Spoils

The Thunder-Horned Demon Ape was utterly enraged, lightning blazing from the golden horn on its forehead.

It opened its mouth and spat a thick pillar of lightning straight at Lin Jin.

Lin Jin was ready. His figure flickered, and he instantly vanished from the spot.

The lightning pillar struck where he had just stood, blasting a deep crater.

Lin Jin appeared on the other side and formed hand seals.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

He spat dozens of beams formed from wind-nature chakra, firing them at the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape like a machine gun.

Wind countered lightning.

The beams struck the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's lightning barrier, instantly triggering a violent energy reaction.

Under the interference of Wind Release, the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's lightning grew erratic, and cracks appeared across its barrier.

"Keep attacking!" Lin Jin said to the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger understood, releasing the arm in its jaws and lunging for the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's neck instead.

The Thunder-Horned Demon Ape tried to retaliate, but Lin Jin formed hand seals again.

"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"

Two massive mountains rose from the ground, closing in on the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape from either side.

Boom!!!

The mountains slammed into the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape, pinning it between them. It struggled desperately, bracing its arms against the mountains and letting out a sky-shaking roar.

But its legs were still trapped in the Yellow Spring Swamp, and its upper body was restrained by the Mountain Earth Technique, leaving it unable to move for the moment.

Seizing the opportunity, the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger leaped onto the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's head and sank its teeth into the golden horn.

Lightning erupted from the horn, making the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger tremble all over, but it refused to release its bite, furiously pouring in its own lightning at the same time.

The two currents of lightning collided and tore at each other inside the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape.

The Thunder-Horned Demon Ape let out a piercing scream, its eyes bloodshot. Its struggles grew stronger and stronger, and cracks began appearing in the earthen walls of the Mountain Earth Technique.

Seeing this, Lin Jin formed hand seals once more.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

He spat a massive ball of wind-nature chakra over five meters in diameter, sending it hurtling toward the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's chest with a shrill whistle.

The instant the Vacuum Great Sphere struck the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape, fierce winds burst outward, and its lightning barrier collapsed completely.

At the same time, the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger finally bit through the horn.

The moment the golden horn snapped, the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape let out an earth-shaking scream, and the lightning around its body abruptly dissipated.

All its strength drained away, and its body slumped limply into the Yellow Spring Swamp.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger gave it no chance to catch its breath, pouncing on it and biting through its throat.

Blood gushed out, staining the snow red.

The Thunder-Horned Demon Ape twitched a few times before finally dying.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger released its jaws and panted heavily. It had wounds all over its body, but its eyes were filled with excitement.

Lin Jin walked over to its side and glanced at the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's corpse.

"You were somewhat useful, at least."

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger chuckled, then looked toward the broken horn.

"Master, its Demon Core..."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Go get it yourself."

Overjoyed, the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger bit open the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's skull and dug out a fist-sized golden Demon Core.

Tiny arcs of electricity still coiled around the Demon Core, which radiated a rich lightning-nature aura.

"What a treasure!" The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger stared wide-eyed. "This Demon Core is much stronger than the last one! It's perfect for me!"

It swallowed the Demon Core in one gulp. Lightning flickered over its body, and it let out a satisfied burp.

"Master, I need to digest this. I might have to sleep for a few days."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Go back."

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger nodded and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger nodded and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Looking at the Thunder-Horned Demon Ape's corpse, Lin Jin thought for a moment, then used Kamui to store it in the Kamui Dimension. The corpse of an S-rank demonic beast should fetch quite a few points as well.

[System: Killed S-rank demonic beast, Thunder-Horned Demon Ape. Gained 500 World Power.]

[Current World Power: 3,380.]

"I didn't expect kills by summoned beasts to increase World Power too." Lin Jin paused in surprise, then looked pleased.

He took out his phone and checked the status of the third mission.

This mission was not to kill a demonic beast, but to investigate abnormal energy fluctuations. This demonic beast probably was not the source of the abnormal energy; the source should be somewhere nearby.

Lin Jin activated Mind's Eye of the Kagura and sensed his surroundings carefully.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked deeper into the valley.

There was a hidden cave there.

His figure flickered as he darted toward the cave.

Deep inside the cave.

Lin Jin stood in a vast underground chamber.

An ancient altar stood at its center.

The altar was covered in eerie runes that glowed faintly, a mysterious power flowing through them.

Sensing carefully, Lin Jin discovered that the abnormal energy fluctuations were coming from this very altar.

He circled the altar, confirmed there was no danger, then took out his phone and recorded its coordinates and images.

Mission complete.

Just then, the runes on the altar suddenly lit up, and a beam of light shot from its center straight toward the vaulted ceiling.

Lin Jin's gaze sharpened, and he instantly retreated.

After the light faded, something appeared at the center of the altar.

It was a fist-sized crystal, transparent throughout, with rainbow light flowing inside.

Lin Jin approached and reached out to pick up the crystal.

The crystal felt smooth and warm in his hand, and he faintly felt a warm power flowing into his body.

Just then, a system notification sounded.

[Unknown energy fragment detected. Can be absorbed and converted into World Power. Absorb?]

Lin Jin froze for a moment.

An unknown energy fragment?

Without hesitation, he immediately chose to absorb it.

The rainbow light inside the crystal flowed into his body and soon dissipated.

[Fragment absorbed. Gained 5,000 World Power.]

[Current World Power: 8,380.]

A flicker of joy passed through Lin Jin's eyes.

The spoils from this trip were greater than he had imagined.

He put away the rubbings of the runes surrounding the altar, then turned and left.

Toward evening, Lin Jin returned to his villa in Jiangcheng.

He sat in the living room and took stock of the day's gains.

Three S-rank missions, two S-Rank Weirds killed, one S-rank demonic beast killed, and a fragment obtained as well.

His World Power had risen from 3,380 to 8,380.

As for points, the three S-rank missions totaled 143,000 points.

Lin Jin logged into the Demon Suppression Bureau's platform and opened the points shop.

He found the special metals category and began browsing.

Making Flying Thunder God Kunai required special metals capable of conducting chakra. Although this world did not call it chakra, the principles of energy conduction should be similar.

Soon, he found a suitable material.

[Starfall iron: Obtained from extraterrestrial meteorites. Extremely high energy conductivity, suitable for crafting high-tier weapons. Costs 1,000 points per 500 grams. Stock: one metric ton.]

Lin Jin considered it. He did not need too many Flying Thunder God Kunai; a dozen or so would suffice.

He exchanged 20,000 points for 10 kilograms of starfall iron.

Then he browsed the weapons category.

S-rank weapons required over 50,000 points.