Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 57: Chapter Base

Over the next seven days, the Thunder Blade Squad launched an unprecedented high-intensity hunt in the middle area of ​​City 003.

With the experience gained in the previous week, the team's coordination became even more seamless. Lin Yun's mental power covered a radius of two thousand meters, and no trace of any monster could escape his perception. Lin Zheng was in charge of tactical command, Liu Xu was responsible for movement support, and Shen Yang, Luo Fang, and Leng Bao were responsible for clearing out the smaller monsters and providing backup. The six of them operated like a precise machine, working efficiently.

They no longer wasted time on low-level beast generals. Their target was high-level beast generals, as well as junior and mid-level lords.

Materials for high-level beast generals range from 50 million to 100 million, with rarer ones fetching up to 200 million. Materials for low-level lords generally range from 1 billion to 1.5 billion, while mid-level lords can sell for over 3 billion. Low- and mid-level beast generals, though numerous, are relatively inexpensive and offer poor value; they are often dealt with casually rather than actively sought out.

Every day, they could hunt down more than a dozen high-level beast generals. Occasionally, they would encounter lone low-level or even mid-level lords, which Lin Yun would also deal with. His throwing knives were as fast as lightning and as precise as a scalpel; no beast general-level monster could last more than a round against him. Even a mid-level lord could be dealt with in just over ten seconds.

"Your swordsmanship has improved again," Lin Zheng said to Lin Yun after a battle. "You've mastered the third level; have you even touched the threshold of the fourth?"

"I'm still far from it." Lin Yun shook his head. The fourth level of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade requires four layers of force to be stacked, and its power is 3.5 times that of the body's strength. He has only recently consolidated his third level, and there is still a long way to go before reaching the fourth level.

"No rush," Lin Zheng said. "The cultivation of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade becomes increasingly difficult as you progress. Many people spend their entire lives stuck at the third level. You're already very fast."

Lin Yun nodded, saying nothing more. He practiced his swordsmanship daily in the Swallowed Star World, while simultaneously honing his lightning magic in the Panlong World. The insights gained from both worlds reinforced each other, allowing him to progress far faster than ordinary people. He believed that it wouldn't be long before he naturally reached the fourth level.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past two weeks, the Thunder Blade Squad has practically swept through the high-level beast generals and low-to-mid-level lords in the middle-level area of ​​City 003. They only dealt with the low-to-mid-level beast generals incidentally, as their numbers were small; their main force was concentrated on the high-level beast generals and lords.

Shenyang recorded the number of kills every day, and on the night of the fourteenth day, his hands were trembling as he looked at the numbers in his notebook.

"One hundred and sixty-three high-level beast generals." His voice trembled slightly. "Twenty-six low-level lords. Eight mid-level lords."

"I won't even mention the small fraction of the value of the beginner and intermediate beast generals, but these alone are worth over 70 billion."

Liu Xu leaned closer for a look and gasped, "So many?"

"The monster density is naturally high in the middle layer of City 003," Lin Zheng said. "And with Lin Yun here this time, our efficiency is many times higher than before."

Everyone looked at Lin Yun. For the past two weeks, Lin Yun had been the absolute main force. He had single-handedly dealt with most of the high-level beast generals and almost all of the lord-level monsters. Lin Zheng and Liu Xu were mainly responsible for providing support and finishing off the remaining enemies, while Shen Yang, Luo Fang, and Leng Bao were responsible for clearing out the smaller foes and maintaining vigilance.

"Including the materials from the first week, the total revenue this time has exceeded 80 billion." Shenyang closed his notebook and let out a long sigh. "80 billion... We couldn't earn that much in ten years before."

"That's because we didn't dare to fight lords before," Liu Xu said. "Now that Lin Yun is here, it's not like we can't fight lords."

Lin Zheng nodded and looked at Lin Yun: "What should we do with these materials? Should we distribute them according to the old rules?"

Lin Yun thought for a moment and said, "I'll take 50% of the Lord-level materials. The remaining 50% will be split equally between the Captain and Sister Liu (20% each), and the three of you (10% each). The Beast General-level materials will be distributed according to the old rules."

He didn't release the materials on the two high-ranking lords. Those materials were worth over 25 billion; if distributed, everyone could receive billions, but it also meant they would all be dragged into this turmoil. Councilor Clement was no ordinary person; being targeted by him could be catastrophic for Lin Zheng and Liu Xu.

"I'll make it up to them later when I have the chance," Lin Yun thought to himself. He remembered that in the original story, there was a treasure called "Water of Life" that could regenerate severed limbs. If he could get his hands on that, Lin Zheng's leg could be restored. Then, it wouldn't be too late to tell them the truth.

"Then it's settled," Lin Zheng said.

On the morning of the fifteenth day, Thunder Blade Squad left City 003 and returned to the supply base.

Everyone's backpacks were packed full, even Lin Yun's backpack was bulging like a small mountain—he didn't want to reveal the existence of his spatial ring, so he only put a small portion of the materials in his backpack, hiding most of them in his spatial ring.

At the Extreme Martial Arts Academy office in the supply base, Manager Zhao's eyes widened when he saw the materials brought back by the Thunder Blade Squad.

"This...this is..." He squatted on the ground, rummaging through the neatly stacked boxes of materials, his voice trembling, "So many high-level beast generals, and so many lords...have you swept through the middle-level area of ​​City 003?"

"Almost there." Lin Zheng stood to the side, arms crossed. "Take stock and give me a quote."

It took Manager Zhao an entire day to finish checking all the materials. His hands were trembling as he held the ledger.

"163 high-level beast general-grade monster materials. Saber-toothed tiger, iron-backed mastiff, mutated water python, shadow leopard, mutated vulture... The total value of all materials is 12 billion."

"Twenty-six low-level lord-class monster materials. Ironclad Alligator Turtle, Mutant Water Python, Ironback Mastiff... The total value of the materials is 37.2 billion."

"Eight mid-level lord-grade monster materials. Two armored alligator turtles, three mutated water pythons, three iron-backed mastiffs... The total value of the materials is 24 billion."

"Adding the remainder from those junior and intermediate-level beast generals, the total is 76.5 billion."

Manager Zhao took a deep breath and announced the final number.

"More than 70 billion..." Shenyang was stunned when he heard this number.

Lin Zheng nodded and looked at Lin Yun: "Should we distribute the materials this time according to the old method?"

Lin Yun nodded: "I'll take 50% of the Lord-level materials. As for the Beast General-level materials, it'll be the same as before."

No one objected. Everyone knew that Lin Yun had dealt with almost all of these lord-level monsters by himself, and that he was already being very generous by sharing them.

After the materials were processed, Lin Yun's account had nearly 30 billion yuan more. Adding this to his previous savings, his total assets were approaching 40 billion yuan.

But this is not all.

He still had materials from two high-level lord-level monsters in his spatial ring, worth over 25 billion, as well as monster materials worth over 20 billion obtained from that spatial ring. And that didn't even include the SS-level combat suit and the battle sword he'd acquired.

If all of them are added together, his total assets have exceeded 100 billion.

"One hundred billion..." Lin Yun stared at the numbers in his account, silently calculating in his mind. This amount of money was enough for him to buy anything he wanted at the Limitless House. But what he needed most right now wasn't money, but strength.

His next goal is the elite training camp.

That evening, the Thunder Blade Squad returned to Jiangnan Base City by train.

It was already late at night when Lin Yun returned to Mingyue Residential Area. He pushed open the door; his grandfather, Lin Guodong, was already asleep. The living room light was still on, and a bowl of warmed white fungus soup sat on the table.

Lin Yunduan got up and took a sip; the temperature was just right. He smiled, went upstairs, and entered the cultivation room.

He closed the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and looked at the new spatial ring he had just acquired.

The ring gleamed faintly in the moonlight, its silvery-white surface as smooth as a mirror. Lin Yun probed into it with his mental energy, carefully examining the materials inside.

The entire corpse of the Mighty Demon Ape, the entire corpse of the Seven-Colored Poisonous Python, the two hundred billion monster materials, and the "Phantom Blade Technique".

"I need to find a place to get rid of all these things," Lin Yun thought to himself.

His current strength has reached the level of a high-level War God mentalist and a peak mid-level War God martial artist. But in this world, there are levels beyond War God, and beyond that, there are planetary, constant, and cosmic levels... The road ahead of him is still very long.

"Elite training camp..." Lin Yun murmured.

According to the rules of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy, four conditions must be met to enter the elite training camp: punching power must increase by more than double after the first training in gene energy, one must reach the level of a junior warrior, one's agility must be extremely precise, and one's punching power must be more than doubled. He not only met all of them, but also far exceeded them.

He closed his eyes and switched his consciousness to the Panlong world.

In the grove behind Ernst Academy, the moonlight was like water. His other body sat cross-legged on a blue stone, with the seven elements of magic flowing slowly around him.

Lin Yun opened his eyes and took out the "Phantom Blade Technique" manual from his spatial ring.

He also practices swordsmanship in the Panlong World—the basic swordsmanship inherited from the Baruch family—but compared to the Phantom Swordsmanship, it's like comparing kindergarten to university. If he could practice this SS-level swordsmanship in the Panlong World, taking advantage of the environment where it's easier to comprehend the laws, his swordsmanship would improve at an astonishing rate.

"Let's start with the first level." Lin Yun opened the manual and began to study it.

The core of the first level of the Phantom Blade Technique is "One Blade, Two Shadows"—while unleashing a single strike, two blade shadows are created using extremely fast blade speed and special power generation techniques, making it impossible for the opponent to distinguish which one is real. At the peak of the first level, the two blade shadows can simultaneously attack different targets, or attack different parts of the same target.

Lin Yun carefully studied the manual, silently deducing its principles in his mind. He discovered that the core concept of this sword technique was intricately connected to the light and wind laws of the Panlong world.

The "mystery of light refraction" in the laws of light allows light to refract, creating illusory images. The "mystery of wind speed" in the laws of wind allows objects to reach extremely high speeds, exceeding the limits of the naked eye.

The essence of the Phantom Blade Technique lies in using the extreme speed and angle of the blade to simulate the effects of light and wind laws. A single slash creates multiple blade shadows, making it impossible for the opponent to distinguish between reality and illusion—this is both the ultimate in speed and the ultimate in illusion.

"No wonder it's rated SS-level," Lin Yun thought to himself. If this sword technique is mastered to its fullest extent, it's almost equivalent to simultaneously touching the threshold of both the light and wind elemental laws.

In the world of Swallowed Star, practicing this sword technique can greatly enhance combat power. In the world of Panlong, however, practicing this sword technique can help him comprehend the laws of light and wind—killing two birds with one stone.

Lin Yun stood up, picked up the fine iron short sword, and began to practice the first move of the "Phantom Sword Technique".

Under the moonlight, his figure moved swiftly through the woods, his blade flashing like a silver ribbon. At first, he was quite clumsy, the blade's shadow appearing and disappearing, making it difficult to distinguish between the blade's shadow and afterimages. But he did not give up, practicing again and again, repeatedly studying every key point in the manual.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

He didn't know how much time had passed when his sword speed suddenly increased. The blade tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound. In that instant, he vaguely saw two sword shadows separate from the blade, slashing in two different directions, one to the left and one to the right.

"It's done!" Lin Yun sheathed his sword, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Although it's only the most basic sword shadow technique, and it's unstable, appearing and disappearing intermittently, it at least proves that he's on the right track. As long as he continues to practice, he'll eventually master the first level.

He sat down cross-legged again, put away the manual, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

Moonlight shone on his shoulders, and light and wind magic elements danced merrily around him, as if welcoming a fellow traveler.

As he practiced the Phantom Blade Technique, his understanding of the laws of light and wind deepened. That feeling of "speed" and "illusion" was slowly becoming part of his instincts.

"This is the benefit of two worlds complementing each other." Lin Yun's lips curled up slightly.

In the world of Swallowed Star, he can enhance his combat power through secret techniques; in the world of Panlong, he can comprehend the laws by practicing secret techniques. The two systems corroborate and promote each other, allowing his progress to far exceed that of ordinary people.

He opened his eyes and looked at the starry sky above.

The story of Swallowed Star hasn't officially begun yet; he still has about two years to develop. Two years is enough time for him to do a lot.

"Once I get into the elite training camp, obtain the dragon blood, break through to the advanced war god level, and then..." Lin Yun's gaze hardened, "then, it's the planetary level."

Planetary level beings are those on Earth who surpass even the God of War level. Hong and Thor are both at this level. Only by reaching planetary level can one truly stand at the pinnacle of Earth and be qualified to explore the vast universe.

And now, he is not far from that goal.

Lin Yun stood up and walked back to his dormitory.

The courtyard of dormitory 1987 was quiet. Lin Lei's room door was closed, with a faint light shining from inside.

"You're back?" Lin Yun pushed open the door and saw Lin Lei sitting at his desk with a book in his hand.

Lin Lei looked up, saw his younger brother, and smiled. "You're back. The harvest in the Monster Mountain Range was good; I'll tell you the details tomorrow."

Lin Yun nodded and sat down opposite Lin Lei. The two brothers chatted for a few minutes, then went to rest.

Late at night.

Lin Yun lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and switched his consciousness to the Swallowed Star world.

In the cultivation room of Mingyue Community, his other body sat cross-legged on the bed, his spiritual power slowly flowing.

"Tomorrow I'll first go to the black market to dispose of the materials, then go to Uncle Wu and apply for the elite training camp," Lin Yun murmured.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating his calm face, and a hint of anticipation flickered in his eyes.