"It seems I have a destined connection with this place," Bai Ye mused with a smile as he awaited teleportation.
The current situation bore some resemblance to his past life entering the Natagumo Mountain restricted zone. Both times, he had entered the area by chance, only to be forcefully pulled in when it was activated. However, in his previous life, he had entered Natagumo Mountain without even a gashapon machine and was otherwise rather lacking. After all, his original world was quite peaceful, and he hadn't gained any innate combat abilities there.
Thus, in the early stages of the World Battlefield, Bai Ye's life could truly be described as "barely surviving." He had been utterly miserable on Natagumo Mountain, pursued by both other chosen ones and the spiders within the mountain. It was a truly pitiful sight.
"However..." Bai Ye casually conjured the Nanming Lihuo Sword, a smile gracing his lips. "This time, it seems things are quite different."
His current strength was incomparable to his past life. And... with the Nanming Lihuo Sword in hand!
Bai Ye suddenly felt a turn of fortune. He had just been lamenting that while he possessed the Nanming Lihuo Sword, it had no immediate use. And then... the restricted zone appeared!
What were others even playing at? Go home, go home, go home to your mothers, who had everything. Wang Zhong Wang, ham sausages, and instant noodles only from Kang师傅.
Meanwhile...
The three-minute countdown ended, and Bai Ye was teleported into the restricted zone. He glanced around… no difference. The interior of the Natagumo Mountain restricted zone was no different from the exterior; it was all mountainous terrain.
However, Bai Ye quickly oriented himself and began to run. He remembered the way!
It was difficult to clearly remember paths in a forest, especially since his last experience on Natagumo Mountain was during the early stages of the World Battlefield. In other words, almost ten years had passed since his memory of Natagumo Mountain. But perhaps because he had been so thoroughly bullied on Natagumo Mountain back then, Bai Ye's memory of it was still vivid. While he couldn't recall the entire restricted zone, he remembered about seventy to eighty percent.
Three restricted zone missions… Bai Ye wasn't particularly interested in the first one, but as the initial restricted zone mission, it was essentially a given. Completing the second restricted zone mission would likely require completing the first simultaneously. And to complete the third restricted zone mission, one would definitely complete the first. Therefore, Bai Ye's primary objectives were the second and third restricted zone missions.
The Sun Wheel Blade and Breathing Techniques were both abilities of a Demon Slayer. Their strength was hard to gauge; there were weak and strong Demon Slayers, with the mastery of the Breathing Technique being key. For Bai Ye, Breathing Techniques were somewhat akin to the Five Elemental Curses. There were multiple levels of Breathing Techniques, serving as both offensive skills and, to some extent, enhancing physical attributes.
Of course, Bai Ye's assessment was that they lacked the potential of the Five Elemental Curses. However, since he had encountered them, Bai Ye didn't mind acquiring them.
As for the third restricted zone mission… Bai Ye wasn't interested in the Blood Demon Art of the Spider Demons. Based on his past life's experience, the Spider Demons' Blood Demon Arts were extremely potent. But with his current strength, if he was lucky, he might obtain a black-quality Blood Demon Art, which would be decent. However, obtaining a random Blood Demon Art could result in a blue-quality one, which would be of little use to him.
What Bai Ye cared about was… Demon Blood!
The effect of Demon Blood was similar to the T-Virus, capable of strengthening physical attributes. The enhancement was about 30% higher than the T-Virus, reaching about eight times the physical attributes of a normal person. Furthermore, it granted the ability to use Blood Demon Arts. In essence, it was a highly valuable commodity.
Indeed, according to Bai Ye's past life memories, the Demon Blood of the Lower Moons of the Twelve Demon Moons was black quality, the Upper Moons' could reach red quality, and the Demon King… was naturally gold quality!
However, Demon Blood had side effects. Consuming it would turn one into a demon. Unless one consumed the Demon King's Demon Blood, any other Demon Blood would result in an inability to survive in sunlight. Therefore, Bai Ye would certainly not consume Demon Blood. While the enhancement to physical attributes and the Blood Demon Arts were attractive, the side effects were too great a price. Not being able to see sunlight meant that, except for special areas, one could only be active for half the time, wasting too much time.
But Demon Blood held great trading value, as it was a method for rapid bursts of physical attribute enhancement, and physical attribute enhancement was the most precious form of self-strengthening. Moreover, the side effects weren't insurmountable. With the Demon King's Demon Blood, one could still move in sunlight.
As for the fifteen God Stone Shards, there was nothing more to say. Who didn't like God Stone Shards? Bai Ye liked them even more, as they were essentially milk money, which he needed to feed his Steel Slime.
And as Bai Ye was contemplating this… the sound of fighting suddenly echoed from ahead. Bai Ye looked up and saw three chosen ones already engaged in combat. The reason? Did chosen ones need a reason to fight? Especially as the World Battlefield progressed, with more restricted zones opening and everyone accumulating more God Stone Shards, the fights would only become more frequent. Because fighting would more easily yield God Stone Shards, and even more of them, leading to an escalation in the competition for restricted zones and their missions.
Therefore, Bai Ye wasn't surprised that people were fighting as soon as the restricted zone opened. On the contrary… it was only natural!
Then… with a bang!
Bai Ye stomped on the ground, creating a small crater, and then accelerated forward. The three embroiled in battle hadn't even realized what had happened before a gust of wind swept past one of them. Then… *slice!* The sound of tearing flesh echoed. The chosen one's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at his chest, which had been completely split open, bright red blood splattering onto the ground.
The remaining two chosen ones were terrified, and then… *slice!* The sound of tearing flesh rang out again. A thin red line appeared on both their throats, and they widened their eyes before slowly collapsing to their knees, falling to the ground. To their dying moments, they never even knew how they had died.
…