n

n

n

n“How could this be?”

nAtop the apex of the mountain, just as she was talking to Ye Xuan, Lin Shiru suddenly blanched after she received a message.

n

n

n“What’s wrong, Miss Lin?” Ye Xuan probed after seeing Lin Shiru’s face fall.

n“It’s nothing.”

nLin Shiru shook her head.

n“Help me clear space for a grotto, Spacey,” Lin Shiru instructed as she turned to eye her Sacred Divine Wood.

n

n

nRumble!

nAs soon as she spoke, the thick, gnarly roots beneath the Sacred Divine Wood seemed to transform into wooden dragons. They quickly weaved themselves beneath the earth, continuously twisting and shaking.

nAt the same time, pockets of space kept surging up to protect this enormous mountain in some strange fashion, so that it would not collapse despite the violent rumbling.

n“That’s good.”

n

n

nNot long after the roots followed the Sacred Divine Wood and wove themselves beneath the earth, Lin Shiru eyed the cave below and said to Ye Xuan, “Have your Tyrannosaurus level up here.”

n“Understood.”

nYe Xuan stared at the enormous and cavernous pit with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. He had not expected such a use from the Sacred Divine Wood. With large steps, he descended into the cave.

nThis was a cave with a diameter of five or six meters that wound downwards in a spiral shape. Ye Xuan headed down, and he had to walk more than 20 meters down before he finally hit the bottom.

nAt the end of it was a space about four or five rooms big; the four walls were cramped against each other, held together by some strange force.

nThey seemed to have been made of some new type of construction material. They were sturdy and yet glossy, and they seemed to be giving off a scintillating glow. Because of the glow, Ye Xuan surprisingly did not find the room too dim when he walked in here.

n

n

n“Tsk, tsk.”

nYe Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement.

n“I’ll have to head out and deal with some issues. For the time being, this will be your training ground,” Lin Shiru, who had followed Ye Xuan down, announced suddenly from beside him.

n“It’s for the best that you don’t leave this place if you can help it. Even if you do, don’t ever leave this mountain.

n“If you run into trouble, you’ll be safe as lone as you return to this grotto.

n“Also, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone this time. I hope that you’ll have already advanced to the Dark Iron level by the time I’m back.”

nYe Xuan was shocked. He did not think Lin Shiru would ditch him here, all by his lonesome.

n“Don’t worry, Miss Lin. I’ll be quietly training here for the time being.”

n

n

nBut he quickly got over the shock and nodded.

nHe was fully aware that Lin Shiru was the Vice Dean of Jiangzhou University. It would be truly strange if she stayed by his side the entire time.

nThe only thing that worried him was that Lin Shiru’s departure seemed related to the message she had received earlier. Judging by her expression, the message was probably nothing good.

nLin Shiru nodded.

nShe immediately instructed Ye Xuan a few things before she activated her Sacred Divine Wood and left the place. After waiting for Lin Shiru to leave, Ye Xuan looked at the icy cold and empty grotto. He took a deep breath, and then he released the Tyrannosaurus.

nRoar!

nThe Tyrannosaurus growled deeply at Ye Xuan after it emerged from the Beast Ring.

nIt was as if it were displeased with Ye Xuan for locking it in the dark and boring Beast Ring.

n“There, there!”

nYe Xuan stroked the Tyrannosaurus’ glossy torso. His Beast Ring was a Gold level Beast Ring with an expansive space.

nIf the Tyrannosaurus was not satisfied with this, what sort of Beast Ring would it take to satisfy the beast?

nHe shook his head and waved a hand.

nThe pouch of blood was summoned forth.

n

n

n“Roar!”

nUpon seeing the pouch of blood in Ye Xuan’s grip, the Tyrannosaurus immediately felt its body fill with a thirst for the blood, as if it had been blown apart.

n“Here you go.”

nYe Xuan tossed the amber blood far, far away. The Tyrannosaurus reacted instantaneously. Like a large canine, it flew into the distance and opened its maw, snapping it in its jaw while it was still mid-air.

nGulp!

nAfter it swallowed the fresh blood, it still felt like properly tasting this blood that was so unbelievably appealing. But all this blood—so plentiful that there was enough to even fill the gaps between its teeth—was very quickly and very accidentally gulped down whole.

nIt then reared its head and, embarrassed, glanced at Ye Xuan with its face all bunched up.

nOof!

nThat movement lasted for barely a beat before it felt its body fill with something scorching hot, as if it had been ignited.

nWhen it opened its mouth, there was a faintly red aura that spurted out.

nRoar!

nThe Tyrannosaurus roared lowly.

nIts red eyes took in the grotto, and it was struggling to control the urge to ram into the four walls.

n“You!”

nYe Xuan sputtered when he saw what was happening.

nWhen he received the two evolutionary resources from the Elder of Arrays, he was also instructed on how to use them.

nThis amber blood was, indeed, meant for the Tyrannosaurus’ consumption. The only caveat was that he had to cut open the bead of blood and feed it to the beast, one by one. This was meant to last at least ten days.

nAfter these ten-or-so days, the Tyrannosaurus would advance to the Dark Iron level. Of course, it was not that the Tyrannosaurus could not consume all this blood in one go. If anything, it would actually speed up the advancement process.

nBut it would have to bear with the pain for the time being.

n“You’re too impatient,” Ye Xuan heaved a sigh.

nHe thought about it for a while, but eventually decided against telling the Tyrannosaurus about how the amber blood was meant to be consumed.

nLest the Tyrannosaurus suffered even more.

nBut Ye Xuan also did not want the Tyrannosaurus thinking that he had purposefully withheld this information because he wanted the beast to advance quicker.

nHe was not that cruel.

n“Well, then.”

nHe mulled over it. Then, he raised a hand to retrieve the green pearl given to him by the Elder of Arrays, and he handed that over to Lil Wan who was standing on his shoulder.

n“Don’t eat this. Just hold on to it,” Ye Xuan instructed Lil Wan.

n“Okie,” Lil Wan hurriedly hugged the green pearl and responded. She looked over at the pitiful sight that was the Tyrannosaurus. She felt rather attached to the green pearl.

nNow that she had it in her hold, there were wisps of cooling Spirit Aura emanating from it, and they instantly drizzled down on her. In reality, this pearl was edible as well.

nConsumption would shave several days off of the time needed for Lil Wan to level up. However, Lil Wan would likely end up like the Tyrannosaurus—she would have to spend the next few days in pitiful agony.

n“I’m up next.”

nYe Xuan retrieved an Energy Pill and swallowed it.

nHe then walked off to a corner and started honing the Honing Fist.

nTo him, every amount of improvement mattered to him.

nHe did not want to continue being so weak.

n…

n“The information you sent to me just now, is it real?”

nWhen Lin Shiru left the Spirit Secret Realm, Xu Younian and a few of the professors at Cangzhou University took their leave as well.

n“Of course it is,” Xu Younian said in a low voice.

n“What’s going on?”

nLin Shiru frowned.

n“We’re not too sure either. The thunderbolt appeared suddenly, and then it started circling around Cerulean Planet like a giant dragon, not dissipating for the longest time. It seemed to be self-aware, and no one knows what it’s doing.”

nXu Younian heaved a huge sigh, “So far, there’s been more than one Challenger who has attempted to communicate with it, but none of them have gotten a response.”

nRumble!

nAs they were talking, the crowd looked up. They saw, up in the sky, a thunderbolt thick and burly as a dragon, as if intent on wiping out the world. It was accompanied by the sound of rolling thunder as it swam across the sky.

nSometimes, it flew high.

nOther times, it plunged.

nAnd yet, it seemed like it would plunge at any moment.

nThis was no longer secondary to The Great Shift that had occurred centuries ago. To a certain extent, one could even say that it might possibly arise from this giant thunderbolt’s descent might possibly exceed that of The Great Shift.

n