Chapter 13: Skill Crystal Core
"Good heavens, Old Ke, you're really green," Wang Zhong exclaimed.
"Shut up if you can't talk properly," Su Ke shot back.
"Alright, stop messing around," Lin Ning said. "Old Ke, hurry up and tell us what your new form does."
"It's called Wildvine," Su Ke replied. "It's a plant life form…"
He briefly explained the abilities and characteristics of this form.
"What a divine skill," Wang Zhong said in amazement. "This forest environment is practically tailor-made for Wildvine."
"That's right," Lin Ning agreed. "Most of the land is now covered in forests. There's nothing more suitable for movement here than Wildvine."
Su Ke nodded. "I think so too. Now it seems we can set our sights a little higher for this operation. Let's go check on that little dog first."
The three arrived at the huge rock.
Su Ke wrapped the 5 vines on his feet around the rock and coiled his hands around the 2 nearby trees. He exerted force.
The massive rock was slowly dragged aside.
For a long time, there was no movement from the cave entrance.
Su Ke cautiously extended a vine toward the opening. The instant it touched the Thirst Wolf—
Tear!
The Thirst Wolf suddenly snapped its eyes open and slashed fiercely at the vine with its sharp claws.
After that, it went completely still, lifeless once more.
Su Ke was startled, cold sweat running down his back—though in his current form, he could not actually sweat.
"This is probably an instinct Yao Beasts develop after long-term survival in the wilderness," Lin Ning said calmly. "Even after death, they try to take their enemy with them. It's similar to a final burst of life."
"So it should be safe now, right?" Wang Zhong asked.
"It should be," Lin Ning replied, "but to be safe, let's test it again."
Su Ke extended another vine and poked the body. When there was no reaction, he retracted it.
He reverted to his original form. He had been transformed for too long and needed to conserve Spiritual Power.
The three stepped forward to inspect the corpse. The Thirst Wolf no longer resembled a wolf at all.
Its entire coat was soaked in blood, and its body was covered in messy wounds, clearly caused by the rock. The whole wolf looked noticeably wider, as if it had been flattened.
"How tragic," Wang Zhong muttered.
"To be fair, it really is," Su Ke agreed.
"Stop sighing," Lin Ning said. "Let me see if this wolf still has any value."
She squatted down and examined the body carefully.
"The fur is badly damaged—no value. The flesh has been crushed into paste—no value. Most of the bones are shattered. Only a few harder parts remain, maybe worth 4,000 to 5,000 at most."
"All the valuable parts are ruined. Now we can only try our luck and see if there's a crystal core."
Lin Ning took out a dagger, sliced open the Thirst Wolf's head, and pried apart the skull.
Throughout the process, her expression remained completely calm.
Su Ke and Wang Zhong could not help but shiver as they watched.
Before long, Lin Ning suddenly shouted excitedly, "We got something! We got something!"
The two hurried over. In her hand was a stone about the size of a fingernail, quietly radiating pure white light.
"There's… there's something!" Wang Zhong said, his voice trembling.
Su Ke could not hide his excitement. "Is this a crystal core? I've only seen them in pictures before!"
Lin Ning's voice was equally excited. "I didn't expect our first trip into the wilderness—our very first harvest—to have a crystal core. A great start."
"Oh, right," she added. "We still need to check whether it contains a skill."
She took a scanner out of her backpack and scanned the crystal core.
A progress bar appeared on the device.
Before the result came out, none of them even dared to breathe.
Fortunately, they did not have to wait long. After about 5 seconds, a few words appeared on the screen.
Blood Claw.
"We got it! We got it! We really got a skill!" Wang Zhong shouted.
"Holy crap! We got a drop! We actually got a drop!" Su Ke exclaimed.
"We obtained a skill crystal core," Lin Ning said excitedly. "And it's the rarer type—a talent skill crystal core!"
A talent skill crystal core was one that contained the innate talent skill of a Yao Beast species.
Crystal cores were divided into 3 categories: ordinary crystal cores, skill crystal cores, and talent skill crystal cores.
In terms of value, ordinary crystal cores were the cheapest, while skill crystal cores and talent skill crystal cores were similar. Spirit Energy Users purchased them mainly to absorb skills, and although a Yao Beast's talent skill was powerful, it might not suit everyone.
Only Beast Transformation Spirit Energy Users and wealthy collectors were willing to pay high prices for them.
While the difference in value was not huge, the difference in rarity was enormous.
The drop rate of ordinary crystal cores was about 1%. Skill crystal cores appeared at roughly 1 in 1,000, while talent skill crystal cores were about 1 in 10,000.
"Old Ke, hit me," Wang Zhong said suddenly. "Quick—see if this is real."
Su Ke did not hold back and punched him squarely in the face.
"You actually hit me?!"
"You told me to hit you," Su Ke replied innocently.
"Alright, enough," Lin Ning said. "We were too loud just now. That kind of noise can easily attract Yao Beasts."
"On top of that, the smell of blood here will draw in Yao Beasts with sensitive noses. We need to leave immediately. We've gained enough for today. Let's head back."
"Okay," Su Ke and Wang Zhong replied in unison.
The three quickly left the area.
Sure enough, not long after they departed, a large pack of Thirst Wolves rushed over.
They sniffed the corpse on the ground and, without hesitation, devoured it—even though it was their own kind.
Because Su Ke and the others had applied Beast Repellent Powder beforehand, the Thirst Wolves could not smell them. After finishing the flesh, the pack left the area.
After traveling some distance, Su Ke's group was already close to the city. They could clearly see the first military base ahead.
"Stop!"
An unfriendly voice suddenly rang out.
Without hesitation, Su Ke immediately transformed into XLR8, grabbed Wang Zhong and Lin Ning—one on each side—and vanished in a flash.
The small captain who had been preparing to rob them froze.
"…Should we chase them?" a lackey asked.
"Do we have any speed-type Spirit Energy Users?" the boss demanded.
"Doesn't look like it."
"Then what the hell are we chasing for?" the boss snapped. "Damn bad luck. I thought those 3 kids looked easy to deal with and planned to grab them and extort their families."
"I didn't expect them to be that alert. Did anyone record their faces? If we did, we can move next time."
"Boss, didn't you tell us to turn off all recording functions beforehand to avoid leaving evidence?"
"Tch. Fine," the boss said irritably. "Those brats got lucky. Forget it. The harvest this time wasn't bad either. Let's head back."
"Yes."
Just as they were about to leave, 2 figures suddenly darted out from the side.
"Who's there?!" the boss shouted.
The 2 figures did not speak. They silently activated their Supernatural Abilities.
An ice blade formed on one person's arm, while flames condensed into a fire blade on the other.
What followed was a completely one-sided slaughter.
"Help!"
"Don't kill me!"
The fight ended in less than 20 seconds.
The 2 figures clearly did not intend to kill anyone. They only severed arms or legs. The boss fared the worst—his left arm and right leg were both cut off.
One of them spoke coldly, "Take your injuries back and tell your people to restrain themselves for a while."
"If there's a next time, no one will be left alive. Now get lost."
"Y-yes! We're leaving right now!"
Those people scrambled away. Those with intact legs did not forget to help their injured companions and their boss.
After they were gone, the 2 figures looked at each other.
"Old Zhang, long time no see."
"Indeed, Old Li. You're here to protect the Wang Family's Young Master?"
"That's right. And you're here for the Lin Family's Young Miss?"
"Exactly. These kids really give us headaches, running out here like this."
"That's true," Old Li said with a chuckle. "But it's good for young people to have courage. We just have to work a bit harder."
"Alright. They've already run pretty far. Let's catch up. We'll grab a drink sometime."
"Definitely."
With that, the 2 figures quickly followed after them.
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