Chapter 74: Consuming the Five-Colored Spirit Flower, the Po Jun Sword Is Forged

Four hours later.

Inside the werewolf chieftain’s wooden hut, the petals of the prismatic spirit flower suddenly unfurled, and the fragrance in the air thickened, signaling that the flower had reached full maturity. Although this kind of medicinal herb could be harvested and consumed even before ripening, its efficacy would be halved at best. This was precisely why the werewolf chieftain and his tribe had remained stationed here for so long.

With a thought, Zhang Ran activated his spiritual power. The “spatial box” rune glimmered in his mind, and he recalled his pharmaceutical apparatus. Immediately afterward, he took out a small iron pair of scissors from the spatial box and snipped the prismatic spirit flower just above the roots, deliberately leaving the rhizome intact.

Compared to uprooting the entire plant, Zhang Ran’s method was far more prudent; by leaving the roots, the spirit flower had a chance to regrow in the future.

Having picked the flower, Zhang Ran gently broke off one of its petals and placed it in his mouth, chewing thoroughly. The petal tasted sweet and fresh, sliding down his throat and into his stomach.

As soon as the petal entered his body, it melted away, releasing streams of gentle warmth. These carried waves of evolutionary energy that coursed through Zhang Ran’s body, nourishing his cells and further strengthening his physical constitution.

One after another, Zhang Ran repeated the process with the remaining four petals, chewing and swallowing each in turn.

“Consumed Prismatic Spirit Flower, absorbed evolutionary energy. Evolution point condensation: +21.22%. Current condensation: 23.19%.”

“Consumed Prismatic Spirit Flower, absorbed evolutionary energy. Strength +0.07, Constitution +0.06, Agility +0.07, Spirit +0.14.”

Ten minutes later, the effects of the flower faded, and the chip’s notification chimed in Zhang Ran’s ear.

“As expected of a high-quality grade-2 herb; its effects are remarkable. Not only did it provide a large amount of evolutionary energy, it also gave a noticeable boost to my attributes, especially making up for my weakness in spiritual power. Excellent!”

“However, in the vicinity of Black Hawk Corporation, most areas have already been combed over by other evolutionaries. Herbs of this caliber are exceedingly rare! The truly valuable ones can only be found deep in the untamed wilderness, far beyond my current ability to reach.”

Listening to the chip’s notifications and feeling the changes within his body, Zhang Ran allowed himself a faint smile before leaving the werewolf settlement, satisfied. Guided by the chip, he set off in the direction of Black Hawk Corporation.

Two and a half hours later.

After a long trek, Zhang Ran finally emerged from the wilds and returned to Black Hawk City. Since he retraced his original path through the forest, he saved the trouble of forging a new way and moved much faster than before.

When he was still ten kilometers from Black Hawk City, Zhang Ran activated the spatial box and retrieved his equipment and spoils from within. He had no intention of exposing his spatial box ability to others.

Once inside the city’s inner sector, he headed straight for the guild hall. As usual, he made his way to the materials recovery section and turned in the resources he’d gathered on this expedition.

From the operation to eradicate the werewolf tribe, Zhang Ran had obtained materials worth nine thousand Black Hawk coins. Including the mission reward of fifteen thousand, his total earnings reached twenty-four thousand Black Hawk coins.

Even after deducting a quarter for repayments, Zhang Ran was left with nearly eighteen thousand Black Hawk coins—a sum that equated to most of an ordinary grade-2 evolutionary’s monthly income.

After leaving the guild hall, he proceeded to the trading center to restock on standard ammunition, armor-piercing rounds, and other supplies. Finally, he treated himself to a hearty meal at a local restaurant.

For the next three days, Zhang Ran continued his routine: leaving Black Hawk City each day to hunt grade-2 mutant creatures in the wilderness.

As there were no suitable missions available, he opted for free hunting, using the chip to seek out solitary grade-2 mutants.

Compared to grade-1 beasts, grade-2s were fewer in number and significantly harder to hunt. Moreover, as Zhang Ran had only just advanced to grade-2, he could no longer maintain the pace of slaying twenty or thirty grade-1s per day as he had before.

Yet even so, for a typical grade-2 evolutionary with only D-level abilities, Zhang Ran’s results were outstanding. Most evolutionaries found it nearly impossible to kill a grade-2 mutant alone and were forced to form hunting parties, with each member averaging just two or three kills per month.

In three days, Zhang Ran managed to slay seventeen grade-2 mutants, raising his evolution point condensation to 41.71%.

On the third night.

Returning from the wilds, Zhang Ran went to the mission hall to report his latest task. An employee approached and informed him to collect his custom weapon at the armory beside the factory.

“Excellent! My greatsword, ‘Breaker of Armies,’ is finally finished!”

Elated by the news, Zhang Ran promptly set off for the warehouse adjacent to the armory.

The ‘Breaker of Armies’ awaited him: a massive longsword two meters in length, with a blade measuring a meter and a half and forty centimeters across. Its edge gleamed cold and razor-sharp. The half-meter hilt was etched with special patterns to enhance grip, ensuring it wouldn’t slip even if soaked with blood.

The blade bore three pronounced spikes protruding from its surface. Upon striking an enemy, these would tear wider wounds and cause more bleeding, inflicting even greater damage.

Not only that, but the blade also emitted a faint red glow—evidence of the “Keen Edge” psionic enchantment, which altered the atomic structure of the metal to increase sharpness by twenty percent, making it even more effective against armored foes.

Of course, though the sword had a psionic enchantment, it still fell short of a true psionic weapon. Such weapons typically boasted at least three of the following enchantments: Keen Edge, Resilience, Armor Piercing, Durability, and Lightness.

Enchanting a weapon with just one attribute was relatively simple; even grade-1 evolutionary craftsmen could achieve it. But multi-enchantment required far higher skill, attainable only by advanced artisans.

Moreover, crafting a true psionic weapon required rare grade-3 or even grade-4 alloys, tough enough to withstand multiple enchantments. Such weapons cost at least a million Black Hawk coins, and could fetch tens of millions.

Zhang Ran inspected the Breaker of Armies and, finding it to his satisfaction, slung the sword over his shoulder and departed.