The vine demons this time were several times more numerous than the stone spirits they encountered yesterday.
However, Zhou Yan's gains were equally substantial.
[Picked up One-Star Timber x5.]
[Picked up One-Star Timber x5.]
[Picked up Two-Star Timber x2.]
...
Zhou Yan saw a vine whipping towards him, but it missed. Diao Chan was constantly protecting him, and the vine was swatted away with a single sword strike.
"Thank you," Zhou Yan said gratefully.
"It's that monster," Diao Chan said, looking to the other side at a vine resembling a small tree.
[Monster: Vine Demon]
[Quality: Leader]
[Level: 8]
[Special: Resource Monster]
[Description: An extremely rare resource monster possessing a crystal core. Its strength is formidable. If defeated, it can yield exceptionally rich rewards.]
Resource monsters themselves were rare, capable of dropping additional resources. This Vine Demon being a leader-class monster made it even more precious.
"An level 8 leader, no wonder it almost hit me."
Zhou Yan looked at Diao Chan and said, "Chan'er, I'll handle the small fry. You deal with the leader."
"No problem!"
Diao Chan's true strength far surpassed this level 8 leader, so she had no fear. Her speed was astonishing, her swordsmanship sharp. Facing the surrounding vines, she danced a dazzling display of sword flowers, cleaving them all in half. The monsters couldn't touch Diao Chan's body; instead, many were killed by her incidental attacks.
Diao Chan rapidly approached the leader. The monster was not idle, launching countless vines at her. Diao Chan unleashed her Lotus Sword Technique; with every strike, vines were severed. The ground was already littered with numerous severed vines. Diao Chan's attack speed matched her movement speed. Sword flowers bloomed, and Diao Chan pierced the leader several times. The leader dissolved into a pile of glittering materials, much to Zhou Yan's excitement. This was undoubtedly a massive drop.
[Killed Level 8 Leader - Vine Demon, extra rewards: 240 Soul Coins, 240 Spirit Coins, Basic Building Chest.]
Zhou Yan was surprised. Killing a wild leader-level monster, and receiving additional building rewards! He had never heard of such a thing before and wondered if there had been precedents. Wilderness exploration was already difficult for newcomers, let alone defeating a leader-class monster. This was a hidden reward in itself. The novice trial was filled with infinite opportunities, with the rewards solely dependent on individual effort. Zhou Yan, with his cheat-like existence and the help of super heroes like Diao Chan, was destined for greatness.
"I'll open the treasure chest after returning to the territory."
Zhou Yan wasn't in a hurry. He should first clear out all the surrounding Vine Demons. After eliminating the smaller monsters around the leader, Zhou Yan began to collect the dropped items.
[Picked up Three-Star Timber x10.]
[Picked up Vine Demon Seed x8.]
[Picked up One-Star Wood Element Crystal Core x1.]
[Picked up One-Star Timber x100.]
[Picked up Two-Star Timber x50.]
[Picked up Bronze Chest x1.]
A leader's drop was indeed numerous and rich. The other items were easily understood, but one item puzzled him.
"Vine Demon Seed, what is this?" Zhou Yan clicked to view its properties.
[Item: Vine Demon Seed]
[Quality: D]
[Description: A seed that occasionally forms after a Vine Demon leader dies. It can be planted within the territory to help defend against external invasions. It can grow up to level ten.]
Such a thing existed. Zhou Yan was greatly surprised. This was the benefit of having high luck. If not for Diao Chan's kill, such a seed might not have appeared. This was equivalent to adding eight guards to his territory. It was just a shame that the Vine Demon's growth was limited, only reaching level ten. It might be useful in the novice stage, but less so in the later game. Having it was better than not. Zhou Yan wasn't too concerned. His [Thorny Vine Fence] required Wood Element Crystal Cores to upgrade, but unfortunately, this was only a one-star core and not very useful. However, such items might come in handy later.
They spent a considerable amount of time eliminating all the remaining Vine Demons in the vicinity. This time, they had far more treasure chests than yesterday. After reaching this point, they walked a considerable distance further and found only a few monsters, mostly level six or seven Howling Boars, or rather, Howling Wild Boars. After defeating them, they decided to head back through the unexplored misty areas.
They encountered no significant dangers along the way, mainly due to their overwhelming strength and the absence of monsters above level ten, making the journey incredibly easy. They remained in the wilderness until dusk before returning to their territory.
"Today was truly tiring," Zhou Yan said, a mixture of joy and exhaustion.
Upon returning to the [Spirit Vein Bamboo House], streams of powerful spiritual energy surged into his body, enhancing his physical condition. His message notification appeared again; besides Qin Yao, there was no one else. He had been too focused on combat today and had almost forgotten about her. Clicking on it, he found dozens of messages. He checked the latest ones.
Qin Yao: "Are you there?"
Zhou Yan quickly replied, "Yes!"
Qin Yao: "If I couldn't contact you, I would have thought you met with an accident."
Zhou Yan quickly replied, "How could that be? It's just that I couldn't be distracted during combat, so I didn't contact you earlier."
"That's true," Qin Yao realized she had been too anxious.
Zhou Yan initiated a trade, and Qin Yao promptly accepted, wondering how much he had gained today. When Zhou Yan placed a large pile of monster corpses on the trade bar, Qin Yao's entire face went blank. She had expected Zhou Yan to have a substantial haul, but seeing his actual gains made her realize she had completely underestimated him.
"Oh my god, how many monsters did he kill?" Qin Yao rubbed her eyes, confirming it wasn't a dream. At this stage, how could this person kill so many monsters? Was he even human? Wait, aren't these level 7 Howling Wild Boars! My goodness, what kind of monster slayer is he, to be able to kill such monsters already!
Qin Yao's mind went blank for a long time, only snapping back to reality after Zhou Yan asked her several times.
"Why didn't you tell me your real name?" Qin Yao was naturally curious about him. The key was that if he didn't reveal his name, she would have no leads to find him after the novice trial. With so many lords nationwide, how could she possibly search? There were many people who awakened their magic across the world, from various organizations and families, who didn't need to go to school to awaken. Finding him would be an impossible task.
"Let's focus on business. Regarding personal matters, it's best not to inquire. Even if I told you, a fake name would be meaningless," Zhou Yan did not want to be discovered by her. After all, within the Lord's Space, as long as he didn't voluntarily reveal his information, it wouldn't be easy for others to find him.