[Beep, the Flame Locusts have been repelled, the city gates have reopened, all adventurers please return quickly!]
[If you encounter danger in the wild, you can call xxxx for rescue!]
[There were no losses within the city during this beast tide crisis, but the number of adventurer deaths outside the city is undetermined and being tallied....]
[The Flame Locusts numbered in the hundreds of millions, and the Flame Locust Queen was not killed this time. Beast tides will occur again!]
[We hope citizens will pay close attention to the news for preparation!]
The beast tide was over!
On the way back to the city, I surveyed the surroundings, only to see desolation.
The once lush forests had turned into wasteland, littered with the corpses of Flame Locusts.
The farmlands outside the city had also suffered heavy losses; the freshly sprouted wheat seedlings had all been eaten.
Fortunately, the roots remained, and they would grow back in time, though the yield would undoubtedly be low.
At a glance, the land was barren, devoid of any greenery.
The locust plague was truly terrifying!
By now, Lin Yu's main body had reunited with Zhao Ke.
He recalled his remaining injured clones and then created ten new ones, returning to the city with everyone.
Along the way, Bai Xiaosha showed Lin Yu great favor, while Zhao Ke remained by Lin Yu's side, her demure demeanor drawing frequent, astonished glances.
Her appearance was so different from the "ice queen" image they had in their minds that many rubbed their eyes, thinking they had misread.
"We're here!"
Once again at the city gate.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, excitedly taking out their identification cards.
[Beep, identity detected, High School Student: Lin Yu!]
[Please enter!]
Walking into the city, a sense of security returned.
Everyone waved goodbye, but their gazes towards Lin Yu were a mix of oddity, surprise, gratitude, and jealousy.
Only Lin Yu, Zhao Ke, and Bai Xiaosha remained.
Zhao Ke and Lin Yu looked at him, while Bai Xiaosha's scalp tingled. "Lin, classmate, let's add each other as friends. You saved me this time, and I must give you a satisfactory gift of thanks to express my feelings!"
"No need for such trouble!"
"That won't do. I am a person who repays kindness. If you saved me and I don't give a gift, I won't feel at ease!"
"Alright, as you wish!"
Bai Xiaosha breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then I won't disturb you and your sister-in-law. See you later!"
With that, he bolted away as if his feet were greased.
Zhao Ke blushed at his words and stomped her foot. "Don't listen to his nonsense! But you, how did you become so powerful?"
She was happy that Lin Yu was strong, but after calming down, she was filled with curiosity.
Lin Yu said, "I have the clone talent, so my cultivation speed is naturally fast. All these clones can help me cultivate!"
Zhao Ke exclaimed in surprise, "I understand! So your cultivation speed is tenfold, right?"
Lin Yu nodded. "Exactly!"
In reality, clones could only provide him with their experiences and knowledge, not help him cultivate, but what he said wasn't entirely false.
Throughout history, each evolved talent was unique.
It was not impossible for his talent to evolve with this auxiliary cultivation characteristic. Whether they believed him or not was up to them!
Zhao Ke said enviously, "That's great! Now I don't have to worry about you not being able to catch up to me. I need to cultivate diligently too!"
Huh?
Lin Yu asked in surprise, "You haven't been cultivating diligently?"
Zhao Ke nodded. "These past few days, I've been slacking off. I've only cultivated for about three hours. I was afraid you'd become distant if you saw how strong I was!"
After saying this, Zhao Ke's face turned red. She quickly added, "Let's not talk about that. The previous Flame Locust leader, you also killed it, right?"
"Yes! I was just about to say, but you interrupted me three times!"
"Don't mind them, they're just short-sighted people!"
Lin Yu nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing.
He never wanted to see those kinds of people again.
The two chatted for a while longer until Zhao Ke's watch rang. It was her aunt calling her home for dinner.
"I have to go. We'll see each other at class meeting next week!"
Zhao Ke reluctantly nodded. "Mhmm!"
Lin Yu watched her receding figure, an irrepressible smile on his lips.
Upon returning home.
Lin Yu washed up and took out the two skill crystals.
He placed them on his forehead, and instantly, skill information appeared in his mind.
Homogeneous Fusion!
Tier Two Heartfire!
Homogeneous Fusion: With the consent of those of the same origin and without any trace of ulterior motive, they can fuse into a stronger existence. The more individuals, the stronger they become, but the number cannot exceed one hundred.
Lin Yu discovered that this skill allowed beings of the same species to fuse.
However, the prerequisite was extremely strict: the other party had to completely let down their guard. If there was even a hint of ill intent, the fusion would fail.
The reason the Flame Locust leader could successfully fuse was due to its absolute control over its subordinates.
This was a characteristic of insectoid creatures.
For humans, achieving success with this skill would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
However, for him, it was perfect.
"My clones are the perfect fusion targets!"
Lin Yu was extremely excited and immediately learned the skill.
He then looked at the other skill.
Tier Two Heartfire: Infuse spiritual power into flames to create Heartfire of up to Tier Two! Heartfire can not only burn physical matter but also damage the soul!
"Not bad, not bad. I have Flame Breath, so I can create Heartfire Breath!"
Lin Yu quickly learned it as well. This Heartfire could not be used independently; it had to be integrated into flames.
If he didn't have a flame skill, he could also infuse it into real-world flames.
However, the flames created this way would be of a low tier.
His Flame Breath skill was at the late Tier One, so the Heartfire infused into it would only be late Tier One.
Unless he obtained a Tier Two flame skill, he could not create Tier Two Heartfire.
"We'll have bread and milk, and we'll have Tier Two Heartfire too!"
Learning two skills made him incredibly happy.
He created Clone One and sent him downstairs to buy some food. He created Clone Two and sent him to browse information online.
Then he had the other eight clones study books separately.
He himself sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
"Beep beep beep beep!!!!"
Suddenly, Lin Yu was awakened by the sound of his watch.
He opened his watch and found a call from his homeroom teacher.
He clicked to answer!
"Lin Yu, your talent has evolved?"
"Yes, Teacher!"
"I just heard about it from Zhao Ke. Since your talent has reached Grade A, you should be eligible for some school policies!"
"Teacher, what policy? I don't know anything about it!"
"This policy is only revealed to Awakened individuals with Grade A talent or higher. Your previous talent level wasn't high enough to be informed."
"Alright, then please tell me, Teacher, what is the policy?"
"Awakened individuals with Grade A talent have one opportunity to enter the school's advanced secret realm: the Spirit Sensing Realm!"
"Teacher, what is the Spirit Sensing Realm?"
"I can't tell you that now. Come to school tomorrow, and I'll re-measure your talent level. Once it's confirmed as Grade A, I'll tell you!"
"Alright, what time should I arrive tomorrow?"
"Arrive at school before nine. After ten, the school will organize all Grade A Awakened individuals to cultivate in the Spirit Sensing Realm!"
"Do S-grade and SS-grade Awakened individuals also have special secret realms?"
"Yes, their secret realms are of a higher level. Don't think about it. It's already a great fortune that your talent evolved once; you can't evolve twice consecutively!"
"Understood!"
After ending the call, Lin Yu looked up at the night sky.
"Who says I can only evolve once?" Lin Yu smiled.
"You will all be greatly surprised!"