Chapter 154: Massive Harvest, Insane Grinding, Exploding Experience Points and Divinity (4K)

Chapter 154: Massive Harvest, Insane Grinding, Exploding Experience Points and Divinity (4K)



In a valley filled with yellow sand, Xue Jing placed a deployed monitor on the ground and let its eight mechanical claws dig into the loamy soil.

He retrieved a tablet from the backpack held by his Shadowflame Crow and examined the map displayed on the screen.

At that moment, there were already three white dots spaced apart on the map, indicating that he had placed three monitors within the borderland.

"This borderland seems much larger than the initial estimates."

Xue Jing leaped and maneuvered his way up a cliff, perching atop a boulder over three meters tall. He gazed into the distant horizon.

With his enhanced vision, he could see for dozens of kilometers, yet he couldn't spot the boundary of this world.

According to the information provided by White Crow, the 'Roaring Waterfall' should have a total area between five hundred and one thousand three hundred square kilometers.

If the borderland was roughly circular, a diameter of one thousand three hundred square kilometers would translate to a distance of several dozen kilometers.

With his exceptional vision, as long as there were no obstructions, he ought to be able to clearly see the boundary even when standing at the farthest edge of the borderland.

"Something's amiss. The distribution of dragon species doesn't add up either."

Xue Jing took out the map he obtained from the leader of the Dragon Hunters and spread it out for inspection.

"From the territory of the Long-tailed Dragons to the nearest dragon species' territory, I walked at least seven kilometers."

He gestured with his hand, indicating the distance between the Long-tailed Dragon's territory and his current location in the valley—about half the length of a finger on the map.

On the map, the farthest distance between two red dots representing dragon species territories was the length of an adult's arm.

"If half a finger length represents seven kilometers, then the farthest dragon species territories must be at least a hundred kilometers apart."

"And this is just a map of dragon species distribution, not a 'world map' of this borderland."

"The size of this place far exceeds what's indicated on White Crow's data."

Xue Jing furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

"...Either White Crow's survey team was extremely incompetent, resulting in grossly inaccurate data, or some unknown change has occurred here."

He recalled the anomalies he encountered upon entering the borderland.

"The GPS data from the exit and the two 'monitors' I placed earlier aren't showing up on the tablet."

"It seems something unexpected has indeed happened..."

Xue Jing sat cross-legged on the boulder, igniting a ball of black flame in his hand and tossing it up and down.

His gaze shifted to the horizon.

A long, serpentine figure was flying toward the valley.

"No need to dwell on other matters for now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"My top priority is to eliminate all the dragon species within this borderland and boost my divinity."

The serpentine figure drew closer, revealing its true form—a dragon without claws or wings, with a solitary horn on its head, its body covered in smooth, dark red scales that shimmered like a snake's.

Dragon species had distinct characteristics that made them easily identifiable.

Firstly, their bodies were always covered in scales.

Secondly, they possessed dragon horns on their heads.

Thirdly, they had slit-pupiled eyes.

Lastly, and most notably, dragon species could fly.

They achieved flight not through wings but through a naturally occurring anti-gravity bio-force field. Any wings they possessed were merely for assisting in flight, not the primary means of propulsion.

"This must be the dragon species marked on the map."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, the red-scaled dragon species, having flown close to the valley, noticed a tiny intruder daring to invade its territory, perched atop a boulder on the cliff.

"ROAARRR!!!"

It let out a thunderous dragon's roar that reverberated throughout the entire valley. Visible air currents rippled from its mouth, and the powerful gust of wind tousled Xue Jing's hair, giving him an unintended "big back-combed hair" look.

Xue Jing smoothed his hair, frowning slightly. "Quite the breath you've got there."

Countless tendrils of black energy emerged from the shadows, converging on his shoulders and igniting into massive black flames.

Suddenly, a giant right hand, over seven to eight meters long and adorned with intricate gauntlets, shot out from the black flames. It clamped down on the red-scaled dragon species mid-flight.

"GRRRAAAAHHH!!!" The dragon species' entire serpentine body was gripped by the colossal hand, rendering it speechless.

It writhed and struggled, opening its mouth wide.

"HSSSSSS!!"

A jet of dark green liquid shot out from its throat with incredible force, akin to a high-pressure water jet, forming a straight line in the air.

Xue Jing's figure flashed as he dodged the acidic spray.

The corrosive liquid pierced through the boulder he had been sitting on moments ago, creating a gaping hole. The splattered liquid also ate away at the surrounding terrain, emitting white smoke and hissing noises as it reacted with the ground.

Xue Jing witnessed this scene and raised an eyebrow. "Spitting everywhere, the local dragons have such poor manners."

He extended his right hand and clenched it towards the Red-Scaled Dragon species.

Simultaneously, the Shadowflame Giant's hand, which was grasping the dragon, also clenched.

"Crunch!"

With a crisp sound, the Red-Scaled Dragon's body was crushed flat, its flesh oozing out from both ends.

Its tail exploded into a cloud of blood, and its head hung open, spewing chunks of flesh from its mouth.

[Kill a creature with divinity, Divinity +29]



"Done... Let's find the next one."

Xue Jing spread out the map and pointed to the red dot closest to his current location.

"Let's make a round trip, clearing out all the outer areas first, then gradually moving inward, clearing it circle by circle..."

...

Two days later.

Xue Jing, clad in black tactical attire, strode across the water, speeding over a vast lake.

With each step, a Shadowflame board materialized under his feet, propelling him forward like an arrow.

As he advanced, the violent air currents he generated split the lake's surface, creating white waves and leaving a noticeable dent in the water behind him that took several seconds to fill back in.

But even with his speed nearing its peak, there were still things faster than him.

Under the sunlight, a massive shadow emerged from the depths of the lake, slowly approaching his feet.

The shadow resembled a giant fish, over a dozen meters long, constantly flicking its tail. As it drew closer to Xue Jing, its body became more apparent and larger.

Then, at one moment—Boom!

The lake's surface exploded as a monstrous fish with twin ribs, a six-horned head, and golden scales that shimmered in the sun leaped out of the water.

"Roar!!"

Amidst the dragon's roar, the fish opened its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, and lunged at Xue Jing.

Unfazed, Xue Jing lightly tapped his toes, stepping on a Shadowflame board and shooting himself into the sky, narrowly dodging the bite.

"Crack!"

The giant jaws snapped shut, spraying water everywhere, creating an ear-grating sound.

Xue Jing flipped his body in the air, now facing downward. He stepped on another Shadowflame board with his feet, propelling himself toward the monstrous fish below.

Black energy currents converged on his right arm, igniting into black flames that transformed into Entwined Armor Handguards. He then stretched out his palm, assuming the piercing hand posture.

A spiral indentation appeared on his entire arm.

"Whirlwind Lightning Pierce!"

The Entwined Armor Handguards, adorned with sharp black claws, combined with the spiral compressive force of the Whirlwind Lightning, resulting in an extremely powerful piercing ability.

The countless water droplets suspended in the air, created by the fish leaping out of the water, were instantly sucked toward this spiral force, forming a water tornado.

"Chh!"

The piercing hand made contact with the monster fish's head, creating a stalemate for about half a second before crushing the scales and penetrating its head. It pierced nearly half a meter into the fish's hard skull but failed to completely penetrate due to its thickness.

"Roar!!"

The monster fish let out a painful roar and began to frantically thrash its body.

Xue Jing's left hand grabbed the fish's head, preventing his body from being thrown off, while the Entwined Armor on his right hand, which had pierced the fish's body, deactivated and reignited into black flames.

"Boom!"

The pure Shadowflame relentlessly annihilated the monster fish's skull, creating a hole the size of an arm, reaching all the way to its brain.

Sensing its impending death, the monster fish let out a mournful cry, and its scales stood on end, resembling an enraged cat.

Under each raised scale was a small, pitch-black hole, and with the scales standing erect, they appeared dense and terrifying. The sight caused goosebumps to erupt all over Xue Jing's body, and he instantly experienced trypophobia.

"Chh!"

From the countless tiny holes, laser-like water jets shot out.

Xue Jing quickly reacted, his entire body igniting with black flames that transformed into elegant Entwined Armor, covering him fully.

Even so, under the might of the laser-like water cannons, which rivaled armor-piercing bullets, the Entwined Armor was riddled with countless holes, exposing the Dragon Scale Skin underneath, which he had created by channeling his energy.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

Amidst the sound of metal clashing, the water cannons were deflected by the Dragon Scale Skin, causing Xue Jing's body to go numb with a tingling pain.

Without hesitation, he thrust both hands into the hole he had created with his Whirlwind Lightning Pierce. He then channeled his energy, and dragon-shaped energy tendrils emerged from his body, coiling around him as he spun at high speed like a drill.

Golden Dragon Scales—

"Roar!!!"

The monster fish let out a tragic roar as its head was shredded to pieces. Chunks of flesh were squeezed out by the drill, spraying the surroundings with blood and dyeing a patch of the lake red.

After a few seconds, Xue Jing had completely drilled into the "brain hole," and the monster fish stopped struggling, falling back into the lake with a massive splash.

Everything calmed down.

After a few seconds, a figure burst out of the lake, now stained red, and sprinted towards the shore.

Upon reaching land, Xue Jing channeled his energy, causing the blood that soaked him to explode and dissipate into water mist and droplets, wetting the surrounding ground.

He shook his hair, drying it off, and his body instantly felt dry and refreshed.

"Phew," Xue Jing exhaled, feeling a bit weary.

He opened his panel to check his progress.

[Kill a creature with divinity, Divinity +91]



[Divinity Held: 1029]



"The danger level of the dragon species seems to increase the closer I get to the center..."

Xue Jing furrowed his brows in thought.

Over the past two days, he had been relentlessly hunting dragon species.

Now, out of all the dragon species marked on the map, he had cleared two circles from the outside in, taking out nearly thirty of them.

From the peripheral dragon species he casually killed at the start to the monstrous fish-like dragon species that had given him a hard time just now, Xue Jing could clearly feel the increasing difficulty.

"It seems I might not be able to take on those three dragon species surrounding the Roaring Waterfall just yet."

Xue Jing spread out the map he had taken from his backpack, his finger hovering over the three thick red dots at the center.

"But what I can't handle now might be possible in a couple of days." Xue Jing murmured.

These two days of grinding divinity had been exhausting, but the rewards were immense.

Not only in terms of divinity but also in the massive experience gains for his regular skills.

Fitness Lv.10 (1261/?)



Wellness Lv.8 (5402/6000)



Culinary Arts Lv.6 (2120/3000)



Running Lv.8 (2169/6000)



Charm Lv.10 (10000+/?)



Aiming Lv.8 (3596/6000)



Martial Arts Lv.8 (3623/6000)



Coiled Dragon Fist Lv.7 (4521/9000)



Visualization·True Lv.6 (988/7000)



Soldier Strike Lv.7 (4197/4500)



Swimming Lv.5 (533/2000)



Mountaineering Lv.4 (499/1200)



Acting Lv.5 (355/2000)



Among them, Fitness had the biggest gain, with nearly six thousand experience points, bringing it straight to Lv.10 and fulfilling one of the conditions for transcendence!

And now that it had reached Lv.10, the experience value displayed as a question mark finally cleared up one of Xue Jing's doubts.

It seemed that the regular skills were capped at Lv.10, and [Charm] was not an exception.

Perhaps only after transcending the skill would he be able to continue leveling it up.

Unfortunately, out of the three conditions required to transcend Fitness, although he had achieved Lv.10 and 1000 divinity, the last unknown condition still showed as 'insufficient'.

Otherwise, he would have been able to transcend it right away.

Aside from Fitness, the other skills had also gained significantly.

Running had earned him nearly four thousand experience points, bringing it to Lv.8, while Wellness, Aiming, Martial Arts, and Coiled Dragon Fist had all gained over three thousand.

Visualization·True had reached Lv.6, and Swimming, Mountaineering, and Acting had also leveled up, each gaining a substantial amount of experience.

His grind had been intense, and since obtaining the panel, he had never experienced such rapid growth.

His foundation and overall strength had substantially improved.

Closing the panel, Xue Jing, feeling deeply satisfied, reached into the backpack held by his Shadowflame Crow and pulled out a 'monitor'.

"Hmm? This is the last one."

Xue Jing rummaged through the backpack and found it empty.

Over the past two days, he had placed nearly thirty monitors at regular intervals, as instructed by Dr. Shen, and now they were all gone.

"Each monitor should cover an area of about 110 square kilometers. Thirty monitors should have been more than enough based on the initial estimates."

Xue Jing turned on the monitor, allowing it to root itself into the soil.

"But now, it's clear that we don't have nearly enough monitors... The primary objective of entering this borderland has failed."

Xue Jing shook his head.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'll just kill off all the dragon species first, and if necessary, I'll find a way to take out that 'Dragon God'. Once the core creature is dead, the borderland won't undergo any more changes, and there will be no further need for monitors."

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end