Ahead, on the snowy plain.
As Allen teleported over, he heard a wolf howl.
Looking up, he saw a large husky standing opposite him.
It was even larger than a polar bear.
Its pristine white fur was dotted with bloodstains.
For some reason, it was baring its teeth at him.
Alan, feeling annoyed, glared back.
The Advanced Winter Wolf suddenly recoiled, as if startled.
Then, a chill seeped from the monster's body, condensing into sharp icicles of varying lengths.
It was as if it were wearing a suit of ice armor covered in spikes!
Alan was no stranger to frost thorn armor.
Hugo's fourth-level atavism, the Advanced Winter Wolf form, also possessed this move, allowing it to inflict counter-damage in close combat.
The basal blood vessels of the Advanced Winter Wolf are a unique ingredient.
The blood essence can also be used to increase cold resistance.
Hugo is an old classmate, a close friend, so Allen felt embarrassed to attack him.
This creature before him was a wild dog, no relation at all.
He had come to him, provoking him first, so it was no wonder he would retaliate endlessly.
"Little white dog! Baring your teeth at me is a death sentence!"
Alan rubbed his hands together, approaching the Advanced Winter Wolf with a snarling grin.
With his bestial instincts, the Advanced Winter Wolf knew this man was formidable!
However, with two pursuers behind him, he had no choice.
Suddenly, his mouth opened wide, unleashing a stream of silvery cold!
The Advanced Winter Wolf's breath was a Level 5 cold attack.
Alan didn't need to dodge.
The "Tears of the Snake Mother" he carried with him dispelled the chill.
Amidst the white mist, Allen calmly raised his hand.
The vortex in his palm, like a red lotus in flames, emanated heat that instantly vaporized the mist!
Flame Dragon Claw!
Scorching magic, accompanied by a gravitational field, was applied to the High Winter Wolf, lifting it into the air.
Crackling!
The High Winter Wolf's icy armor was crushed by the Flame Dragon Claw, melting and evaporating.
A miserable wolf howl echoed across the snowy plains.
Betting and Taffman rushed to the scene following the sound.
They only had time to see Allen's five fingers exert force, and with a "whoosh," he twisted the High Winter Wolf's thick neck through the air.
Plop!
The wolf carcass fell to the ground, sending up a shower of snow.
Five charred marks appeared on the snow-white wolf hide.
Alan approached the wolf carcass, expertly dissecting it and removing its heart.
The heart, red with a hint of blue, was as large as a washbasin.
He lifted it with one hand, activated his Flame Dragon Claw, and roasted it over a fierce fire.
With his left hand, he performed the "seasoning technique," sprinkling salt, cumin, and chili powder—the three magic weapons of barbecue—onto the carcass, creating a tantalizing aroma!
Alan devoured the roasted wolf heart and then pulled out a pair of large kidneys. He split them in half, removed the staleness, and roasted them until they sizzled and ooze oil.
As respectable people in the upper class, we must eat large kidneys!
Alan ate one of the two roasted kidneys and casually tossed the other behind him.
Snap!
Tafman raised his hand and caught the roasted kidney flying towards him.
Seeing this, Beiting's pretty face instantly lost its color.
It was obvious that the "Invisibility Orb" hadn't fooled Allen; she and Taffman had been exposed!
"What should we do?" the wolf girl nervously asked her boyfriend. "Should we retreat?"
Taffman sniffed the roasted kidney and swallowed.
"It's so rude to leave without eating the barbecue someone gave you!"
"Wait a minute!"
Beiting hurriedly cast "Detect Toxin."
After confirming that the roasted kidney had no toxin reaction, she felt relieved.
Taffman took a bite of the roasted kidney and nodded in approval.
"Delicious! Want some too?"
Beiting hesitated, then shook her head slightly.
It smelled delicious, but she still had to maintain the reserved demeanor of a Wolf Princess.
She was so unladylike chewing on the roasted kidney that her mouth was dripping with oil. "Alan was your former junior fellow apprentice, after all. Judging from his willingness to offer food, I don't think he harbors any hostility."
"Hubby, try to get close to him later. Maybe you can get the remaining wolf carcasses and extract their essence."
Tafman swallowed the last piece of roasted kidney and whispered, "With my junior apprentice's appetite... if he eats to his heart's content, at most he'll leave you with a few wolf hairs."
Beiting's mouth twitched, and her face darkened.
She had heard of Alan's reputation as a "big eater."
Seeing him today was even better than hearing about him!
High-level winter wolves are not easy to find.
She could only pray silently that Alan would be kind.
Beiting's prayers were not in vain.
Alan was being particularly polite today.
Aside from the wolf heart and kidney, he only ate one serving of basal blood vessel sashimi.
Ding ding—
"Consume special ingredient: High-level winter wolf's basal blood vessels!"
"Potential +3!"
"Constitution +1!"
Current Attributes: Constitution 52, Agility 38, Spirit 58
Potential Reserve: 32 points
…
Alan also extracted the blood essence of the High-level winter wolf, drawing from it cold resistance.
Directly raising his own cold resistance to level 5!
Though it wasn't as powerful as the "Snake Mother's Tears," it was, after all, a special ability he had evolved from within, requiring no external aid.
Putting away the blood bottle, Alan turned back to Beiting, his gaze cold.
"Are there any sea monsters around here?"
The wolf girl didn't dare meet his gaze.
A trembling finger pointed northward, toward the surface of the sea where glaciers floated.
Alan took out a pen and paper, handed it to Beiting, and asked her to draw the image of the sea monster she had witnessed.
The more realistic the drawing, the more likely it would serve as a model for her locating the true occulter.
Beiting didn't dare refuse his request, so she gritted her teeth and began drawing.
However, she had no formal drawing experience, and her nervousness made her strokes crooked and distorted.
The sea monster she drew looked like a child's scribble.
Alan watched from the side, his brows furrowed.
Beiting sensed his rising anger, and fear grew in her, her hand trembling even more nervously, and her drawing of the sea monster became increasingly abstract.
Tafman couldn't bear to watch any more, so he snatched the pen and paper and began to sketch.
To be a direct disciple of Panson, two qualities were essential: well-developed muscles and artistic talent.
Taffman's artistic talent was evident in his painting skills.
In less than ten minutes, he had created a beautiful sketch of a sea monster.
A massive squid emerged from the sea, its tentacles clinging to the iceberg, a lifelike sight.
Alan retrieved his pen and paper and nodded with satisfaction.
He kicked the wolf corpse over as a token of his gratitude.
Beiting watched Alan turn and leave, breathing a sigh of relief.
She hugged Taffman's arms, her eyes full of stars.
"Honey! So you can draw! You draw beautifully!"
Taffman shook his head and smiled innocently.
"My paintings are too artificial, and the quality isn't high."
"They're not as good as yours. They're fresh, simple, and full of childlike charm."
"Honey! You're so kind..."
Beiting's pretty face flushed, her heart aching.
If there weren't that annoying guy hanging around nearby, I'd have pushed Taffman to the snow, stripped him of his pants, and executed him right there.
On the shore of the icy sea.
Alan sat on the ground, a circular ice mirror in front of him, and next to it, a sea monster drawing by Taffman.
"Apacenya!"
Chanting the spell symbolizing "foresight," Alan activated a fourth-level "Scrying" spell, following the pattern and searching for the deep-sea squid.
Rhythmic waves of magic power emanated from the mirror, searching for targets that matched the image.
From near to far, they searched for targets that matched the image.
The first similar target they locked onto would appear on the mirror.
Through the mirror, Alan could see the target directly and even hear its movements.
The entire scouting process was likely quite lengthy.
Fortunately, Allen was right by the sea, close to the water, making it easier to detect sea monsters.
It took about ten minutes for Allen to sense a suspected target.
Then came the second, the third, the fourth...
Ten thousand feet below the seabed, a gathering of several deep-sea squid!
This was an unusual phenomenon.
A top predator as large as deep-sea squid doesn't usually live in groups.
Even during mating season, males and females cohabit for a short period before parting ways.
Curious, Allen magnified the mirror to observe the angle of view.
The ice crystal mirror was pitch black.
It faithfully reflected the ten thousand-foot deep sea, devoid of any light.
Fortunately, "Dark Vision" and "Clairvoyance" could be combined with "Detection," allowing Allen to clearly see the murky seabed.
The results were beyond Allen's expectations! On the seafloor, there were unexpected ruins resembling an ancient temple.
Seven adult deep-sea squid nested around the ruins, seemingly guarding something.
Alan paused his exploration, closing his eyes in deep thought.
The memories of the ogre wizard's ancestors were a treasure.
Many forgotten historical details of the ancient battles between sea and land monsters were stored in the ancestral memories.
"That's right..." Alan muttered to himself, "It must be the remains of the Leviathan Temple!"
The deep-sea squid, following the will of their ancestors, have guarded the abandoned temple for generations. There must be a reason!
Alan speculated that deep within the temple, the deep-sea squid's idol, the legendary Kraken, might be slumbering!
This monster had a habit of long hibernation.
A century of sleep wouldn't be surprising.
Allen wasn't content with simply hunting deep-sea squid on this trip.
The Kraken, the giant kraken, was his desired prey.
Sacrificing the flesh and blood of deep-sea squid could only awaken ordinary behemoths.
The Kraken's heart, on the other hand, could awaken even more powerful elemental behemoths!
...
Betting was a shrewd woman.
Seeing that Allen held no hostility toward her or Taffman, her fear gave way to curiosity.
After obtaining the blood essence of the high-level winter wolf, she wasn't in a rush to leave.
Pulling Taffman along, they hid in a nearby snow cave, secretly observing Allen's actions.
She wanted to understand what this boy's purpose was in hunting sea monsters.
"Honey, does your junior brother have sea monster blood?"
"No."
"Then why does he hunt sea monsters?"
Tafman pondered for a moment, then guessed, "Perhaps his relatives need them, or maybe he's selling them for money."
Beiting remained silent, then asked, "With Alan's abilities, can he take down a deep-sea squid?"
"Deep-sea squid are fifth-tier sea monsters, and Alan's cultivation is at the late fifth stage. It shouldn't be difficult to kill a deep-sea squid, but..."
Tafman hesitated, secretly worried.
Alan wasn't a water mage; his strength was greatly diminished once he entered the water.
At this moment, Alan suddenly stood up, swiftly stripped off his clothes, shoes, and socks, and stuffed them into his storage bag.
"It seems he's determined to go into the sea."
Beiting shook her head and frowned.
"Challenging a deep-sea squid in the ocean isn't a good idea!"
Tafman shared the same concerns.
However, he knew that Allen always acted cautiously. Since he had decided to dive in and hunt the sea monster, he was likely confident of victory.
As the two watched, Allen's body gradually became transparent.
Flesh and blood, transformed into a water man!
"What kind of bizarre trick is this?!"
Beiting was shocked again.
"He doesn't have elemental blood, so how can he transform into a water element?"
Tafman spread his hands and smiled bitterly.
Junior Brother Allen had so many tricks up his sleeve that he couldn't understand them.
Three-phase phantom, liquefied form!
Liquid Allen merged into the ocean.
Unaffected by water pressure and currents, he swam freely.
The cold resistance granted by the newly absorbed winter wolf blood essence came in handy immediately.
The bitterly cold waters of the polar depths proved no obstacle to him.
Alan descended at breakneck speed, quietly approaching the ruins of the underwater temple.
…
On the shore.
Betting and Taffman silently watched the waters where Alan was diving, their eyes filled with tension and anticipation.
After an unknown amount of time, the calm sea surface suddenly gave way to a raging storm!
A massive whirlpool was forming right where Alan was diving.
"Oh no! The sea monster is angry!"
Betting clutched Taffman's hand tightly, ready to teleport away at any moment.
"Deep-sea squids aren't just giant squids; they're incredibly intelligent and skilled in magical water manipulation!"
"That boy, Allen, was so arrogant! He actually tried to hunt sea monsters in the deep sea, angered them, and got trapped in a whirlpool. He's in big trouble!"
Beiting had no personal grudge against Allen, but it was only natural to gloat over the misfortune of a competitor in the trial field.
Taffman's brows furrowed, his heart pounding.
He wanted to jump in to support Allen.
But he wasn't a skilled swimmer, and he had no good reason to convince Beiting to take such a risk.
At that moment, the waves grew increasingly violent!
Large chunks of ice floating on the nearby surface, pulled by the current, drifted toward the whirlpool.
They collided with each other, emitting a terrifying roar.
Right before Beiting and Taffman's eyes, a massive mountain-like glacier shattered and was instantly swallowed by the whirlpool.
The raging sea was thrilling!
Swish!
A figure suddenly burst from the surface.
In the blink of an eye, it teleported to the shore.
It was a transparent aquaman!
Taffman breathed a sigh of relief, his long-suspenseful heart sinking back to his stomach.
Betting gaped in astonishment, eyes filled with disbelief.
"That kid, Alan... actually escaped the whirlpool's clutches, pursued by a sea monster, and returned to shore! He's got some luck!"
In reality, it wasn't Alan who was lucky, but rather a certain deep-sea squid who was unlucky.
Before he even reached the bottom, this creature surfaced in search of food.
The encounter led to a minor friction, causing a small commotion that surprised Beiting and Taffman.
Alan hadn't returned alone.
He was clutching a small squid, about half a foot long.
After landing, Alan released his three-phase illusion and returned to human form.
Considering he would have to go into the sea soon, he didn't rush to dress.
Standing naked in the snow, his damp skin glowed with a healthy bronze hue, unfeeling the cold.
Looking at the still-squirming squid, Alan yanked its head off with a casual tug.
Chi!
A stream of ink gushed out, dotting the snow with black spots.
Deep-sea squid ink is highly toxic.
However, a mere Level 5 toxin was nothing more than a condiment for Alan's noodles.
The squid's vitality was quite resilient; even with its head missing, it wasn't completely dead.
Alan cast "Break the Barrier" on the still-living squid's body, lifting the transformation curse.
The headless squid expanded rapidly!
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a giant sea monster!
Not counting its tentacles, its headless torso was thirty meters long!
It lay like a stranded ship on the snow.
Just now, at the bottom of the sea, Allen silently cast "Malicious Transfiguration," transforming the deep-sea squid into a small one and bringing it back to land.
Easily dispatching a fifth-tier sea monster, it was time for a delicious meal.
Allen approached the squid, a wriggling mountain of flesh, and gathered its blood essence. Using his hand as a knife, he chopped off two of its thickest and longest tentacles.
Each was as thick as a sailboat mast, still limp and twisted, like two giant pythons.
"Uré!"
Allen chanted a spell.
He stretched a wall of fire across the snow, encircling the squid's tentacles. The fierce flames roasted them, causing them to curl and sizzle.
A minute later, Allen extinguished the wall of fire.
He swung his vortex claws through the air, lifting the two squid tentacles from the melting ice and casting a spell to season them.
One in each hand, he devoured them with big mouthfuls!
Ding-dang—
"Eat special ingredient: Deep-sea squid tentacles!"
"Potential +3!"
"Constitution +1!"
Current Attributes: Constitution 53, Agility 38, Spirit 58
Potential Reserve: 35 points
…
Alan devoured the two large squid tentacles in a flash.
He licked his fingers and sighed with satisfaction.
The Origin Secret Realm is truly a wonderful place!
The endless supply of special ingredients makes it perfect for a gourmet like him.
Beiting watched Alan from afar enjoying his second snack of the day, a series of soul-searching questions forming in her mind.
"Is that kid's belly a bottomless pit?"
"He's already eaten so much, why isn't he satisfied?"
"He wouldn't eat the whole deep-sea squid, would he?"
Alan needed to save his appetite for more delicious delicacies and had no interest in the remaining deep-sea squid meat.
He removed the deep-sea squid's heart and saved it for the sacrifice. The rest was injected with digestive fluid to destroy the body.
Beiting this, she stamped her feet in anger, deeply disappointed.
She secretly blamed Alan for being stingy, for dashing her hopes of getting the deep-sea squid's blood essence for free.
Alan stuffed the massive deep-sea squid heart into his storage bag, transformed it into liquid form again, and dived into the polar deep sea.
This time, his target was... the Kraken!
...
The polar ice sea.
Thousands of feet deep, dark and cold.
Aside from a few sea monsters, there were almost no signs of life.
A liquid figure, vaguely resembling a humanoid, quietly swam through the deep sea, unnoticed by the nearby sea monsters.
Liquid Alan had already descended to the ruins of the underwater temple.
He advanced toward the center of the ruins, the only light in the darkness.
A gigantic bubble glowed with magical fluorescence.
Like a large, transparent bowl, it sat upside down on the abyss.
Approaching the bubble, Alan felt the water temperature drop dramatically.
Strangely, the seawater, already below freezing, showed no signs of solidifying.
It simply became extremely viscous, like a mass of gel.
The source of this strange phenomenon lay within the Kraken, dormant deep within the ocean's source.
The glowing bubble created a ten-mile-wide chill.
Even deep-sea squids dared not approach.
The Level 5 cold resistance Allen had acquired from the High Winter Wolf wasn't enough to withstand a dunk in this supernaturally icy water.
He would have frozen to death in less than three minutes.
Luckily, in addition to his own cold resistance, he also possessed the Tears of the Snake Mother.
This orb, hailing from the ancient serpent god, helped Allen ward off the bone-chilling cold until he reached the glowing bubble.
The bubble was enormous, with a radius exceeding a mile.
Alan hovered before it, as tiny as a speck of dust.
The bubble, surging with the currents from the depths of the abyss, alternately expanded and contracted.
Alan guessed that the currents were the Kraken's breath, expanding the seawater and forming the enormous bubble.
Why did the bubble glow?
Because every time the Kraken exhaled, it unleashed a powerful electrical current!
Countless arcs of electricity flowed along the bubble's inner walls, resembling silver snakes! The gas inside the bubble was ionized, forming a massive, natural plasma light-emitting device, or simply, a "bulb."
Alan reached out and touched the outer wall of the "bulb."
His liquid fingertips hissed, sparks erupting.
The test results were mixed.
The good news was that the fifth-order resistance Alan had absorbed from the demon was barely enough to withstand the supernatural electric shock within the bubble.
The bad news was...the bubble's outer wall was more flexible and stronger than it appeared, and it also had a barrier that blocked teleportation magic.
Unless the bubble was pierced, entry was impossible.
In liquid form, Alan's limbs lacked rigidity.
Even with his beastly armor activated and the Steel Rake energized, he couldn't penetrate the bubble and reach the depths of the abyss where the Kraken slept.
After a moment's thought, Alan activated his fifth-order Atavism and simultaneously used the secret technique of "Three-Phase Illusion" to transform into his crystalline form. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a crystal giant with a leopard's head and a human body.
His entire body was crystal clear, as if carved from diamond.
Shifting into crystal form, Alan's physical hardness, natural defense, and even damage-reducing armor doubled!
Using his hand as a blade, empowered by the Steel Rake, he thrust at the bubble with all his might!
Swish!
His crystal-clear palm, like a sharp saber, instantly pierced the bubble!
High-pressure airflow, accompanied by high-voltage electricity, surged forth!
Before this, Alan had already transformed into a ball of silver mist, passing through the cracks in the bubble and instantly teleporting inside!
The next second, the tiny cracks in the bubble healed automatically.
The passage to and from the abyss was once again closed.
Alan had barely escaped this ordeal, barely having time to breathe a sigh of relief.
The environment inside the bubble was ten times harsher than outside!
Every time the Kraken exhaled, a lightning storm followed!
Alan's resistance to electric shock was gradually faltering.
Turning back now seemed like the wiser option.
However...
Having come all this way, wouldn't it be a shame to return empty-handed?!
Alan gritted his teeth and decided to persevere a little longer.
After all, he had the Trial Ring to protect him, and he was qualified to risk his life!
The Kraken's breath was long and lingering.
A single exhalation lasted ten minutes.
Alan endured the torment of the storm and electric shocks, silently waiting.
Until the Kraken inhaled.
Air in the seawater then emanated, seeping in through the bubbles, creating a siphon effect.
Alan, guided by the currents, dove to the bottom of the abyss, challenging the Kraken!
...
On the shore, Beiting and Taffman were still watching.
"That boy, Alan, has already hunted a deep-sea squid, why is he going into the sea again?"
The wolf girl muttered to herself, her suspicions growing.
Taffman had a general idea of Alan's intentions, but he had to hide the truth from his girlfriend.
Seeing Beiting's suspicions about Alan's strange behavior, he had a bad feeling.
"You've already obtained the blood essence of a high-level winter wolf. There's no need to waste time here. It's better to return to Origin Castle and retreat to integrate the blood essence."
Taffman advised.
He was worried that Beiting's excessive curiosity would hinder Alan, exacerbating the conflict between the two, leaving him caught in the middle, feeling torn.
"I'm not leaving!"
Beiting looked willful.
"That kid's so secretive, there must be something going on!"
"Let's be patient and wait a little longer. We'll figure out Alan's repeated trips to the sea. Maybe we can reap some benefits!"
At this point, the wolf girl's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Tafman sighed, feeling helpless.
In his eyes, his wife was perfect, with only two minor flaws.
She loves to be clever!
She loves to take advantage of small opportunities!
Any opportunity to take advantage, even if it's just a tiny profit, is enough to make her jump for joy.
Betting could already smell the potential for profit in what Alan was doing...
With her temper, she had to stay put!
Tafman's thick brows furrowed as he pondered how to reasonably stop Beiting from this suicidal act!
As the couple pondered their own plans, the situation at sea suddenly changed! This time, not only did the sea surge, but the weather above it also suddenly changed!
In a blink of an eye, a violent storm raged, and the waves surged!