Chapter 819: Wang Zhan

The 67th Baihua Valley is very large; Xu Jingming and Wang Zhan both spent nearly ten minutes collecting everything.

Among them, over four thousand plants below B-grade totaled 1.94 tons.

Over two hundred plants above B-grade, most of which were merely B-grade, with only a dozen or so A-grade and not a single S-grade.

Converted, the total weight was only 52 kilograms of weight.

"The ranking number of the 67th Baihua Valley is still too low; the combined weight of the rare flowers and herbs doesn't even reach two tons."

Xu Jingming couldn't help shaking his head.

This amount of rare flowers and herbs couldn't even fill one corner of his space ring.

"Only Baihua Valleys ranked above 40th have significantly more rare flowers and herbs."

They start at ten tons or more, but besides these Baihua Valleys, other random locations might also grow exceptionally abundant rare flowers and herbs.

But that depends on luck."

Wang Zhan said with a smile.

Baihua Valleys are merely locations they've identified as guaranteed to produce large quantities of rare flowers and herbs.

In reality, certain random locations also exhibit conditions similar to Baihua Valleys.

"By the way, Brother Xu, your Lei Ting Martial Arts Hall probably needs rare flowers and herbs badly right now."

How about this: before we leave the secret realm, I'll give you all the rare flowers and herbs I've collected, counting them as your data."

Wang Zhan suddenly spoke up.

"Oh?"

Xu Jingming raised his sword-like eyebrows, immediately understanding Wang Zhan's intent, and smiled:

"Looks like Brother Wang has run into trouble and wants me to help?"

"Not exactly."

Wang Zhan shook his head, his expression serious: "One goal is to befriend you, Brother Xu; the other is investment.

If one day you break through to ninth rank and become a councilor, I hope you'll look after our Wang family."

Wang Zhan didn't conceal his intent; he laid it out plainly.

In fact,

through the aura he just sensed, he realized Xu Jingming's talent was even stronger than he'd imagined!

They had once guessed Xu Jingming might break through to ninth rank within four or five years.

But now it seemed that guess was far too conservative.

Xu Jingming's speed to reach ninth rank would surely be much shorter than they'd imagined.

This Yer Secret Realm is especially important for Lei Ting Martial Arts Hall.

If you don't curry favor now, by the time Xu Jingming truly becomes ninth rank, it'll be too late!

"Brother Wang, don't take it personally if I speak bluntly."

"The rare flowers and herbs you, an eighth-rank Zhongweida Master, can gather probably aren't enough to make me do this."

Seeing Wang Zhan so candid, Xu Jingming didn't hold back.

Besides the hundred-member coalition team from other nations, 180 members from the Big Six of Blue Star entered the secret realm.

Half of them are at eighth-rank Shangwei, and over thirty have reached eighth-rank Peak combat power.

Wang Zhan's combat power truly isn't strong.

"This..." Wang Zhan froze.

He'd expected Xu Jingming to refuse, but he never imagined the reason would be that his own strength was too weak!

"I'm still an eighth-rank Zhongweida Master! Even on the international stage, plenty of countries would fight to recruit me..."

Wang Zhan felt helpless inside, but he knew very well Xu Jingming was right.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again: "I'm on good terms with Wang Han and Liao Pei."

One is eighth-rank Peak, the other eighth-rank Shangwei.

We three can give you all the rare flowers and herbs we've collected."

I only hope that when you become a councilor, you'll look after our three families."

Although Wang Han and Liao Pei are extremely close to ninth rank.

Especially Wang Han, the eighth-rank Peak, who is only one step away from ninth rank.

It seems unnecessary to beg Xu Jingming's favor, but in truth, Wang Han has been stuck at eighth-rank Peak for over a decade.

Without an accident, he may never break through to ninth rank.

"Oh?"

Xu Jingming finally showed some interest and nodded: "If you can truly persuade them, I'll accept your terms."

Lei Ting Martial Arts Hall originally had only six eighth-rank Da Zongshi; adding these three would greatly increase the total rare flowers and herbs collected!

"Good!"

Wang Zhan's eyes lit up, and he immediately took his leave: "Then, Brother Xu, I'll take my leave."

He wanted to join Xu Jingming, but he knew that a powerful Xu Jingming wouldn't drag along a liability.

So he didn't even ask, bowed farewell, and turned away without another word.

"This Wang Zhan is actually kind of interesting; when he saw I thought he couldn't do it alone, he went and pulled in two more people."

The more friends you have, the fewer enemies you'll have.

If Wang Zhan truly manages this, Xu Jingming wouldn't mind helping these three families later.

"Eva, where's the nearest Baihua Valley next?"

Xu Jingming shook off his thoughts and asked.

"The next closest Hundred Blossom Valley to this location is No. 45, about 74 kilometers straight-line distance away."

The green-haired, twin-tailed little girl emerged from her smart bracer and replied softly.

"Good, then let's head there next."

Thunder Dragon Wings unfolded behind him, and Xu Jingming shot into the sky, flying toward that direction.

To obtain large quantities of rare flowers and exotic herbs, the simplest method is to go to the southwesternmost dense area of the Hundred Blossom Valley.

But on one hand, he is too far away; by the time he arrives, others have likely already harvested everything.

On the other hand, his current strength is still insufficient to crush everyone, especially those two S-Class eighth-rank upper-tier experts.

Therefore, starting collection from the nearest Hundred Blossom Valley is the most prudent approach.

More importantly, along the way he can also hunt ferocious beasts and collect Ability Points.

Once he accumulates enough Ability Points to level up, he won't even need to search for rare flowers and exotic herbs anymore.

He can simply seize them directly from powerful figures of other nations—by then, even eighth-rank upper-tier S-Class experts won't be able to stop him.

Time swiftly passed, and before he knew it, half a day had gone by.

Tianming Sect's Tian Jian and others met at the prearranged location.

Their group totaled six people.

Aside from Tian Jian, all were eighth-rank Grand Masters.

Among them, the burly, wild-looking man with unkempt appearance had reached the terrifying peak of eighth rank!

His name was Jonathan, a Red Robe Archbishop of Tianming Sect—and also the most crucial Tianming Divine Messenger of this operation.

"Divine Son, what should we do next? Go find Xu Jingming?"

Jonathan asked in a deep voice, his eyes faintly radiating cold killing intent.

Though immensely powerful, in this Yer Secret Realm, he still obeyed Tian Jian's commands.

"No rush. If we encounter him, kill him; if not, it doesn't matter."

Tian Jian said casually, "The days after we leave the Secret Realm will be when you truly shine."

Entering the Secret Realm involves random teleportation, but exiting requires gathering at fixed locations.

Jonathan, though a Tianming Divine Messenger, after using the Divine Blood Secret Art to attain ninth-rank power,

will enter a weakness period lasting over ten days afterward.

Therefore, now is not the optimal moment to use the Divine Blood Secret Art to search for him.

Waiting until everyone gathers together, then netting them all at once, is not too late.

"Understood."

Jonathan understood Tian Jian's meaning, a hint of excitement on his face.

He eagerly anticipated the look of utter collapse on those lowly humans' faces when they saw his formidable form...

The Yer Secret Realm was vast, over three million square kilometers—larger than most nations on Blue Star.

More crucially, numerous ferocious beasts still roamed within it!

Although the tiers and density of ferocious beasts here were far lower than those in the Dayangzhou Wildlands,

this place also lacked dangerous ninth-rank Beast Emperors.

For Xu Jingming, this was undoubtedly the best news!

He could unleash his SSS-Class "Lei Tianlao Yin" without restraint to bombard entire regions.

Kill ferocious beasts, gain Ability Points.

After reaching seventh-rank upper-tier, Xu Jingming's Lei Tianlao Yin had expanded to a terrifying range of 17 kilometers!

One strike of Lei Tianlao Yin could yield at least 20,000 Ability Points.

Thus, although he continuously collected rare flowers and exotic herbs, his system panel's Ability Points surged dramatically.

Eighteen days later, Xu Jingming's system panel showed a staggering 1.43 million Ability Points!

Yet, on his system panel, the level and Ability icons still had no plus signs.

"I spent 1.23 million Ability Points to upgrade from seventh-rank mid-tier to seventh-rank upper-tier.

Advancing from seventh-rank upper-tier to eighth-rank is a major leap; it's normal that 1.43 million isn't enough to level up.

But why can't my Ability even reach SSS-Class?"

Above a forest now consumed by thunder and lightning, Xu Jingming hovered silently, his mind filled with confusion.

After all, upgrading his Ability from S-Class to SS-Class had only cost 50,000 Ability Points.

Now, his accumulated Ability Points were dozens of times greater than that.

"The more Ability Points required to upgrade an Ability, the stronger the final Ability will be.

Next, I just need to quietly accumulate more Ability Points."

Xu Jingming had a premonition—he was close to gathering enough Ability Points to upgrade his Ability to SSS-Class.

"Eva, let's go to the next ferocious beast gathering point."

"Yes, the next ferocious beast gathering point is to your right at S-Class, about ten kilometers away."

Eva couldn't understand why Xu Jingming spent so much time hunting ferocious beasts while collecting rare flowers and exotic herbs.

Though puzzled, this didn't prevent her from serving Xu Jingming.

After hearing Eva's response, Xu Jingming slightly flared his Thunder Dragon Wings, preparing to fly toward that direction—when suddenly he frowned and halted mid-air.

Crackling—

Brilliant golden thunder formed a thick barrier, enveloping him like an eggshell.

The next instant,

A sharp hiss rang out as a bolt of black lightning, as thick as a water barrel, suddenly struck from the sky!

Boom!!

The black lightning did not budge Xu Jingming's Lei Ting barrier at all, exploding outward in a crash.

It struck the forest below, making the ground, already riddled with holes, even more shattered.

"Oh? Still alive?"

A voice tinged with mild surprise came from afar.

At least a kilometer away from Xu Jingming, a muscular man with jet-black skin appeared.

"Galka of Heizhou?" Xu Jingming recognized him at a glance.

He was an eighth-rank peak Grand Master from Heizhou, possessing a Lightning-type A-rank ability.

What concerned him was not the man's identity—after all, it was common for cultivators from different nations in the Yer Secret Realm to attack one another.

What concerned him was the pitch-black circular wheel hovering behind the man!

The wheel brimmed with pitch-black thunder, radiating a powerful and savage aura.

It looked somewhat similar to his own Jiyao Lei Huan.

Could this be one of the four missing rings of the Jiyao Lei Huan?

Just as Xu Jingming was about to speak, Eva's excited voice rang out in his mind:

"S-rank! This is one of the five rings of the Jiyao Lei Huan!"

"Of course."

Xu Jingming's lips curled into a smile. "Didn't expect a trip to the Secret Realm would bring such a surprise right to my door."

"If that's the case, this Jiyao Lei Huan ring is mine."

With a thought, his wings behind him fluttered slightly, and he flew straight toward Galka.

"Seventh-rank upper? No wonder your A-rank technique couldn't touch you."

"But you just charge at me like this? Don't you take me seriously at all?"

A thunderous voice boomed. Galka stared fixedly at the golden ring behind Xu Jingming, his eyes brimming with greed.

The ring behind him was a top-tier elemental weapon he had obtained from an ancient ruin!

It was precisely because of this ring that his combat power ranked among the highest among A-rank eighth-rank peak Grand Masters.

But during a chance encounter, he discovered that Xu Jingming of Daya also bore a similar ring!

Although Galka did not know this was Lei Shen's weapon, he realized his own ring might not be its final form.

If even one ring was rated a top-tier elemental weapon, what would happen with two?

Would it transform directly into a perfect-level elemental weapon?!

The thought made him ecstatic.

But he had self-awareness—he knew he could never storm Daya to seize the ring from Xu Jingming.

He had thought he might never get such an opportunity in his lifetime—yet here Xu Jingming had entered the Yer Secret Realm alongside him!

So he resolved to act within the Secret Realm.

When he sensed the thunderous disturbance from afar,

he rushed over immediately, confirmed it was Xu Jingming's Dou Tian Shen Lei, and without hesitation chose to strike.

"Die! Hei Shan Lei!"

In the local language of Heizhou, Galka sneered, his ring spinning wildly behind him.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, brewing terrifying energy fluctuations!

Hei Shan Lei!

A Lightning-type SSS-rank technique—this single strike would reduce even the strongest Xu Jingming to ash!

"The second ring will soon be mine!"

Galka's face glowed with anticipation, utterly unconcerned by Xu Jingming flying toward him.

A veil of pitch-black thunder encircled his body.

It was an S-rank defensive Lightning technique—no matter how hard Xu Jingming charged, he could never break through.