The Mother of Jiang Tuo possesses a certain level of intelligence.

Although still irritable due to being in heat, it noticed there wasn't a good way to deal with the person in front of it alongside its two young crocodiles!

Direct biting or pouncing would be dodged.

Tail sweeps or claw strikes were too swift to be avoided, but the human before them would always raise that Arm Shield, mitigating the impact as much as possible!

The seemingly weak human, lacking any imposing aura, couldn't be crushed or beaten down!

Watching its two young ones tormented by a vicious poison and nearing death, while the surrounding adult offspring were too absorbed in mating to provide support!

The Mother of Jiang Tuo flew into a rage, suddenly turning and charging around wildly!

Whether by headbutting or tail swinging, it knocked those disobedient adults out of their entangled state, ignoring Bai Pu who was stabbing away from behind.

Finally, under the fiery education of the Mother of Jiang Tuo, the adult crocodiles lazily stood up, crawling towards Bai Pu, intending to tear apart the troublesome human before them and get back to business.

"Now is the time."

Bai Pu's clear voice rang out.

At the top of the hill, Zhang Gu took a deep breath.

Qi Cultivation Technique activated! Vast Righteous Qi rapidly burned, enhancing the power and duration of the next "Verbal Duel"!

At the same time, Zhang Gu opened a yellowed Confucian classic, its tattered cover vaguely showing the words "Mencius," and loudly recited:

"Even with the world's most easily produced things, expose them for one day, chill them for ten, and none can thrive..."

When reaching the words "ten days of cold," Zhang Gu suddenly closed the book! Ripples spread through the transparent air, and the ancient "cold" character materialized, shooting towards the field!

Swish!

A thick layer of frost covered the entire field.

By now, the carbon residue at the bottom had completely burned out, with no heat source left! How much carbon residue to burn and how long it would take to burn out were precisely calculated by Bai Pu.

This was a concave valley, where the heat from burning carbon rose, causing cold air to quickly rush in from the sunken valley entrance.

Alongside the ice and frost power triggered by Zhang Gu through the True Meaning of Mencius, the once warm valley instantly transformed into an ice-cold hell, dozens of degrees below zero!

The temperature in the field plummeted, and the massive temperature difference even made the robust Bai Pu shiver.

As cold-blooded animals, crocodiles inherently love warmth and fear cold; the sudden temperature drop made these crocodiles sluggish! Their satiated state affected mobility, and the state of being in heat clouded their judgment!

Instinctively, they wanted to escape this chilling hell and return to the warmth of the water; the frustration from interrupted mating spread like wildfire, fueling a desire to tear something apart to vent!

However, at the valley's mouth, Bai Pu stood ready. Though small compared to the crocodile group, he was like a nail driven into the ground!

An obstruction to be hated.

Whether returning to the water or venting frustration, these Jiang Tuo had no other target to choose.

Led by the Mother of Jiang Tuo, they lunged at Bai Pu!

On Bai Pu's shoulder, a blood-colored spell ignited inch by inch! The Professional Skill Flesh Armor activated, continuously drawing Shield Value from the surrounding crocodile group!

The Deep Red Curved Dagger left trails of blood, adding wounds to the nearby crocodiles while stacking poison layers!

Generating a shield plus life-stealing, providing double healing!

To the crocodile group's attacks, Bai Pu blocked what he could, dodged what he could.

For simultaneous multiple attacks, Bai Pu selectively endured them, trying to avoid the sharp damage of crocodile bites, opting instead to endure claw strikes and tail sweeps that dealt blunt damage!

Bai Pu felt like a small boat in a stormy ocean, struggling to hold on.

He temporarily devoured and fused a Level 3 Skeleton Warrior's Genetic Fragment, increasing his power value and enhancing his Fighting Specialization.

The specialization level boosted by temporarily fusing a genetic fragment was based on Bai Pu's own specialty level.

Bai Pu's Fighting Specialization was already at Advanced Level 2, and fusing with the Skeleton Warrior's Advanced Level 3 specialization forced Bai Pu's Fighting Specialization to Advanced Level 4!

The crocodile group moved significantly slower within the icy region created by the True Meaning of Mencius.

With Bai Pu's strength growing as theirs dwindled, he barely managed to maintain his position amidst the crocodile group's siege, always keeping his front facing the enemy!

Bai Pu's strong information collection and memory abilities proved invaluable.

His eyes were like two high-frequency cameras, recording every crocodile's attack movements and angles, quickly making judgments and reacting in advance. The mental toll was unimaginable!

...

Outside Chaisang City, about a kilometer from the battlefield.

Three figures advanced under the cover of night. One of the women held a crystal ball, clearly reflecting the scene of Bai Pu battling the crocodile horde.

"I never thought just the two of them could reach such a level," the crystal ball woman murmured softly.

She also regarded Zhang Gu as an Awakened candidate.

"Goodness, even from this distance, you can feel the ground shaking. The power of that Giant Tuo is genuinely formidable!"

"Hurry up, these two managed to unearth the task of killing the Giant Tuo, it must be worth a lot of points! Luckily, we have 'Red Crow's' divination ability, enabling us to ambush midway and steal the prize!"

The three were somewhat excited. They were also alternative Awakened candidates, taking the route of joining the logistics camp and transporting supplies to reach Chaisang City, arriving just a day later than Bai Pu and the others!

However, as the three advanced, they suddenly froze in place! A deathly white spider web was thrown over them, rendering all three immobile.

It was the "Puppet Master" Cuttlefish!

Right after, the robust Iron Crocodile charged at them, wielding a Giant Axe.

Cuttlefish's voice was clear: "For the next half hour, no one can pass."

The three candidates hoping to take advantage were shocked and furious, with the leading divination woman, "Red Crow," coldly replying, "You two alone think you can handle the three of us?"

Suddenly, the sound of battle cries erupted from all directions! A group of Red Lotus Society members charged out from all around.

The Red Crow trio, in an instant, were plunged into a fierce struggle!

...

The battle within the concave valley had reached a fever pitch.

The two-minute duration of the professional skill [Flesh Armor] elapsed, and Bai Pu could no longer gain shields from the surrounding crocodile horde.

However, by now, most of the crocodile horde had already been afflicted with multiple layers of poison! The life value Bai Pu absorbed per second had exceeded 15 points.

It's a terrifying number; as long as he isn't bitten head-on by the Mother of Jiang Tuo, his bloodline can remain somewhat healthy.

Moreover, he had the chance every two minutes to activate [Unstable Shield] to absorb damage, lifting his bloodline!

Zhang Gu, after his initial fear, gathered his courage, continuously using Verbal Duels to invoke the Power of Heaven and Earth, relentlessly attacking the wounded crocodiles.

One minute passed, then three minutes, five minutes passed.

Bai Pu had never felt time pass so slowly. Fortunately, after persisting for roughly five minutes, the surrounding crocodile horde had mostly perished.

Many crocodiles, intoxicated by their mating instincts, lost the ability to assess their own condition.

It wasn't until their life value was depleted, nearing death, that they thought to crawl away and escape. However, Zhang Gu's magic and the final poison effect drained their last sliver of life value.

Before them, only the Mother of Jiang Tuo remained! This Giant Tuo, the earliest to bear the brunt of the poisoning, was still standing strong, a truly frightening sight.

Bai Pu's Blood Fighting Qi was nearly exhausted, and his mental strength was greatly taxed, his temples throbbing.

The situation was still very perilous; although the crocodile horde had been wiped out, Bai Pu also lost the source of his life-stealing!

Luckily, the Mother of Jiang Tuo was also in a poor state.

The slowing effect brought by the Frost Arena and the weakness from excessive blood loss significantly decreased its power.

Yet, the Mother of Jiang Tuo remained a significant threat!

A claw shot out, Bai Pu, mentally fatigued, raised his shield a fraction too slow, knocked back a step, stumbling! The Mother of Jiang Tuo followed with a power-up spin, its massive tail whipping through the air!

[Mother of Jiang Tuo's Skill: Power-up Sweep activated.]

[Power-up Sweep: Channel entire body strength to launch a wide-range sweeping attack, causing severe damage based on power value, with a knockback effect.]

Bai Pu's arm shield shattered with a sound, and his entire body was flung like a baseball, crashing into the stone wall of the slope, losing 92 life points!

Though he had the resilience of [Heavy Armor Mastery], he wasn't an unmovable rock. Previously, he could hold the valley mouth, not losing position, thanks to preemptively raising his shield, successfully blocking, and deflecting much of the impact!

This mistake caused him to take the Mother of Jiang Tuo's powerful skill head-on, getting knocked away was natural.

Moreover, a single high-damage strike, the accompanying additional debilitating effect was terrifying!

Bai Pu spat a mouthful of blood, feeling at least three of his ribs fractured.

Such was the costly price of a minor mistake! The pressure Bai Pu endured in these few short minutes was imaginable!

More dire was that the Mother of Jiang Tuo, seeing Bai Pu, this troublesome obstacle, knocked away, actually twisted its massive tail and began crawling towards the valley entrance!

It intended to return to the river!

If it succeeded in returning to Jiangzhong, killing it would become exceedingly difficult!

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