Is That a Monkey Calling?

The place where everyone stood was a clearing within a stone forest, surrounded by jagged rocks. These rocks were all in shades of gray, giving off a desolate and withered feeling. It was no wonder this place was called the Gray Zone.

From the moment they entered the secret realm, the assessment and competition had begun.

The candidates glanced at each other before rushing into the surrounding stone forest. It seemed they were in a hurry to hunt magical beasts.

Seeing this, Lina said urgently, “Brother Ye, we should hurry and hunt too! If we go late, everything will be snatched up!”

Zhang Ye, however, was not in a rush at all. He smiled and said, “We have three days. The fact that the organizers gave us three days means this secret realm is larger than we imagined, so there will naturally be enough magical beasts.”

“Furthermore, since the primary assessment area is the Gray Zone, it indicates that the risk level there is low. The Yellow and Red Zones have higher risk levels, which, in other words, means the magical beasts there are of a higher tier.”

“So, our main targets are the Yellow and Red Zones. As for the Gray Zone, that should be the grinding spot for those Tier Four and Tier Five candidates.”

Upon hearing this, Lina’s eyes brightened, and her voice carried a hint of admiration. “Brother Ye, you’re so smart!”

Zhang Ye smiled and accepted the compliment graciously.

Although anyone with half a brain could have deduced this, he still found Lina’s straightforward praise quite pleasant.

“Wait for me a moment.” As he spoke, Zhang Ye stepped onto a Bursting Flame magic circle and slowly ascended into the air.

When he climbed to a height of over two hundred meters, he felt a resistance acting upon him. The higher he went, the greater the resistance became. It seemed this secret realm had a limit on flight altitude.

Ultimately, Zhang Ye stopped at an altitude of three hundred meters and looked around.

As far as the eye could see, everything was a dull gray.

At this height, he could see for dozens of li. It was clear that this secret realm was indeed massive. In the distance, he could see a patch of yellow, and in another direction, a patch of red. Thus, the Gray, Yellow, and Red Zones were not distributed in concentric circles but rather in blocks.

As of now, he hadn't seen any black areas.

After determining their direction, Zhang Ye landed back on the ground and pointed toward a certain path. “Let’s go that way. There’s a Red Zone over there; it should be suitable for us to hunt.”

At this point, Lina followed Zhang Ye’s lead completely and nodded. “Alright, let’s go!”

The two of them ran in the direction Zhang Ye had pointed.

Although Lina could use Blink, it consumed mana. Ordinary people weren't like Zhang Ye, who could refill his mana in a few moments. Once a normal person exhausted their mana, it would take them half a day or even a full day to recover. Lina had great talent, but even she would need several hours. Moreover, her physique wasn't as strong as Zhang Ye’s, so in the pursuit of speed... Zhang Ye chose to take to the skies.

Using mana to support Lina and extending two iron chains around her waist as a safety measure, Zhang Ye gave a mischievous grin.

“Lina, are you ready to feel the speed and passion?”

Lina nodded with a serious expression. “I’m ready!”

Zhang Ye nodded and cast the Wind-gallop Spell and Slow Fall on both himself and Lina, making their bodies light enough to move with the wind.

In the next moment, a blue magic circle emerged from beneath his feet, overlapping with the Bursting Flame circle. The Bursting Flame circle transformed from red to a bluish-purple.

Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced — Bursting Flame!

Zhang Ye also called it Rocket Propulsion!

As mana was injected, blue flames surged out, and the two of them instantly soared into the sky. Pulled by the immense centrifugal force, Lina’s limbs were thrown back, but she couldn't help but let out a loud shout.

“Woo-hoo!!!”

Zhang Ye was also incredibly excited. Their speed grew faster and faster, and the adrenaline in his body surged. The head-on gale was blocked by the Wind-gallop Spell, yet he could personally experience the ever-increasing speed. This feeling was simply too exhilarating!

This was exactly why speed was linked to passion!

While accelerating, Zhang Ye said, “You can’t just shout like that. Come, I’ll teach you a dragon cry.”

Lina nodded excitedly. This sensation was truly too thrilling; she had never experienced anything like it in the royal palace!

She asked curiously, “How does a dragon cry? Is it like an ‘Awoo’?”

“No, a dragon cries like this,” Zhang Ye said, tilting his head back and letting out a long shout. “Wuhu—!”

Stars appeared in Lina’s eyes as she found it very interesting. She also craned her neck and shouted, “Wuhu—!”

With that shout, all the excitement and pleasure seemed to find a release, making them feel thoroughly invigorated.

“How was it?” Zhang Ye laughed loudly.

“It’s amazing!” Lina’s small face under her helmet was flushed. “Brother Ye, you’re so awesome! Wuhu!!!”

“Gu—jiu!” Gujiu, sitting on Zhang Ye’s shoulder, also cried out excitedly.

“Hahaha, I’m going to speed up! Keep the dragon cries going!”

“Wuhu!!!”

“Gu—jiu—!”

Their speed soared to the limit. Then, a sonic barrier was pierced by the Wind-gallop Spell at the front, bursting apart. They spread their arms wide as air currents gathered at their fingertips, trailing long vapor trails behind them.

Below, some people had already started fighting monsters. Just as they finished off a magical beast, they heard a strange sound coming from the sky.

Everyone was stunned. “Is that a monkey calling?”

“I don’t know. Are there flying magical beasts in the secret realm?”

“I just saw a black shadow fly past. It was extremely fast, I couldn't see it clearly...”

“A giant black rat?”

A group of people stood there in a daze. Along the way, countless people heard the ‘dragon cries.’ To the point that after they left, rumors spread that there was a type of flying monkey in the secret realm that made strange noises...

Soon, the two of them crossed dozens of li and saw the so-called Red Zone.

The Red Zone was similar to the Gray Zone in that it was filled with jagged rocks, but the stones here were reddish-brown. Furthermore, the temperature was higher, and the fire element was quite dense.

The two of them landed slowly. Zhang Ye was fine since his hair wasn't long, but at this moment, Lina’s hair had been blown back so much it looked like a hedgehog’s.

“Exhilarating, right?” Zhang Ye laughed.

Lina felt like her whole body was floating. She nodded rapidly. “It was too exhilarating! It was so thrilling! Brother Ye, I want more!”

Zhang Ye laughed. “Don’t worry, there will be even more exciting things later.”

“Mhm, mhm!”

After flying for so long, Zhang Ye had consumed a lot of mana. He meditated on the spot for a few seconds, and his mana was full once again. Lina watched in shock. She had originally wanted to take a mana recovery potion from her ring to give to him, but before she could even pull it out, his mana had completely recovered.

“Brother Ye, you’re so quick!” Lina said in surprise.

Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘quick’? I’ve got plenty of stamina, okay!”

Lina didn't catch the double entendre, but she still said, “Your mana recovery speed is the fastest I’ve ever seen!”

Hearing this, Zhang Ye laughed. “Oh, you were talking about my mana recovery speed...”

Lina: “?”

Zhang Ye said casually, “My constitution is a bit special, so my mana recovery speed is much faster than an average person’s... Anyway, enough about that. Let’s start hunting!”

In just that short time, some magical beasts had already been attracted by the two of them.

Along the way, Zhang Ye had observed that the magical beasts in the Gray Zone were a type of earth-attribute creature called Gray Rock Beasts. Their bodies were composed of gray stone and took various forms—some looked like tigers, some like rhinoceroses, and some like apes...

The magical beasts in the Red Zone were also rock-based creatures, but they were called Flame Rock Beasts. Their bodies were made of scalding red stone, with fire and lava flowing through the cracks. They were dual-attribute beasts of earth and fire.

Furthermore, compared to the Gray Rock Beasts which were generally Tier Three or Four, the Flame Rock Beasts in the Red Zone were mostly Tier Six or Seven. In the distance, there were even some larger ones that could reach Tier Eight. Therefore, it couldn't be ruled out that even higher-tier beings existed deeper within.

“Ugh!” At this moment, three Tier Six Flame Rock Beasts had already surrounded the two of them. Two charged directly at them, while the other began condensing a lava fireball in the distance, preparing to attack.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye said, “Even though these rock beasts are made of stone, they possess a certain level of intelligence and know how to fight together. So, the deeper we go, the larger the groups of rock beasts should be.”

As he spoke, he threw out a palm strike. Without even casting a spell, a massive palm made of pure mana slammed the three Flame Rock Beasts into the ground.

This was the most basic application of mana: mana condensation.

To achieve mana condensation, one not only needed sufficient mana quality and reserves but also required exceptional mana control. Zhang Ye possessed all three.

The three Tier Six Flame Rock Beasts were crushed to death on the spot by Zhang Ye, instantly crumbling into a pile of loose rocks and lava. However, there were no magic cores.

This was also why the assessment was to collect soul essence rather than magic cores; these rock beasts simply didn't have magic cores in their bodies, only soul essence.

Zhang Ye pondered why these rock beasts had no magic cores and only soul essence.

Then, he looked at the lamp hanging from his waist.

However... the lamp was completely empty.

“Eh? Why is there no essence?” Zhang Ye was stunned. He turned to look at Lina’s waist, but her three lamps were also completely empty.

“Wait... where’s my essence? Where’s my big ol’ essence?” Zhang Ye was utterly bewildered. Didn't they say the lamps would automatically extract essence?!

Just as Zhang Ye was feeling confused, Lina suddenly tugged on the corner of his shirt.

“Um... Brother Ye, the essence was eaten by you.”

Zhang Ye: “???”

...

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