The pain from the wound caused the Griffin-Lion Beast to roar fiercely, violently shaking its body to try to shake off Chu Tian. At the same time, the power of thunder and flames erupted, attempting to drive away the human on its back.
Unfortunately, Chu Tian would not allow it to succeed. He unleashed the power of ice directly from within the Griffin-Lion Beast's body.
Similar to when he killed the Divine Fire Rhino, he crushed the organs inside this Griffin-Lion Beast.
Amidst the Griffin-Lion Beast's mournful eagle cry, it closed its eagle eyes in resignation and fell to the ground.
At this moment, the system notification indicated that he had gained 180 Talent Points and successfully advanced to the early stage of C-rank.
A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted within Chu Tian, creating an invisible shockwave that lifted fallen leaves from the ground, turning them into fragments.
Everyone present could feel that Chu Tian's spiritual energy was gradually rising.
"My goodness, he actually advanced to C-rank. Isn't this too incredible? It's been nearly half a year since I got close to D-rank," Red Garment said somewhat dejectedly as she looked at Chu Tian standing beside the Griffin-Lion Beast's corpse.
As the spiritual energy that had erupted within him gradually subsided, Chu Tian took a deep breath.
He had successfully entered C-rank now, and the total amount of spiritual energy in his body clearly felt more than double what it was at D-rank.
"These young people these days are becoming more and more like monsters. I'm getting old," Norta said, putting away his heavy machine gun and pretending to sigh deeply.
Chu Tian remained silent because the system had just informed him that it was entering an upgrade phase. His Talent Ability Skill Slots had reached twenty-five.
For Chu Tian, this meant he could now replicate ten more talents. However, he couldn't replicate martial skills, which left him feeling somewhat disappointed.
As the system entered the upgrade phase, Chu Tian finally came to his senses. Ning Wan was sitting cross-legged on the ground, her body surrounded by a faint white light.
Norta had set up a simple camp and had already dismembered the Griffin-Lion Beast. He even shaved off some of the thigh meat and roasted it over the campfire.
As for Red Garment, she was currently setting up a tent in silence.
It was clear that Red Garment, who was the least productive member of the team, felt somewhat uncomfortable despite her nonchalant appearance. After all, she could only contribute minimally each time.
Chu Tian, however, did not bring up this topic and instead said with a smile, "Norta, your roasted lion leg looks delicious."
"Hehe! It's a must-have. You know, I'm a foodie. Although these are all ferocious beasts, in an era where spiritual energy is scarce, these are delicacies on our human dining tables," Norta said proudly.
"Are you sure you're okay with close combat? If we encounter such terrifying beasts again, it's better to stay at a distance or run. Otherwise, we might end up wiped out, just like the Storm Legion," Norta said as he flipped the meat and sprinkled seasoning.
"And your weapon seems to need to be longer, preferably around fifty meters, which would be more suitable for long-range combat," Chu Tian said, looking somewhat puzzled by the suggestion of a longer weapon.
Seeing Chu Tian's expression, Red Garment chimed in, "If you extend it to fifty meters, your opponent can run forty-nine meters away before you even reach them."
This remark made Chu Tian burst into laughter. Was this some kind of outdated internet meme?
When the meat was finally roasted, Ning Wan came out of her meditation state. She sniffed the air, her nose twitching, and couldn't help but salivate at the sight of the lion leg still roasting.
"Hmm! A foodie indeed, seems like anything edible makes her drool," Chu Tian concluded, though he found Ning Wan's background quite mysterious.
After all, Norta and Red Garment had never heard of anyone being able to cultivate at D-rank.
It was common knowledge that one had to be at least A-rank to cultivate martial skills, and the total amount of spiritual energy simply wouldn't allow for early cultivation.
Some had attempted it in the past, but the result was always self-destructive.
So the mystery surrounding Ning Wan was truly perplexing to Chu Tian. While he was curious about her secrets, he wouldn't pry unless she chose to reveal them.
Sitting down next to Ning Wan, Chu Tian looked at the petite yet powerful pseudo-loli and asked, "Ning Wan, you don't have to stare at the food like that. If you want to eat, just take as much as you want. Look, this Griffin-Lion Beast has four legs."
He teased, but Ning Wan only gave him a disdainful look. She wiped her bloodstained hands clean and walked over to the Griffin-Lion Beast's corpse. She opened the beast's body along the wound and directly exposed its brain.
Then, she cut open the back of the brain, but it seemed that she didn't find what she was looking for. She cut it into smaller pieces, wearing a slightly frustrated expression.
"What is she doing?" Chu Tian found Ning Wan's actions rather strange.
"She's after the spiritual core," Norta explained.
The spiritual core? That seemed to be a new piece of information.
"What's it used for?" Chu Tian thought of leveling up and crafting special items.
Norta chuckled, "It's rather useless, to be honest. It can only be considered high-grade pet food for spirit beasts."
Speaking of high-grade pet food, Chu Tian immediately thought of his Thunder Patterned Snow Fox. He quickly took it out.
The once weak and lifeless Thunder Patterned Snow Fox let out a few mournful cries when Chu Tian took it out, seemingly blaming him for not feeding it.
When Chu Tian presented the Thunder Patterned Snow Fox, Ning Wan's eyes lit up. She approached Chu Tian and looked at the fox in his arms with excitement, occasionally licking her lips.
Clearly, in Ning Wan's eyes, this Thunder Patterned Snow Fox fell under the category of food.