Chapter 121: The Azure Cloud Grotto Quota, a Shortcut to the Holy Land

Ru Hanhan possessed a keen eye for detail. Although she lacked Li Yao’s talent for drawing talismans, she knew the techniques for channeling energy and immediately began to gather her strength.

Before she started, she reminded Li Yao, "By the way, if the identity tokens light up later, remember to choose the two at the Foundation Establishment peak at the last moment. I have a feeling they are the weaker ones."

Ru Hanhan was referring to the two arenas that would ultimately produce the victors.

The representatives of the six great sacred grounds cast a glance at Li Yao, their expressions shifting slightly. Among them, an elderly Confucian scholar from the Qianyuan Academy stroked his beard, thinking to himself, "This young girl remains calm in the face of great events. She is Cao Xuan’s senior sister, and Xian Xiangqiu’s..."

Jiang Yunsheng’s heart skipped a beat. He caught the implication in his teammate’s words.

"Big brother, do you mean that spiritual energy automatically recovers after a battle?"

"Boom!" Another Black-Horned Wolf was struck down. The teammate replied as if it were common sense, "Of course. Why else would so many people come to the wilderness to hunt?"

"Making money is one thing, but increasing one's strength is equally important, as it is the foundation for surviving the upcoming riot period."

"You have no idea. Faced with the overwhelming onslaught of a beast tide, if your own strength is insufficient, you won't even survive the first wave of attacks!"

He patted Jiang Yunsheng on the shoulder. "I know, the first time you exhaust your spiritual energy, it feels terrible. But if you endure it, your body will act like a sponge, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy from the air, and your strength will naturally increase quickly."

"Be content. The first battle is when you improve the fastest. As you progress, it becomes harder to exhaust your energy, and the efficiency of your gains will slow down significantly."

"I’ve heard that the elite Spirit Hero Academies have specialized forging methods for Spirit Channelers, but that has nothing to do with people like us!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yunsheng realized that Spirit Channelers indeed had corresponding cultivation methods. However, the trade-off was that low-level Spirit Channelers lacked such methods and had to rely entirely on combat depletion and self-replenishment to improve. It was somewhat akin to an ordinary person building muscle at a gym, whereas a true cultivator used "internal energy" to advance rapidly.

Still, his current situation felt a bit like grinding for levels in a game.

At that moment, having killed the Black-Horned Wolf, the crystal card in his mind was vibrating faintly. Wisps of spiritual energy were wrapping around the card, injecting themselves into its patterns and making the humanoid figure etched upon it appear more lifelike.

Reflected in reality, this meant that Jiang Yunsheng’s Spirit Hero avatar was becoming more solid.

'So, I wonder if this specific wolf was worth 4 points of spiritual energy, or if all Black-Horned Wolves are worth 4 points!' Jiang Yunsheng mused. After all, he had increased from 11 to 15 points. While still low, it was significantly stronger than the average person.

Furthermore, Jiang Yunsheng discovered that the spiritual energy gained from killing the wolves directly increased his maximum capacity, while the ambient spiritual energy in the air was what filled that new space. Because it was his own body, he could feel it clearly: his internal energy value was like a syringe, and increasing the maximum capacity was like pulling the plunger back to create more space, while the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn in to fill the void.

There were only two Black-Horned Wolves left. Jiang Yunsheng raised his Spirit-Infused Gun and fired directly. In his eyes, these were all just energy points. He understood that in this world, whether it was his younger brother’s illness or his own desire to survive and live better, everything required the support of strength.

Previously, with only 11 points of energy, he had been stronger than an ordinary person under the influence of the Spirit Hero possession, but not by much. Yet, after killing the wolves, the increase in energy made his hands steadier and his vision sharper—it was an all-encompassing improvement.

The movement speed of the Black-Horned Wolves far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Before, he couldn't track their movements clearly and had to rely on instinct. But now it was different; he could vaguely begin to see their actions.

"Bang!" Jiang Yunsheng fired, hitting the wolf’s belly, which Uncle Renault had just exposed. It was the same type of spirit-infused bullet, but the power had increased significantly, sending the wolf flying much further.

Uncle Renault’s eyes lit up. "Well done. To be able to fire steadily and calmly in your first encounter with Black-Horned Wolves—your combat aptitude is good. You can become a qualified wilderness hunter."

For most Spirit Channelers, becoming a qualified hunter was simply a matter of accumulating experience through many battles. But to master the knack and secure a kill on one's very first outing, as Jiang Yunsheng had, was considered a sign of true talent by most hunters. Of course, this aptitude meant little to those above the Blue Soul rank, but to an ordinary Spirit Channeler, it was the most precious gift for survival.

"Phew..."

Jiang Yunsheng felt another surge of spiritual energy pour into his body. This time, he went from 15 points to 20.

He observed the fallen wolf; it was indeed slightly larger than the previous one. 'As expected, reality is different from a game,' Jiang Yunsheng thought. In a game, monsters of the same type might grant the same "experience," unless one encountered an elite variant. But in reality, the growth, absorbed energy, and strength of each wolf varied, leading to different amounts of "experience points" upon harvest.

"Boom!"

While he was lost in thought, the final Black-Horned Wolf was knocked down and slain by Uncle Renault and the rest of the squad.

Thus, Jiang Yunsheng’s first hunt concluded successfully. Without anyone knowing, his spiritual energy had already reached 20 points. Such a rate of cultivation would likely leave even specialized scholars like Professor Wang speechless. After all, in just a short skirmish, he had jumped from 11 to 20 points—a feat that might not even be possible with the forging methods taught at the Spirit Hero Academies.

"Haha, a great haul! Here, kid, take this!" Uncle Renault tossed something black toward him.

Jiang Yunsheng caught it in a hurry. They were two black horns—the exact items needed for a Spirit Channeler’s "newbie quest." Under normal circumstances, Jiang Yunsheng hadn't contributed much, only landing the final blow on two wolves, so he shouldn't have been entitled to two full horns. After all, they were the most valuable part of the beast. However, everyone knew he was a rookie, and his performance had truly been impressive.

Though his initial panic had made everyone shake their heads, he had adjusted quickly. While Uncle Renault and the others had kept the wolves occupied, the final killing blows were undeniably Jiang Yunsheng’s.

"Thanks, Uncle Renault. I won’t stand on ceremony."