There was not a single head rat left on the battlefield, and the rat pack had panicked and collapsed, fleeing in all directions.
"We won!"
"This is a great victory."
"Zhen Jin, Zhen Jin!" Led by Huang Zao and Lan Zao, the crowd raised their arms and cheered.
"This is a Temple Knight..." Cang Xu sighed, and then felt curious. "However, what on earth happened just now? The entire arm swelled by a circle, is it some kind of secret skill? Could it be that he is actually able to use Battle Qi? Did he use some method to temporarily break through the suppression of the island environment? What was the price? And what level of Battle Qi does he actually possess? Golden Battle Qi?"
Although Zhen Jin had once explicitly told Cang Xu that he could not use Battle Qi, Zhen Jin had only just taken charge of the exploration team at that time. Cang Xu believed that Zhen Jin did not trust the others back then, so it was very likely that Zhen Jin had concealed his true strength when asked.
Zi Di remained silent, casting only a gaze of worship and adoration at Zhen Jin.
Everyone knew that letting the Black Iron Head Rats rush into the crowd would have resulted in heavy casualties. Yet Zhen Jin relied sheerly on his own strength to save everyone.
Without a doubt, he was a hero!
From beginning to end, he had also controlled the battlefield.
He was a qualified leader!
The exploration team members all felt glad and proud to be led by Zhen Jin.
Zhen Jin frowned slightly.
The wonderful sensation had vanished, just like the last time.
That profound, intangible power had also completely dissipated, and the young man's arms had returned to normal.
At the same time, a fierce sense of emptiness enveloped his whole body.
Fatigue surged like wave after wave, striking continuously.
Zhen Jin kept his expression unchanged, trying his best to conceal the emptiness and fatigue, while feeling somewhat fortunate in his heart: this time, the bizarre transformation of his arms was hidden beneath his armor and clothes, and had not been revealed. Otherwise, he would have had to explain it to others.
The feeling of fortune quickly dissipated, replaced by a growing, intense puzzlement that welled up in his heart.
It seems the source of my mutation is that blood-red sphere in my heart.
What on earth is it?
Why does it feel like a magic beast's core?
Thinking of this, the young man smiled self-deprecatingly—how could a human possibly have a magic crystal? Only magic beasts had cores.
The cheers of the crowd grew more enthusiastic by his ear. Zhen Jin scanned his surroundings, forcefully suppressing all the doubts in his heart, and gave the order to clean the battlefield.
The flames burned fiercely, but under the potions provided by Zi Di, the big fire quickly extinguished.
Huang Zao and the others searched the blackened battlefield. He occasionally stopped in his tracks, picking up a flying squirrel's carcass.
Because it had suffered from the fire, the flying squirrel's corpse was completely charred and its surface carbonized.
After Huang Zao patted it with his hand, the black charcoal on the surface of the flying squirrel's carcass fell off piece by piece, revealing the roasted red meat inside.
Huang Zao's nostrils flared sharply as he took a deep breath, and instantly a rich, meaty aroma flooded his nasal cavity.
"Another good piece of meat!" Huang Zao beamed with joy, scanning the battlefield and sighing sincerely, "This is the hunting style I love the most."
During these past few days, he had also been responsible for hunting alone outside.
With almost zero results, a hunter's survival skills were not something that could be mastered so easily.
Huang Zao had always made a living on the sea, and the experience of hunting in the forest made him recall those hard and clumsy days when he had just boarded a ship.
On the other side, Lan Zao was processing the only Black Iron-level Flying Squirrel Leader.
Only a small fraction of the flying squirrel's blood had been collected. After preliminary processing, a thought stirred in Lan Zao's mind, and he picked up the flying dagger that had killed the Black Iron Head Rat.
Glancing at this flying dagger, Lan Zao's pupils could not help shrinking slightly.
The front end of the entire flying dagger was completely deformed, and not a single sharp spot could be seen.
"Relying solely on the force of a throw, he made this ordinary dagger powerful enough to kill a Black Iron magic beast!" The awe in Lan Zao's eyes as he looked at Zhen Jin grew even heavier.
Cleaning the battlefield yielded huge gains; it could be said to be a bumper harvest, and everyone was beaming with joy.
The bloodstains on the battlefield, as well as the completely roasted flying squirrel meat that could not be eaten, were all properly disposed of, ensuring that no other fierce beasts would be attracted by the smell of blood and meat.
The exploration team returned in triumph and continued to process these spoils of war.
Night.
Bonfires were lit, and the crowd sat around in a circle, discussing today's harvest. Seeing so much food with their own eyes, the team members' hearts finally settled completely.
A completely deformed flying dagger was passed around among the crowd.
"It really is an ordinary dagger, and it killed a Black Iron magic beast just like that."
"Sir Zhen Jin is truly so strong."
"I think he must have activated Battle Qi at that moment, otherwise how could he have erupted with such terrifying power?"
"I really want to know Sir Zhen Jin's true strength."
"Anyway, it's not Bronze or Black Iron-level; at least he is a Silver Knight mastering Silver Battle Qi."
"Silver Battle Qi... at such an age, Zhen Jin is truly a genius."
"There's also a possibility of Golden Battle Qi, after all, none of us witnessed the lord's Battle Qi with our own eyes."
"If it's Golden, it's even more terrifying. Following such a figure, the prospects are definitely bright!"
"The only reason we can be under the lord's command right now is because we suffered a shipwreck. Under normal circumstances, how could that be possible?"
"If we can always follow the lord, in the future when Sir Zhen Jin becomes the White Sand City Lord, I might be able to become an official in White Sand City."
"Damn it, I don't want anything else, I just want to become a city gate guard. I used to face harassment often when entering the city, and in the future, I'll guard the gate too and harass others just for the thrill!"
No one knew whose idea it was, but it provoked a burst of roaring laughter among the crowd.
The success of the hunt won Zhen Jin everyone's recognition.
Up and down the exploration team, everyone firmly believed that Zhen Jin's prospects were extremely bright.
People naturally tended to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and many people began to openly express their intention to follow Zhen Jin all along, something that would never have happened before.
"This is another layer of harvest." Cang Xu sat in a corner, watching the crowd chat and laugh, understanding it clearly in his heart.
His gaze was also focused on the dagger currently in someone else's hand.
Recalling that scene on the battlefield, Cang Xu was also secretly guessing: At that moment, Zhen Jin's arms clearly swelled, and then he erupted with terrifying power.
The bloodline of the Hundred Needles Family originates from the Legendary-level magic beast, Golden Needle Bee Queen. This bloodline is not renowned for its strength.
Was some kind of Battle Qi secret skill employed?
The dagger finally passed into Bai Ya's hands.
Bai Ya stared at this dagger, his eyes flashing with the light of hope: "This is a knight. I also want to become a person like this."
"Hey, kid Bai Ya, are you done looking? If you're done, give it back to me. This dagger is of great significance; from now on it will be my family's heirloom!" Huang Zao chuckled.
Bai Ya had no choice but to reluctantly return the dagger to Huang Zao.
No matter which continent or which race, the strong were worshipped. And this kind of worship easily transformed into loyalty.
"It seems the brothers Huang Zao and Lan Zao want to completely defect to Sir Zhen Jin and strive to become the lord's retainers," Cang Xu said meaningfully to Zi Di.
Zi Di was sitting beside Cang Xu. She raised her head, glanced at the people tightly surrounding the bonfire, and then began to shake the potion in her hand: "The aptitude of these two brothers is poor. Without opportunities in the future, the Bronze-level will probably be their limit. However, based on my understanding of Sir Zhen Jin, he will never mistreat any follower."
Speaking of this, Zi Di cast her gaze toward Cang Xu and emphatically added: "Regardless of whether this follower possesses transcendent abilities or not."
Cang Xu immediately understood Zi Di's implication, smiled bitterly, and shook his head: "This old man's tree, no matter how much sunlight it bathes in, will not bloom into a new spring."
The potion in Zi Di's hand gradually changed color, and she stood up: "I still have things to deal with."
Zi Di returned to her tent, while Zhen Jin meditated inside his.
His face was filled with a look of utter distress.
Still cannot sense it.
Zhen Jin had tried his best to memorize that peculiar feeling when the mutation occurred. But this did not allow him to actively sense the crystal in his heart.
It was as if such a thing did not exist at all.
Zhen Jin subconsciously pressed his palm against his left chest, feeling the beating of his heart, his brows knitted tightly: No, I discovered it clearly back then. There really was... well, something resembling a magic crystal growing in my heart, and it looked completely natural and harmonious with my heart.
Why can't I sense it?
It was clearly very distinct before!
Why, what on earth is missing?
Zhen Jin fell into deep thought.
He eagerly wanted to find a way to use the crystal.
Right now he could not mobilize Battle Qi, and this kind of mutation could instantly enhance his combat power, providing enormous help to himself!
During the first mutation, he slew the Silver-level magic beast, Blade Spider.
At that time, he had felt the wondrous surge of blood.
The second time was when the flying dagger killed the Black Iron Head Rat.
He not only felt the surge of blood, but further perceived the mysterious crystal within his heart. It was the intangible power bursting forth from the crystal that merged into his blood, flowed smoothly through his whole body, and ultimately poured into his arms.
So, my previous guess had a deviation. The real cause is not the blood, but this magic crystal.
This power is neither Battle Qi nor magic.
It is truly too wondrous, Zhen Jin sighed endlessly.
He then tried to analyze these two experiences.
Judging from current attempts, I have no way to actively trigger the mutation. Then what on earth triggered such an ability both times before and after?
What do the two mutations have in common?
The first time, I was on the verge of life and death, and my missing memories emerged; my emotions at the time were extremely complex and agitated.
The second time, facing the Black Iron Head Rat, I was wary of its electric shock ability, so I felt nervous and faced the threat of death.
The biggest commonality between the two experiences was that Zhen Jin faced the threat of death.
Consequently, all sorts of emotions were generated—nervousness, anxiety, fear, determination, murderous intent, and so on.
If emotional stimulation triggers the mutation, then will continued stimulation allow me to master the ability to initiate this mutation at will? Zhen Jin's thoughts branched out.
In the two mutations, he had made obvious progress. The first time he merely sensed the blood flow. The second time he penetrated deep into the heart and discovered the mysterious crystal within.
Moreover, last time claws mutated, and this time the arms mutated.
Zhen Jin guessed that the mutated part seemed to follow his own subconscious, forming the most favorable condition for the situation at hand.
Can I control this mutation ability, and in the future mutate wherever I want to?
If I transform completely, will it be in the form of the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear?
In addition, I also discovered that after the mutation, the red light of the crystal faded significantly. Just how many more mutations can it support me through?
Zhen Jin began to delve into deep insight, and along with this process, the doubts in his heart dissipated somewhat, yet even more were added.
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