An Unexpected Change

Before heading to the center of the island to check on his precious Azure Fruit, Lin Li first went to the farmland he had cultivated and looked at the white radishes he had planted.

After not seeing them for an afternoon, the white radish seedlings had grown considerably. At this rapid growth rate, these planted white radishes should be ready for harvest in another five or six days.

After looking at the white radish seedlings, Lin Li turned and walked towards the Mysterious Small Tree in the center of the island.

"This...?"

Upon arriving in front of the Mysterious Small Tree, Lin Li's gaze was immediately drawn to the Azure Fruit.

"How did it grow so big all of a sudden?" Lin Li was greatly surprised, looking at the Azure Fruit, which was the size of a pigeon egg.

Then, with a thought, information appeared 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!"

The information that appeared in his mind stunned Lin Li. He then pondered for a long time, finally coming up with a guess that he felt was quite plausible.

"Could this change be because the flesh and blood of that second-tier White Ape Exotic Beast accelerated the progress?

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

Lin Li pondered, and the more he thought about it, the more reliable his guess seemed.

"The flesh and blood of a second-tier exotic beast increased the progress by over ten percent. If it were the flesh and blood of a third-tier exotic beast, would it cause the Azure Fruit that the Mysterious Small Tree grew to mature instantly?"

As Lin Li's imagination ran wild, he couldn't help but yearn for the flesh and blood of a third-tier exotic beast, but he quickly came to his senses.

"Alright, alright, stop daydreaming. The second-tier White Ape Exotic Beast was already terrifying. Who knows how terrifying a third-tier exotic beast would be...

I got lucky this time; it was like pie falling from the sky. With my current cultivation, trying to get lucky again and find a third-tier exotic beast is less likely than winning the lottery.

One should be content. The progress has increased so much all at once. From now on, I'll just hunt exotic beasts methodically to improve the progress!"

Dispelling his unrealistic fantasies, Lin Li shifted his gaze from the pigeon-egg-sized Azure Fruit to the lush canopy of the Mysterious Small Tree.

The first time he saw this Mysterious Small Tree, its branches and leaves were slightly yellowish, looking malnourished and on the verge of dying.

Now, after being nourished by the flesh and blood of exotic beasts, the slightly yellowish branches and leaves of the Mysterious Small Tree had become lush and vibrant, with many new tender green buds growing on some branches.

From this scene, it could be easily inferred that as Lin Li continued to hunt exotic beasts in the future, the nourished Mysterious Small Tree would surely grow more and more vigorous.

"It's getting more promising. That area seems to be inhabited by many Rooster Feather Exotic Beasts. I'll go there tomorrow to find my target.

I'll go to bed early tonight and wake up early tomorrow to head into the wilderness, aiming to reach 100% progress within five to seven days."

Lin Li looked at the pigeon-egg-sized Azure Fruit, his fighting spirit burning fiercely.

Then, with a thought, he left the 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 Rong City's eastern district, a figure was fighting a Boar Beast covered in an earthy armor.

The two were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle.

"Bang."

"Whoosh."

The figure raised his left hand, and a flash of spiritual light appeared in his palm. He quickly condensed a scorching small fireball and then flicked his wrist, throwing the small fireball towards the Boar Beast, which was preparing to turn around.

The Boar Beast, which had turned to charge at its enemy again, saw a small fireball flying towards it as soon as it turned its head.

It knew the power of this enemy's small fireball and quickly used its awakened ability. Its body flashed with spiritual light, and the earthy armor covering its body rapidly expanded to cover its head as well.

"Boom."

The scorching small fireball shot forward rapidly, hitting the Boar Beast's head, which was completely covered by the earthy armor, with a dull explosion.

Flames scattered everywhere, scorching the vibrant green grass until it was charred yellow.

After days of combat, Lin Li, who could now skillfully use his abilities, saw that his small fireball had only managed to crack the earthy armor on the Boar Beast's head, without causing any substantial damage.

He knew he had to find another way. Continuing to attack with small fireballs would only be a waste of his psionic energy.

"Hmph," the Boar Beast, covered in earthy armor, snorted triumphantly at Lin Li.

Then, it adjusted its stance, pawed the ground forcefully a few times with its front hooves, preparing to give the human in front of it a good taste of being gored by its tusks.

Lin Li looked at the Boar Beast, covered in earthy armor, with a solemn expression, thinking to himself.

"Since I can't break through this Boar Beast's earthy armor defense and can't do anything to it, there's no point in wasting more energy fighting it. I'll just hide on the Mysterious Small Island to lie low for a while and then look for other exotic beasts."

"Hmph..."

Just as Lin Li was contemplating whether to hide on the Mysterious Small Island, the Boar Beast opposite him had already charged at him.

Although the Boar Beast, covered in earthy armor, had increased its defense, it had correspondingly lost its running speed and agility.

The Boar Beast charged at Lin Li like a small armored vehicle, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lin Li, holding his Spirit Artifact Longsword, pushed off the ground with his right foot and sidestepped to the left, easily dodging the charge of the Boar Beast covered in earthy armor.

After dodging the Boar Beast's charge and steadying himself, Lin Li looked at its wriggling hindquarters, and a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.

"Whoosh."

An orange-red small fireball shot rapidly towards the Boar Beast, which was covered in earthen armor. It struck the armor, creating small sparks.

"Whoosh."

Another small fireball came. The Boar Beast, still encased in its earthen armor, stood its ground, unmoving, letting Lin Li's small fireballs hit it.

"Hmph..."

The Boar Beast grunted, looking at Lin Li with disdain.

At that moment, it thought this human before it was truly foolish. Knowing its fireballs couldn't harm it, he was still pointlessly wasting his psionic energy, launching these ineffective attacks again and again.