Volcano Valley

After enjoying himself for several days, the dwarf Rumi left satisfied with his ten barrels of rum. Before he left, he promised that he would lead the brave warriors of his tribe into battle should the elf tribe get attacked again. He also warmly invited Yang Ling to visit the dwarf tribe.

"This dwarf is interesting indeed!" Yang Ling laughed.

"He is a boor and often utters nonsense!" Sofia blushed as she thought about how Rumi called Yang Ling her lover in front of everyone. She took a peek at the smiling Yang Ling.

After being saved by Yang Ling at the critical moment, Sofia was filled with gratitude toward him. She could not imagine what kind of humiliation she would have gone through if she had not been saved; she was also very surprised when Yang Ling emerged from the treetops and revealed himself. She did not expect her benefactor to be this dashing, nor did she expect that he could control such a large group of Magical Beasts despite his young age.

Elves did not fancy humans as most of them were greedy and scheming, but Yang Ling was an exception. In just a few days time, he had gotten friendly with the elves. Slowly, Sofia also began to feel something strange when she was around him. She liked listening to his stories, she liked how he sometimes looked a little dazed when looking at her, and she liked the feeling she got when she was around him.

"Haha, the brat Rumi is a carbon copy of his father!" The elder laughed. "Mountain dwarves are naturally forthright and powerful. They are not only adept at making weapons and armor, they are also brave warriors!"

Yang Ling looked at the bamboo chair beside him and smiled. "That's right, they sure are powerful. They almost crushed the bamboo chair!"

The elves couldn't help but chuckle. Sofia laughed as she wiped off the stains Rumi's sooty hands had left on the bamboo chair. Her glistening black hair, long lashes, fair neck, and slender waist tempted Yang Ling.

He did not know why he had felt the flames of passion within him throughout these last few days. Yang Ling could not help but think wild thoughts whenever he saw Sofia's fair, gentle skin or alluring figure. Sometimes, he would recall the suited lady he had stood behind on the bus the other day. He would recall his excitement when he saw her perky butt and cleavage.

What was even weirder to him was how the pagoda-shaped mark on his forehead would burn whenever he was overcome with lust. The mark would even throb slightly, much to his confusion. In his lack of understanding, he could only bear with that for the moment. He pretty much got used to it after the throbbing occurred on several different occasions.

Over the next few days, in order to quickly enhance his abilities, Yang Ling either spent the day training his Horned Bee Beasts or cultivating his wizard mantra.

After repeated practice, in an attempt to increase the Horned Bee Beasts' attacking power, Yang Ling split his army of two thousand or so Horned Bee Beasts into ten teams and chose ten of the most ferocious beasts to lead the teams. Each large team was split into a further ten groups, each group consisting of twenty Horned Bee Beasts. The groups were led by Horned Bee Beasts that had evolved to the second stage.

After the evolution, the hundred Horned Bee Beasts had experienced huge improvements, both in intellect and battle abilities. Yang Ling also found it easier to give them instructions. Be it in their attacking or defending abilities, the Horned Bee Beasts that had been taught a battle strategy showed more impressive results, far surpassing their wild counterparts.

There was a light drizzle that morning. Yang Ling had wanted to sleep in for a little while longer, but the long-haired beauty Sofia approached him bright and early.

"Yang Ling, there was a slight drizzle this morning, and any purple orchids picked now would be great for making rum. Do you want to go?" Sofia looked shyly at Yang Ling, who was not wearing a shirt. Her beautiful eyes, slightly blushing cheeks, and youthful fragrance all caused Yang Ling's heart to beat faster.

Yang Ling instinctively looked at Sofia's perky breasts and slender thighs. If he were to judge them according to Earth's beauty standards, the young elves in this tribe would all be classified as extreme beauties. Sofia would be the cream of the crop. Standing before her, even a famous actress would pale in comparison, much less the belle he had chased after in the past.

"I'll go, of course I'll go!" Yang Ling wiped his face with cold water. "To be able to take a stroll with the prettiest lady in the elf tribe, how can I miss such an opportunity!"

Prettiest lady in the elf tribe?

Sofia turned red when she heard Yang Ling, her watery eyes bulging. She felt shy, as well as unprecedentedly joyful, when she looked at Yang Ling's strong muscles and his charismatic gaze.

After a little preparation, Yang Ling left with the ladies of the elf tribe to explore the Terras Forest amidst the drizzle.

"Comfortable, much better than any topnotch oxygen cafe back on Earth!"

Yang Ling stretched comfortably as he strolled between the trees and took deep breaths of the cool air. When he had just graduated, he and some friends had visited an oxygen cafe touted to have the best source of oxygen in the world. It felt alright back then, but now that it was compared to this clean, natural air, it felt like garbage.

"Yang Ling, we must give thanks to the Goddess of Nature! Be it the lush forests or the clean air, these are all blessings given to us by the goddess!" Sofia closed her bright eyes, touched her heart with her right hand, and started giving a silent prayer.

The world was silent.

In that moment, looking at Sofia and her flowing white dress, her long lashes and peaceful expression, Yang Ling felt serenity coming from the forest. He did not believe in gods, but at this moment, he felt as though the Goddess of Nature from the legends was just over the horizon.

"Hey, it's getting late, let's go!"

After her prayer, Sofia slowly opened her eyes. She saw Yang Ling staring at her and could not help but blush. After seeing that her sisters were nowhere to be found, she realized that they were intentionally giving her some alone time with Yang Ling. Her face turned red.

Along the way, Sofia gently picked purple orchids that were covered in morning dew and placed them into her flower basket. Her beautiful face, alluring figure, and long dancing hair attracted Yang Ling's gaze. Sofia's heart beat faster whenever she caught Yang Ling looking at her. Even her ears were red.

Some time later, the two of them arrived at a quiet valley. This place was different from the other areas they had walked through. It got more desolate the farther they traveled into it. Eventually, there were not even traces of grass in the area, much less flowers.

"Oh no, Valenia Valley. Yang Ling, leave, leave quick!" Sofia was incredibly alarmed when she realized where they were. She stopped immediately. "This is a place cursed by the demons! Leave, we must leave quickly!"

His expression turning serious, Yang Ling also had a bad premonition. This place was too quiet. There were no insects or birds here; in fact, there was not even the sound of wind. There was a warm rumble from time to time beneath his feet. The rocks around them were very smooth, as if they had been exposed to a terrifying heat sometime in the past.

"A dead volcano?" Yang Ling swallowed. This is surprising. The surrounding areas are rich with nature. How odd to think that there is a dead volcano here.

Yang Ling turned to leave as he grabbed Sofia's icy cold hand. Unexpectedly, the Horned Bee Beasts behind him were not willing to follow for the longest time. Some of them even flew forward without consideration, quickly disappearing behind a giant rock.

Yang Ling was surprised when he saw the unusual actions of the Horned Bee Beasts. He had not had such a situation ever since he tamed the Horned Bee Beasts. Looking over in confusion, he saw that there was a good number of dark red fragments behind the giant rock. The Horned Bee Beasts were charging toward these fragments and happily devouring them.

"Dark Fire Crystals?" Yang Ling was first shocked, but understood quickly. According to the memories of the Horned Bee Beasts, these dark red crystals were left behind after a volcano erupted. They were also the Horned Bee Beasts' favorite food. There were fire element energies within these crystals which could boost the speed of their evolution.

"Since we are already here, you need not worry!" Yang Ling squeezed Sofia's hand when he saw how pale she was.

Sofia instinctively leaned against Yang Ling's body as she looked at the barren valley and recalled the various terrifying legends. She saw how calm Yang Ling was and felt his powerful heartbeats. Her nervousness slowly faded.

"Oh, what is that over there?"

Yang Ling unintentionally spotted a reflection of sunlight nearby when he was surveying the surroundings. He walked over to have a look and could not help but gasp. All he saw was a white skeleton leaning against a stone outcrop, its blank eyes staring straight ahead. The skeleton was missing some parts, as if its bones had been blown away by a strong wind or destroyed by a wild beast.

Beside the skeleton was a dull dagger and the few crystals of an unknown Magical Beast. There was also a black badge beside the skeleton. Carved on the badge was a soaring eagle as well as several ancient characters. But neither Sofia nor Yang Ling could decipher the words.

"Yang Ling, this person is too pitiful. Let's bury him!" Even though she said this, Sofia leaned into Yang Ling's arms in fear when she saw the incomplete skeleton, not daring to take a step forward.

After shaking his head, Yang Ling grabbed the dagger and dug a hole about half the height of an average human before dragging the skeleton over. Just as he was about to bury the skeleton, he noticed in shock that there was an ancient, pale silver ring lodged on the right middle finger of the skeleton. He pulled it off in curiosity.

"You don't need this in the afterlife, rest in peace!" After filling the hole, Yang Ling put the silver ring on his middle finger.

After observing for a moment, Sofia hesitated to say, "Yang Ling, this looks like a Space Ring. Try dripping a drop of blood onto it!"

Space Ring?

Even though he was a little confused, Yang Ling bit his index finger and allowed a drop of blood to fall onto the old ring. Just as the blood came into contact with the ring, mysterious symbols appeared around the ring. Following which, the ring locked tightly around his finger. He could not take off the ring, try as he might.