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Chapter 127: The Icy Depths, Ferocious and Unyielding

In response to this, Chen Chu could only express concern. "Is it hard?"

"It\'s okay. Mainly, I\'ve been learning how to use some special equipment, and she helped me improve my sniper rifle. Oh, by the way, Chen Chu, the instructions and precautions for the purge mission have been issued. They\'re displayed on the large screen behind you. Take a look."

"Okay." Chen Chu looked at the notice board behind him, and the large screen was filled with various regulations and introductions.

The purge mission would begin on the fifth day after the Lunar New Year, targeting all of the mountain forests nationwide.

Among them, Wujiang was going to be responsible for a section between two intersecting mountain ranges, with three nearby towns designated as mission release points.

At the same time, for convenience, students participating in the purge mission could apply to rent vehicles to drive to the location, providing a way to load and transport mutated beast carcasses along the way.

However, applying for a vehicle required obtaining a driver\'s license at the school, to ensure the ability to drive safely and proficiently before proceeding. This wasn\'t Kyrola, where one could recklessly drive about simply because they had a car.

There were various other restrictions, such as not being able to harm ordinary people while hunting down mutated beasts and refraining from arbitrarily damaging public and private property, as well as what missions one could accept. Freshmen in the First Heavenly Realm could only accept level 1 mutated beast missions, those in the Second Realm could accept level 2 and below, and so on.

If the target mutated beast was part of a group, one could choose to form a team with other students, and the rewards for completing the mission were based on the number and level of mutated beasts killed. Killing a level 1 mutated beast earned 2 contribution points, a level 2 earned 6 points, and a level 3 earned 18 points.

These rewards were ten percent lower than what Chen Chu and the others had received for slaying beasts in Kyrola. The reason given for the decrease was that each mission required precise intelligence, and the ten percent deduction was used to cover the fees of hiring professional personnel for reconnaissance and other expenses.

At the same time, students hunting mutated beasts could also choose to convert their rewards into money, with a market return rate of eighty percent. This would often result in earning much more yuan than they would contribution points, but no student would choose this option under normal circumstances; contribution points were considered more valuable.

Xia Youhui and a few others walked over, smiling. "Ah Chu, no need to look, these novice missions are a piece of cake for us."

Liu Feng said casually, "Xia Youhui is right. For geniuses like us, these missions are just a way to pass the time."

Bai Mu nodded with crossed arms. "Yeah, these low-level mutated beasts are just going to be killed with one strike each, no pressure at all."

The three of them appeared relaxed and indifferent, their tones disdainful, as if they didn\'t even consider those mutated beasts worthy of their attention. Their demeanor sharply contrasted with the solemn and worried expressions of the surrounding students. Some who overheard their conversation couldn\'t help but look over frequently, their eyes filled with envy and sullenness.

It was ridiculous. If these other students were at the Third Heavenly Realm, would they also be this nonchalant about the missions?

Chen Chu was dumbfounded. "...Stop showing off here. You\'re not high-level cultivators at the Fourth Heavenly Realm. And don\'t be careless. Remember, level doesn\'t necessarily represent combat power. Some low-level mutated beasts have special abilities that can make them stronger than some level 3 beasts."

As Chen Chu spoke, Li Meng took a few steps back, distancing himself from Xia Youhui and the other two as if to indicate not to include him in their group.

Cough! Cough!

Xia Youhui cleared his throat twice and hastily said, "We all know that. It was just a joke." After speaking, the three of them wore smug and pleased expressions on their faces.

Chen Chu and Luo Fei exchanged a glance and shook their heads; neither of them were in the mood to bother with these fools.

Lin Xue suddenly said, "Yi Rui, Xia Youhui, Li Meng, the others and I have decided to team up and apply to go to the mutated beast battlefield on the third day after the new year."

"...On the third day after the new year? You\'re not participating in the purge mission?" Chen Chu was taken aback, his gaze sweeping over Liu Feng and the others who had just been joking about how weak ordinary mutated beasts were.

"Don\'t look at me like that," Liu Feng shrugged. "You\'re the guy who quietly broke through to the late stage of the Third Heavenly Realm and became a freakishly strong fighter. If we don\'t work harder, we might not even catch a glimpse of your back in a couple of years."

Xia Youhui also looked helpless. "Yeah, I wasn\'t really keen on going, but there\'s no choice. Ah Chu, you\'re just too much of a prodigy. Being your friend is too much pressure."

Everyone was a genius, filled with a sense of pride. As the two months had swiftly passed, however, Chen Chu had surged ahead of them, boasting an exaggerated combat power. Faced with this situation, no one was willing to concede; rather, they were all driven to work even harder and push themselves further.

At the very least, they weren\'t being overly impulsive. They had chosen to wait for half a month before applying, giving themselves time to consolidate their cultivation.

...Is it really my fault that my strength has improved so quickly? Chen Chu was momentarily at a loss for words.

Lin Xue calmly said, "Chen Chu, you don\'t need to overthink it. Our decision to apply isn\'t because of you. Just yesterday, An Fuqing, Li Hao, and several other students had already applied to go to the beast battlefield ahead of time. They don\'t even plan to spend the new year here.

"This is the attitude we cultivators should have—brave, progressive, cautious yet unwavering, never stopping until we reach the pinnacle of true martial arts."

Are these teenagers really so resolute and mature?

Looking at the determined expressions of Lin Xue and the others, Chen Chu smiled wryly. "...I might not be able to go with you all. There are some things I\'m not ready for yet."

He still needed to decide on which mutated beast to consume for his avatar\'s fourth evolution. Xia Youhui and the others, however, thought it was an issue related to high-level arts.

They already knew that Chen Chu was preparing to go all out in the purge mission to earn the needed contribution points for the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body. Therefore, they just nodded with some regret, without trying to persuade him to join them.

Everyone dispersed shortly after, most of them going to get their driver\'s licenses. The school was very efficient in this regard; they quickly went through the traffic rules, then practiced driving around the track before taking the test.

In the afternoon, Chen Chu went to the thirty-third-floor reading room. He flipped through the books and took out the second volume of the compendium on low-level mutated beasts.

As Chen Chu sat down opposite her, Luo Fei lifted her head slightly and noticed his hesitant expression. She pursed her lips and chuckled softly. "Do you have some doubts?"

Chen Chu nodded. "A bit. I noticed you didn\'t go with them this time."

Luo Fei hadn\'t been among the ones who were preparing to leave on the third day of the new year. Just when Chen Chu thought she would give some reason, the girl suddenly said, "Because I\'m afraid you\'ll be lonely, so I decided to stay behind and accompany you."

Chen Chu suddenly froze.

Pfft!

The girl chuckled, teasingly saying, "Just kidding. It\'s mainly because my aunt has a training plan for me, and there are still some things I haven\'t prepared for. But I\'m also going to participate in the purge mission. Shall we team up together?"

With a hint of annoyance, Chen Chu retorted, "Sure, we can team up, but I\'m afraid you won\'t be able to keep up with me."

"It\'s okay, you can be the main force then, and I\'ll be the support. Just give me one-fifth of the contribution points we earn," the girl said nonchalantly.

"Alright, this is your idea."

"Yeah, it is."

The two chatted for a while longer before the girl lowered her head again, immersing herself in the serene atmosphere of reading scriptures.

Seeing this, Chen Chu couldn\'t help but smile, then also lowered his head and flipped open his own book. While he had his eye on the abilities of two level 2 mutated beasts, he felt that they still weren\'t powerful enough.

At the same time, while appearing to read the book, most of Chen Chu\'s attention was focused on the Sword Armored Fiery Beast.

Under the pitch-black silence of the deep sea rift, golden lava churned. The twelve-meter-long Fiery Beast, resembling a black dragon, slowly closed its mouth.

Faint disappointment flickered in its eyes. Two days had passed, but there hadn\'t been much change in its body, despite it consuming large quantities of lava. Its body temperature had increased from 100 degrees Celsius to 150, with faint flames flickering from its feathered horns, making it appear even more magnificent and majestic.

However, while it was indeed possible to convert the thermal energy of the lava into biological energy, the efficiency was too slow.

Two days had passed, and the Fiery Beast had only grown by one centimeter in size, accumulating an increase of 2 evolution points. Compared to the growth from hunting mutated beasts, the difference was like night and day.

At the very least, this ability wasn\'t entirely useless. It was possible that in the future, when its innate abilities had become more powerful, it could become stronger by sleeping in magma.

Deep in thought, the Fiery Beast shifted its body, swaying its tail and rolling up through the surging water as it swam towards the crack above. In the blink of an eye, it crossed over two hundred meters.

Just as it burst out of the underwater rift, the Fiery Beast\'s body abruptly halted, its four claws landing on the ground as its icy gaze stared ahead.

There, a red mutated fish about twenty-one meters in length, with an oval-shaped body covered in ten-meter-long blue velvety fur, emerged from the darkness.

The blue fur emitted an astonishing chill, causing the water around it to continuously freeze into white thin ice that resembled snowflakes. Due to the proximity to the rift, the water temperature was around a few dozens of degrees, so these thin ice formations melted as soon as they formed, creating a magnificent display.

This mutated fish\'s mouth lacked densely packed sharp teeth; instead, it had four fangs, each over two meters long, with two each on its upper and lower jaws, looking like they were capable of biting through anything.

It was evident that this mutated fish had been waiting for the Fiery Beast to appear, and it had displayed remarkable patience.

As the Fiery Beast looked at the icy fur on the mutated fish\'s body, its gaze grew even colder. While it had been somewhat wary of this sort of icy energy before, now...

Swoosh!

A surge of scorching heat erupted from the Fiery Beast, causing the water around it to boil. Red light emanated from the gaps in its scales, and its limbs muscles swelled suddenly.

Boom!

The Fiery Beast\'s feet shattered the hard rocks beneath it as it pounced, causing cracks to spread out several meters. It shot forward like a black beam of light, white shockwaves appearing around its body with deafening roars from the incredible speed.

It appeared in front of the fish in an instant, ignoring the floating blue fur as it extended its claws and slammed them down with a thunderous force.

Boom!

Under the terrifying claws, the water exploded, and the five-meter-thick ice layer that had instantly formed around the fish\'s body in response to its incoming attack shattered. Its massive body was blasted away a hundred meters by the force, stirring up a surge of sand and mud.

Even though the fish had created a layer of ice as a shield, a large portion of its flesh had still exploded and collapsed just from that one strike. Ice-blue blood mixed with flesh remnants scattered around.

However, as a mutated creature, the fish\'s life force was remarkably strong. Suddenly, the blue glow emanating from the fish\'s entire body intensified, and in an instant, a deep chill burst forth in a blue halo.

Crack! Crack!

In the blink of an eye, an area of over twenty meters was covered with blue solid ice, including both the Fiery Beast that had been rushing in again and the fish itself.

This indiscriminate ice-sealing ability was incredibly strong, rendering prey unable to escape. The fish could simply freeze its prey to death before leisurely enjoying its meal. Today, however...

Within the blue icy interior, the Fiery Beast\'s entire body shimmered with red light, emitting intense heat to block the continuous onslaught of chilly energy from reaching its body. Its muscles swelled, and a terrifying force erupted from its body.

Roar!

The Fiery Beast roared, and the surrounding ice immediately cracked and shattered from its movements, the damaging force carrying all the way back to the fish and wrecking its fur.

Within the shattered ice fragments, the Fiery Beast stood upright like a human, its claws raised high. A massive power, capable of shaking the world, converged within its body. The surrounding water seemed to solidify under the almost tangible aura.

Boom!

With a single strike, the seabed trembled, and the unparalleled power instantly blasted apart half of the fish\'s body.

The terrifying force continued unabated, crashing into the seabed. Within a ten-meter radius, the earth collapsed, cracks spread out, and shockwaves sent waves rushing out, only stopping after reaching a hundred meters away.

Amid the murky and dim seawater, the humanoid black-red exotic beast stood up, emanating an incredibly ferocious aura.