High Martial Arts 2077: I Rely on Beast Taming to Cultivate While Lying Down

Chapter 109 Hidden Level - The Rat Immortal's Puppet! Day 1 Rewards

Half an hour later, on the fourth floor.

The campfire roared, and the air was filled with the lingering aroma of dried meat and wild vegetables.

Su Chen sat on the sofa with a bowl of hot soup, drinking it while eating beef jerky.

"Damn it! Damn it! These disgusting bastards, I really want to punch them into a pulp!"

She got angrier and angrier as she talked.

The words the bearded man on the first floor had just said were still replaying in her mind.

Not only did they tease themselves, but they also dared to say they were flat!

"Exactly!" Yang Xin, usually so funny, was unusually shaken and angry. "I should have shot them all! I hesitated and didn't pull the trigger!"

Su Chen still didn't look up, picked up a piece of roasted beef that was charred and put it in his mouth.

I chewed it a couple of times, and it tasted pretty good!

Yan Heng and his gang of city hunters picked out a good food.

"Hey!" Zhang Yan finally couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed up to him, hands on her hips, and snapped, "Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you backing down now? Humph! Useless man!"

Su Chen looked at her and said, "Don't worry, weren't they already being lectured by Sister Liu Yue?"

He put down his cup and glanced towards the bearded man and the others: "They seem pretty well-behaved now, thanks to Shinobu and the others."

"Endure!? How can you..."

"Don't rush. The way you're angry right now only excites those people. Besides, you're too angry to think rationally right now. You'll understand once you calm down."

Zhang Yan opened her mouth, wanting to refute.

But she's not entirely unreasonable; she didn't do anything herself, so she can't take her anger out on her teammates now.

But I just couldn't stand it...

She gritted her teeth and said, "Hmph! I've got my eye on these guys. Just you wait! Once I've fused with the Spirit Pearl, they'll be my first targets!"

Her voice was quite loud, and many people around heard it.

Fusion of the Spirit Orb?

These words caused the group of adventurers' smiles to freeze slightly.

Who did I offend?

Su Chen didn't reply, and Zi Guang moved aside.

Lin Xiyue was squatting in the corner, holding a small tin bowl filled with minced meat.

Little Purple squatted in front of her, its light golden eyes staring intently at the bowl, its tail sweeping wildly across the ground.

"Eat."

"Awoo~"

Little Purple let out an excited cry, and gently pawed at Lin Xiyue's knees with its two front paws before finishing its meal in just half a minute.

Xiao Zi tilted her head and looked at her for two seconds. After confirming that the bowl was really empty, she drooped her ears, rested her chin on Lin Xiyue's knee, and let out an extremely resentful sigh from deep in her throat.

Lin Xiyue chuckled at its pitiful look and gently scratched behind its ear with her finger.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze.

Lin Xiyue had also been verbally harassed by those adventurers downstairs, but she remained calm throughout, unlike Zhang Yan who had reacted with fury...

Su Chen clicked his tongue inwardly.

Xi Yue's temperament is somewhat too calm, but sometimes she also has a cute, innocent, childlike and playful side.

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to the other side of the sofa.

Huang Cheng, the captain of Nanhu University, with his striking short yellow hair, was chatting enthusiastically with Zhou Chengjie.

The two teams met in the east of the city that afternoon and fought a tough battle side by side.

Huang Cheng and his team had just arrived here not long ago.

Huang Cheng was also a very outgoing person, and once they started chatting, his voice was even louder than Yan Heng's.

"You guys are really amazing!" Huang Cheng slapped his thigh, his face full of sincere admiration. "Every single one of you is in the top 100 of the grade? And in the top 100 of the whole school?! That's insane!"

"Ahem~" Su Chen coughed lightly and interjected from the side, "In the team, everyone except me is indeed in the top 100."

Huang Cheng turned his head and paused for a moment.

He looked Su Chen up and down, a hint of confusion in his eyes: "But you seem to be the captain too—"

Zhou Chengjie couldn't help but laugh, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "He's far more formidable than anyone in the top 100!"

"Oh?" Huang Cheng put down his enamel mug, his curiosity piqued. "How so?"

Zhou Chengjie did not answer directly, but turned his head to look at Su Chen with a questioning look in his eyes.

Su Chen met his gaze, simply smiled slightly, and made no move to speak.

Sitting across from me, Zhang Yan was pouting and stuffing a piece of fruit into her mouth.

She glanced at Su Chen, then at Huang Cheng, her eyes darting around. She tossed the fruit pit into the plate and jumped up, saying, "If you won't speak, I will!"

The things that made me angry just now seem to have been forgotten.

Huang Cheng immediately turned to look at Zhang Yan, and the others also stopped chatting and pricked up their ears.

Zhang Yan cleared her throat.

"Our captain," she drawled, "is an absolute monster! A total scumbag!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang He put down the dry rations he was holding.

Hmm~ Is that how you describe it? Now I'm even more interested!

"Just over two weeks ago, he was only ranked around 600th in his grade! He couldn't even get into the top class. You probably didn't know that, did you?"

He had a nickname in the grade: "The Stubborn Holdout of the Elite Class!"

Zhang He's gaze unconsciously drifted towards Su Chen's direction.

When he fought alongside Su Chen that afternoon, he did notice Su Chen's combat strength. It wasn't top-tier, but it was still quite formidable.

There must be something special about him to be able to serve as captain.

"The result!" Zhang Yan's voice rose half an octave. "In the ten-school joint exam, he directly broke into the top four hundred in the grade. However, that was still considered normal at the time. Everyone has their moments of exceptional performance, you know. He just happened to be lucky enough to encounter exam questions that he was good at."

She paused, then continued, "But last Sunday... no, the Sunday before last! This guy's speed was like he was on steroids, he was even faster than me!"

"You wouldn't believe it, we were running three kilometers on the track, and when he overtook me on the last bend, he turned around and winked at me. I was so angry I almost kicked him right there and then!"

"Later, in the strength subject—rock climbing—I improved quite a bit compared to before, but the improvement was still within the normal range."

She took a deep breath and said, "Then came last week's weekly test... It was absolutely insane! Strength, endurance, speed—everything was tested! The practical assessment was even more outrageous; our school's last weekly test was held in the polluted Wutou Mountain area!"

Wu Qing, standing nearby, exclaimed in a low voice, "The Wutoushan polluted area?!"

It's worth noting that the first time she entered this place was during her second semester of freshman year.

She never even took the joint entrance exam that her senior year of high school took!

Because in the joint entrance exam, scores from key high schools and regular high schools are indeed calculated together. However, the actual testing locations are different.

After all, it's too dangerous for students from regular high schools to go to such places for practical assessments, and they would need a lot of manpower to take care of them.

Zhang Yan continued, "My final ranking soared by over 200 places, and I racked up a lot of points! I also happened to catch the implementation of the new Beast Taming rules, which gave me a significant number of Beast Taming points."

As she said this, a hint of schadenfreude crept into her tone: "Once the beasts with royal bloodlines are released into the beast-taming shop, his points might even surpass those of the top student in the grade!"

"Whether our team can secure a good beast depends on him!"

Zhang He didn't even notice the dry rations he was holding falling onto the table.

That's what happened!

He felt a pang of envy.

I wish he could make a comeback too!

"And that's not all!" Zhang Yan clearly enjoyed the feeling of everyone being quiet and listening to her speak. "Last night, in the strength test, he punched 735 kilograms, ranking fifth in the grade! Just over half a month ago, he was ranked outside the top 600 in strength, not even reaching 400 kilograms. Tell me, isn't that insane?"

The entire room was silent for a full three seconds.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan added a little: "By the way, I've been training him in strength subjects, and it's a paid course!"

""

Zhang He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Huang Cheng's reaction was different from the others. He didn't make a sound, but simply lowered his head slightly... as if he was thinking.

Su Chen noticed his expression and her heart skipped a beat.

This person was clearly thinking about something deeper.

The speed at which someone rose from outside the top 600 in their grade to the top ranks in just half a month is enough to make people think deeply in any era.

Su Chen raised his hand to pat Zhang Yan's head, but this time Zhang Yan was prepared and jumped back a big step to avoid it.

She said smugly, "Haha! Couldn't get a picture! Hehehe~"

Su Chen rolled her eyes at her and withdrew her hand.

He felt that since Zhang Yan had already said these things, he should take advantage of the occasion to give some vague information.

It's good to use this to cover up one's amazing current and future progress.

He said calmly, "Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you imagine."

He turned his head and his gaze naturally swept over Zhang He, Huang Cheng, and several other students from Nanhu University who were listening intently.

"My ranking improved significantly, but my actual combat strength and cultivation level didn't change that much. It's just that I had a sudden enlightenment in a few cultivation techniques, which made my advancement faster. My family is quite well-off, and they helped me get some good things that suit me."

He paused, his tone becoming even more nonchalant: "In the history of No. 1 High School, there have been many dark horses who have improved faster than me! And they were all from commoner backgrounds, without any resources to support them. At least my family has some foundation; we can get pills and spiritual fruits whenever we want. This improvement isn't really that outrageous."

This statement is quite frank, but it contains a lot of information.

It acknowledges the improvement while providing a reasonable explanation: a solid financial foundation, adequate resources, and a sudden enlightenment in the technique.

Upon hearing this, Zhang He nodded subconsciously.

Yup!

When Su Chen talked to Sun Youcheng before, it was obvious that he had a powerful background.

It's normal for a family to be wealthy because they run a business!

Sigh~ Comparing yourself to others is just maddening!

Huang Cheng raised his eyes, his gaze lingered on Su Chen's face for a moment, and then he nodded slightly.

He smoothly changed the subject: "By the way, for your graduating class, the practical assessment has included Beast Taming. And Jiangling City has already made related arrangements. You just mentioned something about the Beast Taming Shop and Beast Taming Points, could you elaborate?"

Zhang He immediately perked up. He moved closer to Su Chen, his gaze sweeping over the three strange beasts, including Xiao Zi, lying on the ground.

"Yeah, I've heard about it too. And the arrangement of one beast tamer per team is just too convenient!"

"We still can't bear to buy a beast taming beast..."

Su Chen naturally didn't mind discussing this topic further.

"This reform has indeed had a significant impact. The core change is that players are now allowed to bring their own summoned beasts into the combat assessment."

"Gangneung City has invested heavily in ensuring its students' competitiveness."

"You all know about the points mall; every middle school has one. Now, we've added a Beast Taming Mall on top of that. It's currently empty, but you can earn extra Beast Taming points based on your exam scores."

"According to the teacher, after the joint exam in about three weeks, the city will release the first batch of high-bloodline beasts and beast-specific resources into the Beast Taming Mall. The highest-ranking ones may even be beasts with royal bloodlines."

"King-level bloodline?" Zhang He sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. "Really? A single one must be worth hundreds of millions! The beast-taming market is buzzing with activity because of the new regulations, and the actual transaction prices are even more outrageous. The city has really gone all out!"

"That's true!" Su Chen nodded, his tone serious. "The investment this time is quite large. But to be honest, our Jiangling base city ranks only around 300th out of nearly 400 base cities in the Federation."

"The introduction of beast taming has had a far greater impact on top students than we imagined. Students from strong base cities already have an advantage; their families can obtain better beast taming and more resources. If our city doesn't invest this money, the gap between top students and those from other cities will only widen."

"Perhaps the number of students admitted to the nine top universities this year will be even fewer than in previous years!"

"This is not an exaggeration. In Jiangling City alone, we already have students equipped with high-bloodline warrior-level beasts! Meanwhile, the strongest beast in our No. 1 High School is only at the peak of the elite level. The gap between these two is not something that can be bridged by individual effort alone."

Zhang He, Wu Qing, Huang Cheng, and other college students looked at each other.

Their results really didn't take this level into account!

Zhou Chengjie was silent for a few seconds, then slowly sighed: "Wu Junchao from No. 4 Middle School is still backed by Tianhe Group."

He brought a Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger with him during last week's exam; it was a mid-level Warrior General with Lord-level bloodline.

Tianhe Group! This can be considered a giant in Jiangling City.

Zhang He and the others naturally knew this.

Su Chen suddenly laughed: "Actually, it's not so bad. For me, it's just a bit more competitive pressure. The nine top universities are a piece of cake! Haha~"

Zhang He paused for a moment, then laughed along with him.

He couldn't tell whether Su Chen was bragging or genuinely confident, but in any case, having this mindset was a good thing.

Zhang Yan rolled her eyes at Su Chen, then, her eyes darting around, asked, "By the way, what did your homeroom teacher talk to you and Jiang Wei about in the office last night?"

Su Chen replied in a serious tone: "They say I have exceptional talent and am expected to reach the ninth realm—the Dragon Soaring Realm! The school wants to invest heavily in me, telling me to ask for anything I need, to go directly to the warehouse if I run out of pills, and to arrange one-on-one tutoring if I encounter a bottleneck."

"Even setting up an engagement with Jiang Wei is no problem; you can just ask to meet any top student you want, the school will arrange it!"

"Really?" Zhang Yan was taken aback at first, then realized that Su Chen was talking nonsense!

"Haha~ Of course it's fake. Is your head filled with jelly?"

Zhang Yan's face flushed red instantly: "You! How can you say that to Sister Xiyue?"

Just then, a very soft voice came from the side.

"Hmph~"

Lin Xiyue had finished feeding Xiao Zi and was sitting sideways on the armrest of the sofa, her fingers gently twisting the hem of her clothes.

She mimicked Zhang Yan's earlier actions, letting out a very soft hum through her nose, then tilting her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the moon in the sky, a faint blush rising from her ears.

He whispered, "It has nothing to do with me—"

Su Chen scratched the back of his head, unsure how to respond to that remark.

After a two-second silence, he decisively chose to shift tactics, abruptly turning to Zhou Chengjie and Huang Cheng: "By the way, did you find any unusual information about the Red-Scaled Rats in the east of the city this afternoon?"

Zhou Chengjie smiled teasingly and slowly said, "I've been waiting to say it! I was just afraid of interrupting your love talk, wasn't I?"

"You're not serious either," Su Chen rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Besides, I was talking about serious matters the whole time. I only bragged a little at the end! It was Zhang Yan, that frivolous kid, who brought up romance."

Zhou Chengjie laughed for a while, then quickly composed himself, his tone becoming more serious: "You know what! This afternoon, our two teams ventured deep into a Red-Scaled Rat's lair, located in Residential Area No. 4 in the east of the city. The situation there is similar to the Donglin Park you mentioned before."

"Large areas of the ground have collapsed into pits, and underground there are huge, hollowed-out spaces. The dome is over ten meters high, with earth pillars, ramps, and steps, just like the ones you saw in Donglin Park. They were all made by red-scaled rats mixing saliva with loess and compacting it, with a hardness close to that of artificial concrete."

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "But what really makes me feel something's wrong is the fourth floor."

"We had already gone down nearly fifty meters underground, and as we continued down the main slope, we encountered more and more branching paths."

"At the deepest part of the fourth level, we stumbled upon a completely different area, where the earthen walls were covered with strange symbols that didn't look like any common script of the Federation, but rather like some kind of ritual inscription."

"In the very center, there is a statue. It has a rat's head and a human body, and is about two meters tall. It is carved from a dark red rock. The surface is very rough and the details are blurry, but the rat's head is carved with exceptional care. Two incisors are exposed, and the place where the eyes are is two black holes. If you stare at it for a long time, you will feel that light is seeping out of those two holes."

"Around the statue are numerous mummified corpses of rock-armored pythons."

He paused for a moment, as if confirming the accuracy of his memory: "The mummified corpses of those rock-armored pythons are very strange. They weren't naturally dried after being killed, nor did they look like they were left behind after being eaten by red-scaled rats."

"Their bodies were intact, with no signs of tearing or biting, and the scales were still there, but it looked like they had been sucked dry by something."

"Dozens of rock-armored pythons, the larger ones seven or eight meters long and the smaller ones less than three or four meters long, all formed a regular circle around the statue. Their scales and the ground were covered with those strange dark red symbols."

"We were also worried that this thing might have been tainted by the power of the gods and spirits of the immortal and demon realms."

"After all, it was taught in textbooks that there are many folk witchcraft-like practices in the immortal and demon realm system, which are completely different from the pure energy erosion of the abyss."

Zhou Chengjie's voice deepened: "So we didn't dare get too close. Later, a time bomb was planted, and it was detonated remotely after we moved to a safe distance. After the explosion, we went back to take a look. The statue was shattered, but nothing unusual happened."

We'll leave then.

"Thinking back now," he looked up, his gaze falling on Su Chen's face, "the mummified corpses of those rock-armored pythons were arranged so neatly, it looked like an evil ritual!"

Su Chen remained silent.

His finger slowly circled the rim of the enamel mug.

The number of rock pythons has plummeted, making this the second optional investigation target on the task list.

An adult rock armor python, an elite-level one!

Furthermore, due to racial suppression, the Red Phosphorus Rat cannot break through the Rock Armor Python's defenses at all.

It can take on a hundred enemies at once, making it the most crucial natural enemy of the Red Scaled Rat in this area!

If someone is systematically hunting rock pythons and using their carcasses for some kind of ritual...

What is the purpose?

Simply allow the red phosphorus rats to reproduce indefinitely?

Why would someone organize the construction of an underground palace?

The power of ghosts and gods in the realm of immortals and demons, the infiltration of the Abyss Church, and a rat-headed human statue that could control low-level demons—these fragments quickly pieced together in Su Chen's mind, but he did not rush to conclusions.

He hesitated for a moment, then refrained from pressing the issue of the statue, instead asking a few more practical questions: How many matches did you play this afternoon? What monsters did you encounter? How much ammunition did you use?

Zhou Chengjie answered.

After listening, Su Chen glanced at everyone and said, "Then our task for tomorrow is very clear."

"First, select a few red-scaled rat nests and explore them deeper. We've already reached the fourth level in Donglin Park, and you've also reached the fourth level in Residential Area No. 4. Tomorrow, we'll expand the search area and try to explore a few more locations, drawing a map of the nest distribution for the first three levels. That shouldn't be difficult."

"Second, continue searching for the altar you mentioned. If this rat-headed, human-bodied statue is appearing in large numbers, it means there must be a systematic organization operating behind it. The abnormal decrease in rock armor, the proliferation of red-scaled rats, the appearance of abyssal magic stones... these events combined cannot be mere coincidence!"

"If we can uncover the secret behind this, the reward for this mission will definitely be substantial!"

"After we have a preliminary understanding of the situation and have drawn maps of several nests, we will then assess whether to continue to go deeper."

If there's something underground that we can't handle, we should retreat; there's no need to be reckless.

Zhou Chengjie nodded decisively: "No problem."

Zhang He readily replied, "I'm fine with that too."

Huang Cheng nodded: "Okay!"

After the business was finished, the atmosphere relaxed again.

Several second-year male students in Huang Cheng's team began to talk about their grueling final exams last semester.

I only slept three or four hours a day for a week straight, and I was chased all over the mountains during training exercises!

The students on both sides poured out their grievances to each other, and laughter rose and fell.

Half an hour later.

"belch"

"~

Su Chen leaned back on the sofa, let out a satisfied burp, and all he wanted to do was have a good sleep.

No! It's cultivation!

Huang Cheng stood up from his seat, placed the empty bowl he was holding on the coffee table, and said quietly, "I'm going to the restroom."

As soon as he finished speaking, several boys in the group stood up and walked in twos and threes toward the restrooms at the back of the corridor.

Yang Xin put down her water glass, turned her head to look at Zhang Yan, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.

Then, Yang Xin reached out and tugged at Zhang Yan's sleeve, stood up, and the two of them were clearly not going to the restroom.

The fifth to seventh floors all have well-equipped bedrooms, bathrooms, and even separate shower rooms.

Su Chen watched their figures disappear around the corner of the stairs, then looked away and glanced at the watch on his wrist.

19: 43.

He leaned back on the sofa, already planning his training schedule for the evening.

The night watch is from 12 midnight to 4 am. Buying now means staying until midnight, which is more than four hours of complete practice time.

There are four psionic crystals left, enough for four hours!

The Hunmen and Zhongshu acupoints were noticeably loosened when the psionic crystal was first used.

We can put in more effort!

If the acupoints haven't opened by tonight, then there's been no progress for two whole days...

I've never been this slow since I started performing!

Suddenly, Su Chen remembered something.

He turned to look at Lin Xiyue, who was sitting quietly on one side of the sofa: "By the way, Xiyue, you're our finance manager. Have you finished organizing today's accounts?"

"It's already done." Lin Xiyue took out a palm-sized notebook from her small backpack.

He raised his head, his voice still soft and gentle: "Today, a total of 3950 first-level kinetic energy rounds were fired, and 400..."

The missiles fired included 352 rounds of stage-3 kinetic energy rounds, 27 rounds of stage-3 15mm heavy explosive rounds, 17 rounds of stage-4 18mm heavy explosive rounds, 17 high-explosive type II hand grenades, 5 powerful insect repellent fog grenades, and 3 first-aid pills....

'

"Total consumption: 785800 Federal Dollars."

"How much?" Su Chen sat up abruptly.

"785800." Lin Xiyue looked up at him with a serious yet almost adorably reproachful expression: "The Super Explosive Type II grenades alone cost 400,000. That's half the cost! Five of them were used to deal with the Black Rot Giant Cockroaches. If we had used the Powerful Insect Repellent Fog Bombs instead, we could have saved 70,000 to 80,000 for the same effect."

"Cough~ cough cough~"

Su Chen felt embarrassed. He finally understood what it meant to not know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household.

He pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it with a flourish.

Looking back now, it was a complete waste of money!

"And... what about income?"

"The income is divided into two parts." Lin Xiyue flipped through the first few pages. "The first part is that we sold the keratinous calluses, canine teeth, tendons and other miscellaneous materials that we bought from the Black Demon Ape... excluding the Black Demon Ape King's items, for 60. According to the distribution ratio, 12 was deposited into our account."

"The second deal involved selling the products from Chou and Zhou Chengjie's company for 140 million. Zhou Chengjie received 65, and the remaining 75..."

The 10,000 yuan will be divided proportionally among us, Jiang Yunxin, and Zhang He. We will take one-third, which will amount to 250,000 yuan.

Su Chen fell silent.

This is the wilderness!

You might fight tooth and nail all day, risking your life, only to end up losing money! But a businessman would never sell at a loss.

This is only because Zhang He and his team were extremely careful when dissecting the red-scaled rats, almost disassembling each rat into parts to sell... Otherwise, how could they sell so many?

Money just disappears so quickly.

My parents run a big business, but they don't have a lot of cash on hand.

In the last week or two, I've spent at least five million on myself!

But at least this time I obtained the spirit bone.

This spirit bone was offered to them for a price of 500,000.

Even if they sell it at the lowest price of 500,000, they will eventually each receive 10,000 to 20,000 yuan from Lin Run.

Moreover, this thing could very well sell for 800,000, or even 1 million!

With this in mind, Su Chen quickly adjusted his mindset.

What's more, he has extra income...that's the most insane part!

I immediately looked at the perfect results I had achieved throughout the day, a total of seven challenges.

[Pet Energy Points x310]

[Eyebrow-level Rewards: 8 Qi-Replenishing Pills, 3 Yuan-Nourishing Pills, 5 Body-Piercing Pills, 1 Black Blood Pill, 1 Blood-Green Pill, 3 Flame Resistance Pills]

[Intermediate Reward: Red Phosphorus Flame Pill x2, Dragon Elephant Bone Strengthening Pill x2]

[Special Reward: Crimson Demon Sound Fruit]

A single Crimson Demon Sound Fruit would definitely cost at least 500,000!

The spirit crystals and skill stones brought by the Dark Demon Ape King are not very valuable!

Moreover... the pet space area reaches 275m².

I got 310 pet energy points on the first day.

Including the previous balance and today's natural growth, it has reached...

[Pet Energy Points: 732]

Looking at his harvest, Su Chen's slight displeasure at the low income instantly dissipated.

He then began to plan his cultivation for the night.

But just then, a familiar notification sound rang out.

【bite-】

[Special fluctuations in celestial and demonic energy detected, triggering a hidden level.]

[Hidden Level Name: The Rat Immortal's Puppet]

[Level Introduction: Rat Immortal, a minor overlord in the Immortal and Demon Realms, whose true form is nothing more than a rat demon who luckily devoured a fragment of a broken monument in the Immortal and Demon Realms.]

It was nothing special in the realm of immortals and demons, but through the incomplete text on that half-broken stele, it comprehended a set of sinister secret techniques for manipulating minds.

Relying on this secret technique, it amassed considerable power on the edge of the immortal and demon realms.

After the Spirit Realm opened, the Great Rat Immortal, with its puppetry secrets, infiltrated Blue Star and remained dormant, causing numerous disasters during this time, which enhanced your power.

Now, he seems to have reached an agreement with the Church of the Abyss and is plotting some things.

And right beside you now, the puppet of the Rat Immortal is at work!

Difficulty: 5 stars

[Hidden level objective: Find and eliminate the puppet before it destroys the target!]

Su Chen's consciousness jolted violently.

He remained leaning back on the sofa, his expression unchanged, but his heart was already pounding wildly.

Hidden levels?

Difficulty: 5 stars!

Who on earth is this Rat Immortal?

Upon seeing the sentence in the introduction, "[And right beside you, at this moment, is the puppet of the Great Rat Immortal!]", Su Chen quickly composed himself.

His gaze swept across the entire floor at an extremely slow pace.

Zhang He, Wu Qing, and others gathered around the campfire, chatting about their day's harvest.

Zhou Chengjie seemed to be a little tired, and was leaning against the armrest of the sofa with his eyes closed, dazed.

Jiang Yunxin was chatting happily with several female friends.

As for the distance... Yan Heng and his teammates, having eaten and drunk their fill, had dispersed and were returning to their rooms one after another. Bo Xian, sitting below, was the one waiting to keep watch.

Those uncivilized pilgrims cheered, their faces turning bright red.

Lin Xiyue...

Lin Xiyue's favorability level: lv9

Status: Available for contract (Time limit: 9 days)

]

The panel displays a solemn oath!

The system's rank is definitely higher than this Rat Immortal!

From this perspective, people like Wang Yichuan, Zhang Yan, Jiang Yunxin, and Yang Xin, who possess the control panel, are all trustworthy.

Su Chen's gaze swept over each and every card, without following any unusual signs.

Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do, and no one seemed to be controlled by puppet magic.

But the more this is the case, the more terrifying it becomes!

A rat demon, hailed as a great immortal, must at least be at the sixth realm—the Divine Power Realm, right?

Su Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

No rush! We mustn't rush!

Showing any dissent now will only alert the enemy and allow the puppet to hide its true strength!