Chapter 152: Chapter 149: Sword Bone Transformation, Swallowing the Demon Core Raw

Once they reached a safe spot, the two laid out their haul to divide it.

On the ground lay the five Spirit Plants.

There was also the Demon Core, a vial of heart’s blood, and the entire flayed lizard hide.

Han Feng looked at the items, thinking for a moment.

He then started to push the Demon Core and the lizard hide toward Wang Meng.

"Brother Meng, even though I did most of the work this time, you still contributed."

"These Demon Beast Materials..."

"Stop!"

Wang Meng suddenly reached out and grabbed Han Feng’s wrist.

His broad face, usually full of cheerful laughter, was now completely serious.

"Fengzi, we’re brothers, but we can’t break the rules."

Wang Meng pointed to the things on the ground and said in a low, rumbling voice,

"This time, I basically just cheered you on from the sidelines. I didn’t help at all, so how could I have the nerve to take a cut of the spoils?"

"I don’t want any of the Spirit Plants."

A warmth spread through Han Feng’s heart, and he was about to explain.

But Wang Meng had already moved to divvy up the Demon Beast Materials himself.

He only picked up a corner of the lizard hide.

"As for this big guy, I’ll take ten percent."

"Consider it payment for my labor and for the wear and tear on my blade."

"The other ninety percent, whether it’s the Demon Core or the blood, is your spoils of war."

Han Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Ten percent? Brother Meng, that’s too..."

Before Han Feng could finish, Wang Meng waved his hands repeatedly.

"It’s not a small amount!"

"This ten percent would fetch several thousand Contribution Points on the Black Market."

"If I take any more, I’d just be unreasonable."

"When we’re out on missions, distributing loot based on contribution is fundamental."

"If we don’t follow that, the team won’t last long. So just take it."

"There are plenty of opportunities in this Secret Realm, don’t get hung up on this one time."

"Besides, with that treasure-finding skill of yours, I’m counting on you to make me rich!"

Looking at Wang Meng’s sincere yet slightly sly eyes, Han Feng stopped insisting.

In this profit-driven Martial Arts World, it was truly good fortune to find a teammate so level-headed and loyal.

"Alright, we’ll do it your way then."

"Next time we find something suitable, I’ll share it with you."

Han Feng didn’t press the issue further.

He packed the five Spirit Plants and the lion’s share of the Demon Beast Materials into his backpack.

In order to push his Sword Bone progress to the 75% critical point, his desire for resources was now extremely urgent.

"Let’s go. It’s getting dark."

Han Feng glanced at the sky.

The once grayish-white sky was now beginning to take on an ominous, dark hue.

The mist in the distance grew thicker.

It was as if a layer of filthy gauze had been draped over the heavens.

The air around them also grew colder.

An occasional strange gust of wind whispered past, like someone murmuring in their ears.

It was a sign that the Gloom Period was approaching.

The two of them didn’t linger.

Wang Meng shouldered the backpack while Han Feng stood guard.

They followed the path they came from, hurrying back toward the safe point.

The real test would only begin after the sun had set.

By the time they returned to the safe point cave on G-13 Floating Island, the sky had already begun to dim.

Inside the cave, the air Purification Runes were still humming.

But the faint scent of blood still lingered.

The other two teams that had gone out to search had already returned.

They were in the open area, taking stock of their gains.

"Our luck is terrible. We only ran into two dens of Tier One Middle Stage Wind Wolves."

"Fan Jian here poked their hides full of holes, so they won’t sell for much."

Old Liu grumbled as he wiped down the sniper rifle he treated like a treasure.

Fan Jian didn’t say a word.

He just silently sharpened his Short Sword off to the side.

At his feet was a pile of a dozen or so tattered wolf pelts and a small stack of Tier One Demon Cores.

Liu Cheng and Su Yue’s group did slightly better.

They brought back several stalks of Tier One Middle Grade Demon-Companion Grass and a Tier One Peak One-horned Wild Boar.

They were in a corner, grunting and puffing as they butchered the boar.

When Wang Meng, shouldering a bulging backpack, blocked the cave entrance like an iron tower, everyone paused what they were doing.

"You’re back? Looks like you had a good haul."

Zhang Hao was sitting cross-legged by the stone monument, gnawing on a piece of dry rations.

"Hehe, Captain, it was more than just good."

Wang Meng tossed the backpack to the ground with a heavy THUD.

Judging by the sound, it was heavy.

As the backpack’s zipper was pulled open, the complete Iron-Backed Water Lizard Hide, shimmering with a faint cyan glow, was revealed.

The once-noisy cave fell silent in an instant.

Fan Jian’s hand, which had been sharpening his blade, stopped.

Old Liu’s eyes went wide.

Even the ever-aloof Su Yue pushed up her glasses and couldn’t help but take two steps closer.

"A Tier Two Early Stage... Iron-Backed Water Lizard?"

Old Liu swallowed hard.

"This thing’s Defense Power is ridiculously high, and its hide is the most valuable part."

"Besides the Captain, no one here can even get through its defense, right?"

"And this."

Like he was presenting a Treasure, Wang Meng took out the special Jade Box from a compartment in his backpack and lifted the lid just a crack.

A refreshing, cool fragrance instantly filled the air.

"A Cold Pool Lotus?"

Su Yue exclaimed softly.

"And it’s nearly mature! This has to be worth at least three hundred Spirit Coins!"

The atmosphere in the cave became a little strange. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

There was definitely envy.

Everyone here was a B Level Student; no one was inherently worse than anyone else.

But they’d been out for less than two hours, and what they brought back was worth more than what their own team could get in several days.

"What are you looking at?"

"Have you forgotten the rules?"

Zhang Hao suddenly tossed his dry rations back into the bag and brushed the crumbs from his hands.

His tone was flat, yet it carried an oppressive weight.

"We agreed before entering the Secret Realm: finders keepers, killers keepers."

"You can be jealous, but save that energy for killing Demon Beasts tomorrow."

The restless atmosphere was instantly suppressed.

Han Feng smiled but said nothing.

He organized his share of the materials and walked to the deepest corner of the cave.

He had no intention of saving these Spirit Plants to sell for money back home.

During the hunt for the Iron-Backed Water Lizard, he had become even more certain of one thing.

In this godforsaken place, Spirit Coins in your pocket were just numbers. Only power absorbed into your body was the capital you needed to stay alive.

His Sword Bone Transformation progress was stuck at 70.5%, and the deep, bone-marrow-level hunger made it impossible for him to wait another moment.

"Fengzi, what are you doing?"

Wang Meng’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Han Feng pick up the priceless Cold Pool Lotus and shove it into his mouth like it was a carrot.

"That’s worth three hundred Spirit Coins!"

"You’re just going to eat it raw?"

"What a colossal waste!"

"It’s not a waste if it’s converted into Cultivation."

Han Feng didn’t bother explaining much and directly stuffed the frosty, dark-blue lotus into his mouth.

It was bitter upon entering his mouth.

This was followed by an extreme chill that shot down his throat and straight into his stomach.

In that instant, Han Feng felt as if his esophagus had been doused in liquid nitrogen.

The cold made him shiver.

He didn’t dare to delay and immediately circulated the Basic Body Forging Technique.

At the same time, he guided the immense Medicinal Power to surge through his limbs and bones.

[High-energy Spiritual Artifact detected...]

[Sword Bone absorbing...]

[Progress +1.5... +2.1...]

’Not enough.’

Gritting his teeth, Han Feng stuffed the remaining four stalks of Water Spirit Grass into his mouth all at once.

As these Spirit Plants went down, the previously stagnant Sword Bone progress bar began to jump wildly.

72...

74...

76...

The instant the progress bar crossed 75, a sudden change occurred.

CRACK CRACK CRACK—

A series of dense, explosive sounds echoed from within Han Feng’s body.

It was as if countless miniature hammers were striking his bones.

The sensation was neither pain nor an itch.

It was a maddening, tingling numbness.

The Qi Blood that normally flowed gently through his body seemed to be drawn in by some kind of high-frequency Vibration.

It surged frantically toward all the bones in his body.

His skin instantly turned Crimson.

Wisps of white steam rose from the top of his head—a sign that the moisture in his body was evaporating due to high temperatures.

[Sword Bone Talent (Tier Two) awakening: Sword Qi Generation]

[Warning: Insufficient Energy reserves! Please replenish Energy!]

An unprecedented feeling of hunger instantly overwhelmed Han Feng’s sanity.

This wasn’t just the hunger of his stomach.

It was every cell, every inch of his skeleton, roaring for Energy.

His body was like a furnace that had suddenly been ignited.

And his pitiful reserves of Qi Blood were nowhere near enough to fuel it.