Chapter 80 – Third-Year Team

Lin Ze’s intervention instantly broke the deadlock.

The Pale Lord, which had been handling the siege of four Pet Beasts with ease, was thrown into a fury after taking a Soul Arrow.

It keenly sensed the immense threat Lin Ze posed.

It immediately tried to abandon the Pet Beasts and turn to kill Lin Ze.

But before it could even make a move, the Rock Ghost had already blocked its charging path.

At the same time.

The Dragon Lion, Silver Centaur, and Fire Elemental Giant also closed in one after another.

The Pale Lord was once again caught in a siege.

It roared in fury and alarm, but could not break through no matter what.

A hundred meters away.

Lin Ze watched the battle with a calm expression, a new Soul Arrow already condensed before him.

But he did not act rashly.

Instead, he held it back, waiting until the Pale Lord dodged an attack and its body stiffened for a split second before suddenly swinging his hand.

A piercing sound of air splitting exploded once more.

Everyone only felt a flash before their eyes.

The Soul Arrow had already crossed the battlefield, slamming viciously into the Pale Lord a hundred meters away.

The bone armor on its right shoulder instantly burst apart, fragments of bone dust raining down, revealing the ghastly pale shoulder bone beneath.

“ROAR!”

Being wounded again sent the Pale Lord into a towering rage.

Unfortunately, aside from futile roars, it was completely helpless.

The Rock Ghost and other Pet Beasts could not defeat the Pale Lord, but they were more than enough to stop it from fleeing or breaking through.

Under these circumstances, Lin Ze could safely remain outside the battle, waiting for the right moment to unleash his Soul Arts.

BANG!

BANG!

The empty wilderness echoed with thunderous booming sounds like cannon fire.

In less than ten minutes.

The Pale Lord had taken eight Soul Arrows.

The bone armor covering its body had been shattered for the most part, leaving only a few bone plates hanging pitifully on its frame.

With the powerful defense granted by the bone armor gone, the attacks of the Rock Ghost and other Pet Beasts could finally deal damage to it.

The scales of victory gradually tipped toward Lin Ze’s side.

Watching the Pale Lord in its sorry state, Liu Man and the other girls could not help but sigh inwardly.

What had been a truly troublesome stalemate was easily broken because of Lin Ze’s intervention.

The turn of events caught them all off guard.

Liu Man could not help but steal a glance at Lin Ze, her gaze somewhat complicated.

She had known before that Lin Ze’s strength was exceptional.

But deep down, she still felt she had the upper hand over him.

That was confidence in her own ability, and the pride of being a genius.

Until this very scene unfolded.

It mercilessly shattered her confidence and pride.

Perhaps in terms of Pet Beast combat power, she was slightly ahead of Lin Ze.

But adding the Beast Tamer’s own strength into the equation, Lin Ze’s overall ability was no longer much inferior to hers.

If they were to truly spar, Liu Man really did not have much confidence she could beat Lin Ze.

“He’s just a First Year student, yet his strength is this formidable—he’s practically a monster.”

Liu Man sighed with complicated emotions.

Song Ting and Gu Lengyan also wore complex expressions.

As Second Year students, their strength was far inferior to a First Year’s.

Anyone with a shred of ambition and competitive spirit would not be pleased with such a situation.

Among them, Guo Xinyi was the most straightforward in her reaction.

The girl stared at Lin Ze’s back with sparkling eyes, admiration shining in her gaze.

As time passed.

The Pale Lord’s wounds accumulated more and more.

Under the siege of the Pet Beasts, it gradually became overwhelmed, and signs of defeat were already showing.

After Lin Ze seized the right moment and fired another Soul Arrow that struck true, the Pale Lord finally collapsed to the ground with a reluctant roar of fury.

Moments later.

The soul fire in its eye sockets flickered out and dissipated.

On the other side.

The participating Pale Guards were also successively killed by the Blade-Spine Dragon and the Flash-Leap Dragon Beast.

This sudden battle was finally declared over.

Liu Man and the other women breathed a sigh of relief, their faces full of joy.

After the battle came the time to collect the spoils.

Not to mention the Pale Guards, the Pale Lord, being a Tier 5 Leader-rank Ferocious Beast, carried far too many good things on its body.

“Fragments of bone armor—after being devoured by a bone-attribute Pet Beast, they can strengthen its defense!”

“Soul Ashes—a precious material of the Undead Attribute!”

“Nightmare Bone Tablets—rare Skill materials with a small chance of allowing an Undead Attribute Pet Beast to awaken a Skill for summoning a mount!”

Gu Lengyan successively pulled out various materials from the Pale Lord’s corpse.

And listed their uses as if counting family treasures.

Lin Ze watched in silent amazement.

No wonder Liu Man and the others said Gu Lengyan was a knowledgeable little prodigy—she truly lived up to the name.

Before long.

A small pile of spoils had been stacked on the ground.

Finally, Gu Lengyan smashed open the Pale Lord’s skull and, from the scattered fragments, picked up a pure white orb that was crystal clear and smooth as a gem all over.

“Pale Bone Orb—the most precious material on the Pale Lord.”

“The academy’s purchase price is as high as 25,000 Resource Points.”

As Gu Lengyan’s words fell, everyone present showed expressions of pleasant surprise.

25,000 Resource Points, converted to Credit Points, was a full 12,500,000.

With just this one Pale Bone Orb alone, their trip to the Secret Realm had not been in vain.

“Counting the other spoils, that’s roughly 40,000 Resource Points.”

Song Ting said with a delighted expression.

Although this battle had been quite perilous, the harvest was pleasantly bountiful.

A hint of joy also flashed through Lin Ze’s eyes.

They hadn’t even entered the second ring yet, and they’d already gained nearly 40,000 Resource Points.

If things went smoothly, by the time the Secret Realm trip ended, the Resource Points they’d be allocated might just be enough to exchange for the Ice Blue Tear.

“Everyone’s Pet Beasts have consumed quite a bit—let’s find a place to rest and recover.”

Liu Man said.

The others nodded in agreement.

After all, they’d already gained quite a lot, so there was no rush to head to the second ring.

It was safer to first let the Pet Beasts recover their injuries and stamina before moving on.

Just as they were preparing to relocate, they suddenly noticed something in the distance rapidly approaching.

“Ferocious Beasts?”

Song Ting furrowed her brows and signaled the Flash-Leap Dragon Beast to prepare for battle.

“Not Ferocious Beasts—people.”

Lin Ze said.

The others could now see clearly as well.

Charging toward them was not a horde of Ferocious Beasts, but a squad of Beast Tamers.

Twelve people in total.

Surrounding them were over twenty Pet Beasts radiating powerful auras.

At a glance, almost none were below Tier 4.

And there were seven or eight that were clearly Tier 5-level Pet Beasts.

“They’re Third Year students.”

Gu Lengyan said in a low voice.

At least two-thirds of the newcomers wore Third Year badges on their chests.

It was obvious.

This was an Exploration Squad primarily composed of Third Year students.

No wonder so many Tier 5 Pet Beasts appeared in the group.

Before long.

The squad arrived up close.

Leading them was a tall, burly youth with dark skin.

At the sight of the bone fragments scattered across the ground, especially the tattered corpse of the Pale Lord, his expression instantly turned extremely grim.

“It’s you!”

A voice filled with shock and fury suddenly rang out.

Lin Ze followed the sound and saw Luo Han in the group glaring at him with clenched teeth.