Rhino's Might

Yan Xiaoxin chatted with several teachers for a while, and then they all dispersed.

After the chat ended, Yan Xiaoxin returned to her car.

"The people we were just chatting with were teachers from the other four universities in our Jianghai Division, excluding Jiangnan University," Yan Xiaoxin said. "Old Zhang from Jinling University seemed quite modest, but the way he spoke suggested he was determined to qualify for the next round of the league."

"Jinling University produced a Hero Class named Jiang Yi, right?" Guan Zhongliu nodded slightly. "They've been keeping it hidden, just waiting to catch us off guard."

After all, there are only two qualifying spots, and Jiangnan University's leading position is hard to shake. It's also reasonable for Jinling University, which is also in the Jianghai Division, to set its sights on Jinghai University.

"I hope I can see him this time," Bai Xiaowen said with a slight smile. As long as he sees Jiang Yi in person, all his secrets will be exposed.

"Let's not talk about him anymore. This time, the Spinebreak Mountain Grand Rift Treasure Grounds is opening. In a few hours, the energy intensity of the Spatial Rift will reach level 3. At that time, you freshmen, along with a few level 3 students from other schools, will enter. You all got the terrain map of the treasure land, right?" Yan Xiaoxin confirmed again.

"Yes, I've seen it." Bai Xiaowen's "seen it" meant that she had memorized it.

"Li Shuyi also needs to prepare a map," Yan Xiaoxin said.

"I brought it. But I'm with Xiao Wen, so I don't think it's necessary," Li Shuyi said.

Yan Xiaoxin shook her head. "It's no use. It's practically impossible for you to appear in the same area. Do you think Spatial Rift are like school gates? When traversing space, there will inevitably be spatial misalignment. This is always the case when returning from the Spirit Realm. And since the Treasure Ground Space is a fragment that has broken off from the Spirit Realm Plane, it is not very stable to begin with, so the spatial misalignment will be even more severe."

Guan Zhongliu added, "Even if you go in one after the other, one of you might be assigned to the southernmost end of the space and the other to the northernmost end, so be prepared to fight alone. Fortunately, you can withdraw at any time if you encounter danger."

"Furthermore, electronic communication devices are not allowed in the Treasure Ground Space. Apart from some special psionic tools, the only way to communicate is by shouting," Yan Xiaoxin said.

Bai Xiaowen said, "Then let's set a meeting point. After entering the space, we'll head towards the meeting point. The Spinebreak Mountain Grand Rift Treasure Grounds with a depth radius of about 150 kilometers. We can complete the assembly in one or two days at most."

Yan Xiaoxin said, "If you are confident in your strength, it would be most suitable to set up the meeting point in the center of this treasure land. At the Dragonbreak Cliff in the Great Rift Valley Treasure Land, there are precious Dragonblood Tea Tree, which are coveted even by Advanced Awakened."

After a pause, Yan Xiaoxin explained, "The Great Rift Valley Treasure Space has several dangerous areas. Generally speaking, the closer you get to the central area, the higher the level and the stronger the monsters. For example, the Dragonblood Tea Tree at Dragonbreak Cliff is inhabited year-round by a group of level 6 monsters Golden-Crowned White Eagle. Even Advanced Awakened find it quite troublesome to encounter these flying monsters."

"Shu Yi, what do you think?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

"Let's set up the meeting point at Dragonbreak Cliff," Li Shuyi said. She knew that Bai Xiaowen would definitely be fine, and she didn't want to hold them back. Besides, with her Rare Elite professional strength, if she was careful, she might be able to reach Dragonbreak Cliff.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Bai Xiaowen closed her eyes to rest. Li Shuyi took out the information booklet that had been distributed earlier and read some information about the Spinebreak Mountain Grand Rift Treasure Grounds.

The open stone ground was quiet; all the students were either reviewing their materials or resting with their eyes closed.

Each school takes turns sending students to monitor Transformation in energy intensity across the Great Rift's Spatial Rift.

Three hours later, a student from Jinghai University returned and reported that the energy intensity of the Spatial Rift had just reached level 3.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi, along with Xiang Hui, Chen Guowei, Feng Zi'ang, and others in the car behind, got out and headed towards the Spatial Rift. A few Level 3 Awakened individuals from the other universities also set off simultaneously.

Based on the energy intensity increase of the Spatial Rift, it will take at least 6 to 8 hours to rise to level 4, and at least 24 hours to reach the maximum value of level 6.

This half-day to full-day window is where the advantage of those Beginner Awakened lies.

"Be careful, retreat if you encounter any insurmountable danger." Yan Xiaoxin repeatedly warned the members of the Jinghai University Team as they escorted Bai Xiaowen and his group to the Spatial Rift.

The other University Team members, including Liu Fei, offered their blessings to Bai Xiaowen and the others, whether they wanted to or not. Only the team leader, Zhao Yuting, remained expressionless and silent.

"Don't worry." Bai Xiaowen smiled and waved to Yan Xiaoxin and the others, then was the first to step into the Spatial Rift. A flash of light, and Bai Xiaowen's figure disappeared.

After a slight feeling of weightlessness, the surrounding white scenery regained its color and froze in time.

Before Bai Xiaowen's eyes appeared a vast wilderness, with blue sky and white clouds, and undulating mountains in the distance.

In the open field, sparse low trees can be vaguely seen.

"Judging from the map, this should be the Beast Wilderness, located at the northern end of the Great Rift Valley Treasure Space."

Bai Xiaowen looked around. Being all alone felt a bit strange. He raised his hand and summoned Rageclaw Rageclaw, sitting on its broad back and pointing in a direction. Rageclaw's four claws moved with the wind, silently galloping across the wilderness.

Along the way, Bai Xiaowen also encountered a few roaming Mutant Dog, mutated wolves and other wild beasts, most of which were relatively weak. Sensing the aura of Rageclaw, they all hid away.

Bai Xiaowen had no intention of chasing after these low-level monsters; it would only be a waste of his time.

After running for more than ten kilometers in one go, Bai Xiaowen had reached the depths of the Beast Wilderness.

Suddenly, the Rageclaw stopped, gently scratching the ground as it lowered its body, its gray mane standing on end.

Step, step...

Heavy footsteps approached from afar.

Bai Xiaowen looked over and was slightly surprised. A huge rhinoceros beast, six or seven meters long, with slightly reddish eyes, was slowly approaching step by step. The rhinoceros horn on its nose alone was nearly a meter long, which was terrifying.

"It really is the Beast Wilderness. Such a huge mutated beast can't even fit in the Storage Space," Bai Xiaowen murmured.

Bai Xiaowen used his Insight and quickly obtained information about the giant rhinoceros beast.

[Thickback Rhino (Elite Tier Level 5)]

[Race: Beast Species / Terrestrial Beasts]

[Attributes: Strength 33, Agility 8, Constitution 25, Spirit 5]

[Skills: Frenzied Charge, Piercing, Thick Hide]

"I just arrived and already encountered an Elite Tier monster. I'm really lucky."

Bai Xiaowen jumped off the back of the Rageclaw, used the Black Soul Stone's attached skill "Return of the Dead," and took out the Desert Eagle, first firing a burst of fire at the Thickback Rhino. This big guy only had 8 points of agility, and with such a massive body, it couldn't dodge at all.

Thump, the first shot hits.

With a 100% Critical Hit rate and 250% critical Critical Hit damage, it only took away a little over 30 points of the Thickback Rhino's Life Value. The Thickback Rhino's passive skill [Thick Hide] undoubtedly played a significant role, reducing physical attack damage (excluding vital points) by 30%.

The Thickback Rhino, in pain, roared, pawed the ground with its front hooves, and spewed white mist from its nostrils.

Frenzied Charge!

Bai Xiaowen had already started positioning himself when the Thickback Rhino charged. Insight showed that once the Frenzied Charge skill was activated, it was a straight line and could not turn. This was also related to the Thickback Rhino's agility value of only 8 points.

Boom!

The Thickback Rhino missed its target and charged dozens of meters away.

After Bai Xiaowen let the charge pass, he raised his pistol and fired bursts of fire, while the Skeleton Mage was preparing his first Lightning Throw.

The Thickback Rhino spread its hind hooves, plowing two deep furrows in the ground, before finally stopping. It turned its head and ran quickly, its target still Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen retreated while firing, thinking that with his 15 points of agility, he could use kite tactics to wear down the big guy without taking any damage. However, the actual situation was beyond his expectations.

The Thickback Rhino was enormous, its four legs as thick and long as pillars; one step it took was equivalent to three steps for Bai Xiaowen! Although its frequency was relatively slow, its movement speed was truly fast.

Moreover, Bai Xiaowen was creating distance by retreating, so his retreating speed was naturally slower than his forward speed.

Before he could fire more than a few shots, Bai Xiaowen was caught up by the Thickback Rhino. The big guy lowered its head, a faint light flashed, and it crashed into Bai Xiaowen's abdomen.

The Spirit Realm notified. "Thickback Rhino's skill: Piercing activated."

Even as the Thickback Rhino lowered its head, Bai Xiaowen had already ordered the Skeleton Mage to unleash Lightning Throw. With a whoosh, the lightning struck, and the Thickback Rhino froze, its Piercing skill abruptly interrupted!

Interrupting like this is quite difficult to do.

First of all, the Thickback Rhino's [Piercing] attack is very fast, taking less than half a second to charge.

The Skeleton Mage's [Lightning Throw] requires a 1.5-second cast time, and the projectile speed of the lightning must be calculated! To ensure the lightning strikes within 0.5 seconds of the Thickback Rhino's skill activation, how many variables must be considered, and how many complex calculations must be performed?

However, for Bai Xiaowen's Super Brain, this kind of calculation was merely an instinct, especially since he was only controlling a Skeleton Mage and there were no other summoned creatures to share the computational power.

After the Thickback Rhino's two most threatening abilities missed, melee creatures such as Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, Shadow Assassin, and Rageclaw swarmed in.

The Thickback Rhino has an exceptionally high strength, resulting in considerable damage from each stomp and headbutt. Against such a behemoth, the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier's Block ability is difficult to fully utilize, and he is knocked away every time he makes contact.

Fortunately, there were four Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, taking turns attacking. One was knocked away, and three were still on standby.

Bai Xiaowen was surrounded by a group of melee creatures. Even with the damage reduction from the Thickback Rhino's [Thick Hide], it couldn't withstand the attack. It was covered in wounds, and its Life Value slowly dropped.

After nearly a minute of fighting, the Thickback Rhino's Life Value finally ran out, and its massive body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief. Each of the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier had experienced the "flying man" (or "flying bone?") treatment twice on average, and their Life Value dropped by nearly half. These Elite Tier behemoths with high strength and physique were indeed not easy to deal with.

The Rageclaw's ultimate move, [Suppression], can only pounce on targets smaller than itself. The Thickback Rhino's body is four or five times the size of the Rageclaw, making it impossible to successfully pounce on it. It will only inflict five bleed attacks dealing 50% damage each. Moreover, with a cooldown of nearly 8 hours, [Suppression] cannot be used on an Elite Tier monster casually.

A Silver Treasure Chest slowly materialized on the body of the Thickback Rhino.

With C-Tier combat rating, Bai Xiaowen chose to draw a card and received 500 Psionic Points. The card flipped over, and a piece of equipment shimmering with blue light appeared in front of Bai Xiaowen.

[Rhino's Might (Bind on Pickup)]

[Quality: Elite Tier (Blue)]

[Equipment Slot: Waist]

[Equipment Requirements: Base Strength 15, Base Constitution 15]

[Attribute: Strength +2]

[Durability: 28/35]

[Description: The lingering warmth of this thick leather belt seems to convey the wild power of a rhinoceros.]

"Tsk tsk, the first treasure chest drops equipment, what a good omen. And it's a pretty good Blue Gear." Bai Xiaowen chose to equip the belt.

A warm current surged through his body, and Bai Xiaowen's strength increased by 2 points, reaching 18 points! His current strength attribute is no weaker than that of melee-type awakened individuals of the same level. Combined with Bai Xiaowen's level 5 Advanced Combat Specialty, he can easily serve as a melee damage dealer.

Actually, this equipment is more suitable for a warrior like Li Shuyi, as high strength means high attack. However, putting aside the fact that Li Shuyi is not around and has no right to allocate it, she simply does not meet the 15 points of basic strength and constitution required by this equipment.

However, what interested Bai Xiaowen even more was the carcass of the Thickback Rhino. Unlike the Spirit Realm, here, after killing monsters, one could also plunder materials and Treasure Meat, reaping even greater rewards.

Bai Xiaowen directed the Shadow Assassin and Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to work together for over ten minutes, first peeling off the thick hide of the Thickback Rhino, rolling it up, and putting it into the Storage Space.

This Thickback Rhino didn't have any Treasure Meat inside. However, Bai Xiaowen, who had already started drooling, still selected a few of the best and tenderest parts, cut off more than ten kilograms of meat, skewered it with a twig, and grilled it to eat, his mouth full of oil.

Awakened individuals have a different physique than ordinary people; they can eat dozens of kilograms of meat in one meal without feeling full. And if they don't eat for several days, although they will feel hungry, it won't affect their mobility.

Of course, when living in the base city, eating three meals a day on time is still the lifestyle of most awakened individuals, which is also better for their health...

"My natural roasted rhinoceros meat is a bit milder in flavor than He Zhiqing's dishes, but the tender meat makes up for it, and the taste is still pretty good." Bai Xiaowen patted his belly, savored the taste, and gave his evaluation.

After eating his fill, Bai Xiaowen continued onward, hunting in the Beast Wilderness along the way. As for the abandoned rhinoceros carcass, if no one touched it, it would automatically dissipate as Psionic Particles after a few hours, so there was no need to worry about it affecting the environment.