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"Little Xuexue, there's a small cave about 200 meters to your right. It smells of minerals. Let's go check it out. Besides, your energy is quite depleted and you need to recover."
Perched on her shoulder, Wu Liang gave instructions.
Hearing this, Ling Qingxue frowned slightly. "You can sense things from 200 meters away?"
Wu Liang smiled smugly. "Are you impressed? This is just my basic skill. When I evolve, I'll show you even more extraordinary things."
Ling Qingxue automatically ignored his words.
However, Wu Liang's extraordinary perception truly surprised her.
Her current perception range was less than 200 meters. Wu Liang, a mere pup that had only hatched two days ago, actually surpassed her!
Most importantly, he wasn't even a fully-fledged magical beast yet.
What an unusual creature! Wu Liang was definitely one of the most bizarre magical beasts she had ever seen in both her lives.
He possessed intelligence comparable to humans from birth, and had numerous innate abilities.
If she hadn't witnessed him hatch and form a contract with her own eyes, she would have suspected he was cheating.
He was even more abnormal than her, a reborn person—was that reasonable?
Ling Qingxue ultimately accepted Wu Liang's suggestion and went into the cave.
Her previous battles with Li Erhu and Bai Ya seemed easy, but they had drained her energy too much, making prolonged combat impossible.
The Blazing Sun Finger alone, a low-grade dark martial art technique, was a huge burden.
Upon entering, Wu Liang began digging at the rocks on the ground. Relying on his "Supernatural Smell", he could smell the presence of minerals here.
The System had said that he could even absorb ores and gain attribute points—this was the time to verify that.
The temperature inside the cave was higher than outside, indicating that it must have been a mine.
After digging a few times with his little paws, Wu Liang finally unearthed a dark red ore about half the size of a fist.
"This is impure Scarlet Sun Iron Ore, a low-grade refining material, not very valuable," Ling Qingxue said.
Wu Liang didn't care about its value. He just stuffed it into his mouth whenever he found it.
Seeing this, Ling Qingxue's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He could even eat ore, and iron ore at that!
Was this something an unranked magical beast could do?
[Ding! Low-grade Scarlet Sun Iron Ore consumed. Estimated digestion time 20 minutes!]
"Hiss, this ore digests little slower than a magical beast..."
He digested a First Level early-stage magical beast in about 15 minutes, but the low-grade ore would take 20 minutes.
After all, the materials were different, so Wu Liang just accepted it.
He ignored everything else and continued searching for Scarlet Sun Iron Ore in the mine, swallowing whatever he found.
Ling Qingxue, on the other hand, was focusing all her energy on recovering her strength, preparing to confront the Wolf Fang Squad.
...
A group of twenty or thirty people quickly surrounded the area where Bai Ya and his companion had fought Ling Qingxue.
The leader possessed an imposing aura. His spiritual energy was flowing like a mighty river and his body was brimming with rich vital energy.
He was Lin Lang, the captain of the Wolf Fang Squad, a Second Rank late-stage martial artist.
"Captain, the dead members are Li Erhu and Bai Ya. Bai Ya died from self-destruction, while Li Erhu was killed in a single blow. The culprit's strength is definitely around the First Rank late-stage!" Yan Laosan reported.
Lin Lang's expression gradually darkened.
"Who dared to kill my men? Take a few people, kill him, and bring back his head!"
Yan Laosan pondered for a moment. "Captain, isn't that Linjiang Middle School girl more important? She possesses many martial arts techniques, and she's a First Rank early-stage Spiritual Master. Spiritual Master techniques are even more valuable!"
Lin Lang sneered. "That girl is injured. My Bloodthirsty Wolf will soon find her by following her blood scent. You go and kill the murderer."
"Also, I heard that the City Lord's guards entered the Green Forest. Go and find out what their purpose is. Meanwhile, we'll take a detour to avoid them."
The Wolf Fang Squad had a bad reputation and he was most afraid of running into the City Lord's guards.
What he didn't know was that those guards were looking for them.
If they were caught, they'd be in deep trouble.
Yan Laosan agreed.
"Yes, I'll take some men and hunt down the murderer right away!"
The other party had been gone for no more than half an hour, so the culprit couldn't have gone too far.
With Yan Laosan's Second Rank mid-stage, catching him wouldn't be difficult.
Lin Lang stroked the Bloodthirsty Wolf's crimson fur, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Go catch that little girl for me! I must have the Spiritual Master's cultivation technique!"
Spiritual Master's cultivation techniques were far more valuable than Physical Cultivation techniques. The value of techniques of the same level differed by tenfold!
Moreover, Spiritual Master attacks were far more unpredictable than Physical Cultivation attacks, making them impossible to defend against.
Once you possessed the technique, there was even a slight chance of becoming an alchemist or weapon forger—a secure career!
The Bloodthirsty Wolf darted off in one direction, moving with incredible speed.
......
Inside the cave, Wu Liang was still consuming the Scarlet Sun Iron Ore when multiple system notifications sounded in his mind.
[Ding! First Level mid-stage Yellow Rock Tiger digestion complete. Strength +12, Defense +18, Speed +8, Evolution Points +10!]
[Ding! First Level late-stage Crimson Monkey digestion complete. Strength +14, Speed +21, Evolution Points +15!]
[Ding! Fifty kilograms of low-grade Scarlet Sun Iron Ore has been digested. Strength +30, Defense +20, Scarlet Sun Mark +1!]
[Scarlet Sun Pattern: A special pattern formed by the Scarlet Sun energy, imprinted on the skin. Activating it slightly increases strength and inflicts the burning power of Scarlet Sun.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for breaking through to the First Level early-stage]
Wu Liang was filled with excitement. After consuming so many good things, he had finally broken through to the First Level early-stage!
From now on, he was a proper magical beast.
Furthermore, the appearance of the Scarlet Sun Pattern has sparked a little speculation.
Perhaps by consuming ores of other elements, he could also acquire these unique patterns, thereby enhancing his overall strength.
Although the Scarlet Sun Pattern only slightly increased combat power, the combined effect of multiple such buffs was still good!
"Wow, that's amazing! The Gluttonous Beast bloodline is truly impressive. Not only does it eat everything, but it also possesses this special ability."
Indeed, this was entirely a benefit of the Gluttonous Beast bloodline, not the System.
The System's prompts merely made it clearer to him the attribute values he would gain from absorbing items.
Apart from that, the System didn't provide him with any other conveniences.
Ling Qingxue, who had just recovered her energy, looked up at Wu Liang, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
He broke through?
He broke through to become a First Level early-stage magical beast only two days after hatching!
"Could he really devour everything and convert the energy to enhance himself? That's terrifying..."
Physical Cultivators needed to refine their vital energy, strengthening their physical bodies.
Spiritual Masters needed to accumulate spiritual power, learn spiritual secret techniques, and undergo extensive spiritual power manipulation training.
And Wu Liang?
Just one word: eating...
He could continuously improve his strength and achieve the evolution of his bloodline simply by eating.
Once he grew up, his future achievements might not be inferior to hers.
"Could he possess the bloodline of the legendary ancient ferocious beast Taotie? But wasn't Taotie completely extinct?"
Ling Qingxue's mind was in turmoil, unable to analyze all the strange things displayed by Wu Liang.