Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 56: Goodbye to the Space Ring

Outside the cave, the moonlight was like water.

The corpses of two high-level lord-class behemoths lay silently in the ruined plaza, casting enormous shadows in the night. The Mighty Demon Ape's body was stiff, its black fur gleaming coldly in the moonlight. The Seven-Colored Poisonous Python's body was twisted into strange shapes, its multicolored scales losing their daytime brilliance and becoming dull and lifeless.

Lin Yun emerged from the cave, twelve throwing knives circling around him. The bloodstains on the knives had been wiped clean by his mental power, and they gleamed with a cold light under the moonlight.

He first walked to the side of the Mighty Demon Ape.

The colossal beast, which had fought to its last breath to protect its family, now lay quietly in a pool of blood. Its eyes were half-closed, its pupils dilated, and its body, ravaged by snake venom, bore an unnatural purplish-black hue. Lin Yun stood beside its head, silent for a moment.

Monsters are humanity's mortal enemies. During the Great Nirvana, countless humans perished at the hands of monsters. Now, humanity has retreated to base cities, and the wilderness has become a monster's paradise. The death of every monster means a slight expansion of humanity's living space.

A throwing knife flew out and precisely pierced the Great Demon Ape's head, ending its final suffering.

Lin Yun raised his hand, his mental energy enveloping the entire corpse of the Mighty Demon Ape. He didn't need to cut it apart piece by piece like an ordinary martial artist—he possessed a spatial ring, a spatial ring from the Panlong World. Although its internal space wasn't very large, it was more than enough to hold the materials from two high-level lords.

The entire corpse of the Mighty Demon Ape was stored in the spatial ring.

Next was the seven-colored venomous python. Lin Yun also put the entire corpse inside. The commotion here was so great that it might attract other people; it wouldn't be too late to process the materials once they were back in a safe place.

All the spoils were neatly and cleanly stored in a spatial ring, leaving no trace.

Lin Yun stepped onto his battle blade, skimming low over the battlefield to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Then he transformed into a silver streak of light and vanished into the night.

He found a temporary place to stay in an abandoned building a few kilometers away from the battlefield.

This building was originally an office building, half of which was destroyed during the Great Nirvana, but the remaining parts are still sturdy. Lin Yun chose a room on the top floor, used his mental power to check the surroundings, and only after confirming that there were no monsters or other humans did he feel at ease and close the door.

The room was small, about thirty or forty square meters, with several cracks in the walls through which moonlight shone, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Lin Yun sat down cross-legged and took out the metal box from his spatial ring.

The box wasn't big, about the size of a palm, and it was silver-white. Lin Yun didn't examine the box much and opened it directly.

There was a ring lying inside.

The ring was silver, smooth as a mirror, and undecorated. It lay quietly in the center of the box, gleaming softly in the moonlight.

Lin Yun's heart suddenly raced.

He carefully took out the ring and placed it in his palm. The ring felt slightly cool to the touch and was as light as a feather, but Lin Yun could sense that it contained an extremely large amount of spatial energy.

"A spatial ring?" Lin Yun murmured.

He already possessed a spatial ring in the Panlong World, which he obtained from the necromancer Morton. That ring's internal space was approximately a hundred meters in length, width, and height, making it quite rare. However, the ring before him felt far larger and more profound than Morton's.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and probed the ring with his mental energy.

There was no hindrance. The ring was unclaimed, and his mental energy easily penetrated it.

Then, he "saw" the space inside the ring.

It was a huge space, several hundred meters long, wide, and high, with a total volume equivalent to ten football fields. The height of the space was also over one hundred meters, enough to fit several thirty-story buildings.

"So big..." Lin Yun gasped.

Morton's spatial ring had already amazed him, but compared to this one, it was nothing. A space the size of ten football fields—he wouldn't have to worry about whether he could fit all the monsters he hunted in the future.

"The value of this thing is immeasurable." Lin Yun was shocked.

On Earth, spatial rings are legendary items. As far as he knows, only Hong and Thor possess spatial rings, which they obtained while exploring ancient civilization ruins. If the outside world were to learn of this ring, it would likely trigger a bloody and violent struggle for its possession.

Lin Yun slipped the ring onto his finger. The ring fit perfectly, as if it had been tailor-made for him. He transferred all the monster materials from his original spatial ring to this new one, then teleported back to the Panlong World. Now he had a spatial ring in both worlds, eliminating the need for constant teleportation.

He once again probed the new ring with his mental energy, carefully examining its interior.

The space was large and filled with things.

In one corner of the space, a large amount of monster materials were piled up—fur, fangs, bones, crystal cores of various colors… piled up like a small mountain. Lin Yun roughly estimated with his mental power that the value of these materials was at least 20 billion.

"These things must have been left behind by the ring's previous owner," Lin Yun thought to himself. Judging from the type and quality of the materials, the ring's previous owner was at least a War God-level expert who spent most of his time in the wilderness.

He continued his investigation. Beside the materials was a metal shelf with several thick books on it. Lin Yun used his mental power to "open" the top book, whose cover bore four large characters: "Phantom Blade Technique".

Lin Yun's eyes lit up.

"Phantom Blade Technique!" He recognized this secret technique. In the Limitless House's list of secret manuals, it was an SS-level blade technique, created by a powerhouse surpassing the God of War level. Its full price was 10 billion, and even at half price, it was still 5 billion. He hadn't bought it before because he didn't have enough money, but he never expected to encounter it here.

"The complete set?" Lin Yun opened the book and quickly browsed through it. From the first level to the ninth level, it was complete and intact, with detailed illustrations and cultivation insights for each level. In addition to the book, there were also accompanying CDs and cultivation diagrams.

"I've made a fortune." Lin Yun's lips curled up.

The core of this "Phantom Blade Technique" is "illusion"—through extremely fast blade speed and special power generation techniques, multiple blade shadows are created simultaneously with a single strike, making it impossible for the opponent to distinguish which is the real attack and which is the illusion. At a high level of mastery, a single strike can produce nine blade shadows at the same time, each one appearing as real, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against.

This technique is similar to his method of controlling throwing knives with his mental powers. If the two could be combined, the power would be multiplied.

Lin Yun carefully put away the book and CD of "Phantom Blade Technique" and continued to explore the inside of the ring.

Besides the monster materials and arcane arts, the ring also contained some odds and ends—a few changes of clothes, some dry food and water, a few bottles of healing potions, a spare dagger, a compass… all common items for wilderness survival.

It seems the ring's previous owner was a martial artist who frequented the wilderness and possessed considerable strength. Anyone who can possess a spatial ring is definitely not an ordinary person.

Lin Yun withdrew his mental energy from the ring and let out a long breath.

Today's harvest far exceeded his expectations.

The materials from the two high-level lord-level monsters are worth at least 25 billion. A set of SS-grade "Phantom Blade Technique" is worth 10 billion. A pile of monster materials is worth at least 20 billion. And then there's the spatial ring itself—its value is simply immeasurable.

"The total value exceeds 55 billion." Lin Yun calculated silently in his mind, "Adding the previous gains, my total assets are approaching 100 billion."

One hundred billion.

This number would be astronomical for any martial artist. For a fifteen-year-old boy, it's even more unimaginable.

But Lin Yun knew that money wasn't the most important thing. The most important things were the spatial ring and the "Phantom Blade Technique." The spatial ring would allow him to carry more supplies and materials in the wilderness, greatly improving his survival ability and hunting efficiency. The "Phantom Blade Technique" would give him another powerful attack method.

Lin Yun tidied up the items in his spatial ring, then stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

Moonlight streamed in, illuminating his face. The distant ruins lay silent in the night, like a vast graveyard. A wind blew from the sea, carrying the salty, fishy smell.

"It's time to go back," Lin Yun said softly.

He stepped onto the battle blade, transforming into a silver streak of light, and flew towards the Thunder Blade Squad's temporary camp.

A dozen minutes later, he returned to the shopping mall where his team was located.

Lin Zheng, Liu Xu, Shen Yang, Luo Fang, and Leng Bao were all waiting for him. Upon seeing him return, Shen Yang was the first to greet him.

"How did it go? Did you manage to take care of those two high-ranking lords?" Shenyang asked impatiently.

Lin Yun shook his head: "When I arrived, they were already both severely injured and dead. But before I could process the materials, other people arrived. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be from the HR Alliance, and they were quite powerful. I didn't want to get into a conflict with them, so I left first."

He wasn't telling the truth. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teammates, but rather that he didn't want to drag them into it. The materials from those two high-level lords were priceless; the HR Alliance members had died there, and if this were exposed, it would inevitably invite retaliation. Although Lin Zheng and Liu Xu were not weak, they were far from being able to fight against figures of that level.

He can handle this alone; he can compensate them later, for example, with the life-giving water that can restore severed hands and feet!

"The HR Alliance?" Lin Zheng frowned. "They've got their eyes on this place too?"

"Probably," Lin Yun said. "I didn't encounter them; I just went around them from a distance. They've probably already disposed of the two monsters' corpses."

Shenyang sighed, his face full of regret: "What a pity, two high-level lords, how much money would they be worth..."

"Life is more important than money." Liu Xu patted his shoulder. "Lin Yun did the right thing. Don't take risks that shouldn't be taken."

Lin Zheng nodded without asking any further questions. He glanced at Lin Yun, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, but ultimately said nothing.

"Then let's stick to the original plan and hunt for another week before heading back," Lin Zheng said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

That night, Lin Yun lay in a corner of the mall, closed his eyes, and switched his consciousness to the Panlong World.

In the grove behind Ernst Academy, the moonlight was like water. His other body sat cross-legged on a blue stone, with the seven elements of magic flowing slowly around him.

Lin Yun opened his eyes and touched the spatial ring on his finger. He now possessed two spatial rings, one from a necromancer on the Yulan Continent and the other from a powerful Earth cultivator from the Swallowed Star. Their internal spaces differed greatly in size, but they were essentially the same thing—products of the laws of space.

"The cultivation systems of the two worlds are similar in some ways," Lin Yun murmured.

Magical elements, genetic energy, psychic power, spatial rings... these seemingly unrelated things may share a common origin at a higher level.

He closed his eyes and continued meditating.

Moonlight shone on his shoulders, and lightning magic elements danced merrily around him, as if welcoming him home.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Senator Clement stood in a secret room, staring at the image of the mysterious man on the screen, his gray pupils burning with cold fury.

Unbeknownst to him, the young man was currently in a desolate region thousands of miles away, taking stock of his treasures and plotting how to use these resources to become stronger.

Unbeknownst to him, the boy's strength was growing at an incredible rate.

Little did he know that by the time he finally found the boy, the hunter and the prey might have already switched places.