Sprouting Boom

Du Ke slept soundly all night after obtaining the spirit bug.

A spirit bug represented a spell, and this one represented Instantaneous Movement Magic. Though the spirit bug was relatively weak and would need three to five days to recover after casting Instantaneous Movement three times in succession, its value remained immeasurable. Of course, there was one regret: once he returned to Earth, the spirit bug would no longer be able to cast magic.

Earth had no Magic Elements.

He was even somewhat worried that during the crossing, the spirit bug fused with him might die without the protection of Mind Armor—an unlikely possibility, but not an impossible one.

"Tomorrow, I'll hunt a stronger magical beast and drag it back for Xise Xise to use Nature Spirit Summoning. That way, she can obtain a stronger Beast Spirit, and then I can hope that this Beast Spirit will drop spirit bugs too." With this cycle repeating itself, Du Ke felt that he was not far from becoming an all-element Grand Magus. At that point, what danger in the Fantasy World could possibly stop him?

Early the next morning.

After greeting Shawa Shawa, who was guarding him, Du Ke set off for the forest. He searched deeper into the woods for Devil Explosion Flowers while observing the magical beasts within. Unfortunately, he found neither Devil Explosion Flowers nor any particularly powerful magical beasts that morning. There were some small magical beasts, though, and they possessed decent magic. For instance, one squirrel-like magical beast could fly.

In Du Ke's eyes, that was Wind Element Magic—Levitation Technique.

"If I learned it, wouldn't I be able to fly?" He shot and killed the little beast, which he named the Flying Squirrel, then chose to cook it and eat it with Spore Powder.

The reason he did not bring it back was simple. If the Beast Spirit Xise Xise awakened was too weak, it would easily collapse. At the very least, it had to be a magical beast on par with, or stronger than, a Displacer Beast. This Flying Squirrel was clearly unqualified, so it could only serve as lunch and provide Du Ke with energy to fill his stomach. For some reason, his appetite had greatly increased over the past two days.

Spore Powder was no longer enough to satisfy his food needs.

That afternoon.

Du Ke finally found another mature Devil Explosion Flower. He carefully covered it and poked it open, obtaining roughly a pound and a half of Spore Powder. "Such a huge forest, yet I've only found three Devil Explosion Flowers. There really aren't many of these things."

Good things came in pairs.

Not long after collecting the Devil Explosion Flower, he discovered a magical beast in the forest. It looked like a combination of a giant lizard and a rhinoceros, its outline somewhat resembling a mount Du Ke had once obtained while playing World of Warcraft—the Kodo Beast. So he named this magical beast the Kodo Beast, and he drooled over its magical abilities.

When Du Ke spotted the Kodo Beast, it was being hunted by a pack of Wind Wolves—wolf-like magical beasts capable of casting Wind Blades.

The Kodo Beast had one large and one small horn on its head, both continuously giving off a pale yellow glow. Whenever a Wind Blade approached, a layer of rock-like armor coated its body. The armor was so sturdy that Wind Blades capable of easily cutting through tree roots all failed to leave a mark. And the Kodo Beast knew more than just this Rock Armor spell. Whenever light flashed from its horns, an Earth Spike would burst through the ground and pierce a Wind Wolf's body.

Rock Armor!

Earth Spike Technique!

There were more than thirty Wind Wolves, a formidable pack indeed. Yet several surprise Earth Spike attacks from the Kodo Beast killed seven Wind Wolves on the spot, and even the largest wolf king nearly fell victim to one.

In the end, the Wind Wolf King let out a long howl and led the remaining Wind Wolves away, each carrying a dead companion as they swiftly vanished into the depths of the forest.

The Kodo Beast finally relaxed. But when it raised its head, it saw an iron lump standing not far away—a creature it had never seen before, one completely out of place in the Great Blue Forest.

The Kodo Beast clearly did not understand what a sci-fi style was, but that did not stop it from responding cautiously. It faced the creature before it and issued a warning. "Honk, honk, honk!"

The iron lump was naturally Du Ke. A smile appeared beneath his helmet as he threw out a cylindrical object, landing it directly at the Kodo Beast's feet. The Kodo Beast had no idea what it was and hurriedly stepped away, but the cylinder simply lay there quietly, with nothing happening. Du Ke kept throwing more cylindrical objects until they soon covered the ground around the Kodo Beast.

The Kodo Beast still had no idea what was happening, and it even dispelled its Rock Armor.

At that moment, Du Ke burst into laughter and shouted, "Sprouting Boom!"

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

A chain of explosions erupted around and beneath the Kodo Beast. The immense force sent it flying before it even had time to cast magic. It crashed heavily to the ground amid smoke and dust, its body no longer resembling its former shape. Charred chunks of flesh of every size and flowing blood bore witness to its final moments at the edge of death. To kill it in one blow, Du Ke had prepared dozens of high-explosive grenades.

The ignorant Kodo Beast fell just like that.

However, Du Ke saw that it had not quite died yet. Its abdomen was still rising and falling, while the horns on its head flashed intermittently. This immediately put him on high alert. He manifested a Vulcan Cannon and fired another rapid barrage, thoroughly killing the Kodo Beast.

"Job done. Time to pack up!"

He manifested a mountain off-road vehicle, fastened the Kodo Beast—larger even than a rhinoceros—to it with the winch cable, and began his return journey. Halfway back, he unexpectedly encountered a group of Fire-breathing Golems that had appeared from nowhere. They chased after the Kodo Beast, and some bolder ones even leaped onto it, trying to gnaw on its body. Du Ke directly fired wildly toward the rear of the vehicle, spraying bullets across both the creatures and the Kodo Beast's corpse.

He had no idea how many Fire-breathing Golems he killed, but he finally drove the ugly creatures away. After traveling all the way through the wilderness, he returned to the South Lake Sea of Flowers.

The moon rose, and the familiar world of flowers blossomed once more. The flower fairies emerged again.

"Du Ke."

"Xise Xise, come help me. Try using Nature Spirit Summoning on the Kodo Beast's corpse." Du Ke spoke with eager anticipation.

But Xise Xise shook her head. "No. If I awaken it, the Displacer Beast Spirit will dissipate."

"What?"

"I can only control one Beast Spirit at a time. I need to nurture the Displacer Beast Spirit, so I can't cast Nature Spirit Summoning again."

"Why did it have to be like this?" Du Ke was helpless. He had spent the entire day finding a suitable target, only to discover that he could not use it after bringing it back. He felt deeply disappointed, but he did not force Xise Xise.

Shawa Shawa suddenly comforted him. "Du Ke, once Xise Xise advances, she might be able to control two Beast Spirits."

A sliver of hope rose in Du Ke. "Is that true?"

Xise Xise blinked. "I don't know."

Du Ke revealed his wicked grandmother smile again. "Whether it is or not, please eat more Spore Powder and advance as soon as possible."