Chapter 309 - 306: To Take It or Not to Take It

Chapter 309: Chapter 306: To Take It or Not to Take It

He frantically darted between the pillars of light. Through the Crystal Eye’s detection, information on one Natural Essence after another flooded his mind.

[Taixu Essence]

Quality: Natural

Killing Power Bonus: 168

Sharpness Bonus: 65

Divine Sense Strength: 52

Weight: 54

"Damn it, a Divine Sense strength boost? What the hell am I going to do with you," Feng Hao cursed inwardly, his gaze shifting to the other essences.

’Earth attribute strength? Nope, don’t want it.’

’Holy crap, there’s even one that boosts Qi Blood and vitality? What a disgrace to the world of Natural Essences!’

’Ice and fire dual-attribute strength... a pity Fourth Sister isn’t here. No, wait, it would be useless even if she were. Her weapons are all consumables.’

...

’Attack speed boost? Too weak. Pass!’

’Huh? A rare attribute, a force bonus. It’s not bad, but it’s not right for me.’ Feng Hao paused, then whipped his head around to look at Xi Yueyao. "Yao Girl, get over here! There’s one with a force bonus."

Hearing this, Yao Girl came rushing over, full of excitement. "Where? Where? Where is it?"

"Here, this one." Feng Hao pointed casually, his brow furrowed as he instructed, "Go ahead and start refining it. I’ll keep looking."

"Okay." Xi Yueyao nodded obediently and began to earnestly refine the Natural Essence before her.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao continued to weave between the golden pillars of light, searching for an essence that suited him. After a great deal of trouble, he finally found one that boosted Dark Force:

[Taixu Essence]

Quality: Natural

Killing Power Bonus: 172

Sharpness Bonus: 67

Dark Force Bonus: 36

Weight: 58

"Shit, 58 weight? What the hell? If I refine this, I’ll lose my [Light Weapon Specialization]," Feng Hao said, a dark look on his face.

At this moment, Feng Hao felt like crying. He thought it was tragic enough to be faced with a pile of Gold and only be able to take one, but he never expected something even more tragic.

He had no choice. Unlike Yao Girl, whose Dark Force increased by focusing on her Strength Root, his own Strength Root depended entirely on natural growth.

So far, his Strength Root was only at a base of 40, and [Light Weapon Specialization] required his weapon’s weight to be lower than his Strength value. In other words, if he refined this essence, he would lose the bonus from [Light Weapon Specialization].

Fortunately, [Each Point of Killing Power Increases Dark Force by 3] would be unaffected. By that calculation, it seemed the gain in Dark Force after refining would be greater, but he would also lose some attack speed.

In short, Feng Hao was deeply conflicted.

’To take it or not to take it? That is the question.’

Just as Feng Hao was agonizing over his decision, a beast’s roar echoed from the horizon. Immediately after, a man came charging over on a Water Luminous Beast. It was the same Summoning Mage he had encountered before, who had apparently managed to tame the creature.

The strange man was also startled by the scene before him. His brow furrowed as he swept his gaze over Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao, then began searching for an essence that suited him.

Seeing that the strange man wasn’t making a move, Feng Hao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But on second thought, it made sense. The main crowd hadn’t arrived yet, so it was a situation with more meat than wolves. Who the hell would ignore the Natural Essences right in front of them to go pick a fight with someone?

"Looks like the other competitors are about to arrive." Feng Hao clenched his jaw. "Dammit, I finally found a Natural Essence. I can’t just let it go. I’ll just refine it into an off-hand weapon."

With that thought, Feng Hao hesitated no longer, pulling out a Su Mu Dagger and beginning the refining process.

Until now, his Su Mu Daggers had no distinction between main and off-hand, but after refining this Natural Essence, he would have to differentiate between a main-hand and an off-hand weapon.

Meanwhile, the strange Summoner also found a suitable essence and, under the protection of his Water Luminous Beast, quickly began to refine it.

Time ticked by, but the golden light in the basin showed no sign of fading.

Before long, countless streaks of light from speeding flying cars arrived one after another. Seeing the scene before them, they were all dumbfounded, and one by one, they began to search for essences that suited them.

As more and more people arrived, competition was born. It couldn’t be helped; everyone wanted the essences with the best stats.

Moreover, according to the rules of the Secret Realm, as long as a Natural Essence wasn’t fully refined, it could be stolen.

Thus, battles began to break out one after another across the basin.

"Darling, that Natural Essence is perfect for me. Won’t you please snatch it for me?" a seductive Female Mage said, pointing at the strange Summoner not far away.

Her male companion snapped irritably, "Snatch my ass! Can’t you see there’s a Water Luminous Beast guarding him?"

"But I really want that essence!" the Female Mage whined, continuing to act cute.

"You go if you want to. I can’t beat it, anyway." The male companion snorted and started looking for other targets.

Elsewhere, someone soon noticed the essence Feng Hao was refining.

"Captain, look! It’s a Dark Force bonus essence!" a squad of four Mages that had just arrived suddenly exclaimed.

The young man they called Captain was clearly a Dark Force Mage as well, because the moment he looked at Feng Hao, his breathing quickened. "It really is a Dark Force bonus essence... Heh, and he’s just a Fourth-rank Mage."

"Giving such a rare essence to this kid is a complete waste," the Armored Mage beside him sneered. "Just a moment, Captain. I’ll go snatch it for you."

"It’s rare to come across another Dark Force Mage, and a little Fourth-rank one at that. If he knows what’s good for him, we’ll let him off the hook." The Captain’s face darkened, his voice turning cold. "If he doesn’t, then don’t hold back. Send him straight home."

"Haha, you’re too merciful, Captain. If you ask me, we should just kill him outright and teach him a lesson," a Magic Master next to him said playfully. "The Fifth Secret Realm is no place for the likes of him."

Although Feng Hao was refining the essence, he could still sense the movements around him.

Seeing that his refining process was about to be interrupted, Feng Hao grew frantic. ’Dammit! I just need another five or six minutes to succeed! Why did a bunch of morons have to show up at this exact moment?!’

"Shit! Who dares approach? Believe me, I’ll annihilate you all!" Feng Hao roared, gritting his teeth, trying his best to stall for time.

In a situation like this, succeeding in the refinement was naturally the best outcome. But if it came down to it, he didn’t mind teaching these little alien kids a lesson.

The four-man squad was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Captain, did you hear that? The kid’s threatening us," the Magic Master said, roaring with laughter.

The young Captain couldn’t help but laugh as well, but he quickly realized something was wrong. "Not good, he’s stalling for time! Xiaolong, move now! Don’t let him succeed in refining it!"

"Understood!" The Armored Mage’s expression turned serious. He hurriedly swung his Light Blade Giant Axe in a wide arc toward Feng Hao.

"Damn!" Feng Hao cursed inwardly, his anger flaring. He was just about to end the refinement process and start a massacre.

At the critical moment, a sharp cry rang out. It was immediately followed by a flurry of whip afterimages that easily blocked the young Armored Mage’s attack. It was none other than Xi Yueyao, who had just successfully completed her refinement.

"Who dares touch him?" Xi Yueyao stood proudly in front of Feng Hao, her pretty face a cold mask.

The four-man squad was startled by the sudden appearance of backup, but when they saw Xi Yueyao’s power level, they all chuckled.

"Heh, another Fourth-rank, and a pretty little thing at that," the young Captain said, his gaze playful. "What, are you with that kid?"