Shen Han looked at the flickering spiritual flame before him. To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie, but he had no idea how to refine it, as he hadn't even mastered a single Mental Skill yet.
"I can't let this spiritual flame stay here any longer." His eyes narrowed, and after a moment of deliberation, he finally made up his mind.
"At this point, I can only take a gamble!" Shen Han murmured, raising his hands slightly, activating his most mysterious Special Ability.
"'Devour,' activate—"
The dark-as-night Devouring power surged from within Shen Han, like an invisible, gaping maw, slowly enveloping the dazzling spiritual flame.
Sensing danger, the spiritual flame immediately began to struggle violently, releasing even more powerful Mental impacts, attempting to resist the Devouring power. However, this Chaos Element energy was like a bottomless abyss, madly absorbing the spiritual flame's power, forcibly suppressing it.
Shen Han's face gradually turned pale, sweat dripping from his forehead. He could clearly feel the spiritual flame's stubborn resistance; the pain that almost tore his Sea of Consciousness apart made his face even paler.
"The Chaos Element Skills have never disappointed me; this time, it will surely succeed!" Shen Han gritted his teeth, injecting his remaining Mental Energy into the 'Devour' Skill.
After an unknown amount of time, the spiritual flame's struggles finally weakened, and its originally blazing, dazzling light was gradually swallowed by the Devouring power. With the disappearance of the last wisp of light, the spiritual flame vanished completely.
Shen Han collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"It finally worked... I need to find a place to rest first; I really don't have an ounce of strength left."
He murmured softly, a tired smile appearing on his face.
Shen Han struggled to his feet, carefully put away Ye Wuchen's Storage Ring, and then, dragging his weary body, climbed up a hidden ancient tree. He took out several Medicinal Pills and Mental Energy potions, swallowed them all at once, then sat cross-legged and began to meditate to recover his physical strength and Mental Energy.
An hour later, Shen Han had recovered seventy to eighty percent: "Finally, I can see what progress I've made after Devouring the spiritual flame."
With a thought, he introspected his status and was immediately stunned.
Name: Shen Han
Mental Energy: 5623 / 6000 (Martial King Second Rank)
Special Ability Rank: Chaos Element - SSS Rank, Lightning Element - SS Rank, Dark Element - S Rank, Fire Element - S Rank, Space Element - B Rank, Mental - SS Rank, Wood Element - SS Rank
He had actually Breakthrough to Martial King Second Rank, breaking through four Realms! His Mental Energy had increased from the previous 4000 to the current 5623.
"This is truly an unexpected surprise," Shen Han murmured excitedly, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curving upwards.
His Fire Element Special Ability Rank had not changed at all.
"Let's test the power of 'Flame Bomb,'" Shen Han unleashed 'Flame Bomb,' punching towards an ancient tree not far away.
"It seems to be the same as before; it doesn't carry a Mental impact. Perhaps it's because I haven't mastered any Mental Skills yet."
Shen Han was not pessimistic.
It seems that after Devouring the spiritual flame, the 'Devour' Skill used all the spiritual flame's Mental attribute energy to enhance his Mental Energy.
Shen Han re-examined the changes in his Mental Energy, overjoyed: "It seems it's not just an increase in the Mental Energy value. What was originally just barely gold-level Mental Energy, where I could only see some golden threads in my Sea of Consciousness, is now clearly bright yellow. It looks like I can go back and continue challenging the Soul Forging Tower."
As a Martial Emperor expert, Ye Wuchen's status in the Star Eclipse Council should not be low, and he wondered what good things his Storage Ring would contain.
Shen Han permeated Ye Wuchen's Storage Ring with his Mental Energy and was immediately stunned.
In addition to tens of millions in cash, there was a Mental Skill called 'Mental Thorn,' several bottles of black pills used by the Star Eclipse Council to control others, and some communication devices that were likely for internal Star Eclipse Council contact. Now, all of them belonged to him.
Shen Han's gains from this trip to West Forest were truly immense. He Devoured the spiritual flame, and his Cultivation directly Breakthrough four minor Realms. He no longer needed to worry too much about improving his Mental Energy.
He also had two Mental Skills: one was 'Soul Search,' which he won from Xu Haojie, and the other was this 'Mental Thorn.' Both were very practical, and he would start Cultivating them immediately upon returning to school... Upon returning to Li Muhua's hiding place, Li Muhua eagerly came forward, his eyes full of worry.
"Han-ge, how is Ye Wuchen? Are you okay?" Li Muhua asked with concern.
"It's fine, no need to worry about Ye Wuchen anymore. Let's go, we'll go collect and count the Storage Rings of those Martial Artists." Shen Han didn't explain much.
When the Xu Family left, Ye Wuchen was still present, so they didn't have the courage to collect these spoils of war; Ye Wuchen was also busy collecting the spiritual flame that had already advanced, so he also didn't have the opportunity. This all benefited the two of them.
"Han-ge, a total of 768 Storage Rings were found, and they are all here," Li Muhua reported excitedly.
"Let's hope they're not all poor. We'll divide the items here. Useless items or those related to a Martial Artist's identity will be left here, to avoid being traced later." Shen Han was still quite cautious.
"I'll listen to Han-ge," Li Muhua nodded solemnly.
The two spent an entire day, finding nearly 1 billion in cash from the 768 Storage Rings. The Martial Arts Techniques and Cultivation Methods covered the most common Five Elements Special Abilities, as well as wind, lightning, light, dark, and ice. As for other valuable items like weapons, after they each selected a few, the rest were all buried in a pit to avoid leaving any hidden dangers.
"We'll split the cash evenly, about 500 million each. For the Martial Arts Techniques and Cultivation Methods, I'll take the basic Lightning Element and Dark Element ones, and the rest are yours. If you don't need them, sell them, but be careful to hide your identity," Shen Han said firmly, having clearly planned the distribution scheme.
"That's too much, Han-ge, you should take more. I hardly did anything," Li Muhua waved his hands repeatedly, a little embarrassed.
"There's no need for us to be polite. Next, we still need to face the Xu Family, and raising our strength regardless of cost is our top priority."
"Okay, next semester, I'll weld myself to the training room," Li Muhua smiled, a hint of fighting spirit in his eyes.
"For the next semester, you'll stay honestly in school. I'm worried the Xu Family might make a move when you're out adventuring," Shen Han reminded him.
Li Muhua paused, then nodded: "Understood, Han-ge. Don't worry, I'll be careful."
Shen Han patted his shoulder, his tone softening slightly: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. School is relatively safe. If you have any problems, contact me immediately."
"We've been out for so long, it's time to go back to school," Li Muhua suggested.
"It is time to go back. Oh, give me a Copy of all the content you recorded, and make several extra copies for backup," Shen Han reminded him.
"I've already prepared them," Li Muhua grinned in response.