Chapter Sixty-Three: Earth · Beast Tide (V)

Assessment World, Yuanda Camp. Once again, Sun Meng returned, dragging the enormous corpse of a monstrous beast behind him. Fortunately, by the Exchange Stele, a special spatial law existed: items selected for exchange would shrink to a uniform size, so he never had to worry about where to put such massive bodies.

“Ten thousand points again,” he mused. “Luckily, there are only two days left until the next exchange opens, or I wouldn’t even know how to spend it all.” Three months—he had lived here for three long months! The initial novelty had worn away, leaving only monotony. He couldn’t spend every day in camp playing games, after all.

Most importantly, he had hit a bottleneck a month ago. His skills and cultivation speed had completely stalled, and even the pressure of battling beasts failed to help him break through. Unconsciously, he had already formed a basic combat style: with his bow in hand, the world was his. He would strike from afar, never engaging in close combat unless absolutely necessary. His movements were swift and sure, unafraid of missing his mark. Of all the second-tier beasts he had slain, only the very first had even caught a glimpse of him. Each hunt, he’d recover at least a hundred arrows from their bodies, sometimes as many as three hundred.

Perhaps it was due to Sun Meng’s influence that Earth’s forging techniques and martial skills related to archery developed so quickly.

Yet, no matter what he tried, he could not break through—and the frustration gnawed at him.

Back in the Exchange Hall, Kokoralu approached. “Why do you still look so gloomy? Did your last hunt go poorly?”

Kokoralu—he had met her a month and a half ago, during an expedition to hunt a mid-stage second-tier beast that lurked in the lake. They had joined forces and easily dispatched it; then, right before his eyes, Kokoralu broke through to the next stage.

Now, she too was at the mid-stage of the second tier. If that was all, Sun Meng might have felt only mild envy. But during the last exchange, Kokoralu had shown him her exchange list, brimming with rare treasures—items not available in Sun Meng’s own selection, each one capable of advancing Earth’s civilization by leaps and bounds.

That gave Sun Meng a fierce desire to break through. He believed if he could reach the late stage, his rewards would be even greater. Although his communications with Earth revealed that his homeland remained relatively unaffected—except for some remote, naturally wild, and fractious nations—there were still moments when the audience described the devastation and carnage wrought by the beast hordes, and he could almost see the scenes: the people united, advancing fearlessly, shedding blood for the greater good.

Contestants and their civilizations were interdependent; he recalled this truth, and the oath he had once jokingly sworn.

This time, I will break through!

“It's nothing,” Sun Meng said. “I plan to try breaking through again. I’ve thoroughly studied the meditation technique you gave me.” He looked at Kokoralu. With the support of their respective civilizations, they had formed an alliance and were now leaders within Yuanda Camp—among the top ranks even compared to nearby camps.

“Is that so? Then I wish you success. Here’s the diagram for the spatial teleportation array—our side has completed it, but as you know, bullet messages can only be sent as text, so I can’t guarantee its effectiveness,” Kokoralu said.

This was no loophole; even if Sun Meng learned new knowledge from Earth via bullet messages, or transmitted new discoveries back through his stream, they would not automatically adapt to Earth’s conditions.

“Understood. Thank you!” Sun Meng accepted the diagram. “There are still two days left. Best gather more points while you can! Those items on your list are all treasures—who knows, after this opportunity, the next one may not come.” As allies, such reminders were only natural.

“I know. After the exchange, I plan to visit Pimon Camp—they’re hosting a major barter event and discussing a plan to eliminate a perfected second-tier beast. Want to join?” Kokoralu smiled. With her expression and bearing, Sun Meng couldn’t help but feel a fondness for her; she reminded him of a younger sister, stirring a protective urge within him.

“We’ll see. For now, breaking through is my priority.” With that, he returned to his room.

Pimon Camp was led by a contestant from a technological civilization who had already reached the late second tier before the assessment phase began. Perhaps owing to his civilization’s ethos, he advocated fair trade and peaceful development, and with his strength as a guarantee, he was a prominent figure in the region.

The world was divided into five great regions; theirs was the eastern sector, with northwest, central, and southern regions as well. There were also archipelagos across the seas, but no survivors lived on them—only contestants established temporary camps there.

He displayed the array diagram on his screen, knowing his homeland had people assigned to monitor such things. More importantly, this was the achievement of Kokoralu’s civilization—every nation would need time to decode and digest it, but in this area, his homeland held an edge, so he showed it directly.

As for whether ordinary viewers could decipher it, Sun Meng couldn’t guarantee anything—he could only trust in his country’s capabilities.

Half an hour later, he put away the diagram and took out eight mid-stage second-tier blood energy crystals, arranging them to form a formation and began his attempt at a breakthrough.

Under the influence of the formation, the energy of the blood crystals was slowly drawn out, swirling around Sun Meng’s body. Instead of channeling it directly within, he first directed it to the acupoints throughout his body, guiding the blood energy to penetrate and open each one.

Previously, he had only two methods of cultivation: absorbing internal energy into his meridians to strengthen his body from within, and visualization—condensing his spiritual aspect to temper his mind and will. Over these three months, he had vaguely sensed he was missing a crucial element: the body itself.

It was not simply the automatic strengthening of flesh through meridian qi, but the vital blood energy originating from the body’s core. Although he had helped Earth acquire the national martial arts system, he himself had never practiced it earnestly. During his time in the Three Kingdoms world, his focus had shifted to the cloud qi system, leaving this aspect neglected.

It was not the acupoints attached to the meridians, but those rooted in blood, muscle, and bone—a fusion of nerves and muscle, it seemed. These acupoints allowed the body to unleash strength beyond its natural limits.

The human being was composed of essence, energy, and spirit. He had once assumed that cultivating qi as the primary, and spirit as the secondary, would naturally strengthen the body. Now he realized this was not the case. Or rather, below the third tier, all three should be balanced to achieve a breakthrough.

Most crucially, as he opened each acupoint, his perception of the world’s spiritual energy grew ever clearer, confirming the correctness of his method. Still, he needed to explore further; only with complete, firsthand experience could he pass this knowledge on to Earth’s civilization.

In his meditative state, every acupoint brimmed with dense blood energy—thick and substantial as mercury.

Each acupoint resembled a miniature furnace, the blood energy within blazing like fire, gradually sketching out a complete circuit of the body.

At the moment this diagram was completed, his spiritual avatar appeared behind him, its markings finalized. At the same moment, his meridians were fully opened, achieving a perfect balance between essence, energy, and spirit—triggering a transformation in Sun Meng, from flesh to soul, a true metamorphosis.

On Earth, deep in the mountains, the core connected to the earth veins; the spring boiled, linking to the water veins; air currents swirled, forming layers of celestial wind; and the core itself underwent a metamorphosis. The essence of fire and earth had already condensed, while water and wind were now fully formed. The resurgence of spiritual energy from Earth’s core had begun!

In his room, Xu Xiao, who had been preparing to communicate with Sun Meng, suddenly brightened. “It seems he’s broken through. But now, Earth must be ready for new trials as well.”