At this moment, the chat channel was once again buzzing with heated discussions about the terrifying speed at which the three of them were climbing the rankings.
However, Han Xing did not enter the chat channel and had no idea what was happening inside.
Han Xing had just finished a battle and glanced at his rank: 802 points, currently ranked 9th.
At this point, he noticed a name on the leaderboard.
17th place: Clever Little Sheep, Territory Points: 612.
To his surprise, Clever Little Sheep had also climbed onto the rankings, and at such a high position no less. This shocked Han Xing.
While maneuvering his floating island towards another cloud, he sent a private message to Clever Little Sheep.
"Wow, you're ranked so high now."
Clever Little Sheep quickly replied.
"Ah... is it really that high?" Clever Little Sheep sounded as if they just realized this.
Han Xing praised, "Yeah, you're in the top 20 now. Very impressive."
"Really? It's not that amazing, hehe..." came the shy response, accompanied by a silly laugh.
Upon hearing Han Xing's compliment, Clever Little Sheep seemed quite happy but a bit embarrassed and added, "It's all thanks to you for giving me so many life potions. With them, I don't have to worry about getting injured, so I can explore faster."
Han Xing, however, replied, "No need to be humble. The life potions were just a support. In real battles, it's the survivor's own strength that matters."
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, he changed the subject and asked, "By the way, did you choose the Hunter class?"
"Mm-hmm, I chose Hunter," Clever Little Sheep confirmed.
Han Xing directly said, "I just got a recipe for a potion that increases strength. It boosts attack power quite a bit, especially for us Hunters."
"I'll trade it to you." Han Xing sent a trade request to Clever Little Sheep.
As usual, he put up 20 bottles of Bear Strength Potion.
"Huh? Are all of these for me?" Clever Little Sheep sounded uncertain.
Han Xing responded, "Yes, consider it a return for the life potion recipe you gave me."
Clever Little Sheep hesitated for a moment but then accepted.
She said earnestly, "Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Han Xing casually replied.
After completing the potion trade, Han Xing prepared to close the chat and continue pushing up the ranks.
At that moment, Clever Little Sheep hesitated and asked tentatively, "Um, about that..."
"Is there anything else?" Han Xing asked.
Clever Little Sheep didn't reply immediately, seeming to be hesitant.
After a brief pause, it seemed like she gathered her courage and said, "Uh, can I add you as a friend?"
At this point, her nervousness was evident in her voice, as if she was afraid Han Xing would refuse.
Han Xing was taken aback for a moment.
Adding someone as a friend required knowing their real name.
After thinking it over, he figured it wasn't a big deal, so he agreed, "Sure, my name is Han Xing. You can add me."
"Whew..."
Upon hearing his agreement, she let out a noticeable sigh of relief and said, "Th-thank you..."
The next moment, a system notification appeared.
"Survivor 'Su Xiaoyang' has requested to add you as a friend."
So her name was Su Xiaoyang... What an interesting name.
Han Xing felt a little amused.
He accepted the request.
Su Xiaoyang successfully added Han Xing as a friend and seemed extremely excited.
At this point, Han Xing said, "I'm going to continue ranking up. Let's talk later if there's anything else."
"Mm-hmm, I won't disturb you. Good luck!" Su Xiaoyang cheerfully responded.
After closing the chat interface, Han Xing resumed his ranking push.
Meanwhile...
On a large platform spanning more than 600 square meters, a beautiful girl was standing in a daze, staring ahead.
She wore a green hunter's outfit, and her fitted leather armor accentuated her impressive figure.
With a tall and slender body, fair skin, and angelic face, she was the epitome of delicate beauty.
At this moment, the girl's animal-skin skirt revealed a pair of dazzlingly white, slender legs. Her legs were pressed together and rubbing against each other nervously, while her ample chest heaved up and down with heavy breaths, as if she were extremely excited.
This girl was Su Xiaoyang, who had been in a state of excitement ever since adding Han Xing as a friend.
"So... your name is Han Xing... What a nice name..."
At this moment, Su Xiaoyang's delicate face lit up with a radiant smile.
"I never expected... someone like me could have someone willing to be my friend. I'm so happy!"
"I really want to tell Mom and Dad about this as soon as possible. They'll definitely be happy for me, too, right?"
In her excitement, Su Xiaoyang accidentally crushed something in her hand, and blood spurted out.
"Ah..."
She let out an involuntary exclamation and looked down at the crushed heart of some beast in her hand. Regretfully, she said, "I didn't mean to crush the beast heart I just dug out. I was going to feed it to Xiao Qian... What a waste..."
She frowned slightly and, glancing at the pale tree in her territory, murmured, "Even though I crushed it, I can't let it go to waste. Xiao Qian, go ahead and eat."
With her words, the strange plant's branches began to tremble slightly, and one of the branches extended towards her.
In the next moment, the branch retracted sharply, and the beast heart in Su Xiaoyang's hand disappeared.
"Good job, Xiao Qian."
Su Xiaoyang praised the plant, and the following information about the strange tree appeared before her.
[Heart-Eating Tree (One-Star Elite Creature)]
- Level: Lv5
- Strength: 25
- Agility: 28
- Spirit: 31
- Constitution: 32
- Skill 1: Poison Kiss (The Heart-Eating Tree lashes out with its branches to attack enemies. Attacked creatures will suffer severe poisoning.)
- Skill 2: Death Zone (The Heart-Eating Tree releases gas, forming a large death zone. Any lifeform entering the gas field will suffer multiple negative effects.)
- Skill 3: Frenzied Blossoms (The Heart-Eating Tree enters a berserk state, whipping out thousands of branches to indiscriminately attack enemies.)
- Talent: Heart-Eater (The Heart-Eating Tree grows stronger by consuming the hearts of other creatures. The more hearts it consumes, the more its attributes increase. Once it has consumed enough, the Heart-Eating Tree will undergo a transformation.)
This was an elite-level plant-type monster—the Heart-Eating Tree!
It not only possessed three powerful skills but also had a growth talent that allowed it to increase its strength by consuming various hearts.
When the Heart-Eating Tree consumed enough hearts, it could even undergo a transformation!
And the hearts could include those of humans. It would attack any life form that entered its territory.
But somehow, Su Xiaoyang had managed to plant such a fierce creature within her territory!