Red Blood Wine

"Captain, you're having Chu He face a near E-Rank One-horned Iron Rhino for his very first fight. What if he gets hurt?" Chu Yunpeng couldn't help but speak up.

Although his tone sounded somewhat mocking, his gaze was locked tightly onto Chu He.

"What of it!" Wei Xiaoping's tone was icy.

"If we don't test and evaluate this Chu He, are we supposed to act as his babysitters and take him for a stroll through the Wilderness Zone for fun?"

"But, I still feel like it's... not quite right." Chu Yunpeng shook his head.

"The Captain's arrangement is fine," Pang Song said in a deep voice. "Chu He isn't going to be our companion in the future anyway."

"Exactly!" Yang Yi, standing nearby, frowned. "I don't want him to become a burden to us."

"Otherwise, bringing along such a newcomer... are we supposed to sacrifice all our gains for this trip just to escort someone who won't even be a teammate?"

At this moment!

The veteran members of the Jackal Squad, still unaware of Chu He's strength as a Spirit Reader, made their opinions on him perfectly clear.

Chu He's grandfather, Elder Chu Jingfeng, was, if not known to everyone in this Northeast Base City, at least remembered by a large portion of the population.

Even though Chu Tianxiong was a disappointment, his strength as an Intermediate War General allowed him to live quite comfortably, thanks to the shadow of his father's legacy.

Whether it was the Two Great Martial Arts Halls or the HR Alliance, as long as their fundamental interests weren't involved, they generally wouldn't bother calculating against Chu Tianxiong.

Chu Tianxiong couldn't forget the past and didn't want to join the Two Great Martial Arts Halls, nor did he want Chu He to join them, so the two halls simply obliged his wishes.

However, this special privilege clearly couldn't be passed down indefinitely.

This time, whether it was out of gratitude toward Elder Chu or his friendship with Chu Tianxiong, Hu Yonghua had agreed to show the newcomer, Chu He, the ropes.

Chu He wasn't joining his Jackal Squad.

Rather, it was Hu Yonghua's Jackal Squad taking a newcomer out to familiarize him with the wilderness.

The members of the Jackal Squad were all well aware of this.

If he were an ordinary person, how could he possibly have the prestige to have an Elite War General squad act as his babysitters while he was only an Intermediate Warrior?

Therefore, within this Jackal Squad, aside from Hu Yonghua, who would occasionally exchange a few words with Chu He, and Chu Yunpeng, who would cast curious glances his way, the other three didn't even share eye contact with him.

"Stop arguing," Hu Yonghua said, his expression blank.

Chu Yunpeng and the other three fell silent.

"Just watch. We'll talk after we see how Chu He handles this fight against the One-horned Iron Rhino."

Seeing the One-horned Iron Rhino charging toward the car where he was hiding, Chu He felt his blood boil and dashed out to the side.

BOOM!

The car he had been hiding behind was sent flying, tumbling repeatedly across the highway.

The car body, weathered by decades of exposure, shattered into several pieces. The wheels even detached, rolling along the highway for quite a while before finally coming to a stop.

Nearby, Chu He had already doubled back the moment he dodged. His eyes glinted with a cold light, locked firmly onto the pulsing artery in the neck of the One-horned Iron Rhino.

He shot forward like a bolt of lightning. The Jueying Battle Blade in his hand instantly unleashed a streak of cold light, slashing toward the neck of the One-horned Iron Rhino.

"Die!"

At that moment, Chu He rotated his body with the agility of a butterfly, converting all his forward momentum into blade speed.

He struck in an instant!

The blade light accelerated, carving a beautiful arc through the air!

"Puchi!"

Fast as lightning, this rotating strike landed directly on the neck artery of the One-horned Iron Rhino.

In that instant, through the tactile feedback from the blade, Chu He clearly felt the hardness and toughness of the One-horned Iron Rhino's hide.

Bright red blood seeped out.

Chu He's blade had only managed to hack about five or six centimeters into the neck of the One-horned Iron Rhino before it could go no further.

However, it was enough!

"Bang!"

"ROAR!"

"Hiss..."

The One-horned Iron Rhino swayed and collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The dirt thrown up by its four hooves echoed with its frantic, dying roars.

From its neck artery, a fountain of blood erupted.

In that instant, Chu He suddenly sensed that within this geyser of blood, there seemed to be...

The presence of spiritual energy?

"Could it be..."

Chu He's mind stirred. He prepared to slice open the One-horned Iron Rhino and carve out its heart.

If even its blood contained such a significant amount of spiritual energy, then the heart...

Wouldn't it be a top-tier ingredient for brewing wine!

Chu He gripped the Jueying Battle Blade, searching for the right spot to make his incision on the One-horned Iron Rhino.

"Little Chu, well done!"

Hu Yonghua's voice came from the distance.

This time, Hu Yonghua was genuinely surprised.

The agile reactions and the skillful blade techniques were actually within Hu Yonghua's expectations.

With Old Chu providing personal guidance, it wasn't strange for him to achieve this.

However, that fluid, instinctive decision-making in the heat of the moment was the true manifestation of combat awareness.

This was something that could not be taught.

Only those who had operated in the Wilderness Zone for a long time could develop such a habit of thought.

Meteor Spear Chu Yunpeng, whose gaze had been locked onto Chu He, also shifted his expression to one of praise, relaxing slightly.

Yang Yi, Pang Song, and Wei Xiaoping's cold expressions thawed somewhat.

At the very least, Chu He had proven that he wasn't a coward.

Bringing this Chu He along to hunt Beast General Rank monsters would be no problem.

For the sake of Old Man Chu Jingfeng, as long as it didn't affect their earnings, bringing along a newcomer was fine.

"Uncle Hu..." Chu He ran back, carrying the One-horned Iron Rhino's heart, its horn, and its tendons. "These materials..."

"They're all yours." Hu Yonghua waved his hand, then watched as Chu He wrapped up the bloody heart, asking curiously, "The horn and tendons are easy enough; they are materials purchased by the HR Alliance. But this rhino heart... what are you planning to do with it?"

"Oh, I plan to try using it to brew some wine." Chu He didn't even look up as he packed the One-horned Iron Rhino's heart into his backpack.

Just the moment he touched the heart, that dense spiritual energy had been fully revealed.

Chu He didn't even need to channel it into the White Jade Wine Pot; his mind had automatically analyzed it clearly.

It was precisely because among the spiritual energies of those dozens of medicinal herbs, about six or seven types happened to be perfectly compatible with the rich and abundant spiritual energy within this heart.

Using this heart as the base, supplemented by White Jade Ginseng, Rhodiola, and Monotropa Uniflora, and adding a few blending ingredients, he could brew a transcendent, side-effect-free spirit: Red Blood Wine.

Accelerate the circulation of Vital Energy and amplify training effects.

It is effective for all martial artists below the War General level.

"I wonder if only the heart of this One-horned Iron Rhino is useful, or if the hearts of all monsters have an effect?"

"Also, it only works for martial artists below the War General level... If I were to use the heart of a higher-level monster, I wonder if it could have an effect on those at the War General level?"

On the dilapidated highway, the shadow of the off-road vehicle was stretched extremely long by the setting sun.

Amidst the gradually fading roars of beasts, Chu He's spirits soared.

"It seems that coming to this Wilderness Zone... was truly the right choice!"