I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 96: A Rare Treasure

"ROAR..."

When the black ape-like Mutant Beast saw its Superpower attack blocked yet again by the detestable human before it, it couldn’t help but grow agitated.

If this entanglement continued, the commotion from their battle would surely attract more contenders. By then, with much of its stamina and Spiritual Energy depleted, it would have no choice but to withdraw from the competition in bitterness.

But as things stood, it had no immediate way to kill or drive off the detestable human.

After a fierce battle, both the black ape-like Mutant Beast and the middle-aged man understood that neither could defeat the other.

And so, the man and the beast hovered in mid-air, locked in a silent standoff.

After a minute or so, the middle-aged man broke the silence. "Hey," he said to the black ape-like Mutant Beast, "how about we make a deal?"

"ROAR?" Hearing this, the black ape-like Mutant Beast roared at the middle-aged man as a wave of Spiritual Power emanated from its body.

As the middle-aged man felt the Spiritual Power emanating from the beast, a deep, muffled voice immediately sounded in his mind.

"I have nothing to discuss with a detestable human like you... I discovered that Spirit Plant first. Leave this place at once, or I will kill you."

Spiritual Power Transmission!

This black ape-like Mutant Beast was a Tier Three Mutant Beast.

If Lin Li had been on the scene, he too would have been able to hear the beast’s words in his mind via the Spiritual Power it released.

The ability to convey one’s thoughts through Spiritual Power without speaking is a technique only available to Cultivators who have broken through to Tier Three.

When a Cultivator breaks through from Tier One to Tier Two, their Spiritual Power undergoes a qualitative change, granting them Perception Ability. From Tier Two to Tier Three, their Spiritual Power transforms further, bestowing the ability of Spiritual Power Transmission. This is what allows humans to communicate with ferocious Mutant Beasts.

In addition to their Spiritual Power evolving to grant Spiritual Power Transmission, Tier Three Cultivators also gain another ability: the Aerial Ability, which allows them to walk on air by consuming Spiritual Energy.

"Hear me out first. It won’t be too late to make a decision then," the middle-aged man replied, this time also using his Spiritual Power to communicate with the black ape-like Mutant Beast.

So the middle-aged man was a Tier Three Cultivator. It made sense, though. He could walk on air and had fought such a ferocious, Tier-Three-cultivation Mutant Beast to a standstill for this long.

If he weren’t a Tier Three Cultivator, the incredibly ferocious black ape-like Mutant Beast would have torn him in half long ago.

The black ape-like Mutant Beast’s eyes were filled with suspicion. It stared at the middle-aged man with extreme vigilance and distrust as it transmitted its thoughts.

"ROAR... I’m not listening! You humans are extremely cunning. When you talk about ’making a deal,’ nine times out of ten you’re plotting something to trick me."

The middle-aged man ignored the beast’s accusations and continued speaking to it with his Spiritual Power.

"Treasures like this Spirit Plant belong to the strong, not to whoever saw it first. If you can defeat me, the Spirit Plant is yours. If not, then it’s mine.

If we continue to fight here, not only do we risk the aftershocks of our battle destroying the Spirit Plant...

...but the commotion from our fight will also attract the attention of others in the forest. When they get here and see the Spirit Plant, they will undoubtedly join the fray.

By then, we’ll have used up most of our stamina and Spiritual Energy and will be no match for them. Therefore, I suggest we move elsewhere to settle this."

"..." The black ape-like Mutant Beast’s face grew even more furious after hearing the man’s words, but it didn’t object.

Its fury intensified because of the first part of the man’s speech—the claim that a treasure like the Spirit Plant belonged to the strong. As the one who discovered it, how could it not be enraged?

But it didn’t object because the second half of his speech addressed the very thing it was worried about.

If they continued to fight around the Spirit Plant, the escalating intensity of their battle could very well end up damaging it.

It would be a tragedy if the Spirit Plant were destroyed by the aftershocks of their battle before any new contenders even arrived.

A rare treasure like a Spirit Plant was an incredibly uncommon sight, for both human Cultivators and the forest’s Mutant Beasts alike.

To encounter such a rare Spirit Plant by a stroke of luck was a tremendous fortune. The thought of it being destroyed in a fight was truly heartbreaking.

After finishing his speech, the middle-aged man saw that the black ape-like Mutant Beast didn’t respond, but just stared at him with a furious expression.

He wasn’t worried, though. He knew his words served both their interests and was confident the beast would eventually accept his proposal.

Just as the man expected, the black ape-like Mutant Beast didn’t make him wait long. About half a minute later, it agreed to his proposal.

Then, the two of them kept a close watch on each other, wary that the other might try to slip away, as they flew rapidly toward the sun, moving the battlefield far from the Spirit Plant’s location.

A short while later, seven or eight hundred meters away from the Spirit Plant, the man and beast once again erupted into a fierce battle above the forest for ownership of the prize.

...

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM..."

"BANG, BANG, BANG..."

"CRACKLE..."

"RUMBLE..."

A figure appeared in the dense woods.

Lin Li held his Spiritual Longsword, listening closely to the distant rumbling as he advanced unhurriedly toward the source of the sound.

’Strange. The rumbling stopped for a moment, and now that it’s back, it’s suddenly so much farther away?’

Based on the volume of the noise, Lin Li judged that its source had moved a significant distance. Not knowing why, he was completely bewildered.

However, since he had already decided to investigate the scene and see what was happening, he didn’t change his mind just because the source of the sound had moved.

"CRACK."

He swung his Spiritual Longsword. Even without infusing it with Spiritual Energy, its sheer sharpness was enough to easily slice through the vines blocking his path.

"Huh?!!!"

After slicing through the vines and stepping out of the woods, Lin Li froze for a moment when he saw the empty clearing before him.

...