Chapter Fifty-Two: The Golden Vein Fruit

Then Lu Sheng collected the entire corpse along with the earth beneath it into the sub-dimensional space. To be safe, he decided not to leave anything at the scene. Once everything was done, Lu Sheng led the Stone-Throwing Goblin away swiftly. The commotion here had been too loud; it was best to move further away. If the Thunderbird Gang discovered them, he wasn’t confident he could handle it with his current strength.

After considering this, Lu Sheng gathered all the items dropped by Meng Yang and picked a direction to make his escape. The Stone-Throwing Goblin scouted ahead, ensuring their safety, while Lu Sheng followed behind. Less than ten minutes had passed when their path was blocked by a black bear.

This black bear was clad in a thick armor of earth, its presence immense. Standing upright, it was nearly three meters tall—a true giant. Compared to it, the Stone-Throwing Goblin seemed insignificant. The bear’s eyes were blood-red. Under the blood moon, monsters were especially irritable, and upon spotting the goblin, the bear attacked immediately.

Lu Sheng quickly withdrew the goblin. The aura radiating from the black bear was that of a second-tier peak monster, but Lu Sheng had no intention of letting the goblin fight it. The goblin specialized in ranged attacks; forcing it into close combat would be suicide.

The bear’s aura was formidable. Lu Sheng went into the sub-dimensional space and transformed the Muscle Dog into a card. In that instant, half the results of Muscle Dog’s training were bestowed upon Lu Sheng. His strength surged once more.

Lu Sheng felt that, with the sixty-fold boost to his strength, killing this bear wouldn’t be an issue. Still, he harvested Muscle Dog’s training results for extra security. Muscle Dog also relayed a message: twelve hours was its training limit, after which it needed rest.

As for food, monsters transformed into cards no longer required sustenance, living instead by absorbing the energy of heaven and earth. Only for reproduction would they need to ingest enough food energy.

With the Space Ant possessing him, sixty-fold power flowed through his body, overwhelming force swelling from within.

The black bear was already launching its attack, its second-tier peak aura powerful. Lu Sheng had no intention of summoning monsters for assistance. He had always restrained himself in front of others, never wielding his full strength, which left him perpetually stifled.

Today, he would let loose and unleash the pent-up frustration!

He bent and twisted, dodging the bear’s swipe, then stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick.

A dull thud echoed—the bear’s massive body was sent flying! Its enormous form became a straight black shadow across the sky, rising to a certain height before plummeting down.

With a thunderous crash, countless clouds of dust erupted from where the bear landed. Despite the heavy blow, the bear seemed unfazed, scrambling up and roaring furiously at Lu Sheng.

With another roar, the bear charged at him like a heavy tank, every step making the ground tremble.

“Thick skin indeed...” Lu Sheng muttered. Not waiting for the bear to reach him, he hurled himself forward, appearing before the beast in the blink of an eye.

The bear raised its paw and swung at Lu Sheng, the attack forceful and without hesitation. Lu Sheng shifted again, lashing out with a whip-like kick to the bear’s waist.

The bear’s waist was protected by a slab of earth-armored plating, but Lu Sheng’s kick shattered it completely! Pieces of earth flew in all directions. With the armor gone, Lu Sheng’s foot met no resistance, landing directly on the bear’s waist.

The massive bear was sent flying once more, crashing through three large trees in succession.

Not giving it a chance to recover, Lu Sheng advanced swiftly, arriving at the bear’s position.

The bear trembled, struggling to stand, but Lu Sheng stomped it down again. The bear, barely rising, was smashed back into the earth.

Lu Sheng then mounted the bear’s neck and began pounding its head mercilessly.

A series of thuds rang out. At that moment, Lu Sheng became a human pile-driver, shaking the ground with every blow.

Even the bear’s tough skull began to deform from the relentless beating, caving in and finally exploding under Lu Sheng’s fists, unknown substances splattering everywhere.

[Earth Bear Card +1]

Only once he was certain the bear was dead did Lu Sheng wave his hand, standing up and grabbing a handful of leaves from the forest to wipe his fists clean, removing the sticky blood.

He then sent the Earth Bear’s corpse into the sub-dimensional space to serve as food for the Red Fire Ant.

[Earth Bear]
Quality: White
Tier: Second-tier peak
Skills: Earth Armor, Thick Hide and Flesh

Earth Armor: A layer of armor attached to the body surface, specially protecting vulnerable areas.
Thick Hide and Flesh: Possesses exceptional defense and resistance to blows.

This earth bear had two skills, both passive. Its defining trait was resilience—an ideal choice for scouting.

Lu Sheng summoned the Earth Bear. Tall and black, it exuded an invisible pressure.

“Take me to your lair.”

Monsters retained their consciousness even after becoming cards. The Earth Bear obediently led the way, soon arriving at a pitch-black cave. It was an excellent hiding place.

Lu Sheng ordered the bear to guard the entrance, then entered to finally examine his spoils.

He had collected the items dropped by Meng Yang without checking them, but now he had the time.

Five cards and a golden fruit.

First was the golden fruit. Lu Sheng suspected Meng Yang’s severe injuries were caused by this item—it had to be something valuable.

[Golden Vein Fruit]
Quality: Purple
Tier: Fifth-tier
Function: Unconditionally upgrades the quality of any life card below purple.

Not much use...

Lu Sheng felt it didn’t benefit him, a tasteless thing too good to discard, yet not helpful.

Just then, the Space Ant signaled a desire for the fruit.

Lu Sheng was curious and summoned the ant. The silvery-white creature appeared in his palm.

“Little one, why do you want this?”

He waited a moment. “You mean, eating this will help your injuries?”

The ant nodded, its head bobbing up and down.

Lu Sheng laughed. “Then it’s yours. Will you eat it yourself or do you want me to help?”

Items that upgrade cards could be used directly to channel energy into the cards, or given for the monster to eat itself. But the Space Ant was tiny, and the Golden Vein Fruit was football-sized.

The ant shook its head, indicating it didn’t need help. It adjusted its body, faced the fruit, and without visible movement, compressed the whole fruit into a small point, swallowing it in one bite.

Lu Sheng: ???

Where did that skill come from?

After eating, the Space Ant projected a lazy feeling, wanting to return to its card form and rest.

Faced with Lu Sheng’s bafflement, the ant explained haughtily: This was a minor application of spatial abilities—its master could not yet grasp such power.