"Captain, you're making Chu He face an almost E-Rank One-horned Iron Rhino in his very first fight. What if he gets hurt?" Chu Yunpeng couldn't help speaking up.
His tone sounded somewhat mocking, but his gaze remained fixed on Chu He.
"What's the big deal?" Wei Xiaoping replied coldly.
"If we don't put this Chu He to the test, are we really supposed to play nanny and take him on a little sightseeing trip around the Wilderness Zone?"
"But I just feel like this isn't quite right," Chu Yunpeng said, shaking his head.
"The captain's decision is fine," Pang Song said gravely. "Chu He won't be joining us."
"Exactly!" Yang Yi frowned. "I don't want him turning into dead weight."
"Otherwise, are we really going to bring a rookie like him along and give up on earning anything this trip, just because he won't be joining us?"
At that moment!
The veteran members of the Jackal Squad, still unaware that Chu He was a Spirit Reader, made their opinions of him perfectly clear.
Chu He's grandfather, Elder Chu Jingfeng, had once been known throughout Northeast Base City. Well, perhaps not by everyone, but at least a great many people still remembered him.
Even though Chu Tianxiong had failed to live up to expectations, his Intermediate War General strength, combined with the standing his father had earned, had still allowed him to live in relative comfort.
Whether it was the Two Great Martial Arts Halls or the HR Alliance, neither usually gave Chu Tianxiong a hard time unless their own fundamental interests were involved.
Chu Tianxiong couldn't forget the past. He didn't want to join either of the Two Great Martial Arts Halls, and he didn't want Chu He to join them either. So they had let him have his way.
But that special treatment clearly couldn't be passed down indefinitely.
This time, whether out of gratitude to Elder Chu or regard for his friendship with Chu Tianxiong...
Hu Yonghua had agreed to take the rookie Chu He along and show him the ropes.
Chu He wasn't joining the Jackal Squad.
Hu Yonghua's Jackal Squad was simply taking a rookie out to familiarize him with the Wilderness Zone.
Everyone in the Jackal Squad understood that.
An ordinary person wouldn't have had that kind of clout. How could an Intermediate Warrior get an Elite War General squad to babysit him?
That was why, aside from Hu Yonghua, who would exchange a few words with Chu He, and Chu Yunpeng, who occasionally gave him a curious look, the other three didn't even meet Chu He's eyes.
"Enough," Hu Yonghua said expressionlessly.
Chu Yunpeng and the other three fell silent.
"Let's watch Chu He's fight with the One-horned Iron Rhino before we say anything else."
As the One-horned Iron Rhino charged toward the car he was hiding behind, Chu He felt his blood surge and dashed to the side.
Crash!
The car that had been sheltering him was sent flying. It tumbled several times along the highway.
After decades of exposure to wind and sun, the car's body broke apart into several pieces. Its wheels came loose and rolled along the highway before finally falling still.
Chu He had already dodged clear. In the very next instant, he turned and charged back, his eyes glinting coldly as he fixed them on the pulsing artery in the One-horned Iron Rhino's neck.
He shot toward it like a streak of lightning. The Jueying Battle Blade in his hand flashed, slashing toward the creature's neck.
"Die!"
At that moment, Chu He spun with the agility of a butterfly, turning all the force of his charge into the speed of his blade.
His strike came in an instant!
The blade's gleam swept forward in a graceful arc, gathering speed as it went!
Squelch!
Fast as lightning, the spinning slash struck the artery in the One-horned Iron Rhino's neck.
Through the impact of his blade, Chu He could clearly feel how hard and tough the creature's hide was.
Bright red blood seeped out.
His blade had cut only five or six centimeters into the One-horned Iron Rhino's neck before it could go no farther.
But that was enough!
Thud!
Roar!
Hiss...
The One-horned Iron Rhino staggered and crashed to the ground, kicking up a ring of dust.
Dirt flew from its four hooves as its frantic roars echoed around them.
A fountain of blood burst from the severed artery in its neck.
At that moment, Chu He suddenly sensed something in the blood shooting into the air...
Spirit Machine?
Could it be...
Chu He's thoughts stirred. He was about to cut open the One-horned Iron Rhino and carve out its heart.
If the blood alone contained such a rich amount of Spirit Machine, then its heart...
Wouldn't it make excellent brewing material?
Holding the Jueying Battle Blade, Chu He searched for a place to cut into the One-horned Iron Rhino.
"Little Chu, well done!" Hu Yonghua called from a distance.
Even Hu Yonghua had genuinely been surprised.
Chu He's quick reflexes and practiced blade work had both been within his expectations.
With Old Chu personally training him, those things weren't surprising.
But that smooth, instinctive judgment in the heat of battle—that was what true combat sense looked like.
It wasn't something anyone could teach.
Only those who spent a long time operating in the Wilderness Zone could develop that kind of instinct.
Chu Yunpeng, whose gaze had been fixed on Chu He, now looked impressed and relaxed a little.
The cold expressions on Yang Yi, Pang Song, and Wei Xiaoping's faces eased.
At least Chu He had proved he wasn't a coward.
With Chu He along, they could still hunt Beast General Rank monsters without any trouble.
Out of respect for Elder Chu Jingfeng, they could take a rookie along as long as it didn't cut into their earnings.
"Uncle Hu..." Carrying the One-horned Iron Rhino's heart, horn, and tendon, Chu He ran back. "These materials..."
"They're all yours." Hu Yonghua waved a hand. Then, watching Chu He wrap up the bloody heart, he asked curiously, "The horn and tendon are easy enough to understand; the HR Alliance buys those. But what are you planning to do with the rhino's heart?"
"Oh, I'm going to try soaking this thing in wine." Without looking up, Chu He wrapped the One-horned Iron Rhino's heart and put it in his backpack.
The moment he had touched the heart, its dense Spirit Machine had fully revealed itself.
Chu He hadn't even needed to draw it into the White Jade Wine Pot. His mind had already finished analyzing it on its own.
That was because the Spirit Machine in six or seven of the dozens of medicinal ingredients he'd collected happened to complement the rich, abundant Spirit Machine in the heart.
Using the heart as the main ingredient, with White Jade Ginseng, Rhodiola, and Monotropa Uniflora as supporting ingredients, then adding a few others to balance the mixture, he could brew a completely harmless transcendent wine: Red Blood Wine.
It would speed up the circulation of Vital Energy and enhance training results.
It would work for all Warriors below the General Level.
I wonder if only the One-horned Iron Rhino's heart is useful, or if all monster hearts are.
And it only works for Warriors below the General Level... If I used the heart of a higher-ranked monster, would it work on General Level Warriors?
On the ruined highway, the Off-road Vehicle's shadow stretched long in the setting sun.
As the roars of the beasts gradually faded, Chu He's thoughts soared.
Looks like coming to the Wilderness Zone was definitely the right call!
Before you continue