Chapter 93: Poor, Miserable Chu He! The Myth-grade Secret Realm Appears!
Everyone badly wanted to criticize Ye Ze for shamelessly showing off, but there was nothing they could do, because it really did seem to be true!
Only now did they understand why Wan Feipeng, a sixth-rank expert, had personally escorted Ye Ze here to clear the Dungeon!
A high school student who could kill Demon Kings—was he even human!?
Seeing this, Wan Feipeng pulled Ye Ze aside. The whole matter was simply too shocking, and he knew better than anyone how strong Evil Ghost had been.
“Can you tell me how you did it?”
Ye Ze thought for a moment and decided to tell Wan Feipeng the truth.
“That Evil Ghost was already low on health, and I just happened to have an ability that can execute targets below 30% HP.”
“Impossible!”
Wan Feipeng immediately shook his head. “After Evil Ghost dies, it turns into a spirit form. As long as it still has mana, it can revive very quickly...”
If Demon Kings did not all have such bizarre life-saving methods, they would not have been so hard to kill.
Ye Ze found that surprising too.
But then he added honestly, “I also have an ability that can prevent enemies from reviving.”
Although Death Verdict, one of the components used to synthesize Terminator, had disappeared, its effect still remained. Any revival ability would simply be ignored.
“Holy hell...?” Wan Feipeng’s eyes widened instantly. “How is it that every ability you have is this outrageous?”
Execution plus anti-revival. Either one alone would already be a Fiends’ worst nightmare!
“Wait, if that’s the case...”
Wan Feipeng’s expression changed dramatically.
“Next time a Demon King invades, you should just come with me!”
“I’ll handle the fight, and you handle the execution. Our success rate for killing Demon Kings will definitely go up by several times!”
The bizarre escape methods of those Fiend Kings had always been one of the major headaches on the Abyss battlefield.
Previously, Demon Kings had been defeated over a hundred times.
But as for actually killing them, the total had not even reached ten... every single one of them had escaped!
Take Demon King Evil Ghost’s spirit-form revival ability, for example. Even a sixth-rank Class User like Wan Feipeng had found it difficult to kill.
And once those Demon Kings escaped with low health, they would return to the Abyss battlefield a few days later and start causing trouble all over again.
But now that Ye Ze existed...it felt as if all of that had suddenly been solved!
Wan Feipeng’s heart surged with excitement.
Ye Ze was equally delighted. Who could possibly refuse something like this?
All he had to do was sweep his eyes over low-health targets and execute them. That was a huge wave of easy EXP!
“No problem! I fully agree!” Ye Ze said righteously.
“It is our duty to punish Demon Kings!”
Afterward, Ye Ze took the chance to ask Wan Feipeng about the origin of Origin Fragments.
After all, he wanted to find more fragments, ideally enough to complete Mirage, or at least provide more Source Power for Evil Ghost.
But surprisingly, even Wan Feipeng, who fought Demon Kings year-round, did not know much about them. He could only tell Ye Ze a few theories that had been proposed.
“As for the origin of Origin Fragments...”
“The people at the Research Institute have put forward quite a few theories. Some think these fragments are a kind of unknown item that only Demon Kings can drop.”
“Others speculate that Demon Kings themselves may be transformed from Origin Fragments, and so on...”
“But none of it has been confirmed.” Wan Feipeng clicked his tongue casually as he spoke.
Although Ye Ze did not receive any definite conclusion, he still listened quite carefully.
Wan Feipeng looked at him suspiciously. “You’re really interested in Origin Fragments?”
Ye Ze nodded. “I do want to collect more of them.”
As for the exact reason, Ye Ze did not explain in detail, and Wan Feipeng did not press him.
Then Wan Feipeng took out a section of blue-black bone and handed it to Ye Ze.
“This came from a Demon King I killed. It looked like some sort of zombie from the movies, and I have no idea what use its Origin Fragment has. If you want it, you can have it!”
Ye Ze’s eyes lit up.
He took the piece of bone and looked at it.
【Origin Fragment - Ba】
Just like Mirage’s fragment, everything besides the name was a row of question marks.
Comparing the energy within it, it was clearly weaker than Evil Ghost.
“Brother Wan, did that Demon King, Ba, give less EXP than Evil Ghost?”
“Hm? Now that you mention it, that really does seem to be the case!” Wan Feipeng said in surprise.
“So that’s how it is.”
Ye Ze finally reached a conclusion:
the amount of EXP a Demon King gave was directly tied to the strength of its Origin Fragment!
At the same time, Ye Ze had obtained another fragment!
Even though he still did not know its use, at the very least, it could restore another 10000 points of Source Power for Evil Ghost!
“Many thanks, Brother Wan!”
“Come on, it’s nothing.” Wan Feipeng waved it off easily.
“The China Research Institute still has a few more Origin Fragments. If they’re useful to you, I’ll help you snatch... ahem, borrow them for you!”
...
At that same time, in a certain corner of the Abyss Frontier, the only remaining Demon King was trembling all over.
The original plan had been for him to wait for Evil Ghost to return, then cover Evil Ghost’s retreat...But now Evil Ghost, just like Mirage, was dead too!
“Four Demon Kings went out this time. Three of them died! I’m the only one left!?”
Thinking back to when the four Demon Kings had first come up with this battle plan, they had been full of ambition and confidence...And now, with only one Demon King left, all that remained in him was regret.
Did he still have the face, or even the right, to return to the Abyss?
After thinking for a moment, the last remaining Demon King immediately turned and headed alone toward an Abyss Stronghold.
There was nothing there except an empty, noble throne standing in the center.
The Demon King went before the throne and dropped to his knees with a thud. Then, without hesitation, he thrust one hand into his own body and cruelly crushed his own Origin Fragment.
The power released by the shattering fragment seemed to flow into the throne...
In a low voice, he murmured, “My Lord, I am guilty...”
...
The sky gradually darkened.
That Demon Ant Nest Dungeon was temporarily shut down because they could not confirm whether the Fiends still had other ways of interfering with it, and they did not want to risk another accident.
After all, the reason there had been no casualties this time was largely thanks to Ye Ze.
And also because Demon King Evil Ghost had chosen Ye Ze as its very first target.
At that moment, Ye Ze was preparing to return to Linyuan City.
He wanted to draw his level-21 Trait and, while he was at it, open the Dungeon’s First-Clear Treasure Chest.
But then Liu Anran suddenly sent him a message:
“Chu He suddenly seems kind of broken. I don’t know why. Do you want to come take a look?”
Hiss... When Ye Ze saw the message, his expression turned strange.
Broken? Just how much had Chu He fed Panda...?
With that thought, Ye Ze immediately hurried over.
As a genius from North China Region, Chu He was staying at the City Lord’s guesthouse in Linyuan City. At that moment, Liu Anran and Luo Yao were also there beside him.
The moment Ye Ze entered, he saw Chu He kneeling on the ground, all the light gone from his eyes.
“It can’t be that bad, can it...?”
Ye Ze scratched his head, then turned to look at Panda, only to find the latter wearing an innocent expression.
He checked Panda’s attributes...and found that his total attributes had increased by nearly a hundred points!
A hundred attribute points!?
What exactly had Chu He fed him?
At Panda’s current “tolerance,” even an Epic piece of equipment would only add three or four attribute points at most.
To gain a hundred points, just how many rare treasures, items, and pieces of equipment had he been fed!?
And on top of that, Panda was still holding a golden piece of equipment in his arms...
【Difficult as Shadow (Legendary): Spirit +60, Constitution +60, spell damage taken and spell effects received -50%.】
【Special Effect — Blocks all enemy senses and detection abilities in the surrounding area. Set (1/6)】
He had even fed out a Legendary item!
Ye Ze shuddered a little. “Brother Chu! You really didn’t have to feed him this hard, did you!?”
Chu He’s expression was weak and unfocused, but he seemed to notice Ye Ze at last and pulled himself together.
“Brother Ye, I did not mistreat your summoned beast!”
That was putting it mildly.
Since he intended it as compensation for Ye Ze, everything Chu He fed Panda had been top-tier. He had even kept feeding him continuously just in case Panda was not full, stopping only when Panda himself finally showed no sign of wanting more...
By the end, the only things he had not fed him were the equipment on his own body and his painting scrolls.
“That’s far too much...” Even Ye Ze, thick-skinned as he was, felt a trace of guilt rising within him.
But Chu He did not seem to care much about that.
“That doesn’t matter. Since Brother Ye was willing to lend me your summoned beast so I could paint it, it was only right that I repay you.”
Beside them, Liu Anran could not help sighing.
Such a straightforward Painter...
Ye Ze was not particularly surprised, though. After all, Chu He looked every inch a young master, and he was the descendant of a major family in North China. These things probably should not have been enough to break him.
“Then why are you like this?” Ye Ze looked at his lifeless expression.
Only then did Chu He grow agitated. He hurriedly asked Ye Ze, “Brother Ye, I want to ask—has your summoned beast not learned any skills?”
Not learned any skills? Of course that was impossible!
Ye Ze looked utterly baffled. He had no idea why Chu He was asking that, so he could only answer, “Of course it has.”
But that only made Chu He even more devastated.
“Then I understand. Every single skill your summoned beast has is Legendary quality, right?”
The moment those words came out, Liu Anran and Luo Yao, who had been standing nearby watching the fun, both cried out in shock.
“No way!”
Even Ye Ze was stunned. “How did you know?”
With Ye Ze confirming it, Liu Anran and Luo Yao looked at each other in disbelief.
Skills were even harder to obtain than equipment!
A single Legendary skill was already tremendously valuable.
Even many fourth-rank Class Users had Epic as the highest skill quality they possessed, while more of their skills were merely Outstanding quality.
And yet every skill of Ye Ze’s summoned beast was Legendary!?
As the two girls reeled in shock, Chu He said bitterly, “With my current ability as a first-rank Painter, the summoned creatures I paint cannot use Legendary abilities...”
“So I discovered that the panda I painted had no talent skills at all!”
With that explanation, Ye Ze instantly understood. After spending an entire day painting it, the combat strength of the summoned creature had dropped massively...
But inwardly, Ye Ze also felt helpless.
That... really wasn’t my fault, was it?
Still, seeing how well Panda had been fed, and even that he had gained a Legendary piece of equipment,
Ye Ze could not quite bear it and said, “How about this, Brother Chu? In the future, as long as you reach second rank or above, you can still continue painting my summoned beasts!”
That sentence carried an enormous amount of weight.
A summoned beast with all-Legendary skills, once Chu He’s paintings became capable of reproducing Legendary abilities, would be absolutely terrifying!
Chu He’s expression instantly brightened, and his voice trembled slightly.
“Brother Ye, that is truly righteous of you!”
Ye Ze nodded silently… Otherwise, taking a hundred attribute points and a Legendary piece of equipment from the man would sit badly with him.
At that moment, Chu He hesitated before speaking again, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Brother Ye, could I borrow one of your other summoned beasts now?”
“After all, there are only three and a half days left until the college entrance exam. I absolutely have to seize this chance. If I fail to rank well in the exam, it’ll be hard to answer to my family!”
“Any summoned beast will do, as long as its skills are below Legendary.”
The request was perfectly clear: just lend him a weaker summoned beast.
But the moment he heard that, Ye Ze fell silent.
The air instantly became still.
Chu He, Liu Anran, and Luo Yao all stared at Ye Ze with expressions of utter disbelief.
That request was not excessive in the slightest.
Besides, since Ye Ze had already been willing to lend out Panda, swapping to another, weaker summoned beast should not have been a big issue at all.
There was only one possible explanation...
“Don’t tell me every single one of your summoned beasts has Legendary skills!?”
Liu Anran was so shocked she could barely process it.
Most people would already be amazing if they had one Legendary skill, yet all of Ye Ze’s summoned beasts had all-Legendary skills!
That was going too far, wasn’t it!?
Liu Anran had always thought that Ye Ze had chosen a type of summoned beast with strong early-stage combat power, which was why he was so absurdly powerful...
But who would have guessed that all of them had Legendary skills? How could he possibly not be strong with that setup!?
Luo Yao cried out in shock as well, while Chu He’s expression trembled violently. It took him a long while to recover before he finally said, “Brother Ye truly is powerful!”
Damn it... Ye Ze could not help feeling a little helpless. He had not expected to come so close to exposing his talent.
If all of a Summoner’s beasts had Legendary skills, then unless their talent was absurdly strong, not even the great clans could afford to build such a lineup.
At that point, the little girl Luo Yao suddenly took on a teasing expression.
“Heh heh~”
“Mr. Summoner, you wouldn’t want your secret getting out, would you?”
Ye Ze looked at her in shock.
Then he raised a hand and smacked her lightly on the head with a sharp slap.
“Where on earth did you learn that kind of nonsense?”
He was both helpless and amused...In truth, even if his strength were exposed, it would not really matter. The combat power he had already shown was strong enough as it was!
Luo Yao let out a pained cry, puffed up her cheeks, and clutched her head as she hid behind Liu Anran.
“Wuu~ Sister Anran, he hit me!”
“You’re not allowed to bully children!”
Liu Anran raised a hand protectively.
Ye Ze cast Luo Yao a teasing glance. “She really is small enough...”
“You!” Luo Yao ground her teeth angrily.
At that point, Chu He let out a sigh and said firmly, “Brother Ye, don’t worry. I won’t reveal your strength to anyone.”
“But for now... I’d better hurry and go paint something else.”
Other than today, there were only three days left until the college entrance exam. For Chu He, time really was running short.
Yet Ye Ze smiled and said, “Actually, you don’t need to.”
“Even without skills, Panda’s attributes alone should be enough to help you take a top-five spot in the college entrance exam!”
“Really!?” Chu He was stunned all over again.
And Ye Ze was right about that. Panda’s current attributes were already in the five-to-six-hundred range. Even if the painted version only retained seventy or eighty percent of that, it would still be enough to crush the exam.
“Trust me!”
Ye Ze reassured him firmly.
After that, since it was already getting late, Ye Ze was just about to leave and head home when he suddenly received a message!
Liu Anran, who had been with him moments earlier, received one as well.
It was from Wu Ming, the Chief Administrator of East China Region. The message was long, but in essence it said only one thing:
【The Myth-grade Secret Realm has appeared!】
On this very night, Blue Star’s first Myth-grade Secret Realm had fully formed!
And the location of that Secret Realm was extremely delicate...right on the border between two countries!
That meant that clashes between Class Users from different countries were very likely!
Ye Ze instantly felt even more energized.
If he was dealing with Class Users from other countries...then he could probably rob their equipment with absolutely no restraint, couldn’t he?
A strangely sinister smile appeared on his face.
At the end of the message, Wu Ming instructed everyone who had received it—including Ye Ze—to report to the East China Military District the next morning for a meeting.
So for the moment, there was no immediate rush.
Ye Ze simply headed home first, ordered some takeout, and then drew his twenty-first Trait!
Light flashed.
A Trait frame with an especially domineering icon stopped before his eyes:
【You have drawn the Golden Legend-grade Trait: Overlord!】