The Silver Dragon King truly lived up to her name.
While she couldn't compare to the Golden Dragon King in terms of physical strength and vitality, she was still far beyond what humans could rival. This was especially true after she absorbed another wave of energy and reached the bottleneck of Rank 40. However, there was still a significant gap between her and An Zhen now.
"Rebel… rebel!"
The stunning silver-haired dragon girl lay prostrate on the bed, her soft silver hair tied into a valiant single ponytail, which the black-haired young man held in his hand.
Gu Yuena felt her head spinning.
The intensity was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
"My Lord seems a bit… lacking," An Zhen said with a smile, letting go of the silver ponytail and gently pinching Gu Yuena's soft cheek. Her purple dragon eyes glared at him, but having been thoroughly exhausted, Gu Yuena couldn't retaliate against such "disrespectful" behavior.
"Surely, there isn't a King who can't even satisfy his Queen's needs~" Previously, An Zhen would usually win seven out of ten times by refreshing his stamina. Now, the Silver Dragon King was completely "defeated."
"Who says this King is lacking?"
Gu Yuena puffed out her cheeks.
An Zhen leaned in and whispered into Gu Yuena's ear.
"No," Gu Yuena refused. "For this King to do such a thing for you, it is sacrilege!"
"You can absorb my and Yu Tong's energy," An Zhen said. He never forced his girls to do things they didn't want to; everything was based on willingness.
Gu Yuena's firm gaze wavered slightly. Her cherry lips parted, and after a moment of hesitation, she slowly said, "This King is merely doing it to recover faster."
The Silver Dragon King bowed her head.
…
"The scenery is beautiful."
On a high cliff, the black-haired young man gazed at the primeval forest below, whose grandeur could not be fully captured even in films from his previous Life.
This was An Zhen's first time in the Star Dou Great Forest.
He came as a Spirit Beast… no, as an experience-seeker.
"Indeed," the pink-and-blue-haired beautiful girl standing beside An Zhen nodded gently. Wang Donger's dreamy eyes looked down at the lush, serene forest. "But it's also very dangerous."
An Zhen looked at the group behind him.
A group of students and a white-haired old man.
A combination of the young and the old.
"This operation can be considered a training course in the Star Dou Great Forest," Mu En said with a slight smile. "Don't mind this old man's presence; I will conceal my aura so as not to affect the Spirit Beasts. How you proceed is entirely up to you."
An Zhen looked at the girls.
This time, Huo Yutong, Wang Donger, Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng, and Gu Yuena needed to obtain spirit rings.
Gu Yuena didn't need a spirit ring, but she needed to create the illusion of absorbing one.
"Yu Tong needs a 10,000-year mental system, Dong'er needs a 10,000-year light system, Naer needs a 10,000-year multi-element or mental-type Spirit Beast, Xiao Xiao's expectation is a powerful strength or defense Spirit Beast around 8,000 to 9,000 years, and Wu Feng needs an 8,000 to 9,000-year fire-type or dragon-blood Spirit Beast," An Zhen stated.
The main difference between nearly 10,000-year and 10,000-year Spirit Beasts was the unique soul shock of 10,000-year and above Spirit Beasts.
Although Xiao Xiao and Wu Feng had absorbed 100,000-year Spirit Bones, they weren't head Spirit Bones, so the improvement to their mental force wasn't significant. At this stage, absorbing a 10,000-year spirit ring still carried some risk.
Wang Donger's soul was naturally stronger than ordinary people's, likely due to her divine bloodline.
"In that case, we'll directly bypass the outer zone and enter the mixed zone."
The Star Dou Great Forest primarily consisted of an outer zone inhabited by 1,000-year and below Spirit Beasts, a mixed zone with 1,000-year and 10,000-20,000-year Spirit Beasts, and a core zone mostly populated by 10,000-year and above Spirit Beasts.
"Mm!"
The girls nodded gently.
First Soul Skill, Reflection, Spirit Eyes Spirit.
Three Spirit Rings—white, purple, and purple—lit up.
The second purple spirit ring lit up: Mimicry.
"Equip your flying and defensive spirit tools, follow me, and proceed at full speed."
Everyone took out their previously prepared flying spirit tools and defensive spirit tools from their storage spirit tools.
Several streaks of spiritual light soared into the sky, flying straight towards the mixed zone at a height of several tens of meters above the average treetop height in the Star Dou Great Forest. If ordinary people or Spirit Beasts were to do this, it would be suicidal. The Star Dou Great Forest was not short of patient hunters, and even high-level Spirit Masters would not do this. However, at this moment, refracted light, concealed auras, and a Spirit Ability driven by vast mental force completely enveloped their figures.
At the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest's mixed zone.
Several streaks of light quietly descended.
"That's truly amazing," Xiao Xiao exclaimed.
Flying all the way, it was as if they were invisible. She clearly saw a 1,000-year flying Spirit Beast only a dozen meters away from them, but that Spirit Beast didn't notice them at all.
Mimicry, though not strong in destructive power, was truly powerful in its functionality.
"It is an ability that the ice silkworm itself evolved to evade natural enemies and adapt to its environment. Every creature in the food chain has its unique talent, but due to their own limitations, they often cannot fully utilize this talent." Mimicry was a divine skill, but it required the support of powerful mental force. Among the entire ice silkworm clan, only Tianmeng Iceworm, that lucky fellow, could reach this level, but unfortunately, she was captured by an even stronger fellow.
"Alright," An Zhen said, retracting the Mimicry Spirit Ability. "Since it's training, you must act like it. In this training, you must solve most of the problems yourselves."
They were not mere fragile ornaments; even in that predetermined destiny, they were among the most dazzling stars of that tumultuous era, let alone now, being even stronger and more excellent.
"Mm."
The girls exchanged glances.
Gu Yuena walked at the very front, with Huo Yutong standing shoulder to shoulder with her—one a powerful offense, the other a control system battle Spirit Master. Xiao Xiao and Ning Tian, as support, were in the middle of the team, and Wu Feng brought up the rear. The only thing missing from the team was an agility-attack system Spirit Master, so Wang Donger, who could fly and move relatively flexibly, took on this responsibility.
Huo Yutong took out a notebook. "According to the updated map records from the Academy's seniors, from our current position, heading west will likely lead us to a river and a lake."
Lakes, water sources. There were many creatures around water sources in the forest. Heavenly energy largely replaced the substances Spirit Beasts needed to sustain Life, but Spirit Beasts whose cultivation years had not yet reached a certain level still required external substance intake.
Information was crucial. Major powers like Shrek Academy would record the terrain and Spirit Beast distribution encountered every time a student or teacher entered the Star Dou Great Forest. Although there would be changes, it greatly facilitated latercomers in avoiding danger and finding needed Spirit Beasts more quickly.
A white spirit ring lit up beside Huo Yutong, activating Spirit Detection and Spirit Sharing.
A 360-degree, no-dead-angle detection, unless they encountered an existence far stronger than Huo Yutong, was enough to help the team avoid almost all risks and accidents. Besides Huo Yutong's powerful strength, this was also one of the reasons the girls implicitly agreed to Huo Yutong being the commander during the operation.
Since the target had been found, it was time to act.
The group advanced.
A moment later.
"Ow!"
As a roar sounded, a five-meter-long winged giant tiger suddenly pounced from the bushes. However, one figure reacted even faster. A golden sharp light, like a blade or sword energy, directly struck the Spirit Beast, and fresh red blood instantly stained its fur, sending it crashing heavily to the ground. Feeling intense pain, the 1,000-year tiger-type Spirit Beast had no doubt or hesitation. It supported its injured body with its four limbs and immediately fled.
Expelling Spirit Beasts.
Although the group had tried their best to conceal their aura, their movements still attracted the attention of some Spirit Beasts.
However, with the aid of Spirit Detection, they avoided 10,000-year Spirit Beasts. Even if they encountered Spirit Beasts, they could detect them first, making the journey smooth and uneventful.
Although Huo Yutong's Mimicry could simulate the aura of powerful Spirit Beasts, even with the seniors' markings on the Star Dou Great Forest, they were still very vague about whose territory their current location belonged to. The sudden appearance of a strange and powerful aura could easily attract attacks from powerful Spirit Beasts.
"Not killing them?"
An Zhen followed the rapidly advancing girls with a relaxed expression.
"Spirit Beasts are also Life," Wang Donger shook her head gently. "We only hunt the Spirit Beasts we need."
"During the promotion assessment, Dong'er directly chopped that bear into meat paste," An Zhen teased with a smile.
"I just couldn't hold back then."
An Zhen smiled without speaking.
Some things were better experienced, and anyway, there would be no price to pay.
Ten minutes later.
"Almost there, be careful to conceal yourselves."
Everyone stopped their rapid advance and slowly walked forward. A mountain stream and small river, whose origin was unknown, came into view. Looking down, the river water converged into a lake, where a considerable number of Spirit Beasts were drinking. This place seemed like a peaceful haven, where Spirit Beasts that usually hunted each other now very tacitly chose to cease hostilities. Their location was elevated, so they wouldn't be discovered by the Spirit Beasts below, and it was convenient for observation.
"Crimson Glow Fox? Although it's a light attribute, its bloodline and age are a bit lacking."
"Two-headed Fire Wolf, Wind Sister, what do you think of this one? Although its age is a bit off, they are pack Spirit Beasts, and the Wolf King's age should be sufficient."
"Then mark it down. If there's nothing better later, we'll go with this one."
"There's even a 1,000-year Darkgold Bear! What a pity, its age is too low."
Everyone communicated using secret spirit power sound transmission.
"Not good!" Huo Yutong's voice echoed in everyone's minds. "A powerful Spirit Beast is rapidly approaching us. Its direct sprint target is not the lake below, but us above."
Without any hesitation, everyone turned and ran towards the upstream of the river.
Too many Spirit Beasts had gathered here, most with several thousand years of cultivation. Although they couldn't yet compare to normal adults, their intelligence was already quite high. Due to the antagonism between Spirit Beasts and humans, if they harbored ill will towards humans, they could easily fall into a besieged situation. Although the people wouldn't be harmed, the training might be declared a failure.
As Huo Yutong expected, after they left their original position, the Spirit Beast, which was somehow able to determine direction, suddenly changed its target and ran straight towards them.
"10,000-year, Winged Tiger!"
Huo Yutong reported the enemy.