Orange Alert

Faced with such abundant cultivation resources, Mo Xie was stunned at first, then fell silent.

He felt neither excited nor thrilled. Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something.

"Well? Isn't your master's wife good to you?"

Shao Hongying blinked at him with an expression that practically said Praise me already, then smiled.

"See? I told you we'd get the resources today, but you didn't believe me," Zu Xingyi said with a smile.

After a moment of silence, Mo Xie looked up at him and asked in confusion,

"Why did you tell me all that?"

"Why? Do you even have to ask? I'm your master!"

Zu Xingyi paused, then answered as though it were obvious.

Because he's my master... is that it?

Those words left Mo Xie silent again. Touched despite himself, he tightened his grip on the Spatial Ring.

"Thank you, Master's Wife."

Mo Xie looked at Shao Hongying with clear eyes and thanked her sincerely.

"Hehe, that's more like it~~"

Shao Hongying smiled sweetly and patted Mo Xie's head.

"Hey, what about me?"

Zu Xingyi gave Mo Xie a disgruntled look, making it clear he wanted thanks too.

Mo Xie shot him a sidelong glance and said without mercy,

"Ask me again when you give me something yourself."

After chatting with Zu Xingyi and Shao Hongying a while longer, Mo Xie left.

The couple rarely got a chance to see each other. If he kept hanging around, wouldn't he just be a third wheel?

Back at the dormitory, he changed into casual clothes and lay on his bed to take stock of his vast haul of cultivation resources.

He now had plenty of resources for the Lightning, Fire, and Ice Elements. He hadn't been particularly short of them to begin with—Chenxi's business holdings were no joke.

But there was no such thing as too many cultivation resources, and he wasn't about to turn down something free.

Besides, they were a gift from his master's wife. He had to accept them.

When Shao Hongying produced a Spatial Ring packed with cultivation resources, Mo Xie's heart had truly trembled.

He had known Shao Hongying for less than a day—about an hour, to be precise. Some people wouldn't even consider themselves friends after an hour, yet she had handed him all those cultivation resources without batting an eye, simply because he had called her his master's wife.

That was why Mo Xie felt genuinely grateful to Shao Qing.

Aside from resources for his three Elements, there were four Stardust Magic Tools, four Nebula Magic Tools, and one Star River Magic Tool.

Nine cultivation Magic Tools in all. Mo Xie laid them out on the table one by one.

He leaned back in his chair and lowered his head, eyes closed, lost in thought.

Suddenly, something strange happened!

The Qilin Pendant on his chest gave off a golden glow that shimmered across its golden surface.

Mo Xie noticed the disturbance and opened his eyes, only to squint against the dazzling light.

The Qilin Pendant slowly floated into the air and shot a beam of golden light straight at a Stardust Magic Tool.

The light enveloped the Stardust Magic Tool. The next instant, it cracked, and the luster on its surface vanished completely!

The Qilin Pendant kept firing beams at the other Stardust and Nebula Magic Tools.

Mo Xie didn't react at first. By the time his eyes adjusted to the light, only the Star River Magic Tool remained intact on the table.

Before another beam could fire, he snatched up the Star River Magic Tool and cried out,

"Hey, not this one!"

As if it had heard him, the Qilin Pendant let its golden light fade and returned to normal.

"What... what on earth was that?!"

Mo Xie stared in disbelief at the eight ruined Magic Tools on the table.

Eight perfectly good Magic Tools, gone just like that?

"Zero, what happened?"

[The Qilin Pendant hasn't absorbed any souls in a long time, so it was low on energy. It absorbed the energy from the Stardust and Nebula Magic Tools.]

"It can do that?"

He stared at the Qilin Pendant in shock, then looked at the Magic Tools on the table.

Why did you have to be so picky...?

Mo Xie sighed, unable to put his frustration into words.

It seemed he would have to make time to kill some Demon Beasts. He couldn't let the Qilin Pendant go hungry, after all.

Fortunately, the Star River Magic Tool had survived. If that had been drained too, he would have had a hard time explaining it to his master's wife.

Compared with the Stardust and Nebula Magic Tools on the table, the Star River Magic Tool was vastly more effective.

A Star River Magic Tool could still be used at the Advanced Level, even the Super Level. No matter how much money Mo Xie had, he couldn't afford to waste one like that!

After clearing away the debris, he sat cross-legged on the bed, took some resources from the Spatial Ring, and began cultivating.

With so many resources, he was unlikely to run short for the Lightning, Fire, or Ice Elements before reaching the Advanced Level.

But Mo Xie had no intention of using them carelessly. He needed to plan ahead.

He knew he couldn't grow strong overnight. Cultivation took time, and he had to advance steadily, step by step.

It was especially important to build a solid foundation at the Beginner and Intermediate Levels.

Anyone could pile on resources to raise their cultivation, all the way to the peak of the Super Level.

But cultivation gained that way would never be as solid as strength earned through steady progress and breakthroughs in real combat.

So over the next month, Mo Xie had Zu Xingyi and Shao Hongying take him beyond the Safe Zone to seek out Demon Beasts to fight.

Of course, they only looked for ordinary Servant Level Demon Beasts.

Mo Xie knew his own limits. Seeking out stronger Demon Beasts would be asking to die.

With Zu Xingyi and Shao Hongying protecting him, though, even a powerful Demon Beast couldn't lay a finger on him.

The moment Shao Hongying saw Mo Xie's distinctive fighting style, her beautiful eyes lit up with excitement. She spent every day at his side, begging him to teach her.

How could Mo Xie refuse a request from his beautiful master's wife? He carefully showed her a few tricks.

Not long afterward, he watched Shao Hongying form a Fire Blade in her hand and wield it with the same technique he used. He fell into thought.

So that's what a Fire Element calamity bearer is capable of...

That was the conclusion Mo Xie reached.

He also took the opportunity to get a Hunter Certificate. Snow Peak Mountain Station had plenty of bounties, and he could try taking some on.

Between cultivation and hunting Demon Beasts, the month-long break drew to a close before he knew it.

Late one night, darkness covered Snow Peak Mountain Station, and all was quiet.

All at once, an alarm rang out across the station, loud enough to shake the silence.

Mo Xie was a light sleeper and woke with a start.

Even a heavy sleeper would have woken up. The alarm was simply too loud.

Mo Xie didn't know what had happened, but he quickly dressed and left the dormitory.

The corridor was full of uniformed Military Mages rushing back and forth, all heading downstairs.

Mo Xie ran out of the dormitory building and looked at the station, now thoroughly "awake."

Dazzling red lights flashed throughout the station, lending it an eerie air. Tension hung everywhere.

The Military Mages had already formed ranks. Their faces were grim, and they radiated a fierce readiness for battle.

They marched in orderly lines at a rapid pace, all heading in the same direction.

Suddenly, beyond a mountain, a bright orb of light pierced the mist and blazed in midair.

Light Shine was a Beginner Level skill of Light Element Mages. Within the Military Mages, Light Element Mages played a vital role in relaying information and marking locations.

It was also an alert signal!

"Orange Alert?!"

Mo Xie stared at the distant Light Shine, his heart sinking.

An Orange Alert meant at least several hundred Demon Beasts were roaming the area!

Mo Xie broke into a run, following the main force toward the distant light.