Age of Evolution# - Chapter 163:
Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Star Crystal Fortune (Fourth Update)
Translator: 549690339
Lin Zhen watched this scene, feeling somewhat moved in his heart.
It was a difficult choice. For a Martial Artist, practicing martial arts was like a second life and a lifelong pursuit. If Zhao Xiaoman chose to leave the Star Fruit Tree at this moment, her martial arts career will not be completely ruined, but at least her future would be bleak.
As for seeking Zhou Butong’s help, she would probably have to give up some precious belongings. This was a difficult choice to make.
As expected, Zhao Xiaoman sat there with a pale face, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
Lin Zhen stepped forward and walked to Zhao Xiaoman’s side. Then he said to her, “If you follow me, I will give you a bottle of antidote and promise that if I get a Constant Star Crystal in the future, I will let you absorb it first as long as you join my team…”
As he spoke, Lin Zhen took out a bottle of antidote. This was obtained from Brother Guang. The antidote for the poison inside the Star Fruit Tree was not available in the outside world, and most Martial Artists did not have it.
However, Brother Guang, being the leader of the Ant Nest, had a lot of stock.
Zhao Xiaoman looked up at Lin Zhen’s handsome face, struggled inwardly for a while, and finally gritted her teeth fiercely, “Pervert! I would rather leave the Star Fruit Tree than let people like you succeed!”
Lin Zhen turned to Li Changying, “What do you think?”
Li Changying smiled, “You are the captain, you have the final say. However,
Zhao Xiaoman is a nice person; it’s just that her team is unreliable.”
Lin Zhen handed the antidote to Zhao Xiaoman once more, and then said to her, “This bottle of antidote is for you. I hope you will agree to join my team. Of course, if you join, you may have to stand against Zhou Butong in the future. Are you willing?”
Zhao Xiaoman understood Lin Zhen’s meaning, “What you just said…?”
That was just a little test. I’m glad you passed.”
“Thank you, brother! I’ll join.”
Zhao Xiaoman happily took the antidote, immediately took it, and began to heal her wounds.
Lin Zhen stood up and looked back at Li Changying, “Do I look old?”
“Who said that? Who said you’re old? In my opinion, Brother Lin, you don’t look old at all.” Li Changying, who had always been serious and stern, earnestly mocked Lin Zhen.
Acquiring a teammate at the cost of a bottle of antidote and a Constant Star Crystal was worth it for Lin Zhen. If Zhao Xiaoman had agreed to follow him earlier, Lin Zhen would believe that she could bear humiliation and achieve great things in the future, but she would not be the most suitable teammate.
About an hour later, Zhao Xiaoman finished detoxifying. Although she was not completely healed, as long as she absorbed a Constant Star Crystal, she would be able to fully recover.
“Brother Lin, I think we should start challenging from the west. The third group in the west is my former team. I had worked hard for them before, but they abandoned me as soon as I got injured. I want to kick them out!” Zhao Xiaoman called Lin Zhen “Brother Lin” with respect and gritted her teeth towards the western team that had driven her away.
“Where is Zhou Butong’s team?” Lin Zhen asked.
“His team is the first group in the east. However, he rarely appears in the Beehive and spends most of his time at the Sky Dome. His four teammates are usually there, and no one dares to challenge them.”
Lin Zhen nodded, “Alright, our teammates will arrive tomorrow, and we will start challenging the fifth group from the west. How often can we challenge?”
“Once a week, just like at the Ant Nest.”
During their conversation, a few more droplets of honey fell, yielding two Planet Crystals and three Constant Star Crystals. The other teams obtained the two Planet Crystals, while Zhou Butong’s team got two of the Constant Star Crystals, and the first group of the west obtained the remaining one.
Lin Zhen couldn’t help but exclaim, “The environment in the Beehive is much better than the Ant Nest. There are so many Star Crystals!”
“Yes, there are so many flowers blooming here. This mound has been nourished by honey all year round, so there is plenty of internal energy. Although it cannot be directly absorbed by humans, it can produce many flowers. In terms of the speed of Star Crystal production, even the Sky Dome cannot match it. It’s just that the Sky Dome has a bigger area.”
Zhao Xiaoman talked about everything and would tell Lin Zhen anything.
However, when evening came, the sky grew darker and darker, and the Martial Artists around were gradually dispersing.
Lin Zhen looked at the occasionally shining Star Crystals on the mound and asked Zhao Xiaoman, “Why don’t Martial Artists pick them at night? Aren’t those glowing Star Crystals the most obvious targets?”
“Although Star Crystals are conspicuous, it’s too dark at night, and people can’t detect the omnipresent bees and hornets. These insects are clever, and they become very sensitive at night. Although they won’t venture far from the Beehive, this mound is basically completely covered, and picking at night is just asking for death.” This time Li Changying explained to Lin Zhen.
“Yes, no one dares to come at night. It’s only when the sky is bright that everyone comes together at six o’clock and then picks them based on their abilities. That’s when people harvest the most.”
Lin Zhen looked at the Martial Artists who had already left completely and the three or four Star Crystals on the mound, unable to suppress waves of excitement in his heart.
“I’m going to make a fortune now. I have night vision and gravity manipulation. This Beehive is tailor-made for me. If I had known earlier, I would have come here instead of wasting two years at the Ant Nest.”
At night, people stayed away from the Beehive, as occasionally rash bees would run out, and getting stung would be terrible.
Lin Zhen, Li Changying, and Zhao Xiaoman found a place to live together. They stayed at the place where Li Changying used to live, which had a two-story tree hole.
Zhao Xiaoman is a girl, occupying the inner room alone, with Lin Zhen and Li Changying outside.
At night, after Lin Zhen adjusted his breath for a while, it was too dark to see his fingers around him, and the faint snoring of Li Changying came from his side.
Lin Zhen left the tree hole, and with his night vision, everything around him was clearly visible, and he could even see the densely packed swarm of bees around the hive in the distance.
Without disturbing anyone, Lin Zhen stepped on his shield and skimmed through the air, flying towards the hive.
He came to the first row on the west side, where no one was. Lin Zhen stopped.
In the night, several stars flickered on the mound.
“One, two, three…’
Lin Zhen counted. On the west side of the mound, there were six star crystals in total, including four Constant Star Crystals, one Planet Crystal, and one Satellite Crystal.
“All martial artists will come here to pick them tomorrow morning. If I take too many at once, I’m afraid people will notice. So, I can’t take all these star crystals. I don’t need the ones that are useless to me; what I need now is the Constant Star Crystal.”
Lin Zhen made preparations, first displaying a spiritual shield on the surface of his body, turning liquid metal into a half-body armor, then stepping on the shield, holding a bright silver spear, and heading straight for the mound!
Whoosh!
A stream of light shot past, and Lin Zhen was already above the mound.
The surrounding bees immediately buzzed over, raising their tails one by one. The spear-like stingers stabbed at Lin Zhen from all directions!
Lin Zhen ignored the incoming bees, waving his bright silver spear and spinning it like a windmill, activating immovable like a mountain and charging down.
A series of dense collisions sounded, with most of the bee attacks intercepted by the bright silver spear. Even if occasionally a bee charged in from a different angle, it was difficult to penetrate Lin Zhen’s spiritual shield.
Moreover, Lin Zhen did not need to get too close to the mound; with a wave of his hand five meters away, a Constant Star Crystal went directly into his hand.
“Got it! The first Constant Star Crystal!”
Lin Zhen’s first move was accurate, although some dirt made his face dirty, it still couldn’t hide his excitement.
After charging through the swarm of bees several times, his spiritual shield was pierced by a wasp once, but it didn’t pierce Lin Zhen’s golden liquid metal armor.
Lin Zhen raised his hand again, and the second Constant Star Crystal was in his grasp!
The beautiful feeling was simply indescribable. Lin Zhen drew an arc with his shield in the air, skimmed low over the mound, and with a wave of his hand, the third one was in his grasp!
With the three Constant Star Crystals in hand, Lin Zhen’s primary goal for this trip was accomplished. The bright silver spear blocked another wave of attacks, and his body darted towards the mound below.
At high speed, he quickly left the branch where the mound was and found a huge leaf to rest under.
Quickly finding a few leaves to cover the light emitted by the star crystals, Lin Zhen took out the three Constant Star Crystals.
“Phew! It’s so thrilling! So exciting!”
Today, Lin Zhen saw many martial artists, almost all of them at the realm of Level Nine Martial Generals, with the occasional Level 7 or Level 8 among the newcomers. There are no old students left at this level.
Also, among the Level Nine Martial Generals, half of them were below peak, a quarter of them were at the peak stage, and the other quarter had condensed Dantian energy.
Among the first group on the east side, Lin Zhen even saw one with a sixfold condensed Dantian energy.
With his current strength, Lin Zhen had no chance of winning against a martial artist with sixfold condensed Dantian energy without using a Soul Lock surprise attack, and even with the Soul Lock, it’s hard to say whether he could succeed in one hit. After all, the higher the realm of a martial artist, the stronger their mental willpower. If Lin Zhen couldn’t quickly lock their soul and gave them a chance to resist, it could lead to the failure of the Soul Lock.
This is not to say that Lin Zhen’s Soul Lock is not good. He is confident in locking anyone if their body cannot move. However, this requires time.
Li Changying is between two and almost three times condensed, and even Zhao Xiaoman is at one-time condensed. Lin Zhen started low, and although he tried to catch up, his progress was still not satisfactory. With such strength, he couldn’t counterattack the Sky Dome.
Lin Zhen held the three star crystals in his palm, feeling secretly delighted.
“Hitting jackpot makes people rich, just like nighttime grazing fattens horses. It’s a bit sneaky doing this alone, but this is something I can’t share with anyone. My teammates, soon you’ll know the benefits of teaming up with Lin Zhen.”