This time, Ji Zhixing killed four whole Tier Two Blood Beasts! Who knows if we can refine anything good."

The group nodded in agreement and began collecting the Blood Beast carcasses on the ground.

Ji Zhixing pondered for a moment, then walked over and stored the corpse of a Tier Two Iron Armor Blood Beast along with the corpse of a Tier Two Blood Wolf into his Genetic Furnace. This time, he intended to test refining two different Blood Beasts together.

He thought to himself, "In the past, I always refined them one by one, or refined two identical Blood Beasts together.

"This time, I’ll try refining different Blood Beasts together to see if I can produce something unique."