Xiao Yu began packing his belongings that day, bringing hundreds of pieces of chocolate, compressed biscuits, canned food, and some clean drinking water. He also carried three upper-level soul gems, twenty intermediate-level soul gems, and fifty lower-level soul gems, in addition to several supplies and tools. Finally, he remembered to leave some vacant space in his ring, and the items he no longer needed were left in the cavern.

When Wang Chao, Jiang Xiaowen, and others heard that Xiao Yu was planning to go on an expedition, they all strongly demanded to follow, but they were instantly rejected. After all, Xiao Yu knew that the larger the gathering, the easier it was to stir havoc. Moreover, his survival experience and fighting power were far beyond anyone in the group so he could go readily on his own; bringing additional individuals with him would only cause the expedition to slow down.

Before departing, Xiao Yu pointed out some areas where elementary-level monsters were spread substantially. Moreover, the distance between them was relatively wide, making them perfect for the elite team led by Han Kexin to hunt. Therefore, they could increase their fighting power by hunting elementary monsters in the days following his departure.

He foresaw that after his inevitable return, a couple of them would reach the peak elementary level.

On the morning of the following day, Xiao Yu left the underground cave and bid farewell to everyone. Then, with a leap, he flew into the woods, turned into a hazy shadow, and shot quickly between the branches of the trees like lightning.

Xiao Yu opened his eyes of insight, shuttled through the gaps in the branches of trees like a whirlwind, and moved at full speed, traveling twenty to thirty kilometers in just ten minutes; even the speed of a moving car wasn’t much faster than him. Besides, Xiao Yu was trekking through a forest with a highly complex landscape. If the terrain was replaced with simple, flat surroundings, his speed might already have become comparable to that of a bullet train.

Before the drastic change in their environment, only superhumans in those various movies, TV series, and the like could achieve this state. Even if ordinary humans could reach such speed, their bodies would be unable to handle it, and the wind’s velocity and pressure would shred them to bits. However, relying on his exceptional insight and the strong physique of a first-order warrior, he felt no strain while shuttling at such a high speed in this complicated environment.

He came across some monsters along the way, but before they could respond, a tremendous gust of wind blew through the woods, and his dark form raced through without leaving a single trace behind.

Xiao Yu spent a whole day running back and forth for hundreds of kilometers, killing several tough monsters along the way. He took notes on the geography and surroundings of this area, as well as the sorts of monsters that may appear, among other things. Finally, he buried himself in a large tree hole at night to rest for three or four hours before resuming the task at hand.

For the next six days, Xiao Yu spent his time exploring and beheading countless monsters along the way. He only encountered first-order monsters twice, but they were merely in the early stages of the first-order level. They were solely ordinary monsters with no powerful skills, not even as powerful as the Flame Goblin. Xiao Yu injured them severely with his blast flame skill, then quickly killed them with a few blade swings.

Over the past several days, he’d harvested a few intermediate and lower soul gems, four to five gray-grade items, and two white-grade items. The majority of them, however, were useless items and standard equipment.

…………

Seven days have passed since Xiao Yu left the cave.

Unexpectedly, thick clouds engulfed the sky, turning everything in the surrounding area bleak and gloomy. It didn’t take long for it to rain heavily as raindrops the size of beans fell into the woods and hit the foliage, crackling the earth like fried beans. The ground was muddy, potholes quickly got filled with water, and the downpour washed away all traces and odors.

Monsters were going to have a difficult time finding food in this environment.

Six people in ragged clothing appeared in the woods, holding spears, knives, axes, and all kinds of weapons in their hands. In order to avoid the sudden rain, they found a giant tree and encircled it tightly, squatting down underneath it to prevent themselves from being soaked.

One of them complained: “how unlucky, I didn’t even get to kill a single prey before it rained, and I got drenched.”

“That’s right.” Another person added, “The food I saved for the last few days is practically gone. Heizi offered to lend me this low-grade gray weapon in exchange for half a catty of meat daily. If this continues, I will eventually starve; at that point, I can only bring my wife out to pick up some guests.”

“Hah, even if your wife’s willing to sell herself, no one is willing to buy that!”

“Hahahahaha…”

The joke of a skinny young man wearing glasses was met with a burst of laughter from the group; feeling pleased with himself, he turned toward one of them: “Though Chenfeng, I really don’t understand how you can have such a beautiful little sister yet you still risk your life to go hunting every day? If it was mine instead, hehe.. “

The guy, who was called Chen Feng, scowled, showing deep disgust, and declared, “I’m different from you.”

“Tch, you still hold onto your meager pride in these difficult times.” The guy snorted, then suddenly changed his tone of voice: “But I don’t think you can protect her for long, your strength is not bad among us, but it’s not worth shit back in the camp. Your sister was spotted by ‘black bear’ when she went out that day. Given that guy’s twisted personality, she might get doomed like the others.”

“Indeed, even if I don’t have any skills right now, everyone knows that women, and particularly those with excellent looks, aspire to be attached to a guy with capability, and as long as she has food to eat, she will be grateful and won’t mind being beaten or abused occasionally.” Another person interjected in a hurry, “But who exactly is the black bear? Everyone knows that he has never been compassionate. This sick sadist has murdered at least eight, if not ten women, one of whom is even a gorgeous female celebrity. If your delicate sister ever gets caught by him, I don’t think she’ll be able to endure even a few days of torture.”

Chen Feng clenched the spear in his hand; a cold light flashed in his eyes, but then he froze… Yes, Black Bear is a big giant in the camp; no one dares to offend him, and almost all the women he likes don’t have a good ending.

I’m afraid my sister is in grave danger. But what should we do? Even if I let her stay in the house all day without going out, she won’t be able to hide forever…

Should we leave?

But where can someone with the meager strength of a late-stage zero-order go with a twelve- to thirteen-year-old girl?

Chen Feng clenched his fists and thought in his heart, “It would be great if I could become an elementary warrior. Then, if I also evolve, I will be respected by everyone in the camp. Even if Black Bear wants to make a move, he would foremost consider the first leader’s opinion….”

The others saw Chen Feng’s worry and uneasiness, and none of them spoke up to comfort him; instead, they all gloated over his misfortune and laughed out loud.

However, at this moment, no one noticed a green python with a thick form coiling on a tree trunk above their heads, its huge head drooping silently and slowly. At the same time, raindrops trickled down its smooth skin as a forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, and its set of scarlet eyes stared down at the unaware prey.

The six individuals were still conversing when the green python’s body glided slowly. Half of its body slowly extruded from the three, bending into a deadly “U” shape, foreshadowing the python’s assault.

“Agh—!”

A miserable scream sounded out.

The green python’s speed was too swift; it rushed down and bit the head of that chattering, skinny guy in the blink of an eye. Everyone in the vicinity made a move and jumped to its flanks one by one. They all drew their weapons and charged at the python. However, the creature’s scales were too hard and sleek, and their attacks had no effect.

With a sweep of its giant tail, two others spurted blood and flew for more than ten meters. The majority of the bones in their bodies were shattered, and they died on the spot.

“It’s an elementary monster!”

A man yelled, turned his head, and ran away. Chen Feng also knew how powerful this monster was, so he didn’t dare stay any longer and immediately fled as well.

The green python wrenched the escaping guy’s neck with its mouth and leapt out like a dragon rushing down the sea. At the same time, its long body entangled and violently squeezed two others. The bones of the unlucky men were completely shattered.

Five of the six people were slaughtered in less than a dozen seconds. When Chen Feng, the sole survivor, saw this, he almost dropped his sword and ran away to save his life. But, unfortunately, the green python didn’t seem willing to let go of any prey; its massive body darted back and forth, dashing toward him in the blink of an eye.

His mind almost went blank, and he couldn’t help but think of his young sister.

I’m going to die; what can little Shuang do without me?

“No, I vowed to look after her before my parents died. She is the last living member of my family. I can’t let her get into harm’s way; I can’t let my sister fall into the hands of that damned black bear!”

“Fight!”

Chen Feng gritted his teeth; his current countenance was distorted, and his pupils were covered with blood as he was about to get overtaken by the green python. He clenched his weapon, turned his head, holding the spear with both hands, and stabbed fiercely at the monster’s head. However, the green python’s body was too slippery, and the not-so-sharp spear tip slid directly away from it without causing it any harm.

The green python leapt up, and its huge head rushed towards him fiercely.

Just then, a cyan light flashed!

Chen Feng held his breath; his eyes widened, and his face turned pale in fright.

When the green python jumped up, he believed death was already shrouding him. However, he never expected this unimaginable scenario to occur at this critical moment—a ray of cyan light came from nowhere and fell on the body of the green python, and without any resistance whatsoever, it easily slashed through and resumed onward.

That level of sharpness was akin to using a knife to slice tofu!

The green python crashed to the ground, its upper body separated from its lower body. However, the incision was very smooth, and it did not die immediately. Instead, like an earthworm that had been cut in half, it writhed and flailed while both ends struggled till its last breath, as a large area of land got dyed red in the blink of an eye.

“What just happened?”

Chen Feng stared blankly at the green python, which was gradually growing quiet. Then, a ball of energy rose from its corpse and shot out in a stream of light.

He then woke up from his daze.

It turned out to be a human being, but who was it?

At this time, a flat and indifferent voice came into his ears, “In such a desperate situation where no survivors are left, you can still fight back vigorously. Your momentum is not bad, but your strength is insufficient.”

Chenfeng turned to face the sound, and he could see a young man approaching him; the latter looked about twenty years old of age and was quite good-looking as he donned a black scale armor and a black cloak. The young man was also holding a long blade, three fingers wide and four-foot-long, in his hand that shined like a pool of autumn water.

However, the most impressive thing about him was not his getup nor his sword, but those pair of deep piercing eyes that turned out to be a peculiar blood-red color; he looked to be wise and calm, with sharp eyes that could see through everything.

“You… who are you? Why have I never seen you before?”

“Why do you believe you should have seen me?” Xiao Yu spoke, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Chen Feng was stunned for a moment, “Your strength… is too amazing; you shouldn’t be an unknown individual. I’ve been in the camp for a long time yet never heard of you.”

Xiao Yu suddenly said, “I see. Where is your camp? Can you take me there?”