Chapter 610: Search! A Chance Encounter with Eileen!

Rustle, rustle, rustle~~

The gale howled as a middle-aged man flew up in front of Xu Jingming, cutting him off.

But once the middle-aged man got a clear look at Xu Jingming's face, his originally stern expression quickly eased:

"So it's you. Go back. The area ahead is not open to you so-called prodigies."

"You know me, senior?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

Judging by his aura, the man was at least an eighth-rank Grand Master.

And he was speaking the Great Xia language, so he was likely a citizen of the Great Xia nation.

"Xu Jingming, first place in this Genius Competition, won great glory for our Great Xia—of course I know you."

The middle-aged man said with a smile.

"I see." Xu Jingming suddenly understood.

Fame was somewhat similar to reputation in an online game.

The higher your reputation, the better the attitude of the big shots from your own faction toward you.

That could be counted as one of the hidden benefits of winning the Genius Competition.

"May I ask, senior, what is that area ahead? How large is the restricted zone?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

"Ahead is Clear Peak City. All the ability-users who enter the Clear Peak Secret Realm live over there."

The middle-aged man smiled, and a holographic map unfolded. An entire region in the northeast was marked in red:

"This area is one you cannot enter for the time being."

"For the time being?" Xu Jingming keenly caught the key point.

"That's right. For the time being."

The middle-aged man grinned. "You're only here this time because of the Genius Competition reward.

Once you reach seventh rank, you'll officially qualify to enter Clear Peak City."

"Oh?" Xu Jingming arched a sword-shaped brow.

From the man's tone, it seemed one could stay inside the Clear Peak Secret Realm for extended periods.

That made sense—

they'd even built a small city, so it clearly had the conditions for long-term habitation.

"Sorry to trouble you, senior. I'll be on my way."

Xu Jingming didn't press for details. He offered a slightly apologetic word, then turned and flew off in another direction.

As for Clear Peak City, he could ask Teacher Ling Shuang about it after he got back—no rush.

But the one thing puzzling him was that this secret realm lay within the European Union's territory.

Yet the ability-user patrolling Clear Peak City was actually a Great Xia native.

Moreover, the name "Clear Peak Secret Realm" itself leaned toward Great Xia usage.

"Could this relic space have first been discovered by our Great Xia people?"

Xu Jingming shook his head and didn't dwell on it. Frowning, he asked Yiwa in his mind:

"The northeast is off-limits. Where else can we find plant lifeforms?"

The restricted zone the man had just designated was huge; there was no way he could get in.

"Judging by the situation, that sea of flowers belonging to the Flower God has almost certainly been taken over by high-rank ability-users."

Yiwa said, a touch helpless:

"We've no choice. We can only head to the forest and try our luck. Maybe there'll be some plant lifeforms left behind by the Flower God."

"Alright." Xu Jingming nodded and quickly flew off in that direction.

It worked out—he needed to go there anyway to hunt fierce beasts. He could look for plant lifeforms while he was at it.

If he really couldn't find any, it would just mean his luck was truly terrible.

He'd have to see if he could find plant lifeforms out in the outside world, or wait until seventh rank and re-enter the Clear Peak Secret Realm.

"Roar—"

"Awoo—"

In the dense forest, the roars of fierce beasts rose one after another.

A Gale Terror Wolf, its body as large as a small car, picked its way cautiously through the jungle.

Cyan-colored gale winds swirled around its body, lifting its entire frame slightly off the ground.

Under the effect of its wind ability, its four massive paws never actually touched the ground.

Like a phantom, it moved without making the slightest sound.

Its pair of amber eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, as if searching for prey.

And so it soon walked into a thicket of shrubs.

This thicket grew extremely densely—over a person's height tall!

The branches of the surrounding trees were further entwined with many deep-cyan, even somewhat blackened, vines.

Once it reached this spot, the roars of fierce beasts around it grew much fainter. Within the dense shrubs lay several massive, bone-white skeletons.

The Gale Terror Wolf keenly sensed something was off. It turned around, trying to leave.

But just then, the sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

The vines entwining the surrounding trees seemed to come alive, all lunging at the Gale Terror Wolf at once to strangle it!

"Roar—"

The startled and furious Gale Terror Wolf immediately let fly several wind blades.

Whoosh—

The cyan wind blades cleanly severed several vines, but even more vines came coiling toward it!

In just a few breaths, the Gale Terror Wolf was pierced through the body by the vines.

Fresh blood gushed from the wound, dyeing the surrounding ground a vivid red.

But the blood seemed to be absorbed by something, and quickly returned to its normal color.

Only after completely draining this Gale Terror Wolf dry did the surrounding vines slowly retract, and the area returned to silence.

"Eva, is this the plant life we're looking for?"

Several hundred meters away, Xu Jingming, his figure hidden among the branches of a great tree and having taken in the entire scene, asked in a low voice.

"Plant life produces spiritual force fluctuations. You're S-rank, so sense them — anything with spiritual force fluctuations is it," Eva replied.

Hearing this, Xu Jingming immediately spread his spiritual force outward.

But regrettably, he did not sense any spiritual force fluctuations from these vines.

"Looks like this isn't the plant life we're looking for — it's just some unusual exotic flora," Xu Jingming shook his head.

This was the twelfth day since entering the Clear Peak Secret Realm.

During this period, aside from hunting fierce beasts and studying combat techniques, he had been searching for plant life the whole time.

But up until now, he still had nothing to show for it.

"Forget it, let's go look somewhere else."

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming was just about to unfold his Thunder Dragon Wings and fly elsewhere.

But the passive sensing of his Heart Net made him perceive, a thousand meters away, a familiar woman walking toward him.

The woman wore a dark-green battle suit, her figure lithe and graceful, and behind her followed two ancient-looking tree-men roughly over four meters tall!

"Eileen? Her again?" Xu Jingming was somewhat surprised.

He was extremely familiar with this woman, who possessed the S-rank ability 'Plant Revivification' and had fought him once before the semifinals.

More importantly, in these past ten-plus days, he had run into Eileen more than once or twice.

And every time, it was in a situation like this — when he had found what seemed to be plant life.

"Eileen's ability and the Flower Goddess are both plant-type. I suspect she's also looking for plant life?

S-rank, should we tail her and try? You never know, we might pick up some clues."

Eva said eagerly, ready to give it a go.

"That was exactly my thought too."

Xu Jingming grinned, suppressed all his aura, and continued to hide among the dense branches of the trees.