After a while passed, the flames that enveloped Zen's body disappeared.
His dark tendrils also began to return to a pair of hands and feets.
The Stone Drake, with most of its body covered in dark color, lifted up Zen's body that was still gripping its tail, then slammed it violently against the surface of the rock.
A small crater was created there.
Zen lay still with stone needles piercing his entire body and blood flowing down the sides of his face.
Stone Drake raised its head high.
It opened its jaw full of terrifyingly sharp teeth.
Then...
... The Stone Drake fell limply to the rock surface.
A smile appeared on Zen's face covered in blood and dust.
"Heh, as expected of the curse I used..."
Stone Drake's body was quickly completely engulfed in a dark color.
The curse had taken over its entire body, and it was killed just like that.
This inferior dragon species simply lost its life at the hands of Zen.
Zen, on the other hand, despite running out of blood energy and magic energy, was still quite healthy.
He only needed to rest for a few days and replenish his supply of blood energy and magic energy, and he would be back as before. Without any hidden wounds and defects.
Zen wins by a landslide!
But...
"Ah? You guys finally managed to catch up?"
... At that moment, a group of footsteps sounded approaching along with the light of the lantern.
Zen smiled faintly, but his eyes didn't smile.
The facial expressions of team number 2 were also unreadable.
***
Farna and the others managed to defeat the Stone Drake babies with difficulty.
They were injured here and there and almost stoned several times during the fight.
Fortunately, there were no casualties on their side.
Every time they remembered the scene of Zen and Stone Drake's fight, they realized how far the difference in strength was between them and this young-looking Zombie.
They feel happy to have a strong companion, but at the same time, they harbor fear.
After all, in the end, Zen is not human.
They can't fully build trust in Zen even after everything Zen has done for them.
Zen is a Zombie, and a Zombie is an Undead creature that attacks all kinds of living beings.
Zombies, in particular, are the most hated figure in this world after countless villages, small towns, large cities, even countries, that have been annihilated by them.
And Zen was one of these vile Zombies.
A creature that can turn them into Zombies at any time.
How could they not be afraid of such a powerful creature being by their side all the time?
Should I kill him now, when he is in a weakened state?
A thought flashed through the minds of all the members of Team number 2.
Once this thought appeared, it could not be removed from their minds.
Cold silence enveloped the battlefield that had been crowded with Stone Drake's angry screams.
What should they do?
Kill, or let live?
Could they really trust this Zombie?
An inner battle occurred in the minds of Team number 2 members.
Zen watched them with a smile on his face and cold eyes.
He could guess what these amateurs were thinking easily.
After all, he had lived for more than 500 years in his previous life.
He had traveled the world and met all kinds of human types. From the stupidest to the most cunning, he had known them well.
For Zen, knowing the thoughts of Jonna and the others is as easy as reading a book that opens right in front of his face.
What will they do?
Zen was aware of what these people were thinking, but he chose to remain silent.
He was testing these people at the moment.
If Jonna and the others choose to try and kill him, then Zen will take them all out and kill them.
Then, he would sail alone, and find a way to forge his cultivation path in this world even without the help of Red Trickerss.
Zen was neither surprised nor disappointed in them.
This is just how people think.
There is nothing to regret.
After all, even Zhongmei was capable of betraying him. How could these people, who had only met Zen for some time, not be able to?
The silence was broken by the sound of Farna's sigh.
Her chest rose and fell as air came in and out of her lungs.
All eyes were on her, waiting for what she was about to say.
Farna smiled.
"Why are you just standing there? Hurry up, we have to help Sir Zen!"
The doubts in the minds of all members of Team number 2 quickly disappeared with Farna's initiative.
Laughing, they began to help Zen release all the needles that were stuck in Zen's body.
'Heh... Not bad. You graduate.'
Zen's assessment of these people had increased.
Before they returned to where they were camping, Zen asked Team number 2 to retrieve Stone Drake's Monster Gem.
It took more than 1 hour to dig up that giant monster's body and take the Monster Gem from it because of how hard the scales were on its body.
Igav sighed in amazement as he stared at the piece of scales in his hand as he sat in front of the campfire.
"Phew, this thing is very hard. As expected of a Monster with a Dragon descendant. This creature is truly a treasure if we can take all the scales on its body. Think of how many blacksmiths will flock to search for even a single piece of this thing!"
The spear-wielding warrior on Team number 2, Jord, laughs at Igav.
"You senile old man. Stone Drake has many uses besides its scales, you know. Even its eyeballs can be used as an expensive alchemy material."
Jonna nodded at Jord's words.
"That's right. Stone Drake is extremely rare and its entire body is a treasure in itself!"
The entire number 2 team member started laughing and mocked Igav's shallow judgment instead afterwards.
Igav angrily refused to admit his mistake.
At that moment, Zen made a statement that shocked the entire team.
"After we manage to check the river path, I guess we should go back to this cave and retrieve all the precious things from the Stone Drake. Since its body is so hard, I will cut it apart myself."
""OHHH!! As expected of the great Zen Master!""
All members of team number 2 cheered with joy.
Zen smiled and bite into the brownish basketball-sized monster gem in his hand while watching the interaction of these people.
Farna occasionally stole a glance at Zen when Zen ate the Monster Gem from Stone Drake like he was eating a fresh watermelon that had just been picked directly in the morning.
There was a reason why Farna chose not to kill Zen.
As a Magician, she craved knowledge and magic.
She desperately wanted Zen to teach her about magic, so how could she possibly let Zen be killed just because she was afraid that Zen would kill them all in the end?
Moreover, Zen was clearly different from all the other Zombies, so Farna was sure that this Zombie wouldn't hurt them for no reason.
Farna begins to plan and imagine what she should do in order to get Zen to teach her about magic.
Hmm, what I did today should be a good bargain chip, right? What a genius I am!
Farna laughed involuntarily as she thought about how she would use the save she made for Zen today to get Zen to teach her magic.
So that's it, despite the heavy rain, despite the occasional thunderous sound, even though they had fought for life and death, Zen and Team number 2 spent the night quietly.
***
Night.
While team member number 2 had fallen asleep, Zen opened his eyelids.
He smiled at the appearance of the second Elemental Core in his Dantian.
Elemental Core of the earth element.
The size of this Elemental Core was larger than the dark Elemental Core that Zen formed of Monster gem given by Z-Emperor pouch.
Approximately, the percentage of this second Elemental Core size, when compared to the Elemental Core possessed by the fifth Realm Cultivators, was around 118%.
Not only that, Zen also managed to awaken a new Innate Skill.
Innate Skill with the earth element.
Innate Skill with the ability to make Zen able to form a greenish aura that has the ability to petrify his opponent.
This Innate Skill Zen called as {Petrified Aura}.