First Battle, Double Returns! (Seeking Collection)

Looking at the Mandala Beast in the distance, Lin Mo's face was full of curiosity.

In the classroom, he had also seen the Mandala Beast in slides.

But seeing it with his own eyes, the sensory difference was still quite large.

A herd-type exotic beast, about the height of a person, yet over five meters in length.

Its limbs were thick and sturdy, its entire body purple.

But its head looked especially simple-minded, particularly the top of its head, which resembled a giant flowerpot, atop which swayed a dazzlingly colorful flower in the wind.

This flower was called Mandala, not the mandala flower he understood from his past life.

It could be used as medicine, an essential ingredient for refining Vitality Potions.

"Watch out for its venom, move out!"

On the way, Zhang Junjie had already repeated the key points for hunting the Mandala Beast once more.

It was mainly for Lin Mo's sake, since this was his first time hunting a Mandala Beast.

For this, Lin Mo was somewhat grateful; Zhang Junjie was quite considerate toward him as a newcomer.

As Zhang Junjie's voice fell, the taciturn Qin Bufan was the first to charge forward with his spear.

Zhang Mo and Wang Ling followed closely, one on the left and one on the right.

Guo Li and Guo Hong hung back, waiting for an opportunity.

"Moo~"

The Mandala Beast grazing nearby immediately noticed Zhang Junjie and the others, letting out a cry like a calf.

In an instant, the five surrounding Mandala Beasts all gathered together.

"Die!"

Qin Bufan spat out a single word, his silver spear thrusting forth like a dragon.

The Silver Grade Spear traced a dazzling arc, stabbing toward the Mandala Beast charging at the front.

"Bang!"

Although a hole was pierced in that Mandala Beast's head, it was not killed with a single thrust.

"Such strong vitality?"

Lin Mo behind them was astonished.

A hole that big had been stabbed through its head, yet it still wasn't dead, still had strength to resist.

The Mandala Beast's eyes turned bloodshot, ignoring the hole in its head entirely, it simply shook its head, dislodging Qin Bufan's spear tip, and charged at him again.

And the moment it closed in on Qin Bufan, its mouth opened wide.

"Watch out!"

Zhang Junjie's words had barely left his mouth when a puff of purple smoke sprayed from the Mandala Beast's mouth.

Qin Bufan reacted extremely quickly, leaping back in an instant to distance himself from the purple poison mist.

"Sizzle sizzle~"

The poison mist missed its target, but the surrounding grass and flowers instantly withered, emitting a scorching sound.

It was clearly just poison mist, not flames.

Yet it made the surrounding plants seem as if they had been roasted by fire, instantly turning yellow, black, and crumbling to powder.

And it gave off a foul stench.

Even catching a faint whiff from afar made one feel dizzy and lightheaded.

"It seems this Mandala Beast's attack power, speed, and defense are all quite average, but this poison is somewhat formidable."

From that brief exchange, Lin Mo had discerned some clues.

The next second, Qin Bufan charged again, leaping into the air, twirling his spear in a flourish before stabbing downward at the Mandala Beast from above.

His speed was even greater than before.

"Thud!"

The Silver Grade Spear naturally could easily pierce the hide of a Grade 1 Exotic Beast.

With the sound, the spear pierced through the top of the Mandala Beast's head, running straight through.

"Ooh~ roar!"

The Mandala Beast let out a low cry, its massive form crashing to the ground.

On the other side, Zhang Junjie and Wang Ling had each chosen one to fight as well.

One with a blade, one with a sword, their techniques were quite fierce.

Those two Mandala Beasts were clearly no match for them, and before long, they were dealt with.

As for the Guo siblings' approach, it was different from the others.

If you can't find the book by title, try searching by author—maybe it's just been renamed!

The two moved like butterflies among flowers, their Movement Techniques graceful and unpredictable, darting left and right.

The Mandala Beast couldn't lock onto either of their figures.

The daggers in the Guo siblings' hands flashed with silver light.

Every gleam left a glaring wound on the Mandala Beast's body.

Six Mandala Beasts, exactly one per person.

Zhang Junjie and Qin Bufan seemed to have deliberately let the weakest one slip by, leaving it for Lin Mo.

Lin Mo let out a light laugh and charged forward.

Throwing a probing punch, Lin Mo used only forty percent of his strength!

"Boom!"

The Mandala Beast charging head-on was sent staggering several times by the blow, nearly toppling over.

"Moo!"

As if puzzled that the human who looked the weakest could block its attack with bare fists, the Mandala Beast felt its dignity challenged.

With a furious roar, it adjusted itself and launched another assault.

"Heh, Lin Mo's got some strength—he can actually take a Mandala Beast's charge head-on."

Zhang Junjie watched Lin Mo's fight, unable to hide his amazement.

They were killing theirs faster, sure, but that was through technique, not a direct clash.

Mandala Beasts weren't considered a powerful breed among Exotic Beasts.

But their charging force was nothing to sneeze at.

Going head-on, even a Grade 2 Martial Artist could be severely injured if careless.

Yet Lin Mo came out slightly ahead in a direct confrontation, which truly stunned Zhang Junjie and the others.

"Brother Lin Mo's amazing—so strong at such a young age, his future achievements will be boundless."

Wang Ling chimed in with a cheerful compliment.

"Hmph, that Mandala Beast is just a cub that barely stepped into Grade 1. What's so impressive about taking its attack head-on?"

Guo Hong sliced off the Mandala Flower from the beast in front of him and spat disdainfully.

"Brother Guo Hong, Lin Mo's only eighteen, you know." Wang Ling kept her cheerful tone.

Eighteen—that single word said it all.

"Hmph! With his fighting style, how much time is he going to waste?" Guo Hong shot a glance at Wang Ling and snorted coldly.

"He's a rookie, after all. Waiting a bit's no big deal. I wasn't even as good as him when I was eighteen." Zhang Junjie said with a chuckle.

Qin Bufan nodded in agreement and stuffed the Mandala Flower he'd cut off into his pack.

Being able to go toe-to-toe with a Mandala Beast at eighteen was genuinely impressive.

After all, those so-called college entrance exam practicals were fought in groups against Grade 1 Exotic Beasts.

And the strength of a so-called Grade 1 Exotic Beast was about the level of the Mandala Beast cub Lin Mo was fighting now.

The group harvested Mandala Flowers while collecting the beasts' essence blood.

As for the skin and flesh, no one bothered to cut them.

Mandala Beasts were poisonous—only the essence blood was safe; the skin and meat were inedible.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, continued focusing on his fight. It wasn't that he couldn't kill this beast instantly.

He was using it to thoroughly hone his own strength.

After all, the Blood Qi Value he'd reported was 160 cal. If he one-shot it, the others would definitely get suspicious.

And this cub was just right for Lin Mo to get familiar with his combat skills.

So he and the beast went back and forth, fighting with great relish.

[Ding, Military Boxing proficiency has reached its limit. Evolution count has reached its limit.]

[Ding, prolonged combat triggered a critical hit. Hundredfold Return activated.]

[Ding, Blood Qi Value +15.]

[Current Blood Qi Value: 234.38]

Earlier, buying the premium Vitality Potion hadn't triggered a return. At that time, his Blood Qi Value was 219.38 cal.

Now it had jumped straight to 234.38 cal.

It didn't seem like much, but this rate of growth was already something others could only dream of.

[Ding, prolonged combat. Movement Technique +1.]

"Hm?"

The sudden new prompt made Lin Mo pause, and then he saw an extra notification on his status panel...