A vicious gleam flashed through the snake king's purple eyes. Silver lightning flickered around its body as it shot toward Yun Che like an arrow. At the same time, several curved lightning blades formed and slashed at him from every direction.
Yun Che's gaze sharpened slightly. Purple lightning flashed beneath his feet, and he repeatedly unleashed the "Swift" sword form of Frost Heaven with the Radiant Annihilation Sword. Threadlike sword rays collided with the snake king's lightning blades, producing a string of explosive crashes.
The human and snake moved at incredible speed, purple and silver lightning constantly intertwining. Both Yun Che and the snake king were astonished by the other's speed.
"You're only in the late grandmaster realm, yet your movement speed rivals a king realm expert's. You certainly live up to your reputation as a Variant Snake with the potential to become a dragon."
Yun Che praised it aloud, his determination to tame it growing firmer.
He did not know that the snake king was every bit as shocked as he was. Judging by his spiritual energy, the human before it was merely in the early innate realm.
Yet he possessed such terrifying speed at that cultivation level. Without question, he must have cultivated a rare, high-grade movement technique-and mastered it to perfection.
Within the spacious snake cavern, two streaks of lightning crossed and collided again and again. Neither seemed able to get the better of the other.
Just then, however, the snake king suddenly froze. A ring of tiny stars appeared around its head, and its three-meter-long white body went rigid and dropped from midair.
Yun Che seized the opening, rushed forward, and slammed a vicious punch into its body.
"Nine-Force Mountain River Fist!"
With a loud bang, the snake king took the blow squarely before it could recover from its dizziness.
Although it was only a mid-grade combat technique, the snake king suffered a substantial injury because it had been caught completely off guard.
The essence of the Nine-Force Mountain River Fist lay in its "force." At perfect mastery, nine layers of force erupted one after another inside the snake king.
The snake king had just regained its senses and tried to rise when a mouthful of blood gushed from its jaws. Its aura rapidly weakened. It lay half-sprawled on the ground, glaring at the nearby human with resentment and defiance, as though calling him "despicable."
Yun Che paid it no mind. He walked slowly up to it and looked down, saying calmly, "With your intelligence, you should understand that if that punch had struck a vital point, you would already be dead."
"I could have killed you with a single sword strike, but I didn't. You should understand my intentions. With my abilities, I should be more than qualified to be your master."
"I'll give you ten breaths to consider. Either accept me as your master and sign a master-servant contract, or I'll kill you with one sword strike right now, and you'll vanish from this world."
A trace of hesitation flashed through the snake king's eyes. Five breaths later, silver contract seals unfurled beneath Yun Che and the snake king, rotating beneath them.
Ding! The Thunderclap Dragon Snake has proposed an equal contract. Do you accept?
Yun Che frowned slightly. He thought this creature was rather proud, preferring death to signing a master-servant contract.
After a little thought, Yun Che agreed to the equal contract. After all, this creature was a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy among snakes and a future divine dragon. He might as well give it a little more freedom!
Ding! Equal contract successfully signed. Congratulations on obtaining a pet: Thunderclap Dragon Snake.
Yun Che nodded in satisfaction. While feeding it a Healing Pill, he also took the opportunity to use Divine Hand.
It was a powerful monster in the late grandmaster realm, after all. It would have been a shame not to try grabbing something from it.
Ding! Successful grab. Congratulations on obtaining 100 Agility.
Yun Che's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He had struck it lucky again.
With his current agility, using Thunder Shadow Divine Movement would let him utterly outclass it in speed.
Looking at the white snake, which had recovered a little, Yun Che asked, "Can you make yourself smaller?"
The Thunderclap Dragon Snake nodded and rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it was only as thick as a finger and twenty centimeters long, looking considerably cuter.
With a whoosh and a flash of silver lightning, the Thunderclap Dragon Snake slipped inside Yun Che's robes to continue recovering.
Yun Che was quite pleased with his gains. With a smile in his eyes, he strolled over to the wall and gathered the Snake Fruit growing on the low plants, each resembling a red strawberry.
Snake Fruit was poisonous when eaten raw, but it was one of the main ingredients for refining Fourth-Grade Grandmaster Pills, making it quite valuable.
After leaving the snake cavern, Yun Che hurried toward the Diamond Treasure Chest's location.
It was already around three in the afternoon. He had to return to Falling Moon City before the gates closed.
It was not because he wanted to participate in the city's defense. King realm combatants would decide the outcome of this battle; it was not his place to intervene yet.
His main reason for hurrying back was the gathering of powerful experts. This was an excellent opportunity to use Divine Hand, and he could not afford to miss it.
Half an hour later, Yun Che finally reached the place where the Diamond Treasure Chest was hidden.
It seemed to be a ruined tomb. Countless vines sprawled unchecked, and an air of decay permeated the surroundings.
Through the broken tomb entrance, he could faintly make out a green jade sarcophagus. Whether it contained an undead corpse was anyone's guess.
The Diamond Treasure Chest sat quietly right in front of the sarcophagus, covered in a thick layer of dust.
Yun Che knew about this Diamond Treasure Chest not because he had visited during the closed beta, but because its location had been publicly disclosed by the game's developers.
There were seven such chests in total, all placed in deadly locations. The message was obvious: they had given the players the information; whether they could claim the chests depended on their own abilities.
"Other than the poisonous miasma, there doesn't seem to be a single trap around here."
Frowning, Yun Che advanced cautiously. In the end, he actually reached the Diamond Treasure Chest without encountering a single mishap.
He gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Looks like I was overthinking it. Almost no one can reach the depths of the Poison Miasma Snake Forest. Why bother setting traps that would serve no purpose?"
With a wave of his hand, Yun Che put the chest into his game inventory.
Compared with a precious item like a storage ring, he still trusted the game inventory that seemingly only he possessed.
"Could there be another chest inside this green jade sarcophagus?"
"No! There could also be an actual undead corpse, perhaps even one at the king realm."
Yun Che found himself torn again. Reason told him to quit while he was ahead. Even if there was only a one-percent chance of danger inside, it was not worth the gamble.
This was not a game anymore, but the real world. One wrong step, and if his health fell to zero, he would die.
But coffins meant riches, buddy!
If I don't open it and look for myself, it'll feel like a kitten scratching at my heart. That itch will be unbearable!
"With my current escape speed, even if I really encounter a king realm undead corpse, getting away shouldn't be a problem."
Having made his decision, Yun Che began pushing the lid. It was very heavy, but with his current strength, the thick lid still slowly began to shift.
Crrrk! Crrrk, crrrk!
Deep within the silent, poisonous forest, the scraping of the coffin lid sounded especially unsettling.
After opening a narrow gap, Yun Che shot backward as though electrocuted. Only after confirming that nothing unexpected had happened did he step forward to keep pushing the lid.
Several minutes later, the lid was fully open, and he finally saw what lay inside.
It was actually...
Before you continue