However, the delay also brought good news. Carol had completed her battles in the Yue Continent and rushed back to Yong Continent. With the addition of Gale, Qian Ye now had three duke-level powerhouses, prompting him to decide on an immediate assault on the second Tri-Sacred Tree Forest.
Upon scouting, Qian Ye discovered that the six-armed commander there was indeed awake. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he launched a bold attack, exploiting the six-armed commander’s innate need to protect the sacred tree. One of his Origin Bullets hit the mark, but to his astonishment, another Origin Bullet was neutralized by a dark flame the commander spewed out!
This was the first time in a long while that one of Qian Ye’s Origin Bullets had failed.
He did not hesitate to retreat, dashing out of the forest. The six-armed commander, not willing to let Qian Ye go, pursued relentlessly, leaving the beast army far behind.
As soon as they exited the forest, the commander saw Qian Ye standing prepared ahead, flanked by Duke Gale and Carol on either side.
A great battle ensued.
Despite the six-armed commander’s fierce and unparalleled valor, it could not withstand the combined assault of the three powerful beings. In the end, Qian Ye found an opening to fire two more Origin Bullets, completely extinguishing its life force.
When the six-armed commander finally fell, the ground within ten thousand meters was pockmarked with large and small craters. Many still smoldered with embers or crackled with lightning, all remnants of the fierce combat.
Qian Ye was merely fatigued, Carol looked pale, clearly having expended much of her vitality, and Duke Gale was the most battered, with half his eyebrows and beard burned off, his armor tattered, and a gaping wound on his thigh, a gruesome sight.
Duke Gale, known for his speed, was actually the slowest among Qian Ye and Carol. Even the six-armed commander outpaced him. Thus, from the outset, the commander focused on Duke Gale, relentlessly pursuing him when unable to catch Qian Ye. If not for Qian Ye’s timely intervention, absorbing several fatal attacks, Duke Gale might not have been standing here intact.
Through this direct confrontation with a virtually unharmed six-armed commander, Qian Ye truly gauged the true combat capability of these beings.
The commander did not exhibit many special abilities; it was just fast, brutal, and enduring. However, the combination of these traits made it extremely lethal, surpassing any flashy techniques. Had Qian Ye not given it an early Origin Bullet, the battle would have been even more grueling.
Now, Qian Ye understood why the werewolves’ expansion into the new world was hindered. Relying solely on dukes, defeating a six-armed commander was extremely difficult, not to mention the unknown adaptability of the various races in the dark camp to the new world’s primordial force rules. What were the werewolf lords doing? William hadn’t mentioned it, and Qian Ye doubted he’d get an answer even if he asked.
Carol tidied up the battlefield, bundling the six-armed commander’s weapons together and slinging them over her back. At that moment, Duke Gale suddenly wobbled, his aura plummeting.
Startled, Qian Ye saw that Duke Gale’s face was deathly pale, his lips drained of color: “I must leave immediately! The primordial force here… it’s not right!”
In a blink, Duke Gale could no longer speak coherently and began to fall to the ground.
Qian Ye quickly rushed over and caught him. As soon as he touched Duke Gale, Qian Ye sensed the chaotic primordial force within him, mixed with the strange forces of the new world. These peculiar forces, once inside Duke Gale, ignited like a spark in a barrel of oil, setting off his own primordial force, even causing multiple flames within his body.
Inside the body, no matter how robust Duke Gale was, he couldn’t withstand such internal burning. He struggled to suppress the raging primordial force, losing even the ability to hover. Further examination revealed more alarming details to Qian Ye.
Most of Duke Gale’s injuries were caused by his own primordial force. Pure dark primordial force wasn’t affected by the new world’s strange forces, but the impurities in his force acted like fuel, igniting easily. This ignited even the unaffected dark primordial force. The process was akin to lighting a traditional stove, using wood shavings and logs to start a fire, then igniting the black stones.
If this process continued, it could be a method to purify primordial force. Unfortunately, flesh is not steel, and even Qian Ye couldn’t withstand the burning of primordial flames within. Perhaps only after he achieved lord status, with each organ reinforced, could he try it.
Currently, Duke Gale was already under great strain, with primordial flames reigniting within his body. It seemed he wouldn’t last until he left the new world.
Without hesitation, Qian Ye said sternly, “Don’t resist. Bear with it.”
Duke Gale, unable to speak, looked pale. Qian Ye pointed at him, making several touches. Each touch released blood lines, piercing into Duke Gale’s body. When the blood lines retracted, they often carried sparks of primordial force, which Qian Ye absorbed.
These sparks were the source of the chaos within Duke Gale. As they left, his face grew even paler, but his aura stabilized and gradually strengthened. The remaining sparks were no longer a threat, and were finally extinguished under Duke Gale’s control.
With the main threat gone, Duke Gale, though weak, felt much better. He told Qian Ye, “That was the Life Force Extraction, right? One of the legendary bloodline divine skills of the strongest vampires, truly formidable. But I heard it turns the area within a hundred meters into a death zone, without distinguishing friend from foe. Your ability to control it to such a degree is incredible!”
Unconsciously, Duke Gale used a respectful tone with Qian Ye.
“Isn’t there any skill that can’t be controlled? Among the twelve ancient clans, many can control Life Force Extraction, right?” Qian Ye replied.
“That’s true. Ah, I’ve been in Yong Continent for too long, with limited exposure. Don’t take it to heart,” Duke Gale said self-mockingly.
In fact, he didn’t know that Qian Ye’s control over Life Force Extraction came from the inheritance of the River of Blood, part of the ancient vampire power system, requiring their physique and abilities. Perhaps some old monsters sleeping in blood pools could control it, but it was not as common as Qian Ye suggested. Their control and Qian Ye’s, who inherited the River of Blood, were incomparable.
This point needed no further explanation. In recent centuries, few new-generation vampires had received such inheritances, turning these divine skills into legends, as Duke Gale mentioned.
Moreover, Qian Ye sensed several pairs of eyes scanning the River of Blood, searching for his existence. Only the River of Blood’s protective aura prevented those mysterious beings from succeeding. Considering the disappearance of the River of Blood, Qian Ye smelled a conspiracy, and was even more cautious about discussing the vampire inheritance with a werewolf duke.
Watching dozens of sparks absorbed by Qian Ye, seemingly disappearing, while Qian Ye remained unfazed, Duke Gale grew increasingly astonished.
These sparks were the majority of the troublemakers within his body, nearly leading to his downfall. Absorbed by Qian Ye, they seemed to vanish, as if no process of dissipation was needed. This alone gave Duke Gale a glimpse of Qian Ye’s true strength.
Duke Gale’s face was now paper-white, while Qian Ye’s face turned red, looking almost feverish.
Using Life Force Extraction, Qian Ye inevitably drew out a few drops of Duke Gale’s essence blood. Losing a few drops wouldn’t shake Duke Gale’s foundation, and he could recover in half a year. But for Qian Ye, each drop of duke-level essence blood contained vast amounts of pure primordial force, a rare and potent supplement. With these drops, Qian Ye could save weeks of training.
As a well-informed werewolf, Duke Gale might have noticed, but he remained silent, acknowledging the cost of being saved. Now, with the threat gone and his combat power restored, he, along with Qian Ye and Carol, lifted the six-armed commander’s corpse and returned it to the base, then to Yong Continent.
Back in Yong Continent, Duke Gale immediately returned to his original domain. He needed to confront Duke Blazing Flame, to prevent him from noticing his absence and attacking the allied aristocratic armies or ordinary werewolf strongholds. Though wounded, Duke Gale, the old fox, wouldn’t easily reveal his weakness.
Qian Ye’s main focus was on exploring the new world, with no time to deal with Duke Blazing Flame.
This battle revealed the true horror of the new world. Here, even dukes couldn’t afford to be injured lightly, as alien primordial force infiltration would be disastrous.
Duke Gale, having lived in Yong Continent for a long time, had relatively impure primordial force. Yet, having reached the duke rank, his dark primordial force was highly advanced. Despite this, he was nearly killed, barely surviving.
Carol’s actual talent far surpassed Duke Gale’s, but her early choice to fuse with azure thunderforce had hampered her later progress. Still, she had the potential to become a high-ranking divine general. Her agility and evasiveness, coupled with the overbearing nature of azure thunder, made the six-armed commander wary, thus she suffered little injury.
Qian Ye was different. His blood qi and dawn primordial force were near their origins, so even if the new world’s strange primordial force entered his body, it found no impurities to burn. The tiny sparks it created were easily quenched by the flow of golden-blood. In terms of flame intensity, the strange primordial force’s fire was weaker than the gold fire in Qian Ye’s blood.
Thus, Qian Ye realized he was the true pioneer in the new world, and others, even Carol, needed careful protection.
At this point, Qian Ye was secretly grateful for his earlier reckless move, which eliminated the six-armed general in the Quad-Sacred Tree Forest. Had that creature fully awakened, even a trio might not have defeated it, turning the forest into an insurmountable barrier, costing countless lives.
In the new world, perhaps only prince-lord level powerhouses could move freely, and even they couldn’t be too arrogant.
This was truly a world where innate talent mattered.
After capturing this Tri-Sacred Tree Forest, Qian Ye had to slow down his exploration of the new world.
On one hand, he had penetrated over a thousand kilometers, reaching as far as fifteen hundred. On the other, the Quad-Sacred Tree Forest required a central large base, and the two Tri-Sacred Tree Forests needed forward bases. Just the base defense and countering the beast armies required over five hundred thousand troops. The training of werewolves couldn’t keep pace with the expansion.
Qian Ye’s troubles were clear to Carol. She pondered deeply and suddenly said, “The airships can’t enter the new world, but what about the Hall of Heroes?”
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