Failure

Finally.

Shi Fen sought out nearly a hundred monsters of various levels and breeds for one-on-one combat, only to discover the unique nature of his Perfect-level movement technique.

Shi Fen's conscious processing power was simply too immense. During combat, he calculated every piece of information with absolute clarity; combined with his Spiritual Master level—which reached that of an invincible War God—his sensory perception and reaction speed were far too sharp.

Even without using his Spiritual Force, he fought with effortless ease. Shi Fen's astonishing information-processing capability had forged a unique, Perfect-level movement technique.

This made it impossible for Shi Fen to truly start from scratch and hone his blade techniques.

Being too strong is also a kind of trouble.

Shi Fen abandoned the idea of practicing his blade work. Instead, he used his Spiritual Force to unleash over a dozen flying knives, slaughtering the monsters in a frenzy. As a result, Shi Fen obtained a massive amount of monster materials, piling them up into a peak inside his World Ring.

Shi Fen intended to pack these monster materials up and bring them back to provide raw materials for "Three Stones" to research Kro Alloy. Shi Fen had given Shi Tie his word that he would bring back a large quantity of monster materials. If not for this excuse, Shi Tie would never have let Shi Fen out.

The monsters in County 0231 were all struck by terrible luck, being mercilessly blood-washed by Shi Fen.

Around noon.

"The monster materials should be enough."

Shi Fen sent Hong a video of sewer-dwelling rat monsters gathering. The video was something Shi Fen had "accidentally" recorded while using his Spiritual Force, having discovered the massive gathering of sewer rats and recording it quietly out of suspicion.

Shi Fen dialed Hong's number.

"Big Brother, I discovered a massive gathering of rat monsters underground here in County 0231. I've sent you the video; could a beast tide be about to break out?"

"What are you doing there?" Hong's puzzled voice came through.

"Heh, my family wants to try manufacturing Kro Alloy, so they sent me out to collect materials," Shi Fen explained.

"Oh, I see. Don't hang up, let me look at the video." Hong suddenly realized. For a Spiritual Master with the strength of an invincible War God like Shi Fen, only the need to collect low-level monster materials would bring him to such a small county.

"Mm, alright."

Hong suddenly said, "It really might be a beast tide. There are quite a lot of rats gathered there. You stay on guard for now; if a beast tide breaks out, you might be able to save some people. I'll send someone to verify it, and if it's nothing, I'll notify you."

"Understood." Shi Fen agreed without hesitation.

Hong's efficiency was swift.

Hong immediately dispatched a War God squad to conduct an on-site inspection.

Shi Fen waited on the spot for about 20 minutes when his communication bracelet suddenly flashed red, emitting a danger warning: "A rat tide is highly likely to occur at your current location. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous. Please evacuate immediately, evacuate immediately."

Shi Fen smiled slightly; today's matter was successfully resolved.

The large number of martial artists gathered in County 0231, upon receiving this information, immediately packed their belongings and bolted toward the supply base.

The communication bracelet vibrated again; it was a call from Hong. Shi Fen answered immediately.

"Alright, you can head back. I've sent fighter jets to stand by in the vicinity. If those stinking rats dare to stir up trouble, they'll get what's coming to them. If a beast tide really breaks out today, I'll credit you with a merit, haha." Hong's hearty laughter echoed from the receiver.

"I'm not short on money, no need for merit," Shi Fen replied quickly.

"I wasn't going to give you money anyway, it's just a title," Hong's laughter grew even warmer.

"Fine, I don't care about that anyway."

After the two ended the call, Shi Fen found an empty, deserted room and poured out the massive quantity of monster materials from his World Ring.

Using small tools, Shi Fen stitched various monster hides together to create a giant hide sack, stuffing the vast amount of materials inside to form a bundle the size of a small room.

Carrying the enormous bundle on his back, Shi Fen set off on the return journey.

On the way back, Shi Fen's massive bundle was far too conspicuous, and many martial artists who had received the news and were retreating noticed him. No one dared to approach him; Shi Fen's strength was evident at a glance, and no one would provoke a powerhouse carrying such vast wealth without reason.

Reaching the supply base smoothly, Shi Fen submitted two sets of intermediate beast general materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, earning some money and contribution points. The remaining monster materials would be delivered to his home by specialized personnel.

Shi Fen's strength was finally updated, officially becoming an intermediate War General martial artist.

Shi Fen did not wait for Luo Feng here and boarded the train back immediately. He had promised his father that after returning home that evening, he would teach them how to manufacture Kro Alloy.

After dinner that evening.

The ten tons of Blue Gold Shi Fen had ordered previously arrived at the same time as the monster materials shipped today. Shi Fen finished the forging quickly, left his father and brother to their deep contemplation, and went to deliver the new blade to Luo Feng.

When the new Youquan Blade was delivered, Luo Feng was overjoyed to see that the quality of the identical blade was actually a grade higher.

Luo Feng was extremely famous now, though his title was a bit strange.

"Madman with the Youquan Blade."

Luo Feng didn't care about this at all; those people were simply envious that he possessed a Youquan Blade.

After Luo Feng returned home and learned that Shi Fen had helped his family improve their strength, coupled with the new Youquan Blade, he felt incredibly guilty. Despite Shi Fen's protests, Luo Feng insisted on paying him.

In the end, Shi Fen gave in to Luo Feng's persistence. Only after accepting the 30 million from Luo Feng did he receive permission from Luo Feng's family to leave.

Returning home that night.

Shi Fen contacted his master to request help.

Having used his master's forging room, Shi Fen had discovered many advanced and practical devices. He shamelessly borrowed his master's connections to "take out a loan" from him, purchasing a set of identical forging equipment, intending to build a cutting-edge forging room for Three Stones.

This way, whenever Shi Fen returned, he would have a place to forge. The "high-level" forging room he had built previously could not withstand the strength of a high-level War God.

The next day.

Shi Fen put away all his electronic devices and spent cash at the market to buy an unregistered, assembled mobile phone that could navigate. Shi Fen intended to use this phone for positioning and navigation.

This would prevent any information leaks.

And keep his whereabouts from being exposed.

Shi Fen activated the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, which shot into the sky and transformed into a streak of light, flying at hypersonic speeds, well over ten times the speed of sound.

Upon arriving at the Australian Continent.

Shi Fen connected his Spiritual Force to the detection function of the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, and a massive amount of information flooded his mind. Everything within a radius of one thousand kilometers was laid bare before his eyes.

I never expected this; not only did I find Mist Island, but I've also discovered the Black Ink Star Ship.

Surprised and delighted, Shi Fen steered the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror straight toward his target. It seems the detection capabilities of the Black Ink Star Ship's small probes aren't as strong as my Black Mirror's.

This was an unexpected bonus.

Reaching the vicinity of Mist Island, Shi Fen emerged from the Treasure Refining World and, avoiding various lurking monsters, carefully entered the island.

Shi Fen monitored the activity inside the ship at every moment.

Shi Fen stood there for a long time, but there was no reaction whatsoever...

It seems I'll have to make some noise. Shi Fen glanced at the nine towering willow trees, though he had no intention of dealing with them just yet. He found several lord-level monsters, engaged them in fierce combat, and only after killing them with his flying knives did he "brutally" dissect the monster materials.

Hmm? Why is there still no reaction?

Shi Fen went on to challenge the Spirits of Vegetation.

There was no change inside the ship, let alone any sign of Babata.

Refusing to believe it, Shi Fen went to pick a fight with the nine willow trees. He didn't take their willow hearts; he did it purely to create a bigger commotion.

The interior of the ship remained as it was.

Gritting his teeth, Shi Fen directly boarded the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror to provoke the Cloud-Touching Vine deep underground. The Cloud-Touching Vine was enraged and immediately began lashing out with vines several kilometers long, constantly attacking everything in its surroundings.

The interior of the ship remained as it was.

Damn it, even that didn't get a reaction. Shi Fen was truly getting anxious.

He had gone through all the trouble of deciding to stir things up and prepare to deal with Babata, only to find that Babata seemed to be in a deep slumber, completely unaware of anything happening in the outside world.

Completely exasperated, Shi Fen turned into a mischievous brat, "fanning the flames" and "stirring up trouble" all over Mist Island. He spent the entire day from morning until night wreaking havoc, and every creature on Mist Island with any shred of strength was harassed by him.

It was still useless...

It seems I came too early; Babata must be in hibernation. Come to think of it, if Babata hadn't been hibernating, it would have set its sights on Luo Feng the first time he came here, rather than waiting until his second visit to choose him.

Shi Fen had spent the day tossing and turning, feeling both angry and exhausted.

In the end, he indignantly plucked a few Spirits of Vegetation that were not easily noticed, boarded the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, and began his journey home.

It seems I still have to rely on Luo Feng. Shi Fen felt helpless; he felt he just didn't have that kind of luck.

However, this trip wasn't a total loss. Shi Fen had dug up a total of nine Spirits of Vegetation, seven of which were hidden in extremely concealed locations. When those other people come next time, the Spirits of Vegetation on the surface will still be there. The people who come to harvest later won't discover that anyone had visited this place before them.

It's just a pity for those desperate martial artists...

After returning home, Shi Fen focused on teaching his father and brother how to forge Kro Alloy. He didn't touch the private secret recipes belonging to Elder Qian; he only taught the widely publicized techniques of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. These public techniques were just right for helping the two of them get started.

Shi Fen firmly believed that with his own strength, once he helped Elder Qian break through, he could make a request while the elder was in a good mood. In the future, Three Stones wouldn't have to worry about lacking good techniques to learn.

More than two months after Shi Fen went to Mist Island.

Babata woke up from its slumber right on schedule; today was the day it checked for changes on Mist Island.

Babata discovered the changes outside and was immediately shocked. Compared to when it had last awakened, the island was now a complete mess, as if it had experienced countless great battles. After questioning the Cloud-Touching Vine outside, Babata learned that a perverted Spiritual Master had come to the island earlier, manipulating many flying knives to stir up trouble everywhere and even specifically provoking it. The Cloud-Touching Vine couldn't do anything about the person, who had managed to slip away unscathed.

The free-roaming Cloud-Touching Vine had weak strength and limited consciousness, so it could only tell Babata the general gist of what happened.

Upon receiving the feedback from the Cloud-Touching Vine, Babata trembled with excitement. "A genius Spiritual Master has appeared on Earth; I am finally close to freedom. He took nine Spirits of Vegetation—he must be someone who knows their value. Once he uses them up, he will definitely come back!"

Babata waited excitedly inside the ship, anticipating the return of the genius.

Unfortunately, Shi Fen was unaware of this.

Shi Fen continued to proceed step-by-step according to his original plan.