The clone died and dissipated, its memories returning to Lin Yu's mind. He accessed the information, discovering they were killed by a giant rhinoceros monster.
This rhinoceros monster was a Tier Five ferocious beast. What excited Lin Yu was that this Tier Five ferocious beast was guarding a peculiar small tree, upon which hung a blue fruit.
Lin Yu glanced at his upgrade points, then looked up in the direction of the ferocious beast.
"Still need a little more!" he murmured to himself.
Just then, a system prompt sounded in his mind, continuous and arriving at an extremely rapid pace.
Lin Yu was slightly startled and instantly thought of Lin Fan.
"What a timely arrival!"
With the upgrade points provided by Lin Fan's monster kills, Lin Yu's upgrade points grew increasingly numerous.
Before long, he exclaimed happily, "Finally, I've saved enough!"
"System, upgrade my cultivation!"
"Ding, Host's cultivation is being upgraded... Upgrade complete!"
"Congratulations to the Host, upgraded to Tier Four combat power!"
As soon as his cultivation was upgraded, Lin Yu's aura surged. Centered on him, his aura spread outwards, rustling the surrounding trees.
Lin Yu felt the powerful force surging within him, as if he could pierce through space.
"My strength has increased by about three times!" Lin Yu murmured to himself.
Not only that, but his mental power had also doubled. Now, his clones could exist within a range of over two thousand meters.
This range almost covered the entire academy area except for the back mountain. From now on, he had basically achieved a passive life of sitting at home and receiving knowledge from the heavens.
Lin Yu was in a very good mood.
"Brothers, let's go, attack!"
He summoned all his clones and moved towards the ferocious beast.
One hundred clones positioned themselves around, condensing weapons and armor, advancing menacingly.
Upon reaching a short distance from the rhinoceros beast, Lin Yu stopped. He ordered the clones to launch a probing attack.
As soon as they entered the rhinoceros beast's line of sight, a deafening roar echoed.
"Roar!"
"Attack!"
With a command, the clones quickly set up formations, and dozens of formations appeared on the scene.
Ten formations of Five Elements Sword Array, five of Five Elements Illusion Array, and five of Five Elements Shield Array, totaling twenty formations, enveloped an area of tens of meters.
The Five Elements Shield Array stood at the forefront, the Five Elements Sword Array in the middle, and the Five Elements Illusion Array on the outermost perimeter.
As the formations activated, strange energy fluctuations began to affect the surrounding environment.
"Roar!"
The rhinoceros beast, sensing another group of intruders, became enraged and opened its massive maw.
*Boom!*
Ice balls shot out like a barrage, streaking towards the clones.
*Bang bang bang!!!*
The ice balls struck the Shield Array, creating a tremendous sound.
Waves of cold air emanated from the ice balls, quickly covering the ground with a thin layer of frost.
*Boom!*
Suddenly, a much larger ice ball slammed into the formation. This time, two layers of the Shield Array were instantly shattered, leaving three remaining.
"Counterattack!"
From the Five Elements Sword Array, colossal swords descended from the sky, like an infinite sword domain, raining down like raindrops.
In an instant, an area of ten meters in diameter became a forest of swords.
"Roar!"
The ferocious beast roared, and an energy shield appeared on its body, protecting it.
However, the giant swords seemed endless, piercing the shield, causing it to waver precariously, on the verge of shattering.
Suddenly, the ferocious beast abandoned its defense. Its single horn began to flash with icy light. With a *whoosh*, the horn abruptly extended to over a meter in length. Then, charging with its elongated horn, it furiously charged towards the clones.
The Shield Array immediately moved to intercept, the Sword Array's giant swords attacked, and the Illusion Array conjured illusions. The ferocious beast's body accumulated several more wounds.
At this moment, the beast's horn slammed into the Shield Array with a resounding crash.
*Whoosh!*
As if puncturing a balloon, the remarkably defensive Shield Array was easily pierced.
Lin Yu, observing from the shadows, was slightly surprised but quickly ordered his clones to disperse and engage with the Sword Array.
Long swords, from tricky angles, relentlessly attacked.
"Roar!"
The ferocious beast, clad in an icy shield, was once again pierced. The Sword Array enveloped the beast again.
"The beast is tired, pursue the advantage!"
The ferocious beast was finally exhausted. Lin Yu immediately ordered his clones to advance and continue their assault.
However, a Tier Five ferocious beast had thick hide and flesh; it was not easily killed.
Lin Yu gritted his teeth and issued an order: "Half of the clones, self-destruct!"
Upon receiving the command, the clones from the Illusion Array and Shield Array stopped forming formations. They compressed their internal energy and charged towards the ferocious beast.
When their internal energy was compressed to its limit.
They recklessly charged at the ferocious beast. Some were severed by the beast's horn, but they exploded with a *boom*, splattering blood across the beast's face.
Within its limited intelligence, it could not comprehend why these humans were willing to commit suicide to kill it.
Roar!
As it was injured again, other clones swarmed onto the ferocious beast.
The beast roared in anger as clones clung to its body, trying to shake them off. But the next moment, a series of explosions reverberated.
The clones detonated one after another, causing immense damage.
Even a Tier Five ferocious beast suffered a fatal blow from such close-range explosions.
Suddenly, a giant sword pierced through, slicing across the beast's throat.
*Whoosh!*
Blood flowed, gushing out. The ferocious beast immediately slumped to the ground and slowly died.
"Ding, you have killed the Ice Horned Rhinoceros (Tier Five), Upgrade Points +10000!"
*Hoo!*
Finally, it was dead.
As clones died, streams of information flooded into his mind. Lin Yu chose not to receive them, instead immediately replenishing all his clones and fortifying the surroundings.
Only then did Lin Yu approach.
He walked to the Ice Horned Rhinoceros and cast Life Drain.
Instantly, a continuous stream of life energy surged into his body, slowly increasing his strength.
Five minutes later, looking at the Ice Horned Rhinoceros, which was reduced to a mere skin and bones, he withdrew his innate ability.
"My strength has increased again. Although I am still only at the early stage of Tier Four, my strength, physique, and spirit are comparable to the peak of Tier Four. Furthermore, my clones are fifty percent stronger than me. Although I'm still a bit far from Tier Five combat power, I can now even围 kill Tier Five ferocious beasts!"
He rubbed his temples, relieving a slight headache, and murmured.
Enduring the dizziness caused by absorbing life energy, he approached the rare treasures guarded by the Ice Horned Rhinoceros.
Some ferocious beasts guarded rare treasures, waiting for them to mature, while others possessed the ability to cultivate them.
However, unlike legends, when these rare treasures matured, they did not exhibit spectacular phenomena like golden light reaching the sky or fragrant scents filling the air for miles. Instead, they blossomed and bore fruit very discreetly.
The fruit before him, Lin Yu had seen a related introduction to it in the academy library.
Ice Soul Fruit: Cultivated with the blood of ice-attribute ferocious beasts as a catalyst, the fruit contains rich ice energy. It is an excellent material for cultivators with ice attributes to aid in cultivation or even transform their innate talents. It can be used in medicine, alchemy, or consumed directly.
"This Ice Soul Fruit also has another effect: it can assist one in comprehending ice-attribute skills!"
"My luck is truly excellent. Not only has my strength increased on this trip, but I've also encountered a treasure. It's time to head back!"
Lin Yu glanced at the darkening sky, took out his hoverboard, and flew towards the academy.
On the way back.
He suddenly noticed a cyan energy shield appear above the academy.
Outside the academy, countless ferocious beasts were charging from the Guixu.
"Is this... a beast tide?!"