Spine-Armored Dragon

Green Hair...

The direct line of the Goddess Temple...

The other man's vivid green hair reminded Guen of his identity. Based on what Guen knew, the direct line of the Goddess Temple held a higher status than the other members.

That was what made the Forest Goddess Temple so unusual. Most people who joined the Goddess Temple became regular members, but only those who worshipped the Goddess of the Forest and those from the direct line of Green Hair were high-ranking Core Members.

The Forest Goddess Temple's leaders neither advertised the benefits of becoming a Core Member nor forced anyone to join. In fact, Guen had only learned that Core Members existed after Moto, the intelligence on his Auxiliary Optical Computer, had sorted through the information.

"Hello, I'm Guen. I recently joined the Forest Goddess Temple." Guen nodded lightly to the other man.

"Ah, is it already time for the outsiders' trials? Hello, I'm Del, one of the Forest Goddess Temple's members. If you made it here, you must be among the strongest Ninth-rank Warriors. Or are you an Artifact User?" Del regarded Guen with curiosity, fiddling with the watch on his right wrist. "Ah, I see. You came in first this year. You even made it through the Fifth Stage trial—that's impressive."

Del had clearly learned about Guen through his Communication Watch.

"Moto, connect me to the Goddess Temple's network," Guen instructed through his thoughts.

Although he had received the Communication Watch, Moto had told him that it only connected to a low-level local network. Its coverage was extensive, but it could only handle basic text, voice, and video communications. So Guen hadn't connected to the Goddess Temple's network yet.

"Master, you're connected. Your number is #0946, which means you're the nine hundred and forty-sixth official member of the Forest Goddess Temple. Thirteen people have already sent requests to add you to their contacts. Del's number is *168, which means he's the one hundred and sixty-eighth Core Member."

Guen didn't know what exactly set Core Members apart from other members, but they clearly had access to more benefits and information.

"Accept their requests for me." After giving Moto the instruction, Guen smiled at Del. "A pleasure to meet you. I just got lucky."

Del's expression turned serious. "The Fifth Stage. In all these years, only one Barbarian Tribe chieftain had ever made it through before you. You can't explain that with luck alone. I saw your strength, too. You're powerful."

Del's gaze fell on the Purple-Maned Lion that the Kejia Beast had yet to finish eating.

"Ordinary Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts shouldn't be a match for you anymore."

Guen nodded calmly.

Del said, "Most people enter Beast Canyon to train and challenge themselves. But ordinary ferocious beasts can no longer threaten you, so they won't help you improve. Still, I know of at least three beasts in Beast Canyon that would pose a serious threat to you."

"Three?" Guen's interest was piqued.

He immediately thought of the Green Shadow Demon Snake. Without the Meteor Light Blade, that beast would be a formidable opponent, too.

But Del's answer still caught Guen off guard. "Three Planetary Level ferocious beasts. How does that sound? A real challenge, right?"

Seeing Guen's expression, Del explained, "Of course, they're not especially powerful Planetary Level beasts. They all broke through less than five years ago, and they only barely managed to reach the Planetary Level in the first place. Even with the full might of the Forest Goddess Temple, we've only managed to capture three. In some years, there's been just one. Besides, since you passed the Fifth Stage trial, you must have Flame God Armor—or you'll be given one. These Planetary Level beasts can't threaten our lives. There couldn't be a better challenge for us."

Guen nodded repeatedly.

"Not only that, you'll get a piece of Essence of Vegetation for defeating a Planetary Level beast. Even Planetary Level Warriors have a hard time getting their hands on one," Del continued, tempting Guen. "And at the Forest Goddess Temple, you only need two pieces of Essence of Vegetation to exchange for a portion of Green Marrow. You should have received some Green Marrow as a reward, so you know what a treasure it is. How about we go together? Just the two of us."

Guen was tempted.

The chance to train and the Green Marrow were both more than enough to persuade him.

And Del was a Core Member, confident enough to challenge Planetary Level beasts. Guen wasn't about to underestimate him.

"If it's just the two of us, how do we split the Essence of Vegetation?" Guen asked.

"Simple. One piece each. If we can defeat one Planetary Level beast, we can take on another. If we can't defeat even one, there won't be any spoils to split. And even if we can just barely manage to kill one, you can have it," Del replied without hesitation.

"Fine, I'm in." Guen recalled the Kejia Beast and stood up.

Del gave the Kejia Beast a curious glance, then put an arm around Guen and headed deeper into the canyon. "Our first target is the weakest one. The Planetary Level Warriors of our Goddess Temple—Super Tier Warriors to the outside world—captured it in Starlight Forest. It's a Vajra Ape, the perfect first opponent."

Starlight Forest?

A Vajra Ape?

Guen's expression turned odd. Could it be that very same Vajra Ape?

Del misunderstood his expression. "Were you thinking of bringing a few more people? That won't work. If too many of us go, the beasts will band together to protect themselves. That's why most people in Beast Canyon act alone. Even when they work together, they never bring more than three people. And there are very few people in the Goddess Temple qualified to challenge Super Tier beasts. Anyone weaker would just be a burden."

"Hey, look. There are two Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts over there. Why don't we warm up on them?" Del suddenly pointed at a Spine-Armored Dragon Couple in the distance.

The Spine-Armored Dragons had thick armor and rows of spikes along their backs. Their fierce faces were set as they guarded several Spine-Armored Dragon Cubs, their cold, pale-gold eyes fixed on Guen and Del.

Guen could see the Spine-Armored Dragon Couple, and naturally, they could see him and Del.

Guen knew exactly what Del was up to. He called it a warm-up, but in truth, he wasn't sure how strong Guen was and wanted to test him with these two Spine-Armored Dragons. If Guen proved capable, Del would then show off his own strength.

"Sounds good. I've never killed a Spine-Armored Dragon before." Guen set down the Kejia Beast and gently patted its back, signaling it to wait there.

The Kejia Beast obediently rubbed against Guen. Then Guen drew the Meteor Light Blade and shot forward like a shadow. His speed made Del stare in surprise. Del glanced at the Kejia Beast, then followed at a more leisurely pace.

The Spine-Armored Dragons roared. One hurriedly retreated with the cubs, while the larger one charged at Guen.

The Spine-Armored Dragon towered over him, its upper body rising above the treetops. Its sharp claws slashed straight at Guen.

Guen swung his blade. The dragon's claws, sharp as knives and hard as iron, snapped cleanly. Guen pressed his advantage, leaping onto its chest. Blades flashed in a flurry before converging into one strike that tore a terrifying gash across the dragon's chest. Blood poured out like water from a breached dam.

The Spine-Armored Dragon slammed into Guen in a fury. Protected by his Flame God Armor, Guen barely felt the impact and drifted lightly to the ground some distance away. At the dragon's horrified stare, he turned and charged back in.

Every swing easily carved a huge gash into the Spine-Armored Dragon. It fought back with all its might, but could barely touch Guen. Even when it managed to hit him, it had little effect. The dragon roared in desperation, growing weaker with every passing moment.

Del was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Guen to badly wound the Spine-Armored Dragon in just two or three casual moves. He shuddered, then hurriedly burst forward to intercept the other one.

Del pulled out an Emerald Longsword. Unlike Guen, who relied on direct, relentless attacks, Del circled his opponent patiently. Only after the Spine-Armored Dragon had accumulated enough injuries did he suddenly unleash his strength and defeat it.

The Spine-Armored Dragons' prized armor was utterly useless against Guen and Del.

The remaining Spine-Armored Dragon Cubs roared furiously. But after watching their parents get killed one after the other, they could only howl in frustration. Hatred glinted in their cold, pale-gold eyes as they fled in a panic.

"I didn't expect you to be this strong, Brother Guen. Even with a Force Weapon crafted by the High Priest, I'm no match for you," Del said, looking a little ashamed.

Guen merely smiled, then picked up the Kejia Beast. "Now can we go find the Vajra Ape?"