This morning, Wang Yu discovered that he had been reborn with his wind-elemental ability, awakened after the apocalypse, and a treasure he obtained before his death in his previous life.
In his past life, to advance to the King level, Wang Yu fought with several other ability users of level six for this treasure. During the melee, he managed to snatch the treasure using his wind-elemental ability's speed advantage, but he was then pursued and cornered by everyone else, sustaining severe injuries.
In desperation, he accidentally entered the treasure. However, not long after, he succumbed to his serious wounds and died.
This treasure was rather unique, and it was only this morning, after exploring it, that he understood everything about it.
Simply put, it was a crystal stone.
Attached to his left palm, it transformed into a circular mark and returned with him to before the apocalypse.
Inside it was a secret realm spanning a hundred kilometers in radius. This size was only slightly smaller than the entire area of the South China Sea islands.
Within the secret realm, Wang Yu obtained a storage ring, a book, and a spirit herb.
The storage ring had a space of 10,000 cubic meters.
The book detailed the secret realm's information and the spirit herb's effects.
This spirit herb was named "Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass" (化灵仙草). Its function was similar to the "Form Transformation Grass" (化形草), but it was far more advanced.
Upon consuming the spirit herb, Wang Yu could transform into a walking, form-transforming grass. When demonic beasts smelled his aura, they would be as captivated as cats smelling catnip, unable to resist.
This was because Wang Yu's aura could assist demonic beasts in transforming. As long as they stayed by Wang Yu's side, demonic beasts could greatly accelerate their transformation process and achieve 100% successful transformation without failure.
"The secret realm, the Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass, my wind-elemental ability, and the advantage of my reborn memories – these are all my capital for challenging the King level, and even reaching the peak!"
Having been given a second life, Wang Yu naturally was unwilling to live an ordinary existence.
In his past life, he was merely a level six wind-elemental ability user. Level six was considered only moderately strong. Above level six were level seven King level, level eight Emperor level, and the yet-to-be-breached level nine!
Furthermore, three years after the apocalypse, a piece of news spread from an unknown source, stating that the ultimate evolutionary direction for ability users might be eternal life.
Many people didn't believe it, but some did. This was because, after reaching the King level, ability users' lifespans did indeed increase significantly, which was universally acknowledged.
As for Wang Yu's wind-elemental ability, it wasn't a particularly rare or powerful ability. However, since awakening an ability only had a chance upon reaching level four, Wang Yu, who already possessed an ability at this point, was likely unique among current humans.
Of course, Wang Yu's current ability was still very weak and required him to increase his strength level to become more powerful.
But this didn't affect his ability to possess overwhelming strength compared to others.
Imagine, after the apocalypse broke out, while other survivors were still killing zombies with their bare hands, Wang Yu could already launch almost invisible wind blades to attack. How astonishing would that be!
At that time, having loyal subordinates willing to die for him and beautiful women flocking to him wouldn't be difficult.
However, Wang Yu wasn't contemplating these matters. He was currently on his way to a small supermarket.
Though called a supermarket, it was more like a convenience store.
Wang Yu surveyed it. The storefront was small, and inside, there were only three shelves, making it feel cramped.
"Boss, I'm here to buy something good."
"Something good?" The boss scrutinized the young man before him. "How much 'something good' are you looking for?"
Wang Yu smiled faintly. "About ten thousand."
The middle-aged male boss looked somewhat surprised and asked, "I haven't had this for long. Who told you about it?"
"Brother Sun told me."
Upon hearing this, the boss no longer doubted and stood up, walking towards the back. "Then follow me."
Who was Brother Sun?
In his past life, Brother Sun was an evolved individual Wang Yu encountered in the early days of the apocalypse.
"Evolved individual" was a general term; those who awakened abilities were usually called ability users.
Brother Sun possessed a treasured sword that was worth ten thousand before the apocalypse; it was extremely sharp.
From chatting with him, Wang Yu learned that he had obtained it from this boss, and they were acquaintances.
It was with this sword that Brother Sun was able to protect himself and kill zombies to become an evolved individual after the apocalypse.
The boss took out a long wooden box from a cabinet.
He retrieved a sword about eighty to ninety centimeters long and handed it to Wang Yu.
"I spent a long time making this in my hometown, using genuine Damascus steel."
"Charging you ten thousand is definitely not expensive."
Wang Yu took it in his hand and felt the blade, noting the faint Damascus patterns on it.
He flicked it with his finger; its toughness was excellent.
Its sharpness had already been tested by Brother Sun.
In this regard, it was indeed a good sword and worth the price.
"Boss, do you have any other swords? Get me a few ordinary ones."
"Of course." As he spoke, the boss took out another wooden box from the cabinet.
"This one is made of manganese steel. It's cheap and good. Since Brother Sun introduced you, you can have it for two thousand."
Wang Yu nodded, not bothering to open it.
"How many of these do you have?"
"I only have five here."
"Then give me all of them. Do you have any smaller daggers?"
"Daggers?" The middle-aged boss was a bit confused. What was he doing buying both swords and daggers?
If it were for collecting, he would only buy good items. Ordinary swords and daggers are generally not collected by anyone.
However, he didn't ask and instead took out a rolled-up cloth strip from the cabinet. When unrolled, it was filled with daggers of various styles.
"This one."
Wang Yu picked up a pure metal dagger, about fifteen centimeters long. It didn't look very threatening, more like a small ornamental item.
"How much for one of these?"
"One hundred each, but since you're Brother Sun's friend, I'll only charge you eighty."
Wang Yu pondered for a few seconds and then said, "Two hundred each. Make them as sharp as possible, and I want a thousand of them. Can you have them ready in five days?"
"A thousand?" The middle-aged boss was shocked. This was two hundred thousand. Buying a thousand daggers at once, this wasn't just for fun, was it?
It wasn't for fun. Generally, ability users solely relied on their abilities for attacks. However, in his previous life, Wang Yu innovatively developed a combat method where he wrapped weapons with his wind-elemental ability. This was also related to the gentleness of wind power; other abilities wouldn't be as easy to use this way.
Wang Yu's current ability was very weak. He could only use wind power to wrap daggers and use them as projectiles, which would greatly conserve his ability.
Seeing the boss's hesitation, Wang Yu added, "Don't worry, I'm buying them for collection and decoration. Just tell me if you can make them in five days."
The boss quickly nodded, "Yes, yes!"
This was a twenty-thousand deal, and the cost was very low. Only a fool wouldn't make this money.
He could hire a few more blacksmiths to help him. Making these small daggers didn't require much skill.
Wang Yu paid a deposit of ten thousand and arranged with the boss to pick them up in five days. The swords would also be left there for the time being.
...
Wang Yu didn't return to school directly. Instead, he found a real estate agent near the school and rented two nicely decorated apartments, ready for immediate occupancy.
Simultaneously, he found a beautiful twenty-five-year-old female chef online who had worked in a five-star hotel, possessed excellent culinary skills, and had won awards.
They agreed on a package deal of food and accommodation, with a monthly salary of fifty thousand.
Money was about to become external possessions, so spending a little now to enjoy himself was fine.
After completing these arrangements, less than two hours had passed.
In this era, money made everything easy.
After settling in, Wang Yu locked the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and with a flash, entered the secret realm again.
He still appeared in a cave. Wang Yu had appeared here on his previous two visits.
The storage ring, book, and spirit herb were also found in this cave.
This cave was quite high up. Standing at the cave entrance, he could see mountains and forests all around, a hilly terrain.
Not far away, there was a large river and a vast lake covering about several hundred square kilometers.
Beyond the river and further north lay a range of rolling mountains.
Within the secret realm, there were primarily three major demonic beast tribes: the White Tiger, the Crimson Flood Dragon, and the Cloud Fox.
They were distributed in the hills, by the large lake, and in the mountains, respectively.
As he looked, Wang Yu finally discovered a significant problem.
That was...
He seemed unable to get down!
This damn cave entrance was on a sheer cliff face. How was he supposed to descend the mountain???
With his current weak physique, if he slipped even once, wouldn't he die again?
No, he had to find a way.
Wang Yu stood at the cave entrance, stroking his chin, deep in thought.
"Got it!"
"Didn't they say that demonic beasts are drawn to the aura of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass?"
"This area is the gathering place of White Tiger demonic beasts. As long as I emit the aura of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass, perhaps I can attract a White Tiger to take me down."
No sooner had he thought of it than he began to activate the aura of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass.
Before long, the sounds of tiger roars erupted from the forest below.
They echoed one after another, never ceasing.
After a few minutes, the roaring stopped.
Immediately after, Wang Yu saw a white tiger over three meters long galloping up from the foot of the mountain.
Good heavens!
As expected of a cat, no, as expected of a demonic beast, climbing this sheer cliff was like playing.
With a roar, the white tiger leaped up, landing on the flat ground at the cave entrance.
It stared directly at Wang Yu, and Wang Yu stood still, looking back at it.
Although Wang Yu wasn't afraid, he didn't dare to move rashly.
His physical body was still too weak. He was no match for an ordinary tiger, let alone this demonic beast white tiger.
The white tiger slowly approached Wang Yu. When it reached him, it sniffed with its nose, as if confirming something.
Then, it nudged Wang Yu with its large head and even licked him a few times with its tongue.
Wang Yu let out a soft sigh of relief, relaxing.
It seemed the book was right; demonic beasts were indeed friendly towards him!
Wang Yu also reached out and stroked the white tiger's head.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that this white tiger was well-proportioned, and its fur was very shiny and dense.
It also felt good to the touch, not as coarse as an ordinary tiger's.
Wang Yu continued to pet it vigorously, stroking its back and belly.
"Huh, you're a female?"
The white tiger didn't understand what he meant but let out a roar in response.
"Oh, you haven't drunk my blood yet."
"Wait! I'll give you a drop right away."
This was another marvelous use of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Grass: a drop of his blood could enable him to communicate with demonic beasts without barriers, increase their favorability towards him, and even help heal their injuries.
As he spoke, Wang Yu bit his index finger and, with his other hand, stroked the white tiger's head. "Open your mouth."
To his surprise, the white tiger actually opened its mouth wide, waiting obediently.
This... it must be attracted by the blood overflowing from his finger.
"One drop, two drops. Alright, here's an extra drop as a welcome gift."
After about half a minute, the white tiger slowly opened its eyes. A spark of intelligence appeared in its tiger eyes.
It looked remarkably lively and seemed to have gained much more emotion.
"Roar! (Master!)"
"Oh?" Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, somewhat delighted. "It can speak so quickly."
And its voice was quite pleasant, like that of a young girl among humans.
Of course, only Wang Yu could hear it; to others, it was just a roar.
"How many White Tigers are there nearby?"
"Roar."
"What's your status in the tribe?"
"Roar."
Wang Yu nodded. In such a vast expanse of forest, there were only dozens of White Tigers.
He didn't know if it was due to the difficulty of demonic beast reproduction or the influence of the secret realm.
However, these things didn't matter much to him.
The white tiger before him was considered a leader, or rather, the White Tiger matriarch.
"You'll follow me from now on. By staying by my side, you can transform faster."
"Roar! (Okay!)"
"Then I'll give you a name. How about... Hu Niu (Tiger Girl)?"
"Roar?"
"Yes, this name is good and very fitting. It's decided happily."
Whether the name was truly good, Hu Niu didn't know, and no one else knew at this moment.
Hu Niu: As long as you're happy.