Chapter 679

'Ding! Slain one Seven-Stage Peak Earth-Ring Rampant Bear. Ability Points +5000.'

Three minutes later,

In the vast cavern, endless furious lightning filled the air.

Clang!

A 300-ton Heaven-Drawn Halberd was planted firmly in the ground, its sharp crescent blade still smeared with fresh red blood.

At his feet lay the corpse of the Earth-Ring Rampant Bear, its body blackened and charred from countless lightning strikes.

The fatal wound, of course, was its shattered skull.

'The Earth-Ring Rampant Bear controls earth elements—killing it was truly troublesome.'

Xu Jingming exhaled deeply as he exited Thunderstorm Mode.

Though the battle lasted only three minutes, he had exhausted every ounce of his strength to slay it.

This Earth-Ring Rampant Bear's power was roughly equivalent to a Nine-Star Master.

'S-Class, if that remark got out, you'd have countless people envying you.'

Eva emerged from her smart bracer, grinning mischievously:

'But this Earth-Ring Rampant Bear was clever—it must have discovered this divine blood first.'

'Then it used its earth-element control to construct this cavern.'

'If it already found the divine blood, why didn't it just absorb it?' Xu Jingming frowned.

The Earth-Ring Rampant Bear, though an earth-type ferocious beast, could still absorb divine blood.

It simply gained less benefit than lightning-type beasts.

Do you think everyone is as perverted as you, S-Class?

Eva shook her head. 'An Eight-Stage King-level ferocious beast could swallow it all at once.'

'But this Earth-Ring Rampant Bear is only a Lord-level beast—if it tried to absorb it all, it'd explode.'

'So it chose a slow, steady approach.'

'But judging by its condition, if it waited another four or five days to absorb enough divine blood,'

'it'd likely break through from Seven-Stage Peak to Eight-Stage.'

'So that's how it is—it couldn't absorb it all at once. Lucky for me.'

A smile appeared on Xu Jingming's resolute face.

Suppressing his body's craving, he stepped to the pool of blood and collected every drop.

'Over 206 liters!' Xu Jingming's heart leapt as he weighed the volume.

This amount was more than enough for him to absorb!

'Absorbing divine blood triggers a brief evolutionary state—I don't know how long it'll last.'

'If I wait until evolution ends before going for other divine blood, it'll all be gone.'

The memory of his blood-cocoon transformation during the school field trip still lingered vividly in Xu Jingming's mind.

Since he was here, he'd collect as much divine blood as possible before beginning absorption.

After stowing the Earth-Ring Rampant Bear's corpse in his space ring, Xu Jingming resumed searching for divine blood.

By seven p. ., the sky was pitch black.

This was when ferocious beasts were most active.

Normally, Xu Jingming would find a cave to rest at this hour and continue the next day.

But searching for divine blood relied on Thorned Sword Grass—no ability needed, no disturbance caused.

Xu Jingming had no intention of resting—he pressed on.

By ten a. . the next day, he had collected 301. liters of Thunder Dragon King's blood.

He had also gathered 102. liters of Flame Giant Eagle's blood.

Among all ability users here, Xu Jingming's rank might not be the highest.

But with the Divine Blood Indicator and Thorned Sword Grass, he had collected the most divine blood by far!

'Only one last area remains—about 100 square kilometers.'

'After clearing it, I can begin absorption.'

Surrounded by blazing golden flames, Xu Jingming sprinted through the jungle.

The area affected by the Thunder Dragon King and Flame Giant Eagle's battle spanned roughly a thousand square kilometers.

He had nearly finished sweeping this zone—only one patch remained.

Xu Jingming moved swiftly, clearing sixty square kilometers in just two hours.

He collected twenty liters of divine blood. As he headed toward the next location with the Thorned Sword Grass,

the Divine Blood Indicator on his left hand suddenly flashed wildly!

Its flashing rate was even faster than when he'd discovered the 200-liter pool in the cave yesterday!

'Huh? A massive concentration of divine blood!'

Xu Jingming immediately turned and sprinted toward the direction indicated.

Five minutes later, after passing through a thicket, the view opened up before him.

This was a region ravaged by lightning and fire—nearly a week had passed since the battle.

Yet the terrifying lightning and scorching flames still clung to the surrounding trees.

Emitting astonishing energy fluctuations, they seemed eternal, never extinguished.

Countless trees had turned to charcoal; the entire area was covered in thick black ash.

And the temperature here was far higher than anywhere else!

At least 200 degrees Celsius—any ordinary human stepping in would be instantly roasted.

Dozens of pits, large and small, dotted the area.

Each pit contained pools of crimson blood radiating powerful, unmistakable energy.

Some from the Thunder Dragon King, others from the Flame Giant Eagle.

Besides Xu Jingming, nearly twenty others stood nearby.

They clustered in small groups at different positions, each radiating aura of Seven-Stage Upper Rank.

'Another one.'

Someone frowned softly, clearly displeased by Xu Jingming's arrival.

Xu Jingming said nothing, merely standing still.

Among them were several he recognized—some Seven- and Eight-Star Masters from the Degaka Mercenary Group.

Leng Yuexi and her sister were here too; the rest were unfamiliar masters.

Though powerful, he wasn't arrogant enough to face all these masters alone.

Emperor Yan, Zhou Xuan! It's you!

Someone laughed loudly, recognizing Xu Jingming and waving: 'We're all from Degaka Mercenary Group—come over here! More hands, more strength!'

Xu Jingming didn't move.

So what if they were from the same mercenary group?

He didn't know these people—how could he trust they wouldn't stab him in the back after teaming up?

More importantly, he was wondering if he could take all the divine blood here.

As he pondered, someone nearby suddenly shouted:

'Friends, waiting like this won't work.'

Rather than staying here in a stalemate, none of us daring to move, let's just divide this divine blood evenly.

'Otherwise, if an Eight-Stage Grand Master discovers this place, we won't get a single drop!'

'And the longer we wait, the more people arrive—each person gets less.'

'What do you all say? Isn't that logical?'

At these words, the surrounding masters grew visibly tempted.

Initially, only a few Seven-Stage Masters had found this place, feared each other, and stalled.

But who could've predicted more and more powerful figures would arrive?

Out of caution, no one dared act—and no one wanted to leave—so they'd remained stuck here.

At this moment, Xu Jingming found his way out.

He didn't trust the Degaka Mercenary Group—but he trusted Leng Yuexi and her sister!

If he revealed his identity to them, Leng Yuexi would surely help.

She had three masters on her side, plus himself—a fighter nearing Eight-Stage.

Sweeping the remaining Seven-Stage Masters would be effortless!

Thinking this, Xu Jingming smiled brightly, stepped forward, and unleashed his formidable aura:

'Sorry, but I'm taking all the divine blood here.'

"Sorry, I'm taking all the divine blood here!"