Unexpected Changes

Before heading to the center of Small Island to check on his precious little fruit, Lin Li first went to the farmland he had reclaimed and looked over the white radishes he had planted.

After just one afternoon, the white radish seedlings had grown quite a bit more. At their current rate of growth, these planted white radishes should be ready to harvest in another five or six days.

After looking over the white radish seedlings, Lin Li turned and walked toward the Miracle Small Tree at the center of Small Island.

"This...?"

When Lin Li reached the Miracle Small Tree, his gaze was immediately drawn to the Azure Fruit.

"How did it suddenly grow so large?" Lin Li was astonished as he looked at the Azure Fruit, which was now the size of a pigeon's egg.

Then, with a thought, a piece of information surfaced in his mind.

"Thirty percent."

"What's going on? How did the progress suddenly become thirty percent? I've only killed a dozen or so exotic beasts in total!"

The information that surfaced in his mind left Lin Li stunned. After pondering for a long while, he finally came up with what he thought was a fairly reliable guess.

"Could this change have happened because the flesh and blood of that White Ape Exotic Beast, which possessed Second-Order strength, accelerated the progress?

"It must be. Otherwise, excluding that terrifying White Ape Exotic Beast, I've only killed a dozen or so First-Order exotic beasts in total. By rights, the progress should only be in the teens."

Lin Li mulled it over, and the more he thought about it, the more plausible his guess seemed.

"The flesh and blood of a Second-Order exotic beast increased the progress by more than ten percent in one go. If it were the flesh and blood of a Third-Order exotic beast, would it instantly make the Azure Fruit grown by the Miracle Small Tree ripen?"

As Lin Li's imagination ran wild, he couldn't help yearning for the flesh and blood of a Third-Order exotic beast. However, he soon came to his senses.

"All right, all right. Stop daydreaming. That White Ape Exotic Beast at Second-Order was already so terrifying. Who knows just how frightening a Third-Order exotic beast will be...

"This time, I just happened to pick up a bargain. It was practically a pie from the sky. With my current cultivation, the odds of picking up another bargain—say, a Third-Order exotic beast—are even lower than winning the grand prize in the lottery.

"People have to know when they're satisfied. Since the progress has jumped so much this time, I should just hunt exotic beasts properly and steadily from here on out, increasing the progress step by step!"

After dispelling his unrealistic fantasies, Lin Li shifted his gaze away from the Azure Fruit, which was the size of a pigeon's egg, and looked instead at the Miracle Small Tree's lush crown.

When he had first seen the Miracle Small Tree, its branches and leaves had still been faintly yellow, making it look malnourished and on the verge of dying.

Now, after being nourished by Lin Li with exotic beast flesh and blood, the Miracle Small Tree's faintly yellow leaves had become lush and dripping green. Many branches had even sprouted fresh, emerald-green shoots.

From what he saw before him, it was easy to conclude that as Lin Li continued hunting exotic beasts in the future, the nourished Miracle Small Tree would certainly grow more and more luxuriantly.

"There's more and more to look forward to. It seems quite a few Rooster Feather Exotic Beasts live in that area. I'll go there again tomorrow to look for targets.

"I'll go to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow morning to head into the wilderness. I'll strive to push the progress to one hundred percent within five to seven days."

As Lin Li looked at the Azure Fruit the size of a pigeon's egg, the flames of fighting spirit blazed in his heart.

Then, with a thought, he left Mysterious Small Island and returned to the real world.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the wilderness on the outskirts of eastern Rong City, a figure was battling a Boar Beast whose body was wrapped in earthen armor.

The two sides traded blows, fighting with blazing intensity.

"Bang."

"Whoosh."

The figure raised his left hand. Spiritual Light flashed in his palm, rapidly condensing into a blazing Small Fireball. He then flicked his hand and hurled the Small Fireball at the Boar Beast in the distance, which was just preparing to turn around.

The Boar Beast had turned around and was preparing to charge at its enemy again when it saw a Small Fireball flying toward it.

Knowing how powerful this enemy's Small Fireball was, it hurriedly used its awakened ability. Spiritual Light flashed across its body, and the earthen armor wrapped around it rapidly expanded, covering its head as well.

"Boom."

The blazing Small Fireball shot over at tremendous speed and struck the head of the Boar Beast, which was completely encased in earthen armor, producing a deep explosion.

Flames scattered in every direction and fell across the ground, scorching the lush green grass until it turned yellow and charred.

After days of battle, Lin Li had become adept at using his ability. When he saw that his Small Fireball had merely blasted cracks into the earthen armor on the Boar Beast's head without causing any substantial damage, he understood that he had to find another way.

Continuing to attack it with Small Fireballs would only waste his Spiritual Energy for nothing.

"Hmph." The Boar Beast, its entire body wrapped in earthen armor, snorted proudly at Lin Li.

Then it adjusted its stance and scraped its forehooves against the ground several times with all its might, preparing to let this human experience the taste of being gored by its tusks.

Lin Li watched the Boar Beast wrapped in earthen armor with a solemn expression, thinking to himself.

Since I can't break through this Boar Beast's earthen armor defense and can't do anything to it, there's no need to keep wasting my energy fighting it. I'll just hide in Mysterious Small Island and avoid its edge for now, then look for another exotic beast afterward.

"Hmph..."

While Lin Li was hesitating over whether to hide in Mysterious Small Island and avoid the danger, the Boar Beast on the opposite side had already charged at him.

Although the Boar Beast's defense had increased after being wrapped in earthen armor, it had correspondingly lost its running speed and agility.

The Boar Beast charged like a small armored vehicle, trailing a cloud of dust as it rushed toward Lin Li.

Holding the Spirit Artifact Longsword, Lin Li pushed off with his right foot and darted to the left, easily evading the charge of the Boar Beast completely wrapped in earthen armor.

After dodging the Boar Beast's charge and regaining his footing, Lin Li looked at its swaying rump, and a genius-like idea surfaced in his mind.

"Whoosh."

An orange-red Small Fireball shot rapidly toward the Boar Beast wrapped in earthen armor. It struck the earthen armor on its body and erupted into clusters of tiny sparks.

"Whoosh."

Another Small Fireball came flying. The Boar Beast wrapped in earthen armor stood motionless, allowing Lin Li's Small Fireballs to strike its body.

"Hmph..."

The Boar Beast snorted and looked at Lin Li with contempt.

At that moment, it felt that this human was truly an idiot. He clearly knew that his fireball attacks could do nothing to it, yet he was still wasting his Spiritual Energy for nothing, launching one ineffective attack after another.