Chapter 241: Insect Borrowing Dragon’s Might
Chapter 241: Insect Borrowing Dragon’s Might
The second layer of the Thunderous Soul Earth was relatively much more difficult.
Most of the Soul Beasts here had a Soul Power Cultivation of over 1,500 years.
And their frenzy level was higher.
The first layer was still manageable.
Soul Beasts like the Thunder Birds or Thunderhorn Rhinos would actively attack the Soul Pact Masters, but if you ran a bit further, they wouldn’t chase you.
In the second layer, even if you ran, the Soul Beasts would still chase you.
They were relentless.
Entering the second layer was easy—you just needed to defeat a Soul Beast guarding the entrance in the first layer.
This guardian Soul Beast had a Soul Power Cultivation of about 1,500 years.
If you couldn’t defeat it, you couldn’t enter the second layer.
Each layer had this kind of special guardian Soul Beast.
It was probably arranged by the military personnel of the Thunderous Soul Earth.
“The terrain of this layer is better than the first layer. But strangely, there isn’t much free-floating thunder energy in the air.”
Wang Che looked at the space of the second layer. “Instead, the Soul Power is very dense. Unfortunately, this Soul Power is mixed with Shadow Magic, making it too wild. Normal Soul Pets and Soul Pact Masters can’t cultivate with it.”
Shadow Magic was the otherworldly energy that the Empty God Dragon once mentioned, left behind in the Soul Land.
By now, it had fused with the Soul Power in the Soul Land. That’s why the energy in the Soul Land was so wild, and neither humans nor Soul Pets could stay inside for long.
Yet, the soil of the Soul Land was very fertile and could produce many resources.
There were relatively fewer students in the second layer.
Very few from the first year—mostly second-year students.
“There are many Soul Beasts in the second layer, and plenty of resources too.”
After arriving in the second layer, Wang Che planned to speed up.
“So, for the second layer, we’ll change our strategy to advance.” Wang Che looked at the two of them. “We need to defeat those Soul Beasts and gather resources as quickly as possible.”
“Mmhmm!” Little Caterpillar listened carefully.
“Zzzzt!” Magnetic Sword listened.
“This strategy is called Insect Borrowing Dragon’s Might.” Wang Che said.
Little Caterpillar’s eyes lit up.
Ah, what’s this?
Is it my turn to shine?
“No, not just you.” Wang Che looked at Little Caterpillar. “We need to save Soul Power while maintaining speed. So, you and Magnetic Sword need to work together to perform Insect Borrowing Dragon’s Might. It’s not just you, and of course, you’re not going to use the True Dragon Form—that would cost me a lot.”
“Here’s how we’ll do it. Listen carefully…”
Wang Che whispered a few instructions to Little Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword.
The more Little Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword listened, the brighter their eyes became.
“Next, we’ll put it into practice. There happens to be a group of Thunderwing Snakes ahead.”
“Let’s test it out.”
Wang Che pointed to a group of Thunderwing Snakes lying ahead.
Thunderwing Snakes were rare Soul Beasts—a type of small to medium-sized snake species with black-purple bodies and wings.
They were mostly four to seven meters long, as thick as a bucket. The thunder wings on their backs resembled bat wings, spanning three meters when spread, allowing them to float briefly in mid-air for flight.
There were about forty of them.
Wang Che encountered this group of Soul Beasts as soon as he entered the second layer.
His luck was clearly not great.
But in the center of this Thunderwing Snake group, there was a pile of mechanical wreckage.
Probably some good stuff inside.
Thunderwing Snakes were not easy to deal with. They could float briefly in the air, and for most ground-based Soul Beasts, thirty of them was no small number.
They were even harder to handle than Thunder Birds.
Without a team of at least ten people, it would be difficult to take down thirty Thunderwing Snakes at once.
After receiving Wang Che’s tactical guidance, Little Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword immediately sprang into action.
Little Caterpillar leaped up with a soft thud and stood on Magnetic Sword’s back, gently patting Magnetic Sword with its tail.
Because they were executing a strategy, Magnetic Sword temporarily allowed Little Caterpillar to stand on its back.
Of course, this wasn’t exactly sword riding—more like Magnetic Sword moving itself.
But when a little caterpillar stood on a magnetic sword and took off, the visual was still quite striking.
Combined Attack · Sword-Riding Flying Insect!
Of course, this was the low-budget version.
The two little ones took off.
Flying into mid-air, Little Caterpillar first used the Gentle Breeze Soul Skill to control the air, gathering a large mass of dark clouds.
Then, step two.
Magnetic Sword, within the dark clouds, struck downward with streaks of silver-black thunder.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After absorbing the Thunder Seed, the power of these silver-black thunderbolts released by Magnetic Sword wasn’t very strong yet, because it hadn’t absorbed enough.
But this silver-black thunder could deliver a heavy blow to the Soul Pets’ mental spirits!
It had a strong deterrence effect!
This was even more effective than Heavenly Thunder.
As the thunder descended, it instantly woke the Thunderwing Snakes, who hissed and shrieked wildly toward the sky, resisting.
Right at that moment.
From within the dark clouds.
Roar~!!
Amid the rumbling thunder, a fierce roar resembling a Dragon’s Roar erupted.
The sound was majestic and imposing, amplified by the thunder, like the roar of a Giant Dragon!
Immediately, the Thunderwing Snakes, who had been trying to resist, felt a crushing pressure from a higher life form!
It was a Giant Dragon!
Especially in their frenzied state, they had little capacity for thought.
This life-form pressure caused the Thunderwing Snakes’ spirits to tremble intensely!
The dragon’s form was not visible.
But the sound was thunderous!
The Giant Dragon had arrived!
They stood frozen in place like statues.
They let the silver-black lightning strike their bodies, not daring to move.
Wang Che calmly walked over, slapping one down with a single strike.
Effortlessly, he knocked all the Thunder-Winged Snakes to the ground, making his way to the center of the group.
“The lightning absorbed from the Thunder Seed was really useful.”
Wang Che thought to himself.
Combined with Little Caterpillar’s Insect Sound, it was like a double mental attack.
Especially since the Insect Sound now carried a hint of Dragon’s Roar.
If it were just Insect Sound, it clearly wouldn’t be enough to intimidate the Thunder-Winged Snakes. But once paired with the silver-black lightning Magnetic Sword absorbed from the Thunder Seed, it was completely different!
It was as if a real Giant Dragon was roaring!
Just perfect!
And how fast was this?
What’s more, it didn’t take much effort, and the Soul Power consumption was low.
Insect Sound Soul Skill didn’t use much Soul Power or Spiritual Power, and Magnetic Sword was the same.
It only took a few random lightning strikes in the dark clouds.
Then Wang Che finished the job.
Even if those Thunder-Winged Snakes could still move, they would probably scatter and run.
Efficiency was the key.
Wang Che glanced at the pile of mechanical wreckage. Based on the remnants, he felt it was probably the wreckage of a Mecha Beast.
Mecha Beast, initially a small-sized Mechanical Soul Pet, looked like a miniature dinosaur, with limbs and standing upright.
It had a Wyvern-like mouth.
Mecha Beast was a versatile Mechanical Soul Pet that could be modified and evolved into many types of Mechanical Overlords.
Soul Pact Masters could train Mecha Beasts according to their preferences and needs, and evolve them into different powerful Mechanical Soul Pets based on their Martial Souls.
The evolution direction of this Mecha Beast, judging from the wreckage materials, was likely Thunder Mechanical Overlord.
It must have been a long time ago.
Wang Che searched around and found a purple-black scale and a mechanical core from the wreckage.
“These are modification materials.”
Wang Che examined them.
The mechanical core was an energy source condensed by a Mechanical Soul Pet with at least Millennium Spirit Power Cultivation, and it was the starting requirement for modifications.
A Mechanical Soul Pet needed to consolidate its Mechanical Energy so that during modification, the Mechanical Energy wouldn’t dissipate, allowing the modification to proceed smoothly.
The scale was light purple, with faint streaks of lightning flowing over its surface and strange patterns engraved on it.
“It’s Peerless Grade modification material, Thunder Scale. An essential modification material for Thunder Mechanical Overlord modifications.”
Modification materials for Mechanical Soul Pets had different grades.
If you wanted to raise a Mechanical Soul Pet’s grade through modification and evolution to the Monarch Rank, or even the Transcendent stage,
you needed modification materials of the corresponding grade.
Some of these modification materials were dropped by Soul Pets of the corresponding grade and formed over time.
Some could be artificially processed and refined.
Others could be composed of various resources, with many different sources.
Mechanical Modification Experts were one of the hottest professions in society today.
They specialized in researching various modification materials, designing modification and evolution paths for Mechanical Soul Pets, and creating custom first, second, and third modifications for different Mechanical Soul Pets.
Wang Che was no stranger to this industry; modifying Soul Pets was nothing special.
He had even seen all kinds of life forms being modified.
Some high-tech civilizations could even modify cosmic Mechanical Life forms that rivaled Ascension Realm cultivators.
Of course, actual combat was a different story.
“Thunder Scale, if modified onto a Mechanical Beast, could improve its defense and resistance to lightning absorption. This material, used for Magnetic Sword… could serve as material for crafting Sword Equipment.”
Sword Equipment referred to modification equipment for Magnetic Sword.
Right now, Magnetic Sword was just a bare little red sword.
Its blade, the sword edge, could be divided into parts like the sword tip, sword spine, and sword guard, all of which could be modified.
The hilt area, including the crossguard, pommel, grip, and tassel, could also be modified.
Though it looked like a small sword, as a Mechanical Soul Pet, it could be modified in many ways.
Each part, after modification, would greatly enhance Magnetic Sword and provide special effects.
Thinking of this,
“This world probably doesn’t have a system of inscriptions or talismans yet, right?”
Wang Che suddenly thought of this.
Inscriptions were talismans; they were special patterns engraved into equipment or items to unleash greater power.
For Mechanical Soul Pets, if talismans were engraved into these modification materials, their strength could be further developed and enhanced.
“I’ll learn more about Mechanical Soul Pets when I get back.”
Magnetic Sword had achieved Millennium Spirit Power Cultivation and was almost ready for modifications.
“This mechanical core, on the other hand, is the most useful.”
Wang Che buried the pile of mechanical wreckage and stored the two items away.
At that moment, Magnetic Sword and Little Caterpillar flew back.
“Alright, let’s go clear out the next area.”
Wang Che said with a smile.
The exploration of the second layer turned into a frenzy of clearing out.
Little Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword used Sword-Riding Flying Insect, soaring in mid-air while utilizing silver-black lightning and Insect Sound to employ Insect Borrowing Dragon’s Might. They wildly intimidated the Berserk Soul Beasts on the second layer.
Wave after wave of Giant Dragon roars accompanied by lightning continuously echoed through the second layer’s space.
As they became more skilled, even many students got scared.
In less than three hours, Wang Che had fought his way to the entrance of the third layer.
After quickly dealing with the guardian Soul Beast at the second layer’s entrance, Wang Che entered the third layer.
——
Outside, at the Military Base.
“Commandant Cloud, the students have entered one after another. The footage from Cloud Sky Navigation Star should be coming through now, right?”
Principal Nan of Northern River University said to the middle-aged commandant.
“Don’t rush. Cloud Sky Navigation Star says there’s too much footage to process.”
Commandant Cloud coughed and said, “We need to keep records here, perform data analysis, and calculate their scores in detail to ensure fairness.”
“What’s there to process?” Principal Nan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Of course it needs processing,” Commandant Cloud said seriously. “Cloud Sky Navigation Star insists on being meticulous at every step, calculating and introducing each student’s Martial Soul and the Soul Skills used by their Soul Pets. If it just randomly transmitted some footage, it wouldn’t be satisfied.”
“Cloud Sky Navigation Star is a very serious and dedicated Mechanical Soul Pet.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary at all,” Principal Nan said. “Do you think I, an eighty-six level Soul Pact Master, need a Mechanical Soul Pet to explain a bunch of students’ Martial Souls and Soul Skills to me?”
“Who do you think you’re looking down on?”
“Little Nan, you’re being impatient,” Principal Gu said.
“You think everyone is as laid-back as you?” Principal Nan didn’t want to argue further. “I just want to see my students’ combat prowess. Or, how about showing some footage of your school’s students?”
Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Commandant Cloud quickly urged Cloud Sky Navigation Star to send more footage over.
These two were old acquaintances, and even at their age, they still loved to bicker.
One holographic image after another continuously appeared in mid-air.
“They’re here, they’re here!” Commandant Cloud quickly said to the two principals. “It seems someone has already reached the third layer, and they’re moving fast. Cloud Sky Navigation Star is observing intently, and the detailed score rankings will be calculated soon.”
“Which layer should we look at first?”
“The first layer is fine,” Principal Nan said with a smile. “I want to see how many of Old Man Gu’s students can get past the first layer?”
Soon, scenes of students fighting Soul Beasts with their Soul Pets came through from various angles, one after another.
“Let’s look at Little Nan’s side first,” Principal Gu coughed.
“Look then, do you think I’m afraid?” Principal Nan waved his hand. “Commandant Cloud!”
Commandant Cloud nodded. He tapped his finger in the air, searching.
Before long, the performance of Northern River University’s freshmen in the first layer’s trial was displayed.
The freshmen at Northern River University were doing quite well, with generally high overall quality.
Most of the participating freshmen were from the Douhun Major and Yushou Major.
Most of them could stay in the first layer for a long time.
“The first layer is the most suitable for freshmen trials,” Commandant Cloud explained. “It might be a bit dangerous individually, but in teams, it’s relatively easier. With good coordination, it’s not hard to enter the second layer.”
“This time, we don’t have team competitions. Team benefits aren’t high, but they can stay longer. The actual results aren’t bad.”
“Six or seven freshmen from Northern River University individually defeated the guardian Soul Beasts we placed in the first layer space.”
“At the same time, from the footage, each of them defeated more than five Berserk Soul Beasts.”
“This year’s freshmen at Northern River University are even better than last year’s.”
Commandant Cloud continued to pull up more footage.