Ding!
"Skills that can be merged have been detected. Merge?"
Chen Ke stared at the dialog box in the window, astonished.
With a touch of curiosity, he clicked "Merge."
Buzz!
A savage and fierce aura instantly swept through his body, and mysterious currents flowed throughout.
Ding!
"Skill merging successful. New ultimate skill acquired: 'Beast - Overwhelming Might'!"
'Beast - Overwhelming Might'?!
It's a merging of 'Overwhelming Might' and 'Bear-Man Berserk Technique'?
Chen Ke read the ultimate skill's meaning. Sure enough, the new skill contained both the ultimate meaning of Overwhelming Might and the ultimate meaning of Bear-Man Berserk.
The merged skill significantly enhanced the power of the dual berserk state and eliminated many of the aftereffects of berserk.
Chen Ke was overjoyed. With the ultimate meaning of 'Beast - Overwhelming Might', he wouldn't be completely helpless against a level 63 expert in the future.
Stepping out of the tree hole, Chen Ke immediately activated the new ultimate skill.
After receiving the activation success notification, he quickly exited the enhanced technique.
Returning to the tree hollow, Chen Ke lowered his eyelids, picked up a low-grade wood-attribute spirit stone, and began to refine it with focused attention.
As the pure energy entered his body, he immediately activated the profound technique of "Rejuvenating a Withered Tree."
A mysterious green light enveloped his entire body, and the pink scars on Chen Ke's body began to fade at a visible speed.
Within his body, damaged meridians and tissues were rapidly repaired, and impurities were expelled from his pores.
For an entire day, Chen Ke refined eight spirit stones, repeatedly washing over his body and healing his injuries, large and small.
Chen Ke emerged from the tree hollow, stood under the large tree, and let the rain wash over his body.
Layers of greasy grime faded, revealing the smooth curves of his body and his smooth skin.
The scars on his body were so shallow they were almost invisible.
They would likely be completely gone by tomorrow.
Chen Ke stretched out his jade-like hands, a look of surprise on his face.
These hands were practically perfect.
The only flaw was that his right hand was badly injured; although the bones had healed, it was still not very flexible.
To fully recover, he would have to let it rest slowly.
Touching his face and head, he noticed that his eyebrows and hair had grown a little, though short, but much better than a boiled egg.
As dusk approached, Chen Ke opened his mouth and spat out a green leaf.
The next moment, he entered the Soaring Divine Ship from the pillar of light, changed into clean clothes, and piloted the ship towards the direction of Great Xia City.
The crisis for the Chen family caravan had been resolved, but only temporarily.
Chen Ke decided to check on them every few days; with the Soaring Divine Ship, a round trip wouldn't take long.
Late at night, Chen Ke had already walked to the south gate of Daxia (Great Xia) City. After showing his Hidden Dragon Pavilion token, he entered the city, hailed a carriage, and headed straight for the Daxia Imperial Palace.
This time, the Chen family had been in trouble, and the Qin princess had come to their aid; he felt he had to personally express his gratitude.
As for the gift, he had already prepared it.
With the Hidden Dragon Pavilion token and his status, Chen Ke traveled without hindrance, arriving at the palace gates in no time.
After another round of tedious checks and inquiries, taking a full half hour, Chen Ke finally arrived at the Qin princess's palace.
Entering a side hall and standing before a wooden platform, Chen Ke bowed to the noblewoman behind the curtain and said, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness!"
The Qin princess said calmly, "Chen Ke, you have helped me so many times; of course, I would not stand idly by."
Chen Ke was surprised; the princess's tone was too official, something was amiss.
Suddenly, two hidden thoughts entered his mind, seeping into the depths of his soul.
Another soul probe?
And so unfriendly?
Chen Ke didn't know what was happening, but remained calm, guiding two probing thoughts into the maze.
He asked, "Hasn't Senior Ding and the others returned yet?"
The Qin princess replied calmly, "They still need to investigate the mastermind behind this incident. Such heinous events must not happen again."
Chen Ke nodded. In fact, he roughly knew who was behind the attack on the Chen family caravan.
The three experts he killed, although speaking the common mainland language, still revealed their foreign identities.
Chen Ke hesitated for a moment, then took out the prepared gift.
"Your Highness, this is a gift I prepared for you, a small token of my appreciation."
A gift?
The Qin princess chuckled, secretly delighted.
This was probably the first gift she had received from Chen Ke.
Soon, a maid stepped forward and led the gift box behind the curtain.
The maid withdrew, and the Qin princess curiously opened the gift box.
"The golden seal of the Third Prince of the Purple Eagle Dynasty, and the letter of credence for his visit?!" Princess Qin took out a golden seal and a scroll, deeply moved.
Chen Ke smiled and said, "A friend of mine found these by chance in a cave inhabited by a bear-man while traveling in Jigong Mountain."
A cave inhabited by a bear-man?
Princess Qin suddenly recalled her conversation with the Emperor Emeritus not long ago and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that the Third Prince was once imprisoned?"
Chen Ke feigned ignorance and said, "Perhaps. I guess that after he was captured, he produced the golden seal and letter of credence to prove his identity in order to convince his captors."
In Chen Ke's mind, the image of the boy kneeling on the ground barking like a dog in the bear-man's cave flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Who would have thought that the bear-man wouldn't buy it and still imprisoned him until someone rescued him."
Princess Qin nodded in agreement; Chen Ke's analysis was reasonable and very likely the truth.
Calculating the timeline, it seems the Third Prince, after being rescued, inadvertently discovered the vulture army flying over Jigong Mountain, thus guessing the orcs intended to harm her, leading to the scene of rushing to her aid from afar.
No, it was Chen Ke who first alerted her.
This means Chen Ke was also on Jigong Mountain at that time.
Could it be that Chen Ke was the one who entered the bear-man's cave and rescued the Third Prince?!
That's why Chen Ke bluntly told her the Third Prince wasn't a good man?
The Qin princess's bright eyes revealed an unusual gleam, and she suddenly asked in surprise, "What happened to your hair and eyebrows?"
Chen Ke awkwardly touched his head, vaguely replying, "I burned my hair while doing experiments, so I just shaved it all off."
Afraid the princess would press further, Chen Ke steered the conversation back on track: "I don't know what to do with this golden seal and the imperial edict, so after thinking it over, I think it's best to give them to you."
The Qin princess looked down at the golden seal and the imperial edict, a faint smile appearing on her radiant face.
These two things are incredibly useful.
Their combined effect is equivalent to that of an army!