When he activated his Liquid Life skill, the volume of the resulting liquid was proportional to his body size. The larger his body, the greater the volume of liquid after the transformation.
At his current size, if he split into ten Liquid Clones, each one would already be the size of a dwarf. If he split into even more parts in the future, each might only be a few centimeters or even millimeters tall, and being too small would be a huge disadvantage in a fight.
But if he had a size-increasing skill like the River Fish Monsterâs, it would be a different story. He could split into ten clones, and each one could still be a three-meter-tall giant.
Of course, Su Ze wouldnât be tempted if the skill only increased oneâs size. After all, if a Tier-5 skill only made you bigger, that would be a bit lame. But from the looks of it, the River Fish Monster had clearly received multiple buffs after enlarging itself, even strengthening its various skills.
This solidified Su Zeâs determination to choose the River Fish Monsterâs extract!
At this point, Su Zeâs biggest headache was how to obtain a vial of Tier-5 extract. So, presented with this opportunity, he was determined to seize it.
In contrast, he wasnât too worried about the Tier-4 extract he needed to absorb next. If worst came to worst, he could team up with Mrs. Yun and Mr. Ya to hunt one himself. Or he could sell everything he owned and hire people from Evolutionary Technology to hunt for him. He could also save up enough contribution points to have one of the overlords in Dongli do the job.
He had just obtained Bai Guishouâs Storage Ring. Su Ze estimated that selling its contents would probably be enough to buy a Tier-4 S-grade extract.
But as for a Tier-5 extract, without a heavyweight like Chen Suifeng to help with the hunt, Su Ze truly had no idea where heâd get one.
Chen Suifengâs advice came from a good place, so Su Ze could only explain, "This River Fish Monsterâs poison spike skill is a higher-tier version of one of my own skills. I want the River Fish Monsterâs extract to upgrade that skill later on, not to absorb as the primary extract for my evolution."
Hearing Su Zeâs explanation, Chen Suifeng relented a bit.
Just then, Feng Bqing lost his senses again and began fighting the River Fish Monster with his life on the line to protect "Qiangzi."
Su Ze tried to persuade him, "I know you originally only planned to help me hunt a Tier-4 monster, but weâve happened to run into this Tier-5 one, and we even have a free helper. An opportunity like this is rare..."
"Fine, Iâm in!" Chen Suifeng cut him off. "I owe you one."
He still felt a bit guilty for putting Su Ze through several life-or-death situations.
Chen Suifeng leaped into the air and joined the fray, ganging up on the River Fish Monster with Feng Bqing.
The River Fish Monster realized it had overplayed its hand. Ganged up on by two experts of the same tier, it was already too late to flee.
...
Just over ten minutes later, the River Fish Monster was ensnared by countless vines sprouting from Feng Bqingâs body. Then, Chen Suifengâs two giant hands of mist crushed its head.
Like a deflating ball, the River Fish Monster rapidly shrank and shriveled, becoming a small fish barely larger than a personâs palm.
Chen Suifeng snatched up the River Fish Monsterâs corpse, while Feng Bqing paid it no mind, his only thought to find "Qiangzi."
But Su Ze had already transformed into his liquid state and hidden himself in the river.
Chen Suifeng immediately took the River Fish Monsterâs corpse and flew downstream, leaving Feng Bqing to search all over for his target.
...
Downstream, Su Ze and Chen Suifeng regrouped.
Using an extractor, Chen Suifeng drew out the River Fish Monsterâs extract. He handed the cyan-colored substance to Su Ze, then tossed him the remaining dead fish.
"Be careful with this stuff, itâs poisonous," Chen Suifeng warned. "Itâs a Tier-5 toxin. At your level of evolution, if you get poisoned, thereâs basically no saving you."
Su Ze took the River Fish Monsterâs corpse and carefully placed it, along with the extract, into his storage device.
Getting a vial of Tier-5 extract on this trip was a truly pleasant surprise.
Furthermore, the dead fish was the corpse of a Tier-5 monster and was incredibly valuable. Combined with the treasures in Bai Guishouâs Storage Ring, it was more than enough to trade for a vial of Tier-4 S-grade extract.
In other words, this single trip had solved his problem of acquiring the two remaining extracts he needed for the Butterfly Stage!
"Mr. Fen, you insisted on bringing me on this hunting trip. Where exactly were you planning on taking me?"
The hunting trip was already a resounding success, so Su Ze couldnât help but wonder why Chen Suifeng had insisted on bringing him along.
At the mention of this, Chen Suifeng sighed with resignation. "I had originally planned to take you on a tour around Lin Hua Country. I wanted you to see the hardships our soldiers face guarding the front lines and how human evolvers risk their lives fighting monsters in the wild. I just didnât expect so many things to go wrong."
"Youâve always lived inside the Lin Hua Continent, so all youâve seen is an era of peace and prosperity. You probably havenât witnessed the other side of this world or understood humanityâs true place on this planet.
"Humanityâs situation is more dire than you can imagine!"
Chen Suifeng waved his hand. "I just didnât expect you, kid, to have provoked so many powerful enemies. I donât have the ability, nor do I dare, to parade you around any longer. In the future, once you become Saint-level yourself, youâll naturally come to see many things."
Su Ze froze. âIs Chen Suifeng trying to instill some sense of âgreater goodâ in me?â
He recalled the conversation heâd had with Chen Suifeng when they first met.
Chen Suifeng wanted to turn the tide and change humanityâs circumstances, but he lacked the power to do so. Thatâs why he retired from the military and dedicated himself to education.
He wanted to cultivate more talent for the Lin Hua Continent, more outstanding warriors to fight for humanity.
However, his sweeping educational reforms were met with resistance at every turn and had not been successful.
Su Ze began to understand. "Iâm sorry," he said apologetically, "but I donât have your kind of grand perspective. I canât carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Iâm just single-mindedly pursuing power. I want to get stronger, take out a few of my enemies, and live a more comfortable life. Thatâs all."
"Who the hell is born with some bullshit âgrand perspectiveâ? When I was young, I couldnât be bothered with this crap. Before I joined the army, I was just a horndog in human form. All I thought about every day was sleeping with more women."
Chen Suifeng lit a Tier-4 Spirit Plant Cigarette and continued, "And donât think Iâm being meddlesome. I wanted to reform the education system, but they wouldnât let me. So, I had to settle for the next best thing: cultivating a few top-notch elites myself. Youâve met Wan Qizhi. That kidâs not bad, a real talent. Heâll definitely go further than me in the future. But heâs still a long way from being on your level.
"Whatâs the point of education if not to cultivate talent? Youâre the young person with the most potential Iâve seen in years. Even without my help, I have no doubt about what youâll achieve in the future. My concern is your lack of a sense of belongingâto the nations of the Lin Hua Continent, to the continent as a whole, and even to the entire human race.
"After all, youâre different from everyone else. Youâre a clone, arenât you?"
Su Zeâs body trembled. He looked up, meeting Chen Suifengâs gaze directly. His eyes remained calm, but inside, a storm was raging.
Chen Suifeng smiled. "Your identity may be a secret to others, but for someone at my level, finding out isnât difficult. Donât worry, though. Clones are people, too. As long as you donât betray humanity, there will always be a place for you among us.
"Besides, with me around, I still have a bit of sway among the higher-ups in the Lin Hua Continent."