Chapter 74: Desolate Moon

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Desolate Moon

A Heavy-Armored Antelope, a Tier Two Low-Grade Soul Beast.

Worth a "price tag" of 78 points on the college entrance exam.

Bao Yaoyao estimated her own strength. It would likely take her a great deal of effort to face a Tier Two Soul Beast, and if things went badly, she might even get injured.

If she ran into a particularly powerful Tier Two Soul Beast, she would have no choice but to turn and flee immediately.

As for this Heavy-Armored Antelope, if Bao Yaoyao had encountered it herself, she could have fought it, but it would have been anything but easy!

But this Li Heng... not only was he completely unscathed, but judging by his calm demeanor, he had probably dispatched the Heavy-Armored Antelope with little to no effort.

’To be able to take down a Tier Two Soul Beast so easily... That kind of strength...’

Bao Yaoyao suddenly panicked. She had originally assumed Li Heng was just a Soul Apprentice—at best, she figured he was like her and had only been one for a little over a year.

That was why, in the beginning, Bao Yaoyao had felt secure enough to team up with Li Heng. But now, it seemed his strength was likely greater than her own.

’What if he means me harm? I don’t think I could beat him!’

For a moment, the thought of backing out crossed Bao Yaoyao’s mind, but this barbecue just smelled so incredibly good!

"Li Heng, have you become a Soul Warrior?"

Bao Yaoyao asked tentatively after a moment of deliberation.

"Not yet," Li Heng answered casually, continuing to roast the lamb leg in his hands.

"Oh! Then how long... have you been a Soul Apprentice?" Bao Yaoyao pressed.

"A few weeks, I guess," Li Heng replied, still not paying it much mind. He just assumed Bao Yaoyao was making small talk.

He spoke without thinking, but she read into his every word.

Bao Yaoyao refused to believe the "few weeks" Li Heng had mentioned. ’How could anyone reach this level without several years of solidifying their strength as a Soul Apprentice?’

’This won’t do. I have to test him tonight!’

’What if he finds out about the medicinal herbs in my Space Stone and tries to rob me?’

’My dad would kill me when I get home!’

’I won’t be able to get into Soul Energy University...’

A hundred different thoughts flashed through Bao Yaoyao’s mind. In the end, she decided to eat the deliciously fragrant roasted lamb leg first and test Li Heng after she was done.

"Li Heng, this is a Tier One medicinal herb. It was really hard for me to find; I only managed to get two stalks. This one is to pay for my meal. I’ll be keeping the other one in my pants pocket tonight."

Bao Yaoyao blinked. In truth, she had taken both stalks from her Space Stone. She was actually thinking: ’If he comes over tonight to go through my pockets and takes this Tier One herb, then no matter how good his cooking is, I’m getting out of here immediately!’

’I may love to eat, but I’m not an idiot!’

"You’re too kind... In that case, thank you."

Li Heng completely missed the subtext in Bao Yaoyao’s words. All he knew was that for just roasting a bit of extra food, he’d gotten ten points for free. Plus, he could upgrade it later with soul energy points, which meant it was basically a 50-point gain.

He was secretly delighted!

Seeing Li Heng’s calm exterior, Bao Yaoyao wasn’t sure what to do. After a moment’s thought, she decided to wait until after they had finished eating.

She had to admit, the Tier Two Soul Beast tasted incredible. The meat wasn’t gamy or greasy; instead, it had its own light, refreshing aroma, and the golden fat tantalized her taste buds.

If she had to rank all the barbecued food she’d ever eaten, the lamb leg Li Heng had prepared would definitely be in the top three!

The two of them ate lamb legs and chops, making casual conversation as the campfire burned before them. It felt a lot like they were camping.

"Li Heng, do you have a girlfriend?" Bao Yaoyao asked suddenly, the question seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"A girlfriend? I have in the past." Li Heng thought for a moment. ’Before I transmigrated, I think I had more than one girlfriend. But after arriving here, I’ve been so busy cultivating my basic skills that I haven’t had time to look for one.’

’So yeah, I have before,’ he concluded.

"Why’d you break up?"

"I made a few 648-yuan top-ups in a game, and she said I’d never bought her anything that expensive. So, she broke up with me."

Li Heng felt pretty exasperated about it. While the gifts he’d given his ex-girlfriend never cost 648 yuan, he’d bought her plenty of cosmetics in the four-to-five-hundred-yuan range.

Since she was the one who wanted to break up, he just let it happen. Li Heng didn’t feel he was the one at fault. After all, the girl had never even given him a gift worth a hundred yuan, and she rarely gave him any gifts at all.

It wasn’t that Li Heng was stingy or overly concerned with money; he had simply seen some things for what they were, and there was no need to spell them out.

"What’s a 648?" Bao Yaoyao asked, confused.

"Oh, it’s just a unit for getting stronger. Don’t worry about it. Let’s drop it."

"A unit for getting stronger... and you topped up a few of them? Then you must be really strong, right?" Bao Yaoyao probed again.

"One of the top players on the server... Is that the moon?"

As they were talking, Li Heng suddenly saw what looked like one "bright moon" after another appearing in the sky!

He described it that way because he had never seen such a "peculiar" moon before; it looked like several crescent moons linked together.

It wasn’t just Li Heng; Bao Yaoyao was also stunned for a moment. Then, she subconsciously muttered, "The Desolate Moon Islands... The Desolate Moon is forming..."

’The Desolate Moon is forming?’

Bao Yaoyao seemed to know something.

As Li Heng listened to Bao Yaoyao muttering to herself, he was just about to ask a question when he heard her continue.

"I only know a little bit—it’s something my dad told me. The Desolate Moon Islands may be an exam-zone secret realm, but its terrain is unstable. Once the Desolate Moon appears, the archipelago will begin to move... and the Soul Beasts and wild animals might go on a rampage..."

’The islands are moving?’

’Like continental drift?’

Li Heng was a bit dumbfounded. Moving islands... that sounded like something from high school geography back on Earth. And he had been a science student!

’Besides, this world doesn’t seem to operate on science.’

Just as he thought this, he felt a tremor under his feet.

Since Bao Yaoyao had just mentioned it, feeling the ground shake now wasn’t too surprising.

ROAR—

AWOO—

...

As the island began to tremble, the howls of beasts echoed from the forest below and the mountain above them.

"Tonight’s going to be rough!"

Li Heng immediately drew his Empty Cicada Longsword.

The Desolate Moon was forming, the island was drifting, and by the looks of it, the Secret Realm Creatures and Soul Beasts were about to go berserk. He couldn’t rule out the possibility of being swarmed.

Li Heng felt a slight twinge of nervousness, but he wasn’t about to panic. After all, he had experience being besieged by a massive, dense pack of Blood Wolves.

’As long as no more than twenty Soul Beasts show up at once, the pressure won’t be too great. Killing them will just be a matter of time, and if I’m careful, I can avoid getting injured.’

"Li Heng, I think we have to team up for tonight! What do you say we defend this rest spot?"

Bao Yaoyao was extremely nervous. She had no idea how many Soul Beasts were on the island, nor how many would go on a rampage.

But facing a siege of Soul Beasts—and knowing from the Heavy-Armored Antelope that there were Tier Two Soul Beasts on the island—the situation looked grim.

Aside from teaming up, Bao Yaoyao couldn’t think of any other solution. She could only pray that not too many Soul Beasts would appear.