Chapter 106: Heavenly Chicken Is a Wonderful Thing

Many thanks to the reward from Miss Niangcheng!

"Two swords each—pick the best ones," Lin Zhan said with a smile.

These dozen or so longswords from Sword Burial Peak meant little to Lin Zhan, but to Fang Daguang and Lian Ming, they were treasures beyond compare. As outer disciples, to obtain swords that only core inner disciples could select from the sword tomb was an extraordinary gain.

"Uh, Brother 186, just picking one is already more than enough for us!"

"Exactly, one treasured sword is best—only then will we cherish and care for it, strive to master our swordsmanship, and unleash its greatest power!"

Truly, disciples from Sword Burial Peak had a remarkable mindset when it came to the way of the sword—Lin Zhan admitted he did not possess such an outlook.

Indeed, a single sword suffices: with one stroke, one can decide life and death; with one blade, disdain the world. The sword is merely a weapon in hand; what matters most is the heart of the one who wields it.

Seeing that both men each chose only one sword, Lin Zhan put away the rest.

Only then did he notice that Mang Tian’s storage ring contained chickens preserved in ice!

"I hear this is a specialty of your Sword Burial Peak?" Lin Zhan tossed out three.

"Heavenly Chickens!" The two men's eyes lit up again. "Brother, you captured these too?"

Lin Zhan nodded, and as he roasted them over his fist's flame, he asked, "Tell me, what's so special about these Heavenly Chickens? How did someone manage to steal them?"

The two swallowed hard, hurried forward to help, and began to explain, sharing many stories about Sword Burial Peak in the process.

As a menial disciple, Lin Zhan naturally carried some seasonings with him. In no time, the three Heavenly Chickens were wafting with fragrance.

"Come, let’s eat as we walk."

Each man grabbed a bird, tearing into it with juices dripping down their chins.

If the master of Sword Burial Peak were to learn that the Heavenly Chickens were being devoured this way, he would surely die of apoplexy.

Just as the three left the area, far in the distance, Fan Ning, the personal disciple of the Sword Burial Peak master, twitched his spiritual sense and sniffed hard in a certain direction. Muttering to himself in puzzlement, he said, "Hmm? Why does it smell like Heavenly Chicken here? Could that chicken thief Mang Tian be nearby? No, I must go take a look."

Elsewhere, Ji Mubai, a disciple from Tiangang Peak, also moved, following in pursuit.

On the road as Lin Zhan and the others relocated—

"Brother 186, I feel I’m about to break through!"

"Uh, me too."

Lin Zhan could sense the advancement in his realm as well, though not as strongly as the other two, since their cultivation levels were lower and required less spiritual energy to progress.

This proved that the Heavenly Chicken was indeed a rare treasure, capable of directly enabling breakthroughs.

Now that the two were on the verge of advancing, Lin Zhan had no choice but to find them a secluded spot and stand guard for their safety.

The northern forest was never short of caves—former lairs of wild beasts.

Strangely enough, after two days here, not a single beast had been seen. Perhaps they all sensed the impending battles among humans and fled early to save themselves?

Lin Zhan settled the two in neighboring caves, hoping they would return soon.

Seated cross-legged atop a massive boulder opposite, Lin Zhan extended his spiritual sense over the area. Having just devoured an entire Heavenly Bird, his spiritual power was overflowing, cheeks flushed, and he had reached the middle stage of Yellow Grade, Second Rank.

"If I were to eat all hundred or so Heavenly Chickens, breaking through to Yellow Grade, Third Rank would be no challenge at all!" Lin Zhan mused, shaken.

No wonder, as Fang Daguang had said, when the Heavenly Chickens were stolen, the Sword Slave Peak master of Sword Burial Peak was livid, sulking for seven days straight. During that time, no one dared disturb him, else they’d be beaten mercilessly—truly terrifying.

Lin Zhan kept a constant watch on the light dots on his number token.

Most of the lights now seemed gathered at the center of the zone; aside from their own cluster of three on the outskirts, only two other white dots remained in another direction.

Those two dots seemed paired as well—likely another allied group of disciples.

The center’s battles had grown brutal beyond words.

The disciple who, because Lin Zhan had adjusted his combat value, became number one, was being besieged by many.

Ye Xiaoyao of Tiangang Peak, who had accumulated nearly twenty points and ranked second, had not drawn much attention. But when fortune shifted, and he became the golden point atop the list, he instantly became the target everyone wanted to attack and rob.

Fortunately, his strength was formidable, and he managed to defeat several challengers in succession, his points now nearing thirty.

Ye Xiaoyao seemed to have fallen into a kind of battle madness, refusing no challenger and fighting on without pause, while his opponents waited for his strength to be depleted, hoping to overwhelm him in the end and divide his points.

On the second day, fewer than thirty of Zone Two’s hundred disciples remained!

Of the seventy-plus eliminated, ten had perished, over forty were gravely injured, and just over twenty escaped unscathed—including the dozen spared earlier by Lin Zhan.

It could be said that most fought with no mercy, staking their very lives.

Lin Zhan himself also showed no mercy in combat, but instead of killing, he thoroughly plundered his defeated foes—a difference that meant everything.

Suddenly, Lian Ming broke through first—Human Grade, Sixth Rank!

And he was not done yet.

Human Grade, Seventh Rank! Human Grade, Eighth Rank!

It was like a parched land blessed by sudden rain—not only watered but brought to life anew.

This was Lian Ming’s situation. As an outer disciple, he rarely had access to cultivation resources, so this miraculous infusion of spiritual energy from the Heavenly Chicken propelled him up three ranks in a row, all the way to the peak of Human Grade, Eighth Rank!

Lin Zhan could not help but feel gratified, and now waited eagerly for Fang Daguang’s advance.

Emotionally, Lin Zhan felt a closer bond with Fang Daguang, his elder brother figure, since they had arrived together in this Blue Ice World, traveling the icy plains with Qin Qingxuan’s group, fighting side by side, and sharing the most conversations.

"Brother Fang, I hope the Heavenly Chicken helps you ascend several levels as well!" Lin Zhan sincerely wished.

Boom!

A great burst of air came from Fang Daguang’s cave.

Soil and plants around the cave mouth trembled with it.

Then came the aura of Human Grade, Eighth Rank.

Lin Zhan understood that Fang Daguang had successfully advanced one grade—one more would bring him to Ninth Rank, though that leap to Yellow Grade would be a formidable hurdle, unlikely to be crossed so easily.

Sure enough, three hours later, Fang Daguang did not disappoint. When he emerged from the cave, he was already at the mid-stage of Human Grade, Ninth Rank.

He cupped his fists to Lin Zhan in thanks from afar.

Lian Ming hurried forward, and the two slapped palms in celebration.