Chapter 163: Chapter 160: Picking Up Money Until Your Hands Cramp!

Wang Meng tossed the large, heavy bag of materials onto the ground.

THUD.

He wiped his face, a mixture of sweat and blood, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Fengzi, you..."

"Did you break through again?"

Wang Meng’s voice cracked.

"Isn’t this way too fast?"

"Just in that short time... I feel like your aura right now is even more frightening than those senior students in the Meridian Passage Realm."

Han Feng smiled.

He took the nearly bursting backpack from Wang Meng and slung it over his shoulder.

"I ate a few good fruits and digested them. I did make a bit of progress."

He didn’t explain about the Sword Bone and Sword Essence.

’The fewer people who know about a trump card like this, the better.’

"Damn! Comparisons will be the death of me!"

Wang Meng smacked his lips sourly, his face a mask of envy, jealousy, and hate.

"I’m here working my ass off skinning lizards, and you get stronger just by sitting there eating a few fruits."

"Is there any justice in this world? Is there no law?!"

Although he was complaining, the joy in Wang Meng’s eyes was impossible to hide.

In this godforsaken, perilous place, the stronger your teammate, the greater your own chances of survival.

Han Feng patted Wang Meng’s shoulder and pointed ahead.

"Alright, stop whining. You’ll get your share when we cash in."

"Now that’s more like it."

Wang Meng was instantly revitalized. He chuckled and shouldered the door-panel-sized Giant Axe again.

"Let’s go! I think the Spiritual Qi in that forest up ahead is pretty dense. There might be some good stuff."

Han Feng activated his Spiritual Vision.

In his view, the world once again deconstructed into a bizarre and motley collection of energy lines.

But this time, the image was far clearer than before.

He could even faintly "see" the subtle paths of the Spiritual Qi flowing in the air.

"Let’s go. Continue northwest."

Han Feng confirmed the direction and led the way into the depths of the dense forest.

The goal was clear.

Gather resources, exchange them for money, and buy a Cultivation Technique.

...

In the afternoon of the Suspended Mountain Secret Realm, the light, tinged with a strange violet hue, cast itself upon the jagged, grotesque rocks.

On the northwest side of G-13 Floating Island, the woods began to thin out.

CLANG!

A crisp metallic ring echoed through the open stone forest.

The military shovel in Wang Meng’s hand struck hard beneath a dusty gray rock, kicking up a long, dazzling trail of sparks.

He expertly cleared away the rubble and dug out a fist-sized ore from the pit, which glowed with a yellowish-brown halo.

"Another Thick Earth Crystal! Tier Two Lower Grade!"

Wang Meng grinned from ear to ear.

He skillfully tried to stuff the ore into the backpack on his back.

But after two tries, it wouldn’t go in.

His backpack was stretched taut, bulging and about to burst.

The zipper was strained tight, groaning as if under an unbearable load.

"It’s... full?"

Wang Meng’s smile froze on his face.

He looked down at the Thick Earth Crystal in his hand, worth at least eighty Spirit Coins.

Then he looked at the utterly stuffed backpack behind him, his expression uglier than if he were crying.

"Fengzi, isn’t this too fast? It’s only been a little over an hour!"

Han Feng, walking ahead, stopped and glanced back.

Indeed, their scavenging efficiency was absurdly high.

With the dual support of his Perception Field and Spiritual Vision, this area was practically naked to his eyes.

Where there were Energy reactions, where there were good things—it was all clear at a glance.

As they traveled, it was as if the two of them had used the finest sieve to thoroughly plow over these few kilometers of land.

Wang Meng had gone from howling with excitement at the beginning to being somewhat numb now.

"Toss that Tier One Middle Grade Black Crystal Dagger. It’s taking up too much space."

Han Feng’s gaze swept over the side pocket of Wang Meng’s backpack, which was about to burst.

"Huh? But that can be sold for five hundred Contribution Points!"

Wang Meng’s face instantly crumpled like a bitter melon, aching with regret.

"The Thick Earth Crystal can be sold for one hundred and fifty Spirit Coins."

Han Feng pointed at the stone in his hand.

"Which one do you choose?"

Wang Meng gritted his teeth and, with a look of grief and indignation, pulled the dagger he had luckily found earlier from the side pocket.

Without a second glance, he carelessly tossed it into the nearby bushes.

Then he crammed the Thick Earth Crystal inside with all his might.

"What a sin!"

Wang Meng muttered as he stuffed it in.

"I’ve never been this extravagant in my life, just throwing away money for fun."

Han Feng’s lips twitched, but he ignored Wang Meng’s humblebragging.

’The items in our two backpacks are probably worth around two thousand five hundred Spirit Coins in total.’

’This amount of money would be enough to drive any ordinary student insane.’

’But for me, it’s not enough.’

A Spiritual Cultivation Technique worth considering started at five thousand Spirit Coins or more.

’I still need to get more.’

Han Feng withdrew his gaze, and his Perception Field spread out silently once more.

BUZZ!

This time, his brows furrowed slightly.

At the very edge of his Perception Field, about twenty-five meters away in a pile of rubble, there was an extremely faint energy fluctuation.

The fluctuation wasn’t from a Spirit Plant, not from an ore, and it certainly didn’t resemble any living creature.

It was motionless, but when the surrounding air currents passed by it, they would inexplicably disappear.

It was as if an invisible, all-devouring black hole was there.

"Brother Meng, stay close. Don’t wander off."

Han Feng’s voice was low, his previously relaxed tone instantly turning grave.

Wang Meng immediately dropped his nouveau-riche expression. He gripped his Giant Axe again, his muscles instantly tensing.

"A Demon Beast?"

"More troublesome than a Demon Beast."

Han Feng pointed to the seemingly unremarkable pile of rubble ahead.

"See that rock that looks like a monkey’s head?"

Wang Meng followed his finger and nodded.

"Yeah, I see it. What’s up? Is something hiding behind it?"

"We’re going around it. Don’t get within five meters."

Han Feng didn’t explain, simply leading the way around to the side.

Although Wang Meng was completely confused, out of his absolute trust in Han Feng, he still followed obediently behind, his steps extremely light.

Just as the two were bypassing the monkey-head rock...

A large mountain rat, startled by their footsteps, darted out of the bushes in a panic.

Its escape route, by sheer coincidence, passed directly in front of the monkey-head rock.

The instant it rushed into that area...

There was no warning.

No sound.

No light.

The mountain rat, still sprinting at high speed, was suddenly seized by an unseen Divine hand and violently twisted!

SQUISH!

A sticky, muffled sound.

Blood, bones, and organs were instantly crushed into a thin, blurry meat patty.

Immediately after, this "meat patty" was sucked into a nearly invisible fissure in the ground, vanishing without a trace.

The entire process took less than a second.

It didn’t even have time to let out a scream.

HISS—

An icy chill shot from the soles of Wang Meng’s feet straight to the crown of his head.

He froze on the spot, every hair on his body standing on end.

"Wh-what the hell was that?"

His voice trembled, laced with the quaver of lingering fear.

If Han Feng hadn’t warned him just now, he absolutely would have stomped right through there without a care.

With his much-vaunted physical defense, the best-case scenario would have been ending up as a slightly thicker meat patty.

Han Feng’s gaze was also grave as he slowly uttered three words.

"Gravity anomaly point."