Post-War Cleanup, Mistaken for a Big Shot

After this intense battle, Thorne had truly exhausted all his methods, and post-war, he felt only exhaustion.

Gazing at the Ghost Thorn Tree's battered form, he mustered his strength to cast Spring Breeze Rain once more, letting the tree absorb the spiritual water to heal itself.

The corpses in the lake, including those of the five Transcendent Tier magic beasts, had all been refined. He'd obtained some special materials, but in the urgency of the moment, he hadn't checked them—just refined everything in one go.

The system space continued to consume vast amounts of energy points, but with Shelley and the others absent, Thorne planned to refine the shore's corpses too. Doing so in Shelley's presence would've been awkward.

Controlling the water, he swept all the shore's corpses into the lake. The Magic Dragon Gecko, having gorged on beast brains during the battle, was saturated. Yet the Ghost Thorn Tree's body seemed an insatiable void, especially for souls, never reaching fullness.

Thorne refined them first, then supplied the pure souls to the Ghost Thorn Tree.

"Ding. Congratulations to the host for gaining 120,000 energy points."

Though the shore held far more corpses than the lake, most were low-tier beasts, so the energy yield wasn't much greater.

"Upgrading from Level 7 to 8 requires 80,000 energy points, and I'm still 40,000 short of Level 9."

Thorne hadn't anticipated the energy cost escalating exponentially. At the Spirit Lake stage, it might demand hundreds of thousands—too many beasts to hunt.

He opted not to upgrade yet. Having just gained a skill, another upgrade likely wouldn't unlock more. A mere size increase wouldn't boost his strength significantly—better to save up for a double-level jump.

"Time to let Shelley and the others out."

With a thought, Thorne released Shelley and the dozen-odd surviving Huang Tribe members, placing them on the shore.

The Huang Tribe remained unconscious. Elysis's soul-targeting sonic attack, compounded by the system space's subtle fluctuations, was too much for them. They'd likely stay out for three or four days.

Thorne had stored Elysis's axe and bow in the system space. The bow, in particular, was staggeringly powerful. Though useless to him, it could reward future followers.

In the system space, Shelley's soul force was blocked, leaving her unaware of the outside. Emerging abruptly, her head spun.

Regaining her senses, she surveyed the area. It was eerily quiet, with only distant beast roars indicating the tide had passed.

"How? How did he defeat Elysis? And why are all the beast corpses gone?"

Shelley stared at the lake, her emotions a tangled mess.

That earlier space—she was certain Thorne built it with her Void Stone. But how could he? And it stored living beings?

It was all too bizarre—unthinkable.

Curiosity gnawed at her, but fear stifled her questions.

"With such means, he's not just a sentient lake. He must be some ancient monster's piece on this Divine Demon Continent—maybe even an avatar."

Terror seized Shelley. She had to leave—better to face those tricky fire crows than stay near this monster. Worse, he'd feigned ignorance before, and she'd foolishly bought it.

"Sir, is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Shelley humbled herself, wary of angering Thorne.

Hearing the proud Shelley call him "Sir," Thorne realized she'd witnessed his recent feats and mistaken him for a powerhouse.

This suited him fine. She had plenty of tricks—why not exploit this misunderstanding?

"Thanks for your help earlier, little girl. Nothing for now, but don't rush off. There's more entertainment coming."

His words choked Shelley's intent to leave, leaving her too scared to voice it.

Elysis was merely the Elf King's avenger for Grandi. The beast tide's true orchestrator hadn't appeared. Thorne needed to brace for the next fight. Keeping Shelley here put her in the open while he stayed hidden.

He'd watch her clash with the elves, striking from the shadows to ensure victory.

Thorne also aimed to bind Shelley to him. She knew too much—killing her wasn't necessary, but letting her go freely wasn't an option.

"Old monster, sick freak, dragging me into this," Shelley cursed inwardly,不敢反抗 (not daring to resist). She hoped the next elf wasn't too strong, so she could handle them and convince Thorne to release her.

Shelley seized the time to heal her injuries. Thorne repaired the lake shore Elysis had gouged, then checked the Ghost Thorn Tree and Magic Dragon Gecko.

The tree, after absorbing his spiritual water and vast souls, had recovered much. Now asleep, it'd likely awaken far stronger.

The gifted Magic Dragon Gecko, though not as absurd as the symbiotic tree, was stuffed from brain marrow, racing around the shore.

Thorne chuckled, binding it with Water Bind and tossing it into the lake. He summoned spiritual water to cleanse its body.

Beasts thrived on natural spiritual energy. The water purged impurities, steadily enhancing the gecko's physique.

Soon, it burst out, dancing midair, waving its claws gleefully.

Thorne sensed it had jumped two levels, matching him.

Despite the upgrade, its size stayed the same, making Thorne doubt its "dragon" title.

But its speed soared—without teleporting, it was a blur.

"Enough showing off. Go play elsewhere," Thorne teased, shooing it off.