Chapter 21 – Hundred Beast Slash and the Burst Card

The Deathknell Beetles had no valuable materials on them.

The group simply left the beetle carcasses where they lay and continued on their way.

A dozen or so minutes later.

The jeep came to a stop in a forest about five hundred meters from the canyon.

Li Pei hauled a piece of camouflage netting out of the trunk and draped it over the vehicle, making sure it was well concealed.

Then, they all proceeded on foot toward Deathknell Canyon.

Ever since the Beast Tamer Association had issued the beetle swarm extermination quest, a steady stream of adventurers had been flocking to Deathknell Canyon every day.

Lin Ze spotted quite a few adventurers along the way, most of them moving in groups of four or five.

Lone operators like him were few and far between.

In fact, he’d only seen one the entire way.

That was a man in his early thirties, tall and lean.

“That’s Loda, a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer. He’s fairly well known in adventurer circles.”

Noticing Lin Ze’s gaze, Wang Xueyun explained in a low voice.

Lin Ze nodded in understanding.

No wonder he dared to operate alone.

A Bronze Beast Tamer—even one who’d advanced through a Basic Difficulty assessment—would have a Pet Beast at least at Tier 3 in power level.

Lin Ze quickly averted his gaze and said to Li Pei and the others:

“We’ll part ways here. Thanks for all your help!”

Li Pei and the rest hurriedly waved their hands, saying it was nothing.

After a few pleasantries, the two parties split up, and Lin Ze walked into Deathknell Canyon by himself.

Watching his retreating figure, Zhang Lei couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration.

“Today I finally saw with my own eyes what a true genius looks like!”

“If only Lin Ze could join our squad.”

Li Pei let out a wry chuckle and shook his head. “Don’t get your hopes up. A genius like that is destined for greatness—how could a small pond like ours ever hold him?”

Zhao Mingshan and Wang Xueyun both nodded in agreement.

Wang Xueyun couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. “What a shame. If I were a few years younger, or if Lin Ze were a few years older, I’d definitely pursue him. A fresh-faced young man with that much potential and those looks is a rare find.”

All three men rolled their eyes in unison.

There she goes, swooning again.

After entering Deathknell Canyon.

Lin Ze didn’t pause, heading straight for the deeper reaches.

The Deathknell Beetles near the entrance had already been almost entirely wiped out, leaving only a scattered few—hardly worth the time to hunt down.

His target was the larger swarms.

Before long.

Lin Ze got his wish and encountered a swarm of Deathknell Beetles.

There were roughly seventy or eighty of them.

The moment they spotted him, the swarm charged ferociously.

Cruel light flickered in their crimson insectoid eyes.

Without needing Lin Ze’s command, the Ice Crystal Soul let out a soft chirp and surged forward, blasting out an Ice Spike.

Immediately followed by a Frost Breath.

With those two skills unleashed, the swarm’s numbers were instantly cut in half.

Lin Ze struck at the same time.

Silver-gray Soul Power condensed into a razor-sharp arrow, whistling through the air toward a Deathknell Beetle.

Soul Arrow!

Thunk!

The targeted Deathknell Beetle didn’t even have time to let out a death cry—its head was instantly pierced through by the Soul Arrow, its body convulsing violently as if electrocuted before collapsing, lifeless.

“Decent power.”

Lin Ze nodded in satisfaction.

A single Soul Arrow only cost 10 Soul Power, and being able to take down a Tier 1 Stage 6 Ferocious Beast with it was already impressive.

“Next up—Soul Power Impact!”

Lin Ze extended his palm, opening it flat and pushing it forward.

With a flicker of thought, his silver-gray Soul Power compressed into a spiraling shockwave that swept out like a hurricane, slamming into the swarm and erupting with a thunderous blast.

In an instant, seven or eight Deathknell Beetles were torn to shreds.

“Excellent!”

Lin Ze’s expression brightened with joy.

Though it was still far from matching the Ice Spike or Frost Breath of the Ice Crystal Soul, the power was already quite formidable.

After all, this was a Soul Art cast by a Beast Tamer—it couldn’t be compared to a Pet Beast’s abilities.

“The only drawback is the Soul Power consumption—a full 50 points.”

It was only because Lin Ze had an abundance of Soul Power.

For any other Apprentice Beast Tamer, five or six uses of Soul Power Impact would likely drain them dry.

Just as he was pondering this, a familiar chime echoed in Lin Ze’s mind.

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[Hundred Beast Slash]: Cumulative Ferocious Beast kills reaching 100. Completing this achievement grants 300 Achievement Points and a Burst Card X1 (Completed—reward pending claim).

“Hundred Beast Slash?”

Lin Ze was momentarily taken aback.

Was this something similar to a hundred-man kill streak?

“It seems like a series achievement similar to Soul Arts and Pet Beast Skills. Are there Thousand Beast Slash and Ten Thousand Beast Slash achievements further down the line?”

A flicker of contemplation crossed Lin Ze’s eyes.

Regardless, this was an unexpected bonus.

He immediately claimed the reward.

[Burst Card: A card imbued with mysterious power that allows a Pet Beast to temporarily break through its limits and obtain a higher level of strength. Upon use, you may designate any one Pet Beast to have its Level raised by an entire major realm for 30 minutes. No side effects.]

“Now that’s a good find!”

Lin Ze’s eyes lit up.

This Burst Card was undoubtedly an extremely powerful item.

If used on the Ice Crystal Soul, it would be enough to skyrocket its Power Level to Tier 4, Stage 1!

Though it only lasted 30 minutes, if used wisely, it could serve as a lifesaving trump card in a critical moment.

Lin Ze happily stowed away the Burst Card.

By then, the Ice Crystal Soul had already finished off the remaining Deathknell Beetles.

Lin Ze didn’t rest. He continued leading the Ice Crystal Soul to hunt down more beetle swarms.

With the achievement reward as motivation, he was brimming with drive.

Half an hour later.

Lin Ze had wiped out the third wave of beetle swarms.

He summoned the Pet Beast panel and took a closer look—the Ice Crystal Soul’s Growth Rate had increased to 87%.

“After killing roughly three hundred Deathknell Beetles in total, I only gained 3% Growth Rate. That’s painfully inefficient.”

“Could it be because Deathknell Beetles are too weak, so the ‘Experience Points’ are too low?”

Lin Ze sank into thought.

At this pace, it would take about two more days to max out the Ice Crystal Soul’s Growth Rate.

If starting from 0%, it would take nearly half a month to reach full Growth Rate.

“That’s a bit slow.”

Lin Ze muttered, but then shook his head with a wry chuckle.

For an ordinary Beast Tamer, raising a Pet Beast to full Growth Rate and reaching the Mature Stage was measured in years.

Even accelerating the process with Heavenly Treasures would take months or even half a year.

With the system’s help, he needed less than half a month.

And he still thought it was too slow—that was indeed a bit greedy.

“Take it slow. I haven’t gathered all the evolution materials yet anyway, so there’s no rush.”

Lin Ze led the Ice Crystal Soul to a secluded area and began to rest.

After the consecutive battles, the Ice Crystal Soul was showing signs of fatigue.

His Soul Power had also been drained considerably.

Better to rest for a while before continuing the hunt.

After about an hour, Lin Ze felt he had mostly recovered. Just as he was about to resume hunting, he heard a commotion in the distance.

It sounded like a mix of chaotic footsteps and shouting.

Lin Ze raised an eyebrow, leaped onto a nearby rock, and stood at a higher vantage point to look into the distance.

Sure enough, he saw a group of adventurers sprinting frantically in his direction.

Every single one of them wore a look of terror, as if some horrifying monster was chasing them from behind.

“What’s going on?”

Lin Ze muttered to himself in confusion.

But he didn’t have to stay puzzled for long.

Behind those fleeing adventurers, a massive horde of monsters suddenly burst out from around the corner.

Deathknell Beetles!

Dense and countless, surging like a tide—an overwhelming swarm of Deathknell Beetles!