Chapter 341 : Two Years Later
Chapter 341: Two Years Later
Ever since Zhou Ming returned to the camp from White Bone City, he had secluded himself inside the stone tower and entered a period of closed-door cultivation.
As for all major and minor affairs within the camp, they had now been completely handed over to Su Mei and the others.
With his current strength, any problem that arose within the camp could be forcibly suppressed through absolute power, so there was naturally nothing for him to worry about.
This was the charm of supreme power belonging to oneself.
And what Zhou Ming needed to do now was to perfect the Shapeshifting Spirit Master System as quickly as possible, thereby rapidly increasing his own strength.
After experiencing the assassination attempt by the Cave Spider Men, Zhou Ming had also become aware of his own shortcomings.
His self-preservation was more than sufficient, but his offensive killing power was lacking.
If he slowly strengthened the Venomous Gall over time, then relying on the toxins nurtured by that Transcendent organ, he would sooner or later become a powerhouse among those of the same rank.
However, time waited for no one. Blue Star was about to undergo a Great Upheaval, and Spider Queen Iliss would certainly not let him go.
Therefore, for Zhou Ming, time was life itself.
The first step was improving the Blood Descendant and Gathering Sand Secret Techniques. The exclusive spells he had developed previously had all been derived from these two secret techniques.
Although he could now bypass these two secret techniques through the Molting Snake Emperor Bloodline, the power of the spells would ultimately be affected.
The Blood Descendant Secret Technique centered around the Snake Swarm Will, commanding the snake swarm and isolating the influence of Bloodline Will.
However, after Zhou Ming advanced to become the Molting Snake Emperor, the greatest effect of the Blood Descendant Secret Technique was now its ability to mobilize bloodline power to cast spells.
Therefore, he planned to abandon the Snake Swarm Will effect and instead integrate it into his innate spell, Shadow Devour.
In this way, he could completely unleash the power of shadows contained within both himself and the bloodlines of the snake swarm.
The Blood Descendant Secret Technique would be transformed into a secret technique that could truly bring out the full power of the bloodline.
As for the Gathering Sand Secret Technique, it followed the path of gathering the strength of the masses.
Originally, it had been created using knowledge from the Half-Beastman Profession System to solve the problem of the snake swarm's insufficient frontal combat strength.
After Zhou Ming advanced to become a Ruler, he could even use it to steal bloodlines and compensate for his own weaknesses in strength.
However, after advancing to Transcendent Master, the Gathering Sand Secret Technique could no longer satisfy Zhou Ming's needs. Therefore, he planned to perfect it using the Serpent Paradise.
Even after transforming into the Molting Giant Serpent and the consciousness of the snake swarm fell asleep, it would still be able to increase his strength. Furthermore, he could also borrow the power of his kin through the Serpent Paradise.
The Gathering Sand Secret Technique would no longer be a technique of flesh-and-blood fusion. Instead, it would utilize the spiritual consciousness power of his kin and the snake swarm, causing a qualitative transformation in his own strength.
Zhou Ming had long since formed ideas regarding how to improve these two secret techniques. Therefore, he only needed to devote all of his energy to the research.
Just as Zhou Ming lived in seclusion and poured all of his efforts into perfecting the Shapeshifting Spirit Master System—
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
……
Alliance Calendar Year 687, November 3rd.
The northern region of the Alliance had already entered winter. As in previous years, goose-feather snowflakes began falling from the sky, and the familiar scene of a world covered in white once again appeared.
However, amidst this quiet and tranquil landscape, the castle leading into the Snake King Fortress Camp, dozens of kilometers outside Qinghui Base, was currently packed with Beast Tamers and Hunters.
Many among them had already advanced to become Professional Beast Tamers and were almost all high-ranking personnel from various northern Alliance factions.
The reason for their arrival was to attend the auction being held by the Snake King Fortress Camp.
The event had attracted so many people not only because of the various precious treasures advertised in the auction, but also because shops within the camp would be auctioned off.
Back then, Zhou Ming had instructed Su Mei to lease out a portion of the shops through auctions. However, because the auctions were held only once per year, the shop usage period was too short, causing dissatisfaction among various factions.
Therefore, following Su Mei's proposal, the shops within the camp were now auctioned with three-year lease terms.
The reason so many factions cared about this auction was because numerous Beast Tamers and Hunters had brought back all kinds of precious resources from the Dark Domain, causing the Snake King Fortress Camp to become increasingly prosperous.
Now, every single shop within the camp could generate a large amount of Source Crystal Coins, so no one was willing to easily give up such profits.
Just as the castle was immersed in a lively atmosphere due to the arrival of so many people, four figures suddenly appeared in the snow-filled sky.
Before anyone could react, an intimidating aura descended upon the castle.
Everyone was startled and immediately recognized the identities of the newcomers.
It was none other than Duanmu Ruibo and the three Transcendent experts from Qinghui Base, including Chu Yujie.
“Greetings, my lords.”
Faced with the arrival of four Transcendent Experts, everyone immediately bowed and greeted them respectfully. The previously lively castle instantly fell silent.
In response to the greetings, Duanmu Ruibo and the others merely nodded slightly before entering the castle under the guidance of Snake King Fortress guards.
Once they had departed, the previously silent castle immediately erupted into an uproar as everyone began discussing the reason for the four Transcendent Experts' arrival.
Some guessed that it was because of the auction.
This speculation was immediately opposed by others.
After all, given their status, it was impossible for them to personally descend merely for an auction.
Furthermore, the factions behind the four individuals already possessed exclusive shops within the Snake King Fortress Camp, so there was no need for them to compete with others for shop usage rights.
Meanwhile, after Duanmu Ruibo and the others entered the underground cavern, Su Mei hurried over at once after receiving the news.
“Chief Steward Su, I never expected that in just two years, you would successfully break through to High-level Professional Rank. Truly, congratulations.”
Ever since Su Mei received the Spineback Iron Dragon Essence Blood rewarded by Zhou Ming, her strength had advanced by leaps and bounds over the past two years, breaking through from Entry-level Professional Rank all the way to High-level Professional Rank.
Even Duanmu Ruibo and the others could not help but feel somewhat surprised upon witnessing it personally.
“Thank you for your praise, Lord Duanmu. I only managed to reach this point thanks to my lord's assistance.”
Regarding the rapid increase in her strength, Su Mei attributed all the credit to Zhou Ming and did not become arrogant because of Duanmu Ruibo's praise.
Just as Su Mei had said, after her Sword-tailed Lizard used the bloodline essences of the Phantasmal Scale Snake Lizard and Earth-Walking Dragon, it advanced into a High-tier Ferocious Beast, but its strength could no longer improve.
In the end, it was only through the aid of the Spineback Iron Dragon Essence Blood that her Beast completely transformed into a Sub-dragon Ferocious Beast, which Su Mei named the Black Iron Dragon Lizard.
Relying on the feedback from the Black Iron Dragon Lizard, her strength was able to continuously break through until reaching High-level Professional Rank.
The only drawback was that advancing further had become extremely difficult. Even the essence blood of a Transcendent Sub-dragon would find it hard to push her Beast another step forward.
However, Su Mei held no regrets regarding this outcome.
Without her lord's assistance, and without borrowing the essence blood of dragon-type Ferocious Beasts, she would probably still be nothing more than an ordinary Apprentice Beast Tamer.
“It seems your lord values you quite highly.”
Although Su Mei's rate of growth was astonishing, it was still insufficient to truly attract the attention of Duanmu Ruibo and the others. After offering a simple remark, they immediately began asking about Zhou Ming's situation.