The White Rat King was slowed by the compound bow. Seizing the opportunity, Han Ning ran to a pile of Monster Rat corpses and frantically touched their bodies.
[Energy +0.21]
[Energy +0.2]
[Energy +0.19]
[Energy +0.25]
[Energy +0.24]
...
In just a dozen seconds, Han Ning had gathered at least 3 points of Energy.
[Body——+ (Available Points: 3)
Power: 0.72
Body: 4 (Max 4)
Agility: 1.33
Spiritual Energy——+ (Available Points: 0)
Spiritual Energy: 5 (Current Body limit reached. To break the limit, Body strength must be increased.)]
"Yin Yi, hold on! I'm coming to help you!"
While shouting to reassure Yin Yi, Han Ning used the lull before the rat swarm could close in to convert his newly gathered Energy into 3 Attribute Points, allocating them to Power and Agility.
Power: 0.72→1 (synergistic increase)→3
Body: 4 (Max 4)
Agility: 1.33→1.5→2.5
Energy surged into Yin Yi's body, and a brilliant green light shone through the gaps between the Monster Rats' bodies.
"Bobo!"
Yin Yi, who had been weakened by the successive attacks of a hundred Monster Rats, suddenly rallied. It erupted with surging power, sending the Monster Rats clinging to it flying.
Just then, the sound of countless footsteps echoed from nearby.
"Han Ning, Tianhe, Lin Yu, are you guys okay?" Teacher Zhou, holding a Compound Bow, quickly ran up with a group of students from the School of Engineering.
"Don't worry about me, go save Tianhe and the others!" Han Ning shook his head, forced himself to focus, and pointed in Lin Tianhe's direction as he yelled.
The Monster Rats' claws contained a toxin. They were now covered in blood and in grave danger.
"Everyone, move up and hold back the rat swarm! Some of you, go treat Lin Tianhe and the others' injuries." Teacher Zhou nodded, then led the students to beat back the Monster Rats in front of Lin Tianhe and Chen Linyu, pulling them to safety behind the group.
"Han Ning, we're here to help!"
Luo Chen led over a hundred people and a hundred Silver Lotus Woods to Han Ning's side.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
Facing the menacing humans, the White Rat King couldn't help but take two steps back.
"You beast! I'll show you what a terrifying bipedal ape really is!"
Han Ning roared at the White Rat King, tightened his grip on his Anti-Riot Stick, and charged forward with his companions.
"SQUEAK, SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
Facing the attack of over a hundred humans and Silver Lotus Woods, the Monster Rat swarm was instantly terrified. Led by the White Rat King, they abandoned their comrades' corpses and tried to retreat.
Han Ning wasn't about to let them get away.
"Yin Yi, stop them! Don't let a single one escape!"
"Bobo!"
Its body now strengthened, Yin Yi's speed had increased significantly. Its dense roots below gripped the ground firmly, and with a powerful leap forward, its body shot out like a cannonball.
Some of the other students shot arrows, others threw stones. Those without ranged weapons simply threw their clubs, trying to interfere with the Monster Rats' retreat.
Meanwhile, the physically stronger Silver Lotus Woods lashed out with their Vine Whips, entangling the Monster Rats.
The ones with enhanced Spiritual Energy fired Silver Thorns at the fleeing Monster Rats.
Yin Yi leaped into mid-air, continuously swinging the thick Vine Whips on both sides of its body.
WHIRRRR~
The Vine Whips cut through the air with oppressive force, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, reaping the lives of the Monster Rats.
A series of sounds like splitting watermelons could be heard.
In just a dozen seconds, over 30 Monster Rats were decapitated.
However, using the time bought by the Monster Rats with their lives, the White Rat King had already run several dozen meters away.
Han Ning watched the White Rat King's panicked, fleeing back, then bent down again and frantically touched the Monster Rat corpses on the ground.
'Absorb! Frantically absorb!'
[Energy +0.18]
[Energy +0.2]
[Energy +0.19]
[Energy +0.23]
...
In just a moment, he had gathered another 3 points of Energy.
'Allocate points!' Han Ning thought to himself, dumping all the Attribute Points into Agility.
Ahead, the roots beneath Yin Yi's body visibly thickened and grew denser. The two wing-like leaves near the roots began to glow with a circle of brilliant green light.
The pair of wing-like leaves vibrated violently a few times.
The omnipresent, hazy white mist formed two small whirlpools that swirled at Yin Yi's base, lifting its body and sending it hurtling toward the White Rat King.
"Bo!"
A thick Vine Whip crashed down from the sky like a chain, viciously embedding itself in the ground before the White Rat King.
The afterimage of the whip was followed by a dense curtain of strikes, like a raging tempest, bearing down on the White Rat King.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
A white light shimmered in the White Rat King's mouth as it generated swaths of frost, attempting to block the vine and escape Yin Yi's encirclement.
But four slender Silver Thorns, arranged in a square, sealed off its path in all four directions.
With no way to dodge, the White Rat King could only desperately spray frost at Yin Yi.
BANG!
The cold, frosty air was instantly scattered by Yin Yi.
Then, with nothing left to stop them, the frenzied whip afterimages rained down wantonly on the White Rat King.
The whip's afterimages were terrifyingly fast, each strike packed with horrifying power.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The White Rat King was beaten until blood flowed from its seven orifices. The ground beneath it was pounded into a shallow, several-centimeter-deep crater. It was flattened into a ragged rat pancake, utterly still.
Once the Rat King was dead, the other Monster Rats lost all courage to resist. Like frightened curs, they scattered, only to be surrounded and slaughtered by the rest of the group.
Han Ning didn't join the others in killing off the remaining Monster Rats. Instead, he walked over to the dead White Rat King.
"Yin Yi, cut its body open." He pointed at the White Rat King's snow-white belly and gestured.
"Bobo~"
Yin Yi retracted its Vine Whip. A sharp wooden thorn popped out from the tip of its branch, plunged into the White Rat King's abdomen, and with a light slice, instantly disemboweled it.
Han Ning suppressed his disgust, reached into the White Rat King's body, and rummaged around.
And then... he pulled out a snow-white, pearl-sized crystal.
A palpable chill swirled around his fingertips. In just a second, a layer of snow-white Ice Crystals covered his fingers.
He pinched the pearl-like, snow-white crystal and mentally commanded, 'Absorb.'
[Energy +2.32]
[Feeding the Elemental Soul Crystal to a Contracted Soul Beast can increase its Ice Element Affinity.]
A notification, completely different from the ones before, appeared in Han Ning's mind.
'Ice Element Affinity?'
Han Ning paused. 'Does this mean that if Yin Yi consumes this crystal, it will be able to use ice-type Soul Techniques in the future?'
Figuring it was worth a shot, he handed the Crystal Stone, its surface now dull, to Yin Yi. "Yin Yi, eat it."
"Bobo..."
Without any hesitation, Yin Yi took the Crystal Stone and tossed it among the roots beneath its body.
The dense roots enveloped the crystal.
Before long, a faint wisp of frost appeared on Yin Yi's body.
It quickly faded away.
At this point, Yin Yi's stats had changed to:
[Race: Silver Lotus Wood
Gender: /
Aptitude: F
Level: Entry Level III (155/300)
Elemental Affinity (Wood): 3.25
Ice: 0.05
Talent: None
Acquired Soul Techniques: Purification III (121/200), Silver Thorn III (221/300)]