From the time he learned about the Arcana trees, Ling Jiu had suspected that the mysterious energy produced by the Arcana trees had something to do with the Dark Bio-energy.

The least he expected was the mysterious energy being a downgraded Dark Bio-energy.

"I still have a question," Ling Jiu said. "How should I plant the Arcana trees so that they will grow faster and survive better?"

"The Stellar tree has tenacious vitality. It can adapt to the cold of sub-one hundred degrees and withstand nearly a thousand degrees of heat," 9527 said. "It can almost adapt to most extreme environments. Given time, it will terraform a barren planet, so the Stellar tree generally does not die easily. But if you want to improve its growth and survival rate, you can only start with the environment. The better a planet's environment, the faster the Stellar tree grows and the higher its survival rate. If it's planted on Earth, its growth rate will reach an astonishing level, absolutely far surpassing that on Mars. I think the saplings you planted on Mars were probably cultivated on Earth."

"Hmm" Ling Jiu nodded. "In other words, if I want to improve the growth rate of the Arcana trees on Mars, I should improve their growth environment?"

"That's the theory." 9527 nodded. "But the environment of Mars is so harsh. How can it be improved? All you can do is just water. But at Mars's temperature, water will freeze immediately and eventually sublimate. So it makes little sense."

"All right then." Ling Jiu gave up the idea of improving the growth rate of the Arcana trees. He left Pandora and returned to the matriculation camp on Mars.

His cell phone rang just as he had passed through the dimensional passage.

Monster invading. Return immediately.

"There has been no movement for two weeks. I have just been away for a while and things happen."

Ling Jiu grumbled as he disappeared from the camp with the dimensional marker.

...

On the Ares Plain.

Four behemoths with a height of over one hundred meters were advancing on the vast sandy ground, less than a few miles away from the sandstorm barrier built by Ling Jiu.

One looked like a lobster with two massive forceps, its body dark green and covered in blood vein-like blue gully arteries.

The second one was carrying a shell-like armor on its back, its body dark brown with yellow arteries all over. It had two pairs of hook-like forelimbs grow on the c.h.e.s.t. The large and narrow head looked like an enormous sickle, somewhat like the head of a shark.

The third one looked like a mad bull. Its body was covered in solid dark brown metallic armor, and it had a pair of horns on its head as well as huge hook-like forelimbs.

The four monsters appeared bloated and clumsy, but their movements were not slow at all. The ground trembled as they stepped on the cold sand.

At this moment, a person was trying to fight back these four monsters, hoping to stop their advances. This person was none other than Bai Ya.

She did not wait for the monster coming to the barrier, but at the moment she discovered them before launching her defensive attack.

She had only one thing in mind, which was to fend off the enemy outside their territory. She hoped to kill the four monsters while they were still on the way, lest they damaged the barrier.

Bai Ya's strategy was awesome until she engaged the monsters. She was too nave.

The four big guys' movement was not particularly fast, but they all had terrific defenses. The Annihilation Thunder that she was proud of barely scratched their skins.

Other than that, she could not inflict any substantial harm on the four monsters.

Her only consolation was the fact that she was fast as a Thunder Arcanist. Although she could not kill the four monsters, the four big guys could not attack her either, hence she was still safe for now.

"Damn it! Stop right there!"

If things kept going on like this, they would eventually destroy the barrier and the forest she had worked so hard to plant, and her two weeks of hard work would come to nothing.

"Just die here!"

As Bai Ya roared, dazzling lightning burst out all over her body. A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket shot out from her, striking the head of the lobster-like Direbeast.

Bai Ya had used up all her Gene Arcana for this strike, so it was extremely lethal.

Half of the lobster monster's head vanished, including its skull and templeslet's just call them "temples" for now.

The skull and the parts above the temple vanished in silence, leaving only the lower part below the temple, face, and mouth intact.

"Has it died?"

Exhausting her Gene Arcana, Bai Ya could no longer stay in the air or fly. As she plunged straight toward the ground, her eyes were fixated on the lobster monster.

She knew she could not stop these four monsters. So she would kill at least one, lessen the destruction that they would cause. She could protect the barrier this way, maybe?

It was a pity that Bai Ya's plan did not work. The lobster monster, without its skull, had survived. It was in pain and furious.

Roar!

The lobster monster roared into the sky, waving its massive forceps to smash at Bai Ya on the ground.

With its size and strength, if the forceps hit her, she would become dead meat instantly.

"Am I going to die?"

Bai Ya was in despair.

The footage of her childhood flashed in her mind.

On that day, a tide of Direbeasts had broken through the defenses of Jinling Base City. To protect her, her father had died tragically under the iron hooves of the Direbeasts.

She had witnessed that scene when she was still little.

Since then, the cheerful Bai Ya had disappeared. She had been replaced by an icy goddess who had nothing in mind except devoting herself to self-cultivation.

"Am I going to die?

"Perhaps, I should have died long ago.

"Dad, I'm coming to meet you."

Bai Ya slowly closed her eyes. A single pearly crystal teardrop fell from the corner of her eye as she waited for death to fall upon her.

She suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness. A pair of sturdy arms had wrapped around her, and her head was touching a warm c.h.e.s.t. This feeling was all too familiar.

Who was it?

She opened her eyes and saw a sharp chin and a familiar handsome face. It was Ling Jiu.

"He saved me again."

Looking at Ling Jiu and feeling the warmth and security of his sturdy c.h.e.s.t, Bai Ya's heart suddenly fluttered.

"Fortunately, I came in time, or else, you would have become dead meat by now." Ling Jiu took Bai Ya to safety. With her still in his arms, he looked at her, laughing at and teasing her.

"You should have been that dead meat!"

Bai Ya glared at Ling Jiu and pushed him away.

Neither of them noticed that Bai Ya was blushing. Her smitten face made her look more radiant and stunning.

"They have finally come after two weeks of waiting."

Ling Jiu looked at the four advancing beasts with high spirit. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Today, I am going to sacrifice all of you."

While speaking, Ling Jiu took out his war blade and was ready to strike.

"Be careful, they're very nasty!" Bai Ya warned. "Their movements may be a little slow, but their defenses and strength are comparable to Class 8 Direbeasts. Just be careful!"

"Don't worry! Class 8 Direbeasts are my favorite."

Ling Jiu smiled and then disappeared from the spot with his war blade. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the lobster monster.

"Where is my 40-meter war blade?"

He shouted, and the blade grew up to 40 meters in the blink of an eye. Carrying the 40-meter war blade, he started to strike.

Like a machete cutting a watermelon, the 40-meter war blade appeared above the lobster monster, cutting its skull in half.

The war blade continued its momentum and cut all the way down.

After that, Ling Jiu pulled back his war blade. The lobster monster struggled for a moment before its body split into two halves in the middle.

Blue blood gushed out from its body, and the two halves fell to the ground. The lobster monster stopped moving.

It was dead.

"Amazing!"

Bai Ya was wide-mouthed. She had exhausted all her strength and only annihilated the skull of the lobster monster. But Ling Jiu

"He is better than before," she murmured.

For some reason, there was a glimmer of joy and admiration rising within her. This was something absolutely impossible to happen last time.

It would only trigger her fighting spirit when seeing others getting stronger.

However, Bai Ya was unaware of his change. Ling Jiu certainly knew neither. He looked at the blue blood on the ground and frowned.

"This monster, the blue blood How come it looks so much like the monster in a movie?"

"Watch out!"

While Ling Jiu was in a daze, the sickle-headed monster suddenly wielded its massive forelimbs to grab Ling Jiu. Bai Ya quickly warned him upon seeing that happened.

Yet, it was still too late. The hook-like sharp claws of the sickle-headed monster got him.

Together with his 40-meter war blade, Ling Jiu was sent flying before he crashed into the ground a hundred meters away.

Meanwhile, the bull-headed monster was wagging its massive long tail with a powerful slashing motion.

Boom!

The ground trembled with dust rising to the air.

"Ling Jiu!" Bai Ya screamed.

"Damn it! How dare you attack me quietly?"

As a cursing voice rose in the distance, Bai Ya followed the voice and saw Ling Jiu standing up against the claws of the bull-headed monster. He seemed to be unhurt. Just that he looked bedraggled with sand and soil covering his body.

"This bugger always makes me worry about him."

Bai Ya quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sneak attack? Not bad!"

As Ling Jiu stared at the bull-headed monster, he grabbed it with his right hand, and the 40-meter war blade flew back into his hand.

Slash!

Ling Jiu swung the war blade, cutting off the claws of the bull-headed monster instantly.

"One more time!"

Ling Jiu leaped into the air as he roared, striking down his war blade from above.

The bull-headed monster was split in half.

"So-So ruthless!"

Bai Ya was stunned.

Two monsters were hacked to death in an instant, and this startled Bai Ya. She had tried her best yet could not even kill one. But Ling Jiu just killed two with just a couple of slashes.

He was fast.