Chapter 76 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

“These are my Origin Crystal Armors; they can store and transfer damage from attacks below Three-star Saint-tier.” Labella handed the five crystal plates floating around her to Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye took them and nodded with a smile. “Rest assured, no one will ever harvest your leeks again.”

“What does ‘harvesting leeks’ mean?” Labella asked, tilting her small head.

“It means no one will exploit you or force you to hand over your crystal armor anymore.” Zhang Ye put the armor away. “Follow me, and you won't lose out!”

Bolabo and Labella looked at each other and smiled simultaneously. “Then we shall wait and see.”

“Mhm. From now on, just call me Boss like Bobo does, or Brother Ye. Your big brother will look out for you!” Zhang Ye chuckled.

However, Zhang Ye also had his own concerns.

He thought to himself that Rand would eventually discover the two magical beasts were missing. Having lost two Origin Rock Beasts capable of producing such useful Origin Crystal Armors, he would likely be furious.

Rand would probably suspect the examinees, and as the top-ranked freshman at that time, Zhang Ye would certainly be the primary target of suspicion. Therefore, he had to hide the gold and silver siblings well; they absolutely could not be exposed.

Aside from his own safety, even though they had only just met, he quite liked the Bolabo siblings. One could tank and the other could fight; they were a rare and valuable help. Moreover, for some reason, hearing about their experience of being penned up like livestock for a millennium made him feel uncomfortable.

He didn’t want them to continue suffering that kind of pain.

Perhaps because of that Green Vine Snake King from before, Zhang Ye had a preconceived notion that these high-level magical beasts, whose intelligence was no less than that of humans, were quite pitiful.

And it was indeed the truth; compared to humans, the situation for magical beasts was truly difficult.

So, he would help high-level magical beasts when he could. As for low-level ones… there was nothing he could do, and he also needed to rely on killing magical beasts to become stronger. Thus, he felt it was enough to do what was within his power.

Some might think him hypocritical—if he wanted to be kind, why not simply stop killing magical beasts altogether and rely solely on cultivation to improve?

But Zhang Ye always believed that a truly benevolent person must possess the power of thunder!

If he truly wanted to save magical beasts, he first had to become strong. Only the strong had the right to speak!

Just like the gold and silver siblings—it was precisely because they weren't stronger than the others that they lost their right to speak and their right to freedom!

Only by being powerful could he do what he wanted to do!

Only by being powerful could he choose to fundamentally resolve the conflict between magical beasts and humans!

Perhaps in the future, he could establish a world where humans and magical beasts coexisted peacefully, but the prerequisite was that he had to become powerful!

“These points are definitely enough. So, brother-in-law, do you still want to rely on your own strength to farm points?” Zhang Ye asked.

Renomon looked at the glowing Soul Essence Lamps on Bolabo’s person and swallowed hard, but finally shook his head. “No.”

Zhang Ye and Lina already had enough points. If he still wanted to farm points on his own, Zhang Ye and Lina would have to follow him everywhere, and he didn't want to trouble them any further.

“Then how about I give some soul essences to you?” Zhang Ye asked.

“No need. Having these points is enough to pass the entrance exam,” Renomon said.

“But it’s probably not enough for the top five,” Zhang Ye said.

Renomon had just under twenty million points. Given the time, the points farmed by Tier Nine contestants like Nan Long and Samanra had definitely exceeded twenty million. Therefore, it was basically impossible for Renomon to compete for the top five with his current points.

“It’s fine. I’ll go farm some myself later; I won't trouble you guys,” Renomon said with a chuckle.

Zhang Ye thought for a moment, then suddenly grinned. “How about this: you and I have a match!”

“A match?” Renomon was taken aback, then shook his head. “I’m not your match.”

Although he had been eager to try at first, he was self-aware enough to know he was no match for Zhang Ye.

“It’s fine. The strong must rise to the challenge; you can't back down just because your opponent is powerful.”

“Besides, I promised your sister that I’d test your strength when I met you.”

“Test my strength?” Renomon blinked.

“Yeah. I’m currently your sister’s only student. She said you’re very capable, and I’m looking forward to it.”

“Treat it as a spar. I’ll test your strength, and if I’m satisfied, I’ll give the points to you.”

“That way, the points can be considered as earned through your own strength, right?”

Renomon was left dazed by Zhang Ye’s words, but after thinking it over carefully, he felt the logic held up.

Furthermore, he did indeed want to see the gap between himself and Zhang Ye.

Finally, he nodded vigorously. “Alright!”

Zhang Ye smiled. “That’s the spirit!”

At the same time, he chuckled inwardly. These days, one even had to use schemes just to give away points; truly unheard of.

However, he really liked Renomon’s personality; they were on the same wavelength. He liked making friends with people like this.

Zhang Ye handed Gujiu over to Lina’s care, and then the two of them found an open area to begin their spar.

“To be fair, I won't use Tier Ten magic,” Zhang Ye said.

Renomon nodded. “Okay!”

“Then let’s begin. I’m a year older than you, so I should let you go first. You make the first move!” Zhang Ye laughed.

“Brother Ye is twenty-three? Then calling you ‘brother’ isn't a loss!” Renomon gave a hearty laugh. “I’m coming! Watch out, Brother Ye!”

As soon as he finished speaking, raging flames erupted from Renomon’s body!

Flame Power Rampage!

Zhang Ye recognized the spell he cast at a glance. Then, Renomon stomped his foot, causing the ground to cave in as a wave of air blasted outward. Renomon’s figure shot toward Zhang Ye like a cannonball, his fists wreathed in raging flames that faintly formed the shape of a flaming lion’s head.

It was the Combat Technique—Flame Lion Punch!

Zhang Ye laughed loudly. “Good!”

In the next instant, blue flames suddenly erupted from his body.

Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Flame Power Rampage!

Then he spread his hands, and a massive shield composed of blue flames manifested before him.

Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Scorching Flame Giant Shield!

Facing the giant shield of blue flames, Renomon felt incredibly amazed. Zhang Ye actually knew the magic of his Flame Lion family. It seemed he really was his eldest sister’s student. Moreover, seeing that these flames were blue, their power was clearly even greater than ordinary flames.

Impressive!

Battle intent flared in his eyes.

Since he had chosen to fight, he would stop thinking about everything else and fight to his heart’s content!

“Boom!!!” He reached the Scorching Flame Giant Shield and punched it directly. In an instant, the red and blue flames merged, and at the moment of contact, a purple mushroom cloud of fire exploded.

The Scorching Flame Giant Shield shattered instantly, and Renomon’s figure was also shaken back.

Zhang Ye was, after all, only at the Tier Seven peak. Although Perfect Mastery and Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhancement pushed his magic power close to Tier Nine, Renomon was a standout among those of the same tier. The power of this punch actually shattered the Scorching Flame Giant Shield.

If Zhang Ye hadn't instantly cast two more Scorching Flame Giant Shields, he might not have been able to block that punch!

Even so, two of the three Scorching Flame Giant Shields were shattered, and the third was in a precarious state!

“Impressive!” Zhang Ye laughed. He then gathered power in his legs and charged at Renomon. “Brother-in-law, take this!”

“Flame Lion Punch!”

With a loud shout, Zhang Ye instantly threw dozens of punches. Dozens of massive blue flaming lion heads roared toward Renomon.

Seeing this, Renomon shouted his approval and also circulated his mana to activate Flame Lion Punch, throwing dozens of punches in return.

Dozens of blue lion heads and dozens of red lion heads collided in mid-air, creating explosive sounds. Even Lina and the gold and silver siblings, who were several hundred meters away, could feel the sheer force of the display.

The two of them charged toward each other while unleashing flaming lion heads. Finally, they collided, both throwing a punch at the same time.

Blue and red flames merged and exploded, but their figures no longer retreated. Instead, they began to trade blows at a terrifying frequency.

At this moment, both displayed formidable combat skills, turning their fists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and legs into weapons, all covered in flames. They countered each other's moves, each strike landing with solid impact!