(Talent Pavilion) Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Second Genetic Beast! [Part Two] Vote for monthly tickets!!!!

…… Not long after, Ye Chen arrived at the peak where the light had fallen. He moved lightly, climbing upward with extreme caution, his entire body smeared with mud churned from the earth and decaying leaves, masking his own blood aura and the stench of sweat.

He proceeded cautiously, avoiding several monster lairs, and finally reached the summit. All around, fragrant grasses grew lush, and trees stood in neat ranks.

Beneath a sheer cliff face, there was a clear pool, and a small waterfall spilled down from above like a bolt of silver cloth, scattering droplets of water everywhere. By the edge of the pool was a creature the size of a small dog.

It was entirely white, covered in fine hair, possessing eight tiny legs beneath its belly encased in extremely sharp, external shells. On its back rested a pair of silver wings, thin as cicada wings, crystal clear, inscribed with many minute, secret patterns.

Its body was pliable, marked with circles of black stripes, and its mouth resembled crab pincers, while its eyes were enormous, like those of a fly. The instant Ye Chen saw this creature, he choked back a breath, and then his eyes shone with wild ecstasy.

His body trembled slightly with excitement. He had never dreamed he would actually see this monster here!

It was a massive opportunity! This little monster was named the Lightning Beast, mutated from the Gale Beast.

The Gale Beast itself was a type of mutated monster, and this creature was a mutation among mutations! One could imagine how incredibly rare such a monster was; according to Ye Chen's memory, not even three of them could be found across the entire world!

The beam of light from earlier was caused by the Lightning Beast moving so fast that the bioluminescent layer on its surface heated up. Ye Chen had been planning to search for a second Genetic Beast after establishing the base city, never expecting a pillow to arrive precisely when he was sleepy—he had hit the jackpot.

“If I can obtain the genes of this Lightning Beast and fuse them, I can increase my speed and neural reaction time. Moreover, after reaching the third stage of Superman Mode, I can even sprout wings and soar!” Ye Chen felt exhilarated internally, yet he dared not become complacent.

He held his breath, lowered his posture, and dared not move lest he alert it. Although this Lightning Beast’s strength wasn't immense, peaking around only Level 300, its speed was terrifyingly fast.

If it decided to flee, likely no one at his current stage could stop it! By the pool, the Lightning Beast let out a few "gurgling" sips of stream water.

Suddenly, its ears twitched, and it turned its head, staring intently at a patch of grass opposite Ye Chen. The grass remained still for a moment, then, under the creature's unwavering gaze, a large python slowly slithered out.

It had a flat, triangular head and menacing fangs. “Damn it!” Seeing the python, a cold glint flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes, and he clenched his fists, thinking grimly, If you scare the Lightning Beast away, I’ll skin you alive!

The large python remained oblivious to the deadly intentions forming against it. It swayed its body, raising its head high, fixing its greedy gaze upon the Lightning Beast, then suddenly hissed and lunged forward, striking directly at the smaller creature!

Swish! The Lightning Beast’s form instantly blurred, vanishing from its spot like a streak of light, leaving behind only a linear afterimage trailing straight behind the python!

The wind seemed to freeze! The python’s lunging body instantly stiffened, and then, its head slowly detached and fell onto the ground.

Instant kill! A true, instant kill!

In less than 0.1 seconds, the python was annihilated! Ye Chen’s pupils contracted, followed by a chill running down his spine.

If he had encountered this Lightning Beast, he would have met the same fate, unless he activated Superman Mode to massively boost his physical durability, which might allow him to withstand the attack, but not necessarily kill the Lightning Beast. Too fast!

This speed was simply demonic and abnormal! Its pair of wings, so thin they were nearly transparent, were incredibly tough, sharp as blades.

That python was at least Level 150, yet it didn't even have time to react! Extreme speed coupled with razor-sharp wings—no wonder this Lightning Beast was so rare and so terrifying!

At this moment, the Lightning Beast turned around and slowly crawled toward the python’s carcass. When it reached the corpse, it opened its mouth, took a deep breath, and its belly inflated.

Then, with a deep inhale, the python’s corpse slowly withered, its surface losing its luster, its scales turning dull. Witnessing this, Ye Chen froze for a second, then quickly channeled his energy, concentrating it in his eyes.

Instantly, he saw wisps and threads of green light being absorbed into the Lightning Beast’s belly. “Essence Power!” Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, then managed a wry smile.

He hadn't expected this Lightning Beast to have awakened Essence Power; this increased the difficulty of capturing it. He had only seen its appearance and basic introduction in the Knowledge Tower; there was no data concerning its habits, feeding preferences, or similar details.

He focused his gaze and saw that the Lightning Beast’s Essence Power attribute was Light! Pure white like jade, bright and pristine, without a single flaw.

He wondered which specific ability within the Light element it possessed! Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Dark—within these seven elements, each contained 3,000 types of innate talents!

Ye Chen’s Entwining talent from his previous life was a relatively minor one among the Wood element! His Devour talent in this life was considered second-tier within the Dark element!

This knowledge was gleaned from ancient scrolls discovered in prehistoric ruins. Reportedly, the number one talent in the Dark element was simply called "Darkness"!

In his past life, including all the civilizations recorded in the scrolls, no one had possessed the "Darkness" talent! The top-ranked talents in the other elements were similarly named: the first in Light was called "Light," and the first in Fire was called "Fire"!

At this point, after absorbing the python carcass, the Lightning Beast walked to a nearby rock face, squatted there for a moment, and expelled a pile of pale white feces. Then, shaking its body, its wings fluttered once, and it transformed into a beam of light, speeding toward the distant horizon, vanishing in an instant.

Ye Chen immediately jumped out from the undergrowth, but before he could even shout, the Lightning Beast had disappeared into the sky. He gazed into the distance for a long time before slowly withdrawing his sight, letting out a soft sigh, feeling a pang of disappointment.

Given the Lightning Beast’s speed, it could circle the globe in a single day; catching it was almost impossible. “A false joy,” Ye Chen sighed, turning to scan the surroundings.

Suddenly, his eyes focused. He walked to the spot where the Lightning Beast had defecated, stared at it intently for a moment, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

He then walked over, tore off a nearby leaf, and wrapped the feces in it. “Since the Lightning Beast is so rare, based on the habits of such creatures, it should be extremely eager to encounter another of its kind.” Ye Chen carefully wrapped the feces and placed it into his Rune Space, then left the mountain peak, heading directly north, deliberately moving away from the direction the Lightning Beast had flown.

If a person discovered they were the only one of their kind in the entire world, surrounded by monsters, they would certainly long to meet another person! The loneliness of being solitary could drive one mad!

This feces carried the scent of the Lightning Beast and could easily be mistaken by it for a companion, perhaps drawing it closer. The reason for not pursuing it directly was that the Earth is round; since he couldn't catch up anyway, he might as well try his luck this way.

Ye Chen wasn't sure if this method would work. He knew very little about such a rare monster, so he could only do his best.

He selected a small mountain peak, cleared out all the monsters atop it, killing and devouring their life energy, and cleaned up the environment, discarding anything with a strong odor. He then placed the pile of feces on the summit, constructing a small nest out of mud and dry grass to hold it.

To prevent the feces from drying out and losing its scent, he would dampen it three times daily, then briefly roast it over a flame to allow the aroma to diffuse. Ye Chen’s true trump card was a slab of snake meat, externally tender but actually smeared with a potent poison that would instantly kill the Lightning Beast if consumed.

Time slowly passed, and in a blink, ten days were gone! During these ten days, the base city in Shennongjia was under intense construction.

Tens of thousands of construction workers were digging earth and cutting stone, forming city walls measured 1,000 meters outward from the mountain peak where the Earth Spirit Spring was located. The combat members of the Guild had all relocated there, assisting the construction workers as they built the walls by driving away the small waves of attacking monsters.

The congregation of so many people generated a colossal surge of vital energy, attracting powerful monsters from several kilometers around. However, these monsters weren't foolish enough to charge in alone; instead, they were gathering companions and forming groups nearby!

After ten days of construction, the city walls had taken shape. The tents inside were gradually being replaced by the newly built housing.

Everything was running in an orderly fashion. The project ran short of funds once mid-way.

Following Ye Chen's instructions, Xu Tianguo auctioned off five more sets of Boa Python Scale Armor, enough resources to supply the basic nutrient rations for the tens of thousands of construction workers. Among these roles, researchers and technicians in the Information Department commanded the highest salaries, and the elite among them held status comparable to members of the Blood God Hall.

Currently, the Brightness Guild, aside from departments like Information, Production, Construction, and Research, had three main combat divisions: the Black Armor Battalion, the Blood God Hall, and the Superman Camp. Among them, the Superman Camp held the highest status, with only 32 members—each one a genuine Superman who had successfully awakened from the massive pool of several hundred thousand candidates.

They were exceedingly precious. Next was the Blood God Hall, populated by fierce and capable warriors, each capable of exerting more than ten units of combat power when isolated.

In their normal state, the Superman Camp was not as formidable as the Blood God Hall, but once the Supermen activated their state, the difference was night and day. The Blood God Hall numbered only 682 people!

The Black Armor Battalion comprised fifty thousand individuals, categorized into four tiers based on combat proficiency. Every member had been selected from a pool of one in a hundred.

Under the same physical conditions, they could hold off ten enemies, and the benefits afforded to them were several times greater than those offered by other guilds. With tens of thousands of construction workers, the speed of housing construction was extremely fast.

The area within the city walls had been largely developed, leaving only the construction of the power plant remaining. At the Base City Headquarters, several grand halls were built atop the Earth Spirit Spring Peak, all constructed entirely of metal.

Behind the main hall lay the Earth Spirit Spring, which ordinary people were strictly forbidden from approaching, let alone entering the rear mountain area. Ye Chen remained in ambush outside the mountain peak for ten days.

After watching the distant horizon in silence for a while, he decided to wait one more day. If the Lightning Beast still hadn't appeared, he would pack up and prepare to return.

Racing against time!! Striving forward...

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