Chapter 148 - 147: Crazy Harvesting, Light Speed Leveling Up

For a group of cultivators who moved by controlling swords at the Three Realm level, a distance of several kilometers was nothing at all.

In less than the time it took to draw a breath, nearly three hundred rays of sword light simultaneously fell into the collapsed area where the relic’s central tower was located. This happened even faster than the arrival of two Fourth Boundary sword auras striking towards the face!

The face in the air saw this and roared in repetition.

"Humans! You should..."

Before the word "die" was fully spoken, two sharp Fourth Boundary sword auras split across the face.

Although the face appeared ethereal, it was blown away when hit by the sword auras.

At the same time.

A chaotic fight had started below the ground.

The collapsed relic connected to the underground cavern discovered earlier by the Management Bureau.

The tower was located on a raised part close to the ground within the cavern.

As Li Jing had predicted, countless Parasite Insects flew around below the relic. The exact number was impossible to estimate.

The limited high-point space was crammed with Parasite Insects, retreating in two directions into the underground cavern.

Including Li Jing, everyone who rushed underground had bloodshot eyes.

The wave of Parasite Insects was countless!

The entire tunnel leading to the underground cavern was swarmed with Parasite Insects.

Block them?

Impossible to block!

There were simply too many insects to stop.

The only thing they could do was to kill as many as possible!

The retreating Parasite Insects met this group of people and screeched in unison.

The combined "chorus" of countless Parasite Insects made the entire underground space tremble.

However, everyone was prepared, staunchly defending their Primordial Spirits.

The collective screeching of Parasite Insects could not shake them in the slightest.

"Kill!"

A muscular man who practiced a certain sound-based magic skill roared out.

His angry roar echoed through heaven and earth, effectively drowning out the high-pitched chorus of the insect swarm.

It was evident that the insect swarm was under human command.

When they saw that the "chorus" didn’t form a hindrance, they immediately sent out a large swarm of insects.

Against the onslaught of the insect swarm, the large group of people was unceremonious, holding up their flying swords and showing off their abilities.

You must say, the people from the Xiang City Management Bureau were truly brave.

Faced with the massive swarm of insects that surged like a tide, they didn’t flinch at all. Both men and women picked up their flying swords and fought fiercely, stopping the attack of the insect swarm.

In an instant, the underground cavern was filled with the aura of swords.

Li Jing was among the crowd, holding his Flying Sword Blue Edge in a hurry.

Before he had a chance to draw his flying sword to kill something, the insect swarm had already been torn to pieces in swathes by the various sword auras and sword lights, like wheat being harvested, chunks of rigid Soul Devouring Crystals were collected into people’s arms.

Professionals definitely remained professionals.

The people from the Xiang City Management Bureau were unblinking in killing insects and incredibly efficient at picking up goods.

Even in the midst of chaos, not a single Soul Devouring Crystal fell to the ground.

As soon as they burst forth, they were collected immediately. Only ghosts know how they accomplished this.

In contrast, Li Jing hadn’t managed to kill even a single insect.

Mainly because he didn’t dare to act carelessly.

In the collapsed tunnel, the space was somewhat limited.

The rush of Parasite Insects and the large group of people were completely on the defensive.

Wanting to rush in but unable to do so, they could only block at the collapsed area on the ground.

Nearly three hundred people crammed together, it was a complete squeeze.

Without a clear aim, if one were to throw out a sword, it might end up turning one’s own people over.

What made Li Jing even more anxious, however, was the presence of a three-eyed woman on his side cutting down enemies left and right.

Zhuge Yue!

Li Jing had met her earlier through Captain Su’s introduction. She was a small team leader.

Zhuge Yue was also a user of the Sky Eye Technique and had reached a room-entering level, opening the Heavenly Eye. He had paid attention to her on their way here.

Li Jing wasn’t sure whether Zhuge Yue had her eye on him, but she found him underground the moment they arrived.

This wasn’t a big deal.

Having a beautiful woman like a flowering jade next to him was definitely better than having a rugged man, wasn’t it?

But Zhuge Yue was just too unstoppable.

Not only was she unstoppable, but her strikes were also incredibly precise.

With a single sword slash, she produced a sword aura that was several meters long, which precisely avoided all of her friends while striking at the incoming gaps, reaping the incoming swarm of Parasite Insects in batches.

Li Jing watched for a long time but couldn’t find a suitable opportunity to strike.

Sword aura, he didn’t have.

The Heavenly Sword Technique involves not the sword qi, but the shadow of the sword.

In this chaotic situation before him, sword shadows can’t recklessly strike out.

Hurting others is one thing, but hindering their techniques is inevitable.

How could Li Jing stay calm under these circumstances?

The Parasite Insect swarm being harvested tragically was not strong overall.

But each Parasite Insect’s health bar had at least a thousand.

The Parasite Insects that Zhuge Yue casually slew with her sword yield enough Experience Points for him to level up several times!

What upset Li Jing the most was,

Zhuge Yue was visibly accomodating him – a non-professional. Each time a wave of Parasite Insects surged towards them, she would burst out spiritual qi to repel the swarm by utilising her powerful cultivation level.

To be honest, if it wasn’t evident that Zhuge Yue was purposely taking care of him, Li Jing would have been tempted to stab her in retaliation.

Seeing the endless swarm of insects being speedily harvested by Zhuge Yue and the others, Li Jing hardened his heart and directly charged at them using the Sky Control technique.

He was helpless,

Couldn’t compete in grabbing insects and had a "considerate" Zhuge Yue by his side, his only option was to be reckless!

As he charged into the swarm, Li Jing finally managed to kill his first Parasite Insect.

With a flash of the sword light,

"Experience +1666."

"Level up, 28. Spiritual Power Intensity +56, Skill Points +2."

As the level up prompt sounded, Li Jing’s gaze hardened. As he commanded the Heavenly Sword Technique, they morphed into a sharp sword shadow that began harvesting.

"Experience +1407."

"Experience +1233."

"Experience +1674."

"Experience +1169."

The alert kept sounding, but Li Jing paid it no attention.

Soul Devouring Crystals – he was too lazy to pick them up!

Kill first, talk later!

Don’t aim high, just level up a few times to reach the Fourth Realm!

Li Jing let loose and began to rampage through the swarm with relentless slaughter, pushing the fight back towards the swarm.

The others also shifted from a defensive posture at the start to an offensive one, splitting into two groups of nearly three hundred, heading into the underground cavern to slay insects.

The insects screeched non-stop; in Li Jing’s eyes, all he saw were health bars.

Not long after he began, an unparalleled power surged within him.

This power signified his entrance into the Fourth Realm.

Li Jing did not stop.

The insects left behind still numbered many

Compared to the swarming mass when they first entered, it’s nothing.

Now, they could see their path to the underground cavern. There are no insects in the depths below, indicating that the insect army had completely evacuated.

Chasing to kill them was not wise.

The only chance to eliminate them was now!

With the fine control of the Spirit Control Skill, Li Jing swiftly accommodated the surging power upon entering the Fourth Realm. Under the cloak of sword shadows, he swept across the insect swarm.

With the Fourth Realm cultivation level, he could seize insects more efficiently.

Among the people under Su Qiong’s command, there were fewer than ten in the Fourth Realm.

Those in the Third Realm couldn’t compete with his relentless slaughter and dared not recklessly approach him.

The roles were reversed.

At first, Li Jing was worried about interfering with the others; now, they cared about interfering with him.

After about three to five minutes, the chaos concluded with the dust settling down.

The insects left to cover the retreat were completely slaughtered.

The passage leading to the underground cavern was now covered with a thick layer of insect carcasses.

The green insect blood was slowly trickling down.

Li Jing suspended himself by a controlled sword, staring at the passageway with his gaze firmly set on the gateway.

The others were standing mid-air, supported by flying swords, also watching closely to make sure no fish slipped the net.

At this point, Zhuge Yue approached Li Jing.

"Deputy Officer Li, the insect swarm has retreated. Should we withdraw or...?"

Greeting Zhuge Yue’s questioning eyes, Li Jing wanted to tell her, "Lady, please stay away from me." However, she was actually here to inquire about his next steps.

Looking around, more than three hundred people were intentionally or unintentionally looking towards him.

Confronted with such a situation, Li Jing furrowed his brows slightly.

It should be said that he quite liked the people from the Management Bureau.

Although they were efficient at grabbing insects, they were honest people.

Whoever leads them in killing the monsters and gaining merit would be their leader.

People who had initially ignored him, treated him as a leader after a round of slaughtering.

Li Jing even had a feeling.

At this moment, he thought if he made a grand gesture and said let’s head deeper into the cavern, this group might rush in without uttering a word.

Of course.

This kind of foolish decision, Li Jing would never make.

"The Unknown Wisdom Civilization was already prepared, knowing we would start from the relics as soon as we entered the Secret Realm and set up an ambush in advance. Had it not been for Captain Su’s early detection of danger we would have been in a great trouble; risking is not advisable."

Casually dropping a line, Li Jing subtly made Su Qiong, who found it inconvenient to enter the underground and take action, more noticeable by the team and continued.

"Our mission is to secure a safe zone in the ruins; it has been completed so far, and it seems the people outside have also figured it out. We head out and look for an appropriate campsite."

"Acknowledged."

Zhuge Yue respectfully responded and signaled to the crowd.

Seeing the signal, everyone mounted their flying swords and retreated towards the outside of the cavern.

Li Jing was just about to withdraw when Zhuge Yue pulled him aside, taking out a hemp bag.

"Vice Officer Li, these are your spoils from just now."

?

Li Jing slowly typed out a question mark.

"Vice Officer Li, it seems like this is your first participation in the Secret Realm exploration and you are not accustomed to our bureau’s pace. I saw that you didn’t pay attention to collecting spoils after slaying the Parasite Insects, so I helped collect them; I think I got them all."

Zhuge Yue said, opening the bag filled with Soul Devouring Crystals.

Li Jing was startled.

In order to kill more Parasite Insects, he didn’t bother picking up the fallen items.

Since Su Qiong didn’t come in, and everyone saw him as the leader, he planned to meet her first after leaving and then come back to inspect the corpses of the insects, to see if he could collect anything.

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Yue was considerate enough to collect all the items for him without making a fuss.

Is this...

Did he just gain a fan?

Looking at Zhuge Yue, who had a smile on her face, Li Jing took the hemp bag and nodded.

"Thank you, Captain Zhuge."

"You’re being too polite, Vice Officer Li."

Zhuge Yue smiled, then turned serious.

"Vice Officer Li, you have shown no reservations in slaying Parasite Insects. I presume you bear a deep hatred towards them, likely because you lost relatives during the last Secret Realm exploration. Here, I would like to advise you that the deceased are gone, and Secret Realm exploration is no child’s play; a moment’s distraction could cost lives. Don’t let hatred blind you."

"..."

Li Jing.

Zhuge Yue’s imagination is indeed impressive.

He was just in a rush to slay monsters, blaming Zhuge Yue completely.

But in her mind, it turned into letting hatred blind him.

So exaggerated.

But what can he say.

Zhuge Yue’s goodwill had won him over.

From the start, he noticed her taking care of him.

When he was recklessly killing monsters, Zhuge Yue was always with him.

Picking up fallen items was one thing.

Mostly, Zhuge Yue was watching his back.

While Li Jing didn’t need all this, he appreciated her sentiment.

Nodding silently, Li Jing replied softly.

"You are right, Captain Zhuge. I was too reckless earlier; it won’t happen again."

"Hmm."

Zhuge Yue smiled and flew towards the exit of the cavern.

Having successfully confused her, Li Jing put away the hemp bag and followed suit.

As soon as he returned to the surface, he was greeted by Su Qiong, who was waiting at the collapsed ground.

"Vice Officer Li, thank you for your hard work in clearing the insects underground."

Pretending to be cordial, Su Qiong said.

"Regarding the face phenomenon, it quickly dispersed when it was confronted by two Fourth Realms. Its essence seems to be some sort of remote defense mechanism; it posed no threat of attack. The master was at least at the late stages of the Fourth Realm, or even higher. The face didn’t disperse from being hit but rather it voluntarily dispersed. From my observation, there must have been an individual of an Unknown Wisdom Civilization nearby, and the face dispersed when he left."

Continuing her point, she said.

"As of now, it is confirmed that the Unknown Wisdom Civilization had planned to confront our Management Bureau. The environment around the ruins is complicated, and it may be difficult to establish a sufficiently safe zone. Do you have any ideas, Vice Officer Li?"

Without waiting for Li Jing’s response, she sent a voice message.

"I have reported it to headquarters and have not received any instructions as of yet, but the top brass still insists us to establish a safe area. This is not an easy task, and you, Li Jing always have plenty of ideas, so help me with one."

On receiving this message, Li Jing smirked in his heart.

Su Qiong might not be cut out for handling this.

But Li Jing didn’t believe she was entirely incompetent.

If she was brainless, could Su Qiong have gained so many merits and climbed to the upper levels of the Management Bureau?

Let alone the fact she was the team leader of the Feiyan Action Team before the two of them met, leading more than a hundred people under her command.

She definitely had abilities.

That Su Qiong came to him over such a trivial matter was quite readibly her being too lazy to apply her brain.

Li Jing glanced at Su Qiong without saying a word.

"The safe zone is easy to deal with—we’ll set up camp in the ruins," he said.

"Here?"

Su Qiong frowned.

"The underground cavern of the ruins is infinitely vast, what if we’re attacked from underground..."

"That’s simple."

Li Jing spoke.

"Find a few cultivators who know earth magic to fill up the entire underground cavern space, block both ends, leaving a passage in the middle, reinforce it with magic and guard it. Our main threat are the Parasite Insects. As long as we guard against them, it’s fine."

Then, he added.

"As for the other capabilities of this unknown wisdom civilization, if we can’t guard against them here, we can’t necessarily guard against them elsewhere either."

After contemplating these words, Su Qiong nodded her head.

"Alright, let’s proceed as Vice Officer Li said."

Saying so, she pressed her communication earpiece and started giving instructions to the accompanying personnel.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing sent a message.

"You go on ahead, I made a breakthrough in the chaos earlier and need to find a quiet place to recuperate."

Having said that, he ascended and alighted atop a nearby palace ruin and sat cross-legged, acting as if he were meditating, then summoned his panel.

Host: Li Jing

Experience Points: 134/17025

Level: 34

Skill Points: 18

Spiritual Power Intensity: 1190

Equipment: Blue Edge(Treasure-level 10, 5%), Linglong(Spirit weapon-level 1, 35%)

Passive Skills: Momentary Space, Clothing Protection Spirit (5/5)...

Active Skills: Palm Thunder(5/5), Spiritual Strike(5/5), Heaven Sword Technique(5/5)......

Looking at his level 34 on the panel, Li Jing felt a great pleasure.

The entire battle was basically a free power-up!

He didn’t remember how much experience he had gained beyond that, exactly.

But, through an estimate of 17025, his leveling threshold, he must have gained at least a hundred thousand experience points in the recent "dice-rolling".

Such level-ups were far more effortless than solving cases!

Coming to the Secret Realm was the right decision!

He just entered the realm not more than two hours ago, and he had already leveled up seven times!

Li Jing’s heart was ablaze with enthusiasm.

Leaving aside the unknown wisdom civilization that he’s yet to fathom, the Parasite Insects that were the "rearguard sacrifice" earlier were all low-level creatures. Those with a long health bar ran off first.

If he could catch another swarm of insects in the subsequent exploration, wouldn’t he be making strides towards level 40?

If he was lucky, he might even be able to cross the fifty-step threshold entering the Fifth Boundary!

Casting a glance at his Spiritual Power Intensity that soared from 752 to 1190, Li Jing wore a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

With such a wide gap in Spiritual Power Intensity, not only there’s no need to worry about the nurturing efficiency of his Flying Sword Blue Edge, but his energy efficiency after stepping into the Four Realm for the Linglong Tower will also see a significant rise.

Feeling the power inside him transform once again, Li Jing began to understand the mentality of Chen Yuran and Liu Sisi after their breakthroughs.

Right now, he felt rather inflated.

Looking at the surplus of 18 skill points on the panel, Li Jing was somewhat irritated.

He had pre-purchased too few skills.

But talking about it now was obviously too late.

Forget it!

Let’s learn the skills first!

Pulling out his aid, Li Jing flipped out the screenshot of Five Thunder Righteous Method mantra.

"Discovered learnable active skill Five Thunder Righteous Method. Login?"

Log in!

"Successfully logged in active skill, Five Thunder Righteous Method."

Having learned the Five Thunder Righteous Method, Li Jing decisively spent five Skill Points to max it out.

Just as he was about to flip over the screenshot, a notification suddenly resounded beside his ear.

"Similar skills learned exceed three and are maxed out, fulfilling the trinity Boundary Breakthrough fusion condition, proceed to fuse?"