Chapter 220 - 219: Life Is Getting Better

Yan Ying was sobbing from the pain, glaring viciously at Jian Yu and the others.

She glanced at the person beside her, her teeth gritted. "Zhao Jiangyou, if you’re not dead, get your ass over here! It hurts like hell, heal me now!"

Zhao Jiangyou handed her a Recovery Potion and summoned his Soul Beast to assist with the Healing.

His Soul Beast also had the Healing Attribute, the rarest type of Soul Beast in the interstellar era. But in Yan Ying’s eyes, it was just a useless thing that couldn’t fight.

Its Level wasn’t high, but combined with the medicine, Yan Ying was soon back to full health.

Once she was done, she tossed it aside, shoving away Zhao Jiangyou’s Soul Beast. "Get lost. You’re completely useless."

Zhao Jiangyou swallowed his anger.

He advised in a low voice, "Miss, don’t act on impulse. Just think, they’re so young. How could they possibly know the prestige of our Family Head?"

Someone next to him chimed in, their tone dripping with sarcasm, "That’s right, Miss. So many years have passed. The interstellar landscape has changed completely."

Yan Ying’s eyes snapped up, her expression twisting. "What are you trying to say? What’s your point? My grandfather is the only Level 3S on Emperor Wolf Star! Back in the day, during the Mutant Beast uprising, the Xi Family and my grandfather were the greatest heroes!"

The man stuck his neck out. "Before, apart from that person from the Xi Family, our Family Head naturally had the most say. But now? The Imperial Capital Star has several 3S Awakeners. Who knows where our Family Head even ranks anymore."

Yan Ying slapped him across the face. "Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?! Even the Alliance has to be polite to my grandfather! These juniors, no matter how high their Awakening Level is, could they be stronger than my grandfather? How many battlefields has my grandfather been on? And them?"

A mercenary retorted, unconvinced, "Was he wrong? Your grandfather’s been to war, but Sheng Yue and his team haven’t? Every single one of the seven chiefs is a seasoned veteran. Do you really think just because they’re young, they have to respect your grandfather?"

He dodged Yan Ying’s slap, which was charged with spiritual power. "You’ve got a princess complex but not the life of one. I’m not putting up with this. Here’s your money back. What a piece of work."

Yan Ying never expected that this one man’s words could convince a dozen mercenaries to leave.

"Fine, leave! I gave you all so much money and so many resources, and you can’t even handle a few Mutant Worms! What’s the use of having you around?!"

The mercenary turned around, kicked out, and knocked Yan Ying unconscious.

He frowned, looking at the unconscious Yan Ying. "’A few’ Mutant Worms? Did a Mutant Worm teach you math? Goddammit, I’m so pissed off!"

The dozen or so mercenaries swaggered off.

Zhao Jiangyou had the worst luck. He had just finished healing Yan Yu, and now Yan Ying was coughing up blood again.

If Yan Ying’s grandfather hadn’t saved him during a beast tide, Zhao Jiangyou really wouldn’t want to deal with her at all.

Seeing Yan Ying’s eyelashes tremble as she was about to awaken, Zhao Jiangyou, afraid of getting hit, quickly scooted away.

Yan Ying leaned against a tree, her face pale, her fingers digging into her palms. "They’ve only provided support twenty-something times, what’s so great about that? My grandfather has the Alliance’s highest medal. No one in the Alliance would dare speak to my grandfather like that."

She exploded, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

Zhao Jiangyou swallowed. "Miss, they’ve already left. It’s just the few of us now."

To be precise, including Yan Ying, there were only six of them.

Yan Ying’s gaze swept around the area, and her eyes instantly reddened.

’How dare they? How could they dare to abandon me alone in the Ultimate Eye!’

’Aren’t they afraid my grandfather will come after them and settle the score?’

Wang Hu’s voice drifted over. "This Beast Crystal is huge! I have to save it for Yu."

The two Yan Xu brothers were fast at digging out Beast Crystals. They’d make a cut on the Mutant Worm’s abdomen, and the Beast Crystal would automatically fall into her Beast Crystal Bag.

Yan Yi shook the bag. "One-third of the mission is done. We just need three more types of Beast Crystals now. Bro, we really have to thank Jian Yu this time. After we turn in the required portion, we’ll get to keep a lot. I’ve wanted a High-level Beast Crystal for so long."

Yan Ying had recognized Yan Xu and his brother long ago.

She cursed under her breath, "Serves their family right for being kicked out of Emperor Wolf Star. Like teacher, like student—what a bunch of spineless trash. Grateful for such a paltry little thing."

The air was thick with the scent of residual Soul Beast energy.

In stark contrast to the gloomy state of Yan Ying’s group, the faces of everyone on Jian Yu’s team were filled with the relief of surviving a close call and the joy of a massive haul of Beast Crystals.

Zhang Qin’s voice was high with excitement. "If it weren’t for our junior just now, I’m not sure I would have made it."

"Totally!" Wang Hu chimed in, sidling over while wiping his small knife.

He was still holding a freshly excavated Beast Crystal. "When that Soul Beast Skill activated, I felt like my shot almost blew a hole in the sky!"

Jian Yu smiled, pressing her lips together. Her expression was demure with a hint of shyness, but inwardly she was thinking: ’I have to find a chance to tell Ling Yanzhi that I’m not a wimp at all!’

To conserve energy, everyone was using the most primitive method to excavate the Beast Crystals.

Jian Yu simply took out a small knife, ready to join in.

Lu Yi and the others stopped Jian Yu. "You go rest. That was an area-of-effect Skill, you must be exhausted. We can handle something like digging out Beast Crystals."

Yan Ying snorted with contempt. She’d seen plenty of brown-nosers in her time.

She’d been hearing that kind of flattery her whole life.

Looking at the huge pile of Beast Crystals, Zhao Jiangyou felt a pang of envy.

Noticing the look in Yan Ying’s eyes, Zhao Jiangyou quickly changed the subject. "Miss, there are only a few of us left. Should we head back now, or...?"

Yan Ying’s gaze was vicious. "Of course we’re following them. Those Beast Crystals are ours. We’ll steal them back if we have to."

Zhao Jiangyou shrank back and didn’t dare say another word. He couldn’t understand why someone from a great family would order them to steal things at the drop of a hat.

After all the Beast Crystals were excavated, the Mutant Worm corpses were incinerated.

"So many High-level Beast Crystals!" Lu Qi said, hugging a full bag of Beast Crystal Cores, grinning from ear to ear.

There were over a thousand Low-level Beast Crystals, fifty A-level Beast Crystals, and even twenty S and 2S-Class Beast Crystals.

The biggest one was from the 3S Mutated Insect King. It was the size of a fist and emanated a faint purple light.

Sheng Yue took a water flask out of his storage space and washed the bloodstains off the Beast Crystal.

He walked up to Jian Yu, cupped it in his hands, and offered it to her. "For you."

A rare, faint smile appeared on the man’s cold face.

Seeing it, Jian Yu’s heart began to pound erratically again.

Yin Jiu, nestled in Jian Yu’s arms, said proudly as if presenting a treasure, "Master said this one is the biggest and is perfect for the prettiest girl."

Jian Yu couldn’t handle Yin Jiu’s adorable, cuddly coaxing, and her heart immediately softened.

She lowered her head and uncomfortably scratched under Yin Jiu’s chin.

Yin Jiu rubbed softly against Jian Yu’s fingers. [Waaaah, Master, our lives are finally looking up!]

Sheng Yue’s ears turned red, but his expression remained unchanged.

"The mission only requires us to collect Beast Crystals of five different attributes. The Level isn’t specified."

He said coolly, "For the remaining Beast Crystals, if their Level is higher than S-Class, we can choose to exchange them for other resources instead of turning them in to the academy. This one counts as mine, not as part of the team’s mission."

"Thank you." Jian Yu didn’t refuse. She had used up her energy too quickly, and a high-level Beast Crystal would replenish it faster.

She also wanted to see just how effective a 3S Rank Beast Crystal was.

’Since they can help Awakeners evolve and strengthen their bodies, could it also give me some kind of visible benefit?’

As their fingers touched, Jian Yu saw the tips of Sheng Yue’s fingers curl slightly. She smiled and gave them a little squeeze.

His long fingers were cool to the touch, like a piece of cold jade.

Sheng Yue froze, feeling his neck and face flush with heat.

After handing over the Beast Crystal, he quickly turned to the others and asked, "Does anyone have a problem with that?"