"Flame Frenzy told you his name is Valerian?" Chi Zhonglin looked astonished when Ji Xinghuo said this.
"I know him, but he doesn’t know me," Chi Zhonglin shook his head. "This Valerian is no simple figure. If I remember correctly, he ranks around 350th on the Global Ladder and is very renowned and powerful in the New Roman Empire."
Ji Xinghuo was also somewhat surprised.
The so-called Global Ladder, one of the three rankings set by ADC, is placed below the Heavenly King and Legendary ranks but receives the most attention.
The eligibility for the Global Ladder has only two restrictions, one is being under 50 years old, and the second is being below Legendary.
Any Mutant from any country or region in the world, if strong enough, can be ranked, with a total of 10,000 persons. To some extent, these 10,000 are the emerging forces of the globe. The higher the ranking, the stronger the power, and the higher the possibility of ascending to Legendary status.
Though 10,000 spots seem plentiful, they actually only represent a very small percentage.
Merely within the Asia-Pacific Community, there are 150,000 Super Mutants, and together with other countries’ Super Mutants, the total might exceed 500,000!
Only one out of fifty Super Mutants can make it onto the Global Ladder.
Even the last on the ladder has defeated 98% of the Super Mutants.
Moreover, not all on the Global Ladder are Super Mutants; a very few exceptional geniuses have made it onto the list as Advanced Mutants and obtained a rank. For example, Zhao Manying did so last year before she had ascended to being a Super Mutant, already entering the top 300.
There are many ways to climb the Global Ladder; the simplest is defeating someone on the list and taking their place.
Additionally, there is an evaluation system.
It assesses a Mutant’s overall combat strength from six aspects: Ability, Star Power, Physique, Martial Arts, Will, and External Factors, producing a data rating for comparison.
The Global Ladder is updated daily; ADC maintains the update frequency and accuracy of the data by investing substantial funds to recruit a large professional team tasked with information collection, data statistics, evaluations, analysis, and more, exceeding a thousand people, all to maintain the ladder’s popularity.
This has earned the Global Ladder a vast amount of exposure, allowing ADC to easily recoup its investment through advertising.
Almost all Mutants aspire to get on the Global Ladder.
Ji Xinghuo turned to look at Ren Mian beside him; with Sister Ren’s Strength, she certainly could make it onto the ladder, at least in the top 500.
However, she was not on the list.
The ADC’s ability to collect information in the Star Realm suffered significant setbacks, and since Sister Ren did not return to Earth, naturally, her information couldn’t be collected.
As for Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi, they were among the very top of the Advanced Mutants, surpassing many Super Mutants in Strength.
If they wanted to be on the list, it likely wouldn’t be a problem.
Ji Xinghuo estimated that the two would probably rank in the Global Ladder’s last 300 places, inverse to Valerian’s ranking.
Yet the Strength Valerian displayed didn’t seem very formidable.
Ji Xinghuo became even more certain that Valerian hadn’t told the truth.
"Rank 350 and above shouldn’t possess only that much Strength, incapable of dealing with a few dozens of first and second-rank Stone Lizard People," Chi Zhonglin speculated.
"It’s very possible," Ji Xinghuo nodded, even if he had saved Valerian’s life, he wouldn’t disclose his true condition. Moreover, even if Ji Xinghuo hadn’t intervened, Valerian likely had a way to escape.
"Regardless of what Valerian is hiding, it has nothing to do with us," Ren Mian ended their discussion. "Our goal is the Deep Rock Rift Valley. Before we get there, we need to minimize contact with others, especially avoiding combat with the Beiluo Shimen."
"Understood, Sister Ren," Chi Zhonglin responded.
Ji Xinghuo said no more.
The Deep Rock Rift Valley was a full four thousand kilometers away from Olympia, located at the easternmost boundary of Beiluo Shimen’s territory. On their journey, they would have to traverse dozens of Beiluo Shimen’s cities and settlements, brimming with dangers. The further they went, the greater the likelihood of encountering enemies.
Moreover, being in enemy territory, once exposed, countless enemies would pursue them.
This is why Ren Mian needed him.
Ji Xinghuo was well aware of his task, which was to lead the team to avoid the Beiluo Shimen Clan, reduce combat, and ultimately reach the Deep Rock Rift Valley.
As for what to do once they reached the Deep Rock Rift Valley, Ren Mian had yet to disclose.
Afterwards, the team continued to move forward.
Every day, they woke up to travel, resting two or three times in between, camping at night, and continuing at dawn.
The journey lasted a full fourteen Star Realm Days, which was nearly a month on Earth.
Their actual route covered far more than four thousand kilometers because they often had to detour to avoid cities and enemies, totaling over five thousand kilometers.
Even though Ji Xinghuo recovered quickly, continuously using magnetic field sensing for fourteen days of travel left his Spiritual Energy utterly exhausted.
However, using magnetic field sensing for an extended period was a form of training, making him more adept with this sensing method and extremely familiar with magnetic signals, allowing him to discern more information.
Along the way, they didn’t encounter many battles.
They were situations with few and weaker enemies, which they disposed of quickly before swiftly leaving.
They also hunted monsters dozens of times, harvesting some Alien Species.
Ji Xinghuo’s Spiritual Origin Ability accumulated to over 230 points, not very much. His Star Power also naturally increased slightly, reaching 390 points!
"We’ve finally arrived!"
The group stood on a cliff, looking ahead, and saw a vast Canyon stretching hundreds of kilometers, like a ferocious scar on the earth.
Even from several kilometers away, they could see its black crevice, surrounded by strange, jagged rocks that resembled a giant mouth ready to devour someone.
Ji Xinghuo withdrew his gaze.
He glanced at his teammates. Except for Ren Mian, who was as glamorous as ever, both Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi appeared travel-worn and weary.
Of course, the most tired was himself; his mind felt somewhat numb.
"Xinghuo, you’ve worked hard,"
Ren Mian took out a white honeysuckle and gently placed it on Ji Xinghuo’s forehead, a coolness seeping into his mind, bringing immediate relief.
"It’s still early, let’s rest for a day and enter the Deep Rock Rift Valley tomorrow,"
Soon, the group set up camp in a concealed spot several kilometers from the Deep Rock Rift Valley, ate some food, and Ji Xinghuo and the other two lay down to rest, with Ren Mian keeping watch.
He slept until the latter part of the night and when Ji Xinghuo woke up, he had fully recovered and felt refreshed.
Ji Xinghuo sat up and noticed that Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi were also awake; their energy hadn’t been depleted much by the journey, so they had recovered even faster.
"Awake?" Ren Mian smiled, "Come and have something to eat."
Jiangnan Caiyi had already prepared the food and was feeding it to Qing Hong, who hadn’t had much good food during the half-month journey.
After eating, Ji Xinghuo finally asked, "Sister Ren, what’s our hunting target this time?"
Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi also looked over.
They had wanted to know this for the past half-month, but Ren Mian had kept it a secret. Now that they were at the Deep Rock Rift Valley, it should be okay to tell them, right?
Ren Mian nodded slightly and spoke softly, "It’s a Toad Spirit."
"What’s a Toad Spirit?" Ji Xinghuo hadn’t heard of it, but he saw that Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi looked quite solemn, clearly, they knew.
"The Toad Spirit is the progeny of an ancient demonic toad," Ren Mian explained.
Upon hearing this, Ji Xinghuo’s face also changed.
The ancient demonic toad was a Star God, also known as "The Oldest One," "The Toad God." His fame might not compare to the four main gods, but he was still a top-tier Star God, just below those four.
It was said that the ancient demonic toad was one of the oldest Star Gods in the Star Realm, possibly the oldest, and he possessed spiritual energy strong enough to destroy planets!
"Don’t worry too much; it’s just an ordinary Toad Spirit,"
Ren Mian looked relaxed and smiled, "In the Star Realm, intelligent toad species claim to be the progeny of the ancient demonic toad. In reality, most of them have no blood relation to the ancient demonic toad."
"Even if it’s truly one of the ancient demonic toad’s progeny, it’s not a big deal."
"Progeny of the ancient demonic toad are as numerous as the stars in the sky; every day new toads are born and old ones are killed, that Star God wouldn’t care."
"What we need to worry about is something else."
As she said this, Ren Mian’s expression turned serious.
"What is it?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
"This Toad Spirit is a Superior monster, but it doesn’t live alone," Ren Mian explained, "It is bred by the Beiluo Shimen Clan. Below the Deep Rock Rift Valley is a city of the Stone Lizard People, and besides them, there are members of three other species dedicated to protecting the Toad Spirit."
Chi Zhonglin was puzzled, "Why protect it?"
"This Toad Spirit lays tens of thousands of eggs each year. Among these eggs, there are a few exceptions that cannot hatch, but they are a kind of space-expanding marvel."
Ji Xinghuo and the others immediately lit up.
Space-expanding marvel!
This was something all Mutants loved, never enough and the more the better.
"Toad Spirit Eggs allow the integration of another Alien Species, without limitation on Rank, and each person can only use it once," Ren Mian said, "We not only have to obtain the Toad Spirit Eggs, which should be enough for all of us to get one each, but also kill the Toad Spirit and harvest its Alien Species."
"A Spiritual Ability Species?" Chi Zhonglin asked.
"Exactly," Ren Mian nodded softly, "This Superior Toad Spirit definitely possesses ’Spiritual Energy,’ and I need this Alien Species."
Ji Xinghuo suddenly realized.
No wonder Sister Ren led the team deep into the territory of the Beiluo Shimen Clan from far away for the sake of Spiritual Energy!
Spiritual Energy was a Transcendent Alien Species, and also one of the most special Alien Species, exceedingly rare.
Because it could awaken the doorway to cultivating Spiritual Power!
There is a very powerful Professional Template on Earth called "Spiritual Power Stringer," with Spiritual Energy as its core Ability.
Spiritual Energy is a tool that can transform Star Power into intangible Spiritual Power, to be used with "Tuning Ability" to convert, shape, and control various forms of energy.
Spiritual Power Stringers have many branches.
Common ones include Thermal Stringers, Kinetic Stringers, Sound Wave Stringers and others, and uncommon ones include Electric Field Stringers, Optical Stringers, Nuclear Energy Stringers, etc.
Different branches manipulate different forms of energy.
But regardless of which branch the Spiritual Power Stringers belong to, they all possess strength far beyond ordinary professions.
Moreover, Spiritual Power Stringers rarely specialize solely in Spiritual Energy; most are multi-disciplinary, capable of combining with many Professional Templates to form advanced professions!