Chapter 18: An Unexpected Encounter with a Major Foe

Open ground outside the camp.

“It’s always like this. As soon as your Moonlight Fox uses Charm and Lovely-sad, my Soul Pet loses all desire to fight. It doesn’t matter even if its stage is higher than yours.” Ting Yu huffily recalled her Soul Pet into its space.

Ting Yu’s Soul Pet was the Barbed Rose Demon. It belonged to the Plant Realm’s Flora Series, Rose tribe. Its stage was high, and its grade was high-tier.

On the island, the Barbed Rose Demon was ranked ninth in terms of species class among Soul Pets. Its strength had even reached the seventh stage. Ting Yu had always kept a low profile in the past. It was only recently that others discovered her Soul Pet.

Chu Mu and she were roommates, so he naturally found out earlier than others. Still, he was very surprised when he first learned that this seemingly delicate girl actually had such a strong Soul Pet.

“Your Little Mo Xie is just a freak. It’s only at the sixth stage, a stage lower than my Floral Demon. Its grade is lower too. Its claws have just reached the initial level of the first phase of full development. Yet, my Floral Demon just can’t beat it no matter what!” Ting Yu stared at Chu Mu somewhat resentfully.

“Just pray you don’t run into me on the day of the duel,” Chu Mu said calmly.

There were only five short days left until the final showdown. Through his progress over the past two months or so, Little Mo Xie had also learned the two Demonic Spirit skills: Lovely-sad and Charm.

Lovely-sad was the Moonlight Fox’s unique disguise skill. By pretending to be pitiful and helpless, it could win the sympathy of some powerful Soul Pets, weakening their will to fight.

Charm was a skill that used its beautiful appearance to create illusions and confuse the opponent’s mind.

Both skills had no offensive power whatsoever, but Chu Mu could use them well in battle to deal fatal blows to enemies.

On the island, few dared to provoke Ting Yu’s Barbed Rose Demon, but it always lost to Chu Mu in their secret sparring matches.

“There are only five days left until the duel. Your Little Mo Xie shouldn’t have any problem getting into the top ten,” Ting Yu said.

“Your Floral Demon shouldn’t have many opponents who can handle it either, so it should survive,” Chu Mu said.

“Not necessarily. As far as I know, there are at least five people whose Soul Pets are stronger than my Barbed Rose Demon,” Ting Yu said.

“Oh? Tell me about the Soul Pets of the others too,” Chu Mu said.

“You only know how to bury your head in cultivation and training your Soul Pet. You know nothing else. You’ll get into trouble sooner or later,” Ting Yu glared at Chu Mu. “Tang Xian’s Steel Fang is at the eighth stage – a high-grade. Its species class is ranked tenth, but its strength is in the top five!”

“Feng Gu’s Rock Demon is at the ninth stage – a mid-grade. Its species class is ranked twentieth, but its strength is also in the top five!”

“And that Ge Qing who boasted he would devour you alive. His Scale Snake has only reached the seventh stage, but it’s very, very ferocious. It has hardly ever lost in a fight against anyone.”

“And the one everyone agrees is the strongest is definitely Zhou Shengmo. His Soul Pet is a Fang Wolf, eighth stage – a high-grade. It has fully developed wolf claws and fully developed wolf fangs. Even without using any skills, my Barbed Rose Demon is no match for it. I hope we don’t run into this guy…”

When Zhou Shengmo was mentioned, Chu Mu’s face darkened a few shades. During the survival training, that guy had framed him, nearly getting him killed. Chu Mu would not forget this grudge!

“Of course, there’s one more person, and that’s you. You’ve even managed to train an ornamental Soul Pet to this level. If you could get a high-level Soul Pet like them, getting into the top three wouldn’t be a problem,” Ting Yu said.

Chu Mu just smiled and offered no further explanation.

“I’ll go for a walk in the Thick Forest. You practice on your own,” Chu Mu said.

“Oh, not going together?” Ting Yu said.

“No need. I might go to a dangerous place.” After saying that, Chu Mu left directly.

…

The Thick Forest was relatively close to the Inner Island. You could say it was like the Thicket of Thorns back then, a boundary area between the Inner Island and the Outer Island. Some powerful Soul Pets also lived there.

Last month, Chu Mu, along with Little Mo Xie, discovered a second-grade medicinal herb in the Thick Forest: the Jade Dew Fungus.

Dew was the purest liquid nutrient. When the leaves of plants absorbing the essence of heaven and earth dripped dew onto the same spot, if the soil was fertile, the Jade Dew Fungus could grow there.

The Jade Dew Fungus was a second-grade medicinal herb. Its effect was very direct: it could make a Soul Pet grow quickly. Moreover, if you could mix the Jade Dew Fungus with second-grade Sky Blue Grass in a three-to-two ratio to concoct a third-grade potion, the Sky Blue Jade Dew Elixir, it could directly make a Soul Pet grow several stages. It was a rare and precious thing.

There were only five days left until the competition. After the competition, you would either be killed directly or sent to another island. So, Chu Mu had to get that Jade Dew Fungus in the next few days.

When he encountered it last month, Chu Mu did not act because wherever Jade Dew Fungus appeared, there was always a symbiotic Soul Pet: the Hundred-Eye Palm.

The Hundred-Eye Palm belonged to the Plant Realm’s Flora Series, Hundred-Eye Palm tribe. It was a mid-grade Soul Pet. This Hundred-Eye Palm accompanying that Jade Dew Fungus was probably at the eighth stage. Generally, wherever there was Jade Dew Fungus, you would find this kind of Soul Pet.

…

As soon as he stepped into the Thick Forest, Chu Mu smelled the scent of soil. It had rained a few days ago, so the air was still relatively fresh…

Chu Mu was with Mo Xie, and the Little Green Worm was perched on his shoulder. The Little Green Worm was very alert. By having it with him, Chu Mu had avoided danger many times.

After going deep into the forest for about a kilometer, Chu Mu heard the voices of several people talking in the quiet woods.

Chu Mu immediately stopped and hid behind a large tree.

When Chu Mu wandered around the island, he generally tried to avoid contact with others. After all, everyone here was fighting for survival. To kill one opponent was to increase one’s own hope of survival.

“Zhou Shengmo, with just the three of us, we should be able to deal with it, right?” The voice of a somewhat rough-sounding teenager came through.

“Even without you two, my Fang Wolf alone would be enough. Having you come is just a precaution,” Zhou Shengmo said.

Hiding behind the tree, Chu Mu looked through the branches at the three teenagers walking past not far from him. His face grew a few shades colder.

Wasn’t that Chu Mu’s major foe, Zhou Shengmo! This tall guy, who carried a highly talented Fang Wolf, was feared by almost everyone. It was undeniable that he would get first place in the upcoming competition!

As for the two teenagers next to Zhou Shengmo, Chu Mu vaguely remembered them. One was called Luo Chen, and the other was called Ma Zhi. Luo Chen was among the top ten in terms of strength, while Ma Zhi was probably at a medium level, not first-rate, but still not to be ignored.