Ku Xuan Root

In a mountain forest somewhere in the Wilderness Area.

To the south of the forest lay a clear spring. Its water was pristine and emerald green, gushing forth from between the rocks, breathing in the essence of heaven and earth and flowing with the meaning of life.

After passing through jagged boulders, it gathered in a low-lying hollow and formed a small pool. The pool was as clear and transparent as a mirror, reflecting several enormous figures.

The monsters by the pool's edge were like devout believers, each one facing the small pool and prostrating their massive bodies.

On a strange rock sitting amid the flowing spring water, a medicinal plant resembling a Blackwood Branch struggled out from a crack. Its branches and leaves swayed in the wind, emitting a faint halo.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Suddenly, the prostrating monsters rose to their feet. Their vicious eyes fixed tightly on a certain direction as they opened their fang-filled jaws and let out low growls.

Yang Wu slowly emerged from the woods. After discovering traces of a Plant Spirit, he had abandoned the beast horde rampaging eastward and headed south alone.

"One, two, three, four, five, six. Tsk, tsk. It would've been impossible to gather six Intermediate Beast Generals in such a short time."

"Looks like you're quite intelligent."

"Roar, roar, roar..."

His only reply was a series of low growls and the monsters' lunging figures. Yang Wu immediately lost interest. With a burst of strength, he charged straight at them.

"World Destruction..."

In the blink of an eye, a streak of light flashed past. Six corpses flew high into the air before crashing heavily down around him. Only Yang Wu and the solitary Ku Xuan Root remained at the scene.

"Buzz..."

A strange fragrance rushed into his nose. A trace of dazed confusion flashed through Yang Wu's eyes before he instantly returned to normal.

"Hmm."

"As expected, your strange fragrance has a hypnotic effect. No wonder those six Intermediate Beast General monsters were willing to bow to you and obey your commands."

Yang Wu had long suspected that the strange fragrance possessed hypnotic properties, and he had prepared for it.

Even the willow tree Plant Spirit on Mist Island possessed powerful aggression. How could this Ku Xuan Root, whose effects rivaled a Millennial Willow Heart, possibly lack some special ability?

Unfortunately, it might have had some effect on Yang Wu from a month ago, but to Yang Wu after his improvement in state of mind, it was no more than a momentary lapse.

Besides, simulated Yang Wu had shown no signs of ever being hypnotized. That was Yang Wu's true confidence in daring to come here.

As if making one final struggle, the halo it emitted rapidly expanded, while the strange fragrance growing ever stronger spread through the air.

Yang Wu directly pulled up the Ku Xuan Root, roots and all, placed it into the alloy box he had prepared beforehand, and then raced toward the highway.

This was no place to linger!

Before long, large numbers of monsters drawn by the strange fragrance began constantly gathering around the small pool as though they had lost their minds.

There was no moon tonight.

Only a few sparse stars remained in the night sky, tirelessly adorning the pitch-black heavens.

In the direction of the supply base, a tall lighthouse stood in the darkness from afar.

Its light shone brightly, guiding warriors home.

On the highway, Yang Wu, having successfully completed his objective, took a drink of water and swallowed a high-energy candy pill. Then he put his backpack back on and hurried toward the supply base.

Traveling at night without moonlight was dangerous, but Yang Wu could not afford to slow his pace.

There was no helping it. It was about to rain.

"Rumble—"

"Rumble—"

More than half an hour later, Yang Wu had barely stepped through the base entrance when fierce winds arrived right on cue.

Thunder rumbled at times, and lightning flashed at others. With a deafening clap of thunder, torrential rain came pouring down.

After passing identity verification, Yang Wu accepted the key under the astonished gazes of the guards and returned to his temporary villa.

He rushed into the bathroom for a shower, changed into a set of pajamas, then returned to the living room and carefully took the alloy box from his backpack.

Although this was only a temporary villa, its security was highly reliable. What foolish organization would dare commit such a taboo as installing surveillance equipment?

Even the communication watches sold by the HR Alliance merely had trackers secretly installed.

Even with their near monopoly, they did not dare openly do something like installing backdoors.

Surveillance was even more taboo. After all, warriors had genders too.

Opening the alloy box, Yang Wu found the Ku Xuan Root lying quietly inside. Its strange fragrance had already dissipated after being uprooted. Though he dearly wanted to consume it immediately, Yang Wu knew full well—

This was not a convenient place!

The train station.

It was always the liveliest place, with the most outrageous flow of people.

A long train slowly pulled into the station. Then came the piercing screech of brakes, and as the train doors opened, large numbers of passengers streamed out.

At once, boiling clamor began spreading through the station, which had been fairly quiet moments before.

Yang Wu stepped off the train, glanced around, then followed the warrior passage to board a special Limit Martial Hall vehicle back to Mingyue Community.

Early in the morning, quite a few residents of the tranquil community had already leisurely gone outside. Some were taking walks, some chatting, and some jogging.

The heavy rain from last night had washed away summer's heat. The chilly morning breeze carried nature's freshness, cleansing away people's worries.

"Brother Yang!"

"Hello, Brother Yang!"

"Good morning, Brother Yang!"

The community entrance was not far from the villas. Along the way, every warrior Yang Wu encountered, regardless of age, greeted him and addressed him as Brother Yang.

Yang Wu merely nodded in response with a baffled expression. He had only been away for a day or two. How had everyone suddenly become like this?

What Yang Wu did not know was that after the negotiation between Luo Feng and Zhang Zehu last time, word of his use of an A6 Model Po Jun Spear had spread.

As warriors, how could they not know about A6 weapons? Those were weapons normally used by Advanced Warrior Level warriors, though Intermediate Warrior Level warriors could use them as well.

Then Yang Wu had ventured alone into the Wilderness Area and returned safely. In the eyes of the community's warriors, his true strength had become a mystery.

Driven by curiosity, some warriors went to ask Hall Master Wu Tong. It was only a few days ago that Wu Tong announced Yang Wu's recently updated warrior rank—

Advanced Warrior Level!

What did that mean? It was the level of a supervisor at the Limit Main Hall. Even among the three leaders of the Limit Hall, Hall Master Wu Tong, the strongest of them, was merely Intermediate Warrior Level.

A true big shot had moved into Mingyue Community, making the residents feel immensely honored.

However, the enormous difference in strength also made them afraid to address Yang Wu as casually as they had before.

At the suggestion of a quick-witted warrior, the warriors of Mingyue Community all changed how they addressed him, following Luo Feng in calling Yang Wu Brother Yang.