During the two days in which Wu Yijun, Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, and the rest were in charge of delegating labors and training the armed militia, Bai Zemin was busy with other important matters.
* * *
In the middle of the forest about two kilometers away from the Beginning Village.
On the first day he took control of the village after killing the previous leaders, a few hours after he and the rest arrived from the workshop and blacksmith shop where he worked before the arrival of the Soul Record on Earth, Bai Zemin was sitting on the branch of a huge tree.
In front of him, about fifty feet away, the apparently lifeless body of Yang Pei lay carelessly on the grass. Although the wind was blowing and some branches or dry leaves were falling on his face, he showed no signs of awakening.
It had not yet been 24 hours since Bai Zemin forced Yang Pei to consume the fruit from the mutated plant, so until the exact moment arrived it was highly improbable that he would be able to wake up from the deep sleep he had fallen into.
The fever had disappeared several hours ago but even then it seemed that his body was getting used to something because, according to Lilith, the mana inside Yang Pei's body was unstable.
According to her, he was probably just finishing digesting the effects of the fruit before finally opening his eyes again or bursting into a bloody mist. As to which of the two cases would happen, Bai Zemin was not sure but just in case he decided to stay away from the village to avoid problems.
Time passed and Bai Zemin remained in place without getting down from the tree as from his position he had a wide view of the surroundings. That way, he could prevent himself from being surrounded by any kind of enemy and avoid surprise attacks.
While it was true that his Blood Will skill seemed to activate when enemies appeared within a hundred meters of him as the center, Bai Zemin did not know how the skill worked yet so he did not dare to trust his life to it.
Approximately three hours later, Bai Zemin slowly stood up on the thick branch he was sitting on and looked forward with an excited smile.
"This scum is waking up and it didn't explode? That means that plant is as I guessed, an incredible treasure!"
Lilith, floating a few meters away from him, smiled brightly and nodded as she heartily congratulated, "Congratulations, little Zemin. Now you will be able to become more powerful than you already are and probably take a great leap forward."
Bai Zemin nodded and rubbed his hands together eagerly as he waited for a great performance from Yang Pei. Just in case, he had brought along a couple of grenades as although he was confident in his strength, if that plant gave Yang Pei some strange power he was not willing to take any risks and would simply explode him into pieces.
"Ugh! It hurts like hell!"
Unfortunately, the first thing that came out of Yang Pei's mouth was a groan followed by a loud curse.
The only one of the four bosses alive looked at Bai Zemin from several meters away and his eyes turned blood red as he shouted, "Damn bastard! If my legs were healthy, I swear to god I would cut you into a million pieces! But before that I must let you suffer hell on earth!"
The excited expression on Bai Zemin's face disappeared completely and his face turned black as the bottom of a pot.
"What's that all about?" he muttered dumbfounded. "Wasn't this little dog supposed to receive some strange power?"
"Mmm..." Lilith descended and stood beside him as she looked at the man who was still cursing relentlessly. After a moment of consideration, she pointed out, "Some plants give stats, some confer skills, some even awaken the latent power of skills we already possessed or are even capable of upgrading treasures."
"So...?" Bai Zemin urged her to continue, feeling anxious like a small child.
Lilith looked at him with a smile and reminded him of something he had overlooked, "So, unless that plant was focused on treasures, that Yang Pei guy probably won't be able to demonstrate the power he received since you broke his limbs."
"..." Bai Zemin was dumbfounded and looked at her as if he was looking at an otherworlder, which, ironically enough, she was.
"..." Lilith also looked at him silently, with a charming smile just as she always did.
"Bastard!"
It was only when Yang Pei's enraged roar thundered through the forest that Bai Zemin finally reacted. He looked at Yang Pei's squirming legs and sighed as he shook his head before leaping forward.
He fell two meters away from where Yang Pei lay and looked at him coldly.
Yang Pei, who a moment ago was roaring and shouting that he was going to cut him into a million pieces, got scared and the yell that was about to come out of his mouth ended up getting stuck in the middle of his throat. He knew he was no match for the young man in front of him, but Yang Pei was used to being rampant and wild so in the end, he ended up acting contrary to what his brain was telling him he should do if he wanted to have a slim hope of survival.
"Really... I should have left you at least one leg unharmed." Bai Zemin shook his head and said words that scared the young evolver even more.
Unfortunately, before he could say anything, Bai Zemin raised his foot high and then lowered it once more but with all his might.
Bang!
[You have acquired the Soul Power of Yang Pei level 20].
Yang Pei's head banged into pieces, splattering blood and flesh everywhere. However, Bai Zemin's foot not only pierced through the sturdy body of an evolutionary level 20 with apparent ease but continued further and made a small hole about thirty centimeters wide in the ground as well.
Without Yang Pei's constant cursing, the forest became silent once again until Bai Zemin's voice rang out again.
"Well, although I don't know what benefit this plant confers, I at least know that it is a treasure capable of boosting a person's strength."
Lilith's seductive voice followed right behind, "That means you can now consume the fruit by yourself and wait for the results~"
Bai Zemin looked up at the blue sky for a few minutes, pondering what to do next as the cool breeze blew against his face. After nearly ten minutes of consideration, he began to walk away as he muttered:
"Let me make a few final preparations before finally consuming the fruit."
* * *
After Bai Zemin left the forest and returned to the Beginning Village, the first thing he did was to look for Kang Lan and Cai Jingyi.
-Inside the main village.
Sitting on a couch, Bai Zemin looked at the two pretty women in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "So, what did you think of what I said to you just now?"
The two girls looked at each other before standing up at the same time.
Kang Lan was the first to kneel in front of him and as she looked down said with resolve and determination, "I am willing to become your Loyal Follower and follow you to the top or to the bottom of the abyss."