Kent looked over Wukong with a satisfied expression. The beast was clearly well-built, and with its innate strength, Kent estimated it could probably knock a tank flying with a single punch.
Of course, he was only guessing based on his intuition, and its true strength would require a practical test.
Attribute Check
Beast Name: Diamond Ape
Beast Rank: High Grade Gold
Beast Level: 20 (Leader Level)
Experience Bar: 5024/12500
Experience Pool: 5024
Combat Power: 543
Kent couldn't help but smile. As expected, this beast was born as a High Grade Gold rank, created by the forces of nature—flawless, with immense potential for growth. It was far stronger than Garfield at the same level and rank.
However, it also required much more experience to level up—almost double what Garfield needed.
Looking at the abilities, there was even an extra one—this was great.
Abilities:
Indestructible: With extremely high defense, even bullets cannot harm it, unless from ***.Innate Strength: Possessing the power of a Titan, capable of lifting mountains. It can now lift an armored vehicle.Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils: The ability to see through illusions and even detect "time remnants" — the movements that have occurred in a certain location within the last ten minutes.
Kent was astounded. This Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils ability was incredible. Not only could it see through illusions, but it could also "reflect light" and reveal the changes that had happened in a specific area over the past ten minutes.
Eager to test it out, Kent immediately activated the ability, and they moved to a new location. He focused on his surroundings, and soon, golden flames appeared in his eyes.
If he were to look into a mirror at that moment, he would see fiery light reflecting in his pupils, though it was just an illusion, not real fire.
"Ah, so that's how it works," Kent murmured.
With the ability activated, he stared at a specific spot. After about a second, a fleeting image flashed through his vision. He saw a small rodent rapidly pass by.
He quickly turned to the place where the rodent had disappeared and stared again for a moment. This time, the image was clearer.
After a few attempts, Kent got the hang of it. The Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils only responded to "moving objects." If there was no change in a place, like a stagnant pond, the ability would not react at all.
However, if there was movement, like fish swimming in the pond, the ability would show a trail of the fish's movements over the past ten minutes, appearing as a fleeting light.
Additionally, the earlier he observed, the clearer the image would be. The later he looked, the more blurred the image would become.
"With this ability, today's chances are much higher. Seeing through illusions and tracking time remnants — this power is extraordinary. No one will be able to escape my eyes," Kent thought to himself.
Since Wukong's size had grown significantly, it would inevitably attract attention, and it wouldn't level up any further for a while as it needed time to solidify its foundation.
Kent decided to store Wukong in the Beast Bracelet for now, summoning it later when necessary. For now, sharing its abilities should be enough for their plans that day.
Back at the camp, after a quick meal, the mercenaries began waking up as it neared 6 o'clock. Once they had breakfast, they were ready to head into the mountains with Kent.
At this time, several of the professors, including Mr. He, were also almost ready.
Half an hour later, the Snow Bull Mercenary Group led Kent and the others across the Jade River and stood at the base of the mountain.
"Kid, you said you could lead us there. Well, we'll follow your plan," the team leader, Gao, said with a half-smile.
Kent nodded and gave instructions. "Alright, listen up. Professors, stay close to me. The Snow Bull Mercenary Group will split into three teams: one will follow me, while the other two teams will be positioned 500 meters to my left and right. Then we'll head straight up the mountain."
Gao chuckled at the childishness of the plan but didn't say anything, choosing to go along with it, knowing they'd see the result soon enough.
After assigning the teams, Gao led the middle team, and they began their ascent.
Kent didn't stop for a moment during the climb but kept observing with his Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils. With this ability, he could see through the camouflage of the Snake-Blooded Serpents, which blended in with their surroundings. He could identify them easily.
Up they went, stopping a few times along the way. Kent jumped to higher points, relaxed, and felt the wind moving through the air.
The Snake-Blooded Serpents were weak against the wind and couldn't distinguish smells. So, by heading to places where the wind was strong, he had a higher chance of finding them.
Mountains were naturally windy, with the wind flowing upward as the altitude increased. The higher they went, the stronger the wind would be. But since the serpents were cold-blooded, they would avoid areas with cold weather, especially above the mountain's mid-level, where snow covered the terrain.
This left Kent with a limited search range—he only needed to search based on the air currents.
An hour later, Kent led the group to the first target location.
It was a cliff where the wind howled, blowing fiercely upward, causing nearby trees to shake. Standing on the cliff, it was hard to keep one's footing.
Kent made a shushing gesture and began observing. He looked at the trees swaying around them, then activated his Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils to search for time remnants.
After a while, Kent turned his attention to the cliff face.
This cliff was steep, but several oddly-shaped trees were growing on it, their twisted branches curling around, looking quite formidable and interesting.
"Stop staring, we've been looking for a while and haven't found anything. Let's go," Gao said impatiently, seeing nothing.
However, Kent didn't answer right away. Instead, he said, "Wait, I've found it."
"Heh, what a joke. How come none of us saw anything, but you found it just by looking for a few seconds?" Gao scoffed.
"Don't believe me?" Kent shot back, retracting his gaze from the Fire Eyes and Golden Pupils and giving Gao a cold look. "It's fine if you don't believe me. Keep acting arrogant. Your Snow Bull Mercenary Group will only ever stay at this level — nothing more."
"Kid, mind your tone. Do you believe I won't knock some sense into you?" Several mercenaries shot threatening glances at Kent.
Kent didn't care. He stuck out his tongue playfully and then pulled out two bottles of high-grade tranquilizers. "Hide yourselves, and listen to my instructions in a moment."
Without waiting, he jumped to a high tree, uncorked the bottles, held his breath, and carefully positioned himself, letting the wind blow the tranquilizers toward the cliff.
The mountain wind was strong, and the tranquilizers dispersed quickly into the air, blending into the mist, blowing toward the cliff.
Time passed slowly.
The others on the ground couldn't make sense of the bizarre scene and quietly mocked Kent.
But just then, a change occurred.