High Martial Arts 2077: I Rely on Beast Taming to Cultivate While Lying Down

Chapter 105 Prize Pool Rules - Map Species! Level 6 - Underground Maze Clearance Battle

The scene changes.

Several hours later, at Donglin Park.

Before the apocalypse, this park should have been a lush green space with lakes, pavilions, hills, and winding forest paths.

But now, the ground is riddled with holes, and the hill has been completely hollowed out... a scene of utter devastation.

Su Chen stood at the edge of a collapsed area, looking down.

The ground of the entire park was riddled with holes by the red-scaled rats, revealing a huge, layered underground space beneath the surface.

The exposed soil layer is not the usual yellowish-brown, but a darker, almost coppery-red color. This is a special adhesive formed by the saliva of the red-scaled rat mixed with loess. When dry, it is as hard as brick, and when wet, it is as slippery as ice.

As you walk down the slope, the scenery becomes increasingly astonishing.

The dome of the underground space is about fifteen or sixteen meters high, and at intervals there is a thick hourglass-shaped earthen pillar.

These pillars are clearly load-bearing structures intentionally left by the red-scaled rats during their excavation; the thinnest part of the pillars is only about the thickness of a person's embrace.

What's even more amazing are the ramps and stairs inside.

It was clearly not a haphazardly dug ditch, but rather had clear layers and directions. The wide main slope extended downwards in a spiral, with several branching paths at intervals leading to different nest chambers.

Su Chen walked down the path, squatted down, and touched the surface of the first earthen step beneath his feet.

Hard, smooth, and slightly cool, the red-scaled rat repeatedly rolled and compacted the loess with its saliva, creating an effect almost identical to artificial concrete.

Su Chen was shocked: If it were tiled, this would be an absolutely perfect underground palace! This was a project that no ordinary magical beast could have accomplished.

What exactly happened with the Red-Scaled Rats? This massive project seems organized; who's behind it all? What's their purpose?

More than an hour later.

It has four underground levels, with a depth of approximately 40 to 50 meters.

"Pfft~!"

The long sword was pulled out of the crimson rat's skull, and dark red blood flowed down the blade.

This red-scaled rat was as big as an adult wolfhound, and its dark red scales gleamed with a metallic sheen under the beam of a flashlight.

It twitched twice, then lay on its back with its four legs in the air and remained still.

【Task 2: A Multitude of Troops, Progress: 563 (Second Stage Data - 423) / 10000】

Su Chen shook the blood off his knife and straightened up.

The area was littered with the corpses of more than a dozen red-scaled rats.

Zhang Yan walked over from the other side, with the corpse of a red-scaled rat still impaled on the tip of her spear.

She casually tossed the corpse into the pile of bodies, then flicked her wrist, muttering, "These guys' scales are really hard! It took me three shots to pierce them; they feel harder than ordinary black demon apes. And they're only at the soldier level!"

Wang Yichuan's expression also turned slightly serious as he said, "This is very different from the description in the textbook. It's possible that... the entire Red Phosphorus Rat race has undergone a mutation!"

Su Chen glanced at the two of them, but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Let's deal with the last few first!"

Not far away, Little Purple was poking at a half-dead Red Scaled Rat with its paw.

The red-scaled rat fell to the ground, its four legs kicking wildly in the air, making a series of squeaking sounds.

Little Purple tilted its head and looked at it for two seconds, then slapped it on the head with its paw, and the barking stopped abruptly.

Zhang He squatted on the ground and skillfully used a dagger to cut open the abdominal cavity of a red-scaled rat.

He moved quickly, the tip of the knife cutting along the gaps in the scales, and with a flick upwards, the entire belly scale was peeled off completely, revealing the dark red muscle layer underneath.

"Red-scaled rats are actually quite valuable!"

He muttered to himself as he operated, his fingers reaching into the red-scaled rat's abdominal cavity, groping between the muscles and internal organs.

Soon, he pinched out a dark red bead the size of a grain of rice, looked at it in the flashlight, hummed in satisfaction, and tossed it into the cloth bag at his waist.

"Look at this... it's red phosphorus powder."

He tapped the scales on the back of the red-scaled rat with the back of his knife: "After scraping them off, they can be sold for four or five hundred federal coins per pound. They are the basic material for making incendiary bombs and fire-attribute pills."

"The teeth of the Red Phosphorus Rat are much harder than those of other rats, making them very popular for low-level psionic arrows. As for its fur... although it looks ugly, it has excellent cold resistance, and the weapon-refining workshops in the North District specifically collect these to make thermal clothing."

He reached deep into the red-scaled rat's abdominal cavity, his fingers groping along both sides of the spine before pulling out a dark red bead.

This one is a size larger than the previous one, and has a ring of very fine dark red lines on its surface.

"Lucky you! Two. One of them even has a pattern; this one alone would cost 1,500."

He held the bead in his palm and handed it to Su Chen beside him: "Look, it's not certain how many red phosphorus beads are inside a red-scaled rat. Some rats can be dug out three or four, while others have none at all. It's like opening a blind box!"

Zhang Yan leaned closer for a look, her eyes lighting up: "This one's worth 1,500 Federal Credits?"

Zhang He nodded with a smile: "Yes. Good ones, starting at two thousand!"

He then put the beads into his cloth bag and pointed to the corpses of the red-scaled rats scattered on the ground: "There are a total of 150 or 160 here. If each one averages 2,000, that's over 300,000!"

As he spoke, he dissected the abdomen of the next red-scaled rat, his movements fluid and effortless, requiring no thought what to do next.

He has repeated this dissection procedure hundreds of times!

Looking at his calloused yet remarkably steady hands, Su Chen thought to herself: Everyone has their own life.

His father wasn't particularly talented in cultivation, but he was an expert at animal husbandry! That's what made him live a life of comfort and ease.

After Zhang He finished dissecting the third one, he looked up at Su Chen and the others.

Zhang Yan was poking at the carcass of a red-scaled rat with the tip of her spear, seemingly trying to figure out where to start cutting.

Lin Xiyue, already holding a small knife, followed Wu Qing and the others' movements, digging for beads step by step. Soon she encountered a bead with dark red patterns. After getting it, she was very happy and cheered.

Zhang He couldn't help but chuckle: "You're really lucky! Everyone, hurry up, we have to get this done before dark!"

Half an hour later, the last Red-Scaled Rat was completely dismantled.

Zhang He and his men were indeed efficient; they dissected more than 70% of the 156 red-scaled rats.

The two sides had roughly the same number of people, and their efficiency was twice that of Su Chen and his group.

The cloth bag was filled with red phosphorus beads and scraped-off red phosphorus powder.

The group quickly cleaned up the battlefield and sorted and packed the dismantled materials.

In this battle, Zhang He and others contributed 40% of the combat strength. If we include their dissection skills, they could easily get 50%.

Zhang He tied the last cloth bag tightly, slung it over his shoulder, and glanced at his phone: "It's 17:33 PM. We need to get to the rest area after we finish harvesting!"

Su Chen had just wiped the blood off his longsword and was preparing to explore deeper.

He was really curious to see what exactly was wrong with the red phosphorus rats.

This way, you can not only complete the training tasks, but also improve your dungeon rating.

Hearing this, I was taken aback: "So early? There's still an hour until the sun completely sets. Besides, we brought night-vision equipment, so there's no need to rush back, is there?"

Zhang Yan peeked over from the side and added, "Exactly! We've been fighting our way here, and we've only just killed the first wave of Crimson Scale Rats! We're getting hot right now! Look at that biggest one, it's at least at the peak of the soldier level, and I still managed to pierce it through with three shots."

"It wasn't that dangerous at all~ We didn't even encounter any elite-level red phosphorus rat variants!"

Zhang He laughed: "Brother Su Chen, think about it, is the rest area an absolutely safe zone? Do you think demons will become strangely obedient and make peace at night? Will there be no fighting if you stay in the rest area at night?"

"Sometimes, the battles in the rest area at night are much fiercer than during the day! The Nether Tiger packs in the North District are specifically active at night, and the Heart-Eating Demon Ants are also more active at night! The best hunting time for the Alien Demons is from dusk to midnight!"

"Which of these monsters doesn't come out at night to hunt for food?"

"Although their main area of ​​activity is in the North City, I've heard from other adventurers that they've recently appeared in the East and West Cities as well!"

"Besides, there are quite a few demons active at night in the East City area. Although we need money and you are eager for the mission, we still need to prioritize safety."

Su Chen paused for a moment.

The mission lobby mentions the Abyssal Magic Stones in the Alien Demon Zone.

Before entering the buffer city, at their post at the middle school, they also saw some intelligence: the alien demons had appeared in the East and West districts.

We really can't rush things!

Moreover, the initial description of the dungeon foreshadows danger!

Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhang He added, "Besides, your training will take three to five days, right? You might be full of energy on the first day, but that might not be the case later."

"If you fight in the morning, you won't be able to get a good rest at night, and your combat effectiveness will easily decline! This is very dangerous in the wilderness. Your instructors at school must have taught you these principles, but many people forget them when they're actually in the wild."

Su Chen suddenly remembered what Zhang Yan had said to him when she first gave him grueling training, standing with her hands on her hips.

In open-world combat, the most important thing is not how strong your burst of power is, but how stable your condition is!

You can't always fight at your peak condition. You might fight for three days and three nights straight, and you might have to face a powerful enemy after you're injured.

The monsters in the wilderness won't give you a chance to rest.

If your condition drops, you're dead!

Su Chen turned his head and glanced at Zhang Yan.

This guy was just arguing righteously against Zhang He, but now he's standing to the side, spear planted on the ground, looking like he's done for the day and he's not happy about it.

She has completely forgotten the principles she painstakingly taught others.

This little girl!

Su Chen collected his thoughts, sheathed his long sword in the scabbard on his back, and decisively dusted off his hands: "Alright! Let's get to the rest area before sunset."

Zhang He grinned, took out his phone, swiped the screen a few times, and sent the nearest rest area marker on the map to Su Chen's communicator.

"Rest area No. 17 in the East is about three kilometers away from here. If you walk fast, you can definitely get there in half an hour."

"I've messaged the itinerant vendors; they'll be waiting for us there."

As he spoke, he slung the bag back over his shoulder and waved to his classmates behind him: "Let's go, let's go, we have to get there before dark!"

The group walked up the slope, their flashlight beams sweeping back and forth between the earthen pillars.

Just as Su Chen stepped onto the first earthen step, a familiar notification sound rang in his mind.

[Level 6 - Level Name: Red-Scaled Rat Underground Maze Clearance Battle]

[Level Introduction: Crimson Scale Rat, the fastest-growing demon race in Buffer City 16.]

From high-ranking servants to peak soldier-level, some mutated individuals can reach elite level. Their scales are dark red and contain red phosphorus. When exposed to fire, they produce pungent smoke but are not fatal to themselves.

With an extremely short breeding cycle, they excel at group cooperation and burrowing, digging more than three times faster than an adult in soft soil. This underground maze beneath Donglin Park is one of their core nests, where the rodent population density far exceeds that at the surface.

Difficulty: 1.5 stars

[Battle Rating: Excellent+]

[Comment: Absolute crushing defeat.]

Your power is like a whirlwind against the swarm of Crimson Scale Rats. With a single punch, several Crimson Scale Rats, along with their proud, hard scales, shatter. With a sweeping slash, dark red lines of blood arc through the dim underground space.

However, he was hit by red phosphorus fire several times, and his clothes were charred in many places, making him look somewhat disheveled.

Strength is your advantage, but when faced with a dense barrage of flames, simply brute force is not a sustainable strategy.

Score: 15

[Prize pool drawing in progress... Drawing complete...]

[Sixth Stage Rewards: Pet Energy x50, Red Phosphorus Flame Pill x2, 10m Pet Space]

Red Phosphorus Flame Pill?

Is this item still in the prize pool?

He immediately checked the prize pool.

There are hundreds of basic items, but none!

There are over fifty intermediate-level items, and this one is second to last.

"An intermediate reward, not bad!" Su Chen thought to himself.

Then I looked at the Black Blood Pill, the basic item rewarded by the third level—the Shadow Butterfly.

"It seems the prize pool is also related to the type of monsters in the selected map!"

Based on his experience from the two dungeons and more than ten levels so far, he has roughly figured out the pattern: levels with a score of 10 or below only give basic rewards.

Scoring 10 points or higher gives you a chance to win a mid-level reward, but it's only a matter of probability.

Sometimes, the reward for a level that scores 25 points may not be better than that for a level that scores 20 points; at most, it might just give you a slightly larger number of pills.

The difficulty rating is determined based on a combination of your own strength and the enemy's strength, while the rewards depend on the type of enemy.

For example, defeating the Dark Demon Ape King yielded the Crimson Demon Sound Fruit, while defeating the Crimson Phosphorus Fire Rat yielded the Flame Resistance Pill and the Crimson Phosphorus Flame Pill.

But even though they are both mid-level rewards, the difference is too big!

The fifth stage of the last dungeon, "The Patrol Guards of the Abyss," had a difficulty of three and a half stars, a perfect score of 40 points, and awarded three Enlightenment Fruits and two Water Elemental Fruits.

The Dark Demon Ape King level this time had a difficulty of two and a half stars and a rating of excellent+, 45 points, but it only gave three Overlord Pills and two Dragon Elephant Bone Strengthening Pills.

The Overlord Body Pill is a beginner-level reward, while the Dragon Elephant Bone Strengthening Pill is only a mid-level reward.

After thinking about it for a while, Su Chen figured that the penalty for opening the second instance in a short period of time had taken effect.

The probability of obtaining high-level items is reduced by 80%. This debuff not only affects the final prize pool draw, but also reduces the quality of rewards in each level!

However, even though the content has been reduced in size, the sheer number of levels is still impressive.

The first layer, the Black Rotten Giant Cockroach, scores 10 points; the second layer, the Dark Demon Ape King, scores 45 points.

The third level, the Shadow Butterfly, has a difficulty level of one star, an excellent rating, and a score of five. Rewards include: 30 Pet Energy, 1 Black Blood Pill, 1 Nourishing Essence Pill, and a 5m Pet Space. The fourth level, the Rock Armor Demon Insect, has a score of ten.

Fifth layer Red Phosphorus Fire Rat - Nest Guardian, 20 points.

Sixth floor Red Scale Rat - Underground Maze Clearance Battle, 15 points... Six floors combined, 105 points!

This was only the first day of their training. They took the school bus at 8:30, and by the time they arrived at the buffer city, it was almost 11:00.

After a quick meal, it was already noon when we set off.

In other words, these are the results of more than five hours of work in the afternoon!

"This time the total score is way more outrageous than last time!"

"After all, last time my strength was estimated to be less than half of what it is now, and the actual combat assessment time was only twelve hours."

At this rate, even if the rewards for each level are reduced, the total amount accumulated will still be considerable!

As for the size of the pet space, it has already reached 270 square meters and has not yet received any new slots.

Su Chen put the panel away and glanced around.

The ground was covered with the corpses of red-scaled rats, their dark red scales gleaming coldly under the beam of the flashlight.

"Almost there!" Zhang He carefully examined the red phosphorus rats dissected by Su Chen and the others, and sure enough, he found a red phosphorus bead that had been missed.

After tossing it into the bag, he stood up and patted the dirt off his knees: "Let's pack up and go back to rest area number 17 in the east."

The group packed up the dismantled materials and walked up the spiral ramp they had come from.

Su Chen walked at the back of the group and glanced back at the dark red underground space illuminated by the beams of flashlights.

The interconnected cave entrances resemble a silent, gaping maw, waiting for the next batch of prey to enter.

Thinking of the initial description of the dungeon: "[It is the rustling of demonic threads deep within the rat swarm, the shadow of the Abyss Church's infiltration, the ancient wills on the edge of the Northern Plains Mountains that do not belong to Blue Star.]"

There is no doubt that the Church of the Abyss has made some moves within Buffer City Sixteen!

On the edge of the Northern Plains Mountains, an ancient will that doesn't belong to Earth? Could it be an ancient god of the abyss?

Or perhaps a monarch-level abyss lord equivalent to the eighth human realm—the Heavenly Martial Realm, or an emperor-level high-ranking being equivalent to the ninth human realm—the Dragon Ascension Realm?

Servant, soldier, elite general, leader, lord, monarch, emperor—these are all too far removed from my life!

"Let's honestly investigate the demonic forces behind the rat swarm. Hopefully, the enemies on this side aren't too outrageous..."

At the same time, he glanced at his own skill progress.

【开山拳1v2（1084→1589/2000）】

【Invincible Body Technique Iv3 (428/3000)】

In the afternoon's battle, the time it took him to activate the Mountain-Opening Fist was twice that of the Overlord Body Technique.

"Although I've improved quite rapidly recently, the speed at which my acupoints open up still can't keep up..."

"Both the Body Technique and the Mountain-Splitting Fist are only at the first level! This greatly slows down the rate of experience gain."

"Especially the Ming Jin Technique, the Shadowless Step..."

He felt that he didn't even need to practice the Ming Jin Technique to the first level; he only needed to activate one acupoint to advance.

The Shadowless Step technique has already activated nine acupoints; only one more is needed to advance to the third level!

Today's battle was a good workout for me.

Thinking of this, Su Chen touched his right arm.

The final punch with the Dark Demon Ape King was quite painful; I even felt a bit injured.

I'll consolidate my training tonight and also take care of this minor injury. If I don't pay attention to it, it might accumulate and become a chronic, difficult-to-cure injury!