"Give me two flowers!"
Liu Zhenghong's eyes sparkled. She was currently troubled by the Death King Tree's evolution, which might give her a whole new perspective.
"Since Lan You is so beneficial, we should think of a way to shield it. That way, too many mutated creatures wonât be drawn to it."
Little Tigerr stood nearby, watching his mount absorb energy with closed eyes, while suggesting Ye Zhongming.
Back when Lan You was still a sapling, it had already attracted the attention of two level nine creaturesâthe Human-Bear King and the Snow Wolf King. Now that it had evolved to its first stage, blossomed, and borne fruit, its allure to mutated creatures would undoubtedly be even stronger.
The location of Cloud Peak wasnât the frigid northern wastelands but deep within the heart of the countryâs territory, where the number of mutated creatures far surpassed that of the north. If they all came here to cause trouble, no matter how strong the villaâs defenses were, they wouldnât be able to hold out.
The others agreed, having witnessed firsthand its attraction to battle beastsâit was indeed something that could drive mutated creatures mad.
But unexpectedly, Ye Zhongming shook his head.
He pointed to the sky and said, "Look."
Everyone followed his finger and saw a flock of flying creatures circling hundreds of meters above. These were the same ones that had been drawn by the scent earlier, but upon reaching the vicinity of Cloud Peak, they hadnât dared to descend. Instead, they patrolled the skies.
"Mutated gray geese. Their levels are decentâthe highest is seventh, while the rest are fifth or sixth."
Everyone had sharp eyes and quickly discerned the levels of these flying creatures. They spoke casually about it, as fewer than thirty of them posed no real threat to Cloud Peak.
"Lan You constantly emits energy. Yangos, Yellow Ball, and others actively came here to evolve, clearly benefiting from it. Yet, these gray geese didnât lose their minds and recklessly swoop down. Why do you think that is?"
Faced with Ye Zhongmingâs question, everyone exchanged glances, knowing it likely came down to whether the attraction was strong enough. But Lan You was indeed a divine entity capable of directly evolving level five and six creatures, creating a contradiction.
"Boss, are you saying that if you stop casting skills on Lan You, this tree wonât emit large amounts of energy anymore?"
Gan Lan, who was at the villa today, thought for a moment before speaking up.
Ye Zhongming nodded. "You could say that, at least at its current stage of evolution. Under normal circumstances, Lan You's energy is relatively mild and wonât drive creatures mad. Just like these gray geeseâeven though they rushed here eagerly, sensing an intense desire, they didnât recklessly charge Cloud Peakâs defenses. They've even flown farther away now that Lan You has returned to normal. Their wariness of the villa and us outweighs their longing for the energy."
"Then we just leave it like this? What if a level nine creature comes one day?"
Little Tiger was still a bit uneasy. He was acting like a miser, terrified of anyone coveting Lan Youâafter all, he fantasized about riding a level nine war beast across the battlefield.
Ye Zhongming smiled without answering, while the others also stayed silent, giving Little Tiger odd looks.
Then everyone went about their businessâsome chose to stay with their battle beasts, some returned to work, some gathered to plan the next hunt, and some, with nothing else to do, simply waited to see what level the battle beasts would reach upon waking.
Little Tiger was dragged away by Candy, still looking confused. He lowered his head and asked his girlfriend where heâd gone wrong.
Candy rolled her eyes at her stubborn, inflexible boyfriend and said, "Did you forget we were just discussing when to go kill a level nine?"
Hearing this, Little Tiger gasped and smacked his own head. "Iâm so stupid! Right, if a level nine creature really comes, wouldnât that be perfect? The villaâs defense system alone would give it hell, and with our people and beasts, we could totally kill it!"
Candy said, "Took you long enough! Lan You is in the training ground, near the back mountain. If a level nine creature wants to get there, land-based ones would have to break through the front gateâthe most fortified part of the villaâand theyâd be half-dead before reaching Lan You. And if a flying level nine comes? Even better! Cloud Peakâs anti-air defenses and air force would shine, plus thereâs Yangos, Icebird, Red Hair, Sister Xia Baiâtheyâd ensure it never leaves alive."
"And underground!" Little Tigerâs eyes gleamed as he added, "Lan You even killed the Rat King. If any blind fools try to tunnel in, theyâll regret it!"
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ
Ye Zhongming waited at Cloud Peak for a day until Yellow Ball, Yangos, and the others finished absorbing the energy from Lan Youâs petals and awoke. Through communication, he learned that Yangos and Yellow Ball were now infinitely close to level nine. But to cross that threshold, they needed to comprehend something on their own.
This was the evolution lock placed on mutated creaturesâjust like the people of the Blue Realm, they didnât need potions to evolve but had to break through their limits step by step, achieving progress beyond human understanding.
Once they awoke, Ye Zhongming immediately returned to Black Dragon City. After meeting with Elder An and the others, he set out with the female guards.
Over five hundred teenagers were accompanied by Xiao Xuanâa youth army Ye Zhongming called the Youth Army.
Ever since learning this man was the Cloud Peak King, over ten thousand children aged ten to sixteen had signed up. Some factions even proactively sent eligible youths from their own forces to join Cloud Peak, hoping that once these kids became official members, theyâd reap some benefits, just like the factions in Ying City had once done.
The northern wastelands lived up to their name. Beyond Black Dragon City, the temperature dropped rapidly, with thermometers showing it had already fallen below -30°C.
And this was before even crossing the borderâthe latitude wasnât particularly high, nor was it the coldest time of year. This temperature was terrifying.
Even though evolved had high adaptability to temperature, in this environment, they still had to bundle up in thick fur coats.
Yangos in the sky had been complaining nonstop about the cold. Icebird, however, thrived in such conditionsâeven diving into a cold storm earlier and emerging unscathed, leaving the Black Dragon City kids dumbstruck. Their fear of Icebird now surpassed even that of the devil dragon, much to Yangosâs displeasure.
Ye Zhongming bringing these hopefuls out didnât mean they could rest easy, assured of a future in Cloud Peak. They had to pass a trialâonly those who survived would earn the right to join the nationâs top faction.