Shield

The Northern Region Star Fruit Tree has the fewest people; the east, south, and west all have more people than the north.

Because those three directions all receive sunlight, the Star Fruit Tree absorbs cosmic energy. However, the closest celestial body to the fruit tree is the sun, and sunlight is also one of the cosmic energies, and one of the largest sources.

The north is never exposed to sunlight, so the natural conditions are insufficient, making it very difficult for Star Crystal to form.

Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue emerged from the dense forest to the north. Su Mingyue asked, "Which way do we go?"

"Let's go to the Ant Nest in the west. Although there are more people there, we will have to come into contact with people sooner or later. Besides, I have such a powerful bodyguard as Saintess Su. If we don't dare to venture in, we would be too cowardly."

"Maybe before, but after watching you cultivate last night, I think I might not be able to beat you. I might need your protection from now on," Su Mingyue said seriously.

"Ming Yue, don't underestimate yourself. Your strength is definitely among the General Level. And haven't you noticed that after sparring with me for so many days, your strength has improved quite a bit? I dare not say more, but last time, you were able to handle those two Advanced War General from 494 all by yourself."

Su Mingyue nodded seriously. "That's what I think too."

Looking at this girl who couldn't lie or even be perfunctory, Lin Zhen laughed heartily and quickened his pace. A few hours later, Tree Heart Lake appeared in front of him.

"Let's go west. If we search slowly, we're sure to find the Ant Nest."

Lin Zhen was having a headache. He only knew that the Ant Nest was in the west, but he didn't know its exact location. The jungle in the west was also very large. If he searched slowly, he might not find it for half a month.

The two of them walked side by side to a branch of a main trunk in front of the jungle, unsure whether they should go this way.

Just then, someone else suddenly arrived from behind.

Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue didn't move. They wanted to see who was coming and maybe they could find out the exact location by asking someone.

About seven or eight people walked over, turned around the shade of the tree, and were surprised to see Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue.

"Su Mingyue? Lin Zhen? How did you two end up together?"

The person speaking had an afro, but at this moment it looked more like a bird's nest; it was Lin Zhen's roommate Ma Mingxing.

He followed in the middle of the group. The martial artist at the very front had a handsome face and was none other than Jiang Huai Modu artist known as the First Person warrior in the General Stage.

Jiang Huai ranked third in the assessment, losing not only to Su Mingyue but also to Li Changying. However, no one doubted Jiang Huai's fighting ability. The reason he lost points was not during combat. Whether in terms of willpower or actual combat, he was second to none.

Even in the actual combat, Jiang Huai always seemed to be playing it easy, as if he wasn't going all out, making it impossible for people to see his true strength.

Besides the two from Modu, there were two from Capital City, and several martial artists from Tianfu Base City, including Lin Zhen's roommate Sun Tie.

Jiang Huai was also stunned to see Su Mingyue and Lin Zhen together.

But then he smiled and said, "What a coincidence! We've run into two group leaders here. Would you two be interested in joining us on our journey to the Ant Nest?"

"You're going to the Ant Nest? Do you know how to get there?" Lin Zhen asked.

"I know, one of our people went there once, but he couldn't make it there by himself, so he came back to us. We finally found these people and are preparing to join forces to try our luck. If you two join our team, our chances of success will be even greater."

Jiang Huai's tone was very sincere, genuinely inviting Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue to come together.

Lin Zhen glanced at Lin Zhen Su Mingyue, Su Mingyue gave her a sweet smile, "I'll listen to you."

Lin Zhen was immediately at a loss. Although Su Mingyue was a bit simple-minded, she was definitely not stupid. What did she mean by saying such things in front of everyone?

Although the two had been living together for more than half a month, neither of them showed any unusual behavior. They were just like two happy playmates, and everything was very natural.

You should know that Su Mingyue rarely smiles. Lin Zhen has seen her smile only a handful of times these days, let alone such a big, radiant smile.

She definitely did it on purpose!

Based on Lin Zhen's experience, he immediately came to this conclusion, although he couldn't figure out Su Mingyue's purpose for the time being.

Sure enough, Su Mingyue's petite and charming demeanor and sweet smile stunned everyone present.

Seeing the somewhat stunned crowd, Lin Zhen hurriedly said to Jiang Huai, "Alright, we'll go with you. You guys go ahead."

Jiang Huai gave an "oh," forgetting to express his happiness, and got up to walk at the front.

The remaining warriors filed in, all walking along the huge tree branch.

As Ma Mingxing passed by Lin Zhen, he quietly gave her a thumbs up. "Lin Zhen, I finally understand why that Fatty Zhang Yue called you his idol. It turns out that you're not only amazing in kung fu, but you're also incredibly impressive in other aspects. From now on, you're my idol too."

Before Lin Zhen could reply, Ma Mingxing walked over.

The other martial artists followed, and Lin Zhen and his companion could still hear their conversation.

"My God, am I seeing things? Su Mingyue just smiled, and she smiled so beautifully. I'm from the Capital City Base City and this is the first time I've ever seen her like that. She truly is my goddess."

"Alright, kid, save your breath. He's not smiling at you, so what are you smug about?"

"Yeah, what's the relationship between Su Mingyue and Lin Zhen? Look at her, following Lin Zhen Lin Zhen like she's afraid he'll run away. Could it be that Lin Zhen did something monstrous and she doesn't want to take responsibility?"

"Are you stupid? Who wouldn't take responsibility for Su Mingyue? Unless he's not a man anymore, it's mutual affection between them."

"Oh no, my goddess is getting married! Lin Zhen is so lucky! I want to challenge him to a duel."

"Decide my ass! If you dare to touch Lin Zhen now, I bet Saintess Su will destroy you Human Path first."

"I think so too. Go ahead. As the saying goes, 'To die under a peony is to die romantically,' to be killed by Saintess Su herself means you haven't lived in vain. I will come here to see your spirit in heaven next year on this day."

"Get lost. Is this what 'dying under a peony' means? Besides, I didn't say anything. It's just that her smile was too beautiful. Don't tell me you guys didn't want to see it. I don't believe it even if you beat me to death."

Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue walked behind, the buzzing chatter still reaching them. Lin Zhen glanced at Su Mingyue, whose pretty face remained calm and expressionless, as if they weren't talking about her at all.

Lin Zhen gave a wry smile, "Why did you do that?"

Su Mingyue replied, "I don't like having people always around me. This way, even if someone wants to harass me, they'll have to get past you first. From now on, you'll stand in front of me, and I'll hide behind you. Remember, you're not allowed to find me annoying."

"Fine, you're the only one in the world who can be so self-righteous as to use someone as a shield."

"Because I trust you," Su Mingyue replied calmly, not joking.

Lin Zhen paused for a moment, then said nothing more. She quickened her pace and led Su Mingyue to the front of the group, feeling a little uncomfortable following behind.

Jiang Huai smiled as Lin Zhen approached, saying, "Brother Lin, you're very fortunate."

Without waiting for Lin Zhen's reply, he changed the subject and called out to Ma Mingxing, "Ma Mingxing, didn't you go to the Ant Nest? Come and tell Brother Lin and Miss Su about the situation there. Let's all listen so we can be prepared."

Ma Mingxing walked ahead and said to Lin Zhen and Su Mingyue as he walked, "I did go to the Ant Nest once. I got separated from everyone, but I ended up finding this place. I've already told them about it, and I'll tell you again."

"Ant Nest are huge areas of dead branches, with lots of dry twigs and Leaf. Unlike other places, they are not clean and tidy. Moreover, the place is quite drafty, and over time, dust accumulates like small mountains, making it a paradise for ants."

"There must be a lot of ants," Lin Zhen interjected.

"That's right. I'm sure everyone here has seen many insects, but you've definitely never seen a huge swarm of mutated ants. The scene was so dense, how can I even describe it?"

After thinking for a moment, Ma Mingxing uttered two words: "Shocking!"

"That's right, it's shocking. The ants inside are mainly divided into three types. One type is the Worker Ant, which are the largest in number. Each one is the size of a tiger from the Anno Domini Era. There are no way to count how many of these things there are. They collect food and carry things. Their fighting power is not very strong, but their numbers are enormous."

"Besides Worker Ant, there are also very powerful Soldier Ant, which are four or five times the size of Worker Ant. There are also a lot of these. Although they don't seem like many normally, once someone dares to invade the Ant Nest, you will see countless Soldier Ant appear. These things are very powerful in combat. Although they are not as strong as the individual strength of other insects, when they swarm, no one can withstand them. I have personally witnessed a Level Nine War General being instantly devoured by hundreds of Soldier Ant and reduced to a Bone."

"So what about Soldier Ant and Worker Ant?" Su Mingyue asked from the side.

Upon hearing the question from the beauty, Ma Mingxing immediately perked up. "Besides Worker Ant and Soldier Ant, there is another type of Flying Ant. These ants all have wings and usually lurk in the Leaf above the Ant Nest and in the surrounding dead branches. If any flying insects or Mind Power Master try to get close, they will definitely die a terrible death."

"With so many ants, you dare to go?"

"Of course we have to go. It's because very few people can get close there. Over the years, a lot of star crystals have accumulated there. You can hardly find Star Core Stage. The lowest you can find are Meteor Comet and comets. There are even planets and stars. Of course, some people who are not afraid of death have gone there."

Ma Mingxing paused for a moment. "When we get to the Ant Nest, we not only have to fight the ants, but also the people. That's why so many of us went together, because that's the battlefield!"

Today, I'm adding a fourth chapter as a bonus, especially for the book's Helm Master, (Heart as Cold as the Sea). Thank you for Helm Master reward.