After collecting the blood essence, Jiang Lan picked up his long saber again, drove it into the Ironback Wolf King's skull, and stirred it around.
A moment later, he pried out a deep-red Beast Core nearly twice the size of a Tier-One Crystal Core.
The second-tier Beast Core was dark red throughout, its surface giving off a faint glow. It felt heavy in his hand, noticeably heavier than a Tier-One Crystal Core.
Jiang Lan examined it for a few seconds, then carefully tucked it into his backpack.
Second-Tier Essence Blood sold for twelve thousand a vial, and a second-tier Beast Core was even more expensive. It had to be worth twenty or thirty thousand.
The haul from this Ironback Wolf King alone was worth more than all the dozen or so Ironback Wolves he had killed before it combined.
After putting everything away, Jiang Lan checked his watch.
Just in time. It was almost time to regroup.
He stretched a little, took a few deep breaths, and turned toward the Rally Point.
Despite the tough battle he had just fought, he really hadn't suffered any injuries. At most, he had taken a beating and felt a little sore.
The trip back was much easier. Jiang Lan moved at a brisk pace, and within a little over ten minutes, the Rally Point came into view.
From a distance, Jiang Lan spotted the members of First Squad.
They saw him too.
The smile on Zhao Gang's face froze instantly. Shen Qingqiu's expression changed even more drastically, and he hurried over to Jiang Lan, grabbed his arm, and checked him from head to toe.
It was no wonder Shen Qingqiu was nervous.
Jiang Lan looked downright pitiful.
His combat uniform had several large tears, with strips of fabric dangling from him. He could have passed for a beggar without even changing clothes.
But a closer look revealed that although he looked bedraggled, he wasn't actually injured.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, no." Jiang Lan hurriedly waved his hand. "It's just my clothes. I'm fine, really."
Frowning, Shen Qingqiu examined him thoroughly. Only after confirming that Jiang Lan truly had no wounds did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then his face darkened again.
"How did you end up like this?"
Jiang Lan took the second-tier Beast Core, glowing deep red, out of his backpack and held it on his palm in front of Shen Qingqiu.
"I ran into a big one."
Shen Qingqiu looked down at the Beast Core in Jiang Lan's hand, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
"A second-tier Beast Core?"
Zhao Gang came over too. The instant he saw the Beast Core, he froze.
"You killed a second-tier ferocious beast?"
"An Ironback Wolf King," Jiang Lan said. "Pretty big, but after fighting it for a while, I beat it to death."
Zhao Gang's mouth fell open and stayed that way for a long time.
A second-tier ferocious beast took two or three Meridian Opening warriors working together to handle, and Jiang Lan had just beaten one to death all by himself?
The corner of his mouth twitched. In the end, he could only shake his head and exclaim.
"Buddy, you're seriously fucking amazing."
Shen Qingqiu held the Beast Core and studied it for a few seconds, then looked at Jiang Lan with a complicated expression.
"Did you get anything else besides this one?"
"Yes," Jiang Lan said. "Eleven Ironback Wolves. Their Beast Cores and blood essence are all in my backpack."
Shen Qingqiu was speechless for a long time.
Zhao Gang took even longer to recover.
He genuinely had no idea what to say.
Two hours. Eleven first-tier ferocious beasts, plus one Second-Tier Ferocious Beast...
The entirety of First Squad had only killed five Ironback Wolves in over two hours.
Was this guy even human?
"Buddy... you..."
Jiang Lan smiled.
"I just got lucky."
Zhao Gang looked utterly speechless.
How the fuck could luck explain this?
Shen Qingqiu paused, then handed the second-tier Beast Core back to Jiang Lan and said:
"Put it away. We'll head out once the other squads get back."
Before long, the other two squads returned one after another.
After taking a head count and confirming there were no casualties, Shen Qingqiu waved his hand.
"Get in. We're heading back to the base city."
The vehicle was silent on the way back.
After a long while, Shen Qingqiu glanced at Jiang Lan in the passenger seat and asked:
"Your ability is improving a little too quickly. Even for a special talent, this rate of improvement isn't normal."
Jiang Lan was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
"Maybe it's because I've used a lot of blood essence, so I'm improving a little faster."
The corner of Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitched.
"If using more blood essence made you improve this fast, wouldn't everyone just drink it like water?"
For a moment, Jiang Lan had no idea how to respond.
He couldn't exactly tell his aunt that he had a system and could keep leveling up as long as he had enough blood essence.
Shen Qingqiu seemed to realize that Jiang Lan didn't want to say more. After a brief silence, he stopped pressing and simply said calmly:
"If there are things you don't want to tell me, I won't force you. But you need to know your own limits."
Looking at the road ahead, he said quietly:
"Don't charge into everything just because your defense is high. Second-tier ferocious beasts aren't a joke. It's good that you won today, but what if you run into something stronger one day?"
Jiang Lan nodded earnestly.
"I understand, Auntie. I'll be careful."
Shen Qingqiu said nothing more and focused on driving.
Jiang Lan leaned back in his seat, watching the scenery fly past the window, his feelings mixed.
He knew his aunt wasn't blaming him. He was genuinely worried.
And he was right. Jiang Lan couldn't let his high defense make him think he had nothing to fear.
The indestructible diamond body was powerful, but it didn't truly make him invincible.
At least, not yet.
A little while later, the vehicle returned to the City Guard compound.
Jiang Lan had only tagged along, so naturally, he didn't have to hand over his spoils.
Still, Jiang Lan felt bad about always getting a free ride. After some thought, he took out five Beast Cores and gave them to Shen Qingqiu to distribute among the others.
Although the Ferocious Beasts were all killed by him, the others were bound to complain if he never shared anything.
Jiang Lan himself didn't care, but Shen Qingqiu was their captain, after all.
Over time, it would put Shen Qingqiu in an awkward position.
Besides, Jiang Lan had no use for the Beast Cores, so he didn't mind giving a few away.
As long as he kept the lion's share, that was enough.
Once everything was settled, Jiang Lan said goodbye to Zhao Gang and the others, then got into Shen Qingqiu's car and headed home.
The first thing Jiang Lan did after getting home was return to his room and arrange the vials of blood essence neatly on his desk.
He had ten vials left from before, plus the eleven he had obtained today.
He still needed forty-three more to level up.
Even if he waited another month for the academy to issue another thirty vials, he would still be three short of leveling up.
It seemed he still had to venture outside the city.
Next month was too far away. Every moment counted.
Jiang Lan put away the blood essence, silently thinking things over.
Once he reached the eighth level, his attributes would increase even more, and his combat strength would take another qualitative leap.
By then, second-tier ferocious beasts probably wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.
Pulling his thoughts back, Jiang Lan silently shook his head.
The road to getting stronger was still long and arduous...
Forget it. Things were what they were. Time to eat first.
With that thought, Jiang Lan stood up and opened his bedroom door.
"Auntie, what's for dinner tonight?"