Chapter 112: Tier Six

Based on the progression system he was familiar with, there were three requirements to reach the sixth rank for a life-bound card, and even for non-life-bound cards, at least two were necessary. The minimum requirement was a blue-tier quality and the completion of one evolution. Currently, among his blue-tier monsters, only the Flame Werewolf Leader had completed an evolution. The rest of his blue-tier monsters remained unevolved.

If his "talent" required following these same upgrade rules, he would be unable to produce a large number of sixth-rank monsters, even with a massive supply of blood-sucking mosquitoes. In that case, there would be no way to dismantle the Wild Bandit faction other than picking them off one by one. Of course, he could also spend time gathering evolution materials or waiting for several more cycles of mosquito reproduction. If he went to Tiantan Mountain to raise the blood-sucking mosquitoes to blue-tier and evolve them to the sixth rank, they would become his ultimate trump card. He refused to believe that sixth-rank blood-sucking mosquitoes would be ineffective in combat. Even at the fifth rank, if a mosquito managed to sting a fourth-rank monster, it was a death sentence; the victim would be drained of blood in an instant—provided they weren't swatted first.

Lu Sheng had considered teaching the mosquitoes various skills, but since learned skills were not hereditary—only innate ones were—he had abandoned the idea. Equipping just one mosquito wouldn't be very effective, anyway. He could actually make use of the Wild Bandits' intelligence network, as they would never expect his strength to grow so rapidly. Therefore, if they only sent one sixth-rank individual to confront him, that would be the day they met their end. Even if he only had one sixth-rank Flame Werewolf Leader, he could use his overwhelming numbers to wipe out all their forces.

Floating in the high sky, Lu Sheng silently planned his next moves. He wasn't sure where to go, and it seemed he had no choice but to wait for the mosquitoes to mature; otherwise, he would be spotted anywhere he went. Having decided this, Lu Sheng found a place to hide and wait.

Meanwhile, the entire wilderness was buzzing because of him. The Wild Bandits had offered a staggering bounty for information on Lu Sheng: five fourth-rank spirit fruits. If the information was verified and led to his capture, those fruits would belong to the informant. Driven by greed, everyone began frantically scouring the area for his location. This high price was set because Lu Sheng had escaped from He Fei yesterday, causing the latter to lose face and fueling his desire to kill him.

Even the other leaders of the Wild Bandits, with the exception of the Grand Leader, had mobilized. As soon as they had a confirmed location, they planned to launch a rapid encirclement. Unfortunately, since He Fei had failed to find him in the Loess Region three hours ago, there had been no news of Lu Sheng. He seemed to have vanished into the wilderness without a trace.

A tall, thin man with dark skin stood next to He Fei and said, "Fourth Brother, don't be impatient. This entire wilderness is our territory. As soon as he appears, I will help you take him down."

He Fei smiled, "With Second Brother's Gale Vulture, he is as good as dead. If it weren't for that White-Flame Blue-Scaled Bird he possesses, he would have died at my hands already." Jin Chong nodded indifferently; he didn't hold Lu Sheng in high regard. A mere fifth-rank character daring to offend the Wild Bandits was simply courting death.

Jin Chong turned the conversation to another matter: "Fourth Brother, the Mad God Cult has been very restless lately. They are making big moves, kidnapping people across the wilderness for some unknown purpose. You and your men should be careful."

He Fei dismissed it, "What kind of trouble can that pathetic cult stir up? Don't worry."

Jin Chong frowned, "This time it's different. The Mad God Cult is hiding a massive force, with no shortage of sixth-rankers. Big Brother has joined the Anti-Cult Alliance, and after a direct confrontation, he sent word for us to be vigilant."

Hearing that this was intelligence from their eldest leader, He Fei grew serious. "So, the Mad God Cult actually has some substance. But now that all the factions in the wilderness are surrounding them, surely they can't cause much trouble?"

Jin Chong shook his head slowly. "It's hard to say. It is said that the Mad God Cult only revealed a fraction of their power, yet they held off the entire coalition. Now, the coalition is calling for reinforcements."

"An entire coalition of seven or eight factions was held off by the Mad God Cult?" He Fei was shocked. "Second Brother, you're not joking, are you?" He looked at Jin Chong in disbelief.

Jin Chong replied solemnly, "It is the truth. The coalition now suspects the Mad God Cult is performing some evil ritual. Once we resolve this current matter, we are to join the coalition to stop them."

...

Inside a cave, Lu Sheng had arrived in his true form. The blood-sucking mosquitoes had matured, and their evolution required his physical presence. The Space-Time Ant rested on his shoulder, relaxing. Ever since he learned that breaking through to the sixth rank required sensing the source within one's life-bound monster, he had kept the ant with him, though he hadn't sensed anything yet. He wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't reached the fifth rank, or if the laws of time and space were simply too advanced.

He had already crushed the blood-sucking mosquitoes in the sub-dimensional space; now, he just needed to upgrade them. He possessed 45,000 early-stage fifth-rank blood-sucking mosquitoes, obtained from fifteen female mosquito cards combined with fifteen ten-fold reproduction cards, along with 120,000 late-stage fourth-rank mosquitoes. These were all the mosquito cards he currently had.

Without hesitation, he first upgraded the Flame Werewolf Leader to the sixth rank. Since the Flame Werewolf Leader was already at the peak of the fifth rank, the cost to upgrade remained the same multiple as before. Consequently, 30,000 of his early-stage fifth-rank mosquito cards were consumed in an instant, leaving him with only 15,000. It seemed that even with a blue-tier monster that had already evolved, he couldn't upgrade further.

[Flame Werewolf: Leader Tier]
Quality: Blue
Rank: Early Sixth Rank
Skills: Super Fireball
Passive: Fire Element Affinity, Strength Enhancement
Evolution Skill: Potential Activation

Fire Element Affinity: Can easily condense fire elements from the air for personal use.

The Flame Werewolf Leader's card image had visibly changed after reaching the sixth rank. Previously, it had been a standard Flame Werewolf, but now a dynamic cluster of flames appeared behind it. Its muscle definition had become more pronounced, and its active and passive skills had become more distinct. The Fire Element Affinity was likely an evolution from the previous Flame Possession, and the Large Fireball had become a Super Fireball.

Unfortunately, he had no test subjects, and hitting trees or rocks wouldn't tell him much. He needed to fight a real opponent. Therefore, he decided to lie low for a while longer and wait until he had more sixth-rank monsters before taking action.

Be steady, be steady. He carved these words into his mind. Never be reckless without absolute power. But once someone became a true enemy, he would pull them up by the roots.