Silver Quality!

Inside the Natural Cave, eight hours passed. The two took turns keeping watch, with Jiang Xiao taking the first shift and Xia Yan the second.

Xia Yan calculated the time, then lightly kicked Jiang Xiao, who was wrapped in his sleeping bag.

Xia Yan's kick was gentle because she saw the faint Star Power fluctuating around Jiang Xiao's body. She knew that although he looked asleep, he was actually awake and continuously absorbing Star Power.

Jiang Xiao opened his eyes, crawled out of his sleeping bag, slowly stood up, and stretched his body.

He hadn't slept soundly. He seemed to have remained half-awake the entire time, perhaps because he had something on his mind. An hour ago, Jiang Xiao had simply stopped trying to sleep, closed his eyes, and begun absorbing Star Power.

Unfortunately, his Star Power was still at the Star Dust Stage: Lv.3.

No matter how much Star Power he absorbed, its total amount would no longer increase. Jiang Xiao was still happy to continue, though, repeatedly replacing the Star Power in his body and using it to attack his Star Map. He simply didn't know whether this method would work.

Since he couldn't sleep, he had to find something to do.

Xia Yan strapped the giant blade to her back. She didn't put out the campfire—instead, she added a few more branches.

The two planned to live here for a long time, which meant they needed to hunt farther away. After all, the smell of blood would attract large numbers of White Ghosts, and that was not a situation either of them wanted to see.

This world had never changed its colors.

The first time Jiang Xiao came here, he had been shocked by the beauty of the brilliant galaxy in the sky and marveled at the dreamlike colors of the shifting aurora on the horizon.

But after merely one day, Jiang Xiao had already begun to miss the light of day and the darkness of night.

A world that was half-bright and half-dark was something a person from Earth like Jiang Xiao found difficult to adapt to.

The two traveled a long distance. They encountered several White Ghosts along the way, but with Xia Yan holding the giant blade in one hand, flames spreading in all directions, and surging Star Power pouring outward, the White Ghosts they encountered did not choose to hunt them.

Only after the two had walked for nearly an hour across the Snowfield covered in thick white snow did they truly enter hunting mode.

Xia Yan held a dagger and exhaled wisps of white mist as she carved marks into the trees along the way, recording the direction they had come from.

Suddenly, Xia Yan's body froze, and her heart jolted.

She heard a faint sound. What frightened Xia Yan even more was that the sound had come from right beside her, extremely close by.

This was a hunter that had blended into the white snow. It lay in a snowdrift, and no one knew how long it had been there. Under the sweeping wind and snow, it had formed an inconspicuous outline.

Holding her dagger, Xia Yan slowly backed away and tilted her head slightly toward Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao slowly lowered his Marching Pack. Following the direction of Xia Yan's gaze, he saw the ultimate ambush expert! Xia Yan had nearly stepped on its face just now, yet it still hadn't moved! What kind of Endurance was this? It was the Endurance a skilled hunter should possess. Its target was definitely not just one person—it intended to tear both Xia Yan and Jiang Xiao apart.

Or maybe... it was simply asleep? Had Jiang Xiao overestimated it?

Jiang Xiao thought it over and over, then drew his dagger and slowly walked forward, gradually approaching the almost imperceptible humanoid outline. His heart began to pound wildly.

Would this be his first real kill? Jiang Xiao gripped the dagger and suddenly stabbed downward.

Bang! The snow suddenly exploded. A flash of Green Glow appeared, and the ultimate ambush expert rammed its head into Jiang Xiao and sent him flying.

As expected, it hadn't been asleep. It had been plotting something huge!

It was a decent opponent. My ass—it would count as a victory if Jiang Xiao could last one minute this time.

Xia Yan held one hand behind her back and gripped the hilt of her blade with the other. She could sense the White Ghost's Endurance and technique, and knew that this fellow was probably somewhat stronger. Thus, she raised her vigilance to the highest level.

But this time, Xia Yan discovered that the situation had changed.

Jiang Xiao's mindset had changed, and so had his fighting style.

During the brief period of rest, Jiang Xiao had carefully considered his circumstances.

Yes, Jiang Xiao had abandoned the impossible idea of "killing the enemy" and switched to a style focused on provoking the enemy and defending comprehensively.

He threw away the troublesome dagger. Light shone from his fists as he repeatedly used Green Glow to create distance from his opponent. He did his best to block the White Ghost's sharp teeth and claws, stumbling back and forth across the snow while dodging left and right.

Xia Yan's eyes lit up slightly. After watching intently for more than twenty seconds, she actually pulled out the military canteen hanging from her waist and took a warm sip of water.

Looks like this kid's adaptability isn't bad.

Jiang Xiao fought while retreating, wounds rapidly appearing all over his body. Blood ran down his face, and he looked utterly miserable.

A flash of Green Glow appeared. His fist finally collided with the White Ghost's sharp claws. The White Ghost was knocked back several steps once again, and Jiang Xiao won another brief chance to catch his breath.

Whoosh! Seizing the opportunity, a beam of white light descended from the sky and landed on Jiang Xiao, slowly healing his wounds and restoring his vitality.

"Don't let it get its way. Your intelligence is higher than its," Xia Yan suddenly said while holding her thermos.

Jiang Xiao's heart jolted. He suddenly exerted all his strength, covering half his body in green light as he charged into the ferocious, ravenous White Ghost that was pouncing at him.

Bang! The knockback effect of Green Glow really was the most divine of divine skills. It was simple yet extremely practical, directly shifting the battlefield once more.

In this Snowy Forest, which was not especially dense, there were plenty of small clearings, but even more tightly packed trees. If the White Ghost pulled the battlefield close to the trees, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Jiang Xiao.

Even a lone tree trunk was enough for the White Ghost to perform all kinds of tricks. This fellow was like an agile monkey—more like an ape, really.

"Hold out for one more minute, and I'll reward you with some water." A trace of a smile finally appeared on Xia Yan's face.

Jiang Xiao panted heavily as he retreated in disorder. Another beam of white Blessing light descended from the sky. At the same time, he held a Star Pearl in one hand, absorbing the specks of starlight into his body.

An announcement appeared in his mind: "Star Skill quality increased!

Green Glow, Silver Quality Lv.1,

Endurance, Silver Quality Lv.1."

Xia Yan giggled from the side and said, "Little Skin, I like brave men. I like men who fight with their brains even more."

The White Ghost was knocked away. It rolled nimbly twice, hooked one hand around a tree trunk, and shot up the tree in a flash.

Jiang Xiao remained unhurried and used Blessing on himself frantically while he had the chance.

Perhaps it saw its prey frantically applying buffs. Even the White Ghost's mediocre intelligence understood that a battle of attrition was probably not a good choice.

Bang! The White Ghost's foot struck the enormous pine tree with a heavy thud, sending sheets of snow rustling down. Amid the snow blanketing the sky, a snow-white figure suddenly burst out.

On that dark, ghastly face, its blood-red eyes became the most jarring color in the white snow.

Jiang Xiao clenched his right hand into a fist. The Big Dipper Star Map silently appeared, and the second Star Slot suddenly lit up.

Xia Yan's heart jolted, and she hurriedly shouted, "Get out of the way!"

She could never have imagined that Jiang Xiao, whose adaptability was so strong, would suddenly return to the state he had been in when he first arrived here.

Facing the ferociously pouncing White Ghost, Jiang Xiao abruptly changed his style. He pushed off with his foot and charged forward. "I love you too!"

Xia Yan's eyes instantly widened as she stared at the Star Map that had abruptly appeared. The second Star Slot was actually flashing with dazzling silver light. Thud! Xia Yan's hand loosened, and the military canteen fell to the ground. Hot water spilled everywhere, melting the thick snow beneath her feet.