Chapter 25: Wrapping Up
The Serpent Valley, which had been echoing with deafening roars moments ago, once again returned to silence.
Across the Viperhorn Venom Python’s territory, the corpses of Ferocious Beasts and hunters were scattered everywhere.
Human against human, human against beast, beast against beast — ambushes, sneak attacks, and frontal clashes were all taking place within this narrow valley.
The cruelty of the wilderness was vividly displayed at this moment.
Before the verdant and delicate little tree bearing Serpent Saliva Fruits, Zhou Ming had no time to lament the scene before him.
He only knew that he had to grab his spoils of war and leave quickly.
He took out a fist-sized box from his backpack — a box specially designed for storing spiritual herbs.
When leaving the base and venturing into the wilderness, anything could happen, so Zhou Ming had gritted his teeth and bought this box anyway.
What if luck smiled upon him and he stumbled upon a treasure?
After storing away the three Serpent Saliva Fruits, Zhou Ming scanned his surroundings.
There were still plenty of spoils waiting for him to collect.
From the sounds coming from afar, Ferocious Beasts were already drawing near.
However, due to the earlier commotion being too great, no other beasts or mutant animals had yet approached.
He immediately used his combat knife to disembowel three Ferocious-level serpents, taking out three snake galls of varying sizes.
After that, Zhou Ming took a classic Blood Hunter Type-1 handgun, the combat suit from a lean, dark-skinned man, a two-foot-long battle knife, and some essential wilderness survival supplies.
Once his loot was secured, he left the Serpent Valley without hesitation.
What he carried now was all he could take; the rest, he had to abandon.
The reason he risked delaying his departure to collect these supplies was not only for personal use — Zhou Ming also needed money.
Beast Tamers who graduated from academies not only learned knowledge about beasts but also trained their bodies according to the feedback effects of their beasts.
Although on Blue Star, even martial artists who pushed their limits could not rival Ferocious Beasts and could only barely handle ordinary mutant animals, that did not mean physical training in martial arts was useless.
The two men who had used the heavy machine gun and heavy sniper rifle earlier had strengthened their bodies through martial arts and drug enhancements; otherwise, the recoil alone would have shattered their arms and shoulders.
While the human body had its limits, Beast Tamers could break through those limits by relying on their beasts.
Advancing to Phantasmal Tamer or Beast Knight required an even higher level of martial training — without it, how could one have the strength to slay Ferocious Beasts in close combat?
Aside from training his body through martial arts, Zhou Ming also planned to learn shooting techniques.
The Blood Hunter Type-1 pistol he had used earlier fortunately had low power, and the distance had been short — otherwise, hitting the target with a single shot would have been much harder.
As for the profession he would advance to in the future, it was still a blur.
Perhaps none of the current paths suited him; for now, he could only improve his strength through other means and decide later.
However, all of this depended on one thing — money.
Therefore, Zhou Ming had no choice but to take risks.
After leaving the Viperhorn Venom Python’s territory, Zhou Ming unleashed his spiritual pressure on the ordinary mutant snakes blocking his way and charged straight to the temporary campsite at the mouth of the valley.
When he returned, a single Ironthread Snake slithered up beside his foot.
Zhou Ming knew that this hidden place had not been discovered by outsiders or other beasts and mutant animals.
It was fortunate that the group of hunters earlier had been in a rush and did not carefully search the area; otherwise, he would have been the one ambushed.
Back in the stone crevice campsite, Zhou Ming didn’t even have time to sort through his spoils.
After giving instructions to his beast, he collapsed into the crevice and fell into a deep sleep.
The deaths of so many Ironthread Snakes in such a short period had indeed caused some damage to his Spiritual Power.
He could only rely on sleep and meditation to recover.
Zhou Ming slept until the sun rose high overhead the next day before waking up.
The throbbing pain in his mind jolted him from his dreams.
He rubbed his temples repeatedly to ease the discomfort.
“It seems I really need to find a way to strengthen my Spiritual Power.”
When a Beast died, the mental backlash suffered by its Tamer usually resulted in severe injury, unconsciousness, or even serious damage to the Spiritual Sea.
However, Zhou Ming possessed over a thousand Spiritual Seeds.
Normally, such a reaction would only occur if over half of his beasts died.
Yet this time, the deaths of just a few dozen Ironthread Snakes caused him such pain — there was only one explanation: his Spiritual Power was severely insufficient.
But on second thought, that made sense.
Zhou Ming’s Spiritual Seeds were inherited from his predecessor.
Although he had been meditating on his own, he still hadn’t reached the level of a proper Beast Tamer.
Moreover, he was still using the public version of the Basic Meditation Technique and had never used any meditation resources.
Reaching this point was purely the result of Zhou Ming’s caution and meticulous preparation.
Of course, the most crucial factor was luck — perhaps he should curse the heavens a little less; there might still be unexpected blessings waiting for him.
When the pain in his mind finally subsided, he lowered his hands.
Feeling his current condition, Zhou Ming — whose expression still carried traces of pain — decisively made a choice.
He took out the box containing the Serpent Saliva Fruits, opened it, and took out two of the fragrant, essence-filled fruits, planning to consume one himself and feed one to Ironthread Snake No. 1.
The last Serpent Saliva Fruit would be saved for the next time one of his Ironthread Snakes underwent a secondary mutation.
As a Tier-2 spiritual material, the Serpent Saliva Fruit could also be consumed by humans, though its effects were less potent than on serpentine creatures.
Still, it could aid a Beast Tamer in enhancing Spiritual Power — after all, it was a spiritual treasure.
“No. 1, if you don’t advance into a Ferocious Beast, I’ll roast you. But if you succeed, I’ll give you a proper name.”
Seeing Ironthread Snake No. 1 coiled around his wrist, Zhou Ming gave both carrot and stick — reward and punishment clearly defined.
He stuffed the bean-sized Serpent Saliva Fruit into Ironthread Snake No. 1’s mouth, then swallowed another himself and began meditating.
As for the rest of the hardworking Ironthread Snakes, their duty remained the same — to continue guarding their master and companion.
Poor things.
The Serpent Saliva Fruit melted instantly in Zhou Ming’s mouth.
Instead of bringing warmth, it felt like a stream of cold energy rushing straight to his crown, cooling his aching mind.
While Zhou Ming used the fruit to heal and strengthen his Spiritual Power, Ironthread Snake No. 1 also began to undergo a dramatic change.
Its once metallic-looking scales started to dry and crack, and it rubbed its body continuously against nearby rocks — it seemed to be shedding.
What kind of transformation would Ironthread Snake No. 1 experience after molting?
The next day after leaving the Viperhorn Venom Python’s territory, Zhou Ming awoke from his meditation — his entire body reeked horribly.
It wasn’t because the Serpent Saliva Fruit had cleansed his body’s impurities, but simply because his filthy clothes, stained with blood from earlier battles and snake gall extractions, made him look like he had just crawled out of a garbage heap.
Yet, despite his appearance, one part of Zhou Ming still shone brightly — his eyes.
At this moment, his eyes looked even more like…