Looking at Ghost Hand, who was gradually shriveling on the ground, Shen Han fell into deep thought. It was obvious that this guy named Ghost Hand came from an assassin organization, and the target of the assassination was himself. However, for some unknown reason, the other party did not intend to take his life.
Who could it be? He hadn't offended many people, and there were only a few families in Yang City capable of hiring an assassin organization, either the Tang Family or the Zhu Family. The former was more likely; the Zhu Family's conflict was merely between juniors, so there was no need to escalate it to the point of hiring assassins. The most likely culprit was the Tang Family.
"Could it be that they already know Tang Yunxiang was killed by me?" Shen Han quickly realized the crux of the problem. "Regardless, this Secret Realm is no longer safe. The first wave of assassins was at the Late Stage Martial Master Realm. Will the next ones be even stronger? Strength, ah~"
Adjusting his state, Shen Han continued to use his Sniff Special Ability to bypass large-scale Yao Beast groups and sweep through any Cultivation resources he could access. Other students were slowly exploring, cautiously moving through the Secret Realm, afraid of being ambushed by Yao Beasts, and their efficiency in collecting resources was several orders of magnitude lower than Shen Han's.
"Fire Spirit Fruit, containing powerful Fire Element energy, can help Fire Element Martial Artists enhance their Fire Element affinity and flame control ability. Collect!"
"Lightning Grass, growing in lightning-struck environments, has absorbed and stored a lot of Lightning Power, making it a rare plant that can strengthen the power of Lightning Element Special Abilities. Collect!"
"Life-Giving Green Lotus, a rare Wood Element plant, contains rich vitality and can greatly enhance a Cultivator's life force and the activity of Wood Element within their body. I'll take it!"
...In less than a week, Shen Han found that his Storage Pouch was full again. Carrying this Storage Pouch would be inconvenient for his next actions.
"First, I'll refine or devour the resources I can use. As for the Special Abilities of elements I don't have, I'll keep them for now. When I meet other students, I can just exchange them for the resources I need."
After absorbing and refining all the Fire Spirit Fruits, he guided the Fire Element to impact the barrier. With the help of his S-Rank Fire Element, the Flame Bomb Special Ability advanced like a hot knife through butter, reaching Major Achievement. The Fire Element finally wasn't dragging the main force down. After using a few Lightning Grasses for Lightning Element Cultivation, he found there wasn't much improvement. The distance from Major Achievement to Perfection was quite far; at least at the Martial Master Realm, it was unlikely for a Special Ability to Breakthrough to Perfection.
He had been in the Secret Realm for half a month, with only half a month left. Most of his various Special Abilities that needed improving had basically reached the Major Achievement Realm. If he wanted to Cultivate new Special Abilities, he didn't have any Cultivation Techniques on hand, so he could only consider purchasing and learning them when he left and found suitable ones. The next focus would be to devour Mental Energy by hunting Yao Beasts and quickly improve his Cultivation, otherwise, if he encountered even stronger opponents from the assassin organization again, it would be difficult to deal with them calmly.
After running for several miles, his Sniff Special Ability detected some unusual movement in the dense bushes ahead.
A greenish-blue giant wolf was lying in the deep grass under a tree, seemingly preparing to ambush any humans who carelessly trespassed into its territory. This action, of course, could not escape the coverage of the Sniff Special Ability.
Forest Wolf, a wolf-type Yao Beast with emerald green fur, capable of controlling surrounding plant vines to entangle enemies before launching a surprise attack.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss~" Shen Han indeed saw plant vines surging like a tide across the ground, wrapping around his legs.
"Let's try a new Special Ability, Nightshade Dark Breath!" Waves of Dark Element Qi rapidly spread, covering an area of dozens of meters. The Forest Wolf suddenly felt its vines become uncontrollable. With its low intelligence, it couldn't understand what was happening. Its vine entanglement failed, and it let out an angry growl, directly pouncing on Shen Han, intending to end the battle with brute force.
"Netherworld Pierce!" Shen Han's gaze sharpened, and he flipped his right hand. Two black Thorns shot through the air like lightning, striking the Forest Wolf's vital points. In an instant, the green wolf's movements froze, then it silently collapsed, the fierce glint in its eyes completely extinguished.
"Devour--" Shen Han murmured, feeling a warm current surge from the Forest Wolf's body into his Sea of Consciousness, slowly merging with his Mental Energy. Shen Han felt a warm energy circulating in his Sea of Consciousness. His Mental Energy had significantly increased, and his consciousness became clearer and more acute.
For seven consecutive days, Shen Han spent his time in battles, big and small. Flame Spirit Lizards, Ice-tailed Phoenix Foxes, Sky Lightning Sparrows, Earth-Rending Rats... He traveled through the Secret Realm, leaving countless traces of battle. Each struggle was accompanied by an increase in Mental Energy. Each time he successfully defeated a Yao Beast, he would use the 'Devour' power to absorb the remaining Mental Energy of the Yao Beast. These Mental Energies from different Yao Beasts poured into his Sea of Consciousness, steadily increasing his Cultivation, far surpassing the speed of his previous meditation.
"Refining Mental Energy this way is much better than blindly meditating," Shen Han thought to himself, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. This method of improving Mental Energy by devouring it through combat was almost unheard of—others had to painstakingly collect Spiritual Crystal Stones, rely on Quenching Spirit Liquid, and depend on daily meditation to improve their Mental Energy. Yet, he could constantly grow in battle, not only improving his Mental Cultivation but also strengthening his combat power through tempering.
Name: Shen Han
Mental Energy: 812/850 (Martial Master Seventh Rank)
Special Ability Rank: Chaos Element - SSS Rank, Lightning Element - A Rank, Ice Element - A Rank, Dark Element - A Rank, Fire Element - S Rank
Special Abilities: Chaos Element - Sniff (Rank 2/10), Copy (Rank 2/10), Devour (Rank 2/10), Replace (Rank 2/10)
Lightning Element - Thunder Rending Sky (Major Achievement), Lightning Sky Curtain (Major Achievement), Lightning Teleport (Major Achievement)
Ice Element - Frost Condensing Thousand Blades (Minor Achievement)
Dark Element - Ghost Invisibility (Major Achievement), Netherworld Pierce (Major Achievement), Nightshade Dark Breath (Minor Achievement)
Fire Element - Flame Bomb (Major Achievement)
Taking a look at his Cultivation progress, Shen Han was quite satisfied. In one month within the Secret Realm, his Cultivation had risen from the Martial Master Second Rank to the Martial Master Seventh Rank. Now, if he were to face the assassin organization again, he would feel much more confident.
It was time to fight back. He was never one to sit idly by, and being passively beaten was never his personality. Since others had come to kill him, it would be inexcusable not to return the favor.