Chapter Forty-Four: Time to Show Off!

Once the Razorback Boar reached the third tier, it could summon a hundred Razorback Boar Guards, instantly solving the food crisis. After reviewing the Razorback Boar’s details, Lu Sheng finally understood why the one in his possession was so unique. The King Boar bloodline… So, even pigs could have a king...

With those enhancements done, Lu Sheng planned to upgrade two combat cards next: the Giant Crocodile and the Rock-Throwing Goblin. Together, the upgrades consumed 222,221 Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards. The Rock-Throwing Goblin had been at late first tier, while the Giant Crocodile was at peak first tier. Now, both were raised to early third tier.

[Rock-Throwing Goblin]
Quality: White
Tier: Early Third
Skill: Explosive Throw
Evolution Requirement: Backpack upgrade, once.
Explosive Throw: Thrown objects create a small-scale explosion.

[Giant Crocodile]
Quality: White
Tier: Early Third
Skill: Death Roll
Evolution Requirement: Third-tier water-element treasures x5
Death Roll: Charges forward by spinning, increasing roll speed tenfold upon biting prey.

He released the two combat cards to inspect them. The Rock-Throwing Goblin had grown from 1.4 meters to 1.6 meters tall, its aura even more imposing, with muscles tighter and more defined, each one seemingly sculpted to perfection. The Giant Crocodile had reached a staggering twenty meters. Next to it, Lu Sheng looked minuscule, as if a single bite would barely fill a gap between its teeth. Its entire body was covered in ridged armor-like scales, glossy and black, projecting an air of immense defense.

Not bad—this one even had the potential to be used as a mount. He could even prepare a comfortable seat to place atop the Giant Crocodile’s head. He wondered if, in the future, the Giant Crocodile could evolve wings of flesh; if it could fly, that would be perfect.

As for the Rock-Throwing Goblin, its evolution requirement seemed within reach. He recalled obtaining an Equipment Upgrade Card when he destroyed the ant nest some time ago. Now that the evolution required upgrading the goblin’s backpack, he might as well use it. Without hesitation, he applied the Equipment Upgrade Card to the Rock-Throwing Goblin.

The card turned into points of light that merged into the goblin’s backpack. The previously unremarkable backpack began to transform. When the glow faded, a brand-new backpack appeared.

It was still the same backpack, but now it emitted a steady stream of heat, vapor rising from within. At the same time, the evolutionary light enveloped the Rock-Throwing Goblin, and within two or three seconds, its evolution was complete.

[Rock-Throwing Goblin]
Quality: White
Tier: Early Third
Skill: Explosive Throw
Equipment: Infinite Redstone Backpack (Tier 1 Equipment)
Evolution Skill: High Temperature
High Temperature: Can imbue thrown objects with extreme heat.

It appeared that evolution had granted the Rock-Throwing Goblin a new trait. The direction of enhancements after evolution differed for each creature. Some underwent physical evolution—growing wings, three heads and six arms, larger bodies... Some gained unique traits—commanding wind, rain, thunder, or causing objects to transform... Others acquired powerful skills, like calling down meteor showers...

He had heard and seen all these during his time on Sky Island. The ability the Rock-Throwing Goblin gained wasn’t particularly impressive, but given its quality, it was enough. Now, he could finally seek revenge on Lei Yan.

Upgrading these two combat cards was precisely for the sake of defending against Li Kuang when taking revenge on Lei Yan. According to the information he’d gathered, Li Kuang was at peak second tier, and even if promoted, would only be at early third tier.

Lu Sheng’s logic was simple: if someone bullies you, you bully them back. There was no need to worry about magnanimity or vision. If someone corners you, slaps you, and robs you of everything, who could simply forgive that? And if you later gain power, would you pretend your past humiliation never happened, just because your outlook has changed? Lu Sheng doubted any fool would think that way—he certainly wasn’t one.

With these enhancements done, and counting his previous reserves, he still had 489,093 peak first-tier Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes and 302 mid second-tier Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes left. Unable to further upgrade anything else, Lu Sheng decided to condense these mosquitoes into essence—in preparation for the next batch, when his strength would soar explosively.

He compressed 489,093 peak first-tier Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards into 4,446 mid second-tier Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards. Including the 300 he already had, he now possessed 4,746 mid second-tier Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards. The original 302 mid second-tier cards were reduced by two, as two had already reproduced and were no longer viable.

Each Bloodthirsty Mosquito could only reproduce once.

Among these 4,746 Bloodthirsty Mosquito cards, there were 4,000 females and 746 males. At first, Lu Sheng considered using only one male, but worried he might not manage it with just one. Very well—he summoned the Razorback Boars to provide enough food. With over a hundred Razorback Boars available for the mosquitoes to feed on, the process was completed in dozens of rounds.

The previous batch of Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes had consumed most of his night, but this time, it only took a little over ten minutes. He then piled more than a thousand Razorback Boar carcasses outside the entrance of the Red Fire Ant nest, and left the sub-dimensional space, satisfied.

That night, Lu Sheng found himself unable to sleep. After nearly a month in this world, he had finally gained a measure of power. Yet, this was only a minor milestone; the peak was still far away.

He was surrounded by danger. The wilderness teemed with monsters—this area was a buffer between the main city and the wilds. If the monsters ever decided to attack the main city, his place would be the first battleground. Powerful monsters around Beetle City would be culled by the city’s factions, allowing people here to live peacefully, provided they served as a buffer during monster sieges.

This was an unspoken rule of the monster world—a cruel truth Lu Sheng had learned from Shi Jiu and the others. They were like small boats adrift on the sea; all was calm in good weather, but in a storm, survival was uncertain.

The wilderness was a forbidden zone for the weak, a hunting ground for the strong. Lu Sheng felt little desire to go there now; he was not yet strong enough. For now, he would focus on his own cultivation, and perhaps when his strength grew, he might become interested in the wilds.

The wilds were a constant threat, but there was another looming crisis: Sky Island. After his predecessor escaped, could the people of Sky Island have truly abandoned their search? At first, Lu Sheng thought the Spacetime Ant had led his former self into a spatial rift, making it impossible for Sky Island to find him. But as his power grew, he lost that naive belief.

It was foolish to judge this era’s power by the standards of an age of technology.

These were all potential threats, but given time, Lu Sheng believed he could overcome them. For now, none of that mattered. Tomorrow, he would begin to show off!

With a smile, Lu Sheng drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Someone once said that men remain boys until death; it is life that matures them, while their nature remains childlike…