Small Body, Adult Tone

Dongfang Chen nodded.

Although his strength should allow him to move freely here, having Lingling's guidance could save him considerable time and trouble.

He then took a bottle of pills from his Storage Ring and handed it to Lingling.

"This is the latest Fifth-grade pill from the Dongfang Family, the Dragon Power Pill. After taking it, it can temporarily unlock your muscle potential, letting you unleash powerful Physical Strength. If you run into danger, take it, got it?"

The power boost from the Dragon Power Pill had nothing to do with Dou Qi.

It was purely raw physical might.

If a Beginner Mage took it, they could instantly erupt with enough strength to rival a Commander Level Demon.

To the Mages, this was a true lifesaver—far more practical than any Shield Magic Tool or Armor Magic Tool!

And the two could even be used together!

Most importantly, even Ordinary People could take it. Though due to their weaker constitutions, they might suffer some aftereffects from not being able to withstand the Medicinal Power, that didn't change the fact that the Dragon Power Pill could save lives.

So as soon as it hit the market, it became one of the Dongfang Family's best-selling products.

"Got it. This thing won't turn me into some muscle-bound woman, will it?"

"No, at worst you'll just have some muscle soreness."

Lingling said she was disgusted by it, but her body honestly accepted the gift.

She knew Dongfang Chen was thinking about her safety.

She was also aware of the Dongfang Family's latest Dragon Power Pill—it was a truly miraculous medicine.

"You..." The Tsundere Lingling fidgeted for a while, then finally squeezed out a few words.

"You stay safe too. If you come back alive, I'll tell you my name."

With that, Lingling turned her head away in a huff, leaving Dongfang Chen with only a view of her pretty Twintails.

"That jerk, he already knows my name from Grandfather, and he still wants me to say it myself, hmph!"

Hearing Lingling's playful complaint, Dongfang Chen just smiled.

What could he do? The system wouldn't accept it otherwise.

"Dongfang Chen, you've now entered the Jinlin City border. Don't go any further—the entire city has been taken over by the Lizard Skull Giant Demon tribe."

Lingling's cute voice came through Dongfang Chen's earpiece.

Along the way, Dongfang Chen had been following the safe route Lingling had Opened Up, rarely running into any Demons.

And even when he did, they were only Servant Level.

With a "safe route" like this, even an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage would hardly encounter danger, as long as they didn't do anything stupid.

Though Dongfang Chen wasn't an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage, he had to admit that having Lingling as a "strategist" directing from the rear made things much safer and more convenient.

"At Least I'm way older than you—can't you just call me Brother?"

Dongfang Chen teased into the earpiece.

"Hmph! Dongfang Chen, Dongfang Chen, Dongfang Chen! I'll call you by your name. Want me to call you Brother? No way!"

Lingling's Tsundere voice came back.

"Alright, don't keep poking at me. Even though I've mapped out a safe route for you, you still need to stay alert to your surroundings at all times.

"In the wild, the environment can change at any moment. That's the experience of a Hunter Master talking to a rookie hunter like you."

Dongfang Chen nodded with a smile.

Lingling was so small, but she talked like an adult—it was kind of amusing.

"Back to business. You should be glad the Mo Yu Grass isn't growing inside Jinlin City, or you wouldn't be able to retrieve it without an Archmage escorting you.

"Now keep going along the route I gave you. You'll pass through a tunnel a few hundred meters long. Don't worry—because it's so short, there won't be many Demons gathered there for now."

Dongfang Chen continued following the route Lingling had laid out.

Normally, when Demons occupied a city, the urban buildings became their nesting grounds.

These human structures were warm in winter and cool in summer, making them good shelters for Demons as well.

Even in the wild, tunnels, overpasses, and similar structures were common places for Demons to roost.

But the tunnel in front of Dongfang Chen, due to its short length and poor construction quality from lax standards, didn't attract many Demons.

Stepping into the cold, damp tunnel, the light around Dongfang Chen instantly dimmed.

Though the tunnel wasn't long, and he could see the exit at the far end at a glance, years of neglect had allowed weeds and vines on the walls to block much of the light filtering in.

Dongfang Chen didn't use his Light Magic skill Blinding Light to illuminate the tunnel.

His own eyesight was enough to see clearly in the dark.

"Mm, just a few Servant Level Cave demon slaves. In this environment, it's indeed a safe route for an Intermediate Level Mage."

After entering the tunnel, Dongfang Chen didn't bother being polite with the few Servant Level cave demon slaves.

He directly crushed the skulls of these demons with his bare hands.

To avoid making any noise, he didn't even use magic.

The tunnel was only a few hundred meters long, but for an ordinary mage, it might take half an hour or more to get through.

After all, the tunnel was pitch-black, and one had to constantly guard against sneak attacks from demons lurking in the shadows.

But Dongfang Chen wasn't afraid of any of this. The dim tunnel had no effect on him, and as for the demons hiding in the dark? A single Soul Power scan, and they would have nowhere to hide.

If he wanted to be even more aggressive, he could launch a Soul Attack against those hidden demons, killing them on the spot without even letting them make a sound.

It took him just a few minutes to go from the tunnel entrance to the exit.

Even Lingling couldn't help but remark, "You're really lucky. I thought you'd run into a lot of demon interference, but aside from the first two, you didn't encounter a single one."

Dongfang Chen smiled without saying a word.

To save power, he and Lingling were only using a Voice Call.

So Lingling, on the other end of the earpiece, naturally had no idea that Dongfang Chen had secretly killed quite a few cave demon slaves with his Soul Attack.

Just as Dongfang Chen stepped out of the tunnel, he paused for a moment, then a playful smile appeared on his face as he spoke to Lingling.

"Lingling, looks like your experience-based predictions aren't always accurate either. Although this tunnel doesn't have a Demon Lair, there is a Commander Level cave demon general here."

At the tunnel's exit, a hunched-over monster resembling a Hobgoblin had already set its sights on Dongfang Chen.

Cave demon generals are the Commander Level form of cave demon slaves, and their kind loves to eat humans.

Now that this cave demon general had encountered a fresh human, it naturally wasn't about to let him escape.

"A cave demon general?!"

Lingling's voice on the other end of the earpiece grew urgent.

"Turn on your Remote Video right now, let me analyze the surroundings, and I'll plan a new Escape Route for you."

Lingling knew that Dongfang Chen was only an Intermediate Level Mage.

Under normal circumstances, a mage's Combat Power was completely mismatched against demons.

A single Commander Level demon might require several Intermediate Level Mages to team up and take down. If fighting alone, an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage would absolutely be torn to shreds.

Literally torn to shreds.

Because cave demon generals love eating humans, and they have a particular fondness for human skin.

Before eating, the first thing they enjoy is the human skin.

"No need. It's just a Commander Level."

Afraid that Lingling wouldn't believe him, Dongfang Chen directly activated the Remote Video.

The earpiece Lingling had given him had a real-time video function, but the footage could only be viewed unilaterally by Lingling, and it drained the battery faster, so Dongfang Chen hadn't turned it on earlier to save power.

"Dongfang Chen, don't act on impulse! You might not have seen a Commander Level demon before, but I swear by my title as a Hunter Master, a Commander Level demon absolutely—"

The next second, Lingling's eyes widened on the other end of the earpiece.

She hadn't even finished speaking, and on Dongfang Chen's side, the battle was already over!

The Commander Level cave demon general had been completely crushed!