Companion Recognition

At first, no one paid much attention to Lin Yan's strange behavior. The Patrol Team members, including Elder Xuan Yue, who had been secretly following them all along, mostly assumed it was merely some unique "habit" or cultivation method of this Earth Dragon cultivator.

After all, Primordial Creatures came in all kinds. Some liked collecting shiny stones, while others fed on poison. Having one who enjoyed repairing Earth Veins after a battle did not seem particularly unusual.

However, the speed at which the surroundings changed left them utterly astonished.

Once the remaining Malevolent Qi in the valley had been completely absorbed and the Underground Earth Veins fully restored, Black Wind Valley, which had been left with scattered Spirit Qi and deathly stillness after the battle, unexpectedly began to regain its life force at a visible rate.

The Spirit Spring began to flow again, Spirit Qi revived, and some spirit herbs and Spirit Beasts that had been on the verge of death recovered their vitality.

"Eh? The Spirit Qi here... seems purer than before?" Golden Feather, who was on watch, was the first to notice something unusual. He flapped his wings and sensed the Pure Spiritual Qi flowing through the air, surprise flashing through his eyes.

"Yeah, it feels like breathing has become much easier." Shui Ling nodded honestly in agreement.

As a member of the Spirit Wood Clan, Qing Luo was especially sensitive to life force. She walked over to a patch of Cold Jade Moss that had just sprouted new shoots, crouched down, and lightly touched the tender green leaf tips with her fingertips. Feeling the faint life force within, she revealed an incredulous expression. "Such vigorous life force... It is practically like using our clan's advanced Spring Revival Secret Technique."

The team members began discussing it among themselves, their gazes unconsciously turning toward Lin Yan, who was sitting beside the springhead with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing and recovering his magic power. A faint earthy yellow glow lingered around him, connecting him to the aura of the ground beneath his feet, as though he himself were part of the valley.

Shi Yue walked over to Lin Yan, curiosity and admiration on his rugged face. "Fellow Daoist Lin Yan, your ability to sort out Earth Veins and purify Malevolent Qi has truly opened my eyes. In the past, when we exterminated fierce beasts, it felt satisfying enough, but afterward, the area would remain barren for at least thousands or tens of thousands of years before slowly recovering. How could it possibly recover as quickly as it does with you?"

Lin Yan opened his eyes and smiled faintly. "Captain Shi Yue, you flatter me. I merely followed the instincts of our Earth Dragon Clan. I could not bear to see such decay, so I stirred up a little earth power to help the environment recover more quickly. It is hardly some profound skill."

"How is that not a profound skill? Lin Yan, stop being so modest. When it comes to improving the environment, you are the strongest person I have ever seen." Mo Xuan spoke up after hearing this. He wished Lin Yan would perform even more impressively, so that Mo Xuan's own discernment in recognizing talent would shine through.

"Exactly, exactly. Let me tell you, Lin Yan's Abilities are incredible. Improving the environment of dangerous lands is nothing more than an effortless task for him, hardly worth mentioning. Just wait until you see him slaughter fierce beasts someday—he is an absolute expert at that too." Ao Ye also chimed in from the side. He was somewhat worried that these Patrol Team Members would look down on Lin Yan's origins, so he wanted to take this opportunity to praise him.

Perhaps everyone truly was amazed by Lin Yan's unusual abilities, or perhaps they had been influenced by Mo Xuan and Ao Ye's words. In any case, the members of the Patrol Team did indeed regard Lin Yan more highly afterward. At the very least, in their straightforward understanding, anyone capable of doing what they could not was worthy of respect.

Over the journey that followed, Lin Yan's series of outstanding performances completely earned the trust and recognition of every member of the Patrol Team.

The southwestern region of the Myriad Ravine Ancient Plain was vast and boundless, with countless Fierce Beast Lairs hidden within it. Some fierce beasts were exceptionally skilled at disguising themselves and could even use illusions to confuse their opponents.

Lin Yan possessed the miniature Ecological Simulator, as though he had equipped himself with a detection radar. No matter how perfectly a fierce beast hid itself or how advanced the illusion it used, it could not escape the simulator's scan.

Whenever they arrived somewhere, Lin Yan could always accurately locate the fierce beasts' hiding places for everyone, saving them considerable effort while also preventing many unnecessary losses.

Even Elder Xuan Yue felt somewhat inferior to Lin Yan's detection ability, which far surpassed that of a True Immortal and could even rival a Mysterious Immortal. Many times, before he had even detected enemy activity, Lin Yan had already issued a warning. This made Elder Xuan Yue increasingly curious about this young Earth Dragon, Lin Yan.

Beyond his detection ability, Lin Yan's Earth Element Spells were used with astonishing mastery. Simple techniques such as the Earth Trap Technique and Earth Wall Technique often produced unexpected results in his skillful hands. Several team members easily slew demon beasts of the same level with his help. From then on, everyone especially enjoyed fighting alongside Lin Yan—it saved both time and effort.

Lin Yan's offensive power was even more apparent with the support of the Earth Spirit Seal and the Primal Chaos Plate. Ordinary Heavenly Immortal Level fierce beasts could not last long against him. Even some True Immortal Level Fierce Beasts that Shi Yue found difficult to handle could be held off by Lin Yan for a long time without him falling into defeat.

What astonished everyone most, however, was that Lin Yan displayed remarkably strong tactical planning and battlefield command abilities. Whenever they encountered tough battles, he could swiftly assess the strengths and weaknesses of both sides as well as the terrain, then propose practical plans for dividing the enemy, luring them in, and breaking the deadlock, allowing everyone to achieve the greatest results at the smallest cost.

Battle after battle fought side by side, danger after danger overcome, Lin Yan gradually became an indispensable core member of the Patrol Team through his own abilities. His warnings, crowd control abilities, and his miraculous post-battle "ecological restoration" methods not only earned the respect of his teammates, but also quietly changed the way this team operated.

The Patrol Team Members were no longer merely polite to him because he was Young Master Mo Xuan's friend. They had truly come to see him as a comrade to whom they could entrust their backs.

Even more subtly, Lin Yan's "habit" of repairing the environment after every battle began to influence the others as well.

At first, only a few support-type warriors, such as Qing Luo and Shui Ling, helped Lin Yan regulate the Earth Veins and encourage spiritual plants to grow. Gradually, even main combat warriors like Shi Yue and Yan Feng began helping clear away Malevolent Qi and restore the Earth Veins.

Watching the changes in the Patrol Team under his command, Elder Xuan Yue could not help but sigh inwardly. Mo Xuan had truly made an extraordinary friend.

The patrol mission across the Myriad Ravine Ancient Plain lasted far longer than Lin Yan had expected. Thirty years had already passed since the three of them joined this Kirin Clan Patrol Team. Over those thirty years, they had patrolled no fewer than tens of millions of miles. Yet this was not even one ten-thousandth of the Kirin Clan's power.

This vast and fragmented land resembled a remnant of the barbaric age. Every ravine and every wasteland could conceal deadly fierce beasts and dangers.

The Patrol Team's role was to reduce the sphere of influence of fierce beasts here as much as possible, eliminate the continually expanding fierce beast groups, and carve out relatively safe living space for those weaker Spirit Beast races.

However, there were simply too many fierce beasts. A single Patrol Team could never exterminate them all. Thus, the Patrol Team targeted only those fierce beasts with especially destructive power. As for the smaller ones, they could only be left alone for the time being.

One day, the Patrol Team arrived at the edge of a region known as the Weeping Blood Wasteland. Before they even approached, the air was already thick with the smell of blood and an aura of despair. From afar, they could hear the roars of spells, the howls of fierce beasts, and miserable screams mixed among them.

"Something is happening ahead! Move faster!" Shi Yue's face darkened as he was the first to transform into a streak of flowing light and rush forward.

The others followed close behind. After crossing a low ridge, the sight before them made every heart tighten.