Chapter 85: Exotic Delicacies from Another World

Has the training potential of the Lion-faced Vajra finally been exhausted? No matter how high the quality of the alchemical material, it was ultimately just a first-tier alchemical creature. If nothing unexpected happened, the Silver Beginner stage would likely mark the apex of the Lion-faced Vajra’s growth. Yet Wu You felt it shouldn’t end like this. Even from years of gaming experience, there ought to be at least a Gold tier above Silver; whether there’d be the melodramatic Diamond or Master levels was uncertain.

He didn’t want Garuru to stop here. As his earliest alchemical creature, Garuru not only resolved his first and most urgent crisis but also marked the beginning of his confidence. Perhaps the system would grant new permissions with further level advancements. But completing this task also reminded Wu You of the relationship between the so-called Abomination and himself. The answer was reflected in the task’s very name. Since it was an arch-enemy, was it just hostile to him as the "creator," or to all alchemical creatures? Judging from the Blood Flood Dragon’s initial behavior, it seemed to be the former. However, when all six Bronze-level creatures appeared together, the Blood Flood Dragon reacted quite differently compared to facing the White Eagle under non-observation mode.

It wasn’t just the terror it showed when encircled and facing mortal danger, but rather a peculiar sense of urgency—an inexplicable quickening. Though he hadn’t activated Qiongqi’s authority, he could sense certain emotions from it. As for confirming this further? That was out of the question for now. The Blood Flood Dragon had not only been beaten to death, but its corpse had been reduced to ashes by the residual lightning.

Wu You would have to investigate further in the future.

Returning to the matter at hand, Garuru’s advancement to Silver meant it could no longer remain in this world. With cheating off the table, would the next upgrade to summoning authority require burning alchemical energy again? According to system conventions, that would be ten times the previous cost—one thousand points? Damn!

But if he had promoted to Silver authority directly at the time, and needed to deduct alchemical energy—what if the total wasn’t enough? Would it revert back to Bronze authority? Alchemical energy was becoming an increasingly pressing problem.

He remembered the powder left behind after the first ruby transaction had been absorbed. Wu You had excitedly taken it for testing. The report concluded that it was simply ordinary ruby powder, finely ground. No extra components, nothing missing—just exceptionally fine grinding.

Unwilling to give up, Wu You absorbed another ruby, weighing it before and after the process, then weighing the powder left. The weight hadn't changed—not even a difference on the electronic scale. There was no way to exploit this.

A system message interrupted Wu You’s musings.

System prompt: Task completed, Arch-enemy (I). Task reward granted.

Alchemical Creature Storage +2, current total: 9. Task evaluation: Good. No additional reward.

Wu You couldn’t help but mutter, “So stingy.”

Yet another message appeared.

System prompt: Extraction completed for the shattered Bronze-level Abomination’s soul of malice. Alchemical energy gained: 30 points.

“Huh?!”

Wu You exclaimed aloud in surprise. He had thought the creature’s energy material would already suffice; he hadn’t expected it could be refined into alchemical energy. This was truly a pleasant surprise. Although thirty points seemed meager, it was only a Bronze-level creature. Defeating a Silver-level one should yield at least a hundred, right? And this one even carried a "shattered" prefix.

...

Half a day later, in the Liu clan’s direct family hall.

Liu Xianyuan listened as Liu Niansheng personally recounted the events. Although he had already heard the story from the messenger Wu Ding, Niansheng’s account was much clearer. Several key figures from the clan were present. Occasionally, someone interrupted with a question, making certain crucial details clearer.

Once Liu Niansheng had finished describing the Blood Flood Dragon’s pursuit of the strange bird, the sudden appearance of many monsters in the sky, and the eventual death of the Blood Flood Dragon and their forced retreat, the room fell into a momentary silence.

Liu Xianyuan kept his eyes closed the whole time, lost in thought. After a long while, he opened his eyes.

“Sigh…” He breathed deeply. “These are troubled times.”

“Send word to all the great families and sects—tell them everything, not leaving out a single detail.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Xianyuan ultimately chose not to mention the matter of the evil Dao child.

Within half an hour, several swift horses with riders set out from the Liu clan’s stables, heading toward all corners of the land.

...

The first to receive the news was the Ying clan of Great Qin.

It was already two days later, and by then Wu You had long since returned to Earth. That day, the emperor Ying Huan sat in his study, listening to reports from the Inspectorate officials.

“So the Blood Flood Dragon threat has been resolved?” Ying Huan asked slowly.

“Your Majesty, according to the report from the Jiangzhou Inspectorate’s agents, the Blood Flood Dragon in Jiangzhou remains.”

Ying Huan frowned but did not appear startled. Not only was he the emperor of Great Qin and master of the world, but he was also a top expert who had stepped into the Innate Realm for over a decade. In this world, those in power who lacked martial prowess were easily assassinated. Though his expression stayed calm, his heart was stirred.

Whether in historical records or popular legend, there had always been only one Blood Flood Dragon. Now, the facts were clear: not only was there more than one, but there were other monsters in the world as well. Though there had been speculation when the Blood Flood Dragon first appeared, there had been no evidence for over two hundred years. This sudden emergence could mean great upheaval in the realm.

The Liu clan was not likely to lie about such matters.

“Continue investigating. You may go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

...

Not only the Ying clan, but all corners of the realm received the news within days. Each power, regardless of distance, had its own secret communication methods. The Liu clan only delivered the message to the public halls of the major powers—each had their own way of relaying it internally. Some sects were far off in the snowy mountains, yet they received the news only slightly later, proof of their unique means.

Those within these factions reacted variously—some were shocked, others indifferent—but all sent investigators to Bingzhou and Jiangzhou.

...

After returning, Wu You emptied his backpack onto the table item by item. There were attractive hair ornaments and jewelry, beautiful jade pendants, even exquisite paintings and little trinkets, all meant as gifts for others.

Then there were martial arts manuals, though none were high-end—even the best was only nearly second-rate. Only one, “Iron Will Fist,” had been translated into modern text for Earth. The book was mostly illustrations, with barely a thousand annotated words. Even so, translating it had cost Wang Fugui and Wu You much effort. Similarity in characters was not identity, and many rare words required painstaking research in dictionaries.

Wang Fugui, who was self-studying modern simplified characters, was even planning to compile a dictionary for inter-world translation. Naturally, this wouldn’t be completed overnight.

Once the “local specialties” were sorted, Wu You took out a portable high-definition camera. It contained many recordings of the customs and people of Leping City, daily life, and even footage of the “monster battle.”