Chapter 71: My Promotion to Two-Star Was Unexpectedly Broadcast Live

Seeing that Zhang Chu wasn’t agreeing, Fang Danan grew anxious and started to enumerate his own merits.

For instance: Fang Danan said his grandfather was the previous director of the Martial Authority, a subtle way of letting Zhang Chu know he had connections.

Then he offered a quick display of his abilities: a two-star dual-strength warrior, with an awakened innate combat skill called the Black Tortoise Defense Shield—capable of forming a powerful barrier with his spiritual energy, perfect for navigating the complex Starbeast Tree Hollows.

Finally, Fang Danan casually showed off his gear—a two-star superior Starshatter Hammer, valued at eight million.

As for everything else, Fang Danan gave Zhang Chu a look, inviting him to figure it out on his own.

In short, Fang Danan was telling Zhang Chu: teaming up with him was all benefits, no downsides.

While Fang Danan spoke enthusiastically, Zhang Chu listened with a furrowed brow.

To lay out all his cards at the start—though it seemed like he was demonstrating his strength, Zhang Chu couldn’t shake the feeling that Fang Danan was trying to lower his guard.

“Brother Zhang Chu, I’ve said all I can. Think it over,” Fang Danan said, patting Zhang Chu on the shoulder with a smile.

That smile.

It made Zhang Chu wary inside. This guy had perfected the art of hiding a knife behind a smile.

“Sorry, I’m used to working alone,” Zhang Chu replied. He had no desire to get too close to someone like this.

With a flicker, Zhang Chu slipped into the Starbeast Tree Hollow.

When Zhang Chu refused the invitation, Fang Danan’s fists clenched, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes before he too entered the Starbeast Tree Hollow.

At that moment—

Inside the tree hollow, Zhang Chu felt a powerful suction envelop him, tugging at his body.

Recalling Fan Tianlei’s instructions, Zhang Chu didn’t resist with force or spiritual power. Instead, he completely relaxed.

After about a minute, a seven-colored light flashed.

Zhang Chu’s eyes opened onto a vista of lush green—a boundless prairie, with shimmering lakes in the distance.

He was standing beside a fifty-meter-tall giant tree, the entrance to the teleportation array for the Starbeast Tree Hollow. Nearby stood a sign reading “Teleportation Array Gathering Point.”

The gathering point was empty, but there was a supply station.

The supply station held provisions for those entering the Starbeast Tree Hollow: compressed biscuits, bottled water, and some self-heating vegetarian meals.

Beyond food and water, the most important supplies were stamina recovery liquids and standard hemostatic medicines.

After collecting his share, Zhang Chu sped toward the distant dense forest.

His primary purpose in coming to the Starbeast Tree Hollow was to enhance his spiritual power.

Within the Starbeast Tree Hollow, aside from hunting starbeasts, his main task was to search for century-old, or even several-century-old, plants.

According to his locator, ten kilometers from the gathering point lay the largest forest, known as the Starbeast Sea of Woods.

No sooner had he left than the entrance to the Starbeast Tree Hollow flashed again, and Fang Danan appeared at the teleportation point.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Only after confirming he was alone did he retrieve an invisible drone from his storage ring and release it into the air.

As the drone began its reconnaissance,

In a manor on the outskirts of Binzhou, a man was monitoring everything happening within the Starbeast Tree Hollow.

Zhang Chu took just five minutes to enter the Starbeast Sea of Woods.

With the Xuangang Greatsword in hand and nanotech battle armor for protection, he cautiously inspected his environment.

The dense woods restricted his vision—if a starbeast launched a sneak attack, it would be difficult to handle.

Sure enough.

He had ventured less than two kilometers into the Starbeast Sea of Woods when, just as he locked onto a towering tree, a sonic boom erupted behind him.

Turning, Zhang Chu saw a jet-black leopard, eyes gleaming green, charging at breakneck speed.

“A one-star starbeast—Lightning Black Leopard!”

Lightning Black Leopards were renowned for their speed.

Among starbeasts of the same rank, their speed ranked in the top three.

In mere moments, the leopard was upon him.

Zhang Chu quickly unleashed the one-star lower-grade combat technique “Silver Flash,” sidestepping the attack.

Still, the leopard’s razor-sharp claws tore through his clothing.

With a roar, the black leopard spun midair, crouched low, and prepared to lunge.

Bang!

Another deafening sonic boom split the air.

A blur of black shot toward him.

“Blazing Sword Intent!”

“Thirteen Swords of Fire—Slash!”

Zhang Chu narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the oncoming Lightning Black Leopard, channeling his force into a single strike.

Thirteen sword shadows stacked together, forming a massive blade of energy that cleaved toward the leopard.

But the beast was incredibly fast.

It twisted in midair, deftly dodging the attack and hurtling forward.

“Damn!”

“Midair redirection—could this be the Lightning Black Leopard’s innate combat skill?”

Watching the leopard’s fluid maneuver, Zhang Chu was momentarily stunned.

“Electro Vine!”

“Bind!”

Since the Thirteen Swords of Fire couldn’t harm the Lightning Black Leopard, he would have to use his trump card.

As the leopard closed in, Zhang Chu raised his hand. His spiritual power shot out as an electric vine, spiraling through the air and wrapping tightly around the leopard.

Bang!

The black leopard hadn’t expected this move.

Its body crashed heavily to the ground, currents crackling across its fur.

Within moments, the Lightning Black Leopard lost all ability to move.

With a tug of his right hand, Zhang Chu tightened the electric vine, severing the leopard’s throat.

“Ding—host has slain one one-star alien beast, force +5, spiritual power +5!”

“Ding—host has absorbed one one-star core, force +5!”

Nonchalantly, Zhang Chu tossed the leopard’s body into his storage ring and walked toward the towering tree.

According to the rules of the Starbeast Tree Hollow, any starbeasts killed belonged to the individual.

What Zhang Chu didn’t know was that his entire battle with the Lightning Black Leopard had been broadcast live by the drone.

In the Binzhou manor, a man holding a glass of red wine stared in shock at Zhang Chu’s display of spiritual power—Electro Vine Bind.

“To think such a heaven-defying combat skill exists! This Zhang Chu clearly harbors many secrets. If we could obtain the secret of his rapid rise, our Divine Dream Alliance's return to glory wouldn’t be far off!”

...

“This is the one!”

By this time, Zhang Chu had circled the Celestial Pine before him for quite a while, finally deciding to use his first “Accelerated Domain” in the Starbeast Tree Hollow on it.

He had just examined the tree rings—122 years old.

Closing his eyes, Zhang Chu wrapped the tree’s trunk with his spiritual power, following the method of “Accelerated Domain,” and sent his consciousness into the pine’s meridians.

In an instant, the Celestial Pine began to grow slowly.

After ten minutes, Zhang Chu was automatically withdrawn from the “Accelerated Domain.”

Looking up, he saw that the pine, once fifteen meters tall, now stood at least twenty-five.

“Holy—judging by the height, it must be at least two hundred years old!”

“Activate Passive Devour!”

Excitement surged in Zhang Chu as he placed his right hand on the tree, actively triggering the Passive Devour skill.

Before his eyes, the lush giant tree began to wither at a pace visible to the naked eye.

This scene startled the man in the manor into standing up abruptly. “No way—has this kid awakened the talent to devour life force?”

“Ding!”

“Passive Devour activated. Host has absorbed one 350-year-old plant, spiritual power +7!”

Damn!

Damn, indeed!

At the system’s message, Zhang Chu opened his eyes in shock, staring in disbelief at the now-withered Celestial Pine.

“Fifty years of growth equals one point of spiritual power. There are countless century-old trees in the Starbeast Sea of Woods. Am I about to strike it rich?”

Time now felt as precious as life itself.

He lost all interest in the starbeasts and dove deep into the woods, searching for ancient trees over a hundred years old.

With only ten chances a day and a goal to break through to two stars within three days, he needed to find even older trees!