The Key to the Sea of ​​Trees, Dungeon Entrance!

After sorting out what I had gained and calming down,

Jiang Yuan quickly absorbed the increased strength with his extraordinary comprehension.

Meanwhile, the Martial God clone on the other side had also found its target, and notifications of killing ferocious beasts kept ringing in Jiang Yuan's ears as his experience bar slowly rose.

"Most of the day has passed; I wonder how the others are doing."

"Could we have already reached a deeper area?"

Thinking that there was a strong person like Lin Qingyan among the students, Jiang Yuan's expression became slightly serious.

With her abilities, this dungeon is no challenge at all; she may have already surpassed her own abilities and entered the deepest part.

"I can't procrastinate any longer. If she gets the highest score, it won't matter how many ferocious beasts I kill."

As Jiang Yuan pondered this, he traveled at lightning speed, his figure flashing as he made his way deeper into the giant tree forest.

Not long after.

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Yuan appeared in a brand new area.

The place was eerily quiet, with no signs of students having been there. The light was very dim, the canopies of the giant trees were even denser, and strange, sinister sounds echoed all around.

"Um?"

Jiang Yuan glanced sideways, his golden eyes sweeping over.

"Whoosh—!"

Suddenly, more than a dozen thick, purple, thorny vines shot towards Jiang Yuan!

Jiang Yuan swung his green sickle, slicing through the vines, producing a sound like metal clashing.

"Clang clang clang clang!!!"

The blade's light was shattered.

"Snap!"

The sharp sickle from the giant sickle worm broke completely.

"Finally, we've encountered some decent ferocious beasts."

Jiang Yuan casually tossed it away and smiled:

"It's perfect for me to try it out."

"Whoosh!!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

A dozen or so hard, iron-like, purple, thorny vines pierced straight out like spears!

Jiang Yuan slightly turned his body, avoiding all attacks with the slightest movement.

More than a dozen vines pierced deep into the ground, crisscrossing around Jiang Yuan, trapping him like a prison.

"Whoosh!"

The vines suddenly contracted towards the center, their slender thorns gleaming coldly, threatening to pierce his body.

Jiang Yuan remained calm, casually swinging his left hand as if it were a knife.

"Ping!"

With the added power of terror, he used his bare hands to shatter those spikes with his own flesh and blood!

"Swish swish swish swish swish!!"

A dozen or so vines, like enraged serpents, lashed out at Jiang Yuan.

A strong wind blew up Jiang Yuan's bangs, and he slowly opened his eyes, like two candles lit in the darkness, or like a majestic ancient dragon opening its golden eyes in the abyss.

"Ripple... Shock!"

"boom!"

Crimson ripples suddenly erupted from his body, spreading out like waves, causing the vines' attack to pause.

Countless crimson ripples spread across the vines with terrifying vibrational force, causing them to tremble violently as if struck by lightning, before exploding outwards!

"Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!"...

"Hey——!!"

A huge human face appeared on the trunk of a giant tree not far away, emitting a shrill and ear-piercing shriek!

[Abyssal Beast]: Human-Faced Ghost Vine Tree

[Grade]: Rare.

[Level]: LV18.

[Skills]: Mental Destruction, Spore Parasite, Vines Attack.

[Evaluation]: Dangerous and insidious abyssal creatures that can turn their prey into nourishment in an unpredictable way.

That is the true form of the vine!

Crimson ripples spread along the roots of the vines to its body, like a venomous poison that clings to the bone, or like a destructive red lightning bolt, causing a great deal of real damage to its own body!

"Eh-!!!"

Invisible spiritual tides surged in all directions.

It was like sand being blown by the wind against an iron gate, completely having no effect on Jiang Yuan's mental domain!

"Buzz!"

A golden light flashed in Jiang Yuanchi's golden pupils.

Intermediate-level mental skill – [Mental Thorn]!

The incredibly concentrated spiritual energy formed several thorny vines, which mercilessly pierced into the spiritual domain of the Human-Faced Ghost Vine Tree, stirring it wildly and causing it to emit increasingly painful and shrill screams.

The giant tree shook violently, causing the ground to tremble. Countless purple vines sprouted from the ground, whipping wildly and erratically.

"Lightning speed!"

In a flash, Jiang Yuan arrived in front of the Human-Faced Ghost Vine Tree and unleashed a powerful punch with his right fist wrapped in blazing flames!

"Black Lightning... Flash!"

The boxing techniques I learned from Lin Qingyan, combined with the wave-like power generation technique!

With a flash of black lightning, Jiang Yuan's fist landed on the trunk of the Human-Faced Ghost Vine Tree!

"boom--!"

"Bang!"

The incredibly concentrated shockwave pierced straight through the giant tree's trunk, the shockwave spreading for over ten meters, like an invisible spear that pierced and tore through the hard trunk, directly snapping the entire giant tree in half!

[Health bar 17830 → 0]

"Bang!"

The giant tree, nearly 100 meters tall, fell heavily, and a notification sounded in Jiang Yuan's mind.

[Ding! You have defeated the (Human-Faced Ghost Vine Tree) and gained 773 experience points.]

[Ding! Points +30]

[Ding! You have obtained a skill book*1]

[Ding! You have obtained a rare item—the Ghost-Faced Wood Staff.]

[Ding! You have obtained the material - the heartwood of the Human-Faced Demon Vine Tree]

[Ding! You have obtained the material—Spores of the Human-Faced Demon Vine Tree]

[Ding! You have obtained the item - Key to the Sea of ​​Trees]

【Ghost-faced Wood Staff】(Rare): +10 to mental attack, +5 to penetration, +5 to casting speed, and inflicts a slowing effect.

"The Golden Rule is indeed powerful; it dropped rare equipment so quickly."

"Hmm... what is this?"

Jiang Yuan looked at the wooden key in his hand, somewhat puzzled.

【Key to the Sea of ​​Trees】: An item that leads to the hidden map of the dungeon. Holding it will guide you to the entrance of the hidden map.

"Buzz—"

The wooden key in his hand glowed, and a glimmer of light flew out, hovering in front of Jiang Yuan before flying off in a certain direction.

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

"Oh, a tool that can guide the way, that's really nice."

"Take me to the hidden map entrance."

He followed the light deeper into the area.

…………

the other side.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Guan Xiaoxiao, kneeling on one knee, was panting heavily. Her face was dirty and her body was covered in wounds.

Watching the two-headed rhinoceros tortoise, its breath hot and relentless approach, she bit her lip, a hint of resentment in her bright eyes.

Is this the end...?

It's more accurate to say that this is the end of the story.

If your attacks are completely ineffective against it, what else can you do?

Guan Xiaoxiao's hand slowly fell, her head lowered, her face shrouded in shadow.

First, he worked with the team and killed five or six ferocious beasts. Then, he took down four first-tier ferocious beasts on his own. I guess I've done enough.

This is already my limit...

That should work...

At this point, even Mom and Dad would be satisfied...

That's it...

"Thump!"

The ground trembled, and a two-headed rhinoceros tortoise, three meters tall and as large as a camper van, appeared before her. Compared to it, the girl's figure seemed so small.

Guan Xiaoxiao gripped the teleportation stone tightly in her hand.

"roar!"

The two-headed rhinoceros tortoise roared and raised its thick forelimbs.

"I wonder how he's doing now? Has he broken into the top 100 yet?"

The image of a black-haired, golden-eyed boy appeared in Guan Xiaoxiao's mind.

Just as she was about to crush the teleportation stone...

A dark shadow suddenly appeared above the two-headed rhinoceros tortoise without warning. Its body was strange, and it twisted its waist and kicked down hard, slamming heavily onto the two-headed rhinoceros tortoise's hardest shell!

"Bang--!!"

The air exploded, and a blast wave swept through.

Caught completely off guard, the two-headed rhinoceros tortoise coughed up blood from both heads under that terrifying force, its shell shattered, and its massive body sank downwards, causing the ground to cave in half a meter.

Guan Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the scene before her, the raging wind blowing her hair.

"……Why?"

The girl's delicate face was filled with disbelief. Her cherry lips were wide open, and her bright, round eyes stared blankly at the figure standing on top of the two-headed rhinoceros tortoise.

"You...could it be...?"

The Martial God's clone vanished again with a whoosh.

"That figure, that familiar feeling... it must be him!"

The girl murmured to herself, her eyes, which had dimmed, now shining brightly.

"He actually ran away. Did he think I wouldn't recognize him?"

"That idiot."

As Guan Xiaoxiao spoke, she placed her hand on her budding breasts, her heart still pounding uncontrollably.

"Guan Xiaoxiao, really, why is your heart beating so fast? You're so useless."

"I don't like him anyway."

The proud girl puffed out her cheeks, talking to herself in a self-deceiving way to hide her inner shyness.

Take a deep breath.

Guan Xiaoxiao smiled and looked up at the sky, murmuring:

"Let's try to hold on a little longer..."