TL: Etude
"I'm not dead?"
Yue Ling slowly regained consciousness from her stupor, her first thought filled with confusion. Given the circumstances, she had been almost certain of her demise. Yet, here she was, conscious, which meant someone had saved her.
"Could any of my guards have survived?" Yue Ling wondered subconsciously.
But she immediately dismissed the idea. Facing a top-tier beast, it was impossible for her guards to have survived.
Opening her eyes, she found her surroundings somewhat dark, but her keen senses told her someone was nearby.
"You're awake," a somewhat youthful voice said.
Although she couldn't see the person's face, Yue Ling recognized the voice. "Ye Tian, did you save me?"
She tried to stand but was too weak; she could only manage to sit up.
"Yes, I happened to see you lying on the ground and brought you to this small cave," Ye Tian responded.
"Thank you for saving me," Yue Ling said gratefully.
"It's nothing, I just happened to come across you," Ye Tian said with a slight smile.
In truth, he had considered not saving Yue Ling. He could have even taken her valuables and money. But that would have gone against his nature. Moreover, Yue Ling was inherently good; her lack of an extreme reaction when he had refused to join the Martial Pavilion had revealed that much. If it had been someone like Mo Shaobei, not only would he leave him to die, but he would actively attempt to kill him.
Suddenly, a soft light emanated from Yue Ling's hand. It was a stone that lit up the dark cave like a light bulb.
"What is this?" Ye Tian was somewhat surprised.
He had carried Yue Ling all the way to the cave and hadn't noticed this stone. If it had been there, he felt he would have sensed it.
"This is a Light Stone. It can store light and is quite rare. Even in large bases, only a few people have them," Yue Ling explained without hiding anything.
She wasn't afraid that Ye Tian would covet the Light Stone. After all, although it was rare, it wasn't valuable. If Ye Tian wanted it, she wouldn't mind giving him one.
Yue Ling placed the Light Stone on a nearby rock and then produced a bottle of healing liquid. After taking a sip, she quietly waited for her injuries to heal.
"It appeared out of nowhere!" Ye Tian was certain that Yue Ling had suddenly produced the bottle of healing liquid. Creating something out of nothing was impossible.
That meant Yue Ling must have some legendary storage equipment. Moreover, the grade of her healing liquid was much higher than his own Qing Yuan liquid.
He had given her a bottle of Qing Yuan liquid while she was unconscious, but it had only alleviated her injuries. In contrast, Yue Ling's healing liquid was visibly restoring her skin at an astonishing rate.
Seeming to notice Ye Tian's gaze, Yue Ling smiled and said, "You've never seen a storage bag, have you? It's made from the spatial pouch of a Space Kangaroo, refined by a Martial Warrior with spatial talents. It can be used by Martial Warriors after some refining."
"What's a Space Kangaroo?" Ye Tian asked curiously.
From Yue Ling's explanation, Ye Tian finally understood the origins of the Space Kangaroo. It was a high-level beast, fast, powerful, and intelligent, making it a difficult creature to hunt. The pouch of the Space Kangaroo had spatial properties, allowing it to store many items. Once a Space Kangaroo was hunted, its pouch could be refined by a Martial Warrior with spatial talents to create a storage bag. While other items with spatial properties could also be used, the pouch of the Space Kangaroo was the most practical and easiest to find.
"I've learned something new," Ye Tian couldn't help but marvel internally.
It wasn't surprising that he didn't know; after all, he came from a small base like Linhai, and couldn't compare to Yue Ling, who hailed from a large base.
For the next two days, Ye Tian stayed with Yue Ling. Since her injuries hadn't fully healed, he couldn't leave on his own to search for the Immortal Jellyfish. Although it was a bit of a time waste, he gained much knowledge from Yue Ling, such as the realm above the Great Martial Warriors.
In Linhai Base, Great Martial Warriors were the strongest, and there were only a handful of them. But in large bases, Great Martial Warriors were considered mid-tier. Above them were the Grandmaster-level Martial Warriors. A Grandmaster could easily defeat a group of Great Martial Warriors and had a lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary people, living up to 200 years.
When Ye Tian learned that Grandmaster-level experts could live up to 200 years, he was utterly stunned. Thus, he set another goal for himself: to reach the Grandmaster level. Unfortunately, becoming a Grandmaster was extremely difficult. Even those with high-level cultivation talents had less than a 10% chance, and only those with top-level cultivation talents had a 100% chance.
"Ye Tian, I'm preparing to return to the large base," Yue Ling said after her injuries had mostly healed.
"Then take care on your journey," Ye Tian replied.
Before leaving, Yue Ling tossed Ye Tian a package. "You should find the items inside useful. Consider them a gift."
Before Ye Tian could refuse, Yue Ling had already left, moving so quickly that he couldn't react in time. Seeing this, Ye Tian could only smile wistfully.
He opened the package and found a secret manual, ten bottles of beast blood, and ten gold cards inside. "Wow, an Intermediate Elemental Body Forging Technique, ten bottles of high-level beast blood, and ten gold cards equivalent to 10 million dollars. This gift is incredibly generous!" Ye Tian was genuinely shocked.
The most valuable item was the Intermediate Elemental Body Forging Technique. He didn't know if the major families in Linhai Base had it, but ordinary Martial Warriors couldn't obtain it, no matter how much money they had.
"With the Intermediate Elemental Body Forging Technique and ten bottles of high-level beast blood, I'm confident I can advance to the Elite Martial Warrior level within three months," Ye Tian was extremely confident.
Originally, he had planned to go to the Lake of Death immediately to look for the Immortal Jellyfish. But now, he changed his mind. He decided to wait until he advanced to the Elite Martial Warrior level before going to the Lake of Death, as it would be safer.
Actually, now was not a good time to go to the Lake of Death. Yue Ling and her team had caused quite a commotion there, and the beasts might be on high alert for foreign Martial Warriors. Going there now would be tantamount to seeking death.
Three months might be enough time for the Lake of Death to calm down, making it the best time to go. So, Ye Tian prepared to return to Linhai Base.