Chen Ming picked up the Rock-Shattering Blade and tried swinging it a few times.
Whoosh...
The blade swept through the air with a faint hum.
At the same time, a spark of pale flame streaked through the void.
A wave of heat burst through the air.
It quickly dwindled into embers and vanished.
"Finally, my basic attacks aren't so plain and boring anymore!"
The change wasn't huge. All he'd gained was a little fiery flair.
But at least it was a promising start.
"It's a shame. I wish this Azure Flame could give me a little more."
Though [Azure Flame Flowing Fire] was incredibly rare, dozens of times more potent than a Mind Crystal,
Chen Ming was still a long way from his goal.
After all, awakening a mental skill by absorbing attribute energy was a deep, deep rabbit hole.
"Now that I think about it, thoroughly searching every inch of the place probably isn't realistic."
Finding such a rare resource in an outdoor instance was already a stroke of good luck.
Even so, Chen Ming had only managed to scrape together a single layer.
If anyone else had been in his shoes, they might not have reached his current progress even by level twenty, let alone level ten.
"Once I've claimed my Grand Exam rewards, I'll just awaken the skill."
Chen Ming made up his mind.
It wasn't that he didn't want to pursue perfection.
It was that this thing was a bottomless pit.
After putting away the Rock-Shattering Blade, Chen Ming glanced around.
The fog had thinned a little and no longer blocked his view.
After clearing the Cloud Hidden Ravine instance, the surrounding scenery had changed too.
The ground, which had once been covered in grass, was gone. In its place lay brown earth.
The ravine had returned to a desolate valley, shrouded in a faint mist.
An instance was essentially a special region that affected reality.
Once a small instance was cleared, the area returned to how it had been before.
That was why, when a Class Changer grew powerful enough to affect reality, he could create an instance with a single hand.
"Should I head back now?"
Chen Ming took out his phone and checked the time. It was already the middle of the night.
There was no signal out here, so the phone was only good for telling the time.
Chen Ming was still full of energy and didn't feel tired at all.
So staying in the Exotic Beast Forest to level up was still an option.
Just as he was wondering whether to head back to the city or keep leveling until dawn, something suddenly felt wrong.
The valley had gone quiet in an instant. Every faint sound had eerily vanished.
It wasn't the ordinary silence of night...
It was as if all creation had fallen silent. Even the slightest stir of wind or grass had disappeared. It was deeply unsettling.
At the same time, Chen Ming noticed that the mist in the vast valley was beginning to clear.
More precisely, some unknown force was pushing away the fog blanketing the entire region.
In just a few seconds, all the mist overhead had vanished.
Faint moonlight spilled over the valley once more.
"What's going on... What happened?"
The sight was more than a little strange.
Chen Ming looked up at the sky.
Then he saw a light.
A glow rose in the night sky. At first it was gentle, then it grew brighter and brighter.
At last, it hung overhead like a radiant full moon.
The valley had been rather dark before, its vast expanse swallowed by shadows.
But now it felt as if clouds had parted to reveal the world anew.
"Awooo—!"
Just then, a long, ringing wolf howl echoed through the night.
Chen Ming looked toward the distance. Unlike the forest, this valley had no towering trees to block the sky.
Bathed in moonlight, he could see far away.
On a distant mountain peak, a Giant Wolf threw back its head and howled.
By the moonlight, Chen Ming could just make out its shape.
It stood beneath the moon, as massive as a hill, yet still looked agile.
Its fur was streaked with white and blue, its body sparkling with tiny flecks of light.
Its head held high, it howled at the "bright moon."
Then Chen Ming saw it leap into the air, stepping on empty space as it rose into the sky.
"Yikes. That's terrifying..."
Chen Ming squinted at the sight.
It was flying!
That was an ability only level-forty Class Changers and above could possess.
Clearly, this was a terrifying Exotic Beast.
Nothing like the cannon fodder Chen Ming had encountered before.
Still, he couldn't help wondering: what was an Exotic Beast of this level doing here?
Though Chen Ming had ventured deep into the area, he was still near the very outskirts of the Exotic Beast Forest.
A disaster-level creature like this should be found much deeper in the forest, and would rarely stay near a human settlement.
It might not even appear in a Level One Beast Forest.
Awooo!
Before he could think it through, the Giant Wolf howled again.
It stood in the night sky, shining brightly beneath the moonlight, almost as if it were glowing.
"Why're you howling in the middle of the night?"
Chen Ming muttered under his breath.
He wasn't in the mood to watch a wolf howl all night. He was about to turn and leave the valley.
But the next instant, he sensed something and stopped in astonishment.
"What is this...?"
Chen Ming raised his head and looked at the night sky.
The Giant Wolf opened its jaws and began swallowing the Moonlight Essence overhead, bit by bit.
Its fur rippled in the air, and streams of white vapor poured from its body.
A searing heat began rising through the valley, growing more and more intense.
At last, waves of heat appeared in the night sky, gathering into swirling streams of pale flame.
"Pale Flame!"
Chen Ming's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
He hurriedly looked up.
The pale flames overhead seemed to form a vast sea of fire, a spectacular sight.
At its center, the flames swirled into a vortex. The one at its heart was the Giant Wolf.
In the sea of fire overhead, several wisps of flame fell from the night sky like fiery rain.
One of them was headed toward Chen Ming.
Watching this unfold, Chen Ming formed a guess.
Sure enough, that wisp of pale flame landed on the little earthen mound.
A scorching wave of heat rushed toward him.
"So this is how Azure Flame Flowing Fire is made!"
Chen Ming was utterly stunned.
He hurried over to inspect the pit.
The pit, which had been completely empty, was now burning with fresh flames.
They were much smaller than before, though—not enough to count as a "resource."
Clearly, they still needed time to accumulate before taking shape.
But this already explained a lot!
Such a rare resource could actually regenerate!
If the news got out, countless people would be drawn here.
But that wasn't what Chen Ming was thinking about now.
His breathing grew heavy. He slowly turned around and stared toward the Giant Wolf.
A single wisp falling from the sea of fire in the sky had been enough to form Azure Flame Flowing Fire.
And behind the Giant Wolf lay a vast expanse of Moonlight Essence and gathered Pale Flame.
If he could get all of it...
Chen Ming's heart raced.
His throat bobbed unconsciously.
He forced himself to calm down.
That Giant Wolf was at least level forty.
There was no way he could beat it.
His only option...
was to sneak in.
Please be advised that the VIP membership ad-free feature is now available in response to popular reader demand.
Click to view
Before you continue